The Example: From Pain to Pessimism to Power (April 25th 2021)
You're welcome morning. Brothers and sisters. It is great to see you before me virtually We're in the third week, the final week of our serious called the comfort of the Gospel. In the first week, we looked at the source of comfort where do we find comfort? And we discovered that God is the source as matter fact. In verse 3, for 2nd Corinthians 1:3, we discover God to be quote, the God of all comfort and we noted there that God doesn't give Comfort God, actually is Comfort. God, doesn't invite us to the party. He is the party. the comfort of the Gospel, The Source, the source is God, Last week, we looked at the comfort of the Gospel, the Target and we found unsurprisingly that the target of God's Comfort is us. He wants to comfort us in our hour of danger, in our hour, a tribulation, but perhaps more. Surprisingly that we aren't the only target God wants to work his strength through Us in such a way that he not only Comforts us but he reaches out of our lives and Comforts other people through us. The source of the comfort is God, but the targets is Jewel, not only us but those around us. Today we want to take a look at the comfort of the Gospel. The example, the example in the example, he was going to be the Apostle Paul ever, going to find that he is besotted with problems. And there is a very Full progression in his life that we're going to take apart dismantle and apply to our own lies and here's the progression. Paul goes from pain. To pessimism. Why is all this happening to me? I'm at the end of my rope from Pain to pessimism and then from pessimism to power, how does that work? Supposed to be outline for the sermon today world will do these two fairly quickly. Most of the sermon is right here. I've got the pain down part Pastor. I certainly got my PhD in. Passing the part that interests me is how to go from pessimism to power and that's where we're going to spend our time today. Thank you Lord for reading the scriptures. This is what Laura read to us.
For we do not want you to be unaware Brothers of the Affliction we experienced in Asia that phrase the Affliction we experienced in Asia. We actually don't know what that Affliction is. It's difficult to time this all out and figure out exactly what Affliction was it in his mind when he wrote that. But we know a lot about the Affliction that was in his wife. We don't know exactly what it was referring to with this phrase but there's a lot to choose from Laura read to us from 2nd Corinthians 11, countless feedings beatings. That would be enough. I've never been beaten once not even a single time. Call have lost count.
People just wailing on him. Kicking him in the face. Punching them in the gut. How many times? I don't know. I lost track. I'm not sure if I stop counting in about 30. So they were just like kind of slots in the face. No often near death. It is outside lystra. The only reason they stop beating me is because I thought I was dead.
5 times at the hands of the Jews. I receive forty lashes. Less one Deuteronomy. 25, says that you are allowed to lash people, 40 times and the Jews never wanted to go over God's rules. Because, you know, we're so wholly. So we'll do it 39 times. But these were lashes. This would be a long leather whip a singular piece of leather and then maybe maybe three or four feet from the end. It there's a knot and there's lashes. There's individual pieces of Leather So that each time you whip, there's multiple pieces of contact, 39 *, can you imagine how that would feel And I happened to him five times.
Three times. He was beaten by rods. The Jews traditionally last people with leather whips? The Romans traditionally, beat people with rods. Can you imagine just being beaten on wake up with a policeman's baton, just across the head, across the shoulders in the gut, across the legs and across the feet beaten with rods stoned. Can you do is so easy to read these words? But I want you to enter into them. Can you imagine a group of people around you with potato sized, rocks, throwing them at your body. This is with his wife. Three times I was Shipwrecked. This is kind of different because everything else is man acting upon God's servant. Hears. God not being faithful. You think the problem is, God, would get me to my destination, but I do know Shipwrecked not once not twice, but three times, one time I was floating around on a piece of floating debris for a day and a night. I don't know how long that was. It was, at least, 12 hours could be as much as 24 hours. But can you imagine a life where you're beating and whipped and stoned, shipwreck floating around in cold water, not knowing what's going to happen next?
