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I begin with a story that was known to Singaporeans about two plus years ago. It was a short video of about two minutes that was put onto social media, where a secondary school boy verbally abused his mother, and slapped her while she was sitting on the floor.

This was quite a commotion, this was viral in social media some two years back, because it was shocking to people that any mother and son relationship could deteriorate to such a level.

If you were the mother, I'm sure you would be able to understand or you would understand how she must have felt, tremendous pain and heartache as her son treated her in such a terrible way.

But in a sense, this is what the Apostle Paul would have felt, as well. Because the church that he started, the people that he preached the Gospel to, the spiritual children which, who he has begotten in the Gospel are now beginning to turn against him, reject him and indeed despise him.

Under the influence of false teachers that have come into the Corinthian Church, they now see Paul in a very different light. They feel that Paul is not an impressive man at all, maybe he may not even be the servant of God at all. They say that his appearance is weak, he does not have an impressive bodily stature. They say that his speech is contemptible, he does not have natural eloquence or charisma. He does not come like the false teachers did, with all kinds of letters of credentials.

They say that Paul does not perform miracles like the false teachers do. Paul is a man who is filled with sufferings, and "How can the servant of God suffer so much," they say. And they even claim that Paul was unreliable.

So Paul, as the spiritual father must be heartbroken. So he wrote the book of 2nd Corinthians, a letter, in order to defend his apostleship, and to win them back to himself. The goal of course is not for him to look impressive, the goal is not that Paul wanted to amass power. But that he was very concerned that these Corinthians would eventually be led astray from Christ.

In particular, the chapter that is before us is a little glimpse, a more personal glimpse into the very heart of Paul.

Now, I want you to understand for the first five chapters, Paul has been laying down the defense of his apostleship. And from chapter 6 onwards, he's going to kind of confront the Corinthians, with regard to their sin and their compromises. So here we have a little bit of a clarification point, here a little bit of a turning point, in that Paul shares his heart, to assure them that though he is going to speak very difficult things, he has their best interests at heart.

So I think that's the context we need to appreciate, it's not an easy chapter to go or easy passage to look at. And you may feel like, er at the end of the 13 verses here, you may ask, "So what?" I would say hold your horses, we'll look at the "so what" in the next week to come, just too much for us to digest all at once.

So let's look at verses one to 13, Paul reveals his heart, assures them of his concern, his love, his care for them. And then we'll look at the details of what he's going to confront them with in the following weeks. Now, there are 3 things, I'd like us to see in this heart to heart talk by Paul.

[1] His Concern

First thing is that Paul would assure the Corinthians about his concern, his real concern for them.

Again, referring to an article about a year or so ago, it says that, "Parents in Singapore spend more on kids than for their own future". I would say that, that is generally quite true, at least for myself, for our family. We think more about the care of our kids than it is for care for ourselves, Winnie and myself. And I think it reflects the concern we have of our children that we want them to do well, we want them to flourish in life, to reach the maximum potential that God has given to them.

The apostle Paul has the same, I think desire as a spiritual father. He says, "Working together with him, then we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain." [2 Cor 6:1]

In other words, "Our desire, our concern for you Corinthians, is that you will not fall short of what God's grace given to you is intended to produce." What is God's grace intended to produce in them?

Well, a good reference point may be a passage that Paul wrote to Titus about in chapter 2:11-12. He says, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age."

Now, it's very important for us to understand, whilst we believe in the Gospel of grace, we must also understand that grace is not just given to you, so that you have a ticket out of hell to get to heaven. That is wonderful! But that is not all that grace is intended to produce.

Grace is given to us, so that yes, we are now reconciled with God, now we are at a right footing with God, we are forgiven of our sins. Jesus died for that! But at the same time Jesus died so that our lives may also change, that we will not live in sin, but will live in holiness and godliness, and Christ-likeness. Grace is given so that we may live up right, self-controlled godly lives.

