Go with me back to 2 Corinthians
chapter 7. Our text is verses 2 and 3. Let's read beginning in verse
1 again, the first three verses. Having therefore these promises
dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
receive us, we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man,
we have defrauded no man. I speak not this to condemn you,
for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die and
live with you. Our motive in preaching the gospel
should always be And if a man is truly called of God to preach
the gospel, his motive will be love. Always, always love for
God first and foremost. Love for God's holiness. Love for God's honor. Love for God's truth. That ought
to be the motive of preaching the gospel. Absolute love for
the truth of this word above all things. I mean above everything
else. Love for his salvation and love
for his people. I mean, sincere love for his
people. God's preachers are not in the
ministry because they love the money of the people they preach
to. I can say that with all sincerity
and boldness. God's preachers are not in the
ministry because they love the respect they get out of the people
they preach to. They're not. God's preachers
are in the ministry because they love the people they preach to. Love, love. Look over at 2 Corinthians
12. 2 Corinthians 12 verse 14. Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you and
I will not be burdensome to you for I seek not yours but you. I don't seek yours, I seek you. Paul was in Corinth for a year
and a half. And they heard the gospel through
him and they believed it. They did. They truly did believe
it and they loved it. But when it was time for Paul
to move on and go into the next city and preach the gospel, when
God moved him on being the apostle that he was, all of these false
teachers swarmed the Corinthians, swarmed the congregation. It
happened time and time again. It still happens to this day.
Time and time again. The same thing that happened
to Corinth happened to Galatia. Same thing. Turn your page to
Galatians. Chapter 2 verse 4 is where he
talked about false brethren unawares. And what that means is they had
no idea that they were false brethren. They thought they could
trust them. These were men they knew. And they thought that they could
trust them. They thought they were in the circle and had them preach
to them. But they came in and they distorted
the clear message of the gospel. It takes time to do this. It
happens over time. Very slowly, they started to
distort the message of the gospel. They muddied it up and they confused
everybody. And they turned the hearts of
the people in the process away from Paul. That's what they did. They turned all their hearts
away from Paul. And he said in chapter one here
in Galatians chapter one, verse six, I marvel that you are so
soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ
unto another gospel, which is not another. There's only one.
But there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel
of Christ. But though we or an angel from
heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before,
so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto
you than that you have received, let him be accursed. For do I
now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For
if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
He told the Galatians, I have to tell you the truth. I have
to tell you the truth. And the reason is because I love
God and I love you. I love God and I love you. And
he told him back in second Corinthians, if you go back to second Corinthians,
this time, chapter six, 2nd Corinthians 6. He said in
verse 11, Oh, ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you. Our heart is enlarged. What he's telling them is we're
here for you. We are, we're here for you. We love you. I love
you. That's what he's saying to him.
All right, so now we understand why he said where we are beginning
our text tonight in chapter 7 verse 2. This is why he said, receive
us. That's what he's telling them,
receive us. Whatever problems the flesh has called, whatever
unfortunate division sin has caused, Let's put all that away
and be reunited again in the one and only true gospel. That's what he's telling them.
The fear of the Lord. Let's be reunited again in the
blood of the lamb alone. Verse two, he said, we have wronged
no man, not through the gospel we preach. The truth of God's
word is firm. The truth of God's word, it convicts
and it corrects and it rebukes. But he said, it's God's word.
It's God's word. It's good. It's just. It's right. And he said, I've
not wronged you because I've told you the truth. He said to
the Galatians, he said, am I your enemy? Because I've told you
the truth. We haven't wronged you. Verse two, he said, we have
corrupted no man. We haven't lied to you. We have
not brought in a false doctrine to you. We're not as those that
corrupt the word of God. We have not watered down what
God has to say to you. We have not softened the offense. We have not changed the truth
of God into a lie. We have not declared unto you
half of the counsel of God. So we can win you over, win your
favor, win your affection and see what we can get out of you.
And that's what men do. They're trying to see what they
can get out of. And he said in verse two, we have defrauded
no man. Through those means. Verse three,
he said, I speak not this to condemn you. Now, in this chapter,
he's going to bring up that man again who had the adulterous
affair with his stepmother. You remember that man? In First
Corinthians, chapter five, he told the church to put that man
away, put him out of the church. He had this. This horrible act,
and Paul told them, put that man out of the church. Right
after that, he said, I don't say this for his destruction.