Okay, but careful Bible readers, see if you can pick up the predominant. Emotion in this verse on frequent Journeys, in danger from Rivers, Danger from robbers. Danger. From my own people Danger from the Gentiles danger in the city, danger in the wilderness dangerous feed Danger from false Brothers. Can you imagine going through life where you always feel in danger?
You're always five minutes away from the next disaster.
This was his wife.
In toil and hardship through many, a sleepless night, hunger and thirst, without food, cold exposure. This is not a Mediterranean vacation and apart from all that I just talked about my bodily concerns, I planted churches. These people are looking up to me, these people looking for leadership, and these people are being attacked by false prophets. And, and, and people who are drifting doctrinally and the government forces themselves, and I have anxiety about all this So when he says we did not want you to be unaware of Brothers of the Affliction we experience that's a bit of an understatement, don't you think?
By the Bible should say but I was strong through it all. Because I'm an unusual leader and I take my walk more than a couple of witty whippings to get me down. We have this myth of the Uber confidence self-assured, a type, bold leader, and it doesn't matter what the Affliction. That's not what Paul says. For we were so utterly burdened. Beyond our strength. That we despaired for life itself. That was his experience. There's three phrases here out early burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Each of them obviously has similar meetings are all pointed in the same direction but they're a little bit different. It's Greek word here. Burdened means weight. Have you ever felt love but lights just a weight. They just have to put down. Do you have to wear? It just makes everything difficult. He didn't feel burdened, he felt utterly burdened. Just kind of like the out of the ultimate weight. But you have to. Put across your back every morning. This is your life. I was utterly burdened. I thought beyond my strength. Have you ever felt that way? Just feeling trapped? I have to do this and I can't do this. This is my duty and I can't do it. This is what I'm called to do and I just can't do it. I'm trapped, there's no winning moves. I win. If I, if I lose, if I don't do it, I lose. If I do, do it. I just feel totally dropped. Have you ever been there? That's where Paul is beyond our strength and that we despaired of life itself. Surprised. I'm surprised that the Apostle Paul Says he was despairing. I did some study on this word despairing. You know? When you're preparing a sermon, you can go to lexicons. What's your dictionaries of Greek words? And I just looked up the word that's used here for despaired and guess what it means. It means despaired to depressed and so forth but there's another kind of tool. It's not a lexicon is called a sense dictionary. And it doesn't translate the word that translates the sense don't have time to describe. Exactly what a sense dictionary is, but it gives you the sense, the emotional sense of the word. So I looked up despaired in my Bible sense dictionary. You know what this word means?
The sense, the emotional sense there is falling apart.
The lashes, the rods, the stonings, the shipwrecks. the danger, always being in danger, is City, danger, Wilderness, danger Jews, danger, Gentiles Danger, I can't hold it together, much longer.
He's here.
And who can blame him?
And who can blame him?
Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But I was to make this rely not on ourselves, but on God who raises the death. Notice this is two sentences. Two periods, two sentences. They divide the person, half. The first sentence is a summary. I had all these afflictions innate jaw details. Let me just summarize. I felt like I had received the sentence of death.
new sentence, but that was to this is a purpose clause.
But that was too, don't even read the rest of the sentence yet. Just be thankful that there's a purpose Clause. This is not random roulette.
That's not it. Who is a purpose to this pain? There is a reason there is something to be accomplished. There is a country to be discovered and that country country is God's strength, and I am leading you through this so that you can Discover it, you would not Discover it any other way. But that was to purpose Clause. What was the purpose to make us rely not on ourselves but on God.
That's the purpose.
Your pain is not lost on me. Shipwrecks, not fun. I get it. But there's a purpose.
