Today, on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe begins a new message about the gift of weakness.

Today, on Bold Steps, Mark Jobe begins a new message about the gift of weakness.

Knowledge will cause you to have a sense of pride if you're not careful. It's very easy for you to become proud and say, you know, these people talk at a much lower level theologically, and it's easy to start to get an arrogant, superior spirit. Listen, the more you know, the more humble you need to be before the eyes of God.

Knowledge will cause you to have a sense of pride if you're not careful. It's very easy for you to become proud and say, you know, these people talk at a much lower level theologically, and it's easy to start to get an arrogant, superior spirit. Listen, the more you know, the more humble you need to be before the eyes of God.

Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, senior pastor of New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Mark, we're in a short series right now called stronger. And it's interesting, the irony of the subject is that really the strength we're talking about isn't our own.

Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, senior pastor of New Life Community Church and president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I'm Wayne Shepherd. Mark, we're in a short series right now called stronger. And it's interesting, the irony of the subject is that really the strength we're talking about isn't our own.

That's right. Wayne. So many times we think that the strength comes from us, but it comes from God. In fact, we're going to be dealing with the topic of unanswered prayer and the gift of weakness. Most of us don't want to think of unanswered prayer, but the apostle Paul himself talks about a time where he prayed multiple times for something to happen, and God answered him by not answering his prayer.

That's right. Wayne. So many times we think that the strength comes from us, but it comes from God. In fact, we're going to be dealing with the topic of unanswered prayer and the gift of weakness. Most of us don't want to think of unanswered prayer, but the apostle Paul himself talks about a time where he prayed multiple times for something to happen, and God answered him by not answering his prayer.

Oh, that's really true. So let's dig into this message now. The unanswered prayer and the gift of weakness. Here's Mark.

Oh, that's really true. So let's dig into this message now. The unanswered prayer and the gift of weakness. Here's Mark.

