Mission Sent
Thanks so much for your time as you hear from Mission Sent in Florida. Our mission is to Serve Others, Share the Gospel of Jesus, and Live our Lives on Mission! Let's make the world better one Mission at a time.
Mission Sent
When Your Life Feels Stuck: A Christian's Guide to Perseverance
Have you ever felt completely stuck in life? Those moments when each day bleeds into the next, challenges pile up, and forward momentum seems impossible? That's exactly what we're tackling today – not just acknowledging these difficult seasons but discovering how Christians should navigate them.
Romans 12:12 offers profound guidance: "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." These aren't merely nice suggestions but essential marks of authentic Christian living. What's fascinating is how these three simple directives can transform our experience when life feels stalled.
We explore why identifying as "realists" fundamentally contradicts our faith. If we truly believe Jesus is who He claimed to be – the one who healed the blind, raised the dead, and conquered the grave – then realism as we understand it becomes irrelevant. Instead, we're called to be what we might call "hopists" – people whose fundamental orientation is grounded in divine possibilities rather than human limitations.
The Greek word for patience used here – makrothymia – literally means "suffering well." This isn't about pretending everything's fine when it isn't. It's about enduring difficult seasons with the confidence that our present circumstances don't define our ultimate reality. As Paul reminds us elsewhere, our current sufferings pale in comparison to the glory that awaits us.
Perhaps most practically, we examine what it means to be "constant in prayer." For many, prayer functions as a last resort when all else fails. But what if prayer was our starting place? What if, like Jesus, we approached each challenge with an attitude of dependence on the Father rather than self-reliance?
Whether you're currently weathering a storm or enjoying calmer waters, these principles provide an anchor for your soul. They remind us that Christian living isn't about avoiding difficulty but about responding to it differently – with hope that transcends circumstances, patience that endures suffering, and prayer that connects us to our ultimate source of strength.
Join us as we discover how to move beyond merely surviving difficult seasons to actually growing through them. When life feels stuck, perhaps what needs to change isn't always our circumstances but our perspective.
All right. Well, I pray everyone is doing well. I'm going to start by asking you a quick question. Some of you, younger kids, may be like nope. However, do you ever feel like your life is like just stuck, like you just feel like you're in this rut? It just will not just continue to move forward? Maybe it's a rough patch, maybe it's a season you know we have different words depending on what type of Christian we are but do you ever just get to those points where you feel like your life is just the same thing day after day after day, with just things getting piled up on top of you?
Speaker 1:Well, that's what we're going to look to explore today and we're going to see, as Christians, what should we be doing? What should our life look like when things just don't seem to be going our way? So I'm going to pray and then we're going to jump into it. Father, god, we thank you so much for your word and I ask, and I pray, that as I stand up here and preach this morning God, they are not my words, that they are yours that, father, I don't try to intermix anything. I am, but that, god, you just use me to speak to your people. Father, I pray that we leave here today encouraged and more dependent on you than when we came in. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:All right, so we're going to look at Romans 12, 12, and it says this Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Now, remember, these are marks of a true Christian. These are things that Paul is using to say hey, if you're calling yourself a Christian, these are the ways you should be living your life. And then he goes into these sets of three. Right, we saw a couple of weeks ago that our love should be genuine, right, and that's what we showed yesterday. Reggie, just I don't know how many times he came up to me and was just like in tears, and it's hard when you see a grown man in tears going thank you, is there any? Like? Can I pay? You guys Can like what needs to happen, and I was like no man. This is just done in love, like we're here, because love should be genuine. Abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good. Like Paul uses these threes to teach things. That's why we're seeing today rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer, because when we have threes like this. It helps our brains to be able to grab a hold of things. That's why, if you remember back in the day before we had these supercomputers in our pockets, you had to remember people's phone numbers, right, the first three were always easy. It was the four that kind of screwed us up right, because our brain is set to do this in patterns. And Paul that knows stuff like this. Not okay, he wasn't a psychologist, but he knew this is an effective way to teach. So what he starts with first here is rejoice in hope.
Speaker 1:Now I'm going to go ahead and tell you there are things that just go right through me that people say a lot, and the first one is this I'm a realist or I'm an optimist, or I'm a pessimist. Okay, these things go right through me, especially if you are sitting here calling yourself a Christian. Now, that being said, I cling to. I'm a realist. Me and Debbie have many, many different. What's an easy way to say this? Like heated conversations. We wouldn't call them arguments because I'm a pastor and you know we don't argue.
