The Strength of My Weakness

Pastor Mike Hendon

• God has a weakness…
• Weakness defined is a special desire or
fondness…
• This explains the enemies motivation to
destroy what God loves
 My Weakness
• Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you
got called into this life. I don't see many of "the
brightest and the best" among you, not many
influential, not many from high-society families. Isn't
it obvious that God deliberately chose men and
women that the culture overlooks and exploits and
abuses, chose these "nobodies" to expose the hollow
pretensions of the "somebodies"?
• That makes it quite clear that none of you can
get by with blowing your own horn before
God. Everything that we have—right thinking
and right living, a clean slate and a fresh
start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ.
That's why we have the saying, "If you're going
to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God."
• 10Because 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. 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! 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.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing
on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case
of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take
limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations
that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad
breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the
stronger I become.
• He must increase, but I must decrease.

• Divine order—For Him to be big—I must be

small

• God’s way of shrinking you…to put you in

situations that are way bigger than you
 Mark 6:45-51
• And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and
to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the
people.
• And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to
pray.
• And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and
he alone on the land.
• And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto
them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them,
walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.
• But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had
been a spirit, and cried out:
• For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked
with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not
afraid.
• And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and
they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and
wondered.
• Nothing like a storm to reveal your weakness
• The goal was not Bethsaida—it was the storm!
• He saw them “toiling” in rowing.
• The word toiling in the Greek is “to be
examined by torture; agitated”
• Our agitation is the result of our vision being
fixated on the wrong thing. What do you see?
• Do you see trouble, no shore, no goal, no
good outcome…or do you see Him walking…
• What to do when the wind is contrary to you:
• Stay calm
• Stay faithful
• Stay assured
• If I can do that in the turmoil of life the goal of
the purpose of God is being accomplished in
me!
• That means the turmoil is not something to be
feared, but a means to the purposes of God.
• It means that even if I fail, I can get back up
because it is all a part of the process
• I Kings 20:22-28
• Ps.84:5-6