2 Corinthians 2:6-16

There are two types of wisdom:

1. Earthly wisdom - man's wisdom. His own reasoning & the things he thinks up. This wisdom is fleeting. It won't last for it only applies to this life. Sometimes this wisdom isn't true wisdom at all, for it is flawed or selfishly ambitious wisdom.

2. Godly wisdom. This God-given wisdom comes to us through Scripture, through an intimate relationship with God, and through His Holy Spirit. This wisdom lasts, for it is eternal. It will guide us through this life and beyond into eternity.

Any man can gain worldly wisdom - all it takes is a desire to learn (& a nice hefty college loan), but to gain godly wisdom, one must seek a relationship with God and an understanding of the working of the Holy Spirit. Those without the Holy Spirit cannot understand God's Truth. It's like they are walking around with blinders on, spouting off their own truth without ever coming into a full knowledge of Truth.

Paul says to seek godly wisdom. After all, if He is the one who made the universe & all that is in it - wouldn't He be the one to really know what's going on?

1 Corinthians 1:1-2:5

Today we start Corinthians. This is another letter from Paul to one of his church plants. This letter was written around 55 AD to identify and address problems in the Corinthian church, and to teach believers how to live for Christ in a corrupt society. See, the city of Corinth was a cosmopolitan city - think of New York City. There was a lot going on, including idolatry and immorality. The believers were being attacked both inside the church through incorrect doctrine & outside the church by a lifestyle that was corrupt. Read this text carefully for it applies to our lives today answering a huge question, "How do I lead a Christian life in an anti-Christian world?"

Paul starts with praise and encouragement. The church has all the spiritual gifts they need to stand strong in their faith. Are you aware that you have those same gifts? You received them when you first believed. Some of us have shoved them in the back of a dark closet & forgotten about them. I encourage you now to find them, dust them off, & start putting them to use.

Now, Paul begins addressing the issues. First issue: division. There is fighting among the believers as to who's teaching they follow. Paul was not the only missionary traveling & planting churches. However, Paul points out that all missionaries simply point to the source of our faith - Jesus Christ. Today there are many teachers: Joyce Meyers, James Dobson, Joel Olsteen, and Hank Hanegraff, to name a few. There are also many denominations: Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Catholic, non-denominational. Paul is telling us to stop getting stuck on the names & start looking to Jesus Christ. He is the center of our faith, not the men & women who bring us His message. They are simply vessels, using their God-given talents to spread the word of Jesus Christ.

Paul also points out that man's wisdom is inferior to God's wisdom. In fact, God chooses those who seem to be the least to proclaim His word. Why? Because those who are humble will seek to glorify the Lord instead of themselves. They will enter ministry because they want to honor God & tell others about Him instead of seeking their own riches and fame. Money & power corrupt, but humility & servant hood produce good fruit. Where do you get your teaching from? Paul tells us to seek those who are humble servants.

2 Thessalonians 3

Paul addresses a few more issues as he closes out his letter:

1 - Prayer. Do you feel like all you hear about in the Bible is prayer? It is mentioned A LOT. & you know why, BECAUSE IT WORKS. Prayer is your main weapon against all that ails you, all that is trying to destroy you, all that you struggle with. Get on you knees & pray! Pray for revival, pray for wisdom, pray for discernment. Pray, pray, pray.

2 - Attitude, motive, & hard-work. Paul sums it up this way, "If you don't work, you don't eat." Sound harsh? It's not. Laziness destroys people. It takes away their purpose & makes them a burden. Don't subsidize their freeloading. However, you should treat them with love & kindness. Sit them down & talk with them about the issue. Now, remember, there are those among you that have physical issues that prevent them from work & others that have fallen in hard times - don't cut them off. This is were prayer comes in. Ask for discernment, look at their attitude & motivation. Are they victims or are they looking for how they can contribute?

Now look to yourself. Are you a hard-worker looking to contribute or are you a victim wanting others to fix your problems for you? Take a hard look, spend some time in prayer & don't winch away from making necessary changes as God points them out. Be open & honest with yourself & work on pulling your own weight.

