They're so good that we can be here together today and yeah, I'm excited for what God has laid on on my heart for this week. I'm also very grateful to be here as some of you know within my role as a chaplain when I'm running church services. It's usually on a ship so we're usually everybody's kind of got a hand. You've got three points of contact all the time and you're always kind of holding onto your seat because it might go washing to the one side of the room and it might go to the other side.
Or hopefully you're in something that's strapped down and you don't go flying. So it is wonderful to be here in our beautiful building and to have this time together. I want to start off with a bit of a riddle and so I'm not sure if you like riddle or if you follow me like riddles and there's something else after it but I want to start off with this. I was born from a curse but crowned on a king.
I pierced without blade and in silence I sting. I follow the fall and I shadow the pain yet in heaven's own plan I'm a path into gain. What am I? But just before we shout out our answers or thoughts for those who aren't a fan of riddles if I can have one person turn to Genesis 3 verse 17 another individual someone want to raise their hand if you don't mind that's going to flip the Genesis.
Yeah right on. I can have another individual turn to numbers 33 55 numbers 33 so Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers fourth book of the Bible fourth book of the Torah the Pentateuch numbers 33 55 the next one would be Proverbs 22 5 Proverbs 22 5 and if you're noticing the theme and didn't figure out the riddle don't blur out the answer but and then one more individual Matthew 27 29 Matthew 27 29 so Genesis someone else for numbers numbers right on and then our Proverbs passage Proverbs anyone for having trouble fine Genesis Leviticus numbers do you don't know just the Ruth Bernstein and Kingsford and Proverbs Ezeron the Amistor Jobe Psalms Proverbs so there's a few bucks from Genesis but that's okay someone got Proverbs Proverbs 22 verse 5 right on thank you Christian and you can read and Spanish if you want that's okay okay Matthew 27 first book of the New Testament right towards the end of the book there's 28 chapters the last one right before it Matthew 27 we got one more person verse 29 right on thank you so thoughts on the riddle you want me to say it again or do you want to go with some answers say it again okay I was born from a curse but crowned on a king I pierced without blade and in silence I sting I follow the fall and shadow the pain yet in heaven's own plan I'm a path into gain a thorn yeah yeah absolutely absolutely so not all of those well done I tried to make it somewhat sneaky as most reals are not always the easiest but that first line I think for me gives it away I was born from a curse but crowned on a king from the father who allowed the thorn to the son who wore the thorn to the spirit who strengthens us through the thorn our God transforms our pain into his glory thorns as we know throughout scripture symbolize many things primarily we often think about two of them one being the sin or the curse and then the redemption through that thorn whose head it was placed on but God uses thorns not to destroy us but to shape us from Eden from the Garden of Eden to Calvary thorns tell the story of the curse of God's discipline of human struggle and of Christ's redeeming love for those who like different theologians throughout history Charles Spurgeon wrote this the Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction the power of the thorn who hears brush up against the thorn bush before I hope most of us have been outside enough to unfortunately experience that pain but it's small yet sharp and powerful it digs into our skin it clings on to our clothing thorns make us bleed and depending on how quickly you are rushing by it it may even leave a scar that will make you remember not to do it again thorns show up throughout the Bible they're more than just an expression or an extension of a plant I often think of a thorn bush or what not but you think of a rose and there's a time when roses didn't have thorns right the thorns and the thistles came after the fall or came as a result from the fall so you I don't often think of a thorn as an extension of a plant but they are much more than that they are a picture of spiritual realities signs of consequence of struggle and ultimately of hope have you ever asked God why this pain why this trial will not go away why will it not go away I could be here in maybe atheistic thought why would a good God allow bad things happen to good people or you know an extension of that or whatever variation of that you might hear but it's okay to be honest with ourselves this morning have you ever asked why why God why me why is this trial continuing to persist today I hope we will see a little bit of how thorns are used throughout scripture from Eden to Calvary to show us God's purpose in our suffering another theologian wrote the earth was cursed for man's sake so that he might be led to repentance through earth's barrenness the individual that would Genesis three if I could have you come up here and read Genesis three if that's if you're loud enough from the congregation but by all means I am I'm all about having people come on up participate so thank you cursed is the ground because of you both thorns and thistles shall grow for you now realizing that there are many more points without within scripture but I know that we only have limited time throughout our day there are many points but this is the first the first thorn did not grow in Eden it grew after the fall the first appearance of thorns was not random it was divine judgment thorns are nature's protest against sin they're a physical symbol of a fallen world the ground was no longer easy and yet we have to continue to eat from it work becomes toil life becomes painful thorns are not just physical they represents the consequence of rebellion thorns remind us that sin disrupts the harmony between creation and creator one of the next times that thorns grow up is in numbers thirty three fifty five numbers thirty three oh yes thank you thank you Erica so for those who aren't familiar with the passage in numbers number thirty three you get a summary of Israel's time from Egypt to Moab which is where they currently are at this point in history so