It's Baptism Sunday. We're excited for Baptism Sunday. We do this a couple times a year and it's a chance for people just to publicly profess their faith in Jesus Christ and what he's done in their life. It's a fun Sunday. It's a Sunday that we have good reason to celebrate and we're going to do that. It happens to line up on a text this morning that's also a bit challenging. So I think it's appropriate to kind of temper some excitement with the honesty of what we're being called to when we get this call to follow Jesus. Like what is being asked of us. And we're going to look at the first 13 verses of chapter six. So if you're just joining us, we're working through the letter of Second Corinthians that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth and we've been working through this and we're ready to start chapter six now. Last week we finished chapter five, but we cheated a little bit and we reached into the first verse of chapter six and it was a heavy verse, it was a challenging verse. And we're just going to start there again. So let's dive in together. This is what Paul says in verse one of chapter six. Working together with him, talking about God. Then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. What does that mean? Because there's this warning that you could receive the grace of God in a way that, that doesn't equal salvation. That doesn't compute to like, it's vain. It doesn't mean anything. Now the New Testament uses that word vain other places as well. Except in the other places it uses that word. It doesn't translate it vain. It translates it empty handed. In fact, it's in situations where somebody goes into a vineyard to collect fruit but is sent away in vain or sent away empty handed, it's sent away with no fruit. So basically what Paul is saying is, hey, don't, don't receive the grace of God in vain. Or don't receive the grace of God in a way that you got nothing to show for it. You got no fruit to show. Like, it doesn't mean anything. Like, you could say, I believe in Jesus, I believe in God, but. But it hasn't impacted your life at all. Like, it shows up nowhere and it's just, it's in vain. Now that's in a bit of an alarming text, is it not? Like you wonder, like, is that me? Are we talking about Christians that aren't really, Christians like people that come to church and say all the right things, but it never landed. It never shaped or impacted their life at all. And is it possible that that's you, that you know the right answers and you would profess a belief if we give it that word in Christ, but there's no fruit to show of it? And let me. Let me press in a little bit on maybe some certain groups that came to my mind as I was studying, studying this. Teenagers like you come to church with your parents because that's what you do as a family. Your parents are leading out with that. But you're old enough to understand the grace of God. Like, don't think you're a Christian because mom and dad are a Christian. Like, you're old enough to take it seriously, to take Jesus Christ seriously. And for you on your own to say that you want to follow Him. Men, there's a lot of stories of it. Like, the only reason you're coming to church is because your wife said so. And you just kind of come along and you might call yourself a Christian, but is there fruit to show for it? Or what about to the people getting baptized today? They're making this profession of faith, and we're going to look at a text. It's like, do you really know what you're saying when you get into that water? Because what is being asked of us to be a Christian? Because I don't think anybody in here would be like, I would like to have received the grace of God in vain. We, like, we don't want that. So what does it mean? And what does it look like to receive the grace of God in a way that's actual saving faith in a way that impacts your life and means something? Because I think one of the most scariest passages in the Bible is in Matthew, chapter seven, when people do some things in the name of Christ and at judgment, Jesus says, depart from me. I never knew you. Like, none of us want to hear that. And here Paul's pressing in on the Corinthians of like, don't just give Christianity lip service. Don't just say the right things and have the right answers when it makes no difference in your life. So what does it look like to receive the grace of God in a way that changes our life completely? Second Corinthians, chapter six is where we're going to go. You guys ready to do this? All right. Verse 1 and 2 says, Working together with him, then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, in a favorable time, I listened to you. And in a day of salvation, I have helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Now, as much of what will be said going forward is going to be challenging, it might press in on us a little bit. I want you to know this is good news. Like Paul is coming before us. Like, I have good news for you to receive. Today is the day of salvation. Today is good news day. Like today is a favorable time, I want you to lay hold of good news, but I want you to lay hold of it in a way that means something. So we're going to come back to verse two, but let's go on to verse three. We put no obstacles in anyone's way. Now, I want you to remember that. Okay, we'll come back to that. We put no obstacles in anyone's way so that no fault may be found with our ministry. But as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way by great endurance and 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 