Subject – IS BOASTING COOL OR WHAT?
Text – 2 Corinthians 12:7 NIV (read vv.1-10)
“I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
INTRODUCTION –
Some of you have parents, siblings, friends, etc., that you love to boast about (expound). Even though it is their accomplishments that you may be taking pride in boasting about, if you are not careful, you can become so caught up in their exploits that you indeed become conceited (smug, arrogant, and/or snobbish).
Despite the fact that Paul was truly sold out for Jesus, and had gone through many trials and tribulations in proof of his dedication, Paul is making us aware that any of his can become so caught up in the glitz and glamour of life that we start looking forward to “reading our own press.” (Expound).
In this passage of scripture, Paul points out several points of concern when it comes to boasting:
- “I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained.” – You may be just ministering in the way the Lord has gifted you; and although you are well aware that it is all about Jesus, when you give God the glory for what He is doing through your ministering . . . you are boasting (expound).
- “I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.” – Some of you are doing great things in the eyes of men, and you are careful to give God the glory for what He is doing in, and with your life. One way to do this is to make it known that if it was up to you, you would not be able to do the things that the Lord has you doing (expound).
- “Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say” – This should be taken as a word of caution here. Even though you may be giving God the glory, credit, and praise for whatever the thing, or things, you may be doing in the Lord’s name, as we stated earlier, once you start boasting it is only a thin line to cross before others start looking at YOU instead of the Lord, and you start “Reading your own Press” (expound).
CONCLUSION –
7 “Or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.”
Understand this my sisters and my brothers, Paul was doing mighty things for the cause of Christ, and some people were giving Paul more praise and accolades than he ever got before. To keep Paul from “Reading his own Press,” The Lord allowed Paul to go through some torturous ordeal to keep him humble and serviceable.
Neither Paul, nor anywhere else in the Bible does it state what this “thorn in my flesh” that bothered Paul is, but there are some interesting things about it that we do know:
- The purpose of it was to KEEP Paul from being full of himself or self-centered.
- It either affected him physically and/or it affected his physical nature (expound).
- Again, it could have been a physical temptation. Depending on the temptation, it could easily have had Paul in a mental state that was very torturous to Paul.