1. WHO are the weak?
God chose the weak. He wants to use people.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:1-2 MSG
I, Paul, have been called and sent by Jesus, the Messiah,
according to God’s plan, along with my friend Sosthenes.
I send this letter to you in God’s church at Corinth,
believers cleaned up by Jesus and set apart for a God-filled life.
I include in my greeting all who call out to Jesus,
wherever they live.
He’s their Master as well as ours!
1 CORINTHIANS 1:26 AMPC
For [simply] consider your own call, brethren;
- not many [of you were considered to be] wise according
to human estimates and standards,
- not many influential and powerful,
- not many of high and noble birth.
Paul choses the weak people. Not many of us belong to powerful family
1 CORINTHIANS 1:26 EASY
Christian friends, remember the time when God called you
to come to him.
Think about what you were like.
Not many of you were clever or powerful in the way that people think is good.
Not many of you belonged to important families.
2. WHY does God choose the weak?
1 CORINTHIANS 1:27 AMPC
[No] for God selected (DELIBERATELY chose) what in the
world is foolish to put the wise to shame,
and what the WORLD calls WEAK to put the strong to shame.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:27 EASY
Instead, God CHOSE to USE things that people think are silly.
He did this SO THAT clever people would be ashamed.
Yes, God CHOSE to USE things that people think are weak.
He did this SO THAT powerful people would be ashamed.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:28 EASY
God CHOSE to USE things that people think are USELESS.
People who belong to this world do not like those things.
They think that they have no value.
God did this SO THAT the things that seem important would become unimportant.
We may think we are useless, but in the real thing in our heart we think we have achieved a lot in our lives
It is so important to know our purpose in the spiritual
1 CORINTHIANS 1:28 TPT
He chose the lowly, the LAUGHABLE in the world’s eyes—nobodies—
SO THAT he would shame the somebodies.
For he chose what is regarded as insignificant in order to supersede what is regarded as prominent,
The world don't want you, God wants you
You know you are insignificant, nobody can be proud
1 CORINTHIANS 1:29 EASY
Because of all this, nobody can be proud of themselves in
front of God.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:29 TPT
SO THAT there would be no place for prideful boasting in GOD’S PRESENCE.
His holiness cannot accept pride in His presence
God is omnipresence
2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10 MSG
Because of the extravagance of those revelations,
and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of
a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations.
We are limited, that is why we need to know we are weak and limited and we need to get God's help.
2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10 MSG
Satan’s angel did his best to get me down;
what he in fact did was push me to my knees.
No danger then of walking around high and mighty!
Humbled by God
It is dangerous to think we are high and mighty
2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10 MSG
At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to
remove it.
Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in YOUR WEAKNESS.
Through humbling time he heard God
Humbling process is a gift from God
The weaker i am the stronger i become
ACTS 9:1-2 GW
Saul kept threatening to murder the LORD’S DISCIPLES.
He went to the chief priest and asked him to write letters
of authorization to the synagogue leaders in the city
of Damascus.
Saul wanted to arrest ANY MAN or WOMAN who followed the way ⌞of Christ⌟ and imprison them in Jerusalem.
ACTS 9:3-5 GW
As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, a light from
heaven suddenly flashed around him.
He FELL to the ground and HEARD a voice say to him, “Saul! Saul!
Why are you persecuting me?” Saul asked, “Who are you, sir?”
The person replied, “I’m Jesus, THE ONE YOU’RE PERSECUTING.
G772 weak things
Original: ἀσθενής
Transliteration: asthenēs
Phonetic: as-then-ace'
Strong's Definition:
From G1 (as a negative particle) and the base of G4599; strengthless (in various applications, literally, or figuratively and morally):- more feeble, impotent, sick, without strength, weak (-er, -ness, thing).
G1
Original: Α
Transliteration: A
Phonetic: al'-fah
Thayer Definition:
first letter of Greek alphabet
Christ is the Alpha to indicate that he is the beginning and the end
Strong's Definition:
Of Hebrew origin; the first letter of the alphabet: figuratively only (from its use as a numeral) the first.
Often used (usually " an", before a vowel) also in composition (as a contraction from G427) in the sense of privation; so in many words beginning with this letter; occasionally in the sense of union (as a contraction of G260):- Alpha.
G427
Original: ἄνευ
Transliteration: aneu
Phonetic: an'-yoo
Thayer Definition:
without one's will or intervention
G4599
Original: σθενόω
Transliteration: sthenoō
Phonetic: sthen-o'-o
Thayer Definition:
to make strong, strengthen
of one's soul
Strong's Definition: From σθένος sthenos (bodily vigor; probably akin to the base of G2476); to strengthen, that is, confirm (in spiritual knowledge and power):- strengthen.
JUDGES 6: 12-13 GW
The Messenger of the Lord appeared to Gideon and said,
“The Lord is with you, brave man.”
Gideon responded, “Excuse me, sir!
But if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?
Where are all the miracles our ancestors have told us about?
Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us out of Egypt?’
But now the Lord has abandoned us and has handed us over to Midian.”
JUDGES 6: 14 GW
The Lord turned to him and said, “You will rescue Israel
from Midian with the strength you have.
I am sending you.”
JUDGES 6: 15 GW
Gideon said to him, “Excuse me, sir!
How can I rescue Israel?
Look at my whole family.
It’s the WEAKEST one in Manasseh.
And me?
I’m the LEAST IMPORTANT member of my family.”
JUDGES 6: 16 GW
The LORD replied, “I will be with you.
You will defeat Midian as if it were ⌞only⌟ one man.”
WHY did God choose to use Gideon? 3. HOW TO REMAIN WEAK so that CHRIST’S STRENGTH can move in on MY WEAKNESS?
ROMANS 12:1-2 MSG
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you:
Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.
Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
ROMANS 12:1-2 MSG
Instead, fix your attention on God.
You’ll be changed from the inside out.
Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it.
Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
ROMANS 12:3 MSG
I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you.
Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God.
We are not doing God a favour by serving Him. He is doing us a favour by calling us to serve Him
See God, know Him more
Grow to see Him more and what He has done for us
Not what we do for Him. What He has done for us
ROMANS 12:4-6 MSG
In this way we are like the various parts of a human body.
Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole,
not the other way around.
The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of CHOSEN people.
ROMANS 12:4-6 MSG
Each of us finds our MEANING and FUNCTION as a PART of HIS BODY.
But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we?
So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.
ROMANS 12:7-8 MSG
If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; -
if you help, just help, don’t take over; -
if you teach, stick to your teaching; -
if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; -
if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; -
if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; -
if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them.
KEEP a SMILE on YOUR FACE.
ROMANS 12:9-10 MSG
Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it.
Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.
Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.
ROMANS 12:11-13 MSG
Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame.
Be ALERT SERVANTS of the MASTER, cheerfully expectant.
Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder.
Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.
ROMANS 12:14-16 MSG
Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath.
Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; -
share tears when they’re down.
Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up.
Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.
ROMANS 12:17-19 MSG
Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone.
If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody.
Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. -
“I’ll do the judging,” says God.
“I’ll take care of it.”
ROMANS 12:20-21 MSG
Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry,
go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink.
Your generosity will surprise him with goodness.
Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-6 NKJV
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
PHILIPPIANS 2:7-8 NKJV
but MADE HIMSELF of NO REPUTATION, -
taking the form of a BONDSERVANT, and coming in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Today we can choose.
The more talent and gifting we have, the more we tend to be big-headed
The spiritual job of serving Him.
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