imposters, 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. Now it seems like we put no obstacles in front of you. Where we're pleading with you to be a follower of Christ, where we're imploring you to be reconciled to God, we're pleading with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. Like Paul wants them to take the message of Jesus Christ seriously and be fully committed to him. And then he says, and we're not going to put any obstacle in front of you. And then it seems like he puts a whole bunch of obstacles in front of them. Like, it's going to be hard. You may be thrown in jail, you're going to have sleepless nights. This is going to be like you're going to be slandered or unknown or persecuted. Like, boy, Paul, you seem like a terrible salesman. Like you're trying to get people to follow Jesus and you kind of give all these challenges in front of them. Now he is persuading, said that at the beginning. He's persuading them. He's imploring them to be reconciled or begging them. And then here in verse one, I appeal to you. So he's like, I want something from you. Now, what does Paul want from them? Real devotion to Jesus Christ. Like, take him seriously. All in, wholehearted follower of Jesus Christ. I want that for you. And he's persuading them, he's pleading with them, he's appealing to them. But he's not tricking them. He's like, I'm not trying to lie to you. I'm not trying to trick you. So what does he mean by putting no obstacle in front of them? Well, he says that he continues so that no fault may be found in our ministry. Here's what he means by that. I didn't give you a reason to doubt me. I didn't give you a reason to question my authenticity. Like, I'm not in it for the money or the notoriety or the status, which is what's really valued in your culture. When people want to be influential and powerful and esteemed. Like, I didn't come into your context, trying to just puff myself up. I didn't do that. So why is he doing what he's doing? Well, back in verse 14, it's like, I'm compelled by the love of Christ. You know why I'm doing what I'm doing? You know why I do these beatings and sufferings and sleepless nights and hunger. I am so wrecked by the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I take seriously this call that I'm an ambassador for Christ and I have the ministry of reconciliation. And he's calling them to the same thing. You're an ambassador of Jesus Christ. You've been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation. Like, he's inviting them into this lifestyle as well. Now he's calling them to the narrow road, but he's also walking it. Right? So when he says, I'm not putting any obstacle in front of you. We referred to this a few times, I think, in this series where Jesus contrast of the broad road and the narrow road. You guys remember that analogy? He says, the road is broad, the gate is wide, and many follow it. But it leads to where? Destruction. But there's a narrow gate and narrow road and few find it. And it's hard and it leads to what? Life. Well, Paul is like, I'm not putting any obstacle in front of the narrow road. I'm displaying the narrow road for you. But he is putting all kinds of obstacles in front of the broad road, saying, this isn't Christianity. This isn't what it really looks like. Like, don't go this way. And he's pleading with them to take a different path. So he calls them and us to not receive the grace of God in vain. I'm going to make that same plea for you a couple times, so let me do it once now. Like, don't. Don't take this lightly. Don't take the reality of judgment that he talked about in chapter five lightly. Don't take the grace of God lightly. This invitation to be reconciled to God. Like, don't take this lightly. Don't go through the motions. Don't just give Christianity lip service. Like, this should change your life and every bit of your life. Don't compartmentalize it. I kind of have my spiritual life over here, and then my. My other life over here. Like, all of life is all for Jesus. Like, it should have that level of weight. He's telling them, don't receive the grace of God in vain. Then this is really helpful because if he just stopped there, we might be left confused. Like, well, what does that mean? How do I know if I'm receiving the grace of God in vain? And what. What does receiving the grace of God in the right way even look like? He goes on from there and gives us a description of what not receiving the grace of God in vain looks like. And that's what we're going to look at from verses three through ten. And really, you can divide this up into three sections in these verses. One, the challenge of Christianity, which is verse four and five, the weapons of Christianity, which is verses six and seven, and then the life of Christianity, which is verses eight through ten. So you get the challenge of Christianity, the weapons of Christianity, the life of Christianity, or you could say the challenge of ministry. The weapons of ministry and the life of ministry. It's interchangeably, because Paul, what Paul's calling them to be, is both reconciled to God, a new creation in Christ, and ambassadors for Christ. Like, your identity and your purpose go hand in hand. So he's calling them to ministry, and he's calling them to authentic Christianity. That's what it is. So I want us to look at the challenge of Christianity. I want us to look at the weapons of Christianity, and then I want us to look at the life of Christianity. And it's going to be raw, honest, like, this is what you'll be invited to. And then we're