Two Corinthians chapter 10, please.
If you haven't turned there already, I'm going to be reading
out of the new King James Version tonight.
The title of the message, Winning the spiritual war with
God's weapons. Imagine with me for a moment
some fictitious world, some fictitious realm, that you are
the general of an army. The enemy that you're up against
is armed with swords and Shields, and you come out with
tanks and rockets and machine guns.
You think it's pretty much a given I'm going to win this
battle, right? Well, I begin with this because
as I've often quoted A fellow called AW Tozer, he's a
theologian. He said this, that the Christian
life is not a playground, it is a battleground.
And so for this battle, what we scripturally, the Bible tells us
have at our disposal is the equivalent of the capacity to
bring a gun to a knife fight or of the illustration that I've
just commenced with. Whether you're a new believer or
a seasoned St tonight, a servant of God for for many, many years
or or just beginning your journey with Christ, then you've
likely already felt the sting of spiritual conflict, of
opposition, of obstacles, of all sorts of things.
Maybe an unexplained discouragement.
It might be some sort of senseless conflict where you
just can't seem to figure out what the cause or the reason for
it is. It might be some accusations
that have come against you that just shake your confidence and
get you doubting and questioning things that you maybe took for
granted. And these, what the Bible
indicates to us are not random, that they're part of a spiritual
war. That is for your heart, that is
for your mind, that is for your soul.
For the Bible tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and
blood. And what we read tonight in this
battle in verses 3 and 4, you can jump ahead to there in
second Corinthians chapter 10 is this Paul talks about says, for
though we walk in the flesh, that though we're human beings,
though we're wrapped up in these bodies, we do not war according
to the flesh. There's something greater beyond
just the physical, what we can see.
And then he says verse 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal means they're not the way that the world might deal with
conflict and handle them, but they are mighty in God pulling
down our strongholds. We'll explain this.
So the idea is that we have these spiritual weapons in the
conflict, in the obstacles in the opposition that we encounter
as believers that hold divine power to tear down strongholds.
That's the reality of the Christian life, whether or not
you know it to be true. That is what the Bible tells us
and what we need to believe and to understand tonight.
And in Second Corinthians chapter 10, when we find
ourselves as we're going expositionally through this
book, the apostle Paul is in a battle.
He's on a battleground. He's defending his Apostolic
credentials as a person that has been called by God to be God's
representative to the Gentiles in this area of, of Greece that
wraps around into Asia Minor as we know it in the 1st century
Roman Empire. And these false teachers have
crept into the church in Corinth.
And they're attacking the character of Paul the apostle,
trying to illegitimize his ministry to, to claim certain
things about him that are fictitious, that are untrue.
And they've even attacked what what we'll read tonight, his
appearance. Now that's pretty low.
When you start to challenge, well, you're ugly and use that
as a means to kind of counteract and diminish someone's capacity.
They've certainly been challenging his calling as an
apostle. So they mocked him and they say
in verse 10, you can jump ahead there that his letters, So his
writings, the the epistles, the words that he sends to us,
they're weighty. Oh man, they, they sound brave,
they sound strong, but get him in person and he's unimpressive.
He just melts, He folds, he reveals himself to be just a
weakling in person and he's speaking amounts to nothing
effectively is their claim. So, oh, he can, he's a keyboard
warrior, we might call it today. He can type some strong words,
but getting him, getting him in person, boy, when Paul gets
here, this is what the the false teachers in Corinth were saying,
get him, get him in person. And he's he's none of what he's
presented in his writings. And some of what he wrote in
First Corinthians was pretty heavy, wasn't it?
We might have, if we're typing it, used all capitals and
exclamation marks after some of the things that Paul had written
to them previously. And yet, how is it that Paul is
going to counteract these challenges?
How would you, if people laid certain accusations against you,
certain things that you knew weren't to be true, how might
you retaliate? How might you respond?
What Paul does we're going to see in this chapter is that he
does not use worldly tactics or fleshly bravado, right?
I'll roll up my sleeves and I'll show them who's boss.
Instead, he arms himself with God's weapons.
He's bringing guns to a knife fight, and he's showing us how
to fight and to win the spiritual battles that we face
in and through this. So that's where we're going to
Orient our thoughts as we move through this chapter around 3:00
aspects. And these are that when counted
with hostility, when counted with with opposition, with
obstacles, whether known or not, you are in a spiritual conflict.
