A church that embraces weakness

It's 2 Corinthians 11, verse 30, and we go on to 12, chapter 12 and verse 10.

2 Corinthians 11:30

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.

In Damascus, the governor under King Arthas had the city of Damascus gathered in order to arrest me,

but I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

I must go on boasting.

Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.

I know a man in Christ who 14 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.

And I know that this man, whether in the body or part from the body, I do not know, but God knows,

was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.

I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself except about my weaknesses.

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,

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.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

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.

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.

Thanks, Lucia. That's great.

I don't know whether you saw in the news this week the Lionesses returning to the UK after losing the Women's World Cup final.

Did you see that?

They came back to the airport, and a small group of people were there to greet them,

but they didn't get to see any of them because they skulked out of a back exit of the airport,

so that they didn't have to meet the crowds.

It's not really hard, I suppose, to see why they did it, is it?

If they'd won, of course, they would have walked through the airport holding the trophy high,

and everyone would have been cheering and celebrating.

But they didn't win.

They lost.

And while we love success, we hate weakness, don't we, and failure.

We're embarrassed for losers.

And it's not just the England women's football team, either, is it?

It works for us personally, too, doesn't it?

You know, I am very proud of the A that I got in A-level general studies.

I'm happy to talk to you about it, that general studies is a proper A-level, even if you don't think so.

And I am slightly embarrassed of the grade that I got in my geography, and I will avoid talking to you about that.

Or I will happily tell you that I passed my driving test on the very first attempt,

but I won't tell you that I've never passed a single music exam.

I'll tell you that I played cricket for the school and be very proud about that,

but I will not tell you that on one trial for another sport,

I was told, Palferman, you'll be never good enough to play for us.

I'm happy to post beautiful photos of my family on social media,

but I won't share that we don't always get on,

and that sometimes voices are raised, doors slam, tempers frayed,

and that's not everybody else in the family, that's just me.

You see, the point is, isn't it, we love strength and we hate weakness.

And in church life, it's just exactly the same as that.

So in Corinth, they loved a group called the Super Apostles.

These guys were the impressive public speakers.

These were the ones who would have had a blue tick on their Instagram account

and monetized YouTube channels.

They had nice clothes, they had funny stories,

they had big crowds every time they preached.

They were always talking about how impressive their Christian lives were,

how amazing their spiritual experiences were.

They were talking about the blessings that had come their way,

the good life that was theirs because Christ loves a winner,

and they despised Paul.

They pitied him, really.

Paul was apparently unimpressive physically.

He was probably short.

He didn't wear fine clothes.

He never took money.

They loved speakers who took money from them,

which I know is weird to us,

but it was a sign then that the speaker was important if he took your money,

and Paul always refused to take money.

He didn't speak in the rhetoric that the Greeks loved so much,

and while he wrote impressive letters,

the word was that in person he was a lot more disappointing than his letters.

But here's our point for this morning.

What we'll find in 2 Corinthians chapter 12

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

is that the Corinthians were wrong to think in that way about Paul.

They were wrong because the big truth of the universe

is not that God loves success in the way that we do,

but it's this, that weakness, not strength,

is the qualification for Christ's power.

Weakness, not strength, is the qualification for Christ's power.

In other words, our thinking on this is completely upside down.

It's back to front.

Amazing stories about spiritual experiences,

huge followings, World Cup trophies, lots of money,

even an A grade in general studies,

are neither essential signs of God's blessing

nor qualifications for God's blessing.

Instead, what we find is that it's an awareness of our weakness,

our unworthiness, our failures,

that is a sign of God's blessing and a qualification for it.

Now, let me try and show you that from the passage if I can.

So look down in your Bibles, chapter 11, verse 30.

What does Paul start with?

He says, if I must boast, he says,

listen, if I'm going to engage in the kind of language

that the super apostles are so engaged with,

if I'm going to join in with the boasting,

I will boast, he says, of things that show my weakness.

He says, turning it on its head,

boasting not in strength but in weaknesses.

And he immediately gives us an example.

Look down at verse 32.

