Breath of Life presents 
B509 Stuck - But Still Saved.
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Music
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Pastor Byrd:  We're reading from
the King James version of the
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Bible. The word of God says to
us today, “And lest I should be
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exalted above measure
through the abundance of the
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revelations, there was given to
me a,” what, everybody?  Come
on, what everybody?
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"thorn in the flesh, the
messenger of Satan buffet me,
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lest I should be exalted
above measure.  For this thing
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I have besought the Lord thrice,
that it might depart from me.
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And he said unto me, My
grace is sufficient for thee:
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for my strength is made
perfect in” what, everybody?
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Aud:  Weakness.    PB:  “Most
gladly therefore will I rather
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glory in my infirmities, that
the power of Christ may rest
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upon me.” Verse 10:  “Therefore
I take pleasure in infirmities.”
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Pleasure “in reproaches, in
necessities, in persecutions,
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in distresses for Christ's
sake: for when I am weak,
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then am I strong.” 
Stuck, but still saved.
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God bless us now for
the next couple of minutes.
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Speak to your people and
speak through me to your people.
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When appeal times comes
move in this place, we pray.
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Forgive me of my
sins, in Jesus' name.  Amen.
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Today, you don't have to admit
it, but if you're breathing,
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you've got a thorn in your life.
I don't have to follow you home.
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I don't have to bug your phone.
I don't have to eavesdrop on
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you. I don't have to hack your
computer.  But everybody up in
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this place has a thorn.  Now,
if you're sitting here saying,
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I don't have a thorn, what is
he talking about?  Let me tell
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you what a thorn is.  A thorn
is something or somebody that
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repeatedly pokes you, sticks
you, annoys you, hurts you,
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holds you down, gets on
your nerves, or causes you pain.
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And even the best of
us, even those of us who are
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Bible-toting, scripture-quoting,
hand-clapping, foot-stomping,
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Amen-saying
Christians, we all have a thorn.
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Do I have a
witness in this place?
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Thorns are no
respecter of persons.
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These, our text lets
us know, that the great
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apostle Paul, the
apostle to the Gentiles,
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preacher extraordinaire,
teacher of the deep
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things of God, most prolific
writer in the New Testament,
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church planner who established
churches that spanned
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the entire known world
of his day, man of God,
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Paul said, “I have a
thorn.” Now this thorn came
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not because he was a
bad person. In fact, after
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his conversion, Paul
was a good person, but bad
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things can still
happen to good people.
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Five times he was
beaten with 39 lashes.
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Three times he
was beaten with rocks.
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Three times he was
shipwrecked, stoned.
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He was in constant
danger, imprisoned,
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rejected by his own
countrymen, naked, hungry,
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thirsty, fearful,
destitute. That was Paul.
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But what did Paul do
wrong?  Did Paul sin?
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Did Paul make some
kind of mistake to deserve
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this kind of
treatment?  No. These things
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happened to Paul not
because he was out of
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God's will, but
because he was in God's will.
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Remember, friends of mine,
God's purpose in this life,
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God's purpose for you
in this life is not to
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make you happy,
but to make you holy.
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God is sovereign,
sovereign over everything,
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which means that everything
in your life, your job,
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your family, your
church, everything in your life
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is designed to
accomplish that goal.
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Don't get it twisted now
when I say God wants to make
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you holy and not happy. 
I'm not saying that God is
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opposed to you being
happy.  But God wants something
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deeper than that.  God
wants you to experience joy in
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His presence.  Remember,
friends, there is a difference
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between happiness and
joy. Happiness, remember,
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is based on an external
reality. Joy is based on an
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internal revelation. 
Somebody still don't know what
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I'm saying.  Let me try
it this way.  When I know who
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God is, when I know
what God has done in my life,
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it doesn't make a difference
what happens on the outside,
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but it's based on what
and who I know on the inside.
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God wants us to have
joy, not happiness, joy.
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Not that thing that
just creates an internal
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response based on
some external stimuli,
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He wants us to have
joy.  Joy is something
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internal based on a
revelation. You all don't hear.
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Let me try it this way.  You
hear me say this all the time.
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When somebody gives
you flowers, you're happy.
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When someone says you
preach well, you're happy.
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When you sing well, someone
tells you that, you're happy.
