Full Surrender — Keith Daniel

Jeremiah's Potter and the Rebellious Nation

Jeremiah 18, verse 1, the word, the word which came to Jeremiah, the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee, I will cause thee to hear my words.

Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels, he wrought a work on the wheels, and the vessel that he made of clay was marred, the vessel that he made of clay was marred, was ruined, was ruined in the hand of the potter, the vessel that he made of clay in the hand of the potter, he made it again, he made it again, another vessel, another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter, saith the Lord? Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have pronounced turned from their evil? I will repent, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom to build and to plant it, if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them.

Now therefore, go to speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord. Behold, I frame evil against you. I frame evil against you and devise a device against you.

Return ye now, every one, from this evil way. Return ye now, every one, from this evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. And they said, and they said, Well, what does a nation, what does a nation say in their hearts to God when God sends a creature like Jeremiah with such a message?

They said, This is the heart of a nation responding to the message of a man sent from God. And they said, There is no hope, there is no hope, but we will walk after our own devices and we will, every one, do the imagination of his evil heart.

We will, every one, do the imagination of his evil heart. Verse 18,. Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet.

Come and let us smite him with a tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. I would like for us tonight to look very carefully. I would like for us tonight to look very carefully and caringly, and caringly at the life and ministry of a disillusioned preacher.

Jeremiah's Call and the Burden of Ministry

I would like for us tonight to look very carefully and caringly at the life and ministry of a disillusioned preacher in a decadent, doomed nation, in a decadent, doomed nation. And perhaps it would be good for us, perhaps it would be good for us to all look back to the beginning.

Jeremiah looked back to when God had first called him to preach. Jeremiah looked back to when God had first called him to preach, and he wrote in chapter one, verse four, Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb, before thou ordained thee a prophet unto the nations, then said I, Ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot, I cannot speak, for I am a child.

But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child, that thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

Then the Lord put forth his hand, then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said unto me, Behold, behold, I have put my words, I have put my words in thy mouth, I have put my words in thy mouth.

Years later, years later, deep into his ministry, deep into his ministry, in chapter 15, verse 15, a disillusioned, bitter, confused, and spiritually wounded preacher stands before the God who sent him and prays, and prays, O Lord, thou knowest, thou knowest, thou knowest, remember me, remember me, and visit me, visit me, visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors, revenge me of my persecutors, take me not away in thy long-suffering.

Know that for thy sake I have suffered with you, thy words were found, thy words were found, and I did eat them, I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart, for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced, I sat alone because of thy hand, for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed, wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?

For thus saith the Lord, the next verse says, therefore thus saith the Lord, well, what can God say to a man in such a state as this? What can God say to a man in such a state as this? Therefore, thus saith the Lord, thou return, thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me, and if thou take forth the precious from the vial, if thou take forth the precious from the vial, thou shalt be my mouth.

That God said to Jeremiah in verse 19 are staggering words, beloved, they are staggering words. One of the greatest theologians in the history of the church said that the most accurate interpretation, the most accurate interpretation of what God was actually saying, the meaning of the word that God was saying to Jeremiah in verse 19 would read like this, if you give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair, if you give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair, cleansing your own heart from unworthy suspicions concerning God's faithfulness, cleansing your own heart from unworthy suspicions concerning God's faithfulness, you shall be as my mouth, Jeremiah.

But if you don't, child, I can never use you again. I will never use you again, child, if you don't. If you give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair, cleansing your own heart from unworthy suspicions concerning God's faithfulness, you shall be as my mouth, Jeremiah.

You shall be as my mouth. But if you don't, child, I cannot use you. I will not use you again, ever again. It would be the end of his ministry if he didn't do something about this distrust. I want us all to take careful note here.

I want us all to take careful note here. God does not come to this man, God does not come to this man and say, Oh, Jeremiah, I'm going to take out of your life and circumstances all the things that are hurting you.