Speaker 1:But, that being said, where I go, debbie, I'm a realist. Like, let's just be real about this. This is what it is. Now, that's wrong. The Bible would argue against me. The Bible would sit here and say that if I'm in Christ, if I believe Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be and did exactly what he claimed to do, then I shouldn't be a realist. I shouldn't be a realist, I shouldn't be an optimist. And I shouldn't be a pessimist because Jesus did some things that were in the realm, that were out of the realm of possibility. See, if I'm in Christ, I shouldn't be those things. You know what? I should be A hoper and I'm not even sure if that's a real word but a hopist. Okay, we'll go with that one.
Speaker 1:Because, see, jesus did some things that, in the natural, don't make sense. Put up that slide Jesus did. For starters, jesus brought himself back to life. Like we literally just sang a song where it said the grave could not hold you. You know why the grave couldn't hold him? Because Jesus, ultimately, is the one who gets to decide that.
Speaker 1:Like he brought himself back to life, jesus healed the blind. Now, why is that so important? Because in Isaiah it says that when the Messiah comes, he will give sight to the blind. But Jesus literally took mud and rubbed them in a blind man's face. He spit in the mud, rubbed it in this guy's face and his eyes are restored. His eyes are opened up. Like Jesus literally heals blind people.
Speaker 1:Jesus raised the dead. Not only did he raise himself, but when Lazarus went, hey, it's my turn to go be in glory. And no one ever really stops and thinks about this. Right, where was Lazarus at that time In heaven? Like, lazarus was in paradise when Jesus woke him back up. No one ever looks at this from the point of view of Lazarus and goes man, I wouldn't have wanted to be that Like. I finally made it to the end and now here I am, getting called back into this and guess what he has to do again? Now Die.
Speaker 1:But see, jesus walked in and went. Lazarus come forth and he had no choice in his grave clothes and everything walks out of the tomb. Jesus turns water into wine. I always thought it was a miracle when I was a child to turn water into Kool-Aid, but Jesus did this without the packet. Like, how amazing is that Jesus made the lame walk Right? Is that Jesus made the lame walk right? Like, remember that they lower the guy down through the roof because they couldn't get into the house? Jesus walks over and immediately the guy is healed. See, here's the problem with this is, we limit Jesus. We're the ones that go. Oh, no, no, no, like I got to figure this out. See, think about it. What was Jesus's biggest miracle? I'll give you a hint. It's not up on the board, so if you're going to say something that's up there, you're wrong.
Speaker 1:Being born by a virgin what about this? That he saved a wretch like me, that he took someone who did not deserve it. He took someone that was not living for him. He took someone that would never understand the true sacrifice that he gave and he went. I want you Think about that.
Speaker 1:Like, how many times have you ruined a relationship with someone because, like, they called you a name or heaven forbid they forgot your birthday on social media and didn't give you one of those huge posts that the whole world could see how important you were? Like, how many times is it they sent the wrong text message? Like you didn't under, like there was a miscommunication because you didn't have facial features or tone and all the things, so you took it one way when they didn't even mean it that way. See, we're quick to cut that off. How many times have you slapped Jesus in the face, though, and yet he still stands here and goes.
Speaker 1:But I love you, kayla, and I don't even know how we get into some weird conversations in our car, like I don't know how they always come up, or anything like that. But Kayla, my daughter at 15, who is not married decided she wanted to have a conversation about like adultery and what that means in the confines of marriage. Now, on one hand, I give her credit right, she's thinking a little bit above her years. But she went uh-uh, someone cheats, that's it, it's over. And I went okay, I understand that, right. I said but Kayla, where is redemption or reconstruction or any of that in what you're saying? Now, I'm not saying you stay, and I'm not saying you shouldn't stay, like those are things I mean. Jesus himself says that divorce is acceptable in terms of adultery. But, that being said and this is how the conversation continued, how the conversation continued I said JT, kayla, the whole book of Hosea is about an unfaithful spouse, and it shows how we are unfaithful in our role with our bride, jesus.
Speaker 1:And yet Jesus doesn't look at us and go hey, you know what I'm done. You chased after that idol again. We're done Like, think about that. Where is the grace in what you're saying? Because, see, understand, jesus does some things that just blow our mind and our little minds cannot fully fathom and understand all of that. Like, I don't know how to have grace and justice in the same thing. I don't know where that line is and, because I'm an imperfect human, sometimes I err too much on the side of grace when I should have brought down the hammer, and other times I'm bringing down the hammer on JT when I should have extended grace, and I don't understand how that works. But you know, who does Jesus Like? Jesus knows exactly when, hey, it's time to discipline those I love and it's time to show and extend grace to those I love. Because, see, jesus does this thing totally different than all of us. Because we're realist, right, and we use this in a term that makes us try to sound like we have a better understanding of reality, like because we know how this works, right.
