Message Notes and Group Study Guide
Date: January 6-7, 2023
Speaker: Dr. Kurt Bjorklund
Series: Virtue or Vice
Message: #1 - Boasting
Scripture
1 By the humility and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” toward you when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
7 You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. 8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.” 11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.
12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. 14 We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, 16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. 17 But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. —2 Corinthians 10:1-18 (NIV)
23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, 24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. —Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NIV)
Notes
- What is the problem with boasting?
a. You will never be fully
b. Your pursuit of your boast may
C.S. Lewis - “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man… It is the comparison that makes you proud, the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.”
c. You will be elevating a good thing to an
- How do we boast in the Lord?
a. Prioritize the
b. Change the
Phillip Keller - “It’s the very nature of things we soon discover in life that in order to be loved either in a physical or filial dimension we must show ourselves lovable. Somehow we have to demonstrate to others that we are worth loving. We have to prove that we are worthy of their love. And, sad to say, in most cases, the moment we fail to do this we discover that we are being cut off… Now, amazing as it may sound, and incredible as it may seem, there is none of this in the love of God. The simple truth is that His love for me does not in any way depend on my worthiness of it. In other words, I do not have to merit His love. I do not, so to speak, have to earn His love. Scripture repeats this theme again and again. For example, in that most poignant of all the stories told by Jesus, the account of the prodigal son, we see clearly portrayed for us what the love of God is like. No doubt the dear old man had died a thousand deaths after his son’s departure. Yet his attitude of devotion, affection, and utter selflessness never altered. It mattered not what happened to himself as long as his son could be restored and redeemed and remade. His care and concern for this one’s welfare never abated. This is the love of God.”
François Fénelon - “When the occasion for you to do something great comes, it has its own rewards: the excitement, the respect gained from others, and the pride that will accompany your ability to do such “great” things. To do small things that are right continually, without being noticed, is much more important. These small acts attack your pride, your laziness, your self-centeredness, and your oversensitive nature. It is much more appealing to make great sacrifices to God, however hard they might be, so that you might do whatever you want with the small decisions of life. Faithfulness in the little things better proves your true love for God. It is the slow, plodding path rather than a passing fit of enthusiasm that matters.”
c. Change the
Study Guide
Step One: Icebreaker (Optional)
What was the last thing you boasted about? If you cannot remember, what do you tend to boast about?
Step Two: Open
Ask someone in your group to pray to open your time together. Ask another person to read 2 Corinthians 10:1-18.
Step Three: Discuss
1. What stood out to you the most in this weekend’s teaching? What was challenging, encouraging, or confusing to you?
2. How is the way Christ is described in verse 1 different from the most powerful people?
3. What did Paul mean that he was ‘timid’ when face to face, but ‘bold’ when away (verse 2)?
4. What does it look like to ‘take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’? Give an example.
5. What does the passage say about comparing ourselves to others? Why is comparing ourselves to others unhealthy?
6. What does it mean to ‘boast in the Lord’? How can you genuinely do this?
Step Four: Close in Prayer
Ask someone in your group to close in prayer.