Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:06] My name is Eric Bolling. I'm part of the preaching team here, and I am glad to be in front of you today. How many of you complained about how hot it was?
[00:00:17] Stop it.
[00:00:19] Because how many of you complained about how cold you were just like a week ago? What crazy stuff, right?
[00:00:26] It doesn't make any sense.
[00:00:28] All right. Well, today we are picking up on our series about ministry training, looking at the book of Second Corinthians, and we are going to be talking about how do we prepare ourselves for ministry. Now, if you've been with us in this series, you know that we believe if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are in ministry.
[00:00:51] There are no matter where you are or what you're doing, I like to think of it as if a Christian is there, there's a ministry possibility. It's not just for professional people.
[00:01:03] And so all of us, again, if we follow Christ, we have a ministry. So we've been looking at, how do we do that?
[00:01:10] Today, we're going to look at some of this ministry perspective from more of a spiritual side of things.
[00:01:18] But in order to do that, we need to go back to a sermon maybe about two weeks ago in Second Corinthians, chapter 11.
[00:01:26] Because if we understand 11, when we jump into verse 12 today, it's going to make a little more sense to us. And so here's the background. There's. There's false teachers who are in this Corinthian church. And what they're doing is they are actively working to undermine Paul, Paul and ultimately the Gospel.
[00:01:49] And they're doing this for their own personal gain. And so the book of First Corinthians, Second Corinthians are written to this church to, to Paul is trying to counteract this experience of the apostles. And what they're doing is in the church, they're undermining Paul, pointing out all of his faults, calling him weak, calling him intellectually inferior to themselves and their strength.
[00:02:17] And so they're working to actively undermine Paul.
[00:02:21] It's funny, Paul refers to them sarcastically, not just as apostles, but he calls them super apostles a couple times. And it's this term of like, hey, you've got these super apostles out there. And so 11 and 12, Paul is exposing these super apostles and he's defending the gospel.
[00:02:43] And so like I said, in order to understand 12, where we're going to jump into today, we got to go back and look at some things in 11. See, unlike super apostles, Paul spends his time not boasting in his accomplishments and experiences, but in his weaknesses.
[00:03:01] Let's look at Second Corinthians 11:24-28, where Paul is going to be talking about some physical and emotional experiences he has. Here's what he says.
[00:03:12] I'll paraphrase this for us because it's a little lengthy. He says, Five times I received the 40 lashes, less one. Remember, there was a belief in culture that if you were beaten and you were lashed 40 times, you would die. So they cut it off at 39. This is a big deal. Paul says it happened to him five times.
[00:03:33] Three times beaten with rods.
[00:03:35] Once I was stoned, literally hit with rocks and left for dead.
[00:03:42] Three times shipwrecked a day and a night and a day adrift at sea. Danger from rivers, robbers, my own people, Gentiles. Danger in the city, in the wilderness, at sea, from false brothers in toil, hardship through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And if that wasn't enough, the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
[00:04:10] See, Paul suffered for Christ.
[00:04:14] And when he's in this boasting contest with the super Apostles, instead of pointing to all of his credentials and his heritage as a Jewish teacher and his supernatural experience with Christ in the road to Damascus, he talks about all these physical things.
[00:04:29] When we get to verse 12, he's going to be continuing the same argument, but he's going to shift, shift to a spiritual experience he had. Let's look at verse one together.
[00:04:40] Second Corinthians 12, verse one. We're pretty much going to be there all morning, so if you just want to go there and, and kind of stay there, it's what we're going to talk about. 2nd Corinthians 12:1. Paul says, I must go on boasting, though there's nothing to be gained by it. See, Paul is reluctantly caught up in this kind of boasting contest with the Super Apostles.
[00:05:02] They've been saying this, and he says, look, I. He's like, I. I'm going to continue to talk about it, but there's not going to be much gain from it. But because you want to play this game with me, Super Apostles, I'm going to to do that with you. So he says, I'm gonna, I must go on boasting, even though there's not nothing to be gained from it.
[00:05:22] See, the Super Apostle goal, like we talked about, was to tear Paul down.