2 Thessalonians 2

The Thessalonian church had received a false message that the Day of the Lord (the End Times) had already come. This believe is still held by some today - people twist prophecy to meet their needs instead of letting prophecy reveal itself. Some say the Day of the Lord came with the burning of Jerusalem. If you look at Jesus' words in Matthew, you might be able to twist some of it into the Holy City burning, but you would need to cut out other facts. Here, Paul explains again what the people need to be looking for:
- apostasy - a total departure from one's religion. The majority of the people would become numb to Christianity.
- The man of lawlessness - the anti-Christ. A man possessed by Satan that will sweet talk the world into giving him full governmental power. This man will establish a one-world monetary system, government, and religion. He will also sign a seven-year peace agreement with Israel that will kick-off the End Times. For three and a half years this man will look like a savior to the world. Then he will reveal himself to be the dictator that he is - forcing mankind to bend to his will or die for their faith.

Paul tells the Thessalonians not be concerned about the Day of the Lord. Instead, continue to work on your relationship with the Lord. For when you are a part of His family, you have no reason to fear the Day of the Lord. Instead, and I quote 2 Thessalonians 2:16, "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word."

That is my prayer also for you. Be knowledgeable about prophecy so you may not be deceived by the enemies of God. BUT - don't let it be your main focus. A relationship with God should always have priority in your life. The rest will work itself out.

2 Thessalonians 1

This second letter to the Thessalonians was written shortly after the first, around 51-52 A.D. Paul wrote to clear up some misconceptions concerning "the Day of the Lord," also known as the End Times. The Thessalonians thought the Day of the Lord had already come, so they stopped their work.

The first chapter is a pretty basic opening. Paul thanks the Thessalonians for their faith and encourages them to continue to endure persecution so they may continue to grow in their faith.

A few simple lines give such fabulous encouragement - keep on keeping on!

Tomorrow, we will get into the meat of this letter, so stay tuned!

1 Thessalonians 5

Paul speaks briefly of the return of Jesus Christ. It will come when we aren't expecting it, but those of us who life "in the light" (the Christian life) shouldn't be concerned. Stay faithful, strengthen your relationship with God & know that His timing is perfect.

Respect your church leaders. Respect your church family. Treat others the way you want to be treated & encourage others to treat each other in the same manner. Pay attention to all that is said in the church & test it against Scripture to ensure that you are not being led astray.

Amen.

1 Thessalonians 4

Paul now addresses a few of the issues the church is dealing with.

Lust & Sexual Impurity: we may think that everyone was chaste & sex was taboo back in the Bible days. History tells us differently. At this time in history, Roman culture lived for pleasure. Their world was not much different from ours. As this is why it is so important to listen to Paul's words here. We are constantly bombarded with sexual images - ad campaigns, music lyrics & videos, movies & TV. Sex sells & it is EVERYWHERE. So, what's a person to do? Paul simply states - look to God & follow His example & His instruction. Keep your thoughts pure, keep your actions pure, removed yourself from situations that tempt you.

Sound hard? It is! To deny your impulses, to deny what the world is telling - even encouraging - you to do is HARD. But with God's help you can succeed.

Why would I want to do this? It's all about love. What is on every one's mind & heart? Why do we seek out these improper sexual relationships? We're looking for LOVE. Unfortunately, we're looking for love in all the wrong places. True love isn't just a feeling. Look up 1 Corinthians 13:4-13. Love is patient, kind, not jealous, humble. It does not seek it's own pleasure, it cannot be provoked, it does not take an account of wrongs. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. You want that type of love? I know I do. I crave it because it is the pure love of my heavenly Father. So, reject the temporary pleasure of lust & seek out the lasting completeness of love.

Now comes one of my favorite passages, "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands." A happy life is so simple - be content with a simple life, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, and work hard. You will find the most satisfaction when you follow these three simple rules. Give it a try & see what happens!