Speaker 1:Anybody in here really stop and think about it? Has anyone in here ever experienced an actual miracle, something that just you can't explain? Because I bet, if you were to stop and understand, like, how hard it was for your parents to get pregnant and how everything in their body biologically works against the act of pregnancy. You would understand that you just being here is a miracle, like I understand that. What about, like, that first time you got a cold? Like some of you, most of us probably don't even remember the first time because you were probably a baby you know what was happening. The virus that shall not be named which, by the way, has existed long before 2020, was literally inside your body, going I am going to try to kill you and yet your body, miraculously, is designed to defend against things like that, things that you can't even see. Your body actually will create cells they're called T-cells that will actually go and fight foreign things into your body and you don't stop and go. That's a miracle. Like you don't understand, like, what Jesus has brought you through to get you to this point, because we're realists, right, we can explain all of this stuff. So therefore, it cannot be a miracle. I was just watching a thing on YouTube, because if I have a guilty pleasure in life, it is scrolling through YouTube, looking at the most random videos you will ever find.
Speaker 1:There is a surgery for one of the lenses on your cornea, one of the lenses on your eye for one of the lenses on your cornea, one of the lenses on your eye that when you remove this particular lens, it allows humans to see light in the ultraviolet spectrum. You have a tenting on your eye that blocks against UV light because otherwise when you walk into the sun it would literally burn your eye. So God designed your eye to put this blocker naturally on there. But, like certain forms of cataract, they have to remove this one lens and it allows humans to see in the ultraviolet spectrum. And you don't think that's a miracle, like you don't think God when he designed light went okay, now let me take my creation and give them a way to defend against the light. Like, think about that. Alligators have like three different eyelids. So they have their, their cornea, then they have one that closes sideways when they go underwater, so they have like a built-in goggle and then they have their eyelid that actually closes. You don't think that that's by design. See, we have to understand.
Speaker 1:You can be a realist all you want to, but do you know what the actual natural outcome of being a realist is? Nihilism. And if you're sitting here going whoa, don't know what nihilism is. Jt, what's nihilism? Nothing matters, because in the end, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, it all burns up in the end, right?
Speaker 1:Some of you guys in here, that's where you sit, right, because we're smart and we're analytical and we're logical and we can think through and fix everything. So when we were going back and forth on what to get for Father's Day stuff, I was like, deb, here's what you get. You just go get Lowe's gift cards, because if you're a guy, you should be expected to know how to fix things right, like that is your role. A little sexist, I know, but let's be honest, how many of you would have used that, see, and so like talking about that, because that's our role, right, and we're realists, we're the logical ones. Your wives are the ones that are just like irate and crazy. Okay, they're the ones that just they break the things that we have to fix right. But do you know that the natural outcome of that is nihilism? It's sitting here, going. Why even try? What's the point of it? That's what a realist should be, because if you are, in fact, a realist, you should understand that it's going to break, people are going to die, relationships are gonna fall apart. We live in a sinful, broken world. That is what happens. But if you're a Christian, then your whole mentality should shift on that.
Speaker 1:Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 19, 26. You ready? With man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. Now, does he like specify what things? No, he says this word, all. And in Greek, here's what that word means Everything, like anything you can think of, it is possible.
Speaker 1:And when I'm talking about this with, like, a group of teenagers, like in school, what's the first thing they always shoot for? So you're saying I can fly. Yeah, actually I am, because it said all things, and then I normally will follow that up with when we go to break, I want you to climb up on the roof and you try that out, and one day it's going to happen. Right, one of them is going to fly. We have a good insurance policy here, but see what Jesus is sitting here saying is yeah, it is impossible with us, because you know what I can't do.
Speaker 1:Like the one thing I can't fix my heart. I can't even get myself to want and desire other things. Like understand that. Like that's crazy when you stop and think about it. Right, like I'm trying to control a 17 year old who's the size of most grown men, but I can't even control my own heart. But I expect him to be able to do it flawlessly. We really think about this, right? I expect my wife to understand what I am thinking and get me what I want before I ever even open my mouth, and we have gotten into arguments when she could not read my mind, but yet I can't fix any of that. Yet I can't fix any of that. I can't change any of that. You know who can, though? Jesus. That is exactly what he does.
Speaker 1:Remember this doesn't exist in isolation. Romans 12, 2 said this do not conform to the ways of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our what Minds. Because when 2 said this, do not conform to the ways of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our what Minds. Because when our minds are changed because when you actually think about things different then all of this other stuff falls into place. The problem is is you want to continue to think how you've always thought? How are you a new creation then? How has God changed anything in you If you're just sitting here doing what you've always done before? Because here's the thing you're gonna face things in life that are way bigger than you could have ever possibly imagined.
