WEBVTT

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2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 12. We had left

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off last week with Paul addressing that some

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of the people in Corinth were questioning Paul.

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They were saying, ah, he's not a good speaker.

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He's kind of weak. It's not much to him. Yeah,

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he's a big talker in his letters, but he comes

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in person and he's not all that. And Paul was

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saying, hey, look, you better be ready. You know,

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I'm writing you these letters. I don't want to

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have to come to you and be bold, but there are

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some things you guys need to be aware of. He

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had addressed a lot of stuff in 1 Corinthians,

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some things that were going on that needed to

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be dealt with. And here in 2 Corinthians, we

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started with... Paul addressing this idea that

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there seems to be some false teachers, some other

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people that's moved into Corinth, and they're

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maybe questioning Paul or challenging Paul, teaching

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things that aren't solid, that may lead the people

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astray. And Paul wants to make sure that they

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know that he loves them, that, hey, he's calling

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them out for some of these things because it's

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not healthy for them, and not to forget that

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he's poured into them, that he's shared the gospel,

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that he's led them to Jesus Christ. Let these

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other people come in and lead them astray. And

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so he's lovingly and with some sternness, as

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we see in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, trying

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to get their attention so that they do continue

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to do good and grow in the Lord and don't fall

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off track following other people, but will continue

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to let him lead them. And that's kind of what

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we've seen. In 2 Corinthians. So we'll read through

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these verses. 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse

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12. We'll read through the chapter. Then we'll

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pray. And then we'll talk about it for a minute.

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For we don't dare classify or compare ourselves

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with some who commend themselves. But in measuring

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themselves by themselves and comparing themselves

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to themselves, they lack understanding. We, however,

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will not boast beyond measure, but according

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to the measure of the area of ministry that God

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has assigned to us, which reaches even to you.

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For we are not overextending ourselves as if

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we had not reached you, since we have come to

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you with the gospel of Christ. We are not bragging

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beyond measure about other people's labors. But

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we have the hope that as your faith increases,

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our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged,

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so that we may proclaim the good news to the

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regions beyond you, not boasting about what has

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already been done in someone else's area of ministry.

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So the one who boasts must boast in the Lord,

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for it is not the one commending himself, who

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is approved, but the one the Lord commands. Let's

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pray. God, we thank you for these good words.

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I pray that you would help us to listen to them,

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dear Lord, that there would be something in here

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that would grab our attention. God, maybe there's

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some boasting about something in our life. Maybe

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the standard that we're comparing how we live

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by is not your standard. God, maybe we have been

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guilty of commending ourselves in some way. God,

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I pray that we would see these truths in the

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scripture and help us to test ourselves. I pray

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that your Holy Spirit would be with us tonight.

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I pray that everything that is said and done

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would be for your glory, that you hide me behind

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the cross, that I would preach and teach in a

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way that points to you. I pray that you take

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away any fear or pride that is within me tonight,

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dear Lord, that we can look at your word and

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I can present your word and that we would all

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seek you through it. And I ask these things in

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Jesus' name. Amen. Now, Paul was certainly proud

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in some sense of what had taken place in Corinth.

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That there was a group of believers there. And

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they were excited for the Lord. And yeah, there

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was some stuff going on. But that's always going

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to be the case. Among any group of believers,

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there's going to be... there's going to be some

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pulling in one direction, some in another, maybe

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sometimes about things that aren't that serious,

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and then maybe there are serious things that

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pop up that have to be dealt with. But nevertheless,

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Paul had shared the gospel and those with Paul

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to the people of Corinth, and that he was grateful

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for, that there were brothers and sisters in

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Christ, and he wanted to continue to see them

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excel. But as... I mentioned a few minutes ago,

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there were other people also, maybe in some way

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kind of doing some ministry work, but not with

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the same heart, it appears, that Paul was. And

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not with the same humility. Now, Paul is ready

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to point out, hey, I've done right by you. But

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I don't think Paul is boasting necessarily in

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a sense that he's saying, look how good I am.

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He's boasting in the Lord. To say, look, I've

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shared the gospel with you. Look, you've accepted

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this good news. You've accepted Jesus Christ.

