We are more than conquerors with the victory we have in Christ. Paul reminds us of our boast.
2 Corinthians 10: Paul Defends His Ministry
1 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ---I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!---
2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
7 Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ's, so also are we.
8 For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed.
9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters.
10 For they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account."
11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present.
12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.
14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ.
15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labours of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged,
16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence.
17 "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
Things to think about…
1. What makes us strong? Paul’s opening lines in 2 Cor 10 remind his readers that though we are in the flesh, our spiritual weapons are mighty. This is a small echo of what he wrote to the Ephesians in Ephesians 6. Paul says here “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds”, vs 4. But encouraged by this truth as you start your day.
2. We conquer the world by expressing correct knowledge. This is only possible if we have the knowledge of God in the first place and then holding our own thoughts and the thoughts of the world captive to Christ, 2 Cor 10:5. This takes discipline both in the learning and the expressing.
3. Paul wants to build his hearers up, 2 Cor 10:8 even at his own expense. But even though he uses weighty words in his letters, this is not the case when he is with them face to face. Vss 9-11. This should be the case with us. Though we have words of strength backed by the Holy Spirit, our bodily presence should be meek and humble reflecting Christ. Obviously this is only the case where there are receptive hearts, sometimes a rod is required. But this is only required on very rare occasions as has been my experience. I believe this is reflected in the scriptures as well both with the ministry of Jesus and the Apostle Paul.
4. In 2Cor 10 Paul says his authority comes from God and God’s power is mighty to destroy strongholds., vs 5. Every argument is destroyed, and every thought (not just ours) is held captive to Christ. We get a lot of ‘sound bites’, that are simply humanistic, illogical and frankly offensive to Christ. Let’s not accept them, but boldly speak out against them. To ignore them makes the church ineffective and its message impotent. Unfortunately where pulpits ignore the while council of God there tends towards the flesh and holiness is not seen as a requirement. We must stand against strongholds that are anti-Christian, especially in the church. This is the real battle going on in the west.
5. What do we commend, what do we boast in, 2 Cor 10:12-18? Paul initially brought the gospel to Corinth. He wants them to grow in their faith so he can present the gospel to other places, vss 15, 16. Some were boasting in themselves, vs 12. Paul’s point is that we don’t exalt ourselves, but the message. Christ’s servants are nothing, but Christ the suffering servant is everything. We are exhorted to boast in Him, 2Cor 10:17.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesday – 6:30pm at church. 5:30om for prayer. We will be discussing how Jesus is the King in your life. New Life group starting in Karana Downs.
Prayer Points
1. Pray for Israel/Gaza, Ukraine wars. May Yeshua, the Prince of Peace still the storms
2. New people as they settle in
3. New Life group in Karana Downs
4. Those that haven’t come to church for a while to return.
5. Revival over our city.
6. Pray for Kids church and Kids Hope at Karalee State school.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for response to Hs word on Sunday.
2. PlayPatch keeps seeing new people every week.
3. Finances continue to be maintained.
4. The Lord’s grace over our lives and country
5. Café, music, kids church, admin, sound and technical team every week
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Ministries this week. Life group, Kids@Church, Kids Hope - Karalee.
2. PlayPatch 1-5yos, Fridays 9:30am at church.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for March...
Q. 30. What does every sin deserve? A. The anger and judgement of God.
