Mini Sermon – 2 Corinthians 6:3-7

2 Corinthians 6:3-7 – ³ We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴ but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵ beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶ by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; ⁷ by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;

As Christians, we must make sure that our lives reflect Christ.  We must make sure that when people see how we live, they can see Jesus Christ in us.  We are living witnesses of what God does in the lives of people, for that reason we must commend ourselves to them through the way we live.  Paul in 2 Corinthians 6 describes how his and Timothy’s lives commended themselves to others.  It was by living in this way that people saw God in them, praised God, and turned to God for salvation. 

Paul and Timothy commended themselves through their endurance during hardships.  When they were afflicted, beaten, imprisoned; when they worked hard without recognition; when they went without food or sleep, they continued to follow God and do His work.  By going through all of these troubles without complaining and without giving up, they showed that something supernatural lived in them that could sustain them during these hardships.  When troubles occur in this world, it is easy to give into depression and sadness.  It is easy to give up and let go.  But Paul and Timothy did not do so.  Instead, they endured, for they knew that the eternal reward that was awaiting them was worth all that trouble.  We can be a witness of what God has done for us by enduring hardships.  We have the Spirit of God in our lives, working, praying, and pleading for us.  The Holy Spirit can and will sustain us through every trouble.  We must endure and trust in Him.  Trust in the One who is Lord of all the earth. 

They commended themselves through purity.  They lived lives of purity.  They made sure that there was no wickedness in their lives or things that would tarnish their reputation in Christ.  They lived in a way so that others saw that they were clean and right.  Whether it was through their words or actions, they lived lives of purity.  They did not give in to temptation to sin.  They did not give in to their lusts.  Rather, they followed God in a world that was filled with impurity.  By what they saw, by what they heard, by what they did, they remained pure.  If we live lives of purity in this impure world, we will surely commend ourselves.  Dirty jokes abound.  Trashy TV is everywhere.  Lustful temptations are a click away.  By choosing to stay away from these things and draw near to God, to live pure lives, we are a reflection of Christ on this earth. 

Paul and Timothy commended themselves through knowledge.  Instead of just relying on the esoteric spiritual things that feel unattainable, they also commended themselves through knowledge.  They read the Word of God, studied it diligently, and shared it with the world.  By speaking the truth based on their knowledge of the Word, they proved themselves as followers of Christ worthy of praise.  As Christians, we must study to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15).  We must make sure that we are knowledgeable about the Gospel, the Bible, and the truths taught in God’s Word.  One of the worst things we can do is not know what an unbeliever is talking about when they ask us questions about the Bible.  This doesn’t mean that we have the answer to every question, because there are surely things that we take by faith alone.  But we must study as much as we can to know what God’s Word teaches and about who He is.  Our knowledge should point to Christ. 

They commended themselves through patience and kindness.  Paul and Timothy showed themselves to be different in the world through their patience and kindness.  Patience here means that they were longsuffering – not quick in temper but willing to forgive.  In this world, the first thing that we do when someone wrongs us is to get revenge.  But we as Christians should instead be willing to forgive.  Jesus taught us to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us, to bless those who curse us.  By responding in love rather than anger, we commend ourselves to the world.  More than just being patient, we must also be kind.  We must do God’s work in this world through our actions, serving and helping others when they are in need.  Kindness is seeing something that needs to be done for another and helping however you can.  It is about meeting a person’s needs in God’s way (HELPS Word-studies – https://biblehub.com/greek/5544.htm). One of the problems with Christianity today is that it is a lot of talk and no substance.  It is people claiming to follow God without putting their words into action.  We prove ourselves to be Christians through our works, for as James says, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:20). 

Paul and Timothy commended themselves through the Holy Spirit and the power of God.  By the way they talked and acted, people could see the Holy Spirit at work in Paul and Timothy.  They were filled with the Spirit when they ministered to others, just as many of the early deacons in the church were.  Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit when he shared the Word of God.  And Paul and Timothy were filled with the Holy Spirit.  As Christians, the Holy Spirit lives in us.  We are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).  That means Christ’s Spirit lives in us all the time.  For that reason, we must reflect His fruit in our lives.  Fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:23).  What more is that when God’s Spirit lives in us, we can reflect the power of God.  The miracles that Paul, Peter, and many of the other disciples worked in the book of Acts came through the power of the Holy Spirit working in their lives.  Now, that doesn’t mean in our modern day, we can work miraculous works of healing (although I wouldn’t say we couldn’t either), but that means God’s power is at work in our lives.  If His power is in our lives, we can do whatever He asks us to do without fear that we are ill-equipped or incapable. 

