Sunday Setup – 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

[Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] Hey, Cross Church. Welcome to the Sunday setup. This is our weekly time where we gather Thursdays at 2 o'clock digitally together as a church family where we get to prepare our hearts for what God has for us this Sunday as we open up this text. Our goal it on this weekend is to be able to pray through this text to pray through this text to preach this text so we can practice it. And we're going to start that today in 2 Corinthians chap 11 as we just want to read this passage and have a few prayer prompts for you to pray through uh while you're going through your day and your week just to prepare your heart for what God has this weekend. We're going to be in 2 Corinthians 11. We're going to read the first 15 verses. And Paul starts in verse one and says this. I wish you would put up with a little foolishness from me. Yes, do put up with me, for I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy because I have promised you in marriage to one husband to present a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear that as a serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus whom we do not did not preach, or you receive a different spirit which you had not received, or a different gospel which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly. Now, I consider myself in no way inferior to those super apostles. Even if I'm untrained in public speaking, I'm certainly not untrained in knowledge. Indeed, we have in every way made that clear to you in everything. Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted? Because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge. I robbed other churches by taking pay from them to minister to you. When I was present with you and in need, I did not burden anyone since the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have kept myself and will continue to keep myself from burden you in any way. as the truth of Christ in it is in me. This boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Aaya. Why? Because I don't love you. No, God knows that I do. But I will continue to do what I'm doing in order to deny an opportunity to those who want to be regarded as are equal in what they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder for Satan disguises himself as an angel of lights. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, their ends will be according to their work. Paul in this passage really gives us a warning and gives us resources to be able to identify truth and identify falsehood. And as we start this and a few things I want us to pray for and just two prayer prompts we have. The first one here in verse three he says that he doesn't want us to be deceived by Satan but instead that we have a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. And in that I think it causes us to reflect for a second is and here's our prayer prompt is Jesus you are worthy of a pure and sincere devotion because Jesus you are worthy of a pure and sincere devotion because say those prayers to our Got it. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] Heat. Heat. [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] Jesus, you are worthy of a sincere and pure devotion because you are our savior. Um God, because you are our creator, uh Lord, you are sustainer. You are all holy. You are all powerful. And God, you are ultimately the one who gives us a new life. But God, not only do we see that you are worth a sincere and pure devotion, but there is no way we can have a sincere and pure devotion if we do not know your truth and we do not act out your truth. In verse 10, Paul says, "As the truth of Christ is in me." it it's so polar opposite from what he describes of these false teachers and these false apostles that he calls out. And here is our prayer of we talk about this truth of Christ in us that God let the truth of Christ be seen in me by that God let the truth of Christ be seen in me by. Pray those prayers to our God. Heat. [Music] [Laughter] [Music] Heat. [Music] God, hear these prayers that the truth of Christ can be seen in us by Lord. How we live separately from the world. How we pursue goodness and not evil. How we share the truth of Christ. How our families grow stronger together rather than push apart. Lord, how we just live a countercultural lifestyle. That we stand up for life. That we stand up for what is just. We stand up for what is noble, God. that when our world passes by things, when our world has a different definition of truth or of good and evil, God, that we stand on your word and we represent the truth of your word, the truth of the gospel, the truth of Christ. Uh that is the only truth that is real in our world. And God, as we attempt to live this out, let us just pray and reflect on this passage. as God, as we come back and we gather as a church to decipher how are we recognizing evil and falsehood in our world and how are we pursuing what is greater, what is true, what is more beautiful. And Lord, we just lift all this up in Jesus true name. Amen. Thank you guys for joining us today. We'll see you Sunday. [Music]