 Beginning at verse 1, therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in crafting, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But even if our gospel is veiled, it's veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age is blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bond-servants for Jesus' sake, for it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. And so last time we were together, let me lay a foundation. We looked at chapter 3, and we close with verse 18. So verse 18 of chapter 3 reads, we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the Lord. And so we in Christ, and Paul has already made it clear, we in Christ are now free. We are no longer slaves, and because of this we do not cover our faces in the presence of the King. We need to remember that Moses stood before God, and he did so with an unveiled face. It was only before the people that he had to put on a veil. He had said in chapter 3, verse 13, unlike Moses who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passed in a way. And so we know that it was before the people that he would put on the veil, but he stood before God with an unveiled face. And so because of grace, believers can experience transformation into Christ-likeness. One of the commentators that I use when I do my studies is a man by the name of Alacot, and he said, the image of the old evil atom nature becomes less distinct, and the image of the new man after the likeness of Christ takes its place. So we are experiencing transformation into Christ-likeness. First Corinthians 1549 says, just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. So we are being transformed and conformed. This transformation is an ongoing thing. As he says in verse 18 of chapter 3, we move from glory to glory. In Romans 8.29, Paul said it this way. He said, whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And so, according to verse 18, we behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord. So believers mirror the glory of the Lord as we reflect Jesus who is the image of God. We know that God's word is like a mirror. It reveals to us what we truly are and what God truly is. And as we look by faith into the gospel, we will behold Jesus Christ who is, according to verse 4 of chapter 4, the image of God. So as we contemplate him, we are transformed into his image, again, from glory to glory. And this is a glory that doesn't fade away. It's a glory that continuously grows. So we're being transformed into his image. This is not done. This is not done without our seeking him and rejecting sin. There are those who think, or maybe misunderstand, that when they get saved they may think that, oh, I'm automatically going to become like Christ. Well, no, you need to seek him and you need to reject sin. That's how it takes place. Titus 2, 11 through 14 tells us the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living in sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God. While we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will be revealed, he gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people totally committed to doing good deeds. So being transformed into his image is not something that just simply happens. It's a process of becoming what is called in Scripture a disciple. And so we as Christians begin to seek him. We seek him by his word. We seek him in prayer. We meditate on these things and we fellowship with believers. And if we're not seeking him diligently, we are not being transformed into his image, and therefore we should be seeking him. In 1 Chronicles 16, 11, seek the Lord in his strength. Seek his face evermore. Psalm 27, 8, when you said, seek my face, my heart said to you, your face, Lord, I will seek. So that's part of you. That's what you do. You're a Christian. You're not automatically becoming a good person. And you weren't a good person before you came to faith in Christ. You were evil. I was evil. We were sinners lost hostile towards God, completely in opposition to him. But God in his grace and mercy gave us his son who died on the cross and took our sin upon himself. He was buried the third day he arose from the dead. He ascended into heaven. He sends the Holy Spirit to indwell those who had received his gospel message. And now we who at one time were alcoholics or abusers or drunkards or not just drunkards or drug addicts and all, you know, we are now set free from that bondage. And that's called Christianity. And yes, and you're saved and you're instantly forgiven. But you now proceed to pursue him. And as you seek his face, he reveals more of himself to you and you're being transformed. In verse 18, he uses the word transformed. He said, are being transformed into the same image. That word transformed is the same word that is used when Jesus in Matthew 17 was transfigured. In Matthew 17, too, it speaks of Jesus and it says he was transfigured before them. His face shown like the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. Well, this word transformed or transfigured is also used in Romans chapter 12 verse 2, which tells us not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. So the glory Jesus had when he was transfigured is the glory we too will one day have. It's not speaking of an outward glory. It speaks of a glory that comes from within. It is what is called the transformation