So when Paul says, "We do not want you to receive the grace of God in vain." He is saying to the Corinthians, "Hey, I hope you will not live in sin and compromise, but that you will grow and mature."

So in verse 14 of chapter 6, which is after this heart to heart appeal, we read of Paul saying, "Now do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, because right now, you guys are associating with them, and are being influenced by them. Don't do that! Because it's not going to help you flourish spiritually."

In fact, in chapter 7, in verse 1, he then moves on to say that, "You ... you should cleanse yourself from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."

So obviously, the Corinthians are being influenced by false teachers, and the result of that is that they are now living in sin. So Paul says, "I hope you do not receive the grace of God in vain, listening to the false teachers and living sinful lives. Repent! Come out!" That's the idea!

And then in chapter 11:13, he also says, "I'm afraid that you may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

So Paul, when he says, "Working together with him," he understands that he's a ... he's a servant of God, he's an ambassador of Christ. He is now appealing on behalf of God to the Corinthians, that they will not carry on in this unhealthy unequal yoke, that they will not continue living in sin and allow themselves to be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

He goes on to actually say, "For he says ..." [2 Cor 6:2] He says the ... the reason because, "For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I've helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation."'

Paul, here quotes from Isaiah 49 and verse 8, and that's actually a prophecy made hundreds of years ago, that there will come a beautiful time, where many would know the grace of God in salvation. Paul says, "Now is the time, this is the age of grace.

So this is not really an appeal to people to say, this is the time believe in Jesus now, as if it's an urgent matter. Yes, it is, in a sense, but the main idea Paul is talking about is, "Hey, Corinthians, you have already heard the Gospel, many of you have already believed in Jesus Christ, do not neglect this grace that God has given to you. I'm appealing to you, don't neglect this, don't fall short, don't continue in sin, don't be led in this unequal yoke."

Paul's great concern, like a father is for the spiritual well-being of the church. If I may pause and say, that is the desire of myself and the leaders of this church, for all of you. Our desire is that you will receive the grace of God, and let that flourish and blossom in your life.

We do not just look at church, in terms of attendance. It's such a sad substitute for what pastoral ministry should be all about. We ... we want to see life-change, we want to see God's people live self-controlled, upright, godly lives. And that's what we labor towards, and that's why we started this year with "Know, Grow, Go". And that's what we pray for, and I hope that's what you aim for.

Your goal for your Christian life is not just to turn up on Sunday morning, but that you will turn up spiritually in living that kind of a Christ-like, God glorifying lives. I hope, your CG, your DG, your Bible Study Groups are all aiming towards that. Because we can't do anything but that, else we would have failed the Lord. Our great concern is that we would manifest the grace of God in our lives.

[2] His Conduct

Paul now moves to secondly, his conduct.

There was a boy, who was watching a pastor nailed or hammered some nails into the walls to hang some pictures. He was looking at it very carefully, and the pastor was intrigued.

"Son, what are you doing? Are you ... are you learning how to hammer nails into the walls? Do you want to give it a shot?"

The boy says, "No, I don't want to."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm watching you, because I want to hear what a pastor will say, when he hammers his own thumb."

What the boy understands that a man is not just known by what he preaches, but by how he lives, how he practices, isn't it? The apostle Paul knows that the Corinthians, not just basing their assess ... or will not be basing the assessment just by what he says, but also by the way he lives. People will judge you, not just by what you preach, but by how you behave.

So he says, "We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry." [2 Cor 6:3]

Paul lives and serves with a very conscientious mind. He's very alert, he's very sober, he's not caught up with the situation as it were. But he's always very circumspect, understanding that everything he does, may be put to scrutiny. And so he is very conscious, that he will not put any stumbling block in anyone's way.

Now, he does that not because he wants to look good before people, but that, "No fault may be found with our ministry," [2 Cor 6:3] so that there will be no excuse, no discredit possible to the Gospel ministry that God has called him to.

