Authentic Christian Ministry

There was an Anglican priest who auditioned for the show Britain's Got Talent.

And in his audition, he sang REM's song, Everybody Hurts.

I don't know if you've seen it.

You can see it on YouTube, if you know what that is.

But the thing was, at the end of this audition, he just mesmerized the crowd.

It was like, by the time he finished singing it, the room was silent until Simon Cowell got up and just started applauding.

And then at that point, everyone was to their feet, standing ovation for a phenomenally good performance.

And the online comments were interesting that flowed on that on YouTube.

Some thought that, in fact, he sang it better than REM.

And because of the real authenticity in which he sang it from someone who'd been an Anglican priest for many decades.

And the amount of hurt that he had dealt with over those years.

In fact, some thought that he did it so well that he should, in fact, shift careers.

One person made the comment that, I bet you that guy wished he went into a singing career earlier in life.

That is, what was being projected in that moment, in that comment, is a value statement.

You know, see how you've impacted not just those sitting in the room with you singing,

but people online who have seen you.

See the impact you've made?

Why on earth would you be a minister?

Why would you do that?

Unfortunately, too many get their view of ministry from the Vicar of Dibley,

the Simpsons' Reverend Lovejoy,

or Father Brown,

or something like that.

For many in our society,

the role of minister is that they're there,

if they have any concept of it all,

they're there to be there for times of crisis,

significant life events,

ministry of the poor,

care for the flock,

but basically don't say anything offensive

and stay out of the way most of the time.

That's if they've got any concept.

But increasingly,

in our day and age,

when I say to people what I do,

when they ask you,

what do you do?

And I tell them that.

I may as well be telling them

that I work for the taxation office

or that I work for a big bank.

Like, it's a conversation killer.

And if there's a follow-up question,

it's,

but what do you do?

Like, what is it that you actually do?

For those in the church,

we often expect a carer,

a scholar,

a leader,

an evangelist,

a manager,

a janitor.

Without an own diocese,

there is an undercurrent of expectation

that the wise leader,

and I'm quoting someone,

that the wise leader

will keep everyone in the church

on board

while they significantly push forward

for new growth

and reach new people

at exactly the same time.

In 2 Corinthians,

Paul is helping us here

and the passage is read out to us.

What does authentic ministry look like?

We saw yesterday,

last week,

what does the authentic minister look like?

What does the authentic Christian look like?

What does authentic gospel ministry look like?

That's what we're looking at here right now

in 2 Corinthians 2 and 3.

You've got this next point out to you already.

If you've got the paper version,

right down the bottom,

point number four is robust love.

That's not where I'm heading,

but good thing to think about anyway.

So go back and do that later.

We've got three points

I want to particularly focus on.

But the situation

is that when Paul moved on

from his time at Corinth,

his opponents moved in.

They were eloquent.

Eloquent religious leaders

who took pride in the outward display

of ministry success.

They started to drive a wedge

between Paul and the church.

They criticized Paul,

both of his life

and his message

as being weak,

poor,

he's not authentic,

he's not the real deal,

he's not the true apostle,

his ministry is not authentic ministry.

They started to think that Paul

was worldly,

insincere,

cowardly,

weak,

theological deviant,

who preached a false gospel.

And so the Corinthian church

is in,

significant danger

of walking away

from the authentic apostle

and therefore walking away

from the authentic good news

of Jesus Christ.

And that's what Paul

is fighting for

in this letter.

As we saw,

Paul's defending himself,

as we saw last week,

as he revealed the characteristics

of the true apostle,

what it means to be

a true follower of Jesus.

Today,

the outlines in front of you,

authentic ministry,

what it looks like.

Paul reveals three important things

about authentic gospel ministry,

what authentic gospel ministry is,

what it does,

what it produces.

That's where we're going to go,

that's the journey.

Nick was right,

absolutely true,

if you do not have a pencil in hand,

you don't learn.

That is called active engagement

in the learning process.

So rip it out,

or your finger,

if you need to,

for your iPad,

and have the text in front of you open.

No arms folded,

just looking at me.

