True Strength

2 Corinthians chapter 12 this evening, please. 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 10. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong. Nobody enjoys affliction. That would be some kind of sickness to take pleasure from pain and misery. The word here means to think it good. It's a big difference from enjoying it.

And still, though in the providence of God, submitting to the Lord's will in it. And knowing that it's good because he did it. understanding why God sends affliction. And here's the same sentiment expressed by David in Psalm 119.71, it is good for me that I've been afflicted, that I might learn by statutes. Our strength is in our weakness because in weakness we learn who God is. what he did, why he did it, what he accomplished when he did it, and where he sits now on the right hand of the throne of the majesty on high. And in this psalm, by David's pen, the Lord gives us reason why we're strengthened by affliction. Why? When we're weak, that's when we're strong. It's because in our infirmity, God teaches us his gospel. And the gospel concerns his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is our strength. He's our strength in everything that's worth being strong for.

And it's one thing to read the scriptures and to know them that way. It's another thing and a necessary thing to live the truth of scripture. Consider this passage, how that the living word of God and us living that word makes us strong in the work of bearing one another's burdens. For example, in this passage that I'm about to read. And we know that the Lord teaches us to do that. Galatians 6, to bear you one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. And look, I can't bear a burden any better than you can, but notice the words in our text in Christ. we're afflicted for Christ's sake.

And the way that we bear one another's burdens is by doing that, which is no doubt the greatest expression of human love for another human in this world, and that is to speak of the Savior, to encourage one another in the Lord. There's just one place of encouragement for the believer, and that's in the Lord. David, on his darkest day, encouraged himself in the Lord, because to whom shall we go? It's the Lord Jesus Christ who has born and will, in the sense of time, bear our burdens. And so as we shine his light, then we're able to fulfill that law of Christ by Christ.

Second Corinthians 1.4, listen to this. Who comforteth us, Christ, who comforteth us in all of our tribulation. Actually, turn there with me. I want us to see these words together.

Second Corinthians 1.4. In what way are we made strong in our weakness, in affliction, in distress, in turmoil. 2 Corinthians 1-4, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. And you see the correlation here.

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. It's not anything in our flesh. Our fleshly experiences don't qualify us to comfort others. It's the Lord Jesus and the fruit of his spirit within us as we experience the gospel, as we live the gospel.

It's one thing to say, I trust the Lord. Well, that's wonderful. But when something comes along where you actually have to trust him, that's when you start really trusting him. It's just like the Lord himself. If the Lord said, I will have mercy, and his very attribute is love, This is not a restriction on God, but if He is love, that means He must love. You see what I'm saying? I'm not placing a restriction on Him. That's an enlargement of who He is, not a restriction. But the actual act of trust, of faith, How is love described in 1 Corinthians 13? It does this, it doesn't do this. It's action.

And the greatest love that the Lord said was to lay down our life for our friends, but while we're living, the greatest love has got to be to speak of our Savior, to encourage each other in the Lord. He comforteth us, in all of our tribulation that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble. That's a powerful thing. If you've experienced that, if the Lord has used one of his sheep to comfort you, that's a strength that the exploits of the flesh can't accomplish or even measure up to.

And that comes from him exercising our faith. Religion talks about, well, you got to exercise your faith. No, that's God's business to do that. He exercises our faith. He tries our faith. And by the trial of your faith, you learn. And that's what David's saying in the psalm that we read a portion of a minute ago.

Now, I've experienced this strength that the Lord gives this way In this sense, when my dear friend was dying of cancer, I wanted to be some consolation to him. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to be able to comfort him somehow in reading scripture or talking of the Lord together. But in his darkest days, His sweet spirit, the spirit of Christ in him, in the midst of all of that was a powerful blessing and encouragement to me. He was weak, but in that weakness, he was strong in the Lord.

That's what Paul's talking about here. In distress, in affliction, when the flesh is brought to the dust. And I tell you what, Our flesh not being brought to the dust is just our imagination. Our flesh is nothing. We've talked about it so many times when one of us suffers affliction, you know, we talk about how that it shows us that we were always in God's hands. That's where the believer wants to be. He turns our hearts as the rivers of water, our times are in his hands.

We're in his perfect providence, which he's described this way in his word, all things work together for good. For them that love him, they are the called according to his purpose. That's my favorite definition of providence. God does everything he does for his people, for his sheep. for his own glory, primarily, because it just so happens. What a lovely coincidence that what glorifies God is also great for me. His glory is in his mercy and his love for his people. It's displayed most greatly in that. And Christ crucified and what he accomplished on Calvary for us.

