Humbled Strength

Steve McKenzie

Light of the Gospel • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

2 Corinthians 12

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INTRODUCTION

WELCOME

Good Morning CrossPointe

Thank you for joining us for our online service this week. We are picking up our series through the book of 2 Corinthians that we are entitling, “Light of the Gospel”

Today we will be in Chapter 12

Before we begin - I do want to let you know that next week we will be having an in-person gathering at Chisholm Park off Narcoossee road. Please stay till the end for more information on that gathering.

TRANSITION

As we jump back into this book of the Bible, I want to remind us of the context:

The Church is Fractured

What should be unified unified is separated? (Bones and the body of Christ)

Why? - The culture runs deeper than the Kingdom

The values of the culture and how they perceived leadership permeated the church

Leaders should be boastful, financially supported, speak with eloquence, experience ease and blessings in life to authenticate the truthfulness of their message.

While the kingdom of God says leaders should be meek, not be a burden on the people, power of the message is in the substance of the gospel and not the eloquence of the one speaking, the truthfulness of the message will be authenticated by the power of the Holy Spirit and not through an easy life.

People begin to group around these different ideas

These groups begin to declare their truth, make posts, write letters to cultivate their side.

Pressure is added to the fractured place. The body feels pain and the pieces are driven further apart.

Healing is Staggered

Healing was pursued and the majority of people chose to move toward one another.

But healing is slow and the place of pain remains tender

Think of how quickly we can wound another person with our words (2 seconds of frustration released harsh words that can take years to recover).

The healing begin and then someone leans in with pressure on the fracture and the progress of healing is reset.

Pursuit of Full Healing

So you begin again - slowing dow to pursue healing, unity

This is the situation in Corinth and one that the Church at large can relate to today.

Context

Fracture - there is a break

People in opposition

Healing is desired

Paul

Paul presents himself not as the physician but a fellow patient

Paul doesn’t come in with pride but perseverance

Paul is a recipient of grace and speaks grace into the broken areas of the relationship

BIG IDEA

The strength of a spiritual leader who pursues unity with humility and sacrifice.

Do you want to see unity in the body?

Do you want to see transformation and love and healing experienced in the deepest areas of brokenness in the church?

This is what that process looks like. What we are looking at today needs to be your mindset, your perspective - of yourself and others.

SPLINTERED PRIDE

BOASTING & VISIONS

Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-

HUMBLE BRAG?

Someone who boasts but trys to disguise it as a humble statement

Adam Levine tweeting about being mobbed at the airport but joking they thought he was Justin Bieber.

a guy tweeting about how bad he would be at the Price is Right because he brought $20,000 to buy a monitor that only cost $350.

Is that what the Apostle Paul is doing?

No - culture matters

At the time, if someone wanted to create space between themselves and something that could be used to prop them up then they would speak in the third person.

Paul is intentionally creating space between himself and the visions.

This makes perfect sense.

BEHOLD BEAUTY W/OUT POSSESSION

Imagine you have never been to the Grand Canyon and I go and describe how beautiful and magnificant it is.

How will you respond?

Will you say, wow, you are amazing and beautiful. I can’t believe you saw that. You’re incredible. Can I just stand here and look at you in wonder?

OR would you say - wow, I want to go one day and see this for myself. I want to behold the beauty you saw.

The value is in the substance of what we behold, not in the person who witnessed the beauty.

Paul is saying:

I witnessed something I can’t even fully explain. I don’t even know if I was in my physical body or just my spirit.

I saw the presence of God

I heard things that can’t even be contained or communicated with words they were so wonderful

Is Paul great because he saw these things or is God great because he is that wonderful?

Are you great or superior to others because you have believed in a great God? Are you somehow more special, more important than someone else because of your experiences?

And to remind Paul of this, God put a splinter directly in his pride

THORNS (SPLINTERS, STAKE. etc)

God put a stake in Paul’s Pride - He splintered Paul’s pride.

Another word for thorn could be splinter

Jocelyn was young - beach house - splinter

Cringeworthy

This is what God does to our pride

God allowed a messenger of Satan to harass Paul (we don’t know what exactly the thorn was and that not even the point here)

This splinter stopped Paul from becoming prideful

Paul asked for it to be taken away (3 times) - WHY NOT FOUR?

God said...

