Let's turn back in our Bibles this morning to 2 Corinthians, as we have been going through this book together, 2 Corinthians chapter 10. If you remember, last week we started to see another problem emerge in this Corinthian church. And just as the Apostle Paul did in his first letter to the Corinthians, which dealt with a lot of problems, a lot of issues, He appeals here in the latter part of 2 Corinthians, he appeals to the church as a whole to deal with this new problem before his next visit, before he arrives and has to deal with it on his own. Now their problem was really a common problem in the early church, and it's really a common problem in every church, in every age, in every time and in every place, when false teachers and false leaders would infiltrate these newly established churches, these young churches just freshly planted by the Apostle Paul, other apostles, perhaps other believers in Christ as well. And these false teachers would try to lead these young churches astray from the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Many of these were self-appointed leaders. Many of them were Jewish, and they were trying to Judaize these new churches. That is, they were trying to get these new churches to really start to live like and look at things from the Old Testament point of view. They thought that was the way to go. Well, it seems like the influence of these false teachers was strong and very real, especially in the Corinthian church, because they were starting to drift. They were starting to drift from the gospel of God's grace into what Paul describes in Galatians, another gospel, which is not enough. You see, if you stray from the gospel of God's grace for salvation, you are in territory that is not good news. Because there is no other way for salvation. You can't be saved apart from God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. It's not about works. It's not about what church you attend. It's not about all of these different things that people try to convince you you have to do in order to be saved, though you might want to do those things after you're saved. but they are not the way to eternal life and so the Corinthians because they were young, because they were enamored by these teachers that were coming, and they sounded good, and they looked good, they seemed like they were having some success. And so they thought, maybe we ought to follow these people. Paul hasn't been here for a number of months or a number of years. Maybe they're right. Well, in the first part of 2 Corinthians 10, verse 7, Paul reveals to us how this could happen. How could they drift away? He asks this question. Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? Now this phrase can be translated in three possible ways. The King James here has it translated as a question, which is appropriate. It can also be translated as simply an assertion, where Paul is saying, you are looking after the outward appearance. There are a few translations that offer this and translate it as a command. I don't think that's probably the best way of looking at this. I believe it's best to see this statement as indictment of what was actually happening to the Corinthian church. So the assertion or the question is probably the best way that this phrase could be translated. You see, the Corinthian church were looking on things after the outward appearance. That's what was driving them in their service and in their worship for the Lord. In other words, the reason that these false teachers were gaining ground in their church was because they were looking at things the way the world looks at things, after the outward appearance. It's a very true but sad thing that a church that looks for entertainment will find an entertainer. It's a pretty sad truth that a church that is looking for things that are flashy and looking for things that will seem to attract to the world will find those kinds of leaders and those kinds of influences. And that's what Paul is guarding against here. This is why those teachers were having such great influence, because these Corinthians were looking after the outward appearance. So it seems like many of these members in that young church were impressed by those false teachers. Perhaps they were still young in the faith. Perhaps they were believers who had never actually seen or heard Paul personally, and so they were easily impressed and easily swayed by these false teachers' stature, they looked the part, by their skills in oratory and their skills in preaching, and even their seeming success. It seemed like everyone was flocking to them, but the way that these Corinthian Christians were looking on things was not the right way. I mean, we already know just by reading that verse that that's not the way Christians are to look at things. In fact, Jesus himself taught in John 7, 24, judge not according to the appearance of things. Not just what you see, not just what you hear. You've got to go deeper, not just the appearance of things. Instead, you are to judge righteous judgment. You see, there's a big difference between the way the Lord looks at things and the way the world looks at things, right? A huge difference. But what about the church? What about you this morning? What about me this morning? How do we look at things? This book is so relevant to us because this is still a problem for us, isn't it? We still, all too often, look on things, according to verse 7, we look on