Turn with me this morning to
2 Corinthians chapter 12. We'll be looking at verses 10 through
the end of the chapter. In our studies, we've come to
see that the Apostle Paul had something which he said God sent
to him, God gave him. And he called this something,
a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him. Never not told what it was. He mentions things, but no more
so than we do, mentions certain infirmities and certain things
bothered him. He evidently was bothered with
his eyesight. He was bothered with doubts and
fears. He was bothered with the same
things that we are. But we're never told specifically
what this thorn in the flesh was, but we are told why it was
sent. Paul said, I had this thing,
this thorn in the flesh, this messenger of Satan. to buffet
me lest I should be exalted above measure." Now, I want you to
think about who this man Paul was. I want you to think about
the revelations that God gave to him. He had revelations such
as only a handful of people ever knew, just a handful. John on the Isle of Patmos was
caught up in a similar experience to the Apostle Paul and wrote
the book which title is The Revelation. Think of the beauty and the wonder
and the majesty of seeing Christ in His glorified state. So overwhelmed
was Paul at the sight of whatever he seen, whatever this third
heaven was that he was caught up to. He was so overwhelmed
by it that he couldn't even tell you if he was in the body or
out of the body. He said, I don't know if this was a bodily experience
or strictly a spiritual experience. He said, I don't know. I can't
tell. I can't tell. And then think of his gifts.
He had the gifts of the Holy Ghost, the gifts given to the
apostles. And he could exercise things
that nobody else did except for Christ. He had spiritual discernment. You remember when Ananias and
Sapphira came before the church and they held back part of that
which they promised. Well, who knew that they held
it back? Nobody knew what they promised.
How did Peter know that they held it back? He had spiritual
discernment. And he knew those things. Those
were supernatural gifts given to none but the apostles. He
could raise the dead, and Paul did. He could heal, he could cast
out demons, he could speak in, think of this gift, he could
speak in any language, anywhere, and do it on the spur of the
moment. He could go out on a foreign island somewhere, been isolated
from the rest of the world for who knows how long, and he could
go on to that island and he could speak to them in their tongue. He could heal the sick, raise
the dead, cast out demons. His words were given such inspiration
of the spirit that his letters were to be considered and still
are to be considered as the word of God. And with these kinds
of gifts and spiritual discernment, he would have been exalted above
measure, puffed up to the point of being absolutely useless. Most of the time with great gifts
come great troubles and great tribulations. And they don't
come as a punishment from God. They come from God, but they
don't come as a punishment. And they may come in the form
of a messenger of Satan, Paul's did. But they're not sent there to
do you harm. They're sent there to do you
good. It was kind of a counterbalance, if you will. for Paul to keep
him from being puffed up beyond measure. Whatever it was distracted him
a lot. And concerning Paul prayed for
this thing to be removed. It was a great hindrance to him.
And Paul prayed earnestly that this thing be removed from him,
and he prayed three times. Three times. And finally, God gave Paul the
answer. He said, my grace is sufficient
for thee. For my strength, now listen to
this, my strength is made perfect in weakness. In weakness. Brother Henry said, the Lord's
strength and grace are more manifest, are more glorified, and are more
appreciated in the light of our weakness, inability, and ignorance. You often hear me talk about
the experience of grace, a man being convinced of sin, being
convinced of his own helplessness. being convinced that when God
found him, he was without hope and without God in the world.
And in his weakness, God's power and majesty was manifested in
the revelation of Christ. And Paul came to consider himself
to be a weak, feeble, sinful creature. Now that's the mark
of a mature messenger of God. He knows what he is. He knows
what he is. And therefore, he considered
the power and grace of Christ to be his refuge, his salvation,
his shield, and his strength. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12,
verse 10, look at this. Therefore, based on what I just
told you, therefore, he said, I take pleasure in infirmities,
in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distress
for Christ's sake. For when I'm weak, then am I
strong." Paul asked this question in the first letter to the Corinthians. He said, who maketh thee to differ
from another? Who maketh thee to differ from
another? He said this, he reads off this
list of vile characters and sinful acts and then he writes this,
and such were some of you. But you are washed, you are sanctified,
you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the
Spirit of our God. To Titus, Paul writes this, he
said, for we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient,
deceived, serving divers' lusts and pleasures, living in malice
and envy, hateful, hateful, hating one another. But God in unspeakable
mercy intervened, did not allow things to take their course,
and saved us, he said, by the washing of regeneration and renewing
of the Holy Ghost. We would yet, we would yet be
on the course of this world. We'd still be traveling the same
road. We wouldn't have changed. We
wouldn't have gone another direction. We'd have kept right on walking
like we walked. Yet under the rule of the influence
of the prince of the power of the air, we'd still be walking
under that Deceit, still be walking under that false idea and false
religion. Yet, trying to forgive, trying
to figure things out in the ignorance of a fallen nature. That's what
men do. They try to figure things out. I'll just sit down and figure
things out. I'll get me a book on the subject. Blind leaders
of the blind. We ourselves would yet be in
this religion or that religion, believing this and believing
that, trying to reform ourselves, attempting to work our way into
the favor of God. But God, who alone has the power
to make a difference, made us meet, Paul said to the Colossians,
he made us meet, made us able to be partakers of the inheritance
of enlightened saints. He enlightened us. He told us
what we didn't know. He gave us light in our darkness.
