This is a word that I believe will encourage your heart and will also help instruct when you're going through some things. 2nd Corinthians 12: 7-10, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the 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. And he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness". Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak then I am strong".
Father, we thank you for your presence here this morning. We thank you for your word and our desire is that this word will not only encourage but mature us and strengthen us for your glory. May we decrease and may you increase, in Jesus name. Amen.
Brenda was almost halfway to the top of an enormous granite cliff when she stopped for a well deserved breather. Standing on a narrow ledge she measured how far she had come and revelled in the excitement of her first rock climb. As she rested there the safety rope suddenly snapped against her eye knocking out her contact lens. Great, she thought, here I am on a rock ledge hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundred of feet from the top of this cliff and now my sight is blurry. She looked and looked hoping that somehow the contact lens had landed on the ledge but it simply was not there. As panic began to set in, Brenda immediately prayed for peace and help in finding her contact lens. Taking a deep breath she resumed her climb to the top. When she got to the top, a friend closely examined Brenda's eye and clothing for the lens but it wasn't to be found. She was calm because she had reached the top but sad because she couldn't clearly see the beauty of the mountain range around her.
A Bible verse popped into her mind that said, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth". Brenda smiled and thought, "Lord, you can see all these mountains, you know every nook and cranny, every stone and leaf. You know exactly where my contact lens is, please help me find it". Later when Brenda and her group of friends had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they saw another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted, "Hey, did anyone in your group lose a contact lens?" Well, that would be startling enough but how the climber happened to see the lens was they had noticed that an ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock carrying the contact lens. Brenda's father is a cartoonist and when she had told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of the ant lugging that contact lens thinking, "Lord, I don't know why you want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it and it's awfully heavy but if this is what you want me to do I'll carry it for you". The Lord is good, amen.
As Christians we know we're involved in spiritual warfare. There are things we will carry and lug around that we don't understand all the time. It's important that we don't forget that we are in a spiritual warfare. In Christ we have the assurance that the victory in our battles is already won. He has given us provision, promised us rest and he said he would give us strength. The truth is that many Christians deal with persistent battles. By a persistent battle I mean that either we struggle with the same thing over and over again or we seem to have one battle after another in some form or fashion and wonder when it will stop or why these battles won't go away.
Paul dealt with this but he called it "A thorn in the flesh". It was something that he carried. Many have tried to speculate what his thorn was. The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what it was, the truth is it really doesn't matter. What it does tell us is this thorn was a messenger of Satan. It doesn't mean he was demon possessed. Some people think there was an actual demon that came upon Paul harrassing and frustrating him. What it does mean is that the enemy sent some things to buffet him and it definitely wasn't of God. Even believers who love God with all their heart are going to have persistent battles in their life. As a matter of fact, all believers will have battles of one form or another throughout their life. Someone thought that once they became a Christian all the battles would be over. How many know that you just put yourself on the front line? Praise the Lord.
There are five areas of hardship and as we get into this I want you to realize where the enemy can come in and bring these thorns of the flesh, where these persistent battles can take place. Any one of these or combination of these could be that thorn that you have. 2nd Corinthians 12:10 says, "Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches and needs, persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake". An infirmity is a bodily weakness or a sickness that someone may have. That could be the thorn that the enemy gets you with just to keep his hand a little bit in your life to cause you trouble. It could be a reproach or the insults, misunderstandings or belittlings that we have to endure in life, the ways that people treat us. Have you ever noticed that there are some people, no matter how good they do they can't seem to get any respect? That may be a thorn in the flesh.
Necessities are the hardships and distresses of having needs for the basics of life, whether it be finances or social interaction with people. How many know that we all need people? We need not to be alone. It could also be one of those fights that we have over old temptations. Although we are saved and God has set us free there may be areas in our life that we still battle. There may be temptations that are still attractive to you. Although God has given us new life we still battle those old attitudes.