numbers thirty three from verses one to forty nine is essentially a summary of where they have been and then God gives them this verses fifty to fifty six of where they're going next and we get thorns and thistles or barbs showing up here again Tim Keller popular pastor wrote God will only give you what you would have asked for if you knew everything he knows that's kind of funny also very true God will only give you what you would have asked for if you only knew everything he knows the thorns often in scripture are to warn us Israel was told not to mix up their nations lest they become thorns in their sides thorns were used to guide Israel but also as an image to represent back to the fall that this is still your reality we're not we're not in the New Testament yet Israel we do not have someone that has changed our idea of thorns thorns are a result of us not obeying God and God is continuing to use our brokenness to guide us back to him hosea also to verse chapter two verse six speaks of God hedging Israel's path with thorns so that Israel would return to him Proverbs twenty two five Christian say in Spanish if you want to or or English whichever is wherever yeah that's all we can do is go for there yeah no thank you yeah no that's great that's right Solomon said it quite well yeah thorns and snares are the way of the wicked they're the way that the wicked follow and one who guards himself will be far from them God uses thorny circumstances to redirect us when Israel disobeyed God allowed their enemies to become thorns sometimes the pain we face is mercy in disguise God placing barriers and barbs to bring us back to him God may place thorns in your path to protect you from greater danger perhaps a toxic relationship a career path or maybe there's a sin in your life that you haven't revealed to anyone and that keeps on pricking and hurting and humbling and leading us back to grace now this is not to suggest at all that should we continue in our sin Paul says no by all means just so that grace may abound more no no no we do not continue in our sins so that we can know grace better but to realize that where God is leading us what God is guiding us through as he guided Israel as he led Adam and Eve out of the garden for their own good sometimes thorns aren't always what they think they are so is there a thorn in your in your life that God is using to stop you from wandering away from him last that question again is there a thorn in your life that God is using to stop you from wandering away from him as we look at the New Testament and I think very often where we think about a thorn in the New Testament is what Paul writes to the Corinthians and second Corinthians before we read that passage C.S. Lewis wrote this pain insists upon being attended to God whispers to us in our pleasure but shouts to us in our pain Paul as he's writing to the Corinthians for yet again another time in chapter 12 verses 7 to 10 there are many things within his letter to the Corinthians that there are other false teachers or there's other preachers that are trying to guide the people away and perhaps these are the thorns that he's referring to perhaps Paul had an ailment perhaps there are many things that we can point to that Paul is talking throughout this that will be a thorn for him this is what he writes because of the extraordinary greatness of the revelations for this reason to keep me from exulting myself there was given to me a thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan to torment me to keep me from exulting myself concerning this I plead with I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me and he has said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness most gladly therefore I would rather boast about my weakness so that the power of Christ may dwell in me therefore I delight in weakness in insult in distress in persecution in difficulty in behalf of Christ for when I am weak then I am strong how often do we think of that when we get a thorn in our life whether physical or you know metaphorical Paul talks about in verse seven and eight to keep me from exalting myself Paul was you know a Pharisee of Pharisees he was beaten tormented he had many of these things that all of these things that he describes here happen to him how many times do you think if Paul was trying to settle a church debate and there was another elder there and you know he could have pulled the card while have you had Jesus revealed to you will have you had this will have you done this for Christ by no means did he try to do that and that's one of the things that sometimes we worry about in the church right that if there's something that's going to divide us or try to elevate one person above the other that's when we know that we've maybe gone off track that we haven't been following along because Paul talks about in his weakness he has made strong it is a poor and broken spirit that is led to God not a proud one Paul says to keep from exalting myself pride is such a terrible and deep rooted sin within us as creatures do you know what one of the most favorite topics that we have in our lives is it's ourselves yeah yes it's me right I am my own very favorite topic they've done many psychological studies and that is a very common thing if you want somebody to start talking for a while ask them what they do ask them their life story and I mean not everyone some of us are quite introverted and we would rather just get out of the situation altogether but if you want some to start talking ask them about themselves and so Paul to try to keep from becoming so high and mighty and think of all these great things that God has led him through all these great revelations that he's had that he could continuously boast about God has given him this thorn to keep him from exalting himself we think of Adam and Eve in the garden that that there there's pride mixed in there that they could become like God even when we think of Satan rebelling against God there's pride in himself that he was the angel of angels he was the most beautiful there is pride rooted in that and it is a continuous thing that I'm sure many of us if not all of us struggle with so Paul pleads for God to remove this thorn but as many of you know God's response is my grace is sufficient for you my power is made perfect in weakness this thorn was not a punishment it was a preservation God allowed it not to