Saints with eyes to see, blessed are your eyes, for they see in
your ears, for they hear. Why? Because it's given unto
you to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God. It's the
gift of God. It's the gift of God. And he's
given you a heart to understand. He said to the Galatians, having
begun in the spirit, are you now made perfect in the flesh? Your beginning wasn't established
that way. It was established altogether,
dependent on the power, presence, and will of God. Will you leave
this source now and look back to the flesh? God's glory is manifest in his
salvation of sinners by his grace. That's what God's doing. That's
where His glory is to be seen. It's in the salvation of sinners.
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. This
is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus
came into this world to save sinners, Paul said, of whom I'm
chief. And never, never try to climb
above the grace of God and the Savior who brought that grace
to you. Don't do it. Don't do it. Now,
going back to our text in 2 Corinthians 12.10, the only way for a believer
to take pleasure in, or as James puts it, to count it all joy
when these tribulations come, is with the knowledge that God's
strength is manifest, brought to light, and seen only in our
weakness. When I'm weak, Paul said, then
am I strong. When do you enjoy the strongest
assurance? When you're on top of the mountain
or down in the valley? Huh? Oh, I tell you. You know
why? Because when you're up there,
you're looking all around. You're not looking to God at
all. You get down here in the valley, you quit looking around.
You just look to Him. You just look to Him. When we have nothing to say,
and nothing to contribute, and nothing to find comfort in, then
we look to Christ more earnestly and we discover that in Him we
have all things. One writer said this, to live
we must die. Did you know that? We must die. To be full, we must first be
empty. And to be rich, we must be made
poor. 2 Corinthians 12, 11. I am become a fool in glory. You have compelled me. For I
ought to have been commended of you. For in nothing am I behind
the very cheapest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly, the signs
of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs,
in wonders, and mighty deeds. In giving too much attention
to fleshly things and an ear to foolish men who know nothing
about the grace of God, this church had totally forgotten
who Paul was, why he was sent, and what he had done for them.
They totally lost sight of it. Unbelievable. He came there,
Winston, and manifested the glory of God to them in the gospel
of Jesus Christ. And his office as a messenger
had been confirmed by God with miracles and wonders and signs.
I know some of you in here listen to me and God's persuaded you
that I am a messenger of God and others of you look at me
like, who's he think he is? I get that all the time everywhere
I go. And I expect it. I expect it. But I tell you, you'd listen
to me this morning, wouldn't you, if I could raise the dead?
Huh? You'd pay attention, wouldn't
you? If I could raise the dead. If a leper come in here and his
flesh was falling off his face and you couldn't stand to smell
him, was to come up here and I touched him and prayed over
him and he stood here clean as a newborn baby before you. You'd give me a little extra
hearing, wouldn't you? And that's what Paul is saying here. I came
in here and you saw these things with your own eyes. You witnessed
these things with your own eyes. You heard, why do you believe
what you believe? Where did you get this from?
You got it from me. And a couple of knuckleheads
come in here and started talking about me and tearing me down.
Saying this and saying that had no foundation whatsoever for
what they were saying. False prophets don't need that.
They don't need a basis. They just throw things out. Just
throw them out because that's what they feel like. I heard
a woman, she wasn't a preacher or anything, but she was on television
and selling clothes, I think is what she was doing. But anyway,
she got talking about pets and she said, oh, she said, now you
know you're going to see your pet in heaven, don't you? Where do you get these things?
