Good evening once again to 2
Corinthians chapter 11. This is the third and last message
at this time I'll be bringing from this chapter, 2 Corinthians
chapter 11. And tonight we're down to verse 22. I mentioned last time that this
chapter contains what the Apostle Paul calls his folly. He asked for their indulgence,
that they would bear with him. You see that in verse 1. Would
to God you could bear with me a little in my folly. And we have seen what he meant
by his folly, and that was boasting in himself. boasting in himself. This was necessary because of
the false apostles who had come to Corinth, false teachers, and
they, by their boasting, would undermine the authority of Paul
and also the legitimacy of the gospel of the grace of God. We ended the message last week
with his four words in verse 21 If you notice, he said, I
am bold also. The false apostles, the false
teachers, they were bold. They boasted in their heritage,
in their character, in their learning, and in their work. Paul says that in being bold,
he would be speaking foolishly, Notice that in verse 21, I speak
as concerning reproach as though we had been weak, albeit whereinsoever
any is bold. Now notice, I speak foolishly,
I am bold also. Paul confessed several times
in this chapter that what he was doing he recognized to be
foolishness. That is bragging, boasting, of
himself. These false teachers, they boasted
in their heritage and so he begins, are they Hebrews? These false
teachers, they came to Corinth, no doubt they were Jews who came
from Jerusalem and they had a certain amount of clout just being Jews
and coming to this Gentile church and would be impressive and deceptive
at the same time. Are they bold? I'm bold also. Are they bold in confessing that
they're Hebrews? That they can trace their heritage,
their lineage, all the way back to Abraham? Well, so am I. It goes into more detail, of
course, in the letter of Philippians along this same line. Are they
Israelites? Are they? Are they children of
Jacob? Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham?
So am I. They boasted in their heritage.
Well, Paul said, are they Hebrews? So am I. They boasted in their
ministry, their work. Are they ministers of Christ?
I speak as a fool. I am more. And then he begins,
through the rest of the chapter, a long list of the various sufferings
that he had experienced as a minister, as a believer, and as a minister,
as an apostle of Jesus Christ. He lists a number of things to
the end of the chapter. And John Gill made this comment. They, that is the Corinthians,
could compare notes As they look at this list that the Apostle
Paul wrote out to them, John Gill said the Corinthians, they
could compare notes with Paul and these false teachers and
see on which side the superiority lies. Compare notes between Paul,
the Apostle Paul, and these false apostles and see on which side
the superiority lies. Now, I'm not going to go through
this list. We've read through it, I believe,
before in another message on 2 Corinthians recently. I know
that most of us here are familiar with the list. It's a very long
list, and certainly it goes into detail the number of ways the
Apostle Paul had suffered for the gospel, suffered for Christ
in preaching the Word of God. Once we know they stoned him,
And obviously he either was dead or they thought he was dead.
That's the only reason they stopped throwing stones at him. And the
believers came out and circled around him and God raised him
up. Many believe that's when he was
caught up to the third heaven, which we will see in the next
chapter of the Lord willing. But I want us to look at the
last thing he mentions. If you look down to chapter,
in this chapter to verse 32 and 33, the very last thing he mentions
in this long list of sufferings being beaten and suffering shipwreck
and a night and a day in the deep and on and on and on, imprisonments. In Damascus, the governor under
Oretas, the king, kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison,
desires to apprehend me. And through a window and a basket
was I let down by the wall and escaped his hands. He put this last. In this list
he put this last, but this was one of the first, if not the
very first, experience the Apostle Paul had as a believer suffering
for the cause of Christ. He writes this last in this list,
but this had to be one of the first experiences he had. I want you to turn back with
me to Acts just a moment, Acts chapter 9. And here his name
is Saul. Here his name is Saul, the Pharisee. Proud religious man, boasting
in his heritage, boasting in his works, and desires to do
everything in his power to stamp out the name of Jesus Christ. Well, you know the story, how
as he was making his way toward Damascus, he saw that great light,
and that light was Christ. who art thou? I am Christ, whom
thou persecutest." But notice, remember, he was blinded by the
light. And they led him into Damascus,
into a house And God spoke to a man there, a disciple there,
by the name of Ananias and told him, you go and you say these
words to Saul and you baptize him. And you know the story,
Ananias, he was afraid to go at first because Saul's reputation
had beat him to Damascus and they knew what kind of a person
he was. And do you remember what our
Lord, in comforting Ananias, about going to visit this man,
the Lord just simply said, he prayeth. He prayeth. Well, look, when Ananias came
in to him, you see this in verses 15 and 16. I've got to get in
the right book, first of all. Acts chapter 9, verses 15 and
16. But the Lord said unto him, that is, unto Ananias, go thy
way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before
the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. Now notice,
for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my
namesake. These are the words that Ananias
was given to speak to Saul of Tarsus. I will show him how great things
he must suffer for my name's sake. Now, if you notice in verse
20, in this chapter nine, the scripture says, and straightway,
I mean, he didn't waste any time. He didn't go to seminary. He
didn't go off to seminary. No, straightway, the scripture
says, he preached Christ in the synagogues. that He is the Son
of God. He immediately began to preach
Christ and Him crucified. Verse 16, or rather, verse 22. But Saul increased
the Moor in strength and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus,
proving that this is very Christ. Now, Scripture says immediately,
straightway he began to preach in the synagogues that Christ
is the Son of God. If you look, keep your place
there at that text, but look to the first of this chapter
nine. In verse two it says, he desired
of him, that is Saul of Tarsus, desired of the high priest letters
to Damascus to the synagogues. This is where he was going. had
the letters with him from the high priest, giving him authority
to persecute, to arrest, to charge. Notice that if he found any of
this way, what way? The Lord Jesus Christ said, I
am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto
the Father but by me. He had letters, he was going
to the synagogue if he found any of this way. And now he's
in the synagogue, in the text we read here in verse 20, straightway
he preached Christ in the synagogues. The way. The way. Who is the way? The way is not
a program. The way is not a denomination.