Speaker 1:And you know what, with you, it's impossible. You're not going to fix it, You're not going to change it, you're not going to have a positive impact on that, when it comes to just you and your strength. But with God, all things are possible. See, if you're sitting here right now and you're like man, I really, I just I need Jesus to turn my spouse's wife or heart. For me that's impossible. Me and Debbie have argued for years about certain things and she still doesn't see it my way, even though my way is the right way. And she still doesn't see it my way, even though my way is the right way. And there have been things in our relationship that honestly should have left to divorce, but yet it didn't. Why? Because it's not impossible for Jesus to change my heart, it's not impossible for my loved one who may be suffering with something to be healed, it's not impossible that that money, like I've been waiting on, will just magically show up. I'll tell you right now me and Debbie have been in some very, very, very, very financially tight times, and there was times where we've walked out to the mailbox and there was literally, at one point a $9,000 check in our mailbox from something that had happened years and years and years before that.
Speaker 1:We did not expect that, we did not know was coming. It was actually in what is it? Unclaimed property within the state. So in other words, because we didn't do whatever we were supposed to do, you know, five, ten years before this, the state actually claimed it and then the state went, hey, we'll find them, and then we'll mail them a check. And you know when that check came, when we had nothing in our and when I say nothing, I'm talking about the negative side of zero right In our bank account Like we weren't expecting that. Now, does that mean that every time you're low on funds you can walk out to the ATM out front? No, that's not what that means, but it can happen. Your loved one may not be healed. They may get the ultimate healing, but you know what else could happen. They could be healed. Your child that just seems to be wiling out all the time, and we all got one. You know what can happen. Jesus can pull that child in Like.
Speaker 1:One of the verses I've been asked a lot about is Proverbs 22, 6. You're not going to see it on screen right, train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are older, they shall not depart from it. And I've had parents that have been like man. We raised them this way. Does this mean that the Bible is wrong? And my response is this When's older, like when's older, they may be wayward, for right now they may be the prodigal. Right now they may be out there living that life and having them parties, and it may be in their 50s, 60s or 70s that they go. Oh, mom and dad knew what they were talking about. Like it may be longer than we ever thought it could be.
Speaker 1:But as we're sitting here right now and we think about all these different things, let me ask you what is impossible for God? Because if you're sitting here, going I'm a realist what you're saying is there are things impossible for God. There are things that God just does not have control and power of. If you're a pessimist, you are on the side of the devil. Like you are literally working against God. Because that cup is half full. Understand Jesus could fill the cup up and turn it into wine. What's impossible for him? What's impossible for him? Ephesians 3 20 says this now to him. Who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power of the work within us. I have one of the most vivid imaginations of anyone you will ever meet. I can stand here and I can confidently say that, and God can do far more than I can even think about, and I have some crazy ideas, like.
Speaker 1:I'm thinking like let's buy an abandoned barge and we'll find a cheap tugboat. Do you know the restaurant? You could build on a barge, like we saw a floating barbecue thing the other day. Right, do you know the restaurant, though? Have you ever seen a barge? They're huge, like you could put a building on it. And if we take it three miles off into international waters, hey, you can now have gambling on there too. Not that we would gamble, because we're Christians, but we could take the money from the gambling Because idiot people Right, for what you meant for evil, god meant for good. That is a joke, not the barge thing. That did just hit me while I was talking. That does sound like a good idea and it is something I will explore later this afternoon. However, the gambling we probably won't do, just because I don't know if a barge through. Well, I don't know, because they take them. We saw that one video where they went all the way to Cuba. They were resupplying Guantanamo. It looked pretty cool and I was like man, I really picked the wrong career path. Cool, and I was like man, I really picked the wrong career path.
Speaker 1:Anyway, but see, if you truly believe in Jesus, and through Jesus, all things are possible then let me ask you this what are you doing when light, when your life is, that faith is tested in your life? See, we shouldn't be optimists, we shouldn't be realists, we shouldn't be pessimists, we should be hopists. But what should be? That doesn't even make sense. I'm going to skip that line. I'm going to skip that line too. Now we're going to talk about the flip side of this, right. What do you do when God doesn't do it in your timing? Because this is the flip side of that. Isaiah 40 would tell you wait on the Lord, because those who wait on the Lord, he will renew their strength, they will run and not grow tired, they will fly with wings of eagles. I'm going to go ahead and tell you something though you ready when it's something that you're like, really like. I mean gut-wrenching praying, and we'll talk about that in a second.
