January 22 - 2 Corinthians 3 - "From Hope to Confidence"

MPC 22nd January 2017.

Peter Kutuzov

THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK

And as you go through the book, The Monster at the End of This Book, Grover gets progressively more anxious about getting to the end of the book and more assertive in his anti-page-turning measures.

Fyodr, my 4 year old, loved it the whole way through; Rafael, on the other hand, gets a bit nervous. He's not sure whether he's scared or having the time of his life.

STORYLINE

We've been following through a story line. The plot of the Bible.

And it's a real roller coaster ride, with lots of hope, but not always much confidence.

We started out at creation, with an innocent couple living in a blessed paradise with their God.

But it was spoiled by Adam and Eve's rebellion.

Which leads to being kicked out of God's presence. Exile.

Now, I'm a youth pastor, and the Youth-churchers have told me how stories work from their English classes.

They tell me that once you've introduced your characters, then next step in any story is the complication. There's a problem or a question to be resolved. It's what drives the tension and makes you want to keep reading.

With Grover, it's whether the prediction in the title of the book is true or not, and whether he can convince you to stop turning pages before you get there!

But the big question of the Bible is less kids' book and more Friday night romantic comedy on Gem. Will they get back together?

Will God and humanity be able to recover their relationship? Or will the relationship between God and humanity never recover?

This question drives the tension for the rest of the Old Testament. Because there's some conflicting data.

To start with, no matter how generous God is to humanity in these early chapters, the people seem to get worse.

So hope is a touch low... but then God takes Abraham and his family under his wing, and promises that they will be his special people. Of all the families and clans in the world, God promises Abraham that his family, Israel, will be special.

The idea isn't that this promise is so much for Israel, as it is a mission Israel is going on for everyone.

Israel is God's people, yes, but they're a people formed for the purpose of bringing humanity and God back together.

It's a bit like Toy Story 2. When Woody is kidnapped by the sleazy looking toy collector, what does Buzz do? He forms a crack group of individuals with a very particular set of skills. A multi-talented team of toys to get Woody back.

He gets the guys together. But not so that they can cruise around together in a convertible picking up Barbie, it's so they can rescue Woody.

They're saving Woody, so that everyone can be together.

And this is God's plan for Abraham's family in the Old Testament. God didn't choose them because he wants them, but because he wants the whole world.

You can see it here in the promise God made to Abraham. I will bless you with land, descendants and protection, so that all peoples on earth will be blessed because of you.

This is promising as a resolution to the complication.

But, of course, there are more twists to come.

Just as God brings them into the land, Moses predicts that they'll abandon God. Like Adam and Eve did.

And they'll be kicked out of that land, like Adam and Eve were.

But even if that happens. Even if they treat him with contempt for generations. All they have to do is one thing, and God will take them back.

Just turn back to him, with your whole heart. He'll take them back. All forgiven, a fresh slate.

And so like a good friend trying to help someone get their relationship back on track, Jeremiah comes along and says, "Remember, he said he'd take you back. Change your ways." But she doesn't. 'Cos her heart's not right.

Then Israel is taken into exile and Ezekiel shows up and says the same thing. "Just go back, and stop being unfaithful." No joy either. 'Cos her heart's not right

They do return from exile, but it's with their tails between their legs and hearts far from God.

And so the relationship looks like it's all over. The rescue team has failed in the same way that all humanity has. Won't obey, because their hearts aren't in it.

Until the climax of the story. Until the hero enters. Until Jesus shows up. The one Israelite with a heart devoted to obeying his God.

Saying things like "Love the lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul. This is the greatest commandment."

And he obeyed his God with a whole heart, even to the point of dying on a cross to complete the rescue mission that his people Israel had failed.

And as the first one to turn to him, the first whole-hearted person: God made good on his promise. He raised Jesus from the dead, and took him to be with him in heaven.

Which is a violent, and then beautiful and glorious outcome for Jesus, but it's not the end of the story yet because the complication isn't solved.

