I'm so thankful you're all here with us today!
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for everyone who You have gathered with us today
I pray that as we are gathered to hear Your message for us, that we would individually and collectively, would absorb Your truths, of love and unity. What a glorious truths they are. Thank you for Jesus, who is our Head, from whom surges the power of our strength and is our resource for the wisdom needed today. May Your truths impact this body, O, Sovereign Lord, teach us Your ways, that we might function in such a way that our gift might really begin to work for You.
Help us, that we might become so united, that we might reflect Your light, a beacon of hope and unity across this broken and fallen world.
In Your precious name we pray
Amen
"For if I want to boast, I will not be a fool, because I will be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me, especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
II Corinthians 12:6-10
Today's Message: Comfortable in Your Skin
As you might know, God through the Holy Spirit, has been guiding me to the book of II Corinthians.
Today, we find ourselves in chapter 12. Specifically, verses 6 through 10. I would like to invite everyone, to open your Bibles with me, to II Corinthians 12:6-10.
That brings me to the question: Are you comfortable living in your skin?
As I was preparing for today's message, in our study of II Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 6 through 10, God asked a question of me. One I'm also going to share with you. Do you think that the Apostle Paul was comfortable in his skin? Paul had a thorn in his flesh, that was irritating his skin.
And we know from our text, that Paul did what he could to remove the thorn from his flesh, in fact,
he even prayed, asking God three times, to remove it.
I suppose, if it were me, with a thorn in my flesh, I would do what I could to remove it myself. Perhaps, with a pair of tweezers and try to pull it out. And if that didn't work, I would probably go to my doctor, and have him remove it. Then, God posed a question to me, if you were unable to remove the thorn from your flesh, and your doctor was also unable to remove the thorn from your flesh,
would you still be comfortable in your skin? And that, beloved, brings us to today's message.
There are going to be times in our lives, that the only way we are going to be comfortable in our skin, is if our soul is satisfied with a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Let's be honest, there are going to be those times, when we all are not going to be comfortable in our skin. There will be times, when we wish we could just trade skin with someone else. The Apostle Paul, was at least at this very moment in our text, not very comfortable in his skin. The reason I am able to discern that, is because the Scripture did not say he offered up a prayer to God. Our text actually says that Paul pleaded with God. He bore his soul to God. In other words, he got down on his hands and knees, and Paul got right down to business with God, He put everything out there to God not once, not twice, but three times because he desperately wanted that thorn in his flesh gone.
I can tell you this, from my own personal experience, that there will be times when you will plead with God, and His answer is going to be "no." But, because His answer is 'no,' it doesn't doom you to a life of being uncomfortable in your skin. Because if your soul is satisfied in Christ, regardless of your thorn, you can be comfortable in your skin. God answered Paul and said that "my grace is sufficient for you," and that is all it took for his soul to be satisfied, and he became comfortable in his skin.
One thing we must all keep in mind, is if we are to be comfortable in our own skin, we need to stop comparing our skin to everyone else's skin and desiring that person's skin. We instead, need to compare our lives with God's Word, desire it and become comfortable living a life in Christ.
As I studied the text for today's message, reading it over and over, one thing came to mind and sort of stuck with me. Out of all the times, I read this passage, Paul never once mentioned wanting to be in anyone else's skin. It isn't recorded anywhere in our text, that Paul ever said, "How much better my life would be, if I just had Luke's skin. Then, my life would be just right!"
I'm sure, we have all have experienced wanting to be in someone else's skin.
Maybe it was a sibling, who always seemed to get their way. Or someone you met, who really seemed to have it all together, great looks, career, family etc, From where you were standing, their life was 'perfect.' Beloved, let me tell you, that all that comparison is useless because their skin, is their skin and your skin is, well, your skin. And guess, one day, both skins are all going to the same place: To the grave. So why waste what time you are blessed with on this earth, comparing your skin to someone else's skin?
Wise instruction is given to us in Ecclesiastes 12:7, "and the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.” " What does this mean for us? Its message is quite simple: Comparing skin is absolute futility!
What matters is how I compare myself to the Word of God. Do I line up with what God says to me? 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. Grace is such a marvelous word. And it should be, in fact, everything we have received from God, is by grace. The word grace is mentioned 155 times in the New Testament. Grace is a incredible force, a powerful divine force that God pours out into the lives of His people, in order to grant them all that they need to be all that He desires them to be. The apostle Paul compared himself to the Word of God and lined himself up with it. Do you compare yourself to God's Word and does your life line up with it? Paul's desire was not to be in the skin of someone else but to line his life up with the Word of God, in his own skin.
