open your bibles if you would please to the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 12 second Corinthians chapter 12 I want to begin reading in verse S and read through verse 10 second Corinth Ians chapter 7 check that 2 Corinthians CH 12 verses 7 through 10 and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations the holy books of the Bible which the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write there was given to me a thorn in the flesh the messenger of Satan to Buffet me lest I should be exalted above measure now just real quickly a comment about The Thorn In the Flesh there's a lot of speculation among Bible scholars as to what The Thorn In the Flesh was some people suggest that it might have been his nearsightedness the Apostle Paul was extremely nearsighted to the point of almost being blind he had to have help in writing the Epistles that the lord gave him in fact he probably wrote almost none of them himself he had a scribe that he would dictate the the the letter to and the Scribe would write the letter so he was extremely nearsighted uh Bible teachers also suggest that Paul had other physical infirmities that he had to contend with you can imagine you can imagine the the pain and the lasting impact that Paul carried in his body from all of the beatings that he received I mean you you think about he was he was he was beaten with with rods he was beaten with fists he was beaten with stones he he was B his body was battered and bruised and broken uh history church history says that he was a very short man of stature less than 5 feet tall you can you can imagine uh the the body of this man uh after all of the years of of intense beating and not to mention the the nearsightedness and whatever other physical alements he he had to deal with so many of the Bible teachers believe that the that the Thorn In the Flesh was this this I I I really don't believe that I think it was something different because notice he said there was given to me a thorn in the flesh the messenger of Satan the messenger of Satan to Buffet me this the word messenger is the same word in the Greek that is used for the word angel in Revelation 2 and3 to the angel of the Church of Ephesus to the angel at the church at Smyrna to the angel of the church at pergamus the word Angel translated here messenger of course means you usually Pastor uh the messenger of God so here it's used in the Demonic term the messenger of Satan so this I believe is referencing a man remember read in Acts chapter 18 when you get a chance and ref familiarize yourself with what happened to Paul in the city of Corinth he was there for if I remember correctly 18 months ministering among the people of Corinth and the persecution and the uh the physical torture that he went through in in the city of Corinth was almost unspeakable and apparently there was a man that the devil sent to Corinth as Paul was preaching the gospel this man was no doubt a a judaizer who was trying to undo and destroy everything that Paul did so when Paul got the church going this Troublemaker sent by Satan and troublemakers in a church are always sent by Satan they he was he was opposing Paul's message and and deceiving the people that Paul had won to Christ and the church that was established and some historians say that for a while whoever this man was he's not named was so successful in his attacks against the Apostle Paul that he he literally destroyed the church at Corinth for a short period of time but then of course God rebuilt it and allowed it to to come back and it it went on to be a lasting church but I I believe this is who Paul is referring to the The Thorn In the Flesh and believe me people can be a thorn in the flesh I promise you the messenger of Satan lest I should be exalted above for this thing I besought the Lord Thrice that I might that it might depart from me and he said unto me the Lord my grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness I want you to underline that my strength is made perfect in weakness most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ May rest upon me therefore I take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in Necessities in persecutions in distresses for Christ sake and here I want you to underline this for when I am weak then am I strong when I am weak then am I strong I want to give you a supplemental passage in Hebrews chap 11: 32-34 listen to what the Apostle Paul said here what shall I more say for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and baric and Samson and jeffa of David also and Samuel and the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms wrought righteousness obtained promises stopped the mouths of lions quench the violence of fire escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong out of weakness were made strong waxed Valiant in fight turned to flight the armies of the aliens again that's Hebrews 11: 32-34 the prophet Joel in chapter 3 veres 9 and 10 said Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles prepare War wake up the Mighty Men boy that's a message for today wake up the Mighty Men let all the men of War draw near let them come up beat your plow shares into swords and your pruning hooks into Spears last phrase Let the weak say I am strong let the weak say I am strong when I am weak then am I strong said