This message this morning will
be directed mainly to believers, to the Church, but I do pray
that every time that I preach, that I'll be enabled of God's
Spirit to preach the gospel, that there will be in the message
a word to the unconverted, a word to those who know not Christ,
so that any man who comes and sits in the congregation and
in this time of worship shall not go away unaware of how God
saves sinners and how God calls the lost unto himself. In verse
1 of chapter 13 of 2 Corinthians, Paul says, This is the third
time I'm coming to you. You might have found, naturally
speaking, some confusion. Paul said, This is the third
time I'm coming to you. And then in verse 2, he said,
I told you before and foretell you as if I were present the
second time. Paul had only been there once.
And he was talking about coming the second time and exercising
his apostolic powers. He said some of these people
have caused divisions in the church. They've caused trouble
and strife. They've sowed discord among the
brethren. And he said, if I come back the
second time, I'm not going to spare them. I'm going to deal
harshly with them, I'm going to deal in a positive manner. But he says this is the third
time I'm coming to you. Well, these three visits, the
first one was when he preached the gospel to them in person.
The apostle to the Gentiles came to Corinth and preached the gospel
to them in person. God used Paul to bring those
people to the knowledge of Christ. Paul brought the gospel of God's
grace. He preached to them Christ and
Him crucified. He said, I'm determined to know
nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. God
didn't send me to preach, to baptize, but to preach the gospel,
not with wisdom of words. All of that's in the book of
Corinthians. And he said that to these people. So he came the
first time and preached to them in person. Now the second time
that he came to them was in the first epistle. of Corinthians,
1 Corinthians. Paul considered an epistle a
visit. He considered when he wrote the
word to these people, when he sent them the word, that that
was the same as a visit, a personal visit. And now here is the third
time. He came the first time to them
in person and preached to them the gospel. He came the second
time in the form of a letter, 1 Corinthians. The third time,
he said, now this is the third time I've come to you. This is
the third time I've visited with you. The word of God is a personal
visit. When God speaks to us through
his word, that's God speaking to us. You know, Paul said, we
are ambassadors for Christ as if God himself did beseech you. As if Christ himself was speaking
to you. Don't treat lightly this book.
If a message is preached in the energy of the flesh, forget it.
If a message is preached to promote a man's own glory or his own
religion, forget it. But if you feel that God is bringing
a message to your heart, that is a personal visit. Christ said
to his disciples, he that hears you hears me, and he that rejecteth
you rejecteth me. So it's a visit of Christ. And
that's what the Apostle is saying, this is the third time I'm coming
to you. The first time I came to you
in person and I preached to you the gospel. And the second time
I came to you in the first epistle to the Corinthians. And the third
time I'm coming to you is right now. And he says, let every word
be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. Now brethren,
this is taken from Deuteronomy. Chapter 19, verse 15, let every
word be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. This
does away with a one-man revelation. I often hear preachers on television
and radio say, now this is so because God showed it to me. Well, was anyone with you when
God showed it to you? Do you have two or three witnesses
by which you can confirm what you're saying? You don't? Even
Christ himself. Now listen to me. This does away
with visions. I read the other day about a
place that has a religious shrine and there's a Catholic holiday
and people come from everywhere because three or four or five
hundred years ago there was a shepherd boy who claim to have seen a
vision. And therefore these people are
basing all of this celebration and holy day and feast day and
coming together on that one shepherd boy's vision. Did he have a witness? Two or three witnesses? No? Well, don't accept it. Even our
Lord himself, now let me show you that, turn if you will to
John 5, and this is very important. This is a very important part
of your spiritual understanding. Now, even the Lord Jesus himself
said this, in John 5, verse 31. Now listen to this. And this
does away with any man coming up and saying, like Joseph Smith,
the Mormon, didn't he find some books? Well, that's not worth
one thing, because he's the only witness, he's the only testifier,
he's the only one who has any knowledge of what he saw and
what he heard and what he read. It's no good. Christ said that
in John 5.31. If I bear witness of myself,
my witness is not true. Now let that sink in. Let that
sink in. If I'm the only witness, if I'm
the only one who saw it, if I'm the only one who heard it, if
I'm the only one who knows it, if I'm the only one who read
it, nobody's got any right to listen to me. Christ said that.
