Grace to Go Through*

6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Give Subject: Grace to Go Through

Introduction

A false narrative has been perpetuated throughout the body of believers that has crippled us and handicapped us at a critical moment where we need to be stronger than ever.

We often marvel at the technological marvels that allow us to spread the Gospel around the world faster than the blink of an eye and it is true we should.

Paul went by donkey and camel.

Christ went by ship.

The disciples walked to and fro.

They spent months and sometimes years walking place to place, all in the name of fulfilling God’s calling and spreading the Gospel.

They preached in houses with thatched roofs and healed the sick, raised the dead, and saved souls.

They hollered over crowds of 5K or more just to communicate the sincere love of God.

We, on the other hand, have been blessed to receive opportunities that others would die for. We have been blessed that we can click a few buttons and millions have the potential to see the Gospel preached.

Go on Facebook and you can share it with somebody on the otherside of the planet and in the town next door all at the same time.

We can go dig wells in Africa on Friday and be back in Greensboro to preach Sunday. God is awesome.

But...

For every tool we have access to for the spreading of the Gospel… the Devil has it too.... and if you are not careful he has used it longer and has already moved onto the next thing.

See while the Church was fighting over TBN, Word Network, and Local cable networks… the world had already spread to Facebook and made it a platform.

While we were figuring out how to take credit cards for our tithes/ or offering.... the world was already using Cash App for his purposes.

While we argued over the cost of a website to spread the word and share weekly updates/ or messages… the world had already started text banking weekly announcements and encouraging words.

And see… we now find ourselves spending so much time arguing whether we should follow the example of the World and use some of the same tools… never once have we asked ourselves if we should be ahead of the world and inventing some of these things.

The scripture says let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus… and if I have Jesus’ mind (or at least I am supposed to) why is it that the Church is not leading some of this innovation, why are we playing catch up to people we are supposed to be ahead of...

How can you save the world if you left your cape at the house on the dresser.

And so the enemy has gotten ahead of us and we have allowed the enemy to get the advantage over us and spread a narrative about God’s Church through false prophets.

Make no mistake their is a false Gospel going around the world even today.... people around the world look at what Pastor’s preach and what Critics say and they run to the bank with it.

Pastors out there pimping the pulpit so they can drive a cadillac and eat brunch on Tuesdays...

You have critics who say the Church is not inclusive, we are not politically correct, we are uninviting, we are long winded, we are hypocritical… and they critique the Church and watch out because every critic is not wrong.

And the thing is the Church says nothing about any of this going on why...

They are scared tithes may go down.

They are worried that some of the politicians who attend your Church will be offended.

Maybe they think that too many people will look to a REAL church as an example and they will become overwhelmed.

And so we preach a false gospel, a hollow gospel that says your feelings dont have to be hurt.

We preach a gospel that says we care about your feelings....

Let me just tell you… I do not care how you feel, I care about your soul...

lets get your saved first, and worry about your feelings later because if you get saved then your feelings won’t be hurt so much.

And so we have people walking around in the House of God with no backbone...

They walk around hurt because of what somebody did to them and instead of straighening up they want to go off and cry about it and walk away.

Mother hurt my feelings… im leaving the Church.

Brother called out my spirit.... so im finding a new Pastor.

Pastor you told me about myself… im gonna slander you.

And so what started as a weakness in the Church folds over into your life.

You begin to question everything God does because it hurts… because its uncomfortable.

its a common saying that God will not put more on you than you can bear and it is a lie...

And so we have raised a generation of Christians who are ready to give up at every turn...

We have raised a generation of Christians who could not bear the cross of their own salvation...

Christ is bearing the cross of your sin… all you have to manage is the cross of your salvation… and even that is to much for many of us.

And so we constantly are asking ourselves.... how. why… .what do I do...

Where do you grow when you have no strength?

How do you continue when you feel like giving up?

These questions are answered here in our text.

2 Corinthians 12:6-9

Here in the text we see the Apostle Paul

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