True Strength

It's a pleasure to be here with you this morning. This place will always be special to me for a lot of reasons and I'm thankful to be here and I'm very excited with y'all about your new pastor. And I don't think you could have gotten a better one. I love Frank very dearly.

He's a gifted preacher of the gospel as well. We're excited with you all about that But look with me if you would at 2nd Corinthians chapter 12 Just really one verse this morning and I want us to Just dwell on this one verse for a while I I I believe it was Henry that said one time, if you're going to preach a message, preach something that was a blessing to you. So if it was a blessing to you, it'll be a blessing to God's people. If it wasn't a blessing to you, it probably won't be a blessing to them. And this message, I think, was a particular blessing to me because of the fact that I'm getting a little bit older now. When the brother a while ago said something about the road In order to get the road done, you had to look at some ancient records from 1990, I thought. I thought he was going to say 1960 or something. 1990 was just 10 years ago, right? But let's read verse 10 of 2 Corinthians chapter 12.

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 a strange Kind of sickness to take pleasure From pain and misery the word here Pleasure means to think it good to think it to be good And that's a different thing that's not enjoying it that's submitting to the Lord's will in it and understanding why God sins affliction and agreeing with him and in doing that. These things mentioned here, infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses. The same sentiment is expressed by David in Psalm 119, 71, where he said, it is good for me that I have been afflicted. This is contrary, not only to this world, but this is contrary to our flesh. our flesh as believers. But this psalm, he said, it's good for me that I've been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes. And in that psalm, the Lord gives us the reason why we are strengthened by affliction, because by that means God teaches us his word.

It's one thing to read the scriptures, to study the scriptures, to search the scriptures. And that's a delight to the believer. We love to do that. We take refuge in the promises of our savior. But it's one thing to know them that way by reading and searching them.

It's another thing and a necessary thing to live the truth. of the scripture. I believe it was also Henry that said one time you don't really know anything until you experience it. And everything that God teaches us he causes us to experience it. Consider in the passage that we just read there in Psalm 119 and in our text as well how that living the word of God makes us strong in the work of the ministry. What are the Lord's exhortations to us?

One of them is to bear one another's burdens, to end afflictions and difficulties and distresses and trouble, to be an encouragement to one another. We know that he teaches us that in Galatians 6 to bury you when another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. How can we do that? How are we able to do that?

Second Corinthians one for the Lord comforted us in all of our tribulation experience trouble, the trouble we go through. The Lord comforts us in that. We find him to be our refuge in all of that, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble.

How do we bear one another's burdens? Because we've borne those burdens and someone likely helped us bear those burdens and the Lord brought us through those burdens. There is no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man, but it's the Lord that makes a way of escape. He may use another brother or a sister You may just use his word and calling it to our remembrance when we're in times of distress.

But it's the Lord that brings us out of trouble. He may just use us in that blessing for as the sufferings that let me get back up a little bit that we may be able to comfort them, which are in any trouble. What happened that we may tribulation in our life, trouble in our life that we, may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. So the comfort ultimately comes from God. But he comforts us in our troubles and we're able to comfort others also.

When I'm weak, when I need him, when I'm utterly dependent upon him, when I come to the end of myself, That's when I'm strong. Because my strength is the Lord Jesus Christ and not this flesh. You see what I mean by as I get older, that's a comfort to me.

Because the flesh gets weaker and weaker. And it's not just the physical flesh, it's the fleshly concerns. They begin to wane in our older years. Things that were precious to us before become troublesome. It is indeed vanity and vexation of spirit apart from Christ in this world. And we learn that more and more as we get older.

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. We're strong. to be able to help the weak because we ourselves are weak. And we can console those who need it, who are in sufferings, because we found that in our sufferings, nothing would do. but the precious Spirit of God encouraging us in Christ, taking the things of Christ and showing them to us so that we guide our brothers and sisters in that direction instead of depending on the flesh, instead of relying on this weak, pathetic, troubled flesh. I've experienced the strength that the Lord gives this way to his people.

When my dear friend Tommy Robbins was dying of cancer, I went to visit him in the hospital when he had been there for some time. And I went there to be some consolation to him. He was miserable. And you know, the thing that troubled him the most is he said, Chris, there's still so much flesh in me. He said, I hope I can honor the Lord in this and not let the flesh show itself. But I came there to console him, but his sweet spirit, the spirit of Christ in him in the midst of his darkest hours was a powerful blessing and encouragement to me. When he was weak, he was strong because he pointed me to Christ in his weakness. That's what believers do. And I'll never forget it. And I want to be that. I want, as I get older and weaker, not only again in the physical strength of the flesh, but you know, the longer we live in Christ, the more we realize how, what nothings we are.

We don't get stronger and stronger in understanding. We grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, but the more we grow in his grace, the more we realize how little we know, how stupid we are, how foolish we are, how fickle we are, love is. So we get weaker spiritually too, in a sense.

But those among us who are infirm, That's who I wanna talk to because I'm getting that way and I'm gonna be that way before long. Weak in the flesh. Those particularly who are suffering and afflicted are a great encouragement to the rest of us when we see their faith in Christ. When we see in them displayed, not just spoken about, Not just confessed with the mouth, but displayed before our very eyes that in their weakness, they're strong in the Savior. A word to them, a word to, to, to all of us, but those particularly who are And us who will, sooner or later, be infirm, be afflicted in this flesh, be distressed, be weak. Realize, may we realize that when we're weak in the flesh, that's when we have the greatest opportunity to be strong in the Lord.

We think ourselves to be limited by that, but no, we're set free by that. It's easy and it's sadly our nature to become bitter when we suffer. I see people suffer afflictions in their families or some kind of a downfall and then disappear from the worship of Christ. That's the opposite.

That's when we most need the comforts of our savior. That's when we most need to hear of his gospel of comfort and peace. And when we don't feel good, we tend to take it out on those around us, and often those that we love the very most. Rather, may we be strong when we're weak.

Maybe by the grace of God, we could be a strong encouragement, a strong source of comfort, a strong source of encouragement in the Lord when we're weak. I believe that's what Paul's talking about here. When He is weak in the flesh, that's when He's strong to preach.

As soon as the flesh creeps in to the preaching of the gospel, it don't fit. It's a rending of the garment. It's a contradiction. It destroys the gospel of Christ whenever the flesh begins to enter in, whether it be a fleshly a fleshly boisterousness, like some like to yell, you know, and things like that. That's just fleshly.

We're here to communicate the truths and glories of our Lord Jesus Christ, not shout at people. And in the flesh, in the sense of the spirit, when we begin to add things to Christ in order to not be offensive, When we are utterly without strength in ourselves, that's when the gospel is sweet. That's when it's sweet in the preaching of it, and that's when it's sweet in the hearing of it. If you're a nobody, the gospel will be sweet to you. If you have no strength, if you have no ability whatsoever, if you are infirm, infirm, weak, unable, hopeless, helpless. Christ will be sweet to your heart. So you see how this this principle applies when the Lord saved you.

What was your experience then? Did you cooperate with him in that? Did you meet him halfway? Did you take the first step? Or were you infirm? and reproached by your own heart, by your own guilt. Were you in necessity? You gotta have him, don't you? You gotta have him. When I'm in necessity, that's when I'm strong. That's when I'm able to lay hold of Christ who is my strength. And he gives that, he gives that.

Distresses? When you first met the Lord, were you in distress over your sin? Did you flee to Him? Did you fight your way through the throng of every impediment in order to touch the hem of His garment? Because you were in distress. You had great need. You were desperate.

You know, the Lord Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force. And that's what He's talking about. when you've got to have him. Jacob wrestled with the Lord all night and the Lord said, let me go. And Jacob said, I can't do it. I will not. That's bold. You know, David, when he's, when he, uh, wrote those songs where he said, hasten, Oh Lord, to come into me. When you come to the place where you're, you can tell God to hurry up, you're in the right place. necessity, distress, infirmity, unable, incapable.

Well, we're still being saved. We're still being saved. And the Lord is still all of our strength. And when we are come to that place, when we realize that. When the flesh is stripped away, when we understand our infirmity, you know, something happened. once in our congregation where we all fell on our faces before God to ask Him to spare a life. And we were desperate. We prayed continually. We all were in a great unity of prayer over it. And the Lord granted that prayer. And it was His purpose to give life It was when Jackson Christie's boy, Dean Christie's boy was in the hospital as a little baby with his chest cut open.