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Now I want to see you living and I want to see

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you to continue to increase in those ways. And

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Paul talks about kind of in the middle of this

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section here. That he says, look, you are the

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ones that we've shared the gospel with. And so

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we're boasting in you and what the Lord's doing

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in you in hopes that what God's doing in you

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is going to continue to expand to other people.

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That was Paul's concern. He said, we're boasting

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in you in a sense because we see what God has

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done in you. We're not taking credit for somebody

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else's work as it appears that others were doing.

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Maybe they were seeing what was going on in the

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Corinthian church and they were trying to take

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some credit for that. As if they had done part

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of the work and they had established the church.

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But Paul says, look, you need to listen to me

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because I'm the one who's invested in you. I'm

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the one who's shared the gospel with you. And

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he points out these others at the very beginning

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of this passage and the very end of this passage.

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And that's what we're going to... focus on mostly

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tonight, I think these are good things for us

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to consider. And he says in verse 12, we don't

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dare classify or compare ourselves with some

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who commend themselves. Okay, so Paul's competition

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was worried about who? They were worried about

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themselves. They were commending themselves.

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Now Paul and those with him, were not in the

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business of commending themselves. They didn't

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want to be glorified. They wanted Jesus Christ

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to be glorified. So Paul says you need to pay

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attention and realize we're not like these other

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people. We don't commend ourselves. You need

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to look at their life and how they're living.

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Are they someone who loves the Lord and who serves

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the Lord and are putting God's interest first

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and bringing glory to Him? If so, then praise

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the Lord. But that doesn't appear to be the case

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as we read through 2 Corinthians. So Paul says,

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don't make the mistake to think that we are like

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these others. The things that we are saying is

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trustworthy and true. And you know that through

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our example as we've already seen Paul state

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throughout 2 Corinthians so far. So he says,

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look, we're not like those other people. We don't

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even compare ourselves to those other people.

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And then he tells us what's going on with the

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other people. He says, In verse 12. But in measuring

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themselves by themselves and comparing themselves

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to themselves, they lack understanding. Or they

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don't have wisdom. Or they are unwise. Something

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like that your translations may say. So we instantly

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can see the problem here. The measuring stick

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of these other people, the standard of these

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other people, is their own actions. So Paul says

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the other people who are teaching you are measuring

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whether or not they're doing a good job based

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on whether or not they think they're doing a

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good job. And so if the standard is set by them,

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they meet their own standard. Now, we probably

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all do this in some way. We have the standards

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and the things that we measure by as to what

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we think is the best. Now, let's say, for instance,

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there was somebody in here that had a red Chevrolet

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truck. and they said red Chevrolet trucks were

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the best. And they bought a red Chevrolet truck,

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and therefore if red Chevrolet trucks are the

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best, according to their standard, they have

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the best truck. But somebody else's standard

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may say that black Ram trucks are the best. And

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therefore they would say that red Chevrolet trucks

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were not the best. If we all have a different

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standard we're going by, it's easy enough for

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us to meet our standard. We do it in the kitchen

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all the time with what we cook. We all have different

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standards for what we think is good food, for

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what we think is salty enough food or too salty

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food. And you make your food, and it's perfect.

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Based on your own standard, you are the best

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chef in the world because your food tastes just

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how you want it to taste with just the right

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amount of salt. And so you bring it to church,

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to the eat, and then somebody else eats it, and

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they say, this ain't got enough salt. Because

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their standard is up here. And when they cook

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their food, it has a lot more salt. And so therefore,

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they are in fact a better chef than you because

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it doesn't meet their standard, and they know

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how to make food to their standard. So we all

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have these standards that we judge ourselves

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by sometimes, and we prove ourselves to be right

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in these areas. And therefore, those others that

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we see around us, who don't live according to

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our standards, have to be wrong. And we do this

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in a lot of ways. And we have all these little

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things that we pick and choose as to what really

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matters. We will have kind of these big sins

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that we'll call them, and we judge people according

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to those standards. They might be different for

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all of us. They might be different for all of

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us, but I'll just pick some random ones here

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just for the sake of making a point. So let's

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say we look at people and we say, okay, well

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that person right there doesn't use any foul

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language, they don't drink and smoke, and they

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don't sleep around with people. Okay, that's

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good people. When people don't do those things,

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they're good people. So as long as we see people

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not doing those things, then they meet our standard.