I want to use these events that I'm allowing in your life to teach you to rely on yourself. but on me,
how do you do that? How do you actually learn? Because we just go back here if you just say, you know, why not on ourselves, but on God, if you've been here at church, if you're a Believer, if your accepted Christ will say, yeah, that's what I want to do. Like my heart is saying, yes, yes, yes. Let me enter into that but I don't know how like those are. Just nice words practically it is 10:37 on April 25th. What do you want to do? Like I'm ready to learn. What do you want me to do? Tell me what to do? Put me in coach, but I don't know what this means. Learn to rely not on ourselves but I'm God. Yes. But how, what's the practical way of doing that? Proptosis. In 2nd Corinthians 12. Famous passage about his Thorn In the Flesh. Let me just take you through it because in this experience, Paul doesn't say he will learn to rely on. God. He showed us how we did it. And we can dissect this. And not only does a goal come out. Learn to rely on God not ourselves, but a process to get there. Let's look at this carefully. Should I keep me from being coming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the Revelation? Let's just pause there. What's this about? Okay earlier in this, chapter 2nd Corinthians 12, Paul is talking about how God has actually transported God's a DePaul to heaven. Actually. and he says it's so frustrating cuz Paul says what I heard, there is Indescribable what I saw there is Indescribable and you don't need us, what he does next He doesn't describe its like that. We don't know what he heard. We don't know what he said. He said it was Indescribable, and then he doesn't even try. I'd love to know what he saw and heard, he doesn't say. So, But he did have the surpassing. Revelation that doesn't come everybody's way. And so he says to keep me from becoming conceited. A thorn was giving to me in the flesh. A messenger of Satan to harass me to keep me from becoming conceited. By the way, we don't know what that form was. Some people think that Paul had eye problems that he had vision problems in one of his letters. Usually, when Paul was writing a letter, he had a secretary, write it like he would dictate it, but another man would write it down and it one part in one of his letters. He says, see I'm riding with my own hand, notice the big letters and people use that as a clue. He had to write in big letters, maybe he had a slight problem. Other people would say no, it wasn't that. It was a persistent illness, maybe malaria. He may have contracted malaria, which is kind of a recurring. My son has had malaria and he has been coached by the doctors. If these symptoms you can't ever get rid of malaria. You can just keep it at Bay if these symptoms ever come up for the hospital immediately because you're having malaria Bloom, maybe he had malaria and it was flaring up from time to time. Interrupting his ministry. Some people say it was mental struggles. That he had just such a burden of depression and possibly guilt for persecuting the churches. The bottom line is, we don't know what, we just don't know what the throne is, but we know he had it and what does a Christian to do? When he has a messenger of Satan. 14 Ministry. What do you supposed to do? Take it to God, that's what he did. Three times. I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should leave me. Not you think you would you would think that the Apostle Paul has a little Pole Like maybe he's on the A-list. Maybe his prayer request. Go to the top of the list, you think so?
He said to me now.
And I don't want to talk about this anymore. You come to me three times. This is the last time we're going to talk about it. The answer is no. But it was no with an explanation. My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness. This is very important. In God and God's words. There are three main nouns, Grace, power and weakness. And this verse explains how they interact What state power and weakness.
God's power thrives in our weakness. And that weird. If you are a gardener, I am not, but if you're a gardener, you know, the different kind of plants thrive in different kind of environments, there are shrubs warranty, would be able to tell you better, but I think the shrubs are in front of the church. I think we just selected those, cuz they grow well in shade. That there's other kind of plants like palm trees that they don't do well in shade, they need constant Sun like 12 hours a day forever. Some plants grow in really acidic soil, some in really basic soil, and some need a deep root system and some don't some, they need lots of water sometimes, like cactuses will die if you water them too much. Plants have different environments where they thrive in. What turns out that God's power has an environment that it drives in the soil that God's power is the soil of our own weakness.
By the way, this is a sanctifying journey. We are constantly learning in life how to discover our own weakness. Embrace our own weakness so that God's strength can live through us. This is a lifelong journey and while we're learning it, my grace is sufficient for you. Notice my grace is, this is present tense. Grace is constantly flowing, and keeping us attached, while over a long. Of time. We learn the secret of embracing, our own weakness, so that God's strength can be shown
many people believe that the Bible is a long story of strong leaders, Powerful leaders who were Visionaries and just had this power of presence, they would just walk into a room and you just know that they're there.