In fact, this is not new. He began the epistle in chapter 1 saying, "For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behave in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity." [2 Cor 1:12]

He is very mindful of how he represents himself, and the ministry in the world. He understands that he's an ambassador, and as, as ... as an ambassador, there must be due diligence in the way we conduct ourselves. And that's what Paul is saying.

He goes on to say in verse 4, "But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way." The word, "commend", means to exhibit or to prove or to show. So he's very mindful that he proves himself, and he's going to prove that with a list of credentials that we'll read after.

Now, this week, I was on my social media, on Facebook, and there was an ad that popped up on one of my social media feeds. And it was a ... was an advertisement about beef, and in particular, Wagyu beef, and in particular, Japanese Wagyu beef.

Wah, that catches my attention! And I looked at the advert and it was, wow, very ... very economical, very cheap, very good price, if I may say! And so that intrigued me, I read on and they say, "If you're keen to order," they ... they listed the price and they said, "If you're keen to order, private message us," and that's what I did. I private message them, I mean too good a deal to pass, man! So I share with you what I wrote. So, Facebook Messenger ah!

"You have any company details online besides Facebook? [I mean, I wanted to know more about the company and so on. And then they replied quite quickly, I mean, efficient.

"We are just a booth in the market, no company, sorry."

I tried to Google. I mean, it's called such and such company, I tried to Google, I couldn't really find a lot of details. So, I wrote back and said, "Sorry for asking, but how will we know this is not a scam? Huh, Facebook a lot leh. No phone number or company registration? Cos what if we pay and there is no delivery ...?"

So, I was waiting for the reply. I waited and waited and waited, and I know that they've read, because you know, like your WhatsApp, blue tick, right? There's a blue tick. This one the icon will... the popup mah! So I know they've read, but I wait, no reply. I wait, still no reply.

So I gave in to temptation and ordered. (Laughter in the background) You say, "Hah, so stupid ah!" I'm glad you guys have a look of shock and horror, I'm not so stupid. So I ... I did not reply. I did not order, of course. I was just curious as to how they will deal with the situation. I actually reported Facebook, huh, huh, hah, reported suspicious posts.

And ... and but actually, I checked the thread, they were many people who said, "Private message, private message, private message, private message." And then they said, "Responded privately, responded privately, responded private." Quite a few people. Hours later, I checked back and I realized this is what happened to their web, or their Facebook page. No posts yet!

I should have screenshot the wagyu beef promo, you told me whether good or not, OK? But after a while, they deleted all the posts, and I wondered how many people have actually transacted or actually not even a transaction, have given to them their money, and now could not trace it back anymore. I think this is a scammer, I dare not take away the ... the scribbling, so that I may not be sued, in case they're legit, but I don't think they are. What I can tell you, Paul is not a scammer.

Paul says, "I have a track record. I ... I ... I'm not like someone who has no company registration, no phone number, nothing! Just a Facebook presence, I have a track record to commend, to prove, to exhibit, to show ourselves."

And this is their track record or his track record. It's a long list, and it might be quite challenging for us to get through. But don't fear the small font, I'm going to break it all up, so that it's more obvious. But it's just to let you know that actually verse 4 to verse 10 is really Paul's credentials. Paul explaining himself, his conduct, his credentials.

So, it's not easy because there are various ideas there. It's not so clear about the structure, but based on the Greek prepositions of "in" and "by" and "at" and "via" and so on, I ... I kind of try my best to make sense of the structure.

[A] Perseverance

The first thing Paul says is, "This is how I commend, we commend ourselves as servants of God." Number one, "We commend ourselves, we demonstrate ourselves by great endurance." [2 Cor 6:4]

So he says, "As servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way. Number one, by great endurance." The word, "endurance" is the word, hypomonē, in the Greek, which means to ... to hold up under. In other words, you are under great difficulty, but you hold up there, you endure, you persist, you persevere.

And he says that, "There are nine things we hold up under." And the nine things, I think can be neatly, now, he does not say that, but I think if you look at it, you can see that it generally can be neatly divided into three sets of three.