Okay,

what authentic ministry is?

Let me just jump to the chase here,

it is God speaking through the gospel.

Verse 14 to 17,

I'm going to jump straight to 17 of chapter 2.

Unlike so many,

we do not peddle the word of God for profit.

On the contrary,

in Christ we speak before God with sincerity

as those sent from God.

Notice that Paul says,

the key activity of authentic ministry

is the ministry of speaking the word of God.

And it's marked by the sincerity

of knowing that we are accountable to God.

That is a direct shot

at Paul's opponents in Corinth,

who peddle the word of God for profit.

And Paul chooses

two word pictures,

if you like,

that are shocking

in this section.

First he says in verse 14,

but thanks be to God

who always leads us

as captives

in Christ's triumphal procession.

Now that doesn't mean

what you probably think it means,

and it doesn't mean

what the super apostles were declaring.

It refers

to what great Roman generals

used to do

when they captured a city,

a country,

a nation,

and they conquered it.

They led the captives,

their enemies,

as conquerors.

And they led them

to the place

of death and slavery.

They would

line them all up behind them

and they would triumphantly

ride back into Rome.

The people of the city of Rome

would just be singing

the praises of their general,

all the treasures

that they had captured.

First of all,

I think they robbed

from the nations,

and then last of all,

the people that they captured.

The kings,

the rulers,

and then the commoners.

Verse 14,

but thanks be to God

who always leads us

as captives

in Christ's triumphal procession.

In other words,

Paul's saying,

I'm defeated,

I'm taken captive

by Christ,

but he was brought to faith

and forgiven

and justified

and set free

from slavery

to sin and death

and made a glad

and willing servant

of the greatest general

who ever was.

You see,

what's happening here

is Paul's describing

the nature of discipleship.

You're at the end

of the train.

You're captive to Christ.

Christ.

He's the general.

He's the triumphant one.

Not you,

super apostles.

Not you.

So what Paul's doing here

with these word pictures

is he's accomplishing

two almost opposite things

at exactly the same time.

On the one hand,

God is like a great general

and Paul is a conquered

and called,

Paul is conquered

and called to suffer

in his service

even to die.

But on the other hand,

God is triumphant

and Paul is in his service

and through Paul

spreading everywhere

the good news

of the triumphant gospel.

Paul is weak.

He's a broken vessel.

But God is displaying

his greatness,

his goodness

and his power

through him.

Paul's adversaries

at Corinth

don't recognize

Paul's authority

and they don't think

Paul is triumphant

as a missionary

the way they think

he should be.

Some people are converted,

some people are not.

Some see Christ in him

and some reject Christ

because of him.

They only see weakness

and failure

and hardship

and difficulty

and rejection.

He has some success,

he has some failures.

But they think

that if he was

a genuine apostle

of the triumphant

king of kings,

then he would have

success

and triumph

in every area

of his life.

And so Paul chooses

a word picture here

that describes him

both as belonging

to a great victor

and as a conquered enemy

whose service of the king

is to suffer

and look weak

and even die for him.

Led in triumphal possession

as a defeated foe

in the service

of a king.

And yet,

Paul says,

this is my delight.

This ministry

is good news.

We go,

what?

What?

Captive?

A slave?

How's that good news?

Paul says,

this is my delight

because this great victor

who leads him

in triumphal possession

is the king of kings

and the lord of lords.

This is the one

who himself

surrendered

to the soldiers

in the garden

of Gethsemane.

Condemned to death

by a puppet ruler.

Led by soldiers

through the streets

of Jerusalem

carrying a cross

as the crowds

mocked him

before being nailed

to that cross

and dying.

And to the eyes

of the world,

he was to be

spat upon.

He was a loser.

He was defeated

in that moment.

He was a spectacle

to be ridiculed.

And yet,

as the scriptures tell us,

this is no accident

of history.

This was not

an unfortunate event.

Jesus himself

declared

it was going

to happen

and he was

in control

of it

every single

step of the way.

