On the broadcast today, we continue talking about taking spiritual responsibility from 2 Corinthians chapter number 11. Let me slow down here real quick and say, thank you so much for spending a little time with us. These broadcasts are real short. We try to jump in and get a lot in, in like 10 minutes. And whether you be a pastor, evangelist, Sunday school teacher, young person, I've got some teenagers that listen just daily. They say they keep up with the Word of God here as we teach, and that's just amazing. Maybe you're a housewife at home right now, and I don't know where you're listening from. Are you riding down the highway right now? I try to just really drive it home some stuff here that God's dealt with in my life. We're talking about taking spiritual responsibility, and Paul, Here in chapter 11, it's really, wow, he's really bearing his heart to me. He said, man, I got a jealousy over you. And now we've all been jealous for some people. Like we love somebody really much. And I mean, tell you what, I mean, if anybody messed with them, you know, we'd get upset. You know, that jealousy. You love somebody so much you want the best for them. You don't want them hurt. And that's how a pastor should be towards his people. But also the people should be that towards one another. And when that's all mixed together and intertwined together, I'm telling you what, you got a strong church family. I'm looking out for you and you're looking out for me. I'm looking out for her and he's looking out for him. And oh, wow. And the pastor's at the head of it all. And there's great, strong, jealous love one for another. It's family love. Ain't gonna mess with my sister. You, you mess with my sister. You're messing with me. Amen. Sure. You will mess with my mama. You mess with my mama. You're going to get, yeah, see there. There's that jealousy one for another, and we want the best for one another. But in that, as we've already studied, Paul fears that they're going to be pulled away from. from the simplicity that's in Christ. He thinks they might go after another gospel. There we are in verse five now. 2 Corinthians 11, five. For I suppose I was not a wit behind the very chiefest of apostles, but though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge, but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things. I have committed, have I committed an offense and am basing myself that ye might be exalted because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely. The task of taking spiritual responsibility started with Paul's plea to bear with him. It continued with Paul's passion. He says, I'm jealous. And then it continues with Paul's heart being bore out in verse three, where he says, I think you might I just think you might be pulled away from the gospel and onto another gospel. Verse four. Now in verse five, you're going to look, get a good look into Paul's priorities. The apostle Paul didn't consider himself to be some super Christian, some super apostle when he says here, chiefest apostles for, I suppose I was not a wit behind the very chiefest apostles. They claim to be super apostles, but they were far from being any better than Paul. Who did these attackers? He said, my speech was rude. The word rude does not mean Paul was rude to people. It means that it was just unlearned, unskilled, illiterate. It's just somebody that come off the street starts talking. Reminds me of somebody like Bobby Robertson. Just saying ain't every once in a while, and y'all, y'all, y'all be back, not, you know. It's just, it's just rude. It's just common talk. I'm not making fun of nobody. Paul is being barraged by people that he's not the person that he ought to be. And he acknowledges he may be unskilled in his speaking abilities compared to those Greek scholars. But he's not lacking anything in the knowledge of the Lord. He says that, yet not in knowledge, verse 6. His priority in life was to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His death. See, Paul had a priority. He believed in the simple presentation of the gospel. And some people thought that was just little mindedness, but that didn't matter to him. He said, that's fine. That's fine. You can think that way. We have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things. You know how we are. We're simple, common country folk. is what Paul is saying. I'm not trying to be somebody that I'm not. And by the way, a simple, clear, practical presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't need oratory, doesn't need dressing up. God's word changes lives. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Keep the message simple, understandable and practical and let God do the work. Keep the cookies on the bottom shelf. Amen. And amen. And I know y'all are saying amen out there in radio land. That's what Paul is saying here. He said, I didn't know things though, but he didn't let people know that he knew things. You've never been around somebody before. Well, they going to let you know what they know and God doesn't use them. And I said, God doesn't use them. Paul had a sense of stability and sanity and strength about him that came from the Lord because he was simple in Jesus. He just came to them as a tent maker. He walked with them in meekness and gentleness. And he just, he knew, they knew who he was. They knew who he was. Now let's, let's get into a little bit more here that this is something here. This is taking the, the task of taking spiritual responsibility. We're not going to really, we're not going to be able to get the fullness of this. We're going to have to save this for another time. But in the task of taking responsibility, Paul took responsibility for himself and made sure the church wasn't responsible for him. Now, we're going to talk about this. This is going to maybe pull people a different direction. We're going to have to slow down and talk about this. Have I committed an offense, verse seven, in abasing myself that you might be exalted because I've preached unto you the gospel freely? I robbed other churches, taking wages of them to do you service. Verse nine is a long verse. But hear it, and when I was present with you and wanted, I was chargeable to no man. For that which was lacking to me, the brethren, which came from Macedonia, supplied. And in all things I've kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself. As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of boasting in the regions of Achaia." Now, the Apostle Paul made certain deliberate steps He made certain deliberate steps not to be a burden to the churches of Corinth. And that's called taking spiritual responsibility. The gospel brought the Corinthians from darkness to light, from sin to righteousness, from the domain of Satan to the kingdom of Christ, from eternal death to eternal life. It changed their life. And Paul says, I'm going to watch you grow in Christ And I don't want to be a burden to you and let you forget what Christ did for you. He preached the truth without expecting a penny in return. And that's what we're going to talk about next week because these verses need to be explained in its context and explained in light of other contexts because sometimes people take this the wrong way. So you're not going to want to miss tomorrow's broadcast about taking spiritual responsibility in the matters of finances. We ought to be willing to preach the gospel freely. We ought to be willing to serve God freely without a penny coming back to us. But would we? I hope that we'd be willing to do that. That's called taking spiritual responsibility. It's been terrific to be with you again. I'm humbled and honored that you spend time with us. Be back tomorrow at the same time for another broadcast of the shepherd's pulpit, reminding you once again, that God's word changes lives.