Success and Weakness

 
Who Will Be the Most Successful Among Us? By Pastor Dan Kennedy © September 8, 2013 www.pastorkennedy.com - this may take a moment to load! If we are normal human beings we don’t like being unsuccessful! • Super-hero types dominate the entertainment industry. • Aggressive and consistently winning athletic figures captivate the imagination of the world and the awed respect of those in their sport. • Financially successful entrepreneurs bask in the world’s recognition and their ability to create continuing success. • We all prefer being on a winning team and a growing church! Conversely there is a mystery underlying critical success for those who are Children of the Most High God and servants of Jesus Christ. When the people of the world have success, they heap upon themselves glory for their accomplishments. We often walk around in the pride of our own vanity, feeling that our gifts, our abilities, our hard work and financial gain are responsible for our winning ways. Anyone can easily forget the One who gave the ability for success to begin with, and to whom the glory for personal success should be given! Those seeking to please God are no different. When we are “successful”, we most often try to keep the credit for ourselves! That is why those who could be most successful among us (if we call ourselves “followers of Christ”), are those who realize that they might be the “weakest” among us. • Moses told God that he couldn’t lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt because he could not speak well. • Gideon did not feel “mighty” because he felt he was the least of those in Israel; and, God did not want a “mighty” army to take responsibility for the winning of a war, when the glory should rightfully belong to God – so God chose only 300 to stand in victory against an overwhelming enemy. • Paul had what he considered to be a grave “weakness” through his “thorn in the flesh” and came to the realization that, “God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness”. Who Do We Think We Are? None of us can spiritually transform anyone else! None of us can spiritually redeem anyone else. None of us can, by our own words or will, truly change anyone else’s life from living in deplorable, life-threatening abuses, or spiritually damning lifestyles! These spiritual transformations must be an act of God. We cannot take credit for any spiritual transformation! We simply should be the faithful messengers of a life-changing message – of the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through the transformation power of God’s Holy Spirit. Who Will Be the Most Successful Among Us? As we reach out to share the Gospel of Christ with those in our community, any result will not come about through our own power! The most successful among us, in this endeavor, will be those who may be the weakest among us! If we were afraid that we could not be a conduit to others with the Power of Christ’s Gospel because we were the least and were the weakest, take heart; it is you who can succeed the most! Only beware, lest any of us, in our humanness, start taking the credit for what God has done and is doing!! Let’s look honestly at three aspects of the reality of life and death to put this in perspective. How easily everything is taken away from ALL of us in this frail life. • The most powerful rulers who have ever dominated leadership in world history have perished without having the ability to secure the loyalty of even one other individual, to go with them, when they pass from this life to the next. • Those with the greatest wealth throughout the span of history have gone to his or her grave without taking even the tiniest morsel of wealth, or its earned benefit, with them. Not one half-penny will go with any of us. • All of the most talented and intelligent individuals in the history of the world have left behind all of their coveted tangible awards, accomplishments, assets, music, books, degrees and proof of our philanthropy. The ancient sage Job, said it accurately, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked shall I return!” (Job 1:21) Since we will not be able to take anything with us, our earthly tangible assets reveal themselves to be valueless in eternity. If this is the case…if the greatest tangible assets of each person in the world will be removed from us the moment our spirit and soul leaves our physical body, then what, from our life on earth, will be to our greatest benefit in eternity? If we seek to build up treasure in heaven, how should we live our life so that our endeavors and assets having lasting and permanent value? It would seem that these values should be among the greatest goals of our earthly life! Matthew 6:19–21 Lay Up Treasures in Heaven 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Our Hope We are embarking, as a church, to reach out into our