2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Introduction:

-If you were given the ability to snap your fingers and make one of the problems go away in your life, what would it be?

-Would you get rid of some physical ailment you had?

-Would you get rid of the strain and strife you experience with one of your family members?

-Would you change your financial situation to where you don’t feel so pressed with your money?

-In pastoral ministry, I often get to see the hardships and pain that people are going through

-Although God is gracious and gives us many blessings, there are also many hardships and pains that people deal with on a regular basis

-And sometimes we would give anything just to get some of these hardships off our backs so we could live a little more comfortably

-We believe that we could even serve God better if things were a little easier

-The Apostle Paul had very similar thoughts in our text

-He was experiencing real hardship and pain, and he would have given anything to have this pain removed

-But instead of God making his circumstances easier, God gave him something so much better

-And that’s what I want to share with you this morning, so that at the end of this message, all your problems will still be there

-But my hope and prayer is that you can leave this morning greatly encouraged in what God is doing in your hardships

Background:

-Of any of the churches that he planted, Paul probably had the most complicated relationship with the Corinthian Church

-Paul planted this church during his second missionary journey, staying in this city 18 months after having been assured by Christ in a vision that he would not be harmed

-The city of Corinth was a prosperous, work hard play hard kind of city, with all kinds of opportunities for wealth, upward mobility, and sin

-Unfortunately, the immorality and ungodliness of the city often found it’s way into the church, which led to this particular church often being the problem child of Paul’s ministry

-There were several letters that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, two of which you have in your Bible

-In 1 Corinthians, Paul spends 16 chapters addressing all manner of questions and problems in the church

-In that first letter alone, Paul addresses issues of:

-rivalry and division over their favorite Christian celebrities,

-an incident of gross immorality in the church,

-believers taking each other to court,

-the abuse of the Lord’s supper

-the abuse of spiritual gifts

-Just to name a few

However, the problems persisted in this church

-At some point after he wrote 1 Corinthians, Paul goes back to visit the Corinthian church, but the visit did not go well

-It seems that some individual in the congregation harshly attacked the character and ministry of Paul, and to make matters worse, it seems that the congregation did little to support and defend the man who had sacrificed so much bring them to Christ

-This prompted Paul to leave Corinth and write another letter, rebuking the church for their failure to come to his aid

-Titus seems to be the one who took this letter to the Corinthians, and Paul anxiously waited his return to report how the church had taken this stern letter

-When Paul finally met up with Titus, he was relieved that the church showed many signs of genuine repentance, making sure to discipline the man who had wronged Paul

-In the first 9 chapters, Paul spends time rejoicing in the repentance of the Corinthian congregation and addressing other matters with them

-However, there are still a handful of trouble-makers in Corinth

-False apostles have crept into the church and were making attacks against Paul’s character and ministry, and even worse, were spreading a false gospel

-He begins to address these latest troubles in chapters 10-13

-These few chapters are perhaps the most personal and intimate chapters that Paul ever penned,

-You see, these false apostles were slandering Paul, claiming that he acted big and tough in his letters, but was weak and cowardly in person

-They claimed that he was physically unimpressive, and that his speaking and preaching abilities were pathetic

-These false apostles were touting their own supposed ministry resumes, trying to show that they were better than Paul and therefore worthy of the Corinthians trust

-And because of this, Paul is put in a very awkward and unenviable position

-Sensing that this church was on the brink of abandoning him and the true gospel, Paul does something that really repulses him:

He must defend himself and his ministry against these false apostles

-He does this, not because he cares about inflating his reputation, but because he cares about this church that Christ had bought with his own blood

And in chapter 11, Paul begins to give the Corinthians his resume

-He’s an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham

-He’s a servant of Christ with an unsurpassable record

-He’s been imprisoned for Christ

-He’s been beaten for Christ

-He’s been at the point of death for Christ

-He’s been whipped with 39 lashes on five separate occasions by Jewish persecutors

-He’s been beaten with rods by the Romans on three separate occasions

-One time in Paul’s ministry, he was stoned by his enemies, with them leaving him outside the city presuming that he was dead

-In his missionary travels, he had been shipwrecked on at least three separate occasions, and at one point, spent a whole night and day in the middle of the sea, apparently clinging to a piece of debris

-In his efforts to preach the gospel, Paul had faced dangers crossing dangerous rivers and escaping wandering bandits

-He’d been persecuted by Jew and Gentile alike

-Whether he was in a city, in the country, or at sea, Paul had face just about every single kind of danger one can face for the sake of Christ and the gospel

-He’d spent many days hungry and thirsty, without even the basic necessities of life, surviving harsh elements to preach the gospel

-On top of all of that, the burden for the churches that he’d planted was overwhelming

-He cared about each and every believer that he’d led to the Lord or ministered to

Paul then moves on from his resume of immense suffering for Christ to talk about his heavenly visions

-Paul had, on multiple occasions, received direct revelation from God Himself.

