If you want to look over the
scripture for tonight's message, tonight's message will be taken
from Isaiah chapter 41, Isaiah 41. The title of the message
will be, Fear Thou Not For I Am With Thee. I pray the Lord will
bless that message tonight and make it a blessing to you. Now, we know that those who preach
the gospel of God's grace have enemies. The Pharisees and the
rulers of the synagogue hated the gospel. They hated Christ. Our Lord said, marvel not, my
brethren, if the world hates you. It hated me before it hated
you. And these Pharisees and rulers
of the synagogue hated our master, and they hated the gospel, and
they succeeded in killing all of the apostles except one. John
was the only one that was not martyred, and they exiled him. They put him out on a desert
island and left him there to die. And we know that those who preach
the gospel will be hated. We know also that preachers who
try to mix grace and works, works and grace, who try to mix Christ
and the law, we know that these men are called by the Apostle
Paul enemies of the cross of Christ. That's what he said.
Many preachers, false preachers, they walk, of whom I've told
you often, I'll tell you again, weeping, that these men are enemies
of the cross of Christ. But brethren, let me say positively
and kindly and lovingly, All who disagree with us are not
enemies of the cross of Christ. All who disagree with us and
do not always see things as we see them, they're not enemies
of Christ. Over there in the book of Acts
chapter 13, don't turn to it, I'll turn to another one in a
minute, but the church got together. the apostles and the elders,
and the Lord said to them, separate unto me Paul and Barnabas for
the work wherein I have called them. So they laid hands on Paul
and Barnabas, prayed for them, and sent them out on their missionary
journey. But I want you to turn to Acts
15 for a moment. Everybody in here turn to Acts
15. Paul and Barnabas went out and
preached. The Lord blessed their ministry.
And they came back to the church to give a report on what they
had seen and heard and what God had done for them. And in verse
36, Acts 15, 36. Now read this. Acts 15, 36. And some days after, Paul said
to Barnabas, and these men had just come back from a missionary
journey that God had honored and blessed. They loved each
other. Both of them knew the Lord and
preached the gospel. And Paul said to Barnabas, let
us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached
the word of the Lord and see how they're getting along. And
Barnabas was determined to take with them John, whose surname
was Mark. Mark traveled with him for a
while, and Mark quit. And Brother Mews said he didn't
like to serve. He wanted to be out in front. But Barnabas said, We're going
to take John Mark. And verse 38, Paul thought not
good to take John Mark with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia,
and went not with them to the work." John Mark was a very young
man, and he got weary and laid down for a little while. And Barnabas said, I won't take
you with me. Paul said, no, you're not. And
the contingent was so shy between these godly men, Paul and Barnabas, who were so
sharp that they departed one from the other. Paul went one way, and Barnabas
went the other. I've heard people say, well,
he left me, so he left the gospel. I'm not the gospel. Paul's not
the gospel. To leave me is not to leave the
gospel. to leave the Gospels, leave Christ. There is a difference. We need to get that through our
minds and our heads. So here's two men, no question
in this world, that they loved each other and loved Christ,
but they just couldn't make it together for a while. You know,
later, later, Paul sent for John Mark. Bring Mark and come see
me. He's valuable to me. All of God's
children are valuable. But they... Sometimes we have
some problems with one another, and God will work it out according
to His sovereign will. So, look at verse 39, the last
line. So Barnabas took John Mark. He was determined. And that's
all in the will of God. It's in the purpose and plan
of God. He took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus, and Paul chose
Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace
of God." I'll tell you another scripture
we should turn to in Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter
1 is another conflict here. between men of God, in Philippians
chapter one, verse, let's look at verse 14, Philippians 1, 14. And many of the brethren in the
Lord, these are brethren in the Lord, they saved me and their
love crashed, waxing confident by my bonds. Paul was in jail. And they were much bold, much
more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preached Christ
even of envy. Maybe envy in Paul's gifts, I
don't know. Strife, there's some of goodwill.
The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely, hoping or supposing
to add affliction to my bonds, but the other preached Christ
of love, knowing that I'm set for the defense of the gospel.