Paul let the weak say I am strong Joel said John Gil has a great commentary on this passage in the Book of Joel such as are weak through sickness or old age let them not plead their weakness to excuse them from engaging in this war but let them make the best of themselves and say they are strong and healthy and fit for it and enter it with all courage and bravery this is seriously spoken to the people of God that none of them should excuse themselves or be discouraged because of their weakness from engaging in this last battle but take heart and be of a good courage quit themselves like men be strong since they might be sure of Victory beforehand the Apostle Paul refers to this text in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and applies it to the spiritual weakness and strength and indeed the weakest believer that is so in faith and knowledge may say he is strong in comparison of what he once was and others are strong not in himself but in Christ and the power of His might and in the grace that is in him nor should he excuse himself from fighting the Lord's battles or from doing the Lord's work any service he calls him to amen stop making excuses for what you cannot do and start doing what God wants you to do we can all find excuses to not do battle for God right I am too sick I am too weak I am too old I am too uneducated I am too poor I'm too tired I'm not gifted enough I'm not brave enough I'm not handsome enough I'm not eloquent enough I'm not good enough I'm not smart enough when we are weak then are we strong Hallelujah to the wicked God says Psalm 2 to the wicked God says why do the Heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying let us break their bands aunder and Cast Away their cords from us he that sth in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall have them in derision then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and Vex them in his sore displeasure yet have I set my king upon my th Holy Hill of Zion I will declare the decree the Lord hath said unto me thou art my son this day have I begotten thee ask of me and I shall give Thee the Heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for thy possession Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron Thou shalt Dash them in peace pces like a Potter's vessel God's word to the wicked Psalm 2 verses 1-9 this Psalm Psalm two is included in handles Messiah and refers to the destruction of Jerusalem most Christians and even pastors are totally ignorant of the fact that handle's Messiah was a musical celebration of the destruction of Jerusalem in my message the destruction of Jerusalem that I preached two years ago I go into great great detail in describing this this truism and I I read the words to You of handle's Messiah and I show the scripture from whence it comes including Psalm 2 and I give the history behind the writing of handle's Messiah and I show how the writing of handles Messiah was a musical celebration of the destruction of think about it every Christmas these especially these large mega churches will have these gigantic musical celebrations commemorating the birth of Christ their choirs their special musicians their orchestras and almost every instance they will include rendition of handle's Messiah that's right these are churches that are Christian Zionist in their Doctrine these are Christians who believe that the current city of Jerusalem in the in Palestine is biblical Jerusalem they believe that the Israel of Rothchild in 1948 is the biblical Israel of the Bible they are Christian zionists they worship at the altar of the Zionist state of Israel and they are singing in their sanctuaries every Christmas the handles Messiah which is a musical celebration of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish [Applause] temple they don't even know what they are singing about amen that's right Beautiful the song destroys their own Theology and they are the ones singing it God has a beautiful sense of [Applause] humor by the way my sermon the destruction of Jerusalem is also included in set number two of the Israel package and if you don't have the Israel packages all three sets I hope that would get those as soon as possible but if you want to get that in the set and not pay for it just for the one DVD you can get the entire set two of the Israel package which includes the destruction of Jerusalem but the psalm Psalm 2 can be applied to the wicked of all generations and places though it speaks specifically of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem it could be applied to to the Wicked of all generations and places think about it Gideon had but 300 men Samson was but one man David was but one teenager all the disciples had was the little boy's lunch all Moses had was a stick at our best state at our best state we are weak and sinful men and women amen that's right every one of [Music] us at our very best we are weak and sinful people the scripture acknowledges this 2 Corinthians 4:7 we have this treasure the gospel treasure in earn vessels in clay pots have you ever had or have you ever seen a clay pot drop it six Ines and it shatters into a th000 pieces very very weak is a clay pot can withstand very little pressure without breaking that is the term the Bible uses to describe us we have this treasure the gospel truth in clay pots earn