Because Jesus

declared that

I am the God

of this universe

come into your presence

in flesh,

the creator

and the ruler

of all things,

the one who assigns

the beginning

and the end,

not just the interpreter

of history,

but I am the declarer

of history.

It doesn't happen

unless I think it

into existence

and speak it

into existence.

The prophet Isaiah

says that of this one

Jesus,

the government

of all the universe

is resting

on his shoulders

or rule

and authority

is his.

There is none

more powerful

and this is the one

who chose the path

into captivity.

This is the one

who was led

to the place

of slaughter.

He chose the path

of weakness

and death

so that we

would be set free

from our rebellion

against him,

the true king

for putting ourselves

in the place

of being the king

of kings.

He was crushed

so that we aren't.

And that's the truth

that's captivated

Paul's heart,

his soul,

his mind,

his body.

He says it

explicitly

in chapter 5.

He says,

Christ's love

compels us.

Because we are

convinced that one

died for all

and therefore

all died

and he died

for all

that those

who live

should no longer

live for themselves

but for him

who died for them

and was raised

again.

And so at the end

of chapter 2

he uses a

second picture

of his life

as a sacrificial

offering

that is a sweet

fragrance before

God.

This is him

living as one

no longer for

himself

but for him

who's captured

his heart.

Starts in the

middle of verse 14.

Have a look at it.

Got the text in front

of you.

And uses us

to spread the

aroma of the

knowledge of

him everywhere.

And so Paul

here pitches

his missionary

life and his

ministry as

spreading the

fragrance of

the knowledge

of Christ

everywhere.

When Christ

died for

our sins

allowed himself

to be taken

captive

led to the

place of

slaughter

for our

sakes

it was

like a

fragrant

offering

pleasing

to God.

Ephesians 5

2 says

that when

Jesus died

for sins

it was a

fragrant

offering

that was

pleasing

to God.

Now

here

is Paul

standing

in the

place

of Christ

as his

representative

here in

the world

suffering

like Christ

in the

service

of his

conquering

Lord

and he

says

we

are the

aroma

of Christ

to the

world.

But first

of all we

are the

aroma of

Christ

to God.

God sees

my service

of him

and he

smells it

and it

is pleasing

to him.

in other

words when

we suffer

in the

service

of Christ

as witnesses

to the

gospel of

Jesus

Christ

it's like

Christ

suffering

for the

lost

and God

smells

this

fragrance

of

sacrificial

love

and it

pleases

him.

But

it's not

pleasing to

everyone

including

ironically

the

Corinthian

church.

That is

there are

heart rejoicing

and there

are

heart

breaking

parts

of our

service

to Christ

and the

gospel.

This

aroma

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

divides

the

world.

Look at

the

division

in

verses

15-16

For we

are to

God

the

pleasing

aroma

of

Christ

among

those

who

are

being

saved

and

those

who

are

perishing.

To

the

one

we

are

an

aroma

that

brings

death

to

the

other

an

aroma

that

brings

life.

Some

smell

the

sacrificial

love

of

Jesus

from

the

lips

and

the

life

of

Christians

and

it

only

smells

like

death.

They

hear

the

gospel

and

all

they

hear

is

death.

They

look

to

the

cross

and

all

they

see

is

death.

They

see

failure.

They

see

no

life.

They

see

no

hope.

They

see

no

future,

no

joy.

And

so

they

go,

that

stinks.

And

they

turn

away

from

it.

And

if

they

turn

away

forever,

they

die.

That's

what it

says.

They

die

forever.

They

are

perishing.

The

smell

of

death

leads

to

death.

You

smell

roadkill

as you

drive

along

at

100

km

an

hour.

Smell

roadkill,

it's

because

something's

dead.

they

don't

believe.

They

don't

see

the

heartbreaking

side of

authentic

Christian

ministry.

There

are

people

who

don't

believe.

They

don't

see

Christ

as

precious.

They

don't

see his

suffering

as a

treasure.

They

don't

smell

his

death

for

sinners

as

the

sweetest

fragrance

in the

universe.

it's

not a

satisfying

fragrance.

It's

simply

the

smell

of

death

and

so

they

walk

away.

