Naylor Community
Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to 2 Corinthians
12:1-10
2
Corinthians 12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained,
I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ
who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the
body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this
man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4
was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is
permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast
about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I
would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so
no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because
of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from
becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to
torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s
sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
-- I’d like to begin this morning by
sharing with you the story of Thomas Hawkes – Hawkes lived in England in the
1500s and came from a respectable family – he served as a page at the court of
King Edward VI, where he became known as a handsome young man with gentle
manners who faithfully served the Lord – after some time in the court of King
Edward, he entered the service of the lord of Oxford, where he remained for
some time, being liked by all the household -- Hawkes married and his wife shortly became
pregnant – it seemed like everything was going well for Hawkes – but that all
changed in a moment, when King Edward died
-- When King Edward died, the official religion
in England changed from Protestant to Catholic – and protestants began to be in
danger – having a position serving in the court of the leaders of the country,
Hawkes was under pressure to change his faith from Protestant to Catholic – to
avoid this, he left his position in Oxford and returned home, where his son was
born
-- Hawkes did not want his son to be
baptized by a Catholic priest and raised in the Catholic faith, so he put off
the baptism for three weeks, seeking another way – when his enemies heard this,
they had him brought before the magistrate and charged with being unsound in
the faith because he would not allow his family to convert to Catholicism
-- he was sent to London and appeared
before the bishop, who tried to get Hawkes to recant his faith – Hawkes
refused, and was sent to prison in the Gatehouse of Westminster
-- after several more attempts at trying
to get Hawkes to recant his faith and switch to Catholicism, Hawkes was
sentenced to death as a heretic – in response, he announced to the court that
he would rather suffer death than renounce his faith in the gospel
-- waiting for his sentence to be
carried out, Hawkes was allowed to be visited by several of his friends – one
friend quietly spoke to him so that the guard would not hear – he said, "Thomas,
I have to ask you a favor. I need to know if what the others say about the
grace of God is true. Tomorrow, when they burn you at the stake, if the pain is
tolerable and your mind is still at peace, lift your hands above your head. Do
it right before you die. Thomas, I have to know."
– Hawkes replied to his friend, “I will --
by the help and grace of God”
-- On April 10, 1555, Hawkes was led
out to be burned at the stake -- As he was chained to the stake, he spoke
quietly and with great grace to the men who laid the wood --Then he closed his
eyes and the fire was kindled -- Thomas continued to preach to those around him
until the roar of the flames became so loud that his words could no longer be
heard
-- The fire burned a long time, but Hawkes
remained motionless -- His skin was burnt to a crisp and his fingers were gone
-- Everyone watching believed that Hawkes was dead -- Suddenly, miraculously, Hawkes
lifted his hands, still on fire, over his head. He reached them up to the
living God and then, with great rejoicing, clapped them together three times.
-- Hawkes’ friends broke into shouts of
praise and applause, for they had their answer --
God’s
grace was sufficient – Hawkes had shown them that the most terrible torments that
man could design and that Satan could inspire could be endured in the glorious
cause of Christ and his gospel -- that the comforts of Christ’s grace were able
to lift the believing soul above anything that afflicted it
-- I pray that none of us here ever
have to go through what Thomas Hawkes did – that we are not subjected to
persecutions that threaten our very lives – but while we may not be required to
endure to the point of death like him, all of us experience hardships and
trials in our lives that afflict us and that can cause us to doubt our faith –
that has always been the experience of God’s people
-- all you have to do is look at the
Psalms to see an example of that -- the Psalms are filled with lament after
lament as godly people cried out to God for answers for why they were suffering
and in pain while the wicked appeared to thrive
– it’s a familiar lament -- we feel this,
too – we experience this, too – we know this in our lives even today – it seems
like the good suffer while the wicked prosper – and at times, we find ourselves
asking if it’s worth it or not – that was the real question that Hawkes’
friends asked as he went to the flames – and that’s a question that crosses our
minds, too, from time to time
-- all of us know what it means to
walk in heartache and pain – to walk through trials and temptations – to suffer
through setbacks and adversity
-- but what do we do when it seems
like it’s too much – when it feels like evil is winning and the darkness is
overcoming us – when the trials become too large and the storm overwhelms?
