As I mentioned already, please turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. We're going to consider together today verses 1 through 10. I give thanks to you that you invited me to share God's holy word with you. So I don't take it lightly that I'm standing before you to worship our God together. So thank you very much. Here's the word of God. I must go on boasting, though there is nothing to be gained by it. I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago was cut up to the third heaven, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was cut up into paradise. Whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, but God knows. And he heard things that cannot be told, which men may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my own weaknesses. Although if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Let's pray. This time, we pray that the Holy Spirit would enlarge our minds to understand your word, that he would change our heart, conform our heart to the image of Christ, that we would be communing with him more smoothly, with peace, So, we pray that Jesus Christ would be here with us by the power of the Holy Spirit. So, please speak to us, change us, help us to forsake our sins for your own glory. We are your children, Father. So, bless us. We pray in the name of Christ. Amen. Please be seated. As you know, the apostle Paul was one of the most influential Christians in the history of Christianity. He was zealous about spreading the gospel to others. And he did preach the gospel to as many people as possible. And also he was a loving pastor to many of God's people. He planted many churches and he showed or set an example of what it means to be a godly man to many Christians. He was a humble man, but at the same time, he was a courageous man. He stood up for God's glory, for God's truth. And more importantly, he loved Christ so much. He followed the steps of Christ. His passion, his zeal, all of his energy were consumed for the name or glory of Christ. But in our text, we find that this godly man, this humble man, is boasting about himself. he boasted about already about himself in the pre previous chapters of chapter 11 now he continues to do so in our passage but the truth of the matter is that he had actually many things to boast about even brag about he was a hebrew he was a pharisee and he had a great education he was a scholar and he had a lot of talents He had a great high social ranking already. But here, he does not boast about all those good things or human achievements. Rather, he's boasting about his weakness. In the previous chapter, verse 30, If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. Why does he do that? What good can he achieve from revealing or boasting about his own weaknesses? The answer is, he has learned that by revealing his weaknesses, he can magnify the greatness of Jesus Christ, who is so merciful to this servant of God. By boasting about his weakness, he knew that he could show to others that he didn't live by his own power and strength, but he lived based upon God's grace, based upon God's mercy, receiving God's power for the glory of Christ. So when I'm weak, then I am strong. In those days, at the Corinth church, there were some false teachers. If you have studied 2 Corinthians, you know what was going on there. Those false teachers made some of the believers go astray. But Paul realized that, or analyzed that, the ultimate motivation for their teaching, false teachings, was for their own belly. The false teachers taught wrong teachings so that they themselves could become famous. They themselves could take advantage of God's people. So, in contrast with those false teachers, Paul wanted to teach God's people here that that's not what a Christian is supposed to live. That's not what the true gospel teaches you. The gospel teaches you to live like what Jesus did, what Jesus lived on the earth. You should follow His sufferings. You should live like Jesus Christ. You should know about our Lord Jesus. In that context, Paul, the apostle brought up, brings up his physical problem, which is described by himself as a thorn in the flesh. And Paul now is boasting about the Savior Jesus by or through boasting about his weakness. So this morning, let's study together about Paul's thorn in the flesh. There are three observations. First, the thorn given. Second, the thorn grasped. Lastly, the thorn gloried. The thorn is given, the thorn is grasped, and it is gloried. Firstly, Paul makes sure that his physical problem is actually given by God. Under God's providence, under his lordship, that thorn has been given to him. Interestingly, he begins this chapter by introducing us his own heavenly experience. He wants to first lay out his glorious experience before he moves on to the thorn in the flesh. But in verse 1, he says, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. In other words, he's saying, I'm going to share with you a little bit about my own, per se, mysterious experience that God has granted to me. And in verse 7, Paul says, So to keep me from becoming conceited, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh. Thus, it is obvious, clear, that it was Paul himself who was caught up to this heavenly experience, this third heaven. so let me read verses 1 through 4 but we should not get confused with this usage of the third pronoun here it was their kind of custom when it you know in those days when in their language that sometimes they used third personal pronoun to refer to the first pronoun or sometimes even second personal pronoun 1-4, I must go on boasting, though there is nothing to be gained by it. I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise, whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know, God knows. And he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter." So here, it is not our main homework or our job to figure out exactly what Paul heard, what Paul saw in the third or in the paradise. The important thing that Paul wants to make sure or point out is that it was God who graciously allowed this experience to Paul. So, in that sense, Paul is saying, I can't boast about this thing, not because of me, but because of God's grace. It is our God who is preparing this glorious heaven for us. And He's so gracious that He even gave me some glimpse of this paradise. So in that sense, so verse 5, on behalf of this man, the same on behalf of me, I will boast, but on my own behalf or for my own benefit, I will not boast except of my weaknesses. Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth, but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. Let's make sure that the tone of his voice is not like he's trying to bring himself up before others, rather he's emphasizing God's grace there already. Now Paul makes a connection between his paradise experience and his thorn in the flesh. Verse 7. To keep me from becoming conceited, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. So here we do not know exactly what the thorn was, but we know that it was not a small thing. It was a very major physical problem. It was very noticeable to many people. Maybe it was a skin disease, or maybe it was some incurable eye disease, or some people think that it was maybe seizure. But whatever it was, it was an obstacle to his ministry enough that the devil could take advantage of it. So it was a possibility that some people wouldn't listen to Paul because of that physical, whatever it was, the problem. So some people even maybe despised the Apostle Paul. based upon his outwardly problem. Galatians 4.14 Paul says, Though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God as Christ Jesus. It is obvious that Paul knew vividly this thorn was from God. Just like the heavenly experience was given to him by God. But have you ever thought about it? Have you ever thought about how hard it was or even how easy it was for Paul to accept it? How could he handle this thorn If I was in his shoes, I would have thought or I would have complained, saying, Lord, you could have done other ways. You could have done like humbling me in another way, not this way. Why did you choose to give me this form and this way? We all have our own thorns, don't we? I don't know what your thorn is, but I have my own thorn. Right? We have our own, you know, some thorn that we don't want to share with others. But we know that that thorn has been perplexing, you know, us a lot. So sometimes we want to ask God, Lord, why me? Why did you make me born in this family? Why did you give me that physical problem? Why did you make others hate me so much? Why did you allow that accident to take place to me? Why? Why? So, I want to learn how Paul understood or accepted or grasped this thorn in a godly manner. So, that's our second point. The thorn is now grasped. Verse 8. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this. that it should leave me. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. So Paul obviously prayed to God three times. So probably a long time ago, I don't know, maybe some months ago, some years ago, Paul prayed, Lord, please heal me. Why did you give me this thorn? I feel like it is an obstacle to my ministry and I feel pain. But at that time he heard God say, no, it is my decision. I cannot, I will not heal you. And time passed, and Paul prayed again. Lord, let me, let me pray one more. Can you please heal me? Take care of my, this thorn, my suffering. And he heard the same thing. No, my grace is sufficient for you. And one more time passing, one more Paul prayed to God, Lord, I am begging you, I am begging you, please heal this thorn. And again, God said to Paul, no, my grace is sufficient. Even the Apostle Paul, could not move on easily. Then should we say that he was very stubborn, not being submissive to God's providence? Maybe. But at the same time, personally, I cannot say it that way. As we all know, Paul was a humble man who loved God so much, who sacrificed literally everything for God's glory. Then, what do we learn from his praying three times even though God said no? I think we can learn from Paul here that we should persevere in our prayer. In other words, If you have your own thorn, I want you to believe that God wants to use that thorn so that you will come to the throne of grace. God wants you to beg God. God wants you to speak to Him. God wants to hear you saying, Lord, please help me. So, if you have a thorn, or if you will have a thorn later, I want you to remember that the minute you figure out what is going on, you have to throw yourself to the throne of grace. that you have to pray perseveringly. Not like 5 seconds at the meal time. Not like even 10 seconds when you are with other believers. But I want you to persevere maybe 30 minutes, 1 hour. Even, why not fasting? know, fasting and prayer together. I want you to persevere in your prayer over that thorn. In his persevering prayer, Paul learned experientially that God is sovereign. Not that he didn't know about this doctrine. Not that Paul was not aware of the doctrine of God's providence. He was a Bible scholar. He was an apostle. But through this thorn, he started to get this doctrine sunk in his heart more deeply and deeply. So, I want you to know that the doctrines of the Bible are not supposed to be grasped by you intellectually only. Rather, all the teachings of the Bible are supposed to be accepted, realized, and