[00:05:27] His goal is to defend the Gospel and protect the church.
[00:05:31] So he says, in order to do that, then I'll continue To boast if that's what it's going to take.
[00:05:37] He says this in 12, 1. He says, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. So he's going to shift from the physical that we just looked at, being beaten with rods and lashed and shipwrecked and danger. He's going to say, I'm now going to talk about visions and revelations of the Lord. A spiritual experience Paul had.
[00:06:02] And the reason he makes this shift is the super apostles would often look to the these, you know, divine experiences they had as proof and validation that they were legitimate.
[00:06:15] It would be very similar if I were to say to you, hey, look, God told me that each of you need to give me $20.
[00:06:24] Because God told me, right? Hey look, God said I need to be the leader.
[00:06:28] Because why? Because God told me I had a revelation, I had a vision, all of these things. And so they tried to validate themselves using these so called spiritual experiences. Paul, by contrast, has a true spiritual experience. And so we're going to spend some time in verses two to four because if we don't get it contextually, it sounds very strange for Paul just to jump in and start talking about this experience. But keep in mind he's contrasting himself with super apostles. Here's what he says.
[00:07:03] He says, I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago was caught up to the third heaven, whether in the body or out of the body, I don't know. God knows and I know that this man was caught up into paradise, whether in the body or out of the body, I don't know. God knows and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter what, right?
[00:07:33] Like you read that through and you're like what? Like, what is Paul saying here? Like, how does this tie in? Well, at very least it's an incredible spiritual experience, right? That Paul says he was caught up in the third heaven, he was in paradise. He heard things directly from God that he can't even talk about.
[00:07:53] A little note here. I think what Paul's describing is descriptive and not prescriptive for us, right? Like Paul's not saying, and all of you need to have this type of experience to validate yourselves. He's saying, this was my experience.
[00:08:06] What's fascinating too is Paul doesn't say anything about this until 14 years after the case.
[00:08:13] I gotta be honest, if I had a spiritual vision and revelation last night, I'd be talking about it right now.
[00:08:19] Like I probably wouldn't stop talking about it. Hey, well, how, how was yesterday? I was Caught up in the third heaven, I was impaired, okay?
[00:08:29] Right. I talk about what Paul doesn't. He doesn't say anything. And even when he does, he doesn't refer to himself. He says, this man, but it's Paul.
[00:08:39] Why? Because Paul is super sensitive about presenting himself like the super apostles.
[00:08:45] And so he puts it in a third person. He's like this man.
[00:08:48] It's Paul who has this incredible spiritual experience. Let's talk about what did he experience in order to understand, like, the distinguishment between, like, third heaven and why is that referenced in paradise and all that? We got to understand some of the Jewish history about what they believed about heaven.
[00:09:07] Jewish believer, Jewish people at this time believed there were three levels to heaven.
[00:09:12] Level one was called the first heaven. And essentially that was atmospheric heaven. It's the sky.
[00:09:19] It's what's immediately above us. It's the place where birds fly, clouds gather.
[00:09:25] You have meteorological phenomena like rain, snow, lightning. It's like these. Like. That's first heaven, okay? All of us can see and experience.
[00:09:34] They believed in also in a second heaven. The second heaven was the celestial heaven. It's outer space, the cosmos.
[00:09:42] And this is where you had these celestial bodies, like sun, moon, stars. They would move and be. And then there was this third heaven.
[00:09:51] And the third heaven was known as the dwelling place of God.
[00:09:57] It's the most sacred place.
[00:10:00] And so Paul, or excuse me, in Jewish culture, was often equated with paradise. It's completely separate, two different things.
[00:10:08] And so Paul says, look, I was in this third heaven.
[00:10:14] I was there. I experienced it. I was a part of it. In addition, Paul says, I received direct communication from God.
[00:10:25] Now, what did Paul hear from God?
[00:10:27] We don't know.
[00:10:30] Says, man can't talk about it.
[00:10:32] And so Paul says, look, I had this true spiritual experience. I was caught up in third heaven. Notice, he says, in the body, out of the body. I don't know. God knows I was there. I heard these things, but I can't talk about it. Matter of fact, he waits 14 years to talk about it.
