I want to return tonight to one
of those texts which I look upon as my favorite. I preached to
you from this passage, I have no idea how many messages, but
I have had this on my heart for a while, 2 Corinthians chapter
12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12. It is expedient for me, doubtless,
to glory. I will come to visions and revelations
of the Lord. Paul said it's needful. No, it's necessary for me to
glory in the Lord, in the visions and revelations of the Lord Jesus. to boast and speak continually
of the person and work of the Lord Jesus. All the revelations
of God, all the revelations of God are revelations concerning
the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Read through the
word of God. Every time you come across an
experience that one of God's people had in the Old Testament
or in the New, where they were given a special revelation. It was a revelation of the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I stress this because in this
day of charismatic nonsense and tomfoolery and blasphemy. And that's what the charismatic
movement is all about. Nonsense, tomfoolery, and blasphemy. There's not anything about it
that's spiritual. Folks talk about revelations
concerning your bank account and tumors in your stomach. That's
nonsense. The revelations of God are revelations
concerning the person and work of Jesus Christ. Paul says, I
knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago. Makes it obvious as
we read on, he's talking about himself. He says, I knew a man
in Christ, chosen of God in Christ, redeemed by the precious blood
of Christ, accepted in Christ, justified in Christ, sanctified
in Christ, a member of the Savior's mystical body, one with Christ.
I knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago, that is about 11
years after God had saved him. Whether in the body, I cannot
tell, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell, God knoweth. Such in one was called up to
the third heaven, called up to the very throne of God, called
up to the dwelling place of our Savior who sits upon the throne
of God. I knew a man, whether in the
body or out of the body, I cannot tell. God knoweth. He repeats
that for a reason. He said, I want you to know,
I really don't know. I really don't know whether I
had been, I had died and was taken to glory as Lazarus was,
or, and then returned to the earth, or whether it was just
a spiritual experience. I really don't know. God knows.
He said, that's not important. That's not important. Some have
the idea that this took place when Paul was in a trance at
Jerusalem in Acts 22, I believe it is. Some think it refers to
the time when Paul were stoned and left for dead. But either
way, he said, I don't know whether I was in the body or out of the
body. God knows. That's the only thing that's
important. How that he was caught up into paradise. Now that'll
tell you what paradise is, the third heaven. Paradise, when
the Lord Jesus tells us about the Lazarus who who was poor
and laid at the rich man's gates and was carried by the angels
of God into paradise. He's talking about the third
heaven. He's talking about the place of God's abode. He's caught
up into paradise and heard unspeakable words. Now this is what it tells
us, what it means by unspeakable words, which it is not lawful
for man to utter. Paul says, I saw and heard things,
that I cannot put into language because words can't describe
what I saw and heard. I saw and heard things that just
cannot be expressed in human earthly terms. Of such in one
I will glory, not of that man who was called up to the third
heaven, of that man whom he saw. the Lord Jesus Christ, that man
who is God, our savior, that man who is Christ in you, the
new man, God's wondrous work of grace. Yet of myself, I will
not glory, but in my infirmities, I'm not going to talk to you
about anything with regard to me, except my infirmities. I'm
not going to boast to you about my great faith. my great knowledge,
my great experiences. I want to talk to you, want to
talk about me, about my infirmities. For though I would desire to
glory, who doesn't? Though I would desire to glory,
I'd sure like for you to be impressed with me. I'd sure like for you
to know what great things I know, and what wondrous things I've
experienced, and what marvelous deeds I've done. I'd like to
glory, whoever. We're all proud, stinking proud
flesh. But he says, I shall not be a
fool. That's who the man is who glories in himself. That's what
a man is who thinks highly of himself. I shall not be a fool,
for I will say the truth. But now I forbear, lest any man
should think of me above that which he seeth me to be. Don't
think of me anything more than this, a sinner saved by the grace
of God. Don't think anything more of
me than you see that I am, or that you heareth of me, or that
he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted
above measure through the abundance of the revelations that were
given to me, a thorn in the flesh, lest I be lifted up with pride,
exalted above measure. Paul here tells us that he saw
and heard things that no man walking on earth had ever seen
or heard. That's remarkable. I was taken
to the third heaven and I saw and heard things no living man
has ever seen or heard. That makes him head and shoulders
above the rest of us. That makes him head and shoulders
above all the other apostles. They had seen Christ after the
resurrection. He saw Christ in glory after
the resurrection. That made him head and shoulders
above everybody else. He knew things nobody else knew.
