The Thorn In the Flesh

I've never preached a message
on this subject, a thorn in the flesh. In fact, I've never heard
a sermon preached on this subject. I think we have to come to a
certain time in our lives, a certain experience in grace, a certain
encounter with God, before we can deal with certain subjects.
But as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, and
as we experience more of his grace and more of his mercy,
and he's pleased to give us more of his truth, then we're able
to understand certain parts of his word. A preacher once said,
we only believe what we experience. And we only really learn in the
school of experience. Now, there's not a true believer
here today who cannot relate to Paul's experience in this
chapter. Every one of us can relate to
this experience. That is, if we are true believers,
if we know Christ. In fact, someone said of this
verse, Woe be unto me. if I cannot find myself here. Woe be unto me if I cannot find
myself here. For if the chief apostle of the
Lord walk this path, must I not walk it too?" I want to divide
this verse into five divisions. I want you to remember these
these headings. First of all, we're going to
talk about Paul's experience, Paul's experience. And then we're
going to talk about the danger to which he was exposed. And
then we're going to look at the preventative. God Almighty gave
a preventative. And then we're going to talk
about the effect, what effect it had on this man of God. And
then last of all, the power of his grace. Now, first of all,
the experience. Look at chapter 12 of 2 Corinthians. Let's begin reading with verse
2. Now, Paul is talking about himself here. He said, I knew
a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, whether in the body
I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell. God
knows such a woman was caught up to the third heaven Now, in
the language of the Jews, the first heaven is where the birds
fly. The second heaven is where the
stars are. And the third heaven is where
God dwells, and where Christ is seated at the Father's right
hand. Paul called it, in verse 4, paradise. Look at it. He said, how that
he was caught up into paradise. When our Lord Jesus Christ was
on the cross, he said to the thief, Today thou shalt be with
me in paradise. So what Paul is saying here is
that he, whether he was in the flesh or whether he was in the
spirit, he did not really know, only God knows, but he actually
was given a personal visit into the third heaven. He actually
was taken up into the presence of God. He was actually taken
up into paradise. Now look at the next verse. It
says in verse 4, he was caught up into paradise and he heard
unspeakable words, which it is not lawful, the word there is
possible for a man to utter. He said, I saw things and I heard
things that are impossible to be put into words, impossible
for you to understand. You say, well, preacher, how
in the world can you or how can I relate to this? Well, have
we not by God's Spirit and by His grace, have we not actually
entered into God's secret counsels? Have we not by His grace and
by His Spirit been admitted into the mysteries of God's grace? Have we not entered into the
glories of His incarnation? Has not God revealed unto us
that things that even kings have not understood, and mighty men
have not understood? These mysteries of His counsel,
these mysteries of His gospel, these mysteries of His incarnation,
the natural man has not seen these things. And he has not
heard these things, and he has not understood these things.
Turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians 2, what I'm
saying is this. Every believer here has been
taken by the Holy Spirit into the secret counsels of God. Every
believer here has been taken by the Holy Spirit into the mysteries
of God's glory. His grace is His glory. His mercy
is His glory. His love for sinners is His glory. And every believer here has been
taken into the mystery of his incarnation. God became a man,
the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we what? We beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Look at verse, chapter 2 of 1
Corinthians, verse 8, or verse 7. Paul said, I speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery. The gospel is called a mystery.
A mystery! Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world under our glory, which none of
the princes of this world knew, had they known it, if they had
known what you know and what I know, they would never have
crucified the Lord of glory. They would never have spat in
his face. They would never have nailed
him to a cross if they had known what I know, if they had known
what you know, if they had seen what we have seen and heard what
we have heard. They would have never nailed
him to a cross, but, verse 9, it is written, I have not seen
the natural eye, ear hath not heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, natural man, the things that God has prepared
for them that love him. Now listen to me. Paul said,
I was taken, whether in the body or out of the body, I don't know,
but I was taken into the presence of God, into paradise itself,
into the very Shekinah glory. And I saw things and I heard
things that I could never make you understand. I saw and I heard
things that are impossible to be confined or put into words. You couldn't understand them.