And so he comforts us And that's how we're able to, that's what makes us strong to be able to comfort others. What did we learn when he comforted us? That there's no comfort anywhere but him. So how are we going to comfort others? We're going to point him to him. And may he make us able to do that. But it was my friend that was able to comfort me. And I'll never forget that.

And those among us who are infirm and weak in the flesh are of great encouragement to the rest of us when we see the faith that the Lord has given to them, not just spoken of, but displayed before our very eyes. A word to them and us who will sooner or later be infirm.

And even when we count ourselves well, We are in the throes of the infirmities of this flesh. But let's realize when we're weak in the flesh that we have the greatest opportunity from the Lord to be strong in spiritual things, strong in the Lord. It's very easy, and sadly, it's our very nature to become bitter when we suffer, to become difficult. We don't feel good, we tend to take it out. on those around us, and often the ones that we love the most. But rather, may we be strong in our weakness, always, but especially when the flesh is put down, when the flesh is diminished. Lord, give us the grace to be a beacon of the glory and grace of our Savior when it might be least expected.

Dear God, make it so that when I'm down and out in this flesh that I may more ardently study and meditate upon thy word and be strong in your grace, strong in your spirit, strong in the strength of your might, because what are the exploits of the flesh anyway? What good are they? For every physical thing that we cannot do when our flesh is down, there are a hundred, a thousand spiritual blessings that God can administer by us in making us kind, in making us tender-hearted, in making us able to empathize, in causing us to speak of the successful Savior of sinners and to cause us to express His glory from His Word in a way that's encouraging to others. That's a powerful thing that no strength of the flesh can even cooperate in, much less rival. The exploits of faith seen in God's people And those that are listed in Hebrews chapter 11 are almost to an example displayed in the midst of great trial and affliction.

Our Lord promised us that we would have affliction in this world. He's promised us also opportunity to glorify him when it matters the most. So when we're down, We think that we tend to get stuck within ourselves and within our own mind, but may God give us the grace and give us the heart to be a blessing, especially in those times.

I've read an article to you many times that was written by Scott Richardson. I've got it up here somewhere, but you remember the gist of it, because I've quoted it to you four, five, six times over the years. But what he's saying in essence is don't miss an opportunity to glorify the Lord in affliction. You may not have that many hard times before you die. You may not go through that many trials. So when you do, that's when it's important to glorify the Lord in it. Paul and Silas saying when they were in prison, the flesh was weak. They were shackled. They could do nothing. But the truth of the matter is, we never can do anything. We just realize it when our flesh is weak.

And that's what I didn't complete well ago the thought on, we think about how that we're always in the Lord's hand. It just takes the Lord putting us on our knees, praying for someone we love, wanting an outcome, submitting to the Lord's will in it, but wanting a certain outcome because we love. And great loss is not something that we desire, all things being equal. So we see in the scripture, there's not a thing wrong with asking the Lord to intervene, to asking him to relieve our grief and to lift up those that are weak. But it takes that sometimes to realize how fully we are in his hand all the time. When we're on our faces before God praying for some specific person or thing, we acknowledge our inability. But our inability was just as real a week before that and the week before that.

And somehow we've got to, by God's grace, come to the place where we realize that all the time. But turn with me to Hebrews 11 for a minute, if you would please. We mentioned Hebrews 11, how the Lord is greatly glorified, most often, I believe, through his people in times of affliction, times of infirmity.

Hebrews 11 17 by faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son he was tried he was found faithful because the faith that God gives looks to Christ and trust see just trust see You know, we learn elsewhere in scripture that Abraham knew that God was able to raise him from the dead, if that's what would fulfill the purpose of God. He put no limitations on God. He believed that whatsoever God had promised, he was able also to perform. Verse 21, by faith, Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff when he was dying. I hope that when I'm dying, you know when I'm dying right now, but when it becomes evident to us that there's not much time left for us, you know what I want to do? Worship the Lord, leaning, but leaning more on Him than anything else.

Look at verse 32. And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon. You remember what he said to Gideon? Talk about being strong in weakness. Gideon is going up against a force much greater, an army much greater than the army of Israel at that time.

And he's, I'm sure thinking, we don't have enough. The Lord said, no, you've got too many. You've got too many. You gotta send some of them home. And so with even fewer, when we're weak, that's who the Lord uses. You know why? Because this verse that we're studying tonight, you know what we need to understand about it as much as anything else is that when we are weak, we are strong because God is gonna get all the glory. Whatever strength there is displayed in us, He's going to get all of the glory.

There's not going to be any room for the flesh. You look at His preachers now, and you tell me how they amount to anything, how I amount to anything. But the Lord uses the ignorant. He uses the foolish. He uses the things that are not to bring to naught the things that are.