He saw things nobody else saw. And that is something a fellow
just can't live with in this flesh without being proud. And pride is the greatest struggle
any child of God has in this world. Pride of place, pride
of face, pride of grace, pride. We're all proud, but the more
God gives us and the more God bestows upon us in his great
grace, the prouder we become. What a contradiction. What a
puzzle. What a paradox. Paul said, lest
I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations by this marvelous experience. Who here, who here
would not like to have this exact same experience? Anybody? My soul, wouldn't you like to
see Christ on his throne? Really see him. And hear his
voice. Really hear it. And come back
down here and tell folks about it. He said, I've had these abundant
revelations. But lest I be exalted above measure,
because what I've seen and heard, there was given me a thorn in
the flesh. I know there's a lot said about
this thorn in the flesh. Some say Paul had bad vision
and all those things. He's not talking about something
in his physical body at all. I'm absolutely certain that's
the case. He tells us what the thorn is. He tells us plainly
what the thorn is. It was giving me a thorn in the
flesh, the messenger of Satan. Now, I rarely, rarely suggest
our translators made a mistake, but the word of is not in the
Greek text. It's not there. He says, lest
I be exalted above measure, there was given me a thorn in the flesh. God gave this to me, this thorn
in the flesh, the messenger, Satan, the messenger, Satan,
to buffet me, to beat me down. God sent Satan to me like he
sent Satan to Job to beat me down. to beat me down, to beat
me down, constantly to beat me down, lest I should be exalted
above measure. What a gift. Who would want that? Who would desire that? For this
thing, this messenger, Satan, who beats me constantly, this
thorn in the flesh, my stinking pride, I besought the Lord thrice,
three times, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me,
live with it. No, I won't take it away. No. I won't give any reprieve. No, you're going to have to deal
with this as long as you live in this body of flesh. He said
to me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is
made perfect in weakness. Now, here's Paul's response. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. Therefore, in the light of all
this, in the light of me living with this constant thorn in my
flesh, Satan constantly beating me down, and in the light of
my Redeemer saying to me, my grace is sufficient for thee,
my strength is made perfect in weakness. 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. When I am weak, then am I strong. I trust that God the Holy Spirit
will give me your attention and enable me to show you four things
in this passage. I want you to know and rejoice
in and experience continually God's all-sufficient grace in
your constant weakness. First, understand this. You and I never know what's best. You and I never know what's best. Not occasionally, not now and
then, never. We never know what's best. None of us knows what's best
for the glory of God, the good of our own souls, The good of
others are the accomplishment of God's purpose of grace in
Christ. We just don't know what's best. Paul said in verse 8, for this
thing, I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me.
Because we don't know what's best, we don't know how to pray
for anything as we ought. Turn over to Romans chapter 8.
For just a minute, I want you to see this. Romans chapter 8. I wrote to Colin and Annie yesterday,
and I said to them, we will try to pray for you. And I used the
word try deliberately. How do you pray? How do you pray? We can ask what
Mama and Daddy want and what we want. We can do that. God
preserve her life, preserve that baby, make it healthy. That's
what we want. That's what we want. But I don't
know what God's will is. You understand that? I don't
know what God's will is. I've been there. I was sitting
in Bob's house the other day. Read a passage in Psalm 41 verse
3 about God promising to make your bed in all your affliction.
Promises to turn you on the bed of languishing so that you don't
get bed sores like a nurse taking care of a patient. What grace. I'll tell you when that passage
meant something to me for the first time, when it meant something
to me. I had been sick for a long time. The doctors thought I was
dying, and I did too. I was pretty well convinced.
And people all over the world were praying for me, wrote to
me, told me they were praying for me. But I could not ask God
to heal me of that disease that had taken so many. I just couldn't
ask him to do it. I wanted it, but I couldn't ask
him to do it. My wife prayed for it, and she longed for it.
