 In verse 11, reading to verse 13, entering into our study with an introduction, Paul writes, I've become a fool in boasting, you've compelled me. For I ought to have been commended by you, for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I'm nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance and signs and wonders and mighty deeds. For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you, forgive me this wrong. And so Paul has to defend his apostleship before the Corinthian church, that's what he's doing. And the fact that he has to defend his ministry is of great concern to him. And it's because they're listening to the charges of false apostles. And these false apostles, and we'll see them in just a moment, but these false apostles having crept in are undermining his relationship with the sheep. And if they can undermine their relationship, they will also undermine his message. So they'll call into question who he is in order to call into question what he says. And so as he's responding now in these chapters and in this chapter before us, he's having to defend his apostleship because of false apostles are compelling him to do this. And notice what he says though. He says in verse 11, I've become a fool in boasting. Now he's already been sharing some of the things that the Lord has done through him. He's shared some of the things that he's experienced and all of that. But he's had to do that himself. And he says, I've become a fool in boasting. But he goes on to say, you compelled me. You're the ones who have pressed me to do that. I didn't want to share these things. These are the things that you've compelled me to share. I have to share this. Why? Well, because you should have spoken in my defense, but you did not do so. You allowed their charges to go unchallenged. And the result has been that some in the church have actually believed what these false teachers are teaching. He says, I've been forced to defend myself because you refuse to defend me. And by your silence, you forced me to speak up for myself. You should have done what I have been forced to do for myself. And so this is what's going on. He's saying, you have compelled me. I feel foolish in having to do this. But because you refuse, he's speaking to the Corinthians. He's saying, because you believe their lies, you have forced me to have to defend myself when you should have known better and you should have never put me in the position to have to say things that I'm saying right now. You should have taken care of it, but you didn't. And so he says, I ought to have been commended by you, for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing. By your silence, you are forcing me to speak up for myself. He says, I in nothing am I behind the most eminent apostles. Now when he's speaking of these, whom he refers to as the most eminent apostles, here with me, that is something that they claimed for themselves. He's not speaking of the original apostles that were were appointed by Jesus Christ himself. He's speaking about these who have crept in, who are presenting themselves as apostles. He had said that in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 13, when he described them in this way, he said, for such are false, false apostles, deceitful workers. And he said, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. They're false apostles, deceitful workers. They're transforming themselves. They've changed themselves. They've taken upon themselves apostleship. And so he's speaking in this way to them. He's concerned and this concern doesn't rise from him having hurt feelings. It doesn't arise because he's got wounded pride. That wasn't motivating him. It's because new believers are in danger of being swayed because they're vulnerable. When people first come to faith in Christ, they can be open to deception. Because somebody opens a Bible and begins to quote from it. They may think that that person is rightly dividing the truth when in fact that person is not. He's misrepresenting what God has to say. Well, that's what was taken place then is their misrepresenting Paul. These false teachers are entering in and Paul is now having to defend his apostleship because these people are claiming to be apostles when in fact they're not. So his concern rose out of love for these people. He desired them to be free in the Lord and not under the yoke of spiritual bondage. Now earlier he had written concerning what these false teachers had been doing in 2 Corinthians in chapter 11 verse 20. That verse reveals these phonies were enslaving them, devouring their finances, taking advantage of them, lording it over them and even publicly humiliating these precious sheep and it bothered him, it broke his heart. And when they stumbled because of these false teachers, Paul himself was outraged. Look at chapter 11 verse 29 when he said, Who is weak and I am not weak? Who has made the stumble and I do not burn with indignation? So Paul loved these sheep and they were being taken advantage of and it outraged them. Now in verse 11 in the midst of this rebuke, Paul's humility shines forth, though I should have been commended by you, I realize I'm nothing, I'm a nobody, I know it. The only thing of value I've ever brought to you is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here we go. Paul knew God and because he did, he also knew himself. True humility is simply seeing Jesus for who he is and then seeing yourself for who you are. That's true humility. It's not like Jesus would say it isn't making many prayers and it's not standing on a street corner to be seen by men. It isn't fasting and disfiguring yourself, so it's obvious that you haven't eaten. It isn't being ostentatious when you give your gifts and all of that. Those are the religious things that people during the time of Christ would do to show that they were religious people. That isn't true humility. True humility simply is the