Sermon 7th July 2024 – 7th Sunday after Pentecost Text 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 – Power in weakness

 Sermon 7^th July 2024 – 7^th Sunday after Pentecost

Text 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 – Power in weakness

 

What answer was Paul expecting to his prayer – a prayer he prayed 3 times. A man of faith and not just any faith but faith in a risen Lord that he had spoken with from Heaven. A faith that had not just come from speaking with Jesus but actually having been taken into Heaven and shown what it was he was going to receive because of his faith in Jesus. The response to his prayer:  Jesus said, “My grace is all you need, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Is that a “NO”?

 

What answers are you expecting to your prayers? Haven’t you been a good Christians. Didn’t Jesus say – ask anything in my name and I will give it to you? Paul asked for relief from his suffering which on the surface might look as if he was ignored. But in fact Paul was given the answer to suffering:Power made perfect, not in strength, but in weakness, says Jesus in response. And Paul’s new insight -  “Whenever I am weak, then I am strong,”

 

And it’s not as if God is expecting Paul to accept something that he would not be prepared to accept himself. God chose to enter human life not as an earthly recognised king or a conqueror, but in weakness as a baby.  Not born in a powerful family – but to the wife of a carpenter. Not in a palace but in a barn. And isn’t this what is thrown in Jesus face when he tries to exert the power he has? “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

 

Jesus wasn’t welcomed by the paparazzi that follow the mighty and elite around. Rather- it was the heavenly realm that saw through this earthly need for power. The heavenly host of angels that sang at his birth:  “Peace to God’s people on earth,”

God’s love took on flesh and dwelt among us as a baby—vulnerable, utterly dependent, weak – and he’s going to save Israel from the Romans – he’s going to save the world – even if it didn’t look like that.

 

This is God’s example and clue to us that he would use weakness to show strength. God was doing that long before Jesus was born.  A couple weeks ago we saw the example of God looking past worldly examples of power with the anointing of David.  Samuel is sent to the house of Jesse to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be king over Israel.  When the first of Jesse’s sons is brought before Samuel, Samuel takes one look at him and thinks, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed. He will make a great king.”  But God says, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” David, the lowly one who was sent to look after the sheep - stands before Samuel and the Lord says, “He’s the one” How ironic that the angels also seek out Shepherds to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ birth – the new born King.

 

In human weakness, God’s strength is shown. Paul doesn’t describe what his “thorn in the flesh” is. Some have thought it might have been his eyes – perhaps after witnessing the bright light on the road to Damascus where he met Jesus and was blinded. In his letter to the Galatians – in chapter 4 – he says - I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. Paul’s letters were written by an assistant – Tertius – who writes in Romans 16:22 –  I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.. Paul concludes his letter to the Thessalonians by saying: I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. And Galatians - See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand – perhaps indicating his need to write big so he could see it.

 

The reason I’m pondering this is that sometimes the cross we have to bear hits us close to home. Like Jesus – rejected in his hometown to the extent that he could do no deed of power there and he was amazed at their unbelief. Imagine how much Paul thought he could have achieved if only he didn’t have this impediment. Don’t we somethings think like that? Imagine how much more good we could do in the community if we had more money – if we had younger members to take over leadership – if we had more modern premises that we could have a coffee shop like other bigger more successful churches have.

But hold on – isn’t that going against what Jesus said to Paul – my power is made perfect in weakness. Not just – don’t worry how small you are you can still do some good. NO! My power is made PERFECT in weakness.

 

Maybe you’ve wondered why God has given you some weakness that if you didn’t have it you could do much much more. But, remember what Paul said in First Corinthians: Think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are - WHY, so that no one may boast before him. And there it is again – boasting. Not over how many people we had in church today. But in our weakness. And if we are to boast about anything – Paul says – boast about your salvation. As Paul says in Ephesians 2 –  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

“God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength,”

 

Paul says it is God’s love that makes us who we are – not worldly success “In all things we are more than victorious through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8).

 

So back to our text where Paul says: When I am weak then I am strong. How? Because when we are weak, we rely on the strength of God to get us through. As Pauls says to the Philippians (Chapter 4) I can do all things through him who gives me strength. We may not get the answer to our prayers as we hope to get. Paul prays three times that whatever it was he was suffering with might be taken away from him.  God told him to trust in God’s grace. My grace is all you need.

 

In times of weakness we place ourselves in the mercy, love, forgiveness, grace, and strength of God. Who, like a mother hen, stretches out his arms to gather us in and protect us. Don’t let your perceived limitations restrict you from the strength God gives you to accomplish what he has prepared for you long ago – even before you were even born. Ponder that for a moment. As Jeremiah discovered when he thought God had chosen him by mistake – I’m too young – I don’t know how to speak. To which God says: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; The only impediment we have to achieving God’s mission is when we look to our own strength instead of God’s strength. And to see God’s strength we need to see and understand our own weakness and that God’s grace is all we need. And that we are God’s masterpieces – created in Christ Jesus to do the good works God had planned for us long ago.