Author: David Worcester

Lead Pastor of Compass Church http://CompassChurchSD.com #Jesus, #Family #ChurchPlanting #CollegeMinistry. #Missions http://GospelAppointments.com @collegiatecoll

The Difference Between Godly Sorrow And Worldly Sorrow – 2 Corinthians 7

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From my reading in 2 Corinthians 7 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

Sorrow is not always a bad thing.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians about something they needed to change. He wrote very forcefully so that they knew he was serious. The letter he sent caused them pain, but ended up leading them to change their ways.

I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 2 Corinthians 7:8–9

Godly sorrow causes you to repent and change your ways.

To repent means to change your mind about something. The kind of sorrow that Paul is describing here is not hopeless condemnation, but feeling sorry enough to change your actions. Paul then contrasts this type of sorrow with worldly sorrow.

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 2 Corinthians 7:10

Godly sorrow leads us away from sin and results in being forgiven.

Worldly sorry does not cause us to turn from our sins.

We may feel bad about something, but then we go right back to the sin that we felt bad about. To the person with worldly sorrow the words “I’m sorry” often mean, “I’m sorry I got caught.”  People with worldly sorrow often end up in a sad state of depression. They are sad, but don’t change their behavior.

Godly sorrow has very different attributes.

Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right. 2 Corinthians 7:11

Godly sorrow produced the following qualities in the Corinthians:

  • Earnestness
  • Concern to clear themselves
  • Indignation
  • Alarm
  • Longing to see Paul
  • Zeal
  • Readiness to punish wrong
  • Doing what’s necessary to make things right

Godly sorrow results in godly action.

Godly sorrow means that you are ready to change whatever is necessary to get the sin out of your life.

Many of us have “pet sins” we have been struggling with for a while. We feel bad about them, but not bad enough to eliminate them from our lives.

My prayer is that we would experience this type of godly sorrow about our sin enough to actually do something about it!

Is there an area of your life that you would like to pray that God will give you godly sorrow about?

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9 Principles Of Authentic Ministry Leadership – 2 Corinthians 6

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From my reading in 2 Corinthians 6 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

Paul is a great example of authentic ministry leadership. Here are 9 principles we would do well to apply to our lives.

1. You Are Partnering With God

As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. 1 Cor 6:1

2. Preach With Urgency

For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.2 Corinthians 6:2

3. Live In A Way That Doesn’t Cause Others To Stumble

We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. 2 Corinthians 6:3–4a

4. Endure Hard Times For The Sake Of The Gospel

We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 2 Corinthians 6:4b–5

5. Prove Yourself Through Your Life

We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. 2 Corinthians 6:6

6. Faithfully Preach The Truth By God’s Power

We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 2 Corinthians 6:7

7. Serve God Faithfully Whether You Are Honored Or Not

We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. 2 Corinthians 6:8a

8. Be Willing To Live A Life Of Tensions

We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. 2 Corinthians 6:8–10

9. Speak Honestly And Lovingly

Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you. 2 Corinthians 6:11

Which of these principles do you need to work on in your leadership?

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The Motivation For Ministry… Christ’s Love Controls Us! – 2 Corinthians 5

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From my reading in 2 Corinthians 5 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

The motivation for ministry should be Christ’s love!

Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. 2 Corinthians 5:14–15

Paul share his personal motivation for ministry. I believe that the love of Jesus should push us forward into ministry. Because we have been saved by Jesus our motivation should be to live for him.

  • Love for God compels us to share about him to bring him glory.
  • Love for others compels us to help others get saved for their sake.

God gives us this love for himself and others. And that is the ultimate motivation for ministry.

Because we are changed by Jesus, and are tasked with telling others about how they can be changed by Jesus.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 2 Corinthians 5:17–18

Because of Jesus you are a new person. If you have been changed, God wants you to share your new life with others.

We have been given the task of telling others how they can be made right with Jesus.

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:19–21

One of our greatest privileges in life is getting to partner with God in bringing people back to Himself!

We get to share the news of how Jesus died for our sins. Even though he never sinned he took the penalty  for our sin upon himself. And even though we are not perfect we got credit for his perfect life!  This is what many have called the great exchange!

Out of gratitude and love for Jesus we should be compelled to share this message with whoever will listen and plead with them to come back to God!

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9 Reasons To Not Give Up On Your Ministry – 2 Corinthians 4

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From my reading in 2 Corinthians 4 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

If you are in ministry these principles should encourage you to NEVER GIVE UP on what God has called you to do!

1. You have been given mercy through the gospel.

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 2 Cor 4:1

2. It’s God’s job to open people’s minds, not yours!

If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 1 Cor 4:3-4

3. Your ministry is not about you, it’s about Jesus, and you are his servant.

You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.  1 Cor 4:5

4. The power to change lives comes from God, not you!

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 1 Cor 4:7

5. Your suffering is worth it and won’t last forever.

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 1 Cor 4:8-10

6. People will be have the opportunity to be saved if you endure through suffering.

Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. 1 Cor 4:11-12

7. You preach for God’s glory and the benefit of others.

All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 1 Cor 4:15

8. God can renew your spirit.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 1 Cor 4:16

9. Your present problems are nothing compared to the rewards you have to look forward to.

1For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 1 Cor 4:17-18

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How The Spirit Of God Uses The Word Of God To Make Us Like The Son Of God – 2 Corinthians 3

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From my reading in 2 Corinthians 3 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

Paul shares a rather deep statement that explain how the Holy Spirit helps Christians become more like Jesus.

