God’s Purpose in a Variety of Testings: Weakness

God's Purpose in a Variety of Testings: Weakness

And now is time for our scripture reading this morning. So if you will turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2, please. And let's begin the reading in verse number 1 this morning. Ephesians chapter 2 and we'll pick up the reading in verse number 1. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ by grace you're saved. And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And let's mark our Bibles to this passage of Scripture, Ephesians chapter 2 this morning.

And let's ask his blessing on what we've just read. Father, we want to take a moment and we're reminded once again that understanding, we may understand the meaning of the words but we'll miss the application of the words if we try to just grasp it in our own strength, Lord. We need the Holy Spirit to help us to understand the things that we just seen, Lord, not just to understand them for our mind but to, for a lack of a better way to say it, to feel it in our heart, to feel the application of what is being said. It's so true that as we were children our parents may have said something to us and we heard the words but it didn't actually have any effect on us because we heard and understood it, but we didn't actually apply it to our in the form of doing what they told us to do. So we just pray, Lord, that today that we would not let your words fall to the ground so to speak, that we would take them and receive them in our hearts and receive the benefit of those words and that truth that you give us. Thank you for the opportunity we have to worship now, bless us as we sing this final. Are this next hymn in Jesus' name we ask, amen.

This morning I want to speak and this will be our final Sunday speaking about God's purpose in the variety of different tests that he brings to our lives. I'm not saying I've exhausted the subject but I think I've covered the primary things that we can say about the matter. There are a lot of different kinds of tests that fall into categories of testing. And one of those this morning I see as the test of weakness. God allows a lot of different kinds of weakness to come to our lives. And sometimes this morning Paul referred to it as infirmities. I have an infirmity. That infirmity could be something a weakness that came from an injury, but it could also just be the result of aging. It could be the result of something that I, maybe my mind says I want to do this thing, but my body says no you can't do that. My mind says I would like to be able to do this, but no I just am incapable of doing it for whatever the reason they be.

Think about one of the worst feelings especially for very independent minded people that have been very active in their lifestyle as if something puts them on their back. And they can't go any longer. That is a very helpless feeling of a weakness. I just can't do what I used to do. I remember talking to a, I can't remember my wife might remember. She was in her 90s anyway, maybe let's say 95. I can't remember exactly how old. She was still walking around down here. It's called Navion now, maybe on, but it used to be called Brookdale Sterlinghouse. She would walk the parking lot every day in her 90s and she would sit down in a chair. She could stretch her, she could take her leg and touch her knee to her forehead still and do all these different things. And she just lamented the fact that she couldn't play the organ anymore. I said well I'll be doing good if I, when I get your age that I can do all that she can do. And she was just thinking about the stuff she couldn't do. Not that she said that all the time, but she was talking about it. She wished she could still do, but she just couldn't. Her mind was getting weaker.

We have mental weakness. We might have physical weakness in the form of our heart is weaker than it used to be. We might have weakness in the form of muscular atrophy or injury. And we can't do certain things because of the muscles aren't as strong as it used to be. It could be like a neurological issue with a stroke or dementia or something like that. And we lament that we just can't do what we used to. We can't remember things like we used to remember them or do things as well as we used to be able to think through things as well as we used to analyzing them. I saw someone recently that had one of these, I call them like an artificial voice box, like a digital voice box in their talking, but it's not really them talking. It's the voice box talking. It is them talking, but it's not their normal vocal folds operating. A lot of times that kind of thing happens because of what is it? Laryngeal Cancer, sometimes we call it. And those things, that's a weakness that I may not ever recover from this weakness. That situation you want. And so it's a constant companion with me. I'm always going to have this weakness.

And so how do we deal with those things? How do we view those things? Are we just going to complain about it the rest of our lives? I wish I had this. I wish I wish I wish. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right? If I could only have this strength, then I would be able to serve God better. I would be able to do so much more. Well, you ever thought about the fact that maybe God takes things away from us for a purpose, right? He takes those things with something in mind, this greater than what we can imagine that he has in mind.