result of knowing who God is and knowing who you are in comparison. And without the Lord working in his life, he knew what he was. I'm just a needy human being. And that's what he's saying in verse 11, in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles, though I am nothing. I'm nothing and I know it. I'm not behind them, but I know what I am. Paul knew who he was. You see, the Corinthians were busy comparing Paul to other preachers. He said something in 1 Corinthians 3 verses 5 through 7. He said, what after all is Apollo sent? What is Paul? Only servants through whom you came to believe as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? Who is Cephas? We are simply men. You see what was happening was the carnal Corinthians were comparing them. Oh, I love Apollos' eloquence. That man is so intelligent and Cephas, he's one of the original 12. He walked with Jesus Christ. But Paul, who is he? He's boring. He's inferior. He's homely. He's everything that we don't appreciate. And that was coming in to the Corinthian church. And Paul had to deal with that in 1 Corinthians. He's continuing to deal with that because the comparisons were there. And they were comparing Paul to other ministers. He didn't see himself as a Christian superstar. He knew that without Jesus Christ, he's nothing. And that's what he's saying here. Though I am nothing. Without Christ, I'm nothing. And in the book of Ephesians chapter 3 verse 8, when he was writing to them, he said unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. He said, I who am less than the least. He knew that he was a servant of the Lord. He was the least of the least. He was an unworthy servant. He knew that he was dependent on the Lord. There's an interesting portion of scripture found in Luke chapter 17 in the Gospel of Luke. It's found in verses 7 through 10 of Luke 17, where Jesus said this. He said, suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheet. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, come along now and sit down to eat? Would he not rather say, prepare my supper, get yourself ready, and wait on me while I eat and drink? After that, you may eat and drink. Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say we are unworthy servants who've only done our duty. Do you think he should thank that servant? I think not because he's a servant. He's only doing what he's supposed to do. You see this mentality that some have today that their superstars are so very important is not biblical. We're servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Pastors and all of us were servants of Jesus. That's what it is. And Paul knew that. Someone once said, he who knows himself best esteems himself least, though I'm nothing. Still God has used me mightily in his service, Paul would be saying. This is not something that the false apostles can rightfully claim. Now, this is going to be a sermon in a sermon. I'm going to take a moment to share a couple of things with you because today we have some who are calling themselves apostle. I see it in the social media. You can see it sometimes on television. There are those who have online quote unquote ministries. And when you look up to see who is this person, they say the apostle. And so there are questions today are are their modern day apostles. Let me give you a short Bible study just so that you'll know the word apostle. The word apostle is a word that speaks of someone who has been sent out with delegated authority. And so in that way, you can speak of a minister in a in that sense. This somewhat delegated authority. You can you can say he does work or apostolic kinds of work. Because in the New Testament, the word apostle is the Greek word. Apostolos and the word apostolos can be used in a general sense. When you're looking at the book of Acts, for example, chapter 14 verse 14. Barnabas is mentioned there as an apostle. When you look at Galatians chapter one verse 19, James the Lord's brother is mentioned as an apostle. Was he an apostle equal to an and the same as the apostles called by Christ? No, this is a word that would be used as a general term, saying that there are ministers of the gospel. It doesn't mean that they're the same as the original apostles. It speaks of them being sent forth as a delegate who had a message. They were a messenger with authority in that sense. Even Jesus is referred to as an apostle. You might find that interesting. But in Hebrews 3 verse 1, that verse refers to him as the apostle and high priest of our confession. So that's a word that could be used in a general sense to speak of being one delegated with authority and a message Jesus could be spoken of in that context. But in the New Testament, to be recognized as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, there had to be at least four things. And again, I'm giving you a Bible study and a Bible study. But this will help you because sometime you'll be on watching something on online or whatever, and you'll see, you know, Apostle Barnabas speaking to you and you'll say, oh, I didn't know. And so let me show you why he's not one. First, an apostle of that standing, an apostle was specifically chosen by Jesus or by the Spirit. In Matthew 10, for example, verses 1 through 5, Jesus selected the 12. They were called apostles. Jesus selected the 12. And later in John chapter 15 verse 16, Jesus said this, you did not choose me. I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. You didn't choose me. I chose you. He's speaking to the apostles. And you see that in Matthew 10 verses 1 through 5, 1, an apostle is specifically chosen by Jesus or by the Spirit. Because we see the Spirit select somebody named Matthias. When Judas fell, Matthias replaced him. You see that in Acts chapter 1 verse 26, they cast a lot and the Spirit is the one who directed it and Matthias was chosen. That's how Paul was selected. You see that in Acts chapter 9 verse 15, as