Take your Bibles, if you would, tonight and open to the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians. If you will, we'll be starting here tonight. We'll be jumping around a little bit, as we often do, but 2 Corinthians is where we will be for this message that, as I started Preparing for this, it was kind of interesting. There was a particular passage that I was praying about and thinking that I wanted to study out and develop and put together a message on. And so as I went to that passage, I started kind of reading back. Okay, well, here's the key verse and let me go back and see how far back I need to go to really kind of start a passage. And well, then I just kept going back a little bit further. And I was like, well, I got to go back further than that. And so I would go back a little further. Well, that's not, I got to go back a little further than that yet. And all of a sudden I was a chapter and a half behind. I was like, wait a minute, I can't put all of that into one message. And so As it turns out, you know, it was not long until all of a sudden I realized, you know, this might turn into more than one message. And that's okay. I think that's a good thing because, you know, as more thoughts roll around in my mind, I've got to, you know, chase after them and try to track them down before I lose them. But it's a good thing that we've got more than one message coming out of this little study, I think, that I started with because I realized that As I was looking at that and as I was realizing that there was more than sufficient for one message, it really was God, I believe, who through the Holy Spirit was showing me that I have a whole lot more studying to do. It can't be just take one little passage and read it and think about it and have a single point come out of that message and then be done. I got a whole lot more studying to do, especially when I consider that if I want to begin to grow from where I am in my walk with God, I can't just read one little passage and expect that a whole lot of growth is going to happen. And so I just realized that, you know, it's a good thing that when we read our scriptures, that all of a sudden we've got to read a little bit more, or we've got to go back and find out a little more information about how did we get to that point. Because, you know, shouldn't we all realize that no matter how many years you have been saved, no matter how close you believe you are to our God, Oh, we need to be closer and we need to keep on studying and we need to keep looking for new information as we read the scriptures and how it can apply. The information in scripture never changes because God doesn't change. But the information can be new to us as the Holy Spirit of God continues to work and open our understanding. Oh, I see that differently now. And that's how it applies to me. So if we're to begin to grow from where we are in our walk with God, It's always a good thing to have to go back and read some more. Let's pray tonight for this message. Let's pray. Father God in heaven, I ask that you would accomplish things that only your Holy Spirit can. Father, it is not possible for me to impart the kind of information that will speak to every situation or every representative here tonight. Lord God, I know how you have begun to work in my heart through this bit of a study. I pray, God, that your Holy Spirit will open the understanding of those that hear, Father, to how you would have them to apply your word in each of our lives so that, Father, we might grow right from where we are. We may have been saved for years, Lord God, but that doesn't mean that we have arrived at where we need to be. And so God, won't you help us tonight, open our understanding, fill us each one with your spirit that will help us to receive what you have for us tonight. And I ask it in Jesus name. Amen. May I ask you how often do you actually consider your own personal walk with God? How often do you just stop and consider where am I in my walk with God? Do you ever begin to get into your own head a little bit, like I do very often, and I start going down this road of, boy, you know, I could have done that a whole lot better. Oh, boy, I really didn't do very well this day. You know, I start going down this road of kind of some negative thoughts or doubts or unbelief, or I can't believe I did what I just did, or I can't believe I just said that, or that I reacted the way I just did. Well, sure enough, It is that kind of vain debate, the kind that says, how could God ever use me, or how could God ever put me in a position to glorify him? Look at what I have done. But that's exactly the kind of debate, the vain debate, even within ourselves, that Satan would love for us to get stuck in. to rob us of the joy that we could have and that we should have and that we do have when we're in Christ. Satan wants to take those things away. He wants to take that joy away from us. But just as those thoughts even began while I started studying for this message tonight, God, in his infinite grace, I believe, had this to say to me in my devotional that very morning. The devotional was titled, A Word to Him That Halts. And that's exactly what it is. When we start doubting and we start thinking, boy, I don't think God could use me, it's a halting of our walk with God. We stop and put up a roadblock and say, God, you can never use me. We need not to do that. But here's what the devotional said. Here's what God said to me. He records in the book of Zephaniah, that's another one of those minor prophets like we were talking about this morning. Zephaniah chapter three, verse 19, part B of that verse, there's this phrase. He said, God says, I will save her that halteth. the saving of God. I will save her, that's to deliver, that's to liberate her that halteth. And then he said, there are plenty of these lame ones, both male and female. They are in the right road, and we're exceedingly anxious to run in that road with all diligence. But they are lame, and they make a sorry