going to make another plea for you to respond to Christianity. So here we go, verse 4 and 5. But as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way by great endurance in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger. Where do I sign up? Right? He's just like, guys, let me give you an honest look at my life of following Jesus. What I'm inviting you into, like, this is what the Christian life looks like. And, guys, the promise of the Christian life is the good life. Someday. You track with me on that one. It is the promise of the good life. Someday. Someday, every tear will be wiped from our eyes. Someday there'll be no more crying, no more death, no more pain, no more mourning, and all things will be made new someday. But not now. Not now. And it is clear in Scripture, not now. There's hardship, opposition, persecution, resistance, struggle, strife, suffering. Like, that's the call to follow Jesus. He says, take up your cross and follow me. Like, what do you think that means? Like, he's clear on this invitation, on what it means to follow Jesus. And in so many ways, we miss this. In so many ways we miss this. We make this conclusion that if I'm going to follow God, my life is going to get easier because God's on my side and he's going to bless me and watch out for me. And he's my good shepherd, and he leads me. Right? Leads you where? Through the valley of the shadow of death. To what? Greener pastures? Someday. Someday on the other side of the valley. But we can make this conclusion that once I become a Christian, my life is going to get easier. And then we go through life and we have marital strife and a spouse walks out on us. We lose our job, we get diagnosed with cancer, we lose a loved one, we have a kid, rebel, and we get mad at God. We get mad at him like, how could you let this happen to me? I'm one of yours. I put my faith in you. How could you do this? How could you let this happen to me? And when we react like that, when we. When we react with suffering, with an anger towards God, we wonder like, have you ever read the Bible? Because you don't get that response. Like, I understand how you get through that response emotionally, but you don't get that in Scripture anywhere. And the sad reality is there are a lot of Christians who don't ever read the Bible. And when you don't ever read the Bible, you just kind of piece together your own version of Christianity. And when you don't have the text to direct, like, what true Christianity is, you make your own conclusions. And in your own conclusions with A little bit of church here and a little bit of Sunday school that you kind of remembered, you kind of didn't remember. And you listen to this podcast and that radio and this talk, and you kind of put it all together and you make your own conclusions. And then you make these conclusions. Like, my God would never say that, and my God would never do that, and my God would never let that happen. And you have no space for suffering. But you don't get that in here. You don't get that in the text. In fact, it's all over the text. In First Peter 4:12, Peter tells us, think it not strange when you. When you face fiery trials of various kinds. And what he's saying is, like, don't be surprised about suffering. We follow a savior who is publicly executed. Like, this shouldn't jump out and surprise us. We shouldn't be shocked when we. When we have suffering. We believe in a sinful world. We shouldn't be surprised in opposition. Like, our values line up differently than the world's values. Like, it shouldn't shock us. So the call to follow Jesus is a call to embrace hardships, to know it's coming. It's a part of the gig. In fact, we've said this before in here, that the call to follow Jesus or to follow Jesus in this broken, sinful world and, like, be seriously devoted to Christ and his teachings, it's not going to win you any popularity contest. Like, it's not going to help you fit in better. It's not going to increase people's approval of you. So why does Paul feel like he needs to really clarify this point? I mean, why might this point need to be clarified to us? Do you remember the culture in Corinth? What they valued? Image, power, wealth, status. And you had these super apostles that would come and kind of undermine Paul's ministry because it's like, you can't trust him. Look at his life. Look at all the suffering he goes through. You don't want that. And there was this merging between the gospel message and the cultural values of Corinth. Yeah, you can follow Jesus and still just love, comfort and status and ease and power and influence. You kind of merge that together and distort Christianity. Do you think there's a need to clarify this in American culture? Like, there's this merging of the gospel message and the American dream, and God just wants you happy, wealthy, and healthy, and he's just going to bless you. We deal with the prosperity gospel. We have prosperity preachers that kind of spindle that message to us all the time. We just don't watch anything on tbn. Okay, we'll just start there. But it's a lie, it's a twist. You don't get that anywhere in scripture. And for Paul, he dealt with the super apostles, as he sarcastically calls them, these super people that are going to try to promote this lifestyle that better fits with the culture. Like you can have Christ and the ways of the world. Paul's like, no, it doesn't work that way. And I didn't come ministering to you in that way at all. So guys, to follow Christ, it will make your life better. It will. Like there's more joy in Jesus, there's more peace in Jesus, there's more contentment in Jesus. It will make your life better, but will not make your life easier. It will not make your life easier. Not now. To follow Christ or to embrace the call to follow Jesus Christ is to embrace hardship and difficulty and know that that's part of what's going to be experienced when you're fully committed to Christ. So let's look at the other one, the weapons of Christianity, verse 6 and 7. 