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All right. Well, we're there in 2 Corinthians chapter number 12. And as we've been announcing, today we are finishing up our series on the subject of when bad things happen to good people. And I would encourage you, if you missed any of the parts in this series, the first part, the second part, the third part, I'd encourage you to look those up on our website, our YouTube, and catch up on those. Every sermon's meant to stand alone. And you've definitely learned something from the sermon today. But when you bring them all together, they'll give you a full picture of this idea. So we've been studying this idea in the Bible. And I've said this from the beginning, and I want to just say it one last time. Maybe you're here this morning, and you are going through a trial in your life. You're going through a difficult time. And this is exactly what you need to learn about in here. But some of you are not going through anything right now. Everything is fine, and you're not going through a trial. But here's what I know. You will go through a trial at some point in your life. So the things we learned today, you can write them down, make some notes, and tuck it away, because you probably will need it later in life. So today, everything we're learning can be, of course, something that is profitable for all of us. Now, what I want to do this morning is I really want to get us to verse number five of this chapter as we develop this idea of when bad things happen to good people. But in order for you to understand verse five, six, seven, and the verses we're going to be looking at, you kind of need to understand the context that gets us to verse five. So we're going to walk through verses one through four, just kind of by way of introduction, just so you can understand the context and you can understand what brings us to this place. And even before we get to verse one of 2 Corinthians 12, I'd like you to just look at a verse in chapter number 13, because here's what you need to understand. The way the chapter begins, it begins by Paul explaining that it is not expedient to glory. Now, the word glory, in fact, just look at verse one real quickly, 2 Corinthians 12, verse one. He said, it is not expedient for me to outlist to glory. That word glory in the Bible means to boast or to brag or to rejoice about. And the word expedient means that it's not convenient or advantageous. It's not in one's best interests. It's not in their best advantage. It's not beneficial. And he says, look, it's not the best thing. It's not the most beneficial thing for me to glory or to boast or to brag. Now, so you understand that a little bit. Here's what you need to see. And again, we could spend weeks doing this and going through 2 Corinthians, and one day we will. But if you look at chapter number 11, and look at verse number 17, 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 17, the Bible says this, in that which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were, foolishly in this confidence of boasting. So he says, look, when it comes to boasting, we're not speaking in the Lord. We're speaking foolishly. Look at verse 18. Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. And see, what the Apostle Paul is dealing with here at the Church of Corinth, and we've studied the book of 1 Corinthians verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We haven't gone through 2 Corinthians in our Wednesday night Bible study. But what he's dealing with in this book is, one of the things he's dealing with is a bunch of Christians who are a bunch of braggers. They boast, and they brag. Notice, they glory after the flesh. And the book of 2 Corinthians was written 2,000 years ago, but it is as applicable today as it has ever been. You say, why? Because you know what a lot of Christians today do? They will boast and brag in their spirituality. You need an example of it? Just go on Facebook. And today, you find Christians, they can't do anything spiritual without having to post it, or talk about it, or blog it, or whatever it might be. And I'm all for using the media to help people and instruct people. But look, we need to be careful about not just reading the Bible just so we can tell people how much we read the Bible. And we need to be careful about not spending time in prayer just so we can tell people how much time we spend in prayer, memorizing scripture just so we can tell people how much we memorize scripture. And that's what Paul is dealing with. He's dealing with people that are doing spiritual things, but they're doing it for a fleshly or carnal reason, which is to boast and to brag. And then that's what leads us into the beginning of chapter 12. Notice again, he says, it is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. He says, look, it doesn't help you for me to boast and brag about all of the spiritual things that I can do. Now, here's what Paul says. He says, I could boast or brag if I wanted to, because of the visions and revelations that I've had. Look at verse 1 again. It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. He says, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. And he's going to begin to talk about an experience that he had where he basically saw a heavenly vision. He said, look, if I wanted to boast or brag, I could boast or brag about these things. And again, I'm not preaching about this this morning, but we kind of have to understand that to get to where we're getting. Look at verse 2. He says, I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago. And he talks about this outer body experience. He says, whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth. Such an one caught up to the third heaven. Now, the third heaven would be referring to the place where God resides. In the Bible, the Bible refers to three different places as heaven. One would be what we call the sky, and that's where the birds fly