In Damascus, the governor under King Aratas

had the city of the Damasians guarded in order to arrest me,

but I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall

and slipped through his hands.

Here he goes, I'm going to boast for you.

Let me tell you of a great spiritual experience I've had.

I ran away, he said.

I was so scared, I ran away.

It's a sign of weakness, isn't it?

I was hidden in a basket, dropped from the wall and legged it.

That doesn't sound impressive, does it?

But that's my point, says Paul.

Let me tell you about my weakness, he says.

Then in chapter 12, he carries on.

But now he talks as if he's talking about somebody else, doesn't he?

He is really talking about himself here,

but he talks in the third person about himself

to make this same point about boasting.

See, it's not that Paul hasn't had great spiritual experiences.

He has had them, he's just not talking about them.

See, he says that he knows a man who was, which was him,

caught up into the third heaven, verse 2.

The third heaven being where God is.

The first heaven being the atmosphere,

the second being space, and the third where God dwells.

Not that Paul's teaching science, it's just a turn of phrase.

But the point is, says Paul,

I've had some incredible spiritual experiences,

but I'm not going to boast about them.

In fact, I won't even speak about them.

I may not tell them, verse 4.

Instead, when I tell them,

I'm going to tell you them in the third person,

just to make this point.

Because if I'm going to talk in the first person,

verse 5, I'm going to boast about my weakness.

And why does he do that?

Well, because, verse 6,

even though these stories of great experiences are true,

still, verse 6, what do you say?

I refrain so that no one will think more of me

than is warranted by what I do or say.

It's just worth pausing on that, isn't it?

Just to make sure we know what Paul is saying.

I refrain so that no one will think more of me

than is warranted by what I do or say.

Paul is really concerned here, isn't he?

That his reputation amongst the Corinthians

is based on his words and his actions.

Not an impression of him that they've had

from the stories that he tells

about experiences that he's had,

whether they have no idea whether those are true or not.

If Paul were writing today, he'd say,

listen, I want you to know the real me.

I want you to know the real me.

Not the Instagram me, but the real me.

I want you to know me not by a projection

that I've put out there

of what I'd like you to think about me,

not by a bunch of edited photos

of a tidy flat or a sunset holiday

or a zen moment in a caravan by a Swiss mountain.

No, I want you to know me

by what I actually say and do.

My life is not the fake life of an influencer,

the half million followers,

L'Oreal sponsored super apostle.

That's not me.

I'm real, says Paul, not fake.

Look at what I've done.

Listen to what I say.

I'm not interested in projecting

an impression outside of my words and actions.

Now, let me just say here in passing,

our world is crying out for that kind of honesty, isn't it?

We are, I think, becoming more and more fed up

with the fake and the pretend.

You know, the celebrity who pretends

to be happily married whilst it turns out

paying to have sex with somebody else.

It makes us all the more cynical all the time.

And Paul says, listen, that's not me.

You know, if you want to know my weaknesses,

says Paul, you want to know about my weaknesses?

Just listen to me because I'll tell you them.

You want to know what I'm like?

I'll tell you.

You want to know what I do?

Watch me.

You'll see it.

If you look down again at the passage,

you'll see that this realness of Paul,

if you like, is not something

that he's just arrived at himself.

It has, in a sense, been imposed on him by God.

Probably better to say taught to him by God.

Look at verse seven.

Let me read verses seven and eight to you again.

Paul writes this,

therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited,

conceited, literally, I guess,

it would be kind of boasting

in the way the super apostles boast.

Therefore, in order to keep me

from becoming conceited,

I was given a thorn in my flesh,

a messenger of Satan to torment me.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord

to take it away from me.

Now, we have no idea, really,

what this thorn in the flesh was for Paul.

It could have been a physical illness.

It might even have been a difficult relationship,

perhaps even a difficult relationship

with the Corinthian church themselves.

But what we do know is that it is something wicked

and difficult, a thorn that's a messenger of Satan,

tormenting him, he says.

So much so that he's longed to get rid of it

and has prayed, and not just prayed,

but pleaded with the Lord to take it away.

