 The title of our text this morning, or the title of our sermon, is God's power displayed. God's power displayed, we are in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 7 through 15. The text before us this morning, 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 7 through 15, is the first of what are commonly called four hardship lists in this second canonical letter of Paul to the church at Corinth. It is no mystery that Paul suffered great hardship in his ministry for the Lord. He says in verse 8, we are hard pressed on every side yet not crushed. We are perplexed but not in despair. We're persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. In chapter 6 verse 4, Paul mentions tribulations, needs, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tummels, labors, sleeplessness, similar to the pairing of grief and grace that we see in verses 8 and 9. Paul continues in chapter 6 verse 9, as dying and behold we live, as chastened and yet not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things. Chapter 11 of this text, chapter 11 of our letter here and the text that has become very familiar to us, five times Paul from the Jews he received 40 stripes minus one, three times Paul beaten with rods, one stone left for dead, shipwrecked three times, left floating a day and the night in the ocean by himself, virtually continuous peril, weariness, toil, sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, fasting, cold, nakedness and always, always a deep abiding emotional and mental drain concerning all the churches. In the midst of Paul, the false teachers in Corinth point to Paul's suffering as inarguable evidence that Paul's ministry is cursed by God, that Paul himself has been abandoned by God and that very same point that they raised to attack Paul's ministry, Paul raises that point to authenticate his ministry. Paul says, my suffering affirms me as a messenger of God as my ministry being from God. My suffering validates my ministry. God's grace, Paul says, is seen in my perseverance, God's power, his strength is seen in my weakness. So far from being an indication that Paul has been abandoned by God, Paul's suffering then is a beautiful and a bittersweet display of God's power through Paul, God's power through Paul's ministry, persecuted but never forsaken, right, dying and behold, we live sorrowful and yet always rejoicing. So how did Paul get there, right? How did he get to that attitude, that frame of mind, right? That view of ministry, that view of serving Christ, that view of trials. How did he get to that view of hardship and affliction? It's not empty emotionalism on the part of Paul, right? It's not some hollow, meaningless, Pollyanna kind of optimism. These statements of Paul reflect deep, abiding, persevering, strong, mature faith. That heart attitude is owned by someone who has been through it, so to speak, right? People's made life and death decisions by faith. Someone who has trusted God through exceedingly difficult circumstances and the Lord has delivered him through it, right? That heart attitude leads to someone who is even willing to give up life or limb for the cause of Christ. Gladly will spend and be spent for him. How did Paul get there? Well, I think that Paul would say in the scripture that Paul learned that, that came through knowledge, through experience. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 8, wrestling with a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan given to Buffett Paul, Paul pleading then with the Lord to remove it, had to learn the lesson that his grace, God's grace is sufficient and that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. Paul learned that through that experience. A hard lesson, a hard lesson, but a sweet lesson, amen? Standing in the grace of that lesson, Paul would say, therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities. That's amazing, right? I take pleasure in reproaches, he says, in needs, in persecutions. I take pleasure in distresses for Christ's sake. How do you get to that point, Paul? That heart attitude, that frame of mind, right? That kind of faith. Paul says, from when I am weak, that's when I'm strong. Paul learned to take pleasure in infirmities, learned to take pleasure in reproaches and needs. Paul said in Philippians chapter 4 verse 11, I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. Think about that statement for a moment and think about what Paul has been through. I know, Paul says, I know how to be a base. I know how to abound everywhere and in all things. This is not warrantless boasting, prideful boasting on a part of Paul. Paul says everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Do we need to learn how to be content? Yeah, you better believe it. Do we need to learn how to be a base? How to abound? Do we need to learn what it means to be hungry? Venture to say that not many of us in this room, of anyone who has really been tested in that, both to abound and to suffer need. That's what informs Paul's statement in Philippians chapter 4, 13, where he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Can we honestly say this morning with a clear conscience before God that we have learned with Paul in whatever state that we are to be content, to be content in whatever state that we are in, to have that kind of faith, that kind of sweet dependence, right? That's a tender place, a sweet place. Sometimes a bitter place, but it's bitter sweet, you understand, right? Steadfast, immovable, unwavering, persevering joy, even in the midst of difficulty, hard trial, unwavering, determined, resolved, obedient devotion. Where did Paul learn this? Well, the Word of God is Paul's textbook. The Spirit of God is Paul's teacher. When Paul is enrolled in