The Apostle Paul, before he converted to Christianity, before he met the Lord face-to-face, so to speak, on the road to Damascus, so that day when he fell to the earth, and the Lord said, why are you persecuting me? Why are you fighting against me? In so many words. Before that, he obviously must have been a fairly strong individual. He says literally he was dragging people to be tried and even killed in some situations. Specifically, he hunted down Christians as an employee, can we say, of the, he hunted down Christians as an employee of the Jewish Sanhedrin of the Council. They sent him out and said, find everybody you can, bring him in. And the church was under great persecution at that time. We see the diaspora, other Christian diaspora happened because there was great persecution against the Christians in the days of the early church. And so it was scattered.

But Paul or Saul at that time, he was doing quite well for himself. He thought, you know, actually he was so jealous about what he was doing. He thought, I'm actually doing God's work here. I'm actually doing God's work by getting rid of these heretical Christians. I'm, I'm, they're, they're following this guy. Christ, we worship God, but they're following Christ. So he, he was jealous and what he was doing. He was saying later on when he was pouring out his heart, standing on the steps to the Antonia fortress. Antonia fortress on the, on the, on the steps of that fortress at the north end of the temple complex. He would cry out to his Jewish brethren. He would say, I was just like you. I was just like you. And I felt like I was doing the right thing and I'm paraphrasing, obviously, here this morning. There's so many words. That's what he said. And then I met the Lord. And now I'm giving my life to him. And I pray that you will as well. That's the summary of what that message was about that day.

And he would say in Philippians 3 verse 7, but what things were gained to me, what things were gained to him. Things like his pedigree. Man, he was, he was a Jew of the Jews. He was educated under the best. He was really zealous for the cause. What things were gained to me. He said, those I counted loss for Christ. Yeah, doubtless. And I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung. I'm worthless that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is by the law or of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

Paul says, what I thought was really valuable, I'm just counting it as worthless now because I have found myself in Christ. I have found that my life is in Christ. The life that I thought that was propping up and building up and trying to make a name for myself is just dumb. It's worthless. Even though I may have thought I was doing the right thing at the time. Paul will say, we assume it was Paul in Hebrews 11:6, but without faith, it is impossible to please him. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Well, Paul learned that, didn't he? He learned that without faith it is impossible to please God.

He says here in our text this morning, Ephesians chapter 2. Look there again, Ephesians chapter 2 back in verse number 1. What do we read? We read there and you hath he quickened. He's made you alive. He's talking to the Ephesians here. He spent 18 months at Ephesus. He spent probably the most time of anywhere in the city of Ephesus. He's given you life who were dead in trespasses and sins. We're dead in time past. Ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air. And I want to notice this word here. The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. Maybe some of you remember me saying this in the past, but the word work if it means to operate. It is the word in the Greek that we is energeo. It's spelled almost like energy. We get the word energy from it. Energeo to cause something to operate or to work. Well, you have to have energy to be able to do something, right?

That's something that we complain about. Are we, you know, bemoan this that we get older? We have less energy. I mean, look at these children this morning. They got enough energy. They could probably climb up there and hang from the chandelier if they had a way to get up there. They don't do it. They don't do it fast. They'll do it loud and they'll do it with a lot of energy. But as we get older, we tend to decline in the energy. We get weaker over time. I'm not saying that I'm not stronger than Lucas is today, but generally speaking, our metabolism slows down and all those things. And people spend a lot of money on energy supplements and energy drinks and things to energize and, but Paul says, when I was in my before Christ years, I was energized by something and now I understand clearly what it was. I was energized, what does he say here? By the spirit that works in the children of disobedience. I was disobedient to God. Didn't even really realize it. I was energized by the prince of the power of the air, the deceiver. You know, the devil is the father of lies, isn't he? He energizes those who may even be, feel like I'm doing pretty good. I'm not too bad of a person, but energizes them in their disobedience.

So I think about a car, a car has to have gasoline, right, to drive. A phone has to have electrical energy from its battery. We might say as humans, we have to have chemical energy that comes from the variety of things, but food is a big one of them, right? We have to be energized. Well, God created you and me. And he made us in his image. Satan, have you ever noticed how there is a big move in our, as you just look around us in our country in our world for that matter, but the breakdown of what is a man? What is a woman? What is a family? There's an attack. There is an attack. And Satan will energize those who are maybe not even active in trying to destroy what God has designed, but are complicit with it, because it feels good for the moment, right? It feels good to please myself while at the same time actually doing damage in the process of what I'm doing. I am actually being very selfish in my thinking because it feels good to me, but it's not actually right. It's not actually pleasing to the one who created me. I'm using the energy in my body, the air in my lungs, the heart, this beating in my chest to actually do that which is contrary to his will.

