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Episode 812:In this episode, we dive into a discussion centered around the theme of God's power in our weaknesses, drawing from 2 Corinthians Chapter 12. We provide context about the Apostle Paul, who, despite his impressive resume of sufferings and hardships, emphasizes that true strength comes from acknowledging our weaknesses. Paul shares his experiences of persecution and struggle, ultimately concluding that God's grace is sufficient and that His power is made perfect in our weakness.
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You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Good morning, good morning. We talked the whole night through. Good morning, good morning to you, and and hey, oh thank you, thank you man, good morning. Or if you're listening in the evening, I apologize. Well, everybody's thrilled. Anywaysky, have you ever watched that show in the evening? What show Singing in the Rain? Yeah? But there's context to it. Okay, Yeah, so this. Seems pretty isolated, right, Okay, it seems like it's not in the context of the movie. It's for for our long time listeners. The context is Chris is showing love to our cont to our listener. Yeah, that's right. Well, actually it started it. Doesn't you realize. That that became a thing because somebody in the Heritage Church lobby and a friend that you know as well, came up to me and she said, I think you ought to sing the good morning song more. Oh yeah, and so and here it is. I started off by singing it and dedicating it sort of to her weekly and then it became like once a week thing. Yeah, or on occasion twice a week. But yes, yeah, maybe tomorrow, who knows. Yeah, man, but you just made our days. Oh well, thank you. And so today we're about to dive into another promise of God's power in a different context. But before we do, we have a segment that is actually, I think the first time we've done this. Yes, that's like we've ever done this one before. So this is called rapid fire Roulette. Jeff will ask a rapid series of unexpected, hilarious questions. No pressure there, while Chris answers as quickly as possible, within thirty seconds. No repeats, no overthinking. It's about as fast reactions, big laughs, and embracing the chaos. It may be none of those things. It may this may go horribly. I know I'm concerned about it, to be honest with you, right just because no thanks, Well, I'm I'm just reading the Sarva's unfiltered thoughts. I'm just thinking the thing, and I don't know that I can ask amazing questions so much. Okay, she gave us a few. Okay, here we go to be amazing questions. No repeating the answers, she says, no hesitation longer than one second. I'm closing my eyes. Whatever you say becomes cannon. Yes. Uh, if your elbows suddenly disappeared, what career would you pursue? Uh? Tennis with no elbows? Yep? Okay, which disciple would win in the thumb wrestling tournament? Go? John? What's the most sanctified vegetable? And why is it not salary? It's tomatoes because they're awesome tomatoes a fruit darted. That's even better because Desiree said embracing the can. That's right. You've just been elected Pope of Mars. What's your first law? Uh? To fly to Venus. If worship leaders were action heroes, what would be their catchphrase? Arrogant men, I don't know. I don't know why. I just came up. It just came up. The catchphrase would be what happened to my scarf? What happened to my scarf? Hey? You know what I said? Ergon? Then I just read an article about worship leaders and they were poking fun of them, and so that's where where my brain went. Okay, yeah, I mean, not not all worship leaders arrogant Obviously. Did you say if you were the Pope of Mars, your first thing would be the flight of Vena. You told me not to think. Okay, no thinking. Okay, here's another one. If you're if your spiritual gift was interpretive dance, what would your signature move be called. The fly? I don't know which. Minor prophet would win on American Ninja Warrior? Uh Daniel, Oh he's a major prophet. Oh darn it? How about Back's great? Yeah? Yeah, you must have major problem. You must replace communion bread with any snack. What are we dipping in the cup? Now? We? Uh? Pudding? Pudding is what we're dipping in the cup. Okay. If King David started a boy band, what would your name be? The Warriors? The Warriors? Okay? What's the official worship song of house Cats? Meowsing? What apostible be most likely the prank call pilot? What apostle would be to prank call pilot? Yeah? Again? Okay. If you could baptize people using any liquid except water, what would it be acid? You'd baptize people on acid? You said, don't. Think, wow, I would have been like Coca cola or something that was trying to make something funny. You just got raptured mid bite. What were you eating? Chili? If the friend of the spirit were literal fruit? Which one would taste like disappointment? Oh? Cum quats? Okay, you're starting a Christian roller coaster. What's its name? The high Rise? What's your end time survival snack of choice? Spam? Which heresy would