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When you're single and
someone takes you out on
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a date and they pay
for it, you're happy.
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When somebody gives
you money, you're happy.
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But there's a difference
between happiness and joy.
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Joy is not
external.  Joy is internal.
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Because if nobody
takes me out, I'll take my
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own self out.  If
nobody polishes my shoes,
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I'll polish my own
shoes.  I'll pat my own
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self on my own back
because somebody knows
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sometimes you've got
to encourage yourself
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in the Lord. 
This joy that I have,
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the world didn't give it and
the world can't take it away.
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Paul went through a
bunch of hard stuff.
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On top of that, the
Bible says he had a thorn,
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a spike, a bristle, a
pain that kept sticking him.
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Some thought it was a
headache. Others thought it
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was epilepsy.  Somebody
else thought it was malaria.
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Some believe it
was a speech disorder,
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a fleshly temptation,
a spiritual temptation.
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Because Paul
dictated letters to scribes,
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some think that
Paul has vision problems.
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The thorn, however,
could have been a person,
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an adversary, because
after all, an adversary
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is defined as a thorn
in our flesh.  Whatever
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the thorn was in
Paul, it kept sticking him.
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It kept bothering him.
 It kept troubling him.
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It kept harassing
him.  It kept unsetting him
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and unsettling and
hassling and harassing him.
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He thinks the thorn
is from Satan.  The text
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says he calls it a
messenger from Satan.
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So, three times he
says, God, remove this thorn.
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Three times God says
no.  Why would he ask God
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to remove the thorn
if the thorn didn't come
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from God in the first
place? God didn't give
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Paul his thorn, but God allowed
the thorn to afflict Paul.
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You see, I'm learning
that sometimes both God and
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the Devil may want the same
thing for the opposite reasons.
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Satan, to annoy.  God, to
allow. Satan's purpose was
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to annoy Paul and hinder
Paul's work.  God's purpose
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in allowing affliction was
to protect Paul from pride.
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You see, Paul was just like
us. Paul wanted to be affirmed.
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Paul wanted to be appreciated.
Paul wanted to be lifted up.
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In fact, Paul loved it
so much that if God had not
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allowed this thorn to
come to him, Paul might have
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gotten the big head. 
Been useless to the kingdom of
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God and the spreading of
the Gospel.  That's why God
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allowed the thorn to get
to Paul in the first place.
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It wasn't because Paul
had sinned.  It wasn't because
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wasn't walking in the
will of God.  It wasn't
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because Paul had
strayed from the path.  Nowhere
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in the Bible do we see
Paul failing to carry out
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the mission that
God sent him to do.
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God sent the thorn
because God knew Paul's weakness
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and propensity to sin.
 Paul wanted to be cured
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of this thorn.  Take
this thorn from me.  Take it.
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But God says no.  I won't
take it.  I won't get rid of it.
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You got to learn to live
with it.  Get used to it.
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Overcome it, because my
grace is sufficient to bring
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you out in spite of the thorn.
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Now, this sounds good
and we shout on God's grace.
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Last week I preached
on God's grace.  But let's
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be real today.  What
do we do when God says no?
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There's all that
flowery, happy Sabbath, good to
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see you.  How do we
feel when God says no?
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Two young boys were
spending the night at their
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grandparents' home and
it was time to go to bed,
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so the two boys knelt
beside their bed to say their
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prayers before they went
to sleep.  The youngest boy,
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as he prayed, he began to
pray at the top of his lungs,
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“I pray for a new bicycle.
 I pray for a new X-box.
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I pray for a new TV.” 
His older brother leaned over
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to him and nudged the
younger brother and said,
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“Why are you shouting your
prayers?  God is not deaf.”
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The little brother
replied, “No, but grandma is.”
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Sometimes when we pray
we may wonder, is God deaf,
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because we don't receive
an answer or we don't get
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the answer we want.  But God
is not deaf.  God is not dumb.
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God is not mute.  God has
promised us if we call upon
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His name that he will
answer us. But oftentimes we
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forget that sometimes
the answer is no.  Sometimes
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God will say yes when you
deserve it, no because you
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deserve better, and then
not yet because the best is
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yet to come.  Our
responsibility is just to ask.
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God's responsibility is to act.
