5 July 2009
Communion Sunday
U.S. Army Chaplain (MAJ) Ken Harris
Fortress Chapel
Contingency Operation Site (C.O.S.) Sykes
Tall-afar, Iraq
BIG IDEA: Christians are like tea; their real strength does not show until they are in hot water.
REFERENCES: 2 Corinthians 10:10 ESV (“His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” ); Acts 9:9 ESV (And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank); Romans 10:17 ESV (… faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Chris; Judges 6-7 ESV (Midian Oppress Israel and The Call of Gideon); Hebrews 11:32 (ESV) And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (Paul’s Visions and His Thorn); Galatians 1:1 (ESV) Paul, an apostle – not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead; Galatians 4:15 (ESV) What then has become of the blessing you felt? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me; Galatians 6:11 (ESV) See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand;
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (ESV) For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not , to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord”; Psalm 30:5b (KJV) … weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning;
I. ANNOUNCE THE PERICOPE: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (ESV)
II. READ THE PERICOPE: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (ESV)
III. READ THE TEXT: 2 Corinthians 12:10 (ESV) For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
IV. PURPOSE: To motivate the hearers to affirm to others that Christians are like tea; their real strength does not show until they are in hot water.
V. SERMONIC THEME: “The weaker I get, the stronger I become”
VI. INTRODUCTION:
“The weaker I get, the stronger I become”.
Now, my brothers and sisters, I submit to you today that Christians are like tea; their real strength does not show until they are in hot water.
In other words, what appears to be “weakness is really strength … if Christ is in it.
The Apostle Paul said it best when he said: “when I am weak, then am I strong”, which sounds contradictory, but the paradox expresses a truth more valuable than gold. For it has been said that “man’s extremities (man’s limitations are boundaries) are God’s opportunities.”
In other words, my brothers and sisters as believers, when we find that we have reached our spiritual limits in negotiating or trying to do the right thing;
when we unearth the fact that we are doing the best we can to live right on the job, in the work place and our best isn’t good enough;
when we discover that our health isn’t as good as it use to be; and every effort to keep our marriages and significant relationships before God have failed … and, as a result, we have come to our wits end.
It’s at that … lowest point – when our backs are up against the wall; when we’re the weakest - God steps in and takes control!
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 1: As a result, we are no longer in the driver’s seat; we have suddenly (in the midst of our spiritual suffering and struggling) become passengers in MRAPs driven by God.
a. Now, when God is driving the MRAPs; we no longer have to worry about the routes being cleared because He’s in charge.
b. If He chooses to allow certain circumstances to engage us on our journey to where He is carrying us; we will be engaged!
c. Therefore, we may look weak from the outside looking in;
d. but from the inside we’re strong. Because it’s not us driving; but it’s God in us.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 2: For who could ever forget the story of Gideon (in the Old Testament) and his wavering faith in Judges 6-8?
a. Gideon is proof – to us all - that God uses “the weak and the nobodies” of history to do extraordinarily strong things for Him.
b. Theological research reveals that the Book of Judges occurs during a time when the Nation of Israel had … over and over again … turned its back on God.
c. Consequently, God chose to only speak through a few individuals – that we call Judges - and Gideon was one of them.
d. In fact, Gideon is the first of the Judges to be mention in Hebrew 11:32.
e. The Book of Judges recounts that Israel experienced 7 years of bondage and oppression by its enemies which brought the Nation of Israel to its lowest and weakest point.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 3: In fact, their enemy would not even allow them to harvest their own grain. This is why we find Gideon, a farmer, secretly gathering (or harvesting) his grain in a winepress (Judges 6:11);
a. When God’s Angel visited Gideon – although Gideon was” considered a nobody” - the angel called him, “a mighty man of valor”.
b. This is because God was anticipating Gideon’s trust and faith … being placed upon Him.
c. Likewise, God also anticipates our trust and faith in Him.
d. He’s aware of what we’re going through; yet, he knows what we’re capable of achieving with Him in our hearts … and driving the MRAPs of our lives.
d. When the world look at us they see our frailties and weaknesses.
e. They see the rejected, the backsliders, and the outcasts.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 4: But, when God looks on us, He sees success written on the foreheads of our hearts; with the blood of Jesus covering us.
a. The world sees the old man; but God see the new man. The world sees the weak man; but God sees the Strong Man.
b. When God looked at Gideon; he didn’t see Gideon as Gideon was then – a man full doubts questions, and wavering faith; but He saw him as he was to become: “A Mighty Man of Valor”.
c. Likewise, when God looks at you, He doesn’t see the rejections, and failures that the world sees. God sees “Mighty Men and Women of Valor”.
d. For don’t your remember, the Good book says, Gideon by faith grabbed hold to God’s mission for his life and with just 300 men defeated the enemies of God people.
e. He started out with 32,000 Soldiers but God told him that 32,000 were too many.
f. If God allowed Gideon to defeat the enemy with 32,000 – the people would think they won the victory because of their numbers; and God wouldn’t get the glory.
