Book of 2 Corinthians - Ch. 10, Vs. 5-18 (05/20/2001)

Park Meadows Church

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I want to start with verse 5 of Chapter 10.

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I know we had this last week, but I want to go over it again. So open your

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Bibles to verse 5 of Chapter 10 of 2nd

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Corinthians. Casting down means to be put down.

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Do away with every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.

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Things that bring themselves into opposition of God.

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And bringing into captivity means for you to control it.

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Every thought to the obedience of Christ.

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Now, it's not to the obedience of God, it's obedience of Christ. And it will be an obedience to God.

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Casting down every imagination. You can hear about a situation and immediately your imagination starts running away with itself.

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I don't think I'm too different than all of you. David, what can we do to cast down our imaginations?

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You have to control that. It's not allowed, but if you do that, it's my prayer that you pray and ask the

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Lord to give you the mind of Jesus Christ. And you can think like he would be thinking about this particular situation.

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Just looking at this, I've got an imagination of itself against the knowledge of God.

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So the imagination is not meant to be thinking of your imagination as non -verbal, but I think it's referring to possibly even reasons.

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As we begin to reason why we might be right and God might not be right.

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As we begin to cognitively try to out -think or give a reason why we ought not to do something.

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So it's not just to think of imagination. As we talk about a lot of childhood imagination, it might be sensitive.

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It needs to be more so of the fact that we are out of something. So we think harder, convince ourselves of the reason why we ought not to do it.

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That's a point well taken. To bring everything into the obedience of Christ.

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What do you think, Roger, is the obedience of Christ? I think

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I'm safe in saying this. You know, honestly, deep in your heart, whether it's right or wrong.

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You know whether it's a good thing to do. Very few of us ever are in a situation that we go totally wrong.

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You know Adam ate of the tree of good knowledge. We know what's right.

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That goes for everybody. The battle is spiritual.

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Now, we tend to hide behind the spiritual battle.

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God gets the victory when we do cast down our imaginations.

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We can do it not of ourself. Ourself will run wrong every time.

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The spiritual part is necessary in that first you ask for the mind of Christ.

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Seems like once would be enough. But it isn't. Every situation that comes is different.

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So you continually ask for the mind of Christ. Then act on it. Don't just ask.

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Act on it. And having in readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

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Now, Greg, that sounds kind of like double talk.

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Having in readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

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What are they talking about? Well, I understand the revenge part.

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I'm not doing a wayward thing.

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When your obedience is fulfilled. Ask for the mind of Christ.

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When your obedience is fulfilled. When you have the mind of Christ.

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Your obedience is fulfilled. But don't think that you can ask for it once and have it forever.

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The revenge means punishment by virtue of our apostolic authority.

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Your obedience is fulfilled when you are true to Christ and His cause.

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Bill, are you ever true to Christ and His cause? Did you put a period?

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We have obedience and we do not have obedience. We vacillate in and out.

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We walk in and out. We follow Christ in and out. I hope that it's more in than out.

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And when we come to the out part, we immediately try to get in.

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But it's a battle all of the time. My wife has told me recently that my diction is not the best.

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I think that I talk as well as most people and in most cases weller.

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But I know it's not what it once was. So that's why

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I'm going very slow. Where our lesson really starts.

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Do you look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trusts to himself that he is

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Christ, let him himself think of this again, that as he is Christ, even so are we

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Christ. Now, what's he leading up to, Greg?

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That's right. Do you look on things after the outward appearance?

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How else can we look on things? David? All right.

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If I just looked on outward things, I would think Jesse was a fine man, though he did things wrong.

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I can't look on the outward things and judge. Or anything else.

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Do you look on things after the outward appearance? Well, the answer is yes, we do.

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If any man trusts to himself that he is Christ, let him of himself think this again.

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Now, Roger, if you think you're Christ, it says for you to think of that again.

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Why? We can't say all that, but I think that we are

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God. How do you think of a

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Christian, a true Christian? That's redundant, isn't it? You either is or you ain't.

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A Christian that lives the Christian life has thinking of himself first.

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Can you? A Christian that lives the

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Christian life thinks of others first. Paul says that we belong to Christ as much as anybody.