in. And then the second would be what we call outer space. That's where you have the sun and the moon and the stars. And then the third heaven would be where God resides, or the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God. And Paul says here that he was caught up. And he says, I knew a man in Christ, but I believe he's talking about himself. And of course, he says, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. He's telling us about an experience he had. He said, but even just because he doesn't want to boast or brag, he doesn't even refer to it as himself. But he talks about the fact that there's this experience. It's an outer body experience. He says, whether it was in the body or whether out of the body. He says, I'm not sure if I physically was caught up to heaven and saw these things, or if I was just spiritually was able to see these things. He says in verse 3, and I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body. I cannot tell God knoweth. Verse 4, how that he was caught up into paradise. And again, I'm not preaching about this, but while we're here, let me just give you a couple of thoughts in regards to Paul's heavenly vision. First of all, I want you to notice that the Bible calls the third heaven paradise. Now you say, well, why is that important? And here's why it's important for some of you to understand. Because today, there is a false teaching out there called dispensationalism. We're actually about to come out with an entire documentary against dispensationalism. But one thing that dispensationalists teach is that Jesus, when he died, the Bible says that his soul went down to hell. It says, this fake key of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. That's what the word of God says, and he went down to hell to pay for our sins. And dispensationalists today will attack that doctrine. And they'll say, oh, no, Jesus, he went to hell, but he didn't go to the bad side of hell. See, in hell, there's a good part of hell, and it's called paradise. But here in the Bible, we're told that the Bible refers to heaven as paradise. So it's a false teaching to say hell is paradise. When Paul says, I was caught up to the third heaven, 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 2, and then he says in verse 4 that he was caught up into paradise, using those terms interchangeably. And again, there's lots of other verses we could look at in regards to that. But I just want you to notice, in the Bible, heaven equals paradise. There's another thing I want you to just notice, and I'm not preaching about this this morning, but I want you to notice it about Paul's heavenly vision. Notice what he says there in verse 4, how that he was caught up into paradise. So look, Paul had an outer body experience. I mean, he went up to heaven, he saw heaven, he was caught up to heaven, he was caught up to paradise. And you say, pastor, what did Paul do when he got back? I mean, did he write a book called 30 Minutes in Heaven? Did he make a movie about his experience in heaven? Did he begin to talk and tell people about all the great things he saw in heaven? I want you to notice that Paul tells us, look, I had an outer body experience. I had an experience where I went to heaven. Look at verse 4 again. He says, how that I was caught up into paradise. Notice what he says, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. I just want you to notice that in the Bible, when a man had an outer body experience where he was caught up into heaven, when we know that it happened, because Paul, it's the word of God telling us that this actually happened. When that man came back, he says, I can't even tell you what I experienced. He said, I heard unspeakable words. He said, which is not lawful for a man to utter. So be careful about this idea. Look, if somebody comes to you and says, hey, I went to heaven. Let me tell you all about it. I wrote this book. And you say, pastor, do you put a lot of confidence in those people? Do you believe those people? I personally don't, and here's why. Because when Paul went to heaven, he said, it was so wonderful, I can't even tell you about it. I can't even describe it. I can't write a book and go on a tour about it. He says, it's unspeakable. It was so wonderful. He says, heaven is going to be so much more wonderful than anything that you and I have ever experienced. We can't even talk about it. So be careful with those things. A lot of deceivers out there, a lot of people just trying to make a quick buck by trying to tell you stories and things that they experienced. But look, we know Paul experienced it. And he said, I can't talk about it. And Paul was used of God to write most of the New Testament. And this is all we get about his outer body experience. He said, it's unlawful for me to say. Look at verse 5. He said, of such and one will I glory. So you say, why does he even bring that up? He brings it up because he's trying to explain to them, he's trying to tell them, look, if there's something to boast and brag about, I've got something I can boast and brag about. I mean, if you want to compare notes and see who's more spiritual, you know, because this is what people were doing to Paul. They were trying to act like they were a more chief apostle than Paul was. They were more spiritual than Paul was. They were more used of God than Paul was. And Paul says, look, if you want to boast and brag, I've got things I could boast and brag about. But he says, that's all I'm going to tell you about that because here's the truth. Verse 5, of such and one will I glory. He says, yet of myself I will not glory. He says, look, I'm not going to boast. I'm not going to brag about my personal experiences and the things that I've dealt with. He says, but in mine infirmities. He says, look, if I'm going to boast or brag about something, I'm going to boast and brag about the infirmities that I've had to deal with. And this is what we're talking about this morning, the bad things that happened in the life of Paul because that's what we're learning about when bad things happen to good people. Notice verse 6. He says, for though I would desire to glory. Paul says this, I'm a human like you are. I want to boast and brag like you want to boast and brag. I want people to look up to me and admire me and think great things of me. He said, I would desire to glory. He said, I shall not be a fool. And by the way, people who go around boasting and bragging about how spiritual they are, how much time I spent out soul-wanting, and how many times I go out soul-wanting, and oh, you don't go out soul-wanting as much as I do, or you don't read the Bible as much as I do, or you don't pray as much as I. Hey, be careful about that type of talk. You're showing all of us that you're a fool. I shall not be a fool. Why? Because people who boast and brag about their spirituality, that's what they are. They're fools. For I will say the truth. Notice what he says. But now I forbear. The word forbear means I restrain an impulse to want to boast and brag about myself. Here's why. Lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be. Now look, I wish I could develop this into an entire sermon. One of these days, I will. There is so much just truth of humanity in the word of God. He says, I'm going to restrain myself in regards to speaking about myself because I don't want anyone to think of me. Look at these words. To think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. Here's what he's saying. He's saying, I'm going to let my actions and what you actually see me do, I'm going to let that speak for myself. And today, you know what I've noticed is that people are so easily manipulated. You can just tell people. You can tell them, believe this about me. And people just, I mean, I guess there's a reason why God causes lambs in the Bible. They'll just sheepishly just believe. I hear so many things in our church, outside of our church, other churches I've been to. I talk to people, and people are like, oh, brother so-and-so. I mean, he just does so much for the church. And it's like, why do you believe that? Well, I mean, he just tells me how much he's always so busy for the church. And then you want to ask him, so what does he actually do? And then you've got other people that, I mean, they're always cleaning. They're always serving. They're always whatever. And they're just kind of silently in the background. And it's like, well, I've never really seen them do much. In fact, it kind of seems like when there's time to do something, they're always kind of off in a corner talking. You know what I mean? But look, be careful about people planting seeds. Oh, I'm so spiritual. I spend so much time. They're boasting. They're bragging. And Paul says it's foolishness. Look, if you're so spiritual, we ought to be able to see. If the Holy Spirit of God is so just upon your life, we'll notice. And if we don't notice, it's fine. You know what? The one who should know is God. And God always talks. Let me just give this to you. And I'm not preaching about this this morning, but let me just give this to you. God always talks about protecting the privacy that we have in our spirituality. That's why he says when you're going to pray, enter into a closet. That's why he says if you're going to read, make sure you go off by yourself. That's why he talks about, that's why I always think it's funny, these people. They want to boast and brag and tell you about all these wonderful things that they're doing. Hey, be careful about that. I think you're showing us a little bit about your carnality and your desire to be seen of men. Jesus talked a lot about not doing things. Don't give alms to be seen of men. Don't fast to be seen of men. Don't pray to be seen of men. And that's the same thing that Apostle Paul is teaching here. Now notice he begins to talk about his infirmities. And again, this is kind of all introduction, but let me just give you some thoughts about Paul's infirmities. Because he doesn't tell us exactly what it is, and there's a lot of debate, and there's a lot of theories in regards to what he was dealing with. I'm going to give you my thoughts on it. If you don't agree with me, that's totally fine. But let me give you my thoughts. When it comes to Paul's infirmities, when it comes to what he refers to as his thorn in the flesh, here are my thoughts in regards to this. I believe for Paul it was a physical ailment. Now let me say this. I believe that the reason that Paul doesn't spell it out for us and tell us this is what it was, this is what I dealt with, this is what the issue that I had. I believe the reason he doesn't do that is because of the fact that he doesn't want people to think oh, well, I'm not dealing with that, so therefore that doesn't apply to me. He's keeping it general so that we can apply this to trials and hardships in our life in general. But he calls it, and again, I'm just going to give you my thoughts on it. He calls it at the end of verse 5 his infirmity. Now an infirmity is often dealing with like a sickness, mentally, health-wise, physically, something like that. Notice what he says in verse 6. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth. But now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seemeth me to be, or that he heareth of me, verse 7. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations. Notice what he says. There was given me a thorn in the flesh. Again, referring to his infirmity. So I believe when we're talking about Paul's infirmity, I believe we're talking about a physical ailment, a sickness, a disease, something that he had in his body that he had to deal with, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. And if you were with us for the first part of this series, you remember as we studied the life of Job that God often uses Satan as a tool to test and to try his children. And here we see it again with Paul that there was a messenger of Satan to buffet him. I want you to notice secondly, keep your place in 2 Corinthians 12. That's our text for this morning. But go with me to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 9. Now keep your place in 2 Corinthians. And if you want to head backwards, you're going to go past 1 Corinthians, past the book of Romans, into the book of Acts, Acts chapter 9. And I'm just giving you some thoughts in regards to just my opinion of what was this thorn in the flesh that Paul had. I believe that it was, number one, a physical ailment. I believe, secondly, and again, there's a lot of debate about this. And different people believe different things. Some people believe that he had epilepsy. Some people believe he had malaria based on the places that he started churches and the time frame that he would have been there, those huge epidemics of that. Some people believe all sorts of different things. I personally believe that it was a problem that Paul had with his eyes, some sort of a blindness or cataracts or some issue that affected him with his eyes. You say, pastor, why do you believe that? Well, let me give you a couple of thoughts on that. Acts chapter 9 in verse 4. In Acts chapter 9 and verse 4, we find the conversion of the apostle Paul. This is when Paul was converted. And not all of it in the passage we're going to look at here. But this is how it all started for him. Acts 9, 4 says this. And he, this is Saul, before he's known as Paul. Remember that Saul was persecuting the church. He's actually on his way to Damascus. This passage is often referred to as the road to Damascus, where the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him. Paul or Saul never saw Jesus or at least interacted with him in scripture before his resurrection and ascension. The only interaction we have between him and Jesus is after it would be a glorified body experience. And that's what we read about here. The Bible says, and he fell to the earth and heard a voice say unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? This is Jesus appearing to Saul on the road to Damascus. And he said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, arise and go into the city and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And by the way, we're not setting this out. But he actually goes into the city. A man and an eye shows up, gives them the gospel. And Paul calls upon the name of the Lord. So Paul actually didn't get saved on the road to Damascus. But this is where God kind of shook him and got his attention. Look at verse 7. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth. And when his eyes were opened, he saw no man. But they let him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. If you notice, when Paul fell on his face there in Damascus road, the Bible says that he opened his eyes and he saw no man. He was blind. They had to lead him into the city by hand, verse 9. And he was there three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And an eye shows up, gives him the gospel, actually gives him his sight back. And we don't have time to go in through all that. But I want you to notice that Paul actually lost his sight for three days when he had this experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, you're there in Acts. Go to the book of Galatians real quickly. Galatians chapter number 6. So if you're there in Acts, you're going to go past Romans, 1 Corinthians, into the book of Galatians. Romans, 1 Corinthians, into the book of Galatians. Galatians chapter 6. Scripture seems to indicate that Paul probably never fully recovered his eyesight. Let me just show that to you real quickly. Galatians chapter 6, verse 11. Galatians 6, 11, the Apostle Paul says this. He says, ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand. Now, the Apostle Paul wrote a lot of scripture. But most of the scripture that you see in the New Testament, you'll find at the end of the books, it'll say that it was actually written by someone else. The Apostle Paul would dictate, and someone else would actually physically write. And oftentimes, in his letters, you'll find that it's that last salutation, those few last verses, that he writes with his own hand. But most of the letters were actually dictated and written by somebody else. And we find those people's names throughout the letters that Paul wrote. Here, he's telling the Galatians that they see how large a letter he has written unto them. He says, with mine own hand. Now, when he's talking about a large letter, he's not talking about the length of the letter. Because the book of Galatians is only six chapters. There's many other books, letters, that Paul wrote that were much longer than that. What he's saying is, there's two ways to look at this. And both of them have to do with his eyes. He's either saying that even though it was a short letter, it was a long letter for him to write on his own without having somebody helping him. Or he might actually be talking about just the physical look of the letter, how maybe the letters themselves were just a larger amount or whatever it might be. But he's saying, look, I don't normally write this much. Whether it's talking about just the amount that he wrote, which would have been six chapters, considered a short letter. Or just the actual transcribing of the words. If they're just, he says, you see how large of a letter that would be. Now, you're there in Galatians 6. Go back to Galatians chapter 4. And let me show you something that Paul mentions, which is a little odd. It's kind of an odd illustration that he gives. But it's not that odd if you put it in the context of him having some sort of an ailment with his eyes. In Galatians 4.15, he's talking about how the church in Galatia loved him so, and how these people loved him so much. And here's what he says in Galatians 4.15. He says, where is then the blessedness you speak of? For I bear you record that if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes and have given them to me. The apostle Paul says, there was a time when you loved me so much that if it were possible, if you were able to, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Now, that's kind of an odd thing to say as far as what someone would have done for you if they loved you. But it would make sense if it was the fact that Paul had some sort of an ailment with his eyes, a problem, an infirmity with his eyes, where they knew that he struggled with this. And they knew that it was difficult for him. And he says, you would have plucked out your own eyes. And let me just give you just one last thought on this. Go back to 2 Corinthians chapter 12. But like Paul, having his The Master's Road experience, there's another man who had an experience with the Lord Jesus Christ, and this was in the Old Testament. Now, the man I'm speaking about is Jacob. And there's some similarities between Saul and Jacob. When Saul was confronted by Jesus, his name was changed. We later go on to quit calling him Saul, and we call him Paul. In the Old Testament, when Jacob was confronted by Jesus and they wrestled all night long, his name was also changed, and it was changed to Israel. Now, here's what's interesting. When Saul met Jesus on the Damascus Road, he received a physical ailment. The Bible tells us that he was blind for three days. When Jacob met Jesus in the book of Genesis, he also received a physical ailment. The Bible tells us that he touched the hollow of his thigh so that he limped. Now, here's what's interesting. The Bible tells us about Jacob, that when he was able to recover the use of his leg, he limped for the rest of his life as a way to remember what God had to do to get Jacob's attention. And to me, since there's so many similarities between the two, it would make sense that in the same way that God touched Jacob's thigh and he limped for the rest of his life, when God touched Saul's eyes, that he struggled with that for the rest of his life. Now, again, all of this is just my opinion. I'm just giving you my thoughts. I think it's interesting to study these things out in the Bible. But whatever it was, we don't know for sure because we're never really told. I believe that Paul had some sort of a struggle with his eyes, whether it was his eyesight or cataracts or something like that. But here's what you need to understand about Paul's ailment. Go back to 2nd Corinthians chapter 12, look at verse 7. Whatever it was that the apostle Paul dealt with, that he called this infirmity or this thorn in the flesh. And again, I believe that he was probably being general so that we would not say, well, I don't have that, so therefore this doesn't apply to me. He wanted to keep it general so that we could just learn how to deal with trials and tribulations and struggles when bad things happen. But here's what you need to understand. Whatever Paul had, it could be described by three different adjectives or three different ways to describe it. Number one, it was humiliating. Because notice what he says in verse 7. He says, unless I should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of revelation. See, Paul is saying, I've had so many revelations. He said, first of all, the Holy Spirit has used me to write most of the New Testament. And then I actually had an outer body experience where I actually went up to heaven and I saw heaven myself. And he said, because of all of the use that God has had with me and because of the abundance of revelation, there was, he says, there was a possibility that I would be exalted, that I would be lifted up with pride. And again, we know that this is something that, look, pride, if you want something to just sidebar you from God using you, allow pride to enter your heart. The Bible says that God resisted the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. And Paul says, look, I had, I was in a dangerous place because of the amount of revelations and the visions and the things that God had used me. He said, I could have been exalted above and been filled with pride. But he said, God gave me an infirmity that would keep me from getting proud. He said, this thing, whatever it was, was humiliating. I mean, look at verse 7 again. Unless I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan and of Baphomet. Notice again what he says. Lest I should be exalted above measure. So whatever his infirmity was, whatever his ailment was, whatever the thorn in the flesh was, we know this. It was humiliating for the apostle Paul. And if it was his eyes, we would know that it was something that people knew about. Because again, we have the Galatians saying, he's telling the Galatians, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me if you could. I want you to notice secondly about Paul's trial, not only was it humiliating, but it was also debilitating. Notice verse 8. He says, for this thing, I besought the Lord thrice, notice what he says, that it might depart from me. Whatever it was that Paul was dealing with, it was something that he felt was hindering him or hindering his ministry, to the point where he got to the place where he would say, God, I want to serve you. I want to do what you've called me to do. I want to write these scriptures. And I want to plant the churches. And I want to lead a soul-winning group and lead a soul-winning movement through the confidence that you've called me to go to God. He says, I want to be used to you, God, but I can't. He says, I can't. I'm struggling because of this ailment, because of this thorn. And he prayed to God, and he prayed that it might depart. So we see that it was humiliating. And we see that it was debilitating. But I want you to notice, thirdly, it was painful. Look at verse 7 again. Unless I should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, notice these words, to buffet me. The word buffet there means to