2 Corinthians Ch7v2-16 - Joy Filled Service

Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 7, verses 2-16, which is on page 1163 of the Church Bibles.

2 Corinthians 7:2–16

! So that's 2 Corinthians chapter 7, and starting in verse 2.

2 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one. We have corrupted no one. We have exploited no one.

I do not say this to condemn you. I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you.

I have spoken to you with great frankness. I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged in all our troubles. My joy knows no bounds.

For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn, conflicts on the outside, fears within.

But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort that you had given him.

He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it, I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while.

Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.

For you became sorrowful as God intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.

But worldly sorrow brings death.

See what this godly sorrow has produced in you.

What earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.

At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong, nor on account of the injured party,

but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are.

By all this we are encouraged.

In addition to our own encouragement, we were especially delighted to see how happy Titus was,

because his spirit had been refreshed by all of you.

I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me.

But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well.

And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient,

receiving him with fear and trembling.

I am glad I can have complete confidence in you.

Good morning everyone.

I'll try again.

Good morning everyone.

That's good.

Somebody's out there.

let's keep our Bibles open at 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and it's quite a long chunk but

2 Corinthians 7 · chapter mention

I hope as we go through it you'll see a connecting theme

we're going to break next week from 2 Corinthians and we're going to be looking

at Isaiah 42 so if you want to read up on what we're going to be looking at in the next few weeks

you can read Isaiah 42 not now of course but let's pray together and ask for the Lord's help

Jesus said as the Father has loved me so have I loved you I have told you this

so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete

Father our prayer is simple we come as needy people longing to experience your joy in our life

and we pray that by your spirit you would enable us to experience that joy as we love one another

and love the Lord Jesus amen

well have you got that Christmas feeling that bubbling overflowing joy I don't mean the kind

of happy vibe you get with putting up Christmas lights and listening to the music or that surface

thrill as you meet with friends for Christmas drinks that's a manufactured circumstantial joy

so that when you put all the decorations away and the music stops and it's back to January and back to work

well in that moment our joy just evaporates

now the joy that we're talking about today is a joy that is deep and foundational even when life can be hard and broken

a joy that can say look back at chapter 6 verse 10

chapter 6 verse 10 a joy that can say sorrowful yet always rejoicing

now we don't usually put those two together sorrow and joy so how can we experience that kind of joy

joy well up to now in our studies of second Corinthians we've seen that Christian life is hard Christian

ministry Christian service is difficult serving Christ will involve weakness suffering and death

which doesn't sound very joyful at all but as we turn to chapter 7 we discover that we can experience

joy as we serve Christ think of a honeycomb and breaking open that honeycomb and all that honey just dripping down