Can I talk to you about unanswered prayer? In fact, I want to mix it with the unanswered prayer in the gift of weakness. And so I want you to take your Bibles and turn to Second Corinthians chapter 12. And maybe the the phrase unanswered prayer is a misnomer, because I believe that God always, always answers our prayer, but he doesn't always answer the way we want him to answer our prayer. He doesn't always answer in accordance to our request. He answers according to his sovereignty, his goodness, his wisdom, and his foreknowledge. And maybe you're here today and you've been praying for something for months, for years. Who knows? Some of you may be even decades. For a personal prayer issue, for a family prayer issue, and you may be a bit perplexed about why do some people seem like they get answers to prayer so quickly, so rapidly, so miraculously, and you celebrate with them, but in your own mind? You stand there and say, yeah, what about me? So I want to take your attention to. Second Corinthians, chapter 12. The Apostle Paul wrote two letters to the Corinthians. And by the way, Corinth was. Well, it reminds me of Chicago. If you wanted to say that someone was like a party person, you would say, you're a Corinthian. They were a party city. They were known for, uh, Sailor town, the prostitution in the temples, drinking. They were a wild bunch. And you see, in first Corinthians and second Corinthians, the apostle Paul is dealing with things that maybe we wouldn't be dealing with at our church is here. Like, don't get drunk during communion. It's just not right. And tell that guy that sleeping with his father's, uh, wife stop sleeping with her. It's not right. So this is a carnal, but yet spiritual at the same time. Church sort of getting sanctified in the process. There's division, there's arguing. There's a lot of carnality there, coming straight out of the world. They're figuring out their Christianity, but they got a lot of worldliness still in them as they're weaning it out. And by the way, um, maybe it's a strange prayer to pray, but over the years, as I've planted churches in Chicago and pastored churches in Chicago, I've prayed, Lord, I want to make sure there's messes. I don't never want to be a church of people that have all been saved for 30 years and have it all figured out. I want to make sure that there's a steady flow of pagans that are coming to Jesus, and seekers that are coming to Christ, that when I say, take your Bible, they say, I don't have a Bible. When I say turn to John, they say, what's that? Is that the bathroom or is that. Um, and uh, so I love it, by the way, I think the church should be maturing believers, but I think every good, solid church should be sticking their hands deep into the darkness of the society around us. And there should be a steady flow of people that are coming to experience Jesus in our midst. And that's my heart. I have a real heart for evangelism in the church that I pastor. The most exciting number that I saw over 2023 is that 440 people got saved and got baptized. That's the most exciting number for me that people that are coming to Jesus, coming to know him. And so I hope that here at the Moody Bible Institute, whose original name was the Chicago Evangelization Society, I hope that we never lose our zeal to tell people about Jesus and to share the good news with people that are around us. So this was a clan of people that were getting sanctified but had a lot of carnality still. And the Apostle Paul is trying to convince them. False teachers had come among amongst them people that had said, hey, Paul, he's a nobody. I'm a better apostle than Paul. You should listen to me. Because they were pointing out Paul's weaknesses and pointing out Paul's flaws. And so there was a little bit of division going on there. So in Second Corinthians chapter 11 and second Corinthians, chapter 12, the first part, Paul is kind of saying, hey, you're forcing me to brag a little bit about myself and establish my apostle hood with you. And he starts the first chapter of First Corinthians, chapter 11, talking about the visions that he has had, talking about, uh, him being taken up in body. He doesn't know if it was in body or in spirit to the third heaven, and given revelation that he doesn't even, um, can't even speak to speak to people because it was so powerful and so mysterious. It happened 14 years ago. Apparently he hadn't spoken about this for 14 years, but he's bringing it up like, hey, God has done some incredible things in my life. I've had experiences like few people have had, and I hate to brag about it, but you're kind of forcing me to brag about it to sort of prove my apostleship. And then suddenly he switches gears, and that's where I want to jump in. He switches gears in verse seven again. Chapter 11 and beginning of 12 seem a little bit like a brag a thon, but we know it was inspired by God, so we know he was establishing. He's kind of apologizing that he has to brag about all that God has done in his life. And then he switches gears. And these next three verses, I think, speaks squarely to where you and I are at. He says, therefore, since I've had so many powerful experiences, since God has been so good. Since there's so many things I can point to. Therefore. In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh. Yea, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight and he goes on and gives the list. So if you're taking notes today, if you are living in a place of unanswered prayer, if you live in a place that makes you feel weak and you feel the weakness of it in your body, in your spirit, in your soul, I want to just speak to you. I want to speak to you about weakness, that oftentimes when we're in a place of weakness, we call unto God to take away the thing that's making us feel weak. And sometimes we're not seeing the answer to that prayer. And here's what happens when we approach weakness the right way. Number one, weakness trains us to walk in spiritual humility.