well as Acts chapter 22 verses 14 and 15. So an apostle is specifically chosen by Jesus or by the Spirit. That's the first thing. Second, an apostle walked with Jesus from the beginning, from the baptism to resurrection. He would have been a witness to the resurrection of Jesus as it says in Acts 1 21 through 22, when they said who is going to take Judas' place and they said the requirement will be that he walked with Jesus from the beginning. He was to have seen the Lord after Jesus was resurrected. And Paul speaks of that in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 1. In 1 Corinthians 15 verse 8, Paul said, last of all, he was seen by me also. And so he was selected by the Lord. He walked with Jesus, knew him in the resurrection sense. And third, he was used as a foundation of the church through his teaching. Ephesians 2 verse 20 says, having the church, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So he was used as a foundation through his teaching. And fourth, an apostle performed signs, wonders and mighty deeds. And that's what Paul is saying that certified his ministry. You see the false apostles could not claim to have these qualifications. Paul clearly said that they were false. They were deceitful. They transformed themselves into apostles of Christ. So today some claim to be apostles or to have apostles among them. No one today can meet the qualifications scripture gives for being an apostle. No one living today has been specifically called to be an apostle by Jesus. No one alive today is an eyewitness of Christ's resurrection. No one possesses the miraculous capabilities of an apostle and no one is giving inspired doctrine. We should not be surprised that people would falsely claim to be apostles because Jesus warned that false prophets would come in sheep's clothing. He said, but inwardly they would be ravening wolves. Matthew 715, we're seeing that today. So with that said, getting back, Paul was being challenged by false apostles and because he has been, he responds and he's outlining his qualifications. In verse 12, he says it, truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you. And he speaks concerning signs, wonders and mighty deeds. Now this is how God in the beginning authenticated his messengers. This is how they were proving they were from God. He speaks of signs, wonders and mighty deeds. Now when he speaks of signs, notice that in verse 12. A sign is that which points you to Jesus. So I've had this said to me, so I'll just use this as an illustration. Somebody says, you know, I would listen to you when you were on the radio, but I live in Anaheim or some other city. I'm not familiar with Chino. There was a time that all you'd have to do is stop your car, take a sniff in the air and you'd know where Chino was. Just follow the flights. But they said, you know, so what I did is I called the church, I got an address and I came and what did they do? They actually were following signs. So I got on the 57, I got to the 60. I went East on the 60. I got to Ramona and I exited in Ramona. These are all signs, they're looking for signs. They had to see the sign for the 57. They had to see the sign for the 60. They had to see the exit at Ramona. They see the signs and that's what it means. The signs were intended to point you somewhere. The signs were intended to point people to Jesus Christ. In John 20, verses 30 and 31, it says Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name. These are written that you may believe. The signs so that you may believe. You have wonders. Wonders are works of power. And when you use the term wonder, it very often is speaking of the effect, the wonder that you feel. When you see God do a miracle, do a work. Acts 5, 12 says, by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people. The wonders is the effect. The sign points you to Jesus. The wonders is the effect of what you saw. And the mighty deeds are actually the, it's the work of the spirit, the power of the Holy Spirit. The word mighty is a Greek word, dunamis. It's where you get the word dynamic from. Some use the word dynamite. That's the root word for it. It speaks of power. And the Holy Spirit is the one who has the power who is performing the miracles. And that's what Paul is speaking about when he said, the signs of an apostle which are my credentials were accomplished among you, your eyewitnesses with all perseverance and continuation. He said in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. Verse 13, for what is it in which you were inferior to other churches except that I myself was not burdensome to you, forgive me this wrong. And so he's saying, listen, I already have the qualifications, but in what way were you inferior to other churches except I didn't burden you. Now, what's he speaking about when he says, I didn't burden you? Well, when he says, in fact, I didn't burden you, he's speaking of support. I haven't demanded support from you. Demanding support isn't the sign of an apostle. So why have you listened to those have absolutely no credentials, yet are parasites. You see, receiving financial support for Paul was a prerogative, but it wasn't a sign of genuine genuineness. He didn't receive support from the Corinthians. He had said, I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. In 1 Corinthians chapter nine, he said that though he had the right to have support, he didn't exercise that right. He's saying, these parasites are making demands on your finances and you think them to be authentic. He said, forgive me for not being a burden to you. That's what I call sanctified sarcasm. Forgive me, there's wrong. Now, verse 14, for the third time, I'm ready to come to you and I will not be burdensome to you, for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents, for the children. I'm ready for my visit to Corinth, but I'm still not gonna take financial support from you. I will not be burdensome to