The first set of three is — afflictions, hardships, calamities. [2 Cor 6:4] The word, "afflictions" means to be pressed under. The word, "hardships" means to be in need or necessity. The word, "calamities" means to be in a tight situation, to be narrowed.

So, the first three are a general description of the sufferings Paul has to go through. So, "We endure difficulties, pressure, necessities, tight situations," if I may put it in simple terms.

The next three are sufferings people inflict on them. So you have beatings, imprisonments and riots. [2 Cor 6:5]

The final three are sufferings that he kind of get because he is serving the Lord - labors, sleepless nights and hunger. [[2 Cor 6:5] "Labor" here is a word that means to work to the point of exhaustion. "Sleepless nights", I think, you know, probably because he's up, concerned for the welfare and the spiritual health of the various churches. He may stay up for prayer unto God for them. And then, "hunger" actually, this word, I feel should be better translated as "fastings", because there's another word for hunger, which means hunger. But this word probably refers to voluntary deprivation of food, and that is fasting.

So Paul says, "We are marked by endurance, as we go through general hardships, as we face persecution from people. And as we go through the sheer labor of ministry. We endure, we persist, we persevere."

There was a senior man in our church who spoke about his church background previously. And how the pastor of that previous church himself, and many other people are led to sleep on wooden planks or on the floor, as a mark of devotion to God. And he looks back today and said, "Well, that ... that may not necessarily be what we should do today."

But the point is this, many people kind of take pride in sufferings. Paul is not really saying, "I'm ... I'm taking pride in sufferings." But he's saying, "This is our proof, not that we suffer, but that we endure through sufferings." So, let's be clear about that.

Number one, Paul marks himself and themselves by endurance, by perseverance.

[B] Piety

Number two, I think the second set that I can notice in this text is Paul marking themselves by piety or the virtues of the Christian life.

"We commend ourselves as servants of God in every way," [2 Cor 6:4] what ways? Number one, endurance, number two, our piety. As ... as expressed in these four descriptions — purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness. [2 Cor 6:6]

"Purity" here, some say refers to sexual purity. Perhaps, but maybe it should mean more about sincerity and integrity of ministry, because that has been what he has been speaking about in 2nd Corinthians, thus far.

"So, how do you know I'm a servant of God?" "Because I've been sincere, and I have conducted myself blamelessly and beyond reproach all this while. That's how you know, my piety towards God."

Number two, he talks about knowledge. I think this "knowledge" clearly cannot be knowledge about the economy, or stocks or things like that, but most likely knowledge of God and His Word, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. "We are a people identified because we know the Scriptures, we know the Gospel, and we have shared it with you, in sincerity with integrity."

Then he talks about patience, the word, "patience", you may ask, "What's the difference between patience and endurance, that we looked at just now? They sound the same!" Well, the difference is endurance is with regard to situations in general, but the word, "patience" here is the word that means long-suffering. And it is often applied to how we suffer long from people. So we are long to be stuck in pain in passion. So we bear up with difficult, irritating people, if I may say. And that's what Paul is saying, "We were patient, we were long suffering towards others."

If patience is a reaction word, then kindness is the proactive word. "Kindness" here refers to actively helping or being helpful to others. So Paul says, "We are marked by these qualities, by these virtues. We are pious towards God, and it can be seen in the way we conduct ourselves with sincerity and purity. By the way, we have been honest and upfront with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the way we have born with difficult people, and the way we have treated people with helpfulness."

[C] Power

What else is Paul's life and ministry marked by? He says, "Number three, the power that attends to the ministry."

I get that from these words, "The Holy Spirit, genuine love, by truthful speech, and the power." [2 Cor 6:6]

So, the Holy Spirit and the power here is like brackets, the commentators would often say that. They kind of ... is like an inclusion, a ... a bracket, about the Holy Spirit and power and in between is love and the truthful speech. I guess that's the best way we can look at this segment, because Paul doesn't quite describe so much what he's really referring to, with regard to the Holy Spirit. But most would say, it refers to the power of the Holy Spirit.

