Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: II Cor. 12: 1-10

July 7, 2024

Message: “A thorn in the flesh!”  

by Pastor George Gnade

Intro.: 1. As I have said before, II Corinthians is one of the most personal books that Paul ever wrote.  In Chapter 11, he shared even more about the hardships he faced over the years.

2. This brings us to II Cor. 12.  In vs. 1-6, Paul shared one of his most exciting experiences. He was given the rare privilege of being taken to heaven. 

a. In vs.3, he says he did not know if he was “in his body or taken from his body.” 

b. Many believe it may have happened when he was stoned to death in Lystra (Acts 14:19) and dragged out of the city.  That would explain why he did not know whether he was in or out of his body when this happened. 

3. What we do know is that he was taken into the presence of God where he saw things and heard things he was not allowed to speak about.

a. Now these blessings also created a problem.  In vs. 7, Paul explains that he had more than one “surpassingly great” revelation.  On top of that, God used him to do many miracles.  

b. All of this could go to a man’s head. He could become conceited or think more of himself than he ought to think.

A. As a result, God gave him “a thorn in his flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me.”

1. Let us consider what this might have been.

a. I was always told this was probably a problem with his eyes.  But the Greek word for “torment” usually refers to a sharp pain that could be felt throughout the body.

b. Therefore, some believe it might have been a severe pain often caused by a fever that would come and go.

2. Whatever it was, this “thorn in the flesh” never fully went away.  Therefore it kept him humble.

a. As I read the severity of some of his problems described in II Cor. 11: 22-28, I wondered if this “messenger from Satan” used different painful experiences at different times.  

b. After all, he was “flogged severely, beaten with rods, and been exposed to death again and again.” “Five times he received 40 lashes minus one” from the Jews. These were bad enough to kill many a man. 

3. Whatever this messenger from Satan was allowed to do to him, Paul begged God three times to have this “thorn in the flesh” taken from him. God kept saying “No.”

B. What God actually said was: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (II Cor. 12:9).

1. After receiving this answer three times, Paul wrote in II Cor. 12: 9, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

2. In vs. 10, he continues: “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in perse-cutions, and in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Do you think there might be a lesson in this for us?

C. Consider Paul’s testimony! Let me illustrate.

1. When he first met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he fell on his face and knew he would never be the same again. a. But when he arose, he could not see! Ananias was sent to heal him so he could see. 

b. Ananius also  baptized Paul with the Holy Spirit and gave him the ability to do miracles (See Acts 9).

2. In Lystra, Paul and Barnabus healed a man who “was crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked” (Acts 14:5).

a. The crowds wanted to give their false gods the credit. When Paul corrected them and gave Jesus the credit, they were angry and stoned him to death.

b. But that gave God the opportunity to raise him back up!

3. In Philippi, when Paul cast a demon out of a woman who was predicting the future, the crowds threw Paul and Silas into jail, with their feet in the stocks.

a. As they sang praises to Jesus, God sent an earthquake that set them free. 

b. When the jailor was about to kill himself – knowing he would be killed if his captives escaped, Paul shared the gospel and the man was converted (See Acts 16)

4. This became the story of Paul’s life.  He always looked weak! But God made him strong.  That way God always got the credit.

D. Consider ourselves for a few minutes. 

1. Paul had to warn the Corinthians that if they continued in sin, God may punish them to get their attention (See I Cor. 10 and 11). Sometimes that can happen to us too.

2. But now we learn that suffering has another purpose. God may also allow us to have problems, not to punish us, but to keep us humble and then use us for His glory!  Paul himself was the perfect example of that. 

3. Therefore,  because what happens to us is very complex and only God knows what He is doing in our lives, we are warned not to judge each other, but to let God use our sufferings to accomplish His glory. 

In Conclusion: 1. I have had times in my life when I knew I was doing something wrong, and I knew God was correcting me.

2. But I have had far more times when my hardships were turned into wonderful blessings. I knew I could say with the Apostle Paul: “When I am weak, then I am strong.”

3.  Sometimes we can pray and God heals us! Sometimes we pray and God says “No!” He has better plans for us.

a. Most of us have heard of  Joni Erickson Tada  who broke her neck when she was quite young. She was anointed with oil and prayed for and begged God to give her back her legs. But that was not God’s plan for her life.

b. When she finally accepted her weaknesses as a means to help others, God began to use her in fantastic ways and gave her gifts like painting with her mouth that have brought glory and praise to the One who specializes in making us weak so that He can use us to bring other people to Him.

4. That is my prayer for all of us that we might learn to accept even our hardships as God’s means of correcting us and/or blessing us. Through it all, we may learn to trust in Jesus through it all.