walk of it. On the heavenly road there are many cripples. It may be that they say in their hearts, what will become of us? Sin will overtake us. Satan will throw us down. Ready to halt is our name and it's our nature. The Lord can never make good soldiers of us, nor even nimble messengers to go on his errands. Well God says, I will save her that halteth. And in saving us, he will greatly glorify himself. Because as God works to save us from that kind of vain debate, we are suddenly much more available to God than we would have been if we got stuck where Satan wanted us to be. How tragic and how detrimental, how harmful it would be if I had chosen to not have my devotions that morning, just as we heard this morning, just as we heard Martin Luther said, I have so much to do today. I have to spend three hours in prayer. How harmful would it have been had I chosen to not read that passage this morning or that morning? It wasn't this morning. It was through God's intervention in that moment of recalling and rereading that devotion was I prepared for this message that God reminded me also of Romans chapter 5. You know a passage in Romans chapter 5 and it's contained in verses 6 through 9 where the Bible says for when we were yet without strength In due time, in other words, at exactly the right moment, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. Yet, peradventure for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, unworthy, unusable, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than being now justified by his blood, In other words, he has made us, by his blood, worth everything. Who were unworthy, we are now worth everything. The Bible says that we shall be saved from wrath through him. So, while Satan, or while even our own carnality would have us not step out in faith to serve God, maybe it's in witnessing, Maybe it's in sharing our testimony with someone. Maybe it's singing a special in church or playing a special in church. Maybe it's voting on the basis of scripture rather than just choosing the least of the evils. Even something like that. As Satan would have us not step out in faith in those circumstances, Whatever God presents for us as an opportunity, if we won't step out in faith, we're really kind of telling God that he was wrong about us. The Bible says that God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, unworthy, his very son, Jesus Christ, died for us to make us worthy. But if we don't step out in faith, we're saying, you know what, God? You made a mistake. God doesn't make mistakes. Christ died for you and for me, for God's purposes and for God's service. Friends, if we didn't catch it just a moment ago, Romans 5 told us that we were unworthy, but God loved us when no one else could. He gave himself in the person of Jesus Christ to die in our place, making us worthy as we accept his gift of salvation. And that brings us to our source text. Wow, whoa, that was just the introduction. Oh boy. Bringing us to our source text. You're already in 2 Corinthians. Turn with me over to chapter number three, if you would, please. Chapter number three, keeping in mind this basis for the message that we've just seen from the Word of God and from these comments, Paul begins this portion of his letter to the Church of God in Corinth with the somewhat, call it a rhetorical question, but one that carries some rather hefty weight and power, if you will, as we look in chapter three, starting in verse one. Paul writes here, Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men. For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the hearts, And such trust have we through Christ to Godward, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. And verse 6 says, who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life. So as I'm looking at this, really I suppose this little series of messages might be considered to be a Christian's ministry kind of a series. This message today is really the worth of the unworthy, is what I've titled tonight's message. The worth of the unworthy, because as we have just seen, at one point we were unworthy as sinners. But because of Jesus Christ, we have been made able ministers, as Paul writes, worthy to minister the New Testament. Not the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law through Christ. I believe that the implication of these questions in verse number one, again read that with me, verse number one says, do we begin again to commend ourselves or need we as some others epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? I believe that the implication here, what Paul is implying, is that both he and Timothy, who have written this letter together, both Paul and Timothy have so lived their Christian lives that there is no question about whether they are true believers and followers of Christ. We talk all the time about how great an apostle Paul was, but it wasn't too long before Paul was the apostle Paul that he was Saul and completely unworthy for anything having to do with God. But God made him worthy. In other words, it was widely known that both of these men, both Paul and Timothy, are God-fearing, God-believing, God-serving, Godly men. Not because of their name recognition for all the great things that they may have accomplished, but because they only and always gave the glory and honor to God. First and foremost, they honored God. They gave the glory and the honor to God through their personal obedience to Him through the best and the worst of circumstances. Oh glory, I tell you, read about Paul's imprisonments, read about Paul's shipwrecks, read about Paul's beatings, and yet he only and always glorified God through those circumstances. but also they gave God the glory and the honor through constant and utter worship and lifting up the name of Christ, lifting up Christ's death, burial and resurrection as the sole source of their joy and their salvation. So our challenge from this ought to be that we be that same kind of witness and walking testimony or letter of