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Sam, Turn, if you would please, to 2 Corinthians, chapter 12. We'll begin in verse 7, 2nd Corinthians 12, 7. You're familiar with the account, I'm sure, where Paul talks about the thorn in the flesh. This is something that he was suffering from for a long time, some sort of affliction. We don't quite know what it was, but he did mention this. But the interesting thing about this is it's not just in this one place that he brings up what Christ told him, that we see him repeat the principle that Christ gave him numerous times throughout his letters. And then if you track it and watch, there's a principle that we find throughout the Bible, and Paul even points that out at some point. So Paul learned that God often sees things quite differently than we do, and that things are often the opposite of what they seem to us. You know, reality is the world as God sees it. So how he sees it is often quite different, even the reverse of how the world perceives it. There are things that God repeats in his Word, and he does this over and over. It's one of the most fascinating things to me about the Bible, and really for me, at least, a proof of the Bible. You may have heard me say before that writer after writer, place after place, century after century, they're all thinking the same things. These great themes roll through the Bible like thunder. They're presenting the world as God sees it. And finding and studying these great themes is of great benefit to us. I just love to do it. So let's go through Second Corinthians, chapter 12. Here's an example. The physical affliction that Paul had, and Christ used it to teach Paul a very important lesson. Verse 7. Unless I should be exalted above measure, by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh has been given to me. If you look at that word thorn, some of the commentaries talk about it and say, yeah, you could say thorn. But in Greek and in other places, it's often translated as literally a stake, a spike, or something that is a bigger than a thorn. Interesting comment there, but this is like something that's pretty big that's bothering him. This affliction that he has a messenger to Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measures. He's saying, things are so great for me that I need this. Christ says I need this to sort of keep me stable, to keep my feet on the ground. He's saying. Verse 8, concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. Here it is. For my strength is made perfect in weakness. My strength is made perfect in weakness. What an ironic thing to say. Isn't that interesting? Therefore most gladly I would rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So he's saying, if he's happy with his infirmities because it enables him to have more of Christ's power resting upon him. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches and needs, persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake. Here again, he says it again. Here it is. For when I am weak, I am strong. What an ironic statement. When I am weak, I am strong. You wouldn't exactly expect that, would you? Well, how can that be? Well, this helps us to understand some more about the word that is translated perfect in the new King James is telly O and translated this. If you look in the lexicons or other places, it means to perfect in the sense of to carry something through completely, to accomplish, to consummate in the sense of lacking nothing in final outcome. Like if you're a lawyer, you might say they were going to perfect a lien on the property or perfect the mortgage. That means it's complete and there's nothing left to do for it. Christ was telling Paul that he uses human weakness to demonstrate his complete control, his complete power over what's going on, but human pride in our abilities. It's illusory. It's illusory. Sometimes we feeling strong and we say we're really great. And God. No you're not. No, sorry, you're not. That's illusory. It just gets in the way of what he's trying to do. So throughout the Bible we see this lesson being taught. It's not just here. We're going to try to get you tuned in. So you can see this happening throughout the Bible. And Paul's even going to point out through in the Old Testament here before we're done. So today let's look at the lesson that God is using human weakness to show us his strength and to teach us to rely on it. So we're going to look at examples of the apostle Paul repeatedly demonstrating this lesson. Just look at some of them. You're going to find more now that you're aware of it as you read his letters. And another, we're going to look at one way that God accomplishes this could be lots of things. We're just going to Focus on one and then one way to put this understanding into practice in our lives, especially right now, a few days before Passover. So the title of this split sermon is God's Strength in Our Weakness. God's Strength in Our Weakness. Okay, first let's look at what Paul may have meant by his weakness. What was this affliction, this infirmity that he was suffering from? Well, we don't know. We don't know. And one of the. Really, one of the things I appreciate a lot about our council of elders is that, yeah, we do acknowledge and appreciate what the Bible says in every way, but we also acknowledge what it doesn't say. Sometimes the Bible doesn't give us information, and our impetus is to try to fill it in with our own thinking. It's not a great idea. And the church has really been very good about that, I think. But let's read here another incident where it's the only infirmity that I know of that Paul had a real illness or sickness other than the beatings and other things that he suffered from other people. Acts, chapter 9, verses 10 through 20. Acts, chapter 9. Well, we'll begin in verse 17. But this is the only infirmity that we read about Paul having other than his beatings, as I said. So Paul had an encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. Famous thing that blinded him while he was on his way. And Ananias, who was a prophet, was told by God to go and heal Paul and also to baptize him. And it was through Ananias that he was given the Holy Spirit. Verse 17. And Ananias went his way and entered into the house. And laying hands on him, he said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. You know, Paul had been blinded before. He was persecuting the church. He didn't have eyes to see, and he may have maybe not ears to hear either. So this was a big lesson for Paul. Perhaps God thought that he need to be reminded of him. Verse 18. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales. And he received his sight at once and arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul went some days with the disciples, spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately, verse 20, immediately he preached the Christ. He preached the Christ in the synagogues, that he was the Son of God. So you talk about a 180, a huge change, and he could go. Paul was A brilliant scholar, and you could imagine he could understand and preach with great power to these people. So what could his affirmative have been? Well, you read the commentaries, they guess this, they guess that. Some say it could have been chronic ophthalmia, which is an affliction, inflammation of the eyes. It can result from physical trauma or other causes. Maybe that inflammation was his eyes. Was it? But there's not much information to go on there. But Paul had a brilliant mind, he was highly educated, he was a famous scholar even in his own day. And wonder if he had a lot of pride in his capacity. What do you think? Maybe he certainly had been blind before he lost his sight. Maybe God needed him to know that. If God is working with us, he may humble us to deal with our pride. Did that ever happen to you when you were being called? Has it happened a little bit since? Sure it does. He does that and he works with us because these are things that he needs to change in our lives. Ephesians, chapter 3, verses 7 and 8. Ephesians chapter 3 and verses 7 and 8. So the result of all of this was that Paul was constantly aware of his limitations. Was Paul aware of his limitations before? We don't know. My guess is he wasn't very much. Verse 7, whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power, his power unto me. I am less than the least of all the saints. All saints. Is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of. Of Christ. So this was something that was given to him and by the power of God. Remember that Zechariah 4, 6 says, not by might or by power, but by my Spirit, says the lord of hosts. 2nd Corinthians 10, 10, 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 10. We don't have a lot of descriptions of Paul, what he was like, but here he kind of gives us a clue, if you met Paul, what you might have experienced just in his presentation and personality. He was not personally charismatic. He was not an impressive speaker, but he could write powerfully. That we know because we have his letters. Just verse 10 for his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible. Ouch. Contemptible speech and weak bodily presence. He was not really a charismatic person. A little picture of Paul. I wonder what he looked like. First Corinthians 15, 9, 10. First Corinthians 15 9, 10. Paul's infirmity seems to have made him more willing to endure severe trials for the sake of the Gospel and the ministry. Verse 9. For I am least of the apostles. Paul wasn't exactly the world's most humble guy before, but now he says, I am the least of the apostles. That I am not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace, which was bestowed upon me, not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all. Okay, I really labored abundantly. Well, look how he qualifies it. Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. I don't think Paul would have necessarily said that before his trip to Damascus. Summarize point number one. Paul learned a great lesson from his affliction. And his weakness and personal failures in persecuting the church then enabled him to be used by God to propel the gospel of the Kingdom of God forward to the whole Gentile world. That was his job, a huge one. God turns Paul's weakness into strength, and he can do the same for us. Point number two, okay. God often uses irony in the Bible to show us the reality of the human condition. We're going to see this a lot, and I'd like to just kind of connect this whole what we're talking about with Paul with all the other things that are going. Many of the other things that are going on in the Bible. When we say something is ironic, we hear that word a good bit these days. That was ironic. What do we mean? Could you define the word ironic? It's kind of tough to define, really, but I looked it up the several ways it can be used. But here's just one definition. Irony is characterized by poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs. You expect one thing from whatever the situation is, but something completely different occurs. Oh, that was ironic. That's what we use the word sometimes. Like, it was ironic that the police station was burglarized. You know, that's ironic to hear that. Matthew 19:30. Matthew 19:30. The Bible is full of ironic statements. I'm hoping you're going to be able to pick them out and spot them now in the future. But many who are first will be last and the last first. Wow, that sure is ironic, isn't it? Many such statements. Why is that? Why is irony found so often in the Bible? And why do we see so often this incongruity between what might be expected by people and what actually occurs? Why do we see that so often? Is God trying to tell us something by this? Because he repeats it an awful lot. Well, it's full of ironic statements by God in the Bible and ironic situations from what we are to learn. So something to expose us to in the Bible. Let's try to be aware of irony in the Bible. So as we study, we will notice it and then we learn more from it. And shortly then we'll see one big reason why it's there. And once we become aware of it, then we can use it to understand a big reason why God will so often use our weakness to implement his strength. Try to tie all this together as we go through 2nd Corinthians, chapter 6, verses 9 and 10. 2nd Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9 and10. Here Paul seems to fully grasp the irony of his weakness being used to implement the strength of God. Now he had this lesson on the road to Damascus, and apparently he puts it into action a lot. Verse 9. As unknown, yet well known as dying. And behold, we live as chastened, yet not killed, as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many riches, having nothing, yet possessing all things. Why, that's ironic, having nothing. But how could that be? 2nd Corinthians 13:4, 2 Corinthians 13:4. Here Paul repeats the theme of God's power being used to implement our weakness, beginning in verse 4. For though he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of God, for we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God towards you. So there he's talking about weakness, and then the power of God enables us to live. Hebrews chapter 11, verses 32 through 34. Hebrews chapter 11, verses32 through 34. You know, when we're in the grave, you're pretty weak. Can you imagine being more weak than that? Yet it's through the power of God he's talking about here. Christ was crucified in weakness, yet it's by the power of God that completely helpless, we will live. Hebrews 11:32. Apologists goes into the Old Testament and gives sort of a sweeping list of examples here. Hopefully you can spot these as you go through in your bible study. Verse 32. And what more shall I say? For the time will fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, and of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, as in Daniel, quenched the violence of fire, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shaped the edge of the sword out of weakness, were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. He said, God just didn't do this for me. He's been doing this through Israel's entire history. We can learn from this some other examples. I'll read through these just from my notes rather quickly to be able to cover a few more. Just to give you an idea, there are many more throughout the Bible of examples of this type of thing. There's the irony of wealth. The irony of wealth. The rich are actually poor and the poor can be rich. A big theme in the Bible. Here's just a few second Corinthians 8:9 for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that through that though he though he were rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. He had all things, and he came to earth as a man and had nothing that you through his poverty might become rich. James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren, God has not chosen Has God not chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love Him? As Paul said in the Scripture earlier, I have nothing yet possessing all things. It is through faith that God completes His strength in our weakness to give us all things, because the church you are heirs of all things. It's through our poverty and our weakness that he calls us and makes us heirs for this. Okay, Matthew 5:3:6 this is the Beatitudes. We'll just read a section of it. The Beatitudes are a study in irony, if you want to look at them from that point of view. Verse 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. How about that? How ironic. How about the irony of status and power? The high are brought low, and the low lifted up and made high. Just many examples of this. I'll do one here. Proverbs 29:23 Proverbs. Proverbs 29:23 Pride is a major factor and is contrasted with humility. Humility, the antidote to pride. Verse 23Aman's pride will bring him no, doesn't say high, it will bring him low. But the humble in spirit will retain honor, and certainly in the kingdom. So clearly the Bible is full of irony and ironic outcomes of human activity. The Old Testament and new. And these are just a few. I hope I've alerted you to it. As you read, you'll say, oh, there's one and there's another one and there's another one. So that we can spot these things because they're here for a reason. God has them here for a reason. God reveals that by the adversary the whole world is deceived. And it is because of the perverse reverse nature of the adversary in this age that God constantly presents to us the incongruity of our circumstances. God uses irony to teach us our true condition because he is a God of truth. He is a God of truth. I like to the only definition of reality. You could try to get somebody to define reality these days, particularly in the world. They have struggled with it. Well, here's one. Reality is the world as God sees it. If you want to see reality, try looking at the world through his eyes. And that's what he's trying to do here with these lessons. Trying to wrench our perception around and give us the eyes to see that we need to hear so we can learn from. Okay, in the next scripture, Paul presents a big purpose of irony in the Bible in this next scripture. Now, First Corinthians, chapter one, verses 22 through 31. Here, turn there. Go ahead and turn. This is a complicated scripture. This is packed. And you could do a whole sermon on what he's saying here. But I want to just use this to point out, because he summarizes a lot of what we've been talking about here. Paul gives a big reason for God's use of irony in his word. We just break into this in verse 22. For the Jews request a sign. Show me. I want empirical knowledge and information that I can observe and test. That's what they say. The Greeks seek after wisdom. It's got to be logical. The Greeks believed they could create information by reasoning. That's what we learn in all our schools these days. Verse 23. But we preach Christ crucified. Well, that's revelatory. You can't observe it. You can't see it. You can't look up the sky. You can't test it. You can't get out of test tube and do anything. You can't create this information by reasoning. It is revelatory. God tells us his purpose through Christ. We have to be able to accept revelatory information. But we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews, the stumbling blocks, and to the Greeks, foolishness. It makes no sense. Makes no sense. Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Let me show you Verse 24. I skipped to the Greeks foolishness, but 20. Verse 24. But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, if they're given eyes and ears. Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. These things come from him. Verse 25. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. Why? Well, they're prideful and they rely on themselves. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world. That's ironic. Why would he do that? He says so. To put to shame the wise that God has. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put the to shame the things that are mighty and the base things of the world. To put to shame the things that are. And the base things of the world, those things that are despised, those God has chosen. And the things that are not, not mighty or wise to the world. And here he says it. To bring to nothing the things that are mighty and wise in the world. He's bringing to nothing. Verse 29. Here's the purpose right here. Here's the statement that no flesh should glory in his presence. You know why? In his presence, that would be a lie. That would be a lie for any flesh to save. It was because of my scientific brilliance. It was because of my philosophical understanding that I figured all of these things out. No, it was not. It is only by the power of God that he reveals these things to us. And we believe. And by faith is counted for righteousness. And that he works through that faith to accomplish great things. Verse 30. But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. For it is written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. Why do that? Well, because it's the truth of man's condition relevant to God and his purpose. You know what pride is? Pride is a lie. Pride is. I think pride is a sin because it comes from breaking the ninth commandment. You can look at it from other ways, but pride comes is really simply not true. It's not the way things really are. Let's say you are walking out here in the parking lot and sometimes we see little ants scurrying around. Particularly this time of year. They're very active. And you see different kinds of ants. I mean, there's a little, tiny, little, tiny, little ants. You can Barely see them. And then there's some larger ants, you know, some red ones and black ones and everything, and some different sizes. Sometimes I wonder if the larger ants look down at the smaller ants and say, you little tiny ant, boy, am I better than you. Well, there you are standing, watching them. They better watch out for your feet. You are so much bigger than them. The larger ant's pride would seem pretty silly, wouldn't it? How much greater is that of an infinite mind? Here's a very useful suggestion for your prayer. When you're feeling weak and lacking in capacity, and we all do that sometimes, maybe even getting on a little bit in your years here and there. Or maybe you're young and just having to struggle with things a bit. Maybe you're having some limiting problem in life. Pray that God will complete his strength in your weakness. It's fine to ask God to strengthen you. I do all the time. Let me tell you, I need it. I need it sometimes just to get through the day. Pray that God strengthen me and give me wisdom to handle this and handle that and so forth. But also, if you let him, he will even use your weakness to accomplish even more through you. It's a matter of faith. Try asking just in prayer. Include that in your prayer. Maybe that God will not only strengthen you, but even in your weakness, will complete his purpose, his strength. Matthew 10:39 It's a matter of life and death. He who finds his life will lose it. And he who loses his life for my sake will find it. God will use our utter weakness in death to resurrect us to glory and eternal life. And then he will give us all things. All things. How ironic. God reveals that there is one way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is death. There is only one way to true life, and that is Christ. That is revelatory in an important way. The irony in the Bible is about hope of this age. God says in Ephesians 2:12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenants of the Promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. Those who are without God, who, without this knowledge, they don't have any hope. They try to gin it up and they try to think of things. They imagine all kinds of religions or other things, but they are truly without hope. And I think many just know that. But God shows us through the vehicle of irony that things are very different from what they seem. Often the very opposite of what we are conditioned to think. Think of by this world you're called, and have eyes to see and ears to hear these things. And we kind of need to learn to turn our thinking around so that we think and see and perceive as he does. Summarize the second point. Therefore, the irony of God presents us with the irony of the greatest will be the least among the least, the greatest. No one can glory in his presence. God even turns our weaknesses into strength in this age and will certainly do it in the next. Okay, third point. Let's review one kind of sin. I said we would have one practical application of this and something we can focus on, particularly in these times like leading up to the Passover. It's certainly not the only one. God will show us our sin. Sometimes it is hidden in plain sight. And a kind of sin that is hidden in plain sight is our pride. Pride is a tough one. It's a tough one. Sometimes other people can see it, but boy, are we blind to it in ourselves. I like to call it Satan's Judo. I've used this example before, but it's been a long time. You know how judo works? Judo was, I think, written by the Japanese or the Koreans. I forget. But what they use it for. A small person can defeat a larger person. When the larger person comes at them, they don't push back. They grab him and pull him in the direction he's going, getting him off balance. He's already got momentum. They use his momentum against him and then throw him down. That's the way judo. That's the primary move in judo, as I understand it. Well, Satan does the same thing. Pride as a handle, isn't it? It's a big one, and he can spot it coming down the street. So with you, sometimes a strong person who is also. Also prideful, he will grab that and pull them in the direction they're going, making them even more so. And then they become off balance and he can throw them for a fall. Remember the old saying about how. How to take the air out of a bottle? How do you take all the air out of a bottle? Anybody know? Come on. Well, you fill it with water. That takes all the air out of the bottle. When you need to get rid of something, a lot of times you replace it with something else. An effective way of dealing with pride is to replace it with humility. And God keeps telling us this over and over again so that we'll be aware of it and we'll work on it. First Peter, chapter 5, verses 5 through 7. First Peter, chapter 5 and verses 5 through 7. Christ has a different character in mind for his church beginning in verse 5. Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to the elders. Yes, all of you. Be submissive to one another. Be clothed in humility. Be clothed in humility. Dr. O' Neill is written some columns in the world head about this recently. Be clothed in it. We put it on. For God resists the proud, but gives grace or favor to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. He exalts you through humility. I'm sorry, it's a little ironic, isn't it? Isn't it? Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. Luke, chapter 18, verses 9 through 14. Luke 18:9, 14. This is from the parable of the Pharisees. And the tax collectors praying in the temple. And the tax collector standing far off, would not so much as raised his eyes to heaven, but beat himself on the breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. The Pharisee had already been there saying, look how righteous I am. I'm tithing and I do all this great stuff. Boy, I'm sure I'm a whole lot better than this old tax collector over here. Ew, what a bad guy he is. Look at what the tax collector, who was a dishonest man, said. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Verse 14. I tell you that this man went down to his house, justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. These are important things because it builds this character of truth, of our condition and understanding ourselves relative to God, into our character. And then he uses it to. To increase our understanding and growth even more and to accomplish more through us. Why does God see it that way? Well, as I said, just telling the truth. Because pride is a lie in an important way. It violates the ninth commandment. The tax collector was just telling the truth. And of course the Pharisee wasn't. What is one of the things we do before taking the Passover? Well, we wash each other's feet. That's a rather humble thing that we do. We put on Christ because he washed the disciples feet. He washed their feet. And then we remember our justification in Christ when we do this. So he reminds us once again to put on humility. Summarize the third point. We can fight the leaven of pride with humility. It's interesting that in the world usually sees humility as weakness, doesn't it? If the person is humble, they might not say he's weak. But that's what you think about a very humble person. But it seems ironic that in the weakness of our humility, God will then complete our victory over the sin of pride. In the weakness of our humility, God will complete our victory over the sin of pride. So just one thing that we could do to apply that with. So, in conclusion, just to summarize, the Apostle Paul said that God uses the physical affliction that he suffered to teach him an important lesson. He said, for when I am weak, I am strong. That's ironic, of course, and we saw it often repeated in his letters and in other places as well. It's an important theme throughout the Bible, which presents us of many ironies. All those ironies help us to understand our true circumstance as God sees it. He is the God of truth, and we need to have spiritual eyes and ears to discern things as God does. And throughout the Bible, he uses faith to exercise his strength through our weaknesses. Why he does it to destroy the wisdom of the wise and to bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent that no flesh should glory in his presence, which would be a whopper, a lie. No one can do that. Let us never glory in ourselves, but in Christ, our Passover. What he did and what he is doing in us and what he will do. Sat.

