SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). His Revelations From Christ (vs 1-6).
(2). His Thorn in His Flesh (vs 7-10).
(3). His Apostolic Signs (vs 11-18).
(4). His Courage in Dealing With Sin (vs 19-21).
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• The photographer for a national magazine;
• Was assigned to get photos of a great forest fire.
• Smoke at the scene hampered him;
• And so he asked his organisation to hire a plane.
• Arrangements were made and he was told to go at once to a nearby airport,
• Where the plane would be waiting.
• When he arrived at the airport, a plane was warming up near the runway.
• He jumped in with his equipment and yelled, "Let’s go! Let’s go!"
• The pilot swung the plane into the wind and they soon were in the air.
• "Fly over the north side of the fire," yelled the photographer,
• "and make three or four low level passes."
• "Why would I want to do that?" asked the pilot.
• "Because I’m going to take pictures," cried the photographer.
• "I’m a photographer and photographers take pictures!"
• After a few minutes pause, the pilot said,
• "You mean you’re not my instructor?"
• TRANSITION: You are in big trouble in a plane with no pilot or no instructor.
• And likewise a Church is in big trouble when it has the wrong people leading it!
Note:
• Now if you were here last couple of weeks;
• You will know that the apostle Paul had experienced hostility.
• Opposition from within this Church at Corinth.
Ill:
• A junior school teacher said to her class,
• "Boys and girls, I want you to follow the wonderful example of the ant.
• Every day the ant goes to work and works all day.
• Every day the ant is busy.
• And in the end, what happens?"
• Little Johnny shouted out,
• "SOMEONE STEPS ON HIM."
• TRANSITION: The apostle Paul must have thought someone had stamped on him;
• He had invest years of his life into starting and caring for the Church at Corinth
• And shortly after he left to plant a new Church elsewhere;
• Some other people had joined the Church;
• These others were really false leaders;
• Their motives and their teaching would show itself to be wrong in so many ways.
• Because they were new comers to the Church at Corinth;
• They did not know the apostle Paul and so they had no loyalty to him;
• Instead of recognising his authority and his apostleship,
• They just found fault in him and they found fault in his message.
• In the previous chapter the apostle Paul was boasting about his weaknesses;
• In this chapter the apostle Paul gives four proofs of his apostleship;
• Four proof to remind the Corinthian Church that he is God’s man.
(1). His Revelations From Christ (vs 1-6).
“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, or because of these surpassingly great revelations.”
Ill:
• Love him or hate him we now have Donald John Trump in The White House!
• He was recently elected the 45th President of the United States.
• The story is told of one of his predecessors Franklin Roosevelt.
• Commonly known as FDR (the 32nd President of the United States).
• At official functions at the White House;
• He often endured long receiving lines and he found this tiresome and boring.
• He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said.
• So one day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment.
• To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand,
• He murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning."
• The guests responded with phrases like,
• "Marvellous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir."
• It was not till the end of the line,
• While greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard.
• Nonplussed, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, "I'm sure she had it coming."
• TRANSITION: Christians believe in a God who speaks to us;
• But so often the problem is we are not listening!
Question: How does God speak to us?
Answer: Four suggestions.
• FIRST: The Bible.
• God speaks clearest and most of all through his unchanging, infallible Word!
• Every other way is secondary to this;
• And all other ways and must be tested in the light of God’s Word.
• God never contradicts himself.
• SECOND: Through creation.
• Look at the planet earth and the world of nature says God;
• And see my fingerprints all over
• But this way of God speaking may help you discover him,
• But it will not give any details regarding him;
• Or any advice or principles for living your life.
• THIRD: God speaks through our consciences.
• That inner voice that tells us wrong from right;
• That inner voice that brings a scruples into the choices we make.
• But the Bible says if we ignore our conscience we can soon harden our hearts;
• And we close off this way for God to speak into our lives.
• FOURTH: Through other Christians.
• God speaks to us through his people.
• It may be a sermon, a conversation, a lifestyle, an act of kindness,
• But God can and may speak to us through his people.
• FITH: Through dreams and visions.
• Many Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus Christ today;
• They are coming to Christ at an unprecedented pace;
• Despite intense persecution of those who leave Islam.
• Many are saying it is partly because they had a vision or a dream of Jesus.
• So God may speak today through dreams and visions;
• But dreams can so easily be misinterpreted,
• And so any dream or vision should be confirmed against the Bible.
• TRANSITION: The apostle Paul claimed God spoke to him.
• And that God spoke to him in a vision!
NOTE:
• Dr Luke tells us that to be an apostle you had to have seen the risen Lord.
• (Acts chapter 1 verse 28 & 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 5)
• If you had not physically seen the risen Lord after his resurrection.
• Then you could not be an apostle.