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But the moment we see somebody doing one of those

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things, well, they're a bad person. They don't

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meet the standard. But the problem is, is that

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everybody in the world has different standards.

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Because there are things that you and I may say,

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that's wrong and that's not what God wants us

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to do. And there are other people that say, ain't

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nothing wrong with that. There's a group that

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will go along with this standard and a group

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that will go along with that standard. And so

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there has to be a standard, not a standard that

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you make and a standard that I make and a standard

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that your neighbor makes. There has to be a standard.

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And that's the problem in our world today, I

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believe, a big part of our problem, is there

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is no single standard. that everyone looks to

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and says, this is what establishes what is right

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and what is wrong and what everything else is

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to be measured against. Now we have that. It's

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called the Word of God. It's called Jesus Christ.

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That is the standard by which everything we do

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needs to be measured by. The question is, do

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we live by that standard? It's pretty clear that

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our world does not see the word of God as the

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standard. Maybe there was a point in time in

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this country for a little while where maybe more

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people than not would view the word of God as

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the standard that we live by. But that's less

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and less the case, I believe, every year that

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goes by. And so we have to measure ourselves.

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Not by what we have considered as right and wrong,

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but what God says is right or wrong. Now, what

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are these people that Paul's talking about? What

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are they doing? They're doing exactly that. He

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says they've measured themselves by themselves.

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They've measured themselves. This is what's required,

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that I think's required, so this is what I do.

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And therefore, since this is what I do, then

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I meet the requirements of what I think is required,

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and I have approved myself. They have approved

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themselves by themselves. Now, do we ever do

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the same thing? Do we ever have some things that

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we think, well, you know, maybe this isn't the

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best thing in the world, but it's not that bad.

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That thing that other people's doing, that's

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pretty bad. But this thing I'm doing, I know

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it's not right, but it's not as bad as what they're

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doing. And so therefore, I meet my standards,

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so I'm okay. But it's what we do and what we

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say and how we act. We meet God's standard. So

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we need to measure ourselves by a better standard.

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And what are we measuring ourselves by? Are we

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measuring ourselves by saying, well, I know I'm

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not that good, but I'm better than a lot of these

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other folks that I see. Well, by that standard,

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we may be better than some of the other people

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we see in some ways. But what about God's standard?

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I suspect that if we... Read God's word. And

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we should. We begin to see God's standard. And

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what he calls us to. And the way he calls us

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to live. And the things he calls us to do. And

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to not to do. Then we start reading God's word.

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And maybe we read a page. And we say oh my. And

00:14:44.029 --> 00:14:47.990
we flip to the next page. And we say oh my. And

00:14:47.990 --> 00:14:50.429
pretty soon we done got a lot of pages. That

00:14:50.429 --> 00:14:53.210
we done made check marks by. And said I ain't

00:14:53.210 --> 00:14:56.019
meeting that standard. I'm not living up to that

00:14:56.019 --> 00:14:59.179
standard. I failed in that way today. Boy, I

00:14:59.179 --> 00:15:02.200
failed in that way last week. And that's why

00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:04.240
it's important for us to be in the Word of God.

00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:08.139
How can we know the Word of God if we don't know

00:15:08.139 --> 00:15:11.700
the Word of God? How can we do the Word of God

00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:15.840
if we don't read the Word of God? And you can't

00:15:15.840 --> 00:15:17.720
just have somebody with you every day just telling

00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:19.220
you, here's what you need to do, here's what

00:15:19.220 --> 00:15:21.299
the Word of God. It'd be great if there was somebody

00:15:21.299 --> 00:15:24.779
that was beside us all the time and every thought

00:15:24.779 --> 00:15:26.440
that popped in our mind or everything we were

00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:27.820
going to do, somebody just quoted a scripture.

