“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Cor. 12:9) Is it? I believe that we can imply that the Lord was speaking to us just as much as He was to Paul on that day, His grace is sufficient.
I challenge you to search the Scriptures and find any place in them where Paul sought for any prayers for himself outside of those that sought for boldness to continue on the path that had been set before him, and then look upon your ow life and see if your prayers for yourself are of the same caliber. Nearly everywhere he went he was persecuted in some way, shape, or form, are you, do those that you speak to about Christ mock you, deride you, are you so adamant about Christ and concerned with their souls that they have learned to hate you.
Do you know why most individuals hate Jesus, why they have no desire whatsoever to listen much less apply the plan of salvation to their thoughts? It would require obedience, it would require that their lives would no longer be lived for themselves, but that every aspect of their thoughts, actions, and intentions would need to be offered up to Almighty God to do with as He pleased. They see it as the complete and total loss of their own self-will, do you? Most religious organizations think the same way, they have exchanged the truths of the Scriptures for the traditions and obligations of man, and when a born-again believer contradicts through the truths of the Scriptures anything that they have set in place, contentions arise, and the man of God is ostracized from their presence.
Many times the conversation is fruitless, for they will fall back on the “bible” that they have written, a corrupted version of the King James Bible, or, as is in the case of the Mormons, Buddhists, or other quasi-religious cults, a book completely and totally made up by men most generally instigated by demonic forces. Nearly all of them can say with Pilate, “What is truth,” (John 18:38) but they will still join in the local interfaith organization along with all the others that are being deceived, thinking good works and the correct moral code are the way to bring the citizens of the community into fellowship into at least one of their churches. There is more possibility of hope of reaching the individual who has not been corrupted by one of these false churches than there is of one who has for years been deceived by their false doctrines, you can go directly to the Word of God without having to debate the principles of man that they have long adhered to, at least in theory if not principle, in the cults that they have been associated with.
A works-based religion leaves no room for the grace of God to be sufficient, self must be intertwined with that grace, making it no more grace. The man of God does not fear the reprisals of any individual or religious organization, he has already died, he has already been crucified with Christ, (Gal. 2:20) his life is no longer his own, the grace of God is sufficient for him. He sees the lost soul as they are, wicked, with the wrath of God abiding on them, yet he sees them in love, for if they do not repent, he knows their end. He sees the religious organizations as they are, evil and seeking another door into the kingdom, deceiving by choice those that attend their false worship services. Satan learned a very long time ago, if he can’t get them to worship him, get them to worship anything or anyone but Christ. False religious doctrines, corrupted bibles, traditions, and obligations in the place of obedience. The grace of God must never be seen as sufficient in these places.
Beyond wisdom, beyond spiritual discernment, beyond a heart that can discern between good and evil, pray for boldness to profess the name of Christ to everyone you meet, no matter their background, you have already been crucified, what more could you possibly lose?