I couldn't ask him to do it. Why? Why? Because I could not
discern. what God's will in the matter
was. And that's really what I wanted,
God's will. And he brought me to Psalm 41
in verse 3, another Psalm, the same day, I shall not die, but
live and declare the wondrous works of the Lord. And I was
able to pray, God, heal me of this disease. And I never mentioned
it again. Never mentioned it again. One
time in my life, I was able to pray, able to pray. We don't
know what's best. Paul said, I will leave. God said, that's not best for
you. That's not best for my glory. That's not best for the interest
of my kingdom. That's not best for my people.
Since we don't know what's best, we don't know how to pray as
we ought. Look here, Romans 8, 26. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth
our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as
we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh
intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. We don't know how to pray, so
the Spirit of God intercedes for us with groanings. that can't
be uttered, sighs that baffle expression. And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the spirit. That's talking about
the Lord Jesus, because he maketh intercession for the saints according
to the will of God. Prayer is not for the gratification
of our lust. It's not a means by which we
obtain what we want from God. That is not what prayer is. Prayer,
true prayer involves submission to the will of God and revelation
of God to us what his will is. It's the cry of the believer's
heart to his heavenly father to do what's right and best. You remember how God made his
covenant with David. He said, I want to establish
you on your throne. Your throne, your kingdom is
going to be an everlasting throne, an everlasting kingdom. He said,
there'll never be a man or never be a time when there's not a
man sitting on your throne. He said, this is what I'm going
to do. And we got done. David said,
therefore, thy servant founded in his heart to pray this prayer.
And they do what you said you're going to do. Do as thou hast
said. Prayer, prayer must first be
inscribed on your heart by God the Holy Spirit. Must first be
inscribed upon your heart by God the Holy Spirit. And then
when God shows you, so that you are burdened of God to pray,
you have on your heart that which God has indicted upon you to
pray, then you can pray and ask what you will, for you're seeking
God's will, not your own. That's the reason when we pray,
our Lord taught us to pray according to the will of God, our Father. That doesn't mean you get done
praying and you say, in Jesus' name, according to your will,
amen. That's all it means. We come to God in the name of
our Redeemer, trusting Him, having access to God by the blood and
righteousness of His darling Son. And we come to God seeking
His will in prayer, begging God to do what our Lord taught us
to pray for. He said, when you pray, pray
like this. Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. God, honor your name. Whatever comes in my farm, Oscar,
or my wife or my children, God, honor your name. Is that what we want? Be honest
with yourself. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. God build your kingdom. Save
your people. Thy will be done on earth as
it is in heaven. I'll bow to it. I'll bow to it. God forgive my sin. Provide my
needs. Honor yourself. In this passage,
Paul tells us plainly that though the Lord graciously refused to
give him what he asked for, he graciously granted him what he
really wanted and what he really needed. He said, I asked the
Lord, take this from me. God, take this away from me.
God, keep me from swelling with pride. Keep Satan off of me. And the Lord said, my grace is
sufficient for you. That's what you need. And Paul
said, Lord, Thank you, that's what I wanted. That's what I
wanted. God's grace is sufficient grace
because God's grace is effectual grace. Our Lord Jesus taught
us ever to surrender our will to the Father's will. When the
will of God appears to contradict that which might appear most
pleasing to us. We ought always to follow the
master's example. Thy will be done. Turn back to
John chapter 12. John 12. Verse 27. Now is my soul troubled. Our Lord Jesus is anticipating
being made sin for us, forsaken of his father, enduring all the
wrath of God as our substitute. And he said, my soul's troubled.
