56:210523

The Blessing of Weakness

   You would not think of weakness as a condition of blessing. We would say .. blessedness is strength, in fact “blessed are the strong” But the Bible’s beatitudes are the reverse of nature would actually say .. “Blessed are those who mourn” .. “ Blessed are the meek”. The law of the cross lies deep in spiritual life. It is by the crucifying of the flesh that the spirit grows into beauty . . .
Matthew 5:3/9 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers”
Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me”

   Weakness is blessed because it ensures to us more of the sympathy and help of Christ. Weakness can appeal to the gentle of heart. We see illustrations of this truth in our common human-nature. What can be more weak & helpless that of blindness? Here is a blind child in a house. Her condition seems *pitiable, she gropes around in darkness, and she can’t shield herself from anything that threatens her. Windows through which others see the World, to her are closed, so she is shut up in total darkness. She, is, almost utter helpless. Yet her weakness is in actual fact her strength.

* What does pitiable mean:~ deserving or exciting pity : lamentable. pitiable victims. : of a kind to evoke mingled pity and contempt especially because of inadequacy. a pitiable excuse.

   It draws to itself the best love & help of the whole house hold. The mothers heart has no such tender thought for any of the other children as for the blind girl. The Father carries her continually in His affection, and is ever doing gentle things for her. Hers & sisters strive in all ways to supply her lack. The result is that no other member of the family is sheltered so softly as she is, and that none is so strong. Her very helplessness is her strength, her closed eyes and out stretched hands and tottering feet resistlessly to all who love her, inspiring them to thought and help, as do the strength and winning grace of no other one in the household.
[NKJ] Psalm 121:8 “The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in”
[NIV] “The Lord will watch over your coming and going”
[NLT] “The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go”
… nearly all versions agree, and say . .
[NLT] “Both now and forever”

   This illustrates also the special divine thought and care for the weak. All the best things in human life are but hints of the divine life. The heart of Christ goes out in peculiar interest toward the weak. Paul could afford to keep his ‘thorn’ with it’s burdening weakness because it made him far more object of divine sympathy and help. We think of suffering or feebleness as a misfortune. It is not altogether so, however, it makes us more humble and nearer to the heart of Christ. Blessed is weakness, for it draws to itself the strength of God.
   Weakness is blessed also, because it saves from spiritual peril. St Paul tells us that his ‘thorn’ was given to him to keep him humble. Without it he would have been exalted overmuch, and would have lost his spirituality. It is not clear how much of his deep insight into things of God and his power in service for his master, Paul owed to this torturing ‘thorn’. It seemed to hinder him, and caused him incessant suffering, but it detained him in the valley of humility, and made him ever conscious of his own weakness and insufficiency, and thus kept him near to Christ whose home is with the humble.

Q:~ “What is keeping you humble and nearer to Christ?”

[NLT] 1 Colossians 1:24 “ I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church”
   Spiritual history is full of similar cases. Many of God’s servants have carried ‘thorns’ in their flesh for days, but mean while they would never have had their if cries for relief would have been granted, we don’t know the suffering of those who have gone before us. Prosperity no tenrictied the World as adversity has done. The best thoughts the richest life lessons, the sweet songs that have come down to us from the past, have not come from lives have known no lack & no adversary, but instead are the fruit of pain ~ of weakness ~ of trials. Man has called out for emancipation from the bondage of hardship, of self-denying necessity not knowing that the thing that which seemed to be hindering them in their career was the very making of whatever was noble ~ beautiful ~ blessed in their life.
[NLT] 2 Timothy 4:1&2 “In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: 2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favourable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching”

   There very few of us who don’t have some ‘thorn’ sticking in their flesh. In some it’s an infirmity of sight . .

• in another infirmity of hearing.
• or, it may some lameness,
• a debilitating disease that is slow but incurable,
• or, it may be in ones home, which is cold ~ unloving ~ uncongenial
• or, may be a bitter personal disappointment through untrue friendship or love unrequited. .

… so I ask again ‘Who does not have a thorn??

   We should never forget that in one sense our ‘thorn’ is a member of satans army. Who desires it, to hurt our lives, to mar our peace, to spoil the divine beauty in us to break our communion with Christ. On the other hand, however, Christ Himself has a loving design in our own ‘thorn’. He want it to be a blessing for us instead. He would have it keep us humble, to save from becoming Vain, or He means it to soften our hearts and make us more gentle. He would have the uncongenial things in our environment discipline us into Heavenly mindedness, giving us greater self control, helping us to keep our hearts loving and sweet amid harshness & un-lovingness. He would have our pain teach us endurance & patience and our sorrow & loss teach us Faith.

