The Power Of Weakness

Second Corinthians chapter 12 verse 7

2 Corinthians 12:7

And I know and I'll read all the way to verse 10 unless I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations a

Thorn in the flesh was given to me a

messenger of

Satan

to Buffett me

Just pause there for a moment that that term a messenger of say, you know that the devil knows how to send a message

He's got messengers

And I'm not talking about like demons and ghosts and things like that. I'm talking about he's got messengers in life

Lest I be exalted above measure concerning this thing. I pleaded with the Lord three times

that it might depart from me and

He said to me my grace is

sufficient for you and

My strength is made

perfect in

weakness

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me

Therefore I take

Pleasure think of that I

Take pleasure in

infirmities in

reproaches in needs in

Persecutions in

Distresses for Christ's sake and watch this for when I am weak

Then I am strong I

Want to speak for a few moments today on

The power of weakness the power of weakness you may be seated in the presence of the Lord now

That title may sound like a contradiction

the power of

weakness because when we think about power and

Strength one of the first things that comes to mind maybe is a bodybuilder right or a tank

an 18 wheeler

When we think about strength some of the images that come to our mind are those strong

tough and sturdy things that that

project strength to us or we might think of a

governmental leader or a

System that is reliable that is strong that is that is sturdy

When we think about strength those are

typically the the images that

that come to mind because that is what the world tells us is

What is strong that is what the world tells us?

what is what is powerful and

Oftentimes we take those images those thoughts those ideas

And we adopt that into our

Christian life into our spiritual lives and

the concept that we have often is that strength is

It's toughness and it's

Fortitude and it's you know, it's having

Spiritual muscles and it's being built up and strong and certainly

That is the case. I think that there's nothing

Immediately wrong with with that idea of

Something appearing to be strong in its edifice something to look stable, but

Many times the that concept could could also deprive us

it could also

confuse us at times because

We don't always feel that way

We don't always feel strong. We don't always feel

up for the for the task. We don't always feel

comfortable and

What I want to share today and what I believe God is

Interrupting our

Regularly scheduled program or the message that I had intended to preach today was because there may be somebody here this afternoon

Who has been dealing with some things in your life? That's got you feeling weak and not strong

Amen got you feeling

Uncomfortable and questioning whether you are in the will of God

Because our minds are programmed to think well

If I'm in the will of God

And if I'm doing what he wants me to do and if I am

Going according to plan things are going according to plan then then things ought to be

Going good then then I ought to feel strong and and everything ought to be in place

I ought to be happier, you know

My bills ought to be all paid and paid on time

and you know how to be I ought to be in harmony with

People in my life and and my marriage ought to be you know

100% good and my kids ought to be 100% obedient, you know and and and everything my car had to be

Dependable, you know if I'm in the will of God, you know, come on now somebody

If I'm doing what he told me and that's what I'm doing

You know, come on now somebody if I'm doing what he told me and if I'm operating with a certain level of revelation and continuity

And and I'm just you know, I'm praying like I should and I'm fasting like I should then everything ought to be going smooth

I

ought to be

coasting and and just you know

You know eating eating grapes. Well, you know people found me, you know everything, you know, that's when you know, huh?

We say to ourselves that that you're in the will of God, but cannot tell you today

That oftentimes it's the exact opposite

Sometimes, you know, you're in the will of God

When things are going wrong

Amen

Sometimes you know you're in the will of God

when it's not going your way and

you feel weak or buffeted or

inhibited hindered by something in your life and

As the apostle Paul is writing here in this text one of my favorite passages of scripture is minister to me time

and time again

When you look at this text you see a man who?

On the outside should have everything going for him. He's an apostle with

such

a depth of revelation a man who knows

Revelation a man who no doubt walked with God a man who is responsible for writing

more than half of the new testament

epistles

a man who God used mightily

To bring revival to establish the kingdom of God to establish churches in foreign places

I mean, this is a bona fide man of God

and I don't think anybody can question the the credentials the

uh

the the level of anointing

and the the the greatness of this this man

of this man the apostle paul

and for a man like this to

In the middle of his letter to the corinthians in the second letter

Begin to open us up to his private world

This is what I can appreciate about this text today

Is here is a man who can just write?