well as we open up chapter 7 as we open it up it drips with joy

look at the text with me look at the end of verse 4 of chapter 7

he says I take great pride in you

I'm greatly encouraged in all our troubles

my joy

knows no bounds

or look at the end of verse 7

he talks about

the deep sorrow the ardent concern for me so that my joy was greater than ever

or verse 9

yet how I am happy or joyful

down in verse 13

he says in addition to our own encouragement we were especially

delighted the same word there is joy

to see how joyful Titus was

and verse 16

I rejoice or I am glad I can have complete confidence in you

can you see how it just oozes with joy

because as we serve Christ

we experience joy

now before we look at this joy through the text together

we need to know what joy means

so here's a simple definition of Christian joy

with the help of John Piper

Christian joy

is the experience of a deep

happy

emotion or feeling

worked in us

by the Holy Spirit

as we serve

Christ

it's the experience of a deep

happy emotion

worked in us

by the Spirit

as we serve

Christ

so here we have

four ways to experience

joy

this Christmas

a joy

that you won't hear of

anywhere else

here's the first one

transparent love

produces

boundless

joy

look at how this love

is expressed

verse 2

Paul writing to the church in Corinth

he says

make room for us

in your hearts

of course Paul had

already opened

his heart

to the church

look back at chapter 6

verse 12

he says

we are not withholding

our affection

from you

but you are withholding

your affection

from us

so as a fair exchange

and I speak to you

as to my children

open wide

your hearts

also

there's a deep

transparent

affection

for Christ's

people

but not only that

there's this

sacrificial

commitment

this sacrificial

love

expressed to the

people

look at the middle

of verse 3

this is chapter 7

Isaiah 7:3

verse 3

he said

I have said

before

that you have

such a place

in our hearts

that we would

live

or die

with you

I'm here

to serve

your good

to seek

your best

in living

I am

with you

in dying

I am

with you

can you see

this

open heartedness

this

transparent

love

for God's

people

it's saying

I'm for you

I'm holding

nothing back

I'm giving

my all

it's

deep affection

faithful

service

sacrificial

love

it's saying

verse 4

I take

great

pride

in you

now isn't

that the

kind of

love

we all

seek

the kind

of love

we long

to experience

a love

where it's

opening up

hearts

a love

that gives

to the

blessing

of others

well as we

as God's

people

obey God's

commands

to love

one another

look at the

results

of such

love

transparent

love

produces

boundless

joy

hope

hope

look at

the end

of verse

4

I am

greatly

encouraged

in all

our

troubles

my

joy

knows

no

bounds

You see, transparent love removes all the obstacles to joy.

It breaks down all the barriers to experiencing joy.

When we open wide our hearts to one another as we faithfully serve and sacrificially commit,

look at the results.

They are incalculable.

We can say, end of verse 4, my joy knows no bounds.

So this Christmas, the call to one another is to not, what am I getting?

But serve one another with transparent love.

And as we do, we will experience a boundless happiness that wells up inside each one of us.

Transparent love brings boundless joy.

Second, genuine care causes an increased joy.

Now some context will help us here as we look at verse 5.

Let's go back to chapter 2 to start off with.

Back to chapter 2 and verse 12.

You see, what's going on here is that Paul had sent his companion, his fellow worker Titus,

to Corinth with a letter.

And we're going to talk about that letter in just a minute.

And the plan was that after Timothy had brought the letter to Corinth,

Titus would then meet Paul back in a place called Troas.

So Corinth is in Greece and Troas was on the coast of Turkey.

So there was a bit of travelling to take place to bring the letter all the way to Greece

and then meet up again in Turkey.

So let's pick it up, chapter 2, verse 12.

So Paul says,

When I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ

and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,

I still had no peace of mind.

Why? What's the matter?

Because I did not find my brother Titus there.

He was meant to come and join him,

but he wasn't there.

So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

Now this part of the story is picked up again for us in chapter 7, verse 5.

Let's read verse 5.

So when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest.

But we were harassed at every turn.

Conflicts on the outside and fears within.

Not only had he opposition to deal with,

but there were those fears inside.

He had no peace of mind.

Where's Titus?

My brother, is he okay?

Had something happened to him?

He couldn't pick up the phone and ring him and see where he is or what's going on?

And what about the church?

Is the church alright?

Have they fallen apart?

Have they stopped meeting together?

His fearful concern led him to being, verse 6,

downcast.

Literally, he was depressed.

He was worried sick for his brother Titus and the church.

He didn't know how they were.

Now isn't that how we can often feel for Christ's people?

Don't you fear for how your brother and sister are doing?

How is their faith?

Why are they absent?

How are they going to get through this trial?

But yet God was at work through it all.

Two things.

First, there was God's comfort.

Verse 6.

But God, who comforts the downcast,

comforted us by the coming of Titus.

Oh, Titus, you're here.

You could imagine that embrace as they hugged and wept.

Titus, my friend, my companion,

all is well.

He's okay.

And the church?

Oh, they're okay too.

Look at the rest of verse 7.

He told us about your longing for me,

your deep sorrow and your ardent concern for me.

His spirits were lifted,

no longer down,

but now happy.

You see, as we serve our brothers and sisters,

as we have concern,

look at the results.

Genuine concern causes increased joy.

Isn't that what we see at the end of verse 7?

That my joy was greater than ever.

Genuine concern can bring fears and worries.

Concern for our brothers and sisters

can make us lie awake at night.

But as God does his work through these trials,

and as we find out how each other are doing,

it leads to an increased joy.

As we invest in each other,

as we carry the concerns of one another,

as we are burdened for each other,

and at times we feel downcast.

Yet God is at work so we can also say,

my joy is greater than ever.

So this Christmas,

let's encourage one another

to continue on in the genuine care.

Because as we do,

we will experience an increased happiness

that wells up with inside of us

and overflows.

So genuine care

brings about an increased joy.

Third,

honest conversations

foster spontaneous joy.

Look at verse 8.

For if I caused you sorrow

by my letter,

I do not regret it.