Can I talk to you about unanswered prayer? In fact, I want to mix it with the unanswered prayer in the gift of weakness. And so I want you to take your Bibles and turn to Second Corinthians chapter 12. And maybe the the phrase unanswered prayer is a misnomer, because I believe that God always, always answers our prayer, but he doesn't always answer the way we want him to answer our prayer. He doesn't always answer in accordance to our request. He answers according to his sovereignty, his goodness, his wisdom, and his foreknowledge. And maybe you're here today and you've been praying for something for months, for years. Who knows? Some of you may be even decades. For a personal prayer issue, for a family prayer issue, and you may be a bit perplexed about why do some people seem like they get answers to prayer so quickly, so rapidly, so miraculously, and you celebrate with them, but in your own mind? You stand there and say, yeah, what about me? So I want to take your attention to. Second Corinthians, chapter 12. The Apostle Paul wrote two letters to the Corinthians. And by the way, Corinth was. Well, it reminds me of Chicago. If you wanted to say that someone was like a party person, you would say, you're a Corinthian. They were a party city. They were known for, uh, Sailor town, the prostitution in the temples, drinking. They were a wild bunch. And you see, in first Corinthians and second Corinthians, the apostle Paul is dealing with things that maybe we wouldn't be dealing with at our church is here. Like, don't get drunk during communion. It's just not right. And tell that guy that sleeping with his father's, uh, wife stop sleeping with her. It's not right. So this is a carnal, but yet spiritual at the same time. Church sort of getting sanctified in the process. There's division, there's arguing. There's a lot of carnality there, coming straight out of the world. They're figuring out their Christianity, but they got a lot of worldliness still in them as they're weaning it out. And by the way, um, maybe it's a strange prayer to pray, but over the years, as I've planted churches in Chicago and pastored churches in Chicago, I've prayed, Lord, I want to make sure there's messes. I don't never want to be a church of people that have all been saved for 30 years and have it all figured out. I want to make sure that there's a steady flow of pagans that are coming to Jesus, and seekers that are coming to Christ, that when I say, take your Bible, they say, I don't have a Bible. When I say turn to John, they say, what's that? Is that the bathroom or is that. Um, and uh, so I love it, by the way, I think the church should be maturing believers, but I think every good, solid church should be sticking their hands deep into the darkness of the society around us. And there should be a steady flow of people that are coming to experience Jesus in our midst. And that's my heart. I have a real heart for evangelism in the church that I pastor. The most exciting number that I saw over 2023 is that 440 people got saved and got baptized. That's the most exciting number for me that people that are coming to Jesus, coming to know him. And so I hope that here at the Moody Bible Institute, whose original name was the Chicago Evangelization Society, I hope that we never lose our zeal to tell people about Jesus and to share the good news with people that are around us. So this was a clan of people that were getting sanctified but had a lot of carnality still. And the Apostle Paul is trying to convince them. False teachers had come among amongst them people that had said, hey, Paul, he's a nobody. I'm a better apostle than Paul. You should listen to me. Because they were pointing out Paul's weaknesses and pointing out Paul's flaws. And so there was a little bit of division going on there. So in Second Corinthians chapter 11 and second Corinthians, chapter 12, the first part, Paul is kind of saying, hey, you're forcing me to brag a little bit about myself and establish my apostle hood with you. And he starts the first chapter of First Corinthians, chapter 11, talking about the visions that he has had, talking about, uh, him being taken up in body. He doesn't know if it was in body or in spirit to the third heaven, and given revelation that he doesn't even, um, can't even speak to speak to people because it was so powerful and so mysterious. It happened 14 years ago. Apparently he hadn't spoken about this for 14 years, but he's bringing it up like, hey, God has done some incredible things in my life. I've had experiences like few people have had, and I hate to brag about it, but you're kind of forcing me to brag about it to sort of prove my apostleship. And then suddenly he switches gears, and that's where I want to jump in. He switches gears in verse seven again. Chapter 11 and beginning of 12 seem a little bit like a brag a thon, but we know it was inspired by God, so we know he was establishing. He's kind of apologizing that he has to brag about all that God has done in his life. And then he switches gears. And these next three verses, I think, speaks squarely to where you and I are at. He says, therefore, since I've had so many powerful experiences, since God has been so good. Since there's so many things I can point to. Therefore. In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh. Yea, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight and he goes on and gives the list. So if you're taking notes today, if you are living in a place of unanswered prayer, if you live in a place that makes you feel weak and you feel the weakness of it in your body, in your spirit, in your soul, I want to just speak to you. I want to speak to you about weakness, that oftentimes when we're in a place of weakness, we call unto God to take away the thing that's making us feel weak. And sometimes we're not seeing the answer to that prayer. And here's what happens when we approach weakness the right way. Number one, weakness trains us to walk in spiritual humility.

And we'll continue this edifying message on bold steps in just a minute. You're listening to the Bible teaching of Mark Jobe. If you'd like to find more content to supplement these daily radio programs, including teaching videos that help bring the bring the Bible to life. There are also books from Mark, even our free weekly email devotional and and a new resource on prayer for the new year called Teach Us to Pray. It's all found on our website at Bold Steps.

