God's Strength Is Made Perfect in Weakness

And thank you for that sermonette. It leads so perfectly into my sermon. So often that happens. And of course, we don't compare notes, but that is the case a lot of times. Because what we're going to talk about today and the scriptures that we're going to study today is a statement which was made by Jesus Christ. And it is maybe one of the most perplexing, yet profound statements that he has ever made. And that is, he, Jesus Christ said, my strength is made perfect in weakness. What a profound statement that is, and an intriguing statement. God's strength is made perfect in weakness. And this is going to be the study. And we're going to reflect upon this divine principle. And it is just that. It is a divine principle that we will see. So let's begin to first see where those words are found. We referenced it in the sermonette. So turn again to 2 Corinthians, if you will. 2 Corinthians 12, in verse 9. 2 Corinthians 12, in verse 9, the Apostle Paul recorded these words spoken by Jesus Christ. And this was at a time in which Paul was remembering and recounting back to those words that Jesus Christ spoke to him. And he was at a state at this point, which was very weak.

Very weak. He was feeling very weak with an infirmity. He had cried over and over to God to remove this infirmity from him. And at this point, that was not granted. So let's pick up here. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 9, Paul now says, and he, Jesus Christ, said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

Causing Paul to then say something just as intriguing here. Paul said then, Therefore, most gladly, I'd rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Quite a passage there. And you know, when thinking about these words, and you can think about these words in your own life, for myself, it is a unique position as I've moved into the ministry, because often it is we are maybe the first few to arrive at a hospital or the ones that maybe sit across from a spiritual brother or sister who is feeling weak and is weakened, and it can be either physically or even emotionally.

And often, when you look into the eyes of that individual, you will see that weakness. The weakness is obvious, but if you look a little closer, often you see something else. And I know you've seen it as well, as each of you have ministered to in your own ministry to our brothers and sisters. And the only way I can really describe what is seen is that it is. It's a power.

It's a power. It's a strength that you see. Despite the weakness, if you look a little bit closer, what you see is an inner strength that is there, an inner power, and it's unmistakable. What is that? What is being put forth there? What is coming forth from one of God's people at that time in the midst of weakness?

Well, I think Paul had a unique perspective here as he was trying to put it into words, attempt to convey what he was, his thoughts on the matter, and that strength you see in God's people, well, it is the very power of Jesus Christ, the power and a strength that rests upon and resides in all of God's people, every last one of them, and as perplexing as it is, often this strength is most recognizable and most on display when we're at our very weakness. Turn back with me a few chapters here to 2 Corinthians 4. It's in Corinthians 4 and verse 7.

Paul's going to give further insight here on this strength, on this power that is in us from Jesus Christ, and he's going to tell us why. He's going to tell us why this strength is given to us. He touched on it there when he said he could actually boast in his infirmities of all things, so he further explains here. So 2 Corinthians 4, we'll read verse 7 through 12. He says here, you see in verse 7, we have this treasure. That is what you see in the eyes of one of God's own, this treasure in earthly vessels.

Why? So that the excellence of the power may be of God and not us. And we have this power of God, first verse 8. If we have this power, we are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed. We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. Verse 10, always caring about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.

For we, God's people, who live, are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. Let's stop there. So you and I know, intimately know, what is being talked about here. And we have seen it in our brothers and sisters. What is being described here? And what is being described here is that one of God's people can be sitting on their deathbed, and it can be emotionally, it can be physically, feeling that they're just totally weakened to a nothing state.

But if you look closer into those eyes, what you see is that remarkably there's life. There's life there. Why is it there? The new international version of the NIV version of verse 7, just listen to this, says, but we have this treasure in jars of clay. Previous was earthly vessels. Now he's referring to us as jars of clay. We have this treasure in jars of clay. Why? To show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not us.

So Paul's providing this unmistakable picture here as he contrasts a treasure with a jar, and it's the understanding that human weakness presents no obstacle with the purposes of God. And rather, it is in human weakness that the power of God is made most on display.