Will God and humanity get back together?

Jesus and God are together. Jesus was whole-hearted towards God, and he is now with God.

But what about the rest of us?

What about Israel?

What about the nations?

If you're not there now can I invite you to open your Bible to 2 Corinthians chapter 3.

Now let me set the scene:

This is a letter written by a guy named Paul to a church who became followers of Jesus when he went there and told them about Jesus. This church only exists because a bunch of people believed Paul when he told them about Jesus.

But you can see in verse 1 that there's a bit of conflict in Paul's relationship with them. They don't trust him, and they'd rather listen to a bunch of the really good public speakers around who've got letters of introduction from the big names in Jerusalem.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

Paul's struggling to get traction with his own people on some issues, it seems. Which seems strange, given his history with them. He's the only reason that they started following Jesus in the first place. But they won't listen to him on some matters relating to Jesus.

So hear now what Paul says is his letter of recommendation, the reason that they or anyone should listen to him: (v2)

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.

The only recommendation that Paul needs is the fact that the Corinthian church follows Jesus. Everyone can see it. It's a public thing.

Your lives are like an open letter from Jesus, printed on the front page of The Australian, testifying to any and every reader that Paul's ministry is legitimate. When people pop in to church at Corinth, they're witnessing evidence that what Paul preaches has real power.

What is it? What is it about the Corinthian church that makes this so obvious? V3:

You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

It's week 1 of this series, and God's promise in Deuteronomy 30 to change hearts. It's week 2, and his promise in Jeremiah 31 to write his laws on their hearts. It's last week and his promise in Ezekiel 36 to put his Spirit in hearts and turn them from stone to flesh.

It is obvious that Paul's ministry is legitimately from God, because it's achieved all the things that the laws of the Old Covenant never could. It's turned their hearts to serve the true and living God. And so he's imploring his people to listen to him.

And Paul loves it. Because he knows what this new message does, that it doesn't just tell you how to be a better person, it changes your heart to enable you to do that. It doesn't just sit there in judgement on you, showing you up for all the ways you don't measure up. It doesn't pronounce judgement on imperfect people, it offers life. V6:

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant-not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

This is what we've been seeing throughout this series. That God's old agreement, the Old Covenant, that simply said, "Do this!" "Obey that", can't give life to anyone whose heart is messed up. It can't give life to anyone. In fact, it kills. Because no-one's heart can live up to its standards.

Even after being given a land.

Even after being given a massive law code full of good moral instruction.

Even after being given peace, prosperity and socio-economic privilege.

It says that willpower isn't enough. It won't fix your heart.

It says that education isn't enough.

It says that socio-economic privileges aren't enough.

Having your life together, "adulting", isn't enough. And that's hard enough for anyone under the age of 35.

Israel had all these, and it didn't stop them from treating God like dirt.

They won't fix your heart.

It even says... that being able to point to your good moral standards isn't enough. Lots of non-Christians can do that.

I was watching this video clip last night and a TV host was saying how he watches trashy British reality TV shows to remind himself that he's a decent person in comparison to them.

There is something deeper in the human heart that just won't humble itself before God, and say, "I was wrong", repent, and turn to him, whole-heartedly. The darkness is that we compare ourselves, ranking our goodness (often fairly selectively), as a means of self-justification. Because comparing my life to God's goodness is a very different thing to comparing it to an episode of Geordie Shore.

CHRISTIANS BETTER?

Through this series there's been a few times when I've wondered what does this sound like to our friends in the room who don't follow Jesus. Because we've made some bold claims about what happens when someone follows Jesus.

Their heart which was hard turns from stone to flesh.

God's law is written on the hearts.

They're given new life by the Spirit.

And I was thinking that to some folk it might sound a bit arrogant. As if Christians are better than other people. We've got something that you don't. A different class of person.

And I could understand having that perception. And goodness knows the way some Christians act sometimes is just like that.