Can you imagine the trouble? My soul's troubled. And what
shall I say? What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause came I into
this hour. My soul's troubled by it, but
this is what I came here to accomplish. My soul's troubled by it, but
this is what I was born for. Shall I say, Father, save me
from this? No. Father, glorify thy name. Oh, God, give me grace. to follow
my master's example. And I am fully aware, I am fully
aware that what I'm saying to you is very easy to stand here
and say. I'm fully aware it's very easy
to talk a good game. But I'm telling you, this is
the way we ought to walk before God. and beg God to give us grace
in time of greatest trouble, in time of greatest heartache,
in time of greatest need, give us grace to honor him and get
glory to himself. What happens to Frank Hall and
Don Fortner really doesn't mean much. In the long term of things,
it really doesn't mean much. I remember Brother Larry Brown
telling me years ago, I think I can remember it right. He said,
he said, when you think you're real important, he said, stick
your hand in a bucket of water and take it out. And what's left
of the impression of your hand, that's just how important you
are. That's just how important we are. What happens to us doesn't
matter. God's glory matters. God's honor
matters. Number two, look at verse nine. And he said unto me, My grace
is sufficient for thee. God's grace in Christ is sufficient
to meet our every need. Here, God's elect are assured
of His grace and its sufficiency always and in all things. One
of the names of our great God and Savior is El Shaddai. It
means God all-sufficient. I have found him so. It is sufficient
grace, I repeat, because it's effectual grace. Let us remember
that God's grace in Christ is sufficient for everything and
sufficient all the time. It's sufficient to accomplish
all his saving purposes. It is sufficient to pardon, justify,
regenerate, sanctify, and preserve us. It's sufficient in every
time of need. It's sufficient for every task
appointed us, sufficient for every burden given us, sufficient
for every adversity, sufficient for every affliction, sufficient
for every heartache. My grace is sufficient for thee.
It's sufficient in health, And it's sufficient in sickness.
It's sufficient in the birth of a child. And it's sufficient
when bereaved of a cherished companion. God's grace is sufficient. Sufficient in life and sufficient
in death. God's grace is sufficient when
we come to stand before him in judgment. sufficient to present
us faultless before the presence of His glory. Our Savior's name
is Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will provide. Did you hear that? The Lord will
provide. Bill Raleigh will provide everything
you need all the time forever. The Lord will provide and he
will be seen in the provision he makes. Number three, in verse nine again Paul tells
us our Savior declares to us that his strength is made perfect
in our weakness. For my strength is made perfect
in weakness. Now obviously, we are not here
being told that somehow we contribute something to Christ's strength.
He is the omnipotent God. He's telling us that his strength
is manifestly perfect. His strength appears to us perfect
in our weakness. When we were yet without strength
in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Let me see if I
can put this in a shoe leather for you. I have no strength to
atone for my sin. I can't make up to God. Christ
is my atonement. I had no strength to obey God's
law. Christ obeyed it for me. I had
no strength to give myself life. Christ is my life. I had no strength
to resist temptation. Christ is my preservation. I
had no strength to draw near to God. Done. How many times you try? Rex,
how often do you try to draw near to God? You can't. You just
can't. He says, draw now unto me, but
you can't. Christ is our access to God and
he brings us near. I have no strength to make myself
holy. Christ is my holiness. I have
no strength to resist the devil. Resist the devil, he'll flee
from you. That's so, but I had no strength to resist him. I
don't have that ability. Christ has bound the dragon of
hell for me. Now read the last sentence of
verse 9 one more time. Most gladly, therefore, will
I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may
rest upon me. It is only when we're brought
to acknowledge our weakness really acknowledge it. Only when
God makes us aware of our weakness, infirmity, failness, nothing
and insufficiency, that the power of Christ and his all-sufficient
grace rest upon us. The moment we flex our muscles,
lift our chins, straighten our shoulders and say, I can do this. I can handle this. I can accomplish
this. I'll get along all right. Then
you're fixing to fall on your face. You're in trouble. When
I'm weak, Paul says. Now, when I'm weak, then I'm
strong. That's the last thing. Let me
camp here for a few minutes and I'll be done. When I'm weak,
then I'm strong. Here, writing by divine inspiration,
Paul fulfills the prophecy that Joel gave when Joel said, let
the weak say, I'm strong. Child of God, when you're weak,
then you're strong. When you think you're strong,
your body weak. He that is weak and sees himself
so is strong in Christ and has the blessed experience of renewed
strength from the Savior day by day. Now, obviously, there
are some things to which this doesn't apply. I have frequently
heard men and women quote this statement by the apostle as an
apparent excuse for disobedience. Paul didn't use it that way,
and we ought never be so brazenly irreverent and hypocritical as
to use the Word of God to be an excuse for our disobedience
and sin. But weakness in the doctrine
of Christ will never make you strong. It is by the study of
God's Word and the revelation of God's truth in His Word that
we grow in grace and in knowledge and in faith and in assurance.