But God says no.

God says no.

Which means, and I think this blows the categories

of lots of people's understanding

of the Christian life.

It means, doesn't it, that Paul has been

deliberately made weak by God.

God intends Paul to be weak,

allowing Satan to torment him with a thorn.

And why?

Why would God do such a thing to his servant?

Is God cruel?

Does he love hurting people?

Well, no.

Instead, it's so that Paul might understand

and know the truth of Jesus' words in verse nine,

when Jesus says,

my grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness.

In other words, known, felt, expressed,

even tormenting weakness,

is the canvas for God's power, for Christ's power.

It's the foundation of Christ's work in Paul's life.

So much so that Paul concludes in verse nine,

therefore, I will boast all the more gladly

about my weaknesses,

so that Christ's power may rest on me.

That is why, for Christ's sake,

literally, I delight in,

I think the ESV puts, I'm content with.

It's not just I put up with.

It's actually I am happy with.

I am delighting in weaknesses,

in insults, in hardships,

in persecutions, in difficulties,

for when I am weak, then I am strong.

See, here's our point for this morning.

Weakness, not strength,

is the qualification for Christ's power.

And because that's true,

God will even allow Satan

to attack his servants,

to weaken them,

so that he can teach it to them,

and they can experience this power.

This is how one commentary

summarizes this passage.

It says this,

some people tell us

that as Christians,

we have a right to be healed,

and that if we're sick and not healed,

there must be something

spiritually wrong with us.

It is not so.

There is an expectation of suffering

in the Christian life.

Of course, we pray for relief,

but if our prayers are persistently declined,

then we must eventually conclude

that God is saying to us,

you are more useful to me

with suffering than without it.

Now, I want to come on

and say some things

about how this applies to us

as a church,

but before I do that,

I want to try and be

a good pastor this morning to you

if you're suffering.

I know that for a number of you here,

and especially for those,

I guess, following on Zoom

who are stuck at home this morning,

life is particularly tough.

I was talking to one church member this week

who was just telling me

of persistent, unexplained,

physical pain,

a real thorn in the flesh.

Now, listen,

nothing in this passage this morning

is trying to minimize

the reality of that pain.

This isn't victory Christianity,

you know,

where we pretend that nothing hurts.

You know,

oh, I've lost an arm.

Praise the Lord,

I've got another one.

Oh, I've lost that too.

Praise the Lord,

I've got two legs.

No, it's not that, is it?

No, thorns here are satanic tormentors,

right?

They are painful and hard and difficult,

and the pain is real,

and it's to be expressed.

Rather, here, I think,

is the point

that as well as looking for relief

from the suffering,

we do look for relief,

don't we,

from our suffering.

That's natural,

and we should do it.

We look for relief from our suffering,

but God may or may not grant us

the relief that we look for.

What we should also look for

at the same time

is for grace in the suffering

and power to face the suffering.

And we know, don't we,

that God will provide us with that.

In other words,

it's often in our moments

of greatest pain

that we know most clearly

the love and power of Christ.

It's when others betray us

and let us down

that we know most clearly

the faithfulness

of the Lord Jesus.

It's at moments

of great weakness

when we rely most heavily

on God's grace,

which makes us stronger

than we ever were

without the suffering.

You know,

you might be suffering

this morning

in whatever way

that might be.

It might be physically,

it might be emotionally,

it might just be

a circumstance in your life.

Listen, don't be afraid

to join Paul

in crying out to God

and pleading with him,

please take this away from me.

But know that God's purpose

is not always

to bring relief

from suffering,

but it is always

to provide grace

and power

in suffering.

Because,

why?

Weakness,

not strength,

is the qualification

for Christ's power.

Now,

if that's something

that you're particularly

struggling with,

please come and talk to me

at the end.

I'd love to talk with you

and pray with you

more about that.

But let's think about

some ways that this might

apply to our church corporately.

I've got three brief points

as we finish off this morning.

First one is this,

when God is at work,

we should expect

to be more,

not less,

more,

not less,

conscious of our weakness.