Maybe you have done this as a kid. I think I can remember doing this as a kid in school. Have you ever had where they've given you the clay and you're to make a clay pot from it? Or inevitably, as you got older, maybe as a parent or a grandparent, one of your children has brought home some kind of clay jar or clay pot. And if we're honest, more often than not, it barely resembles a clay jar, kind of misshapen, maybe tilting to the side a little bit. But you look at that clay jar and then you went out to the front yard and you carefully found the finest wildflowers that you could find, and you put those in that jar and something incredible happens. The clay jar did nothing to enhance the beauty, but there's something incredible there with what was put in it. Back in Paul's day, they often had a light. They would use these clay jars to put a light in, and the clay jar was what it was. The clay jar was what it was, but the jar house was this valuable light, and the clay jar of and by itself was of no value.

But the light with which it held is priceless. It's priceless. And so you see what Paul is saying here and make no doubt that it is now Jesus Christ who appears in his people today, and it is as his triumphant light, his triumphant power, his triumph over sin and over death that is now put into his people. We're like these old clay jars in which he's poured this wondrous light of his triumphant victory, this wondrous, glorious light, this power of himself. And so with that then, Paul's words are not so perplexing when he says, therefore I'd rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest on me. And when he said, we are these earthly vessels, we are these clay pots, so that this excellence is put in there, this light is put in there, this power, so that it may be of God and not us. You and I, we might not be much in the eyes of men, ever.

We want, and that's okay, we want people to look at us and say, though that's just an old clay pot, there's not much there. But look at the treasure that's within. In God's perspective, we are highly treasured with what we house in us and what he has placed in us is that triumphant power of the Lord Jesus Christ and he's placed it in you, so as not to draw attention to the clay pot, but so as to draw attention to God who has entrusted us with it. And this actually goes against everything that the world operates and how they operate, direct opposition. They look in terms of only human ability. They will just choose the best and the brightest in their eyes, but God doesn't work that way. Rather, God looks across the vast array of humanity and he sees a man or a woman who may not be that attractive in their abilities, might not be able to do too much of their own, and he says, that's my man. That's my woman. I'll take them. Why? He delights to declare his strength in weakness.

And that's our study today, and I hope it's an encouragement, especially for those who get up in the morning sometimes and don't feel like much, don't feel very valuable, can't feel like they can't do many things right, and that might actually be so, of and by yourself, but all of God's people, they are not of and by themselves.

God is with them, and remember that in you something incredible has happened.

God has placed his love upon you and he set his light in you, and that changes everything. There is a treasure now within you, and God is able to take your weakness and turn it into something glorious. Paul's not speaking about something that is foreign to him or that he doesn't intimately know about. Turn back here in 2 Corinthians chapter 10. In verse 10, did you know that the Apostle Paul himself was an old clay pot? The Apostle Paul himself was an old clay pot. We're going to see that he experienced the same things that we experience. Sometimes we think Paul, as he moved from city to city, proclaiming God's gospel was just this powerful man. He didn't have many times of weakness. But look at this. This is so fascinating.

Here in 2 Corinthians 10 verse 10, here is what the people said of Paul. Verse 10, For his letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is contemptible. Paul, boy, your letters. Those are really powerful.

Man, but when you speak, I believe it's in Acts 20. It speaks of a man, I think a young boy who actually fell asleep while he was on a window seal when Paul's speaking. It falls out of the window, if you can imagine. I'm waiting for that to happen to me. I'm sure it will.

And they were saying these things to him.

We love when you write to us, but they actually said, can you believe it? Your bodily presence is weak and your speech is worthless, contemptible. And back in 1 Corinthians 2, we won't turn there.

He even speaks about when he's coming into Corinth. He came in weakness and trembling, he said. You know, Corinth in many ways, it was this immense city, overwhelming in what he faced there. And so he said, the apostle Paul, I came to you in weakness and trembling. He was an old cracked clay pot.

But why wasn't Paul crushed by these things that they were saying to him?