Well, I'll tell you this. If you are born again, if you
are a child of God, if the Holy Spirit has revealed God's grace
and glory and gospel to you, you've seen things that the natural
man has never seen, you've heard things the natural man has never
heard, you know things the natural man can't even understand, though
you put them in words. Look at verse 10. God hath revealed
them unto us by his Spirit. I've had people come to me after
a service, after preaching a message in which I preach with some liberty
and power, and I've invited sinners to come to Christ, to look to
the Savior, to flee to Calvary, and after the service I've had
people come there and say, I don't know why they don't respond.
I don't know why they don't receive Christ. I can't understand when
sin is so real and death is so certain and judgment is so sure
and hell is so terrible and heaven is so wonderful and Christ is
so beautiful, why don't men receive it? They can't see it. That's what he's saying here.
They can't hear it. They can't understand it. They
move in a natural realm, and it's got to be revealed by the
Holy Spirit. That's what Paul is saying. He
said, we preach the gospel. It's a mystery. It's a mystery. And it's a mystery that if the
princes of this world had known it and understood it, they would
have never crucified the Lord Jesus Christ. But eye hath not
seen, and ear hath not heard, and it never has entered into
man's heart the things God has prepared for him. But it's entered
into my heart, and some of you can say it's entered into yours.
I've seen it, not with natural eyes, but eyes of faith. I've
heard his voice speak through his Because God hath revealed
these things unto us by his Spirit. Verse 14. But the natural man,
the carnal man, the fleshly man, receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are what to him? Foolishness. Sheer nonsense. You talk about
us being sinners by birth, sinners by choice, sinners by practice. Sinners by imputation, sinners
by impartation, without hope, without help, without God, foolishness. You talk about God loving us
in Christ and God giving to His Son of people and Christ coming
down here in the flesh and meeting the law as a man and obeying
it in every jot and tittle and fulfilling that law that I might
have a perfect righteousness, a perfect standing before God,
foolishness. You talk about Jesus Christ going
to the cross, and there on that cross bearing our sins, himself
our substitute, actually dying in our stead and in our room
and in our place, and God pouring out upon him all the wrath and
judgment that justice demands for every believer of every generation,
out of every tongue and kindred and nation and people under heaven.
Foolishness! You talk about a man being taken
down from a cross and put in a grave and three days later
rising from that tomb and ascending back to the Father where he intercedes
for us as our great high priest from which he will come again.
Foolishness! That's what the world says. And
it doesn't matter how hard you try to present it to them, and
how sincerely you present it to them, and how compassionately
you present it to them, they still come back with the same
thing, foolishness. And that's what our Lord said
to Nicodemus, if I've told you earthly things and you can't
understand them, how shall you understand if I tell you heavenly
things? Paul said, I saw things and I
heard things. It's not possible for man to
understand. And every true believer in this
congregation can say the same thing. You can relate to Paul
right there. Your loved ones and your friends,
they don't understand you. They don't understand you. The people you work with, they
don't understand you. The people of this world, they
don't understand you, they cannot comprehend what's taking place
in your heart. You can sit down and talk to
them about denominations, you can talk to them about doctrine,
you can talk to them about morality, you can talk to them about laws,
you can talk to them about ceremonies and preachers, but you can't
talk to them about Christ. They don't understand. They don't understand. Now notice the second thing.
That's Paul's experience. He said, I've been taken to glory. I've entered into the counsels
of God. I've entered into the very glory
of God. I've entered into the very purpose
of God. And I've come back down here
among people whom I love. And my heart's desire and prayer
to God for them is that they might be saved. They have a zeal
for God, but it's not according to knowledge. And what I say
they can't even understand. Now here's the danger. Watch verse 7. And lest I be
exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations
given to me. Now here's the danger. God had
favored Paul in a very special way. Almighty God had honored
him in a very special way. Almighty God had exalted him
in a very special way, and the great danger was self-exaltation. Self-exaltation. You say, well,
how can I relate to this? Exactly as Paul did. Paul had
seen some things nobody else had seen. Paul had heard some
things that nobody else had heard. Paul had been favored and honored
above all men, just like Mary, who was permitted to be the mother
of our Lord. Thou hast found favor with God. Now watch out, Paul, there's
a danger out there. Lest you be exalted. Lest you
be exalted. My friends, there's certainly
no room or cause for any exaltation or glory on our part. Turn to
1 Corinthians chapter Let me show you a verse of scripture
here. 1 Corinthians 4, verse 7. Suppose you have seen things
that maybe your friends haven't seen. Suppose you've heard things
that perhaps those with whom you work have not heard. Suppose
you have had the gospel revealed to you. You have nothing of which
to boast. God gave it to you. God revealed
it to you. If God had left you alone as
he apparently has left them alone, you wouldn't see either. You
wouldn't hear either. You wouldn't understand either,
nor would I. 1 Corinthians 4, 7. Who made
you to differ from another? You're a person who loves the
gospel. Another person doesn't. Who made the difference? You're
a person who appreciates the Word of God. You can appreciate
a song like Mike just sang, Through It All, I Have Learned to Trust
and Heal. You can appreciate that. Others
cannot. Who made you to differ? You understand the death of Christ
on the cross, that he suffered for sin, that his blood puts
away our guilt. Another doesn't understand it.
