Wayside Bible Chapel

Even though our soul is beset with great sorrow, we can trust God to revive us according to His faithfulness when we turn from our ways and trust in His ways as He empowers us with grace to run the race.

Paul tells us we have the treasure of the life of Christ in clay post, referring to our fragile, weak bodies. God uses us as weak as we are to show that the power comes from Him. This keeps us from pride and reveals how much we should depend on Him. If we will fully surrender, the life of Jesus will be seen in our mortal bodies.

This sermon is Paul's defense of his ministry and a challenge to pastors and all who minister in any way to be people of integrity. The final verse in this passage tells us: 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. What a great reason for us to give thanks this Thanksgiving season!

There is a veil over the eyes of mankind that can only be lifted by the Spirit of God when they turn to Christ. In our day the veil is being lifted in ways never before seen in history. I can only assume that means the times of the Gentiles are coming to an end and the return of the Lord is nearing. The passage we are looking at ends with an incredible truth. As we behold the glory of the Lord we are transformed into the same image from glory to glory. The sermon delves into the wonder of what that means.

Seeking the full counsel of God is extremely important as a Christian today to help us make informed biblical decisions in every arena of our lives. The Word is the source and a life giving spring of truth that keeps our hearts in check with God's wonderful will for our lives.

The message this week is an illustration of Jesus' radical statement, "Without me, you can do nothing." You will see examples of the inadequacies of man and the sufficiency of God. The message also touches on the supremacy of the new covenant over the old one based on good works.

The believer in Jesus who is walking in the Spirit carries what Paul called the aroma of Christ. We spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. It is a metaphor for our words and actions being Christlike, having the fruits of the Spirit as opposed to the works of the flesh. People see a difference in us. They are either drawn or repelled, as it is a fragrance of life to those who are being saved and a fragrance of death to those who are perishing.

Paul tells us in this passage that his heart is for restoration and unity, even with those who have ridiculed him. He wants to see the repentant man restored, forgiven, and loved. Otherwise, the enemy will gain a victory over him by making him feel he will never be accepted. Condemnation will destroy his ability to be fruitful for the Lord. But there is also the warning from personal experience of grace without boundaries enabling the sinner to repeat their offense and further harm the church.

In this passage, Paul was defending the reason he changed his travel plans, as his detractors claimed he vacillated and was not honest with them. Paul points to his testimony with them, the honesty and sincerity he showed in the past, and how the grace of God through him was manifest among them. He boasted in what God was doing in them and they boasted in what God was doing through him. All glory to God alone.

We all face times when we feel overwhelmed and don't know what to do. The story of the Jehoshaphat facing an army of overwhelming odds teaches us how to deal with our crises. It shows how faithful God is when we place our complete trust in Him.