-He speaks of one such experience in 12:1-6 of being caught up to heaven and hearing things that he wasn’t even allowed to speak of

-Paul was truly a remarkable man, an incredible minister of the Gospel!

All of these incidents that Paul tells us about himself make him seem like a legend, someone who’s larger than life

Surely, this guy isn’t anything like us, right??

Which makes what Paul is about to tell us all the more stunning

-Because here in the next few verses, Paul let’s us in on a deeply personal struggle that he had, and the incredible message of God’s grace that can help you through whatever you have going on in your life this morning

-I want you to see 4 stages that Paul walks through in this passage, and how God brings him from anguish into rejoicing

We’re going to see:

The Paradox

The Prayer

The Reply

And the Rejoicing

**Read passage and Pray

1. The Paradox (7)

-Paul has just shared about how he has received direct revelation from God, including being caught up to heaven and hearing words there that he wasn’t even allowed to share

-But then he transitions into a stunning admission

The New King James Version Chapter 12

And lest 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 buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

-You see, Paul was given a thorn in the flesh

Let’s ask 2 questions:

What is that?

-a thorn in the flesh is something that was painful and present for Paul

-it was something that just wouldn’t go away and seemed to make Paul’s life miserable and unbearable

-it’s something that you just feel like, “if only this were to go away” or “if these circumstances would only change, life would be so much better for me!”

-Now, specifically for Paul, what was this thorn in the flesh?

-The short answer is that we don’t know

-It could have been a physical ailment

-After all, we just learned that Paul had been beaten up pretty bad in his life

-Given how harshly he had been treated for the sake of Christ, and given how poor medical treatment was back in those days, it could have been any number of painful conditions or illnesses

-Or it could have been the incredible burden of caring for the churches

-But whatever it may have been, the Holy Spirit didn’t see fit to give us certainty, which I think helps make this more applicable and relatable to us

Brothers and sisters, do you have things in your life that are hard, painful, and won’t go away?

-Are there things in your life that you would give anything to change?

-Perhaps it’s a physical weakness, and illness, a condition, that makes life incredibly difficult for you

-Perhaps it’s a relational difficulty, something that wasn’t your fault, but someone has wrongly accused you or turned on you

-Perhaps it’s a financial pressure or burden that seems ready to crush you

Whatever it is, it’s incredibly painful, and cumbersome, and it seems that you’re trying to run the Christian race with a broken ankle, or a piano strapped to your back

-Paul certainly felt that way

2. Who gave it to him?

-And here is where we begin to see the paradox

-We’re told that this thorn in the flesh is also called a messenger of Satan, so someone could argue that Satan gave it to him

-And while the text is certainly clear that Satan is at work desiring to harm Paul, in light of Paul’s view of God’s sovereignty and that he petitions the Lord to take it away, it seems best to see this as something that was given

-As we see throughout the bible, Satan is real foe who can do real harm, but he is only allowed to operate within the boundaries that God gives to him

-And so this painful thorn in the flesh, this thing in Paul’s life that is debilitating him, that’s causing him anguish and is an excruciating burden, this thing is actually there because God sovereignly has allowed this to happen

-And so brothers and sisters, there may be some excruciating circumstances going on in your life that the evil one is hoping will crush you, but it is simultaneously allowed and ordained by God Himself

-Which leads us to a really important truth that I want you to see in the text

What is the purpose of this thorn in the flesh?

-There are actually two parallel purposes given in the text

Pauls says that this messenger of Satan was given to “buffet” him

-that word there means to torment or to hit in the face

-the word is used 5 times in the NT, and two of them are used in the Gospels to describe Christ being hit in the face shortly before his crucifixion

-This is the purpose for which Satan intends this thorn in the flesh

-It’s to hurt Paul

-to torment him

-to cause him anguish and pain

-Satan desires to inflict excruciating harm on Paul

-But notice there’s another parallel purpose here in the text that’s actually mentioned twice

-the other purpose of this thorn in the flesh is that it is intended from keeping Paul from being exalted above measure

-In other words, this is God’s intention for this thorn in the flesh, and he desires to protect Paul from pride and arrogance that could really hurt his walk with the Lord, his relationship with others, and his ministry

-So this is the paradox

-This thorn in the flesh that Paul is experiencing is a tactic of the Devil meant to cause him real harm and anguish

-meant to fray his endurance

-meant to wear away at the fabric of his soul

-And yet, this thorn in the flesh is also ordained by God for the purpose of protecting Paul, and keeping him becoming proud and arrogant in the abundance of revelations he received from God and in the wide reaching effect of his ministry

which leads us to . . .