God does not come to this man and say, Oh, Jeremiah, I'm going to take out of your life and circumstances, all the things that are hurting you. The things you feel I should never have allowed to come in your life in the first place.

No, beloved God, does not come and say that to this man. These things were never meant to destroy you or your faith and trust in me, child. These things were never meant to destroy you or your faith and trust in me, child, though I allowed them.

Paul's Thorn and Sufficient Grace

I allowed them. The Apostle Paul realized why God allowed these things in his life, and he wrote in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 7, lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, the messenger of Satan, to buffet me, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

For this thing I besought the Lord that it might depart from me, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, and he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee. My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. In weakness, most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 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's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in distresses, for Christ's sake, am I strong.

O beloved, Jeremiah sank in despair and bitterness in his difficulties and troubles. Jeremiah sank in despair and bitterness in his difficulties and troubles, but Paul, in the same difficulties, wrote in 2 Corinthians 4 verse 8, We are troubled, we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.

We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

O most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. It's a staggering statement, beloved, but in the school of God, in case you don't know it, God will not rest until that is your testimony from your heart.

In case you don't know it, in the school of God, God is not interested in your comforts. There will come a day when God requires of you to say from your heart to Him, therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities and weaknesses, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong.

O beloved, be honest, even if it's going to be just one night in your whole life, in a meeting you're required to do so, every one of you, be honest. If it wasn't for, if you had no weaknesses, no infirmities, no problems, no difficulties, no trials, you would never once in your Christian life had to look away from your own strength and had to look to God for His strength for you to be able to survive.

You would never once have proved the power of Christ in your life. You would never once have had to. You would have had your own strength to do it. God would never once have had to make His power available to you.

Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. God would never have had to make His power available to you to survive if it wasn't for all these things that make you know you are weak, and without His strength you cannot survive.

God wants that in the school of God from every one of you. He's not interested in your strength, child, in your abilities, in your gifts. Don't you know that that's why the things you cry out, Paul? Three times he cried, not just three prayers.

Three times he got so desperate with something in his life that the devil sent. It was the devil, but allowed by God because God knew this is needed. For what I seek in his life, the fruit I'm looking for is not the fruit you're looking for.

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. There's no comprehending fully the thoughts of God and His dealings with us, but do you honestly believe God just has lost control or isn't even looking when you despair over things the devil is bringing in your life?

Why does God leave these things that make me feel weak? Oh, Jeremiah, if you give up this mistaken toll of despair, cleansing your own heart from unworthy suspicions concerning God's faithfulness, you shall be as my mouth, Jeremiah.

But if you don't, child, I cannot use you again. How can you install faith in others if you have no faith in yourself? If you have no faith yourself, child. You know God does something to all of us when we're saved and in the school of God, and that happens the day you get saved.

You enroll in a school, enroll in God's school, and trust me about this the day. You want to serve God and you want to walk with Him and you want to be your best for Him. God does something that almost seems cruel, that seems cruel and unreasonable.

God gives every one of us, no matter who you are, a thorn in the flesh. Do you know what a thorn in the flesh means? God gives us something that handicaps us. Don't doubt this. Don't doubt this, or you won't know anything about what's going on in the heart of God or in life once you're saved if you doubt this.

He does something that makes you feel like, poor, I've got to get this out of my life. God has to deal with this. God has to deal with this thing in my life. The devil sent him to buffet me, you know.

Do you know what buffet means? To punch so hard, literally, that I lose balance. Some think God lets the devil have consciousness of the new life that will literally make you lose all balance. God does that.

God stands back and allows that. Why? Why does it seem God would allow such a cruel, why would God? It seems like it's cruel in the heart of a perfect God, that I don't want this. I don't want this. I've sought God three times.

Brokenness as God's Work of Grace

Three times he laid down everything in life. Not just three prayers. He laid down life. He withdrew everything in his despair of what was in his life, and he sought God to deliver it, that it might depart from him.