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I'm learning.  God can
respond to our prayers in
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four ways.  God can
give us a definite answer,
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he can give us a
delayed answer, he can give us
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a different answer, or he
can give us a denied answer.
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Let's be real.  It's
tough when God says no.
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When you're praying over a
loved one and you're saying,
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God heal their body, and
God says no.  You're going
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to school, you've loaned it
out, you're applying for jobs,
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Lord, help me get a job, and
God says no.  I must be honest,
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I'm not real happy about the
answer that God gave to Paul,
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because God is no respecter
of persons, it means that when
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my thorn comes, God
just might say no to me, too.
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I can scream all I want,
yell all I want, cry, beg, pout,
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blame God for allowing it
to come, blame everybody and
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everything else for the things
that I allow to overcome me,
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but in the end it's my
thorn that God has allowed to
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come into my life and is
constantly there to remind
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me that I'm not nearly
as much of a super Christian
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that I think I am.   
Today, what is your thorn?
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Everybody has one, because
we all have thorns in our lives.
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The devil knows just
what to bring against you to
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cause you pain and
suffering. The devil is seeking
00:12:44.53\00:12:46.76
ways to kill your faith,
steal your joy, and destroy
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your soul.  Real
today, what is your thorn?
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What person, what
situation, what illness,
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what circumstance is sticking
you?  What's your thorn?
00:12:58.11\00:13:03.81
A bad marriage? 
Disrespectful children?
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Troubled
grandchildren?  A failed class?
00:13:08.45\00:13:11.52
A mean teacher?  An
excuse-making student?
00:13:11.55\00:13:14.29
What's your thorn?  A
pastor?  A church member?
00:13:14.32\00:13:21.70
A tall man?  A fine woman?
 An alternative lifestyle?
00:13:21.73\00:13:27.80
Pornography?  An adulterous
affair?  A trifling coworker?
00:13:27.84\00:13:33.44
A belligerent boss?  An
insubordinate subordinate?
00:13:33.48\00:13:36.68
What's your thorn?  A gossiping
tongue?  A bad attitude?
00:13:36.71\00:13:42.32
A pessimistic spirit?  A
judgmental outlook, a messy
00:13:42.35\00:13:46.69
disposition, a nasty
temper, a cursing tongue?
00:13:46.72\00:13:49.82
What is your thorn? 
Cancer? Arthritis?  Diabetes?
00:13:49.86\00:13:58.40
High blood pressure? 
Obesity? Blindness?  Today,
00:13:58.43\00:14:04.91
what is your thorn? 
Fear? Doubt?  Lack of faith?
00:14:04.94\00:14:13.15
What's your thorn?   
Because let's be real.
00:14:13.18\00:14:16.32
Anytime you're trying
to do God's will, anytime
00:14:16.35\00:14:18.92
you're trying to
follow God's way, I've learned
00:14:18.95\00:14:21.12
there's somebody the
devil will send as a thorn
00:14:21.16\00:14:23.83
to stick you.  For
every leading Moses, there's a
00:14:23.86\00:14:29.10
murmuring multitude. 
For every kingly David,
00:14:29.13\00:14:33.77
there's a power-hungry
Absalom. For every prophesying
00:14:33.80\00:14:36.40
Elijah, there's an upset
Jezebel.  For every praying
00:14:36.44\00:14:40.98
David, there's a jealous set of
officers.  For every Frederick
00:14:41.01\00:14:45.45
Douglas, there's a slave
catcher.  For every John Lewis,
00:14:45.48\00:14:48.42
there's a J. Edgar Hoover. 
For every Martin Luther King,
00:14:48.45\00:14:51.49
there's a Bull Connor. 
And for every Barack Obama,
00:14:51.52\00:14:54.12
there is a Donald
Trump. Who's sticking you?
00:14:54.16\00:15:04.33
Who do you have in
your life that forces you to
00:15:04.37\00:15:10.51
stay humble before God? 
Who is it you have in your
00:15:10.54\00:15:14.18
life that makes you stay
on your knees?  What kind
00:15:14.21\00:15:18.85
of thorn do you have in
your life that's good to you,
00:15:18.88\00:15:22.72
but not good for you,
because what your flesh likes
00:15:22.75\00:15:25.32
the Bible says you can't have?
Who or what is sticking you?