punch, basically. And this is what Paul was saying. And here's what's interesting, is you and I would have looked at the apostle Paul, or I know I would have looked at the apostle Paul if I was a contemporary apostle. And I would have said, wow, what a man. Look at this man, a preaching powerhouse, a soul winning powerhouse, starting church after church, and plant after plant. Look at how God is using him. And the entire time, the apostle Paul would have secretly, because he wasn't a boaster, and he wasn't a bragger, and he didn't talk a lot about himself. He would have said, man, I feel like I'm getting beat up. I feel like Satan is just punching me. I feel like Satan is just behind me every step of the way, just taking punches, and taking punches, and taking shots, and taking shots. And the fact that he uses that terminology and he says, to buffet me, he says, whatever Satan is doing, whatever it is, whether it was his eyes or whatever it might be, he says, not only is it humiliating, not only is it debilitating, but it's painful. And again, that was all introduction. That was just to get us to where we need to get, for you to get the context. All of these sermons have been like that, because we have to lay the foundation, and tell the story, and get to that place. I want you to notice, just real quickly this morning, as quickly as we can, I want to give you three thoughts in regards to the Apostle Paul's trials, and how he responded to these things. If you're taking notes, and you want to write these things down, here's point number one. The first thing we see is we see Paul's request for his trial. We see Paul's request for his trial. Look at verse 8 again. For this thing, notice what he says, I besought the Lord thrice. I besought the Lord thrice. Usually when a trial, or a persecution, a tribulation, some sort of a difficulty comes into our life, our initial response is to try to get God to side with us against the adversity. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's what Paul did. He went to God in prayer, and he besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. And look, I don't think that this is referring to that Paul three different times before his meal. Dear Jesus, thank you for this food. If you could heal me of this thorn in the flesh. I don't think that's what he's talking about. One thing that we'll learn, and one thing that we've been learning through the life of Elijah is that Christians who are mightily used of God, believers who are mightily used of God, are mightily used of God because they have active prayer lives. And I believe that this was talking about three seasons in the Apostle Paul's life where he determined and said, you know what, I'm just going to pray this thing through. And we talked about that last Sunday night in the life of Elijah. But three seasons in his life where he went through it. And remember, Jesus taught this in Luke chapter 11. And he taught this in Luke chapter 18. And we won't take the time to go to those passages, but he taught us to pray it through, and to come to him, and be the impudent, and to bother him with the requests that we have. And that's what Paul, I believe that's what he decided to do three different times in his life. He said, I just can't deal with this. He said, it's hurting me, and it's hindering me, and it's stopping me. And he decided, I'm going to take this to prayer to God in three different times. And I just want to add this as a lesson to prayer to the Sunday night sermon. Let me just say this. We should pray things through. And we should pray. And there's things I'm praying right now. I've got certain situations on my prayer list. And I can't tell you about them. And my wife knows about them. I can't speak of them publicly. But I'm just coming to God every day and saying, God, I must hear from you in regards to this. I need an answer in regards to this situation, and this individual, and this problem. And here's what I'm telling you is that we must learn to develop the character to pray things through till God answers. But please understand this, that sometimes the answer is no. And that's what the Apostle Paul experienced. He never got a response from God. He never got healing. And here's what's interesting. When you study the life of Paul, this man healed people. This man resurrected people. This man had the power of God, of the Holy Spirit on his life in a way where he actually healed others. But he could not heal himself. And three different seasons of prayer in his life, he went to God. And the answer was no. So we see, first of all, Paul's request for his trial. And we see, secondly, Paul's response to his trial. Look at the answer, verse 9. And he said unto me, Paul goes to God and says, God, will you heal this? I'm trying to serve you, God. I'm not out here living a worldly life. I'm not out here fornicating. I'm not out here on drugs. I'm not out here being a drunkard. I'm starting churches. I'm working for you. I'm trying to reach people for you. Will you heal this? And the answer is this. Look at verse 9. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. See, we should learn to pray things through. But we should also learn to realize when the answer is no. And something I've tried to pray when I'm praying for something is, Lord, I need you to come through on this. I need an answer in this. I need you to do something here. But if the answer is no, I need you to make that clear to me. And Paul received his response. And the response is not what Paul wanted to hear. The answer is no. He goes to God three different times. No answer, no answer. And finally, the third time, God says, you know what, Paul? The answer is no. My grace is sufficient for thee. So now Paul could add a fourth description to his ailment. Not only was it humiliating, he said lest I should be exalted. Not only was it debilitating, he said that it might depart. Not only was it painful, he said to buffet me. But now he could add this description to his ailment. It was permanent. My grace is sufficient for thee. And that's where some of you are right now. That's where maybe somebody listening online is right now. In a situation where you're going through a trial, and you're going through a heartache, and you're going through a difficulty, but it's not going to go away. And you know it's not going to go away. There are some people that are married and praise the Lord that both husband and wife are committed to the marriage in the sense that they're not going to get a divorce. But unfortunately, another husband or wife are willing to change. So though it's not going to get better, it's not going to go away. And that's just kind of where you're at. And you're just kind of there. And well, I'm just going to be married to this person for the rest of my life. This is just how he's going to be. This is just how she's going to be. For some of you, it might be a financial thing. That's just what it is. Because of decisions you've made or decisions that were made on your behalf, your finances just aren't going to get better. There is no other career option. This is just kind of where you're at because of where you are in life. This is where it's going to be. And this is how it's going to be. And it's not going to change. For some of you, it may be a health thing, like Paul. You were diagnosed with something. You were told that you have this or you have that. And maybe it's not terminal. Maybe it's not going to kill you. But it's chronic. And there's no healing it. You're just going to have to learn to deal with it. It may be a relational thing. You raised him or you raised her to make certain decisions. And they're just not making those decisions. And no matter how much you've tried to talk to them, and no matter how much you've tried to help them, and no matter how much you've tried to get them to turn, that's just where they are. And you're just going to have to live with it. And it's a permanent trial that we live with in our life. So we see Paul's request. And we see Paul's response. I'd like you to notice, thirdly, this morning, we see Paul's rejoicing. Notice verse 9. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee. I just want you to notice this. You say, why would God do that to Paul? Why would God give him an ailment that will not be healed, a trial that will not go away, a permanent affliction in his life? And here's what God says. He says, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. He says, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities. Don't miss this. That the power of Christ may rest upon me. Look at verse 10, last part of verse 10. For when I am weak, then am I strong. See, the answer that Paul got from Jesus was this. Here's the answer. And don't miss this. This is the whole sermon. Everything we've talked about is just going to be building up to this one idea of thought right now. What Paul had to understand is that he thought all of the great things that I'm doing for God, all of the revelations, and the visions, and the churches, and the church planting, and the salt winning, and the spirit-filled preaching, and all of that, I could do it better. I could do it best if I did not have to struggle with this trial. And what he did not understand, that the reason he could do it was because of the trial. Because without the affliction, without the thorn in the flesh, without the ailment, the infirmity, he would have got proud and become useless. And see, what we learned last week, if you remember the story from Joseph, what we learned last week is that sometimes God allows trials into our lives. And those trials are steps in a direction that God is trying to get us to go. Sometimes God brings trials into our lives to get us to go somewhere that we would not have gone ourselves. And we learned that from Joseph. But what we learned this week, what we learned this week from the apostle Paul, is that those sometimes trials are steps to get us where God needs us to be. Sometimes trials are not steps to get us where God needs us to be, but trials are there to get us to become who God needs us to be. See, God told Paul, I need you weak. God told Paul, I need you frail. God told Paul, right now you feel overwhelmed. You feel over your head. You feel like, I can't do this. I'm just kind of treading water. I'm just kind of keeping my head above water. And God, I need you to take this away. And God says, that's exactly, that's exactly where I need you to be, because my strength is made perfect in weakness. And you say, well, how did Paul respond? Here's how he responded. Notice what he said, verse 9. And he said unto me, my grace and vision for thee, for my strength is made perfect in its weakness. Here's Paul's response. Notice it. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory. Remember, that's the boasting and bragging. Paul said, I'm not going to boast and brag to you about all the visions and revelations and all the spiritual things. He said, if there's anything I'm going to boast and brag about, I'm going to boast and brag. I'm going to glory in my infirmities. Say, why would you do that, Paul? That the power of Christ may rest upon me. Here's what Paul was saying. Paul was saying, if this is what it takes, if this is what it takes to get me to be the Christian that God has called me to be. Look, some of you need to just realize that that infirmity that you have, that thorn in the flesh that you have, whether it's a physical thing, whether it's a relational thing, whether it's a financial thing, whether it's whatever it might be, you need to realize that God may be using that in your life to get you not where you need to go, but to get you to become who you need to be. And Paul says, if that's what it takes, and Paul says, if that's what it takes for the power of God to be upon my life, and some of you need to just decide, if that's what it's going to take for me