Weak People Wanted

Weak People Wanted (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Main Point: Pain and weakness are abundantly profitable because through them we find that Jesus is all that we need.

I. Introduction

a. Weakness is an attribute that we don’t think about much, not favorably anyways. We want power, strength.

b. Most of aren’t Darwinist, subscribing to survival of the fittest… yet we seem to represent a sort of social Darwinism.

c. What if the message of Christianity is totally different? What if the message of Christianity is Weak People Wanted.

II. Background

a. Paul had opponents, who likely questioned his status. So Paul, who felt no need to defend himself, list his resume, not to brag on himself but on Christ.

b. The pinnacle of his resume was the vision that he received.

III. Paul’s Pain

a. The source of Paul’s pain is linked to Paul’s amazing visions. He clearly shows that His pain has a humbling purpose, in light of His grand visions.

i. The pain came, so as to not exalt himself.

1. Illustration: How we exalt ourselves. Connect Four

b. The identification of the pain is difficult to

i. All sorts of possibilities. Physical, emotional, a person, etc.

ii. There does seem to be some logic to it being a physical malday. A thorn in the flesh… weakness. Whatever it was, it was extremely painful. This Pauil, who had been through so many trials and tribulations, was now facing something that caused him to plead with the Lord.

c. The source of pain in interesting.

i. The Pain is tied to a messenger of Satan, or more specifically, an angel of Satan.

ii. However, the thorn itself was a satanic messenger.

1. This seems to be a job like account, where God allows the thorn to achieve his purposes. Satan would want Paul to boast.

2. This thorn then, had a divine purpose. There are some extremes of course. Not every malady or difficulty do we need to ascribe this sort of demonic label. The stubbed toe demon. The speeding ticket demon. The late for work demon. Pain is a part of living in this sinful broken work.

3. Instead of trying to determine the origins of our pain, we can always see the divine purpose.

IV. Paul’s Plea

a. Paul, rather human did what we all do when something bad happens We plead to the Lord… we pray! Oh Lord, take it away. Even Jesus, in the midst of pains cried out to God

b. Pain is one of those universal stimuli that is deeply entrenched in us. We don’t even have to understand what is happening to us to reach. IN fact, there is nothing rational in pain. It brings out the most raw emtions.

c. The beauty of our faith is that we have someone to cry out to… we have an advocate. Imagine in the atheistic worldview, there is not advocate. No judge to cry to in the course of injustice.

d. Paul didn’t stop. He kept pleading, kept asking, kept begging.

V. Paul’s Power – God delights in using people who have absolutely nothing to offer.

a. Paul received his answer. Have you ever had to wait patiently for an answer. It can be agonizing. Then the answer comes and it is not what you want. So imagine the scenario: Paul, the great apostle, who had done much in the kingdom of God. A true hero of the faith, the father of gentile missions. God had used him in mighty ways. This Paul, he’s experience pain and he cries out to God to release him… and God refuses.

b. On a human level, that feels brutal. But on a divine level, we learn something about God’s design. God’s glory is magnified when His power is displayed in and through weak people.

c. Paul, like us, was seeking relief from the painful stimuli. However what God is teaching is that his purpose is not pain-free living. His purpose is grace-filled living. He doesn’t promise your best life now. He promises grace now. He doesn’t promise to help us escape all difficulties, but he promises to walk us through it.

d. Paul’s power is Jesus himself. Paul’s power wasn’t his intellect, his hard work, his people skills, his theological mind. NO, it was Jesus.

e. The lesson in the midst of Paul’s pain is this: the Purpose may not be relief, but it will be power.

f. Would we be so willing to live a pain-fee life that we would forfeit a deep walk with Jesus, which is the result of earthly pain?

g. There are things that we can only learn as a result of difficulty and pain.

h. God’s power is most complete in weakness.

i. Have we missed out on a glorious display of God’s power because we have attempted to mask our weaknesses?

VI. Paul’s Pleasure

a. Recognizing that weakness and difficulty actually produce divine power… Paul changed his approach.

b. It sounds counter intuitive for someone to say that they find pleasure in pain. Now does this mean that Paul in this passage. Rather, Paul knows that momentary pain is worth it because of who is with him.

c. Here is the key though… because of Christ.

i. Paul doesn’t take pleasure in pain simply because it procures some positive result, like an athlete.

ii. He take pleasure because of the very presence of the power of Christ.

iii. Paul’s pleasure isn’t in pain, his pleasure is in the very presence of Christ.

VII. Personal Story

VIII. Gospel

a. Perhaps you are here today and your life is full of pain and weaknesses, you feel totally broken. Perhaps you feel hopeless because your sin is great and you have never experienced the forgiveness of your sins. Maybe in the midst of your brokenness, you have no hope because you don’t know Christ as Lord and you aren’t even sure where you would spend eternity.

b. You’ve tried living life your own way, and it’s not working. Here’s the Christ promise, if we will turn over the key of our lives to the Lord, he will wake something broken in our lives and make something beautiful. Simply call out to Christ this morning, admitting your sin and confessing him as your Lord and Savior.

c. Perhaps though, you are a believer and you have experienced heart-rending pain or have come face to face with your ugly weaknesses. Remember this morning the words of Jesus, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” God will use the broken pieces of your life to create a masterpiece. Weak People truly are wanted.