commendation. as Paul referred to in verses two and three. Look at again, verses two and three, he said, ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men, for as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables, but in fleshy tables, not in stone, excuse me, but in fleshy tables of the hearts. You see, he referred to those that knew them because of their conduct was the very letter of commendation for them. These men were not perfect. These men were not without flaw. They were not without error, and I don't believe that these words are saying that we need to live a sinless life, because that's not even possible. We are, however, called to live a life that is peaceable, live a life that is holy, live a life that demonstrates not only the need for obedience to the holy and righteous principles of God, but a life that also demonstrates the love, the compassion, the forgiveness that God has extended to us because of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross of Calvary. Are we living that kind of a life? Are we living the kind of life that demonstrates the very love of God that goes beyond the momentary circumstance and says, because of Jesus Christ, I love you enough to forgive you. It wasn't because of who we were that God forgave us. It was because of Jesus Christ. who said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. It is that very reference in verse three. Written not with ink, the Bible says, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but the fleshy tables of the heart. You see, that is the foundation of today's Christian ministry. That's the foundation of your ministry, of my ministry. It's not talking about you have to be in the full-time ministry, because you, Christian, have a ministry. The first step of that ministry is to recognize and appropriate this foundation in your life that we are to be the very reflection of the love and the forgiveness of God to others, even when we don't deserve it. It's not to use the word of God as a hammer or as a guillotine. Oh, there are some that will take this word of God and pull out a passage and says, the Bible says that you are going to die and go to hell. But my Bible also says that that was once the case, but I have been saved because of Jesus Christ. And so can you. It matters not what you have done in the past. It matters not how bad you think you were, but if we will accept Jesus Christ and his finished work, you can be made worthy to go to heaven, to live with a holy and righteous God for all of eternity. Sometimes I think we fail to recognize that those that we come in contact with or those that we see and oh how evil they may be acting, boy they're going to hell. Okay, well that may be, but are you going to be the tool that God might use to help them see that they don't have to be that way? The foundation of the Christian ministry is not to use the word of God as a hammer or as a guillotine, but to be our source of knowledge and power to reflect every aspect of our own savior. Reflect every aspect of the one who gives grace and love and forgiveness and mercy and meekness and temperance and joy and every aspect of the fruit. of the Holy Spirit of God. You know what that fruit of the Spirit is? That's the outcome in your life by following Jesus Christ. Those are the outward demonstrations of the change that Christ can make in a life. Have they made them in yours? Has he made that change in my life and are we demonstrating that? Now friends, we cannot let anyone, we can't even let our own selves get in the way of continuing always in that very demonstration as we're reminded of in verses four through six of our text. The Bible says, and such trust have we through Christ to God. We're not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. You see, verse five, they're saying, look, get out of your own way. Stay out of your own head. Stop debating and halting before God. Our sufficiency is of God. And verse six says, who hath also made us able. Oh, what a great promise is that. God has made us able, ministers of the New Testament. Not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter of the law, in fact, that Old Testament letter of the law is a hammer and a guillotine that we cannot follow. And God said so much that it was weak. But then he gave us a new testament, the spirit of the law, the spirit of the living God. Remember how I said earlier that sometimes we get into our own head, or maybe we jump into a pool of self-pity or self-denigration? I'm not worth all that. God, you can't possibly mean that I'm supposed to go and witness to that person. Do you know what I've done? Well, yeah, God actually does know what you've done, and he saved us anyway. Hello, amen? It may not always happen that way, but on those occasions, you know, when those occasions pop up from time to time, we just start getting down on ourselves and we start getting negative about what we have done and we forget about what God has done in spite of us. At those occasions, we need that store of encouragement from God. We need that encouragement from the Word of God, from our fellowship with God, to keep us from falling completely into that trap of doubt and halting that I mentioned earlier. King David said it this way. In Psalm chapter 21 verse 1, David said, The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord, and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice. And in verse 3 of that chapter he writes, for thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness. Have we been prevented from getting into that trap of downheartedness, stiff-necked, arguing with God about what we may or may not be able to do? Have we been prevented by remembering the goodness and the blessings of God? You see, that's why he gives us those handfuls on purpose to say, listen, yes, you were once Saul, but you're no longer Saul. Now you are Paul and I love you and I am willing and ready to work through you and get out of this pit of self-pity and let's move forward. preventing us with a goodness. Don't ever forget to rehearse and to review how God has blessed, how he continues to bless, and how he works in your heart and life every day. Why do you think we have time to say let's rehearse and let's review the blessings and how God is working in your heart and life? That's exactly why. It may just be the very tool that God uses to lift us back into our right place to serve. Turn back with me from where we're at in chapter three. Just turn back very little bit to chapter number two. Boy, that was a long stretch. 