1 Thessalonians 3

Paul was worried about the Thessalonians, but he was unable to visit them, so he sent Timothy. Timothy brought back a favorable report - this church was flourishing & standing firm in their faith. For Paul, this was great news, for he himself had been experiencing persecution.

This little chapter has so much depth to it if you look for it. Paul was a great man of faith who did many, many great things for Christianity. Yet, he needed encouragement, he needed to be built up, he needed others. For Paul to see that others were flourishing & standing committed, that a difference was being made, that the cause was a good one, was encouraging. It helped him to keep up the fight, to persevere through the hard times and keep his eyes on the goal.

You may think you lead a little life, yet your day to day faith can build up others. You don't need to be a great man of faith, preaching to the nations to make a difference in the life of someone else. And remember, those men of great faith who preach to the nations need to be built up and encouraged just like you. Don't assume that they are perfect, that they never struggle. Realize they are just men (and women) like you who love the Lord and are called to a purpose. We all need each other.

1 Thessalonians 2

Paul describes true ministry here - coming by the calling of the Lord in gentleness, boldness, & compassion. Never with greed, harshness, or fear, but with a conviction that the message is true & the Lord has placed you in that particular place for that particular purpose.

These men also worked! They didn't rely on others to provide for them. Instead, they worked day & night to provide for themselves so they weren't a burden to those they were ministering to.

Finally, they did not fear persecution for their believes. Nor did the new believers. See, what they found was so much more fulfilling than what they had before. God supplies all their needs - emotionally, physically, & spiritually. So, there is no need to fear what man can do, for God is bigger than man.

1 Thessalonians 1

Today we are moving on to Paul's first letter to the church in Thessalonia. This letter was written around 51 AD. Like Galatians, this letter was written to encourage the church and to address some question and issues within the church.

Paul has some nice things to say about this church - they took hold of the gospel, not just in word, but in Spirit. That's to say, they didn't just here it, they allowed the Holy Spirit to transform their lives. In doing so, they became an example to others in their areas.

This church wasn't satisfied to stay in their region either. They took the message to others probably through missionaries.

This opening chapter provides a glimpse of a church with a good reputation that was doing things and going places. There was growth and strength in this church. Not because they focused on bigger & better, but because they really caught hold of their relationship with God. They read the Word and they did what it said. This is an awesome challenge for the church today & an awesome challenge for you. Will you put the Word of God into action today?

Galatians 6

Paul sums up his message in this final chapter:

Those who know the Truth should help guide those who are being lead astray back to the Truth.
Make sure you are examining your own heart.
And once again - it's not about the outward appearance of godliness, but the inward faith that produces good deeds that God is interested in. Those that seek to make disciples simply to boasts of the number of people they have lead to faith are off the mark. No one leads another to faith. One simply presents the message and lets the Holy Spirit work on the heart of the hearer. We present the message because it is the Truth. It is healing water for everyone & everyone deserves to hear it. What they do with it is between them & God.

Galatians 5

Paul's letter continues to encourage the Galatians to turn away from the false teaching they have received. There is a lot of talk of circumcision here. Why? Way back in Genesis, God made a promise to Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. One of those descendants would bring salvation to the world. As a sign of Abraham's trust in this promise & in God, he was told to circumcise every male in his household. This act of circumcision continued in the Jewish faith - an outward sign of an inward belief.

But the promise has been kept. Abraham's descendants increased to millions & a nation was formed. Unfortunately, the outward act became more important to many Jews than the inward belief. Their world became all about outward signs & following rules, but their hearts were far away from God. The second part of the promise then came true - the savior, Messiah - Jesus Christ was born. He died on the cross to free us from sins & to reconcile us with God. To reconcile is to make right. To reconcile with God, you must stop living for outward signs and start living with an inward belief.

How do you know where you fall? Paul tells us that our outward actions and emotions will reveal what lies beneath.

If you are not reconciled with God your life will be full of: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, etc.

If you are reconciled with God your life will be full of: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, etc.

So look at your actions. Do they line up with what you say you believe? Is there a problem area you need to spend more time in prayer about? Seek a life that is full of inner peace and faith & it will be reflected in your outward life.