Paul and Timothy commended themselves through truthful speech.  They made sure the words that came out of their mouths were honest and true.  By speaking words that are true and not lies, they proved themselves to be trustworthy in what they said.  People didn’t need to worry that they were out to deceive or take advantage, rather they could trust that when they spoke, they were speaking the truth.  This helped the credibility of the Gospel, because all would know that what Paul and Timothy spoke, they believed, because they had never tried to trick them.  We as Christians must make sure that our words are honest and truthful.  We must make sure that when we speak, people can trust us.  We must make sure our Yes’s are Yes and our No’s are No.  We must keep our promises and our word.  For if people can trust what we say about the things of this earth, then they can trust that when we speak about spiritual things, we are speaking out of the truth in our hearts. 

Finally, Paul and Timothy commended themselves through genuine love.  Jesus Christ said that the world would know His disciples by their love (John 13:35).  Paul and Timothy proved themselves to be followers of Christ by their love for the church, for other believers, and even for the world.  It wasn’t a fake love filled with hypocrisy and empty words, but a genuine love that was seen in their actions.  They showed their love for the church by working as hard as they could to encourage and strengthen the believers.  They showed their love for other believers by ensuring that they did nothing that would put an obstacle for their growth.  They showed their love for the world by sharing the Gospel with them even when they were persecuted.  They reflected Christ by reflecting His love.  As Christians, one of the best ways we can commend ourselves is to show Christ’s love in our lives.  We must love others just as He loved us, willing to give our lives for others. 

There are many things that Paul and Timothy did to commend themselves, to prove themselves as stalwart followers of Christ.  But they didn’t do this to receive man’s praise but to bring honor and glory to God.  May we follow their example and live lives that will draw others to Christ.   

Sermon – Wait Patiently for the Lord

Psalm 37:7 – “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
    over the man who carries out evil devices!”

Patience is an important virtue that many people struggle with today.  Living in our current fast-paced world, where information is literally at our fingertips on a smart phone and interactions with others are just a video call away, we have been trained to expect that everything we want should be given to us immediately.  Because we have these expectations, many of us have become impatient with others, rushed for results, and always looking for the next input of excitement.  I personally struggle with impatience in many situations in my life.  Let me give you a few examples of when this occurs, and you can perform some introspection to see if these have happened to you as well.

Situation #1:  Sitting in Traffic

Being that I live in Los Angeles, California, traffic is not something new to me.  This city and particularly our famous freeway, the 405, is well known for its traffic jams, which is likely why you see a large dance number on the freeway in the opening scene of the movie La La Land, which glamorously depicts the life of a struggling actress in Hollywood.  Traffic jams are the worst, especially on a hot day, because you sit in the heat with the sun beating on your face through your window, knowing that you would be at your destination already if it wasn’t for some busybody people who are overly curious looking at an accident to their right.  “If they aren’t going to help, then they should just mind their own business, keep driving, and stop causing this traffic jam!” – this is the thought that goes through my head as my blood boils when I see a long string of red tail lights.  This is only exacerbated when I know that I need to be somewhere and am now running late even though I had planned to be there early.  Patience is out the door when I’m driving.  So if you are one of those people causing traffic, then beware Josh the Impatient Angry Bear. 

Situation #2:  Waiting on a Package from an Online Order

Do you remember the times when you had to go to a store to buy something?  Let’s say you needed to buy a piece of clothing for a party or some batteries to power a flashlight.  You would drive to the store, browse the aisles, and then make your purchase.  But nowadays, whenever you need something, you type a website address into your phone or computer, throw the item you want into the cart, and place your order.  Then you wait a week or so to receive your item.  But with Amazon’s two-day shipping, we now expect our items to come in within 48 hours.  There is now even talks of Amazon drones dropping off packages at your doorstep, cutting delivery down to mere hours.  I know that because I am now spoiled with Amazon Prime’s free 2-day shipping, I have become more and more impatient when I wait for an online order.  Whenever I place an order from a place outside of Amazon now, I tend to complain why it takes them a week to send me something when it should only take two days.  I’m sure I’m not alone when it comes to this.  I find this to be really funny though, because in the past, when we would place a mail or call order for something, we would have to wait three weeks to a month for something to arrive, and we would just patiently wait for it to arrive.  I think this benefit of having faster delivery times has in a way also had an unexpected consequence of making people more impatient.