of the essential man, and it's a work performed by the Holy Spirit. And this is what Paul has been speaking about in chapter 3, and that's what we left off at verse 18. And now he picks up in chapter 4 by moving further into his subject. And notice what he says in chapter 4, verse 1, he starts with the word therefore. Those are these things, therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. As we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. Now when he says since we have this ministry, this ministry is what he called in chapter 3, verse 6, the ministry of the New Covenant, Paul referred to the law, the law of Moses, as a ministry of death, the ministry of condemnation. And that's because the law brought the knowledge of sin and as a result judgment. But by way of contrast, God by His Spirit gave us what is called the New Covenant. The New Covenant is the ministry of the Spirit. It's the ministry of light. It's the ministry of righteousness. This New Covenant imparts the Holy Spirit to us. This New Covenant makes it possible for us to be righteous before God. And this New Covenant is more glorious. It's more glorious than the Old Testament, than the Old Promise, than the law, because it reveals to us in chapter 2, verse 14, he pointed this out. It reveals to us that we triumph because of Jesus, and secondly, it reveals that God's Spirit works at us continually and He is transforming us. And we have this ministry, he says in verse 1, and notice he says, and we have received mercy and we do not lose heart. I'll say, and I have benefited from the mercy of God. The word mercy speaks of compassionate treatment. I have been treated compassionately, and I'm so grateful. And that's strengthened him. And I want to show you something here in chapter 4, verse 1, because notice what he says, we have this ministry, we received it. We have received mercy, notice, and we do not lose heart. We're not going to give up. That's what it means to not lose heart. What's that tell me? There were times when Paul needed to be strengthened so that he did not give up. Remember in chapter 1, verses 8 and 9, do you remember in 2 Corinthians 1, 8 and 9, how he said, we do not want you to be ignorant brethren of our trouble, which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. He's already made it clear. He's gone through some tough times, times when he thought he could possibly die. He had gotten to a point where there could have been a temptation, and I want to make this practical, there could have been a temptation for him to just want to give up. Have you ever been there? Have you ever been there? You got saved? Your life is changing? Things are going well? But now opposition comes? You begin to lose friends? Stresses take your life? Maybe difficulties in marriage? Whatever. When you get to that point in your life where you say, I don't know if it's worth it. You know, Paul said, I don't lose heart. And I had to look at what would that mean in the life of a man like Paul, and what practically does that mean in the life of those who serve the Lord? What could that mean to a minister of the gospel? Because ministers can come to the point where they want to give up. Mark McIntosh was sharing just yesterday at a men's conference I participated in at the growing number of ministers, pastors who are leaving their churches. By the hundreds every month, churches are closing down here in the United States. By the hundreds, there are churches closing their doors, the pastors are giving up. And is it possible for that to take place? It's taking place right now. Ministers can come to the point where they want to give up. They get physically tired. They get emotionally drained. They become spiritually dry. They're concerned about the future like other people. They can have financial pressure. They receive ongoing criticism. They get tired of living in a glass house where everybody looks at them and is constantly making critical statements concerning them. Just this week, just this morning, I was reading in that wonderful gossip page called Facebook. I was reading today, somebody called me arrogant because you basically said, if you really cared about your community, then you wouldn't be having church services. That happens all the time. And I told my wife, honey, that's not nice. You shouldn't say things like that to me. That hurts me terribly. No, I mean that happens all the time. I live in a glass house and this isn't about me. It's just true. I live in a glass house. I have people that walk up to me all over the place. Can you imagine? I've been here for a long time. There are a lot of people who at one time came to this fellowship that I still run into in other places. We were just the other day in one of the local places and two people in the store, one here and then another there, I run into them all over the place. Not everybody remains in this fellowship. And a lot of people are very critical and a lot of people say things that are just unkind. Like, oh, he lives in a three-story house and stuff like that. You can't believe the nonsense that has been said over the years. And you get tired of living in a glass house where people are watching you and making statements about you and condemning you and calling you names, calling you arrogant, because this fellow thinks I'm arrogant because I'm here serving the