Thorn in the flesh

And I quote...

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me.

A messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

Concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

Now, that's a whole different way of reading it, which would mess up every sermon you've ever heard and every devotional you've ever read.

But remember, the context here...

And I don't want to give away too much teaching as Paul has the thorn of the flesh and God refuses to take it away that therefore Paul is going to be in an ongoing position of suffering because he has a thorn in the flesh that God is not going to take away.

So it obviously can't mean that the power helps you get rid of the problem or just the problem goes away because Paul's problem didn't go away.

Fine.

Thorn in the flesh.

Paul asked God three times to take it away, and he said, no, my grace is sufficient.

And I know where this typically goes because I've heard men go there a hundred times in my office.

Maybe this is my thorn.

Maybe I'm just meant to live with this and deal with it for the rest of my life.

Just to be as direct and clear as I can, I don't think your pornography use is a thorn in the flesh.

A thorn, my understanding, is a limitation, something that humbles you, something that God works through.

October 25.

A thorn in the flesh.

To keep me from becoming conceited, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7.

He does not specify precisely what it was, and so we would be wise not to speculate.

What matters is not what it was, so much as what it achieved.

For Paul recognized that this thorn in the flesh was a humbling reminder from God of his inherent weakness, given so that he would not boast about his own importance, and so that he would continue to rely on God.

Like the false teachers Paul addressed, we are often tempted to allow our influence in apparent success, whether great or small, to serve as the means by which we judge our worth.

And yesterday we were talking about showing you in the book of Acts how envy was...

We talked about Paul's thorn in the flesh that 2 Corinthians 12 says was a messenger of Satan sent to buffet Paul to stop the Word from being preached.

So it wasn't a sickness or a disease.

It wasn't from God.

Well, right here, they stoned Paul and he died.

Now, you can't get any weaker than that, can you? But the disciples gathered round about him and the Lord raised him up.

What had God told him about that? THORN IN THE FLESH.

HE SAID, WHEN PAUL SAID, I BESOUGHT THE LORD THREE TIMES THAT HE REMOVE IT FROM ME, THE LORD SAID THIS, MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU.