Second Corinthians chapter 11, please, with me today. Second Corinthians chapter 11. As most are aware, when we turn to Second Corinthians, we're turning to a letter addressed to a church plagued with problems. In fact, the whole first letter to the Corinthians seems as if one problem after another needed to be addressed. The first four chapters of 1 Corinthians address the problem of division in the church. The church was divided regarding spiritual leaders. The fifth chapter deals with immorality in the church. In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, the passage begins, it's reported commonly that there's fornication among you such as not even named among the Gentiles, that a man would have his own father's wife. In chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians, the problem at hand is taking other brothers to court before the loss. Don't you know that we will one day be charged with judging the angels? The Spirit of God speaks to the Corinthians in chapter 7 about the problem of marriage and divorce and remarriage. And as we come to 2 Corinthians, it seems that the problems in the port city of Corinth have not all been solved. 2 Corinthians is a personal letter from the apostle. to a church that he planted in Corinth, whose loyalties are now being loosed from him. And as those loyalties are being loosed from the apostle and church planter, Paul fears that the loyalties of the church members are actually being loosed from the Lord. So that's the burden of his heart as we open our Bibles to 2 Corinthians, the 11th chapter, and find Paul pleading with the Corinthians. to be loyal to the Lord. 2 Corinthians 11, beginning in verse 1. Would to God that you could bear with me a little in my folly, and indeed bear with me, for I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one husband that I might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, So your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well hear him." We speak this morning on the treasure of loyalty to the Lord. So let's ask the Lord to bless as we look into his word. Now, Father, I pray that you would help us as a congregation to rise up as the men have reminded us in song this morning. And may our hearts say, you are God. And as we are stirred in heart to say so, may we be stirred in feet and hand to serve you. Lord, I pray that our minds will be fixed on you this morning, that we glory in our salvation. that we'd go out of this place today saying, oh indeed, it is wonderful to be a Christian. And may we desire to tell the world of our loyalty to the loving Savior who loved us so much that He gave Himself for us. Lord, stir in hearts this morning. Make us a peculiar people, zealous unto good works. Lord, stir in hearts this morning, convincing us of the truth of Your Word and assuring us by it. And Lord, especially, I pray, if there be someone in this service today that doesn't know Jesus Christ as Savior, may today be the day that be rejoicing in the presence of the angels over one sinner who'd come to repent. May your work be done in our hearts, and may we go out from this place better to serve you as we look in your word, for it's in Christ's name we pray, amen. This week, I read many tributes to former First Lady Nancy Reagan. I found myself laughing as I read the account an aide shared of traveling with Mrs. Reagan when her husband had been recently elected as the governor of the state of California. It was 1966, and Governor Reagan found himself embroiled in a financial battle in California. Imagine that. As the budget battle was brewing, many statements were going out and people were finding themselves, of course, politically divided. And on the plane was the governor's wife, Mrs. Nancy Reagan, and behind her was a very boisterous, very opinionated California resident. She was flying to Sacramento and he, not knowing that the governor's wife was seated in front of him, was going on and on about this crazy Governor Reagan and all the ideas that he had regarding the budget. Mrs. Reagan, seated by an aide, pressed the button that reclined her seat. She reclined her seat as far back as it could go and she very clearly spoke to the man behind her and said, that's my husband you're talking about and you've got the facts all wrong. She pressed the button again and inclined her seat and continued on her journey. I love that story. I love that story because it's a story of marital loyalty, of taking a stand for one who is well loved. I have a question to ask you this morning. If you were on an airplane and someone seated near you was blaspheming the name of Jesus Christ, speaking all manner of evil against Him, would you press the button on your seat and get into a conversation? How deep is your loyalty to the Lord? God wants your loyalty. God deserves your loyalty. In fact, friends, God demands your loyalty. And so as we open our Bibles this morning, we need to be reminded that God has said in Deuteronomy 6 and verse 5, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. We need to be reminded that Deuteronomy 10 and verse 20 says, thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave. God wants our loyalty. It's basic. Back in Exodus chapter 20, when introducing the commandments to the nation of Israel, God says, I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt and out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. In 2 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul addresses the Corinthian Christians whose loyalty to the Lord and to the Apostle, who has been such a blessing to them, is now at risk. He says to them in verse 3, I fear that your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity The Greek word simplicity there means singleness or sincerity. I fear that your minds may be corrupted from the sincerity or the singleness, the focus, the loyalty that you have on Christ. Let's ask the question this morning. How can a Christian's loyalty for the Lord be maintained? And let's find our answer to that question in the first four verses of 2 Corinthians 11, where we come face-to-face, friends, with the jealousy of God the Father. Face-to-face not only with the jealousy of God the Father that demands our loyalty, but also we come face-to-face with the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, which demands our loyalty. And we come face-to-face with the subtlety of Satan. which also often puts our loyalty at risk. God wants your loyalty. And He is a jealous God. Look at verse 2. Paul writing, I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. The character of Paul's jealousy matches the jealousy of the Lord. Literally, we can say that Paul is writing, I am jealous over you with the jealousy of God. Now, does that sound strange to you? Jealousy and God. It shouldn't. After all, in Exodus 20 and verse 5, I, the Lord, am a jealous God. Exodus 34 and verse 14, for thou shalt worship no other God for the Lord whose name is Jealous. His very name is Jealous. His nature is Jealous. And He, according to Exodus 34 and verse 14, is a jealous God. Deuteronomy 4 and verse 24, for the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. Pastor, what does that mean exactly? I'm trying to put my mind around what it means to have a God who's jealous, and frankly, I find a tension point there. Well, in verse 2, this Greek word, zailouo, that's translated jealousy in the New Testament, means an ardent affection. A strong desire for a right and committed relationship. An ardent affection that that relationship be right and pure. Our God is an angry God. The Word of God tells us He's angry with the sinners every day. And yet that anger is balanced by God's altogether holiness. Our God is a God of vengeance. Vengeance is Thine. You will repay. even says the Lord, and yet his vengeance is meted out in absolute, astonishing holiness. And God is a jealous God, but that jealousy never impacts His holiness, for the angels today in heaven are singing together, Holy, Holy, Holy. And James reminds us that God cannot be tempted with evil And so his jealousy is not an evil jealousy. It's not a green-eyed monster jealousy. It's a loving desire for a fervent relationship with you. When my wife and I were newlyweds, we were living in what we affectionately called the little house on the parking lot. We lived in a really, really little house on the parking lot of the church. And so people would come by there regularly, sometimes looking for a church key. sometimes looking for a handout, sometimes asking if I would come over to the church next door and unlock it and play floor hockey. You may not be familiar with floor hockey, but in Minnesota, it's a wildly popular game. In fact, I found out it was pretty popular in Colorado as well. I hosted a junior high floor hockey activity. The church secretary misspelled the wording in the church bulletin. We had the biggest turnout I'd ever seen for a junior high floor hickey activity. Obviously, we didn't host one of those. It was a floor hockey activity. Some guys came knocking on the door. Hey, can Chuck come? We're playing floor hockey downstairs. And as I went to put my tennis shoes on, I saw tears in Linda's eyes. We'd only been married for a few weeks. And she said to me, how long are you going to be over there? I don't know. We're going to play until we drop, I guess. We're just going to play floor hockey. She said, well, can you come back pretty soon? We haven't spent much time together. I said, well, the guys are kind of waiting for me, honey. She said, well, I thought when we got married, we're going to be spending some time together. I said, listen, I'll be back in exactly one hour. I promise you. I went over and began playing floor hockey and the games were fairly intense. It was all tied up at the one hour mark. You know what I did? I went home. I said to the guys, hey guys, you know what? I promised my wife I'd be back. Oh, come on, Chuck, you can stay. What's the matter with you, man? You're head back already. I mean, I heard it all. You've been there, done that, right? But you know what? I had something that I was learning, that my wife was not seeking to be a threat to my time. She was seeking to compliment me by her desire to spend time with me. She was a jealous bride, and that's a good thing. My God is a jealous God, and that's a good thing. When I turn up my affections away from God to other things, listen, I stir the affections of my jealous God who desires my affections completely focused upon Him. Nahum 1 and verse 2, God is jealous, and He revengeth, the Word of God says. Like a man whose emotions are stirred when he sees the American flag burned. Our God's emotions are stirred when He sees His people turning their affections toward anything that would put their affections toward Him at risk. So he addresses the children of Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 6, and he says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God and serve him, for the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you. Lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee even from off the face of the earth. You say, now pastor, that's Old Testament. That's right. So let's listen to the New Testament for a minute. The New Testament says in Hebrews chapter 12, Whom the Lord loveth, he scourgeth, and chastens every son that he receive. If you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then you're illegitimate and you're not really sons. God in his jealousy wants our attention. He wants our affections. He wants our love. He demands our love. And as the Corinthians are finding themselves toying with disloyalty, first toward the Apostle Paul, then ultimately toward the Lord himself, they're being reminded as we should be reminded as we look in 2 Corinthians 11 to set our affections on the things above. Why? Be motivated by this. Your God is a jealous God. But in that motivation, find compliment. What a privilege to serve a God who cares, with a holy jealousy for His people. Why should I be loyal to the Lord? I look on in this passage and I discover that Christ is a loving groom. Christ is a loving groom. Look at the second verse. I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. As the Apostle Paul is challenging the wandering hearts of the Corinthians, he reminds them of a beautiful, beautiful biblical truth, that every Christian is espoused to Christ. And you recall that as we open to the New Testament, we're opening to an era in which marriage was a two-step process. There was the espousal in which vows were given. pledges were made and then the next step the consummation when the marital partners became truly one a spousal and consummation two parts of the marriage inseparable important the espousal the promises having been made to the Corinthians that must have stirred some measure of emotion for it's Paul who writes and says I've espoused you to one husband And I've done that with this burning desire that I might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. When I was in college, my college roommate Henry Mikael, his father was the mayor of Ramallah, that's occupied Jerusalem. Henry was Palestinian. My Palestinian roommate wore a ring on his right hand. It was a wedding ring. He had been espoused. He'd gone through his wedding ceremony. He was now in his educational process, looking forward to going back and taking his bride to be with him and live happily ever after. But the first step, he'd been pledged. And so in our room, in time of devotions, pictures on the wall and conversations, he spoke about his wife. Even as Mary was espoused to Joseph when she was found with child of the Holy Ghost, Joseph wondered, what am I going to do? Maybe I should put her away in a private ceremony of divorcement. That's how significant the espousal is. And so as the Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 2, I have espoused you to one husband, and I have this godly desire. I want to present you as a chaste, Paul had played the part of the spiritual matchmaker, if you will. He had brought the Corinthians to know the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. And in truth, every genuine Christian has been espoused. And thus we've entered into the first step of that glorious marital union. Jesus Christ is our heavenly bridegroom. And we become part of the bride. Folks, it's unimaginable, but yet it's true. The Bible tells us that in eternity past, the Father decided that the Son would have a most unusual companion. That the companionship of all the angels who would sing, Holy, Holy, Holy and bow before Him would not be enough. That the companionship of Michael and Gabriel for the Son would not be enough. And so God decided to make a most unusual companion. for God the Son, and that that companion would be taken from among mankind. I know it's true, and I know it happened before I was created and before the worlds were created, because in Ephesians chapter 1, the fourth verse says we were chosen before the foundations of the earth. So sometime in eternity past, God decided that the Son would have a bride. And then the question, how would the bride be gathered from among the children of men? And the Word of God responds in 1 John 4 and verse 14, the father would send the son. Why was the son sent? In order to gather this bride. And the mission would not be easy, folks, for that bride who would stand to adore the heavenly groom. You see, before the groom even arrived, the bride had a fatal heart event, if you will. In fact, she was DOA. dead on arrival. No signs of life at all. Ephesians 2 makes it clear that that prospective bride was dead in trespasses and sin. And so the Spirit of God steps forward in that heavenly conversation in eternity past. And the Spirit of God says, I have the capacity to take the heart of stone and replace the heart of stone with the heart of flesh. The Spirit of God stood forward and said, I'm able to accomplish that spiritual surgery, but there were other problems. In fact, one of the most significant problem is found in the pages of God's Word. The bride was hideous. ugly beyond belief, steeped in trespasses and sins, and yet the Holy Spirit again, in that conversation that must have transpired in the eternity past, stood forward and said, I have the capacity, not simply to replace the heart of stone with the heart of flesh, but I have the capacity to wash that bride with the washing of the Word, so that that bride can be pure and spotless when on that wonderful day of consummation she stands before the heavenly groom. But there were other problems that surfaced. One of the problems that no doubt surfaced was the fact that the bride had a terrible debt. She was in debt beyond anything we could ever imagine. She was in debt because of her sin. And now the heavenly groom stood forward. And the heavenly groom, our Lord Jesus Christ, said, I have the capacity and the will, the will to pay her debt, the capacity out of the abundance of the riches of my glory. I will pay her sin debt. But there are other problems, folks, that the Bible tells us before this wedding could be enjoyed. The bride had no wedding garment. And again, Jesus Christ the Savior steps forward and says, I'll clothe her with my righteousness. I can almost hear an angel at this point saying, what about a wedding license? And hearing the groom say, I'll pledge with the covenant of my blood, it will be a testament throughout all eternity that this bride has been uniquely purchased and uniquely redeemed. Maybe another angel in heaven says, well, what about a dowry? When it comes to weddings, after all, in the Middle East, the bride has to have a dowry. The father of the bride has to bring something to the wedding. And our father Adam was totally bankrupt. But oh, the blessed news that we have, that a dowry has been paid as well. For the father in heaven says, if I'm willing to offer my son, Why shouldn't I with him also give them all things freely to enjoy? The dowry offered by the father. Well, how are we going to win this bride? Someone else inquires. And the answer comes back throughout eternity. Win her by grace. Win her by grace. Let her know that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Let her know that it's not by her works of righteousness, it's not her merit that gives her this wonderful relationship, but it's according to His mercy she can have this wonderful relationship as the bride of Christ. Well, you know, for any good wedding there needs to be a ring, doesn't there? An outward symbol of a transaction that has gone on. No offense to those who aren't wearing wedding rings. But over the years of doing many, many marriages, I can't remember one that I've done without at least somebody wearing a wedding ring. Before the wedding of the bride to the groom in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, there's a baptism that shows that a promise has been made, a pledge has been given, and a spousal is now enjoyed. But let me tell you something about this bride. This bride's really nervous. Because while she's gone through this time of a spousal and looks forward to the time where she enjoys complete consummation, her heart quivers all the time. So listen to the words of the groom. Peace I give to you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world gives, give I unto you. And when she finds herself most weary in her well-doing, he whispers this, no one can take you out of my hand. And he says further, don't you understand the spirit that's been placed within you is but a down payment of that glorious day of consummation that is coming? Dear Christian, God promises that one day you will be ushered into glory. as the bride of Christ, not by your works, but according to His grace, He has purchased you, He has promised you, and you were espoused to the Lord. There ought to be a hallelujah that rises up from within us. A story is told of a young lady who went into a bridal shop years ago, and the lady who was attending to her said, what kind of dress are you looking for? And she said with a smile, I'm looking for a really loud one. What? I want a really loud one. The young bride said, a loud dress? I've never been asked for a loud dress. Can you explain what you mean? She said, I want people to hear every move I make in this dress. When I come down the aisle, I want it to be the loudest dress that's ever been put together in the shop. I want them to hear every move I make. And the manager of the bridal shop said, that's the most unusual request I've ever heard. Why is it that you'd want a loud dress? And the young lady said, my groom is blind. I want him to hear every movement when I come. Dear friend, our Savior is not blind. Our Savior is very aware of his earthly bride, soon to be heavenly bride. And so our minds with loyalty ought to be fixed on heavenly affections. And we ought to be asking in every day, in every way, in every moment, how can I please Him who gave Himself for me? How can I, as the heavenly bride in preparation in this time of a spousal, be thinking of ways that would cause His heart to rejoice? Say, friend, are your loyalties divided? Are you living a lifestyle that would not be pleasing the Savior? Have convictions been falling away as your affections have been diverted? I want you to know this. The new man will never be satisfied with old affections. Oh, for the joy of being a chaste bride. Paul says, I have this desire. I want to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. And we ought to have this desire in return. I want to be unashamed before Him at His coming. Loyalty to the Lord. He demands it. He deserves it. He's a jealous God. Christ is a loving Lord. But let's recall what the Spirit of God shares with us in the third verse, that Satan is a strong seducer. For I fear, Paul writes, lest that by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that's in Christ. The same serpent who beguiled Eve desires to beguile you. He goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And that sheep who wanders from the flock becomes most susceptible. That one who is walking a little bit more slowly, that one whose affections have been taken away from the shepherd, that one who is outside of the purview of the care of the shepherd is always under the focused and laser-beam eyes of Satan who desires to pounce. And so as Paul writes to the Corinthians, he says, here's my fear, that Satan may subtly come in and stir the spiritual affections of your heart in ways that will damage your relationship to the Lord and to the God who is jealous over you. Now listen, how does he do it? What will be the subtleties and the means that He will use to draw away the affections of the heavenly groom's bride from the heavenly groom? Well, look what He says. He says, if others come, in verse 4, and preach to you another Jesus, or come and receive with them or bring with them another spirit that you would receive, or even bring another gospel, another Jesus, Another spirit, another gospel. Here are the identifiers of the subtleties of Satan upon the bride on earth. Another Jesus. You say, how would anyone? desire any Jesus other than the Lord Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross of Calvary and rose again. And, oh, friend, our hearts ought to say no one could desire anyone any more lovely than the Jesus that we worship this morning, the Jesus of the cross and the Jesus of the resurrection, the Jesus who's the conquering king, the altogether lovely one. And yet we know it's true that another Jesus is being preached. There's another Jesus of the liberals. He wasn't born of a virgin, they say. He didn't raise from the dead, they say. There's another Jesus of the Mormons. He's a brother of Lucifer, a created being, not the uncreated one. There's another Jesus of the Jehovah's Witness. He's not exactly equal to God the Father, you understand. And all these Jesuses are being offered until finally there's the one called the Antichrist and many will receive Him. There's another Jesus who's being spoken of. There's another Spirit that's being received. It's the Spirit of the world. It's the Spirit of the world that desires to embellish the lust of the flesh. It's the Spirit of the world that doesn't desire to look into God's Word with carefulness and be fed from the Spirit of God through the Word of God, but rather to have the spirit of euphoria that comes over, and it's a false spirit, and yet it's ever so attractive. And then, of course, there's another gospel. On the extreme side, there's that legalistic gospel that seems to teach that I have to be really, really good to get to heaven. And on the other side, there's that libertarian gospel that I can be anything that I want to be because, after all, Jesus loves me. But in the middle, there's this gospel, that because Jesus loves you, we love Him. We love Him because He first loved us. And our love for him motivates our loyalty to him. We are the wonderful recipients of the jealousy of God's affections. We are the wonderful recipients of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we walk in this world with the subtleties round about us. May God help us to show our loyalty every day. So. How do I do that? How do I keep my loyalties on the Lord? You know, people say that if you want to know what a counterfeit bill looks like, you really need to become familiar with an authentic bill. And the more you become familiar with the authentic bill, the easier it is to spot the counterfeit bill. And even so, the more we spend time with Christ, and the more we spend time in God's Word, and the more we spend time in prayer, and the more we spend time with authentic Christian people who really know the Lord, when we look at that counterfeit, there's no satisfaction in it at all. May God help us to live lives that are loyal to the Lord, for He's a jealous God. He's a loving God. He knows that the subtleties of Satan are real. So I ask you the question this morning. Would you press the button on that airplane and let the seat go back and say to those roundabout, I'm married to Jesus. He's my heavenly groom. And what you say about Him today is not real. I know it's not real. Because the Spirit of God has given me this wonderful assurance that I need to be loyal to Him. The Lord wants your loyalty, friend. Today, you come to understand He's a jealous God. Is your heart stirred to say, I've provoked His jealousy? and I need to repent." Today, you understand that Christ is a loving Lord and a loving groom who desires your affections. Have you wondered from those affections? Today, if you find your soul slipping into places where it ought not to be, and the Lord is working in your heart to draw you back as a Christian, or if today you would say, I've never come to trust Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, Pastor, that relationship that you talked about today of a heavenly groom who would die for me has stirred my soul. I want to come to know Christ as Savior. May God help your heart to do heavenly work today as we stand together, please, and pray.