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Ecstasy And Agony For MinistryYears ago a reporter was tired of hearing Muhammad Ali bragging about his physical abilities, and his constant boasting of “I'm the greatest.” So this reporter asked him in a room full of wittiness’s, “So how are you at golf?” Ali never missed a beat as he looked at the reporter and said. “I'm the best -- I just haven't played yet.” The Apostle Paul was dealing with some men in Corinth who were boasting about how great they were, and putting Paul down. So in these latter portions of 2 Corinthians we find Paul defending his ministry, exposing these false Apostles, and helping the Corinthians to recognize a true minister for Jesus. Last week we saw in chapter 11, how Paul responded to the false teachers boasting with a little bragging of his own. But Paul is a strange duck, because when he brags, he boasts about things like most would see as weakness, the troubles, the trials, and the persecutions he had gone through because of his faith in Jesus Christ. This months Voice of the Martyrs news letter. READ THE ARTICLE. We have found in our ongoing studies that the Corinthian church was worldly, they were immature in their faith, so Paul uses his troubles as an example to shame them for following the Judiezers - who were manipulating and abusing them. As we continue in this same context we find Paul again uses his life as an example of extremes in ministry, both ecstasy and agony. READ THE TEXT 2 COR. 12:1-10 -ECSTASY AND AGONY FOR MINISTRY Paul continues his boasting but still his boasting is not about anything he has done, rather it is all about what God has done. Lets consider three things in this text.
Vision and revelations from God. He tells of these things not to build himself up – rather to show how great God is. Even the style of writing shows us his view of God. As he tells this personal story is in the third person. “I know a man!” I like that because it gives no glory to himself, it shows us the humility of Paul and his view of the greatness of God. Humility as he waited 14 years to tell about his vision of heaven. Why tell it now? Because the Corinthians were so impressed by the stories the false teachers are telling – so Paul will contrast that with what God has done. When did Paul have this vision? Fourteen years earlier Paul was ministering in Lystra, where he was not accepted because of the message of Jesus. Acts 14:19-20 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. We can not be sure but this might be when Paul had his vision, he is caught up in the the third heaven, as he is left for dead. The first heaven is the atmosphere, the second is the cosmos, the third is God's domain. So Paul finds himself in the presence of the throne room of God but when the disciples gathered around him, and Paul comes back. What do you think they did? They prayed, and God who is sovereign in all, raises Paul back to life. What did Paul see in heaven? He gives us no details, rather he says the things he heard are “inexpressible, things- that a man is not permitted to tell.” Like John, and Daniel, who are both told not to write some of the things they heard and saw in their revelations. So Paul says, that is what I will boast about. While the false teachers were boasting about their own accomplishments, Paul boasts about only about his weaknesses. From that we see his devotion to God and his view of God is huge. Think of this in today's culture, if someone had a vision of heaven, they would write a book, they would be on Oprah, they would syndicate and take center stage. But Paul basically says. “I'm telling you this, in this way, so that you judge what I'm saying not on what I experienced mystically, but on how I lived among you practically.” Friends, heaven, or Paradise, needs to be a vision we have. Knowing that this world is not heaven, this world is temporal, becomes a great motivation for obedience to God. Sure we have joys and wonderful things in this world, but if you make this life, the few years you have here, the most important thing – then we are not living by faith. Heb 11:13-16 (speaking of the great men and women of faith) All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Where is your vision? Do you live like this is heaven now? Grabbing everything you can, collecting the most toys to satisfy your inner desires now? Or do you, like the saints of old, understand that life -- is a preparation for what God has prepared for those who love him. Paul's vision of heaven becomes a motivation for ministry. First we see the Ecstasy.
