Facing Darkness with Grace - Part B

I was experiencing a negative. I prayed for a positive. God gave me a directive. God said to me, my grace is all you need, Paul.

It's sufficient for you. This is Connect with Skip Heitig and today Pastor Skip shares how the power of Jesus is more than enough to get you through dark times with grace and strength. But first, hi this is Pastor Skip and we have prepared a package about seeing this life through the eyes of eternity.

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The bible calls it the second death. So hell is an actual place. There's a second fact I want you to notice and that is hell is an intentional place. This is critical information about the future of those who reject salvation through Jesus.

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Give online securely at connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888. Now let's turn in our bibles to 2 Corinthians 12 as we join Skip. Let's continue and look at the second observation that is God balances us with negatives verse 7 and lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations a thorn in the flesh was given to me a messenger of Satan to buffet me buffet means to pound or or to rough up lest I be exalted above measure concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me now let's begin with this thorn in the flesh what is that what is he speaking about he said I had a thorn in the flesh well I'm going to let you in on a little secret nobody knows there's a lot of guesses I've read a lot of different guesses but Paul doesn't describe what it is he just says I've had a thorn in the flesh but I want to drill down a little bit on that I looked at several different commentaries over the years and I've sort of written down all the different guesses people have had here's a list some say it was a constant temptation others say it was ophthalmia others say it was epilepsy somebody else says migraines somebody else writes probably malaria somebody else says a speech disability somebody else gallstones another commentator gout another commentator rheumatism somebody else an intestinal disorder so take your pick or maybe even none of those because we're not told one Scottish commentator said the thorn in the flesh was Paul's wife no evidence at all of that and I'm thinking the guy who wrote that probably has a bad marriage going on trouble at home so what is a thorn in the flesh when you hear the term thorn you think of a rose bush your mind goes to picking up a flower going ouch I just got a thorn in my flesh or picking up a piece of wood a little spinner I just got a thorn in my flesh that would not be accurate it happens to be poorly translated thorn in the flesh the Greek word is scallops and the phrase is scallops taste sarki which means a steak in the flesh a steak like an impaling rod it was what was used in battles to impale somebody or it was used to to drive a shaft into the ground to hold up a tree that's a steak s-t-a-k-e so a steak in the flesh so don't think of a little thorn or a splinter Paul is referring to some severe nagging physical affliction okay so I read you everybody's guesses I'm going to give you my guess I could be totally off base but here's my guess I tend to think the thorn in Paul's flesh had to do with his eyes because he says this happened 14 years ago 14 years back from when he wrote second Corinthians places him in his missionary journey when he goes through Lystra and Derby and during that time we are told in Acts chapter 14 that when Paul preached in Lystra they dragged him outside the city and stoned him and they thought he was dead he eventually gets up from that goes back into the town then leaves it could be that after being stoned like that pummeled with stones that he suffered something from that probably a lingering damage that affected his eyes now the reason I say that and it's just a guess is because we know that Paul usually dictated his letters but often at the end of his letters he would sign it or write a couple of words in his own handwriting in Galatians he ends the letter by saying see with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand why large letters so he could see them furthermore in Galatians he says you know that because of a physical infirmity I preach the gospel to you and if if possible you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me out your own eyes and given them to me so it could be that Paul had some ongoing repercussions of that stoning that took place that affected his eyesight that he would write that to the Galatians whatever it is don't know only a guess what's more important is notice what it says a thorn was given to me now that's very important it's in the Greek language in the aorist passive and it means it would be translated God allowed this or God gave this to me I was passive in this I didn't ask for it it was a gift given to me by God but the fact that he says a thorn was given to me a messenger of Satan I know some of you are going God would never do that God would never allow Satan really have you read the book of Job that whole conversation between God and the devil God said have you seen my servant Job there's nobody like him Satan said really I can make him deny his faith let me destroy some of the things in his life God said have at him and Job's faith grew because of that so like Job God permitted one of Satan's messengers to buffet Paul somehow like Job both God and the devil were at work but from two different motives two different angles Satan wanted to destroy Paul God wanted to develop Paul so it's like okay I'll let the devil at him but only enough to really strengthen this man's life for my glory to build it up we told you before in one of our first studies and I've used this so many times that the right combination of poisons can be beneficial sodium in its pure form is a poison so is chlorine both of them will kill you but if you combine them sodium chloride table