Speaker 1:Waiting is sometimes hard. Like I don't know if you're like me, I'm not the world's most patient person. I have no problem admitting this. In fact, yesterday Debbie called me impatient at least four times and if you really want to see me get in a tizzy, tell me we got to be somewhere at a certain time. Like there are times where I'm like Deb, we got to be there, like, let's say, we got to be there at like 8. I'm like oh, we got to be there at 7, seven, just so I can make sure we're there by 745.
Speaker 1:Like things in my house, like my kids hate mornings because I can wake up at 645 and be out the door by 650. It doesn't take that long to do all of that stuff right. I used to sleep in the clothes I was going to wear the next day just because it was one less thing I had to do Before I started going bald my haircut. I've had the same haircut since I was 14 because I did not want to brush my hair in the morning, because it was one less thing I had to do, and I have no problem going. Let's go Like that is me. So what do you do.
Speaker 1:When you have to wait, though, because can I hurry God? No, it would be like me trying to hurry my parents, like when I was a child and I'm late to something right. Like the movie started already. Mom, I'm going to miss the trailers. There's no point in watching a movie if I can't watch the trailers. Plus, I got to wait in line at the concession stand to get the popcorn and all that. Mom, come on, we got, we gotta go. And you know what my mom would do. You don't have a driver's license, so you will leave when I leave. Like there were times where I was like, can I just ride my bike up there, like I'll go. Now God does the same thing. He goes. You can throw a little fit, you can have fun with it, you can act like, if you just work harder and do more, that I'll step in. But here's the thing You've watched way too many movies, and that's not how I operate.
Speaker 1:I operate on my timetable, which, by the way, I exist outside of time, so I don't have a timetable, because one day is a thousand years and a thousand years is one day. What difference does time make to me? I'm an eternal being, I'm the alpha and the omega. I was here at the beginning and I'll be there at the end, so I don't care about your timetable. I got everything under control and I'll work it the way I want to. Now you on the other side. What does it say? Be patient, be patient in tribulation.
Speaker 1:So there was a time just because you know, I know Debbie loves it when I just like throw our business out. So back during the Great Recession, debbie and I lost our house. Like I was in construction, she was in banking I don't know if you know anything about the 2008 bubble those were not good industries to be in during that time period, and so we wound up eventually running through all of our savings, pulling extra loans and everything, trying to save a house that we ultimately lost anyway. But that's another sermon. And I remember one day we were sitting on the bathroom floor and I'm even crying like straight just tears rolling down my eyes, because it was Debbie, me, three kids and nothing else, and as a man, that was a very hard position for me to be in right Going. I promised her that I would take care of her. I promised her that I would provide for her, and here's what's happening. Our entire life is imploding.
Speaker 1:And I remember sitting there going Jesus, I can't believe you won't do anything about this. I remember sitting there going man, I can't believe you won't do anything about this. I remember sitting there going man, you must really not love me the way that I thought you loved me. But see, here's the thing about being a hopist. If you're a hopist, that creates in you this word called patience, be patient in tribulation. See that word patience.
Speaker 1:And we see it in other places, like in Galatians 5, 22 through 23, and it says this but the fruits of the Spirit are okay. No one in here knows the song. I thought you guys were going to take it off. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. I really thought one of you in here would have just like shot out with the song that you learned at school. Good job, bailey. You were. See it matters. See, patience is a fruit of the Spirit. It is something that Christians should have.
Speaker 1:We just don't understand what patience is. You know who you don't expect to have patience, right the world. I don't expect the person that flicked me off as they cut me off so that they can get to their destination one and a half seconds earlier. Has patience. One and a half seconds earlier. Has patience. See, patience.
Speaker 1:In Greek it's this word, makrothymia, and here's what it literally translates into endurance, or suffering well. Uh-oh, here's what suffering well actually means. I can suffer well because my hope is not found in the here. My hope is not found in the now. My hope is not found in anything that is temporary. I can be patient in tribulation because I know I have a heavenly father who loves me and is a good, good father.
Speaker 1:See, I can suffer well because I know it won't be like this forever. Bless you, regardless what your situation is and some of you might have come in here this morning with super heavy situations and regardless of what your situation is, guess what? It won't be like that forever. And some of you might have come in here this morning with super heavy situations and regardless of what your situation is, guess what? It won't be like that forever. Think through your life All those times that you were like I hate this and I'll never get through this. You obviously did. You're here, like all those times that you went. This is the worst. It obviously didn't stop you from moving forward, and you're probably sitting here going. You know what? This isn't that bad now.
