Walking with Jesus with Pastor Doug Anderson Podcast

Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends, Have you ever been sent by someone as their representative? Perhaps your boss sent you to a meeting representing the company you worked for, or your parents urged you to remember you carried your family name as you headed out the door as a teenager. In our journey with the apostle Paul, we’ve come to one of his most startling statements: every person rescued and reconciled by Jesus represents Him everywhere. What did Paul mean, and how does it apply to you and me 2000 years later?

Paul wrote: “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation… We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.” (2 Cor. 5:17-21)

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Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends, For some years I’ve used the little phrase ‘a fingerprint of God’ to describe something that we SEE that can only be explained as a direct work of Almighty God, in our world. I try to live alert each day, watching for those ‘fingerprints of God’, what about you? The apostle Paul claims that a Christian person, ANY authentic Christian, of any age, anywhere in the world, qualifies to be seen as a ‘fingerprint of God’, did you know that? Let’s take a closer look today…

Paul wrote this to the Christians in Corinth: “If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come. All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself through Christ, not counting people’s sins against them…” (2 Cor. 5:17-19)

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Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends, Have you ever tried to ‘persuade’ someone to believe something or to take some specific action? Or have YOU ever felt pressured by a salesperson trying very hard to persuade you to make a BIG purchase? Lately we’ve been with the apostle Paul as he’s writing a very important letter to the Christians in Corinth, in the mid first century.

Here’s an interesting statement Paul wrote: “Since then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to PERSUADE others…for Christ’s love compels us because we are convinced that One died for all… And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for HIM who died for them and was raised to life again.” (2 Cor. 5:11,14,15)

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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends, What is the most significant accountability moment you have ever experienced? We’ve probably all had times when we’ve been called to give account of our actions, right? Was that a terrifying experience for you? But have you ever been invited to an event where you were going to be honored and celebrated for your accomplishments? Oh my, what a difference between those two appearances for accountability. Did you know the Bible calls us to prepare for BOTH those experiences in the future? Let’s take a closer look today.

We’re with the apostle Paul as he’s writing 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and yesterday, we looked at this powerful statement from Paul in verse 9: “So we make it our goal to please God, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” (2 Cor. 5:9) Paul is writing to and about Christians. He’s declaring that for those of us who understand the price God paid, so we could be redeemed from our sin bondage and forgiven of our sin; and then given the Holy Spirit to live within us, powerfully guiding us for God honoring living… well of course a priority for us should be to honor God with every aspect of our lives, every day, right? Why? As a continual expression of THANKS to Jesus for all He did for our salvation! And that priority should be both while alive here on earth and later when alive in heaven after our death and resurrection.

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Good Monday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends, I’m so happy to begin this new week with you, do you know why? We’re with the apostle Paul as he’s writing a letter of great encouragement to his Christian friends in Corinth. The mid first century was a time for Christians quite similar to what is happening TODAY in many parts of our world, including much of America. We’ve come to one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible… 2 Corinthians 5. Are you ready to jump in with me to these exciting paragraphs of encouraging truths?

You’ll remember Paul ended his 4th chapter talking about the harsh reality of our aging bodies but the great hope and inheritance that awaits God’s people after death, with our heavenly inheritance. So, Paul picks up that wonderful promise with these words: “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling…” (2 Cor. 5:1, 2) As we saw in 1 Corinthians 15, God promises His people a resurrected, immortal glorified body designed for all eternity future, in heaven. Have you thought much about what your heavenly body will be like and how similar or different it will be from the body you now have here on earth?

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When you think about HOPE I wonder what your greatest HOPE is for the future? Good health well into your old age? Or maybe hope that neither your children nor grandchildren will ‘go off the rails’? Or perhaps hope that those who already have will come back? Now here’s a more important question: Upon what do you build your most important hopes?