   What we should be mindful of is, that our ‘thorn’ is either ~ be a blessing to us, or ~ it could well do us irreparable harm, it’s really down to us.. If we allow it to fret/worry us, if we chafe ~ resist or complain, if we loose faith and loose heart it will spoil everything. Instead if we take in the faith, that in it’s ugly burden it has the chance of being a blessing. We need to endure it submissively, we can seek out the grace, keeping our heart gentle and true amid all the trials ~ temptations & sufferings. It all will work out for the good, it’s bitterness will turn into sweet fruit. The responsibility is ours, and we should relate ourselves to our ‘thorn’ and to Christ, that growth and good, that will come to us from it. Such weakness is blessed only we have victory over it through the faith in Christ. Remember, there is a blessing in weakness, as it can nourish our dependence on God.
Psalm 25:1/3 “O Lord, I give my life to you. 2 I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. 3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others”
Psalm 25:V4-7  “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. 5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in, you. 6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. 7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord”
Psalm 25: V15-21 “My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues me from the traps of my enemies.16 Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. 17 My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! 18 Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.19 See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! 20 Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. 21 May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you”

   When we are strong, or deem ourselves to be strong, when we are really weak, since then we trust ourselves and don’t seek divine help. But, when we are consciously weak, knowing unequal to our duties & struggles, we are strong, because then we turn to God and get His strength .. “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” [2 Corinthians 12:9] .. To many think their weakness as a barrier to their usefulness, or make it an excuse for doing little with their life. Instead of this, however, if we give to Christ He will transform our weaknesses into strength. He says His strength is made perfect in weakness, that is wanting in human strength, He fills up and makes up with divine strength. Paul learnt this when he said he was gloried now in his weakness, because on an account of the strength of Christ rested upon him, so that when he was weak, he was then made strong. .
.. examples :~
[NIV] Acts 16:25 “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them”
[NIV] Acts 14:19 “Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead”

# Strength is not only measured in physical prowess #

   We need only to make sure of one thing, that we do indeed bring our weaknesses to Christ and lean on Him in simple faith. This is the vital link in getting the blessings. Weakness itself is a burden, it is invisible chains upon our limbs. If we try to carry it alone we shall only fail. But if we lay it on the strong Son of God, and let Him carry us and our burden, going on quietly and firmly in the way of duty, He will make our very weakness into strength. You must understand this, that He will not take away our weakness from us, that is not His promise, rather He will so fill it with His own power that we shall be made strong, more conquerors, able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Philippians 4:13 “ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
   It’s a blessed secret, this of our having our burdening weakness transformed into strength. It can learned only in Christ, but in Him it can be learned by every lowly trusting disciple.



Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father we come humbly before your throne through your Son Christ Jesus, in faith believing, that we boast in no power, but we do boast that if was not for you we can do nothing. But instead through everything is possible. Our weaknesses are turned to strength. No longer the conqured, rather the conquerors. May we never forget rather shout from the roof tops that Christ is for us. In those dark times when feeling weak & down may we remember that your strength is made whole in us. In Jesus name we pray with thanks giving, Amen

56:170921

Part 1 of 

Why Life’s Better as a
Servant

These are the translations I used in this study, and their abbreviations ..
*[KJV] :~ King James Version
*[JKV] :~ New King James Version
*[NLT] :~ New Living Translation
*[JKV] Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many”
   In this verse there is one major thing that stands out, that goes to the heart of Jesus’ character, was how much in His life, Jesus was unselfish. You don’t ever read about when Jesus had turned one’s down, because He could not be bothered, for instance when dying on the cross, He could have turned to the other 2 and said “I’m dying here your too late .. leave me alone” ...
*[NLT] Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” ...
. . .The NLT In this verse it says .. “ but to serve others” .. as we slowly unravel Jesus’ message, which is one of the more prevalent ones. Listen closer to this next segment. Just think, what if Jesus only came to ‘be served’? We could never have had the opportunity to come to The Father God, man the mess, in the dark oppressive life we would be blindly facing.

   How can anyone measure the awesomeness that is the ‘Enmity’ of God’s glory, pouring himself into human form flesh, all for us, W O W. To this date since finding this out it still truly still blows my mind. Every time I spend any length of time giving this thought, I’m left thinking with a great appreciation, and love for our God. I know I have a very large body of text, but you’ll need to read to understand the rest of this sermon as I will be referring to it as we go forth. This is Jesus’ exemplar of being a servant ..
KJV:~ John 13:1-5 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded"
NLT:~ “Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. 2 It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him"
KJV:~ 13:12-17 “So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them"
NLT:~”After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message.17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them"
   I want you to think back to what both called a road, what foot ware. The roads back then, when towns roads were dirty, with all manner of waste (that’s the polite way of describing them), and dusty too. It was customary that when you attended someone’s house, there was a servant to wash your feet. This was so that you did not walk anything from outside in. This is what Jesus wanted to try and show the Apostles that He came to serve, and to be a servant. He showed that He wanted that they were to behave this way and think not to think of it below them, no matter the subject. Just to think of as did Christ Jesus, that the very Son of God chose to serve, and washed and dried their feet, He came to serve, but NOT be served. V12 says .. “know what I have done to you?” .. Jesus was telling them ‘Do you fully grasp, even comprehend, what has happened here?’ .. ‘Think of who I AM, think of what I’m showing you, now let the penny drop, then know who I become to you?’

