Denver Conference: 1991
Table of Contents
A Man in Christ Humbled
Address—C. Hendricks
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2nd Corinthians 12.
It is not expedient for me, doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago. Whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth.
Such in one caught up to the 3rd heaven.
And I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. God knoweth.
How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory, yet of myself I will not glory but in mine infirmities.
Although I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth. But now I for bear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
And last, 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 measured for this thing, I besought the Lord, that it might depart from me. 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. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. But when I am weak, then am I strong.
I have become a fool in glory ye have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended of you. For in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing truly. The signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.
For what is it wherein you were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong. Behold the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be burdensome to you. For I seek not yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I beloved. But be it so.
I did not burden you, nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent her to you. I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? Walk me not in the same spirit. Walk me not in the same steps again. Thank you that we excuse ourselves unto you. We speak before God in Christ, but we do all things dearly belonged for your edifying.
For I fear lest when I come.
I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as you would not, lest there be debates.
Envying wraths, stripes, backbiting, whisperings, swellings, tumults, and last, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall be whale many which have seemed already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.
I don't know of another chapter in all of scripture that has such a range to it. It begins with a man in Christ taking up into the 3rd heaven, into paradise, and hearing inaudible, unspeakable words.
The highest position that a Christian can be placed in is a man in Christ exalted to the very place of where he is and the revelations given to him. Of course he's referring to himself. 14 years ago this happened, yet instead of word about it, and now it's necessary to tell them of this for their good and profit. And he says in verse 11, I have become a fool.
In glory, and ye have compelled me.
Where I ought to have been commended of you, for in nothing am I behind the very cheapest apostles. And and then he says, though I do nothing.
The hymn that we sang brought this portion before me. A man in Christ, exalted to the 3rd heaven into paradise and receiving revelations, he says, lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations.
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That was given to me, a foreign for the flesh messenger of Satan, to buffet me.
But in the end of the chapter I said it's the greatest range. The end of the chapter, he says, Last one I come again.
My God will humble me among you, and that I shall be well. Many which have sinned already, and if not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed. That was one case of fornication mentioned in the first epistle. And he ends that 5th chapter by saying, Put away from among yourselves the wicked person.
But there were other cases of this kind of thing. The city of Corinth was.
Well known for its immorality.
And evidently there were a number of Saints there that had been saved, but they hadn't really thoroughly judged their past and the kind of life that they had lived in their lifestyle. But you did you see this tremendous range? And he says, my God will humble me among you. They were his children in the faith. And how they went on was a reflection upon himself.
And so if they didn't go on, well, it it bore upon him and he took the responsibility for it.
Well, I don't want to go into the whole chapter, just a few thoughts and what this hymn brought before me was.
Verse 7 Lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations that was given to me, a thorn in the flesh, or for the flesh.
The messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
The Apostle Paul tells us in the eighth verse, For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. He asked him three times. He pleaded with him to remove this. This was to to Paul's estimate of things. Such a hindrance to his ministry, such a hindrance to his effectiveness among the Saints of God.
This thorn, whatever it was, we're not told.
And the Lord gives us things which are very hard to bear. Sometimes they are physical afflictions, sometimes they are sore disappointments, sometimes they are they are injustices that we are suffering under. And it may be a long time that we've been under these things.
It amazes me I can't. I don't have the answer why the Lord allows injustice amongst God's people to go on unjudged.
For so long a time, but I've seen it, I'm aware of it. I know that it exists. But what I want to say to you if you're you're the subject of that.
That God is over it.
God could remove it in an instant.
He could remove any of us in an instant.
And if a particular individual has rendered us a serious injustice?
God could remove him in a moment, or her if it be such.
But if they're still here, he hasn't chosen to do so. There's a lesson then. If that's happened to me, there's a lesson for me to learn in it.
And if all I see is the one that's done the injustice, and I don't see anything beyond that, I've missed the teaching that the Lord is seeking to impart to me.
Paul had been taken up into the highest privilege, caught up into the 3rd heaven, and he was given the highest truth that God has ever given to anyone man ever.