Speaker 1:See, I can be patient in tribulation because I know, at the end of the day, romans 8.18 says this, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. See, that's why I can hope, that's why I should be a hopist, because what's coming later is far greater than anything here. Those were some bars right there, boy, see, why do you put your hope in this? I tell Debbie all the time if you're putting your hope in me, then I feel bad for you that this is the best you could hope in. That's terrible. I'm going to let you down, I'm going to make you mad, I'm going to do all the things because I'm a terrible God.
Speaker 1:As much as I sit here and in the back of my mind and I never say this out loud believe that I would be an amazing God. I know I wouldn't, but see, I can suffer well because the God I serve is an amazing God, is a good, good father, and in fact that is what Paul was talking about in Philippians 4.13, where he says I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. I knew that was going to be your first thought and that's why I added this next line. See, paul isn't talking about doing crazy things like flying or winning a football game. Now, I'm all for Tim Tebow, because we have a lot of people who are talking about Jesus now because of Tim Tebow. But that wasn't what Paul was.
Speaker 1:Sitting here thinking right. See, if you read all of chapter four, it starts with this Rejoice in the Lord. Always, again, I say rejoice and then he goes into I know what it's like to have a lot and I know what it's like to have a little. I know what it's like to feast and I know what it's like to starve. And I am convinced of this, that I have learned the secret of being content. I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. Here's what he's talking about. Don't put your hope, don't put your trust in your circumstances, because your circumstances are going to change and they're going to change often. Put your hope, put your trust in Jesus. Become a hopist that sits here and goes Jesus is greater. A hopist that sits here and goes Jesus is greater. Understand who wrote these words? Because it's important.
Speaker 1:Paul is not this like well-to-do pastor that just gets up and preaches on Sunday morning. Paul, by all accounts, was probably from a very well-to-do family. You know how we know that, because Paul was educated at a time where education was not a oh, it's your right and you deserve to be educated. This was like your parents had to pay a lot of money to one teacher to educate your child. So he's from this well-to-do family. But then when we get the Thessalonians, what is he doing? He used that education to go on to be a doctor right, make a lot of money. Or a lawyer, or an architect or an engineer, like. Is that what he did? No, he's making tents Like he's sewing together fabric to sell on the side of the road so that he can eat. He knows what it's like to have a lot and he knows what it's like to have a little.
Speaker 1:This is a man that literally spent his life getting beat, thrown in jail, beat again, ran out of a city, went to another city, got beat again, thrown in jail, ran out of the city and rinse, wash, repeat. I think it's wash, rinse, repeat. Actually I'm pretty sure I said that one wrong. It's not how I do dishes. He's the guy that wrote these words. He's the guy sitting here going hey, hope, be patient in tribulation. You think he knows a thing or two about tribulation, anyone in here. Did you spend your week in jail? Did you spend your week getting beat? Did you spend your week with a jailer who put you in like contortionist positions and then allowed people to literally go to the bathroom on you?
Speaker 1:No, so why aren't we hopists? Why aren't we sitting here going hey, you know what? Let's do more? Because we're going to hope that Jesus is going to start revival right here in our city. Because we're going to hope more are going to come to believe in Jesus right here through us. Because we're going to hope that Jesus can fix our marriages, that Jesus can fix our finances, that Jesus can fix whatever that broken piece inside of you is.
Speaker 1:That's what faith is. Faith is putting your hope and trust into what you say you believe. Faith is putting your hope and trust into what you say you believe. So, one or two things. You are either a hopist or a liar. Take a pick. And for those of you that's not true, it's not. You either have faith or you don't. You either go yes, I believe this is true or you go no, I don't believe this is true. Those are the only two options, and this is written by a man who understands that.
Speaker 1:So Paul ends his thought right here with this be constant in prayer. How many of us are constant in prayer? I'm going to go out on a limb, and this is just a guess. I'm going to go and say most of us don't pray more than twice a day, not all of us. I'm sure some of you in here have a very robust prayer life, and I'm not speaking to you right now, then but I'm going to go with the other 98% of us in this room who go yeah, I probably should pray more. See, paul doesn't go. Hey, pray. You know, when you wake up and pray before you go to bed and make sure you say your thank you Jesus before you eat, paul goes.
Speaker 1:Be constant in prayer, see, the problem is and the reason why most of us in here go, I can't be constant in prayer is because we have a misunderstanding of what prayer actually is. See, prayer is not a cosmic christmas list. It is not just me rambling off things. I want prayer. Is me sitting here going hey, I want to get my right, my heart right with christ. That's what prayer is. It is a communication between me and my Father.
Speaker 1:See, and if we're only praying when we need things, I want you to think about this in human terms. If you have a child in here, or if you know a child, how would you feel if the only time your child spoke to you was when they needed something? Now, if your child is not a teenager yet, I'm telling you that time is coming where it's. What are we having for dinner? Like that is the only question they ask, or what's for breakfast or what's for lunch. And they ask or what's for breakfast or what's for lunch. However, think about that, because some of us treat our relationship with Jesus the same way. Right, the only time we're going to talk to him is when we need something.
