Grace Upon Grace
The Sufficiency of Grace
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
“Grace” is used in the New Testament in two distinct but complementary ways:
1. God’s ___________________________ freely given to us from which salvation and all other blessings come.
2. God’s ___________________________ to us through the Holy Spirit.
In order to experience both aspects of God’s grace in our lives, we must move past ________________________ and ________________________
Paul’s Strange Resume
1. God _______________ Him (1-6)
• _______________ (see Acts 9; 16:9; 18:9-10; 22; 23:11; 27:11)
• ______________ (see Ephesians 3:1-6; Galatians 1:12)
• __________________________________
2. God _______________ Him (7-8)
“Thorn” – ________________________________
Satan was the ________________ cause, but God was the _______________ cause
It was ___________, but _______________
“Has it ever occurred to you that the very thing you most want removed from your life might be the very thing God uses in the greatest way for his glory?” - Hershael York
Paul appropriately ____________ with the Lord in prayer!
You do not know the truth about your situation until you have heard from God.
3. God _______________ Him (9-10)
Paul didn’t get a total _______________, but he did get a _____________
God promised him a grace that was:
• _______________
• _______________
When you cry out to God about a “Thorn in the Flesh,” God sometimes:
• _______________ you from it
• _______________ with you in it
“I believe my greatest spiritual asset throughout my entire life has been my failing sight, for it has kept me absolutely dependent upon God.” - Henrietta Mears
God’s grace is sufficient for anything you are facing or will ever face in your life!
Lessons to Be Learned From Disruptive Moments
1. Whatever happens is _______________ through the hands of God God never says oops!
2. They are not without _______________ God has His purposes. May not always be apparent to us this side of eternity.
3. The promise of God is the _____________ of His grace God does not always give us explanations, but He does give us His presence and His promises!
4. These moments can result in more _______________ (John 15)
5. What we receive from these disruptive moments depends on how we _______________
Three things we can do in these disruptive moments:
• We can _______________ the moment
• We can become ________________ by it
• We can be _______________ by it
God in His love always wills what is best. In His wisdom, He always knows what is best. In His sovereignty, He has the power to bring it about.
Making It Personal:
• Have you personally experienced God’s saving grace through turning from sin and self-righteousness and turning to Christ and Christ alone in trust and submission?
• Where in your life do you need to experience God’s sufficient and strengthening grace?
• How have you brought this before God in continual prayer? What direction has God given you out of that praying?
• Are you willing for God to glorify himself not by removing your “thorn in the flesh” from you, but remaining with you as you deal with it by his enabling grace?
• How will you daily appropriate the sufficiency of God’s grace? Ready to take your Next Step?
• Go by the Next Steps area today after the service
• Fill out a Connect Card and drop it in the offering box
• Text Next to 803-637-8484 • Go to FBCFM.COM and click “Next Steps