WEBVTT - The Mentor You Didn't Ask For 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:02.639 Well, we're gonna get to the message in just a moment, 0:00:02.759 --> 0:00:05.880 but I wanted to make sure you knew about Elevation Nights. 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:11.280 It's gonna be amazing eight cities October twenty sixth through 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.840 November fourth. You got to go to Elevation Nights dot 0:00:13.840 --> 0:00:16.360 com to see if we're coming to a city near you. 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:21.320 It's gonna be me, Elevation Worship, a few friends, and you. 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:22.680 I want to see you there. I want to see 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:24.919 you and everybody that you know there. Go to Elevation 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:27.639 Nights dot com. I can't wait to see you soon. 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:31.920 Here's the message. I want to go back to corinth 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:36.879 this week. We were last week talking about a troubled 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:43.559 mind and an open door, that greatest opposition comes in 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:48.440 the moments of greatest opportunity. I believe God gave somebody 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:51.479 discernment last week about a door that you're standing in 0:00:51.520 --> 0:00:54.120 front of and the devil that you're fighting to get 0:00:54.120 --> 0:00:58.040 through it. Well, this week, I want a journey further 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:04.240 into the book of Second Corinthian tewod Corinthians, Chapter twelve, 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.480 and I'm real excited. I'm gripping onto the pulpit just 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.880 trying to calm down Oh man, this is so good. 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:19.039 This is so good. I already heard it. Holy Spirit 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:22.160 preached it to me, and I promise you it's good. Now. 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:24.480 I might mess it up trying to preach it to you, 0:01:24.520 --> 0:01:33.640 but the way God gave it to me birthday. So 0:01:33.680 --> 0:01:37.320 we're going back to Corinth. This is a very culturally 0:01:37.319 --> 0:01:42.320 compromised church, confused church. But we're going to Corinth one 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:46.640 more time. And Apostle Paul is getting personal with these believers. 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:51.240 And I believe he has a personal word to speak 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:55.960 to us today. Not Paul, but God. Second Corinthians twelve, 0:01:56.000 --> 0:02:00.680 verse six. Paul says, even if I should choose to boast, 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:04.279 I would not be a fool, because I'd be speaking 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:09.000 the truth. It's quite confident this apostle. He's like, I 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:12.080 could back it up. If I told you everything that 0:02:12.120 --> 0:02:14.040 God had did for me, it wouldn't be boasting, It'd 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:19.160 just be facts. Wow. But I refrain, he said, so 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:22.520 that no one will think more of me than is 0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:27.200 warranted by what I do or say, or because of 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:32.600 these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:39.400 from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:46.079 a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times. I 0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:50.480 pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me, 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:57.000 but he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:03.360 for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I 0:03:03.360 --> 0:03:06.960 will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:11.080 that Christ's power may rest on me. And that is why, 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:16.919 for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses and insults, in hardships, 0:03:17.520 --> 0:03:24.320 in persecutions, in difficulties, For when I am weak than 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:36.320 I am strong. Now I want to preach about verse seven. Therefore, 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:38.840 in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was 0:03:38.880 --> 0:03:43.000 given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.680 to torment me. We're going to call this message the 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:53.240 mentor you didn't ask for, the mentor you didn't ask for, 0:03:55.040 --> 0:03:59.080 Holy Spirit, and minister your word in Jesus' name. Amen, 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:06.920 be seated. Be seated, the mentor you didn't ask for. 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:14.440 Had a argument with some family members recently, not necessarily. 