It'd be nice if a word that's just not true. The Bible isn't the story of super strong Visionary leaders, that always knew what to do. The Bible's more accurately described Is the story of God using weak broken flawed, deeply, sinful messy people to accomplish his purposes. Starts right at the beginning. If you read the Bible or even if you know anything about ancient cultures, you know that, the first born son is The Golden Child, that's the one that the progeny will flow through, that's the one that the family will Thrive under. That's the one that's going to lead. That's the one that's going to transition, the family as the father moves off, the scene who was Adam and Eve's first born. God didn't use, can he use the second board? The underdog able Who was Abraham's first born? It was Ishmael. Didn't use Ishmael. God, used, Isaac. God didn't use the He-man, he saw the hunter the Marvel hero. He use the Mama's Boy II born. Jacob.
God didn't use Dale Carnegie. He use the Tongue Tied. Moses to be his spokesman. Remember when Samuel had been told by God, that's all had lost the kingdom and that God would reveal the new King, 2, Samuel, and is better. God said he's in this family. So Samuel goes to the dad's Jose, one of your sons is going to be king, bring them in and God will tell me which one son number one, son number to presented in order of age, by the way, send this to all the sons God has not indicated the king. Samuel said there was another son kicking around while there's the runt of the family, but that's the one you look on the outside. I look in the inside, that's always doing this.
Gideon. Gideon was the weakest in his family. And his family was the weakest in his tribe. And the tribe was the weakest out of the 12 tribes of Israel and yet that's who God selected to deliver Israel.
And so Gideon raised an army of 32000 for the battle and God whittled it down to ten thousand. And then he whittled it down to 300. That does not sound like it would just be honest. That doesn't sound like a brilliant military strategy to me. You got thirty-two thousand fighting men and you want to take 300 Yeah, that's exactly what I want. Why would you do that? Why would you want to do that? Because that's 300, you will see how weak you are. And when you see how weak you are, I can be strong. This is the environment that my strength grows in
God uses the weakening power of thorns in the flesh. Not to irritate us, but to empower us. To strengthen us. To comfort us.
and I think the best example of this in the Bible is Paul By the way, can I just go off on a editorial? This is not exegesis. I cannot prove any of this from scripture, it is scriptural but I can't prove that. This is the intent of the scripture, but I just want to be with you. I think God left out the details of Paul's Thorn In the Flesh intentionally.
I think we don't know what his Thorn In the Flesh is because we're not supposed to know. Why would that be? I know I'm dating myself. But does anyone remember the program? Charlie's Angels. Charlie's Angels came out if this was one of the first TV programs, where the producers really thought through demographics. How do we build a show that will appeal to a wide audience? And so they said what we're going to put three women in powerful roles are going to be private, investigators are going to be in dangerous situations are going to be leading situations and in the eighties when the show started out of the 90s or whatever, that was a pretty new idea. So we think we're going to get the female audience because they're going to want to see strong women and strong roles that will get the male audience. But they were very smart. They knew that beautiful shapely. Female bodies would get the male audience for a while. There needs to be some injuring hook to get the men to keep tuning in. That's why they invented the character Charlie.
And that's why you never see Charlie in the program. You hear him. He speaks on a speakerphone but you never see him a couple of times on camera. You will see the back of his hand for the back of his head, but you never see him. You know why? Cuz they say, if we never show who Charlie, is the men will fantasize that there Charlie. And they're working with Charlie's Angels. There is a reason why God never allows in the biblical footage for us to get a clear picture of Paul's thorn.