I wonder if it's maybe

just me that thinks like this,

but I think it's been

my assumption

for most of my Christian life

that the more you grow

as a Christian,

the stronger you will feel.

Right?

I think I've assumed

in my Christian life

that the mature Christian

must spend most of their time

feeling sorted.

You know,

they might have a battle

with sin,

but it's a very low-level battle

that they win every day

and every moment.

They're successful all the time.

You know,

they're not fighting

for godly thoughts

because their brain

somehow has become hardwired

to think in a godly way.

You know,

they don't doubt,

they don't worry,

they don't feel anxious

in the face of death.

They're victorious

all the time.

But then you read passages

like this one

and you think,

well,

wait a minute,

that's perhaps not right.

Maybe the truth is

if Paul is expressing

Christian growth here

that as I grow as a Christian,

I won't begin to feel stronger,

but I'll begin to feel weaker

even as I grow as a Christian.

The more I grow,

the more I'll recognize

the limitations

on my understanding.

The more I grow as a Christian,

the more I'll know

I don't know.

The more I grow as a Christian,

the more I'll know

I can't be trusted in myself.

The more I grow as a Christian,

the more I know

that my desires

and my longings

given half the chance

would kill my Christian life

and destroy my witness.

That's certainly

Paul's experience,

isn't it?

It will be ours too,

individually and corporately.

So individually,

I really hope and pray

that church revitalization

means a personal revitalization

for all of us

in our Christian lives.

But we mustn't expect

that to come

by making us more self-reliant

and more impressive

to those around us.

The opposite will be true.

And for us as a church,

if our church grows

in strength and maturity,

we can expect

that it will be marked

by a collective appreciation

of our weakness,

not our strength.

Are you ready for that?

In fact,

so essential

is that partnership

that we can expect God

to put things

in our way

as a church

that will make us

know our weakness

and feel it more acutely.

Whether that be

financial hardship,

illness,

trouble,

a leaking roof,

false accusations,

whatever it might be.

Because the road up

is the road down,

isn't it?

And so like Paul,

we're to learn

to delight in those things.

I don't like telling

too many stories

about Egberth,

which is where we were before.

I think sometimes

pastors who bang on

where they were before

can give a wrong impression.

But if you'll forgive me

for one story,

let me tell you one now.

I think it makes

this point really well.

Two years before COVID,

we moved our church

into a local school.

The local school

had a big car park

and some outdoor space

for the kids

to run around in,

more rooms for Sunday school.

So it seemed to make

a lot of sense

for us to move

from the smaller building

that we're in

to this bigger school building.

What became very clear

as we started meeting there

was that the neighbours

hated us.

They were cross

with the school

for allowing people

to use the building

on a Sunday

because it made extra traffic

on their street

and people walking

down their road

and they didn't like that.

The fact that we were

a church

made it even more difficult

because they hated

the idea of a church

meeting in the local school.

So on a Sunday morning,

we would be greeted

coming to church

by protesters,

people with placards,

some of them

with my name on them,

telling people

on their way into church,

your pastor's a liar,

don't trust him.

They parked their cars

so that we couldn't

quite get down the street.

You had to go

really, really slowly.

On a particularly bad week,

the local police

had to escort me

off the premises

because they were

waiting outside

to hassle me

on my way out.

And all of a sudden,

our church,

which we thought

everybody loved,

we realized

that we were hated.

We weren't strong.

We're weak.

We're not loved.

We're disliked.

We're not influential.

We're disregarded.

And what was

the effect of that?

What do you think

the effect of that

was on our local church?

Well, let me tell you this.

Amazingly,

more people were converted

in the two years

that we were meeting

in that school

than any other time

in my pastorate there.

A bunch of students

turned up

from one of the local universities

and two of them

were just converted

just by sitting

and listening to the preaching

week in, week out.

Another guy came to me

in tears

after I preached

a not very good sermon,

I don't think,

on Matthew 26.

He came to me

after the sermon,

tears flowing down his face.