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:18.960 Argument wasn't contentious, It just was I probably stated in 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:21.200 my position too strongly now that I look back on it. 0:04:22.440 --> 0:04:24.800 We were talking about people who had influenced our life 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:28.440 for Christ and somebody said the word mentor. I don't 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:30.279 even know if that's a buzzword anymore. It was a 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:34.839 big buzzword when I was starting Elevation Church. Mentor, who's 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:37.680 your mentor? You need a mentor in the ministry, And 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:41.920 it's still obviously a corporate America term. Culturally, I don't 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:46.400 know so much anymore. It's been replaced by influencers. And 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:49.200 I don't know if we talk in the language of mentor. 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:52.560 But I made a statement to my family who attend 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:56.840 our Greenville campus, Holly's sister and usband, a dad, and mom, 0:04:56.839 --> 0:05:01.800 and I said I don't believe in mentors anymore. And 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:05.800 everybody said, now, that's extreme, and it probably was. Looking back, 0:05:05.839 --> 0:05:09.279 it probably was extreme, But you have to understand, I've 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:16.640 just had some weird experiences with weird people, so I'm 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:22.920 probably coming from that standpoint of the idea of a mentor. 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:27.720 You know, if it was Paul, I could get it. 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:32.960 Because Paul was a master builder. He called himself that. 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:35.640 Now do you see why God had to give him 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:38.400 a thorn to keep him humble? He called himself a 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:45.920 master builder. But everybody is not, mister Miyagi, and in 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:50.200 certain moments, of my life I've been I guess a 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:53.600 little bit resistance to people who have a lot of 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:59.960 expertise without much experience seems to be the day where 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:06.000 living in there is no shortage of unsolicited opinions. And 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.440 even one time when the church was first getting going, 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:11.640 we need a building to meet and I went to 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:13.520 meet with a guy and I can remember the room. 0:06:13.560 --> 0:06:16.320 I don't remember his name. I remember the room, and 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:19.000 I remember something so weird that happened. And this is 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:22.680 probably why I don't really like the term mentor that much. 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:26.480 Because I was talking about, you know, we need some resources, 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:28.960 and can we use your building to meet on when 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.480 you're not using it and things like that, and the 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.240 guy took it a little too far. He said, son, 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:37.280 you're here asking me for a building and a little 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:41.760 bit of money for your budget, but seems like to me, 0:06:41.839 --> 0:06:50.440 what you really need is a daddy. And then he goes, 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:58.599 Larry Bryan is my witness. He goes, I'll be your daddy. 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:06.440 Understand that the idea of a mentor, you know, is 0:07:06.520 --> 0:07:10.000 just a little complicated for me, not just because of 0:07:10.040 --> 0:07:12.880 that one experience, but I think early in my life 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:15.200 I did want somebody I wanted God to give me 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:19.560 somebody who kind of like you can do on I 0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.680 see this video game that Graham plays called two K, 0:07:22.120 --> 0:07:26.000 and he builds a player is called my player, and 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:28.000 he goes in and he gives the player everything, not 0:07:28.040 --> 0:07:31.800 only cosmetically, but the skills and abilities. And I kind 0:07:31.800 --> 0:07:35.120 of always wanted God to give me someone who would 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:38.080 give me the right amount of lateral movement and the 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:41.040 right tattoos on my left arm, and the right hide, 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:43.520 and the right speed and the right dunking. You know, 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:46.040 I kind of wanted I kind of wanted ministry to 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:49.160 be like my player on two K, where somebody could 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:53.120 supercharge me with the answers and stuff. And one time, Holly, y'all, 