Lord as I teach you. You must be arrogant too because you're here with us getting into the word. But that happens. They see pastors who have a larger church and they know that many of their church left, their church should go to theirs. Their personality is ridiculed. I'll never forget a guy who walked up to me after a church service and said to me, I have to talk to you about, tell you something, don't start crying when I talk to you. I started crying. No, I wanted to cry as I hit him in the head, yeah, but I'll pop you one. No, but they do that. I mean, they don't start crying. Their preaching is ignored. Their clothing is judged. Their motives are called into question. If they say something about it, their character, their spiritual maturity is attacked. Their value is minimized. Pastors are often ministers. Don't take vacations. The children are judged. The wife is underappreciated. They can be victims of unfair criticism. They're victims of gossip and they can't defend themselves. Add to that the pressure of the world to conform to it. The ridicule that we as ministers undergo. We put in long hours, sacrifice, encourage, pray for and plead to the church and the result is rejection and gossip usually from those who perceive themselves as very spiritual. That's how it works. Through all of it, there's one thing you learn and Paul is making it clear. We do not lose heart. Through all of it, we learn that the Lord is with us and we learn to hold to him tightly. From 32 verse 10, many sorrows shall be to the wicked, but he who trusts in the Lord mercy shall compass him about. We see this kind of thing in the letter. Paul is once again answering a charge. His integrity, his selflessness has been called into question. And once more, he has to deal with the poison of the false apostles in Corinth. And he deals with another accusation. If you're keeping note of them, this is the 11th accusation that we see him dealing with. And they're saying, this man uses the gospel to advance himself. He says in verse two, we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. So he reveals his motives as he serves. Notice how he says we have renounced. The word renounce means to reject or turn away from. We have renounced the hidden things of shame. We have rejected the hidden things of shame. In other words, our motives before God and man are pure. In Psalm 90 verse eight, you have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your countenance. Paul knew he could hide nothing from the eyes of the Lord. He was 413, nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Nothing is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. And because he was aware of that, he lived a pure and a holy life before God and man. He went on to say, we do not walk in craftiness. That word craftiness speaks of a charming deceitfulness. It's a way of speaking of what would be called an underhanded tactic. This is saying that he does not have a self-serving ministry. He's not attempting to appear to be one thing while being another, taking advantage of people by putting on. I'm not walking in craftiness. Paul is saying my ministry is true to the word of God. Not to man's philosophy, not to fleshly wisdom. And I'm not preaching messages that are for my own benefit because he goes on to say nor handling the word of God deceitfully. I'm not using God's word to gain personal advantage. This is a picture of what we used to call twisting scripture, to twist the scripture to ensnare a hearer. When he had written to them in 1 Corinthians 2, 4 and 5, he had said to them, my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest in men's wisdom, but on God's power. Somebody said his enemies perverted the word of the Lord by adulterating it with the elements of the law of tradition and with false ideas about Jesus. And they did that in order to draw the converts after themselves. In Galatians, he addressed this to the church there in chapter 6, verses 12 and 13. He said those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. They want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. Paul is saying, I lived a spotless life before you. I'm a living exhibit of God's grace. And that kind of life, by the way, is what gives a minister a more respectful hearing as they share God's message. In Philippians 1.27, Paul said, whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel. And so he says it. He makes it very clear. He says we've renounced the hidden things of shame. We're not walking in craftiness. We're not handling the word of God deceitfully. By manifestation of the truth, we're commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. Every man's conscience, not every man's emotion, we're living properly. So think with your head and not with your emotions. But he says if our gospel is veiled, verse 3, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age is blinded, who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. And so he's making it clear our gospel is a true word from God. Notice how he says in verse 3, even if our gospel is veiled. Now our gospel, the term our gospel is not saying he invented it as if it belonged to him. He's saying our gospel is a message that I preach. And what he's saying also is that his authority is greater than the false apostles. You see, he preaches the one true gospel. But many people were