you. Why, for I do not seek yours. I don't seek what you possess, but I seek you. The children ought not to lay up for the parents. The parents ought to lay up for the children. In other words, I love you and I love you for your own sake. I'm not taking financial advantage of you because I love you like a father. I don't know, there are fathers who have done this. I wouldn't call them a very good father who have gone to the children's room and stolen out of the kid's piggy bank. There are fathers who've done that more than one so they can go out and buy some alcohol or buy some drug. That's not a good father, is it? Of course it's not. The children don't lay up for the father. The father, it's the layup for the children. And Paul is simply saying, I didn't use you to make my own life materially richer. In the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, in chapter 34, verses two and three, it reads, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the sovereign Lord. Destruction is certain for you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn't shepherds feed their sheep? You drink the milk, wear the wool, butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. In 1 Peter five, two and three, the apostle said shepherd the flock of God, which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, not because you're made to, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. So he's saying, I am pouring myself out for you as a father gives totally of himself for his children. I'm leaving you something worth more than financial wealth. I am giving you spiritual treasure. The father is to lay up for the children, not the children for the father. On one hand, it's a blessing to be able to leave an inheritance to the children. Proverbs 13, 22, a good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, not only to the kids, but to the grandchildren. Proverbs 19, 14, houses and wealth are inherited from parents. That's all good and that's great and you intend to do so. But Paul is saying, I'm giving you something greater than that. I'm not asking for you to materially supply my needs. I wanna give you what will supply yours. I wanna give you something spiritual. I wanna give you something that lasts, something that is a legacy. Something that will go into the future, something that will take you in the good times as well as the bad, that will help you to be strong in times of plenty and times of less. I wanna give you something that will give you hope, something that will give you strength, something that will give to you a strength in your heart that enables you to go through anything you need to go through in order for you to become the person you're supposed to be. And that's what I as a father try to do with my kids and to this day still do. It's not enough that I should be giving them something material I want to and if I can, I will. But it's something deeper than that. I wanted to entrust them with a faith that was entrusted to me so that they might give those things to their kids. So that their children would be successful not just by having dollar bills in their wallet but having Christ in their heart. And that's what really mattered to me and that's what a father does. That's what we're supposed to do. We're supposed to give our children something that matters. And I don't take from my children, I wanna give to my children. And that's what Paul is saying. A father is to lay up for his child, not the child for the father. I've already told my children and I'll say it again that I want my wife when I go to be with Jesus, I don't want my wife to ever feel dependent on my kids. I don't want that. And neither does she. She needs her independence. She needs to be able to live her own life without my children, feeling the obligation. If they should do something for her, which I expect that they will, they love their mama, but I never wanted to put them in the position where they should do what I was doing. They should do what I should have done. I'm just not that guy. So when my daddy went to be with Jesus, my dad had left my mother nothing, $10,000, which was nothing and she had to sell her home. And you all know that story, I won't go through it, but mama didn't, my dad didn't leave my mom with anything and not materially. And so for me, when dad died back 19, almost 20 years ago, I said, I'm good. It's probably time for me to make sure my wife is cared for. So for 19 plus years, I've been putting something aside for her. That way, when I go to be with the Lord, she'll be okay. And I would not want my children to feel the obligation to do what I was supposed to do. That's what fathers do, right? That's what men are supposed to do. Take care of the family, take care of your wife. And if you can't leave something for the babies, but take care of your family. I've tried to do that, they're the best of my ability. And Paul is simply saying that. He said, the parents are to lay up for the kids, not the kids for the parents. I don't want to live off of what you've done. I want to leave something for you. And so it isn't right that I should make demands on you to care for me. I want to do something for you. That's why the children ought not to lay up for the parents. The parents ought to lay up for the children. And then he goes on and he says, in verse 15, I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls. Though the more abundantly I love you, the less I'm loved. I chose to entitle this study of Shepard's heart because Paul was a shepherd. And he's simply saying, I've forward myself out for you. When you read the writings of Paul and writings related to him, you see that Paul was really a very gentle man. He was even tender in his heart. Paul loved them. Paul loved them like a father loves his own children. He was very gentle with them, but he also could be very stern because sternness and gentleness dwell in the same father's heart. And even