Speaker 1:Think about your prayer life when everything in your life is going good. Now think about your prayer life when everything in your life falls apart. What if you would have prayed before your life fell apart? Maybe it might not have fallen apart. Just throwing it out there, not saying that you wouldn't face tribulation. We all will. That's what Jesus tells us. Right, in this life you will have tribulation, but are you praying? Are you constant in prayer? Are you sitting here and going, hey, like I don't need to wait for things to go bad, or I don't need to wait until I need something, I'm just going to pray. See, prayer shouldn't be your last resort. It should be your starting place. Prayer should be what you do at the beginning, what you do in the middle and what you do at the beginning. What you do in the middle and what you do at the end. That would be constant, right, because it takes all places. You want to know what your prayer should sound like. You guys ready?
Speaker 1:In matthew 26, jesus says this. Then he said to them Anybody in here, have you ever been praying so hard that blood started just pouring out of your skin? Why not? We see it in Jesus. In fact, after everything that happens, like Jesus preaches to you know, jesus feeds the 5,000. What did he do after that? He left. Where'd he go To pray? Like that was a good thing, right? Jesus just fed these people, preached a great sermon and then he went to a desolate place by himself to pray. Why? Because he knows his dependence on the Father.
Speaker 1:Too many of us, because we're realists, have dependence not on the Father, but on ourselves. How's that working out for you? You figuring it all out. You solving all the problems in your life. Some of us may be sitting in here right now going, well, I don't have problems that need to be solved, okay, what are you doing with your time then? Just living your best life now. You, helping other people solve their problems. You taking it to the next step. You going, hey, I'm good with this, so now I'm going to help others. Or are you like no, I'm just good with this, so I'm going to just ride it out.
Speaker 1:Why add something in? Why fix it if it ain't broke right, because sometimes you can make it better. Think about it. That's how we got a Z28. That's how we got an SS, and I'm sure there's diesel engines. What is it? A 16 valve? Eight was probably fine. Why'd they add another eight valve? Because we can make things better.
Speaker 1:How do we do that? Well, first, it starts with being constant in prayer, sitting here, going like my soul is bothered. There are people in this world that are just suffering. What are we doing to help? How are we being Jesusesus to them? How are we getting out of our own lives so that we can help others. Why are we relying on ourselves to fix our problems? Because you want to know a secret. You ain't fixed nothing yet.
Speaker 1:You might have modified your behavior. How long did that last I go, and then we're right back to the same habits. Why? Because we're creatures of habit. It's what we love. It provides us with comfort and safety. I don't have to operate in that realm where it's scary. See, for some of us, like I don't know, we got like that broken part of our brain right, we just don't get scared. We're just like, let's try it. If that's you, you need to be stepping up and doing more. And if you're someone who's sitting here going, hey, I'm scared, what if I step out to do something and it falls apart? You need to get over that fear. And you know how you get over fear Doing things that scare you. Because every time you do something that scares you and you realize, uh-oh, it wasn't that bad, guess what? That gives you Confidence to do another thing that scares you. Y'all should have came to the beach with us the other day.
Speaker 1:Debbie on a surfboard hilarious, terrified, terrified. I mean. She was in like less than knee deep water and was like looking at and I think at one point even called it a death contraption. Now, mind you, her 15 year old daughters were had been doing this for like two hours. At this point. You know what happens. When that perfect wave came, she didn't even have to paddle. I just told her hold on to the board, I'll shove you Kind of gets my aggression out too right. So it's like win, win, win. So you see her and all of a sudden, as she's riding in on this wave and I wish I would have my camera out there All you hear is this and I'm like, and then at the end she like did this turn like going along the side of the shoreline? And I was like man, that's an advanced maneuver, like. And then she stands up and she goes. You know what that was actually kind of fun. You know what that was actually kind of fun. Now do I think that this week she's going to jump out there and do it? Yeah, I do actually. Maybe she'll get up on her knees this time, like she may not get to her feet yet, but by the end of the summer you know what I fully expect to see out of her Surfing double headers. I want to see her get that five foot one board and just be shredding into waves.
Speaker 1:See, some of us. That's where we are and that's where you need to be in your Christian life. You know what? You've already conquered this stuff. Move up and start being a leader. Start showing people You're like, well, I don't know what to do. Are you constant in prayer? Start there, because if you don't think that God's powerful enough to go, hey, here's what I want you to do. You got another thing coming.