not accepting that gospel. They still to this day reject that gospel. This gospel, he said, is veiled, verse 3, it's veiled to those who are perishing. They reject it. He says they're veiled. It's something he had already addressed. He's speaking of them being spiritually blind. Not only voluntarily, but here's the thing through satanic influence. Listen, Satan is referred to as the God of this age. And the term, the God of this age speaks of how he has limited authority in this period of time. In 1st John 519, John said, we know that we are of God and the whole world lies into the sway of the wicked one. So Satan has authority and he establishes a system that is in hostile opposition at constant warfare with God. It's called the world. And he has a certain kind of influence that he wields. He obtained this kind of authority through deception. Remember the story of the Garden of Eden? And Satan actually makes reference to this when he was tempting Jesus as recorded in Luke chapter 4. It says in verses 5 to 8 that the devil taking Jesus up on a high mountain showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to him, all this authority I will give you and their glory for this has been delivered to me and I give it to him whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship before me, I will be yours. And Jesus answered and said to him, get behind me Satan, it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve. Well Satan has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. To reject is a natural inclination. It literally speaks of those who choose to reject, who refuse to believe. And Satan encourages that. He encourages a rejection of Jesus Christ. He says in this message verse 4, he said, the God of this age is blinded who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God should shine on them. And so the light of the gospel reveals the glory of Jesus who is God, God's image. In Colossians 1.15 through 17 it says he's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created, things in heaven, things on earth, visible, invisible, whether thrones or powers, rulers or authorities. All things were created by him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together. Hebrews 1.3 said Jesus is the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person. The children of Israel, Moses meets with God on the mountain. God gives to him the commands. The Ten Commandments. Within the Ten Commandments are the laws that pertain to man's relationship to God. God says I'm your God, you shall have no false gods. And he says you shall not have any graven images, no idols. Now in the midst of a world that is filled with idolatry in the midst of a world that every nation and every people, every culture surrounding Israel had their little gods that they carved with men's hands would place up in certain places in the house and would bow before them and pray that these gods would bless them in an environment of complete idolatry where everybody had these images. God said you shall have no images. I am the invisible God and you will walk by faith and not by sight. And you will obey my word from the heart. This is what you shall do. So you shall have no graven image. And so these were the people that were amazing to the pagans and the culture around them because they worshiped the invisible God. But you ask how can you know God in the most complete way if there's nothing tangible, nothing that you can see that helps you to understand. And so God answers the problem of his invisibility by taking upon himself human flesh. And that's what John told us, he said, he dwelt amongst us. We beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of God. The word became flesh and dwelt amongst us, he said. And the beginning was the word. The word was with God. The word was God and the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. The invisible God took upon himself human flesh. And he dwelt amongst us, we beheld him. And even Thomas was invited, touch me and see who I truly am, right? So we preached this God, Jesus Christ. And we say you can have a relationship with God because God took upon himself human flesh and what is called the incarnation. He dwelt amongst us and every Christmas this pagan nation called the United States returns to its Christian origins at least that one time and the second time during Easter to remember that there was one named Jesus who was born and there was one named Jesus who died, was buried but was resurrected. We can't erase him from our nation's history and memory, right? But for believers, that's not a story, that's the truth. God took upon himself human flesh and dwelt amongst us. And this is the God that Paul is preaching. This is the God who expressed himself, who revealed himself. Again, verse four, whose minds the God of this age has blinded who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who's the image of God, she shine on them. They refuse to believe it, they turn the heart against it. He says again, for we do not preach ourselves, verse five, but Christ Jesus the Lord, ourselves your bond servants for Jesus' sake. We don't preach ourselves. So Paul labored to advance the cause of Jesus, not his own ministry career. In a personality driven society, the desire to be known can be intense. People want to be known in all. And sometimes those who at