Here's what you can do #1 embrace Christ's character and
#2 employ God's weapons. Make sure that you're armed with
a gun for a knife fight. And then thirdly, we exalt, we
elevate God's approval what God says about us as opposed to what
others humanity might say man's words.
So let's dive into this chapter and learn how to be battle ready
for the glory of God. Let's have a look first couple
of verses at our first point out of second Corinthians chapter
10, he says, now I Paul myself, I'm pleading with you.
So the idea behind this as we begin is often when Paul would
have his epistles written, he would dictate to a secretary
that would handwrite on a scroll for him.
And now it's as if in these words, Paul says here, give me
the pen. Let me write this down and this
is how serious what I'm about to say is.
I want to make sure that I get this right that nothing's
missed. And so he says, now I pull
myself and pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of
Christ. That's odd.
I remember he's in a in a conflict.
There's hostility. Wouldn't you think that he'd
appealed to the majesty, the might, the power of resurrected
Jesus who sits on the throne victorious, and yet he says, I
appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Jesus Christ,
and then Speaking of himself, who in presence and lowly among
you, but being absent and bold toward you.
But I beg you, verse 2, that when I'm present, I may not be
bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold to
some. In other words, there's some
that will need to hear some heavy words from me, namely
these false teachers, but but not the church collectively.
I'd rather be tender and gentle and meek and lowly.
And this in this last little bit here, Speaking of the false
teachers who think of us as if we walked according to the
flesh. So I'm above that.
Let's have a look at this. When when encountering conflict,
opposition in the battle that is the Christian life, we must
embrace Christ's character. A fellow called Skip Heitzig in
his sermon out of this passage uses the following following
allegorical story and I'll recount it to you So so there's
this one congregation of church and the church leadership
confessed that it's having problems with a family in the
church known as the Tate family. The Tates were giving them all
sorts of grief, he says, all sorts of problems.
There was the old man dictate he wants to run everything while
the Uncle Roe rotate tries to change everything.
Their sister AG named Agitate, stirs up plenty of trouble with
help from her husband. Irritate whenever there's new
projects in the church. Hesitate and his wife Vegetate
want to wait around till next year.
And then there's Aunt Imitate, who wants her church to be like
all the other churches. Devastate provides the voice of
doom, while Potentate wants to be the big shot.
And of course, there's the black sheep of the family, Amputate,
who has completely cut himself off from the church.
I think we've met Tate's before. You don't need to be in churches
for very long to encounter individuals and personalities
like this, right? I think just about every leader
in, in every Christian endeavour or, or ministry has at some
point met the entire Tate family or certainly members thereof.
And that's OK. I think that just proves that
we're human beings, that we're imperfect, that we're, we're
saved by grace. But that's what happens when you
get a bunch of people that are imperfect collected and gathered
together, right? Well, well, Paul had his
problems in the Church of Corinth.
I think the Tate family was well represented in the opposition.
Paul had started the church in Corinth.
He was the founder. He'd laid the foundation, and
he'd stayed there for a period of 18 months.
And then he left and went on to a city called Ephesus.
And when he left the church, it was fairly stable.
It was flourishing. It was growing in what he had
nurtured. But then along came people who
took advantage of the fact that Paul was no longer present,
started to sow seeds of discord, stir up trouble about Paul,
particularly given that he wasn't present to defend
himself. And so Paul begins this chapter
now with a very personal appeal. And he says, by the meekness and
gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you.
I Paul, who am timid when face to face with you, but bold when
away. And what he's doing in that tail
end of that verse there is he's using the very accusations and
there's kind of a bit of holy sarcasm that comes through in
Paul's writing here. They're claiming that I'm all
false bravado, that I'm all words with pen to paper, but but
nothing in present in in person. So he uses those words.
His critics in current that accused him of being weak in
person, bold in his letters, mistaking his humility then for
cowardice and weakness. And what Paul does here in these
verses that we read is he models a response for you and I of
meekness and the gentleness that we see in Jesus Christ.
And so whenever you're attacked, what's the best response?
Respond like Jesus. And that's such a key for you
and I in every facet and aspect of our lives.
When you don't know what to do, how am I to respond in this?
