“Weak Knees – Strong Heart”
I Corinthians 12:9-10
Key Verse – I Corinthians 12:9-10 - But he said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong”
Illus. Survivor Show – the weakest gets voted out.(this is how life is lived)
Illus. Cruise Night – Friday Night on Pine Grove.
Only the strong really shine. Some were the old codgers who loved their cars of old, but then there were the young bucks who loved muscle cars. Then there were those rare few who at most every stop light had to leave a cloud of blue smoke as they rode their breaks and gas pedal at the same time. They just had to show they were strongest of all.
God says I want you to live different than that.
God says, When your weakness engages with my power you then become powerful.
In II Samuel 17:1-2 Two kings are discussing their battle plans against King David, “I would  choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David. 2 him while he is weary and weak.”
I would attack
It is hard to admit that we are weak.
You’re not alone when you are afraid of admitting you are weak:
Samson was worried about his weakness. Four times He tells
Delialah of his fear.
“I’ll become as weak as any other man” – Judges 16:7, 11,
13, 17
King Saul speaks of the reality of weakness
I Samuel 15:9 – “But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs— everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.”
Jesus gives us the reality when he said
“your body is weak” in Matthew 26:41
Paul put it this way in Romans 6:19 – “because you are weak in your natural selves.”
But the reality is this: We are weak. It is not about becoming weak. We are weak. It is about accepting the fact that we are weak, and letting that fact become revealed so that God can use it for His kingdom.
The psalmist understood this : “My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes.” – Psalm 6:7
And again: “my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.” – Psalm 31:10
Prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 14:10 “my strength fails because of my affliction”
It is only when our confessed weakness engages with God’s power that we begin to live a life of powerful living. And

when we do admit our inability to be strong apart from God it begins to look a bit like this:
He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble
31 and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.(Isaiah 40:29-31)
So now we see that God’s strength cannot engage without us admitting our weakness. Let’s look now for some encouragement in how God will use our weakness for his kingdom:
In other words, why does God allow us to be weak? What good comes from us being weak?
How God Uses Weakness to Build His Kingdom:
1) The wise in this world look foolish when God uses the weakness of man to shame the wise. The one thing this world pays attention to is miracles, or better put God’s power. (ever seen a doctor walk away from a medical miracle shaking his head)
I Corinthians 1:27 –
“
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.”
Illus. It sure seemed to be a miracle when the tornado swept through Heman’s camp Monday and not a scratch on anyone. A typical storm in MI is 50 to 100 feet wide, and ½ mile long at it’s longest. This storm was 250 feet wide and 20 miles long. I did not hear of one death. I don’t know why storms like this happen.
But I have spent many a day this week reflecting on the mercy of God that nearly 100 souls at camp are still living the abundant life.
Here’s the focus of this point – We never really know what God is up to when he does what he does, or when he doesn’t do what we think he should do. This world needs a message of redemption. This world needs a story that when told people say, maybe there really is a
God who wants a relationship with me.
2)When God uses the weak in Christ, the weak in Christ are reassured that God is real.
So it’s not just others who need a message, but God includes us in his story line.
I Corinthians 9:22 - “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some”.
The world needs to know that as a Christian you are weak in and of yourselves. They need to know that you are really a fragile person without Christ in your life. This is why Paul exposes himself as weak. It is not weakness to admit this truth about yourself. Infact, exposing yourself for who you are is just the opposite, it reveals how self-confident you are—in Christ.
Illus.I got a text from one of our families into the night after the tornado and they said they would be out the next morning. Early in the morning, they asked do you

need us to bring anything. I texted back a couple of totes would be helpful. They brought a walled in flatbed trailer, a generator, about 6 giant totes, and big duffle bags to boot. After they arrived at the horrific scene, it dawned on me, I have a chance to empty out my entire trailer and my SUV and not have to worry about a single item later. So that is what I did. By noon, we left I never had to return to the scene for one thing. Wow.
This is what it means to become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I got saved that day. I can guarantee you many watched these three heroes rescue their pastor. I am still in awe of your touch on my life that day. And another 100 plus souls are hearing of your weakness turned to strength.
No one exemplified this better that our Lord:
“For to be sure, he(Christ) was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.” II Corinthians 13:4
This is why communion becomes so special. It is
Christ’s weakness in death that shows how investing our weakness in Christ can become so meaningful for us.
You and I get to say to ourselves, I am just like Christ.
And God says, I know. I made you.
3) When your weakness engages with God’s power, you become powerful.
Our text says: “ For when I am weak, then I am strong”
(I Corinthians 12:10)
Illus : I have shared countless times how this storm was more about 2 foot thick trees breaking at 15 feet caused most of the damage in the camp and to our belongings. But God has other ways of speaking to us too. After several trees glanced off my trailer and decimated my SUV, other branches fell from other precipices and two long logs fell not on the trailer behind me with a mom, dad, and 4 infant children, but on top of two 15 feet high trunks, creating a cross.
(show picture) Two stumps, two horizontal trees, creating a message. One cross for Christ. One cross for you.
Embrace the power of God made perfect in your weakness. Communion is the result of a storm, really.
A death of a savior in a tornado of a life, is what brought salvation to you and me. Weak knees – strong heart.