And Paul was being energized to persecute Christians in this way, wasn't he? He was being energized. I'm not saying that everybody who doesn't know Christ, that most of them are not actively persecuting Christians, right? Most of them are not persecuting Christians, but Paul was, he was energized in this way. He was energized to do these things. He would say in verse 3 here that he spoke of the lusts of our flesh in verse 3, that we were fulfilling the desires of the flesh. Paul was thinking back to his own life. I was doing what I wanted to do. I was fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

In fact, if you turn over with me to Acts chapter 9, let's read something specific about his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus. In verse number 5, Acts chapter 9 verse number 5, there's something specific that Christ says to him here in this encounter. In verse number 5, and he said, who art thou, Lord? Saul said. And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. And then look at this phrase. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. What is that talking about? Well, evidently these pricks were like basically nails, goads that would be placed sometimes on a sort of a board that would be behind the, whatever animal it was that was pulling at that time. From what I read it would be used with oxen when they were plowing. If the ox resisted and kicked backward, it would only hurt itself more by hitting the sharp goads or nails on that board. And so it's obviously discouraged them from kicking, right? It discouraged them. And Paul is saying here or Jesus is saying to Saul, why are you kicking like an ox against the pricks? Why are you doing this? You're just, you're, I'm here in love, knocking on the door of your heart and conscience and trying to say, Saul, I know you're persecuting my followers, but I love you and I want you to open up and trust in me. And he says, but you're kicking against those pricks. You're kicking against those pricks. You feel empowered in what you're doing. I'm reading between the lines here. He didn't say all of this, but let's imagine this. Saul, you feel empowered by what you're doing. You feel like you're really the guy. You're probably making good money in what you're doing. You're probably, you're probably well respected among your peers because, you know, who are, we're getting those Christians. But at the end of it, what does he say here? He says, you're making progress, Saul, but you're making progress in the wrong direction. This is, it might feel good to you right now, but I love you enough to tell you that you're going the wrong way. You can't keep kicking against these pricks, Saul.

Well, that's why Saul would say, Paul would say here in verse four, but God in our texts, but God who is rich in mercy, what is mercy? Well, grace is very simply defined as a gift. It's something we don't deserve that has been given to us. And mercy says, don't do to him what he deserves, right? Mercy is saying, don't impose the sentence sort of the judgment upon him that he deserves. And grace is saying, give him what he doesn't deserve. And so God who is rich in mercy, he says, for his great love, wherewith he loved us. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened or made us alive together with Christ simply by grace, you're saved. And hath raised us up together for six and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. If you're a Christian today, you have the life of Christ. You have eternal life. You have the Lord to know him is to live, is to have eternal life. And even now, we are living, we're physically on this earth, but we're positionally, we're in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Not because I was a pretty good guy, I was raised in perfect circumstances, and I had all the right teaching, and that's why I am where I am, because I was just had all the right information. That can be a help, but it can also be a hindrance. How many people we said this morning? How many people have rejected it? They've turned, and maybe we might say, it's very true. Some have rejected it, because they say, look at that hypocrite over there. Well, yeah, the world is full of them. The world is full of hypocrites, isn't it? The church, churches, there's tares that grow among the wheat. The scripture says, but that does not negate the fact that you and I will all stand before the Lord one day, giving account of ourselves to God. What do we do with him? Not what is somebody else over here, do with him.