Another thing Paul mentions are persecutions. This is when we are insulted, slighted or judged, excluded or abused, singled out because of who we are as a Christian. When I was growing up we had one teacher at school who hated Christians and she made sure that she let us know about it. We knew what it was to experience persecution, to be singled out and yelled at. But how many know God is greater? Paul mentions distresses, which are afflictions that would destroy a person if they did not have God providing and caring for him. It might be a natural disaster that overtakes them, a hurricane or a flood. It might be a car accident or a family member that just can't seem to come to Christ. It's something that leaves them feeling in distress or that their life is in peril, being put in harms way in some form for the cause of Christ. It might even mean those who are put into prison. In America we're blessed but all over this world there are those who are in jail because they gave their life to Jesus and weren't ashamed to stand up for who he is. There are families that we know in America who face distress because people have taken the life of their kids who wouldn't deny Christ on a campus or in a church and their life was taken.
God has a purpose in all our battles. God is greater than the enemy and God is good to us all the time. Many think that because we have battles that somehow we are unspiritual and that there must be something that we aren't doing right. I can't tell you how many Christians I have met that say, "Pastor, I don't understand. If I love God and if I was doing things right then everything would be ok. I wouldn't have one battle after another and go through this persistent thing. There must be something wrong with my walk with God". I want you to listen to me right now, that is not necessarily so. You could be doing everything right for God and serving him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and you can still face a persistent battle. That does not effect your faithfulness or your spirituality.
Paul pleaded for this thorn in the flesh to be taken away from him. It was with intensity that he wanted to be removed from it and God wouldn't do it. First of all we need to understand that God was not mad at Paul. Paul knew he was right with God. It is ok to go through battles and it is absolute faith to know when you are obeying what this word says, that you are right with God, and you can expect him to be there in the midst of it. God wasn't displeased with him or disciplining him. What we do know is that this thorn was not from God and that God had a purpose for it. The Bible says that Paul pleaded for this thorn to be taken away three times. I belive that Paul's request and prayer to God was just as intense as the battle was. I believe that when Paul was asking God to remove this thing from him it may have involved prayer and fasting and getting on his face before God intensely asking God to remove it yet God said "No". We need to realize that the great mercy of God is there to help us and protect us and train us. The battle that Paul faced and the battle that many of us face is not from God, it is a messenger of Satan. But God has a purpose in the battle.
These things don't just happen and go away in the sense that they mean nothing and we suffer for nothing's sake. 2nd Corinthians 12:7 says, "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelation, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me lest I be exalted above measure". Some battles keep us from getting too big for our britches. God knows exactly how to make sure that we always dependent on him. The truth is if we didn't have some things in our life we would leave God, if things weren't there to keep us dependent on Him so we would seek his face. You've laid hands on the sick and they've recovered and have seen God do things but unless we stayed in the place where we had to depend on him many would walk away. Paul was being used by God and God was showing him things. Miracles were happening and lives were being changed. We know Paul struggled with pride. This great man of God was a man who had an ego a mile long. He had to, he had accomplished a lot with his life before he came to Jesus. Then after he came to Jesus, God began to use him in even greater ways. Paul struggled with pride and even self righteousness and so do many of us in the body of Christ.
Battles keep us attentive, keep us from becoming sloppy or lazy, keep us sharp and on our toes. They keep us dependent on God and open to his leading. Battles keep us from being self righteous and self absorbed. As a matter of fact, out of our battles we become more compassionate for others. Have you ever noticed how self righteous people lose all sense of compassion for those who are hurting? I have found it almost to a tee that those who are used powerfully by God, those who are used to change lives, every one of them have something in their life that keeps them at the feet of Jesus.
Maybe pride isn't your battle, maybe it's insecurity. Maybe it's lust or a drivenness or a desire for money. Whatever it is, battles keep us on track with God. Part of our victory in life comes by understanding why God allows these things in our life. Paul said God wouldn't take it from him lest he became prideful or so caught up in himself, lest he became exalted above measure. I want you to notice this, some persistent battles are there because we never fully dealt with an issue God told us to. Some of the battles become a minster of Satan but if we had taken care of Satan in the past, the battle wouldn't be there any longer.
1st Samuel 15:3 tells us the story of Saul. He was going to battle against the Amalekites. Verse 3 says, "Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey". That sounds pretty harsh but what was God saying to Saul? If you want to win this battle against your enemy you've got to destroy all of the enemy. That sounds harsh to you and me today when you go to battle but God understood that if you didn't take care of the Amalekites then they were going to come back and be a problem for you. Verse 9 says, "But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed".
