Hey, I want to welcome you to another night. Grace Institute of Biblical Studies. And in doing so, as we get started tonight, I want you to write out 1 Timothy 4.16 on a piece of paper. You have about two minutes to do this. Well, you're going to turn it in. Robert, you want to go tell Philip I'll just live with this one? He seems to have been lost. He likes carpentry, I know. I wonder if it's up there. Thank you. I mean, when you're done, Philip. OK, very good. You can grade your own paper here. This should be word perfect. 1 Timothy 4.16, take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. Okay, if you omitted a word, if you added a word, if you goofed up some words, it's again one point per word. Mark the number wrong at the top of the paper, hand it down towards Melinda. And then open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 1. As this year in Gibbs and our pondering the page time, we're going to be working our way through 2 Corinthians. And in doing so, we're going to see some scriptural principles for spiritual leadership. Now, it doesn't mean that all of you will be a leader, but some of you will be, in the plan of God, or lead in various capacities. And actually, what we're going to look at in 2 Corinthians applies to any believer, for that matter. You don't have to be a leader for these principles to apply, for they are applicable to all believers in various kinds of context. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. Before we get started, let's pray together. Father, thank you again for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for the wonderful grace you've shown to us. Thank you for a copy of the Word of God. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, and thank you that we can come boldly to the throne of grace to ask of you to direct in this evening that you would direct every facet of the Institute tonight, that the teaching of your Word would be clear, that it could be easily grasped, that it could be applied accurately, and could enhance each of these students' understanding of your word and the ability to communicate it. And Father, even these principles in 2 Corinthians, they're so good to be reminded of these things, as they're so needed in our lives, whether it be leading in our marriages, or leading in our families, or leading in a Sunday school class, or leading in a local church. or perhaps following and understanding the role and place of leadership. So Father, we thank you that you've given to us a manual for leadership in 2 Corinthians and pray that your word would speak to our hearts tonight. For it's in Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. You know, this next May, Lord willing, I'll have completed my 30th year of pastoral ministry here at Duluth Bible Church, and that by the grace of God. And I've actually directed the Grace Institute of Biblical Studies now for 22 years. And in a day when the average pastor stays at a church for three years or less, 30 years is a long time. for one pastor to stay at one church. And when you combine those 30 years of pastoral ministry with the three and a half years before when I was teaching the Word of God here, before I officially became the pastor, I've spent over half of my life in serving the Lord here and in serving you at Duluth Bible Church. You know, God is my witness that I love this church, I love the dear saints that comprise Duluth Bible Church, and I love you. And I tell people wherever I go what a joy it's been to be part of and to minister to you at Duluth Bible Church. And over these many years, there's been some peaks and there's been some valleys. You know, there have been such peaks as the blessing of God has been upon us as we've We've seen the Lord use his word for many, many people to be saved, perhaps a few thousand, who have come to trust Christ as their savior. We've had peaks such as God causing families lead their children to Christ and train them up and leave a godly heritage. We've seen God transform individual lives and marriages and homes and relationships by His grace. We've seen God raise up certain men and women to be trained here at the Grace Institute, specialized kinds of ministry. We've seen such peaks as planting other churches, sending out other pastors. We've seen Again, even missionary work in ways that we would never have imagined of 30 years ago. We've seen even the Grace Gospel Press and even the conference this week is a tribute to the grace of God and the impact and influence that God has given to us here, which we take very seriously and which we give God the glory and which we never want to boast in as if it came from ourselves. On the other hand, over these 30 years, there's been some real valleys of Christians whom we've taught the Word of God, but who for some reason became bitter or turned against our church, and in many cases leave our fellowship altogether. We've seen such things as a deacon whom I dearly love leave our church because we were unwilling to separate from Heritage Trail Bible Church during the splits. We've seen such valleys as a high-strung college-age girl who was saved through our ministry but who got later confused about sin and spirituality