grasped by you experientially as you walk with Christ, as you walk with the Holy Spirit. So all the doctrines must be your own personal, deeply or grained teachings of the Bible. So Paul learned finally or again and again that God is really sovereign over every single bit of his life. My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. But the question is, do you really believe this? Do you really believe this truth? My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness." God was saying to Paul, it was my decision that my power would be manifested through your weakness. Regardless of your pain or suffering, my grace can overflow you. Regardless of your thorn, you can be strong because I am sustaining you. My power is at work in you and with you. So it's not about your talents or skills or your strength that will satisfy you or complete you. or sustain you or control your life. No, no, no, no. It is my own power and my grace that controls all of your life. Every single bit of your life is in my hand. And I'm so gracious to you. That's what God told Paul. Even in the midst of your pain, God is saying, I am so gracious to you. My grace is with you, and I care for you. Can you accept that? If you are going through some of your personal suffering, I want you to know that God is at this moment so gracious to you. The reason you are going through death or suffering is because God cares about you so much. Can you accept this? Can you believe this? My grace is sufficient for you. By God's grace, Paul was able to experience something about the paradise, the heavenly kingdom, 14 years ago. Now, through that thorn, by the same grace of God, Paul is able to taste again God's heavenly blessings. By the context, I can say that Paul is much more boasting about this thorn than he is boasting about his heavenly experience 14 years ago. Compared to these current blessings that he is experiencing through the thorn, the experience 14 years ago was nothing. It was a little thing. And Paul learned how much gracious God is to him. How much sufficient God's grace is for him. He's learning through this thorn. That's why Paul says he glories in his thorn. So, the last point, the thorn is gloried. Let me read verse 9 and verse 10 together. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I Let me quickly quote from Simon Kistemaker, a Bible commentator, on the phrase, Christ may rest upon me. In verse 9, quote, Paul literally says that the power of Christ may pitch a tent over me. The picture is that of God descending from heaven and dwelling in the tabernacle among the people of Israel. It is that of Jesus who came down from heaven and dwelled as in a tent among his people. The end of the quote. Did you hear that? So Paul is saying, I've learned that through my suffering, Christ was able to pitch a tent to dwell with me. Through His suffering, Paul has learned that I can commune with Christ more deeply now. lives with me. He indwells in my heart. And I can feel His power more vividly. I can feel that He is alive in me. So the life that I live now is not by my own power and strength, but by my faith in Christ, who died for me, and who loves me so much. That's what Paul is saying. I have become closer. Much more closer. Closer to my Lord Jesus Christ. It is true He was resurrected right from the dead. But through the Holy Spirit Now I can feel His near presence. He has pitched a tent with me. That's what Paul is saying. Therefore, how can I not boast in this thorn that enabled me to commune with my Lord Jesus Christ? So, he is glowing in his thorn. Actually, that's the same heartbeat that has been penetrating the old chapters of 2 Corinthians. If you don't mind, can we go to 2 Corinthians chapter 4? And then shortly after, I will close our sermon. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 7. I'll read maybe four or five verses here. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 7. We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not driven to despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed. Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus. so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifest in our mortal flesh. Verse 17, this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. The question is, are we waiting for our heavenly kingdom to come? Are we waiting for Jesus Christ coming back to us? I will pray, saying, Maranatha, Lord, come quickly. Did you know that this life is nothing but a sojourning life? It's a temporary life. It is not our home, really. Our real home is there, and God is preparing for us. So, Paul is saying, through my thorn, I can taste, I can behold my heavenly kingdom more vividly. And through my suffering, I can feel more vividly the life of Christ that is being manifested through me. Do you love Christ, by the way? I want you to ask yourself, do you? Do you love Him? do glory in his death and resurrection for your salvation. I hope, I pray that your heart will be melted by the love of Christ, by his power that is at work in you right now. Let's pray. Your Son is the exact imprint of your glory. He's the image of your invisible power and your grace and merciful heart. Your everlasting power and life is secured by Jesus for us. So this time, we want to again praise your son's name. Please help us to behold his beauty among our gathering. Please help us to be loving to one another. Please help us to know what it means to love your son. Let us commune with Him more deeply. Let us be obedient children of You. Help us, Father, to follow Your Son. We pray in the name of Christ. Amen. Brothers and sisters, if you will, please turn in your pimels to respond to this word, number 598.