Think this, respond like Jesus, respond like Jesus?
This is what Paul does here. Now normally in his writings, as
I hinted at and reading the verses, Paul would refer to
Jesus Christ in his magnified, glorified, resurrected state,
exalted, and the position of power that he holds seated at
the right hand of the Father. That's common in Paul's writing,
but every now and then, as he does so here, very rarely in
Paul's writing he would refer to Jesus in his earthly status.
And this is one of those places, these verses here he focuses on
the meekness and the gentleness of Jesus here meekness.
Don't mistake it for weakness. It's out of the Greek word
prowess, which again does not mean weakness, but it means this
power that is under control. And the best picture or
illustration of that is like a wild stallion, strong, almost
like a racehorse picture that has been tamed and is now able
to be fit for the masters youth with that bit and that bridle.
So that that power is still present, but it's harnessed for
a particular purpose. That is, meekness and gentleness
reflects humility before others, prioritising the needs of others
over self. And so Paul's choice in
responding here to these accusations is to be Christ like
in manner and attributes in reaction to this criticism that
he's encountering. And it's a very deliberate
strategy, intentional by Paul here.
You see, he knew that spiritual battles aren't won by flexing
personal strength or out shouting opponents.
That seems to be the way in the world in which we live.
People win arguments, don't they?
They say the same thing, and if that doesn't work, then they
just get louder and shout and shout and shout.
It's like you've done nothing to enhance your argument, but you
just think increasing the volumes going to win this now
for you. Instead, victory comes by
reflecting the character of Christ who himself was
misunderstood as weak, wasn't he, and yet displayed divine
power through humility. Jesus said Matthew Chapter 11
verse 29. He said learn of me, learn from
me. He said, for I am what gentle
and lowly and Paul reminds us then in essence in his response
as we unpack this chapter and that is this you and I, we're
not responsible for how others treat us.
Here's what we are responsible for is how their treatment
affects us. And so by embracing Christ's
meekness and gentleness, here's what we do.
We align ourselves with God's strength.
So when you face criticism and opposition or spiritual attack
and you will face it, whether it's a Co worker undermining
you, a family member questioning or challenging your faith, or
maybe even inner doubts whispering lies in your mind,
choose to respond like Christ instead of lashing out in anger
or defending yourself with pride.
Pause and ask, how would Jesus handle this?
How would Jesus handle this situation?
Consider the Tate family story again.
We've all met the Tates in our lives, those who provoke us or
or challenge us in many ways. And and when they strike, don't
fight fire with fire. Embrace Christ's character.
Practise meekness by getting your eyes off yourself and on to
God. Show gentleness by considering
others needs even when they're unkind.
For example, if you're tempted. And here's the natural reaction
to argue with someone, with a friend who maybe misunderstands
your intentions. Again, pause and pray.
God give me wisdom. Help me here to know how to
respond in this situation. And respond then with the God
given kindness and graciousness that he will provide for you and
to you in that moment. This doesn't mean that you're
weak. This doesn't mean that you're a
doormat. It means that you're trusting
God's power to work through your humility and in your next
conflict, commit to reflecting Christ's meekness and
gentleness. Then watch how God uses it to
diffuse tension and to advance His Kingdom.
That's what Paul lays as a foundation for us tonight as we
move forward now and see specifically him building on
this, his attitude is I'm going to respond with the gentleness
and meekness of Christ. But then now here's the weapons
that I'm to employ that are gods.
I'm going to bring a gun to a knife fight.
I'm going to see that God's going to supernaturally empower
me and you in such situations. In verse 3 to 6.
So he says, for though we walk in the flesh, verse 3, we do not
war according to the flesh. That's not to be our strategy.
Verse 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, not like
everybody else's, not like the ways of the world's, but mighty
in God for pulling down strongholds.
And what are these strongholds? Verse 5, casting down arguments.
And we live in a day and age where people will like to argue
and particularly against Christianity and what the Bible
teaches. So we need to know how to pull
down these strongholds of arguments.
Verse 5 and every high thing that exalts itself against the
knowledge of God. You don't believe that Bible
nonsense, do you? And all that God bothering
stuff. I mean, haven't we evolved and
progressed as a society beyond that sky fairy nonsense of this
God stuff that you believe in and those sorts of things?
