Title: My Grace Is Enough for You
Content: My grace is sufficient for you. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
What is strange is that everyone has a thorn that stings, no matter how happy they seem. No family, no matter how religious, is not without thorns. The apostle Paul did not know how many sick people he had healed. However, he could not cure his disease. So I prayed earnestly three times, and God said, My grace is sufficient for you.
Why can't we complain about stinging thorns?
(1) Because these are the words of the one who loved me and freely gave even his only begotten Son.
How can I blame the God who rescued me from the fire of hell, from which I had to die forever? He forgave Paul, the murderer, persecutor, and blasphemer, and made him a child of God.
(2) It is because the thorn that pierces is a gift of God's grace.
When it comes to farming, sunlight alone does not produce farming. It needs rain and wind to take root deeply. A stinging thorn is a blessing, not a curse.
(3) It was not given by God by mistake. It is not by chance that a stinging thorn was created; Israel/ When a shepherd is shepherding her sheep, she names 300 sheep and calls them out. Break the legs of the mischievous sheep. And treat. Why do you branch your legs? Because I cannot give up my soul.
In today's text, the Apostle Paul confesses that I boast because of my weakness if you ask me what I should be proud of when I have nothing to boast about.
How could the apostle Paul boast of a thorn that pierces his weakness?
(1) He gave the pricking thorn so that he would not sleep too much. God opposes the proud and exalts the humble. Every time a thorn pierced me, I would have thought of the cross of humility while doing nothing.
(2) My power is made perfect in weakness. Although I am lacking, God took pity on me and helped me to become perfect, so I thanked and boasted.
(3) When I am strong, the power of God weakens, and when I am weak, the power of God is revealed. That is why the Apostle Paul is proud of the thorn that pierces my weakness and confesses that he is thankful. Because of that stinging thorn, we depend on God and hang on to Him. When we are weak, God Himself becomes our strength and works strong and boldly.
Why do you give stinging thorns to your beloved people?
Please accept the stinging thorn as it is. Don't try to change it. Accept it as it is and actively love its stinging thorn. 103 American Puritans set out in search of religious freedom. A year later, there are only 51 left. Farming was insignificant.
What the hell is there to be thankful for? How many conditions are there to complain about? We could complain about how we did this when we came to this place after abandoning our hometown and giving up our wealth and glory in search of freedom of religion. But they caught some corn, some thanksgiving, and some turkey, and moved to a thanksgiving service. This has made the great America of today.
concluding remarks
If you receive it with thanksgiving, there is nothing to lose. Don't complain. Thank you even for the stinging thorn. Paul knew the meaning of a stinging thorn. He humbled me and made me depend only on God, made me realize that I am a sinner, and realized that the thorn that stings is not a curse but a blessing from God. That is why Paul boasts rather than piercing thorns, and your grace is sufficient for me! I could thank you. Are there any saints here today whose business is ruined, their families are unhappy, and they have physical ailments, so there is nothing to be thankful for? However, I hope that you all confess that you are thankful that you can go to heaven because you only depend on God.