Paul's Power in Weakness: One of the most startling realizations for many Christians is that even with faith in Jesus, life can still be very, very hard. Tragedy can still strike. Godly people still suffer. The Apostle Paul knew this better than most. He endured great hardship during his ministry. What kept him going? What drove him forward? He learned the vital lesson that when you're weak, grace is enough. Recorded on Jun 18, 2023, on 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 by Pastor David Parks.

The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul’s story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus.

Sermon Transcript

All year, we’ve focused on Learning the way of Jesus. And today, we’re almost done with this theme. After today we only have one more week in our series on the life of Paul before we start our new annual theme, which is Finding Life in Jesus’ Name. For most of this next year, starting in July, we’ll be working through the whole gospel of John, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. And I can’t wait for that series! I’ve been working on this for months, and I can’t wait to share what the Lord has been showing me in John’s gospel. But as we finish our series on the life of the Apostle Paul, I do hope this series has been helpful for you. We’ve seen throughout this series that everybody needs Jesus, even enemies of Jesus like Paul. However, if you hear the gospel, put your faith in Jesus, and start to follow his way by the power of the Spirit, it doesn’t just make your life a little better — Jesus changes everything. We’ve seen this transformation in Paul’s life, going from a violent persecutor of Christians to the most effective Christian missionary in the history of the world. And we’ve seen this dynamic of change/transformation in the lives of many people and even whole cities as a result of Paul’s ministry. I suspect many of us could give testimony to the changes that Jesus brought into our lives, too. However, despite all this evidence of the power of God and the truth of the gospel, one of the most startling realizations for many Christians is that even when you trust in Jesus as Lord, even when you’ve been baptized and are obedient to follow his way, life can still be very, very hard. Tragedy can still strike. Godly people still suffer. And I’ve experienced this. I’ve been wounded, I’ve had broken relationships, I’ve struggled and suffered, and I’ve tasted the bitter wine of anxiety and depression and all manner of weakness, despite trying to be faithful to God. But my life has been relatively easy compared to Paul’s life. Paul suffered a great deal after becoming a Christian, as we’ll see today. My question is this: why did Paul keep going? From a biographical standpoint, why did Paul keep traveling, keep preaching, keep making disciples, and so on, when he so often faced such terrible and even violent opposition? What drove him forward, despite such hardship? The answer is that Paul was taught a lesson by Jesus himself that sustained him through it all. Not only did Jesus help Paul learn how to survive suffering, but he gave him a source of power, even in the midst of great weakness. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to 2Co 12:1. As you turn there, let’s do a quick recap of Paul’s life. Paul was born and raised in Tarsus and received the best Jewish education in Jerusalem. He became a Christian in Damascus and eventually helped lead the church in Antioch.