So what then? Notwithstanding every way, whether
in pretense or truth, Christ is preached. The gospel is preached. The Word of God is set forth,
held forth, and lifted up. I therein rejoice. And I will rejoice, he said. God blesses Barnabas. We have
a conflict. God bless Barnabas, Barnabas. If we have a conflict with Silas
and Paul, God bless them both. In fact, in fact, there were
some believers in Corinth who did not believe that Paul was
even an apostle, because he was not one of the
original twelve. And some said that he's not even
an apostle. And Paul dealt with that. Turn to 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9, verses 1 and
2. 1 Corinthians 9, verse 1. Listen,
am I not an apostle, Paul said? They were questioning the fact
that he was an apostle, he said, am I not an apostle? Am I not
free? Have I not seen the Lord Jesus
Christ? Jesus Christ, I've seen the Lord.
An apostle, listen to me, an apostle had to have seen the
Lord. And secondly, an apostle had
to receive his gospel, his message, directly from the Lord, not from
any man. not from any writings. He had
to hear it from the mouth of the Savior. And Saul of Tarsus
said, I have seen the Lord. When did he see the Lord? You
know, don't you? On the road to Damascus, the
Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him. He saw the Lord as one born
out of due season. I saw the Lord. And then he went
to Arabia and stayed. He didn't talk to Peter or or
John, or any of the rest of them, he went into Arabia, and there
he was taught the gospel by the mouth and the lips of the Son
of God. And that's what he said. Am I
not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen
the Savior? Are you not my work in the Lord?
Are you not the fruits of the ministry God's given me? Well,
if I be not an apostle unto others, I am to you. I think I can say
that, not to minister right now. I may not be to somebody else,
but I am to you. Todd is to you. I am to 13th
Street. God sent me. Don't have any doubt
about it. And you, listen, are the seal
of my apostleship. Are you in the Lord? Let me show
you another scripture. You know, what Paul is doing
here is defending his ministry. He felt led of God to defend
his ministry against these charges. And he did so in a very humble
and sincere and honest way. But it had to be done. It had
to be done for the glory of God. It had to be done for the good
of the church. He's got to defend his ministry. And if you turn
to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, Second Corinthians, chapter 11,
verse 21. Here he is speaking again. In
Second Corinthians, chapter 21, verse 21. Chapter 11, Second
Corinthians, verse 21. Listen. I speak as concerning
reproach, as though we had been weak, howbeit whereinsoever any
be or is bold, I speak foolishly." And he says that several times.
I've become a fool in defending myself. But it had to be done. I speak foolishly. And I am bold
also. And here he asks this, are they
Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of
Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of
Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more." He said, I labored
more abundantly than all, yet not I, but Christ in me. Can we, can a man defend his
ministry and his witness for Christ and yet give God all the
glory. Can any man, can Paul do this? He keeps saying, I speak foolishly.
I speak of the fool. Anybody's a fool that boasts
about anything he's done or said or so forth and so on. But sometimes,
for the glory of God and for the good of those who hear us,
it has to be done. And that's what he's doing here.
It has to be done. You have to do it for the confirmation
of the gospel, for the confirmation of our young people Our elders
and other people, you've got to do that. You've got to do
that, even though you regret having to do it. Paul said, going down, I need
letters of recommendation. You're my recommendation. I walk
you this way. You are the living epistle. Well, now it's 2 Corinthians
12. Here's my text. 2 Corinthians
chapter 12. May the Lord bless this to your
heart. This is Paul still defending that ministry. The glory of God
to the good of the congregation. Chapter 12, verse 1. It is not
expedient for me, doubtless, to glory. It's not expedient
for me to glory. It's not for a servant to glory. It's
not comely for a servant of Christ to glory. Nor is there anything
to be gained by boasting of our gifts, our works, our accomplishments. But Paul felt it necessary, and
you're going to see it as I go through this chapter. Paul felt
it necessary for the glory of God, for the good of the church,
to speak about how God had blessed him and Barnabas. and Silas and Timothy. God had blessed these men. Almighty
God, for the good of the Church, Paul must speak about these blessings. He's got to do it. That's what
he's going to do right now in this chapter. He says in verse
one, it is not comely, it's not good for me to outlast the glory,
but I will come to visions I will come to revelations of the Lord.