Who made you to differ? Listen, go on. And what hast
thou that thou didst not receive? You have received revelations
from God, you have received truth from God, who revealed it to
you. Now if you did receive it, why
dost thou glory as if thou hast not received it? I talked to a young man this
week who said something about entering the ministry. working in crusades for Christ
on the campus. And I expressed to him my alarm
about the direction that modern religion is going. I am alarmed,
I am troubled, deeply troubled. I feel like it's an exaltation
of the flesh. I pick up the newspaper and I
read about this great athlete who is witnessing for Christ,
this great song writer, or this great singer, or this great politician,
or this great something else that's witnessing for Christ. You know, they went out there
where that man John the Baptist was preaching, and Christ Thyself
said, No man born of woman is greater than John the Baptist.
And they went out there to hear John the Baptist, and somebody
said to him, Who are you? Who are you? Here's an opportunity
for John to say, well, I was supernaturally conceived when
my mother was an old woman. Secondly, I was filled with the
Holy Ghost from my mother's womb. Thirdly, I am a personal, God-ordained
forerunner of Jesus Christ. Fourthly, I have letters of recommendations
from the apostles and from Jesus Christ who said I'm the greatest
preacher in all the world. Who are you? You know what John
replied? I'm a voice in the wilderness. I'm Mr. Nobody from nowhere. It doesn't matter who I am. It doesn't matter who I am. We
have been so exalted in this day and so taken up with our
own guilts and talents and our own righteousness and faithfulness
that rather than preaching Christ, we are for the most part preaching
ourselves. There's a danger of being exalted
because of my guilt. There's a danger of being exalted
because of my position. There's a danger of being exalted
because of my knowledge. There's a danger of being exalted
because of my morality. There's a danger of being exalted
because of my trials and victories. Here's a man who's brought through
deep water and great trials, and he comes out on the other
side victorious for Christ, and everybody said, you endured that
like a real Christian. And he feels real good about
it. Real good about it. We can even boast in our trials. There's a danger of being exalted
because of my faithfulness. I have been faithful to the gospel. Somebody says, I preached faithfully
thirty years. Well, who made you to differ?
Who gave you that gift? Who enabled you to be faithful?
Brethren, if we were left to ourselves five seconds, we'd
depart from the living God and walk astray four and a half of
those seconds. Suppose I walk down the street
and I meet two beggars. Here are two men who are broke,
bankrupt. They have nothing but holes in
their pockets and holes in the soles of their shoes. They're
ragged and dirty and hungry and poverty-stricken. They're absolutely
void of anything. They don't have help, they don't
have food, they don't have money, they don't have anything. And
I hand one of them a hundred dollar bill, and I hand the other
a ten dollar bill. Shall the man who has more than
the other glory over his companion? Shall the man who now has a hundred-dollar
bill, shall he glory over the man who only has a ten-dollar
bill? I gave them what I will. Does either of them have any
room to boast? What about us? When God Almighty
came, here was old Bill Borders Here was Henry Mahan and there
was Lord Bush and there was Lester Chamberlain. He gave us grace
according to his will, gifts according to his own will. He
divided to every man severally as he will. He put us in the
body of Christ where he would. He gave us talents and righteousness
and faithfulness as it pleased him. He gave Old Bill a hundred
dollar bill and he gave me ten. He got any right to boast over
me? everything he's got, God gave him. That's right. Wherever
he is, God put him. Whatever knowledge he has, God
taught him. Whatever confidence and faith
he has, God revealed it. Take away what God gave me, and
I am as empty and void as any creature on this earth. You see what I'm saying? And
that's what Paul says here, Oh, I've been favored of God. I've been honored of God. I've received revelations that
few men or no man has ever had. God gave it. God gave it. So, lest I be exalted above measure,
look at this next line. lest I be exalted, lest I fall
into this pit." Bill, unless you, lest you fall into this
pit, God Almighty's got to set up a, He's got to set up a hedge. He's got to hedge you about.
