Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 105

April 14;   2 Corinthians 11:28;   160/260(I);   ‘The Heart of Paul’

2 Corinthians 11:28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of how the churches are getting along.     NLT

The Apostle Paul in verses 22-27 of this chapter lists all of the things that have happened to him because of his faithfulness in the ministry.  Paul is not boasting, nor is he complaining, he is just stating facts.  We need to know that there will be challenges in the ministry even when you are in the perfect will of God.  The devil did everything he could to stop Paul and he will do everything he can to stop you from fulfilling what the Lord has called you to do.  But just like Paul, you do not have to let the devil stop you.  His dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ and the ministry he had been called to is astonishing.  Nothing could stop him from fulfilling his calling.  In 2 Timothy 4:6-8, as Paul realized, the time had come for him to be martyred.  Paul was fine with this and again, not boasting, simply stated that he had finished the ministry he was called to.  What an example to all of us.  The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write this as a goal every one of us can have.  In I Corinthians 11:1 Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit teaches us to imitate him as he imitates Jesus.  Based on his life, he surely had every right to say this.  Verse 28 reveals the heart of Paul.  Hardships and persecutions were always there, he accepted that.  What was of great concern to Paul was how the congregations in the churches he founded and ministered to were doing.  He knew unscrupulous and deceiving ‘so called’ ministers would try to take advantage of the Christians in those churches and he prayed for them.  Many believe Paul’s ministry had the greatest impact on this world, except for Jesus.  It’s hard to argue that.