things after the outward appearance. Even in the church, what are we impressed with? We're impressed with big buildings, We're impressed with new technology. We're impressed with music that seems to attract people in, contemporary or otherwise. We're impressed with large numbers. We think that when we see these things or we hear these things, we think God must be really using them, or God must be really blessing them. We think that God must be impressed as well. That's a problem, isn't it? That's a problem for Christians. That's a problem for churches. Because, as we're taught in an Old Testament verse, which probably came to your mind already as we were reading their problem, 1 Samuel 16, 7 says that the Lord seeth not as man seeth. There's a difference. For man looks on the, what? Outward appearance. They haven't changed. Our nature hasn't changed as men, as people, as humans, and so we've got to guard against this common problem. Again, the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looks on the outward appearance, but how does the Lord look? The Lord looketh on the heart. In fact, the Corinthian church needed to learn how to look at things the way the Lord looks at things, especially when it came to the leadership in their church. And so, from verse 7 through verse 11 of this chapter, Paul explains what to look for and what really matters from God's point of view. Not from your point of view, not from the world's perspective, but from God's point of view. Look at verse 7 again. Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ, let him of himself think this again, that as he is Christ, or a Christian, even so we are Christ. We are Christians. For though I would boast, or I should boast, somewhat more of our authority as an apostle of Christ, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed, so that I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. For his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. Let such in one think this, that such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also indeed when we are present. We need to learn from these words as well. We need to stop looking as the Corinthians did, looking on things after the outward appearance and learn to look at things the way the Lord does. And that is on the heart, on the heart. And so how are we to assess people's hearts? Well, I think Paul gives us some pretty clear examples of how to do this. First of all, you need to look at the hearts that are surrendered to Christ. Hearts of surrender to Christ. This is really what we find in the rest of verse 7, when Paul is appealing to this church to look at his own heart and his own relationship with Jesus Christ. Again, verse 7, if any man trusts to himself that he is Christ's, he's talking to the church, Let him of himself think this again, that as he is Christ, as he belongs to Christ, so are we Christ, and we belong to Christ. Now there are some who think that Paul, in this phrase, in this verse, is calling on his critics to think about and consider his walk with Christ, and that might be the case. I think it's better to see that Paul is calling on the church, the church as a whole, to think about and consider his walk with Christ. Because remember the very first part of this verse, what was their problem? The church was looking on the outward appearance. So Paul is calling on us as believers to stop looking at the appearance of things. To go deeper. To look at things the way God looks at them. To look at the heart. And first of all, he says, you need to look at your own heart. You need to ask yourself, does my heart belong to Christ? Am I a genuine believer in Christ? Am I truly saved? Am I truly part of this church that I say I'm a part of? Again, what does he say? If any man trusts to himself, that could also be translated, or is persuaded in himself, in his own heart, in the deep recesses of his heart, if any man is persuaded in himself that he is Christ's. I believe this describes an experience that many of you already have. It's a deep assurance about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Some of you may know the date. Some of you may know the time. Many of you know the circumstances that surrounded when you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation from your sin. And so you can say that you have been persuaded in your heart that you are Christ's. that you belong to Him because you believe in Him, and now you are part of that body of Christ. That is your deep sense, and that is your deep conviction. And if that is true for you, only then are you in the condition to assess the spiritual qualifications of the Church, of other Christians, and even of other spiritual leaders. That's where it must start. Do you realize the reason why many Christians in many churches or professing Christians and professing churches are looking on the outward appearance is because they have never experienced this assurance in their heart. They're not saved. They never have truly come to the point where they believed in Jesus Christ so they could belong to Jesus Christ and then become a part of the body of Jesus Christ. This is where it must start. Because if you are just professing these things and you don't have a possession of these things, it will lead the blind looking for someone to lead them who is also blind. That is the problem for so many so-called churches. That's why Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 