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October 19, 2025 95:21 Cross Church Phoenix
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· .

· .

· We would love to connect with you today.

· If you're with us this morning, in the seat back in front of you, there's three cards.

· New, next, and prayer.

· If you're visiting with us for the first time, welcome.

· That new card is for you.

· Fill that out.

· Drop it in the giving box in the back.

· Maybe you've been here for a while and you're ready to take your next step.

· Baptism, Bible group, or serving.

· that next card is for you.

· And finally, the prayer card, most importantly,

· if you have any prayer needs at all,

· fill that prayer card out and they come right back to me

· and we have the privilege and honor of praying for you.

· And if you're joining us online,

· you can always text us at Cross Church to 940-00.

· Once again, thanks for joining us

· for God-honoring worship.

· Let's get into it now.

· Worship, amen.

· Shall still read.

· Jesus paid it all.

· Zing, zing, zing, zing.

· Amen, Lord Heavenly Father, that's our prayer, Jesus.

· Ascend your holy hill with a pure heart.

· Renewing us a steadfast spirit, Lord Jesus.

· In your precious holy name, we give y'all praise on our glory.

· Amen, amen.

· Amen, you can be seated.

· Welcome to Cross Church Phoenix.

· If you're new here and I haven't met you,

· come find me after service.

· I'd love to chat with you some more and get to know you.

· And you came on a great Sunday,

· if this is your first time here,

· and I'll share some things that are going on.

· But the first thing that I want to announce

· is those new next in prayer cards

· that are in the seat back in front of you.

· If this is your first time

· or maybe your second time at Cross Church,

· welcome, first of all.

· Second of all, if you'd fill out that new card,

· They just come back to me. So you know what happens with him

· they come back to me and I just give you a phone call during the week see how you're doing and

· Answer any questions you might have about myself for the church. I tell everyone I'm pretty much an open book

· So that is the new card the next card. Maybe if you've been around here for a little while

· And you want to take your next step?

· Maybe you're like I need to get baptized or I need I would like to get involved with serving

· or I'd like to get involved in another ministry

· or a Bible group that we have meeting during the week.

· Fill out the next card and you can turn that in as well.

· And then the prayer card, very important.

· Of all the cards, prayer is vital, vitally important.

· And so if you have any prayer requests,

· you can jot them on the prayer card.

· We also take praises.

· Some people will write in,

· hey, I have a praise about something

· that God did this week,

· or an answer to prayer from a previous request.

· I love hearing those and all three of those cards,

· whichever one you fill out,

· can go in the back giving box on your right on the way out

· and that just comes back to me.

· And we have a lot going on today.

· So every month we do our pizza with the pastor.

· That is two day at noon.

· Really it's just after second service,

· but we just put noon so people have a time.

· But this is our membership class.

· We go over our mission vision values and then I go over our statement of faith so that you know

· Like hey, what do you believe? What do you stand for? I go through all of those

· So if you haven't signed up or if you're new last time in September's pizza with a pastor

· We had we had a couple who came it was their first day

· They stayed for pizza with a pastor and like we came and we talked about some things and said hey

· We want to be part of this so it was great

· but we do go over some those essential beliefs in our statement of faith to

· tell you more of what we're about and you can ask questions during that time

· as well so that's today at noon you're invited even if you didn't sign up

· before online you can just stay and we go about an hour so we'll be done by

· about one o'clock but that's that and then tonight for you seventh to

· twelfth graders and I'm eyeballing a few of them they are going roller

· skating tonight and so if you have a 7th or 12th grader and they enjoy roller skating

· our youth group is going this is going to be at North Phoenix so we don't have a roller

· skate rink here that'd be awesome though.

· But and you don't want to go roller skating in the parking lot because you'll you know

· hit the rock and you know kind of like DJ on a skateboard sometimes.

· But yeah that is tonight 530 to 830 and if you have any questions about that at

· you can see Matt and Kelsey Tate. If you're like, who is Matt and Kelsey Tate, come ask me. I'll point you in their direction.

· And then

· next week, next Sunday night, we have our Cross Church SBs.

· I've been asked a few questions. What are the SBs? Well, it's Excellence in Service Performance Yearly.

· It's a big thank you to everyone in Cross Church.