theology all day long

and write, you know, uh one

great thing after another about about God and and and and truth and

Revelation and theology

But but he pauses here and it begins to invite us into his world

and when he invites us into his world

And he pulls back the curtain in his life. We start to see

the reality

Of being a true man or woman of God we start to see that all is not

As it may appear on the outside

He starts to bear his scars

He starts to share a side of his life that the reader of the time may have thought

Wow

Paul's getting real with us here. We didn't know

We didn't know that paul had trials like us

How many of you have ever been refreshed to know that your spiritual heroes and your spiritual, you know

Those spiritual legends those people that you look up to have ever been refreshed or encouraged whenever they have shared a part about their life

Where you go? Oh man, you've got it bad, too

You're in pain too

How many have ever been impressed i've always been refreshed that there's been times where i've sat with some great men of god

Preachers who who I have sat in the audience and watched and listened, you know, just

Sway groups of people with their oratory abilities and the anointing and see oh, that's just the greatness of god

Moving in their life and then you sit down and you talk to them and then they start sharing things that are going on in

Their life said man, I would have I would have thought that you just you know walked on clouds

And nothing touched you because you're so anointed

But oftentimes the key to anointing

And the key to greatness in the kingdom of god

Is how you deal with the thorns of life?

Someone say thorns

Have you ever felt a thorn before?

Ever did some yard work and you come across a thorn

Have you ever got one lodged in your in your hand or in your foot?

I tell you

When they go deep sometimes it can cause a lot of pain

Thorns i'm gonna say thorns

these prickly sharp things that that

When pressed up against the body

You know, I think of the the crown of thorns that was placed on the head of christ when he was crucified

And how blood came down? I when I think of a thorn, I don't think of a you know, like a little weed

Just a small little, you know fuzzy

Uh a plant growing in your backyard. I think of a real thorn like maybe the kind that you might

Feel when you're uh trimming a rose bush, you know, those roses are very beautiful, but you gotta watch out for those thorns

I think of something sharp as a knife

and when paul is describing

His life he's lifting the veil over his life. He he says that that there was this thorn

In my flesh and he doesn't tell us what the thorn is he doesn't

Reveal if the thorn is a thing

If it's a physical malady

If it's a person

uh a soured relationship

or

Something else or a spiritual thorn a demonic

um

Attack on his life. We don't know the the nature

Of the thorn but nevertheless this sharp object in his life has caused him such pain and

And distress that he he said look I tried to cover this up as long as I can but but but i'm in pain

I'm in pain and i'm dealing with this thorn

In my flesh and he said it was a messenger

of

of satan

It was a messenger of satan and it's trying to tell me something

It's trying to communicate and what could that message be?

I think that message could be a message that you and I hear sometimes when we are experiencing pain

When things are not going our way when no matter how hard we pray or fast

You know, we're not able to get ahead or just something just keeps pulling us back something keeps

Inhibiting us something keeps bothering us troubling us

I think it's that same message that paul must have heard and that message might be you know

If god really loves you then he's not going to let you go

If he loves you then then why is he allowing this to happen?

I think that message might be if if you're really anointed then then why are you experiencing this pain?

That message might be that if you were as strong as you say you are and you are as as wonderful or

As prayerful or as christian as you think or say you are then then why can't you get over?

This pesky problem

in your life why

I think that message might be well, maybe you're not really called after all. Hmm

my lord

Maybe you're not really anointed after all maybe

Maybe god's plan for you is not as great as you thought they were

But let me tell you about every message that the devil sends to you

Is that those message those messages are lies?

I said they're lies

Lies that are meant only

To take our minds and our focuses off what god has ultimately called us to do

Lies that are meant to distract us

to convince us that maybe just

maybe

God made a mistake

Maybe he made a mistake

Oh god, I know i'm gonna help somebody today. Somebody said go ahead

That maybe god made a mistake when he called me

Maybe god made a mistake when he when he put me in the place that I am

Maybe god made a mistake when he had me, you know, start the family. I did the business I did

Maybe he made a mistake when he gave me the ministry that he did and

Maybe god made a mistake. Maybe this is all one big misunderstanding and i'm not even supposed to be here

I don't know what was going through paul's mind when he was hearing these messages that that that who do you think you are?

What what a joke you are paul to be writing these letters and to be uh teaching

As if though you're some feel what what a joke what an embarrassment you are paul

To be a preacher of the gospel and yet you can't get over this issue in your life paul

What what a you ought to be ashamed of yourself paul that that here you are, you know, mr

Mr. Apostle, but yet, uh, you you got a thorn in your life that you haven't been able to to pull out

Oh, I can imagine that these messages were bombarding his mind as he sat there at night

Uh staring up into the ceiling wondering why am I dealing with this god?