make the best theme park? Oh? What word? Philasphemy? Oh? No? If Noah had a third dove, what would its job be? Uh? Uh? Gee wiz? Uh? What a weird question to eat? Okay? If if? If? What flavor is glory. Cream? Choose one Bible character to be your uber driver? John? John, Man, it's just John always. John just said you weren't allowed to repeat. Oh, that's right, I know you're okay, all right, say it again. Choose one Bible character to be your uber driver? Uh? Thaddeus? In the New Millennium, animals can talk again? Which one delivers your Amazon packages? Monkeys? What's the official clone scent of the Old Testament prophets? Great? If your prayer life had a theme song, what's the title? If my prayer life had a theme song? Oh, by myself, I was gonna say, living on a prayer Which book of the Bible would you want? Narrated by Morgan Freeman oh, revelation. Oh yeah, that's it. If you get to rename revelation, what's the new title. Revelation. What's the worst possible name for a Christian dating app? Uh? Uh oh g wish. Did you ever see this? Do you ever see the skit Christian? Christian? Yes, that's what I was trying to think of. MANA had a brand slogan? What would it be? If? What if MANA had a brand slogan? What would it be? Uh? Nothing, what's it? I know? But but I was gonna say, like I was thinking of, like this tastes like nothing, like styrophone or something. You are now the Holy Spirit's receptionist. What's the first call you screen from the devil? Okay, very good man, you nailed it. The good job, buddy. I think seventy five percent of my answers were just laming dumb. That was thirty questions. I just asked you, Wow, yeah, wow, good job man. Well rapid fire, and you only repeated answers on like three of them. Broke the run. Well because I forgot. I forgot because John's my favorite disciple. Okay, so there's no question about that. He's like mischievous. He's Uh, he's he's he's funny, right, He's the one that tells on Peter, Like, did you ever see that little like I said, an Instagram rail or something where the guy writes in all the Gospels and he goes and he goes and it says like mark above him, and he goes, someone cut off Malcous's ear. And then it says Luke, and it says one of the disciples cut off a soldier's ear. Then it says Matthew, and it says someone cut off Malcous's ear. And then it goes to John and it goes it was Peter. He does, yeah, he does. It's it's always John. It's always John in this disciple that Jesus loved. That's me. That's me. Oh yeah, hey John, and Peter ran to the tube, by the way, I won. Yeah. So I think that there there's this this guy who like constantly tells stuff about John. It is one of the funniest things. And he just elevates John in this way, and it's so funny. I don't even know who the guy is. I just know that he comes up on my way. He's a young John is the youngest of the disciples, Right, so he was like a teenager. Yeah, so you can just imagine. Yeah, well, anyways, do you think he was who do you think was stronger? Do you think that Peter was stronger? Or do you think that John was weaker? What? What kind of question is that? I was just asking that either when I choose which one was weaker, which one was weaker, Peter or John? I think Peter was strong or Peter stronger? Okay, so John was weaker? Yes? Yeah? Did you know in this that Jesus says my power works best in weakness? He did? He did? Yeah, that's what he said. How nine, How convenient. That's the scripture we're. Reading today exactly. So that's where we're going to go the line. Let's just go there TEWO Corinthians, chapter twelve, and uh, we'll just start off with the verse one. It says this boasting will do no good. Let me let me give you some background. Paul is trying to tell them why he has a thought yep, and why they should be listening to him. I'm an apostle. And then he goes, you guys are always bragging. All these false apostles are always bragging about all the things they did. Let me tell you. He starts talking about shipwrecks and beatings and he got stoned almost to death two times, and he names all these things, and then he's like, I feel like you're making me an idiot because I'm bragging so much, and I don't want to keep bragging. But then that's all a chapter eleven. Yeah, there lots of it. Which, by the way, side note on that claim to be an apostle, it's a rightful claim because only Jesus can choose and commission apostles, right, and Jesus chose the twelve. But then after Jesus died and then went to heaven, he appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and actually number nine, and so Jesus basically came back to the earth and chose hand chose Paul. Yeah. Right, So that's why he has the right to claim to be an apostle and to be equal with Peter and with everybody else. And so while he's talking trying to explain to them, you know, hey, these other apostles are these fake apostles are out there, you know, making all these claims about how they've suffered for Christ. Let me tell you, and he says, he says, I feel like I sound like a madman, right, but I've served him far more so. He's kind of embarrassed that he's even putting his resume out there, but he says, I've been put in prison more often. I've worked harder. I've been whipped times without number, faced death again and again five different times. The Jewish leaders gave me thirty nine lashes. You know why they gave him thirty nine. Lashes because forty was considered lethal. Forty was considered lethal, and so they take it. And five different times they took him to the edge of death with beatings. Can you imagine his back how bad that would be. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once, I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and day adrift at sea. I've traveled on many long journeys. I've faced danger from rivers and from robbers, and I've faced danger for my own people as well as from the gentiles. I faced danger in the cities and the deserts on the seas, faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I've worked hard and long and during many sleepless nights, I've been hungry and thirsty, gone without food. I've shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. And then besides this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. Right, So that's what he's talking about, and he gets embarrassed about it, and he's so then well. And I love how he sort of concludes and says, hey, I'm not going to boast about those things. If I'm gonna boast a boy anying, I'm gonna boast about God. Yeah, in my weakness, my weakness, and he's strong. So then he goes, this boasting will do no good, but I must go on. Is how I'm not done yet. It almost feels like a self brag. Yeah, you know, it's remember I mentioned the other day how Drag said I'm extraordinarily humble. Yeah, the Guardians of the Galaxy. Well, he's just putting his resume out there, and he's trying to say, listen, whatever, you're amazed by some guy swooping in and pretending like he's some superstar. For Jesus, he has no claims that I can't exceed substantially right, you're dismissing the word of God because you're listening to some guy who's a false prophet, right, or a false apostle, so he says. Paul says, I don't mean to flex, but watch that. Yeah, yeah, this boasting I'll do no good, but I must go on right right, it says, I will reluctantly tell you about visions and revelations from the Lord. 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 aus on my body. But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed by in words, things no human is allowed to tell. That experience is worth boasting about. But I'm not going to do it, right, I will boast only about my weaknesses. If I wanted to boast, i'd 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 my message. Even though I've 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 beg the Lord to take it away, and each time he said, my grace is all you need. Your power or my power works best in your weakness. So now I'm 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 and hardships and persecutions and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. I had a friend, Yeah, I had a friend who always used to say, unless you put yourself in a position where if God doesn't show up then your toast right, then then really you have not experienced the power of God in your life. You know, there's a fine line between like what am I trying to think? Like I don't say the word stupidity, but like unwise thinking and actions right, like things that are from wise sure right, and then things that are not necessarily unwise, but they will take a confidence of God, of knowing like only God can can pull this off. Right. And by the way, as leaders, we constantly walk that line. Right. We don't want to do things that are unwise, but at the same time, we want to do things that inspire people to go out on faith, especially if it's what we feel like God has called us to do. Right. So if God says do something big, you know, it's like, okay, we're gonna You know, when you bought this building, When you bought this building and renovated it, yeah, then you have to double in size within the first six months. We couldn't afford to own it and not be in it, which means we needed to do a three point seventy five million dollar renovation in ninety days, which was impossible. Yeah, but our construction team and our our architect just leaned in man did whatever it took to pull that off. We moved in on the ninety first day, and then we couldn't afford to keep it if we didn't double in attendance in three months. Right. So that's what I'm saying, Like that is a that is a calculated risk. It seems like, you know, based on church growth and your growth at the time, and it seems like it's definitely a step of faith because of lots at risk, but at the same time like it's just one of those things where it's like God can definitely do this, and he's going to and it's a you know, if God didn't show up, you were toasted. Well, one of our So it wasn't just because we wanted to build a bigger building or have a bigger crowd. It was we were reaching so many lost people that we were growing. Almost all of our growth at