STOP BEING ASHAMED OF YOUR WEAKNESS

Pastor Dennis Clanton

Woodland Church

Sunday, June 12, 2022

(Philippians 2:7, NLT) “Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,”

(2 Corinthians 8:9, NLT) “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.”

(2 Corinthians 12:9, NLT) “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.”

(2 Corinthians 12:7, NLT)  “So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, …”

1. ASK GOD TO TAKE AWAY THE THORN.

(2 Corinthians 12:8, NLT) “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.”

2. TRUST GOD’S LOVE AND WISDOM.

(2 Corinthians 12:7, Message) “Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty!”

(2 Corinthians 12:10, Message) “Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”

A. GOD WILL HELP YOU.

(2 Corinthians 12:9, LB) “I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.”

B. GOD USES OUR WEAKNESSES TO PROTECT US FROM PRIDE.

(2 Corinthians 12:7, NLT) “So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, ….”

C. GOD SHOWS US WE REALLY DO NEED ONE ANOTHER.

(1 Corinthians 12:22, CEV) “In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest.”

D. GOD GIVES ME MINISTRY.

(2 Corinthians 1:4, Message) “He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.”