And, you know, God's preachers are my heroes. But I recognize that God didn't pick the, you know, he didn't pull a lot of his preachers out of, what do they call it? Mensa meetings or whatever they call that. It's just the way it is. He's gonna get the glory. No flesh shall glory in his presence. And by his grace, we like it that way. That's part of this thing of weakness, strength through weakness. That's who God's going to use. That's when God's going to use. You know, I hear religion talking about prayer warriors. I don't think God has any use for a prayer warrior. Do you? When you're weak, that's when you're strong. And those, as I said, that are in infirmity, And all of us are gonna be there sooner than we think, whenever we don't think it. But look at what happened here.

Gideon and of Barak and of Samson and of Jephthah, of David also and Samuel and of the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms. That's a strong thing, subduing kingdoms, but they didn't do it through the strength of the flesh. They did it through faith. They did it because they believed God.

David was able to do that. He had the armies of the Philistines enslave them to the Israelites by himself with a rock, one rock. That's how the Lord does things. That's gonna cause David to do exactly what he did, say, the Lord hath triumphed gloriously today. subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions."

Look where Daniel was when that happened. Can you keep a lion from eating you? Daniel was in prison and he was by himself. How discouraged we would be in that situation. We'd be like the psalmist who said, I've done nothing but good and I'm afflicted and people that do evil seem to be blessed. Daniel had followed the Lord, he had trusted in the Lord, he had prayed faithfully, and here he was in the lion's den. But it didn't discourage him. He trusted the Lord, and it says that he stopped the mouths of lions, but we know who really did it, don't we? quench the violence of fire?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had a whole nation against them. They were alone in honoring the Lord. Talk about weak. The same God can take us when our flesh, it has diminished almost to the point of death. and use us in mighty ways to honor him and glorify him, be a blessing to his sheep. We don't do his will. He's not worshiped with men's hands. He's worshiped in the heart by his own spirit within us. And that, the flesh can't diminish that. It has the opposite effect, according to Paul.

Escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong. Oh, may that be true of us. Let's go home, and before we even do, let's start praying that the Lord, in our weakness, would make us strong for his glory, would make us strong for one another, because if we've done it to one of the least of these his brethren, we've done it unto him. Waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, out of weakness, those things were accomplished by the will, the grace, and the faith that God gives.

Maybe you think, well, I don't have armies to fight, so that doesn't apply to me. Do you think the armies of the Philistines were a more formidable foe than the evils of your own heart? Was it harder for them to to kill the Philistines and defeat them in battle than it will be for you to overcome the sins and lusts and weakness and evil of the flesh. There's a battle. There's a spiritual battle.

And the Lord is all of our strength. All of it. All of it. May the Lord make us to wax valiant in the fight against our flesh that we might be victorious. when greatly tried. True victory happens when God is glorified. You remember what Paul said about the preaching of the gospel? To some, it's the saver of life unto life. To others, it's the saver of death unto death, but it's always a victory. Why? Because it's the saver of Christ unto God. When Christ is glorified, it's a win. It's a win. And I pray we'll all be in on that. the victory that he gives us, that he accomplishes for us.

When the Lord Jesus is served in the serving of his sheep, true strength is displayed when the Holy Spirit gives us victory over ourselves, our self-pity, our selfishness, our bitter and complaining spirit, our unbelief, It makes us strong to be a blessing and a word of encouragement and shine the light of God's Son, even when our days seem dark.

Reproaches are mentioned in our text. Look at Hebrews chapter 13 with me, please. Hebrews 13, 12. Wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach.

Bearing the reproaches that come upon us for his sake. Whatever they may be. For here we have no continuing city anyway. What are we worried about what the world thinks of us? But we seek one to come. That's what we're interested in. By him, verse 15, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. You remember when we talked about why do you reckon God has the sun come up still as evil as this world is? Do you ever think sometimes like David did, how long, oh Lord? How long? How long will you let them blaspheme your name? How long? But the Lord, in a great sense, He leaves us here to honor and glorify him in the preaching of the gospel. When we give praise and thanksgiving unto God, that's a sweet-smelling savor unto him by Christ and in Christ.

And that's why this world continues on. It's not taking him a long time to wrap anything up. He could wrap this up in a day. But he gets glory in this. This is our time in witness to be strong in Him. When this is all over, there's not going to be any weakness anymore. If we're going to be strong in weakness for the Lord, for the Savior, and for His glory, for His gospel, for His cause, for His ministry in this world, thou's the time. Let us sacrifice and offer the sacrifice of praise to God all the time. That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. That's not a small thing. That's why God has the world still turning. Right there. Because his son, he's made a marriage for his son, and his son is being honored and exalted. But to do good and to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased.