Samuel went to Saul and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord". But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" Samuel looked at Saul and said, "You didn't do everything that God told you to do". Because Saul did not obey to utterly destroy the enemy in his life, Israel has had to keep dealing with that enemy even to this day. There were several times that God told his people to wipe out the enemy. Today the nation of Israel still deal with the Philistines. Do you realize the Palestininians are actual descendents of the ancient Philistines and they are still a thorn in the flesh of Israel today. Why? Because long ago they never completely took care of what needed to be done.
Many times we don't deal with the enemy in our life. David wound up with the same exact situation in his life. 2nd Samuel 12:10 says this, "Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife". David had known God's blessing all his life and he saw Bathsheba. He went in and laid down with her and conceived a child with her. When he found out that she was pregnant he realized he needed to do something so he had her husband killed to cover up the affair. Then he made her his wife and God said to David, "Because you did this thing, the sword will never leave your home".
Some battles are our fault and not God's curse but these battles will constantly teach us and others the true blessing and cost of obedience and disobedience. Sometimes these thorns in the flesh are there because when God told us to deal with something we didn't deal with it. Sometimes our battles keep before us the importance of our obedience. You will notice that David continued to obey God from that point on. "God, whatever you say, I will obey you because I didn't obey you and I've had to deal with this all my life". The sword never left his home.
Listen, will you stay pure and separated from the world? Will we stay holy? Will we refuse to be conquered by temptation or influenced by others? The truth is that battles teach us to obey in the difficult times, how to fight and stay pure. Some of us have persistent battles because of the choice that we made. It is a messenger of Satan and not the curse of God. It was a choice but God will use it to always keep before us the desire to obey. Persistent battles are a consistent teaching and reminder of what is truly important.
We need to always know that God's grace is sufficient for us. 2nd Corinthians 12:9 says, "And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness". God's grace and the sufficiency of grace is one of the greatest revelations that you could ever have. Before Paul received this revelation of God's grace, Paul was beginning to see things that no one had ever known before. He said, "I know a man who was taken into the 3rd heaven, whether in the body or out of the body I don't know. All I know is that I got to go there. I got to see great and inexpressible things". He saw things and wisdom that is never to be uttered by the mouth of man. Today we're getting to see some great things of what God is doing on this earth. How many of you have ever seen someone healed? How many have seen someone absolutely delivered out of sickness and sin?
In the church today we've been crying out for revival and asking to see the glory of God but one of the things that has so messed up the church is that the people of God get so caught up in the miracles and the visions and the revelations that they forget the equally vital things like "His grace is sufficient". Paul saw great and inexpressible things but he said, "God gave me this thorn because I needed to know that his grace is enough. Coming to realize that God's grace is enough is as great as the miracle that God opened up all of heaven and you and I could go and see it. To know what it looked like and smelled like and to hear what the angels were saying and gain wisdom we always desired. This is why I believe that great men and women that God uses and does great things often have to carry around with them a thorn because they can become so heavenly minded and be no earthly good. God says, "My grace is sufficient for you". Grace for the day will take you all the way. How many have found you only needed to take one day at a time? We used to sing that song, "One day at a time, sweet Jesus, that's all I'm asking from you. Just give me the strength to make it everyday, one day at a time".
One of the things that I find I'm having to ask people a lot as they face battles is this question, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time". So when you wind up with an elephant, cut off a piece of steak and freeze the rest. What battles are you facing? So many times we feel like we need to take it on and have the victory now and be done with it. But God says, "My grace is sufficient for you each day and everyday".
Some of our persistent battles are our training ground to keep before us the faithfulness of God, that God will always help us and never give up on us or forsake us. Battles learned teach us how to war against the enemy. Many times Christians forget that we are in a war. This is warfare until God comes back, until Jesus comes and takes us home to be with him. The truth is that if the battles weren't there we would not be equipped for warfare. 1st Timothy 6:12 says, "Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, to which you were called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses". 2nd Timothy 4:7 says, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith". Psalms 18:34 says, "He teaches my hands to make war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze".