salt can actually be beneficial God knows how to combine things in our life to give it to us so that it's beneficial so that's why Paul words it that way a thorn was given to me a messenger of Satan okay so Paul is experiencing something hard something dark something painful what does he do he prays and Paul thinks okay I've got this thorn the only way to really deal with this thorn must be to remove the thorn so in verse 8 concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord very strong word to beg God I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me why did he do that because Paul thought certainly a thorn in the flesh cannot be the will of God for my life can't be the will of God this is valueless this is purposeless this is worthless it hurts so Paul prayed this is exactly what we do when something hurts us when something hurts us we immediately think I've got to get rid of this pain somehow that's our first response and here's our premise all of us as humans I could live a better life I could serve the Lord and serve others without distraction if this thing wasn't here so Lord if only my body was stronger Lord if only I didn't have to work with that person Lord if only my husband wouldn't be such a jerk if you just remove the thorn life would be better especially after a positive experience if you've had visions and revelations and you've been taken to heaven you kind of expect you know the best a-class treatment you expect that God is going to heal you so we pray and we pray again and then we pray again each time we pray we pray with more fervency and with more faith and we bring in our friends to pray alongside of us and that's good and that's good we should our first response should be to pray and the Bible says God rewards persistent prayer right men ought always to pray Jesus said and not to faint he said ask seek knock that's persistence but but notice with Paul there comes a time where he stopped praying after how many times three times he prayed Lord please take this thorn away then again Lord please take this one away Lord please Timothy Barnabas help pray pray for me then he stops why three times don't know it could be as simple as he remembered that his own savior Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane had his own darkness his own thorn so to speak and he prayed three times that God would remove that cup of suffering until he finally said nevertheless not my will but thine be done Paul prayed three times and then he stopped why did he stop because he figured out God has a purpose in this pain it's a purpose lest I be exalted above measure to keep me humble listen God knows how to balance out your life if you only got blessings you would be a spoiled brat oh we like blessings we like mountaintops I just want to be airlifted from mountain peak to mountain peak to mountain peak to miracle to miracle to miracle hallelujah thank you Jesus what a worthless life that would be that would be job after he lost everything said to his wife shall we accept good from God and not accept adversity it's good theology why should we think that God should give us first-class treatment every day and accept the good but also accept the bad in fact wouldn't you agree that afflictions are what make times of blessing more pleasurable see if you were on mountaintop to mountaintop to mountaintop you wouldn't know what a valley was you'd never really appreciate the mountaintop so Paul changed he began by saying how can I get out of this how can I get out of this how can I get out of this now he's saying what can I get out of this what can I get out of this maybe this is the will of God for me I've suffered with chronic pain for about a decade I'll just tell you straight up it makes you dependent upon God and thankful for every day that you have an opportunity to do whatever God called you to do so Paul comes to the point where I've had a lot of positives I had visions and revelations and I've been to heaven and it's awesome and it's so cool I can't even tell you about it but I've had the spinach I've seen the cake but I've had the spinach and I've had some pretty painful experiences and they they were so bad I asked God to remove them so what did God do well that brings us to the third observation and that is God benefits us with directives that is God gives us principles that sustain us so let's see it verse nine and he said to me my grace is sufficient for you my strength is made perfect in weakness therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me therefore I take pleasure wow I take pleasure in infirmities reproaches in needs in persecutions in distress as you go what is he a masochist he's taking pleasure in that no notice for Christ's sake for when I am weak then I am strong now follow the thinking of go back and notice in verse nine it says and he said to me it says and he said to me who is he God God is speaking to Paul now in verse eight he says concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord that's Paul speaking to God God it's me Paul please do this please do this please do this verse nine but he said to me what Paul is saying now in verse nine is what God had to say to me is infinitely more important than anything I could ever say to God he's given me direction here God said to me my grace is sufficient for you so I I was in I was experiencing a negative I prayed for a positive God gave me a directive God said to me my grace is all you need Paul it's sufficient for you now you might read this and say well God didn't answer Paul's prayer think again no is an answer no is an answer you know what that's like parents your kids say mommy I want this daddy I want this no that's an answer I answered you why wouldn't you do it you don't love me it's because I do love you no means I love you yes sometimes means I love you but no is also an answer and it also means I love you so I don't think it's the answer Paul wanted to hear Paul wanted to hear yes my child of course