Now go on. He said, There is another that
bearest witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesseth
of me is true, John the Baptist. John the Baptist came as the
forerunner of Christ, and when Christ was baptized, he said,
This is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
But that's not the only witness. Read on. Verse 36, I have greater
witness than that of John. While the works which the Father
hath given me to finish, the same works I do, bear witness
of me that the Father hath sent me." There's another witness.
No man could do the miracles you do except God be with him.
When John the Baptist sent to Christ and said, Are you the
Christ? Are you the Messiah? He sent word back to John. Go
back and tell John how the dead are raised and the blind see
and the lame walk. Witnesses, alright? That's not
all. Verse 37, and the Father himself, which hath sent me,
hath borne witness of me, God the Father. He hung a star over
the manger in Bethlehem. He sent the angels down here
to tell the shepherds the Savior was born. The Father himself,
the Father said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
That's not all. Verse 39, and you search the
scriptures. For in them you think you have
life, and they testify of me." You see what Paul is saying here
now? He's saying this third time I'm coming to you. I came the
first time to preach to you. I came the second time in an
epistle. I'm coming the third time in an epistle. Let every
word, every message be established by the mouth of two or three
Witnesses receive no man's visions, no man's revelations, no man's
dreams, no man's doctrine, unless there are two or three witnesses. And then down here in verse 3
and 4, he says, since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in
me, here as in other places, you who have been in the Bible
classes on Sunday morning, we've been studying the book of Galatians,
the Apostle Paul's Apostolic credentials were questioned in
Galatia, in Corinth, and just about everywhere where these
Judaizers would come and preach. He's no apostle. He is not an
apostle. That's what they continually
said. He is not an apostle. Well, he says this, I am a man
just like you are. Yes, I'm weak. Yes, I'm a man
just like you. I have infirmities and weakness
just like you. Turn back to 2 Corinthians 10,
that's just back one page. 2 Corinthians 10, verse 10. Here's what they had to say about
Paul. They said in verse 10 of 2 Corinthians 10, his letters
say they are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak
and his speech contemptible. Paul never professed to be anything
but a man. Paul never professed to be anything
but a man, a man with afflictions and a man with infirmities and
a man with weakness. He said, I'm not one whit behind
the chief apostle, but I'm nothing. He said, Apollos and Cephas and
Paul, all these have sowed and planted and watered. It's God
that giveth the increase. Who is Paul? but ministers by
whom you believe. Who is Apollos? Who is Cephas?
Yes, I'm a man just like you, full of weakness and infirmities,
but let me tell you this," he said, "...my gospel is not weak."
That's what he's saying there in verse 3, "...since you seek
a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you it is not weak,
but is mighty in you. Christ speaking through me and
to you in the gospel is not weak by any means." And verse 4 says, Though he was
crucified through weakness, even our Lord was crucified through
weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. And though we are
weak, as Christ at one time was weak, yet in dealing with you,
we deal with you through the gospel, and that gospel is not
weak. It's the power of God unto salvation. Turn back to 2 Corinthians chapter
10 again, and look at verse 4. You talk about a man's bodily
weakness and talk about his infirmities, as they did Paul. They said his
letters, his preaching is powerful and weighty, but his bodily presence
is weak and his speech contemptible. Yes, he's just a man. But brethren,
our weapons are not the carnal weapons of the flesh. Read verse
4 of 2 Corinthians 10. The weapons of our warfare are
not carnal. We don't depend upon persuasive
words. We depend on the power of the
Spirit. We don't depend upon our convincing logic. We depend
upon the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. We don't depend
upon our arguments. We depend upon a revelation of
Christ to a man's heart. That's what Paul is saying. Yes,
I'm weak. Yes, I'm a man of infirmities.
Yes, I'm a man of afflictions. Yes, Christ our Lord was weak
in the flesh and was crucified through weakness. But he lived
by the power of God. And brethren, we come to you
not in our own strength, not in our own power. We come to
you in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, preaching
Christ Jesus and him crucified. Verse 5, examine yourselves.
Paul says, examine yourselves. Are you in the faith? Does Christ
dwell in you? Does the power of the Holy Spirit
manifest it in you? Well, that's the results, he
said, of my preaching. That's the result of my ministry
among you. That's what he's talking about here. That verse fits right
in with the context. He said, you seek proof of Christ
speaking in me, then examine yourselves. Is Christ in you? Are you in the faith? If Christ
is not in you and you're not in the faith, you're a reprobate.