00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:31.460
It'd be great. And in a sense, you know, we kind

00:15:31.460 --> 00:15:33.080
of do have somebody that does that. He's called

00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:36.419
the Holy Spirit. If we know the Word of God,

00:15:36.580 --> 00:15:39.620
guess what? If you know the word of God, there

00:15:39.620 --> 00:15:41.620
will be times that you're about to do that thing

00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:44.179
you shouldn't do, and you'll hear that word in

00:15:44.179 --> 00:15:46.679
your mind. It'll come back to you, a word that

00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:48.320
maybe you hadn't even thought about in a few

00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:51.220
weeks or a few months. And something will bring

00:15:51.220 --> 00:15:53.059
it into your mind, and I believe that that something

00:15:53.059 --> 00:15:56.580
is the Holy Spirit. But I think we have to know

00:15:56.580 --> 00:15:58.419
the word of God. I think we have to seek the

00:15:58.419 --> 00:16:00.820
word of God. We have to say, God, what is your

00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:03.279
standard? What do you call me to do? How do you

00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.659
want me to live? And God helped me to see that

00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:11.299
and live by that. And that's the measuring stick

00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:15.799
right there. The standard of God. So maybe we've

00:16:15.799 --> 00:16:19.039
been going along in this life and we think we're

00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:22.000
pretty good. Maybe by worldly standards we are.

00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:25.620
But what does it say at the end of this passage

00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:30.840
that we just read? Verse 18. For it is not the

00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:35.570
one commending himself who is approved. But the

00:16:35.570 --> 00:16:40.529
one the Lord commands. Now we may live up to

00:16:40.529 --> 00:16:43.549
our own standard. And we may get to the end of

00:16:43.549 --> 00:16:47.070
our life. And based on our standard, we may say,

00:16:47.210 --> 00:16:50.850
I commend myself. I have done a pretty good job.

00:16:51.570 --> 00:16:54.529
Pat myself on the back. And I suspect that there

00:16:54.529 --> 00:16:56.450
are plenty of people in this world that have

00:16:56.450 --> 00:17:00.070
done that. And if we're honest, perhaps we do

00:17:00.070 --> 00:17:05.099
that too. We have a standard. Okay. I'm going

00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:08.500
to do one good deed a day. Oh, I did my good

00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:12.039
deed of the day. Met my standard. Pat myself

00:17:12.039 --> 00:17:15.500
on the back. Maybe God wants you to do two good

00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:18.019
deeds in a day. Maybe there's going to be five

00:17:18.019 --> 00:17:20.380
good deeds in a day. Maybe there's going to be

00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:22.700
17 things that God wants you to do tomorrow.

00:17:24.180 --> 00:17:27.480
Maybe we sell ourselves short. Maybe we fail

00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.000
to do what God calls us to because we... Have

00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:31.900
our standard to say, as long as I do one good

00:17:31.900 --> 00:17:33.559
thing a day, that's enough. And we do our good

00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:36.920
thing and we say, check mark, standard is met.

00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:40.240
And we make it to the end of our lives and we

00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:43.779
say, I've done a pretty good job according to

00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:46.980
what I think I should have done. But that doesn't

00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:51.819
get us anywhere. For it is not the one commending

00:17:51.819 --> 00:17:57.259
himself who is approved, but the one the Lord

00:17:57.259 --> 00:18:01.799
commands. Does the Lord commend the way that

00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:04.819
we live our lives? Because he's the only one

00:18:04.819 --> 00:18:08.779
that matters. Because we get before the Lord

00:18:08.779 --> 00:18:11.880
one day when this life is over, and he says,

00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:14.400
how do you think you did? I said, pretty good.

00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:17.579
I mean, there was some little stuff, but big

00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:20.059
stuff, I knocked it out of the park, God. I did

00:18:20.059 --> 00:18:22.940
a good deed every day. I didn't cuss, I didn't

00:18:22.940 --> 00:18:27.599
drink, I didn't smoke. Pretty good, God. I commend

00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:32.059
myself. And the Lord says, depart from me, I

00:18:32.059 --> 00:18:38.220
never knew you. Because God's standard is Jesus

00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:42.240
Christ. Because God's standard is not just going

00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:45.819
through the motions. God's standard is not just