And we'll continue this edifying message on bold steps in just a minute. You're listening to the Bible teaching of Mark Jobe. If you'd like to find more content to supplement these daily radio programs, including teaching videos that help bring the bring the Bible to life. There are also books from Mark, even our free weekly email devotional and and a new resource on prayer for the new year called Teach Us to Pray. It's all found on our website at Bold Steps.

And while you're there, I encourage you to leave us a message and let us know that you're listening. We love to hear from our listeners. Testimonies, prayer requests, even Bible questions. We try to answer as many as possible.

And while you're there, I encourage you to leave us a message and let us know that you're listening. We love to hear from our listeners. Testimonies, prayer requests, even Bible questions. We try to answer as many as possible.

We don't fit all of them on the radio program, but we read them all, don't we? And pray for you as well. Well, I've got a question right here. We received from a listener named Stephanie. She says, I'm a little confused. I read the Bible and it says God is a jealous God, and we are not to worship anything else. Then I read how we start worshiping a God who looks like man Jesus. In fact, when I read it seems our God looks more like a ball of fire. And Paul tells us that Jesus is in body form now. I feel that Jesus spirit, the Holy Spirit, came and hasn't left yet, but I think that some people back then didn't know how to accept that. My question is, are we doing exactly what they did when Aaron made a gold calf. I love Jesus, I'm not saying anything bad about him because I know it was the Spirit of God in Jesus, but I feel like we get stuck on the image instead of the true God, the living spirit. Please help me understand.

We don't fit all of them on the radio program, but we read them all, don't we? And pray for you as well. Well, I've got a question right here. We received from a listener named Stephanie. She says, I'm a little confused. I read the Bible and it says God is a jealous God, and we are not to worship anything else. Then I read how we start worshiping a God who looks like man Jesus. In fact, when I read it seems our God looks more like a ball of fire. And Paul tells us that Jesus is in body form now. I feel that Jesus spirit, the Holy Spirit, came and hasn't left yet, but I think that some people back then didn't know how to accept that. My question is, are we doing exactly what they did when Aaron made a gold calf. I love Jesus, I'm not saying anything bad about him because I know it was the Spirit of God in Jesus, but I feel like we get stuck on the image instead of the true God, the living spirit. Please help me understand.

Yes, Stephanie. So let me just clarify a few things. We have a triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and they are 3 in 1. I think it's important to understand that when we talk about God, we are not talking separate Jesus. In fact, Colossians chapter one verse 15 says, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Let me just say that again. Jesus, who existed before he became incarnate, so he already existed before, but he made himself as a man, truly as a man, not just a pseudo man, but as a man, and lived among us. So it was the incarnate God. I believe that when we look at Jesus, we look at God. Now, now I have issues with statues or images made of Jesus when we go and pray to them, because I believe that the Bible forbids us to do that. Um, but I don't have any problem with completely, absolutely understanding that Jesus is the manifestation of the invisible God, and that when we look at Jesus, we are looking at God. In fact, that's why the Jewish people, some of the rabbis, wanted to stone Jesus because he declared to them, if you have seen me, you've seen God.

Yes, Stephanie. So let me just clarify a few things. We have a triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and they are 3 in 1. I think it's important to understand that when we talk about God, we are not talking separate Jesus. In fact, Colossians chapter one verse 15 says, Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Let me just say that again. Jesus, who existed before he became incarnate, so he already existed before, but he made himself as a man, truly as a man, not just a pseudo man, but as a man, and lived among us. So it was the incarnate God. I believe that when we look at Jesus, we look at God. Now, now I have issues with statues or images made of Jesus when we go and pray to them, because I believe that the Bible forbids us to do that. Um, but I don't have any problem with completely, absolutely understanding that Jesus is the manifestation of the invisible God, and that when we look at Jesus, we are looking at God. In fact, that's why the Jewish people, some of the rabbis, wanted to stone Jesus because he declared to them, if you have seen me, you've seen God.