Summary5 min read

Podcast Summary: God's Strength in Our Weakness

Podcast: Living Church of God - Audio Sermon Library
Date: May 15, 2026
Episode Theme: Exploring the biblical principle that God’s strength is most evident and perfected in human weakness, with Apostle Paul’s teachings as the foundation. The sermon delves into the recurring theme of irony in the Bible and practical ways Christians can embrace humility and grow spiritually, especially in the days leading up to Passover.

Episode Overview

This sermon investigates the profound spiritual lesson Paul learned through his afflictions—that God often empowers and uplifts individuals precisely through their weaknesses. The preacher traces this lesson across scripture, with particular focus on irony as a teaching tool, culminating in practical applications for Christian living.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh and the Paradox of Strength in Weakness

[00:00 – 11:00]

The message opens with 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, where Paul discusses his "thorn in the flesh."
- "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)
- Speaker Quote [04:50]: “Christ was telling Paul that he uses human weakness to demonstrate his complete control, his complete power over what’s going on, but human pride in our abilities... It’s illusory.”
The specific nature of Paul’s affliction is unknown, and the speaker emphasizes the importance of not speculating beyond what scripture reveals.
Paul’s limitations kept him humble, aware of his dependence on God, and empowered him to endure hardship for the sake of the gospel.

Supporting Scriptures:

Acts 9:17-20: Paul’s physical blindness and healing by Ananias.
Ephesians 3:7-8, 2 Corinthians 10:10, 1 Corinthians 15:9-10: Paul’s humility and self-awareness post-conversion.
- Memorable Quote [16:30]: “God turns Paul’s weakness into strength, and he can do the same for us.”

2. Irony as a Biblical Teaching Tool

[11:00 – 34:00]

The prevalence of irony in the Bible:
- Definition [13:10]: “Irony is characterized by poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs.”
- Example: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (Matthew 19:30)
Paul’s writings are filled with ironic contrasts: unknown yet well-known, dying yet living (2 Corinthians 6:9-10), and especially being “weak, yet strong.”
Christ’s crucifixion: an act of weakness and humiliation, yet a demonstration of divine power (2 Corinthians 13:4).
Old Testament examples (Hebrews 11:32-34): God repeatedly uses the weak—Gideon, Samson, David—to accomplish great feats.
- Notable Quote [25:20]: “Out of weakness, were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.”
The irony of wealth: The truly rich may be poor, and the poor may be rich in faith (2 Corinthians 8:9, James 2:5).
Speaker Reflection [29:50]: “God uses irony to teach us our true condition because he is a God of truth.”

Purpose of Irony:

To challenge human expectations and expose the unreliability of worldly wisdom.
To exemplify that God’s way is often the opposite of what people expect, placing value on humility and faith over status, power, or intellect.