2 Corinthians chapter two. As I close, let's look at 2 Corinthians chapter two beginning in verse number 14. Paul writes here again, he writes, Now, thanks be to God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. You see, by us. He will make manifest the knowledge of himself. And look at what he goes on to say, for we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ. in them that are saved and in them that perish. Now that's interesting. He writes in verse 16, to the one we are the saver of death unto death and to the other the saver of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many which corrupt the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God. In the sight of God speak we in Christ." You see, herein is our second challenge or our goal from this message. Are we living the principles of God in utter sincerity? The importance of this question resides in the fact that as a professing Christian, we are seen by both believers and non-believers alike, saved and unsaved souls. If we are living a godly testimony in sincerity, those who are unsaved that see us and still choose to reject Christ will only deepen their regret when they stand before the great white throne of judgment, as they will give an account for every rejection choice they made. But if we are living the principles of God in sincerity, they also will not be able to stand before God. Yeah, but your Christian over there, you know, they were a hypocrite, and so what do you expect? Oh, that's not a good testimony for us. But you see, we're the saver of death unto death because if they see Christ in us and still choose to reject Him, it's only going to worsen their experience through all of eternity. But on the other hand, we might be the very thing that God uses to rekindle and to revive a wandering Christian back into a right relationship with God as they witness God's love, grace, and forgiveness in our lives if we are living the principles of God in sincerity through all of our life. as other believers might see us, even those that might be wandering, those that might be backsliding just a bit, if they see the true reflection of the goodness of God in our life through every aspect, good, bad, or otherwise in our life, if they can see the very Christ in us. It may just be what God uses to bring them back from their backsliding into a right relationship and greater service for him in their own lives. The saver of life, as he put it here. the saver of life unto life, according to verse 16. And who is sufficient for these things? Well, we aren't on our own, but as we've already seen, Jesus Christ has made us able and worthy to carry out this task. You see, we are not perfect examples of holiness But as we live in sincerity, we are reflections of how God works through Christ in us and how God can work through Christ in someone else. May everything that we do, Christian, may everything that you and I say Be tempered by this truth in verse 17. Look again at verse 17 in chapter 2, 2 Corinthians 2, 17, it says, for we are not as many which corrupt the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God. Here is the tempering phrase that we need to remember always. In the sight of God speak we in Christ. is our testimony, is our outward speech in Christ worthy of what God has done in our life, we need to be careful that it is so that they can see Christ in us, not hypocritically, but in all sincerity. Amen? We are worth everything because of Jesus Christ. Pastor, would you close? Well, interestingly, the word sufficient, you have to ask yourself, is God my sufficiency? A lot of things we can do for God, and I believe the Apostle Paul thought he could do certain things for God, but he had a handicap, and the handicap was a problem. God said, no, the handicap's not a problem. And he learned and he sat back and said, your grace is sufficient for me. God's grace. He can accomplish in us the things that we cannot accomplish. Basically, we cannot do for God in the flesh what only God can do through the spirit. And that's where we get our sufficiency to accomplish these things. Amen. Well, Father, we thank you for this time that we be together tonight. And Lord, just to be reminded, Lord, I'm sure David had to learn it the hard way. And Lord, he did come to the point in the place where he said that you were his sufficiency. and that the Apostle Paul came to that place where your grace was sufficient. Lord, he thought he had a better idea, maybe a better plan, and humanly speaking, sometimes that seems good, but at the same time, Lord, you have a different plan, and you have a different purpose. Lord, it really is impossible for us, in and of the flesh, to be able to rise to the plans and the purposes that you have for us, but Lord, In the process of bringing us to that place, you are sufficient. You can provide what is necessary, the things that we need. Lord, remind us, whatever it is that we face on a day-to-day basis, that you are more than sufficient because you are sufficient. Lord, that sufficiency will help us to rise, to have that day a successful day. At night's end, we can look out over the day and See where, Lord, you provided exactly what we needed when we needed it. Thank you, Lord, for loving us and caring for us. And, Lord, may we be fully surrendered so that, Lord, you can use us to be that reflection of the work of the Holy Spirit concerning Christ in our lives and our hearts. And we'll give you that praise in Jesus' name. Amen.