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:16–18

Moses wore a veil to protect the people of Israel from God’s glory reflecting on his face. Paul is using this as an illustration to tell us that we now that Christians are in the new covenant we have access to God’s glory through Christ.

The phrase “the Lord is Spirit” is affirming that the Holy Spirit is God himself. The Spirit offers us freedom from fear, sin, and legalism. We are free to enter God’s presence unhindered.

With the veil taken away, we can see God and his word more clearly.

The phrase “can see and reflect” can be translated in serval ways and has the idea of looking in a mirror and seeing reflection. Some of the commentaries I have read have implied that the mirror is an illusion for God’s word. If follows that as we look deeply into God’s Word the Holy Spirit changes us to become more like Jesus. As Rick Warren has said it in the Purpose Driven Life,

“The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to make us like the Son of God.”

As we reflect on God’s word and see God’s glory we become more and more like him.

The Holy Spirit is the catalyst for spiritual growth. He is the one who allows us to see Jesus clearly and slowly transforms into his image.

The word “change” here in the greek is “metamorphoo” which is where we get the root word metamorphosis. The Metamorphosis a butterfly goes through is a good illustration of how we are changed by God. The literal meaning of the word is “to change the essential form or nature of something.” We are changed into something totally different when the Spirit gets a hold of us!

The Holy Spirit changes us to become more like Jesus.

That is the epic journey that Christians are on in this life. I pray that I will allow the Holy Spirit to continue to transform me and will use me to help others become more like Jesus!

In Ministry Rejection Is Normal – 2 Corinthians 2

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From my reading in 2 Corinthians 2 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

In talking about his ministry Paul explained that his life and message got two primary reactions.

“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” 2 Cor 2:15-16

The Smell of Death

To those who reject Christ the good news is not good news.

The NLT study Bible says,

“Incense was scattered along the parade route of a victorious Roman general, and it was received in one of two ways. For the captives who were on their way to the arena and death, it was a dreadful smell of death and doom. For the victors, it was a life-giving perfume.”

The same gospel can either encourage someone or offend them. Many people don’t like the bearer of bad news, even if it comes with good news. In our culture people hate to be told that they are wrong.

Many people don’t like the idea of a God who punishes sin. But it doesn’t matter what our culture likes, God is who He is. It is the job of the minister to accurately share the whole truth and leave the results to God.

The “fire and brimstone” preachers of our day don’t make telling the truth about people’s sin any easier. In an attempt not to be lumped in with “the sign guys” some of us don’t talk about the consequences of sin at all!

But the true gospel requires us to tell the whole truth. Only the whole truth will set people free.  If our lives and our message are true to the gospel then through God’s power there will be some who are given life through our message!

Life-Giving Perfume

Paul shared a similar statement in his earlier letter.

 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Cor 1:18

To those who are being saved the good news is the greatest thing ever! It is life changing. We share because we know that even though many will reject us, some people’s lives will be changed if we faithfully preach the gospel.

Rejection is part of ministry, but seeing people’s lives changed is totally worth it!

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One Reason We Suffer, To Comfort Others – 2 Corinthians 1

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From my reading in 2 Corinthians 1 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

I am grateful that the Bible gives us tools on how to process both the good and the bad times.

The Apostle Paul explains an important reason God allows hard times in our lives. Notice how many times the words suffering, trouble and comfort are repeated!

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.” 2 Cor 1:3-7 

In these four verses the word comfort is used 9 times, and the words trouble and suffer are used 6 times! He’s hammering in the point…

God comforts the suffering, so they can comfort others who suffer.

If you are going through a hard time, the first step is the receive God’s comfort. Many people suffer but refuse to come to God for comfort.

To comfort others with God’s comfort you must first be comforted by God.

The best person to comfort someone who has lost a loved one is someone else who has been down that road and has relied on God to fill their relational void. The best person to comfort someone dealing with depression is someone who has walked that path and found comfort in Christ. The best person to console someone with money problems is someone who has been broke and seen God provide.

You can not give away what you have not received.

If you are in the middle of suffering right now, pursue God. His comfort is available to you. His healing is available. Come to him and receive his comfort. It is not usually an overnight process, but over time God will uses you as an agent of his comfort for others.

When you are suffering, be willing to accept God’s comfort through others.

If God wants to use your pain as a comfort to others, you must be willing to receive God’s comfort from others.

If you want to be used to comfort others, then let others comfort you.

Some of us have a “messiah complex.” We are more than willing to comfort others, but when it comes to letting others comfort us we recoil. I want to encourage you to receive God’s comfort through others so that in the future God can uses you to comfort others.