Do you know, God didn't. Paul, my ways are not your ways. God didn't deliver it. I want this thing, child, to make you bring fruit that you're not looking for. The things you think God needs to deal with is not the things God wants to deal with.

The things you're despairing about are many times the things God knows he's not going to take out of your life because that's going to bring the fruit you're not looking for. God's looking for different fruit than you and I are looking for in our lives, you know.

God's looking for brokenness. And let me tell you, young man, brokenness is not a tragic thing. It's the first step to greatness. There's no religion. There's nothing. There's nothing to compare with Christianity.

There's only one way, friend, in God's eyes, and that's to get you broken itself. And you can see that written across a man a mile away if God isn't having his way. It's not nice to see it in a Christian, but, oh, Christ begins to come out through a man.

When God starts making a man conscious, he's nothing. He's too weak. His gifts aren't good enough. His own strength isn't good enough, and he begins to reveal Christ. Oh, God's ways are not our ways. God gives us a thorn in the flesh deliberately in mercy, in love, in wisdom that you and I don't have.

He gives us a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, to hit me hard. It is Satan sent by Satan to destroy me, allowed by God to make me. Do you honestly think God loses control when the devil comes and really makes you lose balance and stagger?

You're so staggered, you despair. What was despair? Don't doubt that. A thorn in the flesh. You know, when I was a little boy—now, let's see how little I was. I suppose as little as you were, right in the middle there.

Now, everyone is going to look at you, so that's how terrible I am to make you get embarrassed. All right, how old are you? Yes, ten, that was it. I was about ten, don't doubt it. I probably looked a lot like you.

Well, as a boy in Africa, in South Africa, my daddy didn't like a city very much, but he had to be there. But he built our home on the edge of the city, way out on what we call the wilds. I tell you, people call woods like forests what we call forests, but in Africa we get thickets.

It's like what you people would refer to as jungles, you know, it's really thick. You've got to be small to be able to get in there. You know how we got in, the monkeys and the baboons? They made paths through all the thickets.

And did we love those paths? Well, we were like monkeys. The big people couldn't get in there. We would run, you know, woo, you couldn't believe it. We knew like the back of our hands, all the monkey trails through all the thickets, what you people call jungle.

Oh, big people would be scared to venture in there, many of them, but that was our playground. And a little crowd of boys, we would run. You wanted to see me. I was always the first, you know, I was very proud of it.

Always ahead of everybody, running, running. We even went on the monkey ropes, you know. They didn't like it. They chased us one day. Those monkeys and baboons, one day got so upset with us that they decided enough is enough, you know.

And they chased us, screaming, we were running, screaming. They rushed out and they even came out on the road to look at us and say, now don't come back, you know. But we did go back. We were really crazy.

Children do wild and ridiculous things, but, oh, it was fun. It was fun. Well, one day, me and my friends were running, and I, as usual, were in the front of the row, silly Billy, and I was running. Oh, and we were going through.

And there was on this little path, I don't know how it got into the thicket, a little plank, a piece of wood with a nail through it, a rusted long nail. I don't know how that ever got that far. Nothing else was there but the big wild trees and things, you know.

And here I was running, and my foot went on this nail with this plank. The nail went right through my foot. And the blood just squirted like a tap, you know. I just fell down on my back, you know. And I screamed with my legs very undignified.

Oh, it was sore. What did my friends do, helpful as they were at that age? They all just stood there screaming. Waaah! Well, we all stood there screaming. That wasn't very good. In the end, they decided, because I wasn't going to stop bleeding or screaming, they decided they'd better do something.

So they were very, one took this arm, the other took this leg, you know, four of them carrying me, very undignified. I was being run through. Waaah! And they ran.

Somehow, eventually, we got out of the thicket.

By the mile of running, we got back to where they had a pharmacy. You people call a pharmacy. I can't believe what you've got. In our country, a pharmacy is where you get medicine. Not everything else in the world, like America.

But we had a pharmacy, a chemist there. And the old chemist knew all the children. He was an old uncle, you know. And, well, they lay me on the table. He put me down. They had snapped the wood off, and there was the nail and the piece of wood left.