vessels weak fragile easily fractured vessels when I am weak then am I strong think about this my dear beloved in Christ's weakness in Christ's weakness he laid aside the power of His glory he became [Applause] flesh he became flesh he put himself in a clay pot he became flesh and in the Flesh in the clay poop in his weakness as a man he destroyed the power of sin death hell and the [Applause] grave when he was at his weakest State he totally destroyed the strong EST forces of the [Music] enemy in his weakness he was strong in his suffering he covered our sins in his death he purchased our Eternal salvation that's why truly I Marvel at people who call themselves Christians Christians who think they can do something in addition to what Jesus did on the cross to obtain salvation it blows my mind such could even be entertained Jesus death and Resurrection on the cross the God man God become flesh dying a substitutionary vicarious death for the sin of the world which includes you and me conquering death hell sin and the grave for us did everything that could be done to purchase our Redemption [Applause] everything and now some false Bible teacher some puny human being some stupid Clay Pot says oh and in addition you have to be baptized in water oh in addition you have to keep the law of Moses in addition you've got to join our church in addition you we have to have this spiritual gift in addition in addition in addition in addition are you nuts if Jesus death and Resurrection on the cross was not enough death and Resurrection from the dead was not enough to purchase our Salvation all the baptisms all the speaking in tongues all the laws of Moses put together are not going to be able to save your [Applause] soul for by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God not of works that's right lest any man should boast think about this when Satan and his forces thought they had conquered Christ on the cross they didn't know that what they had done was to seal their own destruction the forces of hell can you could can you transport yourself down into Hades for just a few seconds for some of you that's probably not too difficult but think of the rejoicing and the celebration that was going on when Jesus died on the cross think about it man you talk about party time the forces of Hell had been trying to do everything they could to kill Christ from the very day that he stepped onto the pages of human history even whenever he was a little boy a child the forces of Hell tried to kill him in Bethlehem every almost every day as you read through the Gospels in my message on the the Israel packages I referred to I start with the the the Pharisees and and and Christ and and the battle between them from the very beginning of Jesus ministry the Pharisees were trying to kill Jesus and finally after three and a half years they nailed him to a cross and he died oh man they were so excited celebrating their hellish joy for what they thought they had done is gotten rid of the Son of God and then Sunday came around and he rose from the dead now let me tell you when you've done everything you could do to to defeat your enemy and kill him and you finally kill him and three days later he rises from the dead do I have to tell you you are in deep dooo you really are you're in deep trouble listen to 1 Corinthians chapter 2: 1-8 listen to this this is beautiful and my brethren when I came unto you came not with the Excellency of speech or of wisdom man's Wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified and I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's Wisdom but in demonstration of the spirit and of power power that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power of God if your faith is standing In Your Own Strength it will not stand long amen your faith needs to be standing in the power of God how be it we speak wisdom among them that are perfect or spiritually mature yet not the wisdom of this world nor of the princes of this world that come to not but we speak speak the wisdom of God in a mystery even hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our Glory which none of the princes of this world knew for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord Of Glory had the princes of of this world that hellish Sanhedrin and the rulers of the Jews the Pharisees the elders the priests had they known that Jesus would rise from the dead 3 days after being crucified Paul Paul said they would not have crucified the Lord Of Glory they had no idea what they were doing and what God would do afterward folks the leaders the princes of this world today believe us to be weak and stupid they take almost nothing we do seriously they believe themselves to be the wisdom of the world they believe themselves to be the power of the world they look at us as Christians believing in the gospel and the teaching of Christ to be so very ignorant stupid and weak in in 2013 April of that year I brought a message to this congregation that at that time when Liberty Fellowship was in it formative years and just standing on on Shaky Knees and just getting started me the message was extremely important to the edification and the and the advancement of our fellowship and some of you that were here back in 213 20 2013 will remember the message I think because it was that kind of a message and