Well, it's an honest question, isn't it? Thank you, Stephanie, for asking it. I hope that's helpful to you. If you've never reached out to us before, we encourage you to take a moment today and send us your letter or your message online, and share your question with us at Bold Steps. Just go to our website, Bold Steps, or now you can give us a call and leave your message on a recorded line. And that number is 312329 2011 (312) 329-2011. Now let's go back into the message for the day again. Here's Mark job.

Well, it's an honest question, isn't it? Thank you, Stephanie, for asking it. I hope that's helpful to you. If you've never reached out to us before, we encourage you to take a moment today and send us your letter or your message online, and share your question with us at Bold Steps. Just go to our website, Bold Steps, or now you can give us a call and leave your message on a recorded line. And that number is 312329 2011 (312) 329-2011. Now let's go back into the message for the day again. Here's Mark job.

The Apostle Paul is very clear that he believes that God specifically has not answered his prayer in order for him not to become conceited. In other words, he says, God has specifically not answered this prayer to keep me in a state of humility. This is a tool that keeps me from becoming proud, conceited, thinking more of myself than I should, believing that I have the strength to do things in my own power, that I'm self-sufficient. And so God has allowed this in my life. So that I would not become conceited. He said I was given this thorn in my flesh, and he actually refers to it as a messenger of Satan to torment me. And I was with the apostle Paul is saying, is that this thing is so. Big. It's so pervasive in my life that it weakens me. It torments me. It beats me up. I feel like I've been beat black and blue because of this in my life. It makes me not feel more confident. It makes me feel weaker. It takes away my self ability, my strength, my confidence, my self-determination, and it lowers me to me to a place where I say I can't move on. That was the power of the thorn in his flesh. Now he says, I want you to notice that he says it was given to me. In other words, he indicates that God allowed this. It's an interesting paradox because he says, God allowed this. It was given to me. But then he calls it a messenger of Satan. So we see from this passage that God gave permission, but that actually there was a Satanic involvement in this, that it was a messenger of Satan. Yet at the same time, the enemy cannot touch you beyond what God allows him to. Remember that. So it is a messenger of Satan, but only to the degree that the sovereign, powerful, omnipotent God of the universe is Out. Specifically to work on his pride. You know, James, chapter four, verse six says, but he gives me more grace. Therefore it says, God opposes the proud, and he gives grace to the humble. James chapter four verse ten says, humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Can I tell you something? We don't often talk about this probably as much as we should. But one of the greatest debilitates of our spiritual strength is pride. It's almost like carbon monoxide. If you lived in the city of Chicago long enough, you know that every winter it seems like there's some horrific, tragic story of some family that's sleeping at night and they don't wake up. The firefighters go, they. And they find someone dead because carbon monoxide is odorless, it's deadly, invisible and odorless. So when it starts to be released into the house and the chimney is clogged, perhaps, uh, someone is sleeping. They may feel tired, a little bit groggy, but they're not sure that it's there. And before they know it, it seeps into the house and it affixes the victims so that it kills them. It is invisible. It is largely imperceptible, but at the same time it's deadly. I think one of the greatest tragedies in our life, one of the greatest tragedies in the church, one of the greatest tragedies of spiritual leadership and one of the greatest tragedies. Tragedies, if you're not careful in your life, is pride. Conceit. Arrogance, it camouflages itself as spirituality. It has a veneer. That is not recognized in the church. We can quickly point out drunkenness, drugs, someone sleeping with their boyfriend or girlfriend. But pride. Oh that's different. It seeps in quietly. It makes its way through the crowd. It deceives. Before we know it. There's a culture of pride. One of my fears, to be honest with you, as you study here at the Moody Bible Institute students, is that you will get so much knowledge and so much understanding far beyond what the average person in churches or in America get. And my fear is that if it's not properly digested. And if God is not working at your soul at the same time, that knowledge will cause you to have a sense of pride. Because the Apostle Paul says knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And then if you're not careful, you can approach a church instead of with humility or ministry with humility. If you're not careful, it's very easy for you to become proud and say, you know, these people talk at a much lower level theologically. But what I understand, I know, and it's easy to start to get an arrogant, superior spirit. Listen, the more you know, the more humble you need to be before the eyes of God.

