A WOW Moment - 2 Corinthians 12:5-10

Good evening, everybody. Tonight we are visiting with Miss, with Pee Wee.

With Pee Wee in the tank over here. But we're visiting with Miss Debra Towing.

Hello. I hope you remember who I am. I'm Vicki Davis, and I'm the Women's Director at Wynton Baptist Church, and this is my sister

Mercedes Watkins, and she is on the couch tonight because there's three of us, so we thought this might be better.

There's five if you count the dogs. There's five if you count the dogs, and they are as big as humans.

They're just over here. They'll be out in a minute, though. I promise they will make their appearance. He's a sweet boy.

Tonight we have asked Debra if she would like to join us in Bible study, and well, not tonight, but I asked her last week if she would like to join us in a

Bible study, and she was very ecstatic to do so. Debra has been home since all this

COVID started, and she said yes. She guessed that she would just skip over the six -foot parameter deal, which we are kind of close, but you see she's still not getting really close.

That's fine. She's not scared. So she has been home, and also she doesn't struggle with being home from what

I just found out. She's kind of actually enjoying it, so that's a good thing.

I guess it's a little therapeutic. I'm very much an introvert. Introvert?

Would have never thought that. Anybody that knows her, did y 'all know that? Yes. Yes, I did. An introvert knows an introvert.

I'm very much an introvert. I would have never guessed that. Extroverted by choice. But you do not seem that way at church.

You're not in a shell. It is introvert

Extrovert tendencies. Extrovert tendencies. My job requires me to be extroverted, and so therefore

I just become extroverted, but my comfort zone is introversion. Gotcha.

We're learning a little bit about Debra tonight. I had no idea. Did we ask them if they can hear us and understand us and everything?

Can everybody hear us? We can't see any comments Oh, she's going to pull up ours.

Did you turn the comments off? Maybe nobody can hear us.

Maybe nobody likes us. Maybe nobody likes us.

You said that, not me. Okay, it's just running a few minutes behind as you can tell.

Debra Talley is watching. You're watching. Look at that.

So, anyways, I called her a week ago and I asked her if she would like to do this, and she, of course, if anybody that knows

Debra knows that she kind of went several different directions with this. What were you going to wear?

I was going to wear my wedding dress. She wanted to wear a wedding dress at first. I was going to do my hair and makeup and wear the wedding dress, and then

I lost track of time today. So, we just had her.

That's all we need, really. That's all we need. So, she has chosen 2

Corinthians 12, 5 -10, and we had a discussion before all this started about who was going to read and Debra won.

So, Debra, if you'd like to, you can go ahead and read the scripture you've chosen to study this evening.

2 Corinthians 12, 5 -10. A man was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave 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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.

For when I am weak, then I am stronger. So, I mean, I just need,

I think I know why you chose this, but why did you choose this passage? So, 2 Corinthians 12, 9 is my favorite verse where it talks about my grace is sufficient for you and boasting in our weaknesses versus boasting in our strength.

And it's just always been, I memorized that verse when I was very, very young. And it just always stuck with me that it doesn't matter how strong I am, but it matters how strong Christ is.

And Christ has so much power that He's able to, in my weaknesses, that's when

He's glorified. When it's something that I can't do on my own power or in my own strength, that's when

God's glory is shown the most. Because He gives you the strength to... Well, He doesn't give you the strength,

He is your strength. Right. Very well said.

Very well said. Um, I didn't bring, I'm not, one pair of my reading glasses.

So... I have some, but how do I help you? Um, I noticed in the

Bible that I used to study that my gracious favor is all you need.

My power works best when your weakness is in red. So, that is, that's the scripture that you like the most, right?

That's the passage that you like. Mercedes, what do you, how do you relate with this passage?

Well, um, when you hit your weakest points, that is when you become the most vulnerable to let go and let

God. True. Um, I noticed in the study

Bible that I, it has, I believe that says Luke, let's say

Luke, yeah, 23, 43? Um, uh,

I'd like to know what that passage is in relation to this. I usually just study, like,

I usually just think about that verse, though, in the context, like, with just verse 9. But whenever you ask me about, you know, what verse

I wanted to do, I was like, well, I'm going to look at the context of it. And I just think that putting it in the context of where Paul was in his mind, like, mentally and spiritually, when he said that, it was just so interesting, like, to talk about how he had plenty of opportunities to be conceited.

Because he, I mean, he was pedigreed. Right. I mean, Paul was, Paul was it. And so he had so many opportunities to, you know, talk about his strength and, you know,

I did this and I got here. But yet, he was talking of, like, it's not his strength or his power, that there's even something in his life that keeps him from being where he thinks he wants to be and kind of keeps him humble.