But where did you hear that gospel? By whom was that gospel preached?
Where did you receive that word? He said, through my ministry.
And verse 6 says, I trust you know we're not reprobates. Reprobate
is a counterfeit, an outcast. But I pray, verse 7, now watch
this, but I pray to God that you may do no evil, that is,
that you may walk in holiness and truth, and I don't pray this
that I should appear approved unto God or to you or to anybody
else. I'm not seeking approval, Paul said. I'm seeking your good. I'm not seeking approval, approval
of my work, but I'm seeking your glory and your blessings. I'm
seeking that you should know Christ and walk in him, even,
look at verse 7, the last line, even if I do prove to be a reprobate,
I want you to be saved. You see what the Apostle is saying
here? He's saying, you seek proof that I'm a minister of Christ.
You seek proof that Christ speaks in me. Yes, I'm weak, but God
has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the
wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to bring
to naught the things that are strong and mighty, and the base
things that God has chosen, yea, and things that are despised
that God has chosen, that no flesh should go with glory in
his presence. Yes, every true minister of Christ is a man.
He's a man of weakness and a man of infirmities. Paul said, I
don't deny that, but you listen to this. Christ our Lord was
weak. Christ our Lord became a man.
He walked on this earth in human flesh. He thirsted, wearied,
hungered, and yea, he died through weakness. But he is exalted by
the power of God to the right hand of God. And that which we
have ministered to you, we don't minister through the carnal,
fleshly weapons of human logic and human argument. We minister
to you the gospel of God's grace and glory through the power of
God's Holy Spirit. And you want proof of my being
a minister of Christ? Examine yourselves. Are you in
Christ? Is Christ in you? Does Christ
dwell in you? Well, where did you hear of Christ?
Where did you hear this gospel? How did you come to knowledge
of this gospel? Except through me. And I trust
you know I'm not a reprobate, but he said even if I am, even
if I am, I desire one thing and that's your conversion and your
salvation. I desire that. I'm not looking
for approval of a ministry. I'm not looking for approval
of my work. I'm looking for your salvation.
And he further proved that over here in Romans 9 verse 3. Turn
over there if you will, Romans 9 verse 3. And here is that verse
that would warrant a lifetime of study. And I sit and look
at it and look at it and look at it and I just don't quite
understand it, but I know it's there and I know that Paul meant
it. Let's read 1 through 3, Romans 9. I say the truth in Christ,
I lie not, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.
Now, he said God knows this is the truth. And the apostle is
contending that you may have a doubt about this, but I'm calling
the Holy Spirit of God to be my witness, I'm telling the truth.
I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for I could
wish that myself, were accursed from Christ, or separated from
Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh." And
that's what he's saying here in 2 Corinthians 13. He said,
my prayer to God is your salvation. My prayer to God is your knowledge
of Christ. Not that I may appear approved,
not that my work should appear to be approved. But I want you
to be converted, I want you to know God, even if I turn out
to be a reprobate. I want you to know Christ. For verse 8 says we can do nothing
against the truth. Neither you, nor I, nor Satan,
nor anyone else has any power to do anything against God's
truth. God's truth stands. We can do nothing against God's
purpose. We can do nothing against God's glory, God's purpose shall
stand, God's glory shall be accomplished, Christ shall be satisfied, whatever
becomes of me and you. God's not going out of business
if I fail, and God's not going out of business if you fail.
God's not going out of business if I go to hell, and God's not
going out of business if you go to hell. There's not anything
that any man can do against the truth. But for the truth, even
the wrath of man shall praise the Lord." Let me tell you this,
God's glory is decreed. Christ's kingship has been decreed. The glory of his elect has been
decreed. The gifts and calling of God
are without change. His truth has gone forth, and
whatever nations and kings and rulers and princes and paupers
and prisoners and professional politicians do, whatever they
do, God will work it out for his glory and the good of his
Church. And there is nothing any man
can do against the truth. We need to cease to be alarmed
and upset. We can do nothing against God's
purpose or glory or truth. It's going to be accomplished.
