Okay. Well, I'm delighted to be here. It's a great joy and pleasure to be with you. I'm here with David Malam, a great friend of mine and one of the elders from our church, which meets at Amy and Parr Chapel. So together, we bring with us the greetings, the love of your brothers and sisters. the church that meets at Amien Park Chapel in Twickenham, that's in southwest London. Now today, Twickenham has been invaded by the Americans. In Twickenham, there's a big 90,000 stadium and probably going on even now, there's an NFL game, LA Rams, the New York Giants. So, I'm afraid the Americans have brought the roads around Twickenham to a standstill. It's my first time in the States. I've only so far been to Michigan but my first impressions are that the States is big and it's beautiful. It's been wonderful to spend time with your pastor. He's preached at our church several times, he's been to my house several times and when those occasions have happened we've had good fellowship and friendship and we've loved his preaching. We've loved the man for his friendship his warmth and we've loved him for pressing Christ onto our hearts and of these last few days we've spent some very special very happy time together with your pastor and with Mary as well and spending time with him he reminds me of Paul's words about Timothy to the Philippians this is what Paul says He says, I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly that I also may be encouraged when I know your state for I have no one like minded who will sincerely care for your state for all seek their own not the things which are of Christ Jesus. Paul writes to the Philippians and he says I have no one like Timothy because everyone else their first thought is themselves but when it comes to Timothy his first thought is Christ Jesus therefore I know he will care for you says Paul as I will care for you well it seems to me that's your pastor his first thought is Christ Jesus and we've enjoyed such sweet fellowship over these last few days and he's ministered very much to my own soul well we're here to hear God's Word I wonder if you'd turn with me if you have a Bible to the the reading which we had I think it's a page was a page 1334 I have a question and is this, what is a successful church look like? What is a successful Christian look like? How do I know if I'm making a success of the Christian life? As you serve the Lord, a Berean Baptist, how do you measure if you are a success or not? Is it numbers? Young people? Resources? Whether or not you're respected? What does, in biblical terms, what does success look like? Now in Corinth, success was admired and this mindset has entered the church. So when certain men turned up claiming to be apostles and they projected an image of power and strength and success well the Corinthians were wowed and they thought with men like these to lead us we will become a successful church and of course compared to these Christian celebrities Paul looked weak, he was old, unimpressive unsuccessful in fact Paul looked a failure and if he's well if he is an apostle well these men they're super apostles but the danger to the church is very real because these men are imposters they preach another Jesus they use the name Jesus but they pack it with a different meaning it's the same name but a different gospel so how does Paul deal with the challenge of these men Well, they loved to boast in their success. Well, says Paul, and it's against my better judgment, I too will boast. But the Corinthians have never heard boasting like this. So what we'll do is we'll go through the passage quite briskly. And then we will draw the lesson. So have that passage open in front of you if you can. And we're stepping in halfway through Paul's argument. And we're picking up at verse 23. Speaking of these super apostles, these men who have taken over the leadership of the church. Are they ministers of Christ? Speakers are full. I am more. in labors more abundant." Now he's got the attention of the Corinthians. He says, Paul, I can go one better than these super apostles. I can imagine the Corinthians as they're listening to this letter thinking to themselves, he can go one better. What's he going to say? Is it going to be miraculous victories? Healing ministries? Massive churches? The best villa in Achaia? What are you going to say, Paul? Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool, I am more, I can go better than them, in labours more abundant. Says the Apostle, no one has worked as hard or as fruitfully as me. Come on then Paul, tell us of your successes. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool, I am more, in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often from the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned." Can you see the Corinthians looking at each other? What sort of boasting is this? It says, Paul, when I preached there were no adoring crowds In fact, they locked me up more times than I can remember. When I preached, the police were called. I was arrested, flogged, chased out of town. It's hardly a picture of success. Once, when I preached, the adoring crowds picked up stones to stone me. Gideon Ewsley was a great preacher of the gospel in Ireland in the 18th century and when he came to a town to preach he would always, if he could, preach with his back to a shop window. Why? Well, with your back to a window the crowds are less likely to throw stones at you. Many years ago I was on a church mission and I stayed with an elderly lady and she'd been a missionary with her husband in Colombia in the 1920s and the 1930s and she said when they were there they used to preach the gospel and very often the people would pick up stones to throw at her husband as he preached and they used to, as they travelled around, she used to say they sometimes used to come to an area and they used to look at the size of the stones And if there were good stones to throw, she used to say to her husband with a degree of irony, this is a good place to preach the gospel. Well, okay, Paul, you've had some hard times. They picked up stones to stone you. We understand that. But Paul, as you traveled around, didn't the Lord send his angel before you? It wasn't quite like that, verse 25. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I've been in the deep. Sometimes I turn up late for meetings. Why? Because the car broke down? No, because I've been shipwrecked. And my best laid plans fell to pieces. In fact, since I've been serving the Lord I've never felt safe, verse 26, in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren. There's always somebody after me. I'm hated wherever I go. My life seems to be teetering on the brink of disaster. I'm not safe anywhere and if I survive all that and collapse exhausted I feel I just can't take anymore well then somebody stabs me in the back verse 26 imperils among false brethren and Paul's success story just goes on verse 27 in weariness and toil in sleeplessness often says Paul, sometimes I didn't have the support of the churches so I had to toil I had to get a job and work hard with my hands. Think of it, the great Apostle Paul taking a badly paid job which left him worn out, worn down. Do you think God can use tired, worn out, worn down people? in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. There'd be times when Paul would turn up on your doorstep cold, hungry, exhausted, half-naked. To all appearances a failure. As if that wasn't enough, this great catalogue of trials and troubles what really stresses me says Paul verse 28 is my deep concern for all the churches I'm constantly on edge waiting for news fretting over my churches and at times it's unbearable especially verse 29 when God's people are made to stumble a pastor wrote to Thomas Boston he complained he said I only have 28 people in my church Boston wrote back I think you'll find that's enough to account for on the day of judgment most pastors I know are on the edge they look at their sheep some are not listening some are wandering, some are causing trouble, and it eats you up. That's just one church. God says, Paul, I have to think of all, all the churches. Living for Christ, the Christian life is killing Him. Have you ever felt like that? well you can see the Corinthians there reading this letter looking at each other and they're thinking to themselves what sort of boasting is this it doesn't even begin to compare with the success of these super apostles exactly says Paul verse 30 if I must boast I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity my weakness let them talk about their success I will call attention says the Apostle to my failures he's really opening himself up isn't he not hiding his struggles not hiding his heartaches and says Paul just one more thing verse 31 God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is blessed forever knows that I'm not lying building it up isn't he? Building it up. What's he going to say? What's he going to say next? In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison desiring to arrest me. Winding it up. I was shut up in Damascus. Oh Paul how did you escape? What did you do? Maybe the Lord sent an angel before you. Or did you blind the garrison with a display of power? Or maybe you just walked up to the gates and commanded them and with a word the gates flew open. Was it like that Paul? No. Verse 33, I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands. There's the Apostle bundled out of a window like a bag of washing. Paul the superhero crouching inside a basket Brothers and sisters, what does successful Christianity look like? Well, let's carry on. Because Paul now moves on to spiritual experiences. Chapter 12, verse 1. It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I don't know why I'm boasting, but here we go. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. You see these super apostles, these Christian celebrities, they boasted in their experiences of God. Maybe they had the Corinthians on the edge of their seats with their wonderful heavenly experiences. Paul says, there's nothing to be gained but I'm gonna boast. I'm gonna boast about my spiritual experiences. I wonder if Paul will have them on the edge of their seats. Now if you look, he says in verses 2 to 4, he says, I know a man. Who is this man? Well, he's talking about himself. He's the man. But he keeps it like that, he's talking about this man in the third person, in case it sounds like he's drawing attention to himself. He doesn't want to draw attention to himself, so he talks about this this man in the third person, but it's really Paul. But I don't want to draw attention to myself. Because as Paul verse 6 he says, I don't want anyone to think of me above what he sees or hears from me. Let's keep it like that, let's talk about this man in case you think I'm somebody special. I don't want you to think of me, Paul, as somebody special. All I want you to see is someone who's weak, needy, ordinary and vulnerable. lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me." Okay, Paul, let's hear about your spiritual experiences, your visions, what happened? What's your experience? Well, verses 2 to 4, he says, I was caught up to heaven itself. And as I was in heaven, I heard them talking. I heard them speaking in heaven. Oh Paul, what did you hear? Verse 4, I heard, I heard things that I can't talk about. What? Verse 4, inexpressible words