Stand Strong in the Word
Stand Strong in the Word is a weekly bible study that teaches through the Bible verse by verse in chronological order. For more information, visit www.standstrongministries.org.
Stand Strong in the Word
#296 "The Unseen Burden of a Leader" (2 Corinthians 11:28-33)
Leaders are defined not only by their accomplishments but also by the burdens they bear and the love they extend to those they lead. Today, we will explore Paul's heart and the genuine love and concern he had for the Corinthians. We can learn to demonstrate that same kind of care and love for the people God has called us to support.
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Leaders are defined not only by their accomplishments, but also by the burdens they bear and the love they extend to those they lead. Today, we will explore Paul's heart and the genuine love and concern he had for the Corinthians. We can learn to demonstrate that same kind of care and love for the people God has called us to support. Turn to 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, and let's stand strong in the Word of God together. Well, hey there, my friends, welcome to Stand Strong in the Word. Podcast. Jason Heman is with you, as always, blessed to be with you, guys, as we continue our study here in the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 11. And we're going to be finishing out the chapter, and I can't wait to get into chapter 12, because that's we're going to be exploring Paul being caught up to the third heaven and trying to make sense of what the thorn in the flesh I'm sure you've heard that phrase before, but this is going to build from what he has laid out in this particular chapter. Now, just to bring up to speed, and, as always, if you've missed any previous podcast, I encourage you guys to check that out wherever you get your podcasts and do me a huge favor, which is a blessing. I know many, many people listen and thank you for that, but not a lot of us leave reviews and so I just encourage you because I read them. I love my team, we read these things, we're encouraged by these things. Read them, I love my team, we read these things, we're encouraged by these things, and so I can't wait to see what you have to say and even drop us an email info at stanstrongministriesorg and let us know how we can pray for you and if you have a biblical question. Recently I was actually responding to some great questions that even helped me to shift and do an article on the Christian Post, so perhaps, maybe even one of your questions can be turned into an article and land up on the Christian Post. So we appreciate all of those opportunities that you guys give us to minister to the body of Christ. That is global and that is such a huge blessing is seeing all of the downloads that are happening around the world, knowing that there are Christians that come together to stand strong in God's word. And you know our mission here on this podcast is that through us standing strong in God's word together, we can love him more and love the people that God has called us to do, and we know that many Christians have never really been discipled, never really been taught how to grow in God's word, and so we want to do a verse by verse teaching to help you guys do just that. So to bring you up to speed where we left off, let me just go back.
Speaker 1:We did a two-part series, right in the beginning and up to verse 15, about spotting lies in disguise. And one of the things of a leader is you have to expose the falsehood. And what are some dead giveaways of a false apostle or a false teacher? Well, paul lays those things out, particularly in verses 13 through 15, where they're disguising themselves as something they're not meaning. They're bogus, that's the Greek term. They're untrue, they're giving false proclamations.
Speaker 1:Remember, there's always partial truth, and so that's why we have to stay alert, because there's deceit, there's trickery, there's false representations. And then remember, they're workmen, meaning they master this sort of thing. This is what they do. They intentionally work at trying to deceive people. And remember, disguising themselves the word is the meta, in the Greek term meta.
Speaker 1:Schematizeo is to change condition, to exchange it, to take on a certain shape or fashion, and so they're, they're, they're among us, just as Satan disguises himself. He goes back to remember his original state as this beautiful archangel and pretends to be that which he's not, and that shows you not just the arrogance and the pride and the sinfulness of Satan, but his cunningness. And then, as we transition from that one thing that's so powerful and that what Paul does to counter that is his own scars, to genuinely show and he's not boasting again, he's not boasting about how amazing he is, and the reason why I keep stressing that is because one thing we don't want to do is we don't want to placate to Paul in a way that he himself doesn't do, because that's sinful. The Holy Spirit was speaking through him. He was being inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what he went through as an apostle, and we have to be very careful, as we make, hopefully, proper interpretation to the scriptures, that we're not taking things out of context or saying well, this is what I think is more likely. Sometimes, what you'll hear me say is it's possible, it tends to. You know, I tend to lean towards this. I'm not exactly sure, but if it's cut and dry in the way that Paul expresses himself, then we're just speaking directly to that, and that's one thing that we do see in verses 16 through 27 is Paul just says look, this is what I went through and I'm not boasting and saying I'm better than you. I endured hardship, persecution and a lot of trauma because of my love for you.