Because it makes them feel good. And by the same token, when somebody
says something that goes against your grain, you just spit something
right back out at him. Boy, he's a horrible man. He
did this, he did that. Totally unfounded. Don't have
any basis for it. Just something I felt. And that's
what happened. And they gave ear to these men. Paul said, you should have been
and are, he said in another place, my letters of commendation. You
ought to be commending me right now. You ought to be. But instead of commending me,
they stood now compelling him to point out his qualifications.
Brethren, the preaching of the gospel is the power of God unto
salvation, Romans 1 and 16. And it's that way to everyone
who believeth, not just to some. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed. That's how it comes, that's how
it's sustained, and that's wherein it perseveres. After that in
the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased
God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believed.
Paul opened his letters to Titus, speaking specifically about the
faith of God's elect, which is acknowledged, he said, in the
truth after godliness, and leaves its heirs in hope
of eternal life, which God that cannot lie promised before the
world began, but in due times manifested this word, this word
of promise, through preaching, through preaching. And I must
at times point out God's means and how His messengers are known. But I'd much rather you'd experience
in your own heart. I'd much rather. It'll mean a
lot more to you if God will establish it in your heart. And when He does, you won't forget
it. You won't forget how it came and you won't forget who sent
it and why. Verse 13, 2 Corinthians 10. For what is it wherein ye were
inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome
to you? Forgive me this wrong. They were told Paul didn't love
them. They were told that he purposely neglected them. And
they don't, as I said, they don't need a basis for this. They don't
need witnesses, which are required if you make an accusation against
an elder. You bring two or three witnesses
with you if you're going to do that. And being unfounded, they're
usually cruel and hateful and hurtful. To such charges, Paul
said, you've not been neglected. These men said, well, y'all been
neglected. Look, where is he now? If he
really loved you, where is he now? He's over there in Macedonia.
If it wasn't for the Macedonians, and we've already covered this
in our lessons, in our prior lessons, if it wasn't for the
Macedonians, Paul wouldn't have had any support at all to preach
to the Corinthians. That's where he got his money
from. That's who supported him. Because they were giving ear
to these false prophets who were telling them that Paul was just
a money-grubbing preacher. And now he said, where were you
neglected? Where were you treated any differently
than the churches under the ministry of Peter or James or John? You
had the same gospel preached to you. You had the same miracles
performed in your midst. You were enriched with the same
spiritual gift of repentance and faith, just like everybody
else in all the other churches. The only difference between you
and them is that I purpose not to take one red cent from you
because somebody told you, and you believed them, that I'm a
money-grubbing preacher. He wouldn't take a nickel. Now, he said, if you're offended
for that, you consider that wrong, I apologize and ask your forgiveness. Evidently, somebody had a problem.
in paying the preacher. We have a lot of that up in Kentucky.
I don't know if you have that in Arkansas or not, but we had
a lot of that kind of stuff in the religion up in Kentucky where
I was raised. Preachers are forbidden to use
notes. You can't use notes. One preacher told me, he said,
just open your mouth and God will fill it. He filled it full
of garbage. And absolutely, they're not to
take any kind of support. This is totally against the teaching
of Scripture. When the Lord sent out His disciples,
He told them not to take any provisions with them. Don't you
take two coats. Don't you take a script. Don't
you take anything with you. Everything will be provided for
you when you get there. And then He talked about a people
being worthy to hear Him and worthy not to hear Him, those
who supported them. Those who gave them an ear and
an earnest heart to listen and those who provided for them,
they preached too. They went into their homes and
they spent the night and they received gifts from them. Those
who didn't do that, they shook the dirt off their shoes as a
testimony against them. Listen to this over in 1 Corinthians
9 verse 13. Why don't you turn over there
and let's read this together. 1 Corinthians 9, verse 13. Do you not know that they which
minister about holy things live of the things of the temple?
And they that wait at the altar are partakers with the altar. Now if you go back, we studied
the tabernacle. on Wednesday nights when I was
going through the book of Exodus. And we saw in there where God
made provision for that tribe to keep those things. And those
sacrifices that was offered on that altar, they were permitted
to eat of those things. And the showbread and different
things there, they were permitted to eat those things. And that's
what Paul's telling them, don't you know? They gave a tithe of
all that they made. That's what tithing was for,
was to support this Levitical priesthood. You not know that
they which minister about holy things live of the things of
the temple, and that they that wait on the altar partakers with
the altar? Even so, verse 14, hath the Lord
ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the
gospel. God ordained that, the same as
He did that support of that priesthood in the Old Testament. He ordained
that these things be so. Galatians 6, verse 6, let him
that's taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all
good things. For God is not mocked, whatsoever
a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And in 1 Timothy 5, 17,
he said, let the elders, that is pastors, that rule well be
counted worthy of a double honor, especially they who labor in
the word and doctrine. For the Scripture saith, thou
shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, and the
laborer is worthy of his reward. And I know this, under normal
circumstances, Paul would have taken support from this church.
