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A lesson from a tree on this 
week's episode of Liberty at 

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Home. 
Hello, everyone. 

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Adam Rivero here for the latest 
edition of Liberty at Home. 

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As you may know, I'm the pastor 
of Liberty Baptist Church, which

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meets on Route 138 right here in
town. 

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And today, as always, we're 
broadcasting from Easton, MA, 

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which is part of the South Shore
of Boston. 

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Or is it? 
It depends on who you ask. 

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Let me know in the comments. 
Today we'll be looking at the 

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words of the Apostle Paul and 
2nd Corinthians. 

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So pause the video if you're 
watching online. 

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Grab your Bible and join me as 
we read 3 verses from Chapter 

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11. 
And beginning in verse 8. 

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It says, For this thing I 
besought the Lord thrice that it

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might depart from me. 
And he said unto me, My grace is

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sufficient for thee, for my 
strength is made perfect in 

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weakness. 
Most gladly, therefore, will I 

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rather glory in my infirmities, 
that the power of Christ may 

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rest upon me. 
Therefore I take pleasure in my 

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infirmities, in reproaches, in 
necessities, in persecutions, in

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distresses for Christ's sake. 
For when I am weak, then am I 

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strong. 
When we moved into our apartment

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in Easton a few years ago, the 
complex was still being built, 

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Building by building. 
Living in the midst of a 

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construction zone and watching 
the complex come together was 

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interesting. 
Near the end of construction, a 

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landscaping company came and 
planted scores of trees all over

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the complex. 
These saplings were scraggly 

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looking, In fact, most of them 
looked as if a puff of wind 

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could snap them in two. 
To protect these young trees 

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from such a fate, their trunks 
were bolstered by straps that 

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were attached to stakes deep in 
the soil and they stayed tied 

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down this way for over 2 years. 
During this time, the trees were

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able to put down roots deep into
the soil. 

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Once the trees had grown 
sufficiently both above and 

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below ground, the stakes were 
removed. 

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Now, later, as our apartment 
complex expanded again, a 

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temporary safety fence was 
placed around the new 

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construction zone. 
However, this flimsy fence fell 

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over several times in the first 
week or two after it was erected

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when a string of strong storms 
blew through town. 

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After that happened, I noticed 
something interesting about this

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ramshackle fence though. 
To keep it from continually 

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falling over, someone had placed
straps on it and anchored it to 

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a nearby tree. 
Now, a few years ago, the tree 

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was the one that needed 
strength. 

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Now it was providing strength to
something else that was weak. 

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Now getting back to our text, in
2nd Corinthians 12, Paul 

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describes an infirmity that he 
calls his thorn in the flesh. 

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Although we don't know what 
exactly the specific condition 

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was, it was something that 
caused him great physical 

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weakness. 
In fact, he says that he asked 

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God on three separate occasions 
to take away this weakening 

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agent from his life. 
Yet God did not answer Paul's 

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request in the way the apostle 
was hoping. 

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He remained weak in his body. 
But over time, Paul came to 

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understanding that this weakness
was actually beneficial for his 

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life. 
In fact, God told Paul, My grace

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is sufficient for thee, for my 
strength is made perfect in 

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weakness. 
Which brought Paul to the 

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conclusion that most gladly 
therefore will I rather glory in

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my infirmities, that the power 
of Christ may rest upon me. 

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Therefore I take pleasure in 
infirmities, in reproaches and 

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necessities, in persecutions and
distresses for Christ's sake. 

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For when I am weak, then I am 
become strong. 

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Because Paul was weakened 
through his physical 

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difficulties, he was then able 
to strengthen thousands upon 

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thousands of others through his 
personal weaknesses. 

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Like a weak tree that later was 
able to lend strength to another

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object, Paul was able to aid 
untold numbers on his missionary

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journeys. 
All because he had experienced 

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weakness in his own life. 
Of course, he couldn't do this 

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on his own power. 
It was the power of Christ that 

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was the straps that stabilized 
him and allowed him to grow in 

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his time of weakness. 
Friend, if you're going through 

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trials in your life, don't focus
on your weaknesses. 

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Allow the power of Christ to 
strengthen you so that you in 

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turn can strengthen those around
you. 

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Take heart in the words of 
Peter, who said in his first 

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epistle. 
Beloved, think it not strange 

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concerning the fiery trial, 
which is to try you as though 

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some strange thing happened unto
you. 

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But rejoice in so much as your 
partakers of Christ's 

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sufferings, that when His glory 
shall be revealed, He may be 

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glad also with exceeding joy in 
your weakness. 

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God will give you strength, and 
in turn, you'll be able to 

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strengthen someone else who 
needs your help. 

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Well, it's time to call it a day
for this week's episode of 

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Liberty at Home. 
But just before we go off air, I

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want to remind you to come see 
us sometime soon at 800 

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Washington Street, right here in
Easton. 

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We meet every Sunday morning at 
11 AM, Sunday night at 5:00 PM, 

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and Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. 
Check us out and follow all of 

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our digital platforms at my 
libertybaptist.org. 

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Well, I'm Pastor Adam Rivero, 
signing off from ECAT today. 

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Remind you as always that where 
the Spirit of the Lord is, there

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is liberty. 
See you next week right here on 

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Liberty at home.