The Apostle Paul is very clear that he believes that God specifically has not answered his prayer in order for him not to become conceited. In other words, he says, God has specifically not answered this prayer to keep me in a state of humility. This is a tool that keeps me from becoming proud, conceited, thinking more of myself than I should, believing that I have the strength to do things in my own power, that I'm self-sufficient. And so God has allowed this in my life. So that I would not become conceited. He said I was given this thorn in my flesh, and he actually refers to it as a messenger of Satan to torment me. And I was with the apostle Paul is saying, is that this thing is so. Big. It's so pervasive in my life that it weakens me. It torments me. It beats me up. I feel like I've been beat black and blue because of this in my life. It makes me not feel more confident. It makes me feel weaker. It takes away my self ability, my strength, my confidence, my self-determination, and it lowers me to me to a place where I say I can't move on. That was the power of the thorn in his flesh. Now he says, I want you to notice that he says it was given to me. In other words, he indicates that God allowed this. It's an interesting paradox because he says, God allowed this. It was given to me. But then he calls it a messenger of Satan. So we see from this passage that God gave permission, but that actually there was a Satanic involvement in this, that it was a messenger of Satan. Yet at the same time, the enemy cannot touch you beyond what God allows him to. Remember that. So it is a messenger of Satan, but only to the degree that the sovereign, powerful, omnipotent God of the universe is Out. Specifically to work on his pride. You know, James, chapter four, verse six says, but he gives me more grace. Therefore it says, God opposes the proud, and he gives grace to the humble. James chapter four verse ten says, humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Can I tell you something? We don't often talk about this probably as much as we should. But one of the greatest debilitates of our spiritual strength is pride. It's almost like carbon monoxide. If you lived in the city of Chicago long enough, you know that every winter it seems like there's some horrific, tragic story of some family that's sleeping at night and they don't wake up. The firefighters go, they. And they find someone dead because carbon monoxide is odorless, it's deadly, invisible and odorless. So when it starts to be released into the house and the chimney is clogged, perhaps, uh, someone is sleeping. They may feel tired, a little bit groggy, but they're not sure that it's there. And before they know it, it seeps into the house and it affixes the victims so that it kills them. It is invisible. It is largely imperceptible, but at the same time it's deadly. I think one of the greatest tragedies in our life, one of the greatest tragedies in the church, one of the greatest tragedies of spiritual leadership and one of the greatest tragedies. Tragedies, if you're not careful in your life, is pride. Conceit. Arrogance, it camouflages itself as spirituality. It has a veneer. That is not recognized in the church. We can quickly point out drunkenness, drugs, someone sleeping with their boyfriend or girlfriend. But pride. Oh that's different. It seeps in quietly. It makes its way through the crowd. It deceives. Before we know it. There's a culture of pride. One of my fears, to be honest with you, as you study here at the Moody Bible Institute students, is that you will get so much knowledge and so much understanding far beyond what the average person in churches or in America get. And my fear is that if it's not properly digested. And if God is not working at your soul at the same time, that knowledge will cause you to have a sense of pride. Because the Apostle Paul says knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And then if you're not careful, you can approach a church instead of with humility or ministry with humility. If you're not careful, it's very easy for you to become proud and say, you know, these people talk at a much lower level theologically. But what I understand, I know, and it's easy to start to get an arrogant, superior spirit. Listen, the more you know, the more humble you need to be before the eyes of God.

Well said.