This was the letter

that Titus had brought.

And well,

gosh,

it wasn't the easiest of letters

to read.

Look back at chapter 2 again with me.

We get an insight

into the difficulty

in writing this letter

and what was behind it.

chapter 2,

verse 3.

Paul says,

I wrote as I did

so that when I came

I wouldn't be distressed

by those who should have made me rejoice.

I had confidence in all of you

that you would all share my joy.

For I wrote to you

out of great distress

and anguish of heart

and with many tears

not to grieve you

but to let you know

the depth of my love

for you.

Go back to chapter 7.

Paul was having to write

a difficult letter

to address

some undealt-with sin

in the life of the church.

You see,

sin is never private

and if it's not dealt with

well,

rather than foster

spontaneous joy

it will fester

in the lives

of the church

and it will kill

and destroy.

So Paul had to have

these honest

conversations

with the church.

a conversation

by way of a letter.

Verse 8.

So even if I caused you

sorrow

by my letter

I do not regret it.

Though I did regret it

because I see

that my letter hurt you

but only for a little while.

He's,

he's,

he's,

you know,

I wanted you to hear this

but my heart aches

because it's going to cause you

some difficulty.

Verse 9.

Yet now

I am happy.

Now I am joyful.

What caused his joy

in the midst of such sorrow

in such a messy situation

having to write about sin

that all of he can,

all of a sudden

he can say,

whoa,

now I'm happy.

Well,

three things we'll see

lead to his joy.

First,

sin

has been confronted.

None of us

like to confront sin.

We don't want to lose

each other's friendship

or come across

a superior.

But you know what?

If we love the church,

if we love our brothers

and sisters,

we will do the hard things.

Just like Paul,

we will have

honest conversations

and confront sin.

So first,

sin is confronted.

Second,

repentance

is practiced.

Look at verse 10.

Godly sorrow

brings repentance

that leads to salvation

and leaves no regret.

Now there's a huge difference

between regretting our sin

and repenting of our sin.

regretting our sin

means,

well,

you're sorrowful

because your sin

has been revealed.

You're not really

sorry to God.

I only feel

sorry for myself.

that's,

at the end of verse 10,

is worldly sorrow

and it leads to death.

You see,

regret does not bring joy.

Rather,

it will destroy you.

So,

we don't want to regret our sin.

Rather,

we want to repent of our sin.

To have godly sorrow.

That is,

to grieve over our sin

and see how it hurts others

and how it is an offense

to God.

Where we admit our sin,

we don't excuse it,

we own it

and take responsibility

and we confess it all

to our Father God

and we receive forgiveness

and we seek change

and transformation

in our life.

that's,

verse 10,

godly sorrow

and it leads to salvation

and no regrets.

Emptying the tank

before God

will be a joy for you.

That's what we are to practice

amongst each other.

we confront our sin,

repentance is practiced

and then we see that change

is seen.

Look at verse 11.

See what this godly sorrow

has produced in you.

It's taken effect

in your life.

What earnestness,

what eagerness

to clear yourselves,

what indignation,

what alarm,

what longing,

what concern,

what readiness

to see justice done.

They wanted to get right

with God

and with their brothers

and sisters

and to put everything right.

You see,

confronting sin

and practicing repentance

leads

to a transformed life.

a life that becomes

more like Christ.

So of course,

Paul was rejoicing.

You see,

honest conversations

with brothers and sisters

fosters

spontaneous joy.

Isn't that what we see

in verse 9?

As he had sorrow

over the letter he wrote,

verse 9,

yet now I am happy.

I'm happy

because you have come

to repentance.

And so as the Spirit of God

convicts us

as we openly confess

to one another,

as we lead each other

back to the Lord Jesus,

there is joy

in that journey.

We can also say,

verse 9,

now I am joyful.

So this Christmas,

don't avoid the elephant

in the room.

Let's have those

honest conversations.

And as we do,

we will experience

that spontaneous happiness

that wells up

within us.

So,

honest conversations

leads to spontaneous joy.

Fourth,

nurturing relationships

promotes a confident joy.

You see,

there's a wonderful,

beautiful relationship

in these verses,

indeed throughout

the whole letter,

between the church

in Corinth,

Titus,

who's bringing the letter,

and Paul.

A partnership

where they work

and invest

in each other's lives.

There's the encouragement

of the church

to Titus,

verse 13.