Even the wrath of man shall praise the Lord. Now verse 10, Therefore
I write these things to you, being absent, lest, being present,
I should use sharpness according to the power which the Lord hath
given me to edification, and not to destruction. I like this
verse 9, though, that I skipped over. I didn't mean to. I'm glad
when we're weak. Turn with me over here, if you
will, to 2 Corinthians 12, but just cross the page, verse 10.
Paul says, Why would a man say that? I'm glad that I recognize
my weakness. I'm glad that I recognize my
sinfulness, my infirmities. Why would a man say that? Well,
look at verse 10 of 2 Corinthians 12. Therefore I take pleasure
in infirmities, pleasure in reproaches. Pleasure in necessities, pleasure
in persecution, pleasure in distresses, for Christ's sake, for when I'm
weak, then am I strong. If I can ever come to the end
of my natural wisdom and count it but nothing, that's when God
will give me his wisdom. That's when God will give me
his glorious wisdom. If I can ever get to the end
of my, if I can quit preaching, in the strength of the flesh
and become nothing, become so weak and helpless and dependent
upon God, that's when he'll preach through me. If I can ever come
to that place. If I can ever come to the place
of quit trying to figure things out in my own human wisdom, then
God will speak to me and reveal things to me. If he can empty
me, he'll fill me. That's what Paul said. When I'm
weak, then am I strong. When I'm weak in the flesh, when
I'm weak in human wisdom, when I'm weak in human riches, when
I'm weak in human strength, and then I lean upon the Lord, and
he enables me to do what I do for his glory. Well, I'm glad I'm weak, he said.
I'm glad I'm weak. And I write these things to you,
being absent from you, lest being present, he said I should use
sharpness. Maybe it's better if I write.
Maybe it's better he says I'm not there. Maybe it's better. Finally, brethren. Here we go
in verse 11 now in the text. Finally, brethren. Finally. Bringing this epistle to a close. Finally, brethren, farewell. You know we usually use that
word meaning goodbye. Farewell to thee. Well, the word
means a whole lot more than goodbye. The word means fare, f-a-r-e,
another word, well. Be well off. Be well off. The word is rejoice. Be happy. Fair, brethren, farewell. Be well off. Be happy and rejoice
in the Lord. Misery is not characteristic
of faith. Despair and division and conflict
is not the product of faith or characteristic of a relationship
with Jesus Christ. Farewell. Be happy. Rejoice. be well off. And this will be
accomplished by the next five things in the family of God,
in the fellowship of belief. If these next five things, if
we can put them in practice by the grace of God, by the power
of God's Spirit, if we can apply them to this moment, to our thoughts
and attitudes and our spirit and our fellowship and our daily
walk and our daily lives. Now listen, here's five things.
He says, I want you to be well off. I want you to rejoice and
be happy. And here's the direction. Five instructions for the family
of God. First of all, he says, be perfect. Now, most people, when they see
that word perfect, it scares them to death. And there are
preachers who have built whole denominational positions on this
word perfect. And they contend that it means
for the old nature to be eradicated and for me to be without sin.
Well, that's just not so. That denies the rest of the word
of God. The word perfect here, as it's
used in this particular passage of scripture, is used all the
way through the New Testament in reference to the believer
being perfect. It means to be mature. It means
to grow up. That's what he's saying. Finally,
brethren, grow up. Be mature. You know, in Christ,
there are babes in Christ. They're brand new babies. They've
just been born into the family of God. And Paul says they need
milk. They need to be pacified. They
need to be babied. They need to be understood. They
need to be taught. They need to be brought along
slowly. They need to learn to walk. They need a firm, assisting
hand. They need someone to comfort
them and dry their tears and kiss away their pain. That's
what babies need. And then there are young men
in Christ. That's young men that have come along pretty good and
they've grown and they've learned some things, but they still need
someone to correct them once in a while. And someone to rebuke
them once in a while. Some young men are full of zeal
and energy and strength and they need somebody to slow them down
once in a while. Now just be still and be patient.
But they know Christ and they love Christ. And they walk with
Christ and they're energetic and zealous and they want to
whip the world and defeat Satan and win the world. And every
once in a while they have to be settled down and rebuked.