the title of the message was I sent the Hornet before you and in that message I go back to the Old Testament story of the conquest of the Promised Land by the children of Israel under Moses and Joshua and in Joshua chapter 24 verses 11 and 12 I'll just refresh your memory with these two verses and ye went over Jordan and came unto Jericho and the men of Jericho fought against you the amorites the perizzites the Canaanites the Hittites and the girgashites the hivites and the jebusites and I God speaking delivered them into your hand and I sent the hornet before you which drave them out from before you even the two kings of the amorites but not with thy sword nor with thy bow and I brought the message and I told the story on how before God's people were able to subdue the land and defeat the enemy God sent Supernatural swarms of hornets into the enemy camps unbelievable billions of hornets descending upon the enemy camps it with such ferocity and such volume that the the enemy became totally disoriented unable to think and act clearly driving them from among them themselves causing them to try and seek relief from the Hornets that were incessant and would never let up and in their confusion and in their disarray from the Hornets which God sent ahead of the children of Israel they were able to come behind them and destroy the enemy and God reminded them you didn't win those battles with your sword and with your bows I sent the Hornet before you I gave you the victory the same God who put the enemies of Israel in disarray and confusion ahead of the victory of the children of Israel can and I believe also is putting our enemies in disarray even as we speak he will not give them the victory the victory is the Lord's and always shall be [Applause] that's why there's no room for discouragement there's no no room for defeatism and there's no room for relying on human wisdom and human might and human power and these conservatives who think that they are going to figure all these things out and they're going to be the force for great good they have completely abandon the truth and don't realize that the source of our victory has always been it is and will always be the power of [Applause] God if God wants to send Hornets he can send Hornets he can send whatever he wants into the camp of the enemy in order to confuse them and put them in disarray we're coming up on our independence day which this year is on Sunday and so we get to celebrate our independence St right here at Liberty Fellowship on the Lord's Day awesome it's going to be a special day and by the way I I just want to tell you this to kind of wet your appetite that we have just found out about something that we are going to be privileged and honored to be a part of here at Liberty Fellowship which is going to be very exciting and when I'm able to give you the announcement and the details you're going to be extreme extremely excited and I'm just thrilled that God would honor us with with what is about to happen and and and I'm I'm chomping into bits to be able to tell you but I can't yet details are not made in full I want to have everything in in order before we we tell everybody but you're going to be excited but Independence Day is coming up so with that thought in mind I want to go back into our history and I want to illustrate in our own American history what I've been teaching you from the word of God and the history of God's people I'm quoting from historian Richard kleene who wrote an article entitled George Washington's Great Escape let me read this some of you are familiar with it I'm sure many of you are not even as a young soldier in the French and Indian Wars George Washington recognized the hand of God on him personally describing battle experiences in a letter to a friend Washington wrote quote by the all powerful dispensations of Providence I have been protected beyond all human probability or expectations for I had four bullets through my coat and two horses shot under me yet yet escaped unhe hurt although death was leveling my companions on every side of me close Court George Washington deep personal faith in God LED Washington to accept the command of the continental army at the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1776 he knew that outcome of the war would affect not only the rebelling colonists but unseen future Generations as well on July 2nd 1776 General Washington stirred his troops with these words quote the fate of unborn Millions will now depend under God on the conduct and courage of this Army our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of Brave resistance or the most abject submission we have therefore to resolve to conquer or die close quote the events of one extraordinary day quoting still quoting the historian the events of one extraordinary day just one month later after Washington spoke those words both confirmed Washington's faith and Demon demonstrated the miraculous intervention of God in the course of America's Destiny faced with the fact of America's declared independence the British military command determined that the key to suppressing the Rebellion lay in the do the domination of New York whichever Army controlled access to the Hudson River controlled the lines of supply for the colonies north and south of this strategic Zone under the command of General William how