one time started out faithfully end up being less faithful. They begin to name the ministry after themselves. They begin to put their faces everywhere. They want people to know who they are and all of that. And we can very slowly but surely begin to eclipse the glory of the Lord by putting ourselves in his place. Well, Paul said, we don't preach ourselves. And that's the 12th charge if you're taking notes because they're saying he preaches himself. He doesn't preach Jesus, but he's saying, no, we do not preach ourselves. We preach the Lord Jesus Christ. We're not eclipsing him. He is the most important one. He's the only superstar. He's the only one who has importance. It's not the preacher because one preacher dies and another is raised up. But Jesus Christ remains forever. He is, Jesus Christ is unchanging. And that's why we follow him. And so they're saying he preaches himself. Now, John the Baptist disciples got jealous when Jesus began to eclipse John. They came to John. They complained about this to him. They said, the one whom you have baptized, he's now baptizing. And more people are coming to him. And they began to be jealous concerning that. And John had to correct them in John 3.27 and 28. John answered and said, a man can receive nothing unless it's been given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness that I said I'm not the Christ. I've been sent before him. And then he went on in John 3.30 to say, he must increase, but I must decrease. So that's the kind of heart that resided in Paul. In 1 Corinthians, in chapter 3, verse 5, he asked the question of the church. He said, who's Paul? Who's Apollo's? But ministers, through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one. What are we? We are your bond servants for Jesus' sake. We aren't your superstars for your servants for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we are. The greatest in the church is in the pastor. The greatest in the church is Jesus Christ because it belongs to him. And what we are are servants. And we need to understand that we've been sent by God to serve. And he's speaking of that. And he says in verse 6, for it is, the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. It is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who's shown in our hearts. I'm going to close with a couple of things here. Spiritual illumination comes from the Father of light. It is his spirit that illuminates our darkened consciences. In Psalm 18, verse 28, the psalmist said, for you will light my lamp. The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. It doesn't come because you sat down at the feet of some Buddhist monk who eventually initiated you by pressing your forehead and you are now enlightened. It came when the Lord shone out of darkness and revealed himself to us. He illuminates us by the power of his Holy Spirit. And it's through this knowledge that comes by the power of the Spirit that we see Jesus and know him to be God in the flesh. In John's Gospel in chapter 14, Jesus is speaking to one of his men, a man named Philip. And he says in verses 7 through 9, if you had known me, you would have known my father also. From now on you know him and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord show us the Father and it's sufficient for us. Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long and yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say show us the Father? If you've seen me, you saw him. How can you say show us the Father when I've been here manifesting him to you? All along. And so it's through the enlightening of the Holy Spirit that you actually see Jesus Christ. And it's this message of the Gospel that we take to people to say your darkened understanding can be enlightened. You can see God. You can have peace with God. You can have the hope of God. You can have the love of God. You can have the forgiveness of God. You can have a relationship with God. You can be completely transformed by God. You be a worshiper of God. This can happen. All the old will be passed away, behold, all things will become new. And that happens through the preaching of the Gospel and the reception by faith of that message and the transformation takes place and we are moved from glory to glory because of it. And that's what Paul is speaking about. He's saying, I don't preach myself. I don't preach myself as some big, big thing. I'm not, because I'm an apostle doesn't mean that I think I'm better than you. I'm a bond servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm a servant. We preach Christ. He's the Savior. And so he says, we have this treasure in earth and vessels. We need to know that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God is revealed in his message. And Paul refers to himself as an earth and vessel. What do you mean when you say we have this treasure in earth and vessels? Well, during that day, the practice of bearing valuables was very common. Israel, when you look at its history, had been attacked many times over the years by a variety of marauders, including major armies. And because of that, families would bury their valuables in order to keep them out of the hand of those who were plundering. So if they were taken captive and if they were freed, they might be able to return one day to retrieve their goods. They would bury it on their land. So he's