Now, this morning, we have already had a time
of prayer concerning when we are up against the
wall, right? And a good number of you raised
your hands. And when we're up against the wall,
we do continually believe and are praying for
the wall to come down. There is something in
the wall experience that I believe we need. This
morning, the text, we're going to read it in
its fullness, is in Philippians 4, and we're
going to start in verse 11. This is Paul, the
Apostle Paul, right? Great man of God. Not that
I speak in regard to need. offering that had
been given from the church in Philippi, and they
had not been able to give to him or had the opportunity
to give the way they had wanted to. And so he's
addressing them in this, and he said, not that
I speak in regard to need, for I have learned
in whatever state I am to be content. I know
how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere
and in all things, I have learned both to be
full and to be hungry. Truthfully, I think we
mostly know how to be full, right? As soon as
we enter into a fast, we quickly discover that
we don't know how to be hungry very well. Because
suddenly the Holy Spirit is saying, okay, your
fast is over. When really your flesh is saying,
feed me. I don't like to be hungry. I don't like
to be abased. I don't like to be without. But
Paul said, I've learned both to be full and to
be hungry, both to abound. Oh, we do well in
the abounding. But have we learned to do well
when we suffer need? And then it's in this verse
right here that he says, I can do all things
through Christ. who strengthens me. And this
morning, what I want is to come along Paul. And
I love the wordage that he uses here. He says,
what? I just know how to be in lack. I know how
to do it really well. No, he didn't say that,
did he? What did he say? I have learned. I have
learned to be full. and I have learned to be
in need. And the truth is that we do like it
better when we're full and when we're abounding
and the blessings are flowing. But even in that,
we have to learn. We have to learn to abound
so as not to be proud, to not be secure in our
own self -sufficiency. or for using that abundance
for selfish purposes, right? We have to learn
how to abound well. Today, what I want us to
really see, though, is that in the times of abasement,
the times when we are brought low, when we are
restricted, the times of suffering and need,
there is a temptation that can come in that place.
In that place of suffering need is our temptation
to lose comfort in God. It's temptation to distrust
his provision. Well, I've been tithing for years.
And when it doesn't feel like we're abounding,
right? Many of us have been there. We begin to
distrust, is God really providing? It is in those
moments that we are tempted to make the blessing
happen on our own. Abraham and Sarah knew something
about that, didn't they? Thus was born Ishmael.
These are temptations that we have to learn to
navigate when we are up against the wall. And
so this morning, We're going to be taking a little
journey through the life of David. About a month
ago, I had a brief dream, and I have discovered
in my life that there have only been a few times
when I have had dreams that I know are from God.
One was in our previous church. And I had had
a very vivid dream about gossip. I get chills
even now. And in the church, it was very demonic,
like just vomiting. And that was a very vivid
dream that I had. I had a dream concerning my
son. I had a dream one morning. It wasn't really
a dream. It was more the Holy Spirit. in those
waking before you're awake, a command to pray
for the spreading of the Holy Spirit through
the region. And about a month ago, I had a dream.
It wasn't a dream, really. It was more like the
voice of God speaking in my sleep. And I think
sometimes he does that because every time I've
had those moments, I've had need to stand in
faith, believing. And it's like he knows that
in that state of being, it's like my spirit just
is open. And it was very simple and very quick.
And all I heard was, I have restrained you so
I can expand you. That was it. And I just kept
on sleeping. But I woke up having heard that.
And ever since I heard that, it's been just resonating
within my spirit. I have restrained you so I
can expand you. And the question that came out
of that was this. Do I trust the restraint of
the Lord? over abundance in my life? Is knowing
that God is in the restraint of my life, do I
trust being in that place with him? Or is it
only when I feel his abundance that I trust him?
And from that question, I've been saying, God,
teach me like Paul. Teach me how to be in the
restraint. Teach me how to be in the place of
suffering need. Teach me how to be in the place
of being brought low. Of feeling like every time
I turn around, I hit that wall. And I think that
Paul understood that. I think that Paul often,
every time he turned around, it was like he was
getting slapped in the face. He endured such
hardship that every time he turned around, that's
what he was being faced with. And he says, I've
learned how to be in this place. And so this
morning, I want us to walk through quickly. Five
seasons that were critical in the life of King
David. Often when we think about restraint and
how to live well in the places of restraint,
we do think about the life of Joseph. But I have
this strong pull toward King David. Because I
feel like he's just so real, right? He just,
he made so many mistakes. He endured so much
up and down that I feel like he could just relate
with stuff in our life. And so we're going to
quickly, it's 1117 already, so we're going to
quickly move through. I would encourage you,
though, this is, we're going to be in 1 and 2
Samuel today. I would encourage you at your leisure,
in your private study, to just slowly walk through
the life of David. and see his interaction with
God. The first season that we're going to look
at is his season of Bethlehem. This is his childhood.
