GOD’S
GRACE IS SUFFICIENT
2
Corinthians 12:1-10
BOAST IN THE LORD
V:1. Boasting is necessary, though it is not
profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a
man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out
of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third
heaven. 3 And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body
I do not know, God knows— 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible
words, which a man is not permitted to speak
A.
According to the Clark commentary, Paul’s
vision may have taken place
About the time Barnabas brought
Paul from Tarsus to Antioch.
Acts 11:25-26
1.
This would have been just prior to his
first missionary journey.
2.
Paul used this vision to defend his
Apostleship against false teachers
And
Judaism.
B.
For the church, Paul was a living example
of humbleness and meekness.
1.
Out of all of his accomplishments for
Christ, he boasted about none.
2.
He was a Jew and a Roman citizen. Before
his conversion to
Christianity,
he was highly respected in the Jewish hierarchy. He was
Trained
by the best Jewish teachers in the Law. Yet held none
Of
this in high regards.
3.
According to the scriptures, he traveled
more and established more
Churches
outside of Jerusalem than any of the other apostles.
4.
He endured more persecutions than any of
the others for Christ,
Yet
continued to preach the Gospel.
5.
He wrote half of the books of the New
Testament, putting the
complicated
doctrine of Christianity in print for the world to
Read
and study. Yet he only boasted in Jesus Christ.
C.
For fourteen years, He kept this heavenly
communication with
The Lord to himself.
1.
If I was going to boast about something,
certainly a heavenly
Revelation
from the Lord would be it.
2.
Paul was in dream or put into a trance
for this communication
With
Lord.
3.
Communication with Lord though dreams was
not uncommon.
a.
Jacob had dream with Lord known as Jacob’s
ladder.
b.
Joseph was a dreamer.
c.
Danial interpreted dreams of the king.
d.
Ezekiel was a dreamer.
e.
God revealed the details of all these
dreams to us.
D.
Paul refused to tell us the details of
his dream about heaven.
1.
There are 181 verses in the Old Testament
about heaven.
2.
None of the Old Testament verses gives us
any details about heaven.
3.
The
things I am concerned about, in some way is usually
The
focus of my dreams.
4.
Paul had a deep knowledge and
understanding of the Old Testament
Scriptures
may have been the focus of God’s revelation to him.
5.
It was in direct communication with Jesus
on the road to Damasus
That
Paul got his conversion.
6.
It was in a dream that God gave Paul
directions to go to Macedonia
To
preach the Gospel.
E.
What we know is Paul was taken up into
the third heaven.
1.
The first heaven is thought to be what we
can see with our eyes
Psalms
19:1
2.
The second heaven is thought to be the place
of the angels;
Where
Lucifer reigned before his fall. Psalms
91:11
3.
The third heaven is the throne of God. Hebrews 9:27
4.
What was revealed to Paul were words he
was not permitted
To
say to us.
5.
What was revealed to Paul may have been
words to set his
Mission
in motion and to keep him encouraged to the end.
6.
For me, if I don’t meditate on a dream
immediately, it will
Be
lost.
7.
This dream was so extraordinary that it
was permanently
ingrained in Paul’s memory.
REMAIN HUMBLE BEFORE MEN
V:5 On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my
behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. 6 For if I do wish
to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain
from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears
from me.
A.
Paul may have seen the throne of God in
all its glory.
1.
He may have seen the angels of God around
the throne
Giving
praise.
2.
Whatever Paul saw was so magnificent that
he could not
Express
it in words.
3.
The conversation with Lord was so
profound that Paul had
No
doubt about his call and his mission.
4.
Throughout his ministry, Paul remained
undisturbed by the
Jewish
hierarchy, threats of violence, and the attempts to
Murder
him.
B.
Paul was concerned that his reputation
would be tarnished by
boasting.
1.
Paul related a closeness to the Father
that no other Apostle
Could
claim.
2.
The revelation from the Father humbled
him in a way that
Kept
him humble before men.
3.
Paul saw his mission as more important
than himself.
4.
Paul had something to boast about but
refused to boast for the
Sake
of the church.
5.
Paul did not want men to see him as
special. Rather he wanted to be
Seem
as a servant of Christ.
6.
Paul understood the value of being
humble.
Luke
14:11
For
everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be
exalted."
GOD DESIGNS TROUBLE FOR YOUR GOOD
V:7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the
revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given
me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from
exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it
might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is perfected in weakness."
A. God knows
our hearts.
1. He
knows what it takes to keep us motivated in the ministry.
a. Paul
was given a revelation about God that far exceeded his
imagination.
b. The
revelation had inspired him and given him much joy.
c. It so
joyous that he could hardly keep it to himself.
d. He
waited 14 years to reveal it to anyone, but only reveal
that he had the revelation but not the details.
e, It
takes a strong mind to keep from revealing the source of
your
excitement.
B, God knows that we are weak in the flesh so He may
give us a thorn
To keep
us humble.
1.
Paul does not tell us what thorn was, but
it was painful enough
To
repeatedly ask God to remove it.
2.
With great blessings come great problems
to keep us humble
And
dependent on God.
3.
Some afflictions we have are the will of
God for our lives.
4.
We are encouraged to be thankful and in
prayer.
Romans
8:28
And we know that all things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.
5.
The thorns we have while painful are sometimes
for the benefit of others in the ministry.
GOD’S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR ALL TROUBLE
V: 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is
sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast
about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore
I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with
persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I
am strong.
A. We may be
never certain, why God allows us to experience trials
And
tribulations.
1.
But we can be certain is that God always
in control.
2.
While we serve Jesus, we must remember
His commands to
Us.
Luke
9:23
And
he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow me.
C.
God’s strength in us is perfected in our
weakness
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me.
1.
Whatever we can do without Christ is limited.
2.
We
will never live up to our full potential in our strength.
D.
Since God’s grace is sufficient and His
grace is unlimited,
Therefore we cannot determine all we
can do for Christ.
1.
We must trust His strength to get us
through any
Situation.
2.
For
God to perfect His strength in us we must first
See
ourselves as weak.
3.
We must rely on God’s strength to take us
to the heights
He
has planned for us.
4.
Therefore, we must glory in God’s
strength.
5.
When we boast, we must boast in Jesus
Christ.
6.
We have no idea when the work God has
planned for us
Is
complete.
Philippians
1:6
being
confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
I
WILL BOAST IN THE LORD
Rev.
M. Mitchell
No comments:
Post a Comment