Paul brags about his agony - his thorn in his flesh. There is a lot of conjecture of what this thorn may have been, and we will consider some of those thoughts but first I want you to glean the overall principles here: “That strength comes from weakness.” And “God's grace is huge.” As Paul continues his defense he does not say, “Look what I'm doing”, “Look at how spiritual I am.” “Listen to my accomplishments.” Like John the Baptist, Paul understood, “I must decrease so Jesus can increase.” Anything accomplished for the kingdom of God - is by his Spirit - and not by any man / any woman’s undertakings. Paul’s boastings are not self centered, rather he is trying to open the eyes of the Corinthians to what was really going on. Notice some things we learn from this Agony Paul's thorn. 1. WEAKNESS HAS A PURPOSE. “To keep me from becoming conceited.” Your KJV says “to keep me from being exalted above measure.” The Greek word for conceited is a huge word that literally means “haughty!” To keep me from getting on my high horse. To keep me from being like the pro-football player who tells everyone how great they are and forgets that there is an entire team helping him. Paul’s thorn was there for a purpose, and it was given to him to keep him from relying on his flesh, becoming prideful, and bragging about his talents. The bible teaches that everything we have is from the hand of God, be that our families, our talents, the things we possess, or the ministries we work in. So why boast about them? Prov 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Theres an old fable of two geese and a frog who lived happily together in a farm pond. The best of friends, the three would play together in their pond. As the summer went on and the days got hotter the pond began to dry up, and soon it was evident they would have to move. This was no problem for the geese, who could easily fly to another pond. But the frog was stuck. So it was decided that they would put a stick in the bill of each goose so that the frog could hang onto with his mouth as they flew to another pond. The plan worked well—so well, in fact, that as they were flying along the farmer looked up in admiration and said “Well, isn’t that a clever idea! I wonder who thought of it?” The frog in his pride said, “I did…” The moral of the story ---- “Pride goes before the fall.” Just what was Paul’s thorn in the flesh? There are a lot of of thoughts – many scholars believe he had an eye disease that caused him to squint and his eyes to run. Paul mentions some things in Galatians, that lead us to believe that. Others believe Paul’s weakness was a speech impediment, a leg ailment, or malaria. Still others argue his thorn was a person – someone who like Job's friends and his wife were a constant source of irritation in his life. But really we do not know what it was, all we know is that he calls it “a thorn.” And that says a lot. Think about a thorn, a sliver, its a little thing, something that irritates and is painful but not so big that it causes death. It's not huge, or overwhelming but a common thing; common-- but painful. A thorn is sharp, it pierces, irritates, festers, and causes endless pain and inconvenience. Yet a thorn can be a secret thing, something that is not very apparent to anyone but the person suffering from it. Have you ever had a redwood splinter, or a metal sliver under your skin, maybe a splinter under your fingernail? Whenever you pick something up, whenever you try to do little tasks you are always reminded about this thorn. So we don't know where, or what Paul's thorn was, but it was near his heart, and it is a constant source of irritation. What it was is unimportant, it’s purpose and what it accomplished is what matters. Even in this we see Paul's view of God is huge. He says that God allowed it to keep him from self centered pride, to make him strong in the faith, and weak in the flesh. Eph 6:10 ... Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Before he became a Christian, Paul was named Saul and he was a Pharisee among the Pharisees. He was up and coming in his position, as he persecuted the church and took pride in his understanding of scriptures. Paul was educated in one of the finest Rabbinical schools of his day. But that prideful Saul died on the road to Damascus when he encountered Jesus. It was there and then Paul learned God's plan for him. When Jesus spoke to him. Acts 9:16 “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." Not “how I will use all your great qualities”, “but how much you will suffer.” Paul's thorn is part of that suffering. So instead of boasting about his credentials, he boasts about his weaknesses. For strength in spirit comes from weakness in flesh. Once Saul is dead, Paul can be used by God and he is, he is thoughtful in speech, excellent in writing, used mightily in miracles, healings, and evangelism. Yet when Paul prayed about this little thorn -- God told him: “Paul my grace is enough.” “My grace is huge.” See Paul had plenty of reason he could boast and be conceited, so God took care of that human tendency, as he gave him this thorn in his flesh. Prov 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. To be prideful is to be filled with an inordinate amount of self esteem or self- worth. The bible say. Prov 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace…. Prov 13:10 Pride only breeds quarrels…. 1 Peter 5:5-6 …."God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Benjamin Franklin, in his autobiography said of pride. “There is perhaps no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Beat it down, stifle it, mortify it, as much as one (can), it is still alive. Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I would probably be proud of my humility.” Like the minister who said he had a wonderful sermon on humility but was waiting for a large crowd before preaching it? Or King Uzziah who in 2 Chronicles 26 envied the priests who burned incense before the Lord. So Uzziah went into the temple and began to do the job of the priests. But God had called the Levities to do that and Uzziah in his pride thought he could. So as Uzziah began to burn incense in the temple, God struck him with leprosy, and Uzziah lives the rest of his life in isolation with a thorn to remind him of the consequences of pride. The Bible teaches that no flesh will glory in the sight of God. Paul's thorn in his flesh was given to him to keep him from becoming conceited. Someone said, “Conceit is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the one who has it.” So Paul is really humble. 