though some didn't care, he would spend all his strength in the care of their souls. Less love on their part for him would not diminish his efforts to care for them. Paul's human love was nothing in comparison of the love of Christ that was given to them. You see, the more of the love of God that was poured on them, the less he was loved by them. And that is a way of man. We easily reject the genuine for the fake. We can easily be swayed and deceived and take the less over the better. And he was saying, I love you. I love you, not the things that you can give to me to benefit me. I don't need your material things. My love for you is real in Christ. And I'm unlike these false teachers who will manipulate you or take from you. You see, the false teachers are using you. The false teachers are taking from you. But as your spiritual father, I will not do that. I would rather give to you. So Paul, when you read the writings, Paul was a true shepherd. He loved the sheep. He loved the sheep in general when he was writing to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians chapter two, verse eight. He said, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted to you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls because you were dear to us. We gave you not simply the word of God. We gave you our very life. We poured ourselves into you and we loved you. That's what a true shepherd is supposed to do, by the way, not to take the wool and eat the fat and all of that that the false shepherds of Israel had done, but like Paul was saying, to give of themselves completely. And that's what shepherds are intended by God to do. And as much as he loved them, the less loved he felt from them, as much as he gave to them, the less he felt that they cared. And in ministry, that's a very real thing. That's a very real thing. When he had spoken earlier and he said, I've had to defend myself because you wouldn't defend me. I have friends who are pastors that that has taken place. It's happened to me where things are said about me that were so howlandish. Dave who's sitting right here was told things about me that were lies before he came on staff. They were trying to keep him from coming to this church calling me names and saying things to him. It happened to a lot of people. I saw hundreds of people leave when one person in particular made it his two year attempt to destroy me, writing me letters at my home, talking to every single person he knew to try and get them to leave this church. That went on for a couple of years. I saw hundreds leave and they were all lies. They were all lies. Nothing was said that was true. They were all lies, but people believed him. People left the church believing the lies. And while all of this was taking place, my friend Jack was planting his church and his church was growing. And Jack said, why are my churches going fast? Where are they coming from? They were coming from here. That's where they were coming from. That's a fact. They were coming from here. People who were abandoning me because of the lies. I remember one girl who said that I owned a three story house. David Rosales owns a three story house. That's not true. I own a four story house. No, that's not true. I live in a track home like so many others do. Actually, people were investigating, googling my address to see where I lived. I had a guy write a postcard, send it to my home where it said, dear Maria, postcard, not a letter, a postcard. So, and the mail carrier was a member of our church. And sent a postcard. Marie, David is having an affair with one of the secretaries. Flat out, flat out lie, flat out lie. Put it there, wrote it, sent it to me so that the girl who was our mail carrier could see that I was being accused of adultery. Do you, who here would ever think I'd go out on her? But they did. One thing, I'm not here to moan and groan. I'm just saying, there are things that your pastor goes through. And my pastor friends, you wouldn't believe if you knew the hurt, the lies, the constant undermining, the constant attacks, the sleepless nights, and the pain that they carry every day with people who should have known better, who could have at least walked up and said, I'm hearing this, is it true? We were in, my wife and I, in Montclair. We were in a mall, I was in purgatory, but it's also called a mall, doing penance. And as we were walking, a woman approaches me and says to me, I wanna apologize to you. And I said, for what? She says because, and she mentioned the name of someone who was saying things. She said, told me this about you. And I left the church and I believed him. And I said, of course I forgive you, because she was saying, would you forgive me? And I said, of course. And she said, thank you. I said, but let me ask you a question. Why did you believe that? Why? Do you believe that I can go up and preach the way that I do every week when I have secrets in, when I'm hiding these things, when I'm, why did you believe that? What have I done? What have I done to make you believe that? She said, I knew him and I didn't really know you, so why wouldn't I believe him? And that's how people are. There have been people that I have wept over. You see, I cry, I weep with people. Weep with those who weep. My heart has been broken with them, only to have them say things that were so wrong. The more I love you, the less I'm loved by you. I understand that. I understand that you can pour your life into ministry, only to have people rip it apart. We lost a thousand people in the course of about six weeks because I asked people to hold hands before I preached and asked God to speak to their hearts. A thousand people left our church because how dare I actually ask them to do something spiritual in church? I can't tell you the stories, 39 years of them. I can't tell you all of them, but I can tell you this. I would rather pour myself out and have some respond that way than to