“MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT”
2 Cor. 12:7-9
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A couple was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. They had both been exemplary people. Suddenly an angel appeared in front of them; “I have come to grant each of you one request: what have you always wished for?”
2. The woman smiled and said, “I’ve always wanted to travel!” POOF! A pile of airline tickets appeared to destinations across the globe.
3. The angel looked at the man. He said, “Well, this is a little irregular, but I’ve always wished to be married to a woman 30 years younger than me. POOF! He was suddenly 90 years old.
B. TEXT
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me. 8….I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Cor. 12:7-9, NKJV.
C. THESIS
1. We’re looking this morning at the Balm from Heaven, the wonderful grace of Jesus that brings healing, comfort, and strength to us in all the trials and troubles of our lives.
2. The Lord Jesus promised us that His grace would be sufficient to sustain us, no matter what difficulties we encounter. That’s our topic today; “My Grace is Sufficient.”
I. WE’RE ALL GOING TO NEED THIS GRACE
A. WE’RE GOING TO EXPERIENCE SEVERE TRIALS
1. No Christian should imagine that they are immune from troubles during this life. Even if you’re as close to God as Paul – with visions of paradise and a world-altering ministry – God still allowed him to experience faith-straining trials.
2. The 7 most difficult life-events are 1). death of a spouse or child, 2). divorce, 3). personal injury or illness, 4). career failure, 5). losing all you have to a natural disaster, 6). War or financial collapse and/or 7). imprisonment. You may not experience ALL of them, but you will experience SOME of them, and when you do, YOU’LL NEED EXTRA HELP TO FACE THEM.
B. WE, IN OURSELVES, DON’T HAVE SUFFICIENT RESOURCES
1. Just like a river normally flows within its banks, we’re capable of bearing normal levels of troubles. But occasionally there’s a 50-year flood; once in 50 years an abnormally large amount of rain falls, and no river can contain the amounts of overflow.
2. So it is with trials. A few times in a lifetime the “perfect storm” of troubles occur at the same time. The effect is that we are overwhelmed; we can’t mentally process all the trouble. We can’t see a way out. The effect is an overload, shock, and despair.
C. ILLUS.: QUICKSAND
1. An analogy to troubles is quicksand. We’re programmed to believe that the more we struggle, the more success we will have. The problem of quicksand is, the more you struggle, the worse off you are.
2. Troubles can affect us like quicksand. We’re hit hardest below the surface level. We know how to fix things above ground, but not below (in the psychological & soulish realm). So we flounder, helplessly trying to gain footing.
3. But the Lord Jesus knows how to heal the wounded soul & mind. He knows how to bring light into our darkness; to turn weakness into strength, disorder into order, and despair into hope. He alone can bring peace to the troubled heart.
4. NO TRIAL WILL BE TOO GREAT, IF WE RELY ON GOD’S STRENGTH TO BEAR IT. “Where sin (trouble) abounds, God’s grace does much more abound” Rom. 5:20.
II. HOW CAN JESUS MAKE SUCH A HUGE PROMISE?
A. HE HAS DIVINE RESOURCES
1. HE’S DIVINE. If anyone else said, “My grace is sufficient” for every believer, it would be a lie and an empty promise.
2. But because it’s Jesus who holds the seven stars in His hand, who suspended the world over nothing and created the universe by the Word of His power, He, (as the divine God-man), has the power to fulfill what He promised.
3. ANOTHER REQUIREMENT: HE MUST BE PRESENT WITH ALL HIS PEOPLE.
a. Jesus claimed what no other religious leader ever dared claim: to be God in human form. He said, “I will never leave you or forsake you; I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.” Who else could fulfill this promise except He “in whom we live and move and have our being?” (Acts 17:28; Mt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5)
b. But because He IS everywhere that He can impart grace in our hearts at the exact moment He perceives that we need it. What a Savior! What a Friend! What a divine Helper!
4. The other reason He CAN impart POWER, HEALING & COMFORT, is because HE EXPERIENCED WHAT WE’RE FEELING! He is uniquely qualified to administer grace:
B. HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORST
1. The sufficiency that’s flowing to us to bear afflictions, trials, and persecutions, is “MY GRACE,” that is, Jesus’ own grace that flows from His own sufferings and empowers us.
2. CONSIDER WHAT HE SUFFERED:
a. He was betrayed & abandoned by his closest friends and family.
b. He was publicly mocked for hours by those who were killing Him.
c. He was physically attacked and tortured until he died.
d. After having all the sins of the world placed on Him, He was separated from God and died without hope, unless God should grant some miracle.
3. Jesus knew all these things would happen to Him in advance. The apprehension of these events was so great that He literally “sweated blood” Luke 22:44; blood hemorrhaged through His skin.