What do you think that thorn is? I have no idea. I've heard so many different things. Me too. I've heard it might have been, like, his eyesight.

It could have been anything. It could have been. His alignment of some sort. Right. It could have even been, like, a sin that he struggled with, too.

That's one that I've heard a lot, is that it was a sin that, not that he, like, necessarily engaged in, but something that was a temptation for him.

Yeah. Yeah. Physical nature. Mm -hmm. That's something that, when you first told me you wanted to study this,

I was kind of like, I wonder what that could be. I don't know. I've heard so many. My study note said,

Paul's opponents who continued to persecute him. Some kind of physical affliction, possibly poor eyesight, malaria, fever, or severe migraines.

I've heard that one. Some kind of demonic harassment. Most commenters cautiously prefer some of the third views, since thorn and flesh would suggest a physical condition.

That's pretty much what my study note said. I've heard it could have been, like, depression or something like that, too. Just anything that gets your mind and eye off of it.

So, I'm sure several of us have. I probably have more than one thorn. I probably have, like, a rosebush of thorns.

I get hair splinters, does that count? Those hurt. Hair splinters. Have you ever had a hair splinter?

It hurts. When you cut the hair, it's got a sharp edge, and it sticks in you somewhere? No, I've never had one of those.

I can't imagine why. You do here. I don't. Well, there's a lot of this passage, though, because if you go up and you start at the beginning of 12, it really puts it into perspective, and that's why.

I did not know that the thorn, at first, when

I first read it, I was thinking the thorn was actually a thorn. Because that's the way

I took it. But now that you've put it that way, I can really see how many people have more than one, and the struggle that we go through, pricking them out one at a time.

Of course, we were never rid of all of them. Yeah. Well, he said that he prayed three times about it, and I think at that point, no,

I don't think he necessarily, let's see if I can find it, three times

I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But, and then it goes into the grace portion of it.

So, like, he begged God, you know, hey, please take this from me, take this from me, take this from me. And then God said, no, that's there for a reason, so that I can be glorified.

Get over it. He probably didn't say exactly like that, but. You kind of feel like it would have been that way.

Yeah. And, you know, it could have actually been that way. It could have. I really, really, really love this passage.

I had not even read it, except for, of course, in church, whenever we would go over it or something like that during a sermon.

But I'm really glad that you have brought this passage to me today, because I actually am going through some issues right now that, yeah,

I feel the thorns. I can feel them. So, I, uh.

I feel like the whole purpose of this is that we don't, we don't necessarily try to fix the thorns, because,

I mean, some issues in your life, you know, you do need to fix. But then there's some that we have to acknowledge that on our own power and our own strength, we have no ability whatsoever of handling it, which is why

Christ came to handle all that stuff for us. Such a wild young woman.

Oh. I have a nice carpet, okay? Please don't spill that on there.

No, I like this carpet. I'm just kidding. It's literally voter grade, and I have a massive dog. Your dog has his paw on my foot.

I took a picture. Is that not the cutest thing ever? I think he likes me. He does. He's huge.

He's not picky. Oh, does he like that cat? Yeah, they're fine.

Does it scare me when she walks past you? Have y 'all ever, sorry. That's okay. Have y 'all ever been in a position of taking pleasure in the weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and pressures?

So like when people do that, like if you're stuck on that? Yeah, like in verse 10 it says,

So like, you may not take pleasure in it all the time, but once everything is said and done, and things have been handled, and you've come out the other side, have you ever taken pleasure in those things, going through those things?

After the fact? Yeah. Yeah, because then it's kind of like, oh. Well, and then afterwards, you know, you might come across somebody who's gone through something similar, and you go, yeah,

I've been there. It's interesting, like we were talking about earlier, how I said I've enjoyed this time, like to be away from work and everything, and I love my job.

I absolutely love what I do. Yes, you do. It's so fun, but it's so nice to just have this downtime, and the only concern

I really had was the financial aspect of it. And so like you were pulling out in verse 10, it's been very enjoyable to see how

God is working through the situation to provide for us in various different ways. Like we've had random people who barely know us just give us a couple hundred dollars, and I've had clients and friends give me gift cards and stuff just to kind of help us through like the first couple of weeks and stuff.

And so it's just, it's been very humbling to see that, you know, all this time

I've been, you know, busting my butt and working my job thinking, oh, yeah, I'm providing, I'm making this money and all this. It's not really how it is.

Like God's provided 100 % of everything that we ever get. And so now that I don't have that sense of control over my finances, and it's strictly 100 % whatever

God's going to do, which I never had the control in the first place, but I felt like I did, it's just so like freeing and so nice to see where God is choosing to make that manifest and to happen.