• Paul, of course, was not one of the original twelve disciples;
• He was a persecutor of the Church – he wanted to eradicate Christianity!
• But he had seen the risen Christ when he was converted on the road to Damascus;
• TRANSITION: Now the apostle tells us here;
• That there were many occasions when he met with the risen Christ;
• There were other times he had visions of the Lord.
• That does not mean a fantasy or something he saw in his mind.
• The apostle Paul said that Jesus himself had taught him what he had learned,
• The truths of the gospel that he preached.
Note:
• The apostle Paul puts this incident in the third person,
• As though it happened to someone else.
• I have no idea why that is,
• But later, in Verse 7, he makes very clear that it was to him this happened.
THREE THINGS REGARDING THE VISION:
• FIRST: He was taken to or he saw ‘Paradise’.
• He says he entered, "the third heaven." (He also calls it "Paradise.").
• Now the "third heaven" was a reference;
• To the Jewish belief about the structure of the universe.
• There were three heavens, they believed.
• SECOND: The apostle tells us is that the body was rather unimportant in this event
• Twice he says (vs 2&vs 3):
• “Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know”
• THIRD: The apostle tells us is that what he heard he could not tell us about.
• Now he must have heard some marvellous things,
• Things which contributed greatly to his understanding of life and reality.
• But he does not reveal them or dwell on them in this letter;
• Or anywhere else in the New Testament.
Conclusion of this section:
• The false leaders claimed to have experiences of God;
• But there experiences were nothing compared to the apostle Paul’s.
• The false leaders boasted about their experiences;
• But the apostle Paul says he can out do their experiences;
• But he refuses to boast about them or even dwell on.
• In fact in verse 7 he says if I am going to boast;
• It will be in my weaknesses and not my in my supernatural experiences.
(2). His Thorn in His Flesh (vs 7-10).
“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.
Ill:
• A Sunday School teacher asked her class what they were thankful for.
• One little boy said, "My glasses."
• When asked why he was thankful for his glasses;
• When most little boys were bitter about wearing them,
• He replied,
• "Because they keep the boys from fighting me and the girls from kissing me."
• TRANSITION: In this passage the apostle Paul says was given a thorn.
• We all know that a thorn is something that causes you pain.
• The apostle Paul thorn was probably not an actual piece of wood stuck in his body;
• But the ‘thorn’ represented a problem he was struggling with.
• No-one is sure what the thorn was;
• But you can be sure that many have attempted to guess what it was.
• The most common suggested is he had a problem with his eyes.
• But that is a guess,
• What we know is he had a physical problem that hindered him;
• And caused him pain.
Ill:
• A little boy was balancing himself on his head.
• A lady who knew him came by and said:
• "Aren’t you too young to do that? You are only six,"
• The boy replied:
• "It’s all right, you see, I’m nine when I am upside-down."
• TRANSITION: That boys logic was different to the ladies.
• The Bible says God’s logic/ways are different to our ways!
• Notice what this verse teaches us about this suffering of Paul.
FIRST: Spiritual blessings are more important than physical ones.
• The apostle Paul thought he could be a better Christian if he was healed;
• But the opposite was true.
• God gave him the gift (may be a strange way to describe it);
• God allowed him to have this period of ill health;
• To stop him becoming conceited and self-dependent.
SECOND: Unanswered prayers does not mean failure.
• The apostle Paul prayed three times to have the problem removed.
• Yet, his prayers were unanswered;
• But notice he got a greater blessing from the unanswered prayer!
• God did not give Paul any explanations.
• Instead, He gave him a promise.
• As Christians we do not live on explanations, we live on promises!
• God’s promise to Paul was: “My grace is sufficient”
• My grace says God, will strengthen you to cope and help you to lean on me.
THIRD: Weakness is strength if Christ is in it.
• Let me quote verse 9 again:
• ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’
Ill:
• The cross is the greatest illustration of the power in weakness,
• ‘For God’s greatest work was done through the weakness of his Son.’
Ill:
• George and Vera Bajenksi lived in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada,
• One day their lives were changed forever.
• February 16, 1989.
• It was a very normal Thursday morning.
• The phone rang at 9:15 a.m. "There’s been an accident..."
• It involved their son Ben.
• As they approached the intersection of Adelaide and Simcoe Streets;
• Near the high school,
• They could see the flashing lights of the police cars and ambulance units.
• Vera noticed a photographer and with her eyes;
• She followed the direction of his camera lens;
• It pointed to the largest pool of blood she had ever seen.
• Shocked, they knew it was their son Ben.
• Her first reaction was to jump out of the car,
• Somehow collect the blood and put it back into her son.
• "That blood, for me, at that moment,
• Became the most precious thing in the world because it was life.
• It was life-giving blood and it belonged in my son,
• My only son, the one I loved so much."