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Each one of us has the power of Christ residing within us that raised

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Jesus from the dead. Greg, you have that power.

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You exhibit it in a different way than I do. Different than Fred.

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Different than Virg. But Virg has the same power you have.

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He's just as much Christian as you are. For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the

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Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your distinction, I would...

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Destruction. Destruction, oh. And not for your destruction. You see why

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I have her here? I should not be ashamed. For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the

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Lord hath given us for edification. Now...

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Clarence, why... What is the bottom reason of your learning the Bible?

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Little by little. Well, it's just... The study of the

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Word, the growth of faith, the Bible, it's so that you can worship it and honor for our soul purpose.

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The soul purpose is edification. So that you will know more of Christ.

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Now that takes in a whole realm of things. Yes. In the edification process, it's dying.

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Just like Paul said. If it wasn't for him, he would have died. It's the

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Lord. He saved for their benefit. So it's the edification of the Church. I mean, that...

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His was right, but there's... It's just not ours. You know what

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I mean? You can't go wrong the other way. It's the Church. That's right. But it's hard to educate the

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Church without being educated. It... It must start with you.

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And as you become edified, the Church becomes edified, because you're a part of it.

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You're right. It goes beyond that. I didn't...

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I didn't even refer to the edification to study the Word. All you did was for your own

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Lord's benefit. Because it counsels us and tells us we're... We're just... Tell the Word about Christ the

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Apostle. That's part of it. And the edification. All those things you said.

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There's been many facets to the edification. That's right. But Jesse, it starts with you.

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If you do not study the Word, and become edified, then it's of no use.

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That's the reason. It starts personal with you. Now, where it goes from there depends upon you.

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From man's view. Paul had the authority of an apostle.

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It is not to destroy them, but for their edification. That is, to build them up on the faith.

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I like that. I... I just thought

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I want to research faith build up.

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I'd like to find out if the Bible refers to our faith building up.

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I... Offhand, I'd say no. Greg, you have all the faith you're going to have at the beginning.

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You learn how to exercise more of it. For his letters, say they are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

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What's contemptible mean, Bill? To me, it's not... It's worse than being held at low regard.

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Being held up. It has to be an insult. All right. David, who do you suppose is saying this?

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Verse 10. Oh, the... That's right.

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Paul was weak physically. Was he? David? Compared to his writings, they weren't weak, were they?

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This would indicate that he was not preaching from his own power. Now, if Paul's writings are strong to edify you, it's not from his own power.

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David stands here each Sunday morning. He stands here.

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He works. But it's not from his power. Greg, you work during the week.

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I hardly ever see you. But you're working not from your power.

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You're working from the education God has given you. And he gave it to you, even though you worked for it.

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It's not yours to use on yourself. It's for others.

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Let such one think this, that such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.

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Now, Verge, when he's absent, he writes letters. When he's present, he's there.

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What's the difference in the two, if any? Brother, I think what he's saying there is he's there.

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He should be the same. Whatever he writes, he should have the same. They should respect him or don't like his authority.

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He's there. A letter should be exactly the same all the time. All right. His letters, they can go over and over.

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But he is the same. He says, I am no different when I'm with you or when

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I'm away. Diane, you want to say something? Yes. Have you ever met anybody that's the same no matter where you meet them?

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Arthur, you ever met anybody like that? They're the same all the time. Jesse, you have, haven't you?

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That's right. I would that we were all like that. A great many folks compare themselves with themselves.

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Greg, do you compare yourself with yourself? Should you?

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No. Why do you? So you're following the human aspect.

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How many of you compare yourself with yourself? It's a shocking message.

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I'm surprised. But you shouldn't. You should compare yourself with Christ.

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Now this gives rise to that thinking that they have arrived.

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Brother, it's even worse than that. Even worse than that. When we compare ourselves to someone else or someone else to ourselves.

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Because at least when you compare yourself to yourself you have an idea of what you're like.

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You're comparing yourself to someone else's standard. You are only outlawing how apparent your standard is.

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And so you're comparing yourself to a creature that you made up.

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And the only real standard that you should use is to compare ourselves and everyone else to Christ.

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And then we'll see that just like they fall short and we can see that clearly because everybody falls short of me.