The Paul had reason to boast, he said. He had reason to boast, but now that he became a Christian, his life got a lot worse. His life got a lot more difficult, because all those people that used to be say, you know, Saul you're just the best Jew I've ever seen. You're just the best guy. You're really knocking it out of the park here. Just get as many Christians as you can get. Now, like, what happened to you? What's wrong with you? We thought you were a little bit about most loyal. Guys, we thought you were really hard-core in this and he says, God is rich in mercy. He can save you. He can change your life. You can move past this facade of righteousness into the actual righteousness of Christ and receive Him personally. He said, I wish that I could be cut off. I wish that I could be killed if it means that some of my brethren, my countrymen, would actually receive Christ and be saved. That's not how that works. He says, now they're being Christ. What does he say over in 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, things that become more challenging, things that become more difficult in some senses.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, look over there what he says. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse number 1, verse 1 through 4, he describes these heavenly visions and revelations. Well, that's how we get these epistles, right? The Lord is speaking to and through Paul and giving us understanding of his will through Paul and in the Word that he delivered to him, but he would say in verse number 5, yet of myself, I will not glory. I will not boast. But in my infirmities, I will not boast of myself. He says, I could have reason to boast if I look back at my pedigree and I look back at all that I did, but actually the things that I used to be proud of, I'm ashamed of those things now because I did them in ignorance, but I did them and they were against the one who loved me and saved me and died on the cross to save me. He says, I will not glory of myself. I will not boast in myself, but rather I will boast in my infirmities and my weaknesses. I'll glory in those.

In verse 6, he says, for though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool for I will say the truth. But now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be or that he heareth of me. Lest I should be exalted Paul, lest I should be exalted, this is interesting that now he took on the name Paul after he was put his faith in Christ, Paul means little. I think Saul thought himself to be really something, but Paul says, he says, I'm the chief of sinners, I'm nobody. I'm not anybody special, but God in his great mercy has stooped to save me. And then he says this, for though I would desire to glory, he says, oh, no, I'm sorry, verse 7, lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations. What God's showing me, I could get puffed up about that. There was given to me a thorn in the flesh. It was given me a thorn in a flesh. The messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

So let's get this straight before we read any further. There is a thorn in this flesh. Sometimes we talk about that, we just use that little phrase, oh, that's a thorn in my flesh. She's a thorn in my side or something like that. This is what was given to Paul. We don't know exactly what this was, but we have an idea of what it was. Because you remember on the road to Damascus, there were the scales that formed over his eyes evidently. I don't know exactly what that was, but he couldn't see in other words. And then later on it would say that as he's writing to the Galatians, he would say, he loved me so much that you would have plucked out your own eyes and have given them to me. It seems like you were so moved by the gospel that I was able to preach and bring to you that you would have actually, if it had been possible. Kind of like if it had been possible for, if Paul had died in order that some of his own brethren would have been saved, his own Jewish brethren would have been saved, if it hadn't been possible for us to physically take our eyes out and give them to you, he would have done it because we love you so much. And the message that you're preaching, but it was not.

He would say later on, speak something about the large letter or see if it was writing. The large letters, well, you know what happens when you can't see very well, you have telephones that have big numbers and letters on them, right? You have to read large print. Well, this could be that one of the thorns in Paul's flesh had something to do with his eyesight, just a thought. And then it's possible that the messenger of Satan is talking about the same thing, but it's also possible it's talking about something else. Remember what Paul said that in every city he went to, bonds and afflictions were waiting for him? Everywhere he went, the people that used to love him and cheer him on, they're now going, we're gonna make life miserable for you. We're gonna try our best to make your life difficult. And in many cases they tried to kill him, but he escaped in a number of situations they tried to get him in prison and were successful. It was a Jews, not all the Jews chased him, but there were some that were really had a bone to pick with Paul.

And it says this messenger of Satan. I can't help but think of what John says over in Revelation 2 and 3 to a couple of different churches. He talks about those that say they are Jews and are not. They're of the synagogue of Satan. He says they are persecuting us Christians and they'll go back and read those passages. You can see it for yourself. He talks about I know you're going through this persecution there because of those of the synagogue of Satan that are fighting against you. John loved the Jews. Paul loved the Jews. But he understood where they were coming from. Paul understood that they thought they were doing the right thing but actually they were fighting against God's purpose and pursuing him.