But

the

heart

rejoicing

side

of

Christian

ministry

is

also

in

verse

16

to

the

other

an

aroma

that

brings

life.

Those

who

are

being

saved

smell

the

death

of

Christ

as

an

aroma

of

life.

They

see

in

his

death

the

substitute

that

they

so

desperately

need

before

God.

The

Son

of

God

dying

in

their

place

is

the

fragrance

of

life

and

so

they

don't

turn

away.

They

believe

him.

They

receive

him.

They

embrace

him.

They

treasure

him.

They

submit

to

him

and

they

live

forever.

In

his

death

they

see

life.

smelling

Christ

is

the

aroma

of

life

that

gives

life.

And

authentic

gospel

ministry

is

spreading

the

fragrance

of

Jesus

by

speaking

the

truth

of

the

gospel

of

Jesus

knowing

that

the

triumphant

God

speaks

through

us

bringing

both

salvation

and

judgment.

we

don't

control

that.

We're

going to

see more

of this

next week

in chapter

four.

And so

Paul

asked this

really

crucial

question

in verse

16.

Who

is

equal

to such

a task?

Knowing

that

eternity

is at

stake

through

my

lips

and

through

my

life

who

can

carry

that

burden?

people

everywhere

are coming

to life

or death

through

me

representing

Christ.

Who

can

carry

that

burden?

Who

can

carry

that

weight?

Paul

says,

I am.

I can.

Not

because

I am

sufficient,

he says.

Not

because

you're

sufficient.

Because

we

constantly

second

guess

ourselves.

Can I

do

this?

Can I

bear the

weight of

being the

aroma of

Christ at

home and

at work and

on social

media and

in the

playground?

And by

God's

grace,

his word

to us

here is,

yes,

you can.

You can

carry that

weight.

Chapter

3,

verse 5,

our

competence

comes

from

God.

God's

grace,

we can

bear the

weight of

being the

aroma of

Christ wherever

he has

sovereignly

placed us.

It is God

who speaks

through us as

we speak the

gospel because

God speaks

through the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

crucified for

our sin and

race triumphant

over sin and

death.

can I just

say it would

be really

good to

remember that

really,

really good to

remember that

the next time

we think that

we've got

nothing to say

in front of

our friends

around the

dinner table

who are not

Christians.

It would be

really good to

remember that

the next time

you're leading

a community

group and it

isn't going

so well or

a youth group

or sharing

with a colleague

or you're

running a

ministry and

it just seems

like nothing's

happening.

Really good to

remember that.

the gospel

is what we've

got and it

is sufficient.

We're going to

talk more about

this next week.

The gospel is

what we've got

and it is

sufficient.

It's not about

our personalities,

not about our

giftedness or

our knowledge or

even our

weakness.

And this leads

us to the

second point that

I have about

authentic ministry.

It's in verses

3 to 11 of

chapter 3.

Authentic

ministry, what

it does, it

changes people.

God not only

speaks through

the gospel but

God changes

people through

the gospel.

Now Paul

flashes this out

for us, first

of all, by

mentioning how

God has

changed the

Corinthians

themselves in

verses 1 to 4

of chapter 3.

ministry.

And then

secondly, by

telling us about

the kind of

change-producing

ministry that

God has given

to Christians

in verses 5 to

11, chapter 3.

Now Paul's

opponents of

Corinth were

saying, you

know, Paul can't

be an authentic

apostle of Jesus

Christ because,

you know, frankly,

look at his

ministry.

He's always

rejected.

He's always in

jail.

People are

running him

out of town.

They're rejecting

you know.

Where's the

massive crusades

and thousands

of people coming

to life?

Where's that

happening?

He doesn't

seem to display

the results that

you would expect

if his ministry

was authentic.

And so Paul's

reply was,

guys, kind of

awkward, but

have a look

around because

before I came

to town with

the gospel in

Corinth, you

didn't even

exist as a

church.

You weren't

even there.

In other

words, you

are the fruit

of my ministry.

Awkward to

point it out,

but the

changes being

brought around

through the

gospel came

through me to

you.