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:56.000 Holly has this ability to say stuff in a sentence 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:04.200 that will stick with you. So I was complaining that 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:06.480 I didn't really have like I had great dad, great mom. 0:08:06.520 --> 0:08:07.840 I had great people in my life who helped me 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:09.040 long a way I can stand up here for a 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:12.680 year and list them. But I was looking for that 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:15.840 one person who would put their arm around me and say, now, 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.600 this is how you do it in regards to preaching 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:21.560 and leadership, and this is when you should build the building, 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:23.240 and this is when you should launch this part of 0:08:23.240 --> 0:08:24.840 the ministry. And this is how you. Iire the right 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:28.360 staff and basically somebody to shepherd me through a mistake 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:33.520 free ministry and life and marriage, a one stop shop. 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.840 And Holly said to me, you know, in the middle 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.120 of my discouragement, this is what she said to comfort me. 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:44.640 You know, God is never going to give you what 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:50.120 you're asking for. He's going to give you a lot 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:54.040 of people to guide you, but He is not going 0:08:54.120 --> 0:09:01.520 to let your guides become your God. She said that 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:06.520 that sweet little HOLLI ferdict, thank you for your service, 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:08.600 hour's outreach. She talked to the Man of God that 0:09:08.679 --> 0:09:11.880 way in my face, God is never gonna give you 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:15.760 book club Holly Bird, lover Holly French for I love. 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:18.079 And Holly said that to me, can you believe it? 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:24.360 She was right. God wasn't going to give me what 0:09:24.480 --> 0:09:29.360 I was asking for. One reason is that God cannot 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:33.960 give you a mentor for where you are that will 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:38.720 limit you from where He is ultimately leading you to be. 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:43.000 If God would have sent me in that season of 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:46.360 my life, one person that I would pattern my life 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:49.920 after totally, she said something important. He's going to give 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:52.880 you a lot of guides, but he wants to be 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:57.440 your God, and he gave you a unique gift, and 0:09:57.559 --> 0:09:59.960 only he knows. She didn't say all this. I'm preaching 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:03.520 off of what she said to me fifteen years ago. 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:06.800 God is not going to give you a my player 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.800 career mode for your ministry. God is not going to 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:13.320 give you one person to model after, because if you 0:10:13.360 --> 0:10:15.720 modeled after them completely and entirely, you would be them. 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:17.280 And He already has them, so he could kill you. 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:20.880 If God gave you one person, the person that you 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:22.520 compare yourself to, and think of all I got just 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:23.640 be like them, and if I could have what they 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:25.719 have and do what they do, if God gave you them, 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:30.080 it would make you unnecessary. She was trying to get 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:33.960 me to see that in life, I will have many guides, 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:38.760 but only one God, only one God who knows me. 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:42.880 And what I love about God the more I experience 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:46.320 his will and his plan for my little life is 0:10:46.360 --> 0:10:49.760 that He's the only one who can match the courses 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:54.840 to the calling. When you go to college, If you 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:56.720 go to college, if you stay in college, you'll have 0:10:56.760 --> 0:11:00.760 to declare a major eventually, say is that you take 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:02.320 you can take any classes you want to. You can 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:04.080 show up when you want to. Nobody's gonna make you 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.839 do anything. You can have a