And, you know, like you were saying, you can see it like after the fact, but even like during this, like I kind of had the, when this first started, my mindset was,

I'm not going to stress out about it because I know God's going to provide. And so I think having that mindset has made it more enjoyable for me going through the like financial hardships or whatever, trying to figure out where God's going to provide and it's been fun.

I've been in the same boat. Yeah, it's so cool. Like it's so freaking cool. Really?

Yeah. Well, I guess that's one thing, because I have been in control for 98 % of my life until a couple of years ago, two and a half years ago, actually, when

I did realize that I wasn't being controlled. Except for a lot of people who think we are, but we're really not.

But, you know, once you get through that and once you let it go, isn't it just a relief? It is.

Like when you're in the position of being, of feeling like you're in control of something, you feel like you have that power.

But then when that facade of being in control is taken away and you realize just how powerless you are, but how powerful

God is, it's just, it takes so much pressure off of you because you put a lot of pressure on yourself thinking that you can control something that you really can't.

So you bust your butt and push and push and push, whether it's people or your surroundings or money or whatever.

You're pushing to be in control of that, but the reality is you're not. And so when the idea of being in control is taken away from you or you give it up, like it's just like a weight.

You can literally go in it, be an actual sigh of relief.

I think I memorized that verse, the verse nine, when I was eight or nine years old. And it's, you know, I'm 19 now, so that's been a good 10 years.

And so, don't worry, we're lightning -proof in here. I've known this verse for a good, like,

I don't know, 15 years, something like that. And so it's something that,

I'm not even in the right mouth there, so get that. Anyway, a really long time, like 20 -something years.

I do, I do, mouth has gotten me in trouble before. So anyway, 20 -plus years I've known this verse, and I've seen it.

This verse and 1 Corinthians 10, 13 are my two verses that have just, every stage of my life, it has been that.

Wow. And it almost, my brain keeps going back to the do not worry ones that we covered last week, in correlation with this.

Because, what's the point? Because he's the one that's in control. And once you agree, or once you decide, or once you put it in your brain, or once you fixate yourself, or once you settle into the comfort of his presence, or, that's the only time you're going to see it,

I guess. Well, if you take the anxious for nothing and combine it with my grace is sufficient, it's a matter of, don't be anxious about it, because the very thing you're freaking out about is how

I'm going to show myself to be so powerful. Like, how God's going to show himself to be so powerful. That we can just stare in amazement and give

God glory. Amen. We're going to have to do this more often.

Without a camera in front of us. Oh, once I go back to work, I ain't got time for you.

I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. Wow, did y 'all hear that? You might need some ice out of your cup for that.

I just got heated. I don't know. Honey, you're a little warm.

You might burn me if you touch me. I love you. I love you too.

But anyways, we do actually care for one another deeply. Oh yeah,

I think it's on the public page, and some of these people don't know. Well, of course. Certain, certain.

They don't know us like the people that wouldn't know us. That's true. Because the people that wouldn't know us would be like, there's

Deborah. Yes, they would. She's arrived, ladies and gentlemen.

Deborah was here a minute ago, but I was not Deborah. Exactly, exactly. It's been a day. Right. Well, um, what time is it?

624. Oh, wow. That 30 minutes went by fast. Yeah, it's kind of interesting.

Deborah is really in the house now. Forget the sinus, maybe we will have her back on here one night.

I can't see your face, though, because the comments are in the way. What are we going to do with her?

We'll keep her. Yeah. We'll keep her. We will. Well, I hope you guys have enjoyed our study segment for tonight.

Usually our study segments are, well, when we don't have a phone or a camera in the room, we usually go for hours on end.

But considering that there's other people that want to get on here besides us, we thought we would be nice.

So, um, Mrs. Talley, I would like to thank you for this time with you in your house with your wonderful dogs.

Before we leave, though, we'll show you all the dogs, because I know they haven't made their appearance. And Mercedes, I want to thank you again for tonight.

I don't know who will be on here next Thursday with us. We'll have to think about it.

We may talk to you about that. Maybe you could give us an input on who you think would be good. I'll think about it.

Who knows. Would you like to show the dogs to the people? And you can do your wow moment.

They were groomed today, so they're very, very relaxed from their pamper session. They're very sweet.

Look at him. Look at him. That's Pee -wee? Yes. Pee -wee's up for grabs if anybody's interested.

You have Tank. And this is Tank. He's a sweet boy. He's a sweet boy. So they've been very good, though.

Pastor Ben, they were very good tonight. They were very well -behaved. You've done a good job with raising them.

Good? Yeah. All right, and this has been a wow moment. Y 'all have a good night.