Pastor Joel at Lakewood Church
Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
Luke 8:12-15 NKJV
You'll be tested no matter who you are.
Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Ephesians 6:13-15, 17-18 NLT
Don't be moved by what's not changing.
Here's what I've learned: I know God is on my side not by the storms he stopped, but by the storms that didn't stop me. You can't judge God's favor by the storms he kept you out of, but by the storms he brought you through.
I know you are pleased with me, for you have not let my enemies triumph over me.
Psalms 41:11 NLT
The scripture says you will go through the fire, and not be burned. You will go through the waters, and not drown. You will go through the famine, and not go hungry. Don't get discouraged over what God is bringing you through. He won't allow you to get in a difficulty that he can't bring you out of.
In the scripture three Hebrew teenagers wouldn't bow down to the king's golden idol. He was so upset, he was going to have them thrown into a fiery furnace. You talk about the hot winds of testing. What they were up against seemed impossible. They could have panicked, fallen apart, "God, we were being our best, doing the right thing, why did this happen"? It's a test. God allowed the difficulty not to defeat them, but to establish them. They said, "King we're not going to bow down. We know, our God will deliver us". If they would have stopped there we would think that's great, they had faith, they believed. But what they said next shows us their real attitude.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn't, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."
Daniel 3:17-18 NLT
Sometimes God will keep you out of the fire, other times he'll make you fire proof and send you into the fire. You may be in the fire now, you feel those hot winds of testing. You need to remind yourself, like these teenagers those flames can't harm you, that trouble can't take you out, those people can't stop what God has ordained - it's a test.
When your roots go down deep, God will make things happen that you couldn't make happen. You'll defeat giants that are much bigger, accomplish dreams that seem impossible.
If it feels like it's too much, that's because you're stronger than you think, it's because your destiny is greater than you think. He's getting you prepared for things much bigger in your future, for favor, influence, opportunity that you've never seen. Don't wilt in the trouble, dig down deep. It's not too much for you, you can handle it, you've been armed with strength for this battle. You are full of can-do power. The forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you.
Biosphere 2 Project.
It's in a big dome that cost 150 million dollars. They made it to study how the earth functions, and to learn more about how we can make improvements. It has 3 800 species of plants and animals, including a rain forest, a savannah, and a desert. They discovered that in this biosphere trees grew much faster than trees outside the dome. They were taken aback at how rapidly they grew, but before the trees reached their full height they fell over. They couldn't withstand their own weight. They realized, in this biosphere they hadn't replicated the wind. It was always calm and peaceful, never any strong winds, never any storms. Because the trees didn't have to withstand any wind, their roots didn't develop properly, and they had a deficiency in what they called stress wood. Stress wood helps the tree grow stronger and more solidly. Without it the trees can grow fast, but they can't survive. The wind is essential for the tree to flourish, and become what it was created to be. In the same way without these hot winds of testing, without storms, without difficulties, our life would be easier, but we wouldn't develop properly. We wouldn't be able to carry the weight of what God has in store.
Don't complain about the wind, it's strengthening you. Those hot winds of testing can be uncomfortable, we don't like it, but your roots are going down deeper. You're developing, courage strength, fortitude. Those winds are not there to break you, they're there to make you. They're helping you become who you were created to be.
Don't complain about the wind, it's strengthening you. Those hot winds of testing can be uncomfortable, we don't like it, but your roots are going down deeper. You're developing, courage strength, fortitude. Those winds are not there to break you, they're there to make you. They're helping you become who you were created to be.
Airplanes
It's interesting that airplanes don't take off with the wind, they take off against the wind. The airplane needs the resistance of the wind to get lift. Are you complaining about winds being against you, when in fact God is going to use those winds to give you lift? That challenge may look like it's going to stop you, but really it's going to promote you. Don't get discouraged because you're in the hot winds of testing, that tells me you're about to lift off, you're about to see things you've never seen, go places you've never gone. Past the test, keep standing, keep doing the right thing.
David
After David defeated Goliath king Saul asked him to come to the palace and be one of his armor-bearers. When Saul wasn't feeling well, he'd have David come in and play the harp. David was faithful. He served Saul with excellence, always gave it his best, but Saul was jealous of David. He didn't like the fact that David was getting all this recognition. One day while he was playing the harp, Saul throw a spear at David trying to kill him, barely missed. David had to flee for his life. He spent months in the desert on the run from king Saul. Here David hadn't done anything wrong. He could have said, "God, this isn't fair, where are you"? But in those hot winds of testing David kept doing the right thing. He had a chance to kill Saul, to get revenge, but he wouldn't do it. He knew Saul was anointed to be king, and David wouldn't touch God's anointed. As David kept passing the test, his roots were going down deeper, his character was being developed, he was showing God what he was made of. That's what prepared him to take the throne and do great things.
Jesus
Even Jesus had to go through these hot winds of testing. You would think he would have it easy, God would surely favor him, keep him from opposition, from bad breaks. But he had to pass these same tests. People he loved walked away. Peter denied him. Thomas doubted him. The religious leaders made fun of him. In the Garden of Gethsemane he was overcome with despair so much so, that he swept great drops of blood. When he was crucified, the scripture says (Matthew 27:45), "Darkness fell across the whole land from the sixth to the ninth hour". As he hung there, the sun refused to shine. It was a dark moment and without that dark moment, we wouldn't have salvation. Even Jesus asked why God had forsaken him.
It's significant that the scripture tells us darkness covered the earth from the sixth to the ninth hour. The writer wasn't just giving us a time frame so we would know chronologically when it all happened, God was showing us just as he sets a time for you to come into the dark moment, he sets a time for you to come out of it. Can I tell you? Your ninth hour is coming. The dark moments are not permanent. The hot winds of testing don't last forever. You are close to seeing things turn around. You are close to a breakthrough, close to your healing, close to meeting the right person, close to victory like you've never seen.
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.
Romans 8:18 NLT
-Jeniro on the go!
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