· It's free. You can sign up either scanning the QR code or going online to crosschurchcares.com

· events there's multiple ways to sign up it's free there's child care from zero

· birth to 12 years old and dinner is included it's a it's a nice setup and

· it's just a thank you from Cross Church to all of our campuses and sometimes

· they we go over some some new things some updates some things we're looking

· forward to in the next year so that is open invitation and feel free to

· up for that it is not here and it's not it's also it's in surprise but it's not

· at the surprise campus so it's at a place called the Vista Center and if

· you're gonna register for it the information will be there I don't want

· to spend too much time on that but October next week Sunday night 26 5 p.m.

· in surprise at the Vista Center and finally we believe here and I preach

· and teach that giving is an act of worship is an act of obedience to God

· First of all, everything belongs to him.

· The air in your lungs is on loan from God.

· You can take it away.

· But we have multiple ways to give.

· And as we've worked through Corinthians,

· Paul has reminded Corinth that God loves a cheerful giver.

· So whatever he lays on your heart,

· but we do believe and preach and teach

· that giving is an act of worship

· to our Lord and Savior.

· So would you join me as we pray?

· Father, we thank you for this morning.

· We thank you for your word.

· And God, we just thank you for everything that we have.

· It all belongs to you.

· We came into this world with nothing

· and we'll leave with nothing.

· What really matters is if we know you

· as a personal Lord and Savior

· and have eternal life or not.

· God, I pray that you would impress

· upon the hearts of your people

· what it is they can do in honor of you and in obedience to you as an act of

· worship and in giving Lord and we just pray that your will would be done in our

· church in Jesus name amen well good morning it's me again okay hey there

· you go good morning well if you forgot my name already I'm pastor DJ I'm the

· pastor here at Cross Church Phoenix if you would open your Bibles to 2nd

· chapter 12. 2nd Corinthians chapter 12. We covered verses 1 through 13 last week

· so we will be in verses 14 to 21 this week. And as you turn there I want to

· express the abundant thankfulness and gratitude that I have for this church

· last week. You guys so wonderfully and kindly presented us with a gift and

· And there were so many kind words written,

· letters written, letters of encouragement.

· And from the bottom of our hearts as a family, thank you.

· We read through each and every one

· and they are such a blessing and encouragement

· to me as a pastor.

· And so I want to express my thank you.

· If you don't know who Kelsey is,

· Matt and Kelsey Tate, Kelsey made this for me

· and it was part of the gift.

· So this is my PSA, okay?

· Be careful or you'll end up in my sermon

· is what the church cert says so thank you for that and I appreciate it very

· very much and so in response I Becky we wrote a thank you card that is in the

· hallway pinned to the little announcement board that we have that I

· want to invite you guys to everyone to go read it's just expresses our

· thanks and gratitude for the church family here well hopefully by now

· at 2nd Corinthians 12, beginning of verse 14, let's pray. Father, we thank you for this morning.

· We thank you for your word. God, I pray that you would help us to not only rightly understand it,

· but also see how it applies in our lives today. God, I pray that it would not be my word that

· is spoken or heard, but yours. God, I pray that you would speak to the hearts of your people

· through the power of the Holy Spirit,

· your word to us this morning.

· God, I pray that you would convict us where we need it.

· Sometimes scripture can be a little bit confrontational,

· but that's good.

· It is good for us to be convicted.

· But also Lord, it's good for us to be encouraged.

· Maybe some of us here need the Holy Spirit

· to just encourage us to keep on going,

· to keep doing what we're doing.

· God, I pray for both.

· God, I pray that she would give us ears to hear

· what the Spirit has to say to this church this morning

· in Christ's name, amen.

· Well, back in 1973,

· generic Olsen, a convict on parole,

· took four employees hostage during a failed bank robbery

· of one of the largest banks in Stockholm, Sweden.

· The hostages were held captive for six days from August 23rd to 28th in one of the bank's vaults.

· During the course of the incident, however, something really interesting began to happen.

· The hostages that were taken began developing sympathetic and emotional bonds with their captors, with Olson.

· They began to defend their captor and feel a special affinity towards him, while then

· expressing disdain and disappointment in the police who were trying to save them and rescue

· them out of the hands of the hostage taker.

· Eventually, the incident came to a close when the police used tear gas to get Olsen

· to surrender and free the hostages.