We’re with the apostle Paul as he is writing another letter to his Christian friends in the crazy, wild city of Corinth in the mid first century. Hope was in short supply for almost every one of every generation in those days. So today let’s look at one of Paul’s strongly confident HOPE statements, because it might be something you will hold tightly too as you age and as the world around you becomes more turbulent and unpredictable. Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 4 “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes NOT on what is seen but on what is UNSEEN, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18) 

You’ve probably heard these powerful words before, maybe you’ve even claimed them for yourself as you were seeking HOPE when facing difficult or frightening medical news. The truth is, with every passing day our human bodies age. You and I are growing old, even if we won’t admit it. Just this week after my annual eye exam, my eye doctor said, “you and I need to talk about Glaucoma”! 

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I wonder if you remember doing something called ‘show and tell’ in kindergarten? You brought something from home and stood before your class to explain what it was and why it was important to you, right? All through your life you have frequently used that skill as you’ve explained things to your children and other people. But have you ever considered that GOD does that with you and me? Yes, that’s what the Bible book of JOB is all about, right? And it’s the power of this statement from Isaiah, about all God’s people: “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD, for the display of His splendor.” (Is. 61:3)

Did you know the apostle Paul urged his Corinthian Christian friends to see this amazing reality in themselves and each other? Paul wrote these words to them: “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us…” (2 Cor. 4:7) Do you see that Paul calls us to be living displays of God’s awesome power?

Paul uses the phrase “jars of clay” to describe himself and all humans. While God has designed and created the human race as an amazing species of living beings, the truth is we are quite fragile. Our bodies wound and bleed easily. These bodies don’t do well in extreme temperatures nor without food or water for long. As these bodies age we grow weaker and more prone to illness and injury. In old age our joints and even organs may need replacement! 

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What subject do you speak about with the greatest confidence and excitement? Your favorite sports team or vacation place? Or perhaps your family? Have you ever met someone who speaks about JESUS with great joy and enthusiasm? Do they speak with humble confidence that they are convinced of the absolute truthfulness of Jesus Christ and His Gospel story, as though they were an eyewitness. As though they actually walked along with the disciples and Jesus?

I’ve had the great privilege of knowing some people like that and they have profoundly impacted my life. I’ve had the privilege of visiting Israel 5 times and yes, the Bible really does come alive when you are there on the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, or on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem.

The apostle Paul talked and wrote about Jesus like that, and in 2 Corinthians 4:1 Paul wrote to his friends in the crazy city of Corinth: “Since through God’s mercy we have this ministry [proclaiming Jesus] we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Cor. 4:1,2) Oh my, do you hear Paul’s confidence and authenticity?

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You and I live in a world where it is increasingly difficult to discern if what you hear or even see is factual, truthful or some level of distortion! I wonder how often you find yourself faced with needing help in discerning the difference…is it real or artificial intelligence? Maybe more important is discerning if something is helpful to your character development or deceptively drawing you into the darkness?

Did you know that while sophisticated marketing and AI was not even imagined 2000 years ago, the apostle Paul was led by the Holy Spirit to challenge the Christians in crazy Corinth, to develop mature discernment skills! Why? Because they were being confronted by false teachers presenting distortions of the truth which could lead them down very dangerous paths toward rejecting God’s reliable truth and embracing diabolical deceit, which could cost them their very lives! Yesterday, we began looking at Paul’s warnings and today let’s continue in 2 Corinthians 3:16 because they are so very relevant: “Whenever anyone TURNS TO the Lord Jesus Christ, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Cor. 3:16,17)

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Have you ever scratched your head stupefied by WHY someone just doesn’t seem to understand what they are reading or hearing? On the other hand, have you had the great joy of being eyewitness to the moment when someone understands something for the first time? Do you remember how their eyes widen, their mouth opens, they are amazed that ‘they get it’, they finally understand? That is often the experience of a schoolteacher and that joy keeps them showing up for school each new day! It’s also the great joy of parenting, isn’t it?

In 2 Corinthians 3 Paul wrote about that delightful experience with these words: “Their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord Jesus, the veil is taken away.” (2 Cor. 3:14-16) Oh my, this is so hugely important, so significant for our entire world!

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