Sunday, March 21, 2021
2 Cor. 12:1-10 NIV “I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Now, Paul was in pain.
He was afflicted.
Something had come upon him that was a messenger of Satan.
He was so vexed by whatever it was that he cried out in prayer three times for God to remove it.
But rather than remove it, God chose to overrule Satan’s wicked intent and use it for greater growth in Paul’s life.
Like Joseph of old, what the enemy meant for evil, God used for the good.
God’s word to Paul was, “My grace is sufficient…”
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Now, grace is undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor and blessing.
Because He loves us, God CHOOSES to extend His blessings our way.
Grace is all of Him and none of us.
The Bible teaches that Grace is the golden thread God weaves throughout our life…
It is there in the beginning of our Christian walk, in the middle, and at the end.
We are saved by Grace,
Kept throughout life by Grace,
Taken to heaven by Grace,
And throughout eternity, “We’ve no less days to sing His praise than when we’ve first begun.”
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Paul attributed everything he had accomplished and all that he had become as a mighty Apostle to God’s grace:
“By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Cor. 15:10 NIV).
He wrote that it is God’s grace that sends provision our way:
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;” (2 Cor. 9:8 NKJV)
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Now, Jesus told Paul that God’s grace was SUFFICIENT for his trials, and that it would uphold and sustain him in his pain.
The English word “sufficient” just means “enough.”
But the Greek word is stronger, it means—”To be content, to raise a barrier, to experience unfailing strength.”
In other words, God’s grace is so ENOUGH that I can experience contentment even in my trial!
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Now, this word from Jesus to Paul was not in any way condescending, insensitive, or demeaning.
He wasn’t telling Paul, “Grow up.”
Or, “Quit whining.”
Or, “Paul, chin up, you’ll understand it better by and by.”
NO—He was telling him, “My grace will sustain you, hold you up, raise a barrier of protection for you, and will inject inner strength into your inner man so that you are fully able to carry on!”
Jesus said, “Paul, through My grace, I’m standing with you in this situation.”
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Now, in this fallen world we all experience pain on some level on a fairly regular basis.
Everything from a headache, to muscle aches, to a cold or flu, to battling with more serious diseases like cancer, heart disease, and so on—this world is a world of warfare and struggle!
And if it’s not physical pain, there is emotional, psychological pain.
From depression, to worry, to heartbreak, to insecurities, to woundings from the past where someone betrayed, abused, or hurt us.
And like Paul, we want God to take away our pain—we want to be healed.
And sometimes we ARE healed through a miracle touch of His grace.
But other times, the same message God gave Paul in his pain comes to us as well—“My grace is sufficient for you!”
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Today, some of you are experiencing pain that has caused you to cry out to God for healing and deliverance.
And as of today, that hasn’t come.
But I want to assure you for a fact there is a message in your pain—“My grace is sufficient for you.”
“As your days, so shall your strength be” because of God’s sustaining grace.
So, let’s look at three things His grace is extending to you RIGHT NOW!
Strength in your weakness
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in your weakness” (12:9).
Power is the Greek word dunamis, meaning—“ability to perform.”
In other words, God will give you the power, even in your weakness, that is supernatural!
When your strength steps out, His strength steps in!
And Jesus told Paul that it steps in PERFECTLY!
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The second thing God’s grace will do is:
II. Teach us to lean
There’s an old song that is simple but beautiful:
Learning to lean
Learning to lean
I’m learning to lean on Jesus
Finding more power than I’d ever dreamed
I’m learning to lean on Jesus
You see, God’s grace teaches us that we really can do very little in life on our own.
The world says, “You’ve got it goin’ on girl.
You can do anything you set your mind on young man.
Be positive because positivity always wins!
We can change our lives.
We can do, have, and be exactly what we wish.”
But in many ways that’s not true!
You can’t deliver yourself from sin’s power.
You can’t enter heaven on positivity.
You can’t pay off your sin debt.
You can’t bring forth spiritual fruit without Jesus!
In fact, Jesus said, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NLT).
So Paul learned to lean, not on his own strength, but on God’s grace:
“I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
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Finally, grace:
III. Will turn pain to gain
Paul said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”
The pain of my weakness ends up being the doorway for my greatest strength through God’s grace!
Most of us know Romans 8:28, which says:
“And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Ro. 8:28 NLT).
How does God do this? By GRACE!
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So the message in our pain is God’s grace!
And it brings:
Strength in our weakness
Teaches us to lean on Him, and
Turns pain into gain