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. Now I'm just going to tell you, I love that he says weapons because I think often we've just domesticated Christianity. It's a fight. Paul talks of it often. It's the good fight. He says, I fight the good fight. The call to follow Jesus Christ is a call to a fight. He says you're in a fight. In fact, he gives like you got a weapon for the right hand and the left hand. You're double fisted. You're well equipped for this fight. Now start swinging. You got weapons in this fight now they're weapons of righteousness. So to be patient, to be kind, to speak truth is how we fight in this world. But more specifically, where most recently in our context was the word righteousness, Just at the end of chapter five, when we learned about double imputation, he says this for our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the what righteousness of God. So our greatest weapon in this fight is you're in Christ. You're already taken care of. You've been equipped and given the righteous of Christ. So you go in with that confidence in this world like you have Christ. So what are they going to do to you? Make fun of you? Not Include you, kill you, you got Christ, like you're covered in his righteous. And it gives us this boldness in this fight. Now this is a bit of a weird list and a weird list. What I mean by that is it's not weird, that purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, like we've heard that before. But then he says the Holy Spirit. So he's listing attributes and then he throws in a person in the list. Like what does he mean by that? He's saying the Holy Spirit is the source of these weapons, the source of these virtues in our life, the source of our patience and our kindness and our truth speaking, or in contrast to not receiving the grace of God in vain. He's saying, we got fruit. We're not empty handed. We got the fruit of the Spirit in our life. The Holy Spirit is producing in us patience and kindness. Like this is how we fight. This is coming from the Holy Spirit. And it says something. I believe that this list comes right after the description of his experiences. Do you notice that he talks about his afflictions and his hardships and his calamities and his beatings and his imprisonments and his riots and the labors and the sleepless nights and the hunger. And then he starts talking about his patience and his kindness. Because that's part of the point. The power of our ministry is in how we act in light of what we endure. So Paul's saying, I'm facing beatings and imprisonments and mistreatment and misunderstandings and yet I continue to return it with patience and kindness and truth speaking. It's like, this is how we fight. So church, the call to follow Jesus Christ is a call to engage in ministry. It's to get into the fight is to speak truth, is to display patience and other fruit of the Spirit in the midst of a fallen, broken world. Like you don't receive the grace of God and then sit on the sidelines. Like you receive the grace of God and get in the game. You engage in ministry. And this is what Paul's calling them. Don't receive the grace of God in vain. Don't just sit back and watch a broken world fall to pieces. Engage it, display patience, display kindness, speak truth like get in there with righteousness and show them the glory of God. And then he talks about the life of Christianity. Look at verses 8 through 10. Through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise, we are treated as imposters and yet are true, as unknown and yet well known as dying. And behold, we live as punished and yet not killed as Sorrowful and yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many, rich as having nothing, yet possessing everything. And these verses picture or present two conflicting realities. And you read this and you might be like, paul, what are you talking about? Like, these things are opposed to each other. How can they both be true? How can you have honor and dishonor? How can you have slander and praise? How can you be treated as imposters and yet be true? How can you be known and unknown? Like these things are against each other. What are you talking about? He's talking about, like two competing realities, but really what he's presenting is two competing worlds. There's two competing worlds going on here. And he's saying, I'm living for one world, not the other world. And this is true in this world, but it's not true in that world. You guys with me on this one? Because it might be a little confusing. Like there's things that are said about me or true about me in this world, but it's not ultimately true about me and it's not true about me and the world that matters and the world that will last forever. So, yeah, I may have dishonor here, but I got honor coming. Or there may be people that are slandering me now, but praise is a part of my future. Or I may be treated as an imposter in your circles. But I'm well known in my circles. Like, there's two different worlds. There's a. I didn't have this in my notes, but I'll share it anyways. It's 11 o'clock. Who cares how