3 that the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away your ears or their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. Isn't this something that we see going on in our own country? There are places where people are gathered together and they say they are worshiping God, they say they are a church, and yet what have they done? Whether it was the teachers first or the congregation first, they have brought blind people together so that they can continue to focus on these fables, the Bible says, and to turn their ears away from the truth. This happens because many who are in the church are not truly of the church. That's where it must start. So they look at things the way the world does because they remain both in and of the world. This is one of the reasons why in our church, we must ensure that we truly are believers in Christ. Otherwise, we will be looking for people that will lead us who are blind. So it must begin here. The question is, does your heart belong to Jesus Christ? Can you say that with assurance and conviction? Can you say that I am persuaded in myself that I believe in Christ, that I belong to Christ, that I'm part of the body of Christ? If you can't say that, you can. You can by putting your faith in Christ alone to be your Savior. Romans 10.9 says, If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. And once you have committed that heart to the Lord, once you have that assurance deep settled down in your heart, then you are in a condition to look at the hearts of others. Now the Holy Spirit gives you spiritual sight into what's going on in the church and what's going on in the hearts of others. So first, when you look at your own heart and you realize that you are a Christian, that you are part of His church, now you can look at the hearts of others and you can discern, does their heart belong to Christ? This is why Paul again adds in verse 7, if any man trusts to himself that he is Christ, if you have that deep, settled assurance that you're a Christian, then do this also. Let him of himself, also in your heart, think this again, that as he is Christ, as he belongs to Christ, even so we are Christ's. We belong to Christ's. So he's saying only Christians will be able to assess whether or not someone else is a Christian. Why? It's not because of how powerful we become. We don't have x-ray spiritual vision to be able to see what's going on in people's hearts and lives. Do you realize that this is something that God does with us and for us through the work of the Holy Spirit? It is God himself who will help you see the spiritual nature of your leaders. In Romans 8, 16, it's a verse that we often apply to us personally. But I think it's also a verse that we can apply to us as a body of Christ. Romans 8.16 says that the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And so often we look at that personally. The Spirit Himself bears witness with my spirit that I am a child of God. And that's true. But the pronouns he uses are our, they're plural pronouns. And it's the same Holy Spirit that gives you assurance about your salvation that will also give a true church assurance about what's going on in the hearts and lives of other people. This is one of the reasons why when someone wants to become a member of our church, they meet with myself, they meet with the elders to hear about their testimony of faith. And though someone can say something and mean something totally different, and someone can deceive people, Yet we trust that the Holy Spirit will bear witness with our spirits that we can assess the hearts and the spiritual nature of people's lives. And it only can happen to believers. Unbelievers can't do this. Unbelievers can't understand this. Unbelievers can't assess what's really going on in the hearts and lives of people. But when you are sure that you're a Christian and you have that deep, settled conviction, God can, through His Spirit, give you also that same settled conviction about others within the body of Christ. Only true believers can experience this kind of fellowship. Only true believers can experience this unity of the Spirit because only when you have surrendered your heart to Jesus Christ will you then be able to look into and discern the hearts of others. And when it comes to our church and even to the leaders within our church, we need to look for this kind of heart, a heart of surrender, absolute surrender to Jesus Christ. They need to believe in Jesus Christ. They need to belong to Jesus Christ. They need to be truly part of the body of Christ, but also In verse 8 we see that there's a need to look for hearts of service to Christ. Hearts of service to Christ. Paul continues in verse 8. For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed. Here the apostle Paul explains that no matter what the false teachers, no matter what the false leaders were saying about him, He really has been given special authority from God as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Now, what is an apostle? Well, we know that there were 12 apostles that Jesus called and then sent forth. That's really what apostle means, someone that has been sent forth under the authority of Jesus Christ, with the authority of Jesus Christ. There are not apostles today. The apostles back then were given the authority to teach the Word of God. And so, the epistles that we have, the New Testament that we have, the majority of it were written by