That is people who exalt themselves against the knowledge
of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience
of Christ and being ready verse 6, to punish all disobedience
when your obedience is fulfilled.
So here's the heart of of the text here in this verse 3.
Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world
does. The weapons we fight with are
not the weapons of the world. They have divine power to pull
down strongholds, he says. Again, the war, the conflict is
a spiritual 10. It might present with human
beings, with words that we've heard in this physical world in
which we live. Again, strongholds here are
intellectual and spiritual kind of defences that oppose the
knowledge of God, arguments, philosophies, false pretences
that come against us. The false teachers in Corinth
were using these and, and they were using worldly tactics to
challenge and to criticise Paul. There was intimidation.
There was eloquence of speech. I mean, the Greeks were big on
that. They exalted appearance, bit
like our society does. If you're good looking, then
there's going to be a following that's going to enhance your
reputation. And they challenged and used all
of these things to undermine Paul.
Paul refuses to fight on their terms.
And Paul could have and you know, I think many of us might
have been tempted to respond to such accusations in such manner.
Paul could have gone on a a real flashy marketing campaign
against these guys, could have hired APR team, right?
Do you guys hear what they're saying about me?
And currently we need to just, you know, put a think tape
together and, and come about how we're going to handle and deal
with these accusations. Let's start putting out some
social media posts that just sort of present me more
favourably. Maybe I can employ a few Tik
Tokers a bit to just kind of, you know, create some buzz
around me, Paul. And certainly I'll hire some
good lawyers and, and get them to take care of the legal sides
of things for me. Maybe, maybe we can get a few
people interviewed on TV and they could ring up the Talkback
radio and say a few nice things about me.
That'll work. That's how we'd respond,
wouldn't it? That's how the day and age in
which we live, people respond to all similar sorts of things.
But that's not what Paul does. Instead, he employs, he says,
spiritual weapons that have divine power to tear down
strongholds, to cast down arguments, and to bring every
thought into captivity in verse 5.
So what are these weapons? How can we bring a gun to a
knife fight? Scripturally, we see plenty
through, but let me specify a few that aren't necessarily out
of this text. But what we see saturated
through the scriptures, the key ones are obvious.
The word of God, what the Bible says, a prayer and fasting,
worship, holy, pure living, the name of Jesus, that at the name
of Jesus every knee will bow, every tongue confess.
These are all rooted in dependence upon God.
For instance, if we're thinking about how it is that Jesus
responded to opposition, Jesus himself used Scripture to defeat
Satan's temptation in the wilderness, as we read in Luke
chapter 4. And you remember the recount,
right, that Jesus had been driven out into the wilderness
by the Holy Spirit. And for 40 days and 40 nights he
fasted. And at the end of that fasting,
when he was weak physically, that's when Satan the accuser
came. And Satan did what Satan does.
He twisted. He manipulated what the
Scripture says. If you're God, then you're so
hungry, but you've got the power of God, then why don't you take
the stones here before you and turn them into bread?
If you're God, He took Him to see all of the kingdoms of the
world. Then if you would but fall down
and worship me, then I'll give you these kingdoms of the world.
You don't need to go to the cross.
If you're God, He took him to the high point of the temple and
the Bible says it well, if you were to fall, then the very
angels would come and and rescue you.
Why don't you test that Jesus in each and every occasion?
What did Jesus respond? It is written.
It is written and it seemed like that Jesus was meditating, had
been thinking about the book of Deuteronomy because that's what
he quotes in each of those 3 occasions.
It is written in reference to Deuteronomy.
So there's a thing for you and I the the weapons of our warfare
are to bring the word of God. Let me give you another example.
Second Chronicles chapter 20, the king of Judea, a fellow
called Jehoshaphat, has this whole army of the Moabites and
Ammonites come up against him. You know what the instruction is
and and what happens to win this battle, this victory.
And it sounds so weird to us. And it's not that he disliked
the musicians and the singers, but he had all of the
worshippers out in front of the army in opposition to the
Moabites and the Ammonites in their battle array.
Let's send out the band, the worship team.