through another church and later committed suicide. And though she went to be with her savior, it was a serious valley. We've seen valleys such as being labeled a cult by some who don't know or understand our teaching. We've seen valleys such as when Pastor Leonard Radke suddenly died in that house fire back in 1982 or the home going of various saints that were greatly used of the Lord here at Duluth Bible Church over the years. We've seen in some cases believers who eventually got a divorce or whose families have fallen apart or been fractured through sin. The sins of the culture become the sins of the church. And though our church is way below the national average when it comes to divorce, it is so very unfortunate and painful nevertheless. We've seen valleys such as former Gibbs students leave Duluth Bible Church or who have exercised church discipline on a previous staff member who turned divisive. And obviously, we've seen peaks and we've seen valleys. And yet, we've seen the faithfulness of God. You know, we're not Utopia Bible Church, and we have many spots and blemishes, starting with your pastors and elders, right on down. But we're all sinners who have been saved by the grace of God. We realize this is a team effort, not a one-man show. We realize believers need to be filled with the Spirit and be willing to be used to serve and sacrifice, and many do. And DBC is not unlike the churches of the New Testament, who also had spots and wrinkles, peaks and valleys, comprised of safe centers at various levels of spiritual growth. And that's why over the years, you know, as I have studied the scriptures and taught them, one of the books of the Bible that has ministered to me time and time again, has been so very, very helpful to me, has been the book of 2 Corinthians. The Holy Spirit has caused 2 Corinthians to comfort me when called upon to suffer for Christ. To give me scriptural insight in my decisions as a spiritual leader here at Duluth Bible Church. To encourage me when I thought about quitting and hanging up the spikes, and you thought about quitting Gibbs, I thought about quitting DBC. To remind me when I sense my great inadequacy that my sufficiency is of God. He's used 2 Corinthians to teach me of God's purpose in always delivering me unto death for Jesus' sake that the life also of Jesus may be manifest in my mortal flesh. He's used 2 Corinthians to motivate me with the fear of the Lord and the love of Christ when I've gotten distracted or lethargic in my walk or service to the Lord. He's used it to convict me of my unbelief and how I dare not trust in myself but in God who raises the dead. And so 2 Corinthians students have become very near and dear to my heart. Though it's perhaps the least familiar of all of Paul's writings and overlooked by individual believers and preachers alike. In fact, many people have never heard a series taught on 2 Corinthians. And yet I believe it's a valuable, valuable book. In fact, I believe it is, in a sense, the Scriptural Leadership Manual of the Bible. Because as you watch how Paul handled his Corinthian church, how he addressed the issues, you will learn valuable lessons, not only for your Christian life, but when it comes to spiritual leadership. Now tonight, let's get our feet wet as we consider, first of all, the background to 2 Corinthians. You should be in chapter 1. And we begin reading in verse 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God and Timothy, our brother, to the Church of God, which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now again, we immediately see who the writer of this epistle is. It is Paul. It is Paul. And how does he describe himself? As an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. He describes himself as an apostle, an official representative from Jesus Christ with apostolic authority. Now, not everyone was an apostle. It was a very select group. And why does he underscore it right off at the beginning? Because he's going to set forth his authority. He's going to set forth that he has the authority given to him by God to instruct and to correct this local church. And how did he become this? Or why does he underscore this? There were those in the Corinthian church who were questioning and even rejecting Paul's authority as an apostle. Just like in Galatia. And by the way, there's a dim view of authority in our day. I mean, the average 20-year-old, the average 16-year-old absolutely rejects authority in so many ways. In fact, I heard someone in the army or military recently say, That they've never had to explain so often why someone must follow a command. Now everyone down the chain wants to know, well why? Why do I have to, why? Instead of just do it. How did he become an apostle? Again, we see right there he became an apostle by the will of God. He wasn't self-appointed. This wasn't selfish ambition. He wasn't appointed by some group of cardinals who sent smoke out of a chimney somewhere. He was called and separated onto the gospel ministry by Jesus Christ himself according to the will of God who determined it and who decreed it. And I'm not an apostle, but I've been called, gifted, and equipped by God's grace to be a pastor. I'm not an