And that enables him to be equipped, er ... to be ready for spiritual warfare. The imagery that is conjured up when he uses weapons, or actually in the Greek, it can also be, "Armor of righteousness for the right hand and for the left." [2 Cor 6:7]

The Roman soldiers use both limbs for battle, the sword on the right, the shield on the left. So Paul is simply saying, "We are ready, equipped for spiritual warfare because of God's power. And that enables us to go, "Through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise." [2 Cor 6:8]

So, you could see it is not such an easy passage to kind of structure, but that's how I ... I've looked at it, thus far.

[D] Paradox

And finally, Paul talks about a certain paradox. How are we marked in ministry?

Well, "Patience, well, by piety in our purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness. By the power that we depend on for ministry, the Holy Spirit. And He gives us grace to love, and to be truthful, to go through spiritual warfare, to go through honor, dishonor," and so on and so forth.

And he says, "We are marked also, by the way, people view us and the way we actually are." "We are treated as imposters and yet are true as unknown and yet well-known, as dying, and behold, we live." [2 Cor 6:8-9]

Now, this is the thing, when you read the Bible in such lines, it gets heavy, right? [2 Cor 6:8-9] It gets busy, it gets like, I ... I can't quite get what Paul is saying. but if you reorganize it, in a sense, it looks like this, it becomes a lot clearer.

So, Paul speaks about how people perceive him and his comrades in ministry, and who he really is. People say that Paul is an imposter, he's a fake, he's a charlatan, because he suffers too much, he does not have letters of credentials, he's not eloquent, he's just a fake-o. Paul says, "No, we are true!"

People say that he's unknown, Paul says, "No, we are known. We are known to the churches in the world, and we are known to God."

People say that, "Paul is dying, huh, he's going to die soon!" Paul says, "No, we live, we have abundant life in godly, we ... we have a wonderful, fruitful ministry, as God calls us to.

As punished, "But no, we are never really quite driven to death. God has His purpose and plan for us."

As sorrowful, "Yes, we go through a lot of pains on the outside, but we are always rejoicing also on the inside."

As poor, as people who are so dependent on others for livelihood and sustenance, "But actually, we make many people rich, we help many people spiritually rich, as having nothing and yet possessing everything."

So, this is brilliant from Paul! The Corinthians under the influence of the false teachers accused Paul. And in particular, they say, "Paul, you suffer way too much!" But Paul uses that accusation of suffer too much, turned it on its head and say, "Actually, that marks me out as the servant of God, as we endure, as we rejoice, as we are still patient and kind towards others. That is how we commend ourselves."

It's really something that is counter-cultural. That's something that is not, it's counter-intuitive. But I want you to respect the fact that Paul has been talking about this quite consistently.

He says in chapter 1 and verse 6, "If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation." It's for you, "Huh, you think that if I suffer too much, I'm not worthy to be a servant?" Paul says, "No, because I suffer, I'm better suited to be your servant. It is for your comfort, it is for your salvation. My sufferings allow me to intertwine my life better with yours."

He says in chapter 2 and verse 14, about the triumphal procession. Now, for those of you who were not with us, this is rich and beautiful imagery. In essence, it says that Paul is like the prisoner of war, being dragged through a Roman General victory procession. "We are there, we are weak, we are the captured, but that shows the power and victory of our ... our conqueror even more, Jesus Christ." So Paul says, "Actually, my weakness is intended by God to contrast and to show up the magnificence of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Suffering is not incidental, neither is it accidental, it is actually intentional for the Gospel ministry. He turns their accusation on it's head, and says that actually marks him out.

But it became even clearer, for example in in Chapter 4:7-10, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay ..." I'm, ... I'm kind of taking us on a recap of what we have gone through, thus far.