And we were in the waiting room and we were on our faces before God. And when that was over, I realized that we realized that, you know, we needed God that day. We needed God. We needed God to do something that we can't have any part in. We cried to him because we were infirm and we were in distress and we were under necessity. But you know what? The day before that, we needed him just as much. We just knew it better that day. We just had a better understanding of it that day.

That's where our text has taken us this morning. taking us into the dust before God, because that's when we, the Lord doesn't use strong people. You hear religion talking about prayer warriors. We need our prayer warriors. God doesn't hear prayer warriors. He just flat doesn't. He hears desperate cries. He hears those who cry to him in great need and distress, and that's when we're strong. to be able to call upon God when we were yet without strength. You know what happened? You know what God did about that? You might think it would say when we were yet without strength, the Lord gave us strength.

No, no, no. The strength of our soul and our life as we live it on this earth is Christ crucified. When we were yet without strength, what God did about that is he sent his only begotten son to die in our place on Calvary. So it's Christ crucified from the start and all the way to the end. And when we're on our deathbed, if we have one, or if we die suddenly, it'll be Christ then. If we're able to look on the day that we die, God bless our souls to be able to look to him alone.

When we're weak, when we're at the end of ourselves, when it's over as far as we're concerned, that's when we're strong in Christ. Dear God, make it so that when I'm down and out in this flesh, that I may more ardently study and meditate upon the word of God and be strong in His grace. When it comes to the preaching, when we're weak, that's when we're strong. When it comes to you hearing the gospel, when you're weak, that's when you're strong.

Scott Richardson said one time that everybody either just got through a trial or is in the middle of a trial or is fixing to go into a trial, don't waste that opportunity. Don't waste that opportunity. God give us grace to redeem that time, particularly, that time especially, when we're in trouble or we're in distress. Or maybe we think that, you know, we're infirm, we're in a wheelchair, we're old, we're weak, that we're not any use to anybody, that's when you should be the strongest for the Savior.

That's when you're a strong witness to the strength of Christ and what He's able to do for sinners and what He has done for sinners. The Lord make us, you know, for every physical thing that we cannot do, when our flesh gets to that point, Fast approaching it. For every physical thing that we cannot do, there are a thousand spiritual blessings that God can administer by us in making us kind and sweet-spirited and encouraging and to encourage one another in the Lord and to speak of the Savior to those that are lost. Who has a greater voice than that? to speak of the Lord Jesus Christ, the exploits of faith seen in God's people that are listed in Hebrews 11. By faith, they were able to do great things, but almost to an example, that great faith that the Lord called great faith, they wouldn't have, but he did.

It was displayed in the midst of a great trial, almost to a man. Hebrews 11, 17, by faith, Abraham, when he was tried, When? When did He show great faith and offer up His only begotten Son? When He was tried. When He came to the place where His flesh was weak and it was painful. Can you imagine? The Lord said, give me your Son, your only begotten Son. But when He was tried, He offered up Isaac. And he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.

When he was weak in the faith, when he was hurting in the faith, when he was afflicted in the faith, when he was in distress in the faith, no doubt he was strong in the Lord and strong in his promises. And the scripture says he knew that if it was God, if God was pleased, he could raise that boy up from the dead. When you're weak, By faith, Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph.

When he was a dying, what did he do? Oh, well, he kind of gave up on life and he was withdrawn and he just kind of gave up on the worship or doing anything. No, no, it says he worshiped. Jacob when he was a dying blessed both the sons of joshua and worshiped leaning upon the top of his staff Are you leaning on a staff in in the in the sense of weakness and infirmity?

That's the the most wonderful time to worship god that's that's when you can worship him without the distractions of the flesh, without the tendency of your flesh to get in the way. In verse 32 of chapter 11, and what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon. Gideon said, we don't have enough, we're outnumbered. And God said, you've got too many.

And of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah, And David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms. In Christ's strength, they subdued kingdoms. When David was weak, he was the weakest one there. All of his brothers were better suited to fight Goliath than he was. All of the soldiers in the armies of Israel were better suited to fight Goliath than he was. But being weak, He was strong in the Lord.

And he said, I've come here because these, these heathens have defied the armies of the living God. And we're going to see about that. He wasn't strong in the flesh. When he, when he had defeated Goliath, he said, look what God did. Look what God did today. And that should be us. I pray that'll be us in our and firmity in this flesh.

