All our Boast is in Jesus: for who He is and what He’s Done.

Introduction

Good evening and welcome back to our third night together. Already I’ve introduced you to my wife and my daughter Grace. Tonight I want you to meet two of my kids who don’t exactly look like me.

First up we have this Ukrainian dork. We felt like God was calling us to a new ministry in 2021 and sure enough God moved us from Neosho to Mt. Vernon, roughly 7 minutes from here. I was asked to come lead a the church hear in town as their senior pastor, a job that I’d never done before but that, little did I know, God had been preparing me for for these 14 years. When we moved here, roughly 8 months after starting the church, a friend of our called us up and told us that there was a kid from Ukraine here in Mt. Vernon and because of the Russian war on his country he was stuck here. His time as a foreign exchange student was going to be wrapping up and the host family he was with wasn’t going to be able to keep him again. The ask was coming in slow and I could see it like a 30 mile an hour fast ball. I looked at my wife as the words came out of the phone, “I don’t know if you guys could think about taking him on or not but I knew you just moved to Mt. Vernon and I thought I’d ask.” As soon as she hung up I looked at Amanda and explained all the reasons this was a horrible idea. “We just started here. We don’t really know the church yet. We don’t have the time. We need to focus on us for a while.” Everything I could think of was telling me this was a bad idea.

One night Alex and his host family turned up to church and we got to meet him. He was a super quiet and nerdy looking kid but super polite and greatful for everything. He was instantly interested in me as a “clergy” man and wanted to talk all things history and religion because he’s a history nerd.

While I was talking to him Amanda was talking to his family. I looked down the hall and saw her eyes meet mine, a look that I’d seen so many times before. We were going to be getting this kid and there was nothing I could say that would change any of it.

It wasn’t that the family couldn’t keep him any longer, its that they wouldn’t. His host mom had nothing good to say about him and tensions in their house had risen to crazy levels because she expected him to take care of himself and whether she would say it or not, she couldn’t stand him. She told us as much and ended our conversation with “well I do want him gone but I’d hate to pawn him off on you guys.”

If you’ve ever been in a place where you know what it’s like to feel unwanted, language barriers mean nothing because you can feel it. I knew that look. Amanda had a puppy that needed rescuing and he was about to join our home. He moved in that May and we got to help a 16 year old kid through one of the worst years of his life as we got constant feedback from the war and where the bombs were landing. One night a bomb blew up his favorite movie theatre and he showed me video of the security camera outside of his apartment in Zapperechia where you could see the bombs landing blocks away from his mom, dad, and 10 year old brother.

During that year we became his family and had talks about the gospel, how God could be so good yet allow all of these evils to happen to his country, where we go when we die and if his parents would go to heaven if a bomb landed wrong. Nothing was easy and this kid was sharp. We lived in the deep end. Me and my wife held him weeping one night as one of his good friends was lost.

Yet, despite what we thought might happen God made a way for Alex to go back home and after 2.5 years away from his parents, he got to go home. After 14 hours of flights, 18 hours of trains, and a particularly scary evening at a bus stop, Alex got to hug his momma. You see during that year and a half we broke alot of rules, including talking with Alex’s mom Merina via google translate. Amanda and her became best friends and we spent some nights up late on telegram praying for her as the sirens went off. Amanda took every chance she could share the gospel and in very broken English to Ukrainian translations explain how we were praying for her family.

Tension

There were days during in that time when we just sat and cried asking what we were doing and asking God how to help him, feeling like we just weren’t enough for the task. But somehow God made a way and we got to sit back and watch him work. In fact, this reality is something Paul was trying to convey to the struggling Corinthian church, that when they were feeling weak, God was still working and breaking down walls they couldn’t see.

Truth

2 Corinthians 12:1–10 (ESV)

1 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows.

3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—

4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.

5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses—

6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.

7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

9 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Prayer

Exposition

So far we’ve analyzed this passage and Paul’s messages to the church.

First, Critics don’t have the final say about us: God does.

Secondly, God doesn’t just use us in spite of our weaknesses but BECAUSE OF THEM.

Tonight we focus on verse 9, the main meat of our week.

In the midst of Paul’s struggles, and the struggles of the church, he begged God to take away his thorn. Even though he had learned a great deal from the lessons it had taught him about being humble, even though it kept him from becoming full of himself or taking pride in the things he’d been shown, Paul still asked God 3 times that he’d cure it from his life.

I think we can all identify with that because we’ve all been there from time to time. Perhaps a relationship blew up, or a divorce happened, or a job fell through , or a love one died. We’ve all asked God to change the script before.