which is not lawful for a man to utter. You've been to heaven, you've heard them talking and you can't even talk about it? alright Paul, but the experience must have changed you maybe it thrust you to new heights of spirituality maybe it gave you a special sort of strength and power and victory in your ministry. I said Paul it changed me alright. Verse 7 lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations. A thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." Says Paul, this super spiritual experience has left me weaker. I may have been lifted up to heaven but I've been brought down to earth with a bump. Heavenly experiences have been replaced with satanic beatings. A thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan. Have you ever had a thorn in the flesh? Could you run? Could you jump? Could you move freely? It slows you down, doesn't it? To a painful limp. far from this experience leaving Paul feeling strong this great spiritual experience has left him feeling weak and vulnerable a thorn in the flesh what was it? well we don't know do we? but it's interesting in the Old Testament the Canaanites were a thorn in the flesh of Israel so maybe this thorn in the flesh maybe it was a Canaanite not a something but a someone a someone making Paul's life a misery lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations a thorn in the flesh was given to me a messenger of Satan to buffet me says Paul I've never felt so weak Yes, but Paul, didn't you pray? Didn't you pray that God would take it away? Yes, verse 8, concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And the Lord heard you, yes? And granted you victory? No. He said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul, you are more useful to me weak, in pain, in trouble, limping along. You're more useful to me like that. Because you will keep looking to me. Keep looking to me for help. You will keep depending upon me for grace. and in that way if there is any blessing or success in your ministry well of course it won't be down to you will it Paul it won't be your doing says the Lord it will be my doing and every blessing every success won't be traced to Paul it will be traced back to the Lord. My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." And even as we talk about that, it's not a sudden burst of power and strength. Now I feel the power of heaven. On the contrary, God's strength will be at work through Paul's weakness. He won't stop feeling weak Therefore, verse 9, 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. So brothers and sisters, did you hear that? Did you really hear that? What was the secret of Paul's success? Weakness, weakness, weakness. For when I am weak, then I am strong. The Apostle exhausted and yet the strength to preach and thousands converted distracted by this thorn in the flesh maybe he turned up and he just wasn't prepared to speak and his mind was full of the troubles this thorn was giving him and yet as he preached God came down and the warfare is killing him And yet he has the strength to plant a chain of churches. He's at his wits end. Yet the strength to write half the New Testament. A weakling. And yet the strength to stand before kings and emperors. This small, weak, vulnerable man. In his own words in verse 11 he calls himself a nothing. but as he looked to Jesus Christ in all his need so the power of Christ was upon him so that when the blessing came as the blessing did come overflowing wonderful blessing it wasn't Paul's doing it was Christ and that way he gets all the glory so brothers and sisters let's draw the lesson What does a successful church look like? What does a successful Christian look like? Like these super apostles? Strong, dynamic, powerful, going from triumph to triumph? No. A successful church from the leadership down looks like Paul. weak, vulnerable, rejected, suffering. 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. Christian Friends, when I'm weak, unbroken, I feel I can't go on, I just can't. And the problems that I face are bigger than me. It's when I'm afraid and fragile. Maybe I feel a servant of the Lord is killing me. It's then you see that I depend upon Jesus as I've never depended upon him before. And it's then that the power of Christ is upon me. It's then that His resurrection life raises me, as it were, from the dead and strengthens me so that if there is any blessing, it can't be my doing, can it? It's Him. It's His doing. And that way He gets all the glory. Now think of it, to change the world would you choose Peter, Andrew, James and John? Would you choose men like that? Uneducated fishermen who've seen nothing, know nothing. Would you choose those men? Where did they get the strength from? Or to be the mother of Messiah, would you choose a teenage peasant girl? Would you? Where did she get the strength from? Or to confound the Bible experts in Jerusalem. What sort of person do you need? Well, they need to be media savvy, well-connected, maybe they need to have a doctorate in theology. But not as we read in John 9, a new convert who's been blind from birth and yet he confounds the Bible experts in Jerusalem. Where did he get the wisdom from? and we could go on, couldn't we? Because that's God's way. God uses broken pastors, broken Christians, broken churches. Think of some of our heroes. Martin Luther got depressed. John Calvin, he was a refugee. He was hedged in on every side by pressures, trouble, conflict, all his children died in infancy, he suffered migraines, a host of... in fact, if you look at the illnesses he suffered from, it makes you feel ill just reading the list. He passed a kidney stone the size of a hazelnut. Was he some sort of machine? No, he was