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And I think we all have that in us. Everybody falls short of my standard. I can see very clearly that they fall short of Christ's standard too.

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But I also fall way short of Christ's standard. So I say, you know, there's no real difference between them. And that's when we compare to what the standard should be with Christ.

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And that's, I think, where our brothers should be. That's right. They feel they're really fine, outstanding, spiritual

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Christians. This one that compares himself. I'm taking this on the negative side. Compares himself to himself.

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He's as good as he can be. And he's a whole lot better than he used to be. So you just don't know me like I do.

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I've arrived. For those, you know, in this spiritual domain, when we compare ourselves to Christ, we find ourselves a whole lot more humble all the time than what we are.

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Because there's no way that we can even stack up a portion of that.

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We, we take it right there in this comparison to Christ. I think we find out worth our pride if we still do well.

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I think that we will fall short if we compare ourselves to other Christians.

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They may be fine. They may be more Christian than I am, but don't compare yourself to them.

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If you do, you're looking on the outside. You can't see their heart.

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We do, but that's our doing, not

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Christ. This is an individual salvation collectively.

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You are to pattern yourself after Christ, and if we all did that all of the time, we'd be alike.

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You're right. We do compare ourselves to others, and because they wear this, that's what

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I wear, and I'm there, and that, I've arrived, and that's it.

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This is not the yardstick we're to use. We need to be around other

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Christians that challenge us. Some of you, most of you, challenge me all of the time to learn more, to learn more, learn more, and I'm learning as much as I can.

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For we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves, but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are wise.

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If you just compare yourself to yourself and your group and all of that, boy, you stick out and you're wise.

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But we will not boast of things without our measure. What's he mean by that,

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Greg? All right.

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Things we don't have. Things of which I know nothing about. But according to the measure of the rule which

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God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. Now, what is your measurement that God has distributed to you?

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Are you operating in that or are you looking outside of that?

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I would hope you're operating in the measure that God has measured to you. It seems like, excuse me, we spend all of our life trying to live up to what others do because I don't want to stick out.

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I don't want to, I want to just blend in. Well, that's all right to a certain degree, but we should measure ourselves by Christ.

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I can't get that over enough. They were complaining that Paul would not come see them.

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How many Christians criticize their pastor because he doesn't spend time visiting them?

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All of you stick up to your hand. He spends time with those that are desperately in need of help and he needs to spend time in the word also.

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If he doesn't spend time in the word, Greg, then it would soon tell.

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If he would just, he's got a backlog of sermons and he picks out one and he gives it to us, that won't get it.

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It has to be new and fresh. For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure as though we reach not unto you for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ.

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We have stretched ourselves out to you.

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Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labors, but having hope when your faith is increased that you shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly.

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Not boasting of things without our measure. Clarence, what is he talking about?

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Not boasting of things without our measure. All right.

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Not boasting of things without our measure. Don't boast about things that you know nothing about.

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So many people start in the middle of a conversation. They start in the middle of history.

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Be very careful in your boasting. Boast about the right things about Christ.

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There's no cause for me to boast. Because I know what I know, and I measure what

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I actually do. To the measure that is given to me, I am as sure of what

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I measure as you are sure of what you measure. And so each person should judge what they do to what is measured to them.

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And then that would be humble, rather than boastful, because no man lives to measure what is to him.

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That's what I... Well, that's what I said. Don't boast about things of which you know nothing about.

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If you live up to your own measure, you'll do well. To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready in our hand.

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Where did Paul go in his journeys? Jesse?

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Did he go into an area that had an established church? That's right.

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He was truly an evangelist that taught. He would go into an area in which there was no church.

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He would revisit areas where he had established churches. You don't find very many evangelists doing that today.

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So -called evangelists. They like to come. I like to tell you that they're going to come.

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They send ahead to establish all of the rules and places to stay and meals and everything before they come.

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That wasn't Paul. Paul worked wherever he went. How many evangelists do you know that do that?

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I don't know of any today. My knowledge is limited. I'll grant that.

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And not to boast of another man's line of things made ready in our hand. Paul reminds them that he came to them first.

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He was the first one that came to them. He tells them that his method is not to come around and be a pastor of a church.