You're my

letter of

commendation.

I don't

need the

degrees on

the wall.

I don't

need letters

of support

from the

mayor of

Athens.

You've got

you are my

commendation.

You are the

result of

my ministry.

In other

words, the

Corinthian church

is his

boast.

They are the

proof of his

ministry.

The lasting

fruit of

authentic gospel

ministry is

people.

people.

Changed

people are

the lasting

fruit of

authentic gospel

ministry.

Not the

size of the

church, not

our mastery of

theology, not

the books we

write, not

the talks we

give, not

the number of

programs we

run, not

the budget

being met,

or any

other metric

you want to

throw at it.

Not the

number of

gospel endeavors

we support

around the

world or the

value of our

property.

People are the

lasting fruit.

People have

been changed

by God

through the

gospel that

has been

spoken by

us.

God

eternally

changes people

through the

gospel that

has saved

us and that

we proclaim.

That is the

heart of what

God has given

us to do

while we

are on

this

planet.

And then,

sorry, that's

what it says in

verse 6.

God has

made us

competent

ministers of

a new

covenant, not

of the

letter, but

of the

spirit, for

the letter

kills, but

the spirit

gives life.

Now, if

you're starting

to doze off

right now,

stick with

me here,

because I

want to

just keep

unpacking a

little bit

what authentic

ministry does

in changing

people.

What does it

do?

What's

happening in

this change?

What sort of

change are we

looking at?

The contrast

that Paul works

with in verses

6 to 11 is

pretty straightforward.

He has in

mind Exodus

33, which is

on the back

of your

service sheet.

Exodus 33,

that was just

read out.

And he's

saying,

God really

worked through

Moses at

Mount Sinai

and the old

covenant of

the law.

It was a

clear display

of the power

of God.

It was

spectacular.

It was

clouds

descending,

fire,

and

mountain

shaking,

and just

awesome.

I just

think,

wouldn't it

be great

nowadays?

What would

happen at

Chatswood if

I was to

get up week

after week,

and when I

spoke, the

foundations of

this building

shook, and the

cloud descended,

and just hold

on, I'm just

talking to God

people.

baptismal waters

were parted,

and just

imagine people

would flock to

it because

this is

spectacular

ministry.

This is the

power stuff

we've been

looking for.

Paul.

Paul's saying,

God did

amazing stuff

through Moses,

spectacular,

but now God

has made us

servants of a

new covenant,

a new way of

working rather

that comes from

the Spirit of

God rather than

words written on

tablets of stone.

A new way of

working brings

life rather than

death.

Now, that was

the awkward bit

about that

passage.

What Paul is

trying to achieve

here is our

confidence in

gospel ministry

when we're losing

confidence in the

face of gospel

ministry.

That's what he's

trying to do

here.

In the face of

hardship and guilt

and rejection and

apparent

ineffectiveness,

his answer is

that God

miraculously speaks

through the gospel

message of the

death and

resurrection of

Jesus Christ

to bring people

to new and

eternal life and

they are changed

forever.

Now, Moses'

ministry in the

Old Testament was

very spectacular.

It was very

impressive.

Massive, visible

signs of God's

presence and

Paul says that

the proclamation

of the gospel in

the power of the

Spirit leaves

Moses' ministry

for dead.

And he says in

chapter 5,

you won't get

that if you

have the attitude

of the super

apostles who only

look at things from

the outside,

who just want

external,

physical displays

of success,

you won't

understand.

Gospel, true

gospel impact.

Moses'

ministry was

quite remarkable

except for

the fact that

it couldn't bring

change in

anyone's life.

That should be

pretty obvious to

us.

When Moses was

up on Mount

Sinai,

3,000 people

died at the

foot of the

mountain as a

result of their

disobedience.

In the midst

of the

spectacular display

of the glory

of God,

3,000 people

died because

they couldn't

even obey

10 simple

rules.

They had

in their

possession

tablets

written on

by the

finger of

God

himself.

Verse

chapter 3

verse 7.

