Proud
2
Corinthians 11
This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches Jeremiah 9:23
To be proud is to
boast, glory, joy or rejoice
To be happy about
something we have or accomplished
We all boast - the
question is what does our boasting reveal
As important as your
accomplishment and things are
They are weak and
foolish compared to what Christ accomplished
…but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness
on earth,
for in these I delight," declares the LORD. Jeremiah 9:24
Only what Christ does
last forever
What Christ does is
worth boasting, rejoicing, and glorying in
What are you proud of?
Proud
2 Corinthians 11
To be happy about something
we have or accomplished.
As I read 2 Corinthians 11 and listen to Paul
boast about his life, I thought about my life.
Although my list of things I glory in
do not compare to Paul’s, I have a
list of things in my life I am proud of.
In a positive way, pride moves us forward.
Nobody wants to live a life of shame.
We all want to be
proud of our lives.
I am no exception.
I know there are times
I get too excited
about something in my life and talk too
much about it and later I feel foolish.
The Lord lists three thing we
boast about in Jeremiah 9:23…
"Let not the wise man boast of his
wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches.
Wisdom, Strength, and Riches
Paul boasts about all three in 2 Corinthians 11.
As I look at my life, I don’t compare
to Paul, but my list also includes
my wisdom, my strength, my riches.
Even though Paul’s list is greater than mime,
I still glory in the
wisdom strength and riches…
Things I have.
But as I listen to Paul, I come to realize
all the things I glory in, all the things in my
life that make me feel good about myself…
They are foolishness in comparison to want I should
take the greatest joy in, the greatest things to boast about.
Paul says…
“If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”
2 Corinthians
11:30
We get ourselves in trouble when we talk too
much about our accomplishments to others.
We get in trouble when we think
of ourselves in self-accomplishment.
As I examine myself…
Is my pride and
boasting, my joy
and rejoicing in the right place?
God says in Jeremiah 9:24…
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD.
WOW!!!
I should be boasting
in my understanding
of God, especially what He delights in…
Paul said his boasting was foolish.
Paul said despite his great accomplishments which
proved his love for the Corinthians and his dedication
above those who call themselves super apostles…
It is foolishness and weakness in comparison to Christ.
All Paul’s accomplishment…
All my accomplishments…
Are nothing without
Christ!
Christ is the only one…
Who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth
Christ is the only one who can save us
through His strength, wisdom, and riches.
“Lord, don’t let me
get in the way of your saving power.
Thank you for the
strength, wisdom and riches you gave me
But don’t let me brag
on myself, but on Your Glory.
Help me to lift You up
so all people will be drawn unto You.”
The question is…
What
does our boasting reveal?
Only what Christ does…
matters.
Only what Christ does…
lasts
forever.
What Christ does is…
worth
boasting, rejoicing, and glorying in.
Scripture Reading
2 Corinthians 11 NIV
11:1 I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness;
but you are already doing that. 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I
promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure
virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's
cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion
to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the
Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you
received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it
easily enough. 5 But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those
"super-apostles." 6 I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have
knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
7 Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate
you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other
churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. 9 And when I was
with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers
who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a
burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. 10 As surely as the truth
of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of
mine. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12 And I will keep on
doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an
opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen,
masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself
masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his
servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their
actions deserve.
16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do,
then receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting.
17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a
fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.
19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put
up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or
pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we
were too weak for that!
What anyone else dares to boast about — I am speaking as a
fool — I also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they
Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants
of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked
much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and
been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews
the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three
times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked,
I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the
move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from
my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in
the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have
labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and
thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides
everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not
inwardly burn?
30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my
weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised
forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King
Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I
was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his
hands.
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