By Deacon Justin Schaeffer

I led the guys on Wednesday out of my personal devotion from the day before. I’d been reading 2 Corintians as well as a chapter on Donald Whitney’s book “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life“. I shared out of 2 Cor. 4:16 – 6:13 looking at our motivations for ’striving’ as ambassadors of Christ as well as what that looks like worked out in our characters and in suffering. Below are my notes and some items I highlighted for Prayer.

Our Purpose (Romans 15:30 paraphrased): I urge you brothers, by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in prayer to God the Father for the glory of the name of Jesus.

Striving in Hope, Fear, and the Ministry of Reconciliation

Hope
2 cor. 4:16-5:9
God is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory

We look to things that are unseen, which are eternal

We know we have a building from God, a heavenly dwelling.

The Spirit is a guarantee

This gives us courage (like Gideon – not because of ourselves, but through faith in God’s word to us)

Our Hope also leads to Holy Fear
2 Cor. 5:10-16
In heaven we will appear before the Judgment seat of Christ so that we might receive what is due for what we have done, whether good or evil (think about the word strive here)

That fear of standing before God empty handed motivates us, not our selfish desires.

Our conscience before God must overrule our fear of man and our vanity in light of His imminent judgment.

We die to ourselves to live for Jesus. That is how we display the Glory of God as men, as Mark said last week.

What is expected of us when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ? What should we be afraid of failing at? What have we been entrusted with?

The Ministry of Reconciliation
2 Cor. 5:17-6:13
We are a new creation in Christ

God gave us the ministry (service) of reconciliation. We have been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. As ambassadors for Christ. God is using us.

What a glorious ministry it is! How faithless would we be to take from it and then cover it up?!

Do not receive the grace of God in vain!!!

As servants (or slaves) of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;

by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;

through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

J.I.Packer….”So we need to remember that any idea of getting beyond conflict, outward or inward, in our pursuit of holiness in this world is an escapist dream that can only have disillusioning and demoralizing effects on us as waking experience daily disproves it. What we must realize, rather, is that any real holiness in us will be under hostile fire all the time, just as our Lord’s was.”

Hebrews 12:3-4
Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Strategic Prayers for our Campus

• Pray that Jesus’ preciousness would be lifted up in our hearts. And as we see Jesus as our King that our hearts would be transformed; inspiring us to hate sin and to strive in continual confession and repentance.

• Pray that as we see Jesus as King that we would desire to abide in Him and that we would be inspired to work hard and strive for the Glory of His name especially in our humiliation.

• Pray for Pastor Jamie and his family as he prepares to preach this Sunday and leads our church.

• Pray for Pastor Steve and for Hilary as they celebrate their wedding anniversary.

• Pray for Hilary’s mom as she struggles with her health and for Hilary.

• Pray for the upcoming Parkwood Elementary Landscaping project and the Blood Drive

• Pray for wisdom in planning, preparation, and promotion and for fruitful participation from our campus as we plan for Praxis (Midweek classes), Proxy, and Kids Kore.

• Pray for fruitful participation and training through our pre-marriage courses beginning this fall.

• Pray that God would use the new sermon series ‘The Peasant Princess’, to draw people in to our church to hear the Gospel and be brought from death to life. Pray for the ministry of reconciliation to move forward through this series. Pray for healing from sexual sin, and for healing in hurting marriages through this series.

• Pray that God would call and equip Leaders and Volunteers to step up to serve our body and the communities in which we live in Jesus’ name.

• Pray for God to provide a permanent location for our campus.

• Thank & praise Jesus for His faithfulness, blessing, and healing (spiritual and physical) in the lives of many people at MH Shoreline.