apostles, under the authority and inspiration of God, so that we would know the mind of Christ. So that we won't have to doubt what God wants us to do as Christians, as a church. And so Paul here says, though I should boast somewhat more of our authority. See, Paul was aware of this authority. We all know the story when he was on the road to Damascus and God got his attention with that great shining light and blinded him right there on the spot. He converted Paul to faith in Jesus Christ. And then Jesus said, I have a plan for you, Paul. I'm going to send you all throughout the world to testify of what I have done for you. You used to be a persecutor of a church. Now you are going to be the proclaimer of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it was a complete change in his life. He was turned upside down and went all throughout the world with this authority, with this apostleship. And so he says, I'm not ashamed of what God has given me. I'm not ashamed of the ministry or the authority that God has given to me. But even though he was aware of this, even though he was not ashamed of his authority, look at how he saw his authority. Paul's apostolic authority was a special gift from the Lord. Again, he says, for though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, It was an authority which the Lord hath given us. This is one of the great differences between Paul, a true apostle, and those false leaders, those false teachers, even those that were false apostles. They were claiming authority, and yet they had none. This was the difference. Paul knew that any authority he had was given to him. Any authority he had, he received. It was not self-assumed, like the false teachers. It was not something inherited because he was a Jew. It wasn't even something he earned. It was a gift of God's grace to him. And so, when Paul would say, I boast about the authority that God has given to me, it really wasn't a boast about himself, but rather about God and His grace. Now, the truth is, we may not have been given apostolic authority, but each one of us has been given spiritual gifts. And those gifts are gifts of God's grace to us. And we ought to express our gratitude to Him for those gifts, just like Paul. And we can take pride in some of those gifts that God has given to us. Not because of how God looked down and said, oh, if I give him that gift, oh, just imagine what he's going to do with it. No. I didn't earn it. I didn't inherit it. It was something that God gave me by His grace. Without Him, without it, I would be absolutely nothing. And so to praise God's gift is to praise God himself. In fact, Paul never got over the fact that Jesus Christ saved him and then sent him to be his apostle. You don't need to turn there, but in 1 Corinthians 15, 8, Paul said that, last of all, he was seen of me. As of one born out of due time, I am the least of the apostles. Now when we think of the apostle, we think of Peter and James and John, and we think of these other ones. Yet Paul sticks out to us, right? He seems to be the most prominent apostle because we have so much of the Word of God written by him. And yet Paul, in humility and in gratitude for God's grace, says quite simply, I am the least of the apostles. In fact, I am not even meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God. Can you imagine him writing that with tears streaming down his face? He never got over the grace of God to him for giving him the gift of salvation, and the gift of service, and the gift of the opportunity to go out and share the gospel, and even this gift of authority. And then Paul says, it's by the grace of God that I am what I am. By His grace and nothing else. So whenever Paul would boast about his authority, he was really boasting about the Lord and His amazing grace to him. And that's how we ought to see the gifts that God gives to us. It is a gift of grace to God be the glory of great things he hath done. So then how did Paul use this gift? Paul's authority and this gift of authority had a special goal. And we see this again in verse 8. It was to serve. It was to build up the church. The last part of verse 8 says, which the Lord hath given us for what? Edification. That word advocation simply means to build up. It wasn't for your destruction, he says. Now the false leaders use their authority to build up themselves, to build up a following, to become more powerful and influential and for them to be served. And isn't this the way we see the world work? This is politics as usual. This is what we find in every government, not just in the United States, but every government that there is in this entire world, whether it is a republic or a democracy, whether it is a dictatorship. But every politician has that same goal. They want to get in power so that they can show their influence. Paul said, no, the authority that God gave me through Christ is an authority that I'm here to use to serve. It turns the world upside down. We saw in the video this morning that the kingdom of God is an upside down kingdom. Jesus himself said, I didn't come to be ministered unto, but rather to minister. I didn't come to be served, but rather to serve. And Paul says, that's the authority that I have. I am here not to build myself up, not to become more powerful and influential and to be served. True Christian leaders like Paul use their authority to build up the church and to serve the church. And this is a reflection