Speaker 1:And where we left off in the last podcast in verses 24 and 25, remember he said that he was at the hands of the Jews, that he received the 40 lashes less than one five different times. Three times he was beaten with rods Once he was stoned Three times he was shipwrecked at night and day he was adrift at sea. Then he says in verse 26, on frequent journeys in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and toil and hardship through many a sleepless night and hunger and thirst, often without food, and cold and exposure. So Paul was laying out the difficult conditions that he went through in his missionary journeys. Why? Because he believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the calling that God had given him, and that call was to go into all of the world, within the known world at that time, to preach the gospel, because he loved the people that God had called him to minister to, even though it was hard, and also the emotional impact that it had on him. Could you imagine my friends, night and day going through what he went through?
Speaker 1:Traveling back then was not like it is today, and I even look at all the traveling I do each and every year and I stay in hotels and we have people who are so hospitable and so caring and so kind. And yet it can kind of wear on me and I can't imagine spending the months, the countless months, in sea with very little to eat and not having medicine if you get sick, and obviously many people died. And so now what Paul's going to do is he's going to share the burden, he's going to kind of peel back. He dealt with a lot of the external issues, like you know being abused, being persecuted, going without food, being shipwrecked and even identifying the people that were persecuting him. But now what he's going to do is he's going to peel back everything and show his heart, his burden, his concern, if you will, for the church, and I got to say as a pastor, this is amazing because he doesn't fixate on how the world has been treating him, he wants to show them his own internal battles and anxiety that he has for the people. And this, my friends, is a true sign of a leader. I said in the opening, it's not just about their accomplishments but about the burdens, the care, the concern, the attentiveness that they have for the people that God has called them to shepherd. So let's take a look now in verses 28 through 33 and see how we can apply that same type of leadership, that same type of servanthood to the people that God has called us to love.
Speaker 1:In verse 28, paul says and apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Now remember, let's just jump back to verse 29 when he laid out all he just kind of encapsulates in verses 26 through 27, all the hardship where he says toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night and hunger and thirst, often without food and cold and exposure. And that's when he says and apart from other things, there is the daily pressure. So, yes, again, all these external things he's going through, but what about the daily pressure of my anxiety, he says, for all the churches? Then he asked these questions who is weak? And am I not weak? Who is made to fall, and am I not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of our Lord, jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying At Damascus. The governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands. So here in verse 28, what Paul does is he's voicing concern that he has for the churches that he was a part of establishing.
Speaker 1:So notice that there's not just a commitment, but there's history. When you and I have been invested in something, when you were a part of something in the beginning, in its inception, it has far more meaning than when you walk in later. If there's history or the origin of this, you played a part in it. That is very significant. Paul had that. He was an apostle who was facing many challenges. Remember, the churches were not like blowing up Many areas that he would go into. He would start a church that didn't exist, and any one of you guys listening to this podcast and you have played a role in starting churches or starting ministries in your neighborhood or in a different part of the world where there's no churches there's just been underground churches and it's a very hostile environment. I will guarantee you and I, if you and I were sitting together, we can say there's so much more meaning and significance and heart for that than just walking into something that's been established. Yeah, you respect the past, you respect the people who've gone before you. We see that. We saw that back in 1 Corinthians 3, where some people plant, some people water, but it's God who gives an increase, and to play a role in that is powerful.
Speaker 1:But we have to understand this, because the term that Paul uses for the daily pressure, the key term that he uses, is epistasis, and it's translated to set upon, to stand upon, to halt Thinking. What does that mean? Well, this was affecting him so much that it was causing Paul to be pressured to the point where he didn't know if he can function. That's kind of where this terminology is being used as he's playing on this term. If you look at this word, concern is also like that, because he says there is the daily pressure on me of my concern or of my anxiety.
Speaker 1:The Greek term here is maranima and it suggests to divide or be drawn in different directions. So you have this pressure to not be able to move right Like I don't feel up to doing this While at the same time, when you are trying to do something, you're being moved in all these different directions and you don't know where to go or what to do. So there's the aspect in ministry where Paul's conveying his internal struggle. I don't want to do this because of the pressure and at the same time, when I do try to do it, I don't know where to go, I don't know how to do it. So, given these two descriptions from Paul, it's clear that one of his primary struggles now remember as a spiritual father was the weight and the responsibility that he felt for the people. And that is a leader, because when you don't feel like doing something, you do it because God called you to do it, because it's going to help people. And that is a leader, because when you don't feel like doing something, you do it because God called you to do it, because it's going to help people. So when you hear people sometimes say and perhaps this is even you I was scared, I didn't know what to do. I know experience, but I had to do something. I just acted. I just did it. That's the heart of a leader. Acted, I just did it. That's the heart of a leader.