But rather that's what it was, was to to have them worship God
as a means of coming against the enemy and and God miraculously
intervened. Read the story Second Chronicles
chapter 20 of how it was that without a single sword being
drawn, the battle was won. As worshippers praise was given
unto God Almighty. Or we can think of a similar
battle, Joshua and the Battle of Jericho that when the strategy
was given, you know, you could imagine all of his captains and
all of his military leaders when Joshua declared, here's how
we're going to come up against Jericho.
You're kidding. It's never going to work.
March around, March around, March around.
And then on the 7th day 7 times and we'll, we'll blow the
trumpets and the walls will come tumbling down and we'll win.
You've lost it, Josh. That's exactly what happened
right in Mark Chapter 9. Father brought his demon
possessed son to the disciples to try and have him prayed for
and set free from the demon possession.
The disciples no amount of effort and energy on their part
could deliver. And then Jesus came and arrived
onto the scene and he cast out the demon and and the boy was
restored back to full health, health.
And the disciples come up to Jesus afterward and they'd had
capacity, but before to perform miracles.
And they said, Jesus, how come we couldn't do it on this
occasion? What did Jesus say?
Mark Chapter 9 this time could not come out, but by what?
Prayer and fasting now specifically here, what is the
weapon that is employed by Paul in this verse 5, taking every
thought captive. Oh man, isn't that where the
biggest battle happens in our lives in our minds, in our
thoughts and our minds run away with us about what he said about
what she said about what they're thinking and what did they
really mean by that? And reading between the lines of
words and and body language in our minds, just do a number on
us. And there's this battleground
that's going on, the battle of the mind.
When criticism, when conflict comes and things are said
against you, you can't control again that.
But here's what you can do is you can control what you think
about that, about what goes in your mind.
And here's how you do it. Romans chapter 12, We renew our
mind, we transform our mind. It says we choose to believe
God's word over the words of men.
Isn't that the biggest battle that we face?
I think it is in the Western world in particular, the battle
in our mind spiritually. So Paul's point is clear.
His spiritual battles require spiritual weapons.
The strongholds, whether they be prideful addictions, maybe world
views or deceptive arguments, these can only be demolished by
God's powerful weapons. So again, you're in a spiritual
battle, a conflict each and every day, whether you realise
it or not, and spiritual attacks will come against you and
they'll manifest in many unexplained ways.
Maybe you're just agitated. Why am I, why am I upset?
Why am I frustrated about this? It could be discouragement,
could be increased periods of temptation, whatever the case
might be, and maybe you're struggling with a persistent
sin, toxic thought pattern, or or a worldview that you're
starting to buy into that clashes with your faith and your
belief in the scriptures. Don't fight these battles with
worldly weapons like anger, manipulation, or self reliance.
Instead, employ God's weapons. Start with the Word of God.
Read it and read it daily, not just at church on a Sunday so
that you're able to discern the truth from lies as Ephesians 6
verse 17 says. And then when doubts creep in,
when, when people will try to manipulate things and in your
understanding of stuff like Satan did with Jesus, you're
able to respond. It is written, No, this is what
the Bible says. This is what God has revealed
and declared in His Word. I've read it, I know it, I
believe it, it's true and allow that to transform your mind.
Next, commit to prayer, commit to fasting.
Maybe there's a period where you need to just really diligently
seek the Lord as Jesus said in Mark 929.
Some battles require prayer and fasting for breakthrough worship
2 is a weapon, man. Haven't you found that sometimes
emotionally, as we're feeling certain things that that
worshipping God, putting on some music and and actually singing
in your car in your room here in a church service as the tears
begin to to stream down your face, as your heart is
transformed, as your mind begins to reflect and think now God's
in charge, God's in control, he is sovereign, he is Lord.
I'm going to trust him and your attitude has changed.
Praise shifts your focus to God's power and then live a holy
and submitted life. Here's something that we often
quote out of James, right? Resist the devil and he will
flee. You know what the other part of
that is? Submit to God.
We must be living lives that are submitted unto God and then
resist the devil and he'll flee from you.
So let me give you a practical example.
If you're battling anxiety, don't just rely on self help
books, Google searches, ChatGPT, or venting to friends.
Open your Bible, Open your Bible to Philippians chapter 4, verse
6 and 7. Be anxious for nothing, but in
all things, through prayer and supplication, make your request
known unto God, and the peace of God that surpasses all
understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus
our Lord. Pray fervently.
Lord, help me with this battle, with this struggle.