Now, how many of you know your childhood often
can make and break your life if it's not dealt
with as an adult? And David didn't have it always
the easiest growing up. when it came time for
the kingdom to be removed from King Saul, and
Samuel was sent to anoint another king, and so
he goes to the house of Judah, he goes to the
house of Jesse, and he invites them to sacrifice
to the Lord with him and his sons. Do you think
that Any of them, not the father, none of the
brothers, thought to call David in from being
out in the field watching the sheep. No, not
one of them said, hey, do you think we should
invite David? It did not occur to any of them
to invite David to sacrifice with the great prophet
Samuel. And so all of the sons passed before
Samuel. And God says, no, no, no, no. Get to
the end of the line of the sons. Nope. And Samuel's
like, what's up? There's got to be another son.
Don't you have another son? Oh, well, yeah, he's
just David out on the field. Call him in. I want
David to walk in front of me. And so Samuel said
to Jesse, send him, bring him, for we will not
sit down till he comes here. This is in 1 Samuel
16. I'm summarizing for you. So he sent and brought
him in. He was ready with bright eyes and good
looking, and the Lord said, Arise, anoint him,
for this is the one. Then Samuel took the horn
of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers.
Oh yes, this is going to cause such brotherly
love. I'm sure the brothers were just Yeah, one
of us gets to be king. The Spirit of the Lord
came upon David from that day forward. This season
of David's life had been a season of dirt, hardworking,
smelly sheep. It had been a season of learning
how to fight. the animals, becoming a warrior.
It was learning how to worship when he's alone
in this field and everybody has overlooked him.
This was a season that formed David for his future.
I think that in the next chapter here, we have
an additional look at... the brotherly affection
that was happening. If you go over to chapter
17, we have the account with David and Goliath.
And so David is taking some food to his brothers.
And I think it's interesting to see here his
interaction in verse 28 with Eliab, his oldest
brother. He heard David and his anger, because
David's like, what's going on here? Why are you
Why aren't you out fighting? And he gets so angry
with David. And he said, why did you come down
here? Who did you leave the sheep with in the
wilderness? He said, I know your pride and the
insolence of your heart, for you have come down
to see the battle. Man, Eliab did not have strong
feelings. Well, he had strong feelings toward
his brother. We're not seeing overly amounts
of love, though, are we? And I love David's response
because I feel like it's the response of many,
especially the baby. I don't know. I think Faith
left. She's the baby of the family, so maybe
she can identify. But David's response to his
brother is, what have I done now? Obviously,
this was a common occurrence of interaction for
David and his brother. What have I done now,
Eliab? I just brought you food. What have I done
now? So we can see that in his childhood years,
it was not this wonderful, blissful, I'm just
lying in the grass, strumming my harp, worshiping
the Lord with pretty little sheep around me.
No, it was hard, nasty work. And he was overlooked
by his family. And yet it was in that place he
learned to fight and he learned to worship. He
learned to fight. It's in this season of abasement
that David embraced. He could so easily have
become embittered. He so easily could have been
resentful. And what we find is that he learned
to fight and he learned to worship. What are
we doing in our season of abasement? What are
we doing in our season of lack? Are we just becoming
disgruntled because we've been overlooked? Because
we've been passed over time and time again? Are
we learning to worship? At the end of chapter
16, see, he had been, and we're going to go into
our next season, but we find him already in the
courts of King Saul, and he's going back and
forth between home and with King Saul. And even
in this space, the brothers had no respect. He
was still the annoying little brother. Running
errands for his father. Listen, it might feel
degrading. It might feel because you've been
overlooked and you're in the season of just hard
work that nobody sees. You're busy running errands
for your father or whoever. Listen, it was when
he was running errands for his father. That he
encountered Goliath. If we will learn how to
be in the season of need and lack and do it well.
This is why I feel that this is so important.
Because I know so many of you carry God -given
purposes. And we have yet to see the fulfillment
of all of it. Listen, if we will get these places,
these spaces right. then we are setting ourselves
up for the God moment. And it was in the basic
running of errands to serve his brothers who
overlooked him and found him annoying that God
gave him his Goliath moment that sent him off
into his future. How well will we do our season?
Like Paul, I felt especially this, overlooking
when I was writing this, that some of you here,
I don't know, it may be in your job, your family,
whatever, you've felt overlooked. Can I say to
you, it does not matter if a man sees you, if
God sees you. That's all that you need to know.
God sees you. God, in that moment, nobody else
can hear your worship. Nobody else can see you
faithfully caring for the sheep. But God sees
you. God does not overlook you. Man can overlook
you on every side. But when it comes time, God
has seen you, and he's the only one that matters.