destroy Paul but to humble him to shape him and to display his grace like I was saying we don't know exactly what Paul's thorn could have been we do get some hints at a messenger from Satan to torment me and so some points towards maybe there was a demon not that Paul was demon possessed but that there was a demon that was afflicting him or an evil spirit that was after him like we get with the first soul that becomes a great king God allows for an evil spirit to torment him and ultimately similar to Pharaoh it's Saul's heart that guides him into this destructive path the hardening of Saul's heart the similar is the hardening of Pharaoh's heart there's been times before when God uses something like a thorn we think of Job right God says look at my servant Job and he allows Satan to lead him through some very miserable things this is not to suggest at all that God is evil in any ways but he does still have control over all of creation and so he permits Satan he allows Satan to go after Job and as I hope we all know how Job's story ends it is not persecution forever so we don't know exactly what this thorn that Paul has is perhaps it is the false teachers perhaps some say that Paul wasn't the most beautiful looking and so maybe it was a chronic illness that he had that blurred his vision or that created some sort of discomfort within his life but whatever that thing is that would fit his thorn I think we can pull three things from regardless of what it is it hurt it humbled and it revealed grace Paul's thorn hurt it humbled and it revealed grace and God does not always remove the thorn sometimes he strengthens us through it God may not change your pain in this life but he will change you through your pain your thorn may not go away but his grace never will John Stott wrote before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us we have to see it as something done by us Matthew 27 29 go for it most powerful image we are given of thorns as at the point that we come when we come this morning and we break bread and we have the cup together we remember that crown of thorns we remember the way in which he was mocked and ridiculed Jesus did not just suffer a thorn he wore them as a crown he bore the curse of Eden the king of glory wore our curse he felt the piercing of sins pain the thorns of the fall became the crown of our redeemer he bled to redeem all who are wounded as we reflect on the hundreds of passages to look towards Jesus coming Isaiah 53 5 a very popular one when we talk about the things that he endured for us by his wounds we are healed he wore what we deserved so that we could wear what he earned a crown of righteousness the crown of thorns is mockery turned to majesty pain turned to glory a curse transformed into salvation itself in Genesis thorns grow from the cursed ground and at Calvary the curse is pressed into Jesus his brow the thorns that once drove us away now draw us near Spurgeon writes see the bloody crown of thorns he wore it for you he wore it for me no diadem is more glorious than that crown of shame and as we wait in times of Easter to say that he is risen he is risen indeed we know that the story doesn't end there because we had a perfect sacrifice that died for us that took our place that redeemed us and that not only that he rose and he is welcoming us to our ultimate home he's welcoming us to his kingdom to be in this Eden perfect harmony and unity again with our God our God who allowed the thorn we know that the sun wore the thorn and as we continue throughout our life we get to see the Holy Spirit I work within us strengthening strengthening us through our thorns so in Revelation 22 towards the end of the very last book in our Bibles we started in Genesis and now we're here in Revelation Revelation 22 starting at verse just verse 3 primarily there will no longer be any curse and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it and his bond servants will serve him in heaven there will be no more tears no pain no thorns what began in Genesis ends in glory Genesis so is us the curse of thorns and the revelation ends with them being part of healing all the nations the pain is temporary the glory is eternal so as we close today I want to ask you what is your thorn if the person beside you you feel comfortable with maybe it's your partner that you've shared your life with close friend or perhaps you want to message somebody during this time what is your thorn feel free to share it because if we keep it in it just becomes more difficult Paul wrote constantly about his weakness becoming strength to hundreds of people and now millions of people across the world get to see Paul's thorns on display they get to see hundreds of Bible individuals people from biblical times their thorns on display and so please by all means do not carry that burden alone share it with somebody that believes in the same resurrection power that you do is it physical pain is it a family situation is it a struggling child or maybe it's something that you've never shared before maybe it's a mental battle a deep regret or something that is so shameful you've never been able to put it to words if you feel like it's too hard to share it with somebody write it down start journaling about it start putting that pain to words so that you may share it and you may ultimately and I hope that you do constantly bring it to Christ whatever it is God already knows it there is nothing that is hidden from him I have a cribbage board that has that engraved on it so that nobody will cheat but just like with Paul he does not always remove the thorn but he always supplies grace he promises that through your thorn his power will be made perfect so don't waste your thorn let it drive you to Jesus trust trust that his grace is enough we do not have to fear thorns anymore because I'll save your war them first so as I invite the band to come up the close of their final song I just I invite you to pray with me lord we bring our thorns to you not to hide them but to trust you with them to give us grace not just to endure but to rejoice for in our weakness you are strong and because of your crown of thorns we will one day wear crowns of glory holy spirit we ask that you do a great work in our lives and for those thorns that are not yet revealed that we just don't know how to say I just pray that you give us the words may we give them to you in your name amen