point seven GPA Eric 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:10.199 Phillips if you want to. You can party and flunk 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:11.960 out and come to North Greenville and follow me there 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:13.280 and ask me to help you get your life together 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:18.840 if you want to, Eric Phillips. But you can't declare 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:21.520 a major and then pick the I think a lot 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:25.720 of us wow want to pick an outcome that we 0:11:25.760 --> 0:11:32.280 want in our lives, but then we want to customize 0:11:32.880 --> 0:11:39.160 the courses because we live in that age where we 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:43.880 think like we think that that mentorship is like a menu, 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:49.240 Like you're a cheesecake factory where the menu is thicker 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:52.520 than the Bible. The menu. If you've been a cheesecake factory, 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:59.319 the menu is thicker than the Septuagint. And that's kind 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:00.960 of how we want to do. That's kind of how 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:04.120 the Corinthian Church wanted to do with Paul. I'm so 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:10.359 furious at this church because they had the best pastor, 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:15.000 the master pastor, Paul. How can they be fighting with 0:12:15.040 --> 0:12:18.960 each other and divided within each other when Paul is 0:12:19.000 --> 0:12:23.640 their pastor? How can they have such a master mentor 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:29.160 like Paul and be so petty. How can they have 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:34.640 a master mentor like Paul and be so immiture? And 0:12:34.679 --> 0:12:37.600 now he's writing them a letter, not as an advisor, 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:43.480 not as a critic, as a father, to say to you, 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:46.199 I see some things in your life. This is one 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:48.760 reason I don't like the concept of a mentor either, 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:51.720 because usually if we ask somebody to be our mentor, 0:12:51.800 --> 0:12:53.520 we mean, will you be my mentor until I don't 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:58.560 agree with you anymore, then I'll get another one. Lord, 0:12:58.600 --> 0:13:00.199 you told me this message was going to be hard 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:01.560 to preach, but you didn't tell me it was going 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:03.120 to be this hard to preach to them. Now help 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:08.760 me out. No, we do this all the time. It's like, okay, okay, okay, 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:11.000 here's how I typically do it in my life. It's 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:16.240 like I want to select certain things that I want 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:19.840 God to bring into my life to teach me lessons. 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:22.679 But not only do I want to select the lesson, 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:28.880 I want to select the outcome of the lesson. And 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:34.000 Paul Paul is having none of it. He's saying, you 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:41.559 cannot customize Christ. You can't customize Christ. What Paul went 0:13:41.600 --> 0:13:44.520 through to be who he was, it cost him greatly. 0:13:45.480 --> 0:13:48.400 In chapter eleven of Second Corinthians, he mentions a shipwreck, 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:53.760 he mentions a stony, he mentions many storms, He mentions betrayals, 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:59.920 he mentions opponents. All of that. In Second Corinthians, Chapter eleven, 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:04.319 Paul who paid the price to be an apostle of 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:07.760 Jesus Christ. He mentions all the things that made him 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:13.199 such a master pastor. Now he's writing to a church 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:16.560 that is in rebellion, and he's reminding them of his resume. 0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:19.960 He says, I could brag even more, but I'm not 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:22.840 going to. I just want you to judge me based 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:25.560 on my results and see if I'm somebody worth listening to. 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:29.640 But before you judge me based on my results, let 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:32.840 me remind you a little bit more of what qualifies 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:36.120 me to be in this position. We live in a 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:43.200 day with a lot of advice and not much authority. 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:50.440 Everybody has an advice column, but very few people have 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:54.280 true authority. Paul is not writing advice in the scripture. 