My grace is sufficient. My power is made perfect in weakness

Paul said...

Then I will boast in my weakness so that I may know the power of Christ in me

For the sake of Jesus - I am content in weakness

Imagine you have a splinter in your foot - every step is painful. With tears you plead with God to remove it

But God says - I will be glorified through your pain

How will you respond:

Take it out anyway, I don’t care about your glory, just make my life comfortable

OK Lord, give me the supernatural strength to endure the pain for the sake of your name.

NOT ONLY mere endurance - Paul then boasts of the weakness. Look at the splinter, see it, that hurts, let Christ receive the glory.

This is counter-cultural in the church

The church should be a place of authenticity, not a masquerade

What thorns and splinters and God allowed you to endure for his glory?

Do you hide them behind a mask? Hide behind the lie that Christians have it all together and only live a blessed life. Do you present a painted mask to others with the thought that you are somehow doing God a favor?

That is like holding up a painted paper plate mask and saying isn’t God great.

MY STORY

My Week

17 Weeks

I felt overwhelmed, burdened, frustrated, - the list could go on - this is a hard season to be a leader and I wouldn’t change it for anything - I consider it a joy and honor to lead - Yet, at moments I feel overwhelmed circumstances, broad spectrum of opinions, and mudlike clarity of facts.

The Phone Call

On Thursday morning, my alarm went off and I am trying to will myself out of bed to tackle another day of challenges.

My phone rings

A friend of mind who lives elswhere in FL was calling. I answer the phone but it’s not him - it’s his young adult daughter.

I hear the brokenness in her voice. She tells me of past mistakes, witchcraft, satanic symbols, night terrors, fear, dispair - glimmer of hope. A name she heard as a child, peace that was tasted but never consumed - The Bread of Life, The Light of the World, The Door to salvation., the Shepherd who leaves the 99 to pursue that one lost sheep.

Here she was - tears of shame for wandering off and hopeful that the power of the gospel might apply to her.

I’m meeting with her tomorrow.

What a precious reminder for me as I studied this passage.

Yes Steve, you are weak - you don’t have all the answers

Yes Steve, I am sufficient

Yes Steve, the gospel saves, not you

With a gentleness God extends his strong arm and invites me to join him in his supernatural work.

This is the power of the gospel.

This is the mission of the church

HUMBLED STRENGTH

PERCEIVED WEAKNESS

The Corinthians thought they needed a leader who was strong and demanding. Someone who through the force of their leadership dominated his followers.

They rejected Paul because he didn’t ask them for money because if they financially supported Paul and then people looked up to Paul then it propped up their own sense of self importance.

It like a child saying my dad can beat up your dad

My pastor is pastor than your pastor...

All of that is foolishness

PARENTAL CARE

Read 12:11-13

Signs of a true apostle - super natural miracles that authenticate the gospel message in places where the gospel has not yet been proclaimed.

Saracasm - forgive me

Read 12:14-16a

Parent to a child

Read 12:16b - 18

I was crafty?

No one took advantage of you

LEADING THE BELOVED

GODLY CONCERN

I don’t need to defend myself before you

[12:19 ] We are proclaiming jesus

[12:20-21]

Fear of quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder

This is what divisions can look like in the church

I am not aware of these things happening broadly at CrossPointe

But let’s not think ourselves above them either.

We are in a moment of history with increased isolated and increased platforms for opinions masqueraded as facts.

This is a petri dish for quarreling, anger, hostility, anger, gossip, conceit and disorder.

We need to pray for and pursue the unity we have established in Christ

REPENT & BE TRANSFORMED

We need to be transformed

How [12:21]

Humble Ourselves or be humbled by God - think less often about yourself, your opinions, your preference.

Mourn sin - mourn division, mourn your own wrong doing, mourn the sin of others, mourn the sin of our culture. Mourn the brokenness that causes a lost sheep to weep in tears of shame.

Extol the sufficiency God’s grace

What if our opinion of Jesus was stronger than our opinion on whether or not we should wear face coverings.

What if we were as quick to speak of our weakness that display the power of God as we are to tell others our opinion on how things would really be done.

What if we spoke and posted more about the power of Christ than political leaders.

What if we commited to reading our Bibles twice as much as we read the news?

What if we sang songs of worship rather than allowing your preferred news channel to continuously play in the background.