-- that is what I want us to
consider this morning as we look at an example from the apostle Paul’s life
from this passage in 2 Corinthians 12
II. Scripture Lesson (2 Corinthians 12:1-10)
-- in this letter to the Christians
in Corinth, Paul has been speaking out against the false apostles and teachers
that were infiltrating the church – many false teachers had come into their
gatherings and were introducing false gospels and false practices – and were
causing the Christians there to doubt Paul’s leadership and authority as an
apostle and to doubt the gospel of Christ that had been preached to them
-- so, Paul points out to the church
the difference between him and these false apostles – between him and these
false teachers – to the point where he is forced to go against his nature and
to boast about his accomplishments and his authority in the church
-- here in chapter 12, Paul
concludes his case against the false apostles and finishes up his argument that
the grace of God was all that was required for salvation and sanctification –
that anything else was a heresy
-- so, let’s look back here and see
what we can learn about standing firm in the faith in the midst of trials and
the storms of life by looking at Paul’s example
-- verse 1-4
2
Corinthians 12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained,
I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ
who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the
body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this
man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4
was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is
permitted to tell.
-- in these verses, Paul tells about
a vision that he once received from the Lord – he says that it occurred
fourteen years ago, which would have been shortly after his experience on the
road to Damascus, when Paul was overwhelmed by the presence of Christ and came
to receive Him as his Lord and Savior
-- shortly after that, Paul was led
into the wilderness of Arabia, where he ministered for some time before
returning to Israel and being brought into the fellowship of the believers in
Antioch
-- he says here that he was caught
up to the third heaven – just to remind you, the Israelites recognized three
separate heavens in their understanding of creation – the first heaven was the
atmosphere – the air around us – the air that we breathe – the second heaven
was what we call space – the place where the stars and the planets reside – the
place that we see at night when we look up into the sky – the third heaven was
the place where God resides – and while they envisioned it as being beyond the
atmosphere and beyond space, they recognized it as being the place where God
lives and that it was a spiritual location
-- somehow – and Paul himself is not
even sure of how it happened – whether his body was carried to heaven or
whether it was merely a vision that he was given – he was carried up to the
third heaven – to the very throne room of God – where he was given a glimpse of
heaven and heard inexpressible things that he was not permitted to share with
anyone
-- verse 5-7a
2
Corinthians 12:5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about
myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would
not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one
will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7a or because of
these surpassingly great revelations.
-- Paul shares this experience he
had of being caught up to the third heaven and tells the Corinthians that he
boasts about this simply to counter the claims of the false apostles and to
prove his authority and his calling came from God Himself – this was something
that no one else had ever experienced – and Paul was proud of that – which was
a concern of his
-- normally, Paul said, he would
never boast about this experience he had – if he was to boast about anything,
it would be his weaknesses, because through them God had made him into the
person he had become – the apostle the church was familiar with
-- he wants the Corinthians to judge
him, and the authenticity of his message, based on what they know of him – not
based on this vision or any of the great revelations that he had been given
-- in other words, he is telling the
Corinthians that they should judge between him and the false apostles – not
based on their boasting of what they had done or what they had seen – but based
on who they are and how their faith had been demonstrated to the Corinthians in
their presence
-- it’s a reminder to us that sometimes
the people who boast the most about who they are or what they have done are not
who they claim to be – that it’s the humble servant who never boasts who
actually care the most and who has the most impact on our lives
-- look back at the second part of
verse 7b-10
2
Corinthians 12:7b Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was
given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I
pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace
is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I
will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may
rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in
insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak,
then I am strong.
-- Paul had been given a great
revelation – greater than anything anyone else had ever received – and that had
to be hard for him
– something like that could lead to
bragging and boasting and pride – it could lead someone to puff themselves up
and think they were better than anyone else – we’ve seen that with politicians
and with preachers – we’ve seen that in people at work – we’ve all experienced
that – and we’ve all been tempted by that
-- and so, to keep Paul from becoming
conceited – to keep Paul from becoming prideful and arrogant – God allowed
Satan to afflict Paul with a thorn in his flesh – as Paul describes it here, “a
messenger of Satan”
-- we don’t know what this thorn was –
Paul never tells us explicitly in his writings – but we know it was some type
of trial or temptation or adversity that caused Paul pain – either physical,
emotional, or spiritual pain
-- some people, like Calvin, thought that
Paul’s thorn was spiritual temptations – like the temptation to be prideful or
arrogant – Luther thought it could be a temptation or the persecutions that
Paul faced throughout his ministry – the Catholics say that it was sexual
temptation – others say it was a physical malady – maybe a disfigurement or