the time was brand new believers. We weren't having people leave your church and come to our church. You know, you were in down right. You guys were the behemoth and they weren't. We were just reaching tons and tons of lost people. And then all of a sudden, the school we were renting wouldn't let us go to a third service. All of a sudden, we were maxing out the school. We couldn't grow anymore, and so I projected out that we would completely stop growing in less than two years unless we made a change, and so we wound up moving to Heritage, to this new building at almost exactly the two year mark from the day I projected it two years prior, and in talking with the board elders, I said, listen, we're at the point right now where the shoe is going to tell the foot how big it can get. And I'm just not done reaching lost people with the gospel. I'd rather I would rather attempt great things for God and put him in a situation where he either chooses to bless us or shut the thing down. I'd rather close it than to stop reaching more people for Christ. And I said, I'm not trying to put him in a corner trying to say I believe God will show up if we give him an opportunity to and I want to put him a situation where he can show up and do a miracle to see even more people come to faith in Christ. And since that time, we've baptized thousands of new believers. Yeah, right, because this facility and now we've all grown this one. Right, but that was what fifteen years ago. Yeah, we moved in here, and yeah, it was amazing. So I love it because Paul is talking this he's got this thorn in the flesh, which we don't know what it is. We don't know what it is. So some people because he says, it's a thorn in the flesh. Some people have you know, some the Ellogians who said it might be malaria. Some the Elogians think it might have been some other kind of traveler's sickness because he traveled so much. You know, have you ever heard the hunchback there, thereal weakness? No, Yeah, so Paul means like little or something like that, like hunched over, I think is another translation. So people thought that maybe perhaps he had like a hunchback. Some people actually have heard blind. Yeah, he struggled with his eyesight. We know that because when he finishes signing what is it, the Book of Galatians or whatever, he says, Hey, by the way, I signed this in my own hand. That's why it's so big when he's writing. So we do know he had bad eyesight. That could be it. Others though, And I had a very compelling conversation with somebody one time saying they wondered because of the way that chapters nine and ten, and then as he goes on thirteen, they wonder if it wasn't temptation. So he was a single man traveling throughout the Greek and Roman world yea, and most of the Greek and Roman worship was very sexual, very out there, and so sometimes I've had people say, you know, I wonder if that thorn in the flesh because he often talked about fighting the flesh, putting the flesh down. So if you're thinking in my body and that's what he means when he talks about flesh, it might be a disease, or it might have been blindness or something. But if it was the flesh, like he talks about the flesh in throughout Corinthians or incalations, you know, walk in the spirit, so you don't indulge the loss of the flesh. Yep. If it's that, then it might have just been temptation. Hey I keept asking God that I'd lose my attractive attractiveness to this thing. Yeah, take away this burn. Yeah yeah, yeah yeah. So it could be either way. But whatever it was, God's grace applies both sides. So if you have some kind of struggle in your life, you have something that you're embarrassed about, you have something that you just feel like, Man, if I didn't have these freckles, or if I didn't have this limp, or if I didn't have if I was more handsome, or if I was smarter than God could use me more. Well, then God's grace is all you need, and his power works best in your weakness. If you're saying, man, i've got temptations, I got things in my life that I just feel like I'm not a good Christian, I'm not worthy of God using me, then the same phrase works. My grace is all you need, right, and my power is best in your weakness. So whether it's a physical weakness you have or a spiritual weakness that you have, God says, just like he did to Paul, I want you. I want to use you, and if you'll trust my grace, you'll have all the strength you need. I love it well. It's the classic story of saying, if you were gifted beyond belief and you had success, you could take the credit. But if you were you know, if you have belief beyond your capabilities and you know you're blessed beyond you know you accomplish things way beyond what what you think that you should be able to accomplish, then you have no choice but to give all the honor and credit to God. You know, you're like, hey, I don't know how I got here. I don't know how it's been successful. I'm just a goofy guy, you know who struggles with this. You know, I was thinking of who is it who painted with her mouth? Johnny Rickson? Oh yeah, Jenny