But tonight we focus on the main meat and potatoes of God’s response to Paul and what he’s learned because of it.

God’s response to 3 times being asked by Paul, his servant, his apostle, a church planter and missionary that works to make his name known around the world was this...

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Now, I want to teach you a process that I have come to call “mathing out the passage.” I know, nobody is excited about math and camp going together but here me out.

How many of you in here line up in the category of english, language, arts, paper writing, or speech.

I want you to know that you are NOT my people. I hated all of these things in school and couldn’t stand the subjective nature of them. I mean, I wrote the paper, who are you to tell me whether or not the paper was “good” or was it just not that “good to you?” You see what I mean. Its all subjective. It feels so arbitrary to whatever a person likes or doesn’t like. Let me put it to you another way, “What is the best movie that was ever made and why was it Start Wars Return of the Jedi?

Oh, wait, you don’t think it was Star Wars Episode 6, then you’re wrong and you fail and you’re repeating freshmen year buddy.

Now, if you are a person who better aligns with subjects like science, math, technology, or engineering let me hear from you. Did you just see all that subjectivity we just talked about fly up in smoke? It did. It just burst into flames and went away like a bad dream because, praise Jesus, science, technology, engineering, and mathmatics live in a world of objective rules. There are rules that govern what you do and how you should do it. They opperate larely without input from others and they can be largely found out. If you add this element to this one this reaction will occur. Do that 1000 times and that same reaction will occur.

I would also go as far as to say sports falls into this category because no matter how you feel about the game or what you “favorite” way to play it is, if you don’t live inside the rules, you can’t be successful. I know, I know, alot of stuff to say to make a point, but what exactly is your point Juston.

Let me explain. In math there is this weird thing that we all love to hate called algebra. And in order to figure out that class you likely memorized this weird word called “PEMDAS”. Let me help you out, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.”

It’s also know as the order of operations and its the rule that helps you solve a problem with plus’s, minus’s, exponents, multiplication, Division, addition, and subtraction. They all get garbled together and the only way to get the right answer is to do it in the right order.

I learned early on in college, being a guy who hated language, arts, papers, and communication (btw very ironic because I now essentially communicate weekly with people and write 4000 page research papers weekly for a living.) that there were some rules that you could use to make the Bible act more like math than ELA. I’ll show you this process and if you work with me I think you can see where I’m coming from. We are going to go through this sentance of God spoken to Paul in his time of struggle and see how all of these words relate to each other so we can get the full and right picture he’s relaying.

My grace. First up we are going to add theses two words together and put them in parentheses. Why? Because its not just grace but it’s “my” grace. Who is my in this instance? God. God is the one who has this grace and we want to remember it. But, what is the Grace? What does that mean in the first place and how does our understanding of said Grace change because it’s coming from God. Grace is a word that we can look up but makes most sense when its talked about in relationship to its twin brother mercy. They look the same and can often share the same clothes but they are two different people. Mercy simply means “to not get something that you do deserve.” Think about it, you get caught cheating on a test and you deserve to fail that test and possibly get kicked out of school. You deserve those things because of what you’ve done. Mercy would be to not give you those things that you rightly deserve and to show mercy on you. Grace is the opposite. Grace in not, not getting something that you deserve, it is getting something that you 100% don’t deserve. Instead of getting a 0 on the paper and getting kicked out you get a 100 on the paper and a pony. Grace is getting something beyond what you could ever deserve. So, adding that idea of Grace back into who it is that is giving it let’s us see that the God of the universe isn’t just showing mercy, he’s giving something that isn’t deserved to someone who could never deserve it.

is. This is conditional word that ties “my Grace” to the next statement. I like to think about words like this by discussing what isn’t written in relationship to what is. Kind of like the minus in a problem. For example, the word “is” here is written. You know what isn’t written instead? Could be. Could be isn’t put here and to do so would change the entire meaning. “Is” emphatically tells you that what is happening here did in fact happen. It’s not a guess or a hope or a “could be”. It simply “is”. God is saying that his grace IS not could be, not might be, not perhaps, not “if you simply hope enough things might change.” No, His Grace is. Is what?

sufficient. Okay that’s a $20 word there. I think of how we’d normally talk in normal conversations. How many times do we use the word sufficient in our normal day to day? We might say, “That’ll do” or “that’s fine” but we don’t use words like this unless we are trying to impress a teacher or seem smarter than we are on the daily. Hence, the moniker “$20 word”. So what does this fancy word mean really. Well, I’ve hinted that it talks about being fine or doing a task of some kind. We might use other words like satisfactory or adequate to flesh it out a bit but it goes further than just those understandings. The greek word here is “arkeo” and in some contexts it means “to suffice, to be sufficient, or to be adequate either in quality or quanitity.” That would be how we would most likely use it but it actually goes further. It means “to be full and staified. to be characterized by not have any more want or need. To be fully content, gratified, happy.” Do you see what he’s saying. That feeling you get after finished the last perfect bite your favorite meal when you kick back from the table knowing that you are filled to the top with perfection and you let out that sound of “ahhhhhhh”. That is what sufficient means here. So, put it all together and math out this part.

