My Best to You

II Corinthians 13: 12

Jesus Christ bonds believers together. He has been the epoxy holding us together in love.

In leaving a church he had started Paul shared a farewell message. These elements are:

I. BE COMPLETE
Paul prayed for them to be complete (Vs. 9). The word translated “complete” means to be spiritually mature . It was a word used to describe preparing an army for battle or a ship for a voyage. For the past year our Lord has been graciously equipping this ship of Zion for a wonderful voyage.

In all you do strive for perfection. Colossians 3: 23 is an exhortation to do all
you to an audience of one, the Lord.

II. BE OF GOOD COMFORT = MEANS BE ENCOURAGED
God’s Word gives reason for comfort. The future is as bright as the promises of God.

Our English word “courage” comes from the Latin “cour,” meaning “the condition of the heart. King Richard was known as “Richard the Lion Hearted,” meaning, ‘King Richard the man with the heart of a lion.”

We are born with courage but events ware on us and a prefix emerges and we become discouraged. God come along with a big eraser and removes the prefix and inserts an new one “en,” encouragement He has done that in this church.

III. BE OF ONE MIND
Scripture admonishes us to ‘let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

As diverse as we are we are going to have differing opinions at times. We may not always think alike, but we must think with the same mental attitude of Christ. That is one of love and consideration for others.

You are sheep you must flock together.

What animal do you consider to be the best hunter in Africa? Is it the lion, jaguar, or cheetah? Lions hunt in backs. Cheetahs and jaguars depend on speed. The best hunter in Africa is the Spotted Dog, or wild dog. They hunt as a family. They hunt collaboratively.

Consider “one” in a collaborative.
1 divided by 1 equals 1. 1 times 1 equals 1
1 minus 1 equals 0 1 plus one equals 2
In a collaborative the integrator is removed and 1 and 1 is 11. 1 and 1 and 1 is 111.

It is like in Quantum physics in which there is no “I” everything is “we.”

A horse pulling contest was held at a county fair. The object was to see what horse could pull the greatest weight. The winner pulled 4,500 pounds. The second place horse pulled 4,000 pounds. It would appear that together they could pull 8,500 pounds. Hitched together they actually pulled 12,000. Their synergism enabled them to pull 3,500 pounds more.

Eleven frightened followers of Christ were together in the upper room. A transforming event occurred. When they were in “one accord” they transformed the world.

Think what you can do as a church if you pull together.

IV. LIVE IN PEACE
“Live in peace” is an exhortation needed in every church. This membership has seen what happens to a church that does not live in peace. No membership can worship the God of peace in a spirit of bitterness. We must love one another before our love for God is validated.

The peace of God which passes understanding is the environment in which we abide. Live to preserve peace among yourselves.

Verse 12, needs to be understood and employed. “Greet each other with a holy kiss.” Five times this is mentioned in the New Testament. First, it is self-evident this kiss is to be a “holy kiss.”

In synagogue worship the men sat together and the women sat together. The men kissed the men and the women kissed the women. It was the custom of that era and the habit in oriental lands today for men to kiss men and women to kiss women ON THE CHEEK!

The kiss was for two purposes. One it was a sign of agreement. Second, it was their way of being friendly. Don’t get so hung up on the method and the meaning. The important thing is to “Greet one another….”

These four attributes are possible only because of two factors mentioned in concluding this.

They are:
The God of peace and the God of love is with you.

The farewell ends with a blessing pronounced:
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (Vs. 14).

The “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” is the fellowship which the Holy Spirit created between believers and God the Father and between believers themselves. A Spirit filled church is a warm and friendly church.