3. Pride, Humility, and the Spiritual Application

[34:00 – 52:00]

The sermon transitions to practical application: combating pride, often “hidden in plain sight.”
- Speaker compares pride to “Satan’s Judo”: “Sometimes a strong person who is prideful…he will grab that and pull them in the direction they’re going, making them even more so. And then they become off balance and he can throw them for a fall.” [37:40]
The antidote to pride is humility.
- 1 Peter 5:5-7: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Luke 18:9-14: The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector—modeling humble, truthful self-assessment before God.
  - “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” [45:00]
- The Passover custom of foot-washing: a physical act symbolizing the humility Christians are called to put on.

Practical Prayer Suggestion

Speaker Suggestion [41:50]: “When you’re feeling weak... pray that God will complete his strength in your weakness. ...If you let him, he will even use your weakness to accomplish even more through you.”

4. Purpose and Consequence of God’s Use of Irony

[52:00 – 56:00]

1 Corinthians 1:22-31: God chooses the weak, the foolish, the despised, so that “no flesh should glory in his presence.”
- Key Quote [54:10]: “It’s only by the power of God that He reveals these things to us... and that He works through that faith to accomplish great things.”
Pride, from a biblical perspective, is fundamentally a lie and a violation of the ninth commandment (bearing false witness), as it misrepresents our true condition before God.

Most Memorable Quotes

“My strength is made perfect in weakness.” – Christ to Paul ([03:00])
“When I am weak, then I am strong.” – Apostle Paul ([05:45])
“God turns Paul’s weakness into strength, and he can do the same for us.” ([16:30])
“Reality is the world as God sees it.” ([30:10])
“Out of weakness were made strong.” ([25:20])
“Let us never glory in ourselves, but in Christ, our Passover.” ([56:00])

Notable Timestamps

[00:00 – 11:00]: Paul’s thorn, weakness, and strength
[13:00 – 17:00]: Irony defined and biblical examples introduced
[25:00 – 30:00]: Irony in wealth and power
[34:00 – 45:00]: Pride, humility, and Satan’s judo analogy
[52:00 – 56:00]: Purpose statement—why God chooses the weak
[56:00]: Conclusion and spiritual charge

Conclusion

The sermon draws together the threads of Paul’s experience, biblical irony, and Christian character, underscoring that God’s power is most evident when believers are humbled and dependent on Him. Embracing weakness, practicing humility, and resisting pride are not just spiritual ideals but active strategies for spiritual growth and service. In the lead-up to Passover, these lessons are particularly poignant, reminding believers that victory and strength come through Christ working in and through our weaknesses.