00:15:25.35\00:15:33.70
But not only that, after
you identify your thorn, you got
00:15:33.73\00:15:40.17
to know the purpose of your
thorn.  After what's sticking
00:15:40.20\00:15:45.07
you, you then must ask
why is it sticking you?
00:15:45.11\00:15:48.64
Paul prayed three
times, remove this thorn.
00:15:48.68\00:15:55.52
But God didn't do it,
because when trouble comes,
00:15:55.55\00:15:59.62
it comes with a
purpose.  Your challenge was not
00:15:59.65\00:16:03.73
sent to defeat you.  You
challenge was sent to develop
00:16:03.76\00:16:07.86
you. Either you can--it
will drive you, your thorn,
00:16:07.86\00:16:11.03
closer to God or
further away from God, but God's
00:16:11.07\00:16:13.67
purpose is not to make you
happy.  It's to make you holy.
00:16:13.70\00:16:18.47
Your thorn is not just there to
hurt you, but it's to help you.
00:16:18.51\00:16:23.28
Let's be real.  Maybe you have
arthritis to keep you humble.
00:16:23.31\00:16:28.48
Maybe you have arthritis
or cancer because God's
00:16:28.52\00:16:32.29
trying to save you. 
Maybe you have bad eyesight
00:16:32.32\00:16:36.46
to keep you humble. 
Maybe you have a crippled limb,
00:16:36.49\00:16:39.43
some disease, or some
other ailment because God is
00:16:39.46\00:16:41.73
trying to humble you. 
Maybe you develop some bad habit
00:16:41.76\00:16:44.93
like smoking or drinking,
or even a drug habit, and you
00:16:44.97\00:16:48.40
have asked God time and
time again, God, deliver me,
00:16:48.44\00:16:52.14
but that habit keeps
coming back to haunt you and you
00:16:52.17\00:16:54.91
can't seem to overcome it,
you can't seem to get rid of it,
00:16:54.94\00:16:57.91
you can't seem to get it
out of your mind.  Maybe you're
00:16:57.95\00:17:00.45
under a constant siege of
hell that tries to draw you back
00:17:00.48\00:17:04.19
into your old habits and you're
having a hard time resisting.
00:17:04.22\00:17:08.06
You cry yourself to
sleep. You're hurting right now.
00:17:08.09\00:17:13.23
And you can't seem to
touch heaven with your prayer.
00:17:13.26\00:17:16.70
Maybe God is allowing the
thorn to remind you of how
00:17:16.73\00:17:21.64
weak and frail your flesh
is. You see, your flesh and
00:17:21.67\00:17:27.24
your spirit are in constant
tension.  They are constantly
00:17:27.28\00:17:32.01
fighting one with another.
Somebody knows what I'm talking
00:17:32.05\00:17:34.75
about. Let me make this plain.
 Here you go.  I'm going to
00:17:34.78\00:17:37.65
her house, not me, you,
you're going to her house and
00:17:37.69\00:17:42.46
you just going to stay 30
minutes.  I'm going to stay
00:17:42.49\00:17:48.00
30 minutes and then I'm
getting up out of there,
00:17:48.03\00:17:49.93
that's what you say. 
No, you're not.  Well,
00:17:49.96\00:17:53.50
I'm just going to
walk her to the door, kiss
00:17:53.54\00:17:56.17
her on the cheek, say
goodnight. No, you're not.
00:17:56.20\00:18:03.65
Because your flesh will
always make you stay longer
00:18:03.68\00:18:06.28
than you want to stay. 
Your flesh will always make
00:18:06.31\00:18:08.38
you pay more than what
you intended to pay.  Your
00:18:08.42\00:18:11.22
flesh is a mess.  You
cannot fight the flesh.
00:18:11.25\00:18:14.69
There is no need of
you sitting up here talking
00:18:14.72\00:18:16.73
about I'm going
to fight fornication.
00:18:16.76\00:18:18.56
Paul didn't tell you
to fight fornication.
00:18:18.59\00:18:20.70
Paul told you to
run from fornication.