h. So, God told Gideon to have a formation and informed the Soldiers that all that were fearful could go home; and 22,000 Soldiers left their ranks and return home because of fear (Judges 7:1-3).
i. Still, 10,000 Soldiers were too many.
j. So, God tested them. He instructed Gideon to take the 10,000 Soldiers down to the water and He would separate them.
k. God told Gideon if I tell you a man should go with you; he should go with you.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 5: If I tell you a man should leave; he should leave. So, God told Gideon to separate all the men who laps up water with their tongue like a dog from everyone who gets down on their knees to drink.
a. There were only 300 men who scooped up water in their hands and lapped it; all the others were asked to return home.
b. That same night God told Gideon to attack the Midianites, but Gideon was still scared.
c. God has shown some of us miracles after miracles and we’re still scare.
d. God told Gideon to go down to the perimeter of the camp with his servant – Purah.
e. When Gideon arrived, he heard one of the enemy Soldiers telling a friend about a dream. He heard the enemy Soldier saying, “I dreamed that a loaf of barley bread rolled into our camp and hit a tent.
e. The tent collapsed and lay flat on the ground.
f. His friend replied, “It’s the sword of the Israelite, Gideon son of Joash!
g. It can’t mean anything else!
h. God has given Gideon victory over Median and our whole army!
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 6: The Good Book says when Gideon heard the man’s dream and its interpretation that he fell to his knees.
a. Likewise, when God gives us favor in the eyes of those that despised us the most – it caused you fall on your knees and give God the glory!
b. Afterwards, Gideon went back to his camp, and instructed his 300 Soldiers to get-up, because the Lord was giving them the Victory over the Midianite Army.
c. Turn to your neighbor and say, “get-up child of God! God is going you victory over your enemies!
d. My brothers and sisters, God gave Gideon the victory over the Midianites with just 300 Soldiers.
e. They didn’t even have weapons.
f. They had a candle in one hand and a trumpet in the other.
g. The enemy of God destroyed themselves.
h. Likewise, in spite of how weak we get sometimes; if we just have faith and trust God in midst of our spiritual warfare – God will give us the victory.
i. As Christians, we’re like tea; our real strength doesn’t show until we’re in Hot Water of life.
j. Our strength is in the Lord.
******* TAKE 5 BREAK *****
MOVE 7: Likewise, in our text today, we find the Church at Corinth in a debacle.
a. False teachers were in their midst trying to persuade them that the Apostle Paul was not legit.
b. Therefore, in the Book of 1st and 2nd Corinthians, we find Paul doing something that he rarely does – defend himself.
c. In fact the only other book outside of 1st and 2nd Corinthians where Paul defends himself against false prophets is the Book of Galatians.
d. Here, Paul addresses the fact that the false prophets or … what Paul would sarcastically call super apostles … were boasting of their credentials … and at same time discrediting him and what he had taught the Corinthians.
e. Paul, here, is devastated that some of the believers were being convinced by the false prophets who cared nothing for them or their families.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 8: In fact, from a human viewpoint, Paul said if God was selecting believers based on wisdom, influence, and intellectual superiority, he would have overlooked and passed by the believers at Corinth … because they were apparently in short supply.
a. They were not the strongest; neither were they the most intelligent.
b. But, God chose them because he was convinced their faith could and would persuade the high-minded of the world … that Christ alone was Lord.
c. In fact, the Good Book says in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (ESV) for consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
d. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
e. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
f. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
g. Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord”
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
MOVE 9: Therefore, in the previous chapter Paul recounted those things that showed his physical weakness and in our text today, we find Paul showing proof of his apostolic calling by sharing with us all … the revelation he received from Christ (in 12:1-6) … by speaking indirectly of himself.
a. He shares with us an experience that he had not shared with anyone for 14 years.
b. Listen to what Paul said: He said … he knows of a man that was caught up to the 3rd Heaven where the presence of God Himself resides.
c. God apparently gave Paul instructions but advised him not to tell anyone what He had told him.
d. So, Paul humbly didn’t share with us what God told him.
e. But, in the Galatians 1:1, Paul says that the truths he taught came directly from God.
f. God would not have given these revelations to Paul if he were not his chosen servant.
g. Paul said, if I’m going to boast, I will boast of my weaknesses and he speaks of his “The Thorn in His Flesh”.
******* TAKE 5 BEATS *******
CELEBRATION:
Many of us recall how Paul was supernaturally blinded (in Acts 9:9) … and it’s possible that some weakness in his eyes remained even in later years.
For the Good Book says in Galatians 6:11 (ESV) that Paul wrote with large letters which suggest eye problems.
Whatever the “Thorn in the Flesh” was, … Paul believed that God gave it to him …
in other words … God allowed the devil to afflict him … to keep him humble.
Whatever the thorn was, it was a burden to him, and it brought pain.
Paul even asked God three times to remove it!
Delayed answers to our prayers do not always means the need is not met.
Sometimes we get a greater blessing when God delays answering our prayers!
For I’m convinced …“The weaker I get, the stronger I become”