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Sam, Turn, if you would please, to 2 Corinthians, chapter 12. We'll begin in verse 7, 2nd Corinthians 12, 7. You're familiar with the account, I'm sure, where Paul talks about the thorn in the flesh. This is something that he was suffering from for a long time, some sort of affliction. We don't quite know what it was, but he did mention this. But the interesting thing about this is it's not just in this one place that he brings up what Christ told him, that we see him repeat the principle that Christ gave him numerous times throughout his letters. And then if you track it and watch, there's a principle that we find throughout the Bible, and Paul even points that out at some point. So Paul learned that God often sees things quite differently than we do, and that things are often the opposite of what they seem to us. You know, reality is the world as God sees it. So how he sees it is often quite different, even the reverse of how the world perceives it. There are things that God repeats in his Word, and he does this over and over. It's one of the most fascinating things to me about the Bible, and really for me, at least, a proof of the Bible. You may have heard me say before that writer after writer, place after place, century after century, they're all thinking the same things. These great themes roll through the Bible like thunder. They're presenting the world as God sees it. And finding and studying these great themes is of great benefit to us. I just love to do it. So let's go through Second Corinthians, chapter 12. Here's an example. The physical affliction that Paul had, and Christ used it to teach Paul a very important lesson. Verse 7. Unless I should be exalted above measure, by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh has been given to me. If you look at that word thorn, some of the commentaries talk about it and say, yeah, you could say thorn. But in Greek and in other places, it's often translated as literally a stake, a spike, or something that is a bigger than a thorn. Interesting comment there, but this is like something that's pretty big that's bothering him. This affliction that he has a messenger to Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measures. He's saying, things are so great for me that I need this. Christ says I need this to sort of keep me stable, to keep my feet on the ground. He's saying. Verse 8, concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you. Here it is. For my strength is made perfect in weakness. My strength is made perfect in weakness. What an ironic thing to say. Isn't that interesting? Therefore most gladly I would rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. So he's saying, if he's happy with his infirmities because it enables him to have more of Christ's power resting upon him. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches and needs, persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake. Here again, he says it again. Here it is. For when I am weak, I am strong. What an ironic statement. When I am weak, I am strong. You wouldn't exactly expect that, would you? Well, how can that be? Well, this helps us to understand some more about the word that is translated perfect in the new King James is telly O and translated this. If you look in the lexicons or other places, it means to perfect in the sense of to carry something through completely, to accomplish, to consummate in the sense of lacking nothing in final outcome. Like if you're a lawyer, you might say they were going to perfect a lien on the property or perfect the mortgage. That means it's complete and there's nothing left to do for it. Christ was telling Paul that he uses human weakness to demonstrate his complete control, his complete power over what's going on, but human pride in our abilities. It's illusory. It's illusory. Sometimes we feeling strong and we say we're really great. And God. No you're not. No, sorry, you're not. That's illusory. It just gets in the way of what he's trying to do. So throughout the Bible we see this lesson being taught. It's not just here. We're going to try to get you tuned in. So you can see this happening throughout the Bible. And Paul's even going to point out through in the Old Testament here before we're done. So today let's look at the lesson that God is using human weakness to show us his strength and to teach us to rely on it. So we're going to look at examples of the apostle Paul repeatedly demonstrating this lesson. Just look at some of them. You're going to find more now that you're aware of it as you read his letters. And another, we're going to look at one way that God accomplishes this could be lots of things. We're just going to Focus on one and then one way to put this understanding into practice in our lives, especially right now, a few days before Passover. So the title of this split sermon is God's Strength in Our Weakness. God's Strength in Our Weakness. Okay, first let's look at what Paul may have meant by his weakness. What was this affliction, this infirmity that he was suffering from? Well, we don't know. We don't know. And one of the. Really, one of the things I appreciate a lot about our council of elders is that, yeah, we do acknowledge and appreciate what the Bible says in every way, but we also acknowledge what it doesn't say. Sometimes the Bible doesn't give us information, and our impetus is to try to fill it in with our own thinking. It's not a great idea. And the church has really been very good about that, I think. But let's read here another incident where it's the only infirmity that I know of that Paul had a real illness or sickness other than the beatings and other things that he suffered from other people. Acts, chapter 9, verses 10 through 20. Acts, chapter 9. Well, we'll begin in verse 17. But this is the only infirmity that we read about Paul having other than his beatings, as I said. So Paul had an encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus. Famous thing that blinded him while he was on his way. And Ananias, who was a prophet, was told by God to go and heal Paul and also to baptize him. And it was through Ananias that he was given the Holy Spirit. Verse 17. And Ananias went his way and entered into the house. And laying hands on him, he said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. You know, Paul had been blinded before. He was persecuting the church. He didn't have eyes to see, and he may have maybe not ears to hear either. So this was a big lesson for Paul. Perhaps God thought that he need to be reminded of him. Verse 18. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales. And he received his sight at once and arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul went some days with the disciples, spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately, verse 20, immediately he preached the Christ. He preached the Christ in the synagogues, that he was the Son of God. So you talk about a 180, a huge change, and he could go. Paul was A brilliant scholar, and you could imagine he could understand and preach with great power to these people. So what could his affirmative have been? Well, you read the commentaries, they guess this, they guess that. Some say it could have been chronic ophthalmia, which is an affliction, inflammation of the eyes. It can result from physical trauma or other causes. Maybe that inflammation was his eyes. Was it? But there's not much information to go on there. But Paul had a brilliant mind, he was highly educated, he was a famous scholar even in his own day. And wonder if he had a lot of pride in his capacity. What do you think? Maybe he certainly had been blind before he lost his sight. Maybe God needed him to know that. If God is working with us, he may humble us to deal with our pride. Did that ever happen to you when you were being called? Has it happened a little bit since? Sure it does. He does that and he works with us because these are things that he needs to change in our lives. Ephesians, chapter 3, verses 7 and 8. Ephesians chapter 3 and verses 7 and 8. So the result of all of this was that Paul was constantly aware of his limitations. Was Paul aware of his limitations before? We don't know. My guess is he wasn't very much. Verse 7, whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power, his power unto me. I am less than the least of all the saints. All saints. Is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of. Of Christ. So this was something that was given to him and by the power of God. Remember that Zechariah 4, 6 says, not by might or by power, but by my Spirit, says the lord of hosts. 2nd Corinthians 10, 10, 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 10. We don't have a lot of descriptions of Paul, what he was like, but here he kind of gives us a clue, if you met Paul, what you might have experienced just in his presentation and personality. He was not personally charismatic. He was not an impressive speaker, but he could write powerfully. That we know because we have his letters. Just verse 10 for his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible. Ouch. Contemptible speech and weak bodily presence. He was not really a charismatic person. A little picture of Paul. I wonder what he looked like. First Corinthians 15, 9, 10. First Corinthians 15 9, 10. Paul's infirmity seems to have made him more willing to endure severe trials for the sake of the Gospel and the ministry. Verse 9. For I am least of the apostles. Paul wasn't exactly the world's most humble guy before, but now he says, I am the least of the apostles. That I am not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God, but by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace, which was bestowed upon me, not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all. Okay, I really labored abundantly. Well, look how he qualifies it. Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. I don't think Paul would have necessarily said that before his trip to Damascus. Summarize point number one. Paul learned a great lesson from his affliction. And his weakness and personal failures in persecuting the church then enabled him to be used by God to propel the gospel of the Kingdom of God forward to the whole Gentile world. That was his job, a huge one. God turns Paul's weakness into strength, and he can do the same for us. Point number two, okay. God often uses irony in the Bible to show us the reality of the human condition. We're going to see this a lot, and I'd like to just kind of connect this whole what we're talking about with Paul with all the other things that are going. Many of the other things that are going on in the Bible. When we say something is ironic, we hear that word a good bit these days. That was ironic. What do we mean? Could you define the word ironic? It's kind of tough to define, really, but I looked it up the several ways it can be used. But here's just one definition. Irony is characterized by poignant difference or incongruity between what is expected and what actually occurs. You expect one thing from whatever the situation is, but something completely different occurs. Oh, that was ironic. That's what we use the word sometimes. Like, it was ironic that the police station was burglarized. You know, that's ironic to hear that. Matthew 19:30. Matthew 19:30. The Bible is full of ironic statements. I'm hoping you're going to be able to pick them out and spot them now in the future. But many who are first will be last and the last first. Wow, that sure is ironic, isn't it? Many such statements. Why is that? Why is irony found so often in the Bible? And why do we see so often this incongruity between what might be expected by people and what actually occurs? Why do we see that so often? Is God trying to tell us something by this? Because he repeats it an awful lot. Well, it's full of ironic statements by God in the Bible and ironic situations from what we are to learn. So something to expose us to in the Bible. Let's try to be aware of irony in the Bible. So as we study, we will notice it and then we learn more from it. And shortly then we'll see one big reason why it's there. And once we become aware of it, then we can use it to understand a big reason why God will so often use our weakness to implement his strength. Try to tie all this together as we go through 2nd Corinthians, chapter 6, verses 9 and 10. 2nd Corinthians chapter 6, verses 9 and10. Here Paul seems to fully grasp the irony of his weakness being used to implement the strength of God. Now he had this lesson on the road to Damascus, and apparently he puts it into action a lot. Verse 9. As unknown, yet well known as dying. And behold, we live as chastened, yet not killed, as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many riches, having nothing, yet possessing all things. Why, that's ironic, having nothing. But how could that be? 2nd Corinthians 13:4, 2 Corinthians 13:4. Here Paul repeats the theme of God's power being used to implement our weakness, beginning in verse 4. For though he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of God, for we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God towards you. So there he's talking about weakness, and then the power of God enables us to live. Hebrews chapter 11, verses 32 through 34. Hebrews chapter 11, verses32 through 34. You know, when we're in the grave, you're pretty weak. Can you imagine being more weak than that? Yet it's through the power of God he's talking about here. Christ was crucified in weakness, yet it's by the power of God that completely helpless, we will live. Hebrews 11:32. Apologists goes into the Old Testament and gives sort of a sweeping list of examples here. Hopefully you can spot these as you go through in your bible study. Verse 32. And what more shall I say? For the time will fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, and of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, as in Daniel, quenched the violence of fire, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shaped the edge of the sword out of weakness, were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. He said, God just didn't do this for me. He's been doing this through Israel's entire history. We can learn from this some other examples. I'll read through these just from my notes rather quickly to be able to cover a few more. Just to give you an idea, there are many more throughout the Bible of examples of this type of thing. There's the irony of wealth. The irony of wealth. The rich are actually poor and the poor can be rich. A big theme in the Bible. Here's just a few second Corinthians 8:9 for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that through that though he though he were rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. He had all things, and he came to earth as a man and had nothing that you through his poverty might become rich. James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren, God has not chosen Has God not chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to those who love Him? As Paul said in the Scripture earlier, I have nothing yet possessing all things. It is through faith that God completes His strength in our weakness to give us all things, because the church you are heirs of all things. It's through our poverty and our weakness that he calls us and makes us heirs for this. Okay, Matthew 5:3:6 this is the Beatitudes. We'll just read a section of it. The Beatitudes are a study in irony, if you want to look at them from that point of view. Verse 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. How about that? How ironic. How about the irony of status and power? The high are brought low, and the low lifted up and made high. Just many examples of this. I'll do one here. Proverbs 29:23 Proverbs. Proverbs 29:23 Pride is a major factor and is contrasted with humility. Humility, the antidote to pride. Verse 23Aman's pride will bring him no, doesn't say high, it will bring him low. But the humble in spirit will retain honor, and certainly in the kingdom. So clearly the Bible is full of irony and ironic outcomes of human activity. The Old Testament and new. And these are just a few. I hope I've alerted you to it. As you read, you'll say, oh, there's one and there's another one and there's another one. So that we can spot these things because they're here for a reason. God has them here for a reason. God reveals that by the adversary the whole world is deceived. And it is because of the perverse reverse nature of the adversary in this age that God constantly presents to us the incongruity of our circumstances. God uses irony to teach us our true condition because he is a God of truth. He is a God of truth. I like to the only definition of reality. You could try to get somebody to define reality these days, particularly in the world. They have struggled with it. Well, here's one. Reality is the world as God sees it. If you want to see reality, try looking at the world through his eyes. And that's what he's trying to do here with these lessons. Trying to wrench our perception around and give us the eyes to see that we need to hear so we can learn from. Okay, in the next scripture, Paul presents a big purpose of irony in the Bible in this next scripture. Now, First Corinthians, chapter one, verses 22 through 31. Here, turn there. Go ahead and turn. This is a complicated scripture. This is packed. And you could do a whole sermon on what he's saying here. But I want to just use this to point out, because he summarizes a lot of what we've been talking about here. Paul gives a big reason for God's use of irony in his word. We just break into this in verse 22. For the Jews request a sign. Show me. I want empirical knowledge and information that I can observe and test. That's what they say. The Greeks seek after wisdom. It's got to be logical. The Greeks believed they could create information by reasoning. That's what we learn in all our schools these days. Verse 23. But we preach Christ crucified. Well, that's revelatory. You can't observe it. You can't see it. You can't look up the sky. You can't test it. You can't get out of test tube and do anything. You can't create this information by reasoning. It is revelatory. God tells us his purpose through Christ. We have to be able to accept revelatory information. But we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews, the stumbling blocks, and to the Greeks, foolishness. It makes no sense. Makes no sense. Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Let me show you Verse 24. I skipped to the Greeks foolishness, but 20. Verse 24. But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, if they're given eyes and ears. Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. These things come from him. Verse 25. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. Why? Well, they're prideful and they rely on themselves. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world. That's ironic. Why would he do that? He says so. To put to shame the wise that God has. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put the to shame the things that are mighty and the base things of the world. To put to shame the things that are. And the base things of the world, those things that are despised, those God has chosen. And the things that are not, not mighty or wise to the world. And here he says it. To bring to nothing the things that are mighty and wise in the world. He's bringing to nothing. Verse 29. Here's the purpose right here. Here's the statement that no flesh should glory in his presence. You know why? In his presence, that would be a lie. That would be a lie for any flesh to save. It was because of my scientific brilliance. It was because of my philosophical understanding that I figured all of these things out. No, it was not. It is only by the power of God that he reveals these things to us. And we believe. And by faith is counted for righteousness. And that he works through that faith to accomplish great things. Verse 30. But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. For it is written, he who glories, let him glory in the Lord. Why do that? Well, because it's the truth of man's condition relevant to God and his purpose. You know what pride is? Pride is a lie. Pride is. I think pride is a sin because it comes from breaking the ninth commandment. You can look at it from other ways, but pride comes is really simply not true. It's not the way things really are. Let's say you are walking out here in the parking lot and sometimes we see little ants scurrying around. Particularly this time of year. They're very active. And you see different kinds of ants. I mean, there's a little, tiny, little, tiny, little ants. You can Barely see them. And then there's some larger ants, you know, some red ones and black ones and everything, and some different sizes. Sometimes I wonder if the larger ants look down at the smaller ants and say, you little tiny ant, boy, am I better than you. Well, there you are standing, watching them. They better watch out for your feet. You are so much bigger than them. The larger ant's pride would seem pretty silly, wouldn't it? How much greater is that of an infinite mind? Here's a very useful suggestion for your prayer. When you're feeling weak and lacking in capacity, and we all do that sometimes, maybe even getting on a little bit in your years here and there. Or maybe you're young and just having to struggle with things a bit. Maybe you're having some limiting problem in life. Pray that God will complete his strength in your weakness. It's fine to ask God to strengthen you. I do all the time. Let me tell you, I need it. I need it sometimes just to get through the day. Pray that God strengthen me and give me wisdom to handle this and handle that and so forth. But also, if you let him, he will even use your weakness to accomplish even more through you. It's a matter of faith. Try asking just in prayer. Include that in your prayer. Maybe that God will not only strengthen you, but even in your weakness, will complete his purpose, his strength. Matthew 10:39 It's a matter of life and death. He who finds his life will lose it. And he who loses his life for my sake will find it. God will use our utter weakness in death to resurrect us to glory and eternal life. And then he will give us all things. All things. How ironic. God reveals that there is one way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is death. There is only one way to true life, and that is Christ. That is revelatory in an important way. The irony in the Bible is about hope of this age. God says in Ephesians 2:12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenants of the Promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. Those who are without God, who, without this knowledge, they don't have any hope. They try to gin it up and they try to think of things. They imagine all kinds of religions or other things, but they are truly without hope. And I think many just know that. But God shows us through the vehicle of irony that things are very different from what they seem. Often the very opposite of what we are conditioned to think. Think of by this world you're called, and have eyes to see and ears to hear these things. And we kind of need to learn to turn our thinking around so that we think and see and perceive as he does. Summarize the second point. Therefore, the irony of God presents us with the irony of the greatest will be the least among the least, the greatest. No one can glory in his presence. God even turns our weaknesses into strength in this age and will certainly do it in the next. Okay, third point. Let's review one kind of sin. I said we would have one practical application of this and something we can focus on, particularly in these times like leading up to the Passover. It's certainly not the only one. God will show us our sin. Sometimes it is hidden in plain sight. And a kind of sin that is hidden in plain sight is our pride. Pride is a tough one. It's a tough one. Sometimes other people can see it, but boy, are we blind to it in ourselves. I like to call it Satan's Judo. I've used this example before, but it's been a long time. You know how judo works? Judo was, I think, written by the Japanese or the Koreans. I forget. But what they use it for. A small person can defeat a larger person. When the larger person comes at them, they don't push back. They grab him and pull him in the direction he's going, getting him off balance. He's already got momentum. They use his momentum against him and then throw him down. That's the way judo. That's the primary move in judo, as I understand it. Well, Satan does the same thing. Pride as a handle, isn't it? It's a big one, and he can spot it coming down the street. So with you, sometimes a strong person who is also. Also prideful, he will grab that and pull them in the direction they're going, making them even more so. And then they become off balance and he can throw them for a fall. Remember the old saying about how. How to take the air out of a bottle? How do you take all the air out of a bottle? Anybody know? Come on. Well, you fill it with water. That takes all the air out of the bottle. When you need to get rid of something, a lot of times you replace it with something else. An effective way of dealing with pride is to replace it with humility. And God keeps telling us this over and over again so that we'll be aware of it and we'll work on it. First Peter, chapter 5, verses 5 through 7. First Peter, chapter 5 and verses 5 through 7. Christ has a different character in mind for his church beginning in verse 5. Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to the elders. Yes, all of you. Be submissive to one another. Be clothed in humility. Be clothed in humility. Dr. O' Neill is written some columns in the world head about this recently. Be clothed in it. We put it on. For God resists the proud, but gives grace or favor to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. He exalts you through humility. I'm sorry, it's a little ironic, isn't it? Isn't it? Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. Luke, chapter 18, verses 9 through 14. Luke 18:9, 14. This is from the parable of the Pharisees. And the tax collectors praying in the temple. And the tax collector standing far off, would not so much as raised his eyes to heaven, but beat himself on the breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. The Pharisee had already been there saying, look how righteous I am. I'm tithing and I do all this great stuff. Boy, I'm sure I'm a whole lot better than this old tax collector over here. Ew, what a bad guy he is. Look at what the tax collector, who was a dishonest man, said. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Verse 14. I tell you that this man went down to his house, justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. These are important things because it builds this character of truth, of our condition and understanding ourselves relative to God, into our character. And then he uses it to. To increase our understanding and growth even more and to accomplish more through us. Why does God see it that way? Well, as I said, just telling the truth. Because pride is a lie in an important way. It violates the ninth commandment. The tax collector was just telling the truth. And of course the Pharisee wasn't. What is one of the things we do before taking the Passover? Well, we wash each other's feet. That's a rather humble thing that we do. We put on Christ because he washed the disciples feet. He washed their feet. And then we remember our justification in Christ when we do this. So he reminds us once again to put on humility. Summarize the third point. We can fight the leaven of pride with humility. It's interesting that in the world usually sees humility as weakness, doesn't it? If the person is humble, they might not say he's weak. But that's what you think about a very humble person. But it seems ironic that in the weakness of our humility, God will then complete our victory over the sin of pride. In the weakness of our humility, God will complete our victory over the sin of pride. So just one thing that we could do to apply that with. So, in conclusion, just to summarize, the Apostle Paul said that God uses the physical affliction that he suffered to teach him an important lesson. He said, for when I am weak, I am strong. That's ironic, of course, and we saw it often repeated in his letters and in other places as well. It's an important theme throughout the Bible, which presents us of many ironies. All those ironies help us to understand our true circumstance as God sees it. He is the God of truth, and we need to have spiritual eyes and ears to discern things as God does. And throughout the Bible, he uses faith to exercise his strength through our weaknesses. Why he does it to destroy the wisdom of the wise and to bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent that no flesh should glory in his presence, which would be a whopper, a lie. No one can do that. Let us never glory in ourselves, but in Christ, our Passover. What he did and what he is doing in us and what he will do. Sat.