God is sufficient in our suffering - 2 Corinthians 12 v1-10

Christine is going to come and read for us now, thanks.

Okay, that's 2 Corinthians chapter 12 on page 1166, beginning at verse 1.

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

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 apart 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 warrantied 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 very much, Chris.

So keep your Bibles open, please, to 2 Corinthians 12.

There's pens and notes being passed around,

if you find that helpful to follow along,

or write down any questions you'd like to ask afterwards,

or chat through.

They're available.

Just put your hand up and one will be given to you.

As they're doing that, there's a little sheet at the back on the table.

Connor is going to be doing something rather strange.

Connor O'Neill.

Maybe that's not surprising, is it?

You can ask Connor what that is.

Really exciting.

And it's for compassion,

so you can just have a chat to Connor about that afterwards.

He'll be here next week as well,

if you don't get talking to him.

So, just to keep everybody together on the same page,

we've been going through a series

entitled Healing Through Suffering.

And this is the last in that series.

And I trust that this talk,

what we look at today,

is in some ways a summary.

It's bringing together all the different elements

that we've looked at over the last number of weeks

and bringing it together to conclusion.

So, a wonderful passage.

2 Corinthians 12.

Let's ask for God's help

as we look at it together.

Amen.

And God is able to bless you abundantly

so that in all things,

at all times,

having all that you need,

you will abound in every good work.

Father, we need you to bless us now

with your Holy Spirit

so that we may abound

in life

and in all that we do.

We need your grace.

We need your help.

So, help us.

Amen.

So, paradise

or thorns?

What would you prefer?

Enjoying an experience of heaven

or walking through the realities of suffering?

Well, I know what I would choose.

It's a bit of a no-brainer, isn't it?

Well, Paul, it seems,

the writer of this text,

has tasted both.

He had an experience of heaven.

Have a look at verse 2.

He says,

I know a man in Christ

who 14 years ago

was caught up

to the third heaven.

Well, it seems like

he's actually talking about

someone else.

He starts off by saying,

I know a man in Christ.

I know this guy.

But,

as we read on,

it becomes clear

that he's actually talking about

his own experience.

So, have a look down in verse 6.

He says,

even if I should choose to boast,

even if I should boast

about my experience of heaven,

I would not be a fool

because I would be speaking the truth.

But I refrain.

I'm not going to do it.

So, no one will think more of me

than is warranted

by what I do or say

or because of these

surpassingly great revelations.

So, this is Paul's experience.

But what's he actually experienced?

Well, look at the rest of verse 2.

He's talking about the third heaven.

We'll get to that in a minute.

He says,

whether it was in the body,

an out-of-body experience almost,

or of the body,

was it a vision in his mind?

He says,

I do not know.

It was so amazing.

I couldn't quite comprehend it all.

But God knows.

It was real.

It was tangible.

Verse 4.

I was caught up to paradise

and heard inexpressible things,

things that no one is permitted to tell.

It's as if God has taken the Apostle Paul

and given him a tour of paradise itself.

An experience of being in God's presence.

No words could describe the wonder

of all that he saw.

Can you imagine this?

Wouldn't you want to experience this?

taken into paradise

just for a moment of time,

escaping this world of all its struggles

and all its hardships.

How amazing that would be

to be basking in the beauty

and the brilliance of God.

Wouldn't you want that?

Well, paradise

was not his only experience.

There was also the reality

of thorns

or suffering.

Have a look down at verse 7,

the middle of verse 7.

Therefore,

in order to keep me from being conceited,

I was given a thorn

in my flesh.

I was given suffering.

A messenger of Satan

to torment me.

From paradise

to thorns.

From heaven

to suffering.

Paul faced the reality,

jump down to verse 10.

He describes what it was like.

Weaknesses,

insults,

hardships,

persecutions,

difficulties.

Now here's the surprise

as he kind of shows us

these two experiences.

He's telling us

that the thorns

were of greater value

than the vision of paradise.

How could that be?

How could the daily grind

of suffering

be of more value,

be worth to him

something far greater

than a moment's glimpse

of heaven?

Well, he tells us

in verse 9.

He said to me,

God 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.

I'm not going to boast

about the experience

of paradise,

but I'm going to boast

I'm going to tell you

all about my weaknesses

so that Christ's power

may rest

on me.

You see,

a one-off experience

of paradise,

as great as it may be,

lasts,

well,

just a moment.