long we go right in acts book, Acts 18. Don't hold me to it. 18, 19. Somewhere in there, there's a story of the sons of Sceva. Who are these Jewish exorcists? See the power that the disciples have and they try to cast out a demon. And they go in there and to speak in the name of Jesus, in the name of Paul. And the demons are like, we know Jesus and we've heard of Paul, but who are you? And then they beat him naked. It's a great story, you should read it. But to think about, like, they're saying, oh, we've heard of Paul. Like, these demons are like, yeah, his name gets around. So Paul's like, oh, yeah, I might not be well known in your circles, but I'm not living in your circles. I don't care about your circles. Like, there's a. There's a different world than I'm living for. There's a Different reality. So, yeah, I may be seen as being punished. Now, you look at my sufferings and my beatings and my imprisonment, but I'm not killed. You can't destroy me. You may look at me as a sorrowful person because of all my calamity, but yet I'm always rejoicing. I'm in prison and I'm joyful. Or you may see me as poor, but yet I keep kind of making other people rich. Or you think I have nothing, but you don't know the inheritance that's waiting for me. So there's two competing realities going on, or two competing worlds. And Paul's saying, and this is the challenge of the Christian, you don't live for this world. You don't live for this world. So what he lays before us is, what world are you going to live for? Are you going to care about fitting into this world, or are you going to care about the acceptance of your heavenly Father? Are you going to care about building up wealth here, or are you going to care more about storing up treasures in the kingdom of heaven? Which one are you going to live for? And this isn't the first time Paul's challenged the Corinthians with this issue. This is in First Corinthians, chapter 15. He says, if in Christ we have hope in this life only, it's all about just this life. That's what this is about. If Christianity is just to help you have a better marriage and a better family and better money management, like, if it's all about this life, we of all people, most are to be pitied. And he says this later on in the same chapter, what do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? We don't have that account. Can't wait to find out about it. If the dead are not raised, here's, like, the worldview we should embrace. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Like, if there's no resurrection, then we shouldn't be living this way. Why am I fighting beasts? Why am I going through imprisonments and inflictions and beatings and riots and sleepless nights and hunger? If this life is all there is, if it's yolo, baby, then let's just live it up. You only got this life, then we should try to have the best time we possibly can. Like, that's the worldview in the world, right? What happens if that's the worldview in the church? What happens if church people can receive the grace of God? I'm a sinner, Jesus is a savior. God is real. But then they live that way. They live for this world. They just try to have as much fun as they can before they die. What does that mean? He goes on to say, do not be deceived. Bad company ruins good morals. Who's the bad company? The culture. Corinth. It's like you're embracing the values of America or Corinth or whatever one he put in there, and you're being deceived. Then he says, wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some of you have no knowledge of God. Is that true? Were they like God? God who? I don't know about God. I've never heard of God before. Do they have no knowledge of God? They know about God. So what's Paul saying when he says, you have no knowledge of God? You're living your life as if God doesn't exist. You're handling your money as if God doesn't exist. You're planning your calendar as if God doesn't exist. You're entertaining yourself as if God doesn't exist. You're dressing as if God doesn't exist. You're doing everything as if God does. You're acting like you don't know God at all. And that's what Paul said in the next letter when he writes to him in our verse. It's like you're receiving the grace of God. Sure, in vain. It means nothing. It's made no impact on you whatsoever. And he's pleading with them not to do it. Guys, the call to follow Jesus is the call to live for eternity. To not care so much about fitting in here, but being passionate for someday and pleasing your heavenly Father to make the next life more important than this life. So let me recap. Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that the call to follow Jesus and the call to be a Christian or a call not to receive the grace of God in vain is to embrace hardships, engage in ministry, and live for eternity. So that's what we need to know. You want to understand what it means to really receive the grace of God. That's not in vain. That actually means something. Here's how. Here's how shows up. You embrace hardships. You embrace the narrow road for Jesus Christ. You don't get discouraged about suffering and opposition in this world. You know it's part of the narrow road. Living. You are engaged in ministry. You take seriously the call to be an ambassador for Christ. You're entrusted with the message of reconciliation. And you go in this world to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and you live for eternity, you care more about the next life than this life. That's what he's calling them to do. So let me ask you a few questions. Are