4. Ps. 22:6-16,1 tells His feelings during the crucifixion; “But I am…scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads….and there is no one to help. [They] encircle me… Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My…tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death….they pierce my hands and my feet. My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”
5. No matter how terrible or tragic your situation is, it isn’t as bad as Jesus’ was. The good news is that He triumphed, He gained mental, emotional, & spiritual victory over all the horrible events of His life.
6. So He’s able to comfort and strengthen us who suffer because of the infinite grace flowing through His wounded heart! He is the alabaster jar of healing ointment that was broken. He can transmit all that grace to you through the Holy Spirit. All you need to do is go to Him and let the Crucified/ Risen Lord heal you!
III. EVIDENCE HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT
A. PAUL PROVED IT IN HIS LIFE
1. Paul listed his sufferings for Christ in 2 Cor. 11:24-28; 5X beaten with 39 whip lashes; 3X beaten with rods; he was stoned once; 3X shipwrecked. Many attempts on his life were made; he was betrayed by people he trusted. He often went without sleep, was hungry and thirsty, and was burdened with his care for God’s church.
2. On top of these problems, he also had a physical illness, most likely a disease in his eyes (Gal. 4:13,15). He said he prayed 3X for God to heal him, but God said it was necessary to keep him humble from his incredible revelations. God evidently used this weakness to save the Galatians! Paul found that what seemed to make him weak ended up increasing God’s power in his life. Jesus’ grace WAS sufficient for him!
B. THE EXPERIENCE OF MILLIONS OF CHRISTIANS
1. The testimony of Christians of 20 centuries says that “His grace is sufficient.” The early Christians faced unspeakable persecutions at the hands of the sadistic Roman rulers, yet they showed by their deaths that His grace IS sufficient. The Greek writer, Lucian (A.D. 120-200), said, “It is incredible to see the fervor with which those people help each other in their wants. They spare nothing.” Tertullian reported the unbelievers as saying, “Look how they love one another! Look how they are prepared to die for one another!”
2. Christianity never converted people at the point of a sword (as Islam demands), but people turned to Jesus because they experienced supernatural love and forgiveness.
3. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has a power to revolutionize people from the inside out. It turns drunkards into sober men; prostitutes into saints, thieves into working men, gang members into church members. Christian drug & alcohol addiction programs (like Teen Challenge) that depend on God’s power to deliver their applicants see a success rate of 80%, unparalleled by any secular program. The only difference? The “Jesus” factor!
4. Missionaries working among Muslims report that 25% of Muslim converts didn’t come to Christ because of the missionaries, but because they experienced a dream or other supernatural encounter that pointed them to Christ. [Mission Frontiers mag.]
5. Down the centuries, God’s grace has healed sick bodies, comforted those who mourned, given strength to those who’d given up, and hope to the hopeless. Experience proves that God’s grace IS SUFFICIENT!
6. HAVE YOU GONE TO HIM FOR THIS GRACE?
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Moffat & Africaner
1. Africaner was the savage Hottentot chieftain who ruled over Mamaqualand. He was such a terror to all South Africa that the Governor of Cape Town offered $500 for him, dead or alive. That was a huge sum.
2. When Robert Moffat went as missionary to Africaner’s tribe, the people of Cape Town never expected to see him again. They told him that Africaner would use skin for a drum head and use his skull as a drinking cup.
3. Trusting in God, the brave missionary went to these savages and preached the Gospel to them. His first convert was Africaner. He and Africaner became best friends. Later Moffat told him he wanted to go to Cape Town and asked him to go with him. Africaner was very troubled and alarmed. He had been a murderer, an outlaw, a thief, and a price was placed on his head. If he appeared among white men, they would kill him; but he decided to go.
4. The people of Cape Town believed that Moffat was dead, having been murdered by Africaner. One man claimed that he’d seen Moffat’s bones. Then, to everyone’s amazement, one day Moffat returned, and Africaner was with him; now a Christian and civilized!
5. The entire city of Cape Town was greatly stirred because of Africaner’s coming. Everyone wanted to see him. The Governor sent for him, and after hearing his testimony, he cancelled the price that had been put on his head.
6. Africaner was now a new creature in Christ and everyone marveled at what they saw of the grace of God in him. When the Governor saw how God had changed the savage into a humble Christian man, he said, “What a miracle! This is the eighth worder of the world!” [Paul Tan, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illus., #848] That’s an example of what the grace of God can do for you.
B. THE CALL
1. How many need the grace of God to forgive your sins?
2. How many need healing, comfort, & strength to help you in your trials? His grace will be sufficient!
3. How many are willing to let God make a complete transformation of your life? PRAYER.
4. LORD’S SUPPER