to be the father that God has called me to be, or the mother that God has called me to be, or the husband that God has called me to be, or the wife that God has called me to be, or the employee, or the employer, or the pastor, or whatever it might be, if that's what it takes for the power of God to be upon my life, then I will most gladly, therefore, glory. And mine infirmities, that the power of God may rest upon me. And here's what you need to understand. If you believe, if you believe, and you're sitting in an independent fundamental Baptist church on a Sunday morning, and I'm assuming that you believe in God and you believe in the word of God, if you believe that God can change your circumstances, listen to me, if you believe that God can change your circumstances and chooses not to, then you can receive that trial in your life as having a purpose for your life. I mean, if God can take it away, if God, with a snap of his fingers or with a word from his mouth, could change the circumstances, could erase the past, could erase those decisions, could make those things go away, if God could change it, but he chooses not to. And here's the hard part of it. Sometimes he changes it for others and not for us. Sometimes God used Paul to heal others, and yet Paul says, the answer I get is no. But look, because Paul was not healed, he was able to be used to heal others. Isn't that irony? Because God kept Paul weak, he was able to be used in the lives of others. And you say, Pastor Mez, I'm not dealing with an ailment. I want you to notice how Paul kind of brings it all into context in verse number 10. He says this. He says, therefore, I take pleasure in mine. I take pleasure in infirmities. And you say, well, I don't have a physical ailment like Paul had. I don't have a problem with my eyes like Paul had. He says, OK, well, not only do I take pleasure in infirmities, verse 10, he said, also in reproaches, disapproval and disappointment. And when people rebuke you or reproach you, when they speak ill of you, Paul says, I take pleasure in those things also, and in necessities. Being in need, and not having what I need, and coming to God and saying, God, you know that we need a bigger house in God. You know that we need a different vehicle in God. You know that we're just barely making it by it, and we're in need, God. And it seems like you keep saying no. Paul says, I've learned to take pleasure in infirmities, and reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, hostility, ill treatment, in distress, extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain. He says, I have learned to rejoice in the things that we normally complain about. You say, why, Paul? Notice what he says. For Christ's sake. Because here's what Paul believed. Here's what Paul understood. Paul understood this. God has the power to take it away, and he chooses not to. If God has the power to make it better, to make it different, to change it up, and he chooses not to, then I can accept that from God as having a purpose for my life. For when I am weak, then am I strong. Let me show you one more verse, what we've done. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. You're there in 2 Corinthians? Go past Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, into 1 Thessalonians. This is the same Paul who could say this. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 18. The same Paul who just taught us how to deal with trials that are humiliating, debilitating, painful, and sometimes permanent. He said in 1 Thessalonians 5, 18, in everything. Don't miss that. Those are two powerful words. In everything, give thanks. In everything, Paul? Even infirmities? And Paul would say, even infirmities. Even reproaches? And Paul would say, even reproaches. Even necessities? And Paul would say, even necessities. And persecutions? And Paul would say, in persecutions. And in distresses? And Paul would say, and in distresses. And in the good times and in the bad times. In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. And see, here's what I'm not going to tell you this morning, and here's what I cannot tell you this morning. I cannot tell you that if you just pray a little harder, and you have a little more faith, and you put a little more money in the offering plate, that God will make it better. The prosperity gospel is a lie. They tell you on TV, and these prosperity preachers will tell you, if you just send in money, and if you just do this, and if you just do that, God will make you healthy, and you make you wealthy. But when you match that up to spiritual people and the word of God like Paul, you find that it's just not true. I wish I could tell you, hey, just one, two, three, do these three steps, and it'll all be gone. I can't tell you that. Paul couldn't tell you that. But here's what Paul can tell you. If God has the power to take it away and he chooses not to, then he must have a purpose for it. So from Job, we learn perspective, that we must always remember who we are and who God is, and that the creature does not have the right to tell the creator, you're doing it wrong. And from Joseph, we learned that there's a plan. And though we may not see it, being sold into slavery gets us to Egypt, and being brought into Egypt gets us to Potiphar's house. And being in Potiphar's house gets us to the king's prison, and being in the king's prison gets us to Butler, and the Butler gets us to Pharaoh. And though we may not see that, we need to understand that every trial is a step in a direction that God is trying to take us. From Paul, we learn that when God gives you a trial that he chooses not to take away, there's a purpose. And it may not be he's trying to get you where you need to go. It may just be that he's trying to get you to become who you need to be. Because Paul would say, in my weakness, his strength is made perfect. His power, I have to now go to prayer, Heavenly Father. Lord, thank you for your word.