Power to endure (defined)

Paul writes in 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.”

“Paul now knows something about how to properly view the adversity he’s experiencing but, by the way, he’s not enjoying it,” explains Alex Kurz in a series of Sunday school studies he’s currently giving on how Christians are able to endure tribulation and suffering. “If you want to know what adversity he’s experiencing, verse 7 tells you: ‘And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.’

“So what does every good Christian do? Well, Paul says in verse 8: ‘For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.’

“He’s thinking, ‘You know, God’s God, right? He’s sovereign and I’m going to appeal to Him and ask Him to get rid of it.’

“And the Lord’s response is, ‘My grace is sufficient.’ So now what does Paul say? ‘Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’

“Paul’s the one who wrote Romans 5, by the way. Isn’t it a comfort to know that the one who was God’s instrument in writing Romans 5 wasn’t always consistent in the application of doctrine? Why is that? We don’t worship Paul, do we? He’s made out of the same material as you and I.

“He says, ‘I’m going to see the worth, the eternal profit in my infirmities,’ and you know what happens when we begin to view trouble in light of what God says about it? ‘That the power of Christ may rest upon me.’

“Paul doesn’t say, ‘Hey, you know what, adversity builds character.’ Isn’t that what the world says? It’s, ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ Or, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going.’

“Is that what Paul just said when he said, ‘I’d rather glory so that the power of Christ may rest upon me’? Now, that’s the difference between the worldly approach to adversities and problems in life with this idea that it’s going to build character—kind of like the Frank Sinatra form of Christianity: ‘I did it my way! I climbed the mountaintop! I started from the slimy bottom and I excelled.’

“God says we need to learn about how tribulation is going to work the power of Christ. It’s going to work in the realm of our inner man the comfort of God the Holy Spirit. The life of our Savior and the glory that God intends to give us.

“You want to talk about power?! Hey listen, I’m not going to talk and brag about climbing some mountain! I’m going to boast and brag about the available assets and capacities that are found in a person.

“Then look at what he says in verse 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.’

“When he says, ‘I take pleasure,’ that means he says, ‘I see the value.’ And you know what, he’s going to prefer those events and circumstances that were deemed detrimental; he’s going to prefer that over comfort and happiness because he wants to experience the power of Christ.

“I can’t emphasize this enough, for my own edification. We’ve got to know this; we have to learn, we have to reorient our thinking.

“And when Romans 5:3 tells us, ‘And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience,’ we must examine trouble always in light of truth and then determine what’s real, what’s valuable, what’s worthy.

“Understand we are armed with some spiritual weaponry that allows us to except the reality of tribulation and then ultimately properly respond to it.

“And what is it that God says is sufficient? You know what the means? Sufficient means ‘completely adequate.’

I Corinthians 15:10 says, ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.’

“Some people envision God as though some invisible hand is always sort of lifting them up. You’ve seen that photo of the ‘Footprints in the Sand’ where Jesus carries you when times are tough.

“Romans 5:2 says, ‘By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.’ God says you’re already standing; you are in that position! What we need to understand is how to access it, but it’s already there!

“God isn’t going to go, ‘Charlie, boy, you’re in trouble. ZAP! I’m going to give you a little more grace.’ And then say to Serge, ‘You know what, you’ve got too much already so I’m now going to withdraw some of that grace.’

“You see some of the crazy religious thinking? We all possess the same amount of grace as Believers. And God’s attitude is, ‘That’s enough.’ Can you imagine God who says, ‘That’s enough.’

*****

“What does Paul ask in II Corinthians 2:16: ‘To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?’

“Paul actually details the intense death, and he’s talking about service. He asks, ‘Who can handle this? Who can endure? Who can put up with this?’

“Where is the sufficiency? Chapter 4:11 says, ‘For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.’

“What things is Paul talking about? Listen, the price he is paying is in order for the Corinthians to be adults. So he says in verse15, ‘For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.’ You Corinthians, who by the way, should have been grateful and appreciative and should have welcomed what Paul was doing for THEM.

“Paul said, ‘All I’m going through are for your sakes.’ Isn’t that what love is, by the way? Did Jesus Christ die on that Cross for His own personal gain? He died for your urgent need. You see what love does?

“The abundant grace, the grace that Paul was motivated by, the grace that energized (not supernaturally but through the available resources he already possessed) Paul called it abundant. When something’s abundant it just flows. It exceeds.

“But wait a minute, in chapter 12 the Lord said it’s sufficient. So you have grace that’s sufficient; it’s enough, but it’s a grace that abounds. Paul is talking about the available resources that are manifested in his life that now abounds in the sense that it now WORKS! It’s ENJOYED! It’s EXPERIENCED!

*****

“What exactly is this available grace? II Timothy 2:1 says, ‘Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.’ Be strong in the grace. Well, if it isn’t some supernatural ‘ZAP!’ then how is it that I can be strong in it?! How is it that it’s always all-sufficient? How is it that I can experience the abundant grace?

“When Paul writes about grace being sufficient, it has everything to do with what we already have. Don’t we already have a complete standing in Jesus Christ? Don’t we have a perfect identity in Him? Aren’t we blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places? Aren’t we already eternally accepted, beloved and forgiven?

“You understand what the grace of God is all about? No. 1 we know that we’re His eternally. We know who we are. We know what God is doing and how He’s working. We know where we’re going. We know God’s ultimate purpose. We know how to think. We have His completed Word. We have each other. What more does God have to give you?!

“Do you understand, ‘My grace is sufficient’? We have to THINK differently. When God says, ‘I don’t need to do anything more,’ you’ve already got it! We need to access it!’

“We have to examine the details of life in light of the sound doctrine, the reality of the truth God is communicating to us. Listen, let’s focus on that! And it WILL not only sustain you, it will drive you to do things that you never thought you were capable of doing. Hence, we are more than conquerors through Him.

*****

“Romans 5:3: ‘And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience.’ Patience is the power to endure or the capacity for enduring without complaint, without rage, without discontent. Patience simply is the ability to cope. The ability to endure. The ability to bear under.

“Patience stresses this inner fortitude, this calmness, this composure under suffering or provocation. But the patience isn’t this humanistic view that says ‘Adversity’s going to build your character.’

“Romans 15:4 says, ‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.’

“We’re patient in tribulation. That word comfort is ‘com’ with ‘fortification.’ When God is talking about this enduring fortitude in the tribulation (this inner steel so we’re not bending or buckling; we’re not overcome) it’s the result of this comfort that the Scriptures provide.

“The world doesn’t turn to the Scriptures and if they do it’s by ‘Emergency Use Only.’ The Word of God instills into us this comfort and fortitude that enables us to be patient.

“Romans 15:13 says, ‘Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.’ We learn something about the ministry of God the Holy Ghost. He provides specific doctrine to address the specific dilemma that you’re facing and it’s the truth that’s going to effectually work in you that believe.

“II Corinthians 1:3 says, ‘Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.’

“When Paul talks about all his tribulation, visit these websites (www.persecution.com, www.persecution.org, www.csi-usa.org) and learn about how Christians are literally being tortured in other countries, having their children sold into slavery. We all go through problems, okay, but let’s put it in perspective.

“Odds are your problems won’t compare to what the church was facing 2,000 years ago under this wicked tyranny of the Roman Empire governed by a guy who’s absolutely insane. Subscribe to ‘Voice of the Martyrs’ and, man, there’s some brutal stuff going on.”

(Editor’s note: I have at least one more installment on this topic from Kurz’ messages. Still getting ready to post “the course of this world” article too.)