We must learn to be comfortable in our skin, regardless of what is happening in our skin, or in the world around us. If we are insuring that our lives are in line with the Word of God rather than the world, where we typically fight God on anything He is trying to accomplish in our lives. When we are aligned with the world, we silence His voice when He speaking to us, and we will not be comfortable in our skin.
The apostle Paul clearly lined up his life with what God spoke to him, that His grace was sufficient, and I know this from studying the Scriptures. The best evidence, is after God answered Him, Paul never mentioned the thorn in his flesh again, right up to his death. Paul's humiliation and obedience unto death of the Lord Jesus in order to secure man's salvation became a new source of inspiration, in the direction both of human action and of human suffering, and Paul was crucified with Christ unto the world. He bore on his own body the marks of the Lord Jesus, and of this he justly boasted. The apostle Paul's personal weakness was an occasion for the reception of new spiritual strength. Our Lord, Jesus Christ made His own grace sufficient, when His servant's strength had all but gone. And by this sublime paradox, Paul learned that when he was weak, it was then that he became strong.
But let's not stop with the example of Paul, we can also look to the Bible for another story. The story of Jonah, which is found in the book of Jonah chapter 2. If we'll turn to Jonah chapter 2, verses 5 and 6, we can read the story, when Jonah attempted to flee from what God wanted to do in His life. "The waters engulfed me up to the neck; the watery depths overcame me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. I sank to the foundations of the mountains; the earth with its prison bars closed behind me forever!"
In Closing...
Now, allow me to ask you a question, do any of you really think that Jonah was comfortable in his skin in the belly of that great fish? The message is clear, Jonah was fighting God, and when we fight against God, we will not be happy in our sin... or comfortable in our skin. The consequence of fighting God, is being uncomfortable in your skin. I know that some of you today, are resisting what God is calling you to change. God may have asked you to do something, and you told Him no. Perhaps God is calling you to salvation, and you are fighting it because you think it will somehow restrict your freedom. However, beloved, the question we must all be asking ourselves, are we really happy in our skin, resisting against God's calling on our life? Or are we unhappy in our skin, while trying to do life our own way? Is your life lining up with God's Word, or are you fighting God, every step of the way?
So where do you go when you’ve tried and exhausted everything that you know to do?
There are so many people that are feeling fearful, powerless, even overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness. I have had many people tell me, "I've tried everything that I know to do, and nothing seems to work. I don't know what to do anymore. I have no one that I can turn to!"
My response, is always the same, "Yes you do! You can still turn to exactly where you should have gone to in the beginning. To the Lord Jesus Christ!!
What so many people fail to realize, is that God is nearer in your problems, than you may realize. It is highly probable, that God actually allowed these problems and struggles to occur, in order to hit you hard enough to wake you up and reconcile you to Himself! But Why? Because you have been slipping away from Him. So, He allowed you to be knocked around a little so you’d come back to Him! I believe, that God is speaking to some of you right now, today, right there in the middle of your mess. Most often, while on the surface, things may seem as though they've reached the lowest point in our lives, it is in reality the pathway to true encouragement and change through Jesus Christ. Today, God is reaching out to you, through this message, to call upon Him. Believe me, when you humble yourself and earnestly call upon Him, He will answer you! But if you choose to refuse Him then you will be left to go thru your problem alone! What more must happen before you realize, that can no longer do it alone? A tragedy? With a heavy burden placed upon my heart, I urge you right now, to consider calling upon His name. Don't wait a moment longer, do it today. You don't have to carry your heavy burdens alone, there is a Savior waiting to help you, to take them from you, if you'll just call upon Him!
It doesn't need to be a long, drawn out, elaborate prayer. Just simply confess to Christ your sins, your failures, and your dependence upon Him. That you believe in your heart, He died for your sins, and that He was risen on the third day, that you would have eternal life.
God, I know that I have messed things up pretty bad. I know that I have sinned. I'm sorry, please forgive me! Heal me, from the inside out!
I admit that I am weak. I am not strong enough to bear this heavy load alone. Please God, help me.
"Now we know that You know everything and don’t need anyone to question You. By this we believe that You came from God.”Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe? Look: An hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world."
John 16:30-33
What marvelous words of encouragement from Jesus, our Savior, "You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world."
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2020 All Rights Reserved