· He got 10 years in prison but while he was in prison Olsen received many

· admiring letters from women who found him attractive. It's interesting. There

· were also reports that some of the hostages helped raise money for the

· captors defense funds. You might recognize this as the incident where we

· get the term Stockholm syndrome. It's called Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm

· syndrome is the emotional and mental response where someone who is abused or

· taken captive shares loyalty and or compassion towards their abuser or their

· captor. Well the church at Corinth is experiencing a little bit of what we

· could call a spiritual Stockholm syndrome. False teachers have come in to

· the church and as we read in chapter 11 they are abusing the church. Paul

· describes it in chapter 11, that they have enslaved the church,

· exploited the church, taken advantage of the church,

· acted arrogantly toward the church, and in some cases,

· had become physically abusive towards the church.

· And Corinth not only tolerates this, which Paul says,

· but they're growing fond of the false teachers.

· In fact, Corinth not only tolerates them but they do it splendidly. Corinth believes

· the false teachers are the ones who actually care and love them. In 2nd

· Corinthians 11 for Paul says that they're putting up with a different

· Jesus, a different gospel, and a different spirit splendidly. In other

· you're doing a really good job of putting up with people who are taking advantage of you.

· You're doing a really good job guys of being abused and enjoying that. Twice the false teachers

· are called super apostles and twice Paul has had to say that he's not in any way inferior

· to them, which means Corinth was elevating these false teachers above Paul.

· They're falling in love with their spiritual captors, so to speak.

· The ones who've infiltrated the church with not only false teaching, but

· abuse, taking advantage,

· manipulation, but they're also now winning their hearts over.

· There's Corinth is transferring their loyalty away from Paul who truly loves

· them and is giving it to false teachers who are hurting them. So this is a

· confused and disoriented church that prefers to be led by false manipulative

· teachers rather than the truly loving caring shepherd that they have in Paul.

· Paul has had to love Corinth pretty unconditionally. Beyond the pain and

· disappointment that they've brought to him and what we'll see here in our text this morning is that Paul's ministry is characterized by true

· genuine godly love a

· love that has had to be

· confrontational at times which he'll get a love that has had to say hard things a

· Love that has had to share difficult truths

· But it is love nonetheless

· less. We must understand that a loving ministry is not one that always tells you what you

· want to hear. So how do we discern then between a truly loving ministry, one that Paul has

· and conducts, versus a manipulative ministry? Or the difference between a loving ministry

· and a compromised ministry? That's what we're going to talk about today. So I'm

· Let's split this up into two sections, and the first section is a loving ministry versus

· a manipulative one, and a loving ministry versus a compromised one.

· What does it mean for us to be a truly loving church with a loving ministry while being

· on guard against manipulation and compromise?

· Let's read verses 14 to 18.

· Paul says, look, I am ready to come to you this third time.

· I will not burden you, since I am not seeking what is yours, but you.

· For children ought not save up for their parents, but their parents for their children.

· I will most gladly spend and be spent for you.

· If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

· Now granted, I did not burden you, yet sly as I am, I took you in by deceit."

· You can hear some of his sarcasm there.

· Did I take advantage of you by any of those I sent you?

· I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him.

· Titus didn't take advantage of you, did he?

· Didn't he walk in the same spirit

· and in the same footsteps?

· Didn't we walk, sorry, in the same spirit

· and in the same footsteps?

· So our first couple of points here is this.

· The loving ministry is, first of all, genuine and cares for people self-sacrificially.

· Genuine and cares for people self-sacrificially.

· I'll leave that up if you're a note taker for a second, because I'm going to give

· you the other one.

· In contrast, a manipulative ministry is deceptive and only cares about what people

· give them. Deceptive and only cares about what people can give them. In verse 14 you

· see Paul is coming a third time. He's already made a couple of visits written

· a few letters and he says I'm planning on coming back a third time and when I

· do I will not burden you. Wherever you read burden if it helps you to

· understand it means basically I'm not gonna ask you for money. That's what it

· to burden them. Which is funny because that's part of Corinth's beef with Paul.

· Paul didn't ask them for any financial support when he was there before and

· they're holding that against him. Think about it for a second. They're upset

· that Paul came, ministered, preached the gospel free of charge and they

· didn't get a bill because false teachers have come in and charged for

· knowledge and charge for their speaking. And they say Paul's knowledge and preaching must

· be lackluster because his is free. Why doesn't Paul, if I have to pay so and so for a $20

· teaching it must be really good because Paul doesn't charge a dime for his teaching

· and it must be really poor then. And so Paul did not ask them for any financial

· support and I love what he says because he says you know what here in verse 14

· he says you know what when I come again guess what I'm still not gonna ask you

· for anything I'm still not gonna ask you for any money or support I'm not

· gonna come do what you want me to do which is bill you for my ministry why

· because Paul is not seeking what they have or what they can do for him but

· and what that means is the good of their souls. One of the clues that you're being

· manipulated or abused by a leader is that all they care about is what you can

· do for them or give to them. Now I want to be crystal clear on this I'm not

· saying that drawing the best out of people is manipulation or abuse

· because a good leader will challenge people to grow, will challenge people

· to maybe serve in a new way,

· or to give in ways that they haven't before

· out of obedience to God.

