Passage: 2 Corinthians 10:7-11

[kal-kyuh-leyt] Verb - “To determine or ascertain; to make a computation.”

Do you struggle with lashing out when you feel attacked? Do you know what matters most in following your leaders? It feels like a massive understatement to say that Paul was mistreated by the Corinthian church. He endured criticism, character assassination, and mutiny ... but he never struck back. At the same time, he defended the Godly authority he had been entrusted with for their building up. Those in leadership and those under leadership can learn much from this text of Scripture.

Three essential calculations to be made in honoring your leaders ...

1. Calculating Who You Are [10:7]

2. Calculating Proper Authority [10:8-10]

3. Calculating Consistency [10:11]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for those in authority who build you up in the faith. Thank God for His consistency even when your human leaders are inconsistent.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God for the grace to not attack when circumstances aren’t what you enjoy. Ask God to give you greater consistency in your personal life and with those around you.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 (Part 2)

[deel] Verb - “To take action with respect to a thing or person; to be able to handle competently or successfully.”

This text is one of the clearest passages regarding spiritual warfare, and it doesn’t happen with demons hiding behind bushes or cultic practices in far off places. It happens in your head. If we are to move forward in maturity in our life and faith, it must be that we learn how to wage war in our thinking. Please get personal and get real this morning... take back some spiritual ground!

Some further thinking about our thinking so that we can deal Biblical with our thoughts...

1. Important Considerations

2. The Castle of Lies is Built On...

3. What Needs to Be Dealt With?

4. The Arsenal of Grace

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the weapons of grace at your disposal. Thank God for truth that does far

more than fill the mind but does battle in the inner man.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God where you need to put some spiritual stakes in the ground to advance in

obedience. Ask God to lead you to the green pastures of His rest.

The future of the mission of the Gospel depends on Biblical Motherhood and Fatherhood, both in the home and in the Church. We need to celebrate the joys of this together as we shoulder the burdens of one another. In our day where the family faces immense challenges, I want every disciple of Christ to understand and embrace the high calling to be moms and dads … even if you aren’t one.

Three characteristics of Biblical Motherhood…

1. Biblical Womanhood in Your Life

2. Spiritual Mothering in The Church

3. Purposeful Nurturing in The Home

Passage: 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

[bat-l] Noun - “A conflict or struggle; a hostile encounter between opposing forces.”

In this new section, Paul steps up his game. He has been attacked, insulted, minimized, and accused of being an apostle unfit for service. He is not angry or simply interested in winning. He knows life is hard and he is weak, but he also knows the Gospel works and he must stand firm against the lies of the enemy. Here he describes the real battle and the spiritual weapons we must use to walk obediently.

Paul’s defense against wrong thinking …

1. The Manner of Confrontation [10:1-2]

2. The Type of Battle [10:3-4]

3. The Weapon of Choice [10:5-6]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the gentleness and meekness of Christ. Thank God for the spiritual weapons you have been given that have the divine power to overcome the flesh.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to grant you the wisdom to discern wrong thinking from Biblical thinking. Ask God to help you take wrong thoughts captive and to lead them into God’s realm of obedience.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 9:10-15

[pruh-doos] Verb - “To bring forth, give rise to, to bring forward”

Do you like knowing what will come out of your hard work? Are you motivated when you know good results will come out of your choices? Faith so often calls us to obey without knowing what will come of it in the short-term. But, here a description is given as to what a life devoted to generosity produces. Spoiler alert ... they are all fantastic outcomes!

Four outcomes from a life of generosity...

1. The Lavish Abundance of God is Enjoyed [9:10-11a, 14b]

2. The Needs of Others are Met [9:12a]

3. God is Thanked and Glorified [9:11b, 12b, 13, 15]

4. The Church Grows in Affection and Spiritual Support [9:14a]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the abundance He always supplies to you so that you can be generous. Do as the text teaches, and thank God for the way others have supplied to meet your needs.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to continue to enrich you in every way. Ask God to give you a greater longing to pray for those who have met your needs.

Passage: 2 Corinthians 9:6-9

[uh-bound] Verb - “To be rich or well supplied; to be filled.”

Don’t words like overflowing and lavish make you smile? The idea that you could have more than enough is a powerful concept. It’s not about being greedy or looking out for yourself, it’s actually about the generosity of God who loves to give. He is the God of grace, and Easter is a glorious picture of His grace abounding. Enjoy His good gifts lavished on you this morning!

The chain reaction of abounding resurrection power and grace...

1. The Power and Goodness of God Abounding to You [9:8-9]

2. Your Gladness Abounding in Goodness to Others [9:6-7]

“Grace is God’s free and unmerited favor shown to guilty sinners who deserve only judgment. It is the love of God shown to the unlovely. It is God reaching downward to people who are in rebellion against Him.” - Jerry Bridges

“The ultimate test of our spirituality is the measure of our amazement at the grace of God.” - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Passage: 2 Corinthians 9:1-5

[red-ee] Adjective - “Completely prepared or in fit condition for immediate action or use.”

Are you ready, right now, to do what the Spirit of God directs you to do? Do you willingly act on the needs around you? It’s always a mixed bag, isn’t it? The desire to do something and the action needed to see that desire become a reality. The Corinthian church is just so human, full of good intentions, starting out well, but then questions as to their present readiness to follow through with what they promised. As fellow complicated humans, let’s put ourselves to the test of readiness this morning.

Five questions to evaluate your readiness to give ...

1. Does anyone boast about your willingness to respond? [9:1-3]

2. Has anyone ever followed your example of faith in response to a need? [9:1-3]

3. Are you organized enough to make your desires to give a reality? [9:4-5]

4. Do your actions match your promises? [9:4-5]

5. Do you give with a desire to bless or a desire for something in return? [9:4-5]

Gaining Gratitude – Thank God for the readiness of others God has used to serve you. Thank God for specific times He gave you the strength to follow through on some ministry from good intention to godly completion.

Prompting Prayer – Ask God to give you a freer heart to boast in God at work in people’s lives. Ask God to expose the motivations of your giving, where it is godly and where it is greedy.