I'm not saying this at all for his destruction, I'm saying this
so his spirit might be saved, his soul might be saved through
repentance. Begging Christ for mercy and
the man did repent. And in second Corinthians two,
Paul said, now restore him. Forgive him, welcome him back.
And right here in chapter 7, verse 12, he said, Wherefore,
though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had
done the wrong. He's talking about that man.
Nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that for our care
for you in the sight of God, that that might appear unto you. Our care for you in the sight
of God. I did it out of absolute care
for your souls. That's why he said, this is why
I've told you the truth. This is why I've told you the
truth. Absolute care for your soul. So he said in our text,
verse three, I speak not this to condemn you, for I have said
before that you are in our hearts to die and live with you. Now,
this is what struck me about studying all this. This is what I want to focus
on for the rest of the message. Clearly, he is telling them,
I love you. That's what he's telling them,
I love you. I love you. If I did not love you so much,
I would not commit myself to telling you the truth. The absolute
truth at all cost. He said, you're in my heart.
That's what he told him. My heart is enlarged to you. You are in my heart. And he said,
this is my heart's desire. This is what I want. He said,
I want to die and live with you. Now, most people would say, most
people would use this terminology. I want to live and die with you."
And that's not what he said. He said, I want to die and live
with you. That's what I want. That's what
I want. I want to die and live with you. Turn with me over to 2 Timothy
chapter 2. 2 Timothy 2 verse 10, he said,
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they
may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory. It is a faithful saying, for
if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. Now, if we are not in the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, if we're not under His blood, not
in Him, not with Him, what we're going to do is we're going to
live the rest of our time on this earth, and then we're going
to die, and that's it. We're going to be eternally dead. Eternally severed from God. Eternal destruction. But if we
are in Him, if we are truly in Him, if we're counted among the
elect, we're going to finish out our course on this earth.
We're going to finish out this very, very difficult, difficult,
difficult, difficult, difficult course on this earth. And then
we're going to die. And then we're going to live.
And we're going to live. And we're going to truly, truly
live. Now, I believe I mean this, I
believe I'm as sincere as sincere to you who are in this room as
the Apostle Paul was to the Corinthians. I mean this, I mean this. This
is my heart's desire. I want to die and live with you. I want to make it to the end
of this course and at some point die. Unless our Lord returns
and calls us all up, I want to die and live with you. The Apostle Paul is repeating
and I am repeating the same desire our Lord had. Exact same desire. Turn with me to John 17. John 17 verse 1 says, These words
spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father,
the hour is come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee, as Thou hast given Him power over all
flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast
given Him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God in Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, which the glory which I had with thee
before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word."
Verse 17. He said, Sanctify them through
thy truth. Thy word is truth. He said, Lord,
Father, set them apart. Set, sanctify them, set them
apart. Verse 18, As thou hast sent me
into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify
myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
I set myself apart, that they might be set apart. Verse 20,
Neither pray I for these alone, But for them also, which shall
believe on me through their word. That's us. That's us. We believe on him through their
word. And what does it mean to you
to know that the Lord of glory has prayed for you, prayed to
the father? You know, he said, Peter, I've
prayed for you right here. He said, I pray for them. I pray for him. Verse 21, that
they all may be one as thou father art in me and I in thee, that
they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou
hast sent me and the glory which thou gavest me, I have given
them that they may be one, even as we are one. I in them and
thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that
the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them
as thou hast loved me." How much does God the Father love Christ? That's how much God the Father
loves every soul in Christ. Verse 23, at the end of it, he
said, and has loved them as thou hast loved me. Verse 24, Father,
I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where
I am. The ones you gave me, this is
my heart's desire. I want them to be with me where
I am. that they may behold my glory
which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation
of the world. O righteous Father, the world
hath not known thee, but I've known thee, and these have known
that thou hast sent me, and I've declared unto them thy name,
and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved
me may be in them, and I in them." He said, Father, I want to die.
and live with them. I want to die and live with them. And that excites my soul. That
excites my soul. I believe God has given us a
heart that loves Christ. And I believe God has given us
a heart that loves each other. And I truly am excited at the
thought of sitting at his feet and worshiping him with you. With you, with each one of you,
I mean that. For that reason, I want us to
give diligence to three things. If we are going to be kept, we're
going to be kept by the power of God. Isn't that right? If
we're going to be kept, it's going to be by the power of God.