It was given to him to complete the Word of God and to unfold the marvelous truth of the mystery Christ in the church.
It was given to Paul, but he was also given this thorn for the flesh to keep him humble. Once he came back from that exalted place where he received all these wonderful revelations, and then he was back here. He could easily have gotten puffed up in pride and God knows what to give us. Whatever the afflictions are, every one of us have them in one way or another.
And.
We really, when we question these things, we're really, if we really want to search it out, we're really going to question God.
Because he's the one that does it. In fact, this one that was sent this thorn for the flesh, for Paul it was called, is called here, the messenger of Satan to buffet me.
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God even uses Satan to try us and test us. He did that in Job's case, and he even used his rhetoric.
He used his present, his friends. I liken them to our brethren, those that they came, they really wanted to sympathize with Joe. I think they came with all sincerity. They really sympathized with him. They watched him for that whole week and they saw the misery he was under. And then they start thought, thinking.
And then they started to point the finger of accusation to Job and so on. And he went through all kinds of injustice, unjust accusations and charges and false accusations. And it brought up some bitter thoughts from Joe's heart. This perfect and upright man, when they feared God was true evil.
We all have the same heart.
It's a wicked heart.
But Paul had to learn.
That in the midst of all the evils that are down here, we were looking yesterday and how the Lord Jesus, that perfect one, went through this evil scene. He felt all that perfectly, didn't he?
And much of it was leveled with him, and he went through it and he did not threaten. He suffered and committed himself into the hands of him that judges righteously. So that's what we can do.
And so he asked the Lord three times that it might depart from me, and he gets the answer.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee. So if you have asked the Lord to correct the wrong, to set things right, to remove the thorn or whatever it is, and he said, no, but I'll give you the grace to bear it and to learn in the trial the lessons which I'm seeking to teach you, my child.
My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness, in your weakness, your conscious felt weakness, your total inability to.
To deal with the problem.
Now Paul learned that, and what a change. He stops asking for the removal of the thorn, and now he says, most gladly therefore.
Will I rather glory in my infirmities, my weaknesses?
My sickness is my affliction, whatever it is that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
And then he says the most wonderful statement, a real Christian victory. Therefore I take pleasure.
In infirmities, In reproaches, in necessities.
In persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.
For when I am weak.
Than am I strong?
The fancied strength that we often boast in in the flesh is not what God can use.
Solid Texas had all the qualifications for being a mighty warrior.
In the worldly things, he was the champion that they selected to eradicate and snuff out the Christian testimony.
God saved him. Marvelous grace.
But he didn't use him in that natural strength.
Instead, he broke it down.
He gave him such an affliction, it was so hard to bear that he prays 3 times. Lord, take it away.
The light says no.
I won't take it away. I'll give you the grace to go through it.
I've often thought that in our conferences we sometimes, we usually ask certain ones to take some addresses. This is an open meeting. This isn't of that character. But I don't think Paul the Apostle would ever have been selected as a speaker.
He was too hard to take, so to speak. His appearance, whatever it was that he had, was not easy to look at.
And he realized that, and he thought that was going to hinder his ministry terribly.
But the love that they had for him, he says to the Galatians, you love me so much, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. It may have been some affliction of the eyes, running eyes or whatever. We don't know.
And that's not important. The important is thing is that we accept.
We submit. We've been talking a lot about submission and now I'm talking about personal submission, my personal submission to the Lord and whatever He's brought into my life and whatever he brings into your life, whatever it is, injustice, affliction, false accusation, misunderstanding, tribulation, persecution, whatever it is.
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If you take it from Him and learn, My grace is sufficient for thee, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness.
Most gladly, therefore will I will thy glory in these things, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
That's a lesson that takes a lifetime for us to learn.
To submit to him.
And everything and to draw upon His grace, for He giveth more grace. You can never, I can never exhaust the grace of God.
To make me in all my need, to meet you in all your need. And he will come in when we submit to him. He will come in and give deliverance. And if not, he'll give the grace to Barrett.
That's just trusting.
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