Power Made Perfect in Weakness

Sermon by Pastor David Layman

July 9, 2006

II Corinthians 12:2-10

The Apostle Paul was dealing with opposition in Corinth--false teachers
that came in and tried to divert local believers from the true faith.
This naturally proved to be exasperating, and one of the reasons Paul
wrote the Corinthians was that he wanted to clarify what the true faith
was. In order to do this, Paul had to point out to the Corinthians that
he was speaking with Gods authority, and they should listen to him, not
the interlopers. One can see that Paul was uncomfortable with
boasting, but he felt he had to do it to maintain a faithful church in
Corinth. At the beginning of the 12th chapter, Paul tells of a heavenly
vision hed had 14 years earlier, yet before this time had never spoken
of. If any of us were invited to the White House to see a president, we
wouldnt wait 14 years to begin to tell someone else about it! And
Pauls vision of God was far more impressive than a visit to see a
president! I expect that if a certain televangelist from Oklahoma had a
vision of God like Pauls, he wouldnt have waited 14 years to tell the
public about it. No, hed be buying air time to tell all about the
vision and requesting contributions to help build something with his
name on it! But Paul brought up this vision after 14 years of silence in
an effort to redirect the church in Corinth back to the right path.

Immediately after relating this exalted vision, Paul continued To keep
me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger
of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated.

Ancient battlefields sometimes had sharpened wooden stakes, placed in a
pit or a depression, in hopes that opposing armies, charging an enemys
position, might fall into them and be impaled. In Pauls letter to the
Corinthians, he uses the same Greek word for stake (also translated
thorn.) Paul thus describes an affliction he suffered, which was
intended by a clever enemy, Satan, to take him out of the battle plan.
Many have guessed what this thorn in the flesh might have been. Some
theorize it was epilepsy, others severe eye pain, or terrible headaches.
Since Paul never had the chance to appear on Larry King Live, well
never know. But we do know Paul suffered some significant form of
affliction. Paul said Three times I appealed to the Lord about this,
that it would leave me, but he said to me, My grace is sufficient for
you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (NIV) Paul continued
So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the
power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses,
insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ;
for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

I have long been grateful for these words of Pauls. Many times I have
visited those suffering significant physical challenges and afflictions.
Many times people have prayed that their cancer, or another challenge,
might go away. Sometimes they fear that if God doesnt answer their
request with healing, theyre being punished for not having enough
faith, or for something theyve done earlier in life. Its a blessing to
be able to remind people that even the Apostle Paul, for all the
fervency of his prayers, did not always receive what he asked for. There
are some thorns or stakes in our flesh that we have to learn to deal
with.

Vic Pentz tells of his family rescuing a Tibetan terrier from the pound.
The dog was named Checkers, but they soon discovered Checkers had been
traumatized in the past. When the doorbell rang, he would fly into a
rage, and hurl himself at the door. As Pentz said, This was not good
dog behavior in the home of a pastor. Checkers even bit his master, and
seemed to forget his house training. The Pentz family consulted a pet
therapist, who visited the Pentz home and observed Checkers behavior.
The therapist told the Pentz that their dog had a dominance problem.
The dominant dog shoves the other puppies away and eats first. The
dominant dog wins all the games of tug of war. Because Checkers felt the
burden of being in charge of the territory, he was going around marking
the walls of the Pentz home. Checkers didnt enjoy his position of
responsibility, which kept him anxious and on edge, making him challenge
ever door bell and phone call. The therapist pointed out that the Pentzs
had given Checkers signals that he was the top dog in their family
litter. They fed Checkers first before they sat down to eat. The
therapist told the Pentzs that they should put Checkers food in a dish,
place it on the counter, and then let Checkers watch the humans eat
first. That would lead Checkers to conclude Oh, those are the top dogs
around here. I can relax, because the job of leader of the pack is
already taken. The Pentz had to make sure that they won the tug of war
games. When the Pentz family took these steps, Checkers calmed down, and
was one relieved dog!

Pauls success in winning souls to Christ, and the exalted vision he
experienced, could have made Paul arrogant, and led to a dominance
problem, in relation to the illustration just shared. But Paul noted A
thorn was given me in the flesh....to keep me from being too elated. He
viewed this challenge as a blessing sent from God, to force him to rely
upon Gods grace, to keep Paul from having too high an opinion of himself.

When we realize were not top dog, and that God may desire to use our
struggles as well as our strengths for His kingdom, we can begin to see
the challenges of our lives in a new light! The point of our weakness
can become the place of Gods power! John Calvin wrote: Our weakness
may seem, as if it were an obstacle in the way of Gods perfecting his
strength in us. Paul does not merely deny this, but maintains, on the
other hand, that it is only when our weakness becomes apparent, that
Gods strength is duly perfected.

When the Apostle Paul prayed to God to remove the thorn in his flesh, he
received instead the message: My grace is sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect in weakness. Coming to realize this, Paul did not
seek to bite the hand of God. Instead, Paul relaxed and came to clearly
see that he was the servant of God, not Gods boss. Paul was not in
charge of the salvation of the world; God was. Paul came to see that God
could use his weaknesses and afflictions for the good of the kingdom!
Paul concluded Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for
whenever I am weak, then I am strong. Pretty wise words!

James Reid has noted We pray for courage, and God leads us by roads
that expose us to danger. We pray for patience, and we get a
disagreeable neighbor. We pray for love, and life throws on us the need
to care for someone who may be irksome and difficult. We pray for
humility, and life brings us into circumstances that break our pride.
410 (James Reid, IB) We can look at life this way: if Gods power is
made perfect in weakness, Im just the kind of person God can really use!

A young Confederate soldier was desperately wounded during the Civil War
and crippled for life. He later wrote these oft-quoted words:

I asked for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that
I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.

(Gary W. Kingsporn, gen. ed., THE LIBRARY OF DISTINCTIVE SERMONS
(Sisters, Oregon: Questar Publishers, 1996, 137.)

We may have often thought of asking God to use our strengths and
talents. Let us also remember II Cor. 12:9: Gods power is made perfect
in weakness!

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