00:18:20.73\00:18:23.00
Stop trying to
convince yourself that your
00:18:23.03\00:18:26.47
flesh is right.  You
can't, your thorn is a
00:18:26.50\00:18:29.97
reminder that you
daily have to go to God and
00:18:30.01\00:18:33.11
ask God for
strength, ask God for power,
00:18:33.14\00:18:35.71
ask God for
deliverance, and sometimes,
00:18:35.74\00:18:38.95
I'm learning in my
life, that God will allow
00:18:38.98\00:18:41.78
a thorn, He will
allow a handicap, He will
00:18:41.82\00:18:44.59
allow an affliction
to keep you from relying
00:18:44.62\00:18:46.86
on yourself.  So you
will learn how to trust God.
00:18:46.89\00:18:52.66
My favorite text in Scripture
is 1 Corinthians, 10:13,
00:18:52.69\00:18:55.90
“There hath no temptation
taken you but such as is
00:18:55.93\00:18:59.87
common to man:  but God
is faithful,” God is what,
00:18:59.90\00:19:03.20
everybody? Aud:  Faithful.  
PB:  “Who will not suffer you
00:19:03.24\00:19:04.51
to be tempted above that
ye are able; but will with
00:19:04.54\00:19:06.51
the temptation also
make a way and escape that ye
00:19:06.54\00:19:10.71
may be able to bear
it.”  So, no matter what the
00:19:10.75\00:19:12.75
thorn is that sticks
your soul, no matter what the
00:19:12.78\00:19:16.28
thorn is that brings
you pain, no matter the
00:19:16.32\00:19:18.89
temptation to go and
sin, God is always providing
00:19:18.92\00:19:22.72
a way of escape.  Number
one, identify your thorn.
00:19:22.76\00:19:30.23
Number two, understand
the purpose of your thorn.
00:19:30.27\00:19:35.07
And then finally, number
three, praise God in spite
00:19:35.10\00:19:39.37
of your thorn.   Now
some people become defined
00:19:39.41\00:19:44.25
by their hardships while
others rise above their pain.
00:19:44.28\00:19:47.68
We suffer broken
relationships, broken promises,
00:19:47.72\00:19:50.25
broken expectations,
but, you know what?  We don't
00:19:50.29\00:19:53.09
have to become broken
people. Pain is inevitable.
00:19:53.12\00:19:58.69
Misery is optional.  Let
me say that one more time.
00:19:58.73\00:20:03.53
Pain is inevitable. 
Misery is optional.  And I don't
00:20:03.57\00:20:11.91
know about you, but I
refuse to live in misery.
00:20:11.94\00:20:18.25
I refuse to live in gloom. 
I refuse to live in desolation.
00:20:18.28\00:20:26.45
This is the day the Lord
has made, I will rejoice and
00:20:26.49\00:20:33.90
be glad in it.  I know
that thorn is hurting you.
00:20:33.93\00:20:38.70
I know that thorn is
sticking you.  I know that
00:20:38.73\00:20:43.30
thorn is bothering you.
 But you've got to learn
00:20:43.34\00:20:46.54
how to praise God not because
of but in spite of your thorn.
00:20:46.57\00:20:54.08
In spite of my feelings,
in spite of my circumstances,
00:20:54.12\00:21:00.42
in spite of my thorns, I've
got to be like David and say,
00:21:00.46\00:21:05.19
I will bless the Lord at
all times and His praise shall
00:21:05.23\00:21:10.87
continually be in my mouth.
I've got to be able to say,
00:21:10.90\00:21:13.84
“My soul shall make her
boast in the Lord:  the humble
00:21:13.87\00:21:16.94
shall hear thereof, and be glad,
O magnify the Lord with me,
00:21:16.97\00:21:20.64
and let us exalt
his name together.”
00:21:20.68\00:21:23.65
Let me tell you, friends
of mine, there's power in
00:21:23.68\00:21:25.98
your praise.  There's
healing in your praise.
00:21:26.01\00:21:28.88
There's deliverance
in your praise.  There's
00:21:28.92\00:21:31.69
salvation in your praise.
There's victory in your praise.
00:21:31.72\00:21:36.39
You don't believe me, study
your Bible.  When Israel went
00:21:36.42\00:21:39.19
into battle in the Old
Testament, most times they
00:21:39.23\00:21:42.03
never used bows and
arrows, shields or swords,
00:21:42.06\00:21:45.37
all they had was a
preacher and a choir.