Now if the

ministry that

brought death,

which is

engraved in

letters of

stone,

came with

glory so

that the

Israelites

could not

look steadily

at the

face of

Moses because

of its

glory,

transitory

though it

was,

will not

the ministry

of the

spirit be

even more

glorious?

If the

ministry that

brought

condemnation

was glorious,

how much

more glorious

is the

ministry that

brings

righteousness.

Ministry of

the gospel

brings real

time God

honoring

righteousness.

It changes

people for

eternity.

It's like a

light bulb

and turning

a light,

grabbing a

torch,

walking out

right now and

shining it at

the sun.

The torch has

got no power.

It's nothing.

The glory

between the

two is

so,

I mean,

you get

it.

There's no

comparison in

brightness and

illumination and

glory.

God has

given to

Christians,

even weak

suffering

Christians,

even Christians

struggling with

their own sin,

given to

Christians who

embrace the

gospel of the

Lord Jesus

Christ and

being led by

him in

triumphal

possession,

a ministry

that is

mind-blowingly

superior to

Moses.

And you

will run

everywhere else

looking for

other metrics,

looking for

some sort of

power other

than the

gospel,

if you do

not trust the

power of the

gospel.

It's superior

because God's

glory is

revealed in

the good

news of

Jesus Christ

died and

resurrected.

His glory

is no longer

veiled.

That's the

main point.

I love that

song we sang,

it is no

longer veiled.

That's the

main point of

verses 13

to 18.

And to

simplify these

verses,

Paul is

saying that

when the

gospel of

the Lord

Jesus is

proclaimed,

the so-called

weak,

defeated,

crucified

Jesus,

what some

will see

is the

magnificence,

the beauty,

the power,

and the

splendor,

and the

value of

God himself

for the

very first

time.

They will

see true

glory through

apparent

inglorious

ministry.

Some will

see the

splendor and

majesty of the

transcendent

creator,

God,

in the face

of Jesus

Christ.

Glory is

a very

small word

with huge

significance.

All the

goodness and

perfection and

authority and

power and

majesty and

the godness of

God is

packed into

two syllables,

glory.

Our

ministry is

wider and

deeper and

more effective

than Moses

in bringing

lasting change.

Why?

Because God

changes people

on the

inside through

the gospel

of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Not only

does God

speak through

us when

we speak

the gospel,

but God

changes people

when we

speak the

gospel as

his glory

is revealed

in the

gospel.

gospel.

The

Spirit

opens our

hearts

to

apprehend,

to

appreciate,

to

savour,

to cherish

and treasure

the glory of

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

And this

happens,

as this

happened,

the Spirit

changes our

inner desires

and drives,

so that we

want what

Jesus wants

and we

get freedom.

See that in

verse 17?

Authentic

ministry changes

people from

the inside

out.

It's not

external

compliance

forcing

change,

but deep

internal

change of

the desires

that changes

outward

behaviour.

Genuine

conversion.

Your whole

value

system

is overturned.

I love

the story

of John

Patton.

He was

one of the

first Christian

missionaries

to the

islands of

Anuatu.

In fact,

he was the

first Christian

missionary

to not be

eaten on

the islands

of Anuatu

because in

those days

they were

cannibalistic

tribes.

He wrote

in his

autobiography

about one

particular

convert to

Christianity

who was

dying.

a former

cannibal

chief.

And it's

not just

because they're

hungry.

Their whole

value system

is wrapped

up.

Their whole

perspective in

terms of

the world

view,

in terms of

the universe

is wrapped

up in

cannibalism.

It's not

because they've

got nothing

else to

eat.

So this

former

cannibal

chief is

dying.

And when

he was

dying,

he came

to

Patton

to say

goodbye

to

Patton.

And Patton

writes this.

Abraham,

that's

Patton's

Christian

aide,

who himself

was a

former

cannibal,

right?

This guy

was a

former

cannibal.

He says,

Abraham

sustained

him,

tottering

to the

place of

graves.

And there

he lay

down and

slept in

Jesus.

And there

the faithful

Abraham

buried him

beside his

wife and

his children.

Get this,

that is