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He is a missionary. Always moving. The definition of a missionary or evangelist is an itinerant preacher.

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I hope you are never subjected to an evangelist becoming a pastor.

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You can brag. You can hold up.

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You can do all things if it's unto Christ, Greg. You cannot glorify anything else.

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You did not commend yourself. You didn't send yourself on this missionary trip.

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You didn't send yourself to that church to be a pastor. Today, the church finds themselves without a preacher.

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They go out and finally find one that suits their ears.

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And then they offer him enough money to get him to come. It's not to be like that,

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David. They're supposed to come by God's appointment. We stand before the

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Lord for his commanding. This is actually a word of warning to us.

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Don't criticize someone before you find out what his calling to the Lord is. You may look at somebody and say, well,

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I don't approve of that. Well, so what? You're not in the place of the

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Lord. One man may be gifted in personal visitation.

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Another man may be gifted in the pulpit. If you have a man that is gifted in the pulpit, don't criticize him.

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But give him the necessary time to prepare his messages. If he's doing that, then he cannot spend his time roaming around to visit you.

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Find out what the person's gift is and help that person to exercise that gift.

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Don't sit in judgment on him if he's not doing everything you think he should be or should do.

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That's hard for me. I'm like most of you. In my heart,

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I criticize this one or that one or wonder why they did this or that. They're just as much a child of God as I am.

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And maybe they're operating in their gift. I have no authority to point out their gifts to them.

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I have no authority to say you shouldn't be doing that. You should be doing this. And neither have you.

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If we all operate in our gift, whatever it is, then it behooves each one of us to find out.

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And when you find out, it'll be what you like to do. The very best thing that you like to do and you're good at is your gift.

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God would not give you a gift and you know nothing about it.

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Are there any words from anybody? Questions, statements, rehearsals?

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Yes. When you said that Paul was fanless, who was their pastor?

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Offhand, I don't know. So did Paul play the part of the pastor in regards to correcting and writing?

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Did he do that or no? Was he doing that here in this situation or in many situations when he was coming to them?

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I don't know. I remember it just dawned on me when you were mentioning about being an evangelist and a pastor.

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I thought, well, who was their pastor? Well, Paul was playing the part of a pastor, of a preacher that comes and regulates.

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He felt responsibility for this church no matter where he was, as he did for all of them.

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For the local leaders, I don't know. I just don't know.

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The first church... There may be pain, but I don't know.

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Yeah. The trouble that I remember, it just dawned on me. I think it's part of one of his letters giving some criticism to these elders and leaders, that they haven't...

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You guys are straight on what we should be talking about.

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He is, in some ways, an authority over whoever he is.

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I don't know what the exact authority is. But an advisor, certainly, to whoever is in charge there in the church.

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He has a positive authority, which today we don't have that.

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He exercises that authority in these churches as well. I'm sure that the first church,

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I started to say a minute ago, the first church operated different than we do, simply because they were different.

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Same God, same salvation. But when there was no preacher, as we look at a preacher or pastor, the elders would conduct the service.

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Maybe one, maybe two, maybe three. They took turns speaking.

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This was a carryover from the old church in the Old Testament.

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You could stand and speak, especially if you were a visitor. And if it was considered a

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Christian, then you could stand and speak. And we'd hear what you had to say, that maybe you brought news that we didn't know of.

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But we have the Bible. And very few places can you go in this world and not go into a place where they have the word or the

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Bible. So it's a little bit different. But the elders, I'm sure,

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Diane, were, I don't want to say running the church, but there's always those that lead and those that follow.

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And for the most part, they followed. And the elders were doing the best that they knew how.

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See, something else that we do know. Something else we do know about some of the other churches.

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The Church of Ephesus. We know had a pastor by the name of Paul Hart.

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Is that right, Paul Hart? Who was a martyr. And at the same time,

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John voted in and out of that church as a pastor.

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So we know at least that church had an in -house leader.

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So if that were the model of other churches at that time, they would have had leaders, too.

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Diane, I just cannot answer the question because I don't know. I've never thought of that question.

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We're all equal in the sight of God, but there are some that lead out and some that follow.

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Is there anything else? Well, let's stand, and Clarence, would you dismiss us today, please?