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Jonathan Griffiths: When difficulties come into our lives and we face suffering and trial and weakness, we tend to assume that these things have come to us despite the best efforts of God to remove them from our experience. You know, we know after all that the Lord loves us very much. We know that he is very, very powerful and we assume that he is always trying his level best to keep us out of difficulty and to guard us from feeling and experiencing any pain.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths. I'm Steve Hiller and glad you're with us today. And Jonathan, based on the way you delivered that, the tone of your voice, everything, I'm sensing here that you're saying this is an incorrect assumption. Why is that so incorrect?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, the Bible teaches us the surprising truth that the Lord sometimes allows difficult things into our experience that we might learn new things of him and might learn to depend upon him and find his strength to be all sufficient in our times of weakness. But we don't assume that that should be the case. I think our assumption is, as I articulated just a moment ago in the opener to the message, that, you know, God would love just to keep us from all trial and all difficulty in our lives. We assume that. But in his wisdom as our loving heavenly Father, he allows these things into our experience.

And and we need to just know that that's true because when we face trial and difficulty in the Christian life, it can so unsettle us and so surprise us. We can feel, you know, has God abandoned me? But the word of God has a different message for us, one that is surprising, but one that is deeply reassuring as well. And I think that in today's message, there will be a lot of help for a lot of people.

Steve Hiller: All right. So let's get into today's message from 2 Corinthians chapter 11. We're going to begin a message entitled Boasting in Weaknesses. Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: It's an obvious thing to say that our world appreciates shows of strength and despises demonstrations of weakness. Our world likes things and people that look together and sorted. And it takes a dim view of that which is frayed and tattered and imperfect. And that is especially true of the things that we think should be looking strong and together, but where we see the signs of frailty and of brokenness. The other week, I made reference to the sad fate of the great ocean liner, the SS United States, once the fastest liner in the world, the great ship of the great age of the liner, the largest and the grandest ship ever made in America, recently towed as a rusting hulk to its watery grave off the coast of Florida.

And it it looked so wrong and so pathetic as the images were splashed across global media. We are soon due to travel to the United Kingdom where we will visit Gemma's home county in England, the county of Dorset. Just in recent days, one of the grand historic estates of that county has gone on the market for £30 million, thousands of acres that encompass woodland, farmland, multiple homes, a complete village within the estate, and a grand country house called Bridehead. For centuries, this home and this estate have served as symbols of power and of wealth and of influence within the county and indeed within England.

But pictures were published this week of the current state of the house and of its interior. And it was quite something to see deterioration, dilapidation, ceilings crumbling down, wallpaper peeling, furniture frayed and worn. The art and the library and the furnishings were due to be dismantled and sold, and the house will soon stand empty, a symbol of wealth and of influence and of grandeur for centuries, but now a picture of weakness and of decay. The world likes displays of strength and togetherness and grandeur and glamour. We like it in things and in places and we like it in people.

And we like it especially in leaders. And and the apostle Paul was acutely aware of this throughout his letter and especially so here in chapters 11 and 12. Paul is very conscious of the fact that he himself is weak and that his weakness causes some at Corinth to disregard his ministry and to despise his authority. As we've noted repeatedly throughout our series, other teachers have been coming through Corinth who seem to be more impressive and make a more compelling presentation than the apostle Paul. And for Paul himself, this is a concern not simply out of some sense of protecting his own territory or out of personal pride, but because he knows that these other teachers could well lead the Corinthians astray.

Notice how chapter 11 opens. Allow me to read this. I didn't read it before, but just notice the opening of the chapter with me. Paul says, I I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me, for I feel a divine jealousy for you since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge. Indeed, in every way, we have made this plain to you in all things. Now, Paul's speaking wasn't impressive enough for some at Corinth. His presentation as a bivocational worker, a tent maker, and a speaker, it didn't impress everyone. And evidently, verse seven, Paul added to the offense by refusing to take money from the Corinthians. Notice that with me verse seven. He says, or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted because I preached God's gospel to you free of charge?