Well, notice what, notice what as we continue on here in this text in Corinthians in verse number 8 of the verse number 8. Well, before we re-verse, I think I left out that last little phrase, God gave Saul a Paul a thorn in the flesh and the messenger of Satan to buffet him lest I should be exalted above measure and lest I would be exalted above what I ought to be. For this thing, I besought the Lord's thrice. There were evidently three seasons of prayer that Saul asked the Lord, please take the thorn out of my flesh. Please get rid of this messenger of Satan, Lord, if it be your will. Just take this away from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me? Paul says, therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities. Doesn't mean that he enjoyed the actual infirmity itself, but he took pleasure in reproaches and necessities and persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake for when I am weak, then am I strong.

You know, I just say that we live very comfortable lives here in America, don't we? We live very comfortable lives. We don't even know what hardship is compared to so many people in the world, so many Christians and what they, I mean, not just Christians, people in general, they live very in a lot of these things. And we just take that for granted. I think about recently, we've had things with our well pump and we've had things with the sewage and things with the power goes out. You know, you just instinctively go over there and flip the switch on what's going on? The switch is coming on.

Well, Paul would say to the Philippians, he said, I was put in prison for faith in Christ, but I'm writing to you. He said, I want you to know that actually this situation is fallen out instead of what we might think is actually fallen out rather to the furtherance of the gospel. God is being glorified through discomfort on my part and weakness on my part. Think about Jesus Christ. He was crucified in weakness, but he was raised in power. That seems like counterintuitive to us. You know, if God really loves us, then we'll always just have perfect health and everything will be just wonderful and everybody will like us and all of that kind of thing? No. That's not how it works. But even though Paul was persecuted, he understood why. He understood why people persecuted him and he loved them anyway. I think about Jesus Christ on the cross, Father. Forgive them, for they know not what they do. Father, who is it that stirs up the hatred in hearts? It's Satan. He still stirs up and energizes. You ever seen how one or two people might not get up in arms about something but if you get a whole group of people on a subject or on a particular matter and you got somebody with a bullhorn, then everybody gets stirred up and does things, they do things that would not have otherwise done. They get so like this second wind or energy to do things that they wouldn't do just them by themselves. And that's kind of how Satan works, isn't it? He energizes the children of disobedience.

Oh, the Bible says that he's our adversary. When we're in Christ now, he's not energizing us anymore. He's waging war against us. He's opposing the Christian because he's mad. He's just as mad as Herod was with those wise men when they didn't come back and say, he's in Bethlehem and we can tell you exactly where to go. Herod was fuming mad. But this is how Satan is because he wants, he wants to blind man. And yet we see that when Paul put his faith in Christ, he had an energy now that transcended. Yes, there were times where he was doing better in body than other times. There was times when he was free, but there were times certainly that he was in prison. But what did he say? I will glory in my infirmities. Why? Because I realized that God is allowing these things. I could be very puffed up with pride because how God is using me, but He does this to keep me humble before Him. He does this and I'm going to rejoice in it because I see the hand, the loving hand behind the circumstances. I see that God has a plan, God has a purpose in these things.

Some of the sweetest Christians you'll ever meet are those who are going through very difficult things in their lives. They may have lost a lot, but they have a testimony of how God's grace and mercy is brought in through those difficulties. I heard someone say the other day, there's two types. They said, I've generally found two types of older people. There's the ones that are joyful and the ones who are bitter. The ones who are bitter and grumpy. I don't want to grow old and grumpy. Do you want to grow old and bitter? Or do you want to? You might say, I'm already there. That may not bitter part, but you might say, I've already met you the New Yorker, but at the same time God's grace can sweeten the pot. God's grace and He does. He will. He will enable us like Paul says here. When I am weak, He Christ by faith, then am I strong. I am strong. He would say, I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.

The first thing that we must realize when we put into trials that test us and bring us to weak places in our lives, we must realize what the Lord is trying to teach us is that you don't have any strength to do the right thing. You do not have the patience. You do not have the strength to do what's right. You will end up being a bitter, grouchy, grumpy old soul. But, look at one of the greatest letters of joy, we see the joy in Paul's words as he writes to the Philippians from a prison cell. It just amazes me to see what God was doing in him. Where did that come from? Where did the spiritual energy come from? Well, certainly it came from God, it came from through Christ, but it came from trusting in His Word, didn't it? Look with me if you will. And in Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20, Ephesians chapter 3, verse number 20, just over a little bit here. He would say there in Ephesians 3:20, now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power, the energeo that worketh in us, the energy that works in us. Well, this energy comes to me by faith and the channel is faith, but the faith must be in the Word, right? The Word, the promises of God, the promises that God has given.