God (the maker of heaven, earth, the cosmos, me, you, dna, and the periodic table) has given gifts that are far beyond what could ever be earned or expected and that such gifts are not only sufficient but able to fulfill and gratify us in ways the fill us with joy. That’s what we’ve got so far and we are only 4 words in. We need to move faster so you need to listen twice as fast.

for you, Here, we remember that God is the one speaking and that we now see that he is speaking to someone, refered to here as “you”. Who is this “you” that is being addressed? Yes, it’s Paul, the guy we’ve been discussing so far. God is saying that paul should take heart and be filled and gratified because God has chosen to pour not mercy on him but lavish, overwhelming, and above and beyond the call of duty grace out on him. That he has done this “is” doing this. That Paul doesn’t have to wonder or worry because God is doing it in his life.

for This “for” here is a lil different than the last one. That one was using the previous statement (God’s grace being all fulfilling) to Paul specifically. This one acts as a way of attaching this statement to a supporting foundational one. Its like God is saying, “I’ve done this thing but here is the real reason why and I want you to marinate in this.” So what is God’s foundation for telling Paul to be full and satisfied in God’s application of Grace on him?

my power again, God’s power. Not Paul’s, not mine, not yours. The same power that created all things in existence and btw rose Jesus from the grace. That power. The unique power and authority only wielded and given out by God at his own will.

is made Again, no might be made, not probably will be. No “is made”. This is going to happen. Its a done deal. Take it to the bank.

perfect. Wow another $20 word. We don’t throw around perfect. We say things like good or great or awesome but to call something perfect is to declare that it is so good that nothing could be added to it to make it more gooderer. It is at the pinnacle of its goodness, it’s perfect. So sticking these statements in their parentheses and showing their relationship together, we are getting the picture coming into 1080p. God’s power is made as good as it can be in what?

in weakness. What! But God isn’t weak at all. He’s all powerful, all knowing, all good and holy. So how could his power be anything but strong? Oh wait, he’s talking to Paul. It’s not God’s weakness that causes such power but God’s power is perfected, manifested, strengthened to the point that it can’t be displayed in a better or greater way, when Paul is weak. When Paul’s weakness is there, God’s power shines brighter.

So sticking this passage together we get the full picture and the relationship and depth of what God has told Paul.

Paul, my son, I know you are struggling and you’ve been asking me to relieve this thorn from your life and your ministry for a while but I want you to see it the way I see it. I know you feel weak and you feel like this is holding you back from what could be but in all reality, what can’t see is that by allowing it to continue on in your life you are becoming a beacon for my greatness to all who see what I’m doing in you and through you. The grace I poured out on you when I first saved you and showed you the reality of Christ’s sacrifice for you was only the start. This too is a part of that Grace that I’m still bringing to bear on your life and ministry. I’ve got this and I’ve got you. What you see as suffering is actually serving to further show people my love and my glory.

Paul’s response to God’s wisdom. Same process just way quicker. Are you ready?

“Therefore (anytime a therefore is there we ask what its there for? In this case Paul is attaching God’s response to him with the lesson he’s learned) I will (not might will, or could will, but I WILL) boast (boast the word in Greek is kow-how-may (kauchaomai) and it means to take pride in something or to express pride about something. It also has some further meaning as we think about these statements in regards to Paul responding in the earlier parts of the week to those who were bragging about all that they’d accomplished because of the honor game they all played all the time. They would all brag on themselves and all their accomplishments. That was where they would put all their boasts and brags. But what is Paul “I will boast”ing about?) all the more gladly (this further and expands upon what he’s talking about. He’s not just saying I will gladly boast in but I will all the more. Meaning larger quantities and qualities of this gladness in which he’s boasting. As if to say, I am ecstatic and beyond thrilled to boast in this thing. So what is he so enthralled and overjoyed to be able to boast in and of?) of my weaknesses (What? Excuse me? While everyone else is choosing to brag in their strengths, achievements, accolades, and favor before God and men Paul says that he’s overjoyed to brag not in any of that, but in how weak he is? That seems like the opposite of what it means to brag or boast in at all. But, Paul further clarifies his statement by adding a “so”) , so that the power of Christ (wait, you mean the power of God again? The same power that created everything and rose Jesus from the grace, the same power that saved me from my sin and gave me a new name, a new nature, a new future, the same power and authority that calls me a son or daughter of the king, a joint heir with Christ, a new creation, a redeemed walking man made over by the Holy Spirit in the very image of Christ. That power? Yes, that power. The power of Jesus Christ himself.) may rest upon me.”