[00:10:53] What's he. Why did he wait? Well, the point of it isn't to one up the super apostles, which he certainly could.
[00:10:59] I don't know if you've ever had an experience where you think, hey, look, I've got the inside track here. And then you meet somebody that has more experience or knows more than you.
[00:11:09] This happened to me one time. I was on a mission trip with Wheaton Academy, and we were in Haiti, and we had gone four years in a row. And my Co leader and I, we kind of felt like we were locals spending a year there or a week there, every, Every couple, every year. Like, hey, we kind of know what we're doing. And we interacted with this other American guy and we started to be like, well, you know, we've been here, you know, four times now. And he goes, yeah, I've been here for 25 years. I live here. Like, okay, say no more.
[00:11:39] Why are we telling you about Haitian culture then? Because you clearly know it, right? Like, Paul could have done that. He could have said, look, here's a real experience I had. But he doesn't talk about what he sees. He doesn't talk about what he hears.
[00:11:56] Because I think the Corinthian Church would have gotten caught up in that.
[00:12:00] Oh, it's amazing. It's fascinating. Tell us again, Paul, what did it look like? What did it seem like? And that's not his point.
[00:12:08] But let's talk about vision and revelations today, right? Cause I think it's important for us to look at. Let's look at spiritual experiences today.
[00:12:15] First thing we need to know is that they're pretty common in the New Testament.
[00:12:20] People are having a lot of visions, revelations, spiritual experiences. Here's three, or, excuse me, four small examples. Stephen saw a vision of Jesus at his death. In Acts, chapter 7, Ananias experienced a vision telling him to go and find Saul, who becomes Paul. In Acts 9, Peter has a vision of clean, unclean animals. Acts 10, Paul himself has a revelation of Jesus on the road to Damascus. Like, it's pretty common.
[00:12:50] It happens a lot in the pages of the New Testament. Now, for us today, I think there's two extreme views we can take when we talk about spiritual experience.
[00:12:59] One is, I would just call it like over suspicion of it, right? Where someone says, yeah, I saw this. I had this kind of revelation. Sometimes we'll use the word prophecy, and suspiciously we go, every supernatural experience is not real.
[00:13:16] It's not real. No, you didn't. You're lying. Maybe you got some type of mental health issue.
[00:13:23] Maybe you're just overly superstitious and there's a coincidence that happened. Maybe you're on drugs. I don't know. It's not real. So in this view, nothing is spiritual.
[00:13:35] It's all what we can experience with the scientific method, our five senses. There's no spiritual reality. There's an opposite view.
[00:13:43] And the opposite view I would call is an over fascination with the spiritual experience.
[00:13:49] This is where we look and we go. Spiritual experiences. Well, that's proof that that person is validated in their spirituality. That's proof they heard this, they saw this, etc. The ultimate expression of truth.
[00:14:04] This is where you get some of the strange, like, kind of extra biblical books where people be like, oh, I had this vision, so I wrote this book. It should be included in the canon of Scripture. And in this view, everything is spiritual.
[00:14:17] And I will tell you, I think there's dangers on both sides.
[00:14:21] If we say nothing is spiritual, well, we're kind of going against what a pattern we see in the New Testament. If we say everything is spiritual, then we're kind of neglecting this physical world we live in. And so how should we consider this? I'm going to be honest. It's complicated.
[00:14:38] It's a tricky thing to try to go, man, I don't know, to verify.
[00:14:43] If somebody says, I had this vision of revelation, it's hard because it's extremely subjective.
[00:14:50] It's like I said, if I came to you and I said, hey, I had this vision in Revelation, and you said to me, no, you didn't.
[00:14:57] I'd be like, yes, I did. And you go, no, you didn't.
[00:15:01] Yes. And we just stand there, right?
[00:15:04] It's hard. They're also prone to misunderstanding, misapplication.
[00:15:09] Like, it's a strange thing to interact with in some ways.
[00:15:14] I think, though, Scripture has provided us a really good methodology for dealing with visions and revelations.