Why can't you just alleviate me lord and so that we can let the devil know that he's not in charge

Lord, how about we put the devil in his place?

And remove this thorn from my flesh and paul pray night after night and day after day

And he tells us that at least three occasions

He really locked in with god and he really began to pray

Uh, he really stopped the lord. He shut the door behind him got into his prayer closet

And he got down to business with god and said lord. Can you please remove?

This thorn from my life

God said no, he said okay god, okay

Then maybe a couple weeks went by

Or maybe a couple months and and the thorn is still there. It's like lord

Maybe you didn't hear me the last time

Let me go pray again

And so he prays again and

God I really and he does this three times

And three times I got to imagine that paul got up from his prayer

Convinced and believing that god was going to answer that prayer

God was going to rid him of this problem and everything would magically go away overnight

And and it would just be you know

It would be that the life that he always wanted and everybody would just kind of live happily ever after and things would just be great

Find and wonderful and and he could just be you know clear of this issue

I bet that's what he felt and thought but then there came that word to him that paul

I'm not going to remove this thorn from your life because that thorn

Because that thorn whether you realize it or not is producing in you christ likeness

That thorn in your life paul. I know you don't think it has any value

I know you don't think it's not producing anything

But paul i'm allowing that pain and discomfort and that trouble to produce in you patience

And virtue and love and long suffering and kindness

I'm teaching you how to love your enemies

I'm teaching you how to strive i'm teaching you gotta keep on going paul

There are times in our life where even after we prayed and even after we've sought god

The lord will tell us

I am let me just let me just pause here and say that that what I am preaching today

And i'm not going to be very long

But what i've come to tell somebody today is not that we ought to change our expectation

We ought to pray every time we pray with faith that god's gonna answer

Amen somebody

Hey, listen, I am not here today preaching like an anti-prayer message that oh it doesn't matter what you pray god's just gonna do

No, no, you can absolutely

Change the the scope and the direction of your life by how you pray you can actually

Convert and change things can change when you pray

Come on, there's power in prayer. Amen

Yes

So i'm not here today preaching. Well, you ought to just you know, uh, just you know, don't pray so hard because you know

It's what's gonna happen is gonna happen anyways, that's not what we're saying

What we're saying is

How do you deal with no?

You know god answers prayers, but sometimes his answer is no

Amen, I lost you right there

Sometimes his answer is

So how do we deal with with no because three times paul heard no

No

No

No

And paul must have thought to himself well, but how am I going to make it because

Whether this is a thing

a financial problem

A relationship problem ministry problem, whatever this thing is

god, how am I going to do this because

It every morning I wake up and there it is

You know, I can't escape it

I can't get away from it. It's

It's everywhere and look it's waiting for me and work

Hello somebody

Some of you got some thorns at work. Hallelujah

You don't want to send them the the google or or the link to this message today. Amen

Why'd you send me this one? Oh

I'm sorry

Sometimes it's at home or sometimes it's we said but god I still got to keep dealing with this

And so when god answers, you know

What is he trying to teach you?

Well paul gives us the answer

and it's the same answer that

Needs to speak to us today because the devil has a message but god has a message too

And how many of you know that god's message is greater than the devil's message

Can you clap your hands and give god some praise today? Hallelujah

God has a message

And his message to him was this and he said to me

My grace someone say my grace

Is sufficient for you

That word sufficient means enough my grace

Is enough

God, hallelujah my strength is made perfect

In weakness paul i've come to tell you

Strength is not strength weakness is strength

Because when you are in a position

of human weakness

Your weakness

Is a magnet to my grace?

And when you are weak, this is why paul

Summarized his revelation summarize his experience when he said for when I am weak

then

I am strong

What would that mean to us today?

Not that we are not to build ourselves up

And be strong. No god god tells us like he told joshua be strong in the good courage

God wants us to be strong, but not strong in our own strength

Amen

Amen somebody not strong in our own strength

But in strong in his strength

I can't be strong in him if i'm so busy trying to be strong in me

strong in me

Who jesus?

