Please turn with me to 1 Corinthians, I'm sorry, 2 Corinthians chapter 12. 2 Corinthians chapter 12. And we will read verses 1 through 11. It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body I do not know or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows, such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. How he was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words. which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast, yet of myself I will not boast except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, A thorn in the flesh was given me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning these things, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, most gladly, I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. We'll stop there. This morning, we looked at John chapter 14, verse 18. Jesus said, I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. We observed some of the ways and large part general applications of this promise in Christ's continued care for his people. This afternoon, I want to, from 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 9, maybe focus our application a little bit more on what we see in this verse and in the context. As we look at the context of this verse, we first see that Paul is speaking of a thorn in the flesh. But the larger context we see is Paul relating how he was caught up to the third heavens and how he saw things that were not lawful for a man to utter or inexpressible things. And so we see in the context that God had given him this thorn in the flesh. Many have speculated what that thorn was, whether it was actual physical ailment, whether it was some sort of spiritual affliction or some other affliction, it is not clear. But what is clear is God's answer to Paul's prayer. In this case, it seems as there was an actual direct answer from God to Paul. God's answer was, my grace is sufficient for you. Now, we do not have God speaking to us in this day as God spoke to Paul. When we pray, this is sometimes the answer to the prayer. Whether it is a temporary thing or a long-term trial, God's grace is sufficient for us. I believe I can say with certainty that every single man, woman, and child We'll go through trials, varying degrees, one sort or another. Certainly adults, by and large, have gone through very significant trials throughout their lives. Things that stick with you for the rest of your life. Some things that leave you asking God why. Those things that you may beg God to remove or to at least reduce the severity of, but those trials continue to persist. And it is not because our God does not hear our prayers, it's not because God does not answer our prayers, but rather it is because he answers them in this way, my grace, is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness." It is a wonderful truth, but it is hard. It is hard for us to grab hold of. It's hard for us to hold on to in the middle of the trial. But It is a blessed promise that we have. We may grab hold of it and hold on to it for a time, but lose hold of it as a trial resurfaces or reintensifies. There are three statements that make up this verse. My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. first to by God, to Paul, and then Paul's response, most gladly I will boast in my infirmities to the power of Christ, so the power of Christ may rest upon me. In a day where verses are pulled out of context, splashed on t-shirts or used for catchy social media pictures, I think this, my grace is sufficient for you, is one that I may have personally seen, but is likely to fit that type. And while that verse may make a nice one-liner, it doesn't diminish the awesomeness of it and the blessing contained in it. This promise is not bound in any way. It's not bound to just physical trials. It's not bound to our struggles with sin. There's really only one criteria we find in this passage tied to this promise, and that is the glory of God, that God will be glorified, that his strength will be shown forth in our weaknesses. for one who has sinned in great and grievous ways and has come to true repentance, confessing sin to God and weeping over it, turning from it, recognizing the judgment that we deserve for it, and falling at the cross of Christ. We hear these words, my grace is sufficient for you. There's a young couple in Kentucky that has spent the last nine months in the hospital and has seen the doctors, with the help of God, perform miracles to keep their baby alive. Shortly before, they thought they were going to be able to take their young son home. It took a sudden turn for the worst. It has passed away. These words apply to them. My grace is sufficient for you. Horatio Spafford, the writer of the well-known, well-loved hymn, It Is Well With My Soul, lost everything. His massive business, his livelihood, then his four daughters, My grace is sufficient for you. We live in a sin-cursed world. We expect to see and witness and experience the impacts of sin and the fall. We expect to see and experience sickness and pain and ultimately death. We expect people will do wrong to us or to those we love. Things will be said and done that will leave scars that will never go away. We will commit sins that while we know we have been forgiven and that God remembers them, holds them against us no more. will stay with us until our death, but he has promised, my grace is sufficient. There may be those trials God sees fit to bring that are overwhelming, but With those trials comes the grace, comes the strength needed. There may be those cases where we even see our brother or sister going through such a severe trial, but yet with such peace, we see God's glory in an overabundance of grace being poured out upon that one. you look at and say, how do they go from day to day with such a cheerful attitude? There may be times where he provides that grace that is sufficient for us to keep holding on by our fingertips. Isaiah 40 verse 31 says, but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Those who wait, not a one-time thing, it's not a simple magic pill, but it is a continual waiting and trusting in God. Day by day, hour by hour. When we wait upon him, he will provide the grace that we need. Verse goes on, God says, my strength is made perfect in weakness. We worship an awesome God. God tells Paul, my grace is sufficient for you because when you are weakest, when you are most dependent and desperate for my strength and power, you will find that it never fails. You, when you are at your weakest, have only one place to turn, and that is to God and Him alone, and He alone can gain the glory. Verse we looked at this morning, I will not leave you orphans. He did not just save us from our sin and let us go on our way. He holds us in the palm of his hand. He shelters us from the storms of life. He knows our frailty far better than we know it ourselves. And it is when we encounter those greatest trials in life that we are more acutely aware of just how frail we are, But the truth is that that frailty we're aware of in those times of trials is our constant condition. But we do not notice it or are aware of it as we ought to be because we take so many things for granted. We are in the habit of just going about our days, day in, day out. We do not think every day, at every moment, is God giving us the breath to breathe, the strength to live, until that moment comes when everything that we took for granted changes and is out of our control. I know who I'm speaking to. I know that some of you are living this right now. God saw fit to bring me through a similar experience last year. My case, I believe it was primarily to help me, to make me confront and deal with sin that remained. But I'm not saying this in any way to be Job's three friends, rather just