The Thorn In The Flesh

The Thorn in the flesh

2 Cor. 12:1-10

Introduction-

Prayer-

Father, in the powerful name of Jesus, we come this morning and wanting you Lord to do something fresh and new! It is our prayer each time we gather in your name, to see you do something while we are together.

As we look at the thorn in the flesh of the Apostle Paul, may we deal with the thorns that gather in our lives that we would know what to do with them and deal with them and be able to live our lives in spite of the thorns in our life. In Jesus Name Amen.

Thorns are mentioned in the Bible over 50 times. The most famous reference is the crown of thorns put on Jesus our saviors head as he went to the cross for us. Pain, suffering, and torment Jesus went through.

Weeds, thorns, thistles as a curse of the ground for man and his sin to work and till.

The thorn of the text this morning is Apostle Paul looking at things in his life that gave him some challenges.

Anybody on their last nerve about something they been going through and felt like heaven has not answered your prayers. The message is for you today.

Text- 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 (Don’t read yet)

Allow me first set this text up-

Apostle Paul after his conversion on the road to Damascus was a new creation- his priorities totally changes and he went from a religious man to a man that was on mission for Jesus.

To have an encounter with Jesus, where Jesus himself made himself known and said why do you persecute me Saul?

To have a relationship with the savior so intense and personal that he is willing to suffer and die for the cause of Christ. Many say it but few live it!

To fight the false prophets and false teachings head on knowing that the persecution he is getting is coming from the pits of hell to stop what God has started.

You would think that a man or women of God doing the things that Paul was doing would never have been given a thorn to deal with but would be protected and shielded from things like that in his life.

When you see a man or women of God doing great things for the Lord, I want you to understand that they have a testimony for God because things are not always good and life is not as easy as it looks.

At Some point, they have paid a price to be God’s servant and messenger.

All that gliders is not gold!

Let’s read the text and then let the text speak to us this morning.

2 Corinthians 12:1-10 Read

Don’t read through this too fast- Paul is talking in the third person here-

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up in the third heaven. (He was talking about himself)

14 years earlier he had an experience that changed his life forever.

Jesus, John, and apostle Paul were allowed to see and experience heaven and come back.

According to scripture-

1st heaven- Atmosphere and Clouds.

2nd heaven- Stars and Planets, outer space

3rd heaven- Throne room of God where God dwells. Paradise.

He says;

I don’t know if it is a vision.

I don’t know if I had an out of body experience.

All I know is that I was in paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that I am not permitted to tell anyone.

He says…I would be a fool to boast about my accomplishments compared to being shown the things that God has shown me.

I have been shown the paradise of heaven and I cannot even tell people what I have seen.

Remember this is the guy that in Philippians 3:5

“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee, as for zeal, persecuting the church, as for the righteousness based on the law faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ- the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ- yes, to know the power of the resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him unto death, and so somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”