apostle, I'm a pastor. And the two don't have the same authority, though I have a certain authority within a local church. You see, what's one of the differences between an apostle and a pastor? And there are several. An apostle had authority over all the churches. A pastor has authority over one church. big difference. And that's why even when our church plants became independent local churches, and they became independent when a pastor was put in place, once that happened we pulled back. We had no more authority That's why I don't tell Dave or Sean or Pete or Rick what to do. They may ask me for counsel, they may get me feedback or ask for feedback, but I have no authority in any of those local churches, nor do I want any. I have authority in this local church, with the other elders, under Christ, which carries great responsibility. Now we see also who is his associate when he's writing this letter. Timothy, our brother. You see the Corinthian church knew Timothy well for he had labored with Paul and Silas in the initial evangelization of Corinth and then later was sent by Paul to remind these believers of Paul's teaching. And so we've got Paul the writer, Timothy's his associate, Paul's an apostle by the will of God, and the recipients of this epistle, according to verse one, are the Church of God, which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are at Achaia. Church of God, ecclesia of God, the called out of the world by God in assembling to a body of believers, The Church of God, which is at Corinth. And again, Corinth was part of Achaia. Achaia was part of Greece, as it were, today. This was a crossroads for travel and commerce. It had the Temple of Aphrodite, had the Ismaelian Games. It was your modern Las Vegas, as it were. And how was the church founded? Well, we know it was founded in Acts 18 by God using Paul and Silas on his second missionary journey. You say, really, what was this church like? And by the way, every church is different, if you've noticed. There are no perfect churches. And they're all different, though they have many things in common. As we think of this particular church, what was it like, number one? It was a very gifted and blessed church. And this should read chapter one, four through nine. Not four, one through nine. In fact, we read in verse, I'm sorry, you have first Corinthians. If you go back to first Corinthians for a quick moment. Chapter one, verse four. He says, I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you. And how did that grace come? By Christ Jesus. That you were enriched in everything by him, in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. So notice, this is a very blessed church. In fact, this was a church that had, as it were, all the spiritual gifts, with the exception of Apostle, unless Paul was there. Very, very gifted, very, very blessed church. And remember, this was written before the temporary sign gifts had ceased. Secondly, it was a very divided church. characterized by carnal Christians and spiritual immaturity. And you know from 1 Corinthians chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 that that is the case. And upon Paul leaving, there was a leadership vacuum that occurred. And you know, it's really interesting as you study 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. that there's never an appeal made to the leaders. I pointed this out, I think, before. There's never an appeal made to the leaders. Why? I don't know how many leaders they had. I don't know if they had qualified leaders yet. This was a very immature church, very gifted, very immature, very high on their spirituality, very low on their humility, very puffed up. and very missing the boat. And yet they thought they were such a hot item. The third thing we see in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 is the greeting of this epistle. It's a familiar one. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is common. In fact, you see grace and peace, grace and peace, grace and peace, grace and peace, until you get to the pastoral epistles. And then you see grace and mercy and peace, because pastors need mercy, too. That's my conclusion. Grace and peace. Is there any significance to that order? Absolutely. Without grace, you'll never have peace. By the way, is that peace first tense or second tense? It's got to be second, because they already have peace, first tense, right? He's talking about having a life filled with peace, a peace that passes all understanding, as a result of drawing upon God's sufficient grace in your life. And so, grace always precedes peace. Now, what can you learn from this? Well, in spite of the grief and heartache that this carnal Corinthian church had created and thrust on the Apostle Paul, he still wanted them to experience God's sufficient and sustaining grace. And you know, when you're faced with problems, if you are involved in ministry down the road, let's say you're pastoring a church someday, Let's say you're in spiritual leadership. Maybe you are a deacon. Maybe you're a whatever. You know, you're going to get faced with trials and conflicts and problems, and you can view those problem people as just jerks, or you can view them as