Paul hear’s God’s wisdom and his plan loudly and clearly. Enough that he becomes overjoyed and satisfied with his lot. God has given him this thorn or at least allowed it to persist and by him leaning into it and the struggles that come with it, he has the opportunity to make that much more out of the Glory of God that is showing in and through him. What is his response. Bring it on. All the more that I can do to make much out of Christ, I am for it.

You see, Paul understood what we need too. When we boast and brag, its not in us or how great we are. There is no power or truth in that. We aren’t powerful. We aren’t great. We are sinners hopelessly broken and in need of a savior. We can’t even save ourselves. We can’t even follow God’s rules when they are clear and mapped out for us. We would be doomed if left to our own devices. But Christ, seeing our sinful and desperate state, took pity, mercy, on us and did what we could not. In the greatest act of grace ever poured out in the history of the world, Christ didn’t give us sin, death, hell, and judgment for our rebellion. No, he died in our place. He took our punishment. He paid our debt. He did it all because we couldn’t It as all him.

What Paul is trying to say to the church in Corinth and to us today is this: When I boast, it won’t be in me or how great I am, it will always be in how weak and frail I am but how, in Christ I am made new. I am strengthened. I’m redeemed. I’m brought from darkness to marvelous light. All of our Boast is in Jesus. For who he is and what he’s done. He is our power, he is our strength, he is our righteousness and our hope.

I want to challenge you tonight to let that sit on your chest like a 80-lb dumbbell. Apart from Christ its all on you and your shoulders. You have to be strong enough, good enough, holy enough, wise enough, vigillent enough, and disciplined enough to live a life that pleases God. Good luck. However, for those of us in Christ, those of us who know how good we aren’t, and who have taken Christ’s death on the cross in our stead, we don’t have to be all those things. We simply know the one who is. He’s lifted the weight that we could never.

This is the hope of the gospel. That you don’t have to do it all because even if you wanted too, you couldn’t. Instead, Christ took mercy and grace on you and died in your place, paying the way back so that you could have a relationship with God again. The divide caused by our sin, forever repaired, and life with Christ starts now for all those in him, and ends never.

Landing

At no point during our time with Alex did we feel like we knew what we were doing. At no point did we see what God was doing in us or what his plan was. We had no idea what we were doing. However, a month after Alex left us, his momma texted Amanda this.

Hey Amanda! We have read your letter. Wept. And Alex translating the letter and I listening. Alex says that he even hears your voice and knows with what intonation you would say all this and where you would laugh and where you would be sad. Amanda, I'm happy to know you and your family! Thank God that God brings down such kind people as you and your husband! I want your life to be all the best, worthy of you! Thank you!!!!....

Pray for Alex and his family, they are still not yet believers but we see now that God was giving us the ability to show them his love through our family. Those long nights, the endless questions, the struggles of feeling too weak for the task; they were all giving us a path to show them our God and how much hope he brings to our lives.

Questions

What stuck out most to you tonight when Juston was “mathing” scripture?

Juston talked tonight about God’s grace being something given to us that is above and beyond what we could ever hope to deserve. In what ways is the cross a “grace”? What do you think it adds to our understanding of such grace that God is the one who gives it to us; that God would love us so much that he’d send his one and only son to die for us? What does that kind of sacrifice, done for you, make you feel?

Sufficient was described tonight, not as being only good enough or adequate but being entirely fulfilling. Like kicking back from a completely satisfying meal without anything but contentment. Can you say at this point in your life you feel completely satisfied in Christ or do you find yourself longing for other things to make you feel fulfilled? Does that ebb and flow in your life? Why do you think we wander in our satisfaction in the Lord so often?

God’s power is made “perfect” in weakness. What hope does this statement convey to you and I? Why do you think in our social media and perfectly manicured profiles, we feel so insecure about putting forward our “best selves?” How do you think tonight’s passage would respond to these feelings inside of us? In what ways would Paul encourage us in our weaknesses for Christ?

Do you get the idea of boasting in the Lord and what he’s done rather than in us? In what ways have you seen that make an impact in your life? Who have you seen live this out well?