Revering the Word
2 Corinthians 10 Confidence in God amidst criticism
Good morning everyone this morning. We are in second Corinthians chapter 10 Paul is shifting from the discussion regarding giving and the money that he was seeking to raise from the Corinthians to take back to Jerusalem and Now it's it's really back to a common theme in this letter is that Paul was under attack by false teachers who are trying to Trying to put a dart into his credibility trying to you know trying to get make themselves look as though they're the ones that People should follow basically steal the hearts of the Corinthians and discredit Paul so that People would not believe in his message and some of it even then began to be criticism within the body in Corinth where people were sometimes questioning Paul or criticizing Paul and You know, I'm sure that had to be frustrating it, you know, um anytime you're you know managing or Leading a flock there's going to be people who are Either upset about something or complain about something no praise God and you know So many are just such a blessing and encouraging and loyal But you know, it seems like the greasy wheel, you know are the gets the grease or however you put that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? so sometimes the Criticism or the challenges end up taking Probably more precedent than what you would like and Paul seems to be you know deflecting some of that throughout this letter Ultimately, what we all need to know is that our trust needs to be in the Lord My one of my favorite Passages comes from Jeremiah 17 and it says blessed is not the man who trusts in man But whose trust is in the Lord and that he shall be like the tree that's roots are by the stream that Never fails to bear fruit and I'm I'm paraphrasing, but ultimately, we have to know who our identity is in God and You know, if you placed your identity in Man and what man thought of you? Well, then anytime someone thought of you ill ill you would Be down on yourself, right? You would feel badly about yourself if others did about you But if your foundation is in the Lord and your trust is in the Lord You have to realize that mankind is is fickle mankind is wishy washy so to put your foundation in man is an Unstable foundation. I mean, you know, I've been blessed with one wife we're gonna be 29 years in a couple months and you know praise God for that I've had You know two sets of my parents and then my in-laws who? Have been married over 50 years going on 60 years and you know, so I've been very blessed to have Some stability in my life and some of the closest people around me and what a what a blessing that is But I've also been a long round-of-long enough to You know See people come and go. I mean, it's it's part of the nature of church ministry You know, praise God. I can think of a few people that are when I say that a few that are still with us from the very beginning when we started this church some 16 Years ago 15 years ago No, 16 years ago and praise God for that But you know a lot have come and gone since and that's just the nature of things and you know, and that's okay, you know The way I try to perceive all that is that you know what? Bless people while they're in your midst encourage them in the Lord Teach them the word of God teach them to obey God and that's my job. You know, my job is not Whether people come or go or whether stay or leave. I can't control that. I'm still here Hallelujah 16 years later. That's what I can control. I'm still here What people do that's up to them. I can't control that so love them while you while they're there teach them the word of God while they're there and bless them coming in and bless them Going that's that's the way to go about it and you'll see that how that applies here to second Corinthians chapter 10 Now I Paul myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ I who am meek when face-to-face with you, but bold toward you when absent and he's saying that with an exclamation part He's actually Basically just proclaiming a criticism where some of said all he writes these really firm letters And he did write a really firm letter. It's called the severe letter that we don't have a copy of But then they're saying oh, he's very meek when they went when we see him in person But his letters come across real strong or at least so that's an accusation that's been made of him I asked that when I am present I need not to be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some Who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh and so some people were criticizing him as well that he walked according to flesh and You know, he's he's purposely to come with confidence and courage For though we walk into flesh and in there's a you know There's a reality to that. Hey, Paul, you know He had human bones and human skin and in a sense. We all have a flesh We all you know, we all have physical bodies But he said though though we walk in the flesh meaning even though I have a flesh We do not war according to the flesh meaning when he comes to bring the word of God He does not do it according to the flesh He's in the spirit to bring the word of God to people and he's not trying to To war in fleshly ways, but rather in spiritual ways verse 4 For the weapons of our warfare are Not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses And he's basically saying you know what when I come