And every once in a while they have to be slowed down. Every
once in a while they have to be encouraged. But they're not
babies. They don't have to be diapered,
and they don't have to be pacified, and they don't have to have their
tears dried, and they don't have to be, you know, the difference
of a baby and a young man. And then there are older men,
elders in Christ. And this is what Paul is saying
right here. Be perfect, that is, be mature. Grow up. Grow up. Now, in the family of
God, in simple terms, Paul is saying here, don't act like spoiled,
immature children who have to always be babied and pacified
and spoon-fed. Grow up! Now then, I expect in
the family of God, let me say this to you as frankly as I can,
I expect if a person, if some of you have been saved in the
last five or six months, and let's just face it, I wouldn't
be unkind, you're a baby. And I understand when you get
upset, and when you... I read a scripture in preaching,
and you say, well, I just can't swallow that. I know you can't.
Any more than my new little grandson can swallow a bite of steak.
He can swallow his milk, but that's all he can swallow. But
he can't swallow a piece of meat. But I expect you men here, Woody
Thompson, Charlie Miller, Paul Williams, Cecil, I expect you
to swallow this biggest chunk of steak I can throw out there.
You've been around 40 years or so. But I don't expect the babies
to. I expect the babies have to be
pacified. Babies have to have their tears
dried. Babies have to be coddled. The
pastor has to run around and make sure that they don't get
their feelings hurt and make sure that they're all these things. You know how that is. But not
you grown men. Now enough of that. It's time
you's doing, it's time you's taking care of the babies instead
of being taken care of. You see what I'm saying? You
don't have to be babies. You're growing up. You're growing
up in your knowledge. You know some things too. You
support me in my, I stand up here and preach God's elective
grace and you sit out there with your shoulders back and say amen,
that's right preacher. And you encourage the babies,
the young men. And they watch you. They watch
you. And I preach man's depravity
and particular redemption and love one another and walk with
one another and support the kingdom of God and support the missionary.
And these elders and these mature men out there stand with that
pastor. They don't, they're standing alongside of him. He's not pulling
them. They're out there, they know
the same thing he knows. They grew with him. Knowledge, growing
knowledge, growing attitude. Look not on your own things,
look on the things of others. Paul said, when you ought to
be teachers, you have need that somebody teach you. When you
ought to be doing the babysitting, you have need somebody to babysit
you. No, that's not right. You see what I'm saying? Grow
up. Become a mature believer. Become an elder in Christ Jesus.
Get rid of the leaning parts. You don't need a pastor to lean
on. Let him lean on you. You don't need somebody to come
around all the time and bore you up and find out what you're
pouting about and find out what you're upset about and find out
why you're not in church. No, sir, you don't need that.
You're the one that goes to see why somebody else is upset, because
he's a baby. That's why he's upset. Growing
grace, growing knowledge, growing attitude, growing actions do
for others. instead of having to be done
for, you mothers and daddies. Your children don't serve you,
you serve them. And it's expected of you. The
mother, she takes care of the house. And it's expected, and
she knows that. And the father, he's going to
pay the bills. It's there on his shoulders. It's his responsibility
to go to work and do these things. And he doesn't need anybody to
invite him to work. He's going. But children, you've
got these little fellas around the house that are running around
about a foot or two tall, and they just expect you to wait
on them and take care. And you want to because they're
babies. And then some of them have grown up a little bit, teenagers,
and they get to where they do know you're alive, just barely.
They do know your mother and daddy's alive, you know, and
that they do make some contribution to your general well-being. But
boy, when that little boy grows up to be a man, he knows what
you meant to him. He knows what you meant to him.
And so Paul is saying here to the church, be mature. Come on,
let's grow up. Let's be full-grown Christians. And then the second thing he
says here, be of good comfort. Be of good comfort. Now, brethren,
listen to me, and I'm going to shatter a balloon here that's
been blown up by the old Puritans and been having stale air in
it for 250, 300 years. There's a time for mourning and
conviction. I know that. I know there's a
time for me to Oh, my sins, the weight of my sins, the guilt
of my sins, oh, the terrible guilt and filth of my sins. Okay,
there's a time for that. And there's a time for being
bowed down, and there's a time for being cast down, and there's
a time for guilt and despair. But let me tell you this, there's
a time for comfort. Now, there's a time to lift up
your head. There's a time for confidence,
there's a time for rejoicing in Christ Jesus. I know we're
ever aware of our sins, but I'm ever aware of his grace, and
his grace is greater than my sins. I get tired of folks going
along all the time with their tail between their legs and their
heads bowed down and tears rolling and mourning, mourning, mourning. Blessed are they that mourn,
they shall be comforted. And I'm saying if your mourning
is of the Holy Spirit, your comfort will be of the Holy Spirit. Blessed are they that hunger
and thirst, they shall be filled. I know we're sinners, but we're
saved sinners. I know we're guilty, but we're
forgiven guilty people. I know that we have no good in
our flesh, but we're not all flesh, we're spirit. I know that our father Adam fell,
but I know that our Savior Christ is exalted. So come out of the
valley. It's not a compliment to the
grace of God for his people to continually mourn, is it? It's not a compliment to the
grace of God for his people to continually be sorrowful and
downcast and filled with despair. Be happy! Paul said, Rejoice
in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. He's good.