· We'll challenge people,

· but all of that is because

· the leader genuinely loves them

· and wants to see them flourish.

· It's all about love for them and their growth.

· If you remember the overall context,

· Paul is encouraging and exhorting Corinth to participate in a collection

· and by collection we mean money. He's asking for money to give to the poor

· saints in Jerusalem who are in a famine and starving. Fellow brothers and

· sisters in Christ in Jerusalem are starving. Paul is making a collection not

· just at Corinth but other churches. And so what do you think goes around

· the rumors that go around about Paul are on that. Well, you know, Paul and Titus, like,

· they want you to give to this collection, but really what they want to do is line their

· pockets with it so they're going to take it and run, right? This is all the rumor

· mill and all that stuff. Paul's not asking for, asking Corinth to give to this collection

· for Jerusalem for himself or so he can line his pockets. What's the point? It's

· bless Jerusalem, first of all, and to grow Corinth spiritually.

· This would be something that helps them mature and grow.

· This is not for Paul's selfish gain.

· A bad leader wants you to do more, give more, not because they love you and want

· to see you grow, but because they love themselves and want to see themselves flourish at

· your expense.

· They don't love you or care for you as a person, as a human being.

· They only want what you can give them or what you can do for them

· James warns us about this, right?

· Somebody comes in in a three-piece suit and pulling a Ferrari into the parking lot and we're like, oh dang

· and they walk in the doors and

· Me or others like dude sit right here in the front and we just give them the treatment, right?

· Why because we see man that guy might be able to give the loan

· right and then we see a poor person

· Who comes in in raggedy clothes and doesn't look like they have much to offer and we say

· Can you sit in the back?

· Because we just don't see like he probably doesn't have a lot of like giving potential or we're serving potential

· Can you that's a violation of the whole book of James basically, right?

· It does not matter. Let me tell you the rich dude with a Ferrari needs the gospel

· Just as much as somebody who doesn't have a dime to their name that doesn't change

· But we don't treat people differently based off of how they look or what they come in and what we see

· They can maybe do or give for us to us, right?

· And I understand sometimes it can be difficult to discern the motives of others

· But Paul is challenging them to simply look

· Look at his genuine love for the church

· This is something they should know and feel.

· It's like if I've loved you so much,

· if I've loved you more, am I to be loved less?

· Like why, why?

· And in verse 14, he's contrasting himself

· with the false teacher saying,

· I don't want what you have or what you can do.

· I just want you.

· I want your souls to be saved

· and spend eternity in glory.

· I don't want what you have.

· I don't want your money.

· I want you to have a vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ.

· False teachers could care less about that.

· False teachers could care less about people's souls.

· All they want is to take advantage of people in the church.

· That's what we read that they've been doing back in chapter 11.

· And you can also see Paul's motivation at the end of verse 14.

· He uses the parent-child relationship as an example.

· Parents don't expect their children to provide for them.

· they provide for their children. My son Elijah is going to turn five in a couple of days. I don't

· expect him to go work in nine to five and support me. Now I understand that later in life those

· things take place, but we're talking about just the regular old parent-kid relationship. We don't

· expect our kids, eight, nine, ten, eleven year old kid to support you. No parents support

· their kids. And he uses, if you remember, Paul considers himself what? A spiritual father

· to the Corinthian church.

· First Corinthians 4.15, Paul says,

· For though you have countless guides in Christ,

· you do not have many fathers.

· For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

· A real father loves his children for who they are

· and wants what's best for them.

· He cares about their personal growth and maturity.

· How would you describe a father who could care less about his kids, doesn't

· love his kids for who they are, doesn't want what's best for them, he just uses

· his kids for whatever they can do for him for his own selfish purposes and

· motivation. What kind of father would you say that is? It's not love. That

· might be abuse, right, but that's not love. Godly love is verse 15, gladly

· spending and being spent for others, not expecting everyone else to spend

· and be spent for you.

· Now, once again, there's a balance here, right?

