It is so good to see you. And it's good to be here. While we were singing those songs, my mind started going back to years and years ago, just I don't know how long ago it was the first time I was here. But every time that I've been here, I have been truly thankful. I'm thankful that Almighty God permitted me, allowed me to be able to be in the presence of His people. And to know that where two or three are gathered together in His name, He said, I am in the midst of you. And for that, I'm so thankful. To know that the Lord, according to His Word, is here that makes everything wonderful.

I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles and turn with me to 2 Corinthians 12. 2 Corinthians 12. 2 Corinthians 12. I'm going to start in the first verse, Lord willing, in just a moment. But really, I'm going to verse 9. It's where I want to go. The Apostle Paul was moved to pen these words. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee. For 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.

I heard Brother Scott Richardson say one time, he said, I've got a set of notes here. I hope I don't need them. And when he first said that, I thought to myself, I don't, goodness, coming from Scott, okay, I get it. But I think, I think I know a little bit more, a little bit, not much, but a little bit more about it. To be able to have the privilege to be able to speak to God's people and speak from your heart, that's what I would desire.

Brother Henry said one time, he said, I've got some notes here. And he said, I know that they're scripturally right. I've compared them to God's word. And he said, I know the notes are right. He said, I pray that God give me grace to preach them and that the Lord would bless them to the hearts of the people. And that's what I pray this morning. We've got just a little bit. We've got a little bit of time. I pray that the Lord allows me to go through this whole service and be able to finish this message.

I've been made to realize that when the scripture talks about this life is but a vapor, I think I know a little bit more about that now, too. I believed it. I always believed it. I believe, I say always, since the Lord's pleased to reveal himself to me, but it just, little bit clearer to you. As the Lord graciously sends these trials. Lord allowed his people, always allows his people. And we can be assured of this one thing.

He said, be of good cheer. John sixteen thirty-three. Be of good cheer. Be of good courage. In this world, you're going to have tribulation. I looked that word up this morning again to make sure I knew what it meant. Tribulation. Pressure. Pressure. Going to have pressure. Pressure is going to come. Tribulation is going to come. Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.

We're in a world that, according to the word of God that despises almighty God, despises the Lord himself, despises his people. You know, somebody may say, well, I don't think people despise me and hate me, but we don't see the hearts of men. God does. And he knows. And the world by nature hates the message of God's sovereign grace. Man by nature hates God who is God, who rules in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. Almighty God. Oh, what a blessed privilege to be able to call on him and to know him.

Corinthians chapter twelve, the apostle Paul started writing, it's not expedient, verse one, it's not expedient for me, doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. What he's saying is, it's not comely, it's not necessary for me to boast that which the Lord has done for me. That's what he was saying. It's not expedient. Not, it's not necessary.

The apostle Paul had related something. We're going to look at just a moment. It had happened to him 14 years before he penned these words. I I was going over my notes this morning. I I thought about that. I thought, you know, the Lord may be pleased to teach a man or woman something about themselves, about who he is, and just wait to prove it to them. And that's what happened here.

The Lord had taught Paul something of himself. He says that in verses two to three, four, I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago. I thought fourteen years. The Lord taught him something. The time wasn't right. The time wasn't right for Paul to say anything. The Lord taught him something and Paul held his tongue.

I knew a man in Christ 14 years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell, whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth, such in one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth, how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which is not lawful, not permissible, not needful for a man to utter. Here, the apostle Paul was talking about when the Lord brought him into his very presence. I knew a man talking about himself, obviously, but here the Lord has given this man not only some wisdom, some knowledge, but he's taught him something of who he is, who we are by nature.

And the scripture says in verses five and six, of such in one will I glory, yet I myself, I will not glory yet, but in mine infirmities, although 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 in me, or that he heareth of me." Paul the apostle, he was going to be careful to give the Lord glory. You know, we all by nature, here's the silliness of our flesh. We'll pray and ask the Lord to teach us something. Lord, teach me, Lord, guide me, Lord, direct me. Lord, I use me for your honor, your glory, your grace.

And then when he's pleased to do so, let me tell you what the old man's going to say. Man, I'm pretty smart. You know, we are so frail. Paul said it's not expedient, it's not expedient, it's not needful. me to boast. God has taught me something and I'm going to relate it to you. He fights against that which he knows and sees in himself. He said, I'm going to, I'm going to boast in what the Lord's done for me. Pray that God Almighty is pleased to bless it.

He said in verse seven, lest I should be exalted above measure. And oh, how needful, we need to be abased. Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations that was given me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. To keep Paul and all of God's people from being puffed up Thinking themselves to be something when they're nothing Almighty God is pleased to send the blessing the blessing and I mean the blessing of adversity and trials and tribulations It is a glorious blessing If you're going through something right now that's a trying situation, if you're not, and you know him, if you're not going through it right now, let me give you a little word of advice.