Worship through song, praise him, believe and trust what
Jesus said over your fears. And these weapons have divine
power. The scripture says for us
tonight to tear down these strongholds in your mind and in
your heart. So maybe this week, identify one
spiritual battle that you're facing and commit to using the
weapons of God daily in encountering this, employ God's
weapons. Then lastly, let's finish with
this. Exalt God's approval.
There's a lot here, but in essence, what he's declaring
from verses 7 through to 18 is that here's what these guys are
saying, here's what these guys are doing.
I don't care what they're saying or doing.
Paul says what I do care about is what God thinks of me.
Here's what I do care about is God's approval, and he exalts
God's approval. Verse 7.
Do you look at things according to the outward appearance?
If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ, let
him again consider this in himself, that just as he is
Christ, Even so we are Christ. Or even if I should boast
somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave
us for edification, and not for your destruction, I shall not be
ashamed lest I seem to terrify you by letters. 4 Here's what
they were saying against him, his letters.
They say a weighty and powerful. Verse 10.
But his bodily presence is weak, his speech contemptible.
Let such a person consider this verse 11.
That what we are in Word by letters when we are absent, such
we will also be indeed when we're present.
So they're wrong. Simple verse 12.
For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those
who commend themselves. Now here's what they were doing,
the false teachers in verse 12. They were measuring and
comparing themselves against one another.
But they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing
themselves amongst themselves are not wise.
We, however, will not boast beyond measure, verse 13.
But within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us,
sphere which especially includes you.
He knew that He had been called by God to be the apostle to the
Gentiles, a sphere that included them.
This is what He's reminding them of here in these verses.
For we are not overextending ourselves, verse 14, as though
our authority did not extend to you.
For it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ.
In other words, let me remind you how the church in Corinth
started, verse 15, not boasting of things beyond measure, that
is, in other men's labours. Nobody else came in.
We didn't build on that, but we started it.
We laboured, we endeavoured, we presented the gospel.
Now these guys have come in and they're just trying to take
advantage of other people's hard work.
We shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere to preach the
gospel, verse 16, in the regions beyond you.
And not to boast in another man's sphere of accomplishment,
but he who glorifies, let him glory in the Lord.
Verse 18 For not he who commends himself as approved, but whom
the Lord commends. It's about what God says.
Now I've been around Christian circles for for decades and and
I've heard Christians say some pretty mean things and some
wicked things even about others, but I think this takes the cake
in verse 10, Paul, you're ugly. That's what they were in essence
saying about his bodily presence is weak.
And that word weak. There is not just in the way
where we think of it with respect to strength, but that
his visage, his outward appearance, his exterior had
nothing appealing about it. There's some records that are
extra biblical, so they're not in the biblical record.
We've got no physical description of Paul, just like
we have no physical description of Jesus.
But what we do have are some some records that are believable
that describe Paul as being quite short in stature, A
receding hairline, bawling, kind of hooked nose and bowed legs.
And some even build on that and suggest that his voice was quite
whiny. And so there might have been
some merit to what they were saying about Paul, but isn't
that a low blow to try and discredit someone's message by
attacking their appearance? And then if if Paul valued what
other people thought about him, he'd be devastated.
But he doesn't. He values what God thinks about
him. He didn't value what others
thought about him, so he wasn't devastated.
Instead, he exalted God's approval over any approval of
men and, and may that be what you and I glean and understand
from that. Again, Paul's critics were
judging his appearance in verse 10, though very appearance
oriented, it seems, Certainly in Greek culture, there was this
celebration of a great archery, archery skills and eloquence and
charisma over substance of argument, necessarily a bit
similar to today when people buy into what celebrities say just
because they're kind of good looking.
Paul, however, refuses to compare himself with the others,
just as though comparing themselves with one another.
He writes verse 18 for not he who commends himself as
approved, but whom the Lord commends.
And then verse 17, he quotes the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah
and emphasises this, that true boasting.
If you want to boast about anything, it's both in this
knowing and glorifying God, not in human accolades.
And again, the critics of Paul were comparing themselves one
with another, measuring, posturing, preening.
You kind of picture what colour of individuals these guys were
typically almost like a bunch of school kids bragging about
themselves and how good they are.