Paul would say in Galatians 2:20, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live yet it's not I. But Christ, which liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. He loved me and gave Himself for me. He was saying Galatians chapter 5 verse 6 that what God is looking for is a faith which works by love, operates by love. Love is what energizes our faith. Love is how that faith operates. We love Him and so of Him because He first loved us. He first loved us.

I heard of a pastor this week give a sermon illustration. He was talking about how this young woman married this young guy and they got married. And he seemed like a really great guy until they got married and then he made all these lists out of stuff he expected to do and have them by this time and all these kind of blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And she tried her best to do it and he always had some point about you're not doing this well enough, you're not doing that well enough and she was always falling short and she couldn't please him all this kind of thing. And the next marriage it was just like night and day, the man that she married just loved her and was so supportive and he was just always encouraging her and edifying her and helping her in whatever way it could. And one day she found an old list that the previous husband had made out for her and she looked at those things and she said, you know I'm doing all those things but now I want to do them. Now I'm doing them because I want to do them. And there's a, isn't that the difference? We can try to do all the right things and think we're doing all the right things but what's a week to do them all even if we, you know the Jews know the law. They know what the law says and the law is good but it's the sinful heart that can't fulfill the law that sinful flesh cannot keep it. No matter how hard one may try Paul thought he was doing the right thing. But then he had the word and realized I've been going about all of this wrong. I've been trying in my own flesh and yet I am, I've cleaned the outside of the cup and I look like I'm good to others and yet I have just, I was fulfilling the lust of the flesh and the lust of the mind but trying to be religious in the midst of all of it and what a mess. What a mess.

And so the Lord changed me and gave me his energy. There's, you could be just wicked, you know obviously overtly in the gutter wicked or you could just say you could be religiously wicked. There's both of those things exist. And yet the Lord says here through Paul and in my weakness or in your weakness my strength is made perfect. Remember what Hebrews 4:12 says for the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. God's word is what empowered Paul. He was born again as Peter would say of incorruptible seed which is the word of God. The word of God, the word of God, the word of God forever is what empowered now Paul. He said I live yet it's not me. It's not all about me anymore. He used to be all about me but now it's about the one who loved me and gave himself for me. That's my motivation. That and even though I may have physical weakness, even though I may have a thorn in the flesh, even though these people I used to consort with are now trying to hunt me down. You know, I have the joy and the power of the Lord in my life. I would rather be right with God than right with all those people and I pray for them. I love them. I don't hate them. They hate me but I don't hate them. I pray that God will save them. That God will open their eyes and help them to see that's Paul's ministry and his mission.

May God help us not to be bitter. May God help us in weakness not to say you know this serving the Lord thing ain't working out so well. It's not working out. No, but we never think that thought. God, we know that all things work together for good to those that love God through the call according to His purpose. May we say with Paul, not I but Christ that lives in me so that we can, may we be able to see that God is in control and may others be able to see Christ in us.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the reminder that we have this morning that it's not our strength. Our strength to do the right thing is very flimsy, very temporary, very, very weak. Lord, in fact, our sinful flesh would have us to try to establish our own righteousness and try to be a pretty good person. But at the same time, we know that when people aren't watching, when the lights and the cameras are not all on so to speak, who are we really? Lord, and yet we know that you're the only one that can give us the spiritual energy to empower us to do what's right. Out of love, a faith that operates by love, not by our own measly attempts. And yet Lord, we thank you that you saved us from the energy that used to empower us, the god of this world. We thank you, Lord, that we have a future in heaven with you. And even now, and positionally, we're in Christ. We have that confidence, knowing that you've promised us eternal life through your Son, Jesus Christ. We pray, Lord, that whatever physical or mental or whatever type of weaknesses and infirmities we may face in this body. Lord, that we would not grow bitter, we would not grow just grouchy and just generally a displeasure to be around, Lord. But that we would draw closer to you and rely on your strength for whatever you may place upon our lives. Help us, Lord, not to live simply for comfort. Help us to live for you. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.