It's coming. I was talking to Gabe a couple of weeks ago, and I was telling him, I said, Gabe, I'm gonna share something with you. I said, The Lord is, the Lord blessed you. I believe the Lord taught you. I believe he's called you to preach. He's given your heart to preach. He's gifted you to preach. I was telling someone this morning, I said, man may know the gospel of God's grace, but unless the Lord gifts him to preach it, it's not blessed. God's gonna have to gift a man to preach the gospel. But I told him, I said, Gabe, I'm gonna tell you something right now. Unto whom much is given, much is required. And I said, when I tell you, you're gonna go through some trials, tribulations. Now don't, don't think you're not. You are, you are. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scourgeth every son that he receiveth.

So Paul, verse seven said, lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations there was given to me of thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan. God Almighty was pleased to use a messenger of Satan to teach a man who he is.

And that is, I thank God. told people, I said, I know that the Lord's listening. So what I say, I'm saying from my heart, I'm telling you, I thank the Lord that he has permitted me. And every man I know that God's called to preach is going to say the same thing. I thank God. Lord, thank you. Thank you for sending adversity. Thank you for teaching me that without you, I can do Nothing. Nothing.

Because if he didn't, let me tell you what would happen, exactly what the scripture says would happen. Lest I be exalted above measure, the Lord was pleased to send, Paul said, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, to bring me down, to teach me, teach me what I am. Paul was setting forth that which he penned. Romans 7, 18, he said, for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. No good thing. You know how the Lord's going to teach a man that there's no good thing in him? He's going to show him. He's going to show him. There's no good thing in you.

I'm so quick. If somebody says something to me and it ticks me off before I know it, I can tell you how ticked off I am. And I'm thinking, why don't I just shut up? Why don't I just be quiet and be quiet? Because there's an old man in me that gets ticked off and is so glad to be able to say it.

And immediately I know. Oh, how disrespectful I've been. How evil I see. He said, Paul said, I see in me. I see it. There dwells no good thing. David said in Psalm 119 verse 67, before I was afflicted, I went astray. You know what every believer needs? He needs a good whipping. He needs a good whipping, often. It's good for us. When the Lord is pleased to send affliction, that's when we'll call. When everything's going well, everything's going fine, sun is shining, everything is delightful. Let me tell you what I do by nature. I forget. I forget. I forget. But when the Lord is pleased to send adversity, and I can't remember what day it is, I'm doing good to remember my last name.

I was in the hospital here about a week ago, and they or whoever she was, asked me three questions, and they were different questions. And every question she asked me was, what is your name? And I said, Marvin. What is your last name? Marvin. No, what is your last name? I said, my name is Marvin. Now let me tell you something. If you think that doesn't bring a man down, and he can't remember, Paul said, lest I should be exalted above measure.

The Lord was pleased to send a messenger of Satan to buffet me, to bring me down. Then he said in verse eight, For this thing, I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. I asked the Lord three times to deliver me from this affliction, to deliver me from this trial and this tribulation. Do you know how embarrassing it is to be made to see yourself for what you are by nature?

It's embarrassing, it's trying. When somebody tells me something and I can't remember what they said, in 10 minutes, I forget what they said. And I say, well, you know, boy, I'm thankful that that doesn't happen to me. It'll never happen to me. Be careful. Be careful.

Paul said, I asked the Lord, three times, I asked the Lord, would you deliver me from this affliction? Would you deliver me from this trial? Would you deliver me from this trouble? And here was the glorious word of comfort. Hear what he said. He said, verse nine, he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee. For 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.

You might say right now, I hope I never have to go through anything like that. I hope I never. And I get it. I get it. Believe me, I understand. If you had asked me, you know, a little over two years ago, Marvel, what would you think if you had to go through some trials and tribulations? Well, you want me to be honest about it? I'd rather not. No, I'd rather, I'd rather just be okay.

And when the Lord is pleased to send you some trials, Apostle Paul was moved to say it's grievous for the moment. Oh, but it works marvelous, marvelously. Does the Lord deliver you? And then. You'll say, Lord, thank you. Thank you that you allowed me to wake up today. Thank you that I stand here. Thank you that I talk. You know how long I'm going to be able to do this? As long as he allows me to do it. And I'm thinking to myself right now, Lord, if this is the last time you ever allow me to stand before your people. Let me honor you. Lord, let me be faithful to you. Let me exalt you. I don't have anything to glory in.

Everything that the Lord graciously permitted me, it was a blessing. It's one of the greatest blessings I've ever experienced. I guess this might be a personal word of testimony. I'm trying to think what I'd call this message, but I'm telling you right now. One of the greatest blessings that I can think of at this moment is that Almighty God would allow me to go through and have a stroke and break my back and then send me a seizure and then send me another little something and then another little something that the doctors don't even know what it is right now. And I think, what a blessing, what a blessing, what a blessing.

Would you change these last few years, a couple of years, would you change them for all the money in the world? By the grace of God only, could I say this? No, I wouldn't change it. No, I don't think I would. No, I know I wouldn't. By God's grace, I wouldn't.

What a blessing. Paul said, I besought the Lord three times. Would you take this away from me? And three times the Lord said, my grace is sufficient. I wish I could express to you how many times I've thought of that verse of Scripture. Laying in a hospital and thinking about what's going on and the comfort that the Lord gives. Just to have that verse go through my mind. My grace is sufficient. Let me tell you another one. That's really comforting to me.