the contrary. There's often trials. that are not because this man or his parents sinned as the Jews asked Jesus or assumed, but rather it is because God would seek to be glorified. Let us make sure that he gets all the glory. Let me draw another application. I've been focusing on those personal trials. His grace is sufficient for the church. His grace is sufficient for this church. I noted this morning, several churches we are familiar with are small. Several of those churches have seen departures the last few years. Many of those hurt, left scars. Christ says my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in your weakness. Jesus doesn't need megachurches to be glorified. Our God and our Savior can be glorified and will be glorified by the faithful worship of a small congregation in Rochester, New York, or in Jordan, New York, or in Dolgeville, New York. I could continue to list them. It's so hard at times to keep going when so many have left. When you're as small as some of us are, everyone has to carry their own weight. means that you know that there's so few that if you're not there on a Sunday, it is definitely noticed. You can't just sit back and say, well, someone else will do that task. There may be times where we want to throw in the towel, say it's just too hard. When those times come, look to God's word. And he says, my grace is sufficient for you. It's all about his glory. It's not about us. He doesn't need us. Our goal, man's chief end, is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. We should not mind being small, being weak, because God can use us to glorify his name. It is truly at those times when we are at our weakest that God is the most glorified. Think of Job. The devil goes to God and says, that guy Job, the only reason he worships you and glorifies you is because of all that he has. If you take away all of that, he'll curse you. Well, God let the devil take away everything from Job. When Job was covered in dust and ashes, scraping at boils, having lost everything, he still did not curse God, still worshiped him. Yes, God had a work to do in Job, but Job was faithful. It didn't matter whether he was the richest man in the world or the poorest man. Then what was the devil? Did the devil have left to say to God at that point? God was glorified. The devil was proven a fool. Job proved God's faithfulness and the truth of the promise, my grace is sufficient for you. This brings us to the final phrase of this verse, therefore, Most gladly, I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Those times of greatest trial often lead to a much greater awareness of our need and a much greater dependence on God. Such times bring us right back that place where he first found us, where we had recognized our desperate condition. We had fallen at the foot of the cross because that was the only place we had left to go. So when those times of trial come, that leave us acutely aware of how weak and frail we are, we fall at the foot of the cross. we are back to where we should always be. The Bible says, pray without ceasing. It is times like these that lead to that being our reality, day by day, hour by hour. We are so overwhelmed with a trial that we can barely go for an hour without wondering how we'll make it through the next. And we are left to fall on our faces begging God for that strength to get through the next hour. The amazing thing about it is those times of great trial can also be the times of sweetest communion with our God. where we taste and experience promises such as my grace is sufficient for you in an acute and tangible way, that we are more aware of the wonder and love of our God than we usually are. I know that I personally have almost struggled in those times where it's almost like I love the closeness. And I almost don't want this to change. But yet I don't want this trial to continue. It will indeed be a wonderful thing. God calls us home. And even those highs that we've tasted on earth of our closeness with our Savior are so pale. We get to serve him and worship him perfectly. And there is no trial. As I've already noted, the reality is that it is only because of remaining pride and sin that we are not aware that this is our reality, whether we're going through trials or not, that we desperately need God's strength hour to hour. We need his grace day by day. We need to be trusting him and not ourselves. It's only because of self-confidence and pride that we are not at the foot of the cross every moment of every day. And it is indeed a mercy that God sees fit to give us times such as these, to bring us back and to remind us that he will not leave us orphaned again, that he keeps us, he fences us about, Philippians 4 says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Then verse seven, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard, will protect, that word is a fortress. our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. It is all through him. That being the case, let me conclude with this. You will go through trials, converted and unconverted. You will be faced with things you don't know what to do with that are so far out of your control you realize just how frail and weak you are as a human being. What we have spoken of today, though, is a wonderful promise for those who are servants of Jesus Christ. It says, my grace is sufficient for you. but it is not for those who are rebels against him. And this underscores again the foolishness, foolishness of remaining unrepentant, unbelieving, rejecting Jesus Christ. Why would you choose Put yourself on the throne when you are so weak and frail, when there is such a loving God who offers you salvation through Jesus Christ. Who will you turn to in this world that can say my grace is sufficient for you? What will you turn to that will provide a peace that surpasses all understanding? There is no other source. There is no other option. This is why we see the world coming apart at its seams. Those who have it all, think about celebrities, think about others who seem to have everything the world could offer. They find out, just like Solomon said, it's all vanity. Hear the words of our Savior in Matthew 11. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and lowly at heart. You will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy. and my burden is light. Let us pray. Our dear Heavenly Father, how thankful we are that we can come before you as your sons and call you father. What a wonder it is that the holy God would save sinful men. You didn't just save us and leave us, but our God, you provide for us every day, every hour. God, you are faithful to us and you pour out your grace upon us even when we do not seek it. What a wonderful thing this is and what a wonderful thing that you and your goodness to us provided your word where you have promised that you will pour out your love and your grace upon us. and that when we come to the valley of the shadow of death, when we come to those greatest trials we face in our life, we can open your word, hear the words of our Heavenly Father and the blessed promises that you have made to us. We can cling to them, we can try them, we can prove your faithfulness the absolute certainty that you will do everything that you have promised to your people. And then our Lord, that you will be glorified for an unbelieving world. God, we have experienced those times where we are very acutely aware of our need for you. Our Lord, let us be much more mindful day by day of our great need, that it is you who provides the strength to do even the smallest of tasks. Thank you for this day. Thank you for your word, for the fellowship that we have had. Lord, we pray your blessing on all that we have said and done this day. Pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.