[00:15:22] We're to test them first. Thessalonians 5, 19, 22 says this. Do not quench the spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything.
[00:15:36] Hold fast to what is good, abstain from every form of evil. So when we. When we have spiritual experience, it's to be tested, it's to be tried, it's to be evaluated, to be analyzed. What does this mean? How do we do that?
[00:15:52] Number one, there's a primary test. It's the Bible itself.
[00:15:56] Is what something or someone is experiencing, does it align with the written word of God? See, here's the thing. God will not and cannot contradict himself.
[00:16:08] So if I were to say to you something, I said, hey, I got this revelation from God, and it's contrary to what you read in your Bible. You should take me off this stage immediately.
[00:16:19] And I should never be back up here again. At least maybe for a long time, because it contradicts God's word. Here's another one. By the outcome, what's the result? Does it produce the fruit of the spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control that we get from Galatians 5?
[00:16:40] Or does it produce chaos, division, pride?
[00:16:46] Remember, God cannot and will not contradict himself.
[00:16:50] Seek community and wise counsel from mature believers with discernment. Hey, what is this? Can you help me wrestle with this? Can you help me understand this prayer? Holy Spirit's guidance? Ask God, Hey God, what does this mean?
[00:17:06] Like, is this something for me? Like, is this something that I should have? Is this something that I should pay attention to, etc.
[00:17:16] And then we just follow the advice from first Thessalonians, chapter 5. Hold fast to what is good.
[00:17:23] If the experience passes the test, hold on to it.
[00:17:28] And this is where I say I think it's wrong to be like, nope, can't happen. Because I do believe that it can.
[00:17:35] If it's tested and evaluated, hold on to it. If it's not, reject it.
[00:17:41] If it fails a test, if it doesn't pass the examination, then reject it. Because I'll be honest, I've had things before and I've thought, man, I wonder if this is from God. And I went to Scripture and I looked and I thought, it's not, it's just not.
[00:17:57] And therefore I have to get rid of that because it doesn't line up.
[00:18:02] I will say one last caution here. When we talk about spiritual experiences, be on guard against possible deception, okay? Be cautious. Why? Because Satan masquerades as an angel of light, right? What, what better way for him to detract and take away from the mission of following Christ? By leading us down into places and spaces where it's not real.
[00:18:30] So be on guard.
[00:18:33] Let's go back to our text here. Second Corinthians 12, verses 5 and 6.
[00:18:37] Remember, Paul's talking about this experience. I was in the third heaven, I was in paradise.
[00:18:43] I heard things from God which, which may not be uttered. And he says this on behalf of this man who had the experiences, I will boast.
[00:18:53] But on my own behalf, I will not boast except of my weaknesses. What Paul's saying is, look, this nameless man, that guy can boast, but I myself am not going to. And it's a little strange to hear that because we know the nameless man is Paul. But remember, his whole thing is he's saying, I am not like the super apostles, I am not going to self promote like that. I am not going to go that way. So he says, if I was, I could boast, but I can only boast in my weaknesses. Let's look at the last half of this. He says, 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 no one may think more of me than, than he sees in me or hears from me. See, Paul's saying, look, if he wanted to boast, he could.
[00:19:48] He has a real spiritual experience. He had the vision of third heaven, he heard from God. So if he wanted to, he could.
[00:19:57] He has a little humor here when he says, I would not be a fool because he's throwing himself in context against the super Apostles. He's basically saying, look, if the super apostles had an experience like this, they would not stop talking about it.
[00:20:17] If we put it in a modern context, they would have written books, recorded YouTube videos, gone on TikTok, tweeted it on X, recorded a podcast, be on late night tv like it would be everywhere. And what Paul says is they'd be fools because it's not real, it's fake.
[00:20:36] He says, but I am not a fool because my experience is true. It's real.
[00:20:44] But remember, that's not the point of what he's talking about. He's not talking about this spiritual experience to build himself up. He's actually getting to explaining. And this is maybe a more famous part of Paul's story, his what he calls his thorn in the flesh.