Yet they haven't even graduated year 2 or achieved anything or
accomplished anything of worth. And then they have the nerve to
criticise Paul. Paul, the great pioneering
missionary, the Pharisee of Pharisees who knew the Bible
inside and out, who'd been called by Jesus Christ, the
chosen apostle to the Gentiles. His approach, his his mode of
operation was to go where nobody else had gone.
So he wasn't building on anyone other's foundation, impinging on
their work and to always give glory to God, unlike these poses
in Corinth who are all about themselves.
And so Paul's confidence came from the calling that he knew
God had given to him. Here's what God has called me
to. And I'm I'm not accountable to
what these poses, these pretenders, these false teachers
might say or or might not say about me.
My approval comes from God. It's not about my appearance.
It's not about my popularity. It's about my faithfulness to
God. And he knew that God had
appointed him as an apostle. That's what he mentions in
verses 13 through to 15. And while these false teachers
were boasting all about their so called credentials, Paul reminds
them of the work that it started in Corinth and who had started
it. And so this focus all through it
keeps Paul grounded amidst the criticism and the comparison
that he's receiving. Now, you and I do.
We not live in a culture obsessed with appearances,
social media likes, polished images, AI generated stuff,
charismatic personalities. And this creeps into the church
and into ministries and into our observations of what constitutes
a successful ministry of God or not.
And we're we're always looking at the perfectly curated lives
of people, what's presented, but we're never seeing behind the
scenes in reality. But you know what God sees
behind the scenes. Do you remember the story of
Samuel in the Old Testament choosing the next king of
Israel? The nation had chosen the
previous king in Saul because he was head and shoulders above the
rest. And then Samuel comes to this
fellow called Jesse's house in Bethlehem, and Jesse's sons
presented before Samuel. And Samuel starts looking at
appearances, the lab, the first son comes through and he's
handsome and he's strong. He's a strapping lad.
And Samuel says surely this is the king because it's no, no,
no. And on through the sons of Jesse
until exhausting all that were present.
Samuel sort of says, is there another one perhaps?
Oh yeah, there's the runt of the litter, David, He's out tending
the sheep and didn't even think to invite him.
Go and get him. Sure enough, the point is this,
that as God said to Samuel, man looks at the outward appearance,
but what the Lord looks at the heart.
And so the Corinthians, the church here, they were tempted
to judge by externals. Certainly that's what the false
teachers were doing, and in our day and age, we're tempted to do
the similar. How a church looks, or how a
leader speaks, or how many followers they may or may not
have. And we shouldn't do that.
Instead, exalt God's approval. And in your life, exalt God's
approval. Don't measure your worth by
Instagram likes or by others opinions.
Live for the audience of 1. And who is that audience of 1?
Well, we're not comparing ourselves to others as they were
doing. We're we're wanting to know who
and what does God think of me? It's my identity in him.
If you're a parent, don't compare your kids to others.
If you're a student, don't measure your success by your
peers achievements. Focus on what God has called you
to practically ask yourself. Am I living for God's well done
or for human praise? And I'm I am I devastated when
when others don't give me that praise?
Am I am I devastated when others say negative things about me?
And when you face criticism or attempted to compare, pray Lord,
let me seek your approval alone. So again tonight, the Christian
life is not a playground, it's a battleground.
But you don't have to fight this battle unarmed, and you don't
have to even use the weapons of the world in which we live.
Two Corinthians chapter 10 tonight shows us how to be
battle ready. Embrace Christ's character by
responding with meekness and gentleness, even under attack.
Employ God's weapons, the word prayer.
Worship holy living power of Jesus name to demolish
strongholds, exalt, prioritise, seek God's approval, live for
He's well done rather than any human praise.
Imagine the impact if we actually live this way because
the spiritual war is very real. But how often are we bringing
carnal weapons to the battle unarmed or a knife to a knife
fight, when what we have is the capacity to bring a gun to a
knife fight? As Paul reminds us, God's
weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds.
So Church, this week, step into the battleground, not with fear
or with worldly tactics, but with the confidence of soldiers
equipped by God. Commit maybe to 1 action.
Step out of this. Maybe it's responding with
meekness and a conflict. Certainly praying daily against
a stronghold or surrendering your need for approval of what
others say about you. Whatever it is, trust God's
weapons and that they will lead, as He has said in His Word, to
the victory that He promises.