He did from the Philippians. You can read about it over in
Philippians chapter 4, verse 15. Those are the Macedonians
I was telling you that supported him at Corinth. But this church
had been given the idea that Paul was just out for the money.
And because they had that attitude and spirit about him, Paul wouldn't,
he wouldn't take a nickel. He wouldn't take a nickel. And
not only didn't he receive support from them, but he wouldn't let
Titus or anybody else that he sent to minister to that church,
he told them before they went over there, don't you take a
nickel, and told them why. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 14. Behold,
the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not yet
be burdensome to you. Why? Because he wanted them to
know this. I seek not yours, but you. My interest is not in what you
have, My interest is in you, in you. For the children, now
listen to his reasoning, the children ought not lay up for
the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will
very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly
I love you, the less I be loved. It was never his intention to
build a system of followers to support him in his old age. He
says this goes against the grain of natural reasoning, and it's
totally against the grain of spiritual knowledge. He was both
willing and actively engaged in giving himself for them. Was he not? He didn't charge
them anything for anything. He wouldn't take anything from
them. And what he was doing, he hoped,
would profit them long after his death. My interest is not in something
you have, my interest is in you. But he said, the more I try to
manifest my love for you, the less I be loved in return. I
believe this may be true in every church. A pastor's love is often
lost because they do not see it manifest in the way they think
it ought to be. See, these men had told them
Paul didn't love them because he was over here preaching the
gospel. If he was interested in you, if he loved you, he'd
be here with you. He wouldn't be over there. The love of pastors gets lost
in men who don't understand how that love is manifested. Paul
was in prison when he wrote this letter. He spent much of his
time in study and prayer. He spent his life as an evangelist.
He suffered more than any man so that his gospel might be preached
to God's elect. Nobody could question the love
that Paul had for the people of God. Paul wanted to see their
faces. He would have delighted to have
been in their houses and eat with them or to have visited
with them when they were sick. But true love is more manifested
in the things you need than in the things that you want. It's
often the case with me. I can't come and see you because
I'm in my study. I can't talk to you on the phone
very long because I'm in my study. And people misinterpret this.
They misinterpret that, well, you don't care about me at all.
Yeah, I care about you, but you can wait two hours until I'm
out of my study. Well, if he loved us, he wouldn't
go up to West Virginia and preach. That's just stupid, what that
is. That's a total lack of knowledge about what a preacher is ordained
to do and what a church is designed
to do. And that's chapter 6. The Greeks,
they brought in a complaint and they said, you know, there's
a heavy Jewish population in the church and their widows are
being seen too promptly. Their widow, you know, this money
that we contributed is being dispersed out here, and all their
needs are taken care of. But the Grecian women and widows,
they're getting all their stuff last. And we need somebody to
oversee this. And they come and got the disciples
of Christ to do this. And they got together in Acts
chapter 6, and Peter said, is it meat? Is it meat? For our calling to go wait on
tables? Is that what we're here for?
Is that how we're going to manifest this thing of God? We're going
to go wait on tables? Not that he was above it, but
it wasn't what he was called to do. And under the influence
of the Holy Ghost, he said, look out from among you so many men. Now there was thousands of people
in that church. You take the church size of ours,
what do we need four or five deacons for? We don't. But you do need somebody. You
do need somebody to go when necessary and visit and oversee these things. These things are not to be overlooked
or to be seen about. But my purpose in telling you
these things is to tell you that this is how the love of a pastor
is manifest to his church. It's in his studies. It's in
his studies. It's a poor pastor who stands
up on Sunday morning and blabbers out a bunch of stuff to make
people feel good and send them on home with no hope. That's
a poor pastor. And if you're going to preach
the gospel, I'm going to tell you from experience, it works.
Is it not? It works. It takes study. You're not going to stand up
here week after week and talk about these things and not study.
It ain't going to happen. Ain't going to happen.