They were made in weakness, listen, quenched the violence of fire. When do we, what do we remember most about Daniel? When he had come to the end of himself, when he was helpless, when he was hopeless. The violence of fire stopped the mouths of lions. We know who did that. That's what we remember about Daniel. Quenched the violence of fire, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They had come to the end of themselves. Escaped the edge of the sword, and listen to this next phrase, out of weakness were made strong. Waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

Gideon, you've got too many. You've got to be made weak before you can win this battle. It's when we're weak that we're strong because God is going to get all of the glory. And as his sheep, we're going to be real happy about that. Real happy about that.

Well, 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? Do you think that was a greater and more intense battle than the battle between the spirit and the flesh that wades within your heart every day? Do you need the Lord in that fight?

Become weak. Become weak. Lay it at his feet. Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you. What are you going to do about it anyway? Are you going to worry your way out of it? Are you going to fight your way out of it in the flesh? Are you going to reason your way out of it?

No, we're going to have to fall on our face before God. And He won't let any of our enemies come near us. May the Lord make us to wax valiant in the fight against our flesh. That we might be victorious when greatly tried in his strength. True victory happens when God is glorified. When the Lord Jesus is served in the serving of his sheep. You want to be great, the Lord said, be a servant. You know, the religious world, they have rulers that rule over them. In the civil world also, the rulers rule over them. He said, it's not going to be like that with you. It's not going to be that way with you.

For whosoever among you would be strong, let him be your servant. Whoever would be great, let him serve. And the Lord said, when you do, you've done it unto me. When you're a service to his people, You've done it unto him and when can you better be that servant?

When you're young and strong and bold and boisterous and got all kinds of irons in the fire. Those of us who are older, we don't have that many irons in the fire anymore. We should just have one desire of our heart, and that's to glorify God while we're in this flesh. To be used of Him in whatever way He'll do it, in whatever way He's pleased to do it, but to be strong in Him. To be strong in Him. True strength is displayed when the Holy Spirit gives us victory over our self-pity, our selfishness, our bitter and complaining spirit, our feeling sorry for ourselves. And he makes us strong to be a blessing, a word of encouragement, and to shine the light of his son, even in our darkest days.

May he give us grace to do that. Reproaches are mentioned in our text. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 13. 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. When did the Lord accomplish? His purpose of grace. When did he accomplish the salvation of his people that his father sent him to do? When did that happen around which the whole universe revolves?

In his weakness, in his infirmity, when he took our place under the guilt and under the wrath of God Almighty. He suffered without the gate, let's go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Paul mentioned reproaches in our text. Reproaches. So let's bear his reproach for we don't have any continuing city here anyway. Who are we trying to impress? Who are we trying to gain the favor of? We're just camping out here for a little while. We have no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

By him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name. When are you going to be able to pray right? When everything's going great. I mean, we should, when we're floating on cloud nine, we ought to get on our knees before God and thank him for all of his Temporal mercies and all of his eternal mercies in Christ But look through the Word of God And read the prayers of his Saints It's when reproaches on us it's when we're in distress that's when we're in trouble We're gonna see that in a minute in Psalm 107 I We have no continuing city, but we seek one to come by him. Therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate, forget not.

That's when you're most qualified for that by God. When you're bearing his reproach, to do good and to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices, God is well pleased. And he's the cause of all of it. He brings you to that place for that reason.

The Lord causes us, uses these things and causes us to experience in this life the distresses and the trouble, though they seem like weakness, They make us strong to speak of Him. They make us strong to praise Him. They make us strong to honor Him in this world.

We can say that He's our refuge in the storm. But for that to be true, there's got to be a storm. And we, by His grace, must actually find shelter in Him. For us to be able to tell people, the Lord is your refuge in this storm. Flee to Him, find your comfort in Him, cast all your care upon Him. If we can ever truly say that, it's because we were in the storm and the Lord was all of that for us.

The word reproach in our text means an injury brought on by pride and haughtiness. An injury inflicted by the violence of a tempest. So let us be on the weekend of that. Let us bear the reproach that comes upon us by association with our Lord and bear it well. And may that redound to his glory and manifest itself in the fruit of the Spirit being born in us. To the glory of our Lord. Necessities means calamity and distress.