He's good. He's good. Look at the next line. Be perfect,
be of good comfort, be of one mind. Now listen to this. Be of one mind. I think I can
help on this. God did not cast us all in the
same mold. Now how many children have you
got? You got two, three, or four. You who just got one child won't
understand this illustration at all. But you who have two,
three, or four, they were fathered by the same father. They were
born to the same mother. They eat at the same table. They
sleep in the same bedroom. They go to the same church. But
they're as different as they can be. You notice that? They're different in personality.
that they're different in knowledge, they're different physically
when I'm blonde-headed, when I'm red-headed, when I'm black-headed.
They're different. And you don't demand that they
all be just alike, do you? If you do, you're foolish. They
have to be dealt with differently. They're different in their personality.
In the family of God, brethren, we're not all physically the
same. We're not all psychologically the same. We're not all the same
in personality at all. We're different people. Just
like the stars in heaven are different, God's children are
all different. So don't wage a campaign to make
every believer just like you. You see what I'm saying? We're
different ages. They talk about a generation
gap. Of course there's a generation
gap. There always will be. You don't expect a young man
21, 22 years of age to act like a man 65. They're different. And there's a gap between every
person as far as physically and And psychologically, and spiritual
growth, and personality, we're different. And don't expect everybody
to mourn when you mourn, or to weep when you weep, or to laugh
when you laugh, or to walk when you walk, or to sit when you
sit, or stand when you stand. They're not all just alike. Or
like what you like, or dislike what you dislike. That doesn't
mean he's not spiritual, because he's not like you. It may be
he could be more spiritual than you. You just don't know. But he tells us to be of the
same mind. He doesn't tell us to be of the
same physical makeup. He doesn't tell us to live in
the same house. He doesn't tell us to marry the same wife. He
doesn't tell us to occupy the same job. He doesn't tell us
to walk the same distance every day or go to the same congregation. But he says, be of the same mind. is one Lord. We have one Lord. Brethren, we may be in our physical
and psychological and makeup and personality and ego different,
but we've turned our eyes the same direction. My eyes may be
blue and yours brown, but we're looking to the same Lord. My ears may be old and yours
young, but we're listening to the same Lord. My heart may be
new in this business, and you may have been around a long time,
but it beats for Christ. Huh? That's what he's saying.
Be of the same mind. The grace of God to sinners in
Christ is the same to all sinners in Christ. The mercy of God to
the guilty is the same to all guilty men. The love of God is
shed abroad in our hearts by the same Holy Spirit. And the
fruit of the Spirit is love and joy and peace and gentleness
and longsuffering and patience and goodness and meekness. And
every believer has that fruit, some in different degrees than
others. I really expect you men who have
been here a long time to show more love than the new He loves,
but you ought to love more. You have more joy, you have more
reason for joy. To whom much is forgiven, he'll
love much and he'll rejoice much. I expect you to be a little more
patient than the new believer, but I expect him to have patience.
You see, this fruit of the Spirit is present in every believer
to some degree, some more than others. Some can forgive more quickly.
And the reason for that is they've been doing it longer. Uh-huh. They've been doing it longer.
You can hit a baseball better than I can because you've been
hitting them longer than I have. But now, when I've been hitting
them as long as you have, I expect to hit them as good as you do.
When I've been forgiving as long as you've been forgiving, you
see. Maybe you can forgive more quickly because you've been forgiven
more often. You've been doing it and it's
been done for you. So you see, here's the thing. He says, be
of one mind. Be of one mind. The glory of
Christ is our objective. The good of the Church. Alright,
live in peace. See that fourth? Live in peace.