the school of hard knocks, mature faith forged in the crucible of suffering, bitter sweet, isn't it? At the same time, you want to learn those lessons, right? I want to be more like Christ. To be more like Christ, you've got to suffer like Christ. Second Corinthians chapter 4, verses 7 through 15, doesn't reflect the attitude of someone who merely looked into the face of his circumstance with a grit your teeth and bear it kind of attitude or a fearful attitude, not willing to face them, not willing to go through it, who dreaded his circumstances. Paul didn't merely endure affliction. Paul embraced affliction. Paul welcomed affliction. That's the only way that he could say, I take pleasure in infirmities. I take pleasure in reproaches, needs, persecutions, and distresses. For Christ's sake. He welcomed whatever difficulty came his way. He boasted, so to speak, in his trials, in his afflictions, and in his weakness. Why? Why? We said it's for Christ's sake. Why? Because in each trial that came his way, in every difficult circumstance, Paul saw himself as an instrument through which the Lord Jesus Christ would be glorified in his weakness. Glorified in the trial. Paul obviously learned that glorifying Christ would not come through his own strength, would not come through his own power, would not come through his own ability to persevere through difficulty or persevere through trial. It's not going to come through his own wisdom or his own eloquence or his own mastery at getting himself at a tight spot, right? His own cunning or cleverness and avoiding trials and avoiding problems that glorifying Christ would come through his weakness. Paul must decrease. Christ must increase. So not just enduring affliction, but embracing affliction. And not just grin and bear it, embrace, enduring of weakness or difficulty, but embracing weakness, embracing difficulty. It all came with a purpose. Paul would say in chapter 12 verse 9, I boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. He embraced his weakness so that the power of Christ might rest upon him. If he boasted in his strength, no power of Christ. If he boasted in his own abilities, his own pride, his own efforts, no power of Christ, he boasted rather in his weakness. Embrace his weakness. Embrace his infirmity that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Chapter 4, verse 7, we are weak earthen vessels so that the surpassing excellence, the surpassing excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. And not of us. We are weak. We are frail. We are fearful. There's no one here. No one here that has not at some point been plagued by doubts, been plagued by discouragement, has faced temptation to despair. We're often, we're often tempted to compromise, right? Often tempted to throw in the towel, take the easy way out. We, don't we, we're being honest with ourselves, with a clear conscience before God. We often know the right thing to do and yet fail to do it. Sometimes not merely fail to do it, resolve in our hearts not to do it. Because we are weak, we're frail, we're fearful, plagued by doubts. We have no strength, no strength in and of ourselves. We have no wisdom, no wisdom apart from that which comes from above. We have nothing that has not been given to us and apart from him we can do nothing. There are two things that you can do. Two things that you can do. You can succumb to your weakness, give in to your fear, give in to your doubts, give yourself over to discouragement, and wallow in your own tears. Hold on to the reins of your life as if you rule your own life yourself. You can wallow in faithlessness and unbelief. You can know the right thing to do and yet refuse to do it, which James says is sin and incur the judgment of God. You can do all of that or, or you can acknowledge before God that you are an earthen vessel, a clay pot. And as Paul did, as Paul did, you can embrace your weakness. You can embrace your infirmities and step out in faith in Christ and obey the Lord. You can abandon self-reliance. You can cast yourself upon Him and take joy doing it knowing that you are glorifying the Lord Christ. You can exercise faith in dependence upon God. You can determine and resolve within your heart and mind that no matter what, you will spend and be spent for His sake. You can rejoice in the display of God's power through your work knowing that you are weak. You can treasure that which has been entrusted to you as precious. You can engage in sacrificial ministry. You can preach the gospel. You can go outside the camp to Him, bearing His reproach. And when you do, when you do, you know too, don't you, that you follow the pattern laid down by the Lord Jesus Christ who is crucified for you, who is crucified for you. You fill up in your flesh, as Paul said, what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. And God's power is displayed in your weakness and through your weakness, God is glorified. God is glorified. Paul presents the biblical principle that supports this. He presents that biblical principle in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 7, look at verse 7 with me. Paul says, but, but we have this treasure in earth and vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. You know that little contracting conjunction, but at the beginning of verse 7 is so important. Don't pass those little words up, right? Paul has just been explaining, just been explaining what a glorious ministry that we've been given. If you're in Christ, you've been saved to ministry, right? You've been given the ministry of reconciliation. You've been saved to serve, so to speak. We've been given a glorious ministry and that is the ministry of the new covenant. God says, Ezekiel chapter 36, verse 25, God says, I'm going to cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh. I will give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. All of God, right? All of grace as a glorious ministry. But God promises to do with the new covenant. With the new covenant, with the new covenant comes new birth. With the new covenant comes everlasting life from the dead, forgiveness from sins, right? The law written on our hearts, the indwelling Holy Spirit, the power to put off sin, power to put off the old man, the power to pursue holiness, the power to live for God. And specifically, this is referred to as this treasure in verse 7. This treasure, specifically in texts, is referring back to the light of verse 6. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. However, that light, if you consider that light in verse 6, that light virtually synonymous with and inseparable from the gospel. Inseparable from the spiritual sight that replaces our spiritual blindness in the preaching of the gospel and in God's gracious giving of new birth in him. Now that is, that is to put it as an understatement, right? That is an indescribable treasure, an indescribable treasure. But, says Paul, but there's the contrast, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Do you see the contrast? That invaluable, matchless, priceless treasure deposited with and trusted to clay pots, clay pots, not as much worthless as ordinary, common, unremarkable. Notice it's not bronze pots or iron pots, right? It's not an ornate, gilded golden chest with engravings on it and a pretty buckle. It's a clay pot. It's a clay pot, weak, frail, cracked, crumbling, common, perishable, perishable. You wouldn't even recycle a clay pot. It breaks, you toss it out, right? This is, this is the, this is the solo cup of the first century. You don't wash those, well maybe some of you wash that, you don't wash a paper plate. This is a paper plate of the first century. Who puts a paper plate in the dishwasher? Maybe some of you single college guys. I'm not talking to you right now. This is a paper plate of the first century. This is a description of the Christian, descriptive of the Christian. This is not your mama's fine china that you never broke out. Maybe once in your lifetime for that special dinner. You're not, you're not a porcelain vase or a porcelain vase. You're not a porcelain vase. You're not even a porcelain vase. Your mama said you were special. You're not special. You're not special. The clay pot, unremarkable, ordinary, common, cracked, frail, weak. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter one. 1 Corinthians chapter one, and look at verse 26. 1 Corinthians chapter one, verse 26. For you see your calling, brethren, don't you? Don't you see it? That not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. God has chosen in His infinite wisdom. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise. God has chosen what? The weak. The weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. The base, the common, the unimportant, the insignificant. He's chosen the base things of the world and the things which are despised. Those things which are counted as insignificant, right? Those things unworthy even to be acknowledged. Those things are despised. He's chosen those things which are despised, God has chosen, and the things which are not, the nobodies, to bring to nothing or to nullify the things that seemingly are. That no flesh, for the purpose, verse 29, that no flesh should glory in His presence. Flip the page. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter four. 1 Corinthians chapter four. Look there at verse nine. Verse nine. Where Paul says here, For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last as men condemned to death. For we have been made as spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak. Paul says this sarcastically, right? You are strong. You are distinguished. So the Corinthians thought. We are dishonored. Verse 11. To the present hour, we both hunger, and first we are poorly clothed, beaten, and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands, being reviled, we bless, being persecuted, we endure, being detained, we entreat. We have been made as the filth, the scum, the scum of this world, the off-scouring of all things until now. Back in 2 Corinthians chapter four, note the contrast with me, right? The container is ordinary, unremarkable, common, insignificant, weak, crumbling, but the contents, the contents are infinitely precious. The contents are a matchless treasure. You and I, every single Christian, right? Every single Christian has been entrusted, every last one of us, weak, frail, common, ordinary, unremarkable clay parts, every one of us, every last one of us, has been set apart for holy use. It's an amazing thought, isn't it? The discrepancy between the two. It's disproportionate, isn't it? And we have been given, we've been entrusted with a precious and privileged stewardship. An honor, a blessing. We've been entrusted with the gospel. We've been given the gospel. That's a horde to ourselves. We've been entrusted with a stewardship, the stewardship of the gospel. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians chapter two verse four, Paul says we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. Even so, knowing that, Paul says, we speak. We speak, why? Because we've been entrusted with this message that is to be shouted from the house pops, right? This message that is to be proclaimed. God entrusted us with the gospel. Even so, Paul says we speak. Not as pleasing men, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. We've been entrusted with an indescribable, priceless, invaluable, matchless treasure. Why would, why would such a matchless, inescribable, precious treasure be deposited with or entrusted to such weak, frail, ordinary, common, insignificant people? Well, there it is. 2 Corinthians chapter four verse seven. So that, so that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. That's so that there, or that speaks of divine purpose. Divine purpose, so that the excellence, the exceeding greatness, the preeminence, the surpassing glory of the power may be observably seen to be not of us, but of God, not of ourselves, but of God. What is that power there? What is the power that he's referencing? The power is the life-transforming power of the gospel, the life-transforming power of the gospel. Paul says in Romans chapter one verse 16, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek, power, God's power, life-transforming power. In the infinite and glorious wisdom of Almighty God, he has determined to entrust the priceless treasure of the gospel to weak insignificant earthen vessels so that when the miracle happens, so that when sinners are born again from death to life, when eyes are open, when sin is seen as exceedingly sinful, and when Christ as seen is as exceedingly precious, when hearts are transformed, when natures are changed, when desires are transformed and sanctified, when wretched rebels turn in saving, faith, loving and obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ, it will be abundantly clear that where that miraculous power takes place, we know exactly where it comes from. It doesn't come from us. It's not from men or man. God delights in using frail, earthen, common, crumbling vessels because God has determined to glorify himself in power to display his power in the transformation of a sinner and the salvation of a sinner. What a glorious... It's amazing, isn't it? It's amazing. When you are genuinely saved, when the Lord saved you, you know, you know you did. You have nothing to do with that. It's not in your strength, in your power. That is the power of God. Take your nature, your heart, your desires and to transform them from being a lover of sin fixated on your sin, making provision for your sin to then loving the Lord Jesus Christ, heart, soul, mind and strength. What a remarkable power. What a priceless treasure. Do you see your weakness as an obstacle to gospel ministry? Or do you see your weakness as suited to gospel ministry? God's power is displayed in your weakness. Sometimes we have a tendency to make excuses because of our weakness. We'll make excuses for why we don't obey. Make excuses for why we don't preach the gospel. We'll make excuses and we attempt to justify ourselves in doing that. You can't justify yourself for your sin. You can't justify yourself. Your heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. Deceitful above all things the Bible says. You will seek to justify yourself in your own sin. It's not what's being referred to here. You have weakness, fear, doubt, frailty. We are earthen vessels. God's power is displayed in our weakness. When you turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him by faith and turn from your sin, God supplies power there to help you turn from sin. In the same way, when you step out in faith to serve Him, God supplies the power. Paul asked the question, who makes us sufficient for these things? Who is adequate to this task? God is the one who makes us sufficient. It's God who supplies power in our weakness. In entrusting that priceless treasure to weak and perishable clay pots, God's power and therefore God's glory is preeminently displayed. God's power is displayed. God's power is displayed in four ways described through our texts. You'll find these points on the notes page in your worship folder. God's power is displayed in four ways through our texts. One, God's power is displayed in suffering verses 8 and 9. God's power displayed in suffering. Two, God's power displayed in life in life verses 10 through 12. Three, God's power displayed in faith. Power displayed in faith verses 13 and 14. Lastly, God's power displayed in love. Verse 15, God's power displayed in love. My hope, my prayer as we work through our texts is that the Spirit of God would graciously move his people, you and I, to embrace our weakness as Paul did. Embracing our weakness in Paul did, that we would abandon ourselves then in faith to the cause of Christ, that we would devote ourselves wholeheartedly to the preaching of the gospel as Paul did. Devote ourselves to ministering in the Lord's church as Paul did, that sinners would be saved, that God's power would be displayed, that the power of Christ might rest then upon us and that the Lord Jesus Christ would be glorified in our weakness. Considering our weakness, let's look at point one together. God's power displayed in suffering, beginning in verse 8. Paul says, we are hard pressed on every side yet not crushed. We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. Rather than invalidating his ministry, the suffering that Paul experienced is a mark of its genuineness. The suffering that Paul experienced is a mark of its authenticity. God's power is displayed in Paul's suffering. We see that in verses 8 through 9 through Paul's use of four pairs. In verse 8 and 9, four combinations, if you will, of pain and power. Four combinations of grief and grace. So let's look first at the pairs, and then let's look together at Paul's perspective. First the pairs, then the perspective. One, the pairs. Four pairs, beginning with in verse 8 there, hard pressed on every side yet not crushed. Literally it begins in all or in every way afflicted. That's literally the way that it begins. In every way or in all things afflicted. Each verbal part, if you look at the four pairs, each verbal part is passive. It's passive. The action