The Gift - 1

The Gift - 1

Subject – Recognizing God’s Gifts in Our Lives

By Rick Welborne

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NKJV)
⁷  And 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.
⁸  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
⁹  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.
¹⁰  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.

--This portion of Scripture will be referred to quite a bit because this is the text for this sermon. We love Paul’s teaching (most of the time) until he talks about suffering.

--I have told you this many times but let me say it again. I personally heard a famous preacher say, “If Paul would have had the revelation I have, he wouldn’t have had to suffer.”

--I guess he was saying Paul did not have a close enough understanding and relationship with God to be able to confess his problems away like many try to do today. Paul’s calling from Jesus:

Acts 9:15-16 (NKJV) ¹⁵  But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
¹⁶  For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake."

1. Suffering 

--Unfortunately, because of so much prosperity and blessings, we do not want to hear anything about a gospel of suffering. Remember Paul’s list in our text:

¹⁰ 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.

--Early in the morning all these verses kept coming to my mind about suffering for Christ and how that was connected to our relationship with Him.

--I thought about poor Job who suffered the above list and probably even more. And how he looked at what he was going through. All in one day:

--Job got news the Sabeans raided and took away his donkeys and oxen and killed his servants. While this guy was still speaking another came…fire came from heaven and killed your sheep and servants.

--While that guy was speaking, another servant came and said the Chaldeans raided and took away your camels and killed your servants. All this represented his great wealth.

--Now it’s going to hit close to home. While the last guy was speaking another servant came and said your sons and daughters were eating and drinking and a great wind blew the house down. All dead.

Job 1:20-22 (NKJV)
²⁰  Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.
²¹  And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."
²²  In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. 

--Job humbled himself before God (tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell to the ground) and did what? He worshiped. These gifts came from God and now they have been taken away. 

--Blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. What? How is that even possible. It was not over; his body was covered with boils from head to toe. 

--Our American version of Christianity could not have handled this kind of adversity and infirmity. I’ll just quit church if that is how God is going to treat me. Listen again to Paul:

2. Knowing Christ Better

Philippians 3:8-11 (NKJV)
⁸  Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ
⁹  and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;
¹⁰  that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
¹¹  if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

--Paul was a wealthy Pharisee with influence and power. He lost it all so he could have Christ. He wanted to know Christ and experience power. He also wanted the fellowship of His suffering. What?

--Let me go back to our title…the gift. Paul wanted to have a relationship with Christ and he also wanted to identify with Him in His suffering. Jesus was definitely a gift. The greatest!

John 3:16-17 (NKJV)
¹⁶  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
¹⁷  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

--Do you see it and comprehend it? God loved us so much He gave. God gave us the gift of Jesus Christ. Someone should praise the Lord for this great gift.

--But understand this, this gift did not come without suffering. He came to His own but His own did not receive Him. Matter of fact, they crucified Him. Prophecy about Jesus:

Isaiah 53:3-6 (NLT2)
³  He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
⁴  Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
⁵  But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
⁶  All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all. 

--Yes, Jesus was a gift to a lost world but He was also obedient to the Father, He had to suffer a terrible death. But what was Jesus’ attitude toward His suffering?

Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV)
²  looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

--If Jesus looked at His sufferings as joy, how should we look at what God allows in our lives…in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses? Paul said I take pleasure.

James 1:2-4 (NLT2)
²  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
³  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
⁴  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 

Quote – Between the promise and the prize, there is a process.

--Paul says we are to count it as an opportunity for great joy. Sadly, we don’t. Back to our text:

3. The Gift

2 Corinthians 12:7 (NKJV) ⁷ And 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. 

Barnes' Notes on the New Testament. God was pleased to give me this thorn. The word which Paul uses is worthy of special notice. It is that this "thorn in the flesh" was given to him, implying that it was a favor. He does not complain of it; he does not say it was sent in cruelty; he does not even speak of it as an affliction; he speaks of it as a gift, as any man would of a favor that had been bestowed. Paul had so clear a view of the benefits which resulted from it, that he regarded it as a favor, as Christians should every trial. 

--Pastor, are you saying that the list Paul gave should be viewed as a gift from God? Infirmities (physical and emotional), reproaches (criticisms), need (lack), persecutions, and distresses (sorrows)?

--Let’s look at a few benefits from our text that would lead us to believe it was a gift.

A. It was given lest I be exalted above measure. Learning humility. An amazing gift.

--When we have a cross-less Christianity we begin to think we are all that. Pride seeps in.

B. It was given to teach me dependence on the grace of God. A valuable gift.

--My grace is sufficient for you. We have all we need in Christ.

C. It was given to make me stronger. Maturity in Christ is such a wonderful gift.

--My weakness has a way of teaching me Who is Lord and who is the servant.

D. It was given to me to teach me to take pleasure in suffering for Christ. Joy is a priceless gift.

Romans 8:18 (KJV) ¹⁸ For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

--Maybe what you are facing now, maybe the latest diagnosis from the doctor, maybe the persecution at work, or the turmoil at home is not a curse but a gift from God. 

James 1:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.