But the daily pain

of thorns

leads to a continuous

experience of grace

and God's perfect power

in your life.

You see,

we learn more

and we grow more

through the thorns

of life.

Paul Mallard,

that's one of the,

the author of one of the books

we've been encouraging

people to read.

It was called

Invest Your Sufferings.

He put it

like this.

Suffering,

he says,

is the best

commentary

on God's character.

And pain

is the finest

exposition

of his excellencies.

We discover

more about

God's grace

when we come

to an end

in ourselves.

You will never

know that

God is all

you need

until God

is all

you have got.

You see,

the thorns

we experience

in life

pin us

to God

so that

we know

him,

love him,

and enjoy

him,

and know

in a deeper

way

the blessings

that he has

to give us.

So let's

see how

all this

is true.

We're going

to focus

our attention

on the last

few verses

of what we

read.

Okay,

how do we

know all

this is

true?

First,

God is

sovereign

over

our

thorns.

The thorns

that we

experience

in life

are all

under

God's

sovereign

loving

control.

Look at

verse 7

again.

Therefore,

in order

to keep

me from

being

conceited,

I was

given a

thorn in

my flesh,

a messenger

of Satan,

to torment

me.

Now,

of course,

it's not a

literal thorn

that he got

when he was

out picking

blackberries.

It was a

kind of

painful

suffering.

We're not

quite sure

what it

was.

It could

be physical,

it could

be an

illness or

a disability

he had.

It might

be spiritual,

a temptation

or a

struggle in

his life.

It could

have been

all the

opposition

and persecution

or a

combination

of the

whole lot.

Whatever

it was,

verse 7,

we're told

it caused

him torment.

It was

an ongoing

painful

experience.

But this

thorn

is not

a random

event

which God

has no

control over.

Look again

at what he

says in

verse 7.

He says,

I was

given

a thorn.

This is

something

from God.

Well,

you say,

hang on a

minute,

how can

it be

from God?

Did you

not read

what it

says?

Because it

says it's

a messenger

of Satan.

But it

is something

God has

allowed and

God is

in control

of.

Let's

have a look

more about

that.

Keep your

finger in

1 Corinthians

12 and

go back

to Job

Job 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

You remember

we looked

at Job

a few

weeks ago.

Job

Job 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Job

was a

good and

faithful man

who suffered

terribly in

his life.

There were

many thorns

that he

experienced.

He lost

his financial

security.

All his

animals were

slaughtered or

taken away.

He lost

all his

children and

their wives

and husbands

in natural

disasters.

And he

lost his

health,

a terrible

skin disease.

One thorn

after another

he experienced.

Now the

story or

the account

of Job

tells us

how all

this suffering

came about.

Chapter 1

verse 8.

Then the

Lord said

to Satan

have you

considered my

servant Job?

Now isn't

that interesting?

It's God

who initiates

the conversation.

God comes

he says

Satan

you know

Job

have you

thought about

him?

There's

no one

like him

on earth.

He's

blameless

and upright

a man

who fears

God

and shuns

evil.

Well what's

Satan's

reply?

Well

does Job

fear God

for nothing?

Satan

replied

have you

put a hedge

around him

and his

household

and everything

he has?

Well I mean

you've blessed

him with the

works of his

hands so that

his flocks

and herds

are spread

out throughout

the land

but

you stretch

out your

hands and

strike every

thing he

has and

he will

surely

curse you

to your

face.

I mean

the only

reason why

Job is

following you

is because

you've

blessed him

so much

you remove

those blessings

and you'll

see what

happens.