community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some day we will find out who will be the most successful among us – not just those having the majority of contacts in the community, or the most conversions on paper, or the greatest influence and persuasion among others to have folks in our home, but who will be the most successful…in God’s Eyes. God has a Radically Different Standard for Success, for His Servants There is a classic passage in Scripture giving us a healthy glimpse into the life of one who is regarded as “successful” in God’s Eyes. It is found in three chapters in the Bible, most of which are seldom read and seldom taught…2 Corinthians, chapters 10-12. These realities for Paul are summarized in a familiar passage on Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”: 2 Cor. 12:7-10. 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me 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. We have a tendency to elevate the Apostle Paul on a pedestal, somehow avoiding in our minds, the serious road he followed in his desire to faithfully serve Christ. We like to hear of his dramatic conversion (Acts 9) and his being taught by Christ for three years in the desert (Galatians 1:11-24), realizing that the doctrine taught to the early Church, was from the Lord Himself, through Paul. We are captivated by his “vision” of heaven and how that revelation most certainly interrelated with the spiritual accuracy of his continued teaching throughout his life (2 Cor. 12:1-4). But, we are not particularly drawn to the pain that Paul suffered in the process of bringing the Gospel of Christ to the Jews and, at their rejection, to the Gentiles! Paul gives us an insightful picture in his brief overview…as he was defending his Apostleship to the skeptics at the Corinthian church. 2 Corinthians 11:24–28 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. We don’t enjoy listening to this kind of suffering from someone we elevate as high as the Apostle Paul. In fact, we can’t even begin to comprehend the depth of suffering that he went through! Paul was weak because of his suffering, but because of this weakness he relied on the Lord, and in God’s Power he was strong. We may be weak in our outreach, but we are strong, if we have the Lord as our strength. The Carnality of The First Church of Corinth How did the church Paul founded in Corinth, receive him back, after they became a more mature, established, and self-sufficient “The First Church of Corinth”? It is inconceivable to us, but when we read 2 Corinthian 10-12, we catch a small glimpse of the politics going on even at that time – which required Paul to defend his own spiritual leadership! Paul was weak in their eyes, but he relied on the Lord’s strength. Remember how Paul began his first letter to the Corinthians regarding “divisions” and “quarreling” going on in the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:10-17)? 1 Corinthians 1:11–13 11 My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? Does anyone today know who “Apollos” was? “APOLLOS (Ȧ pŏlʹ lŏs) Alexandrian Jew who came to Ephesus following Paul’s first visit and was taught Christian doctrine by Priscilla and Aquila. An educated man, Apollos handled the OT Scriptures with forcefulness. However, he was lacking in a full understanding of the way of God, so Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and instructed him (Acts 18:26). Apollos became even more successful in his ministry. He went from Ephesus to Greece with the encouragement of the Asian believers and a letter of introduction (Acts 18:27). He greatly strengthened the believers by using the Scriptures to demonstrate that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:28). Apollos is last mentioned in the book of Acts as being in Corinth (19:1). Paul referred to Apollos frequently, particularly in 1 Corinthians. Here the majority of the references (1 Cor. 1:12; 3:4–6, 22) have to do with the schisms in the Corinthian church centering on personalities. Paul noted that some believers championed Paul; some, Apollos; and some, Cephas. What is important is that believers belong to Christ, not to individual leaders. Such references show that Apollos must have been a dynamic figure to be compared with Paul or Peter. In 1 Cor. 4:6 Paul placed Apollos on the same level as himself. They both sought to defeat the arrogance and superiority which comes from being self-centered rather than Christ-centered. Paul referred to Apollos in 1 Cor. 16:12 as “our brother,” showing how much Paul considered him as one of the team. This is also demonstrated in Titus 3:13 where Paul asked Titus to help Apollos on his way. A learned and gifted preacher Apollos was willing to receive more instruction and be part of the team. Because of Apollos’ knowledge of the OT, Luther suggested that Apollos might well be the writer of the letter to the Hebrews.” William H. Vermillion Vermillion, W. H. (2003). Apollos. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen & T. C. Butler, Ed.) (86–87). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers. Apollos leadership was certainly a competition for Paul, from the carnal armchair perspective of those wanting to rub shoulders and gain favor with those in leadership in the church at Corinth. (The painful “fluff” of “religious politics” was showing itself in the early church, even then!) How about “Peter”? He was certainly a primary spiritual leader for the early Church, but the armchair politicians had pitted him and even Christ, in their leadership lottery of the Corinthian church! The leadership seemed to work healthily together…but it seems to be the people outside of leadership who were struggling and divided about church leadership! If you read 1 Corinthians you will note a continuing list of difficulties (much more than leadership issues) and problems that Paul had to address with the church (and they obviously didn’t like some of his solutions). Is that why they tried to degrade his leadership authority? The Corinthian church evidenced some pretty serious spiritual problems, which were addressed by Paul: • In-fighting in Church Leadership (1 Cor. 1; 3:3-8): Quarreling about who was strongest in leadership authority. • Wisdom vs. Simplicity (1 Cor. 2-4): Comparisons regarding powerful wisdom teaching and weak (basic) teaching, with simplicity. • Sexual Immorality in the Church (1 Cor. 5): Arrogantly condoning sexual immorality. • Lawsuits and Promiscuity (1 Cor. 6): Promoting lawsuits of one believer against another, and continuing sexual promiscuity. • Marriage, Divorce, Separation and Singleness (1 Cor. 7): Principles of a Godly marriage, understanding singleness and the problems of divorce. • Matters of Conscience (1 Cor. 8): Eating food offered to idols in an animistic society, while understanding and responding to a person who is sensitive in their own conscience. • Paul Defends his Leadership (1 Cor. 9): The Corinthian leadership is confronted in their comparison biases. Paul defends how he ministers and his right to be supported as a single man who is an Apostle of Christ. • Bad and Good Traditions in the Church (1 Cor. 10-11): A warning against participating in carnal religious traditions. An appeal for positive early church traditions, and guidelines for honorably celebrating (instead of abusing) the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. • Spiritual Gifts, Speaking in Tongues, Orderly Worship and Love (1 Cor. 12-14): Addressing the issues surrounding spiritual gifts, tongues, orderly worship, and the priority of love in the Body of Christ – in a society immersed in the unknown tongues associated with the “oracle of Delphi”. • Questions regarding the Resurrection from the Dead (1 Cor. 15): A correct understanding of the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of the dead. • Weekly Offerings, Personal Plans and Greetings (1 Cor. 16): The collection for the saints (on the first day of the week), and Paul’s personal plans, instructions and greetings to the church. Do we understand now, a bit more, why this carnal Corinthian church wanted to lower the spiritual leadership authority of Paul? They liked what they were doing – and in their great carnal wisdom, they didn’t like what Paul was telling them! Paul was certainly known as a spiritual leader in most of the early churches. Paul wrote almost half of the New Testament we have today, which originally were his doctrinal and practical letters to the first century churches. But, Paul was weak; and, because of Christ, he was strong. Since most of us have read or studied at least a little amount about Paul and his writings, which would we consider Paul to be in the following comparisons in regard to The First Church at Corinth? How did Paul’s personality come across to those at the Corinthian church when people met him: (2 Cor. 10:1-2; 1 Cor. 2:1-5) A strong personality, or A humble and/or weak personality? How did those in The First Corinthian Church consider Paul’s preaching and teaching skills? (2 Cor. 10:10; 11:5-6) He was one of the greatest speakers and teachers in the church, or His skills were weak…his speech of no account – even “contemptible”. How did some people in the church at Corinth feel about how Paul talked about himself: (2 Cor. 10:2-8) Did some think he was one who could be boastful, over confident and somewhat fleshly in what he said, or Did the church think Paul was a spiritual person, not to be criticized? Regarding Paul’s physical presence: (2 Cor. 10:10; 11:27; 12:7) Did Paul’s presence command attention when he walked into the room? Or, did people who saw Paul feel his appearance left something to be desired! How did the church at Corinth consider Paul’s letters and Spiritual leadership in their church? (2 