I'm going to come and talk to you about some visions and about
some revelations from God that I've seen, Paul said, and some
things God's taught me. And here's some of them. All
right. Visions and revelation. Paul's
conversion was a revelation and a vision. On the road to Damascus. The Lord, a bright light, brighter
than the sun, so much that it blinded his solitarsities, and
he fell in the dust. And the Lord spoke from heaven
and said, Son, Son, why are you persecuting me? Who are you,
Lord? I'm Jesus of Nazareth, whom you
persecute. It's hard for you to kick against
the pricks. Lord, what do you want me to
do? You go to Damascus, the street
called Straight, and there's a man there telling you what
to do. Paul said, that's, I was there. I can't deny that. That's a vision and revelation
of God. I was there when it happened. The man from Macedonia, you remember
that? The Lord told the apostle not to go there, not to go yonder,
not to go somewhere else. And finally, that night, a man
from Macedonia appeared in a vision and spake to Paul and said, Come
over and help us. And Paul went over and Church
of Philippi was born. I can't deny that, Paul said.
That's a fact. That's a vision, that's a revelation.
And the Lord appeared to him in Corinth. You remember they
were trying to run him out of town? And he about ready to go. And the Lord appeared to Paul
and said, Paul, don't leave Corinth. Stay where you are. I have much
people in this city. And he stayed there 18 months,
and the church in Corinth was raised up. All of these revelations
were for Paul's instruction, his direction, his encouragement,
and for the establishment and confirmation of the church. Verse 2. All right, watch this
now. I knew a man in Christ. All blessings are in Christ.
You know that. I know that. Anything a man has
is from God and from His glory. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. So he says, I knew
a man in Christ fourteen years ago. Whether in the body, I can't
tell, or whether out of the body, I don't know. Speak by yourself. God knows, I don't know whether
in the body or out of the body, but such a one, such a man was
called up to the third heaven. Where's the third heaven, preacher?
Well, the first heaven is right here where these clouds are floating
around and where the stars shine and the moon. And the second
heaven It's up yonder where the planets are, way up yonder and
how many, how many millions of miles away the planets and the
thing, the creation of God. And the third heaven is paradise. That's where the seat of the
throne of God is. That's where the, that's the
abode of the angels. That's where the glorified saints
live. And that's where believers go
when God takes them home. Read the rest of this. And I
knew such a man, verse 3, whether in the body or out of the body,
I just don't know. God knows. How that he was caught
up in the paradise. You know anybody that's been
caught up in the paradise? I knew. There was a thief on
the cross, a sinner, dying in sin. And the Lord opened his
eyes, opened his heart, and revealed Christ to him. And he said to
his companion, he said, don't you fear God? See, we're in the
same condemnation. We indeed just, we get what we
deserve. But this man, he'd done nothing
amiss. And he said to the Lord Jesus,
Lord, you're not going to stay there. You're coming into a kingdom. Would you remember me? when you
come into your kingdom, would you remember me? Would you think
on me? Would you be mindful of me?"
And the Lord Jesus said, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. That's where Paul, that's where
God took him, to paradise. Look at verse four. And this
man was caught up, you talk about a vision, you talk about a revelation,
how could this man deny this? How can he say it must have been
nothing? It's not. God gave it. God uttered it. God blessed it. I must speak
of it. This man was caught up in the
paradise and he heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for
a man to utter. He heard unspeakable words, which
is not possible to fully understand. or to communicate, or to utter.
And I'll tell you why. Three reasons. Number one, Paul
didn't speak of what he saw. He didn't say anything about
what he saw. He talked about what he heard.
And no natural man can look on God and live. He did not see
the Lamb on the throne. He did not see God. No man can
see God and live. This man, whether in the body,
he didn't know without a body, but he heard some things. He
didn't look on the face of God. And secondly, he heard words
he couldn't repeat. Looks like it. He heard these
things, now he put them in the Bible for us. It's not possible. Not possible to write them, to
speak them, or to be spoken by a human being. For no natural
man can enter into the sight of God, or to the voice of God
in His glory, or can understand, or enter into, or participate
in heavenly glory until he's been changed into the likeness
of Christ. And then I'm going to see it
and hear it. Right now, all was taken, and
heard things, what all this, I do not understand. I just know,
he said, whether in the body or out of the body, I was taken
up into the third heaven, and I heard things. I can't tell
you what I saw because I didn't see it. But I heard things, and
the things I heard, I can't repeat because it's impossible to put
them in human language. Just can't do it. Finally, David
wrote this. Well, that's for me. I will behold
thy face in righteousness. I will behold thy face in righteousness,
and I'll be satisfied. When? When I awake with your
likeness. And when Apostle Paul awakes
in his likeness, he's going to tell me what he saw. He's going
to tell me in words what he heard, because I'm going to be able
to hear it too. I'm going to be able to enter into Him just
like He did. But verse five, listen, of such
a man, verse five, of such a one will I glory. Yet of myself,
I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to glory. I'll
glory in my infirmities. I will glory in the man Christ
Jesus who is enthroned in glory. I'll glory in Him. And I'll glory
in those who are already in the presence of the God, of God.
because of Him. And I will glory in that blessed
hope that He's given me, that He's laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which He'll give me in that day, and not to me
only, but to all those that love His appearance. I'm going to
glory in that. But in myself, I'm not going to glory. Now, sir, in my infirmities,
but not in myself, And what's these next two verses? Verse
6 and 7. Listen to them. For though I
would desire the glory, who wouldn't? Wouldn't you like to have been
with Him when you went there? I would. I'm just honest. Wouldn't you
like to? I'd like the glory. I'd like
to tell what these things in a language that folks could really
understand. Just now struggling. falter and
dabble around and can't get it out. But I glory, but I shall
not be a fool. I won't 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. I'm just a man. And
men at their best are just men at their best. or that he hears
of me. I'm not going to be exalted above
that which he sees me to be or hears me to be. But listen to
this next verse. Listen to this carefully now.
And lest I be exalted above measure through the abundance of these
visions and revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the
flesh. Who gave it to him? God did.
God did. It's a message of Satan to buffet
me. Why did God give me this thorn
in the flesh? Lest I be exalted above measure. Lest I boast. Lest I brag. Lest I delight in myself. The
Lord took care. The Lord took care of any tendency
in Paul to glory in this experience or any other experience. But
God gave him a thorn in his flesh. And don't try to figure out what
that is. I read people say, well, it's a nearsightedness. No, no, no. Don't fool with that. God gave it to him for the plain,
evident purpose to keep him humble. To bring him down. To show him
how weak he really is. Evident purpose to keep But now,
Paul, he didn't hold still for that. Look at verse eight. For this thing, this thorn, this
messenger of Satan, this troublesome, troublesome whatever it was,
I've besought the Lord three times, three times, that it might
depart from me. Lord, take this away, take this
away, take this away. Three times. And the Lord answered him, verse
nine, and he said to me, I'm sure one thing he said to
me is this, this is for your good and my glory, because everything
God does is for his glory and our good. So secondly, he said,
my grace is sufficient to bear you up even through this trial
and trouble and this thought. You're going to keep it as long
as you live, but my grace is sufficient for you. And thirdly, he said, now watch
this, and my strength is made perfect in your weakness. My
strength is made perfect in your weakness. Read the rest of it
now. So Paul said, most gladly therefore
will I glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ might
rest upon me. I've got to have these infirmities.
I've got to have these afflictions. I've got to have these trials
and troubles that the power of Christ and the glory of Christ
should rest upon me. It has to happen. So therefore,
I'll take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecution, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I
am weak, then am I strong. For when I am weak, weak, weak,
that's when I'm really strong. Now, I've got three things to
say to you, folks. Number one, When is this not
true? When I'm weak, then am I strong. When is that not true? When I'm
weak, then am I strong. That's not true sometimes. Secondly,
when is it true? And thirdly, why? What's the
proof of it? Bear with me and I'll answer
this question. When is it not true that when I'm weak, then
am I strong? Well, number one, weakness in
study of the Word of God will not make me strong. The Scripture
says, study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of
truth. I spent last week studying this scripture. I wouldn't dare
get up here and try to preach it without studying, without
seeking the Lord. So when I neglect my preparation
and my study, I'm not strong, and God's not going to bless
me. Secondly, when I'm weak in prayer, that won't make me strong. God forbid, Samuel said, that
I should sin against the Lord in failing to pray for you. Weakness in prayer will not make
me strong. Pray without ceasing. Live in
an attitude of communion with God. You neglect communion with
God, you're not going to be strong. You're going to get weaker and
weaker. Thirdly, weakness in faith will
not make me strong. The Scripture said Abraham was
Strong in faith, giving God the glory. Our Lord said, if you can believe,
all things are possible to them that believe. Without faith,
it's impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God must,
must, must believe that God is able to do all that He Lord,
I believe. Help, I want to believe. The
weakness in faith is not going to make me strong. Weakness in
love is not going to make me strong. I've got to grow in love, grow
in faith, and grow in grace, and grow in love. Now, by the
faith, hope, and love, these three, but the greatest of these
is love. A soft answer turneth away wrath. grievous words. Love people. Love each other. Husband, love your wife, as Christ
loved the church. Wife, love your husband. Children,
love your parents. Put your arms around women. Hug
your neck and tell them how much you love them. Do it all the
time. Weakness in love won't make you
strong. It'll make you a bitter pill. And next, weakness in works. Let your light so shine before
me and I'll see your good works and glorify your Father which
is in heaven. Works of faith, labor of love, and patience of
hope. That's what makes you strong.