And the things that he faced, the weakness that he felt? Well, he believed Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ told him, his strength is made perfect in weak people. And we must believe it too. And it's profound. It's a profound divine principle. And we see it over and over again in Scripture as God works with his men and women and the details are given. And so we're going to look at one such man and look at the details of a moment in his life which displays perfectly this divine principle. So turn with me to Judges chapter 6. Judges chapter 6, if you will. This is a wonderful place in Scripture that displays this divine principle. And we're going to see it displayed through the wonderful and captivating story of Gideon. Judges chapter 6, and you know this story of Gideon here, it teaches us a lot of things. But of all that it teaches us, it certainly is a vivid example of this truth that Paul has put forward here. And that is that there is a light put in an old clay jar. And it's an all-encompassing power that is to be seen to belong to God and not to the pot, not to us. And the story of Gideon is a reminder that God chooses the most unlikely people, absolutely the most unlikely people, and often the most unlikely times, all ordinary people chosen for the extraordinary. So Judges chapter 6, before we read out, let me set the stage here. At the end of Judges, what we read is that in these days of Israel, they had no king, and every man did what was right in their own eyes. So they were without leadership and without any absolute truth by which to base their lives upon. So everyone did what was in right in their own eyes. So let's start reading here. This is where we come into the picture. Here in Judges 6 in verse 1 and 2. Then the children of Israel did evil in the side of the Lord. So the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens and the caves and the strongholds which are in the mountains. Let's stop there. So the people of God were oppressed here. By the Midianites, they had imprisoned themselves. They had to find shelter and homes and caves and mountains, and they were paralyzed in their own fear. They'd lost sight of God. They'd lost all basic provisions for themselves, food, clothing. And so it is into this in which God is going to raise up Gideon. So staying here in Judges 6, go down to verse 12. An angel is now sent to Gideon to begin the process of raising him up. So let's see here. Verse 12. It says, And the angel of the Lord appeared to him, Gideon, and he said to him, The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor. So here the angel calls Gideon, a mighty man of valor. And that's interesting because you'll see, and what we'll see here, is that Gideon in the eyes of men was anything but, anything but a mighty man of valor. So God saw something. God saw something in Gideon that men could not see. So Gideon responds here, verse 13. Gideon said to him, Oh, my Lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles with which our fathers told us about, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of the Midianites. In a way, what Gideon is saying here, well, I don't know what you're calling mighty, but I can tell you that there's no mighty happening down here. There's nothing but weakness. We were nothing down here to the Lord. So God responds here, verse 14.

So God's the Lord's beginning to bring Gideon's mind around here, verse 15. And this is so telling of where Gideon's mindset was concerning himself, verse 15. So he said to him, Oh, my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest of Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. Let's stop there. Did you see that? So the Lord looks across this vast array of the nation of Israel, and so he needs to raise someone up here. And so he locates the most powerful clan, right? No. The most weakest clan. And, well, of course, then maybe in this weakest clan, there must be a mighty leader in this weak clan that we don't know about. No. He picks a family and the least, most insignificant member of that family. The least of the least. And he says, verse 16, to this person, Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midian Knights as one man. Get in. Don't you know? I know who I'm selecting here. It is you who I want.

Believe me, get in. I know I'm selecting an old clay pot here, but I need you to have faith, and I need you to begin to see, begin to bring your mind around to the fact that my strength, through my strength, we can overcome any weakness. It's my strength. Wait and see. Have faith, and you'll see my strength in your weakness. So often God looks down and he surveys humanity, and if he looks to choose someone to raise someone up, to make one his own, if that individual says then or has the attitude of, oh well, what took you so long? Of course, I'm the choice.

He'll just move on. He will move on. He can't use that individual because he knows that he begins to use that individual and begins to give them effectiveness, begins to give them some strength. It's likely that they will take the glory to themselves, and so he never begins with that individual, but he can sure use an old clay pot like Gideon who says, surely it's not me.