saying we have this treasure in earth and vessels. So God is the potter, and we are the product of his hands. God has deposited his wealth in us. We've been given the message of the gospel, but the results come from him. First Corinthians 3-7, neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Paul is saying this and a close, we are unworthy, what are we, we're servants. You have infiltrators who have entered into the church, he's saying. False apostles who are undermining the ministry. You don't mind it when they take advantage of you. You actually exalt them. You actually do the things that they say to do. And they speak to you concerning me. I brought you to faith. I'm the one who came to Corinth. I'm the one who planted the church. I'm the one who established the elders. I'm the one who gave you the message of the gospel. No, I'm nothing special. No, I'm not saying that I'm anything other than a servant, a bond servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, you like the eloquence of Apollo, so I don't blame you. And you look at me as being dry, dull, and boring. I don't necessarily blame you for that either, but we're not personality driven here, are we? We want the Word of God, a Word of God that sets free. And so you need to know that I'm not a superstar. You need to know that I am simply carrying a treasure within me, the same treasure you have, a treasure called the glory of God, the message of the gospel that transforms lives. And we've been given the opportunity to come in to preach that. And yet people walk in and they want to influence you and you listen to them. But I want to remind you something, though you may have 10,000 instructors, yet you have but one father. I begot you in the gospel, and I love you with all my heart. That's what he's saying. That's what he's saying. And that's what pastors say. That's what pastors say. Forgive me the emotion. Many never pray for me, but that doesn't mean I don't pray for many. And many may not appreciate the work of a pastor, but that doesn't mean the pastor doesn't appreciate the people. And we all know, and I can speak for my friends and all those I know who are true pastors, we're not in it for fame and we're not in it for finances. God, help me if I preach not the gospel, Paul said, and I can say the same thing. I didn't do it to have a large church. I didn't. I did it so that people would know Jesus. The lives could be changed. They could be blessed by God, forgiven them for giving up their sins so they could put their head on a pillow at night and say, God, you've been good to me. Because that's what he did in my life. Every morning I wake up and I've got my beautiful girl next to me, my wife. And I say to myself, God, you're so good. I see my babies, my sons and my daughters. And I say, oh, God, you've been so good to me. I see my grandchildren who I love with all of my heart. And they call me papa and they love me. And I say, oh, God, you've been so good to me. It wasn't by any work of righteousness which I'd done. According to your mercy, you saved me. And so the work that we do, and I speak on behalf of every true pastor, isn't to be known because I'll be honest with you. All I am is a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm nothing special. You already know that. I'm just saying I understand it too. But I also understand a very small bit of what the Apostle Paul went through. Because every pastor goes through almost everything that Paul has spoken about. If he's a true pastor, the accusations, the condemnations, the criticisms from strangers. I've had people say, oh, how come you wear those shoes? Or why do you have that shirt? You can't believe the pettiness of people who say they love Jesus. And the things that can be said, you shouldn't drive that car. I had a red car. You shouldn't drive that car. Why it's red? Really? What color should I be driving? This is true, true statement. God called me up. You should drive a white car. And I said, really, why is that? Because white is the color of purity. And I said, and red is the color of the blood of Jesus next. I mean, what are you talking about? I'm supposed to dress and go and do what pleases you. I don't think so. If what I do pleases the Lord, then those who love the Lord will be pleased too. And if you're not pleased, take it before the Lord. But if I'm in sin, I'll repent. I will. Because I want to be a pastor. I want to be your pastor. I want to be the one who brings God's word to you. That's what I want. Nothing more and nothing less. Fame doesn't matter. It comes and it goes. The only thing that lasts is whether you know Christ and how he blesses you. And that is my true heart to this church, that you may know Jesus Christ and that you might love him and serve him and that he would bless you and be with you. That's all I care about. Why? Because he cared for me. I love you. And that's how it works. And that's what God has called us to. And my heart goes out to Paul. We've read so far all these accusations. Have you seen how petty they are? They're petty. But this poor man has to address every one of them because infiltrators had come in and said, this is what he's like. He wants to be known. He's peddling the gospel. No. I'm just a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's all I am. That's what Paul said. And guess what? That's all we are too.