A thorn in my sdie

‘A thorn in my side

you can be popular- OR- you can be influential.

By now, I can say, I’m no longer popular.

God does not reveal to condemn, He reveals to free.

- where the spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom.

first thought of Judas- who this is to me

who was Judas to Jesus....

- ‘what are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you? so they counted 30 pieces of silver’

a piece of silver during this time was worth about $20…he offered him 30, for a total of $600…that was the value of the life of Jesus to Judas.

satan fights cheap- he did then and he still does today

biblically, 600 is the number of war

what cost is placed on that thing in your life that has waged the war in you?

think intently who this is to me/ you; think about your thoughts of them, how they affect you...

how they make you feel

You are this to someone else

Why?

What causes the Judas to arise?

It’s rooted in the depths

The Lord said to me, “go after the root”

What is the thorn?

- the negative, insulting, bitter thoughts we think about someone else are they way (when we get real with ourselves) that we think about ourselves.

the judgement, the hate, the anger, the envy, the jealousy, the misery…all the things we put on someone else

what you think about you vs what God thinks and has to say about you

-- a broken spirit dries up the bones.

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God breathe tonight on our bones.

-- if your eye is not healthy, your whole body will be full of darkness

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some know that’s who you are to others and you see no problem with it

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David- rooftop

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the

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some see it as a way of life because of hurt

the spirit of God does- ‘karma’, they’re getting what they deserve

some of you picked it up on a rooftop…David

it’s the battle inside of you the causes the war outside of you

God as we dig tonight…expose the cost of war

Jesus took a man- who could have been a thorn-

Paul:

Paul’s ministry....when we think about who Paul is/was:

Generally, this is what we think:

stoning men to the salvation of men

healing in his shadows

great man of God

Saul to Paul

his name wasn’t changed by the way, we hear a lot that Sauls name was changed to Paul...

In the bible says: ‘but Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the holy spirit’....after this, he is only referred to as Paul.

not a name change

this was a conscious decision on Paul’s part to use a name he already had.

Since Paul was a roman citizen, during this time, he would have been given 3 names at birth

pallus (the latin name)

Saul the pharisee chose to be known as “Paul, citizen of Rome”

what name does the Father call you?

perhaps he’s waiting on you to choose to be called a name he has already given you.

holy

power

stregnth

love

forgiveness

whatever your name, it’s a choice to walk in it.

the world tells us God doesn’t give us more than we can handle.

thats not true

he does, he sometimes gives us more than we can handle so He can step in and handle it for us

who would he be to us if we could do it all?

“we do not want you to be uninformed brothers and sisters about the troubles we experienced in Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. In deed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

when you think it’s too much, more than you can handle…it is. It’s supposed to be, it’ll drive you to Jesus.

but what about the thorn in his side- what was this?

V. 7 it says, ‘therefore, in order to keep me from being conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of satan to torment me.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”.

some research says it could have been some physical illness or handicap, such as epilepsy with its sudden seizures, or malaria with its searing headache, but we don’t know what it was.

Paul implored God to take the thorn away- 3 different times

but- God refused

Instead, God promised to give paul the grace to bear it.

as a result of God not delivering the thorn from his side, this keeps Paul humble and dependent on Christ, and he delights in it.

Paul said that when he is weak, he has to rely completely on the strength of Christ, which is the only strength that matters

‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.

sufficient: to be enough, to satisfy, to be a match for-

when the pain is tortuing- Ill match it with my healing

when the heart is broken, Ill match it with my suffering and make it whole

when you’re alone- Ill match it with my presence

what has your thorn done to you?

do you celebrate in the strength that the Holy Spirit comes and wraps you in-

holy spirit- putting us on like a jacket and wearing us

paul could have gotten so bitter and mad at God…but he didn’t.

live with the thorn and be less useful to Christ

throughout the new testament, people go to Jesus for healing all the time and we read about the times he heals. instantly.

Paul goes to the same Jesus, the same God for healing and is denied.

walk around mad and bitter

or

I believe God wants everyone healed…but what if the healing would kill you

what if the thorn removed would take your life?

get rid of the thorn and be more useful to Christ.

weakness is where we receive power.

without a thorn, would we even open our hand to God?

with our thorn and his grace,

what we don’t hear as much about Paul

what about the thorn in Paul’s side

what is the thorn in your side?

where were you at your place of conversion- because that’s the place we’ve got to go back to

FAITH PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS INSERT

After all that Paul goes through, he says that he was not harassed but was corrected by adversity, in order that while he was the more heavily afflicted he might the more truly be tried.

Paul ask the Lord 3 times to take away the thorn in his side...

others

corrected by adversity…we think it’s the devil, that satans after us- what if it’s the thing God is trying to use to keep you out of hell?

Paul says, ‘this is the difference between us and the others who do not know God, that they complain and murmur in adversity, while adversity does not turn us from the truth of virtue and faith but proves us in suffering’.

Paul says, ‘this is the difference between us andr the others who do not know God, that they complain and murmur in adversity, while adversity does not turn us from the truth of virtue and faith but proves us in suffering’.

what is God trying to prove in your suffering?

healing from sickness and infirmities is for everyone- but what has set up in your while you’ve been waiting on the healing to come?

WHEN I AM WEAK INSERT

THE POWER OF WEAKNESS INSERT

God tonight, we commit our spirits into your hands.

To be sick in your body, we can work with that, there is healing for that, God can heal that. But to be sick in your spirit, that has got to go.

Fear,