I'm not even, I'm the most insignificant person of my family. He can use that person, the least of the least. Gideon certainly wasn't the most obvious choice, but he was God's choice. It's not important for you and I that we're not the most obvious choice. It's not important to what, if we're not insignificant in man's eyes. The issue is whether you are God's choice, and if you are God's choice, then nothing can stand against you. We're going to see that in the story of Gideon here. So Gideon is met with, by God, with this phrase, God is with you, you mighty man of valor. He knew what Gideon could become, and so Gideon now moves forward to recognize what is the challenge that is before him, and this mighty challenge, this military challenge, and he surveys the troops, and we're told he has 32,000 troops here. So let's go forward to chapter 7 in verse 1 through 2, and we're going to see the direction now being given to Gideon. Chapter 7 in verse 1 through 2. Then Gideon and all of the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Herod, and that camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moray in the valley. Verse 2 of chapter 7. And the Lord said to Gideon, The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against me, saying, My own hand has saved me. The glory is not to be in that of the pots. So the reduction begins here, verse 3. Now therefore proclaim in the hearing of all the people saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.

And 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained. Let's stop there.

Anyone who is fearful or trembling, they can go. They can go and leave Mount Gilead. One thing is for sure, God says here, I'm not going to have anyone who fears. Those who went home may have been the most qualified. They may have been the best warriors. We don't know. But why did they go home? You know, think of the effect that the wrong kind of fear can have. Think of the effect that the adverse effect that fear of man can have. God couldn't have these individuals going into battle saying, We can't do this. Get these guys out of here. And you can imagine what Gideon was thinking here with all these men leaving. Later we'll read that the media nights were absolutely incredible in their vastness. It actually says in verse 12 that they were lying in the valley and numerous as locusts, their camels were without number, as the sand, as the seashore, it says, this multitude. So first of all, 32,000 is not even enough. 32,000 is not even enough. And now he stands. Gideon's standing there as two-thirds now leave. You can almost feel his heart sinking into his stomach at this point. And the 10,000, they must have saw their family members leave. Why did they leave? Well, it always comes down to faith.

It always comes down to faith. Do we walk by faith or by sight? It's the core of everything that we face. Here is a small group. Do we walk by faith or by sight? Two-thirds of them said no, and he said, let them go. Let them go. But it's not over. The numbers get worse. Let's read verse 4 through 7 here. Verse 4 through 7. But the Lord said to Gideon, the people are still too many. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. And it will be that of whom I say to you, this one shall go with you, the same shall go with you. And of whomever I say to you, this one shall not go with you, the same shall not go. So he brought the people down to the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself. Likewise, everyone who gets down on his knees to drink, and the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was 300 men. But the rest of the men who got down on their knees to drink. And then the Lord said to Gideon, by the 300 men who lapped, I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place.

Let's stop there. So 10,000 is still too many. So what about this reduction here?

If you look up some commentaries, some conclude that, well, obvious, the men that were on their knees weren't going to be as alert, maybe, not as good of troops, and the ones that lapped, maybe that could have allowed them to keep their eyes up. They don't know. Who knows?

What is the divine principle here, though? The divine principle will tell you that God was not whittling down to the most elite group. No. God wanted to make it absolutely clear that the reason for victory was going to be because of him. So with the most unlikely 300 soldiers, the ones that lapped like dogs, would join the most unlikely leader in order that the Lord be glorified in the victory. That was God's concern. So he's reducing their numbers to grant deliverance in a way to show them that it wasn't who was fighting, it wasn't who was leading, that made any difference. Get rid of the vast numbers, and I will show you deliverance belongs to the Lord. That's the key. God's not concerned with defeat.

We shouldn't either. Victory's already been had. We know that. To his Son, Jesus Christ.