He'd just become a Christian.

It's weird, isn't it?

It turns out

that it's not the strength

of the church

but the weakness

of the church.

as we see

our corporate reliance

on Christ

and leaning on him

so this reversal happens.

Are you ready for that?

Secondly,

success won't be measured

on a graph.

This, of course,

is how all success

is normally measured.

You have a graph

of growth, don't you?

Growth in money,

growth in customers,

growth in profit.

But in church life

it's not quite the same.

Of course,

we do long,

don't we,

for this building

to become that rammed

full of people

who've just come

to know the Lord Jesus.

I'm praying for that.

I'm praying that we have

to open the balcony soon,

that Jeff has to move

his ladders, right?

I long for that.

That's what we're praying for.

But it might not happen.

We might be successful

and that not happen

because success

in 2 Corinthians 12,

success for us

as a church

is not so much

growth in numbers

as it is growth

in reliance

and confidence

in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me try and explain

why that's the case.

Let me ask you a question.

Why do you think it is

that Paul thinks

human weakness

experiences Christ's power?

Think about that.

Why does Paul think

human weakness

experiences Christ's power?

Now, there might be

a lot of reasons,

mightn't there?

Perhaps he thinks

that weakness

in some sense

is a key

that unlocks

Christ's power.

I don't think

that's quite right.

I mean, the Bible

does say that God

opposes the proud

but gives grace

to the humble

but it's not

that their humility

itself is the key

that unlocks the door,

is it?

I don't think

it's that at all.

It might be

that human weakness

makes us especially

reliant on Christ's strength,

you know,

that we know

we can't do

so we rely on Christ.

And I think that's true

to a sense, isn't it?

But there's something

more to it than that.

Why is it that

human weakness

is the key

to experiencing

Christ's power?

What is it?

Well, I think it's this.

It's because it is

in human weakness

that Christ saves

his people.

This is the story

of the Bible, right?

It is God the Father,

Son and Spirit

sending the Son

into the world

that they made

in order to save

a people for himself.

How does the Son say

as he comes

into the world

in which he's made?

He doesn't come

in a blaze of glory,

does he?

on a great chariot

without riders.

No, he comes

as a baby

into a manger,

life hanging

in the balance.

And how does he save?

Well, faces terrible

opposition before

dying on a cross

as a sacrifice

for our sins

so that we can be forgiven.

there hanging naked

on the cross,

the power of God

takes the weakness

of humanity

and conquers humanity's

greatest opponents,

death, sin, the devil.

Of course, Paul rejoices

in weakness.

Of course, we can't measure

success on a graph

because weakness

is essentially

Christ-likeness,

isn't it?

And weakness

where we really appreciate

the power of God

because when we come

to the point

that we can't do anything,

when we come to the point

of knowing,

I'm so weak,

I can't do anything,

we've arrived at the point

at which Christ

has done everything.

Do you understand?

Christ takes human weakness

at which point

we are right

at the very end

of ourselves

and unable to do anything

to save ourselves

or help ourselves.

Christ is at that

very same point

and is able to conquer

everything that stands

in our way.

Isn't that incredible?

And so, of course,

human weakness

is the key

to experiencing

the power of Christ

because that's where

the power of Christ

is met.

Listen, this morning,

if you've never

thought about that,

if you've never understood

Christ's work in that way,

if you thought

that being a Christian

is about taking out

a spiritual insurance policy

that you cash in

when you die,

or maybe if you thought

being a Christian

is about having

lots of answers

to the big questions

in life

so that you're

kind of smart,

well, let me invite

you to meet Jesus

for the first time

off the pages

of the Bible.

He comes to you

in the weakness

of human flesh,

in the frailty

of a human body,

blood stained

and sacrificed

for our sin,

and he says,

listen,

in my weakness

darkness.

I have the power

to rescue

and save you

for all eternity.

Turn to me.

Come to me.

Finally then,

and more briefly,

we will avoid

being over-spiritual.

Now, I want to

be careful

how I put this,

but I think

there's an important sense

in which we must

follow Paul's example

in the way

that we speak.