If we are going to be saved, we're going to be saved through
the blood of Christ alone. Isn't that right? If we belong
to him, he is going to give us a heart to heed his word. Isn't that right? He will not
give his people a heart that rejects his word. If we belong
to him, he'll give us a heart to heed his word from his word. Because I want to die and live
with you. I want to give us three things
to give great diligence to, and I exhort, I really exhort from
this day forward, August, October, what month is this? October 8th,
this day forward, let's have and hold these things, okay?
Turn with me over to Isaiah 35. Isaiah 35, this is a wonderful
chapter. Read this sometime when you get
a minute. Read this chapter. We talk about
this life to come. The first two verses describe
this life to come. It says, the wilderness and the
solitary place shall be glad for them, and the desert shall
rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and
rejoice even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be
given unto it. The excellency of Carmel and
Sharon. They shall see the glory of the
Lord and the excellency of our God. We're going to see the glory
of the Lord and the excellency of our God. All right. Now here's
the first exhortation. Verse three. Strengthen ye the
weak hands and confirm the feeble knees. This is something to actively,
consciously, thoughtfully do. Let's not let each other fall
by the wayside. Okay? Now, if we're going to
be saved, we're going to be saved by the blood of Christ alone.
Isn't that right? If we're going to be kept, we're going to be
kept by the power of God. Isn't that right? Let's not let
each other fall by the wayside. This is something to actively
do. Actively, consciously do. Strengthen each other. Strengthen
each other. Don't turn. But our Lord said
in Revelation three, strengthen the things that remain. He told Peter, Satan hath desired
to have you that he may sift you as wheat, but I have prayed
for you that your faith fail not. And he said, when you are
converted, strengthen your brethren. That's what he told him to do.
Strengthen your brethren. Strengthen your brethren. How
do we do that? Verse 4 says, say to them that
are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not, behold your God will
come with vengeance, even God with a recompense. He will come
and save you. And then it goes on to say in
verse five, the eyes of the blind will be open. And in verse six,
the lame man is going to leap as a heart. Who are the weak
and feeble? Who are the fearful in heart?
Every person in this room, the man or the woman who thinks he
is not feeble or weak is the feeblest and weakest one. So let's actively do this. Let's
strengthen each other. Reach out to each other. You
know how you think of each other and don't pick up the phone and
call? You know how you think something
good about each other and you don't send a text? You don't
send an email, however you communicate? Reach out to each other. I mean
it. Reach out to each other. Call
each other. Pick up the phone and tell one of your brethren,
I love you. Our God is coming soon. It's going to be glorious. You never know what communication
can do for a brother or sister. You ever get a letter in the
mail and it just makes your day just that you got a letter in
the mail. And I know nobody sends letters anymore, but I send a
couple. Somebody call and say, I was
just thinking about you. It is so important. It is so important. Strengthen each other, strengthen
each other. Now, the exhortation is not.
Be strengthened. It's not be strengthened. It's
not sit by your phone and wait somebody to call you and then
when they don't call, get sad and depressed about it. It's strengthen ye. Strengthen
ye. Our Lord said if you want a friend,
you have to be a friend. Strengthen ye. Reach out. Reach
out. Usually I find whenever I am
trying to strengthen somebody that I think is going through
a hard time. Usually they end up strengthening me more than
I could strengthen them. Strengthen each other. Second
exhortation. I exhort this because in my heart,
I mean it. I want to die and live with you. Go over to Hebrews 10. You've heard that illustration
before of the man who started to not come as often
and he wasn't seen as much and less and less. Where has he been? Hadn't been here in a while.
Pastor went out to visit him and walked inside the house and
he's sitting in front of the fireplace. All those coals glowing
and neither one of them says anything. And the pastor reaches
in and scoops out one coal and pulls it out away from the pile. And that red hot glowing coal
goes dim. And then he just scoops it back
into the pile and it goes red again. Hebrews 10 verse 23 says, Let us hold fast the profession
of our faith. What is the profession of our
faith? The blood of Jesus Christ alone. What's our hope of salvation? None of these works. The blood
of Jesus Christ alone. Verse 23, let us hold fast the
profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful
that promised. And let us consider one another
to provoke unto love and good works. That's what we were just
talking about in the first exhortation. Encourage each other, strengthen
each other, exhort each other. Now here's the second exhortation,
verse 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the
manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much the more
as you see the day approaching. The day is approaching. The day
is approaching. If our Lord does not return for
10,000 more years, we will leave this earth at some point very
soon. Either way, the day is coming. The day is coming. We see every
day that goes by, this day is coming. As difficult as this
is for me to say, because I'm the speaker, And our Lord has
made it that you come and listen to me. As difficult as this is
for me to say, because I love you with all my heart. And I
want to die and live with you, every one of you. I'll declare
this as the oracles of God. That's what he told me to do.