of Christ's own heart. So when it comes to our church, and even to our own hearts. We need to look for this kind of heart, a heart of service to Christ. I love what Paul writes in Ephesians chapter 4 because he explains some of the gifts that God has given to his church and why he gave them. Ephesians 4 11, he gave some apostles like Paul. He gave some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. Why? So that they could make a name for themselves. so they could build a huge building where all the world would be impressed with what God is doing through them? Was it so that they would come and to have a following and to be served and to have all the nicest things, the nicest clothes, the nicest house, the nicest jet, the nicest car? No, it was for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, ultimately for the edifying of the body of Christ in order to bring brick after brick after brick and to build this body of Christ into one thing that will glorify God into eternity. This is the kind of heart that we ought to be looking for in leaders and in each other, a heart of service. But we also need to look for a different kind of heart in verse 9, and that is a heart of sympathy like Christ's. Paul then says, even though I have this authority by Christ, it is that I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. You see, the false leaders in Corinth were trying to turn the church against the Apostle Paul by influencing them to think that Paul was mean-spirited and harsh and doing everything according to the flesh. In fact, that was one of their accusations in verse 2. If you remember, Paul says, I beseech you that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some who think of us, who think of me as if I walked according to the flesh. They were thinking of Paul, what in fact was their true heart. Paul says, No, I want to reassure you. I have no such intention. I have no such design. Instead, everything I am saying, everything I'm writing and everything that I'm doing, I'm striving to do in verse one by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Remember that? That is a heart of sympathy and compassion like Jesus Christ. Paul's heart was not a terrifying heart, as he was accused of having. It was a tender heart. A tender heart. He was writing and teaching and praying only for one goal, and that was to edify the church for the glory of Christ. You see, he knew that only what is broken ever needs to be built up. And he understood that these Corinthians still had so much in their lives that were broken. He sought to be tender toward them, just like Christ. In Isaiah 42, verse 3, it says of Jesus that a bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench. Isn't that how Jesus Christ ministered when he was here in this world? Jesus himself said, I didn't come to call the righteous, the ones who didn't think they needed any help. I came to call the sinners, those who are broken. In fact, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the poor Spirit for theirs is the kingdom. The only reason that you would ever want someone to build you up is if you already know that you're broken. And so Paul is he's going to these churches and he is sharing the gospel. What is that gospel doing? It's breaking down all of the things that had been built up in their sinful hearts. It's breaking down the fortress of their sin. And now he comes and builds them up with the gospel as well. Don't we get a sense of the sympathy of Christ also when he was in the process of restoring Peter, even after Peter denied Jesus three times? Three times. In John 21, Jesus says to Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, yea, Lord, and you know that I love you. And Jesus said, feed my lambs. At that stage in Peter's life, impetuous Peter, the one who would say, Jesus, call me out on the water and I'll walk to you. At that stage in life, he was a broken reed. He was a smoldering flax. He was like that candle that you have that has just a little bit of wick left. And you don't have a full flame. You don't even have half a flame. You just have that little ember, that smolder. That's where Peter was. He knew he'd failed Christ. He knew that he had denied Christ three times. And what does Jesus do? He comes to him and says, Peter, I know that you're broken. I know that you're sorrowful. I know that you are that smoldering flax. And what I'm going to do instead of snuffing it out, throwing you away and getting another candle, I'm going to fan that flame. I might have to cut that wick a little bit, but I'm going to fan that flame and get that flame going again. Why? Because that is the kind of sympathy and compassion of Jesus. This is something that we considered even in Sunday school this morning, the compassion of Christ for people. And Paul says, that's why I have this authority. It's not to continue to stamp you down and destroy you and wreck your life. No, it's to let the gospel bring you to the point where you are poor in spirit so that now you can be edified with the gospel, so that you can grow in His grace and knowledge. And when it comes to our church, we need this kind of heart as well, a heart of sympathy like Christ. But even further, in verses 10 and 11, a heart of sincerity to Christ. Don't just look on the outward appearance. Look for this kind of heart, a heart of sincerity to Christ. We read again in verse 10, this accusation against Paul for