and I bring the word of God empowered by the Holy Spirit It can tear down and build up according to the power of God and then it says this and this is a been a verse that I've put the memory and You know, it's it's a great verse and I think it it can be very broad in how we can use it to You know change the attitude of our minds, but listen to this it says we are destroying Speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ and Paul's saying listen. We have to we do destroy everything that's not of God and We recognize what's not of God. We recognize what's evil. We recognize when our brains are are in the flesh and We take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ and man The power of our thoughts the power of how we think and what Paul is saying is He's trying to and he is taking his thoughts and Placing them on Christ and if his thoughts Were to go to the flesh in some way that he takes those captive Doesn't continue to think about them in order to be obedient to Christ and you know, it's really important Our thoughts lead to our actions our thoughts are powerful our thoughts shape How we live our lives they shape our joy. They shape our peace. They shape our anxiety or lack of anxiety our fear our worry you know, it's all in our thoughts and our thoughts ultimately the actions and What we really need to think about is what are we thinking about those of you have been a part of our church? No, I've said that many times. We have to think about what we're thinking about have you ever done that have you ever? Taken the time to think about the way that you're thinking and is your thinking full of faith is your thinking trusting God is your thinking Forgiveness is your thinking love is your thinking in alignment with the word of God and and if we're real We will recognize that many times We are allowing our thoughts in our minds to be of the flesh and as a result It doesn't produce a good result and what we really need to do is we need to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ And when we do that when our thoughts are in alignment with God as word his spirit instead of on worry fear anxiety Bitterness unforgiveness, you know if we if our mind is occupied with that we could be a Christian But we could really not be in alignment with God and we could be our hearts could be sick because of what we're thinking about and if we can change and take captive the fleshly thoughts and instead think in Beauty in love in peace in trust in forgiveness in Faith and that's the way that our mind operates You know, then we're really gonna have peace and are we're gonna really be men and women of God so that's really important to take thoughts captive and make your mind obedient to Christ and We are ready to punish verse six all disobedience whenever your obedience is complete and I think he's referring to, you know false teaching and You know, just calling out what needs to be called out. I mean in order to get Our lives right with God. We do need to call what sin sin we need to call what's evil evil And we need to then say, you know what I'm gonna tear down all this stuff and I'm gonna place my mind on the fruit of the spirit and That's a beautiful thing to do We're seven you are looking at things as they are outwardly if anyone is confident in himself that he is in Christ Let him consider this again within himself that just as he is in Christ so also are we He's just making a claim, you know He's in Christ. I mean they you know Trust trust me Paul's basically saying I am in Christ. I'm a man of God I'm seeking to live for Christ for even if I boast somewhat further about our authority You know and he was given the authority of being an apostle Which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you? I will not be put to shame for I do not wish to seem as if I would tear a few Terrify you by my letters and he's getting back to that criticism he received again for they say his letters are weighty and strong But his personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible and you know I'm sure the apostle Paul could hold his own in preaching and teaching But you know what when you have a enemy or when you have someone's against you They're just trying to criticize you. They're just trying to tear you down and I'm sure those words You know Paul heard and he's trying to overcome those and just basically say this is what people are saying about Saying about me, but I'm sure it wasn't the predominant thought in Corinth But people who wanted to tear him down listen when you have an enemy they're not going to be fair and reasonable to you They're not going to be objective, you know enemies what they do is they just seek to destroy and they seek to tear down That's just the way it is. Let's such a person consider this that What we are in word by letters one absent such persons? We are also indeed when present and that's really important, you know, that's a word for all of us You know what be be the person that God has made you to be wherever you are There shouldn't be a bunch of different versions of who you are, you know, you shouldn't have the You know the church version on Sunday or the Bible study version and then the version that I don't know Doesn't goes and does a bunch of other things like we should really be a Man of God a woman of God wherever we are now there are you know Situations where the context is is