Let's not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the
manner of some is. We all have very good reason
why we can't attend sometimes. All of us, we have very good
reason. But when there's no good reason, we're just faced with
a fork in the road, whether we feel like going or not going.
Should we go? Should we not? Let's not forsake
the assembling of ourselves together. Our assembling to hear the gospel. Our Lord said, there is a place
where I've chosen to put my name there. There is a place where
God's Spirit will meet with His people. And it's where two or
three have made the effort to gather in His name. And if we
don't meet with His Spirit, it's in vain. It's absolutely in vain. Our assembling to hear the gospel
feeds our soul. You don't realize what malnutrition
can do to you. Again, that's a slow thing. It
happens over time. You don't see it day by day,
but after a while you start to realize. I need to be fed. If I'm going
to make it, mentally, emotionally, I have got to be fed. Hearing
the gospel feeds our soul. Hearing the gospel strengthens
our faith, our worries and our fears. Hearing the gospel strengthens
our faith. Hearing the gospel encourages
our brethren. Back to the first one. Strengthen
each other. How can I do that? Gather with
the saints. Strengthen each other. Strengthen
each other. So until the day we're allowed
to die and start living, let's give great diligence to it. It's just too important. It's
just too important. We see the day approaching. And
it's just too important. Paul said, press toward the mark.
I mean press, press, press. Last exhortation, go with me
to 2 Thessalonians 3. 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 1 says, Finally, brethren, pray for us
that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified
even as it is with you. Pray for us. Pray for the pastors
and the preachers of the word. Pray that God might give us a
heart to study. Specifically, pray that God might
give us a absolute commitment to study. Pray for us. Pray that God might keep that
heart to study at the absolute front, forefront of our commitment
and priority. First, study first. Pray that we might not become
burnout. Pray for us. We're flesh. We're human. Have you ever gotten
burnout on something? Pray for us that we won't become
burnout. It would be awful. If the men
God raised up to preach the gospel were not strengthened by the
brethren, If the saints didn't gather to exhort them. And if the saints didn't pray
for them. And they got burnt out. Veered off on something
else. Something else took our desire. Took our heart. Pray that we
might stay on Christ and His Word. Pray that we might open
this Word and read it. All of it. All of it. Everything. Pray that every time you come
into this place, you might not only hear this word preached,
but Christ in the word preached every time. His glory, his honor, his blood
alone, every time. Pray that you might hear that
every time. Pray that it won't slowly start
to become, I didn't really hear Christ in that. Did he preach
Christ? Do you hear anything about the
blood? Pray that that does not happen. Brethren, pray for us. Pray for us. Pray that this word
right here might have free course in this community. Pray for the
TV program. Work it into your time of prayer. Pray for the radio broadcast.
Pray for sermon audio. Pray for the conversations that
your brethren will have with the people they know. This word,
pray that this word might have free course in this community. Call out God's sheep as he sees
fit. Pray for a revival. If our Lord does not send one,
that's fine. That's totally fine. In all of
these things, everything we're mentioning, pray, Lord, nevertheless,
not my will, thine be done, always. These are my petitions, but not
my will, thine be done. But here's the thing, if we ask,
our Lord told us we can ask for these things. If we ask, if He's
willing, He might just send a revival. He might just keep me in the
study. He might just keep the message
on Christ crucified. He might do it. He might have this gospel go
out with free chorus. He might slay men and women.
He might cause men and women to truly cry, men and brethren,
what shall we do? Go back one chapter, 2 Thessalonians
1. Verse 11, wherefore also we pray
always for you, and we do, that our God would count you
worthy of this calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of his
goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him,
according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean this with all my heart.
I say these things because I mean it with all my heart. I want
to die and live with you. I love you. I love each one of
you. And I want to die and then I want to live with you. I want
to live throughout eternity with you. And. May the Lord, our God,
keep us in His grace until that day. All right, let's stand together.