Speaker 1:See, I ran for ministry for most of my life. I never wanted. Well, okay, I knew at 13, I wanted to go into ministry. But you know what? Like really fought that I didn't want to be poor and every pastor I knew was poor and I went. You know what, god, I'm good, I got this. I'm going to go be a doctor. And you know what? From time to time I'll go over like do the whole doctors without borders thing and I'll tell people about you. Well, I'm not a doctor and it wasn't for lack of ability, so I went. Fine, I'm going to go be an engineer, because engineers make really good money, and all you got to do is put some squiggly lines down on a piece of paper and they don't even have to make sense or work, and you just let the people in the field figure that out. Well, I'm not an engineer, so finally I just went. You know what? God, I will go be a cop because it is very fun to drive very fast and carry a gun with you and make sure everyone sees that gun, everything you do. Well, I'm not a cop anymore and I, yeah, if we're not going to go chronologically.
Speaker 1:And then I went to the army. Because I went, I don't want to do this. Then I went and did this, then I went and did this, then I went and did this. And guess what I'm still doing? Ministry. You know why? Because God's powerful enough to go. No, no, no, no, no. Son, you don't understand. I'm not asking you. I'm telling you what you're going to do. My mom reading this poem this morning I know she loves when I call her out my mom reading this poem this morning. That was God going, no, no, no. Judy, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you this is what you're going to do. Jonah going to Nineveh. God went no, no, no. You're not listening, I'm not asking. I'm telling you, you're going to go to Nineveh. For this reason I raised Pharaoh up Like you see the pattern through all of this. Right, god's not asking you Now. You can run from it and you can make it harder on yourself and you're going to have to be more patient in tribulation, or you could be smart about it and go. You know what I'm going to just do it. Take your pick.
Speaker 1:Our football coach and I don't even know why the saying has come up like 18 times this week Do it right, do it light, do it wrong, do it long. You know how many times I looked over oh, I don't have my keys on me. You know how many times I've looked over in a practice and like, I'm literally dying, and I mean literally dying, like, throwing up, like, and all you see is this Do it again, men. And then you do it again and you look over and you're like, surely this will be the last one, do it again. Surely this will be the last one, do it again. If you're a student here and you've seen me doing this and I know all of you guys have seen me do it a lot this is because of football practice. This is because I have literally seen a football coach sit there for hours, didn't even care that you were about to die, did not care about me, like there was no safe space to go to, and if you asked to go get water you got in more trouble. So there was none of this. Like you have a voice and your feelings matter. I'm just saying that could be another sermon, so I don't want to launch into that. In fact, I'm going to just go right back to my notes, because I am hitting that ADHD thing pretty hard right now.
Speaker 1:So, as we close today, let me ask you this Are you hopeful that Jesus can get it done? Are you? Are you sitting here and going? I know Jesus can get this. If you're in tribulation right now, if you're going through it right now, are you patient in it? Are you suffering well through it? Or are you sitting here just like a bratty teenager stomping your feet going? This isn't fair. Are you constant in prayer? Are you sitting here going? Yes, I go to prayer before I go to anything else. If not, I'm telling you right now you got some work to do, because if you're calling yourself a Christian, these things aren't optional.
Speaker 1:Things Like this isn't a buffet where God goes hey, you can just pick and choose what kind of Christian you are. God is literally telling you through his word this is what you are to do. Be a hopist. Understand. That's a real word now. Understand, that's a real word now. Okay, coined by Jesus, not Jesus JT. Be a hopist. Be hopeful, because the God you serve can get it done. There's nothing outside of his realm of possibility.
Speaker 1:So, father, I ask and I pray that, as we move forward from this moment, that God, if there are those in here who have been walking through it and are tired, I ask and I pray that you renew their hope, that, god, you let them know right now you got this and even though their wife or husband or whoever may have failed them, even though their parents may have failed them, even though their football coach may have failed them, their teacher, whoever it was in their life that they could have possibly had, may have failed them, that God you never will.
Speaker 1:God, I ask and I pray that, if that's them, that you just comfort them, that you give them hope that they see a brighter tomorrow. God, I ask and I pray that if there are those in here who are going through it and they are in tribulation. I ask that they cling to that hope, that hope of knowing it's not always going to be like this, that hope of knowing that one day it's going to get better, that hope of knowing that again, the God they serve is bigger than anything that they are facing. And, father, I just ask and I hope that people leave here today and are constant in prayer, they understand like prayer isn't just this cosmic wish list, but that this is my opportunity to speak to my Father, who is a good, good Father, and I ask and I pray that you just do whatever it is you have to do, because you, ultimately, are the only one who can do it. Father, we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.