Peace in your home, among your kindred. Let's be men of peace. Let's have peace in the home.
Let's instruct our children. Let's just tell them frankly
this way. Now, we're not going to have you arguing. This is
a home of peace. We're not going to quarrel. Let's
just be done with all this. I don't think that our homes
ought to be places where people quarrel and argue and fuss and
fight. Let's live in peace, and the
God of peace will be with you. Live in peace in the church.
There's no reason for men and women in the family of God arguing. and falling out with one another.
Let's just have peace. And then live in peace in the
world where you work. He said, as much as in you is
possible, live at peace with all men. Live in peace. And the God of love and peace
will be with you. God won't bless division. You
say, I see, I go in a home and I say, God bless our home. And
then you hear people fussing and fighting. God's not going
to bless that home. God bless our church, and then we have
business meetings and fuss and wrangle and quarrel and fall
out with one another and get offended and pout. God's not
going to bless that stuff. Why should he? The God of love
and peace will be with you, but not in your strife and anger
and turmoil and division and discord. He's not going to bless
that. Live in peace. Blessed are the peacemakers. They'll be called children of
God. cool it. That's what he says. That's modern
1979 language. Just cut her down and be peaceful,
forgiving, and gracious. All right, the last, greet one
another with a holy kiss. This is a summary of the whole
thing. Now, we're not speaking of an embracing of the flesh
here at all. That may be the custom in some places. But we're
talking about the heart and the spirit. That's what we're talking
about. Now when a mother has not seen a son for a long time,
he comes in, oh how glad, and she embraces him and plants a
kiss on his cheek. There's nothing unholy about
that. There's nothing degrading. She loves him. She's so glad
to see him. And that kiss is an outreach
of her feelings for that boy. If a father has not seen his
son or his daughter, or if a brother has not seen his sister or or
folks in the same family, they kiss one another, they embrace
one another, they touch one another, they reach out with a hand, they
in some way make contact. I'm making contact with you because
my heart makes contact with you. That's what we're talking about.
We're not talking about lasciviousness, we're not talking about carelessness,
we're not talking about flesh and lust, we're talking about
a greeting. What is it to greet someone?
Well, a greeting expresses the true feeling. Let me ask you this. Have you
ever been on the outs with someone and you aborted seeing them? You just aborted seeing them. If you knew they were going to
be at the store, you wouldn't go to the store. Why? You didn't want to
greet them. You didn't want to salute them.
You didn't want to meet them. All right, he's telling us to
greet one another, to salute one another, to meet one another. And the type of attitude and
spirit and feelings of the heart with which we're to meet one
another and salute one another and encounter one another and
greet one another is so strong that it's a kiss of greeting.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. Reach out full of pity
and compassion and affection in the warmest fashion. I'm glad
to see you. I'm glad to see you. And my heart
is so warm toward you and my feelings are so full of pity
and compassion and affection that it's like a mother kissing
a son who's come back from the war. It's like a father greeting
a daughter who has been gone a long time. Affection, that's
what he's talking about. And he says that twice. Greet
one another with a holy kiss, with a holy affection, with a
holy compassion, with a holy pity, with a holy feeling. be
that way toward one another. And avoid, I read about two kisses
in the Bible that make me shudder. Over there, jot this down if
you have a pen, 2 Samuel 20 verse 9 and 10, that's when Joab, this
makes you shudder here. But let's turn to it, 2 Samuel,
we've got a minute, 2 Samuel 20 verse 9 and 10. And it says here that that Joab,
Amasa, there was some problem with Amasa, I won't go into all
that, but anyway, Joab in chapter 20 of 2 Samuel verse 9, Joab
said, Amasa, are you in health my brother? Listen to this. Are
you in health my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard
with his right hand to kiss him. And Emesa didn't see the sword,
it was in Joab's left hand, and he stabbed him under the fifth
rim. Think about that. Don't let your greed, oh, under
God, help us. Morning, brother, glad to see
you. What are you, in here? You stabbed him with words, with
gossip, with hard sayings, with criticism, that's Joab, that's
not God. And he reached out and took a
mace over the beard and pulled him down to kiss him and then
stabbed him. And then I read about another fellow that kissed
somebody and walked up and put his arm around him and said,
Master, and kissed him. And the Lord said, Judas, betrayest
thou the Son of Man with a kiss. Let not our