I'm gonna go back and watch this message for myself later this week. Hallelujah

I can't be strong in him

If i'm trying to be strong

in me

The only way I can be strong in him

Is if I am like christ who's praying at the garden of gethsemane

Gethsemane lord if it be possible let this cup pass for me god

Let this cup pass from me

But nevertheless not my will but yours be done if I can just humble myself if I can just

If I can just lift up my hands and I face lift up my eyes if I can just position myself in him

If I can look up to god and if I can just realize that my strength is not from within me

Me as a human in my willpower and my mental power in my emotional power

But my strength is coming in my weakness

My strength is not saying to god. I know what to do. My strength is saying god. I don't know what to do

My show I wish I had a witness today

My strength is not coming to god with my answers. It's coming to god with my questions

Uh my strain it's not saying i've got it all figured out my strength is god

Even though I know what to do

I will trust in the lord with all my mind

I will lead not to my own understanding

But I will acknowledge him in all my ways. Come on somebody give god some praise today. Hallelujah

That's where my strength is

That's where our strength is it's in weakness

And the problem and the reason why

As I get prepared to close here with these thoughts the reason why some people struggle

To get the grace that they need

Is because they won't admit their weaknesses

If I spend all my time

preoccupied with presenting a version of myself

That is perfect and flawless and I have no weaknesses

Then I in effect am putting myself at a disadvantage from receiving the grace

That god wants to give me

Confess your faults to one another

And you shall be healed

People want to be healed but they don't want to be healed

People want to be healed but they don't want to confess their faults. Why because if I confess my fault i'm confessing my weaknesses

Are you hearing what i'm saying today? I'm confessing the part of me that i'm ashamed of

I'm confessing the part of me that i've been trying to work over time to hide

I'm confessing the part of me that that is embarrassing the part of me that i'm not proud of

But then that is the problem

But if we get real with god today and if we get real with each other today and we just say god

I am I am I I have flaws

And frailties I am weak but god i'm okay admitting that today because when I am

weak

Someone help me say it today then

I am strong

But I can't get to his grace and I can't get to his strength unless I get real with god

Unless I am willing to bear my soul and say lord

I don't have it all figured out

Someone say I need help

Come on, come on say it again say I need help

Can I tell you something? There is nothing wrong

With saying those words

I need

Oh jesus nothing wrong with saying those words

Nothing wrong with saying I

Am weak

Because when I confess

My weakness

I am

I am indirectly I am inviting his strength

His grace

His glory into my life

I am in essence giving god space to perform

His goodwill

I am in essence giving god permission

to move

In my life

I am in essence allowing the holy ghost

I feel them right now

Would you just close your eyes right there where you are I feel god in this place

Somebody who I don't know who I am preaching to today

Right, but god loved you so much. Can I just tell you he loved

So

Much that he interrupted today's schedule

He interrupted what was on what was on the program

So that he might reach you

That he might touch you that he might raise you

You uh so that he could end the frustration and he could end

the pain

of wonder he could end

The the constant battle he could end the tug of war he could end the fight that you've been fighting with him

Some of you you don't know it, but you've been fighting with god. You've been fighting with his will

You've been fighting with his way you've been fighting

uh against uh his purpose you've been fighting against your emotions and against uh,

Your mind and and god wants you to know today that he loves you and that his grace is

Sufficient god says i've got tailor-made grace for you

I've got grace to fit whatever it is you're going through shi'a la makkah

I've got grace to fit whatever it is your experience see my grace is not one size fits all

My grace is not a cookie cutter grace. My grace is tailor-made

To fit whatever it is

Your life needs. I don't know if there's somebody hearing what i'm saying this afternoon

But i'm inviting you to pray i'm inviting somebody right now to get open and honest with god

Somebody this afternoon to invite the lord into the space of your heart and life and say god

I need your grace. I need you lord. I need you in my marriage. I need you in my family

I need you in my home. I need you in my body. I need you in my mind

I need you in my spirit

I need you in my soul

I don't know if there's somebody hearing what i'm preaching this afternoon

But you gotta know how much god loves you. You gotta know that god came into this place today

That he might save you that he might oh hallelujah

I'm inviting somebody right now to talk to the lord

And what we want to do is just give god a moment to move in your life

I want to open up this altar. I want to open up this place for prayer

I want somebody to get the grace that you need this afternoon

Oh hallelujah hallelujah

Hallelujah, oh wish somebody would connect with god right now