headaches or a speech impediment – some say it had to do with his eyesight,
basing their guess on Galatians 6:11, where Paul writes, “See with what large
letters I have written to you with my own hand” – they say that Paul had to
write large letters because he could not see well
-- I think it might have been an echo of
Paul’s past – he says here that the thorn was a messenger of Satan, and I
wonder if the pain he felt was when the messenger spoke past failures into his
mind – reminding him of the many times he had failed God and had actively
persecuted Christians, such as when he stood by as Stephen was stoned
-- we just don’t know – but it really
doesn’t matter – the thorn could be anything, but we know that this thorn was
specifically given to Paul by Satan to cripple and harm his ministry – to
negatively affect his work on earth – to give him pain and to make him suffer
-- we all have thorns in our lives, too –
and all our thorns are different – but the fact remains that our thorns, just
like Paul’s, are painful to us – and cause us torment and suffering to the
point where we can even doubt if we can go on
-- the word that is translated here as
“thorn” can actually mean several different things – it can mean a thorn or a
splinter – a minor inconvenience – but it can also mean a stake – like the
stake that people were impaled on and tortured with
-- so, it could be that the thorn Paul is
speaking of here in verse 7 affects him differently, at different times –
sometimes, it is a minor irritant, like a splinter in our hands – while other
times, it affects him greatly – to the point where he thinks he is going to die
because of the pain and suffering from it
-- it was probably during three of those
times when the thorn overwhelmed Paul and the suffering became too great that
he cried out to the Lord to remove it from him – to take the pain away – to
take the suffering and the trial and the persecution from him
-- but God chose to tell Paul, “No” – He
refused to take the thorn away and instead told Paul that His grace was
sufficient for him, for His power was made perfect in weakness
-- that is a promise from God that we can
all take to heart when we are facing trials and adversity in our lives that
seem too great to bear – those times when we cry out to God to take this pain
from us – to heal us of our sickness – to remove the trial from our lives – and
nothing happens – it is like God doesn’t hear or doesn’t respond – the trial
just gets worse
-- it’s not that God has forgotten us or
abandoned us – it’s that He is teaching us another aspect of His grace – rather
than just taking away the pain or the trial, God is helping us learn to
overcome the situation by depending on Him and Him alone – for it is in these
times that life overwhelms us and that the storm seems too great, that we can’t
do anything but rely on God for survival
-- as Jerry Bridges points out, “God never
allows pain without a purpose in the lives of His children – He never allows
Satan, nor circumstances, nor any ill-intending person to afflict us unless He
uses that affliction for our good – God never wastes pain – He always causes it
to work together for our ultimate good, the good of conforming us more to the
likeness of His Son”
-- in this case, God used the thorn in
Paul’s flesh to keep him from becoming conceited – to keep him from becoming
arrogant and prideful – which would lead to greater and greater sin in his life
-- sometimes, pain is necessary for our
own good
-- a few years ago, I tore a muscle in my
leg and severed it from where it inserted onto the bone – I was unable to lift
my leg more than a couple of inches – and I couldn’t pick up my leg and put it
across my lap – which made putting on a shoe extremely difficult – and every
time I moved my leg, it was painful
– the orthopedic doctor said there was
nothing he could do for me – that surgery was not possible – that there were no
pills or shots that would work -- I would have to live with the loss of that
muscle the rest of my life
-- he said the only thing that might work to
restore my physical ability was intensive physical therapy – that by doing
that, I might train the other muscles to do what this torn muscle used to do –
so, I started physical therapy – and it hurt
-- as they had me do various exercises and
use different machines, it was painful – it hurt a lot – and when I complained
they told me that the pain was necessary if I was to overcome the loss of that
muscle
-- over time, the other muscles adapted
and I have almost full range of motion again – but I will never forget the pain
that I had to go through in order to reach that point
-- that’s what God is telling Paul here –
the thorn in the flesh was not fun – it was painful – but it was necessary –
and Paul had to learn to withstand the pain through God’s grace in order to grow
and become mature or perfect in the faith
-- this aspect of grace that God speaks of
in verse 9 is different from how we normally think of grace – normally, we
think of grace as God’s unmerited favor to us through Christ whereby salvation
and all other blessings are freely given to us – this understanding of grace focuses
on God’s grace as the source of all blessings
-- but the grace that God tells us about
here in verse 9 is referring to God’s divine assistance to us through the Holy
Spirit – it focuses on God’s grace specifically as the work of the Holy Spirit
within us – as He empowers us and enables us to overcome adversity and trials
in our lives and as He transforms us into the people that God wants us to be
-- as an act of grace, God
left the thorn in Paul’s life so that Paul would experience the sufficiency of
His grace and presence – He wanted Paul to learn to rely on Him in all
situations – to lean continually on the Spirit for strength in times of need
-- this was a lesson that Paul took to
heart – to the point where he boasted in his weaknesses and the trials that he
faced, because he knew that he would experience God’s grace and providence
through them – that in the weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and
difficulties, Paul was made strong through the grace of God and the power of
His Spirit
-- I’m sure it was not easy – I know it
was not easy – I know it was painful – but having experienced God’s grace in
this way led Paul to pen the promise that we read in Romans 8:28, “And we know
that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose.”