Verse 12

the Lord

said to

Satan

very well

then

everything

he has

is in

your

power

but

there's

limits

on the

man himself

do not

lay

a finger

then

Satan

went out

from the

presence

of the

Lord

and if

we read

on we

see

there's

where the

suffering

starts

but let's

be clear

Satan

may bring

terrible

affliction

God

God

may allow

Satan

and give

him

permission

but it's

God

who is

in

control

Satan

needs

God's

permission

he can't

do anything

without

God

say so

in fact

the author

of Job

wants us

to see

that the

suffering

that Job

experienced

is

ultimately

from

God

go to

the very

end of

the book

of Job

Job 42 · chapter mention

chapter 42

right to

the very

end

where we

have a

conclusion

chapter 42

verse 11

have you got

it chapter 42

verse 11

all

Job's

brothers

and sisters

and everyone

who had

known him

before

came and

ate with

him in

his house

they

comforted

and

consoled

him

over

all the

trouble

the

Lord

had

brought

on

him

let's

go back

to

2nd

Corinthians

now I

think

what we've

just seen

in Job's

life

is what

we're seeing

in Paul's

life

God

is the

one

who is

ultimately

in

control

that

means

for us

nothing

happens

in your

life

without

God

say so

the

thorns

that you

experience

in life

the

illness

you may

struggle

with

the

heartache

of a

loss

of a

loved

one

the

pain

of our

disappointments

they're not

random chance

events

your life

is in the

sovereign

hands

of God

and

nothing

happens

without

his

say so

and if

God is

in supreme

control of

our life

and our

world

and all

that goes

on

then it

means he

is a

God

who not

only

helps

us

but

uses

it

all

for

good

purposes

so

second

God

uses

our

thorns

for

good

God

had

given to

Paul

an

experience

of

paradise

he had

had that

vision

but here

was the

danger

his

experience

the

visions

the

revelations

he had

could make

Paul proud

in other words

it could make

him self

reliant

where he

could

kind of

boast

about

himself

and go

well

because of

this

well I

don't

need

God

anymore

so he

tells us

in verse

seven

the middle

of verse

seven

therefore

in order

to keep

me

from being

conceited

to stop

me from

becoming

proud

I was

given

a thorn

in my

flesh

it's like

he's telling

us I

don't want

to become

so proud

in my

life

that I

think

that I

can go

through

life

without

God

so God

gives

to Paul

a thorn

in his

flesh

to keep

him from

becoming

self

sufficient

self

reliant

you see

most of

the time

we see

self

reliance

and

independence

as a

good thing

we celebrate

it

in the

well

known

poem

Invictus

do you

know that

poem

Invictus

Invictus

is the

Latin

for

unconquered

listen to

how the

last

verse

goes

of that

famous

poem

it goes

like this

it matters

not how

straight

the gate

how

charged

with

punishments

the scroll

I am

the master

of my

fate

and I

am the

captain

of my

soul

but the

reality

is

we are

not

invincible

or

unconquerable

we do

not

control

our

destinies

and

suffering

reminds

us

of that

every

time

we

stand

around

the

grave

of a

loved

one

to

say

goodbye

we're

confronted

with the

fact

that I

am not

the

master

of my

fate

I'm

not

the

captain

of my

soul

now

this is

not saying

that suffering

is good

in and of

itself

and that

God

takes

pleasure

and delight

in seeing

the struggles

we go

through

but God

uses

the

thorns

for good

purposes

it

makes us

humble

it

helps

us

to

see

our

desperate

need

of

God

in

some

ways

our

thorns

our

suffering

make

us

like

a

little

child

dependent

on

their

parents

just

like

baby

Elodie

is

dependent

on

her

parents

can't

do

life

without

them

without

the

parents

she

won't

survive

and

in a

sense

that is

what

happens

with

us

the

thorns

we

experience

in

life

strips

away

our

independence

undermines

our

self

reliance

banishes

our

pride

and

drives

us

humbly

to

our

loving

saving

God

so

God

is

sovereign

over

our

thorns

God

uses

our

thorns

for

good

and

third

God

is

sufficient

in

our

thorns

our

natural

reaction

when we

suffer

is to

ask

God

to

take

it

away

isn't

that

our

first

response

to

suffering

and

it's

how

Paul

responded

to

look at

verse

eight

he

says

three

times

I

pleaded

with

the

Lord

to

take

it

away

from

me

now

I

know

many

of

you

have

been

there

crying

out

through

your

tears

shouting

in

frustration

to

God

groaning

in

your

hurts

Lord

take

it

away

please

heal

me

remove

this

thorn

and

some

of

you

pray

this

very

same

thing

for

your

loved

ones

as

you

watch

on

and

as

you

look

on

in

their

struggle

and

their