isn't done by Paul. The action, in essence, is being done to Paul, so to speak. It's being experienced by Paul. We'll talk about that more as we work through the text. Paul says here, beginning in verse 8, we are in every way and at every turn, flea-boat, afflicted, afflicted. In every way, physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, this would have been a tremendous drain on the apostle Paul, right? Throughout his ministry, Paul was constantly pummeled. Paul was constantly battered. If you look at the always, then in verse 10, and again, always down in verse 11, Paul here is emphasizing with the always in verse 8, the constancy of it. Chapter 1, verse 5, he says that the sufferings of Christ abound, abound in us. Constantly, persistently afflicted. Paul says, but not crushed. Not crushed. He means confined or restricted. Paul is persistently afflicted, but not restricted, okay? The sense is here, that word, is being in a tight, confined, narrow place that you can't get out of, or a place that you can't get through. And the negation there in the Greek is emphatic. He says in no way have we been restricted. No way, never have we been confined. It's amazing, isn't it? Paul under the virtually constant pressure of affliction is saying, at every turn, and in every way we are afflicted, yet in no way have we been restricted by it. We've not been confined by it. There is a constant effort pressing against us to oppose us, to oppress us, and yet our ministry, our ministry in no way has been hemmed in. We've not been held back in any way. We are, Paul says, unrestricted. Hard pressed, and yet unrestricted. It's glorious, isn't it? The second, we are perplexed. We are baffled. At times, we are at a complete loss, and yet we're not in despair. Paul uses a play on words here, operaeo and ex operaeo, right? One commentator described it as at a loss, but never at a total loss, right? Seemed to be defeated. It looks like we're defeated, but in no way defeated, right? Check the scoreboard. It's like, how did that happen? Appeared to be overcome? It looks like we're overcome, and yet we're never overcome. I don't know how this can possibly work out, and yet it always seems to work out. We are baffled, perplexed, and yet never in despair. You might remember, you might remember in chapter one, Paul saying that he despaired even of life in that moment when that burden was beyond measure. But did it work out? Yeah, it always worked out. But Paul has learned through affliction. Again, here's that issue of learning through suffering, learning through our experiences, our circumstances. Paul learned through affliction not to despair, not to be discouraged, not to rejoice always, right? Not to despair. Thirdly, verse nine, Paul says we're persecuted, but not forsaken. We're there for persecuted means hunted, literally hunted, pursued. Paul was being stalked like prey. There's a sense in which Paul is being fed like prey. We look at the circumstances Paul faced. It pictures animals on the hunt. Animals on the hunt. Paul says we are hunted, but never, again, that emphatic knot. We are never abandoned, never deserted by God. You know, Paul is gloriously converted on the road to Damascus, right? Acts chapter nine. Verse 20 there in Acts chapter nine says that immediately after having been converted to Damascus that Paul then immediately went and preached Christ in the synagogue teaching that he is the Son of God. Three verses later, the Jews plotted to kill him. The Jews plotted to kill him. Paul was seemingly always facing death, right? Always facing death. He was heading for Jerusalem in Acts chapter 20, verse 22. And Paul said that he didn't know the things that would come upon him there, but he knew by the spirit that chains and tribulations were waiting. Paul always knew that chains and tribulations were waiting for him wherever he went. He had learned then not to count his life dear to himself. Paul never, in all of that, never felt abandoned by God. Never experienced being forsaken by God. Why? Because God is faithful. God is faithful. There is a sense in which Paul is entirely invincible until God is through with him. Until God is done, Paul will be provided for, cared for, supplied. He never felt forsaken or abandoned by God. Fourth, verse 9, Paul says, struck down but not destroyed. Struck down but not destroyed. Literally thrown down, thrown down, beaten to the ground. Knocked down, Paul said, but never knocked out. Never knocked out. He wasn't spared the beat down, mind you, not spared it, but he always got back up again. He was never knocked out, never destroyed. Four pairs. And remember that little word always, always, always. I would submit to you that no one, no one would survive this kind of onslaught apart from the grace, mercy, and miraculous power of God on display in and through them. No one could survive it. And we looked at each of these pairs. What was Paul's perspective through this? And again, remember that little emphatic word, never. Paul's ministry was never, in fact, restricted. Never. He never had caused for despair. He was never abandoned by God. He was never destroyed. And the never, followed by those little passive participles, each of those never's is Paul's expression in verses eight and nine of God's power. Each one of those never's represent God's power. Although Paul says we were constantly and in every way afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and thrown down by God's grace and through God's power, we were never restricted, never in real despair, never abandoned, never destroyed. Paul understood his weakness then, the difficult circumstances that he faced. Paul saw that as a means or a conduit through which God supplied supremely sufficient and