Now, in a city of trade and of international business, in a city of wealth where people made their mark by earning their fortune as merchants on the busy trade routes, in such a city, figuring out what to do with a teacher who didn't want their money was very strange and very perplexing. And in a context where successful teachers in the marketplace commanded a high price for their teaching sessions, Paul looked actually unsuccessful and therefore not credible. But but Paul, of course, was being wise. He wanted to be free of any coercion or manipulation, any sense that the skeptical crowd had bought him or owned him.

And so he had declined their money and had relied upon support from others. But this only made things worse. This only added to the offense and the sense that Paul was weak and unimpressive. Now, Paul himself, he's he's okay. He can manage this emotionally, but he is concerned that the Corinthians might be led astray by unreliable teachers. And so now he opens up this whole question of weakness and its place in the life of the Christian and especially in that of the Christian leader. He sets out to teach us the place of weakness in the life of the Christian and to show us the power that comes through weakness for the servants of God.

Here then is the first lesson that the apostle Paul has for us on the place of weakness in the life of the Christian and in Christian ministry. Lesson number one, here it is. The Lord allows his servants to face weakness. The Lord allows it. Here in chapter 11, Paul takes some time to outline in some detail and at some length aspects of his life story and of his experience that highlight his weakness. Now, at a couple of points, Paul mentions things that could be reasons for him to boast, that might impress the Corinthians. You know, he speaks of his lineage as a an Israelite, a true child of Abraham, verse 22.

He speaks in some cryptic terms about an experience which is almost certainly personal, chapter 12 and verse two, of having a vision, an experience of being caught up to the third heaven and so on, hearing things that cannot be told. He's hinting that there could be causes for him to boast in ways that the Corinthians might find impressive, but his focus isn't going to be there. He wants to highlight the things that look weak in their eyes, verse 23. And the list is long. Labors, imprisonments, beatings, near death experiences, shipwrecks, being adrift at sea, facing danger from rivers, robbers, people, Gentiles, urban dangers, wilderness dangers, marine dangers, dangers from those who pretend to be Christians but are not, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, the lack of basic necessities.

Oh, yes, Paul knew about frailty and weakness and pressure and suffering. But all the things he has listed were but background noise compared to the one thing that really troubled him and the one thing that threatened to undermine his ministry. In chapter 12 and verse seven, Paul speaks of the thing that has troubled him the most and burdened him the most heavily, the thing that has given him the most pain. Notice it there with me, verse seven. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me to keep me from becoming conceited.

Steve Hiller: Jonathan Griffiths here on Encounter the Truth and we're going to pause right here, but we'll get back to this message from 2 Corinthians chapter 11. And it's part of a series entitled Strength in Weakness. If you ever miss a broadcast, come and listen online. Our website is encounterthetruth.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. Again, that's at encounterthetruth.org. And when you're at the website, I hope you'll take a moment and check out our weekly e-devotional. You can also sign up for a newsletter and find links to connect with us on social media.

Once again, our website is encounterthetruth.org. Another way to stay connected to Jonathan's teaching is our YouTube channel. And if you've not done so yet, I hope you'll find Encounter the Truth on YouTube and like and subscribe. That way you'll be updated whenever we put new content on there. Well, if you did join us a little bit late, we're in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 11 continuing a message entitled Boasting in Weaknesses. Again, here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: In chapter 12 and verse seven, Paul speaks of the thing that has troubled him the most and burdened him the most heavily, the thing that has given him the most pain. Notice it there with me, verse seven. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me to keep me from becoming conceited. I was out in the in the garden the other day and I was doing some trimming and a little bit of weeding. I was enjoying being outdoors and seeing some things come to life and taking shape for the season.

And and and then as as as out there working, I felt the scratch. I looked down. I saw the blood running down my leg, a thorn for from the rose had caught me. You know, just as I was enjoying the moment and the tranquility and the sunshine, a thorn. I have to say it felt, you know, rather unnecessary, certainly unfortunate. It's remarkable, isn't it, when you think of it that a thing of such beauty also has that aggressive edge to it. Paul has been going all guns blazing around the Mediterranean rim, winning people for Christ, planting churches, preaching the word of God.

