How Do I Deal With Physical Scars? Series

SCARS - How Do I Deal with Physical Scars?

January 8, 2023

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Introduction:

I promise you that if you’d been beaten with a thick stick 3 different times…and also been whipped 5 other times with a cat of 9 tails for a total of 195 blows…you are going to have some scars…Now put on top of that a time when people have pelted you with rocks and left you lying bloody in the street…and you’ve got a trifecta of physical scars for the world to see. (2 Cor. 11:25)

I believe that’s exactly what the Apostle Paul was referring to when he tells the Galatians: “From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” (Gal. 6:17)

This church has been arguing about legalistic stuff…they’ve fought about stuff that had no importance to salvation…They’ve made preferences a bigger priority than the cross…and Paul ends his letter to them by saying…

“Quite frankly, I don’t want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have more important things to do - the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus.” (The Message)

I’m not gonna fight about stupid stuff…my focus is on living for Jesus…don’t believe me…Look at my scars!!!

My body has scars over 60% of it…most of them from being burned when I was 10…the other 7% are from surgeries…and 3% from stupidity…not one of my scars are from being beaten in the name of Jesus!

And yet, both these scars have something important in common…

I. THEY ALLOW GOD TO FLEX HIS MUSCLES!

Let me give you a little background…14 years before Paul writes his second letter to the Corinthians, God gave him a vision…like John the Beloved, it’s a revelation from the Lord…He sees beyond the sky, beyond space into the 3rd heaven…Paradise…he hears things he’s not permitted to tell…Paul doesn’t know if he’s alive or dead when this happens…“In the body or out of it”…Many believe this happened at his stoning in Lystra which happened 14 years before. We just don’t know for sure…but its clearly a life changing occurance…they are surpassingly great revelations…listen to what he writes:

2 CORINTHIANS 12:1-7

This is the only time in scripture Paul reveals this incident…and he does it for one reason… “God gave me a glimpse of heaven…and if my scars help someone get there I’ll brag about my scars.”

It’s why He says in 2 Cor. 11:30 “If I must boast I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” And in 2 Cor. 12:5…“I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.”

You see, a man that has received a revelation of heaven would be exalted by believers…many would brag about this…but what about bragging about the times he was insulted, went through hardships, endured persecutions and difficulties…The times when he despaired of hope…and then…“God flexed His muscles!”

Scars reveal more of our faith than revelations…because God reveals more of His power in our weaknesses.

One of the greatest lies perpetuated in the Church today is that God wants you to be healthy, happy and wealthy…and if you are not then you are outside His will. People that spread this lie have never invested themselves in Scripture…which tells us “to consider it pure joy when we encounter all kinds of trials and tribulations…because by the testing of our faith, endurance is produced, making us full and complete not lacking anything. (James 1) Jesus himself said, “God causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matt. 5:45)

God never lets our pain be in vain…He has a perfect plan…It’s where He provides grace thats sufficient and where His power is made perfect in our weakness…

Kyle Idleman in the book Grace is Greater shares a powerful illustration of how God’s grace is sufficient…no matter what we are going through. Listen:

In your hand is a simple cup. It’s empty, and the emptiness represents your weakness. But someone directs you to a nearby hose. it’s coming out of a very high and very long wall. You can’t see the other side, but the faucet works. You turn it on and water begins to seep from the hose. It’s not spraying - just kind of trickling. You’re hoping there’s enough to at least fill your cup. The water moves right up to the rim, then stops. That worked out well.

You get the symbolism? Right - the water represents God’s grace, exactly what we need. (I always worry people won’t get my metaphors.)

Time passes, and here you come, back to the hose. No sign of the cup, but you’ve got an empty bucket this time. Let’s make the bucket a symbol of having a bit of a health scare, or maybe some financial issues. You really need some strength; this is a nice-sized bucket.