In addition

to our own encouragement,

we were especially

delighted,

we were joyful

to see

how joyful

Titus was.

because by,

because his spirit

has been refreshed

by all of you.

The church

loved

Titus.

And Titus

in turn

loved

the church.

Verse 15.

His affection

for you

is all the greater

when he remembers

that you were

all obedient.

This mutual

sharing of love

between each other.

but this love

has all

been nurtured

and encouraged

by Paul.

Look how he speaks

to the church

and to Titus

about each other.

Look at verse 14.

I had boasted

to Titus

about you,

that's the church,

and you have not

embarrassed me.

Titus,

the church

in Corinth,

yeah,

they've got

their flaws,

yes,

they're messy

people,

but they love

the Lord.

And deep down

they care

and they will

care for you.

It's going to be

okay,

Titus.

And look what

he says

to the church

about Titus.

Verse,

at the end

of verse 14.

But just as

everything

we said

to you

was true,

so our

boasting

about you

to Titus

has proved

to be true

as well.

The church

in Corinth

he's telling

them,

Titus is a

good guy,

he genuinely

cares for you,

he has

deep affection

for you.

This mutual

love,

one for the

other.

And Paul

nurturing

that love

as he speaks

well of each

other.

And look

at the

results of

it all,

verse 16.

Nurturing

relationships

promotes

confident

joy.

I am

joyful

that I

can have

complete

confidence

in you.

There's

this beautiful

joy that

comes as

we nurture

our

relationships.

relationships.

Yes, it

takes effort.

Yes, it

can be hard

work.

Yes, it

can be messy.

But oh, isn't

it worth it

all?

To nurture

the relationships

that we have

with each

other

builds

for our

future.

It puts us

on a good

foundation.

So this

Christmas,

treasure

those

relationships.

Nurture

them.

Speak

well to

one another.

And as we

do, we

will experience

a confident

happiness

that wells

up within

us and

overflows.

those.

So have

you got

that

Christmas

feeling?

That

overflowing

joy?

Well, before

we head out

the door this

morning and

think, all

right, I've

got to serve

more, I've

got to love

more, and

then I'm

going to get

more joy.

No.

Let's be

careful.

We don't

serve to

receive joy.

We

experience

joy as

we serve.

We don't

serve to

receive joy.

It's not

something we

earn to

get.

Rather, we

experience

joy as

we serve.

You see,

the joy

comes in

serving

Christ,

who loved

us and

served us.

us.

Just take a

sneak peek at

chapter 8,

verse 9.

We'll come

back to this

after Christmas.

But here's a

well-known

verse of the

wonderful love

of God who

served us.

For you

know the

grace of our

Lord Jesus

Christ, that

though he was

rich, yet

for your

sake he

became poor,

so that you

through his

poverty might

become rich.

Here is a

true,

transparent love,

a saviour who

opened wide

his heart and

held nothing

back.

In deep

affection,

Jesus loved

us and he

took our

poverty, all

our sin and

all our mess,

so that we

might receive

his riches and

the forgiveness

of all our

sin.

In genuine

concern, Jesus

confronted us.

By the

Holy Spirit he

caused us to

turn in

repentance.

Jesus saw

our need and

he reached out

to save us

and to change

us.

and now we

live with the

comfort of

Jesus who

by his

spirit nurtures

that relationship

as we listen

to him and

as we talk

to him.

You see, we

don't serve

Christ to

get the

joy.

We experience

the joy as

we serve

Christ who

loved us

and who

served us.

So this

Christmas, I

pray, I

pray for us

all and

can we pray

for one

another that

we will have

a truly joy

filled

Christmas as

we look at

the beauty of

Christ who

loved us and

served us

and as we

in response

serve one

another in

love.

Let's pray

together.

Our

Father,

will you

please help

us by

your spirit

to love

one another

well with

a transparent

love,

that we

would

demonstrate

genuine

concern,

that you

would help

us to have

honest

conversations,

and that

Father, you

would help

us to

nurture the

relationships we

have with one

another.

We pray all

of this,

that it might

be to the

glory of

God,

for the

good of

others,

and for the

overflow and

experience of

joy in our

life.

Thank you,

Lord Jesus,

that you

loved us,

and you

served us,

and you

continue to

love and

to serve us

now.

Thank you,

Jesus.

Amen.

We're going

to respond

in song.

Thank you,

up.