Church is a Banquet, Part 2

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. When the church is being the church, she is beautiful. What glory God receives when a messy group of people from different backgrounds come together under the cross in love and unity. In 2 Corinthians 7, 13 through 16, Paul joyfully commends the church of Corinth for being what God made it to be. Let's listen as Pastor Rich unpacks today's passage. This is part two of a message first preached on June 15, 2014. Refreshed simply means rest, rest.

His spirit had been refreshed as a result from resting from work. The work behind the scenes that had to be done, the hard stuff that had to be done, the hard stuff that is a part of the church being the church of Jesus Christ, necessarily speaking truth but speaking truth in love. And those people's lives are messy sometimes. We don't walk away from the mess, we engage the mess. And when we are willing to, in the mind of Christ, engage the mess, then what results from that is the confidence that he mentions in verse 16. Therefore I rejoice having confidence in you in everything. This word confidence is an amazing word, thareo, it means firmness of purpose in the face of danger or testing. Firmness of purpose in the face of danger or testing.

The church would progress, it would not fall apart because of the messiness that had been there. People's lives are messy. Our lives are messy. There's stuff that needs to be dealt with. And when we are willing to deal with the mess, then the result of that is the banquet of comfort, of joy, of rest, of confidence.

That confidence is a firmness of purpose in the face of danger and testing. You see, when we think of the Corinthian church, we think of it as an example of problems. An example of a church that had immorality, a church that had divisions, a church that had corruption, problems in the church. But from this paragraph, listen church, from this paragraph now we can recognize the Corinthian church not only as an example of a problem church, but as an example of a church that properly dealt with the problems. And as a result of that, through the messiness, coming out of the messiness and having done what the church is called to do, truth in love.

Out of that came delight in unity and common purpose. And the apostle Paul was experiencing a banquet because of the Corinthian church. What contributed to that?

What contributed to that? What made the Corinthian church a real community? I think it speaks to it in this text here, particularly in verses 14 and 15.

Four elements that I want to refer to here. And so we beginning in verse 14, for if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. I boasted to him about you, Titus, Paul boasted to Titus. Think about that, this church with problems, if you were Paul. And you were speaking to Titus about the Corinthians, what would you say?

Do you know when I thought about that, that really stepped on my toes? I don't think I'd have been boasting about the Corinthian church. But what grounds did Paul have to boast of the Corinthian church? They were the church. They are God's people, they are God's redeemed.

What does that mean? God's at work in lives. So Paul spoke well, he didn't put him down, he said, oh Titus, man, I'm sorry, I got to send you over to Corinth. Man, listen, these people are nuts. I'm going to be praying for you, man, because it's going to be a battle over there.

It's not what he said. He said, Titus, I'm sending you over there, God's doing the work in Corinth, God's at work. It's a hard work and you're a soldier on the front lines. But I'm sending you over there because I know God is at work in these people's lives. They are the church, so lead them, treat them gently, speak truth lovingly to them because they're God's people. And he boasted about the Corinthians.

Isn't that amazing? Paul was boasting about them. What happens in a church when a church is the church? Recognizing that all of us have a particular messiness in our lives. We as the church are committed to speaking well of each other, to speak well of each other. It is easy, isn't it, when we leave this place and the other people that we encounter or other people of the church that we most identify with or whatever, and we talk about others in the church, what do we say? How do we talk about each other? Do we boast about each other? Do we speak well of each other? Do we recognize the work that God is doing in each other's lives?

And better yet, am I willing to be a part of what God is doing in that other person's life? This was Paul's commitment, and this is why he boasted to Titus. So a church that is a real community, a church that becomes a banquet through the messiness, can recognize that the church is a banquet is a church that speaks well of each other. This is one way that we can truly set ourselves apart from an unregenerate context around us, because it's very natural to speak ill of those with whom you disagree or who do things in a way that you don't agree with. Joseph Telushkin, author of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal, has lectured throughout the country on the powerful, often negative, impact of words. Often, he asks his audience if they can go 24 hours without saying any unkind words about or to another person. Any unkind words about another person.

Can you go 24 hours? Invariably, a small number of listeners raise their hands saying yes. Others laugh, and quite a few call out no means they're committed to saying negative things. Telushkin responds, those who can't answer yes must recognize that you have a serious problem. If you can't go 24 hours without drinking liquor, you're addicted to alcohol.

If you can't go 24 hours without smoking, you're addicted to nicotine. So if you can't go 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, then you've lost control over your tongue. And we know that the Bible has a lot to say about what we do with our tongue, don't we? Paul says this, Ephesians 4 29, let no corrupt communication proceed from your mouth, but what is good and necessary for edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. That verse is the church doing what the church does.

When the church is the church, the church becomes a banquet. But if I let my tongue loose and I remove myself from this context, then I'm talking to other people and say, those people I just... or that person or whatever, you know, and I start saying negative things. And the reason I say negative things is because I'm... what am I doing before I say negative things? I'm thinking negative things. Now, that doesn't mean I deny truth.

You know what? There might be something that I disagree with in somebody else's life. There might be doing something it might have said or something like that. There might be a messiness going on in their lives. But does that give me the right to wag my tongue in saying something negative about them?

No. When the church is the church, the people speak well of each other. Just like Paul boasted of the Corinthian church to Titus, even though the church was riddled with problems.

And it was a nail biter for Paul. He was not... he did not know if the church was going to receive Titus. And yet he bragged about the church to Titus.

It's amazing, isn't it? That is spiritual activity that is going beyond human capacity and that is being led by the spirit. That is the church being the church. And when the church is the church, it is a banquet. And so we, as we speak well of each other, we only say to and about each other things that are necessary for edification, to build each other up, to impart grace to the hearers.

It's like a line from a movie that my kids like, if you have nothing nice to say, please restrict your comments to the weather. What was Paul's boasting? What can your boasting be? Recognizing that there is an element of messiness to all of our lives. I have confidence that God is at work in you.

And how can I get in on it? How can I be one who is at work in somebody else's life? How can I be an instrument of God to work in this person's life, to get involved in the messiness there? Instead of speaking negatively about them, I will speak well of them in terms of the work that God is doing. But that takes us to the second point, the elements of real community where the church becomes a banquet.

The second point is this. Not only do we speak well of each other, but we speak truth. We speak truth. We speak truth. Listen, truth is a necessary part of love. As I said before, love without truth is hypocrisy. If you pretend to love your brother and sister, but you're not willing to speak truth, you're a hypocrite. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in Him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on Weekdays at 10 a.m.