What part of our flesh being weak would cause us not to be able to do that? Our own self-interest may be frustrated, but what God is pleased with is not limited by the weakness of our flesh. The Lord causes us to experience these things in this life, though they seem like weakness, they make us strong to speak of Him, to praise Him. We've experienced it.

We're able to secure them and to comfort them. that need comfort because we can tell him of a sovereign God who's never thwarted, who never tries, he never wants to. His hand can't be stayed. None can stop him or even question him. And he loves the people. He sent his son to shed his precious blood and be the sacrifice and the substitute for a people And he was successful in that. He was successful in that. You see, it's not, men don't need a chance.

They need to hear of a Savior who actually saved somebody. And when they believe on that Savior, that's when they're saved, by grace through faith. When they believe on the Savior that's victorious, that's invincible, it's the captain of our salvation. praising Him, honoring Him in this world. We can say that He's our refuge in the storm, but for that to be true, there has to be a storm. And we, by His grace, must actually find shelter in Him and need no other.

The word reproach means an injury brought on by pride and haughtiness. Somebody has hurt you because they, in their pride and haughtiness, they've offended you. It's it means an injury inflicted by the violence of a tempest. So let us be on the weekend of that. So be it. Let us bear whatever reproach comes upon us by association with our Lord and do so counted in honor as the disciples did to be privileged to suffer shame for his sake. and may that redound to his glory, manifest itself in the fruit of the spirit being born in us, to the glory of the Lord, because the Lord Jesus said, herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and the flesh has nothing to do with that. The Lord is our strength in that.

Necessities is mentioned, that means calamity and distress. You see the differences, our own personal weakness, our own personal limitations of the flesh, our own infirmity, that's one, and then the affliction brought on by other people. You know the most discouraging, destructive, and just flat out demoralizing thing on this earth is a human being. The most evil, wicked, vile, wretched, thing on God's earth that can bring us down quicker than anything is a sinner, another sinner. And especially religious ones, especially religious ones. There's nothing meaner than a religious sinner. And so that's the second one.

And then here it's calamity, distress, it's things that happen in God's providence. We lose someone we love, we lose our living in this life or whatever, our job, or we come to a place of great distress, circumstances become, we think, our enemy. God's providence brings us trouble, heartache, difficulty, or need, and we are bowed down. God's people are strengthened in this because when we're in that type of distress, we flee to the Savior.

We run to the refuge, the shelter in every storm. We begin to experience all that we know from the scripture about him. The more we need him. I just want to close by reading. I want to read the whole Psalm and I may just do that. Look at Psalm 107. Psalm 107. I mentioned this psalm, I believe, this past Sunday, and I couldn't think of what number it was at the time. Psalm 107.

This is our life as believers in this world right here. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered them out of the lands from the east and from the west and from the north and from the south.

They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way. They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. They were weak. Then they cried unto the Lord. In their trouble, And he delivered them out of their distresses. And he led them forth by the right way that they might go to a city of habitation. They couldn't find any city, but he gave them one. They cried to him, and he blessed them.

Verse 8, O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness, such as sit in darkness and the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron. Because they rebelled against the words of God and contend the counsel of the Most High, Therefore he brought down their heart with labor.

They fell down and there was none to help. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble. He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and break their bands asunder. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men for he has broken the gates of brass. cut the bars of iron and sunder.

Fools, because of their transgression, because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, and they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. Maybe read this psalm tonight. before you go to bed, it just keeps saying that in different things, different circumstances that the Lord brought them to. And they were made weak. Their heart was brought down, it says, and their affliction was heavy. They were in trouble. They were at the gates of death. Somebody in our midst might be at the gates of death, we don't know.

But when we're weak in that way, as our scripture says, in distress, and we experience what the Lord has taught us by his gospel, to trust him, he exercises and strengthens our faith. By that trial of faith, he worketh patience and all the good graces of the heart. And we're strong in that because then we cry unto the Lord. And it's his salvation we need. He saves us when we cry. We don't need our circumstances to change. We don't need things to get better. We don't need the stars to align. We don't need anything but him. We need him to save us.

And he said, whosoever shall cry, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. That's not a one-time thing, my friends. And you know that if you know him. So I pray that the Lord will make us mighty in all the right ways. It's in the strength of the flesh that the potsherds of the earth strive with the potsherds of the earth. But give us grace, Lord, to fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life whereunto we are called. And in that fight, in that victory that he gives, may our battle cry always be, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Amen.

True Strength

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