Paul is very conscious

that he doesn't want

people to think

of him in a certain way

because of what he says

about his own

personal spiritual experiences.

He's very,

very careful

not to market himself.

He really doesn't

want to appear

as someone

who he's not.

He doesn't want

people thinking

that he is more

than he really is.

He wants his words

and his actions

to speak for themselves,

not to build up

an impression of him,

not spiritually

talking himself up,

but being real

and honest.

And so for us,

I think it's possible,

isn't it,

for us in church life,

I'm sure you've met

people like this

who talk a really

good game.

This is certainly

the thing,

I think in church

youth groups

it can be the case,

can't it?

You know,

young people

are having their

hands in the air

while they're singing,

having an awesome

spiritual experience.

They have all the answers,

the right answers

in the Bible study,

but then really

as they walk out there

they know that's not

really the Christian life

that they're living.

Gives the impression

of looking like

a serious Christian,

but not really.

It's not just young

people,

is it?

Leaders will tell you

when they,

oh,

this is what I was

reading in my

devotions this morning

for a couple of hours.

What they won't tell you

is that they struggle

to have them.

People will tell you

that they're praying

for you,

but they won't never

tell you is that

they forgot to pray

for you.

People will give you

spiritual sounding advice

that they blatantly

ignore for themselves.

so much so that

our spiritual lives

can take on

a sort of unreality

that we step

through those doors

at the back of church

and we pretend

to be someone

we're not really

the rest of the week.

We mustn't be like that

because actually

it's our weakness

and our struggles

where we meet Christ.

I worked for a few years

for a church

which was in a city centre

with lots of students.

We had a visit

from an American pastor

who had got to know

one of the other pastors

of the church

at a conference

and said come to visit.

I spoke to him

after the morning service

and said oh

what did you think to that?

And he looked at me

a bit puzzled

and he goes well

the church isn't as big

as I thought it was.

What turned out

to be the case

is that the other pastor

had been talking up

the church so much

this guy thought

it was quite an amazing place

and then came

and the reality

was quite a lot

more disappointing.

Now that's a shame

isn't it?

Because the truth is

we don't want to give

an impression

that's better

than the reality do we?

We want to be real

and honest

and honest about

our weaknesses

because we just don't

need to be like that.

It's not just that

we should not be like that

we don't need

to be like that do we?

It's not just that

we should not create

a false impression

it's that we don't need to.

Why?

Because the gospel

has liberated you

from all of that nonsense.

The gospel of Christ's power

and human weakness

has liberated us

from the need

to always give

a good impression.

Okay you've found

another way

that we're weak

as a church.

Praise the Lord.

Christ works

in weak churches.

The gospel

is great news

for weak people.

We don't need

to desire

to appear

more holy

than we really are

because Christ's power

in my weakness

means that perhaps

for the very first time

you and I

can be real people

really honest

with one another.

This is not a performance

this morning.

We're not putting on a show.

This is us

with all of our weakness

not banging on

about how great we are

but instead

knowing with the apostle Paul

that it's not strength

but weakness

that qualifies us

for the power of Christ.

That is why

for Christ's sake

we delight in weakness

in insults

in hardships

in persecutions

in difficulties

for when we are weak

then we are strong.

Let me pray.

Heavenly Father

we want to ask

for your forgiveness

for where we've

pretended

to be stronger

than we really are.

We acknowledge

Lord

that we've never

fooled you

for a moment.

We might have

tricked others

but we've never

fooled you.

So Lord

we come to you

this morning

in all of our weakness

whether that's

because of

physical suffering

that we're facing

or difficulties

or hardships.

We come to you

in all of that weakness

saying that we find it

very hard to say

that we delight in it

but we want to know

the power of Christ

resting on us.

We want to know

that when we are weak

we are strong

because Christ

meets us

in our weakness

because in great

human weakness

he died on the cross

with the power

to save us

from all of our sin

and liberate us

for a world remade

by your power

and your glory

for all eternity.

So we say together

come Lord Jesus

and pray in his name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.