1. HUMILITY Humility is the example from Jesus, who being in very nature God, humbled himself and became a servant. He did not come to be served, but Jesus became obedient to death on the cross. The ultimate example of humility, as followers of Jesus we called to live in humility. 1 Peter 5:5-6 ….Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Be covered with humility because grace is given to those who are humble, and God lifts up those who are humble. Ps 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. What does God require you, of me? That we would come to him broken of ourselves, having sacrificed all our pride to him. That we would have an understanding of him as the great potter and we are but a lump of clay in his hands. But like Paul know that the Potter is good, and he will give good gifts to his children. That is how we like Paul can view our thorns as a gift from God. Do you recognize that God is sovereign? Do you see his providence in all things? Can you see how he has given you, something (a thorn) that you might rely on him more? Sure Paul tells us this thorn was a “messenger of Satan.” But he never gives any credit to the devil. He knows that the Lord is almighty, and this all-powerful God has allowed this thorn. No matter what it was – God allowed it and will keep it in his life for the purpose of keeping Paul from being puffed up. What is your thorn? Maybe like Paul it's an issue in your body, or a person who has pricked you and festers in your life. Maybe it’s the loss of status in life. No matter what, if God in his grace - has chosen something for you to keep you focused on him, then your approach should be just like Paul’s. He prays and he receives no answer. So he prays again and continues to pray until he hears from God. But when he hears - the answer Paul accepts God’s answer. Paul's answer; “No healing for you, “my Grace is enough.” 3. SUFFERING KEEPS YOU RELYING ON GRACE. God’s answer to Paul is “My grace is sufficient for you.” Our weakness keeps us relying on the grace of God. What is Grace? I it is literally, “Unmerited Unearned favor with God.” The Greek word is “Caris”, and it literally means, “divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life.” I love the acronym, G. R. A. C. E. God's Riches, At Christ's Expense. The bible tells us that it is by Grace we are saved. Unearned favor with God, but grace is not just received and then that’s it. No Grace is to be lived out in the hearts and our lives of believers. When you know you could do nothing to earn God’s love -- Jesus to died for your sins anyway. That is when the Grace of God shines forth, that's when we really understand Grace. And when we have a view of God like that, we become not only effective for God, but that is when the joy of the Lord becomes our strength. Because God's grace is huge, it is enough, it is sufficient. A thorn no matter what it is becomes a vessel to keep us form taking God's Grace for granted. Because when I am weak, then grace reflects in my life. That is what makes a man / a women into an overcomer, that is what will transform a life to live for God. Some of you might think, “who in their right mind would want to suffer?” Well, no one in there right mind would, but when you see that the Lord has brought hardships into your life – when you understand the purpose of these things, as a instrument of growth, then you can say with Paul. Our final point. 4. WEAKNESS KEEPS US GROWING AND MAKES US STRONG. When I am weak in the flesh, then I am strong in the spirit. Less of me and more of him. Strength from weakness. No greater example of that is found in the bible then the events in the life of Gideon. God tells Gideon that he is going to use him to save Israel from the Midanites. So Gideon who is kind of a reluctant hero, gathers 32,000 troops, strength in number. But God say, “Gideon you’ve got way too many men”, so Gideon issues a challenge, “if you are afraid, go ahead an leave”, 22,000 leave. I can picture Gideon, “ok I’ve still got 10,000, and these are the ones with the “no fear tee shirts on”. But God said, “Gideon, you still have too many men”, take them down by the stream, those that lap the water in their hands like a dog, those are my men, 300, men were drinking that way. With those 300 men who had no manners, and were so dog tired, they just lapped up the water, God defeated the Midianites, so the scripture comes to life. Remember the overall principle in this portion of scripture. 2 Cor 10:17 "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." Paul said this is what I have done. Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. When like Paul, the old man is crucified with Christ, God’s grace keeps me relying on God, and radiates out of my life so God can use me. That is why James can tell us to. James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. As we understand the how big our God is, when we see God's grace as huge, then you can look beyond your pain, beyond the issues you are facing, beyond the troubles you are having and continue to see God at. Of course it is only by the Holy Spirit's work that we can see how agony gives opportunity for Christ to manifest his power, and to revel his grace. The lessons for us are huge. The sovereignty of God, the providence of God, and knowing. “When I am weak, then am I strong, because his power is made perfect in my weakness.” The late Ray Steadman said, “This is a Christian paradox: When we are weak in ourselves, then we are strong in our Lord Jesus Christ. Because when we are weak in ourselves, then we go out of ourselves to Christ, and receive strength from him.” That is grace. INVITE. PRAY BENEDICTION. SING Series: 2 Corinthians -Through the Bible |
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