The battles help us to become stronger so that we know how to face the enemy and so we can help others to win the battles in their lives. We need to learn how to battle for ourselves with the Lord and many times we need to realize that our thorn is just a nuisance to help keep us motivated enough to fight. How many know that God has already given us the victory? It doesn't mean we quit or stop, we keep pressing forward. Thorns agitate so that you don't grow weary and vulnerable. Persistent battles are there to make us stronger, not to wear us out and wear us down. The only thing that makes us strong is resistance. My boys have started lifting weights and they're doing good. Both of them are already benching their body weight. That's pretty good for the ninth grade. I'm realizing that they're getting stronger and I'm going to have to start lifting weights soon right along with them or they'll get better than the old man. The only thing that makes us strong is resistance. Without it we become sloppy and flabby. We don't become sharp anymore.
Paul had gained great insight in his struggle and it was because of the stimulant of the thorn that made him stronger in God and it kept him strong in the Lord. It kept him sharp with God. 2nd Corinthians 10 says, "For when I am weak then I am strong". Christianity that is taught today is that we should become so powerful in God. The pastors that we watch on television all walk as if somehow they're so strong and undefeatable. They are through Jesus but we've been taught that somehow as Christians we will reach this place where we are so powerful that nothing will bother us or that we should be able to walk in and clear out hosptal rooms, that somehow we should reach this place of such power. The truth is this, God keeps us in the place with that thorn so that we realize our strength only comes from Him. We will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. We will see people delivered yet God allows that thorn in our lives so that we are always at his feet.
Much of what's happening in the Christian world today has such pride and arrogance. People are yelling and screaming about this and that and how much they know but no one is truly humbled at the foot of God. The thorn is there to always remind us that God allowed the messenger of Satan, like Paul said, "lest I become exalted above measure". God said, "My grace is sufficient for you".
I believe one of the greatest lessons God is teaching the church is that he is enough. He is more than enough. We no longer have to defeated by certain behaviors and attitudes. We no longer have to be defeated by fear or pride. Too many times Satan tempts us to believe that we should have an instantaneous miracle, deliverance from difficulty, to walk on water at all times and to have no problems at all. But our victory comes from standing on God's word and knowing that he is true and faithful, knowing that he is enough.
2nd Timothy 1:12 says, "For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep what I have committed to him until that day". For us the question must be settled. I believe that when Paul went to prayer, he cried out, "God, why is this here? take this from me. God, I don't want it anymore. Why does it have to be here? Holy Spirit, deliver me from this, you're my savior". And God said, "No, my grace is sufficient". Many who can't answer the question why, why doesn't this battle ever go away, start to mix faith with natural reason and the opinion of men. They begin to lose confidence and start to do things in their own strength. Too many Christians allow themselves to be led by their senses and away from God and they wind up in the very things that they hate. When we get focused on our own way and in our way that is when we begin to get in a mess. Those who know God have the question of why settled. It doesn't matter. His grace is sufficient.
Listen, if we can't stand against a thorn and fall in those battles then how can we stand in the evil day? How can we stand in the last days if we can't stand in the things that we have to face day to day? Things that might rise up and challenge God's word or attitudes that we get when things don't go our way. Stay dependent on God, his grace is enough. Remember this, you are precious to the Lord, you matter to Him. You belong to God. The victory is ours, we've already won. The battle has already been taken care of, we are secure in him, and his grace is enough.
So what do we do when the battle is persistent? Stand firm in God, for I am persuaded. To be persuaded means that nothing can move you. I know that he is God, I know his grace is enough. I know he is for me and not against me. I know that he loves me and cares for me. Stand firm. Secondly, learn to enjoy life inside and outside of the battles. If your battle is an elephant, put steak sauce on it, cook it medium rare and begin to enjoy the thing. Whatever your battle is, learn to enjoy what you're in. God put you there, rest in God. It is ok in the midst of the battle to take shelter. The Bible says that he is our fortress, our deliverer, an ever present help in time of trouble. Lastly, rememember this, the battle is the Lord's. We are in a spiritual warfare. The battle that you have even against your thorn isn't your own. He's the healer, he is capable and able to sustain you everyday.
I want to ask you, what is your thorn? Have you stayed dependent on the Lord? If you have you're not a fool. You're doing exactly what you should be doing. He's for you, not against you. The Lord probably has already spoken to you about the battle you're in. He's probably already begun to show you what he's doing in your life. Let him do it and you'll be better for it.