Our Lord said to those on the right hand, enter ye blessed,
for I was hungry, and you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you
gave me drink. I was weary, and you bested me.
Lord, when we see you do that, inasmuch as you've done it to
the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me." So weakness in study, faith, and love will
not make me strong. I've got to have, I've got to
grow in grace. All right, when is it true? When is it true? What is the Lord saying here?
When I'm weak, then am I strong. I'll tell you, let me give you
this. Number one, when I am overwhelmed with the majesty of God, that's
when I'm strong. When I'm overwhelmed, when I
consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, The sun, the
moon, the stars, the things that thou hast ordained, what am I? What is my end that I am mindful
of him? D'Arcy and I drove down here
yesterday in the colors that God painted the trees. Oh, just
revel in that and His creation, His goodness, His mercy. I turned
to a family behind me a while ago. I said, what a wonderful
family. Aren't we blessed? Yes, sir. Aren't we blessed? But when I see what God has done
for us and through us and to us, I'm just, I fall at His feet
before His face. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord,
for saving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me
whole. I'll tell you another thing.
When I'm in the presence of a holy God, I'm weak. Isaiah said, when
his eye died, I saw the Lord. High and lifted up his train,
filled the temple, the cherubims and seraphim cried, Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of hosts. What did you cry, Isaiah? Well,
it was me. It was me. That's what I'm weak. Oh, it
just takes all the strength out of me. Or the latter, to see
God in His beauty, in His glory, in His love, in His mercy, in
His grace. And I'm weak. I'm weak. And thirdly, when I consider
the mysteries of this gospel, the great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the spirit,
in the flesh. seen of the angel, justified
of the Spirit, lived on in the world. When I consider the heavens,
the work of thy hand, the mystery of Christ, you know something?
I know in part. I preach in part. I know nothing
as I ought to know. I'm weak. Old Brother Mews said
one time, he said, you know, he said, I preached for forty
years. And I don't know much. You can
take all I know and put it in a thimble, and it'll rattle like
a peanut in a boxcar. We don't know anything. Oh. We know nothing as we are. One
day we're going to know, as we have been known. But I'm just
trying my best to preach the gospel of God's grace as I can,
with the ability He gives me, with the understanding He gives
me. I know in time. But Paul said
this, pray for me, that others may be given to me, that I may
open my mouth wholly and make known to you the mysteries of
the gospel. What a mystery. And then I'm
weak before trials and afflictions, aren't you? I'm not a good patient. Some people are. Todd's a good
patient. He has the best, most wonderful
attitude and spirit. Paul was weak before this trial.
He went out to the Lord three times. Take this out. Take it
away. Take it away. No, you keep it. You need it. I'm weak. before trial and affliction. Larson and I often talk, how
are we going to die? I don't know. We're going to.
But that ought not be my concern, but it is, because I'm weak. And the more I see of the trials
and afflictions and the heartaches of God's people, the weaker I
become. And I'm weak when I consider
the responsibility of the ministry. And what I'm trying to do right
now, what I'm trying to do right now is preach God's Word. And it's too much for me. I want
to show you a scripture, 2 Corinthians 2. 2 Corinthians chapter 2. I was in a meeting one time in
Detroit, Clare might have been there, I don't know, as Brother
Kent Clark is pastor there at Metropolitan Church, and we've
had a Bible conference, and I was sitting on the front row waiting
to preach. Kent was fixing to introduce
me, and I was supposed to go up and preach. And I was sitting
there the way I always am, trying to find out the will of the Lord
in this message, you know. And just struggling, struggling,
and fearful, fearful. And a young man walked by me.