But that's not the kind of personal quality that this new hope produces in people. Instead, I'm going to suggest two different qualities instead, and explain why.

HOPE TO HUMILITY

The first one, is the opposite of arrogance. Humility.

What is the difference? What is a Christian fundamentally able to do that no-one else is?

The Christian is enabled to say sorry to God, and with a whole heart turn to serve him rather than themselves. Both acts of humility.

God, I'm wrong.

And God, you're the priority, not me.

By definition, humble.

The whole Bible story was designed to demonstrate this point. Israel was always going to fail at their jobs.

Not that God set them up to fail. He didn't implant a weakness (such as in a weakness in a Death Star!) that doomed them to failure.

In fact, he gave them every advantage available. Beautiful place to live. (Would you be a nicer person if you woke up to an ocean view from your penthouse apartment each morning?) Peace from all your enemies? (Would you be a nicer person if that pain in the butt person at work got transferred? If every person at work was your best friend?) A perfect law, so that they'd know exactly what's right. And they had the temple. This whole system that guaranteed them access to God, if they just followed the steps. Security.

So God didn't set up his crack commando team to fail, not by a longshot.

But because their hearts were hard, they were always going to fail, even with all these advantages. And God's purpose in this is to demonstrate to the world that you and your real estate.

You and your friendships.

You and your education.

You and your religion.

You and your career.

Isn't enough.

And a Christian, is just someone who finally gives up and says, "God, you're right. I'm wrong. I need Jesus."

What makes a Christian, is when your heart has been humbled enough by God to instead of thinking that you're better than other people, to admit that you might even be worse.

And maybe that's your story here this morning. Maybe you've been playing little games in your heart and mind where you find little things here or there to prove to yourself that you're alright with God, but you're not so confident.

You think that coming to church this morning counts, but you're hearing all this stuff about being wholehearted and so you're not sure if it's enough. Maybe if you came at easter and Sunday as well that'll make up for the affair that I'm having. Which is, of course, really my spouse's fault.

Actually, you can do this all the way up, can't you? Maybe if I come to church every Sunday. Maybe if I know the Bible really well. Maybe if I lead a growth group. Maybe if I'm a youth pastor, I won't have to humble myself, and say to God, "I'm wrong, you're right. You're more important than me. What you want is the most important thing. Even more important than what I want."

And none of it works. It's a way of avoiding doing the one thing that will bring life.

Turning to God, asking Jesus to forgive your sins, and starting to live for him. Being humble.

HOPE TO CONFIDENCE

But it's not just humility that this New Covenant, this new way of being right with God, brings. It also grows in followers of Jesus a deep confidence.

Have a look at verse 4.

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent.

Same source. That the competence doesn't come from himself.

It's from God.

CONCLUSION

Now, I don't want you to miss how significant this little snippet of a letter is.

In this little town, a bunch of people who had had very messed up hearts, are now the evidence of the end of the story. That God and humanity, are back together again.

Because if someone humbles themselves before God with their whole heart, that is something that only comes from the Holy Spirit, working in them.

Now, MPC people, Corinth is not the only church that is evidence of the ending to the story. I see and hear evidence of people humbling themselves before God and before his word, every week, as I hear you discussing the sermon with each other, with me. Thinking through how it moves us to honour Jesus more, and serve him more wholeheartedly and joyfully.

And from Eaton's Hill, and Wavell Heights and all the others. God's Spirit is bringing humanity back to himself.

Be encouraged, brothers and sisters. If your thoughts, when you hear the word of God are to humbly repent of sin, and to have joyful confidence that you're friends with God again because of Jesus... then be of good heart. Don't be scared like Grover. You are a letter, written by Christ Jesus himself, through the Spirit, on your heart.

Table of Contents

THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THIS BOOK

STORYLINE

CHRISTIANS BETTER?

HOPE TO HUMILITY

HOPE TO CONFIDENCE

CONCLUSION