Weakness in prayer and devotion will never make me strong. I
say with Samuel of old, God forbid that I should sin against the
Lord and cease him to pray for you, his church, his kingdom,
for the knowledge of his will and his grace to walk in it for
his glory. Pray, pray, pray, but know your
weakness even then. Weakness in any known duty. will
never make me strong. Now, I recognize that duty is
just about the poorest motive for a believer in anything. Duty, not much of a reason to
do things, but duty, Bobby, is the least we can do. When you've
done everything that you ought to have done, then you haven't
done anything. Duty is the least we can do.
One of our noblest, most famous Southern forefathers, Robert
E. Lee, made this observation. Duty is the sublimest word in
our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should
never wish to do less. Duty is not a high motive in
anything. But we all are responsible to
do what we're responsible to do. We're all responsible for
the duty God has put upon us in our various walks in life. Waps got that new baby back yonder.
Got that new baby. That means whether you want to
get up and go to work tomorrow night, you get up and go to work.
How come? Because it's right. Well, I believe
I'll stay home this morning, don't feel so good. What's that
got to do with anything? Go to work. Go to work. Well, they can get along without
me. That's got nothing to do with
it. Go to work. It's called duty. Duty to provide
for your family, take care of your family. I had duties as
pastor, duties to study and preach, to be prepared to come here.
We have duties as church members. See all the empty spots here?
It's your duty to be here. It's your privilege. Oh, what
a privilege! But duty! Because you influence
many for good or for evil. Now, children of God, understand
this. Understand this. Everything you do or don't do
influences others who watch you. Influences your family, your
sons, your daughters, your husband, your wife. Do what's right. Just do what's right all the
time. All the time. We may very properly
conclude from our text, when I'm strong, then I'm weak. Years ago, I read a sermon by
Spurgeon from this passage, and he said, perhaps I can best expand
the text if I turn it the other way up and use it as a warning
and say, when I'm strong, then I'm weak. Many there are who
vainly imagine themselves wonderfully strong. Wonderfully strong. I think Joe Terrell years, I
know Joe Terrell years ago, he said, he said, only a preacher
and a Christian are like the red wasp. When he first is born,
he's as big as he ever gets. Oh, how big the young believer
is. How strong. He's born again this
morning, mastered the Bible by this evening, and ready to tell
the world all truth in theology by tomorrow morning. He's got
everything down pat. How big the young preacher is.
I know well. I know well. My soul. By the
time I was 21 years old and started pastoring, I had the world by
the tail on a downhill pull. There wasn't anything I didn't
know, and I was ready to tell you right now. Right now. And you soon find out you don't
know anything. Nothing. Whenever we feel ourselves superior
to others in any spiritual matter, we have reason to be suspicious
of ourselves. Beware, child of God, of self-confidence. That's just another word for
self-righteousness. You can mark it down as a matter
of unfailing certainty. When I'm strong, then I'm weak. Now, let's look at the text just
the way it's stated. When I'm weak, then I'm strong. Let me show you seven things
here. I'll be done. I'll just state
them and be done. When I'm weak before the glorious
majesty and holiness of God and cry out with Isaiah, woe is me
if I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips and
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Then I'm strong. When I'm utterly weak, before
God's glorious holiness in the revelation of Christ. When my
goodness withers within me, then I'm strong. Second, when I'm
weak before God's holy law, when I see what the law requires,
when I realize that my very best righteousness is nothing but
filthy rags before the holy Lord God, a stench in his sight, Then
I'm strong because my weakness compels me to look away from
myself to Jehovah's Echidna, the Lord, my righteousness. When
I'm weak before my trials and temptations in this world, then
I'm strong because my weakness forces me to look to Christ alone
for everything. We must persevere in the faith.
We must persevere in the faith. We must continue in the word
of God. We must continue in the doctrine
of Christ. We must continue in the gospel.
We must abide in him. Yes, that's our responsibility.
We must resist the devil. That's our responsibility. We
must resist temptation. That's our responsibility. But you don't have the ability. You don't have the ability. You've
all heard the clever little expression, I can't keep a bird from flying
through my hair, but I can keep it from building a nest there.