a broken man on whom the power of Christ rested. John Wesley, his marriage was a disaster. Charles Spurgeon, perhaps the greatest preacher in the English language there has ever been. Sunday attendance of 5,000. For the last 20 years of his ministry, he spent a third of the time out of the pulpit through ill health. Or the French pastor, Adolphe Monod, great preacher, preached to hundreds But today we remember him for the words that he spoke in his dying months. A little book, Adolf Mono's Farewell. And there he is dying of cancer, lying on his bed. He can't speak for more than five to ten minutes. He hasn't got enough strength to speak anymore. But here's this man on the brink of eternity speaking in a hushed voice and someone is there to write it down. These little sermonettes But as he stands on the brink of eternity, he sees things with a clarity that he's never seen before. And those messages spoken in such weakness, they've gone out round the world. I think of my friend, Pastor Jacob, serving the Lord in Sri Lanka. From nothing, in 26 years there are now 50 or so churches. He's seen thousands saved and all against the background of a horrendous civil war and the tsunami and persecution. He's seen 20 times more blessing than most English pastors will see in a lifetime. But you know he's had 20 times the trouble He's had weakness, insults, hardships, persecution, calamities. He's had more trouble than any pastor I know, and yet more blessing. They go hand-in-hand, don't they? For when I am weak, then I am strong. Success comes through weakness. So Christian friend, what have you? Are you troubled? Vulnerable? Worn out? Maybe this morning you're distressed and you're sick and you're in constant pain. Are you broken and in need? Maybe you're unappreciated and rejected. There are people who label you a failure. Are you poorly paid? Are you humiliated? Do they attack your service for the Lord? Do your plans somehow, they always seem to go wrong? And you feel at times you're just living on the edge. And if you're in leadership maybe you find yourself constantly that concern for the church, the worry over God's people and it tears you up on the inside. At times you look at the needs and the difficulties and the problems and how much there is to do and it's overwhelming. It's just too much. Do you look ordinary? Are you, in the words of Paul, a nothing? Maybe this morning there's a messenger of Satan. There's someone who's making your life a misery. They dog your steps. You can't get away from them and somehow they just seem to follow you. Or maybe it's a something. Depression. The black dog that's always somewhere in the house. Or illness. Or family sorrows. Or maybe it's your children. It's your children that are breaking your heart. maybe you feel I'd be so much more useful, I could do so much more for the Lord if it wasn't for this thorn in the flesh and you are just limping along in the Christian life when you feel I could be running and you're just having to take one weary painful step after another and just one day at a time is enough and you've asked the Lord, you've pleaded with the Lord you've prayed to the Lord, you've not stopped praying to the Lord and there's been no change maybe this morning you wonder how am I going to get through this coming week is your service for Jesus characterized by weakness weakness weakness and brother and sister recognize nothing's gone wrong for where there is weakness God is at work Maybe you see your weakness as a problem to be solved. Maybe God is saying, no I've got you exactly where I want you. You're just the person I can use. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Maybe you feel ashamed of your weakness. You hide it. You feel all the time you're letting people down, maybe because that you keep people at a distance. But you're letting nobody down, least of all the Lord. Anyway, who do people go to when they're in trouble? They go to someone who understands, don't they? Maybe this weakness equips you perfectly. to be that one who can help others in their distresses, in their difficulties. Maybe you're ashamed of the weaknesses of your brothers and sisters. You know, you look sideways and you look at them and you think, well they're nothing special. You look at them and think, what can God do with them? Maybe there's someone, because in the language of verse 10 they're needy, so needy and they're weak and they're always in distress maybe you find constant fault with them. Well, be careful. What would you have made of Paul? He used to be called Saul. He was the pinup boy of Judaism. He was head and shoulders above the rest. but after his conversion he styled himself Paul, just means the little man, the nobody, the nothing. What would you make of Paul? He's a bachelor, that writes him off in some people's eyes straight away, he's small, his preachings say the Corinthians is hopeless, he's a weakling, they say in chapter 10 verse 10 his letters are for his letters they say are weighty and powerful but his bodily presence when he's actually there with you is weak and his speech is contemptible doesn't look too impressive does he? I wonder how many today would travel any distance to hear him preach and Paul doesn't enjoy the confidence of the churches you should hear some of the things they say about him he falls out with beloved Barnabas, how can you do that? Barnabas, the son of encouragement, everybody loves Barnabas but he falls out with Paul he undermines the old traditions and wherever Paul goes there seems to be trouble, trouble, trouble maybe, maybe it's Paul who's the problem, you know you go to a restaurant with some people and somehow it always ends up with argy-bargy well maybe