the one that I've given visions and revelations and I've taken you to heaven of course I'll cure you and heal you God said no I got something better my grace my unlimited unmerited favor is sufficient for you Paul Paul I'm gonna give you my favor that allows you to have the ability to bear up under the thorn in the flesh you go I'm not impressed with that I don't want just power to endure well let me let me explain quickly I'm going to give you the briefest explanation of evil ever we live in a fallen world because we live in a fallen world we experience the effect of that fallenness every single day whether it's people breaking the law by going too fast stealing stuff out of your house going to war a number of things that show that we live in a fallen world God doesn't cause bad things to happen to his kids but he doesn't prevent bad things from happening either in fact he uses them the world is relatively free and God rarely steps in to alter the effects of sin on his creation so God lets trials happen to Christians just like he lets things happen to pagans Jesus said in the sermon on the mount the rain falls on the just and the unjust the sun falls on the just and the unjust alike why why do righteous people suffer just as much as unrighteous people why do innocent people as much as people who deserve it here's why listen carefully so the superiority of a life lived in God can be demonstrated to the observer this is transformational so the superiority of the life lived in God can be demonstrated to the observer so we through our suffering showcase God's grace we showcase God's grace we show unbelievers what it means to draw on God's resources so that yeah they suffer yeah we suffer but you know what we suffer better I'm going to show you not just how to live I'm going to show you how to suffer and one day by God's grace I want to show you how to die the way the Lord wants us to to die we showcase God's grace so I want to ask you this question are you willing to embrace pain and suffering if it means that you get to demonstrate God's grace it gives you a whole new motivation second Corinthians chapter one God comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves are comforted with by God hey do you know how a pearl is formed you know how a pearl is made you know pearls are valuable they're they're gems you know you know what makes a pearl an irritation a pearl is the oyster's response to an irritation so a foreign body a little object like a piece of sand works its way into the oyster the organism responds by sending out secretion after secretion after secretion to cover the irritation to cover the sand and it builds up and it builds up it's called aragonite so the more the irritation the greater the value the more the irritation the greater the value in your life the more the irritation the greater the value so if you remember in I think our very first study in dark room I said when when people suffer they they respond one of three different ways some become bitter they turn inward they get mad at everybody there's too many people like that in the world they're mad at everybody and they're mad all the time and they're looking for stuff to get mad all the time at they're just bitter at life other people get battered yeah they're not bitter but they're just battered they just they grin and bear it I'm gonna make it through barely but then other but then other people get better you go well that's just preacher talk it all alliterates all the bees that's what preachers do well let me read you a letter that show you it's not just preacher talk I got this from a a gal who when we taught through the book of job wrote this to me my 11 year old son was struck with bone cancer it was far too advanced for him to survive based on your lesson in job i never did get answers but i can attest to god's grace faithfulness strength and comfort everything seemed to slip away and god's word became my only rock to stand on and more important oh what sweet lessons came out of pain and what closeness and knowledge of god i have been through many trials only to find out that god is the answer and my very reward there's somebody in the darkest thorn in the flesh that a mother could go through and says god's word is true god's god's directives are true they're beneficial my grace is sufficient perhaps you've come to church today with a thorn and affliction some negative experience in your life god would want to say to you listen listen i'm really good at this stuff i've done this a long time i know how to make oh here it is i know how to take this negative and make this out of it i'm really good at this i've done it for years with so many people old and new testament you have negatives in your life i'm really good at doing this i can make a positive print but but you're gonna have to trust me on this you have to trust me on this i'll give you principles i'll give you directives i'll give you promises you have to bank your life on those things they will get you through and they will get you through with grace and with peace and with strength but you got to trust me on this and that's just the thing for some of you perhaps some of you have never really come to a place to begin with where you have entrusted your life to jesus christ you walk around with emptiness every single day with loneliness every single day with unforgiven sin every single day and you'll never get rest until you find your rest in him that's Skip Heitzigened with a message from the series darkroom find full messages as well as books booklets and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com right now listen as Skip shares how you can share life-changing teaching from god's unchanging word with more people around the world this 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Cast all burdens on his word. Make a connection. Connect with Skip Hyton is a presentation of connection communications connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times