He's got to, God's got to put up a barrier. God's got to put
up a detour sign. God's got to put up a warning
sign, lest you, you know where you'd go if it wasn't for God's
grace? So God, Paul said, lest I be exalted above measure through
the abundance of the revelations, or the gifts, or the righteousness,
or the talent, or whatever, now watch this, there was given to
me a thorn in the flesh. Now everybody who writes on this
subject wants to talk about what that thorn was. Everybody I've
ever heard mention it, preach on it, or write it, I haven't
heard very many, but they want to talk about what is the thorn.
Somebody said, I've got all these different fellows. One said it
was poor eyesight. Paul couldn't see good, so he
wrote with such a large letter, I've written, that is, he wrote
in big letters. Somebody else said he suffered
from the earache. I don't know where they get these
things. Another preacher said he had the rheumatism. I think
what preachers do is they associate Paul's thorn with themselves,
and whatever they have, that's what Paul had. And that's all
right. I think maybe that's the reason God didn't tell us what
it was. Maybe that's the reason He couldn't, so we could relate
to it. But let this be settled right
now, before we proceed any further. Nobody knows what that thorn
was. I can say that as emphatically and dogmatically as I can say
Christ is our only Savior. Christ is our only Redeemer.
There is no human being who knows what that thorn was except the
man who had it, Paul. What is important? What is important
here is the purpose it served. And my friends, don't be taken
up with trying to split hairs in the scripture and trying to
find out what this means and that means and the other thing
means, and miss what God is teaching. And here's what Paul is saying.
Because of the abundance of revelations that God gave me, lest old Paul
be proud, lest old Paul be exalted above measure, lest old Paul
think he's something when he's nothing, God gave me a reminder
that I am still a human being. Now watch this, four things quickly.
He says, there was given to me a thorn. He reckoned this trial,
whatever it was, he reckoned it to be God's gift. He didn't
say, I was afflicted or I accidentally acquired. He said, God gave me
this. That's what he said right there.
There was given to me. God Almighty gave me my trial
just as much as he gave me my glory. God Almighty gave me my
affliction just as much as he gave me my victories. That's what he's saying. There
was given to me a thorn. Alright, look at the thorn. The
amplified version calls it a splinter. There's a reason why he uses
this word, thorn, splinter. Here's the first reason, it's
such a little thing. It's such a little thing. It's
not fatal. There are few times that thorns
ever killed anybody. Boy, I'm telling you, did you
ever get one under your fingernail? Did you ever get one in your
big toe? My little grandson Cade, three
years old, was out in the yard helping me last night. He was
going around barefooted, and he stepped on a thorn. Then he
forgot anything. He forgot everything. He sat
down and hollered and tried to get that thorn out of his heel.
It wouldn't have killed him, but it sure was irritating. It
was real to him. It was real. And that's what
Paul said, that God gave me a splinter. A thorn is a little thing. It's
not fatal, but it's painful and it's irritating and it's real.
It's something else. It's a secret thing. It's not
apparent to anyone. I couldn't even see the thing.
I couldn't see the thorn. It's not apparent to anyone except
the fellow that's got it. He knows it. You can't see it. You don't know it's there. You
don't know what it is. But he knows it. Oh, how he knows
it. Paul's trouble was known to Paul. And then this thorn. You know
why I use the word thorn? It's a little thing. It's not
fatal. It's not going to destroy him.
But it's going to be painful and irritating and surreal. And
it's a secret thing. It's something you don't know
about. He knows about. And it's a common thing. A thorn
grows everywhere. In every field you can find a
thorn. It's common to any person. And watch this. Paul said, "...there
was given to me a thorn." Where? In the flesh. It wasn't a trial
in the Spirit at all. Paul could say with David, the
Lord is my shepherd. The apostle Paul could say plainly,
I know whom I have to leave. He could say, other foundations
can no man lay than that which is laid, Christ the Lord. He
could say with Apostle Peter, I'm redeemed with the blood of
Christ, I've got no doubt about that. You can't shake me from
that rock. Christ is my hope, Christ is
my righteousness, Christ is my rediction, Christ is my wisdom. This trial didn't vex his spirit,
it vexed his human flesh. It vexed his human nature. It
was a thorn in the flesh. He makes that clear here. He
makes that very clear. Lest I be exalted above measure,
God gave me in his wisdom for my good and his glory a little
thing. It won't destroy me. He gave
me a little thing, a secret trial, a common everyday thing. I can't
be exalted over that. I don't have anything special.