different, right? I mean So yes, you have How do I put it? You know what I'm saying like I'm thinking for my wife as a schoolteacher She can't go in and just talk about Jesus all day at school She's got to put on that that hat but yet her actions her attitude her Witness even though it may not be through sharing the gospel still needs to be that of a woman of God her character Shouldn't change although she's got to be a little different in that study And then she would be with me or she would be a church or in a Bible study. So There's some truth to that. We have different environments that we live in but we shouldn't be a man of God in one Environment and then not a man of God at another we should be consistent in who we are in Christ and you know That's what the Apostle Paul saying here. Hey the things I write to you That's who we are and when we're present as well For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves But when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves They are without understanding But we will not boast beyond our measure but within the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure to reach even as far as you and Paul is talking about the sphere of ministry that he feels he's been called to to Preach the gospel to Gentiles and that's the sphere that he is in for we are not overextending ourselves as if we did not reach to you for we Were the first to come even as far as you in the gospel of Christ He you know, he helped bring the gospel to Corinth not boast in beyond our measure That is in other men's labors, but with the hope that as your faith grows We will be within our sphere enlarged even more by you and he's hoping that you know as he Preached in his sphere in Corinth and other regions that Eventually his sphere would expand and he'd be able to take the gospel to more areas so as to preach the gospel even to the regions beyond you and Not to boast in what has been accomplished by the sphere of another Paul brought that up at times that You know, he he preached where God called him to preach and he wasn't trying to build on you know someone else's Ministry, but rather he was a pioneer, you know, I think the Apostle Paul was a pioneer and I think he he thrived in You know going to new areas to take the gospel. That was a real, you know priority for him and praise God that he had that call to bring the gospel to places where it hadn't been heard and You know, we need people like that But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord For it is not he who commends himself that it is approved But he whom the Lord commends and I think you know, that's something that I really Talked about earlier is that we got to trust our identity in the Lord and as you're going through life You know, there's gonna be people who like you people who don't like you people And you know that encourage you people who will tear you down You know, you're gonna have that whether you're a pastor or whether you're just a person You're gonna you're gonna deal with sometimes people love you and sometimes people won't and what you have to do is you have to say How are my actions? lining up with Christ how and and I want the Lord to guide me so you know, let's say You know, something isn't going well, or maybe someone's criticizing you take it to the Lord and Find out what the Lord has to say like evaluate your actions and attitudes and say You know what what does the Lord think of what I'm doing because ultimately, that's what counts Man man thinks and man does what man's gonna do but take your and if if the Lord When you go to him if the Lord says, you know what? This is where you need to ask forgiveness or this is where you need to change then have the Lord change you but sometimes You know, man's gonna have Something for you that's not of God and and somebody might want to you know There's a lot of people like even in the world right as I preach about topics that you know whether I believe marriage should be one man or one woman or whether I think we should be pro-life or Whether you know, I think people changing their genders not of God and I'm preaching what the Bible has to say and You know, I get criticized all the time. I mean people will you know, yeah, it happens all the time but you know what I don't like I have to take that to the Lord and then say well What does the Lord have to say and and and and then when you know you're in the truth and when you're know You're in the Lord. You don't worry. What is what can man do to me? Right, you know, I'm talking scripture there. What can man do to me trust in the Lord? So anyways, take take a take everything to the Lord and Where you need to change have God change you where you need to have the confidence in God that You're doing right then have the confidence in God that you're doing right and stick with the Lord no matter what anyone says about you You know what the Apostle Paul was a pioneer the Apostle Paul did a lot of ministry and the Apostle Paul Faced a ton of criticism and persecution and you know what maybe I need to be reminded that as well That's just gonna be a lot in life at times that that's gonna happen but may your peace may your identity may your trust be in the Lord and We can learn much from the Apostle Paul So hey, God bless you all Thank you for listening and we'll see you again in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 [BLANK_AUDIO]