Speaker 1:And you see this, actually, if you go back to Acts, chapter 20 and verses 28 through 31, paul makes a special effort to meet with the elders of Ephesus to urge them to safeguard their churches. I absolutely love this passage in so many different ways. In fact, when I do teach leaders in ministry, one of the lectures I give is specifically on Acts, chapter 20, where Paul goes out of his way, like I said, to meet with these elders and notice what he says in verses 20 through 31, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock. I love this because notice, it says to yourselves. I was just talking to a colleague, friend of mine, who's been an evangelist pastor for 30 some odd years and we have a great relationship and we hold each other accountable. And he's a few years older than me, in his fifties, and I've seen this man love his wife, love his boys, love the church and just the mental health, physical health, you know diet, exercise, sleeping, concerns, anxiety, we talk about it all, and so we recently have this, this conversation, and we brought up this passage pay careful attention.
Speaker 1:Now, yes, there's a physical aspect, a mental aspect, but also a spiritual one. But you can't take care of your flock If you're not taking care of yourself. We we've heard that it's easier said than done, but it's true. And so Paul saying here pay careful attention to yourselves. And then he says, and to all the flock so don't just have your favorites, care for all the people in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, not man. The Holy Spirit has given us our gifts, as he has determined, we're told in 1 Corinthians, 12. And also he has made us overseers. So if you're in leadership, especially as an elder he's talking, remember the audience. Here are elders who are men, and he's saying you are overseers. And what is an overseer? An overseer?
Speaker 1:Paul says here is to care for the church of God, which is obtained with his own blood. You and I didn't lay down our life for these people to save them from their sins. We are to lay down our life, as Christ did, but that doesn't save them from their sins, salvifically that is. But he reminds people you're to care for the church of God because, remember, christ died for the church. So what are you and I willing to do.
Speaker 1:See that that's at the heart of this right. Christ had a burden for us. Nevertheless, not my will but your will, be done. The Son of man didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many Matthew 20, 28. The Son of man doesn't have a place to lay his head. The Son of man is here to do the father's will, and oftentimes he would go without eating. So what are we willing to do for the flock right? Are we willing to set aside our ambitions, our desires, our interests, and to be present and to care for people? And then notice, he says, and I know, after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things. So now, even among people who are supposed to be overseers, they're going to use and abuse that situation to take advantage of the flock and to twist things, to draw away the disciples after them.
Speaker 1:And then it says in verse 31, therefore, be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease, night or day, to admonish everyone with tears. I love this because he models says remember what did I do for three years. That's not bragging, that's not boasting, and let me just say that as a word of encouragement for people listening If God has used you and it's been a humbling experience and has broken you and you're caring for people, yes, it's not about like going on social media and saying I just want you guys to know this is what I did. You know, look at me. No, he's just saying remember when I I modeled, when I did this to you see, that's the point. It's like a parent to a child says hey, follow my example. That's powerful because obviously in and am I not weak? Who is made to fall? Am I not indignant?
Speaker 1:So again, paul's using this in question form because he recognizes that again, it's not in his own strength. And that's the whole purpose here, even as a leader, is that we are to feed the flock, we're to protect them so that they themselves can survive and not just become codependent in an unhealthy way. So Paul's focusing on the suffering of all of God's people and he's emphasizing that the church must take responsibility for caring for one another's needs rather than just again caring about yourself. So let me put this in context. If your church is nothing more than the pastor gives a message and is not really relatable. It's not really shepherding the staff in the congregation and they're out there big time doing their thing and saying this is what God has called me to do. I think that's wrong. At the heart of a pastor is to oversee the flock and at the flock, for the most part saying our local pastor, our local shepherd in fact I would probably not classify in which, in essence, a pastor is a shepherd, but if they're not, they're shepherding the flock. They don't know the flock, they're not caring for the flock. That's what a shepherd is and it's not enough when you just give a nice little message and that's it. That's all you get. I mean, listen to first Corinthians 12, verse 26.
Speaker 1:If one member suffers, all suffer together. If one member is honored, all rejoice together. So let me give you an example. I'm not going to mention the person's name, but recently I was having an interaction with a particular pastor and I knew of a situation from somebody in their congregation and I said hey, did you know that this person went through something like this? And they're like no, I did not know. I wish I knew that you can't expect the pastor to know everything about the congregation, depending on the size. But what was the response? Was they care for that person and it bothered them knowing that they had gone through something that they were not aware of. So in a way, I don't know why the family didn't reach out to the church, because you can't always expect the church to know everything. I've been in those shoes. But when you find out about something, you have to convey what that pastor conveyed, and that was a heart of concern and compassion for the person that was suffering. So when one member suffers, we all suffer together. If one member is honored, we all rejoice together. Let me ask you is that true in the environment that you're in? Do you feel that?