tests of love. Tests of love. You can see them as means of refining you, And we remember that Satan uses carnal believers. On the other hand, God seeks to use them, too, in a positive way in our life. You know, it's very easy to preach grace. Another thing to practice it. And in spite of all the criticisms Paul had towards the Corinthians, he was still very loyal to them. He was very loyal to them. Pretty incredible, really. Paul had a tender heart, but he had tough skin. And as I've said before, you're gonna have to keep a tender heart and tough skin, because the tendencies get a tough heart and Teflon skin. You gotta get tough. You know why? You're gonna get criticized. You're gonna get misunderstood at times. Even remember we saw Wednesday night, Mary of Bethany pouring the alabaster Spikenard on the Lord Jesus and who gave her the hassle. All the disciples, all of them. And they didn't say just one thing in perfect tense. They kept on saying, that money could have been spent. What do you... They never even understood until the Lord Jesus Christ clarified, she has done a good work for me. She has done what she could do. Get off her case. It's going to happen. I don't care if you're a teacher in school, if you're a basketball coach, you're going to get criticized. And you know, when it comes to sports season, it's not the kids, it's the parents that are the problem. They're coming out of the stands. They're the ones yelling whatever. Now the date of this epistle is approximately A.D. 56. A.D. 56, written approximately five to six years after Paul and Silas evangelized Corinth in approximately A.D. 50. Paul stayed there for one and a half years. The only place he stayed longer was where? In Ephesus. And so this is written about four and a half years after he was there the first time, and even less from his second visit. And so the Corinthian believers knew Paul well. They had every reason to trust him. They had every reason to respect his influence and remain loyal to his teaching and leadership. But instead of that, they actually were buying into the false teacher's criticisms and undermining his leadership. They were questioning whether he was really an apostle or not. And I'll tell you, one of the most discouraging things about ministry are people you've led to the Lord, or you've taught the Word of God, and you've ministered to, and you've prayed for, and you've been there, and they turn on you. That is one of the hardest, hardest things to deal with. And you've got to remember, they're the Lord's children. Now, sometimes their criticism may be legitimate. Don't think all criticism is out to lunch. Maybe there's truth to it. Maybe they handled it wrong. But maybe there's some truth to what they're saying. And there usually is some truth. But a lot of times, they make a mountain out of a molehill. Or they're more guilty of what they're saying to you than you are. and whatever, but you've got to take it from the Lord, again, accept if it's true, reject it if it's not, learn from it and move on. Or else you'll never amount to a tiddlywink for the Lord in ministry. Now the occasion for this epistle involves Paul answering severe criticisms by false teachers which seek to undermine his leadership and ministry at Corinth. What do you think are some of the lessons that the Lord wants to teach leadership with personal trials like that between people? What are some of the big lessons? You mean when it comes your way? Well, I think it really refines your motive. Why are you in the ministry? If you're in the ministry for approbation, you'll never make it. Are you there for the Lord or not? Are you willing to love those people or not? You know, some people are in the ministry for totally wrong reasons. It's very refining on your motives. It's really refining on your maturity. It's really refining in a lot of ways. And frankly, in some cases, you learn more from the criticisms and trials than you do otherwise. So a lot of those things are good. The unfortunate thing is there's usually fallout from it. That's usually the case. I'll tell you, a lot of people like to dish it up, but they sure can't take it. They can't take it. If you said to them what they've said about you, they would crumble and think you were so whatever. And yet they do it themselves. We are really blind to ourselves in a lot of ways, aren't we? Like I said, you know, the old toilet paper out of the pants. You're walking around, you've got toilet paper out of your pants, you don't see it, everyone else is looking. I think I told you the story about the lady of our church who came up to me. She said on one of her very first dates with who would become her husband, she went out to a dance. This was years ago before she was even saved. When she was in the bathroom, she went to the bathroom. When she was done, she came out and she didn't realize that she had her dress all tucked in back here. Oops, oops, oops, oops, oops. And so what happened was, she said she's out there dancing away with everybody. Finally, some lady pulls her and says, you know, you've got to pull this down. Oh, I thought, isn't that the way it is, you know? We're so caught up with ourselves, we don't have a clue. We don't