· Yes, Paul wants the church to be active

· in serving, loving each other.

· In the healthiest sense, we should all be spending

· and being spent for each other.

· I get all of that and I agree.

· But the contrast here is false teachers are abusing Corinth

· for personal gain and notoriety.

· They expect the church to spend and be spent for them. You're here to make me

· prosper is a false teacher mentality. And Paul even appeals to the love Titus

· has for the church. He says did Titus treat Corinth any differently than I

· did? Did Titus treat Corinth any differently than Paul did? No. Did Paul

· send Titus to take advantage of the church? No. He's not like hey I'm gonna

· take this collection I'm not gonna take the money but check this out Titus I'm

· gonna send you, you take the collection we're gonna run off to the pagan temple

· and spend all the money. Got it? Paul's like no, no. Me and my team love

· you and we're unified in the mission. Paul, Titus and his team are united

· in their love for Corinth and their desire to see them grow spiritually be

· healthy spiritually. Now the bottom line is our ministry here at Cross Church

· Phoenix must be a genuinely loving ministry that cares for others

· sacrificially. Not a ministry based on favoritism or what people can or can't

· do for the church. It's not about what people have to offer the church, it's

· about them coming to Christ no matter who they are. Rich or poor, young or

· it's strong or weak, it doesn't matter what they can or can't do. Now again I

· want you to hear me right, we appreciate what people do in the church. Serving is

· good, we encourage serving, but it's not all about that. It's not about, hey I

· don't really, I want to ministry to you, but like what what do you have to

· offer in return? If you don't have much to offer in return, like we're

· our mission to make Jesus known and loving people whether they come to Christ or not right I can't

· control if somebody comes to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior but I'm called to love

· minister and give them the gospel anyway whether they come to Christ or not whether they get

· involved in serving or not whether they give or not or how about this one whether they love us

· or not. That's a hard one. Remember what Jesus said? What good is it if you love

· those who love you in return? The world can do that. That doesn't set you apart

· from the world. That's easy. That's simple. I love people who

· I love people who love me back. Easy. Unbelievers do that. Non-Christians do

· that. The world will do that. That doesn't set you apart in any way,

· shape or form. That's not how a Christian stands out. You know how a Christian stands

· out is when they love their enemies. When you love people who don't love you in return.

· That sets you apart from the world. It is hard for the world to love people who don't

· love them. But we are called to love. Christ demonstrated it. The scriptures are

· very clear that Christ died for us while we were his enemies. You weren't his friend

· when he died on the cross for you.

· Enemy.

· And we are only children of God

· and become friends of God

· and become united with the Father

· through Jesus Christ.

· Christ loved his enemies perfectly

· and that's what we're called to do.

· Is that us?

· Are we willing to love and serve

· and bring the gospel to our community

· regardless of who walks through those doors?

· regardless of what they look like, regardless of what they're wearing or what they drive in on.

· Doesn't matter.

· Let's look at verses 19 to 21. Paul says,

· Have you been thinking all along that we were defending ourselves to you?

· No, in the sight of God we are speaking in Christ,

· and everything dear friends is for building you up.

· For I fear that perhaps when I come, I will not find you to be what I want,

· and you may not find me to be what you want.

· Little bit of a threat there, I think.

· Perhaps there will be quarreling, jealousy,

· angry outbursts, selfish ambitions, slander,

· gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

· I fear that when I come, my God will again humiliate me

· in your presence, and I will grieve for many

· who sinned before and have not repented

· of the moral, impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality they practiced.

· So in this section we see the contrast between a loving ministry and a compromised ministry.

· The first one, a loving ministry is concerned about pleasing God in the holiness of his

· church.

· Pleasing God in the holiness of his church.

· In contrast, a compromised ministry is concerned about pleasing men and is indifferent towards

· sin in the church.

· Pleasing men and indifferent towards sin in the church.

· If you look at verse 19, there is a debate in the language whether Paul is asking a

· question or making a statement.

· So in other translations, they'll say this, all this time you have been thinking that

· we are defending ourselves to you.

· It's a statement.

· Other translations, like the one I'm preaching from CSB,

· the ones that are in your seat backs,

· we'll pose it as a question.

· Have you been thinking all along

· that we are defending ourselves to you?

· There's some nuance in the original languages,

· but the point is the same,

· so it doesn't really matter which way you take it.

· Paul's making the same point.

· His ultimate goal is not to please the Corinthians.

· His ultimate goal, every effort is to please God.