Well said.

It's the tragedy that has taken leaders across this country down. Pride. The sense that I'm above the law. That I'm a gift to God.

It's the tragedy that has taken leaders across this country down. Pride. The sense that I'm above the law. That I'm a gift to God.

It's the.

It's the.

Sin that brought Lucifer down. The angel that was. Many scholars believe there to guard the glory of God, but he got too close to the glory. There needs to be a nice. Chasm between you and the glory of God. And God uses you. Never confuse that. It's you. Never touch the glory. Don't get too close to the glory. May it all be God's. Because if you get too close, you start to think it's me. It's what I'm doing. It's my power, my ability, my gifting, my charisma, my insight. Somehow. And it's easy to start to take a little bit on ourself if we get too close to the glory. Have a reverent fear of the glory of God. In the Apostle Paul says that because God was using him in such a powerful way, and it given him some experiences that were really beyond the norm, that God on purpose gave him a thorn in the flesh in order to bring about a humility that would cause Paul to depend on the grace of God. Now, we don't know exactly what this thorn in the flesh was. There's been a lot of speculation, a lot of writings about the thorn in the flesh. The earliest talk about The Thorn in the flesh was Tertullian, who guessed that it was an earache or a headache. I think if God didn't tell us clearly what it was, then it's immaterial to what he's trying to tell us. But I but I want you to notice this, that when we talk about thorn in the flesh, some of you think it's, well, you know, you're out in the back yard and you're cutting wood or playing around, and you get a little thorn, a splinter, and you view it as an irritant, as something that bothers you and you can't. It's painful, it hurts you, but it's an irritant. But I want to make sure you understand what the what the Apostle Paul is saying. He's not talking about a splinter in your finger. The word that he uses here is the word steak. It refers to a sharpened wooden shaft that could be used to impale a person. This is not an irritant. This is a debilitating, powerful shaft, as though it could impale a person's entire body. The kind of stakes that were put down to keep tents from blowing in the desert wind. We're talking about that. That's the thorn that the Apostle Paul is talking about, a something so powerful, so severe that it torments him. It debilitates him, it weakens him, sim not an irritant. So let's be clear what we're talking about here. It has a physical dimension since it was a thorn in the flesh. It had a spiritual dimension and it was referred to as a messenger of Satan. It had an emotional dimension. Since he was praying and petitioning to God for this answer to prayer that he had to live with. But we don't know what it was. But we do know that it was a messenger of Satan, a spiritual battle involved in it to keep him humble.

Sin that brought Lucifer down. The angel that was. Many scholars believe there to guard the glory of God, but he got too close to the glory. There needs to be a nice. Chasm between you and the glory of God. And God uses you. Never confuse that. It's you. Never touch the glory. Don't get too close to the glory. May it all be God's. Because if you get too close, you start to think it's me. It's what I'm doing. It's my power, my ability, my gifting, my charisma, my insight. Somehow. And it's easy to start to take a little bit on ourself if we get too close to the glory. Have a reverent fear of the glory of God. In the Apostle Paul says that because God was using him in such a powerful way, and it given him some experiences that were really beyond the norm, that God on purpose gave him a thorn in the flesh in order to bring about a humility that would cause Paul to depend on the grace of God. Now, we don't know exactly what this thorn in the flesh was. There's been a lot of speculation, a lot of writings about the thorn in the flesh. The earliest talk about The Thorn in the flesh was Tertullian, who guessed that it was an earache or a headache. I think if God didn't tell us clearly what it was, then it's immaterial to what he's trying to tell us. But I but I want you to notice this, that when we talk about thorn in the flesh, some of you think it's, well, you know, you're out in the back yard and you're cutting wood or playing around, and you get a little thorn, a splinter, and you view it as an irritant, as something that bothers you and you can't. It's painful, it hurts you, but it's an irritant. But I want to make sure you understand what the what the Apostle Paul is saying. He's not talking about a splinter in your finger. The word that he uses here is the word steak. It refers to a sharpened wooden shaft that could be used to impale a person. This is not an irritant. This is a debilitating, powerful shaft, as though it could impale a person's entire body. The kind of stakes that were put down to keep tents from blowing in the desert wind. We're talking about that. That's the thorn that the Apostle Paul is talking about, a something so powerful, so severe that it torments him. It debilitates him, it weakens him, sim not an irritant. So let's be clear what we're talking about here. It has a physical dimension since it was a thorn in the flesh. It had a spiritual dimension and it was referred to as a messenger of Satan. It had an emotional dimension. Since he was praying and petitioning to God for this answer to prayer that he had to live with. But we don't know what it was. But we do know that it was a messenger of Satan, a spiritual battle involved in it to keep him humble.