have a clue. So how does Satan attack a spiritual leader who is preaching the gospel and teaching the word of God? Well, we know there's at least a couple ways he does. One, by attacking his message. And that's why Paul is going to talk about another gospel in 2 Corinthians 11. And express passion for a pure gospel. We know the same was true with Galatians. If we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than that which we preach to you, let him be accursed. And so they attack his message, but more often than not, they attack the messenger. His authority and credentials. Or his integrity and character. How do you think he handled that? Do you think he was gentle enough? And you know, the world is big on tone and light on substance. I thought it was a little harsh. Don't you think it's a little harsh? Don't you think Paul was a little harsh when he said twice, let him be anathema? Don't you think Paul was a little harsh when he said, you know, those who are troubling in those circumstances, I wish they were cut off? Don't you think he was a little harsh? That was kind of cutting sarcasm, wasn't it? You ever listen to my pastor preach? I mean, he uses biting sarcasm a lot to get across the point. And there's a place for sarcasm. We're going to see in 2 Corinthians, and we're not going to actually teach chapters 10, 11, and 12, but if you read those chapters, Paul takes off the glove, he knocks them right in the head umpteen times. And he says, you know, I want to apologize for not stealing from you like the false teachers. You know, if someone comes up and hits you on the face, you take it. Like, what are you doing? And he just has a lot of sarcastic, biting comments. He says, oh, by the way, you want to see my diploma, my credentials? Well, I was beaten three times, and I was hit by rods, and he just, it's just a joke. But it's not a joke. And he just showed how bad their human wisdom was in the midst of it. Now, why does Satan do this? Well, we know because if the messenger's credibility can be adequately destroyed or scandalized, few will be prone to believe his message. You know, it's like what Dr. McGee once said to a young pastor. A young pastor said, you know, Pastor McGee, there's people in my church that are criticizing. He goes, oh, that's OK. Just make sure it's not true. Like I've said before, if half the things that are said about our church were true, I'd leave too. So what were some of these attacks that Paul experienced in 2 Corinthians? Number one, that his sufferings were viewed as disciplined by God. You're suffering, Paul, but, you know, it's just because God's disciplining you. And then he's going to address that in chapter 1, verses 3 through 5, and say, well, really, no, he's trying to allow me to experience suffering so I could be comforted to help you. Or he was viewed as vacillating and untrustworthy in chapter 1, verses 15 through 18. He doesn't follow through with his promises. And the fact is, his plans changed and they used it against him. Your plans ever change? I mean, you have to start criticizing someone that, you know, he vacillates, his plans change. You're really hurting for stuff to criticize. Or he was said to be walking according to the flesh. In fact, go to chapter 10 for a quick moment here. 2 Corinthians 10. Verse 1, and this is where Paul again gets very, very tough on his critics. He says, Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Now why does he say that? That's sarcastic already. Because what they said earlier was, well, you know, his bodily presence is weak, but his letters are weighty and tough. So he begins by saying, oh, by the way, you know, I'm appealing to you about the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am lonely among you, but being absent and bold toward you. He takes off right on their criticism. He says, but I beg you that when I am present, that I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. He's bringing out the criticism. And then he says, well let me clarify that, though we walk in the flesh, We do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. And so he surfaces the criticism and addresses it. Number four, he was accused of being heavy handed. He was accused of being heavy-handed. Chapter 10, verse 8. For 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. For his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak in his speech contempt. So, is it uncommon for someone to say, you know, someone's abusing their authority? No. Now, you've got to make sure you're not. You know, some pastors have. On the other hand, Paul knew he wasn't abusing his authority at all. But he was accused of being heavy-handed. And along that same line, as we just read, he was viewed as intimidating. People are afraid of him. Afraid of him. Now, frankly, almost anyone in authority, there's a certain, sometimes intimidation a little bit with anyone in authority. You know, when I invite people into my study, some people are like, oh, am I in trouble? I have to actually tell people, I need to meet with you after Church Wednesday night. Don't worry, you're not in trouble, because they're thinking, oh boy, what did I do? Oh no. And they start going through the