2. The Prayer (8)

-Notice what Paul does with this thorn in the flesh, this ever-present, ever-painful problem in his life

-He brings it to the Lord in prayer

-but notice the anguish that comes through in his description of this request

-First, he claims the he pleaded with the Lord

**Have you ever seen someone plead before?

One of my favorite Christmas movies that I watch almost every year is Home Alone

-An 8 year-old boy named Kevin is accidentally left home alone in Chicago when his family goes on vacation to Paris as they rush out the door to get to the airport

-When his parents find out what’s happened halfway through the flight to Paris, they’re absolutely beside themselves with worry and guilt, especially his mom

-When they arrive in Paris, they find out that there are no seats available to return home immediately because of the holidays, and so Kevin’s mom refuses to go to the hotel, but stays at the airport to do everything in her power to find a flight back

-And she doesn’t just sit quietly by

-She causes a ruckus, accosting every airline employee that will give her the time of day

-imploring them to do something for her

-She even goes around to the other passengers of some of the flights, offering hundreds of dollars and her own expensive earrings to get a flight home, refusing to take no for an answer**

-Brothers and sisters, Paul is pleading with the Lord

-He’s begging him

-He’s intent on getting an answer from the Lord

-And not just on once, but at least on 3 separate occasions

-These may have been long, intense prayer sessions, perhaps accompanied by fasting

-Or Paul may be alluding to how Christ, in the Garden of Gethsemane, prayed his request three times for the cup to pass from him, perhaps comparing his anguished earnestness to that incident

-And what was his prayer?

-He was begging the Lord to take this thorn in the flesh away from him

“Jesus, would you please take this away??”

“Jesus, I’m hurting!”

“I’m trying to serve you!”

“I’ve given my entire life to sharing the Gospel. I’ve lost everything because of it. I’ve lost my old religion,

“I’ve lost my old reputation and standing in the community

“I’ve lost my my health and well-being

“I’ve lost my financial security

“I could serve you so much better if this thing weren’t in my life!

“I’ve given up everything for you!! You’re all-powerful! You can do whatever you want!

“Can’t you just take this away from me??

“One word from you could make this all go away

“Jesus, can’t you do this for me??

Brothers and sisters, some you are there this morning

“God, can’t you just heal me??

“God, can’t you just heal my loved one??

“God, can’t you just save my lost child??

“God, can’t you just bring reconciliation to my family??”

And brothers and sisters, if you’re there this morning, that’s not inherently a wrong or sinful prayer

-And God does sometimes choose to alleviate our pain and take away the excruciating thorns in our lives

-But sometimes, He gives us a different answer . . .

3. The Reply (9a)

-Look at the reply of Jesus to Paul:

The New King James Version Chapter 12

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

“Jesus, will you take away the pain??

“Jesus, will you change my circumstances??

“No . . . no I won’t.”

“But Jesus, this thorn in the flesh makes me so weak and vulnerable!”

“I know . . . that’s the point.”

You see brothers and sisters, Paul probably thought that He would be so much better able to serve Christ without this debilitating weakness

-But he was completely wrong

You see brothers and sisters, far from being a hindrance to Paul’s usefulness to the Lord, this weakness was actually a necessity

Jesus tells Paul no, and gives two reasons for this refusal

The first reason is this:

“My grace is sufficient for you”

-Never have more comforting words ever been spoken than these

What is grace?

-Grace is simply God’s undeserved kindness and favor towards us

-It’s God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense

-In other words, grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve

-whether that’s forgiveness of sins

-whether that’s giving us a relationship with Him

-Or whether that’s giving us strength to simply get through today

-And guess what?

-God tells Paul that His grace is sufficient for him

-it’s enough for him

-What an understatement!

**I remember someone describing it this way:

-Imagine that Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, befriends you and tells you that he will take care of all of your needs

-His current worth is estimated at around 411 billion dollars

-That is more than the GDP of 150 out of the 195 countries in the world

-And so imagine that you walk in to a gas station with him, and you’re thirsty, so you grab a can of coke from one of the refrigerators, and you walk up to the cash register with him, and you ask him, “do you have enough money to pay for this?”

-And he smiles at you, and says, “my funds are sufficient to cover this.” **

Brothers and sisters, God’s grace, His power and strength that He grants to His children, are sufficient for you!

-It’s more than enough!

-Whatever you’re going through

-Whatever discomfort or pain

-Whatever nagging worries or doubts

-Whatever emotional or physical or financial or relational or familial difficulties that you’re working through

-His grace is sufficient for you!