Cor. 10:7-18; 11:5 – 12:6) Was Paul an undisputed primary spiritual leader and teacher in the church at Corinth, or Was Paul a leader who was questioned and forced to declare his “qualifications” because his ideas and leadership may have been somewhat in competition with others? Did the church at Corinth adequately support Paul? (2 Cor. 11:7-11) Did other churches need to pick up his support so he could continue having his needs met while ministering at Corinth, or Did the church adequately support Paul while he was ministering at Corinth? In answering these questions regarding the church at Corinth’s view of Paul, we see that Paul faced huge struggles from being misrepresented as weak, and in facing his personal struggles with the “thorn in his flesh”, but in yielding his weaknesses to God’s Strength, Paul was strong. We may consider ourselves to be weak in our outreach to others for Christ, but if we entrust ourselves to God and rely on His Power, we will be strong. Let’s look at our primary example, Jesus Christ. Did Jesus Christ first come in weakness or in strength? When He came to be born on the earth, Jesus Christ was not perceived by the Jewish leadership, to be a viable candidate as the Jewish Messiah. Christ exampled weakness so that the power of God would be displayed through His weakness. Jesus came as a Servant and as The Redeeming Sacrifice for the sins of humankind. He came in the great strength of weakness. • No Fanfare. Jesus was born without public fanfare…in the lowliest of places – a stable (Luke 2:7-16). • He didn’t look the part. Jesus appeared without the physically appealing traits expected of The Messiah. Isaiah 53:2 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. • He came to a “backward” world: His coming was during the time of the world was considered to be considerably backward…not when the world would be exploding with new innovations, exceptional strategies and technological advantages allowing Him to “get out His message” to the maximum number of people! • No Metropolitan Base: He didn’t pick a big city to begin his life and ministry, to augment, who He is as the Son of God, to be a prophet and Savior of the world. He picked Bethlehem and Nazareth. • Roman Rule: He came while Israel was firmly under the iron rule of the Roman Government – a very awkward time in the history of Israel. • Common Disciples: He chose common people and even despised people to be his primary disciples. No Publicity: He never wrote anything about Himself or His ministry. • Known Family, Normal Childhood: The community people considered Jesus to only be Joseph, the carpenter’s son. Everyone knew Jesus’ family, His mother, and His brother’s and sisters. He obviously wasn’t considered a child prodigy or someone special in their eyes. He was a normal child who had grown up in the small neighborhood (Matt. 13:54-58). Of course we saw flashes of God’s revelation through Him when He was in the temple at 12 (Luke 2:49), but this seems to be the exception not the rule. • Took the Form of a Servant: He left the glories of heaven, as the Son of God, taking on Him the form of a servant – a human being (Phil. 2:3-8). • Sacrifice and Glory: He came to sacrifice His Life as the Lamb of God, for the sins of the world, not to control the world. He will one day Rule and Reign (Phil. 2:8-11). Jesus set the example for all of us. It is not through our great personal strength that we achieve great things for God. It is only through God’s strength. Those who may feel the weakest among us can accomplish this. Here are some questions to ask ourselves in our desire to serve the Lord, especially during this time of outreach: 1. What is in our “hand”? What has God given us naturally, in our outreach to others? God said this to Moses when Moses questioned God’s wisdom in sending him back to Egypt to bring out the Children of Israel (Ex. 4:2). What was in Moses’ hand? 2. Through whose strength are we empowered to accomplish the task? Through the Strength and Power of God’s Holy Spirit. 3. Who primarily will be attributed the success of the endeavor? God should be the One attributed to our success, since it is only through His Power that this can be accomplished. 4. Who will benefit most? Everyone! We may feel that we are very weak, but if we entrust ourselves to God, to be empowered by His Spirit, He will make us strong to accomplish the work that He has entrusted us to do for His Eternal Kingdom “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Who will be the Most Successful Among Us? It depends on how much we allow God’s Power and Strength to work through us. To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 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. 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. 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 http://www.pastorkennedy.comshapeimage_1_link_0