guilt list, you know, to find out what's the latest. What did I do? What did Pastor find out? Number six, he was thought to be personally unimpressive. Chapter 10, verse 10 again. For his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak. He's really unimpressive. You ever see Paul? I mean, he was so ugly, they put pork chops on his ears so the dogs would play with him when he was a kid. I mean, that's what they think. And number seven, he was defamed as a substandard preacher. Because what does it say there? And his speech was contemptible. I mean, he was substandard as a preacher. You know, it's like one person said against me several years ago, Dennis does a good job when he sticks to teaching the Bible. What didn't he like? He did not like the applications. And frankly, when you make applications, and you do if you're a preacher, you're a teacher, How does someone fight with the Bible? Down with the Bible. Well, they're not going to say that. So it's the applications from the Bible that they have trouble with. And who makes the applications? Well, the Holy Spirit does, but he does it oftentimes through the teacher, or through the parent, or through the person in authority. And if you don't take that from the Lord, he does a good job while he sticks to the Bible. You know, even as I think of all of these, all of these criticisms have been leveled toward me over the years. Why don't I feel more honored to be in such good company as Paul? And keep in mind, sometimes the attacks were stated overtly. Normally the criticism were addressed by implication. And it's interesting, in Paul's epistles here, in 2 Corinthians, he never mentions the names of his critics, though they knew who they were. Don't think for a moment in 2 Corinthians that people didn't know who had said those kind of things. Angela? Thinking about these claims against Paul, and other places where he's mentioned, you know, I was a Jew of the Jews, and I was a Pharisee, you know, I was zealous and stuff, it just seems like they're not even founded in half-truths, and some of these actually contradict each other. So is it just a handful of various people's complaints? What else is new? It's just kind of the way it is. And by the way, did Paul ever divulge his sources? Well, how he knew they were saying this? Never did. It probably came from Titus, who gave the report back, but he never divulges. Yeah, and you don't have to always divulge, well, I heard from so and so that you said such and such. I mean, when you're preaching to an audience, a bigger audience, you're not going to usually mention particular names, except on rare occasions. Now, Paul did say, I beseech Iodias, and I beseech Syntyche, that you two ladies be of one mind in the Lord. And true, Yokefell, can you help these ladies? But he didn't usually do that. He did in 1 Corinthians say, there's divisions among you. I heard it from the house of Chloe. He did say that. But a lot of times he didn't divulge it and I don't either. You know when I hear something from such and such, I don't even know. Sometimes I know it's true, sometimes I'm not sure if it's true. Sometimes I clear the air because I think it's needed. Sometimes I just let it go because how many fires are you going to put out? So it just depends. You just have to pray and let the Lord lead you in all of that. And frankly, I think over the years I've been less concerned. Because you know I found out People want to believe a lie, they believe a lie. I don't care what you tell them. People don't want to believe a lie, they don't. The only times you get concerned is people in the middle who don't know any better, and then they get swayed. And sometimes you have to go to those folks and say, wait, you need to hear this. And you know, I'll tell you what, sometimes things are said, even by pastors, how they adversely have affected people. Sometimes there may be decades of fallout from that. I just read a story just a week or so ago about a pastor who was talking to someone in their church. And this person had a perspective of a whole bunch of things from what somebody told her 25 years ago. And she was viewing stuff yet from that perspective. And it was totally wrong. Go ahead, Robert. This is terrifying. Did you have any idea what you were getting into? I mean, did Pastor Ratke give you kind of, by the way, you're going to be going through this? My wife did. She grew up in a pastor's home. She knew what she was getting into more than I did in some ways. But you know, when you're compelled, when you're compelled by the Lord, you're called by the Lord, how can you say no? And isn't His grace sufficient? And it's been worth it. It's been worth all of it, Robert. I'd do it again. I'd do it again. People have been saved, believers that have grown. The Lord's name has been honored. The Word of God has gone forth. and I've learned some valuable things, I'd do it again. Now, I'd hopefully do it a little wiser in some things. You know, you look back and say, I couldn't handle that one wiser, you know. I believe I was right, because remember, keep in mind, some things aren't right or wrong, some things are wise or wiser or not as wise, or really poor, you know. Just like