heartache

and

their

pain

you

cry

out

to

the

Lord

Lord

would

you

take

it

away

from

them

well

God

does

hear

and

God

does

answer

rather

than

remove

the

thorn

he

gives

grace

and

power

to

make

us

strong

if

you

have

ever

prayed

this

same

kind

of

prayer

to

God

and

ask

the

Lord

to

remove

that

thorn

in

your

life

and

it

is

still

there

listen

to

what

God

says

to

you

verse

nine

my

grace

is

sufficient

for

you

for

my

power

is

made

perfect

in

weakness

I

read

this

week

the

story

of

a

guy

called

Daniel

Ritchie

listen

to

what

he

says

it

goes

like

this

he

says

I

was

born

without

arms

that

is

the

best

way

to

summarize

my

story

I

stepped

into

suffering

at

birth

my

pain

almost

swallowed

me

but

Christ

showed

me

how

much

greater

he

was

I

used

to

think

that

being

born

without

arms

was

the

most

horrible

thing

that

could

ever

happen

to

a

person

in

Christ

he

has

helped

me

to

say

that

the

worst

and

the

most

painful

thing

that

has

ever

happened

to

me

is

also

the

best

thing

that

has

ever

happened

to

me

I

am

thankful

for

my

pain

all

of

the

frustration

that

has

come

with

it

has

reaped

a

bounty

that

I

never

could

have

produced

on

my

own

God

stepped

in

and

carried

me

along

in

my

weakness

letting

me

taste

his

grace

and

his

strength

and

love

in

new

ways

in

my

pain

he

has

magnified

so

many

of

his

attributes

in

a

mystery

that

we

will

always

struggle

to

understand

suffering

is

the

channel

or

the

conduit

through

which

grace

and

power

flow

to

us

from

God

suffering

is

the

channel

through

which

grace

and

power

flow

to

us

from

God

God

allows

the

thorn

to

remain

so

that

we

may

know

and

experience

Christ

in a

deeper

way

far

more

than a

temporary

glimpse

of

paradise

could

ever

give

you

see

the

place

of

healing

comes

when

we

no

longer

demand

that

God

remove

the

thorn

rather

we

humbly

come

and

ask

to

receive

of

his

grace

one

writer

put it

like

this

those

in

Christ

are

to

allow

the

thorns

to

pin

us

to

Christ

who

imparts

grace

to

the

sufferer

our

thorns

bind

us

to

Christ

so

we

never

lose

him

and

he

is

with

us

so

in

your

cancer

we

can

say

Christ

is

sufficient

in

our

disability

Christ

is

sufficient

in

our

battle

with

sin

Christ

is

sufficient

in

our

struggle

and

our

fight

with

suffering

Christ

is

sufficient

in

your

darkest

thoughts

Christ

will

sustain

you

in

your

greatest

fears

his

power

will

keep

you

look at

the end

of verse

nine

therefore

I

will

boast

all

the

more

gladly

about

my

weaknesses

so

that

Christ

power

might

rest

on

me

so

Christ

is

sovereign

over

our

thorns

he

uses

our

thorns

for

good

he

is

sufficient

in

our

thorns

and

then

God

exalts

Christ

through

our

thorns

you

see

as we

receive

God's

grace

and

are

strengthened

by

his

power

we

display

the

glory

of

Christ

that's

what

we've

been

thinking

about

this

morning

we

talked

about

it

earlier

God

blesses

you

abundantly

gives

you

all

that

you

need

in

all

things

and

at

all

times

all

that

you

need

but

we

receive

all

that

we

need

we

receive

God's

grace

and

his

power

so

that

we

might

display

the

glory

of

Christ

look

at

verse

10

he

says

that is

why

for

Christ's

sake

I

delight

in the

weaknesses

the

insults

the

hardships

the

persecutions

and

difficulties

for

Christ's

sake

you

see

the

sufferings

that

you

and

I

might

go

through

are

not

ultimately

about

me

it's

about

Christ

who

supplies

all

that

we

need

so

that

all

might

see

that

Christ

is

sufficient

I'm

going to

say that

again

because I

want us

to

grasp

it

the

sufferings

we

go

through

are

not

ultimately

about

me

and

my

life

it's

all

about

Christ

who

supplies

all

that

we

need

so

that

all

might

see

that

Christ

is

sufficient

Derek

Redmond

you might

know him

as an

athlete

was

running

in the

semifinals

of the

Barcelona

Olympics

and

as he

rounded

the

last

bend

he

fell

in

agony

unable

to

get

up

and

from

the

stands

this

man

came

running

onto

the

track

it

was

Derek's

father

he

came

to

his

son

lifted

him

to

his

feet

put

his

arm

underneath

his

son's

shoulders

and

they

began

to

walk

and

as

they

crossed

that

line

65,000

people

in that

stadium

rose

to their

feet

to

applaud

not

the

winner

of

the

race

nobody

knew

who

the

winner

was

on

that

day

not

the

athlete

who

was

carried

across

the

line

but

to

applaud

the

father

in

my

weakness

in

your

weakness