But there I lay still crying. I was in a state. And he, of course, pulled this thing out and put antiseptic, anything to try and help it to stop and get it healed. But, you know, I couldn't walk. I had to be carried.

There was no such a thing as standing or taking a step. I was finished with what went through my foot. I couldn't walk. I had to be literally carried or laid there, unable to get a step further. But the thorn in the flesh is not like that.

The thorn in the flesh that God allows, you can walk. You can walk. But you know it's hard. It's not easy to walk when there's a thorn in the flesh. You're conscious all the time. There's something that makes you have to walk carefully and slowly.

You can't walk like you want to walk. You're slowed down. It's like a handicap. You're conscious all the time. This is difficult. This makes it difficult. This makes it hard to walk. It's hard for me to walk now with this thorn.

And God, in His wisdom, that we don't have the slightest ability to even begin to reconcile apart from His Word and really thinking and allowing the Holy Spirit to give us revelation, He allows this to happen into every one of our lives, every one of our lives.

Why does God do that? Why does God do that? Now, we must take careful note. What to one person is a thorn in the flesh is not necessary to another person. That's why don't expect sympathy from anyone on earth concerning your thorn in the flesh.

People will look at you and think you're absolutely weak or crazy. So don't even tell people about your thorn in the flesh. If you notice, Paul didn't name it. You dare not either. Most people won't identify.

How can that be such a crippling thing to you that you're so despaired? No. What to one person is a thorn. Do you know D .L. Moody? Moody was one of the five greatest soul winners in the history of the Church.

Don't doubt that. One of the five greatest soul winners that ever lived in the history of the Church was D .L. Moody, your D .L. Moody from America. He brought Scotland to God. John Knox brought Scotland away from Rome, but Moody brought Scotland to God.

As no other man in this history, Scotland began to seek God through Moody. Moody was amazing. They say one million people came to God through him without loudspeakers, but they're wrong, you know. That was far too conservative.

Other books are written saying it cannot be the million like the original book Engel telling us of his biography. Approximately one million people came to Christ. No. He brought whole nations back to God.

Brother, sister, Moody brought millions. I would say four million. As a conservative, that's not taking a chance, so don't just go by this one million. Moody was one of the greatest soul winners in the history.

One man without radios, without loudspeakers, without televisions or videos to spread his ministry. One man. Four million people, a very conservative amount. Moody was turning the world upside down, even in America.

Different Forms of the Thorn in the Flesh

But now Moody, Moody, what to one person is a thorn in the flesh is not to another, and Moody proved that. One day, D. L. Moody was walking in Chicago. Now, Chicago knew who Moody was, let me tell you something.

Everyone knew in that city. He walked down the street with a president one day, you know, a president. And you know what made him walk away from the president? A drunk in the gutter. He left the side of the president, never to be near that president again in his life.

That wasn't to him what was needed. He went down. He couldn't pass a soul that he saw needed. He had this compassion knelt down in the gutter. Oh, no wonder God used Moody. No wonder God used Moody. All he saw was the soul, the need.

Oh, God was good to him. Now, Moody one day was walking down the street in Chicago. He had his old suit on and his old bowler hat. I don't know if you've seen the pictures of Moody with his old suit. I think he used the same suit most of his life, once he put in a bit of weight anyway.

Well, he was walking down the street now in Chicago, and Moody was doing something strange. He was looking down. Now, that's not a good thing for a Christian to do. You're supposed to look up, brother.

But he was looking down, and here he was, this great soul winner, stirring the whole world, becoming a household name across the world. Moody was walking down the street now, and he was beginning to really worry.

Something was really hurting him, grieving him, great concern. Do you know what it was? Nothing has gone wrong for two full weeks. Now, he's worried about that. Well, I wish I could worry about that. Gone wrong?

