A Thorn In The Flesh

A Thorn in the Flesh

Pray.

Before we start, I have to ask if you heard about the dyslexic Satanist? He sold His soul to Santa.

don't think about that too long, I just wanted to get your mind working here this morning, Now,

This morning I want to show you through God's Word, just how important you are to Him.

Now, if you've been here at least one time, you've heard me say that Jesus died for your sins. And that is

certainly the greatest demonstration of love ever performed on this planet and certainly the most love anyone

ever demonstrated towards you in your life.

But this morning I want to talk about God's love beyond sending Jesus. I want to show you that God loves

You so much, He cares about you so much, that He would actually hinder His own agenda for your sake.

I want you to open your Bible's to 2 Corinthians 12 and look at verse 7 with me.

This one verse illustrates how much God loved Paul. God literally sent someone into Paul's life to keep

Paul reliant on Him. Many people will say this was God's way of keeping Paul humble, but I don't believe that.

I don't believe Paul ever thought of himself as anything special. God needed Paul to keep leanning and trusting

on Him fully. It was about keeping Paul close to Him. God wanted Paul right by His side and He wants you there

as well. Because God knows, as King David said, We are all prone to wander astray.

Notice in this verse, Paul says, I have been given a thorn in my flesh. Obviously this is a figurative speech,

obviously Paul did not have a thorn stuck in his hand. In the OT thorns always represented unsaved people.

And Paul very clearly says, my thorn in my flesh is a messenger of Satan.

God allowed false teachers into the churches that Paul Started. God allowed Paul to battle these false

teachers on a daily basis. For every true and Good word that Paul spoke concerning Jesus and Salvation,

The thorn in his flesh, the messenger of Satan, Some False Prophet spoke 2 lies.

Someone was always there battling Paul as he preached and taught "THE TRUTH" about Jesus Christ.

Why? As I said earlier, Why would God allow this to happen? Why would God allow all of this friction in

Paul's life? IF God would remove these false teachers, More people would accept the truth of Paul's teachings,

and God's kingdom would increase.

BUT God allowed this friction in Paul's life for one reason and one reason only. God loved Paul so much, that he

left that strugle in his life to keep Paul close to Him.

There have been many times in my life that I have asked The Lord, why are you allowing this to happen in my

life? or Why are you allowing this battle in my life? Please just remove it.

But I've learned and what you must learn is this, if you're a child of God, You have a job to do for Him down here.

And God's not looking for spoiled brats, He's in need of Christian Soldiers. And always keep in mind, Your ways

and God's ways will not often times line up. Meaning, if it were up to us, every day would be smooth sailing.

But God's trainning you for something much bigger. Take our US military. What is the first thing they do with

their new recruits. Do they send them off to some beach resort in Hawaii and tell them to relax? Of course not,

they send them off to Boot Camp where they receive months of hard trainning. Trainning that one day could save

their life or the life of another. Child of God, God is trainning you for something bigger than where you are right now.

God was teaching Paul about provision. God was teaching Paul about Grace and Mercy.

Let me tell you something, I can teach you about God's provision and God's Grace and Mercy but until you truly

Experience it, You'll never understand it.

You may have something or someone in your life that you would call a thorn in your flesh.

It could be a person that keeps trying to force some false religion on you. It could be some type of addiction.

It could be a health issue. Something in your life that simply wears you down. It beats you up and you're tired,

you're exhausted and you just wonder , WHY GOD?

And all the while, He's saying to you, because I love you. I need you to recognize the need you have in your life.

I need you to ultimately recognize Me and then put all your faith and trust in Me !!