Are you going through suffering right now that you need God’s comfort in?

Do you know anyone who has been through that before that could comfort you?

Is someone you know suffering that you can comfort?

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How To Deal With What Life Throws At You – 1 Corinthians 16

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From my reading in 1 Corinthians 16 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

The Apostle Paul gives us some helpful practices for dealing with whatever life throws at you.

“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.” 1 Cor 16:13-14

Be on guard.

As believers we are to watch out for what the devil throws at us. There is an under talked about theme that runs through the new testament about watchfulness. We are to be on guard and ready for when Jesus returns.

This implies a sense of urgency and soberness in our lives. I don’t mean that we can’t enjoy our lives, but it does mean that we must not fritter away our lives with wasteful things and be ready for when Jesus comes back.

Stand firm in the faith.

There will be trials in our faith. We are told to stand firm in these battles. Our faith will help us wether the storms of life and be able to stand tall.

Be courageous.

The literal translation of this phrase is “be men.” Men are supposed to be courageous. This command was given to men and women. This means that courage is not just for men. We all need courage to accomplish the things God wants us to do in our lives.

Be strong.

We are to be strong. As believers our strength does not come from ourselves, but our trust in a God who has unlimited strength.

And do everything with love.

Everything we do should be done in a loving way. Love should me our motivation and method for everything.

Which of these practices do you need to apply to your life today?

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Encouragement For The Ministry Leader – Be strong. Work hard. Leave the results to God. – 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

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From my reading in 1 Corinthians 15:29-58 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

As a campus ministry leader I get tired.

For those of who work on campus the last few weeks have been some of the busiest days of our lives.

Passing out flyers and tabling in the hot sun. Having fun events virtually every night. Meeting with students. Preparing Bible studies. Preparing sermons. Answering emails. Working on seminary assignments. Leading staff meetings. Leading core team meetings. Writing blogs. Praying. Sharing the gospel.

I love these ministry tasks, but they take energy.

While I do need to rest, I need to never forget why I do what I do. Here is one verse has become huge encouragement to me when I don’t feel like continuing.

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” 1 Cor 15:58

Be strong and immovable…

We are called to be strong. Ministry is not for wimps. If you want to be on the front lines, you must be strong.  Our strength should not come from ourselves though, but from God as we trust him. He is the one who gives us strength to stand strong even when ministry gets hard.

Always work enthusiastically for the Lord…

Ministers should be passionate about what they do. They should work with zeal and enthusiasm. Even if you don’t feel excited in the moment your vision should propel you to give yourself fully to your work.

Notice it says work for the LORD, not for ourselves. Sometimes we get so caught up in the mechanism of ministry that we forget who we are doing it for!  It is not to make a name for ourselves. It is not to have a really cool newsletter. It is for the glory of Jesus!

Jesus uses us for his purposes, we shouldn’t try to use Him for our purposes.

Nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Hard work in Jesus name is never wasted. He will bring about the result in his time and way. It will not be a waste.

Your work is worship. Even if you do not see big numbers (or any numbers for that matter), you will not have wasted your time because Jesus was glorified by your work.  So here’s the three encouragement for those of us in ministry.

Be strong. Work hard. Leave the results to God.

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The Most Important Thing About Our Faith – 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

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From my reading in 1 Corinthians 15:1-28 in the One Year Bible New Testament.

What is most important in our faith?

Fortunately for us Paul tells us!

“I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.” 1 Cor 15:3-4

Christ died for our sins,  just as the Scriptures said.

A lot of truth is packed into those five words.

  • Christ – Obviously Christ is the most important figure in CHRISTianity!
  • Died – Jesus died on the cross.  It was confirmed by many witnesses.
  • For Our Sins – Jesus died for a reason. He died in order to pay the penalty for our sins. He died because he loved us so much he would rather die than live without us.

Fortunately for us, the story doesn’t end there.

He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the scriptures said.

Jesus was placed in a tomb after he died on Friday. His body spent all day Saturday in the grave then he rose from the dead on Sunday! When Jesus rose from the dead he demonstrated his power and proved that he was God.  Many witnesses confirmed that Jesus rose from the dead!

“He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.” 1 Cor 15:5-6

He was seen by his twelve apostles, and more than 5oo other people! As Paul wrote this, he was saying that many of those witnesses were still alive, so you can ask them! If 500 people were in a courtroom and had the same story that would be a pretty convincing argument! Jesus was seen by so many people because he actually rose from the dead!

Another thing that convinces me that Jesus actually rose from the dead was that his apostles were totally convinced of it. Many people would die for something they thought was true, but why would the disciples make up the Jesus came back to life and then suffer and die for something they knew was a lie?

All the apostles except John were killed for their faith, and never denied that Jesus rose from the dead because they were 100% convinced!

The death and resurrection of Jesus is the most important thing about our faith.

This is the central story of our faith. It is the heart of the good news.  Because Jesus died for our sins and rose again, anyone who turns from their sins and decides to follow him will not be punished for their sin but will receive eternal life!

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