Because we're supposed to insert our Thorn if you if we knew that the thorn was that he didn't see so well that would be very comforting for people that don't see that well. If we knew that he was constantly battling depression and disabling guilt, that would be very comforting. For those that battle depression and disabling guilt. I would encourage you to name your Thorn and assumed that was Paul's too, because what work for Paul will work for us. When he learned the relationship between grace power and weakness. Embrace your power is your weakness so that God can display his power. And while you're learning this over a lifetime, except his grace, brought him to the place where he could boast all the more and gladly, what are you boasting about? Your accomplishments, know my weakness. Why would you do that? So that the power of Christ May rest on me.
Friends, that's the power. Pessimism depression is a normal thing. Don't beat yourself up for being there, but don't stay there, too long. Don't stay there, too long. We need to move to power. We're being taught to embrace our own fragility. Our own weakness. By the way, when we learn this secret, God takes away all the Affliction now, it doesn't In some ways, nothing changes so quick. Before you learn the secret. Were you being Shipwrecked? Yes. But after you learn the secret, what happened or shipwrecks? Before the secret. Will you be in with 39 x? Yeah. But what happened? When you learn the secret again? In some ways nothing's changed but in some ways, Everything's changed the Affliction stay the same, but the perception changes. This is Paul describing life after the secret I see. My life is a jar of clay. My body is fragile. I just Embrace that. This is my weakness.
But you know what, I am weak, so that I can show the surpassing power that belongs to God, not to us, that's the purpose. Nice words that doesn't really change. Anything, sure member member invert chapter one. I was describing My Life Charlie burdened. Remember that? What was the other fruit to use beyond our strength? I'm just sharing my heart with you. This is the way I feel. I despaired of life itself. That's where I am right now. Yes. Now we learned. The secret is not there. I'm still Afflicted in every way, but I'm not crushed.
I'm still perplexed. But I'm not driven to despair. This is this is interesting. Same word. As one is it 8 or 9 or the August 8th in chapter 1, he says he is depressed in chapter 4, he says, he's not the press, and the difference is he's passed through that pessimism into Power. He's learned to embrace his own weakness and that's the perfect environment for God's strength to live in him. I'm still persecuted but I'm not forsaken, I'm still struck down, but I'm not destroyed. I'm always carrying the body of death of Jesus. So that the life of Jesus, his power might be manifested me.
I actually do this, like, That was actually pretty helpful Pastor, like I'm hungry. I'm listening, I'm still not quite sure exactly what I would do. But I'm very interested. How do I in a practical way? How do I embrace my own weakness? So that God's power can live through me.
Can I just make a couple of suggestions?
I would encourage you. Define. Your? Worry. What exactly are you worried about with Precision? What are you afraid that will happen or what? Are you afraid that won't happen? And why would that be bad? Like what would happen if that happened or what bad thing would happen? If that didn't happen to find out, why does that scare you? What does that attach to? What need would not be met? What bad thing would happen?
This usually requires someone else to help you with this cuz we're in a rut. We can't see past our own rut, but spend some time with time. Usually were worried about this Amorphis on Define R&R. I was nothing is going right. Nothing. What specifically is not going right? I just really worried. What specifically are we worried about? Define, you're worried. And then start to build a support underneath that.
Define faithful. In the situation, you find yourself in what does a faithful Christian Life. Look like So you're afraid of a diagnosis from your doctor, or you just got a bad diagnosis from your doctor, or your afraid of losing your money, or you just did actually did lose all your money, or there's a tremendous internal strife in your family. Okay. That's the situation we're in. What does faithful look like? Given the situation. What does faithful look like exactly?
and then, finally,
I don't have room to write it off but Define what you can't. Control.
There will be some things about faithful that we can do. There will be some things that are largely out of our control.
This is what we do. And this is what we pray.
This is an excellent way to carefully. Define what it is that's giving us anxiety. To do what we can do to be faithful in that anxiety. And to give the rest to God.
And that's when we learn. The power and the weakness and end up in the spot where we're actually boasting, all the more gladly in our weakness. Where we, as a group of Believers? Can sing Ever more deeply? Your name is a strong and mighty tower? Your name is a shelter like no other.