· Everything he does is to please God first.

· As a truly loving minister of the gospel,

· Paul's chief concern is pleasing God.

· Because let's face it,

· no pastor can please everyone, first of all.

· I can't, you can't either.

· But when your primary focus is pleasing God, not just the pastors, all of ours, if our

· primary focus is pleasing God, everything done will be for the upbuilding of the church.

· It will be.

· It has to be.

· If we, if our ministry is all about being pleasing to God, it can't help but be edifying

· to the church.

· But it gets hard sometimes.

· It gets a little confrontational.

· but it's good. False teachers do the exact opposite.

· Instead of doing everything they can to build up the church,

· they do everything they can to build up themselves.

· Not only is a loving ministry one that seeks to please God, but a loving

· ministry

· is also concerned about the holiness of the church.

· The holiness of God's church.

· Paul's love for the Corinthian Church does not mean he compromises on truth.

· He can't.

· He cannot compromise on the truth.

· And if you look at his fear, verses 20 and 21, his fear is that when he comes, what

· will he find in the church?

· And his fear is that when he comes, he'll find the church in sin.

· That's his concern.

· Will I find the church in sin?

· Now, if we were just preaching verses 20 and 21, I could elaborate some more.

· But if you're a note-taker, this kind of helped me this week as I was studying it.

· Verse 20 are sins that destroy the unity of the church.

· Verse 20 sins that destroy the unity of the church.

· And verse 21 are sins that destroy the purity of the church.

· Purity of the church.

· If you look at verse 20, quarreling, jealousy, angry, outbursts, selfish ambitions, slander,

· gossip, arrogance, and disorder all destroy the unity of the church.

· Where is the false teacher's concerns about all these things?

· If they're so great, if they're such wonderful ministers of the gospel, how come they're

· not concerned about this?

· Paul sure is.

· But this is going on.

· This is characteristic of Corinth.

· This has been going on for a while now since 1st Corinthians and now he's still writing

· He's writing a letter still focused on the holiness of the church if false teachers are so great. Where's their concern for this?

· It's not there. In fact, the false teachers are probably why it's happening

· If you look at verse 21 moral impurity sexual morality and sensuality are all sins that destroy the purity

· of the church not just of the person committing it but

· it affects the whole church.

· Where is this kind of conviction

· in the hearts of the false teachers?

· If you look at what Paul says,

· Paul says, if I come and see this,

· it'll be humiliating and I will grieve

· over the lack of repentance in the church.

· What he means is if he mourns,

· he's like, God will humiliate me,

· like I'm just gonna come and be broken

· over this all over again

· and will grieve over the sins of the church

· if I come and see no repentance and no change.

· Where is this kind of conviction

· in the hearts of the false teachers?

· It's not there, I don't care about that.

· All of this is going on, Paul's main chief concern

· is if I come and see this, it'll break my heart.

· Clearly the false teachers aren't very concerned

· because they're there already and this is going on.

· A characteristic of a compromised ministry

· is its indifference towards sin in the church.

· If all we care about is that the lights are on, the AC is running, and that the church happens,

· well then we're in big trouble.

· If all we're here to do is make sure that we give a soft message and we're light on sin,

· because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, then we're going to be in trouble.

· Now that's not the goal of the church is to hurt people's feelings,

· and the goal of my preaching is not that.

· but the truth is confrontational

· and it's about to get confrontational.

· If you think about what Paul's about to do,

· Paul's about to show up and address it.

· A healthy church is one that is willing

· to grieve over and deal with sin.

· And remember, this is loving, right?

· Paul said, if I love you, it might've been love less,

· but this is loving, but I care about your holiness,

· and that is loving too.

· What's unloving is ignoring sin,

· not caring about sin, not calling people

· to repent of sin.

· Oftentimes we get it backwards and we think

· if someone calls out sin, they must not be very loving

· when the truth is sin should be called out

· because we love each other

· and because we care about our walk with God.

· Of course, of course, it needs to be done

· in gentleness, care, and concern

· for what's best for the person and their walk with God.

· But we can't ignore it altogether.

· Let me ask you a question.

· Who would you say loves you more?

· person who won't tell you something's wrong because they're scared to offend

· you or someone who tells you something's wrong even at the risk of offending you

· because they want what's best for you and your walk with Christ. It's kind of

· like that whole which doctor do you want right the one that tells you the

· truth even if it hurts a one that lies to you about your condition

· because they don't want you to get upset about it. For us here at Cross

· Church Phoenix we must be a church willing to address sin not because

· were mad or don't like someone, but for the exact opposite reasons, because we love people

· and we want their walk with God to flourish.