[00:21:01] If we look at verse seven together.
[00:21:05] So Paul has this experience and he says, all right, after this, 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.
[00:21:22] See, Paul is not going to boast about his experience, but Paul is human and he's not immune to pride.
[00:21:31] There was something about this experience that was so overwhelming to him that Paul was in danger of becoming conceited.
[00:21:40] And so God allowed a thorn to be given to him, had a divine purpose.
[00:21:47] Now there's all kinds of speculation about what this thorn was. Paul never, Paul never says, and it's this.
[00:21:55] And so people have debated this for probably since the book was written about what is this thorn in the flesh? Some people thought it was physical, some people thought it was emotional.
[00:22:04] I think you can make the argument that this is a spiritual kind of reality for Paul, especially coming across what he says he had the spiritual experience and vision and revelation. And then he says, in order to help me not become conceited, this happens. Let's, let's unpack this a little bit.
[00:22:21] The word thorn here is used metaphorically.
[00:22:25] And whenever the word thorn is used, particularly in the Old Testament, it ties into groups of people who oppose God's work and God's people.
[00:22:38] Like if you go back and you read the Old Testament, when the Israelites are going to take the promised land, they say, look, these nations are going to be a thorn in your side.
[00:22:46] Go back to Genesis, what part of Adam's curse was the thorn would make it harder for him to accomplish God's, God's work intending and caring for creation.
[00:22:58] So this word thorn carries with it an idea of its people who are influenced by demonic spirits to oppose God's work.
[00:23:08] And then look how Paul refers to the thorn. He says it is a messenger of Satan designed to inflict torment.
[00:23:19] So he says, I have this thorn in the flesh.
[00:23:22] It's a real experience.
[00:23:24] I get it. A messenger of Satan sent to torment.
[00:23:29] Torment here means to strike with the fist, to beat, to buffet.
[00:23:35] It implies a persistent, painful, aggressive, unrelenting assault.
[00:23:42] And if you think about the way Satan operates, that's exactly how he operates.
[00:23:48] When Jesus says in Lord prayer, he says, pray that we are not led into temptation, but deliver us from evil. And it's not because Satan is so powerful and he's co. Equal with God. And we just cross our fingers and say, hope God wins and not Satan. No, Satan is subservient to God. He's created lower than God, he can't be God.
[00:24:07] But he's relentless and he comes and he comes again and he comes again. And this idea that for Paul, I think we can make the argument that Paul's thorn were other humans, right? Jews, gentiles, super apostles, etc. Who relentlessly attack and harass Paul under the influence of a demonic spirit.
[00:24:34] And if you look at Paul's ministry, you will see every. Almost everywhere he goes, there's harassment, there's uproar, there's chaos, there's people who stand in opposition to him.
[00:24:45] And so Paul's thorn in the flesh was designed to keep him from being conceited.
[00:24:51] And he repeatedly prayed about having it removed. Look at verse eight. Three times I pleaded with the Lord that it should leave me interesting there, it should leave me.
[00:25:04] A lot of scholars think when it says three times, it was actually much more than three. Like Paul's constantly praying, lord, deliver me from this, take me from this, I don't want this.
[00:25:15] And especially if it's a demonic spirit that follows Paul around and stirs up division. Absolutely.
[00:25:21] I mean, Paul just follows the advice that was from Philippians, be anxious for nothing, everything. Prayer, supplication, thanksgiving. Let your request be Made known to God. So Paul is saying, look, God, take this from me, I don't want this.
[00:25:37] And God gave him an answer. But it wasn't exactly what Paul may have wanted. Let's look at verse nine and ten. But he, God said to me, Paul, my grace is sufficient for for you. And my power is made perfect in weakness.
[00:25:55] See, there were two ways that this thorn could have been dealt with, right? One is just remove it.
[00:26:00] If it really was from God, God could have easily made it stop. It's fully within his power.
[00:26:07] But the second way is to strengthen Paul to deal with it.
[00:26:11] And so what God does is he strengthens Paul to bear the thorn, to show that his grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in Paul. Weakness.