-- the thorn – the trials – the
difficulties – the persecutions – none of these were good – but God used them
to make Paul better – just as He uses the trials and the struggles in our lives
to make us better, too
-- so, how do we learn to find the roses
among the thorns? – how do we reach the point where we can face any obstacle or
adversity in our lives by trusting in God’s grace?
-- we reach that point when we surrender
ourselves and stop trying to overcome these trials in our own strength but
instead, we trust in God and depend on Him and Him alone
-- we reach that point when we recognize
that we can’t, but God can – when we know that it is impossible for us, and
that it is only possible in Him
-- when we move past self-sufficiency to
God-sufficiency – to total dependence on God for everything in our lives
-- think about the example of the
Israelites as God led them through the wilderness to the Promised Land – for
forty years, the people wandered and suffered countless trials and adversity,
which God allowed in their lives to bring them from self-sufficiency to the
point of total dependence on Him
-- as Moses reminded the people in Deuteronomy
8:2-3, “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness
these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your
heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you
to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors
had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word
that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
-- God humbled
them -- He caused them to hunger -- He fed
them with food they had never seen before – and in the process, He taught them
that man lives only by the word that comes from God
-- that is how God uses the thorn in our
lives – the trials and difficulties and adversities that come our way – to
humble us and keep us from becoming conceited and prideful – to force us to
depend on Him – to lead us into a relationship where we look to God for all
that we need to survive
-- that is the lesson that Paul learned
with his thorn in the flesh – and that is the lesson that we must all come to
learn, too – that even though the thorns may be painful, God will ultimately
work them for our good and bring blessings from them if we look to Him and Him
alone for deliverance
-- We pray for lighter burdens when we
ought to pray for stronger backs. -- We pray for an easier path when we ought
to pray for tougher feet. -- We pray for fewer problems when we ought to pray
for better solutions.
-- with grace, comes the strength
and power of God – with grace, comes healing and acceptance – with grace, we
come to realize that God gives us what we lack and makes us into the people
that He has called us to be – with grace, the Holy Spirit strengthens us and
enables us to meet in a godly fashion whatever circumstances cross our paths
-- Paul learned that God’s grace was
sufficient for everything that he faced, and he praised God for his power and
strength in his life – Paul’s experience and example in handling the thorns in
his life proved his authority and calling as a true apostle from God and
affirmed the truth of the gospel that he had preached to the Corinthians
III. Closing
-- Rev. Don Berns was 33 when he
experienced a severe thorn in his flesh -- he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease – and within a few short years, his voice became too weak to preach --
his body trembled uncontrollably -- and he faced having to retire from the
ministry – he did not know what he was going to do
-- the doctors suggested an experimental
operation, which gave him a dramatic, although temporary, return to active life
– the trembling stopped and he reveled in the restored ability to preach, along
with being able to surf and play tennis.
-- unfortunately, the results of the
operation have waned – and his physical limitations are returning – but having
gone through the experience, Don said, “In all things God does work for the
good of those who love him. His power has been made perfect in my weakness. The
Lord has now given me a ministry of being, rather than a ministry of doing.
God’s primary concern for us, as whole persons, begins with our spiritual
well-being so we can have a personal, trusting relationship with the One who
created us and brings meaning to our lives.”1
-- thorns are going to grow in our
lives – trials and difficulties and adversities are going to come – seasons of
pain are going to be experienced – but when we face these times, we have a
choice to make
-- either we fight and struggle
against the difficulties in our own strength and continue to only experience
the thorns – or we turn to God in total submission – putting our faith solely
in His ability to sustain us – in the sufficiency of His grace – and trust that
He will work through the trials to bring good into our lives
-- we have to learn to expect and to
appropriate the grace that God offers us in times of trial – and we have to
learn to rejoice in times of weakness, as the apostle Paul did, so that we can
experience the goodness of God and the perfection of His power in our lives as
He sees us through the storm to the other side
-- I want to leave you with this writing from
an unknown Confederate soldier who spoke to the goodness of God after he had
passed through the storm:
I asked God for strength that I might
achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked God for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked God for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for.
But everything I had hoped for...
Almost despite myself my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.
-- “My grace is sufficient for
you, for My power is made perfect in weakness”
-- Let us pray
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1
Our Daily Bread Devotional, David C. McCasland