Ricksentata, Yeah. Johnny Rickson Toata, that's right. And she had no arms? Is that what it was? I know she broke her neck in a diving accident when she was a teenager. Okay, so she's periless, she's para less. I remember something like that. But I remember she U so I almost got it. I just I get half of her name. But she would paint with her mouth, right, she can take the paint brush and use her mouth. There's really astounding paintings. Astounding paintings, right, and so you know, only and she would give credit to God, and she'd say only through God's power, through God's grace. And so it's just it's like it's incredible that God has gifted her in that way and God God gets the glory through that, because how could somebody like that accomplish something like that? Yeah, well, I think about it in your life, in my life, how does a boy grow up over top of a bo are in Youngstown? Ohio get to where you're at. How does a kid like me who grow up? I remember when they put up our blinking light in our stop signs right in split in the wood to heat a house and all that kind of stuff. How do we get here? Well? The only thing is God. Sure, you know, I've had so many moments in my life in the last few years where I think I don't even know. How do you tell somebody? How do I tell ten year old Jeff what was going to happen in my life? I don't have any idea other than just God. Right. Next time God opens the door, walks through it. Next time God gives an opportunity, take it. Make yourself available to those godly men and those godly women that are out ahead of you, that are going in a direction that captures your heart and your attention. Right, figure out what your passions are and follow that. But ultimately, I don't know how. I don't know how it happens like this. Other than alls I can say is God did it. I could not have orchestrated the story I'm in. Right, God did it. That's right, And that's I think what Paul is saying is listen, I can give you my resume, and he does in chapter eleven and twelve, but then he pivots and ghosts, But none of that really matters because that's not how I got here, That's not why I have authority. It's God's power in me that gives me the ability to teach you what you need to teach and be taught, and to lead you as you need to be led and all those things. And it's my weakness is where He's strong. So I'll celebrate it. And he says, so now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ and work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses. And then the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. So again that's Jedi level Christianity when you start taking pleasure in your weaknesses and the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles. Yeah yeah, well, and really that's an overarching statement about his entire life. So he just got done listing in the previous chapter all of his hardships and everything else. And what he's really saying is he's saying, and yet God chose me to have this vision that I could barely communicate, and I don't know whether it was real or whether I dreamed it or what happened, but I'm telling you something right now. It was a god vision and something supernatural happened, and God chose me for that. They chose me to be an apostle, and all these different things that have happened, And so I'm glad to boast in my weakness is the fact that I have been through all of these different things, because guess what in that day, especially somebody who went through all those things, they would be looked down upon as like maybe somebody who's out of God's favor, you know, maybe somebody who is an outcaster, not important or treated poorly, you know, not being favored by the government officials and the people that Paul was once in favor with. You know, now he's running from them, right and he used to be one of them. And so he says, I'm going to boast in all of my weaknesses because you know, God has done all this in spite of all the hardships about it. Yeah, I think the devil tries to tell you you're weak, so you shouldn't say anything. You're weak, so you shouldn't do anything, and Paul saying, when I am weak, then I am strong. That's how he finishes it Verse ten. When I'm week, then I'm strong. When you don't know what to say to your lost friend, that's when you should speak up right. When you don't know how to share the gospel, that's when you should start trying. When you don't know how to make a difference in the lives of the single mom that lives across the street and her kids, that's when you step out and try right and on the way go God, I don't even know what I'm doing here, and I don't even feel like I'm worthy, But would you help me? And God steps up and does through you what you couldn't do on your own. When you're weak is when He is strong, and that's enough. That's awesome. So yesterday we talked about you'll receive power with the Holy Spirit, and then today we're talking about power when we are weak. Yeah, right, So we look forward to seeing the power promise for tomorrow and that's our time. So hopefully we will see you then on the Bible, guys,