00:18:45.819 --> 00:18:50.420
coming to church. God's standard is to follow

00:18:50.420 --> 00:18:54.599
Jesus Christ and to follow the words of Scripture

00:18:54.599 --> 00:19:00.890
and the commands of God. And when we follow the

00:19:00.890 --> 00:19:02.849
word of God. That's not to say that we will not

00:19:02.849 --> 00:19:06.289
fail. But are we striving? Are we trying? Or

00:19:06.289 --> 00:19:08.230
have we just convinced ourselves that I'm okay

00:19:08.230 --> 00:19:11.509
where I'm at? I've approved myself by myself

00:19:11.509 --> 00:19:14.829
and I'm okay where I'm at. But maybe we're not

00:19:14.829 --> 00:19:18.069
okay where we're at. Maybe there's some areas

00:19:18.069 --> 00:19:22.950
that God wants to work in our life. And it doesn't

00:19:22.950 --> 00:19:26.210
matter if you commend yourself. It doesn't matter

00:19:26.210 --> 00:19:28.309
if those around you commend you. You might have

00:19:28.309 --> 00:19:30.349
a lot of people telling you how good you are.

00:19:30.450 --> 00:19:35.950
Don't fall for it. Because it's not them that

00:19:35.950 --> 00:19:41.670
matter. It's the Lord that matters. So we must

00:19:41.670 --> 00:19:45.329
seek to live for Him. So when the day comes that

00:19:45.329 --> 00:19:50.950
we stand before the Lord, we are commended. And

00:19:50.950 --> 00:19:54.230
God says, well done, my good and faithful servant.

00:19:54.750 --> 00:19:58.309
Let's pray. God, we thank you for the truth of

00:19:58.309 --> 00:20:02.869
these words tonight. And God, I pray that you

00:20:02.869 --> 00:20:06.529
would help us not to fall into that trap. And

00:20:06.529 --> 00:20:09.609
it's easy for us to do. And maybe we do it more

00:20:09.609 --> 00:20:12.190
often than we would like to admit. Maybe even

00:20:12.190 --> 00:20:14.450
as we come in here tonight, God, we've kind of

00:20:14.450 --> 00:20:17.930
established in our mind, in whatever ways, the

00:20:17.930 --> 00:20:19.890
things that are good and right that we need to

00:20:19.890 --> 00:20:22.029
do. And maybe some of those things are what your

00:20:22.029 --> 00:20:26.000
word says. And maybe we just kind of check those

00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.359
boxes. We say, well, we're doing all we think

00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:31.839
we should do and we're okay with that. But God,

00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:35.819
help us to know if we're doing what you call

00:20:35.819 --> 00:20:41.119
us to do. And we can't judge our actions based

00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:46.960
on what we think, but based on your word. So

00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:49.079
I pray, dear Lord, that we would not ever...

00:20:49.829 --> 00:20:52.269
Leave a church service or leave from reading

00:20:52.269 --> 00:20:56.670
your word, giving ourselves a pat on the back,

00:20:56.829 --> 00:21:00.390
thinking that we've made it, we're where we need

00:21:00.390 --> 00:21:04.190
to be. That's not to say that we're always just

00:21:04.190 --> 00:21:06.329
doing bad, dear Lord. Maybe there are some seasons

00:21:06.329 --> 00:21:08.230
in our life that we're doing better than others.

00:21:08.250 --> 00:21:10.650
Maybe we are doing really, really bad tonight,

00:21:10.750 --> 00:21:13.910
some of us here or some online. But God, I pray

00:21:13.910 --> 00:21:18.690
that you would help us to seek your word. that

00:21:18.690 --> 00:21:21.869
you would help us to look past and above our

00:21:21.869 --> 00:21:26.369
standard, to look to a higher standard that comes

00:21:26.369 --> 00:21:29.029
through Jesus Christ, that comes into your word,

00:21:29.049 --> 00:21:32.130
God, and let us seek to live according to that

00:21:32.130 --> 00:21:35.390
standard. And God, give us grace when we fail.

00:21:36.970 --> 00:21:42.390
Help us to be repentant and to seek you and to

00:21:42.390 --> 00:21:44.789
continue to strive to live according to your

00:21:44.789 --> 00:21:47.970
will moving forward. In Jesus' name I pray it.

00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:48.799
Amen.