that's Paul, maybe he's the problem he doesn't turn up when he says he will in Troas 2 Corinthians 2 he walks away from an open door for the gospel his plans get overruled maybe looking at this well maybe the reason why Paul has so much trouble is he's not walking very closely with the Lord maybe that would be the conclusion you could draw. No wonder at the end of Paul's life the believers in Rome keep their distance from him. I think if we looked at his weakness we could make a very good case against Paul couldn't we? but then says the Apostle all those things which you think disqualify me put them on my resume put them there for when I am weak then I am strong those are my qualifications that's what an authentic servant of Jesus Christ looks like so those weaknesses which you look down upon in others maybe they're the very things which qualify them for the Lord's service. Maybe, Christian friends, you're just worn out trying to keep up with the success of others. You see other Christians around you, they look so successful. You're just worn out, just trying to keep up. Just trying to hide your own weaknesses. Hiding your own failures. But you see, if this word tells us anything, what does it tell us? What makes our service for the Lord a success is weakness. Weakness. For when I am weak, then I am strong. So you're limping along? Feel the Christian life's killing you? aware of needs, distresses, troubles, wherever you go, somebody dogging your steps? Well, brother, sister, keep going, but as you go, go in dependence upon the Lord. Like Paul, lean on him. I haven't got a problem to be solved. I need to walk with the Lord. dare I say this, look at Paul's language, he says, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs. He says, I boast in my weakness. Dare I say this, at Berean Baptist Church, love your weakness. You see, if we know what to do, and we have the resources to do it, well, we don't need the Lord, do we? but if we know that in our own strength we can't do it I can't even give a cup of cold water in his name as I should left to myself if we know in Paul's words we're the scum of the earth that we're nothings, we're earthen vessels that can be cracked and broken in a moment perfect What a wonderful arena for God then to display His power and His glory. And when He does, well it's not you, is it? It can't be your doing, it's His doing. And in that way, God gets all the glory. So we go forward in the Christian life in weakness. We go on in dependence. We lean on the Lord. We walk with the Lord. We therefore meet to pray to spread our helplessness before Him. Believing that His grace is sufficient. Knowing that His strength is made perfect in my situation, in my weakness. Knowing that when I'm weak, it's then that the power of the risen Christ rests upon us. So when the blessing comes, it can only be traced to one point. It's the Lord. It's His doing. And in that way, He gets all the glory. Brothers and sisters, God uses broken pastors, broken Christians, broken churches. Maybe until we're broken, how can the fullness of His blessing come? You see, we follow a crucified Christ. Before the glory, the suffering. Before the crown, the cross. So if you want to make a success of the Christian life, To be a successful believer, a successful church, you can expect your life to look like Christ's. To be cross-shaped. And that means, verse 10, infirmity, reproach, needs, persecution, distress, weakness. That's the deal. That's what the Christ-like life looks like. That's the road to spiritual success. And look at the cross. Look at our Jesus. Did you ever see such weakness? One suffering, bleeding, broken man, dying alone under the curse of God. And yet it was the greatest victory of all. It was the triumph of the ages. Sin condemned. Death executed. Satan defeated. His people redeemed. The kingdom of God coming with power. Look at what God has done through weakness and what God will do. through those who in weakness depend upon Him. For where there is weakness, God is at work. Let's pray. Our God, our Father, we thank you for your word. We love the way that Paul boasts and pulls the rug from underneath the Corinthians. Those things they set such a store upon amount to nothing. Those things which they despise are the very things that you use to bring glory to your name. Now, O God, we live in a world where we're surrounded by power and success and things which are pressed upon us as being the way, but we thank you that your way turns the world on its head. We thank you for the great things that you have done through weakness. We thank you for the cross. We thank you that the theme of heaven will be the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will praise and adore the Lamb who was slain. Our God, help us to understand the lesson. Lord, help us by your Holy Spirit, through the Word, to understand, Lord, those things of which we're ashamed, those things which we so often feel disqualifies, are the very things, Lord God. that you will use to bring glory to your name. Help us, Lord, as we think through these things, as we reread the passage, as we work it out in our lives. Be the one to guide us and lead us and direct us. And Lord, we don't need more weakness. We are overwhelmingly weak, but Lord, we do need to know more of that grace, and more of that help, and more of that power, and more of that strength, and more of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. revealing himself in our weakness and bringing glory to his name oh our God we gladly therefore lay ourselves upon the altar here we are do with us whatever you will only that Lord in our weakness Christ might be magnified for these things we ask in Jesus name Amen