The "treasure" here refers to the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that shows the magnificence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, "This ministry is not held in some precious vessel but in jars of clay, earthen vessels — very humble, very fragile, very weak vessels," referring to himself.

The Gospel ministry is generally not conducted by impressive, smart, brilliant people, but by very simple people who suffer. And I know he refers to sufferings because he goes on to say that, "The surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted, crushed, driven, persecuted, struck down," and so on.

Why, why, marvelous Gospel in weak, Christians or servants" "Always carrying in a body, the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies," so that Jesus may be seen. [2 Cor 4:10]

"So, Paul are you sure you're the real deal? Are you sure you have the credentials or are you a scammer? Like, PJ almost fell into that kind of scammer?"

"Oh, I am not a scammer. I am marked out by my credentials here of perseverance, of piety, of the power of God that I serve in, and the paradox that I have been put through. These are my credentials and this is my life. You have seen it, you know it!"

It reminds me today that the Gospel of ministry is not to be performed, or undertaken by people who are just smart or eloquent. Or people who may even know what to say, or may be very theologically sound in a sense, in an academic way. Because people look at not just what you preach, but by how you live.

And I think it's really important for all our leaders here, whether you are a Bible Study Group leader, a Care Group leader, a Discipleship Group leader, a shepherd, or you feel that God is calling you to a Pastoral Ministry, that we remember Paul, that he is very aware, very alert to the reality, that ministry is not just what comes out of your lips or your mouth, but how you have lived your life. His credentials are undeniable, and that's a tremendous testimony! And that's what we should pray for in our church, I hope.

[3] His Confession

Now, finally, Paul now shifts to his confession. He is going to openly and abundantly make it clear that he loves the Corinthian Church.

A story is told of a couple who have marital issues. They go to the counselor and there was a long session. Many things were talked about and worked through and then finally, the wife says, "You know, at the end of the day, you know why I'm upset with you? It's because you never say, "I love you."'

To which the husband said, "Hah, you mean we quarrel so often because you say, "I never ... you say, I never say I love you." To which she said, "Yes, you have never said I love you." "But dear, I did!" "No, you haven't." "I did!" "When did you say, I love you?' "I said I love you on the wedding day, and if I change my mind, I will tell you."

Well, not everyone can assume you love, if you did not tell. Paul certainly wouldn't assume that and in this text, he makes it clear, abundantly clear to the Corinthians. He says all these things, he writes all these things because he loves them.

We read, "We have spoken freely to you Corinthians our hearts is open ... is wide open." [2 Cor 6:11]

Now the word, "spoken freely" is literally our mouths are open wide. That's what it is literally. So "our mouths are wide open", probably referring to how he has spoken freely, honestly, sincerely. There's no duplicity in his speech.

Then he says, "Our heart is wide open", probably referring to how there is space, there's always space to welcome the Corinthians, even if they have rejected him, even if they have despised him. He says, "Our hearts are wide open for you."

Commentators will also make note of the fact that Paul calls them Corinthians here for the first time. I mean, names them, Corinthians in his address to them for the first time. And they say, this is a mark of affection and love and tenderness. I suppose when you speak with people, and you have been talking to him or her and after a while, we say his name or her name, you're saying something warm and affectionate. You care.

So Paul says, "Corinthians, O my dear Corinthians, if I may say, we have been honest and sincere and upfront with you." "And our hearts are wide open for you. We ... we love you, we care for you, but you are not, you are not restricted in us." [2 Cor 6:11-12]

The word, "by" can be translated "in", and I think that perhaps should be a better translation. In my opinion, the Greek word is it can be translated both "by" and "in".