glorious power. Can you see, right, how that understanding, that experience of the Christian life became a great encouragement to Paul? Over time, you know, just one time after another, Paul being cared for and supplied and protected and preserved, became a great encouragement to Paul. That would have been a cause for great rejoicing, constant rejoicing. Paul, going into difficult circumstances, just knew. He just had faith that the Lord was going to take care of him. It was caused for boldness. It gave Paul tremendous confidence. Paul became fearless. Triumphant. Resolved. Determined. Irrepressibly joyful, right? Inexpressibly joyful. How could Paul persevere as he did? How could Paul, you can hear the false teachers, his opponents in Corinth, right? They don't have an explanation for that. But Paul is not of God and Paul suffers too much. They're thinking in the back of their mind, how is it that he's still walking around? Didn't we stone him and leave him for dead in Lystra? Of all people, of all people, look at Paul, listen to Paul. Of all people, how is it that Paul has produced the fruit that Paul has produced? How is it that Paul has built the ministry that he has built? How is it that he's continued to work, continued to persevere? And so on. And Paul in that, right? Paul's own weakness, Paul's own inability becomes the very argument he uses against his opponents, against the false teachers. No one, no one could go through what Paul went through and maintain love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, generalness, self-control, unless it was God in glorious power working in them, working through them according to his good pleasure. God was always faithfully delivering Paul. Not delivering Paul from affliction, mind you, right? Not delivering Paul from difficulty, but delivering Paul through affliction, delivering Paul through difficulty. And notice, Paul here was confident that deliverance would continue. Just flip the page back and look at 2 Corinthians 1 verse 10, right? 1 verse 10, Paul says, God, the God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us, and in whom we trust that he will still deliver us. Paul was confident and faithful that that deliverance would continue until God was done with him, right? God's power displayed in weakness. Go back to that question, right? Do you see your weakness as an obstacle to gospel ministry? Paul would call us to press on in gospel ministry. Every Christian has been given the responsibility to preach the gospel, to love one another. Every Christian has been given and gifted to serve in the Lord's church. How are you doing in that responsibility? What is keeping you from realizing the ample supply and surging power of God at work through your efforts? I know that's what genuine Christians want, right? You want to be used by God? You want to see the Lord use your efforts, right? Use your laborers. You want to see the Lord use you in the preaching of the gospel to see a sinner save, right? That's our heart's desire. And what a tremendous encouragement, right, when that happens to see God's power validated, to see His mercy and His grace on display in the preaching of the gospel. What a glorious blessing. So acknowledge your weakness. Let's embrace our weakness and boldly step out in faith and preach the gospel, right? When you acknowledge your weakness and you pray, pray independence upon God, you cast off self-reliance, you pour contempt on your pride, and then you just abandon yourself to the Lord in your weakness. And press in. Preach the gospel in obedience. Love your brother, your sister in obedience. You let the power of Christ rest on you. Let the power of Christ rest on you. Let the power of God be at work. How encouraging it is to trust in God for that. Paul is resolute. In these things, when we come back to that point though, Paul learned that. Paul learned through experience. There's some of you here in various circumstances where you know the right thing to do and you're fearful to do it. And you've got 18 reasons lined up why you shouldn't. But you know what the right thing to do is and you're fearful about doing it. Listen, embrace your weakness and trust God. Obey him. Step out in faith and watch the Lord work. Watch the Lord provide you with this strength necessary to see you through it. It may not be easy, but God's power is supreme and sufficient. You may have a tough decision ahead of you. A tough decision. Maybe you're even to the point where you start like counsel shopping. I don't want to talk to brothers. You're going to tell me what I want to hear, not what I need to hear. You know the right thing to do and yet you won't prioritize it. You know the right thing to do and yet you are fearful and weak and self-justifying. Determining in your heart and mind that you're going to do your own thing because you're afraid, because you're fearful. Have a courageous faith. Have a courageous faith. Step out in faith. Trust the Lord. You have to be the right thing to do and God will supply your need. God's power is on display in your weakness and you'll learn. You'll learn through that, as Paul did, how to be content in every circumstance. How to be abased. How to abound. How to be hungry. You'll learn. Paul lived with the reality of death day in and day out and here from Paul's pen, ultimate author of the Holy Spirit we have blessed instruction for how we can follow his example into that blessed state which Paul finds himself here by learning through God's grace. Let's pray. Take a few moments as we pray silently and just go before the Lord consider how the Lord would have you respond to Paul's example here and let's honor the Lord and see God's power displayed. Let's pray. When you're done praying, you're dismissed.