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:57.440 Sometimes we read the Bible like its quotes on pinterests. 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:02.800 My grace is sufficient for you. Well, that's true. But 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:06.120 before Paul said that sentence in that quote, he puts 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:09.000 it in a context that's a little more interesting. That's 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:10.160 what I want to speak to you a little bit 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:15.360 about today. Is that context. Paul mentions that he had 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:18.880 a revelation of God. He actually talks about himself in 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:21.440 the third person. At one point, he says, I know 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:23.520 a man who was caught up to the third heaven. 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:27.880 But he's talking about himself. This is Paul. And no 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:32.520 wonder Paul needed something to keep him grounded because there 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:36.600 was so much glory on his life. No wonder Paul 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:40.120 needed something in his flesh because he had so much 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:44.120 revelation in his spirit. But I'm getting ahead of myself, 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:48.840 aren't I? Because Paul said I saw amazing things, and 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:50.640 I could tell you even more about it, but I'm 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:54.400 not going to. I don't want to boast about it. Instead, 0:15:54.400 --> 0:15:58.680 he opens a window and he shows to the wound 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:01.680 that he calls a thorn, and the weakness that most 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:06.680 people would hide. I think we need more mentors like Paul, 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:11.160 more people who will show us not only the great power, 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:14.000 but the problems that they have to overcome to operate 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:18.040 in that power. I don't ever want my kids to 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:21.360 see me not struggle. You say, well, don't you want 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:23.040 to set a good example. I want to set an 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:29.360 example of overcoming struggle, not avoiding it, not avoiding it. 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:34.120 Paul is like that, and we need this message now 0:16:34.160 --> 0:16:35.960 more than ever. I really think there's a timely word 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:40.560 from God because now everybody wants to share their opinion, 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:45.600 whether or not it's even solicited. We live in a 0:16:45.680 --> 0:16:54.240 day of twelve year old life coaches. I used to 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.440 read the guy's books early on until I realized he 0:16:56.440 --> 0:17:00.120 had started six churches and all of them imploded. He 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:04.000 was a church planting consultant. Oh but you don't have 0:17:04.040 --> 0:17:07.119 to pay for a consultant these days. Just go to 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:10.920 the comment section of any Facebook post and you will 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:17.720 find consultants in the comments. Speaking of Holly, about a 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:20.639 year ago, she showed me a comment. I asked her 0:17:20.720 --> 0:17:23.399 to send it to me, because this is just unbelievable, y'all, 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:26.200 what people will offer in the way of expert opinion 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:28.600 that you did not solicit. I mean, she put a 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:32.000 picture of me and her on Instagram and somebody said, 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:35.640 y'all are so cute and awe and hearts and pendus 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:37.720 with hearts and all of the things that we put 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:42.720 to feign emotion and somebody said, Hi, Holly, not sure 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:45.359 if you noticed, but just wanted to say, your skin 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.879 looks so great. It's glowing and super clear. Thought you 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:53.159 should know. Ha, do share if you've recently changed something 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:57.400 in your skincare red heart. Three comments later, you're ready 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:02.240 for this. I feel like you look way better without eyeliner. 0:18:07.160 --> 0:18:10.840 All the makeup for so many years is making your 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:17.720 skin saggy. I might give y'all her user name so 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:19.400 y'all can look her up and talk to her after core. 0:18:19.600 --> 0:18:23.160 How many y'all would enjoy that? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:25.720 Y'all aren't safe. Y'all learn not mature enough to handle it. 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:29.280 And I got permission to share this, HOLI, so I 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:33.800 can share it. The lady said botox can help with 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:42.840 the wrinkles. To listen to this, you're still beautiful. Thanks. 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:48.200 I wish I could show y'all her profile picture because 0:18:48.240 --> 0:18:51.840 she's got crazy eyes. Her eyes are crazy, this woman, 0:18:52.119 --> 0:19:00.560 and she misspelled your and she misspelled she's a makeup consultant, y'all. 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:04.399 She's an amateur Mary kay in the comments section, but 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:09.560 she needs a spelling teacher for the fifth grade words. Sorry, 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:15.720 sanctify me. Lord, you're still beautiful. I just don't watch this. 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:19.679 I just don't think you need so much makeup is 0:19:19.760 --> 0:19:23.280 ruining your skin. And in the words of my kids, 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:34.679 who asked, who asked? Who asked? The unsolicited opinions of 0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:40.000 people about how you should raise your kids, About how 0:19:40.080 --> 0:19:43.560 you should relate to your husband, About what age you 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:47.200 should be married by if you're married, About what age 0:19:47.280 --> 0:19:50.120 y'all really should start thinking about having kids. I mean, 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:54.080 you're not getting any younger. Paul is not a consultant 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:56.159 in the comments to the Church of Court that's trolling 0:19:56.200 --> 0:19:58.600 them with some little slivers of truth that are quoted 0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:01.240 out of context and telling them great advice and plan 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:03.520 that he asks for their life independent of God's will. 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:08.240 He's an apostle by the will of God speaking to 0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:11.840 people that he has a relationship with. This is not 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:15.080 some generic advice from an inspirational speaker who wants to 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:17.280 sell you something for two hundred and ninety nine dollars 0:20:17.440 --> 0:20:20.399 and ninety nine cents on an infomercial or an e course. 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:23.000 This is not an influencer on Instagram that needs you 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:24.560 to follow them in order for them to get a 0:20:24.600 --> 0:20:31.560 swipe up. Commission from a store. This is Paul, and 0:20:31.600 --> 0:20:35.840 he does something dangerous because they respect him, but they're 0:20:35.880 --> 0:20:39.600 starting to question him because there are super apostles that 0:20:39.680 --> 0:20:42.840 have infiltrated the church and they started to inundate God's 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:47.040 people with opinions. You know, you really don't have to 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:51.200 follow Christ like that. You should mix a little Judaism 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:54.040 and a little bit of Christianity. And so now there's 0:20:54.040 --> 0:20:56.680 so many mixed opinions. Paul has to set the record 0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:59.600 straight and say I could lay down my authority if 0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:01.760 I need to. I don't want to do it like that. 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:03.880 I would rather speak to you out of the love 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:06.080 for my heart. But in order that you just don't 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:08.440 think that I'm putting my authority on you to tell 0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:12.080 you what I want you to do. I want to 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:18.880 talk to you about my adversity that really touched me. 0:21:20.840 --> 0:21:23.959 Because it's difficult to find somebody who will break it 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:28.440 down for you to the level that Paul does. It's 0:21:28.440 --> 0:21:30.720 difficult to It's not difficult to find somebody who'll complain 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:34.159 to you. It's not difficult to find somebody who will 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:37.800 tell you what they would do. It's not difficult at 0:21:37.800 --> 0:21:39.399 all to find a parent whose kids are out of 0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:42.520 the house. Their kids are lawyers and doctors now. And 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:46.280 what you should do and your kid is seven, that's 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:51.000 very easy. That's very easy to do. But Paul, in 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:53.840 the middle of his struggle to walk in the authority 0:21:53.880 --> 0:21:56.080 of an apostle and what God has called him to do, 0:21:57.320 --> 0:22:03.639 he shows appropriate vulnerability. I could go on and on 0:22:03.680 --> 0:22:05.320 about going to the Third Heaven. I could go on 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:08.240 and on about what I endured. I'm choosing not to 0:22:08.280 --> 0:22:14.480 do that. Instead, I want to tell you about my thorn. 