The way is not certain things that you learn, certain steps
you go through. No, the way is a person. The
way is the Lord Jesus Christ. He immediately began to preach
in the synagogues that he, that is Christ, he is the Son of God. Verse 22 said, Saul increased
the morn's strength and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus,
proving that this is very Christ. And after that many days were
fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him. But notice now,
this is the last thing in that list there in 2 Corinthians 11
that he listed, what is recorded here. But there laying a weight
was known of Saul, and they watched the gates day and night to kill
him. Then the disciples took him by night and led him down
by the wall in a basket. That must have been the first
persecution that he experienced. And yet he mentions it last in
this list in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Again, if you, well, the
Apostle Paul felt compelled to engage in this folly of boasting,
bragging on himself. It is folly for every child of
God It is repulsive to every child of God to brag, to boast
on himself because it is inconsistent with grace. It flies in the face
of grace. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works,
lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship. It's inconsistent with grace.
It's repulsive to a child of God to engage in such folly as
boasting and bragging on self. Our heritage, our works, our
accomplishments, whatever they may be or may not be, whatever,
it's inconsistent with grace. Look at the question he posed
to the Corinthians in the first letter, 1 Corinthians chapter
4. 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse
7. For who maketh thee to differ
from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? Now, if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory, boast, brag, engage in folly, as if thou hadst not received
it? Everything about a child of God,
everything about a Christian has to do with God giving and
us receiving. As the question is, what hast
thou that thou didst not receive? Everything about a believer,
everything about a child of God is God giving and us receiving. What do we have? that we have
not received. In Romans chapter 8, in verse
32, the apostle said, He that spared not his own son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us
all things? What do we have that we have
not received? And they've all been given unto
us freely. That means graciously, doesn't
it? Grace they've been given unto us freely. Well, tonight
I want us to look at five verses of Scripture which speak of God
giving and us receiving. God giving and us receiving. And remember the question Paul
asked, What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now, if thou
didst receive it, whitest thou glory, as if thou hadst not received
it. The first scripture is in John
chapter three. And these words are the words
of John the Baptist. John chapter three. In verse
27, John answered and said, A man can receive nothing. Now nothing's a big zero, isn't
it? Isn't that what it is? A big zero. A man can receive
nothing except it be given him from heaven. Now notice in the
context here of that verse. Let's read verses 26, 27, and
28. And they came unto John, that
is, his disciples, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with
thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the
same baptizeth, and all come to him. John answered and said,
A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.
You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I'm not the Christ,
but that I am sent before him. It seems that the followers of
John, his disciples, they were jealous for John. They were envious
for him because the large numbers of people who had come out to
hear John, the crowds, they now were leaving John and they were
going to hear the Lord Jesus Christ. John, he was not displeased
at all. He was not displeased. He was
content in God's providence. He knew and he confessed that
whatever he or any other man had in the way of grace was by
God giving and him receiving. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. All that a child of God has,
all that you and I have tonight, those of us who know Christ as
our Lord and Savior, all that we have is by the Lord giving
and us receiving. What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory? As if thou hadst not. The next
verse is in John chapter 1. Look back just a page or two.
And the word that connects all of these verses together is the
word receive. Receive. A man, what hast thou
that thou didst not receive? A man can receive nothing. except
it be given him from heaven." I'm talking about nothing in
the way of grace, nothing in the way of salvation, nothing
in the way of knowing ourselves, nothing in the way of knowing
Christ, the Son of God. A man can receive nothing except
it be given him from heaven. Now this next verse, John chapter
1, Verses 12 and 13. The scripture says, well let's
read verse 11. He came unto his own, and his
own received him not, but as many as received him. As many as received him. To them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. which
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor
of the will of man, but of God. The experience of salvation and
the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ dwelling in us as children of
God is by God giving and us receiving. What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? You've received Christ. The scripture
here said, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood. It's not because your parents
were believers that you are a believer, not at all. nor of the will of
the flesh. It's not because others have
prayed for you and desire your salvation and will you to be
saved. And it's not because of your
will, which is fallen also, but of God. God gives, man receives. That's just grace, isn't it?
