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Godly Anxiety

2Corinthians: Paul's Most Underappreciated Epistle

Feb 14, 2021


by: Jack Lash Series: 2Corinthians: Paul's Most Underappreciated Epistle | Category: Love | Scripture: 2 Corinthians 11:28–29

I. Introduction
A. The results of the investigation re: the Kobe Bryant crash: a failure to heed helicopter instruments
B. Last week we began to look at Paul’s list in 2Cor.11:21-33 of the hardships and sufferings he faced as a result of his ministry of the gospel.
C. Last week I told you that we would look at the list, and then this week we would talk about the point Paul is making by it.
1. However, I changed my mind. We left out one part of the list, and so we’ll talk about that today.
2. Then next week we’ll talk about Paul’s purpose in all of this.
D. The item on Paul’s list which we did not talk about is in 2Cor.11:28-29, “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?”
II. 2Cor.11:28-29
A. In these two verses, Paul turns his attention to the psychological stress of worrying about the churches in his care, and the daily pressure this places upon him.
B. 11:29 Paul concludes his list with two examples of his anxieties for his churches:
1. The weakness he feels for the weak
a. When someone is immature or frail in their faith, he is afraid for them & weak with anxiety, that they might stumble or be led astray (11:3, 13-15).
b. And he also worries about the powerless & vulnerable that they might be crushed or tripped up.
2. He also feels indignation with regard to those who stumble and fall. He’s upset; he’s disturbed.
a. 29 fall = SCANDALIZO (scandalize)
b. 29 indignant = PUROO (fire – pyromaniac)
C. In a world so hostile to Christian faith, Paul could not help but worry that his charges would not stand firm, and their failure would pierce him deeply.
D. If one of the weak should stumble in his Christian walk, for Paul it will be he himself were stumbling. He would feel their pain – like a parent who has to watch a child go through real pain.
E. He cannot casually accept one of the folks in his churches being caused to stumble or falling into sin. It causes him to burn inside.
F. One of the remarkable things about this is that he expresses this kind of indignation regarding his spiritual children, but he never says anything about being indignant toward all that he has suffered up to this point. He wasn’t upset about being beaten. He wasn’t indignant toward those who threw him into prison unjustly. He didn’t burn inside over being stoned. He didn’t get bent out of shape over going without food or sleep or being exposed to shivering cold.
1. But what upset him? When the faith of one of his spiritual children flounders.
2. Doesn’t this say a lot about Paul?
3. We don’t just see how much suffering he went through, we see how he went through that suffering. We see what was important to him. We see what made him tick.
III. Paul’s love for the Corinthians
A. I told you when we began this letter that it teaches us more about what Paul is like than any other. And we see it week after week.
B. This eagerness in Paul for the welfare of the Corinthians is something we see all through this letter.
C. You can see it in 2Cor.2:4 “I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.”
D. We saw in 2Cor.2:12-13 how Paul was anxious to receive news from Titus about how things were going in Corinth, so much so that he couldn’t take advantage of a mission opportunity in Troas.
E. We saw Paul’s anxiety in 11:2, when he says to them, “I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.”
F. As far as we know, no church gave Paul as much trouble as Corinth. A less kind wording of what they were like would be that they were obnoxious.
1. Divisions, schism, conflicts
2. Drunkenness in communion
3. Preoccupied with spectacular gifts
4. Forbidding sex in marriage on the one hand (1Cor.7), going to prostitutes on the other (1Cor.6).
5. Accusing Paul, quick to believe lies about him
G. Pastoral care can be relatively easy when it is done for those who love their pastor and value his ministry (Heb.13:17). It is a quite different story when the people you’re trying to love keep throwing spears at you!
IV. But this zeal for people in Paul went beyond the Corinthian congregation.
A. Having formed one church, he did not forget about them when he moved on to other area, but he continued to feel responsibility and anxiety for them.
B. He would double back and visit his churches whenever he could, going back again and again in order to make sure they were doing well, and to contribute to their growth (Acts 15:36 “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Cf. Acts 15:40-41, 18:23.
C. He tells the Thessalonians that he “can live, if you continue to stand firm in the Lord” (1Thes.3:8).
D. Paul says that he prays constantly for his churches (Phil.1:3-4; Col.1:9; 1Thes.1:2-3).
E. He tells the Galatians that he is “in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal.4:19).
1. Think about what Paul is saying here.
2. Sweet, tender, delicate women suddenly turn into mighty warriors determined to win victory.
3. That’s how determined Paul is to see his loved ones grow to maturity in Christ.
F. And, amazingly, Paul’s zeal was not just for those who Paul knew personally.
1. Colossians 2:1–2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ.
V. The love of Jesus
A. This is not normal human behavior. Where did this come from? It came from Jesus, of course.
B. Christ was loving His sheep through the apostle Paul.
C. Paul loved his sheep well because the Good Shepherd held sway over him (John 10:3-4, 11, 14).
D. Paul burned with zeal for God’s people because Jesus burns with zeal for God’s people.
E. The high priest’s breastplate in Exod.39:9-14 with 12 precious stones. And on each stone was written the name of one of the tribes of Israel.
F. Remember when Jesus cleansed the temple? What was that all about? John 2:17 tells us that it was a reflection of Psalm 69:6: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
1. What is Jesus’ house? It’s His people. It’s all those who turn to Him, who love & worship Him.
2. Jesus has zeal for them.
G. Mark told me this week that in the year 2000, his mom said she wanted to tell 2000 people about Jesus. And she was eventually able to do so. Where does that zeal come from?
1. Think about all the missionaries who have given up everything to go to some obscure place in the world and devote their lives to loving some little-known people group in the name of Jesus. Where does that come from?
2. You’ve heard of Oakseed Ministries. Well, they support people all over the world serving the poor in Jesus name:
a. There is one group which helps severely impoverished teenaged girls who live in the garbage dump of Cairo, Egypt, loving them, training them, telling them about the love of Christ.
b. There is another group which helps prisoners, children born in prison and the mentally ill in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
3. What drives people to do this? It starts with the love of Christ flowing to them, and then flowing through them to others.
H. We see this in the Bible in the theme of the river flowing out from God.
1. Gen.2:10 “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, & there it divided & became 4 rivers.”
a. Why is it important that this great river begins in Eden? Because that’s where God was.
b. And the river flows from Him and waters mankind.
2. Psalm 36:8 “You give them drink from the river of your delights.”
3. Psalm 46:4 “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.”
4. Ezekiel 47:1 “Water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple.”
5. Joel 3:18 “A fountain shall come forth from the house of the LORD and water the valley.”
6. Zechariah 14:8 “On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem.”
7. Revelation 22:1-2 “The angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
8. But notice that the source of this river which brings life and healing to mankind is God.
I. You know, there is a difference between a spring and a river/stream.
1. A river is explainable; a spring is mysterious. A river is dirty; a spring is clean. (Bottled water)
2. So, God is the beginning of the river, the spring from which it all springs.
3. Love begins with God. All love begins with God.
J. Is there someone who loves you? Why does anybody love us? Did/do your parents love you? Most of us had parents who loved us. They made many mistakes, but they cared.
1. If there’s anyone who loves you, it’s because of Jesus.
2. If someone loves you, ultimately it’s because God has inclined their hearts toward you. He has put some of His love for you in their hearts.
3. I was not on a good trajectory in 2nd & 3rd grade. I hated my teachers and it seemed they hated me. I was headed for trouble.
a. But then things suddenly changed. My 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Williams, loved me! She was very old, but instead of frowning when she saw me, she smiled! And then my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Kemp, loved me, and my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Sullivan, loved me — and I loved them.
b. And because of them, I began to like school. It really turned my life around.
c. I was thinking about these three teachers about ten years ago, and suddenly it was as if God said to me, “That was Me! I was loving you through them.” And, all of a sudden, an interesting chapter of my history became a cause for worship. I haven’t seen any of those women since elementary school, but I know where their love came from, and it continues today!
VI. Application
A. So, the 1st question I urge you to ask yourself is: Do you know someone loves you like this?
1. Sadly, it’s not me, though I do love you dearly. But my love has been polluted by my own sin. I have already failed you in many ways and at many times. And it’s likely I’ll do so again.
2. But you have a shepherd much better than me! And every person who’s ever loved you is merely showing you God’s love, even if they don’t know Him, even if they don’t care about Him.
3. Love is of God. (1John 4:7)
4. And even if at some point in your life you feel like no one has ever loved you, it doesn’t mean God doesn’t love you.
B. There is one more verse which talks about the flowing river of God. It’s John 7:38, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
1. This explains the amazing love of the apostle Paul. The Holy Spirit of Christ was in him and His love was flowing through him.
2. And that same Love can well up in our hearts and flow out to others.
3. This is why those who really care about Christ really care also about the spiritual welfare of Christ’s people. The Good Shepherd gives them His love for His precious sheep!
4. Love = a zeal for the welfare of another
5. That’s why Romans 12:15 says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep for those who weep.”
a. This is not just the proper technique of love. What Paul is talking about here is when another person’s happiness makes you happy, and another person’s sadness makes you sad. That’s love.
6. Paul had this eagerness for the Corinthians. When they did well, it made him happy. When they struggled, it made him sad.
7. And God wants us to have this eagerness as well.
a. We already have it toward ourselves. E.g. shopping for a gift, walking out with something for me
b. He wants us to have it toward our spouses, toward our children, our siblings, our parents.
c. He wants us to have it toward our church.
d. Not just to have a zeal to do them no harm, but to have a zeal to help them, to build them, to bless them, to shine God’s love on them.
C. So, on this Valentines Day we have talked about love, not necessarily romantic love, but we’ve talked about the Fountain and Source of all love, and the key to being people of love. It’s Jesus.