He sees you. He has not overlooked you. His second
season that was transformational was Gibeah.
And Gibeah was the city in which King Saul had
set up as his royal city. And so King Saul, if
you'll remember, now the kingdom had already
been taken from him. And so what happened was
the spirit of the Lord had been removed from
King Saul, and now he was experiencing tormenting
spirits. And so Saul, being tormented, said to
his servants, provide me now a man who can play
well and bring him to me. Oh, oh, here's a skill
needed by the king in which David had learned
when he was being overlooked. And one of the
servants answered and said, Wow! One moment he's
being overlooked and the next he's being lifted
up to King Saul. How would you like that to be
said about you in the king's presence? And so
David is sent for. And whenever King Saul was
tormented by these spirits, he would call for
David and David would begin to play. And when
David began to play, King Saul would be at peace.
And so it's in this season, he's going back and
forth between being in King Saul's residence
and his father's residence. And so what is happening?
He's beginning to see promotion. He's beginning
to find, I have known abasement, but now I'm
beginning to find provision. Now I'm beginning
to be well fed. And it's from this place that
he faces Goliath. And after he kills Goliath,
He begins to be sent out by King Saul. And he
begins to develop a reputation. And in fact,
here's the testing in his time of beginning to
be promoted. Proverbs actually says it in chapter
27, verse 21. The crucible for silver and the
furnace for gold. But people are tested by their
praise. You will find when people begin to praise
you, it becomes a testing time. And think of
that when David in 17 .5 says this, David went
out wherever Saul sent him and behaved wisely.
And Saul set him over the men of war, and he
was accepted in the sight of all the people.
Can you imagine this young man having been overlooked
by his family to suddenly being accepted by men
everywhere? And not just men. Now, as it happened,
they were coming home from battle. And when David
was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine,
the women had all come out of the cities of Israel
singing and dancing. Can you imagine a young
guy who has been overlooked by everybody suddenly
coming into town and having it lined with singing
and dancing of women? You can't tell me there
was not testing. They've got their tambourines
and their instruments. This is the language of
David. David is a singer. David is a dancer.
They are speaking his language. And as they sang
and as they danced, they said, Oh, this had to
just get Saul's goat. Saul has slain his thousands.
David his... Tens of thousands. No king wants
to hear that being sung throughout the land.
But it's in this moment that the shifting takes
place for David. He marries Michael and jealousy
occurs and King Saul begins to turn from him.
And it says that Saul saw and he knew that the
Lord was with David. And Saul was more afraid
of David, so Saul became David's enemy continually.
It says that David acted more wisely than all
the servants of Saul, and his name became highly
esteemed. He began to come into promotion. He
began... Far, far away did the fields of abasement
and overlooking feel. Now he is being elevated.
Now he's being sung praises. But now the king
is against him. And suddenly all of that praise,
all of that glory is gone. He had a taste of
it for a moment. And it's gone. And suddenly
he finds himself in his third season in the cave
of Abolem, the cave of difficulty, about 16 miles
outside of Jerusalem, the cave of Abolem. And
this began seven years of running from King Saul.
Can you imagine? He lives overlooked, and suddenly
he's being anointed king. And then he's thrust
into promotion, and suddenly it's all taken away
from him, and he is now running for his life
from King Saul. And all of the people that surrounded
him was everybody in distress, everybody in debt,
and everyone who was discontented. Way to build
a kingdom. 400 of them. I'm just imagining 400
of the lowest of the low, disgruntled in debt,
discontented, now surrounding. These are his
companions. And for seven years, he runs from
King Saul. And we find him in chapter 27, where
he said in his heart in verse 1, Now I shall
perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is
nothing better for me than I should speedily
escape to the land of the Philistines. And Saul
will despair of me. to seek me anymore in any
part of Israel, and I will escape his hand. In
this moment, the anointing he received to be
king from Samuel was like a distant dream. Suddenly
his future, what it looks like, is not being
king. It is being killed by King Saul. He has
mentally here given up. The anointing of being
king. And all he sees in front of him is perishing.
Has anybody ever been there? You've had the dream.
You've had the anointing. You've had a prophetic
word. And years down the road, you've yet to
see the fulfillment of it. And you find yourself
like King David. Well, I guess I'll just try
to live this life the best I can live and die
and go be with Jesus. Listen, that is not what
he has for you. It's not what he planned for
King David. It's not what he's planned for you.
Following this season of running for seven years,
in that season, I'm just going to quickly remind
us of two things in this season. We have the
scenario of Ziklag. Do you remember Ziklag? When
David and his men had been out fighting and they
came home to discover their wives had been taken
captive, their sons and their daughters had been
taken captive, and everything had been set fire.