· Sin only stifles and dampens someone's walk with God.

· You don't ever grow in sanctification in sin.

· They don't go together.

· Those are mutually exclusive.

· Say, well, God led me to rob the bank.

· I mean, I'm just, is my walk with it?

· Stop.

· Right?

· No. It doesn't work that way. Paul wasn't about to come see a bunch of sin in the church

· and do nothing about it. He said, if I don't find you to be what I want, which he's saying

· is hopefully repentant and more Christ-like, but if I come and I don't see you how I

· would love to see you, you won't find me to be what you want. In other words, do

· I need to come with a rod or with a hug? Right? Here's the thing. And here's where

· gets real, right? If you're living in unrepentant sin right now, whether it's

· sexual immorality or other moral impurity, please, I beg you personally from the

· pulpit, I beg you to stop. I plead with you to repent, to just turn away from

· it, just stop, just turn it off. Cut off that thing, do what you got to do

· just stop and do it God's way.

· Because it is, as Paul says, it's grievous,

· it should hurt.

· It not only hurts you and your walk with God

· if you're in unrepentant sin,

· it hurts you and your walk with the Lord,

· but it hurts me, it should hurt us as a church

· because we, I, don't want your walk with God to suffer

· and your walk with God will only suffer in sin,

· not get better in sin.

· Plain and simple, it's not rocket science.

· The whole reason Christ came is to save us from sin.

· Not tell you that you're okay on your own.

· You do you.

· That's not the message of Christ at all.

· In fact, the message of Christ is you've got a problem.

· The story from Genesis 3 to Revelation 20 is we're not okay and we need Christ.

· That's a summary.

· Everything was fine in Genesis 1 and 2.

· Everything will be fine in Revelation 21.

· Between now and then, we need Christ.

· That's the truth. I do care about the holiness of this church because it's not

· only glorifying to God, which should be enough for us, but it's for our own good.

· The world will tell you, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die. That's

· living the life. Yobo, you only live, enjoy, live it up now. That's how you

· get the best out of this life. And God's Word says no. The world looks

· at the Christian life and says that's boring, not very joyful or

· The scripture says the exact opposite. That's how you're fulfilled. It's how you find joy is to live a holy life in honor of God

· It's not popular, of course

· When you stop going to those places watching those things sleeping with these people

· The world will look at you and say

· He's boring now. She's boring now. Great. I want to be boring in the world's eyes

· I don't care because I want to honor God

· It is better and healthier for us to walk in righteousness than unrighteousness, even if the world tells you it's better for you to get drunk and do whatever you want to do, sin all you want, nothing matters, it's completely false.

· Now I want to also be clear on this. This is not about struggling with sin or wrestling with it, right? We all do. No one sitting here or standing up here is perfect, no one's achieved sinlessness, perfection.

· This is not about struggling or wrestling with sin.

· This is about practicing sin.

· And I want to show you this at the end of verse 21.

· So you see it with your own eyes.

· He says, I fear that when I come again,

· my God will humiliate me in your presence

· and will greet me for many who sinned before

· and have not, have not repented of the moral impurity,

· sexual immorality and sensuality what they practiced.

· This is about addressing people who are practicing sin

· and unrepentant, which means what? They're comfortable in it. So if you're here and you

· are comfortable with pornography, there's a problem. If you're comfortable with sex outside

· of marriage, problem. Not that you're struggling with it, dealing with it, turning to the Lord

· for help from it, different story. But if you're okay with it, problem. That's not my word,

· That's what this says, right?

· And it's not just sexual immorality, right?

· He says any moral impurity.

· So we could say if you're comfortable

· with lying, cheating, and stealing,

· you're okay with it, it doesn't bother you.

· You practice it and you're not repentant of it, problem.

· And it should not only grieve you.

· If you are in Christ, sin should bother you.

· Sin should grieve you.

· It also grieves us.

· It would grieve me as your pastor

· because I don't want to see you destroy your walk with God,

· with sin.

· Sin never helps or promotes your walk with God.

· It only hurts it.

· And all of this is not because DJ said so,

· but because God said so.

· Look, if God said differently, I'd say differently.

· But God doesn't, so I won't.

· I can't.

· I told first service I should be fired

· if I tell you differently.

· And I believe that with my whole heart.