That's all there is to it. It's just grace. Alright, let's
look at a third verse of scripture tonight, if you will, in Romans
chapter 5. Romans chapter 5 and verse 11. And not only so, but we also
join God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement. I think most of you probably
have Bibles that have a marginal reading, and this is one place
where The marginal reading is the correct reading. It's not
atonement, but it is reconciliation. By whom we have now received
the reconciliation. The reconciliation means peace
with God. And the reconciliation, you've
been reconciled unto God, if you are. It's all about God giving
and you receiving. It's all about God giving and
us receiving. God giving His only begotten
Son, the eternal Son of God as the Christ giving Himself on
the cross so that by the blood of His cross we might have peace
with God, we might be reconciled unto God. It's by the Holy Spirit
bringing us to believe in Him, to trust in Him. He said, no
man can come to me except my Father which has sent me draw
him. And it is God, the Holy Spirit,
who draws and brings His sheep to the shepherd. What hast thou
that thou hast not received? You see these three things? Man
can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven. To
receive Christ, to believe on Him, is to be born of God. To receive the atonement, reconciliation,
is through the blood of the cross of Jesus Christ. Now here's the
fourth verse in Acts chapter 20. in Acts chapter 20 and verse
24. And these are the words of the Apostle Paul as he was meeting
with the elders from the church at Ephesus, knowing that persecution
and tribulation awaited him. But he said this in Acts chapter
20 verse 24, but none of these things moved All the people there,
they were crying, they were weeping, they were desiring that Paul
would not continue on his journey to Jerusalem. They knew what
was going to happen, bad things, as far as they were concerned. Paul said, none of these things
move me. Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might
finish my course with joy. Now notice this, and the ministry
which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel
of the grace of God. The ministry of Paul was God
giving and Paul receiving. And this is true of every child
of God. Every child of God has a ministry
of some kind. And this ministry has been given
unto us. We tend to think only of preaching
as ministry, but that's a big mistake. Every child of God has
a ministry. Every child of God. As I thought
about this, I thought about this passage in 2 Corinthians chapter
1, thinking about the fact that we all have a ministry, and we've
been given this ministry. God gave, we receive. And it is grace, isn't it, to
be a servant of the Lord? Like He needed us? Of course
not. Of course not. 2 Corinthians
1, Paul said, Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. who
comforted us in all our tribulation." Now is he saying here that God
only comforts apostles? That God only comforts ministers
of the gospel who are in tribulation? Of course not. Of course not. Who comfort us in all our tribulation,
whoever we are. And tribulation is going to come. How through much tribulation
we must enter into the kingdom of heaven, that's what Paul testified, who comforted us in all our tribulation
that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. This is
a ministry, isn't it? A ministry of comforting others. Others who are going through
tribulation. Others who are experiencing suffering. We comfort them with the same
comfort with which we are comforted. Now, how have we been comforted? With the Word of God, first of
all. The Word of God comforts us. Remember that verse in 1
Thessalonians 4 at the end of the chapter, Paul said, wherefore,
comfort one another with these words. Comfort one another. These, the word of God. What
comfort does the word of God bring to those in affliction? We read that Psalm at the beginning
of the service. I've been thinking of one verse
especially there. Weeping, weeping may endure for
a night, but joy, joy cometh in the morning. That doesn't
mean tomorrow morning, maybe, or in two days, but we may be
sure joy cometh in the morning. It may be the morning of the
resurrection, I don't know, but I know that's a statement of
fact. Weeping may endure for a night,
but joy cometh in the morning. Now, here's the last word, receive,
in 1 Peter, if you will. Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter
4. So the ministry, we've received, whatever our ministry is, we've
received it. Can you see why Paul called boasting, bragging, folly? Everything we have, we've received. And it's been given to us freely
by His grace. 1 Peter chapter 4 and verse 10. as every man hath received the
gift." Now, when we receive a ministry, and we all do, then we receive
the gift, the grace, whatever is needed for that ministry. We don't go to warfare at our
own expense. No. As every man hath received
the gift, even so minister the same one to another as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God. Amen. What hast thou that thou
didst not receive? In John chapter 15, our Lord
spoke to his disciples about him being the vine, the true
vine. And you remember he said, without
me, you can do nothing. Everything that we have, we have
received. And all that we need in the ministry
that he gives unto us, we receive from Him. Abide in me and my
words in you. We abide in Christ so that we
may minister and receive everything that we need for the ministry. Well, I pray that the Lord would
bless this message to all of us here tonight. It's just another
reminder to us, isn't it, of the wonderful grace of God. wonderful grace of God. Amen.