you going to embrace the narrow road? Are you willing to be in the minority for Jesus Christ? Are you willing to be alienated, not included, because of your faith? Are you going to fight the good fight? Are you actively trying to put to death the sins you continually struggle with? Are you actively trying to speak truth to a world that believes lies? Are you actively trying to display the fruit of the spirit in your life to a lost world? Are you equipped with the weapons of righteousness in both hands and you're swinging them every day? Are you going to live or value the next life over this life? Will you be more passionate about storing up treasures in the kingdom of heaven than storing up retirement? Will you care more about pleasing your Heavenly Father who you stand before one day, than Scott in accounting? And notice my question is not, do you want to go to heaven when you die? Do you believe that you're a sinner? Do you believe that Jesus is your savior, like, all that's important, true stuff? That's just not what Paul's asking them right now. They already know that and they still have a problem. What's their problem? Is it our problem? Because, guys, this is what it means to be a real Christian. This isn't like super Christian stuff. He's trying to explain to them, like, no, don't receive the grace of God in vain. And to not receive the grace of God in vain. It looks like this. It looks like you embrace hardship. It looks like you engage in ministry. It looks like you live for eternity. That's what it looks like. But what's behind somebody who actually does that and lives that way, or what's behind them not doing it? Why are they not doing it? What's tripping them up? And it might be the same thing that's tripping us up. So let's look at verse 11. We have spoken freely to you Corinthians. Our heart is wide open. Basically, he's saying, what more can I say? I don't have any further evidence. I don't know. I don't know what else to say. And then he says this in verse 12, you are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affection. So he said, we're not getting in your way of being passionate followers of Jesus Christ. In fact, we're pleading with you we're trying to persuade you and beg you and implore you and appeal to you, do this, take this seriously. All in, right? We're not getting in your way. So what is getting in their way? What is preventing them from being all in wholeheartedly followers of Jesus Christ? It's their own affections. I mean, he says it right there. That's what's getting in your way. It's your own affections. Here's what's getting in your way of really following Jesus Christ. You just love comfort, you just love approval. You just really want to be accepted, fit in. You just really love money. And it's not that they didn't believe. They believed or it's not that they didn't receive. Seems like they received the grace of God. They just received it in vain, didn't mean anything. They didn't have any fruit to show for it. They were empty handed. And why were they empty handed? It's their affections. Their affections. It's like you can't speak truth in this world. Because you love approval. You're not going to disrupt your life at all and live for mission. Because you love comfort. Like your affections are tripping you up. Is that what's tripping you up? You're just in love with this world. You're just in love with money. You're just in love with status and acceptance. Maybe you've received the grace of God. Maybe you prayed a prayer. Maybe you've gotten baptized before. Was it in vain? Has it made any difference in your life? Do you have any fruit to show for it? And Paul, he's pleading with them. He's pleading with them. Look at verse 1 and 2. Again he says, working together with him. Then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, in a favorable time, I've listened to you and in a day of salvation I've helped you. Behold, now is the favorable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Now he says behold twice. Behold just means pay attention. So it's like he's saying, guys, listen up to this, all right? Today is a favorable time. Pay attention. Do you get what I'm saying? I want your ears like he's pleading with them. Pay attention, this is important. And he says favorable twice. Now in Greek there are two different words. The first one is dectas and then it's uprose dectas. So you see dectas in both ones. So dectas is like it's acceptable, it's favorable. But eupros dectas Is like, it's most acceptable. So he's saying, guys, today's a good time. No, no, no, it's a great time. Like, it's a perfect time. Like, you need to receive the grace of God. Now, what makes it such a favorable time? Verse 2. And you may see this in your text. It's a quote. He's quoting something. And he's quoting from Isaiah 49. And in Zaya 49 is coming from a section in Isaiah that is talking about a servant of the Lord who God will use to rescue his people. And who is that? Who is that church? Jesus. So this is the time's now. Because why Jesus has come, like that servant that Isaiah prophesied about that happened. He came, he was born, died on a cross, rose from a grave, paid for our sins. Through him we have reconciliation back to God. Now's the time. It's now. And notice he says now, which also in Greek means now. Right? It's now. It's December 8th, 11:00 service. Now's a great time. Now is an excellent time for you to stop playing games and just giving lip service to Jesus Christ and give your whole life to him. Like, why not? What is getting in your way? What is stopping