The devil isn't worried about me anymore. Oh, my, now he's really getting worried. The more he thinks he's going into darkness now. What's wrong with me? You know, he's getting heavy now. Suddenly, the devil had a very uncouth, hard, cruel man standing on the other side of the street who was full of sin, and he recognized Moody, and he shouted as he was standing there by the tram stop, waiting for the tram with a whole lot of people.

He sees Moody, and he shouts, Where is that mad man? There goes that mad fanatic. Moody, you fanatic.

Oh, I would die.

But he's screaming, you're a mad thing, you are.

A bit of abusive language, I believe. He was a really uncouth man, screaming across the corner. Now, Moody was, looks at this man, and what does Moody do? Takes off his hat, he throws it in the air, he jumps up, and he says,.

Hallelujah, the devil still hates me.

Now, that must have confused the devil. But brother, if somebody did that to me, I would die. I mean, I would just, they'd scream at me in the streets now, you know. What to one man is a thorn in the flesh is not to another man.

Here, exactly opposite. He wouldn't understand, he wouldn't identify with how you're going through with that. You must remember that. I want to read something to you, and I want you all to listen carefully, very carefully.

Our thorn in the flesh may be so different to other people. What is your thorn in the flesh? Will you listen, every one of you, and let God point to you why he's a loud thing. As different it is to others who might not understand.

To some people, the thorn in the flesh is physical. You've been given some physical setback or sickness, a handicap that you must bear all your life. But God allowed it. It slows you down, it drives you to despair.

But you cannot understand why God doesn't do it. You can't be what you want to be for God, what you want to do for God. You're so conscious. To some people, the thorn in the flesh is physical. You've been given some setback and a handicap that you must bear physically all your life, it seems.

To others, the thorn in the flesh is something about your character. That you become conscious is a deep setback in your life, where people misunderstand you because of this in your character. They misunderstand you constantly.

You know, we have in our mission, which is probably the oldest missionary society in Africa, one of the oldest in the world, to survive when other missions collapse. Our mission has been there many, many years.

It's had many godly people. When I was a young missionary in Africa, our leader, he had been, I think, fifty-five years in full-time service for God, just burning his life out for souls. And his wife, he had been a leader in this mission for many years, respected, revered, but he was now old.

And they had this big farewell, you know, in the great hall. And the missionaries and the fruit of the mission came in their throngs to hear them speak. And they let his wife speak. She was allowed to get up and share a testimony at this farewell as she was saying goodbye and withdrawing now from full-time capacity and leadership over this mission.

And she testified something that staggered that congregation to the depth of their soul, this godly woman. She testified. She said, None of you have known. I have had in my character something that has kept me in the dust all through the years, every day.

People were scared of me. But as I had more and more leadership, because my husband was an authority, the ladies had to be dealt with. If something went wrong with the lady missionary workers all over South Africa and Africa, it was my responsibility to confront them.

And I didn't want to, but I had to. My husband didn't go to a lady to tell her I was the one as the leader's wife. And oftentimes I had to, but there's something about my character that people were offended at.

I became conscious of it. It seemed like I was angry. And people became fearful of me. I couldn't get over this. It began to really stagger me that people were so wounded by the way I spoke. I didn't mean it intentionally as sinfulness.

And I began to weep before God when I realized the hurt and the shock. And she said, I came before God one day and I said to Him, I wish, God, that thou wouldst make me like this Ethelbert Smith. Ethelbert Smith was one of the greatest preachers in the history of South Africa.

He was probably the most loved man in our country's history, apart from Andrew Murray himself, who turned our whole nation to seek God when he was alive. Ethelbert Smith, she said, I would like to be like him.

He never gets angry, no matter what people do wrong. As a leader, he's just so gently. There's no anger. There's no harshness in his, no strength in his words. He's just love, you know. When people fail, what does Ethelbert Smith do?

He goes and puts his arms around them. Whenever another man wants to get angry, he wears the whip with them, you know. Try and look for anything to encourage them with, you know. He really was an amazing person.