I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. That you won't trade that precious promise for anything. I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to leave you. And I have God's word on that. I'm not going to leave you. and you'll find yourself, Lord, thank you for that blessed promise. I'm not going to leave you. And he said, my grace is sufficient. It's enough. It's enough. It's enough.

How much more would I want? How much more would I need in the time of affliction, time of trial and for you? And we're all going to go through this. Like I said a few minutes ago, if you're not, if you hadn't just gone through it, if you're not going through it right now, you're getting ready to go through it. I'm telling you right now. My grace is sufficient. I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you. You can depend on me. That's what he said. You can depend on me. I'll be there. I'll be there.

In the time of trouble, when Peter was called of the Lord, Peter said, Lord, if that's you, call me to walk out there where you are on the water. And the Lord says, come on. And he came. The Lord moved him to call. The Lord moved him to say that. Peter didn't come up with that thought. And so the Lord was having Peter come. saw the wind. He saw the waves.

He saw the the the torrential blowing and immediately he began to sink. And I thought if I was standing on water and and all of a sudden all the props were taken out. The Lord removed all the the sustaining power of his grace to hold me up. If you're standing on top of water, how fast do you think you're going down? Pretty quickly.

And for him to get the words out, Lord, save me. And the Lord caught him, lifted him up, I thought, oh, the blessing of knowing. He hears, He knows, He sees, He can. And He's promised He will. I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you. I'll be there in the time of trouble that I sent to cause you to call upon Me. Here's another verse of Scripture that's more and more precious to me.

He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. Brother Rick called me, I don't know, Rex, I don't have it, but three, four times, I was just going through a tough time. I just couldn't, I just didn't think I could come. And I thought, this time, when he graciously asked me and I thought, you know what? I believe Lord will allow me this time. I think I can.

And I thought, what a blessing to be able to be able to come and just and to stand here and just tell you what the Lord has done for me. And you know what? What comforts God's people. He comforts the Lord's people. by allowing them to hear what another believer has gone through, and for that believer to tell them, the Lord's grace was sufficient for me.

I've got a dear friend back home that's going through a real tough time right now. And the Lord has permitted him also to go through an illness that I also was permitted to go through. I say permitted, I mean that. I mean, it's not the blessing of being able to go through it. He went, he's going through it now.

And he told me, he said, he said, you know, it's a real comfort for me. He said, now that I'm going through this situation to see, he said, you're here, you're still here. And he said, that settles my heart. And I said, I'm glad for that. The Lord allows us to go through situations to show, number one, the person going through it, but others, based on the word of God, and that's the only assurance that I have. You know what comforts you right now? According to God's word. seeing that the Lord had been pleased to allow a vessel of his mercy to be able to stand and to proclaim the wonder of his grace and mercy. He said, well, the Lord allowed Marvin to be here. Who knows? He may allow me to be here too. You know what I'm saying? It comforts me. It is just a real comfort whenever the Lord allows his people to go through things that are trying to their flesh to teach them but to teach others.

When the Lord said, my sheep hear my voice. And they said, well, I've never, I've never heard the voice of the Lord. God's people said, I hear it when I see his grace, when I see his mercy, that's God speaking. The Lord has been pleased to speak, to keep, to sustain. The Lord said in Isaiah 54 10, he said, the mountains shall depart, the hills shall be removed out of my kindness, but my kindness shall not depart from thee.

Do you know the assurance that I have that the Lord will keep his people And I say, as old John Newton said, if I've never, if I've never known you before, Lord, help me to begin today to know you. You know, the assurance that I have that the Lord will keep his people because I've seen him keep others that professed him and called upon him that the Lord kept them. Lord, you kept them. Would you be pleased to keep me?

Lord, don't, don't let me stray. Lord, send me what you will. Send me what is right in your sight. Send me what's good for me and honorable for you. And Lord, in the midst of whatever you send, Lord, keep me. Don't, don't let me leave. Lord, if you, if you don't keep me, I'm, I'm gone. I'm leaving. I will not stay.

He said, back in our scripture. Verse nine, he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather, I would rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ might rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. But when I'm weak, then am I strong.

We think we're strong. By nature, we think we're strong. I tell people I always, I'm going to express what we all think, you know. We all think we're 10 feet tall and bullyproof. We're not. We're not. We all think we can maintain and sustain ourselves and we can do. We can't. We can't.

It is so wonderful that the Lord permitted us, has permitted us, To go through the things that he has. To prove. He knows we're going to maintain sustain because he gonna keep us. But to prove to us. That he will to prove to us. It is so good, it's so good. I'm thankful that the Lord. Has allowed me to be here. I'm thankful that the Lord has allowed me to get through this message. I'm thankful. I know what it feels like to be talking. And in a moment, all of a sudden, nothing makes sense. And everything's blurry. And I can't, I can't come out with a sentence, you know, that even gives any indication that I know how to talk.

But that almighty God would keep us through this moment. And with his promise, having been seen and beheld to keep us for an hour. If he keeps us for an hour, if he's pleased to do so, he can keep us to the end. I pray the Lord bless this to our hearts for his glory and our good. Amen. Amen.