you from just being all in? Is it your comfort, do you think? Boy, if I really started following Jesus, that would mess with my comfort. Is it your social circle? If I really went all in with Jesus Christ, that might mess with my social status. Is it your finances? Boy, if I really went all in, I might mess with my finances. What is it? Seriously? Why? Why not? Why not go all in? Here's what I want you to remember. Grace is real and God is worth it. When he says, don't receive the grace of God in vain, he's not saying, don't receive the grace of God. He just got done saying, be reconciled to God. Do you understand the gift that's being offered to you? That in Christ Jesus, he's not counting our trespasses against us? Do you know how awesome that is? Grace is available to you. Take it, receive it. Okay, what does that look like? It looks like. You see, God is worth it. Oh, I'll go through hard times for my king. I'll be an ambassador for Christ for my King. I'll live for eternity. That he's guaranteed to me. That's what it looks like to receive it. Grace is real and God is worth it. And this plea that Paul's giving them, it's a loving plea. It's a loving plea. Look at the verse 13. This is how he ends. In return, I speak as to children, widen your hearts also. So when he says, I speak of as children, he's not saying, you guys are idiots. You're dumb. You don't get it. He's saying, no, you're loved. You're like my kids. In First Corinthians 4, he talks about being their father, like, I was there to first deliver this gospel to you. I care for you, I love for you. And then this is his plea. Widen your hearts. What a beautiful invitation to Christianity, because that's what it's about. He's saying, in Jesus Christ, you need to widen your hearts. Because in Christ there is more joy than you realize. There is more peace than you can imagine. There's more contentment through him, and in him there's a greater inheritance in him. Like you don't narrow. You got to widen your heart to be a Christian. Stop settling for cheap imitations, for joy and contentment and peace that this world offers you. Like, stop trying to fit in with Corinth when you can belong to the kingdom. Stop trying to be popular at work when you can be accepted by Christ. Don't settle for these petty little things this world offers you and promises you. When you have so much more in Jesus Christ, widen your heart for it. So church, lastly, for now, don't take Jesus Christ lightly. Don't take the grace of God that's being extended to you through Christ flippantly. Now is the time of salvation today. And there will come a time when time's up. And it's not an offer of grace, it's a time of judgment. But it's not now. Now is an offer of grace. Now there's going to be forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. Stop playing games. Wake up from your drunken stupor. Don't go on in love with this world when something so much better is being offered to you. And when we celebrate baptisms, when people get into some water and get dunked, they're not just saying, I'm a sinner, Jesus is my Savior. What they're saying is, jesus is my king, and I will gladly embrace hardship for him. Jesus is my king, and I will gladly be an ambassador for him. Jesus is my king, and I will pursue the inheritance he has given me and I will live for forever. Not for now. Jesus Christ got baptized, and he didn't get baptized because he was a sinner in need of saving. He got baptized and it commissioned the beginning of his ministry. So in baptism, when you go under the water Guess what? We'll pull you out, okay? We're not gonna leave you under there. We'll pull you. You rise again to new life. And what they're saying is my life. And what he says in verse 14 of chapter 5, my life is no longer about me. I'm no longer living for myself, but for him who, for my sake, died when was raised again. This is about mission. This is about mission. So if you've never publicly said, jesus is my king, and I will gladly embrace hardship for him, I will gladly be his ambassador, and I will gladly live for forever. If you've never said that publicly through baptism, Scripture tells you you should. And if you have said that publicly in baptism before, I hope you say it again privately in your own heart that you confess again. Jesus, you're my king. And whatever suffering or struggling you have for me, I will walk closely with you through it because you're a good shepherd who will lead me to greener pastures, and I trust you. I will gladly be your ambassador, and I will speak your truth and display the fruit of your spirit in my life, no matter how popular or unpopular it is. And you have. You have given me an inheritance that can ever be taken, and I will gladly live for that and not now. And if everybody in this room is saying that if we stop taking the grace of God in vain, watch out. Watch out. Let's pray. Father, we need you to want you. So I pray by the power of your spirit, you would indeed wake us from a drunken stupor, that we've just become intoxicated with this world and its values and how we've tried to merge Christianity into it when you've called us to be set apart. I pray that you would lead us to face any kind of suffering you have for us, knowing you can be trusted in all things, that you would equip us to be actively professing your gospel to the people around us, living on mission. I pray that you would give us a hunger for eternity that is greater than the junk food that's thrown in front of us every day, and you would get the glory. We pray this in your name. Amen.