Speaker 1:Because when Paul says here, if I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness? If you go back to the first letter in chapter one, verse 27 of first Corinthians, paul said this but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. There is power when we as the church come together and we share these types of burdens, and it's unexplainable how someone who lost a child is able to keep on standing Now. They'll never be the same, but they know that God is there to comfort them.
Speaker 1:Or when Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12, verse nine, when he was speaking about Christ's grace, that's sufficient to give him the power, that he's made perfect and weakness, he said. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So, when you take into account all the stuff that Paul had suffered, he's doing it on behalf of Christ, he's doing it for the church, and the more that he suffers in his weakness, god's grace is sufficient for him. See, that's what our ministries need to be about.
Speaker 1:At the heart of the gospel we have a savior. He came into this world, lived the perfect life, suffered and died for us, but rose again on the third day and says I will be with you always, even to the ends of the earth. So, no matter what darkness we face, as Job faced the glory and splendor of God and he was rewarded and was blessed in the end and was steadfast because he was being refined we see that with Peter, that our faith is being refined so that we can praise, honor and glorify that our faith is endurable, right, that it's lasting that it's unshakable, that all comes through weaknesses at times and experiencing God's grace. So when you have a shepherd who has crashed and burned, who has been broken, who has become so in love with Jesus, who is their good shepherd, they then, in return, in response, as God's grace is sufficient, they will gladly boast in weaknesses instead of taking all the credit all the time, focusing on all the successes that they've had. And then we get so enamored by that and we don't even know the person and that person's not even sacrificial. Yes, it's a blessing if you have a pastor who's written a book and has been very helpful and discipled you in a particular area or answered your questions Great.
Speaker 1:But how sacrificial is that really? And I'm preaching to myself, my friends, I realize that listen doing a podcast in the comfort of my studio or, you know, writing a book, you know, and having people say they love it, that's not really sacrificial. Yeah, does it take time away from my family and stuff, but you know so what we have to really look at the heart of Paul and I'm convicted and I'm saying Lord, how can I boast gladly my weaknesses so that the power of Christ will rest upon me, that people can see Christ and, I'll be honest, a lot of my friends that nobody knows. They don't have podcasts, they don't have their names out there, and I see what they go through. One of them in particular who lost a son, and just seeing him get up every day and pray and thank the Lord for today, that blesses me. Do you have a pastor, do you have a shepherd in your life who expresses that kind of burden for you? You see, in the end, what Paul does and he's expressing all of this and this is another thing that speaks to the burden and also not just the position, but the heart, if you will, the character of a leader. Notice what Paul does. He says the God and father of our Lord, jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I'm not lying.
Speaker 1:Now, obviously, after detailing all these incredible hardships, paul was appealing to God as his authority, saying listen, what I'm telling you is trustworthy. I know it's kind of not believable and he's not bragging about it, because a lot of times you can hear some people out there giving messages and they can embellish the stories, but he's using this as confirmation. But notice he's honoring, glorifying god. And then he adds one little last tidbit he talks about king erodus the fourth. This was the father-in-law of herod antipas and at the time he ruled over the Napatean Arabs from 9 BC to 80, 40. And Paul talks about how he was being persecuted. They wanted to seize him when they were guarding the city of Damascus and the early church leaders. They brought him down in a basket and a window to spare his life.
Speaker 1:Now, this period coincided with three years of Paul when he spent in, you know, in Arabiaia, if you remember that, and this was him returning out to damascus. So he wasn't, like this quote, big shot, well-known apostle. In fact, if you go back to galatians, chapter 1, verse 17 and 18, it says nor did I go up to jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into arabia and returning into damascus. Then, after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, that's Peter, and remained with him for 15 days.
Speaker 1:And then, in Acts 9, verses 23 through 25, this is what Luke records. He records the incident in which Paul's life was in danger. It says, when many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul and they're watching the gates day. The Jews plotted to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul and they're watching the gates day and night in order to kill him. But his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, luring him in a basket.
Speaker 1:So I love how Paul ends with this, because then, right after that, you know, in the next verse, in the next chapter, he says I must go on boasting, though there's nothing to be gained by it.
Speaker 1:I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. So he's gonna continue from this. But we cannot lose sight of the burden. We cannot lose sight that Paul was risking his life for you and for me, for the church there and for the future church, and that is not just inspirational, but this should be something that motivates you and I to live holy lives and if you are a leader in any way, shape or form, which we all are, some of us in a greater, stricter role. So, no matter what daily pressures or no matter what anxiety you're going through, whatever concerns you may have, give it to Christ and let him be glorified through your weaknesses as you experience more of his grace and when you and I allow God to do that in our lives to be glorified in our lives. Your ministry will expand and you'll reach greater people to honor and glorify the Lord. So thank you, guys, for listening. Until next time, keep standing strong in the word of God.