The Lord has given him so much and poured out so much blessing in his life. He's had these remarkable spiritual experiences, it seems, revelations from the Lord. There is so much for him to rejoice in and take pleasure in and to give thanks for. But while he is enjoying all this, there is a there's a thorn. And it seems such an intrusion, so very unnecessary at this time. Now now we don't know exactly what the thorn is. And and the theories that circulate and the speculations that have been articulated in the commentaries and in Christian literature span the full range of all the things you and I could possibly imagine.

You know, is it a physical ailment, a sickness, perhaps a disability? Maybe maybe it is. Or or is it a relational strain of some kind? Is is Paul here actually just referencing the opposition that he has endured from some at Corinth and the unpleasantness he has encountered within that context? Or is he speaking of some personal, spiritual burden, some battle with sin that's weighing him down? In truth, we don't know. But this thorn has shown Paul and reminded Paul and highlighted for Paul that he is very, very, very weak. Now, when difficulties come into our lives and we face suffering and trial and weakness, we tend to assume that these things have come to us despite the best efforts of God to remove them from our experience and to keep us from them and them from us.

You know, we know after all that the Lord loves us very much. We know that he is very, very powerful and we assume that he is always trying his level best to keep us out of difficulty and to guard us from feeling and experiencing any pain. But you know, that's not quite what Paul indicates here in our text. Notice the tension again in verse seven. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh. Now, the one who would guard Paul from being conceited must be the Lord himself ultimately.

The Lord is at work here. And and Paul says that the the thorn was given to him. It was something that was done to him and for him. And of course, when he speaks in such terms of something that he receives by another power, something that is done to him or for him, we would normally assume he's speaking of the Lord's work, something that comes by the Lord's hand. So it it seems right to assume that the Lord is at least allowing this to take place and has a purpose within this. But to make things more complicated, notice how Paul describes the thorn in the flesh later in verse seven.

It is a messenger of Satan to harass him. And on the face of it, this all looks very, very surprising. Here we have something that the Lord is at least permitting in his power and in his wisdom, while at the very same time this thing is coming from Satan. And and that right there, that is a very difficult tension to wrap our heads around and to understand. But it is a tension that the Bible expresses to us in different forms and at different times. And if we had more time to explore this, we could do so from various places in scripture.

But the Bible is very clear with us that there are opposing spiritual forces at work within the world. They are not equal forces, but they are at odds with one another. The Lord is much stronger than Satan, but Satan is at work and those two forces are present and real within our experience. In in the experience of the believer, within the work of God, in the very same situation or phenomenon, Satan can be powerfully at work seeking to cause damage and destruction while the Lord at the same time is powerfully at work seeking to fulfill his good purposes for his people and for his glory.

And with all that in mind, it's no wonder that in the midst of trial and of difficulty and of pain, you and I can be very, very, very confused as to what is going on. You know, we can sometimes wonder to ourselves, is this situation coming from Satan or is this part of the Lord's bigger plan? And the Bible would tell us that there is a sense in which both can be true. Both can be true. Satan is doing his worst over here to cause us agony and to bring destruction. But the sovereign Lord, our loving Father, is doing something else through Satan's schemes.

He's allowing these things for a reason. And he's achieving something greater which will ultimately be for Satan's defeat. Unsurprisingly, suffering through this thorn in the flesh, Paul pleads with the Lord that he would take it away. Verse eight, three times I pleaded with the Lord that this should leave me. Now, that seems to me a very reasonable prayer. I don't know what you think. Lord, this thing in my life is causing me agony and it's causing me pain. It is distressing me. It is weighing me down. It is slowing me down. It is threatening to undermine my variability to serve you.