0:22:16.440 --> 0:22:21.720 I want to tell you about my thorn. Somebody says, 0:22:21.760 --> 0:22:30.320 show me the thorn, show me the thorn. The thorns. Ah, 0:22:31.040 --> 0:22:35.960 it's a metaphor, y'all. It's a metaphor. It's even like 0:22:36.000 --> 0:22:38.320 a cliche. This is the verse we get it for. 0:22:38.560 --> 0:22:43.320 It's like a thorn in my side, right, It's a metaphor. 0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:48.280 Most of the things that we really deal with, when 0:22:48.280 --> 0:22:50.160 we sing about them in church, we have to put 0:22:50.240 --> 0:22:55.840 them in a metaphor form, because if we really mentioned 0:22:55.840 --> 0:23:00.520 what we really struggle with, it will scare people and 0:23:00.560 --> 0:23:03.000 they would judge us. At least we think they would 0:23:04.040 --> 0:23:06.600 probably surprised. You. The person with their hands lifted higher 0:23:06.640 --> 0:23:08.639 than you this morning. They probably got more thorns than you, 0:23:08.880 --> 0:23:11.440 but that's not the point of this message. Paul said, 0:23:12.880 --> 0:23:23.280 I want to tell you about my thorn. Now. Since 0:23:23.320 --> 0:23:26.240 I've studied this text all week, I've learned a lot 0:23:26.280 --> 0:23:31.200 about different interpretations of what Paul's thorn was. Historically, some 0:23:31.240 --> 0:23:36.280 people say that poor Paul had epileptic seizures. Nothing funny 0:23:36.280 --> 0:23:38.080 about that. But the reason that they trace it is 0:23:38.119 --> 0:23:40.240 because when he was blinded and knocked off of his 0:23:40.320 --> 0:23:42.320 horse on the road to Damascus where he was going 0:23:42.359 --> 0:23:46.879 to persecute Christians, that he never quite recovered, and that 0:23:47.000 --> 0:23:50.280 was his thorn. Other people would say that there was 0:23:50.280 --> 0:23:53.399 something wrong with Paul's eyesight. When he wrote to the 0:23:53.480 --> 0:23:56.679 church at Galatia, he talked about how large his letters 0:23:56.680 --> 0:23:59.359 were because he wrote with his own pen, and he 0:23:59.440 --> 0:24:01.720 even mentioned that the Galatians would be willing to give 0:24:01.760 --> 0:24:05.760 their own eyes to him if necessary. Some scholars say 0:24:05.760 --> 0:24:07.760 that it was from the blinding on the road to 0:24:07.840 --> 0:24:12.640 Damascus that his eyesight never fully recover. Other people don't 0:24:12.680 --> 0:24:16.119 associate it with blindness or seizures at all, or a 0:24:16.160 --> 0:24:20.560 medical condition. Luther and Calvin, they identified it with a 0:24:20.600 --> 0:24:24.960 spiritual temptation that Paul faced. And there is a little 0:24:24.960 --> 0:24:28.800 bit of support for this scripturally because in Tewod Corinthians 0:24:28.800 --> 0:24:34.840 eleven he mentions that I inwardly burn, I inwardly burn, 0:24:34.960 --> 0:24:38.520 not just persecution. Some people think that Paul Storn was 0:24:38.760 --> 0:24:41.920 the opponents who were saying about Paul. He's not real 0:24:42.000 --> 0:24:45.040 and he's not valid, and you can't believe him, and 0:24:45.119 --> 0:24:47.159 you know his letters are good, but he doesn't speak 0:24:47.240 --> 0:24:50.360 so well. It was those opponents that were coming against him. 0:24:50.359 --> 0:24:54.359 And so Paul does what we do when you have 0:24:54.440 --> 0:24:57.480 something in your life that you can't mention, he gives 0:24:57.480 --> 0:25:03.160 it a metaphor. The metaphor, and no matter how many 0:25:03.160 --> 0:25:07.119 different scholars and how many different theologians trace the Greek 0:25:07.200 --> 0:25:11.000 and the precedence and all of the different things that 0:25:11.040 --> 0:25:12.760 it could be, it seems to be a lot of 0:25:12.800 --> 0:25:16.719 confusion about what was Paul's thorn. But this is the 0:25:16.720 --> 0:25:18.639 thing I was excited to tell you. I studied all 0:25:18.680 --> 0:25:22.480 week and I found out y'all what Paul Scorn was. 0:25:23.960 --> 0:25:28.159 And from this pulpit I am going to announce to 0:25:28.200 --> 0:25:31.440 you today. You don't look like you believe me for 0:25:31.480 --> 0:25:35.080 the first time. Come on, there have been thousands of 0:25:35.200 --> 0:25:38.840 years of preachers. But today I am going to definitively 0:25:38.960 --> 0:25:44.159 tell you what was Paul's thorn in Tewo Corinthians, chapter twelve. Now, 0:25:44.200 --> 0:25:46.280 before we get there, let's talk a little bit about 0:25:46.320 --> 0:25:49.360 the metaphor. First of all, a thorn is a small thing. 0:25:50.240 --> 0:25:52.440 We sing about a God who can do big things. 0:25:53.119 --> 0:25:55.280 But when Paul went to talk about what God had 0:25:55.320 --> 0:25:57.560 taught him that meant the most to him in his life, 0:25:57.600 --> 0:26:00.440 he did not talk about a big thing, talked about 0:26:00.440 --> 0:26:03.920 a small thing. He said three times. The King James 0:26:03.960 --> 0:26:08.280 says thrice, thrice. I just want to put that in there. Thrice. 0:26:08.359 --> 0:26:11.760 I ask God to take it away three times. Now, 0:26:11.800 --> 0:26:15.000 this does not mean three times Paul prayed, take it away, 0:26:15.200 --> 0:26:18.080 take it away, Take it away, Okay, God, I guess 0:26:18.160 --> 0:26:20.320 I gotta live with it, Which brings me to an 0:26:20.320 --> 0:26:23.000 important point. If you've got a thorn in your life 0:26:23.040 --> 0:26:24.960