• The road was dirty and the blood just didn’t belong there.
• George noticed that cars were driving right through the intersection;
• Right through the blood. His heart was smitten.
• He wanted to cover the blood with his coat and cry,
• "You will not drive over the blood of my son!"
• Then Vera understood for the first time in her life,
• One of God’s greatest and most beautiful truths...why blood?
• Because it was the strongest language God could have used.
• It was the most precious thing He could give-- the highest price He could pay.
• Through God’s amazing love we were redeemed;
• Not with silver and gold (what the world considers valuable);
• But with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter chapter 1 verses 18-19).
• ‘For God’s greatest work was done through the weakness of his Son.’
• We see in the cross, the greatest illustration of the power in weakness,
Ill:
• The Cross:
• He was rejected,
• That we might be accepted.
• He was condemned,
• That we might be forgiven.
• He was punished,
• That we might be pardoned.
• He was hated,
• That we might be loved.
• He was crucified,
• That we might be justified.
• He died,
• That we might live.
• Because when he rose,
• He conquered sin, death & the grave.
• That we might,
• Be found forgiven! Know his love! Be saved!
• The cross is the greatest illustration of the power in weakness,
• ‘For God’s greatest work was done through the weakness of his Son.’
(3). His Apostolic Signs (vs 11-18).
“I have made a fool of myself, but you drove me to it. I ought to have been commended by you, for I am not in the least inferior to the ‘super-apostle’ even though I am nothing. 12 I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles. 13 How were you inferior to the other churches, except that I was never a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!
14 Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less? 16 Be that as it may, I have not been a burden to you. Yet, crafty fellow that I am, I caught you by trickery! 17 Did I exploit you through any of the men I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go to you and I sent our brother with him. Titus did not exploit you, did he? Did we not walk in the same footsteps by the same Spirit?”
Ill:
• There is a famous and often quoted remark of Mark Twain's in which he said,
• "When I was a boy of fourteen;
• I thought my father was the most ignorant man in the world,
• But when I was twenty-four;
• I was amazed at how much the old man had learned in ten years."
• TRANSITION: We know of course that the father did not change;
• But the boy grew up and he changed!
• Likewise this Church at Corinth changed;
• But sadly, not for the good!
• They saw their false leaders/teachers as ‘super saints’
• And they saw the apostle Paul as a rural ill-informed and poor speaker.
• So once again the apostle Paul will list several signs of his apostleship;
• But notice they are not what you might expect.
• FIRST: He mentions ‘patience’ (vs 12);
• “I persevered in demonstrating among you the marks of a true apostle,”
• When facing trials and troubles the apostle stood firm;
• These false leaders (‘super-saints’) would have fled for the easy life elsewhere;
• But the apostle Paul stuck it out!
• SECOND: His attitude towards money (vs 14),
• Unlike these false leaders (‘super-saints’);
• Who demanded high payments for their services;
• The apostle reminds them he did not want their money - he only wanted them!
• In fact, Paul and his colleague Titus proved their love for the Church;
• In the way they supported themselves and generously gave to the Corinthians.
• Their actions was evidence of their credentials!
(4). His Courage in Dealing With Sin (vs 19-21).
“Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? We have been speaking in the sight of God as those in Christ; and everything we do, dear friends, is for your strengthening.20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. 21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.”
ill
• A man was watching his TV set when all of a sudden mouse ran underneath the set.
• The man got up and went out to his shed and came back with a mouse trap.
• He then went to his fridge to get some cheese.
• But there was no cheese.
• So he did what he thought was the next best thing.
• He got hold of a magazine that had colourful ads in it.
• He cut out a picture of cheese and put it in the mousetrap.
• He then went to bed.
• When he woke the next morning he immediately checked the mousetrap;
• And you are not going to believe this;
• He found a picture of a mouse from the same magazine stuck in the trap!
• TRANSITION:
• If you want to catch the real thing, you’ve got to put out the real thing!
• Well the apostle Paul says when he visits this Church;
• He is going to deal with real issues, that was spoiling the Chu4rch.
The apostle lists some of the sins that was troubling this Church (vs 20-21):
• Two types of sins are mentioned:
• Social sins i.e. Discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip etc.
• Sexual sins i.e. Impurity, and depravity in which they have indulged.
• The false leaders would let this sins go unchecked;
• They preached sermons to entertain, to impress, to make them look good.
• But the apostle Paul dealt with the real issues of life.
In Conclusion:
So these are the marks of a true apostle:
• Certain authenticating signs that only the original apostles had;
• Spiritual strength to cope with physical weaknesses.
• A selfless spirit that loves and does not demand anything in return;
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=CcqgQpPsumVBZug6OXddalBvqIjlWutI&forceSave