Please, Lord, take it away. And we assume, don't we, that the Lord would want to do that, that the Lord would have it within his will to do that, that he would plan to do that, that he would answer our prayer in the way that we've prayed it. But that's not that's not what the Lord does for Paul and it's not what the Lord does for many of us. I I pleaded with the Lord that it should leave me, said Paul. But the Lord said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. The Lord allowed Paul to face that experience of weakness and even of pain, even of suffering.

He could have taken it away, but he he didn't. And in Paul's life, the purpose of this was to keep him from becoming conceited. We see it there in verse seven two times. The thorn in the flesh was given for a particular purpose in his life. And while the Lord was achieving that purpose within Paul's heart and life and character, he actually was not ready to take away the thorn. Now, I wonder if on any level and in any sense you resonate with the apostle Paul in this. I wonder what might be your thorn in the flesh at the present time.

I wonder if there's something in your life in your experience that you're pleading with the Lord to take away and he has not yet taken it away and you wonder why. You can hardly understand why. Perhaps you're grappling intensely with the question of why today. I can't answer that question for you, of course. But it is important for each of us to recognize that the Lord sometimes allows us to keep the thorn and to live with the thorn for days and weeks and months and years and even decades that he might achieve and accomplish his purposes within us.

For Paul, the thorn in the flesh was given that he might not become conceited due to the privileges that God had given him. The trial kept him down and that was what was needed in his life at that time. My grandmother used to like to tell the simple story, really the um the fable of the kite that wanted to fly higher and higher. And and this kite found the string that was holding it back was a constant source of frustration and limitation. And one day, the little boy holding the string lost his grip in a strong wind and the kite momentarily flew a little bit higher up into the sky.

But you know what happens almost immediately. The kite comes fluttering down to earth. And the point of the fable is simply this. Unbeknownst to the kite, it was the thing that kept it down that actually kept it up. Without the string holding it down, it could not stay up in the air. For Paul, the thorn in the flesh kept him down. But as he dealt with the danger of conceit in his life and as that trial was doing its work within him, that trial which kept him down was actually keeping him up. It kept him functional in ministry and in service.

Now, I don't know what the trial may be that could be keeping you down at the moment. But let me invite you to consider that in the Lord's wisdom, it may actually be the thing that is keeping you up and enabling you to grow and to serve.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths and a message called Boasting in Weaknesses. Now, we have to pause here, but we'll get back to the message on our next broadcast. So I hope you'll join us for that. If you ever miss a program, you can always come and listen online at encounterthetruth.org. Well, whether you listen to Encounter the Truth on the radio, online, or through the app, it's all made possible through your generosity. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to say thank you by sending you a book called Gentle and Lowly, The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers.

And Jonathan, I know that this is a book that you've read, you've picked out for us this month. What did you take away from this book?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, thanks, Steve. It is a book I've read and appreciated. I've got others to read and I'm planning to read it again. And I've appreciated it so much because it reminded me of things that I knew to be true, but I don't always remember and don't always live in the good of. I think that the default mode of our hearts and our sinfulness is to think that God is keeping some kind of scorecard of our obedience and he's more pleased with us when we do better in the Christian life and are more faithful and and more fruitful in our service of him.

And Gentle and Lowly reminds us that God's heart toward us is a heart of grace poured out in the gift of his son and given daily through the presence of his Holy Spirit within our lives that God loves us, that he's merciful toward us, that he's a compassionate father, that he's a gentle shepherd. And we need to be reminded of these things because we don't naturally believe that they're true. But when we're reminded of them and we take hold of them, we're encouraged to walk with Christ in in joy and in faith and indeed then in obedience.

Steve Hiller: Well, we want to send you a copy of this book. Again, it's called Gentle and Lowly is our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month. You can give online at encounterthetruth.org or when you call 1 833 998 7884. It might be easier to remember as 833 99 Truth. And again, our website is encounterthetruth.org. You can also write to us at Encounter the Truth, PO Box 5513, Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3M1 or in the US at Encounter the Truth, 215 North Arlington Heights Road, Suite 102, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004. For Jonathan Griffiths and our producer Mark Bradda, I'm Steve Hiller.

Thanks for listening and I hope you'll join us next time.