Notice the second reason Jesus gives Paul for His refusal to take away His thorn in the flesh:

The New King James Version Chapter 12

My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

You see, Paul’s weakness wasn’t hindering Christ’s power in his life . . . it was enhancing it

-Now, we need to be careful to understand what’s being said here:

-It’s not somehow that God needs our weaknesses

-Or that somehow God is only this powerful, but He gets more powerful when we have weaknesses

-And furthermore, it’s not simply having weaknesses that somehow make us more godly or useful, but instead, it’s our understanding how weak we are and how much we need God that really allows His power to be displayed

**My dad mentioned something similar recently, but many of you have gone to a jeweler and seen diamond rings on display

-And usually they put a piece of black or dark blue velvet behind the ring

-And on it’s own, that velvet isn’t much to look at

-It’s not very attractive or impressive

-But it serves as the background to make that diamond appear all the more brilliant**

-And that is exactly what happens when we realize how weak we truly are, and choose to rely on God’s grace instead of our own strength

-Brothers and sisters, this has been God’s pattern all throughout redemptive history, to use weak people to display His power

-Abraham and Sarah were past the age of child-bearing

-Jacob had all kinds of familial issues

-Moses was too old

-David was too young

-Solomon recognized how he lacked wisdom for ruling the nation

-Mary was just a lowly, teenage girl

-Peter recognized how unworthy he was to be in the presence of Christ

-Even into the church age and our day, this has always been the pattern of God, to take weak, frail, unimpressive people and to use them

This is exactly what Paul tells the Corinthians in his first letter, when he says, 1 Corinthians 1:26–27 “Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”

Look around! We’re not a very impressive bunch!

-There’s not a lot of PhD’s and rocket scientists in our midst

-There’s no world class athletes among us

-Most of have very little fame or influence

-There are no billionaires here at church this morning

-but that’s how God operates

-He takes our weaknesses and limitations and uses us anyway, so that when we accomplish His purposes, no one looks at us and says, “wow, what an impressive person!”

-Instead, they say, “how on earth is that person so useful to the Lord, so joyful in Him? There doesn’t seem to be anything all that impressive about him or her.”

Brothers and sisters, these debilitating weaknesses, ailments, and hardships in your life are designed by God to bring you to a place of utter dependence upon Him so that He can work powerfully through you.

This brings us lastly to . . .

4. The Rejoicing (9b-10)

-Look at how Paul responds to Jesus’ words:

The New King James Version Chapter 12

Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul gets it!

-He doesn’t mope and pout about his thorn in the flesh

-He doesn’t grumble about how unloving and uncaring Jesus is

No, now that he understands the purpose for his thorn in the flesh, he rejoices in it

-Now that he has this answer, he says he would rather boast in his infirmities than continue to beg God to take them away

-What does it mean to boast in his weaknesses?

-it means to glory in them, to take pleasure in them

-Why? Because it’s fun to suffer? Should Christians just pretend that it’s fun to go through hardship and distress?

-Of course not!

-Than how can we boast in our infirmities and take pleasure in them?

-Because we have Christ

-Because we know that His power is given to the weak and humble

-Because we know that He gets all the glory when He strengthens and uses weak people like us

You see, Paul’s had a change in perspective

-He now takes pleasure in various kinds of infirmities and weaknesses:

-He takes pleasure in reproaches, which would be physical or verbal mistreatment

-He takes pleasure in needs, which would be calamities and distresses

-He takes pleasure in persecutions, when people mistreat him for Christ

-He takes pleasure distresses, which would be various kinds of difficulties

He takes pleasure in these things as he lives in obedience to Christ and serves Him

-Because he now knows that when he is weak, he can be strong through Christ

Application

-Brothers and sisters, each and every one of you are going through hardships or difficulties this morning

-Things that are going on in your life that aren’t a result of sin

-Things that you didn’t ask for

-Some of you are really struggling physically

-Some of you have close loved ones that are really struggling physically, and it’s painful and exhausting to walk with them through it

-Some of you bear a lot of weight as you suffer through relational difficulties because of the sins of others

-Some of you are working so hard, and are struggling to make ends meet financially

-Some of you this morning are completely and totally worn out

-You’re begging God for relief

-You’re begging him to come to your aid and change your circumstances

-You feel like it’s too much to bear and it’s hindering you

-You feel like you could be so much more happy and useful and godly without this weight you bear

Hear this word from the Lord this morning: It’s not true

-Though your weight may be heavy and painful

-Though Satan and his forces may be seeking to do you genuine harm

-These burdens you bear are also sovereignly ordained by God

-And though it’s not wrong to pray for relief, and God may answer that request

-You need to hear the words of the Savior this morning: “My grace is sufficient for you.”

-These weaknesses that seem to be debilitating to you can actually be opportunities for God’s power to be displayed in your life, if you’ll only recognize your weakness, humble yourself before Him, and ask Him to use these weaknesses to display His glory to those around you

-God does not promise you or I relief . . . but He does promise us something much better:

-He promises us His sufficient grace