The Source of Right Power.
Psalm 48; Mark 6: 2 Corinthians 12: 1 – 10
God’s power is perfected and magnified in our weakness.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying, “whenever I am weak, then I am strong” [2 Cor 12:10]
It is fascinating how we love power; it is amazing how little we understand power. This doesn’t prevent humans seeking power and exercising power. Our trust in power to enforce our ideas or achieve our ends is widely displayed in the arenas of sport and politics, often in the work place and sadly also in the home. The Bible itself is interesting on the subject of power. Take the Common Lectionary readings set for this Sunday the 8th. There is the Psalmist [48] singing the praises of God because Jerusalem is a powerful city with an awe-inspiring Temple. Ancient Jerusalem in the times of King Solomon must have been truly awe-inspiring. Its powerful fortifications and magnificent Temple dominated the landscape parading the power of the Kingdom of Israel mistaken for the presence of God. But, is this God’s way? Is the psalmist representing God’s intention or humankind’s pretensions?
We only have to think of the prophet Isaiah who spoke of the Servant of God as a suffering servant to realise that God may see things differently; or, to read the prophetic book of Hosea to see something of the vulnerable love of God; or, to recognise the power of the humble prophet-priest Samuel, whose spiritual discernment made him a king-maker but not a king; or, the power of the poor speaker Moses, who led the people out of Egypt. It is interesting to reflect on God’s power being demonstrated in our weakness in our Western culture today!
Our Gospel reading tells another story of power. Jesus’ disciples are sent on a mission. They are still in training. They are dispatched with Jesus’ authority and the power of the Holy Spirit. But it is not their power; it is the power of God exercised through them. Yet even such awesome power comes with a gentle reserve. The disciples were instructed to treat people with honest and respect. There would be no imposition of God’s power on people. Instead, when God’s power is welcome we are empowered.
Paul provides a delightful and provocative example of God’s power working in him. He writes about it in his letters to the Corinthian church. After addressing the issue of boastfulness, that was evidently present amongst the Corinthian church leaders, Paul speaks of what God has done through him. Paul senses that God does not allow him to dwell upon his successes and enjoy them. Instead it seems that God has deliberately allowed Paul to be kept mindful that he is dependent upon God for his strength and success as a preacher of the Gospel of Christ Jesus. Paul says; to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. [2 Cor 12: 7-9] This very personal passage presents us with a profound spiritual truth. God’s power is perfected and magnified in our weakness.
After every major military victory in ancient Rome, a “triumph”, as it was called, was celebrated. The victorious general led his triumphant parade of troops and prisoners through the streets to the temple of Jupiter. He was honoured before all the people. One of the most interesting parts of this ceremony was that behind the general in the chariot stood a slave whose task was to hold a golden crown above the general’s head and whisper in the general’s ear, ‘Remember you are mortal’. This no doubt was to save the general from hubris – arrogant or excessive pride.
We don’t know what Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’ was precisely. It may well have been some persistent persecution or insults or hardships, which served to remind Paul that what he was accomplishing was not of his own doing. I think that all spiritually aware servants of God know where their real power comes from, and that power is manifest in their weakness or inadequacy.
God’s power does not come upon us because we have some inadequacy or addiction. To discern God’s power we need to discern what is the weakness, what is its source and what purpose does it serve.
According to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he suffers from insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. Paul lists what he has endured in chapter 13: beatings, imprisonment, persecution and a shipwreck. These weighed upon him, draining his energy and may have caused him to doubt himself. Paul was confronted by such challenges to his mental equilibrium, physical strength and spiritual endurance. God, he may have prayed, please release me from these endless attacks. It could be that some person or persons attacked him personally. Such attacks do affect us adversely. They are not easy to take. Paul knew his weakness like Moses knew his inadequacy in speaking.
Now Paul is not saying that his weakness is due to his sin or bad choices or some form of addiction. Rather the source is Satan, says Paul, who has sent a messenger to torment him. [2 Cor 12:7] In other words doing the good things of God has resulted in a backlash from the evil in the world. It is not uncommon to find ourselves facing criticism, rejection and sometimes violence because we represent God to others. Sadly such attacks can come from within the Church.
What we can say is that God uses these attacks of evil for God’s purposes. Satan attacks us to prevent us from doing God’s will. Satan attacks us to weaken our resolve to serve God and diminish our energy. God’s response to Paul’s plea for help is to say; “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” The attacks on Paul resulted in Paul throwing himself back on God and God gave Paul the energy and strength to endure and succeed in God’s name. Paul could never retire to bed quietly saying, ‘I did it!’ Let alone, ‘I did it my way’! He could only retire to his due rest saying, thank you God. His weakness, by God’s grace, taught him humility. His dependence upon God gave glory to God – which is our sole purpose in life: to give God our Creator and Lord our praise and worship.
This takes us back to some of the previous sermons I have preached about how important it is for us to develop our character and endurance. Unfortunately character does not develop when things are quiet and easy. Our character is developed as a result of struggles and suffering.
Let me tell you a story that may help us understand that God’s grace is sufficient for our weakness. I recall listening to a man giving his testimony of how he became a Christian. He was a key worker in a Christian organisation. His name I have forgotten. His conversion I will never forget. You see he was a professional thug. One day a small puny little man came into a bar and proclaimed the Gospel. No doubt it was some simple witness and rather unsophisticated. The thug told him to shut up. The Christian wouldn’t so the thug did what a thug would do. He slapped him about and threw him into the street. He told him not to come back. Well, the little man came back in a few days time. Again he was given a bit of hiding this time and thrown out. This happened a few times. The thug couldn’t understand what this little fellow was on about and why he was so stupid as to come back to be repeatedly beaten and yet refused to give up. What’s more it seemed he bore no malice. Finally the thug decided to hear this Christian. He told us that he picked up the Christian man and put him on a table in the bar room and told him to preach. This ex-thug spoke about how the Gospel touched him and this man’s faith impressed him. He came to Christ. The rest is history so to speak. Here he stood before the group well dressed and holding a responsible leadership position in a Christian organisation. It was that Christian man entered the bar who preached Christ even though he would be humiliated by the world’s standards, who led another to Christ by God’s power. My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.
This truth is relevant to us in two ways. Firstly, we may see ourselves as unable to do something for God because of our inadequacies. We don’t feel we can do that activity for God. Like Moses we might say, ‘I can’t speak well.’ But strangely for God’s purposes you are the right candidate for God’s work. God doesn’t need people who are confident in their own ability. God needs people who are confident in God’s ability. True service for the Lord is only true service if the Lord is working through us.
The second way that this truth can help us is through the complete sufficiency of grace. Grace is love given unconditionally to us by God. In our daily relationships there will be times when our patience is exhausted, our strength is failing, our pride is growing, and it is this aspect of unconditional love that touches us, reminds us and enables us to go the next mile with someone. Gracious love will inspire us to be patient, loving, forgiving and serving. Our consciousness of God’s grace is the source of our enabling and the empowerment of others.
Remember grace is your power and love is your sword.
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Peter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC: 08/07/2018
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org