Try it. You'll entertain the bird. That's
just exactly where Peter was when he said, Lord, they may
all forsake you, but not me. Not me. I've been too far. I've
gone through too much. I've experienced too much. Not me. Peter, before the rooster
crows twice tomorrow morning, you're going to deny me three
times. He heard the Lord say that and he heard it well, but
he didn't hear a word. He didn't hear a word. He didn't
respond in any way. He followed far off and a little
girl said, you're one of his disciples. He said, oh no, not
me, no. No, you're mistaken. And it didn't
bother him any. It didn't bother him a bit, maybe
a little twinge of conscience. And then he was, you're one of
his disciples. You were with him in Galilee.
No, no, you're mistaken. I don't know him. And immediately
he heard a rooster crow. Ninja, can you imagine how he
must have withered and trembled with it? Remembering the Lord. Peter, before the rooster crows
the second time, you're going to deny me three times. He heard
that rooster crow and he said, there you are. You've already
denied him twice. Oh, let me get out of here. I've
got to get out of here. I can't go on like this. I've
got to get out of here! And he stayed right there. You
see, you and I have no ability even to resist temptation. None at all. None at all. No
ability. No ability. Young people realize that. Understand
that. Old folks realize that. Understand
that. You have no ability to resist
temptation. And Peter went right on and denied
the Lord the third time and the rooster crowed. And now the starch
is gone. Peter doesn't stand so tall.
He's not so proud. He's not so erect. Now he's brought
to nothing. And it goes out weeping. It goes out weeping. When I'm
weak before my cares in this world, then I'm strong. What time I'm afraid, David said,
I will trust in thee. Isn't that a good statement?
What time I'm afraid, I'll trust in thee. And we meet with those
times, don't we? When you're weak before your
cares, husband, father, wife, employee, employer, preacher,
pastor, missionary, when you're weak before your cares and responsibilities,
then you're strong. When you think you can do it,
you're in trouble. I am more keenly aware today
than I have ever been in my life after preaching the gospel for
better than 45 years, that the most ardent labors, most zealous
labor, the most fervent devotion on my part to the work of the
gospel in all that I can do and the best I can do in preparation
and preaching to you is utter vanity. Accept God the Holy Spirit bless
it to your souls Who is sufficient for these things? Our sufficiency
is of God Number six in my soul in all things spiritual When
I'm weak with the infirmity of this body of flesh of sin and
death Then I'm strong Because Christ my shepherd is watching
over me. Like the disciple sleeping in
Gethsemane, I often find the spirit willing, but the flesh
weak. I never joke about that. That's
just the way it is. I'm weak. Oh, how weak is my
flesh. How great is the warfare in my
soul. and how dark is the darkness
when my Savior hides his face. But even then, he says, my grace
is sufficient for thee. He'll sustain you. He'll keep
you. Number seven, I may be weak when
I come to cross Jordan's chilly waters in death. I hope not. But it may be that you will come
to visit me when I'm about to leave this world and find me
fearful and apprehensive. That may be the case. If I'm
too weak to brave Jordan's chilly waters, God, my savior, my good
shepherd, will yet carry this poor, weak sheep on his shoulders
to the other side. for his grace is sufficient.
I read years ago, one of the men in Metropolitan Tabernacle,
member of the congregation in Spurgeon Pasture, faithful, faithful,
faithful man. He got to be an old man, and
he'd been praying all his life for four sons who had no interest
in the gospel. And he made it known that when
he was dying, he called for his sons and wanted them to be there.
He wanted them to see their daddy die in faith. and the sons came
to the father's dying bed. And as they arrived, he was stricken
with fear and darkness and unbelief like he had never experienced
in his life walking with God in the new birth. And they saw
their daddy die, that man who had been so faithful, in utter
weakness and fear. And after he was put in the ground,
The older son called the three brothers together and said to
him, if this is how our father died, who was so faithful, who believed
God, what will it be like for us? And after a while, all four brothers
were converted by God's free grace. His grace is sufficient. When I'm weak, then I'm strong. I want to be like the little
rabbit described in Proverbs 30, verse 26. Just feeble folk,
yet they make their houses in the rocks. Oh, my soul, ever
flee to the rock, Christ our Savior. and hide in Him, whose
grace is sufficient for me. Amen. Then let's sing, O safe
to the rock. I can't remember the number.
O safe to the rock that's higher than I.