He's never worried about defeat. I'll tell you what he is concerned about, is that his people know why they will have victory. That's what's important. So God says, I am in no way dependent on your numbers. God is well aware of the fact and the vulnerability of men and women with the pride issue and taking glory to themselves. And he recognized that if they proceeded on the bases by which they began, that would be the temptation to become self-reliant or somehow boast in themselves. But to God, all the glory goes. To God, all the glory goes. Did you know that the glory for God's people is not now? It is not now. Often, God's people live a life of persecution and suffering, and the blessings that we receive are just to get us through that persecution and suffering. The glory for God's people is not now. It's later. The glory is coming when the clay pots stand in front of God to give an account of what kind of pot they were. Were they the type of pot that was useful? Were they the type of clay pot that was useful in showing God's glory? Then the glory that God will give to his people is insurmountable. It's unbelievable. But for now, it's not. We're to display God's glory. And for now, as he often determines, God radically prunes the number that he's working with. And he is not indebted to our service. We're indebted to him for the honor it is to be used by him. We're not strong. We're not mighty. We're not of a particular intellect.

I think I misspelled intellect there in my notes. I don't know if it has one or two L's there.

So there you have it. But we're none of those things, are we? None of those things. So why should God use you? Why would God use you then? Think about this. If we're none of those things, what is your role now? What is your role now with what is housed in you?

The 300 who were left were not meant to be an elite group. They were to be inadequate, really, in such a way to where no one, Gideon, the 300, the surrounding people would have any doubt of who was doing this. So Gideon now moves forward with the 300. Verse 8. Verse 8.

So the people took provisions in their trumpets and their hands, and they sent away the rest of Israel. That was 9,700 of them, every man to his tent, and retained those 300 men. Now, lest we forget, the camp of Midian was below him in the valley. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley. So no doubt Gideon was well aware of this as the pruning was occurring. Now he's ended up with 300. And what we're about to read here in verses 9 through 14, we're about to see one of the most loving, tender displays of God. God knows that we become afraid sometimes, and he's aware of that, and he takes care of his clay pots that are holding his light. And so we're about to see this in how he works with and his dealings with Gideon here, and his fear and weakness. So let's read verse 9 through 14 as the fear was beginning to build in Gideon. Verse 9, it happened on the same night that the Lord said to him, Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. So it's time we need to get to battle, Gideon. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say. And afterwards your hands will be strengthened to then go down against the camp.

Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp.

Now the Midianites and the Amalekites, all were people of the east, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts, and their camels were without number as the sand of the seashore and multitude. And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. And he said, this man had a dream. To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled down into the camp of Midian, and it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned. And the tent collapsed.

Verse 14, then the companion answered and said, this is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel, into his hands God has delivered Midian to the whole camp. Let's stop there. During the night the Lord saw, you know, he just no doubt felt Gideon's fear begin to well up in him. And so it was time to get down there. The fear was building. He wanted to get in to acknowledge that fear. And so he says, if you're afraid, I've provided you something. I've provided you with a little encouragement. And how often does God think back, be thinking about how often God does this for us in the midst of the impossible? He gives us encouragement. So take your servant, Purah, and go down, listen to what they're saying. Afterwards, you'll be encouraged. So he takes him down to the outpost. You can imagine what that would have felt like, these enemies it says with with that were armed. I can just see these two individuals, you know, these two Gideon going down with Purah and silently making eye contact, thinking, what are we doing here? Just the sounds of sleep and just trying to be quiet. That would have been so much anxiety with that. But then they hear something. They hear something in a tent. Two gentlemen speaking, and one says, and it had a dream. I had a dream. And in this dream, a loaf of barley bread came tumbling down into the Midianite camp, struck a tent with such forts collapsed, it overturned it, and then the interpretation. Can you imagine them hearing this? The friend says, oh, well that could only be the son, the sword of Gideon, son of Joash, the Israelite. And God has given the Midianites into the hand and the whole camp into his hands.

Let me ask you, you think God's in control?

He's always in control, despite the sight, despite what you see. You gotta have the faith. He's always in control. Gideon was aware of the fact that if he took this 300 against this army, they were doomed, absolutely doomed. They were absolutely nothing compared. The kind of nothingness is if you would throw a loaf of bread against a tent. But remember, God's strength is made perfect in weakness. God's strength is made perfect in weakness. So here we are, 300 men, they're about to carry trumpets, empty jars, torches into battle. Perfect, of course.

You know, the world would stand back and laugh. They would say, what a joke. What a joke. And the clay pots may be a joke. I can tell you the power that's within them is not.

