MAN’S WEAKNESS, GOD’S VICTORY



Text:II Cor 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.



Intro: Until I was about 14 years old, our family had never had a home of our own. We had lived in rental houses and there were none of the present-day laws in place to protect the renter.



One evening, the owner of our home at that time, drove up into the yard. Dad went out to talk with him. He returned tight-lipped and we knew something was wrong. He said we had one week to vacate the house. He had no job and no money; The depression still held the country in its grip. Mom began to sob. It looked like we might well have to join the homeless, camping wherever opportunity afforded.



Dad made the family, what seemed, at that time, a rash promise; “It will never happen again”. The next day, with five dollars borrowed from his brother, Uncle Frank, he made a down payment on a lot in a recently opened subdivision. With a good credit reputation built up over the past few years, he obtained lumber from the local lumber yard.





He and I worked side by side and by the time the week was out, we moved into a very Spartan, very small, rustic cabin. IT WAS OURS! And noone could evict us!



If human determination can bring the ‘impossible to pass, how much more, can the power of an omnipotent God bless those who are determined to serve Him?



I. BUT..... He often holds back His power until man’s resources are used up.
A. Israel had to be reduced to abject slavery.
Psa 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?



B. Jonah had no victory until he cried out from the belly of the fish.
Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.



2:1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,
2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.



C. Samson’s greatest victory came as a blinded captive.
Jdgs 16:23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.



25 And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
26 And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them.



27 Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.



29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.
30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.



II The reason behind this divine principle
I Cor 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.






This was demonstrated in Gideon’s first victory.
Jdgs.6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.



Jdgs.6:25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father's young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.



27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.



II The principle. Does it still work?
A. In salvation
Man must brought down until he realizes his helplessness and calls out to God in repentance.
Lu 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.



12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.



B. In our personal service to Him, God becomes the strength of one who admits his own weakness.
1. Jacob received the blessing of power with God and man after his strength was broken.



2. Moses fled from Pharaoh when he thought himself strong. In his weakness, God gave him victory.



C. In the Lord’s Church
1. The Church at Jerusalem became weak before her persecutors, but a powerhouse of strength as her members scattered and went everywhere preaching the gospel!



2. John was torn from the bosom of his beloved flock and banished to Patmos, but there, he received the vision of the Lord’s final Glory.



III Method of Application
A. Recognize weakness, but don’t major on it! This is what led Elijah to hide out in the juniper forest.



B. Learn the difference between defeatism and realism. There is a great difference between ‘I can’t do it’ and ‘It can’t be done’! The difference is God!


Jno 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.



Matt 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.



C. None of the victories cited were gained by man wallowing in defeatism. They were gained when he recognized his own limits and turned with determination to God.