I got what everybody else has got. It's just an old poem that's
found in the field, common to every man, and it's in my flesh. It's in my flesh. And watch this
next line. A messenger of Satan. My friends, there is no place
and no way that Satan can defeat the purpose of Christ in this
world, in the Church, or in the Christian. Our Lord said in John
10, They follow me, I give them eternal
life, they shall never perish, my Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no," and in your Bibles you'll find
M-A-N as in italics, it's supplied by the translator, no one can
pluck them out of my hand. No one can pluck them out of
my Father's hand. Neither principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor any creature, nor
Satan or anyone. Satan is not able to separate
us from the love of God in no way. But I tell you what he can
do. He can't take your spirit out
of the hand of Christ. He can't take your name off the
Lamb's Book of Life. He cannot take your place out
of the kingdom of God. He cannot take your place out
of the atonement. He cannot take your name off
the breastplate of the holy high priest. But I tell you what he
can do. He can vex your human nature. Yes, he can. He can vex your
human body. He did Job. Huh? He did Job. God gave him permission. Satan vested Job. A messenger
of Satan came and visited Job. God said, Don't you kill him,
but do what you want to. And he did. And he tore that
righteous man apart. He visited Peter. Our Lord said,
Peter, Satan hath desired thee that he might sift you like wheat. And you ever seen him sift wheat
when he get it in those great big old and they get that wheat
and bounce it up there and the wind blows the chaff out and
that wheat takes a real tumbling, takes a real beating. He visited
Paul, turned to 1 Thessalonians. Paul says this right here in
1 Thessalonians 2, verse 18, Paul said this, listen, 1 Thessalonians
2, verse 18, I would have come to you, I would have come to
you, even I, Paul, Again, but Satan hindered me. Satan hindered
me. You see what I'm saying? Paul
said there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a personal visit
from the arch foe. from Satan, a messenger from
Satan, directly from the throne of evil. To do what, Paul? To buffet me, to cause me distress
and pain and anguish and trouble in the flesh. But wait a minute,
what was the cause back of all of it, huh? Let me tell you this,
God will even use Satan to accomplish his purpose. What was the cause
back of it all? He says it twice in the same
verse. He starts out, lest I be exalted above measure. And he
finishes up, lest I should be exalted above measure. And all
of this in between, Satan's purpose and Satan's diabolical scheme
and the messenger of Satan and the thorn in the flesh, and all
these things were for a purpose. to humble me," that's what he
said, to keep me in the dust where I belong. Shut my bragging
mouth. Paul talked about whether in
the body or out of the body. Well, I'll tell you this, when
that thorn in the flesh was tearing him, he settled the question.
He was in the body. He may have felt angelic when
he was getting those revelations, but boy, now he felt real human. He may have felt very strong
when he was walking among the host of heaven, but I tell you
now, he felt very human. He may have felt very righteous
when he was being overflowed with floods of revelation, but
now he felt very weighty. Now he's just a man, a man needing
grace, a man needing mercy, a man needing strength, a man needing
a refuge, a man needing a mediator. Well, that thorn did its job.
What did it do? Number one, it drove him to his
knees. Verse 8, he said, For this thing
I prayed three times that the Lord might remove it. Brethren,
anything is a blessing that makes me pray. Most of our prayers, ritualism,
empty words, I sure hope God will have mercy on us for our
prayers. I hope He will. I believe He will. Our prayers,
have you ever analyzed your prayers sometimes? But I'll tell you
this, I have prayed, and you know when? I have prayed when
I felt a need to pray. I've done a little praying once
in a while, but I'll tell you when it's been, it's been when
I reached the end of my rope, When I was aware of my weakness
and infirmities and my sins and my emptiness and the impossibility
of doing what God called me to do, then I fall on my knees and
I pray, Lord, help me, help me, with groanings which cannot be
uttered. And that's where Paul came to.