the British quickly established a formidable presence in New York their only impediment being the American held town of Brooklyn it was here on the western end of Long Island that George General George Washington found himself nearly surrounded outnumbered more than 3 to one by a better trained better equipped enemy however when circumstances seemed to spell defeat a miraculous series of events began to unfold amazingly the very capable and season General how failed to capitalize on his obvious military advantage throughout the afternoon the evening and the following morning Washington's forces tensed for an attack which never materialized by the afternoon of August 28 Northeast winds drove a chilling rain across the East River preventing the British feet from launching any offensive maneuver inspired by the delay General Washington formulated a daring strategy of Escape Under the storm's cover he began to remove his baguer Army by small boats enabling them to join other American forces a full mile Behind Enemy Lines as night fell the inclement weather dissipated and still Washington's Army continued its evacuation without detection but as the morning sun dawned the Americans calculated that at least three more hours were needed to transport the last of the 8,000 troops what happened next is best describe cribed by one who was actually there major Ben talage a member of the Continental Army wrote quote at this time a very dense fog began to rise and it seemed to settle in a peculiar manner over both encampments I recollect this providential occurrence perfectly well so very dense was the atmosphere that I could scarcely discern a man at six yards de distance we carried until the sun had risen but fog remained as dense as ever what the British discovered when the fog lifted was an empty and abandoned encampment Washington's Army had seemingly vanished along with all their Provisions cannons and even the horses instead of defeat the Americans experienced a temporary setback and regroup to fight on at a future successful day General George Washington recognized God's hand on his life during the Revolutionary War when he said quote I was but the humble agent of a favoring Heaven whose benign influence was so often manifested in our behalf and to whom the praise of Victory alone is due God sent Hornets for the children of Israel he sent fog and strong winds for the armies of George Washington and the colonies it was Supernatural intervention that gave the American colonies the victory over the British God gave the victory to this country let me give you one more illustration to support and augment what I've said so far compare the favor of heaven supernaturally with Washington and our colonial army with Lord corn Wallace at the Battle of Yorktown corn Wallace was an aristocrat and elitist as most of us who have studied history no his views of the American Patriots as Rabel his word and peasants his word were well known although coron Wallace is quoted as saying if if we defeat all of the American men it would still take all we can to defeat the American women corn Wallace though could not have imagined a British defeat in America literally he could not have imagined it the British army was the greatest most powerful army in the world and had been for seemingly forever they were undefeatable they were an army of strength and power unmatched anywhere in the world corn Wallace in his greatest imagination could never have imagined a British defeat in America but as we know he surrendered the British forces at the battle of Yorktown in Virginia on October 19 1781 but do you know how it happened October 16 1781 3 days earlier British troops are being bombarded and facing heavy casualties corn Wallace realizes that General Clinton won't be there in time with reinforcements he tries to leave by crossing the York River but a freak storm makes the crossing impossible so they returned to Yorktown this type of storm has only happened a few times in history but it happened the night that corn Wallace tried to Retreat corn Wallace wrote this quote at this critical moment the moment of his attempted escape the weather from being moderate and calm changed to a most violent storm of wind and rain and drove the boats some of which had troops on board down the river it was was soon evident that the intended passage was impracticable when the storm died down at about 2: a the troops in grest rode back to Yorktown and as charlan wrote thus expired The Last Hope of the British army close quote sure our men fought bravely sure the men demonstrated much courage but just as God had given the victory to the children of Israel through Supernatural power so God gave to the armies of America the victory over the British via Supernatural [Applause] forces stop looking to yourself or your friends or Donald Trump or any other potic ition for deliverance from the enemies that are now berating us there is only one power that can defeat the enemy there is only one power that can give God's people the Victory and that is the power of Heaven itself so as we fight we must remember that power as we fight we must trust that power as we Engage The Enemy we must trust that power and that power alone my beloved brothers and sisters at Liberty Fellowship when we are weak then are we strong that stand for a closing word of Prayer