Situation #3:  Waiting for a Website/Movie/Video to Load

I am sure that everyone here has heard of Netflix or YouTube or one of these digital entertainment streaming services.  I am also sure that many of you have at one point during streaming had a circle show up with a percentage in the middle and then cursed Time Warner or AT&T or Comcast for slow-internet service.  Instead of loading the show within a few seconds, you needed to wait one minute for the show to load, so you complained.  But do you remember that only fifteen years ago, you had to wait five minutes to even log onto the Internet on your computer?  You sat patiently listening to the weird dial-up sounds go off so that you could simply check some emails.  Why do we complain over “slow” Internet that already saves us a trip to the rental movie shop?  It’s because, we’ve become impatient.

Situation #4:  Traveling by Car or Plane

Unfortunately, in this COVID era, many of us will not be traveling as often, but I am sure that many of you can remember a time, when you sat in a car or plane that would take several hours to get to your destination and thought to yourself, “Why is this mode of transportation so slow?  Why am I not there yet?”  We then complain about how our back is hurting in those uncomfortable chairs or how our legs are cramped in such a tiny space.  But what takes us several hours now used to take months on a boat or a horse and carriage.  Although technology has improved our lives in this capacity, it certainly has made us impatient. 

Situation #5:  Waiting on a Kickstarted Item

My final example is a situation that I think only a few people can relate with me on and that is waiting on a Kickstarter.  I love board games, and nowadays, many board games use a platform known as Kickstarter to fund and to produce the games.  In order to obtain the money to produce a product, a person/company puts an item up for sale on this website, asks you to pay in advance, and promises to deliver you the product in the next few months to a year.  For board games, the turnover is usually around a year.  Currently, I am waiting on three different Kickstarted games to be delivered to me.  But because most companies do not have the product ready when they launch the Kickstarter, more often than not, they fail to deliver the item on the specified date.  Usually, they are six months to a year behind schedule.  Now, that I know this fact, I have begun to account for that when waiting on delivery, but I remember when I first used the platform, I often grew impatient waiting for my games to be delivered.  I would constantly check the comments sections to see if anyone received their games, and I would eagerly await a tracking number email for my product.  And even when I had that, I would grow impatient watching the FedEx truck move from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Los Angeles, CA.  I could not wait to get my product. 

Now, you may be wondering why I have spent this time describing situations where people often grow impatient and cannot wait and how that relates to our lesson for today.  The reason is because our passage today comes from a psalm of David, where he reminded those who were struggling with their faith to wait on the Lord – to trust God to do what He promised to do in His time.  Psalm 37 is a famous psalm where David described the struggle that many people have to live righteously when it seems like the wicked always win.  Throughout this psalm, which I encourage everyone to read in full (Psalm 37), David describes how the wicked are always plotting but do not seem to receive their punishment right away.  Instead, they would prosper in their way (vs. 7), have abundance (vs. 16), and grow like a green laurel tree (vs. 35).  Yet, interspersed through David’s remarks about how the wicked seem to be prosperous, he reminded us that the wicked will get their due and that we should continue to be faithful, because the LORD will reward those who seek Him.  Although it is not the last verse in the psalm, the verses seem to culminate to the single point made by our focal verse today – Psalm 37:7, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” 

This verse is very relevant for us today, because in recent years, it seems like wickedness has grown to insurmountable levels.  We have come to the time described by the Bible where people call good, evil and evil, good.  People commit adultery or sexual immorality without shame; people lie, cheat, and steal without a second thought; and people proudly declare their lack of belief in God.  The world has turned upside-down, and everything right and good is now under attack.  Seeing this environment, it is easy for Christians to lose heart, to question God’s justice, and to grow impatient with God’s promises.  But we are reminded here to WAIT – to BE STILL and PATIENTLY WAIT on the LORD.  This psalm encourages us to wait on the Lord to do two major things:  1) To punish the unrighteous and 2) To keep His promises to the righteous.

1.  Wait on the Lord to Punish the Unrighteous

How many of you have heard someone say, “Why would a good God allow so much evil to happen in this world?  Why does a just God allow cruel and wicked people to always get away with their sins?”  I am certain that many of you have been posed with this question by someone who refuses to believe in God.  This has stopped you in your tracks and prevented you from further sharing the Gospel with them.  And to be honest, it is a difficult question to answer, because it goes against much of what we intuitively think God would do.  These questions force us to consider our faith and whether we truly believe our God to be a just and righteous God.  I know that sometimes when I see how the wicked and unrighteous succeed in this world, I wonder if it might just be better to join them since it doesn’t seem like we can beat them.  But Psalm 37:7 is a poignant reminder that I need to stop thinking that way.  Vs. 7 says, “…Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”  We are told not to fret, not to worry, not to envy them, but to simply trust that the Lord is righteous and will eventually punish sinners for their unrighteousness.  From the beginning to the end of this psalm, David constantly reminds us that the wicked will eventually pay for their sins.  They will fade away like the grass (vs. 2), will be cut off (vs. 9), will be no more (vs. 10), will vanish like smoke (vs. 20), and will be gone without a trace (vs. 36).  The Lord will punish the unrighteous.  (As an aside, my answer for the reason why God allows evil to continue for now is because our God is a merciful God and is giving them an opportunity to repent.)