his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible should be ignored. And then Paul concludes our text with this verse 11. Let such in one think this, the person that thinks that My letters are weighty and powerful. The person that thinks that my bodily presence is weak, let the person that thinks that my speech is contemptible, let such in one think this instead, that such as we are in word by letters when we're absent, such will we be also indeed when we are present. Again, in verse 10, we discover these primary accusations against Paul. They were trying to slander Paul. They were trying to undermine his ministry, and they tried to get the Corinthians to question him. And this is something that we need to be aware of. It may not be people that we bring into this church, but it might be people that you hear on the radio, people that you read on the internet, things that you hear on Facebook. They might try to sow questions in your mind, to sow seeds of discord, so that you would distrust those true leaders who have the heart of Christ. So they would ask these Corinthian believers, what are you learning about from the letters of Paul? What are you learning about? They are, according to verse 10, they would say, weighty and powerful. That is, they are too hard to understand. They are weighty, they're full of doctrine. It's something that's hard to understand, but also, his writing is way too harsh. He tells these Corinthians, you know what, he really is trying to snuff you out. He's really not trying to help you out. Remember, this is their accusation. This is their slander. And so instead, they're implying to this young Corinthian church, instead of learning from Paul, you need to learn from us. Listen to our teaching. Our teaching is much easier to understand. His doctrine is too heavy. Our doctrine is much more useful and practical and relevant. You don't need to learn from him. And another question they would ask is, what are you looking at when you see Paul? In verse 10, they would accuse that his bodily presence is weak. Now, it's possible that they were mocking and demeaning even how Paul looked. There's an ancient story used to discredit the Apostle Paul. This particular story was one by false teachers. And they described Paul in this way, that he was a man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, with eyebrows meeting in the middle, and a nose that was somewhat hooked. What were they focused on? The outward appearance. And so they were trying to get these Corinthians and others. You know, when you see Paul, there's not much to him. He's just a little guy. Now, granted, he must have been a strong man to endure what he endured. I mean, he went through a shipwreck, so maybe not telling the truth or the whole truth about Paul, he might have been short. He might have been bald. He might have had a crooked nose. He might not have been a whole lot to look at, but he wasn't there to impress. He was there to preach the gospel. But what were they implying by asking this? Well, instead of looking at Paul, you need to look at us. Our presence is impressive. We're strong. We have all the latest and greatest techniques and all the latest and greatest technology. We're the ones that you ought to listen to. We're the ones that you ought to look at. In other words, to win the world, we need to be attractive to the world with all the latest and greatest. Not like Paul. Maybe they were saying Paul's too old. Paul's too old-fashioned. Look at us instead. They would even ask in verse 10, what are you listening to when you hear Paul speak? His speech is contemptible. It doesn't seem all that fancy. It doesn't seem all that flowery. His words aren't all that memorable. It's so easy to ignore what Paul has to say and implying, they would say, you need to listen to us because what we say and how we say it is meant to impress. And they might have had great oratorical skills and said, Paul can't speak like we can speak. Once again, Wasn't Paul in Athens, right there on Mars Hill? And he was preaching the gospel among those philosophers with the best of them. So I don't think they were telling the truth about Paul, but there might have been some in Corinth that hadn't seen Paul, hadn't heard about Paul or his words. But if the church continued to look on things after the outward appearance, these false leaders would seem to be right. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 2, Paul knew all this about himself as well. Listen to how he saw himself. 1 Corinthians 2, 3, I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom. It wasn't like those false teachers that are pretty impressive with what they wear and how they speak and how they approach you. But Paul said, that's okay. because I came to you in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." That was the goal of Paul. It was to edify the church through the gospel of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Spirit and the power of the Word of God. It wasn't about how he impressed others. And so in verse 11 we read about the answer of Paul. He says, let such a one think this. If you think about my doctrine, that it's hard and weighty, if you think that I'm not much to look at or not much to listen to, let such a one think this, that such as we are in word by letters when we're absent, such will we be also indeed when we are present. If you are one who is impressed by the outward appearance, you need to learn to look