Nothing made him angry. He was the gentlest. And then God said to me one day on my knees, when I was weeping, please, God, if he can be like that, I want thee to make me like that. And God said to her, in her heart, Ethelbert Smith was born like that.

He didn't acquire that through going through with God. Some people are born with a gentle character. It isn't a matter of a work of grace. He just happened to be born like that. That's his whole character.

You are like your mother. Do you remember? And she thought about it. You're not full of sin. You've got your mother's character. She was like that. When your mother said, jump, everybody jumped. Just the way she said it.

Now, you've got your mother's character. It's not that you're sinning against me. And then God said to me, but in spite of this in your life, I can still bring grace. I can give you all the grace to make you Christ-like as you stay in the dust because of this thing.

Something great can come out of it. She said, you know, I was in the dust daily. I went down before God, and I would groan before God. I would cling to God as very few people might ever need to so that I had the grace to walk out and not react as my character naturally wanted me to and would just react without sinfulness in my heart.

I had to stay down at the cross daily through the years as very few people conscious of my desperate need for God to keep me quiet, to hold my lips, and to give me somehow wisdom to know what to say in spite of my having to be a leader that wouldn't wound.

It kept me in the dust, this thing God left in me. Some people, the thorn in the flesh is physical. To others, the thorn in the flesh is something about your character. That you become conscious is a deep setback where people misunderstand you constantly.

But God doesn't take it out of your life. It's not sin. It isn't as if it's going to be refined by the blood, but controlled by the Holy Spirit because you need grace, and God gives grace to those who know they need it.

It kept you down. It kept you careful to make sure you draw strength. To others, the thorn in the flesh is psychological. You could have a deeply negative character, a hypersensitive spirit that the devil aims at always to stagger you through insensitive, harsh, and cruel people.

I'd like to repeat that. To some, the thorn in the flesh is psychological. You could have a deeply negative character, a hypersensitive spirit that the devil plays chaos with you. He aims at always just knowing what to do.

He's got enough insensitive people in the church, let me tell you. He just knows what to do to set them off. Through insensitive, harsh, and cruel people, the devil is staggering you. But have you noticed something about such people?

I'll tell you. Pick up their Bibles, and you'll know immediately, if you want to know the mind of Christ, why God didn't just take it out of their hearts that they're not insensitive anymore. These people, they survive by the Word of God.

Every page, it's almost like you can see the tears, seeking for God to comfort, to heal the wounds daily. They devour the Scripture. They identify with every promise. The dates are there, the marks of what God promised them concerning the hurts, concerning the people that were hurting them.

They had drawn near to God in a way no one would ever draw near to God for survival. They devour the time with God alone. They have to. They seclude themselves every moment they can get for healing, for comfort, for faith, for something to get them up and go back, in spite of the cruelty that's going to hurt them, and they know it.

Oh, God has His way in not taking it out of their lives. They're somebody who devoured the Word of God as a source of survival that others who are not sensitive will never devour the Word and identify with every promise.

And the book becomes their destiny to survive.

Oh, God knows what He's doing, your child. See, others with thorn in the flesh can be a person, the messenger of Satan, sent by Satan to buffet me. Like John Wesley. Do you know who John Wesley's thorn in the flesh was?

The Thorn in the Flesh as a Person

You know, Wesley, they threw him off a cliff, left him for dead. He got up and he walked to the man who threw him off the cliff. I mean a high cliff. He was left for dead. They were scared that what was happening in all the towns and cities would happen in their town, these men of sin.

He got up, he walked into the town. Oh, he was in a state, covered with blood and bruised and limping, and he led the whole town to God, beginning with the men that threw him off. Nothing could discourage him.

They stoned him. Do you know they stoned him for fear of what was happening? That the stones literally covered his whole body, these about a hundred men, stoning him. We don't want this to happen here.

And they walked away. He's dead. He wasn't. He pushed the stones off eventually, got out. Oh, he was in a terrible state. But Wesley, what did he do? He didn't go and say, Oh, what have they done to me?