You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, the start of a lesson titled The Unanswered Prayer and the Gift of Weakness. We'll pick it up right here when we come back tomorrow. And of course, you can always find these lessons and even more content from Mark by going online to Bold Steps. You can also connect with us on our social media platforms. We have a growing community of believers who would love to engage and connect with you today. So log in to your Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok account and search for bold steps. And you know, these daily life giving Bible messages are all made possible because of our partnership with listeners like you, who, through their financial gifts, allow us to offer Mark's teaching across these different platforms. And here at the start of this exciting new year, we're looking for more people to partner with us and help us bring the truth of God's Word to new listeners. You can call us with your generous donation today when you dial 800 D.L. Moody. That's 800 356 6639. Do that like Kenneth and Patricia and Joseph and Carmen did, where you can easily give online at boldsystems.org. Now, when you give a gift of any amount today to support this ministry, we'll say thanks by sending you a book titled Winning the War in Your Mind. This book exposes the lies that lead to toxic thinking and it And it reveals how to experience the peace of mind that comes from Christ. Request this powerful resource today and break free from negative thought patterns. Renew your mind in the truth. We'll send you a copy when you give a gift of any amount to support bold steps. Just call us today at (800) 356-6639 or go online to boldsystems.org. You can also send your gift and request the book in the mail. Our address. Bold steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. I'm Wayne Sheppard. Be sure to join us again tomorrow. Mark will continue with part two of our message called The Unanswered Prayer in the Gift of Weakness. That's coming up Thursday right here on Bold Steps with Mark Jill. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.

You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, the start of a lesson titled The Unanswered Prayer and the Gift of Weakness. We'll pick it up right here when we come back tomorrow. And of course, you can always find these lessons and even more content from Mark by going online to Bold Steps. You can also connect with us on our social media platforms. We have a growing community of believers who would love to engage and connect with you today. So log in to your Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok account and search for bold steps. And you know, these daily life giving Bible messages are all made possible because of our partnership with listeners like you, who, through their financial gifts, allow us to offer Mark's teaching across these different platforms. And here at the start of this exciting new year, we're looking for more people to partner with us and help us bring the truth of God's Word to new listeners. You can call us with your generous donation today when you dial 800 D.L. Moody. That's 800 356 6639. Do that like Kenneth and Patricia and Joseph and Carmen did, where you can easily give online at boldsystems.org. Now, when you give a gift of any amount today to support this ministry, we'll say thanks by sending you a book titled Winning the War in Your Mind. This book exposes the lies that lead to toxic thinking and it And it reveals how to experience the peace of mind that comes from Christ. Request this powerful resource today and break free from negative thought patterns. Renew your mind in the truth. We'll send you a copy when you give a gift of any amount to support bold steps. Just call us today at (800) 356-6639 or go online to boldsystems.org. You can also send your gift and request the book in the mail. Our address. Bold steps 820 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. I'm Wayne Sheppard. Be sure to join us again tomorrow. Mark will continue with part two of our message called The Unanswered Prayer in the Gift of Weakness. That's coming up Thursday right here on Bold Steps with Mark Jill. Bold steps is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.