to the heart. because a sincere heart, one that is clear and consistent and faithful, like Paul had, is the right kind of heart. Now this verse could actually be looked at two ways. He could say, you know what? As I write, that's how I speak. As I write, that's how I am before you. I'm consistent, I'm faithful. What they're saying to you is a lie, but it could also be put as a warning, once again, toward his critics. If you think that he's harsh in his letter, wait till he comes and uses the authority that God had given to him to get those wolves away from the sheep. See, Jesus Christ himself, even though he was meek, was not weak. There was a time when he cast out those money changers out of the temple, and maybe this was the time and the place where Paul would have to do the same to guard the flock of Jesus Christ. You see, when it comes to our church, we need to look for this kind of heart as well, a heart of sincerity to Christ. But unfortunately, Paul's indictment of the Corinthian church can still be applied to many of us today. All the way back in verse 7. Do you look on things after the outward appearance? They were. Are you? Do you look on things after the outward appearance? Are you being impressed by and influenced by what is on the outside instead of what is on the inside? Do you realize these verses do not just apply to the leaders of our churches, but to all of us? Paul was telling the church, these are the kind of leaders that you need to look for with these kinds of hearts. But it really does apply to all of us in some way, because all of you are leaders in some capacity in the world in which you live. You are a leader at home. If you're a husband or a wife or a father or a mother. You have leadership and authority that God has given to you. And so you need to have this same kind of heart. It applies to you at work. Some of you have leadership responsibilities where you are employed. All of us should be leaders in our community and in our neighborhoods. Leaders that lead people to the Lord Jesus Christ. So is this the kind of heart that you have as well? a heart of surrender, true surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ as a believer in Christ, as belonging to Christ, as part of the body of Christ, a heart of full surrender, a heart of service, a heart of sympathy like Christ, a heart of sincerity, seeking to be faithful to Christ no matter what. Ultimately, this kind of heart is the heart of Christ, isn't it? His heart was surrendered to the will of his Father. His heart was completely in service for God and for his people. His heart was part of sympathy and compassion and love and tenderness. His heart was always sincere. And that is the kind of heart that we need to have as his people. What kind of heart can be seen in you today? Let's close in prayer. Our gracious Heavenly Father, I thank you that through this inspired account of Paul, challenging those who were criticizing his ministry as an apostle of Jesus Christ. It shows to us the kind of heart that real leaders and real believers ought to have. And so, Father, I pray that you'll help us to recognize that this is a common problem, a common problem that was addressed in the Old Testament as well as in the New. It was addressed in the early church as well as in our church. Man looks on the outward appearance. And so, Father, when we look on the outward appearance, we're going to be led astray. We're going to be looking for things that are flashy. We're going to be looking for things that impress. We're going to be looking for people that will draw a crowd. And yet, ultimately, Lord, we know that it's the heart that you look after. It's the heart that you know. And so first and foremost, Lord, I pray that you will put your finger upon each one of our own hearts to see if this is the nature of our heart as a child of God. Are we fully surrendered to you? Do we have a heart of service and sympathy to Christ? Do we have a heart that is sincere, seeking to be faithful in every aspect of our life? Oh, Father, those are the kind of hearts that you see, and those are the kind of hearts that you can use. So, Father, I pray that you will first of all show us the kind of heart that we have, and then I pray, Father, that you'll give us discernment as we look at the hearts of others. Lord, when we need new leaders in our church or when we are seeing people want to become new members of our church, or when we are watching videos or reading articles that we, Lord, will be able to, through your spirit, understand the hearts of these people. Because it's so easy to be led astray by those outward appearances, whether they are words or actions. It's so easy for us to get caught up in those things. And yet, Father, we are warned once again to judge not according to appearance. So, Father, I pray that you will guard our hearts. But then, Lord, change our hearts. Change our hearts as we've been going through the Gospels the last several weeks. I pray that our hearts will soon reflect even more and more the heart of our Savior and that, Father, we will be the leaders that you've called us to be wherever you've placed us in our families, in our church, in our workplace, in our community, in our neighborhoods, wherever we are. May we be these kinds of leaders with this kind of heart, a heart that reflects on Jesus, And ultimately, Lord, we'll lead people to Jesus. And we ask these things in his name and for his sake. Amen.