It is interesting that David is the person who shares these words with us, because he had first-hand experience of having to wait for the Lord to punish the wicked.  When David was just a young man, he was brought into the service of King Saul to help quell Saul’s torments through music.  Eventually, David rose up to a commanding position and led a group of Saul’s men into battle.  Because of the success David had and the praise that David received from the people, Saul became jealous and sought to kill David multiple times, forcing David to run, hide, and even flee to the foreign country of the Philistines to escape Saul’s clutches.  During those times, David must have questioned whether God would be faithful and eventually punish Saul for his wrongdoing.  But even with those doubts, David always trusted that God would deliver him and prove his innocence and righteousness in the matter.  Because of this faith, when David one day found Saul sleeping and had an opportunity to slay him, refused and chose to wait on the Lord to bring his deliverance instead.  Eventually, Saul was killed by the Philistines, and although David wept, God brought the punishment Saul deserved upon his own head.  God was faithful.

Other stories in the Bible also illustrate this same fact.  For example, we can look at the life of Joseph in the book of Genesis.  First, when he was just a young boy, he was sold by his brothers into slavery.  Second, after bringing prosperity to the house of Potiphar, his master, he was wrongly accused of trying to sleep with his master’s wife and was thrown into jail.  When all this evil was happening, Joseph must have wondered, “Why God would allow all of this evil to happen and let the wicked get away with what they did?”  But in the right time, when God needed a ruler who would provide for His people during a famine, Joseph was brought up from jail and raised to the position of second-in-command in Egypt.  He would rule and lead the people of Egypt and provide for the brothers who scorned him.  Although he showed forgiveness to his brothers, in a way, they received their punishment, in that, they had to eventually show the brother whom they mocked the honor he deserved.  Joseph waited for God to be faithful, and God showed himself faithful. 

When we see wickedness grow in this world, we may be discouraged and worried that our God is no longer listening or watching what is happening.  We may at times even become envious of or angry at the wicked.  But we are told to refrain from anger and to not be envious, because these thoughts will only tend to evil.  Instead, we must be still and wait on the Lord to do His work in His time.  Our merciful and gracious God may simply be giving the wicked an opportunity to repent, so let us wait on Him, for vengeance belongs to God (Romans 12:19). 

2.  Wait on the Lord to Keep His Promises to the Righteous

The second thing we are told to be still and wait patiently for God to do is to keep His promises to the righteous.  If we look at the four preceding verses (vs. 3-6) before vs. 7, David encourages his listeners to trust in the Lord, delight in the Lord, and commit their ways to the Lord.  These are all good and righteous actions that we should do as followers of Christ, but whenever we see the prosperity and success of the wicked, we may question whether it is even worth following the Lord.  That is why David reminds us in vs. 7 that we must be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him.  Countless heroes of the faith waited on God to fulfill His promises.  We can look at Abraham, who waited years before finally having his son Isaac.  We can look at Moses and the people of Israel, who waited and stood still as they watched God part the Red Sea to deliver them from their Egyptian captors.  We can look at Simeon, who waited for the Lord’s chosen Messiah to arrive at the Temple.  These heroes waited on the Lord to do what He said He would, and we must also wait for God to keep His promises.  Fortunately, we are reminded of many of them in this psalm. 

• He will give you the desires of your heart.

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” – vs. 4

God promises that if we delight ourselves in Him, then He will give us all that we desire.  This doesn’t mean that God is Santa Claus and will check off every item on your Christmas list, but it does mean that God will provide for you exactly what your heart desires if you make Him your delight.  It makes sense, if you think about it, because when you truly seek and desire God, He becomes the desire of your heart, and He will make Himself known to all who seek Him.  We can wait on the Lord to give us our heart’s desires.

• He will Act.

“Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.” – vs. 5

We are told here that we must commit our ways to the LORD, which means we need to roll our burdens, decisions, and choices in life on and to God.  When we commit our lives to follow God’s way and walk in His paths, we can trust Him to act and to accomplish all we trust Him to do.  This world teaches us that we must give up everything to pursue our dreams.  We must take matters into our own hands and throw everything out that does not match with those goals.  That may mean that we need to sacrifice time with God and His will for our lives to accomplish our own desires.  But we are told here to instead, commit our lives to God and leave the results to Him.  Everything we do, we must do it for the Lord – that is what it means to commit our way to the LORD.  Matthew 6:33 best illustrates this point, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”  Seek God first and then leave the results to Him.  We can wait on the Lord to act.

• He will display your righteousness to the world.

“He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.” – vs. 6

“The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death.  The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.” – vs. 32-33

When the wicked see the righteous act with confidence, they will very often seek to persecute the righteous.  This means that you may be wrongfully accused for your faith.  Look at what happened to Daniel and his friends from the Babylonian and Persian rulers.  Or better yet, look at what the Pharisees did to Christ, setting up false witnesses to try to accuse Christ and to put Him to death.  Those who are wicked will paint you in a bad light and try to ruin your name, but trust that God will in the end prove your righteousness and innocence before the world.  If we continue to live blamelessly, placing our faith and trust in God, the wicked have nothing to stand on when they throw their accusations around.  Instead, you will be as a shining light in the world.  We can wait on the Lord to prove us innocent.

• He will be provide for His children’s needs.

“Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.  For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.  The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.” – vs. 17-19

We can trust that our God knows and provides for our needs.  In Matthew 6, we are told not to worry about our food, our drink, or our clothing, for our Heavenly Father knows our needs.  When all others have fear and worry, we can trust God to be faithful to watch over His children.  He cared and provided for His people during the seven years of famine in the time of Joseph.  He provided manna for the Israelites each and every day in the wilderness.  He ensured that the widow’s pot of flour and jar of oil never ceased in Zarephath during the famine that Elijah predicted.  We can wait on the Lord to provide.

• He will give direction and security to your way.

“The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in His way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.” – vs. 23-24

When we choose to follow God and delight in His way, we can trust that our ways will be established.  One of the hardest things in life is to know what we need to do or where to go.  It is hard to establish what steps we must take, for we often fear walking in the wrong direction and potentially ruining our lives.  But these verses promise us that God will establish (appoint, decide) our steps to help prevent us from falling.  But if we do slip and go in the wrong direction, God’s hand will always be upon us ready to lift us up and to prevent us from falling too far.  God’s Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.  We can wait on the Lord to guide our lives. 

• He will not forsake His saints but instead will be their salvation and stronghold.

“For the LORD loves justice; He will not forsake His saints.  They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.” – vs. 28

“The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.  The LORD helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.” – vs. 39-40

One of the worst betrayals a person can experience is when he or she places their faith and trust in someone, and that person abandons them in their time of need.  We are told here that God will not forsake His saints but will be a salvation and stronghold for them during times of trouble.  Whether the trouble comes from the wicked and their persecution or difficult trials in this life, we can trust that our God will always be there watching over us.  Hebrews 13:5b says, “…He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”  Our God will always be there when we need Him.  We can wait on the Lord to be our salvation and stronghold in times of trouble.

The promises I have described here are only a few of the many promises that God has given to His children in the Bible.  Sometimes, those promises aren’t fulfilled right away.  But we can trust and wait on our God to complete them in His time.  If we reflect on all that God has done in the lives of His people and more pertinently in our personal lives, we can be assured that He is a faithful, loving God, who will always keep His promises.  God will punish the wicked and unrighteous, and He will also reward the faithful and righteous.  God will be true to His Word.  We must only be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. 

For those who have never received Him as your Lord and Savior though, this message is still relevant for you.  We are clearly told here that God will eventually punish the wicked, which means that we will one day pay our lives as a penalty for our sins.  The wonderful thing is that God sent His Son to die in our place – to pay that penalty for us.  God poured that punishment and that wrath on Jesus Christ on the cross, so that we may experience a new life in Him without having to suffer that death penalty.  He promises all who call upon His name that they will be saved (Romans 10:13).  It doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor, whether you are wicked or self-righteous, or whether you are Jew or Gentile.  God has opened this promise to all.  One must simply place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior by confessing with their mouth that “Jesus is Lord” and believing in their heart that God raised Him from the dead.  Then He promises salvation.  Do not struggle any longer to fulfill your own criteria for getting into heaven, for that will only tire you out.  Do not argue with God any longer, rejecting His gift because you don’t understand something.  Instead, be still before the Lord, call upon His name, and wait patiently for Him to work in your life.  He won’t delay.