God is stronger as he ever was. He's strong then, strong today. He's in control. We may be weakened, we may be pressed, crushed, but we're never destroyed. God walks, he walked with his people then. He walks with his people today. You have to believe that. Gideon believed now, and so he returns to camp. He's encouraged, goes into camp, and he says, get up. We're moving forward with God. So let's read verse 15 through 22. Verse 15, and so it was when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation that he worshipped. He was so grateful to God. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, arise, for the Lord has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand. And he divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into each man's hand with empty pictures, torches inside the pictures. And he said to them, look at me and do likewise. Watch, and when we come to the edge of the camp, you shall do as I do. When I blow my trumpet, I and all of you who are with me, then you also blow your trumpets on every side of the whole camp and say, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. Verse 19. So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle of the watch, just as they had posted the watch, and they blew their trumpets, and they broke the pictures that were in their hands. And the three companies blew their trumpets and broke their pictures, and they held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands were blowing, and they cried, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. And so, verse 21, every man stood in his place around the camp, and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. And when the 300 blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp, and the army fled to the surrounding cities there. Let's stop there. The 300 blew their trumpets, they broke their pictures, they held the torches high, the torches in their left hand trumpets in their right, yelled out the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. Amazing! As they began then to watch, all the men turned sword against each other and began to flee. Some would have said, Gideon, once we blow these trumpets and shine these lights, it's just going to point out where we are. They're going to come and destroy us then. Let me ask, what of our strength is needed in victory? What of our strength is needed in victory? None. None. God doesn't need an elite force. He needs faithful people who walk and move with faith and not sight, who will stand up and, when instructed, will blow their trumpet, shine their light, a unified act with an ultimate purpose in mind, doing exactly what's needed, each one doing their own preparation to contribute, doing exactly the way they were instructed. Someone said, do you think this is really going to happen? Do you really think they're going to turn their swords on each other? That can never happen. What are they saying? What they're saying is, we're not strong enough. But what's the principle? God's strength is made perfect in weakness.

You have a treasure in an old clay pot.

God wants us to be ready to smash it, shine our light, be ready to yell when instructed, to shout.

Think about when you were called, if you're like me, and I think it is the commonality of most of us. We weren't very much. We're not the wise. We're not the influential. God chooses the foolish things to confound the mighty. He chooses the weak things, to shame the strong, so that no one can boast before me, he says. And I think it's possible. Every so often, God looks down and says, you're too many. What's our responsibility as a clay pot? We have to be concerned with what is our responsibility as a clay pot. We don't want to try to shine ourselves. We are what we are.

We are what we are. We're going to draw attention to ourselves. I think maybe the converse is the vulnerability of God's people today. We should never look in the mirror and say, I'm not much.

I can't do much. And again, that might be true. But then remember pretty quickly that God has done something incredible in you, and you have a role to fulfill. So God wants us to move past any fear, move past any depression, move fast any trembling, past any trembling. The victory has already been made. It's already been achieved. So we acknowledge the fact that we are an old clay jar with the hope that they'll see the Lord Jesus Christ in us, not us. We don't want to be a church where they come in and say anything about the people. We want them to come in and say, oh these aren't beautiful people. We want them to come in and say, oh what a beautiful Savior.

Look at these old clay pots. Look at what they have in them. That's our goal.

Well, I think it's only fitting to conclude with the Apostle Paul. Let's go back to Corinthians, if you will. We're going to go to 1 Corinthians in verse 15. 1 Corinthians 15, and we're going to read just two verses to conclude. Verse 9 and 10. We're going to see the same mindset that Gideon had, Paul had it, and it's the same mindset that all God's people must have, and that is the awareness that they are the very least. They are the very least, but that only provides an opportunity for God to do something glorious.

To 1 Corinthians 15 in verse 9 and 10, Paul says, For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. Verse 10. But the grace of God, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And by His grace towards me, it was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all. Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

An old clay pot, an apostle Paul, an old clay pot, working hard to allow God's light to shine.

It's that simple. May God's strength be made perfect in our weakness.