   V13 Tells them .. “ You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am” .. Jesus washed their feet, and asked, so you to should now wash one another's feet, therefore becoming servants to each other ..

Please Note#

“Serving, is not about what others can do for you,

rather what you can do for others, whilst NOT

looking for anything in return”

. . . This is why our society today is falling apart at the seems. The reason being as most peoples thinking ig .. I Me My Mine .. always have selfish wants .. ‘If it profits ME not, I don’t want to know’ .. or .. ‘I deserve that job’ ..or even more a thought of ..’I did nothing to deserve them, but should have four [4] holidays a year ..With regret I know all to well this type of person, do you?

   Just as Jesus served His disciples, He was saying to them, now I want you to be servants, even a servant to your neighbour .. KJV - 15 “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” .. it’s more than just washing each others/neighbours feet. For to serve has to start with a question like ..’How Can I help you out?’ .. or .. ‘know they are in need, how can I full fill that need without fanfare for myself?’ .. This is much bigger, so much bigger no matter if Royalty ~ General of military ~ Company Directer or CEO.

John 13:13 [KJV]* “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am” *King James Version
John 13:16 “The servant is not greater than his lord"
[KJV] :17 “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them”
[NLT] :17 “Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them”
   Jesus is trying to let us know and understand, just exactly what being a servant is about. God has told us that for being a good servant, He will bless our faithfulness. God will want to know, are you being a good servant? Well are you. Who have you helped out without fanfare? He wants to know who we have helped out without the ‘look at me and what I have done’, like ~ Work ~ Friends ~ Family ~ Neighbours? Even your bosses? I want to show you now something from Philippians that breaks down the elements of being a good good servant …

Philippians 2:1~7
V1:~ “Consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love”
V2:~ “being like-minded, being of one accord, of one mind"
Having the same thoughts of Jesus, wanting the same as
Him.
V3:~ “nothing be done through selfish ambition [comparing
yourself to another] or conceit or vain glory, but in
lowliness” ... [ vain glory:- serving for selfish ends] If,
and be careful here, you serve in Vain glory will only
in strife, who honestly wants MORE strife today.
V4:~ “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests”
So not your own interests, but we encouraged to look out
and help others with out reward.
V5:~ “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”
V6:~ "who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God”
V7:~ “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a
bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” . . . This attitude, being our own attitude. Like say that of a .. Butcher ~ Baker ~ Sales person ~ an Athlete or a Soldier and so many more. I know of a person who had a family ‘mask’ the replaced with one for work, we all do this. In other words, they changed their attitude. To be a servant to all who come to their work.

  Because now in the flesh, He [Lord God] humbled Himself even unto death .. V8 “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” .. humility has to be the main ingredient of being a servant. For without humility, it would be almost impossible to to be a servant. Whilst being a servant, it is no longer your will being done,, but you masters will that be done. Whilst here it is gods, but can equally be your .. Parents ~ Work Bosses ~ friends ~ neighbours, hoping by now your getting what I’m trying to convey.
    1) Humility :~ Often when looking for in today’s society, Humility has become as rare as white Truffles. In the space of a generation, we have gone from being able to speak frankly (even to a friend), to having girdle our mouths, in our own homes, as much as having to close our windows, to be able to speak openly with your spouse.
    2) Power :~ What we need to think on is that your energy suppliers, give us this power, (praise god for them), to make light where there is none, to bring heat where it’s cold. The energy suppliers leave this power in our own hands, to decide how use it, and up to us to turn the power on. Just as our Lord has given us power to us.

‘How will you use your Heavenly power?’

   One of the biggest reasons for unanswered prayer, is that we ask God for that which he already done, even if we don’t see it right away, or He already has given us both the power & authority to use. It would be like asking your gardener to mow the lawn when he he just done so, how stupid that would be. . .

• So then why would God answer your prayer, when He has already done so?
• No amount of badgering will make a bit of difference.
• Answer you for what He told you to do?
• How many really believe they have power from God in their prayers?
• How many speak in authority whilst praying?
• How many have faith in their prayers?We have to walk in Faith ~ Belief ~ Authority? That’s if we truly want change .. in our lives .. Jobs .. where we live!

[NKJ] Matthew 10:1 “And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease”
   What Jesus is warning here is, for us to be born again and whom are not. You need to ‘Born-again’, [John 3:3*], or you will not know; be frustrated; left banging your head against the brick wall. SURPRISE .. We have had power the moment we became saved – Born-again.

Q: What is it to have this power?

A: It is the ability to get the job done.

# As a Christian, I’m not powerless #