[00:26:21] Now, weakness is a difficult concept for us. We don't like to look at or talk about or be confronted with our weaknesses. Particularly in our American culture, we all operate under kind of a set of unwritten rules that hey, look, if you are super successful, good for you, you did it, you deserve it. Or hey, if you're failing, that's your fault, that's on you.
[00:26:47] And so when we talk about weaknesses, we don't like that. We like to be self made. We value that. We value our own self sufficiency.
[00:26:58] If it is to be, it is up to me.
[00:27:03] Let's look at what Charles Spurgeon says about this. He says self sufficiency is Satan's net where he catches men like poor silly fish and destroys them.
[00:27:14] Be not self sufficient. The way to grow strong in Christ, to become weak in yourself. God pours no power into a man's heart till man's power is all poured out.
[00:27:25] Live then a daily life of dependence on the grace of God.
[00:27:30] See, we can't fully receive the sufficiency of God's grace nor experience God's power. Until we admit our weaknesses and our lack of self sufficiency, we gotta humble ourselves.
[00:27:46] A couple of quick applications of grace. Number one, when it says my grace is sufficient for you, grace is right here, right now. It's immediate.
[00:27:56] We don't have to wait on it.
[00:27:58] If we ask for grace, it comes immediately. The second thing is God didn't say my grace is sufficient for Paul, but everybody else. Good luck.
[00:28:09] No, God has enough for everyone.
[00:28:12] No matter where you've been or where you are, God's grace is sufficient for you.
[00:28:17] I feel like grace is one of those concepts. It's so easy, a child can understand it. But it's so complex that we spend the rest of our lives Trying to understand it.
[00:28:27] And I think sometimes what God wants for us is just to go, thank you.
[00:28:33] I needed that. I gotta have that. And so Paul's answer to his prayer is, God says, my grace is sufficient. My power is perfect in weakness.
[00:28:45] Paul concludes this where he says in verse chapter 10, I believe for the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities.
[00:28:59] For when I am weak, then I am strong.
[00:29:02] See, Paul is able to welcome his current state.
[00:29:06] He's not a fatalist.
[00:29:08] He's not just. He's not just out suffering and saying, oh, look how spiritual I am because God is making me suffer. He says, no, I get it. I'm content because the grace of God and strength of God is what I need.
[00:29:24] He confidently says, hey, when I'm weak, I'm strong.
[00:29:27] Why?
[00:29:28] Because of God's grace and God's power.
[00:29:31] But think about Paul. Was he weak or was he strong?
[00:29:35] Remember the super apostles were telling the church at Corinth, hey, this guy's weak.
[00:29:40] This guy's intellectually inferior to us.
[00:29:43] I would argue Paul was a pretty strong guy. I mean, look at his life. He goes, he spreads the gospel through the gentile world.
[00:29:51] He has fierce persecutions. We talked about that. He's shipwrecked, he's left to seas, imprisoned, he's beaten, he has a spiritual torment. Like Paul is strong. But he's strong because he understood his weaknesses and that God's grace through faith in Christ provided the strength he needed.
[00:30:14] 2. So what's for us this morning? Number one, we need to stay vigilant.
[00:30:19] Like we talked about. The battle doesn't stop if you're in ministry. And as we've talked about, all of us who follow Christ are in ministry. You're a threat.
[00:30:28] And if you're a threat, Satan is coming and he doesn't waste his ammo.
[00:30:34] And a lot of times when Satan comes, it's not as we kind of characterize him, as is the pitchfork and the red suit and the horn. I mean, if that guy showed up, I think all of us would be like, okay, that's not right and scary and we'd leave, right? At least I hope we would.
[00:30:52] But I think sometimes Satan comes and he's disguised by our pride, our self sufficiency again.
[00:30:59] He's smart. He knows how to get to us.
[00:31:03] I'll be honest, even in prepping for this week, I had a very distracting week.