00:21:45.40\00:21:50.77
Jericho's walls came down
because of a preacher and a
00:21:50.81\00:21:57.31
choir. Gideon and the Israelites
defeated that Midianites because
00:21:57.35\00:22:01.08
of a preacher and a choir.
Victory has always been through
00:22:01.12\00:22:05.32
our praise.  That's why wherever
I am, I'm going to praise God.
00:22:05.35\00:22:10.19
Whatever I'm doing,
I'm going to praise God.
00:22:10.23\00:22:13.33
Whatever thorn is in my flesh,
I'm still going to praise God.
00:22:13.36\00:22:18.10
I praise God not
because of, but in spite of.
00:22:18.13\00:22:22.37
I love the Aeolians,
but I don't need a choir.
00:22:22.40\00:22:24.94
I love the praise team,
but I don't need a praise team.
00:22:24.97\00:22:28.34
I can praise God by myself.
Folk always looking at me,
00:22:28.38\00:22:32.71
talking about he sings
too much. He sings too loud.
00:22:32.75\00:22:36.18
He sings too long.  You can't
even sing, but you know what?
00:22:36.22\00:22:39.82
That's all right because
you can't sing what I can sing,
00:22:39.85\00:22:42.46
because I sing because I'm
happy.  I sing because I'm free.
00:22:42.49\00:22:47.20
His eye is on the sparrow.
[Organ playing]  I know He
00:22:47.23\00:22:54.10
watches me. So if you've never
been delivered from anything,
00:22:54.14\00:22:56.71
if you've never been rescued
from something or somebody,
00:22:56.74\00:23:00.71
if you've never lived through
a thorn, I understand why
00:23:00.74\00:23:05.31
you don't sing.  I understand
why you don't praise God.
00:23:05.35\00:23:09.15
But if the Lord has done
something for you, you ought to
00:23:09.18\00:23:13.92
say something.  If the
Lord woke you up this morning,
00:23:13.96\00:23:18.26
you ought to say something. 
If the Lord paid your tuition,
00:23:18.29\00:23:22.90
got you in school,
somebody ought to say something.
00:23:22.93\00:23:28.30
If the Lord has brought
you through that cancer,
00:23:28.34\00:23:31.11
somebody ought to say
something. If God has helped
00:23:31.14\00:23:34.84
you raise those
children by yourself, somebody
00:23:34.88\00:23:40.62
ought to say something.
  Who cares what side of
00:23:40.65\00:23:42.98
town you're from?  Say
something.  Who cares how
00:23:43.02\00:23:46.76
many degrees you have
behind your name, say something.
00:23:46.79\00:23:49.49
Who cares what folk going
to say about you, they don't
00:23:49.52\00:23:51.76
have a heaven or hell
for you, say something.
00:23:51.79\00:23:54.13
Is that the redeeming of
the Lord?  Say something.
00:23:54.20\00:24:00.84
You've got to learn how to
praise God in spite of your
00:24:00.87\00:24:05.14
thorn. You see, when I was a
little boy, grew up in church,
00:24:05.17\00:24:07.54
born in the church, you
ain't going to out-church me.
00:24:07.58\00:24:09.98
I've eaten more Grillers than
everybody.  Come on, say Amen.
00:24:10.01\00:24:16.38
I used to watch people and
I just see people praise God.
00:24:16.42\00:24:21.26
Down in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, Mt. Olivet Seventh-Day
00:24:21.29\00:24:26.03
Adventist Church, 649 Northwest
15th Way, triple 3, double 1.
00:24:26.06\00:24:30.70
And I used to look at some
folk when they feet start to
00:24:30.73\00:24:35.17
tap and back in those days we
didn't have carpet everywhere,
00:24:35.20\00:24:37.81
just carpet in the aisles.
Somebody knows what I'm talking
00:24:37.84\00:24:41.54
about. And in between the aisles
where we used to sit it was a
00:24:41.58\00:24:44.55
concrete floor. 
People wanted to elevate,
00:24:44.58\00:24:47.72
say, we need carpet
everywhere, but there was
00:24:47.75\00:24:49.45
something good
about that concrete floor,
00:24:49.48\00:24:51.75
because when the
organist got to playing,
00:24:51.79\00:24:53.69
the pianist got to
playing, you could hear
00:24:53.72\00:24:55.99
them people tapping
their feet, by and by when
00:24:56.02\00:24:59.06
the morning. . .  Somebody
knows what I'm talking about.