He was a preacher of a sort. But he walked by me and he said,
Are you ready to preach? And I looked up at him and I
said, well, I don't know whether I've ever been ready, but I'm
going to try. Because I just, if God doesn't
bless me, I'm in trouble. Well, he said, if you don't want
to preach, I'll do it. I'll get up there any time. I
expect he could, too. I expect he could. Look at 2 Corinthians 2, Verse
14, now thanks be to God, which always
causes us to triumph in Christ and manifest the Savior, the
fragrance, that word savor, S-A-V-O-R, it's not Savior, it's savor,
it's the fragrance. He makes manifest the fragrance
of his knowledge by us in many places. You know, when that woman
took the alabaster perfume and box and broke it and put it on
our Lord's head, the Scripture said the aroma went all over
the place. Everybody was touched and blessed
by the aroma of that sacrifice and that gift and that perfume
that she poured upon the Lord. It just went everywhere. And
that's what this savor, right here, what he said, the savor
of his knowledge, the savor of his knowledge by us is manifest
in every place. Right now, as we preach Christ,
it's a sweet old remedy. It's a sweet fragrance. It's
good news. Somebody might, nobody hears
that way, but somebody might come in and sit down and say,
I didn't get a thing out of that. I didn't smell anything sweet
or beautiful or precious. You got no nose. You got no ears. You got no eyes. If you got those
three things, it's a fragrance, an aroma. The fragrance of Christ
is herein. For we are unto God, listen,
verse 15, we are unto God a sweet fragrance of Christ in them that
are saved. Also, we are fragrance in them
that perish. It's not a good smell. It's not
a good aroma. They don't like it. They want
it. They're not going to come back
and listen to it. But for me, I'll be back again and again
and again. I like that older. To the one,
we're the savior of death, unto death. To the other, we're the
savior of life unto life. Now, look at that next line.
Who's sufficient for these things? But you know our sufficiency,
he gives us in the next chapter, he's Christ. He'll enable us. Now here's the last point, number
three. Let me be patient, you're a patient
audience, you're so good. Here is the proof that when a
person is truly, truly weak, Then is he truly, truly strong.
When he is truly weak, then is he strong. That's what our Lord
said. When I'm weak, then am I strong. Number one, when I
am truly weak, here's the results, I'll flee to Christ. And I'll
find my rest and confidence and hope in Him. When I'm really weak, I'll flee
to Christ. Flee as a bird to you now. Number two, when I'm truly weak,
truly weak, not capable of anything in myself, of myself, I pray. Nothing motivates real prayer
like real me, real me. Nothing motivates real prayer. You can say a little prayer,
but praying is another question. And that's when you really pray,
when you're really in need, when you're really weak, Lord, help
me. You don't help me, I'm gone.
Number three, when I'm weak, listen to this, I got this somewhere.
When I'm weak, really weak, I sympathize with others who are weak. And
I care for others who are weak. Because weakness never feels
uncomfortable in the presence of weakness. When you're in the presence of
intellectualism and power and riches, you feel uncomfortable. But when you're in the presence
of someone just as weak as you are, weakness never feels uncomfortable
in the presence of weakness. So if we can come down, we'll
find company. When we come down, we'll find
company. And when I'm truly weak, I'll
be content to serve in the smallest capacity. For the lower place would be
too much for me without His grace. When I'm really unworthy and
weak, I'll be content to serve in the simplest, smallest capacity,
because anything more than that would be too much for me. And when I'm truly weak, truly
weak, when we're weak, it'll never be a problem to me to give
Christ all the glory. It'll never be a problem. I'll
just be honest with you, people who are what we're talking about
now, they don't wrestle with pride. No, I just, when we're
truly weak, we're not going to have any problem giving Christ
all the glory. Are you? No problem at all. No problem at all. Our Father, thank You for Your
Word. Thank you for the Word. And pray
you'll bless this message and these things that we read from
the Scriptures this morning. Make them a blessing to everybody
here. Bless our young people. Give
the heart to love Christ. Believe on Him. Rest in Him.
They have so many trials and heartaches and conflicts in this
terrible day. We pray for them. Pray for all
of us, everybody here, all of our people, every family represented
here. Pray for our pastor. Thank you,
Lord, for ministering to him. And thank you, Lord, for making
him. You're going to make him well.
We're happy and rejoice. Pray he'll soon be back in the
pulpit preaching the gospel he loves. By the glory of the Lord,
he loves. In Christ's name we pray, Amen. Let's sing hymn number 204. 204,
let's start.