I guarantee you, if you know the Savior this morning, you found yourself not only hopeless, but helpless before him. As long as you're able to do something about it, you're not gonna flee to the Lord. As long as you still got some money left to spend on doctors, as long as you're still trusting that which you've accrued, that which was earned by you, but when you've spent it all, That's when you cast yourself on him.

That's still true today, believer. That's still true today as he continues to save us. And not in the sense that we can ever fall if we're his. We know that. But his salvation is eternal and continuous throughout time. It's the same way. We're going to have to come to the end of ourselves. And we'll be strong in the Lord. Our own personal weakness, the storm of hatred and evil pride in our hearts. Can we overcome that? No. You know how those storms are overcome.

Peace be still. The voice of the master. When did that happen for the disciples? When they were in despair. We're goners. We're goners. That's exactly right. And that's who the Lord saves, his goners. Circumstances are our enemy. We lose someone we love. We come to a place of great distress. Providence brings us these troubles. The providence of God, heartache, difficulty, or need.

God's people are strengthened in this because when we go to the Savior in our distress, We find him faithful and we experience all of that which we know from his word about him. I can tell you he's faithful this morning because I've found him faithful. I've found him to be. I can tell you that he's gracious this morning because he bestowed his grace on me. Look at Psalm 107 with me and we'll close. Psalm 107. This is our life, believers. This is our whole life. 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. distress, trouble, infirmity, weakness. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble. And he delivered them out of their distresses. What was their strength? What was their only hope to get out of the trouble? They were starving to death. Dying of thirst. Nowhere to turn. They cried unto the Lord.

That's what you'll do when you're weak, if you're His. And then we'll find out what true strength is. No other way. And he led them forth by the right way, verse seven, that they might go to a city of habitation. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men. For he satisfied the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness, such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron, because they rebelled against the words of the Lord 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. No help. No help. It's over. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of all their distresses. You know, that's what happened when we first met the Lord. No help. No help. Called upon the name of the Lord and he heard us. He saved us.

You go through that psalm and it happens many more times in that psalm. He sent his word and healed them, verse 20, from their destructions. Oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness. We're going to come out on the other side saying, man, I should have been praising him all along. Even in the trouble, I should have been singing his praises. Oh, that we would do that. Oh, that we would praise him for his wonderful works to the children of men. and let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing.

They that go down to the sea and ships that do business in great waters. These see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. You see what great waters and deep he's talking about. That's when you're going to see his greatness. For he commandeth and raiseth the stormy wind which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount up to heaven. They go down again to the depths. Their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man at their wits end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble. He bringeth them out of all their distresses. May he maketh the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still. Wait a minute, in verse 25 it said he raises the storm. Does he raise the storm or does he calm the storm? Yes. Why? Then they cried unto the Lord in all of their distresses and he saved them.

As an appeal to the lost, may God bring you to the place where you have no help, no hope, and no ability to do anything about it. And may He give you the heart to cry unto Him. You see, the cry of faith is His gift. If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ this morning, the cry of faith, He says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord who calls upon Him, how shall they call on Him in whom they've not heard? And how shall they believe on Him and call on him, and if they've not heard him, and how shall they hear without a preacher, and how shall they preach except they be sent? That call of faith, that's the gift of God. He gives that faith, by grace through faith are you saved, and that, not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should bow.

You're gonna have to come to the end of yourself. You're gonna have to be in firm, and in distress, and in necessity. And then if by God's grace, he mixes faith with the word and you cry out to him, he hears that cry and he'll save you. Cause that's what you need. You don't need better doctrine. You don't need, you know, to take the first step. You need to be saved. And I, and salvations of the Lord, but believers also listen, he still got to save me today. I've still got to come to the end of myself. I still have you given up on yourself yet? We're not talking about low self-esteem. We're talking about standing in the presence of God and understanding that if we're going to have help, he's going to have to help us.

That we've got to cry unto him for everything or we're not going to have it. And may he give us grace when we're broke down, And we can't even remember our own name hardly. May he give us grace and opportunity and the ability to glorify him. When our flesh is weak. May he make us strong. In growth and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in the testimony of the gospel as his witnesses in this world. And bearing one another's burdens. Lord, help us. Bring us down that you might lift us up.

True Strength

Sermon Transcript

About Chris Cunningham

Comments

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

True Strength

Sermon Transcript

About Chris Cunningham

Comments

More from Chris Cunningham

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Chris Cunningham

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book