I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I
don’t know—only God knows. Yes,
only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know that
I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they
cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about, but
I’m not going to do it. I will boast
only about my weaknesses. If
I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling
the truth. But I won’t do it, because I
don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear
in my message, even though I have received such wonderful revelations
from God. So to keep me from becoming
proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me
and keep me from becoming proud. Three
different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each
time he said,“My grace is all you
need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that
the power of Christ can work through me. That’s
why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships,
persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 (NLT)
Long ago Spain owned everything on both sides of the
Mediterranean. It was imagined that
there was nothing beyond the waters that stretched westward. They even stamped Ne plus ultra (nothing
beyond) on the empire's coins. Then came
Columbus, a new world, and all the nothing beyond thinking had
to be recalled (along with the coins).
The apostle Paul may have felt like a defective
coin. It is possible he had written
"ne plus ultra" on his ministry.
Suffering from the beatings and isolation of imprisonments, he was
literally driven to prayer, begging for some sort of relief from a thorn
in the flesh. The word means
a
stake, and lends itself to pictures of excruciating pain.
Some have suggested physical ailments of poor eyesight, malaria, a speech
impediment, or migraine headaches.
There is also a case to be made for spiritual problems, caused by
Paul's guilt at recalling the persecutions he had personally directed at the
church before his conversion.
Still others believe that Paul's thorn was the enemies he encountered
wherever he attempted to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Whatever the thorn, Paul testified in our text verse
that the bottom line as he sees it, as God taught it to him, was
that GRACE
IS ENOUGH! God's grace was
enough for Paul, and it is still enough for anyone who will believe.
I want to share with you some of the WAYS GOD'S GRACE
STILL SHINES...
His Grace Shines In Us
God's grace is always most evident in the act of
salvation. A man once told me that he
knew he ought to trust God, but he didn't think God could forgive someone like
him. I've done every wrong thing a man
can do. If you wrote a list of my sins
on that wall, there wouldn't be an inch of space left.
I wish I'd been wise enough then to tell him to do
it....to write 'em all.
· Cover the wall with all your sins.
·
Make sure you list everything...don't leave a one out.
·
And when you're done, I could write one sentence in flaming red letters
over all of it
from God's Word to you - The blood of
Jesus Christ...cleanses us from all sin.
The bottom line here is that:
GOD DOESN'T WANT HIS CHILDREN TO LIVE IN GUILT.
Rather, He wants us to experience the freedom that
only forgiven people know about.
Some years ago my bride and I fell into the same trap
so many people experience; we had charged our credit card to the max! The minimum monthly payment was just barely
enough to cover the interest charge.
Struggling to pay this was a bondage that occupied my thoughts.
And then some very loving people decided to give a
gift to us and paid off the debt. I
wanted to sing and shout from the housetops - FREE AT LAST! My debt was forgiven.
There were no strings attached to that gift. It has never been mentioned since that
time. I never again have to think of the
debt...but I often reflect on the love that caused the gift to be given.
In just such a way, God's grace separates us from
being defeated. We can be separated from
gloom and fear in a world where these abound.
Just like a huge electro-magnet will draw any metal
from a pile of debris, God takes His grace-magnet, and extracts
the very last vestige of my sin and guilt…and sets me free – free to love Him,
serve Him and love my neighbor as myself.
He did that all for me…and you!
As David prayed, Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow...(Psalm
51:7) That’s what makes a Christian
shining on the inside, because of God's shining grace.
His grace shines in us, and…
His Grace Shines Through Us
It would not be possible to serve God if it were not
for the grace that makes us a fit vessel for His use.
There is simply one requirement to see that
grace shining through us and operative in our lives; we must be DEPENDENT ON
GOD.
Having the grace of God shine through your life is
possible when you recognize that, like a pilot chooses the direction of the
airplane, or a ship's captain chooses the course, a Christian is governed by
the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t re-write
Scripture to accommodate what we want to do; we allow Scripture to inform us
what God’s plan for our life will be.
Jesus likened the church to lamps. Lamps give off a reflected light. He is the light of this world; we are
reflection. We must have transparent
lives, a clean vessel for His light to shine.
How do you begin?
How do you become dependent on God, and available to
Him?
How do you allow His grace to shine through?
Prayer is that beginning. Prayer is the opening of the heart and life
to God in honesty, saying,
God, I hereby release control of the
direction of this life.
Whatever I am;
whatever time you wish to give me;
wherever you wish to send me; I am yours.
The apostle Paul came to the conclusion that God’s grace
released in a life through that kind of surrender IS sufficient. The word is arkei, meaning that it is always enough, wherever, and
whenever needed.
God's grace shines in us and through us; and it shines
best through the darkness; especially the kind of darkness that tempts us to
give up, deny the faith.
Let’s face it, this is not an easy life; there are
always difficulties – health, finances, relationships, job or school…if it
isn’t the car breaking down, it will be the dog biting the mail carrier. It’s been said that when it comes to trouble
you’re either in it, or just been through it, or just hold on, because it’s
coming round again!
Job said it:
People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a
fire. Job 5:7(NLT)
But trouble, my friend is just exactly where the grace
of God abounds. Do you remember the
words of that wonderful hymn writer, Annie Johnson Flint?
He giveth
more grace as our burdens grow greater,
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
He sendeth more strength as our labors increase;
To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials He multiplies peace.
His love
has no limits, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.[2]
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.[2]
Some people think because you write gracious words
like that you’ve had it easy; not so with Annie. She and her sister were orphaned twice. Her birth parents died suddenly and then her
adoptive family all died. She was
gripped by many physical ailments and barely made enough money writing greeting
cards to keep her and her little sister alive.
But grace made Annie Johnson Flint an overcomer; a
person who had gladly exchanged her thorns for His grace!
The Gloriosa Superba is a flower indigenous to South
India. It will grow anywhere – desert,
or wide-open field. But the place it is
most prolific and spectacular is in the dense undergrowth, crowded by the
aggressive pushing of cactus and aloe.
There, entangled and troubled on every side, it pushes 8-10 feet
high. It is glorious in color, making
the dense landscape spectacular. It
shares the hardships of struggle, blessing the life of all who watch. Truly, this is a flower made for life; it is
a wonderful example of grace exchanged for thorns!
Wherever you are today – if it is
· dense,
choking undergrowth of problems at home, or at work or school;
·
if
you live with the choking weeds of guilt that crowd-out the enjoyment of life;
·
If
you struggle with hardships, and never know a minute's peace,
…tap into God's shining grace.
The grace that was sufficient for Paul's life is not
tarnished. It is still abundant and
available for anyone who wants to settle it in his heart today!
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!