as a parent, any of you say, well, you know, don't you say, I wish I knew now, I wish I knew then what I know now. Yeah, and didn't you have to learn things along the way? And would you say, wow, you know. You know, in fact, about marriage and parenting, Robert, isn't it true? I mean, wasn't it terrifying? Well, you're too dumb to know in some ways, you know. But now you do. Now you do. It's like in parenting, by the time you've got it figured out, the kids are out of the home usually. Oh, but His grace is sufficient. And there's so many value. I'm reading a book called Sacred Marriage. And the whole theme of the book is basically that marriage wasn't designed merely for companionship. It was designed to make you holy. because marriage forces you on your knees to depend on the Lord a lot if you're thinking straight. Now what's funny is the ladies write down the title of that book and the guys never do. Have you noticed that when it comes to marriage books? So how were these attacks affecting the Church at Corinth? Let's just keep moving on a little bit. One, they were rejected by some They were rejected by some. Some were standing firm in support of, thank the Lord for that. And that's true in this church over the years. There have been many who have just stood. Number two, they raised questions with others, like Satan in the garden and doubt oftentimes leads to denial. Three, they had unsettled others and wooed some away from their loyalty to the truth of God. Because you see, the attack on Paul was really an attack on the Word of God in this case. And why does that happen? Well, it happens because sheep can be easily led astray. Like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4.15, For though you have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have you not many fathers? For I have begotten you through the gospel. I birthed you. Now you might say, that sounds a little arrogant, doesn't it, for Paul to claim, take the glory for that, in a sense? No, you know why he did that? He didn't do that to be a badge. He did that to remind them, who led you to Christ? And by the way, in 2 Corinthians chapter 13, he's going to have to do the same thing. He's going to have to say, you know, those of you who are questioning whether I'm an apostle, I want to ask you a question. Are you in the faith? The answer is going to be what? Yes. How did you get there? Ah, through your ministry message. So you're questioning whether I'm legitimate. If I'm not legitimate, neither are you. Duh. And you've got to do that to carnal believers at times. You have to remind them, who led you to Christ? Who taught you the Word of God? And when you do, then they think you're arrogant. But you're doing it simply to remind them that, you know what? God's used me in your life. And that doesn't mean I'm infallible. But that means you should be listening to what I share with you from the Word of God. Number two, because believers can be very fickle and disloyal. That's why it was affecting them. They can be very fickle and very disloyal or unloyal. In fact, here he says, of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. Of their own selves, these Ephesian elders who Paul had spent three years with, And he says, you know what, some of you are gonna depart and you're gonna try to draw others away. Sheep can be very, very fickle. Why then does Paul write 2 Corinthians and we end here tonight? The Holy Spirit directed Paul to write 2 Corinthians specifically to defend his apostleship and ministry and to answer some major threats to his leadership in the church at Corinth. In doing so, he gives us some tremendous scriptural principles for spiritual leadership. Why? For personal veneration? No. It's not really about the messenger. It's all about the message. That's what it's all about. It's about the word of God going forth. It's about the gospel spreading. It's about believers being built up in the faith. And I would contend that 2 Corinthians, the most personal of Paul's apostles, epistles, excuse me, is a leadership manual in that we can draw from the text, principle after principle, to help us in good biblical decision making. and to be faithful in whatever realm of leadership God has given to us. You say, well, I'm just a mother. Well, you're a leader. You're a leader as a mother. You're a leader in your home. You may not be the final decision maker, but you're still the leader over your children in that sense. You might be a teacher like Philip, or you could be an entrepreneur like Robert. Or it could be someday the Lord will use you in some other capacity. I tell you this, learn these principles in 2 Corinthians and go back to them. They will help you time and time again. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the Word of God and even in this pondering the page time to get introduced to 2 Corinthians. We pray that you could use it in our lives to teach us valuable lessons from your Word. to be a lamp into our feet and a light into our path, that we would be wise and faithful, loyal to the truth, humble, motivated correctly, and use biblical logic and biblical means and biblical methods in what ministry you give to us and what spheres of influence you