Welcome!
Date: Thursday, September 30, 2010
Today: The weakness of strength
Passage: 2 Cor 12: 9-10 NIV
9But 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. 10That 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.
While “strength” in itself looks good, it can be a weakness before God
I will explain
Paul was a very learned man. But his knowledge ended him up in persecuting Christians. Before God could use him, he was broken. God visited him in a strange way. He was blind for three days (Acts 9)
Jacob, son of Isaac and grand son of Abraham, was very smart
But, before God could bless him, God broke him, at river Jabok
God dealt with him and he started limping, after Jabok (Gen 32:31)
Jesus himself became the broken bread for us
He came down and lived among us, and was broken on the cross
God needs those who are not perfect; God likes the imperfect ones
Many of us, born and brought up in “perfect” homes and thinking we are also “perfect” are like the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Scribes of New Testament
Unless we are broken, God cannot bless us and use us
That is why, most “perfect” people are a “problem” for God to use
In the world, when a company wants to hire somebody, they look for the best/perfect people. Weakness will be a disqualification
With God, our weakness is a Plus! He likes people who admit they are not
Perfect!
Paul himself admitted it many times. In Romans 7, we see Paul admitting his failure in life. He admits that he was unable to fight sin, on his own
He also admitted that he was an enemy of the cross and that was a weakness
David was not perfect; God blessed his brokenness
God broke Joseph through various experiences, before He could bless him
Abraham was unable to have a child; that was his weakness
But God turned it into a blessing; God did a miracle in his life
After he got the child, one day, God broke him
Isaac was Abraham’s Strength, his support in his old age
But Abraham was asked to sacrifice his “strength”, before God could bless him any further
Do you know why God could not use many of us for His glory?
We are “perfect” and we like it. We are looking for perfect people
If we are perfect, what else do we want?
God is looking for some imperfect people, on whom He can work
What work can be done on that which is already perfect?
Paul was great in theology. He was full of Holy Spirit; signs, wonders and miracles manifested in his ministry
He knew that the Jews wanted miracles and the Greeks were looking for words of wisdom
He had the stuff they both wanted. But he did not choose to please either of these groups
Instead, he chose to know Christ, and Christ crucified. Paul surrendered his “strengths” to Jesus and chose to please God
22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. (1 Cor 1: 22-25, NIV)
In a world where many ministers of the gospel are looking to do what would please the crowd, what are you looking for?
Let our weakness become our strength before God; and our strengths, our weakness before God
God bless you
BG
Prayer: Lord, I am sorry for thinking that you are looking for “perfect” people. I now know that you are looking for the imperfect, the broken, so that you can work on them and make them perfect. Work on me, Lord. Amen