[00:31:09] And for me, it wasn't like visions and revelations. It was about things that rattle me My money, my house, like those things. And I remember I just feeling like this is not normal, this isn't right. I called a buddy in Louisiana, I said, hey, sorry, this isn't a social call. Pray for me because I'm experiencing some stuff and I'm convinced it's because God had a word that I needed to hear, that we needed to hear. Ephesians 6:10 to 12. Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that we may able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Be vigilant.
[00:31:57] Here's a checklist for spiritual discernment. Right? So when we're. We're thinking, because to be honest with you, I believe the battle takes place in our hearts and minds, mostly for us. Here's a couple of things very quickly to find out. Is my thinking logical, biblical, spirit led or demonic and deceptive? Number one, is the thought biblical or from somewhere else?
[00:32:22] Is it biblical? Can I go back to Scripture and find, does it line up with that?
[00:32:27] You know, I can tell you this week, as I told you, I experienced multiple distractions. They were causing me to worry and fear. Bible's pretty clear about the role of fear and worry, isn't it?
[00:32:36] And I was able to say that's not right. God's truth is consistent. Demonic thought distorts.
[00:32:42] Scripture is true. Is it spirit driven or fear driven? Does it produce the fruit of the Spirit? Does it lead to love, joy? Is it feeding anxiety, division, jealousy, pride, et cetera? Unity is God's place. Division is what Satan wants to create.
[00:33:00] Is it emotionally charged or spiritually enhancing? Am I reacting emotionally or responding spiritually?
[00:33:06] Am I fueled by fear?
[00:33:08] Have I invited the Holy Spirit to bring peace? See demons stir panic and confusion. The Spirit leads with conviction and brings peace. Is it rooted in pride or surrender? Do I feel the need to defend my ego to win the argument, preserve my image? We know God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Satan's fall began with pride. And I think most demonic influence starts exactly there's as soon as I start thinking more of myself than I should, watch out.
[00:33:39] It's a dangerous place to be. Am I isolating or resisting counsel? Am I isolating myself and resisting people who would give me truth?
[00:33:47] Do I have people around me who can challenge me? The enemy thrives in secrecy. God works through accountability, controlling or Trusting. Does this thought drive me towards control or surrender?
[00:34:01] Am I taking this to God or am I trying to control everything myself? Demonic thinking says take charge. Godly thinking says trust me, trust me.
[00:34:13] Accusing or hope filled? Is there a whisper or accusation of identity distortion? Or do I hear voices? You're worthless. God can't forgive that. You're too far gone. You better prove yourself.
[00:34:26] Those kind of things are not from God. See, God does convict. That is true.
[00:34:32] He'll show you things in life that are not right. But he always is done with clarity and hope.
[00:34:38] Here's where you're at. But remember my grace is sufficient. Here's where you need to be and where you can be.
[00:34:45] Last thing here. Rejoice in your thorns. That sounds kind of wild even to say that.
[00:34:50] Rejoice in your thorns. Why? Because God's grace is often most present in our pain.
[00:34:56] If you look back over your life, if you got some years on you, you can see there are moments in your life that were probably really, really hard to deal with. It may still be, but you can also see God's grace in equal, if not more measure to the pain you're experiencing.
[00:35:14] And so this idea of if we're going to be ministers of the gospel, if we're going to do ministry, then we need to be able to preach through our pain and share our scars. Why? Because that's the place where God writes most of his story of.
[00:35:28] I don't think we should go around wishing for that or hoping for that, but we need to be ready for that.
[00:35:35] That as we experience those things, God's grace is there and available.
[00:35:41] We got to endure our thorns, remember where they come from, but more importantly, who we belong to and that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
[00:35:54] Let's pray together.
[00:35:56] Heavenly Father, we thank you for.
[00:35:59] Thank you for your word and thank you for this lesson from the life of Paul, Lord. It's a fascinating story in a lot of ways. It's a strange story to our ears, but we thank you that your grace is sufficient and your power is made perfect in our weaknesses.
[00:36:20] Lord, thank you for grace. Let us never get tired of pursuing and learning about and experiencing your grace. Lord, thank you again for your word, for what we can learn, what we can be taught.
[00:36:34] Thank you for the Holy Spirit that guides us, Lord, and I pray us in your name. Amen.