00:24:59.09\00:25:01.86
But I used to look at
folk in that church when
00:25:01.90\00:25:03.60
they used to get happy. 
There used to be an old mother,
00:25:03.63\00:25:06.30
an old deaconess, that
every time my daddy started
00:25:06.33\00:25:08.64
preaching something to
get excited, she used to get
00:25:08.67\00:25:10.77
to walking just like this.
 And I used to look at that
00:25:10.81\00:25:14.08
lady and I said, something's
wrong with that lady.
00:25:14.11\00:25:16.88
That lady is crazy. 
But now that I've gotten a
00:25:16.91\00:25:19.98
little older, I understand
that lady a little bit more.
00:25:20.02\00:25:22.78
[Organ begins to play]
00:25:22.82\00:25:24.45
You see, some people have
been bruised, but they're here.
00:25:24.49\00:25:27.26
Some people have been
battered, but they're here.
00:25:27.29\00:25:30.33
Some people have been
laid off, but they're here.
00:25:30.36\00:25:33.60
Some people have been
talked about, but they're here.
00:25:33.63\00:25:36.70
Some people have come out
of some hellish situations,
00:25:36.73\00:25:41.04
but they're here.  Some
folk have had not one, not two,
00:25:41.07\00:25:46.54
not three, but four or
five thorns in their flesh,
00:25:46.57\00:25:50.55
but they've learned how to
praise God in spite of their
00:25:50.58\00:26:00.26
thorn. And today, I'm so glad
that God enables us to bear the
00:26:00.29\00:26:10.20
thorn, to suffer it, to overcome
it, and defeat it every time it
00:26:10.23\00:26:20.28
comes. When God told Paul that
his grace is sufficient, that's
00:26:20.31\00:26:28.25
what God meant. That God's grace
will bring us through the
sticking and poking of
00:26:28.28\00:26:32.09
the thorn every time if we
only stay humble.  If we only
00:26:32.12\00:26:37.26
remain committed. Soul out
and on fire for God.  You see,
00:26:37.29\00:26:44.77
I don't fear anybody.  I
don't fear--God has not promised
00:26:44.80\00:26:50.24
me a spirit of fear.  God
has promised us victory in all
00:26:50.27\00:26:56.71
things. May in all things. 
Don't you know we are more than
00:26:56.75\00:27:01.18
conquerors. I once was young,
but now I'm old, but I've never
00:27:01.22\00:27:03.82
seen the righteous forsaken, nor
his seed begging bread.  We know
00:27:03.85\00:27:06.19
that all things work together
for good to them who love the
00:27:06.22\00:27:08.76
Lord. He may not come when you
want Him, but he's always right
00:27:08.79\00:27:11.59
on top. Victory is mine. 
God's grace is sufficient.
00:27:11.63\00:27:16.40
But your strength is
made perfect in weakness.
00:27:16.43\00:27:22.97
So, when you're weak,
you're strong.  Friends,
00:27:23.00\00:27:30.08
I don't care what the
devil throws your way.
00:27:30.11\00:27:33.85
I don't care what the
Devil puts in your path.
00:27:33.88\00:27:37.49
God's got you.  I said,
God's got you.  God's got
00:27:37.52\00:27:42.72
a plan for your life and
no Devil in hell can stop you.
00:27:42.76\00:27:50.10
Nobody can hold you
down. Nobody can keep you back.
00:27:50.13\00:27:54.64
What God has for me, it
is for me.  A thorn is just a
00:27:54.67\00:28:00.48
reminder, but a thorn is
not a stopper.  Because what
00:28:00.51\00:28:07.15
God starts, no man can
stop. Whatever God has willed
00:28:07.18\00:28:13.49
Thank you for joining us
for another exciting Breath of
00:28:13.52\00:28:16.32
Life television broadcast. Tune
in next week at the same time,
00:28:16.36\00:28:20.10
as Dr. Byrd will deliver another
dynamic message from the Lord,
00:28:20.13\00:28:24.10
just for you. Until
next time, may God bless you.
00:28:24.13\00:28:27.90
- end -
00:28:27.94\00:28:42.95