stop opening my heart to you to tell you the truth. And that's what I've done all of these years. I would gladly spend and be spent for your souls regardless of how you love me in return. And that's what he's saying here. He says, I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls so the more abundantly I love you, the less I'm loved. But be that as it may, I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with cunning. That's another accusation. That's the 24th accusation. They're saying that Paul is shrewd and he's taken advantage of them. When they take the money to Jerusalem, he's actually gonna skim, he's gonna steal from them. And that's an accusation. I am shrewd, I'm taking advantage of you. So he says in verse 17, did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? I urged Titus and sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps? And so Titus and two unnamed disciples were to carry the offering to Jerusalem. We saw them in chapter eight. It speaks of those ministers. So he says, has I or Titus or these trusted men, have we been greedy? Have any of us defrauded you? If Titus didn't take advantage of you, obviously you can trust me not to take advantage of you. Verse 19, again, do you think that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ, but we do all things beloved for your edification. I'm not on trial before you. It is before God that I walk. You're not my judges. Why do I have to explain? We speak before God in Christ. We answer to God, our hearts are pure. We fear him, we love him. And being aware of this, we strive to keep our conscience pure before him. You see, in the end, we do all things beloved for your edification. I'm not seeking my own profit. I'm seeking the profit of many, he said in 1 Corinthians 10, 33. He says in verse 20, I fear less when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish. My desire is to find you maturing in the Lord. I'm afraid I'll discover you to be carnal. And now this is where he becomes a little bit stern. You see, the result will be if I discover you to be carnal, I'm gonna have to correct you. You see, the doctrine that you're receiving from these false teachers is corrupting your lifestyle. And I'm concerned. So he says in verse 20, I fear less when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish that I shall be found by you such as you don't wish. And this is what he's saying. He's concerned he's gonna find in the church, lest there be contentions and jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition, backbiting, whisperings, conceits and tummels. So he said, I'm concerned that this is gonna be the result of the things that they're teaching you, that there'll be contention with speaks of wrangling and strife. There's gonna be jealousy, which speaks of the envy that's just overwhelming everybody. Outbursts of wrath, there's gonna be passionate anger, selfish ambition, this desire to put yourself ahead of others, whisperings, where they're backbiting secretly, conceits where there's people who are swollen with pride. Tummels is instability, it's disorder and confusion. I'm concerned I'm gonna find this when I come, because that's the fruit of bad doctrine, contention and jealousy, outbursts of wrath. All of that is bad doctrine. He says in verse 21, well, that's when I come again, my God will humble me among you. I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication and lewdness, which they have practiced. Bad doctrine will bleed over into a bad lifestyle. And I'm concerned that the church is gonna be, once again, having sexual sin and immorality that is symptomatic of a church that is not following Christ. He speaks of this uncleanness and fornication and lewdness. And those are all three speaking of sexual sin. I'm concerned that you're gonna have this. I'm concerned that there's gonna be a lack of true repentance in the church. And you need to understand why I'm concerned. It's not because I wanna boast about how great everybody is. It's because if you're guilty of this unrepentant sin, your souls are in danger. If you don't repent, you will not inherit the kingdom of God, because as it's been said, the kingdom of God is not populated by unrepentant sinners. So if you don't repent, you will not inherit the kingdom of God. What am I concerned about that you don't love me? No, I'm concerned that you don't love the Lord. I'm concerned that your lifestyles have been polluted by bad doctrine, and that your license that you're now thinking is grace is leading you down a path where you're gonna be dealt with by the Lord. And then you have unbelievers who are attending your services who think that sin is normal, natural, and there's no penalty. And I'm greatly concerned for that too. I don't wanna come back to the church he's saying to see you, but to have to deal with these things. So take care of them before I get there, because you will discover me that I'm not simply the weak person, the paper tiger that the false apostles say that I am, but you're gonna see that I am a stern father who will correct the error because God's bride is to be pure. And that's why I will come. And what will you have? The rod of discipline? Or are you gonna want to have me there gentle among you as a father who's in love with you? It's up to you to make up your own mind. But Paul will say, and I'm concerned that when I show up I might have to bring the rod of correction because this church has become infected by bad doctrine. And so for us, we just need to make sure that we stay on the right side with the Lord that we walk in the proper attitude of the spirit that we love Jesus as much as we have today and can to today and love him a little bit more tomorrow because that's what it's all about is in it serving the Lord every day and loving Jesus every day because he's worth it, isn't he? He's worth our love every single day because he's loved us. Let's love him in return.