· If I tell you, living in sin, it's okay. You do you, bro. It's not gonna work. It's

· not God's word. Jesus came because if you do you, you go to hell, right? Jesus

· came and said, you might want to do it my way because I'm the way, the truth

· and life. No one comes to the Father except by me. Done. And it's done.

· That's a very holistic statement, right? No one. No one means no one, right?

· It's not like well some maybe they don't know no that's it and that that is a holistic statement

· No one comes to the Father except through me

· So guess what you either come to Christ or you go to hell on your own

· You cannot clean yourself up or make yourself good enough to go to heaven. That's not the gospel

· That is a different gospel a false gospel a works based gospel

· It doesn't exist and it sends people straight to hell

· The real gospel of Jesus Christ is that you're not okay, and you need him

· And it's simple.

· You turn from sin.

· You say, God, I'm sorry, I don't want my sin anymore.

· Please forgive me of my sin.

· Why did Jesus come to die on the cross for your sin?

· Not to tell you that you're okay on your own.

· He could have shouted that from heaven.

· He had to come.

· Emmanuel, God with us, fully God, fully man, live a perfect life and die on the

· cross, not for His sin, for your own, for our sin.

· that's the gospel so our closing thought is this and I wrote this earlier this

· week and I almost would have wanted to change it but um it's okay our closing

· thought still stands though are we ready to be a church that loves beyond

· disappointment and frustration for the sake of unity and purity of the church

· and that love might mean dealing with sin like it did for Paul right Paul

· would just love to come give him a high five and a hug and just

· celebrate the holiness and the wonderful ways of the church is just healthy and

· exalting Christ and worshiping God and making an impact in Corinth but he can't

· because Corinth is all mixed up in sin and he's like guys I don't want to come

· and find you in all this sin that destroys unity and destroys the

· purity of the church please guys I don't want to find that when I come

· But we are called to that kind of love, a love that says, hey, I do love you.

· And because I love you, this thing that you're doing that's blatantly sin, you gotta stop.

· I'm not saying that you have to, that we just get to throw our opinions around, right?

· If somebody says you're doing something wrong, but you can't find it in here, different

· story.

· But if somebody says that's wrong, and here's why, right here, you gotta deal

· with God, not that person, right?

· My prayer is that our ministry would resemble that of Paul's,

· that we would be a loving ministry of genuine, sacrificial love and care for people

· that seeks to please God and pursue holiness.

· That's what Cross Church ought to be about.

· And that's what we are about, making Jesus known and living for him.

· I'm going to invite the worship team up. Let's close in prayer.

· Father, we thank you for this morning.

· We thank you for your word. I pray that you would help us, Lord.

· Help us to be a church that honors and glorifies you above all else.

· Let us not lift our souls to another.

· And as we sing, Lord, we need you, we really do.

· We need you to save us from sin, to help us walk closer to you each and every day,

· to live a holier and righteous life.

· not a perfect one but a one that says I'm not uncomfortable in my sin and I

· need Christ. If there's anyone here listening to my voice this morning I

· would say I don't know Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I don't

· know what all this is about. I got dragged here by family or friend. God I

· pray that you would convict them of their sin. Show them where they fall

· short of the glory of God and reveal to them that the wages of sin is

· But the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord is the only way

· It's the only way I pray that they would come find me afterwards

· We can walk through the good news of Jesus Christ the gospel and Lord

· I do pray for those who maybe we're walking with you for a while God

· I pray that they would pursue holiness chase after it love it love righteousness

· Seek justice love mercy love loving people

· And do all of it to the glory of God

· Help us, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's stand as we sing our last song.

· As I find rest without you, I'll fall. You're the one that guides my heart.

· Station comes my way. I'll not stand, I'll fall on. Jesus, you're mine.

· When I cannot stand, I'll fall on. Heavenly Father, that is our prayer, Lord.

· God, our proclamation, Lord Jesus. Each and every day, Lord, help us be good stewards,

· Lord Jesus of what you've given us Lord God help us not bury the talents Lord God

· to help us use what you've given us to reach the world it's in your precious

· holy name we give you all the praise honor and glory amen amen amen and don't

· forget if you haven't been to the pizza with a pastor and you didn't

· sign up but you're curious you can join us it's in about 15 minutes in the

· kids area

Part of Series

Ready for Harvest

Ready for Harvest

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Tenemos un campus completamente en español: Iglesia de la Cruz, Sunday 5:00 PM (hora de Arizona).