God brought him here. I prayed. Oh, how I prayed. Tell you something else it did,
the effect of this thorn, it not only drove him to his knees,
but it revealed his weakness and it gave birth to verses like
these. Turn, if you will, to Romans
7. Romans 7, it gave birth to statements like these. First
of all, in Romans 7, verse 24, when he talked about the That
law warring in his members and talked about the good that he
would, he did not, and the evil which he would not do, that's
what it did, and it drove him to cry, O wretched man that I
am. And then it led him to write
verses like this. Listen to this verse. Don't turn
to it. We've got to move along. But Galatians 6, he says here,
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you that are spiritual,
restore him in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted." It made him rejoice in his trials. That's right, he found these
trials to be heavenly medicine. He said this over here in 2 Corinthians
12, turn back to your text, he said this, When I prayed and God said, My
grace is sufficient, he said, Therefore I'll glory in my thorns
and in my infirmities. Listen, that the power of Christ
might rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities and reproaches and necessity and persecution and
distresses. For when old Paul's weak, that's
when Paul's strong. When old Paul reaches the end
of himself, That's when he is empowered with the person and
glory of God. When God can take a vessel that's
empty, he'll use it. Empty. Now, the power of this
grace, this thorn in the flesh did what God gave it to do. Now,
I want you to listen to me a minute. It did what God gave it to do.
Now it's no small thing when God visits you and me, whether
in blessings or afflictions, whether in victories or adversities,
it's no small thing when God visits us, and we'd better, we'd
better redeem the time, and we'd better make the most of the privilege.
I know some people, when they go through a trial, or they have
a thorn in the flesh, It produces evil rather than good. Poverty
makes them envious of others. Sickness makes them impatient
and hard to get along with. Trouble makes them rebellious.
Disappointments makes them quitters and deserters. Trials make them
self-justifiers rather than crying, Oh God, I'm a sinner, I'm guilty,
have mercy. They start justifying themselves,
making excuses, finding some alibi. Distress and infirmity. Now watch this. Distress, infirmity,
trial, difficulty will reveal the true nature of a person. There's no way to determine the
stability of a ship except to put it in rough water. And when
that ship, no matter how beautiful it is and finely constructed
it is, the only way to tell the true strength of that ship is
put in rough water. And I'll tell you this, there's
no way to determine the strength of a man's faith and his confidence
in Christ and his relationship to God. There's no way except
in rough water. And that's when God will find
out where he's made out of. Paul said, God gave me a thorn. Oh, God gave me a thorn, a messenger
of Satan. What did it do, Paul? It drove
me to my knees. It shut my mouth. It humbled
me. It brought out compassion. It
brought out trust. It brought out rest in Him. It brought out what I really
am. And that's what trials will do. No church can be without
trials. No home can be without trials.
No individual can be without trials. How do you react to them?
Determines what kind of person you are. You have a little ill
wind blows in a church and people start quitting and doing this.
That was their nature to begin with. The trial just brought
out what was there. Two people are friends all through
years. Something comes between them.
One goes one way, they never were friends. The trial brought
out the true nature. A man claims to be a believer
in Christ, and rest in Christ, and loves Christ, and he goes
through a dark tunnel, or a deep water, or a great trial, and
it makes him to be indifferent, he never knew Christ. No way
did he ever know Christ. If he had known Christ, the strength
of his faith and the strength of his love would have been revealed
by the trial. But the trial showed he did not. He was nothing but an artificial
believer. I'm telling you the truth. When
I am weak, then I'm strong. When I am nothing, then I'm something. When I'm poor, then I'm rich. When I'm empty, then I'm filled. When I'm naked, then I'm clothed. When I'm hopeless, then I'm anchored
on the route. Jesus engraved it on my heart
that thou the one thing needful art, I could from all things
parted be, but never, never, never, Lord, from thee. Never. Our Father, bless the
Word. How grateful we are for For every
infirmity of the Apostle Paul and every distress and every
reproach and every weakness, because we can be identified
with him, we can be identified with him. He endured these things
that he might be an example to us. Let us gracefully, glorifying
Christ, endure whatever comes our way. for the good of others
and for the glory of our Redeemer. O Lord, bring us down, humble
us, put us in the dust, that Christ may increase and we may
decrease. In his name we pray. Amen.

The Thorn In the Flesh

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The Thorn In the Flesh

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