So Paul is saying, "You are not restricted in us, we are not narrowed towards you, we are ... our hearts are wide towards you, but you are restricted in your own affections." [2 Cor 6:12]

You ... you are narrow in your own affections, you have squeezed us out, there is no place in your heart for us. It's filled with the false teachers already." So, Paul appeals in return, reciprocally, as we have loved you, we urge you also, "To widen your hearts for us to welcome us into your lives." [2 Cor 6:13]

So, that kind of end this heart-to-heart talk by Paul. It sounds like, "Uh, you mean, you're done?" Yes, huh, for today, because the ... the content of his appeal will come in verses 14 onwards. And that's just too much for us to squeeze it all in. But I hope you appreciate that Paul right here is simply giving a heart-to-heart talk, and he's wise.

There's an old adage that says, "People don't care what you know, until they know you care." And I suppose it's true here! For Paul, to switch gears from a defense of his apostleship to a proactive confrontation of sin and compromise in their lives will require an assurance communicated that he loves them, and wants the best for them.

So he sets the stage, he prepares their hearts, because from now on, he's going to be quite open and honest about their problems. And you require something like this to bear the weight of his rebuke.

So that's where we are, that's wisdom, pastoral wisdom if we should confront or we should help brothers and sisters in Christ in their lives, I hope we will not be trigger happy and shoot off the hip and, and rebuke quite too quickly. But we'll be wise to assure that we do it all for the sake of love for the best of their interest. And I think that's great pastoral advice we could see from Paul's life.

But perhaps we should also stop and reflect upon the heart of a pastor that Paul has — tremendous man, tremendous heart of God. But let's recognize it's not just Paul, it's actually God's work in Paul's life. And he does all that because he values the Gospel, he values the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray in our church, we have many more shepherds like this. Like Paul, who know the Gospel, who knows God's love, and who will love others the same way.

If you're here with us, for the first time, I want to assure you, what we preach here is not so that we can amass a huge church to look good, but we genuinely care that you know, God's grace, you genuinely come to salvation in Jesus Christ. That you would be able to live a godly life, not a sin filled life, unto the glory of God, as well.

Many things we could share, but I think I'll stop here. And perhaps join us next week to see how Paul deals with the issues in Corinth, and how we can apply them also to ourselves. That we may live godly lives for his sake.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

Here is a man who opened his heart, bared his heart so that they will not be led astray ultimately from Jesus. And I pray for you too, maybe today you're struggling in some sin, some compromise. We want the best for you and we want to pray for you that you will not be led astray from Jesus.

But maybe today, you'll be reminded of God's love, you'll be reminded of God's grace. And you would say to yourself, "I cannot and must not receive the grace of God in vain, but I must, by God's help, work out my salvation with fear and trembling. I want to live an upright self-controlled, godly life."

Perhaps some of you today, aspire to ministry and so you train yourself in the Bible, and that's a fantastic thing, by the way! But I hope you will not just learn the truths and the facts and the teachings and the doctrines of the Bible, but you will aspire also to live them out, to obey them. Realizing that we are called to be ambassadors, it's not just what we say, but how we represent our Savior on this earth too. I pray there will be many shepherds, godly shepherds who will be raised in Gospel Light.

We pray for CG leaders like this, Discipleship Group leaders like this. We pray for Sunday School teachers like this. We pray that men and women would have the lips and their lives right with God to lead others to Jesus.

Finally, my dear friends, Jesus is that Great Shepherd. If we could appreciate a little about Paul's heart, I say, this is a mere shadow of the greatest heart, the heart of Jesus. Because He's really concerned for your spiritual life, for your eternity, that's why He came to die on the cross. He lived a perfect life, He performed great miracles. There is no doubt when you look at the Scriptures that He is The Promised Messiah, the Savior. And I think the Bible tells us, makes it abundantly clear - Jesus loves you, God loves you. And He demonstrated it on the cross, by dying for your sins, I pray today you would turn from sin and believe in Jesus.

So dear God, thank You this morning, we can hear Your Word and we pray for hearts like Paul, we pray for people to see Jesus, even in the follower, Paul. And we pray that You bless each one, regardless of where we are, that we may draw near to You this morning. Thank You, we pray all this in Jesus' Name. Amen.

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