It feels a little bit like Job, doesn't it? He's
already running, and now everything, the little
bit he has, has been taken. How does David respond
in this season? How would we respond? Lord, I've
given you everything. I've said yes to you. And
now you've taken my sons and my daughters. Now
you've taken my wives. Now you've burned all
my belongings. Is this what I get? Is that what
David said? No. It says this, but David strengthened
himself in the Lord. David strengthened himself
in the Lord. He didn't go on Facebook complaining
so that everybody could comfort him in the comments.
He didn't go complaining to everybody that they
knew would receive the complaining. No, he went
straight to the Lord. And he strengthened himself
in his God. It wasn't even that he had been taken.
All of these things had been taken. And what
he was facing was an extreme isolation because
his own men had turned against him and were talking
of stoning him because of what had happened.
Again, his family that is around him. is ready
to stone him. And how well does he handle his
abasement? How well does he handle it? He strengthens
himself in the Lord. I get challenged every time
I read that account. It's a good account to read
when everything feels like it's going bad in
your life. Just pull out the story of Ziklag.
And then read how David strengthened himself
in the Lord. And it gives you a little perspective,
doesn't it? Following this account, we read that
Saul has died. The king has died. And this brings
us into his next season of life. In Hebron, the
beginning of his prophetic purpose. And this
is interesting because if you heard the news
that the king who had been chasing you to kill
you had died, what would your immediate response
be? Oh, this is it. It's time for me to be king
of Israel. I was anointed for it. Saul is gone.
it's time for me to be the king. This is my moment.
You know, this isn't how David responded. In
2 Samuel chapter 2, in chapter 1, we read of
the death of Saul. In chapter 2, it says, it
happened after this that David inquired of the
Lord, saying, shall I go up to any of the cities
of Judah? to his clan, to his tribe. And the
Lord said to him, go up. And he then followed
with, well, where shall I go up? And God said
to him, to Hebron. I love his heart. He's now
entering again. He's leaving the abasement. And
now he's about to come again into the place of
abundance. Such an up and down life he had. And
he's about to enter into promotion once again.
But his immediate response, I love, God, what
now? God, what should I do? He's not just going
and demanding, hey, everybody, Samuel anointed
me to be king. I'm up. It's my turn. Tag, I'm
it. He didn't do that. No, he said, God, where
should I go? What should I do? And it's in this
place. This is his tribe. And it says that Judah,
the men of Judah came to David after he had gone
back. They came to David and they anointed him.
They anointed him to be the king over the house
of Judah. So what we find in this season is the
partial promotion. He is not king over all of
Israel in this moment. He is only king of the
house of Judah. And in this place, He could begin
to say, God, it's my time. You anointed me over
all of Israel. I've only got Judah behind me.
I thought I was supposed to be king over all.
I feel like David's heart is in such a place
that if God had said to him, David, I want you
to go back to Bethlehem, I believe he would have
done it. I want you to go back to your homeland.
I believe he would have done it. His heart was
open. God, what should I do? Where should I go?
And so in this state of abundance, he's begun
to move toward the fulfillment of it. He stayed
in this place for seven and a half years in a
partial fulfillment of his purpose. Seven and
a half years. And here's my takeaway from his
initial promotion. Right after he returned to
Judah, there were men from Jebesh Gilead who
had buried King Saul with honor. And David hears
of this. And he sends a message to the men of
Gilead. And he says to them, of the man that
was trying to kill him, you are blessed of the
Lord, for you have shown this kindness to your
Lord, to Saul, and have buried him. This strikes
me because I just wonder what I might have done.
About the person that had been trying to kill
me. When I got into my place of promotion and
provision and abundance, and I look back to the
last seven years of running from King Saul, I
wonder what my attitude would have been toward
him. Look at the trauma you caused me, King Saul.
Look at everything I lost because of King Saul.
with an embittered spirit for those last seven
years, and you do not see that. He blesses and
honors the men that buried his enemy. There's
a lesson here. When we're in our places of blessing
and provision, how we view those that have wounded
us, those that have been out after us and against
us. God needs to be able to trust us with our
enemies. He concludes in 2 Samuel 3. as we're
coming into the end of his season in Hebron.
Now there was a long war between the house of
Saul and the house of David, because there was
another that had tried to rise up and take that
house of Israel. And so there was a long season
of conflict. It says, though, David grew stronger
and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker
and weaker. Listen, God will do it. God will
do it. God will make you stronger and stronger
and stronger. And your enemy weaker and weaker
and weaker. But how we handle the abundance.
And then he finally moves into his fifth season,
the glorious season. Zion, the promise fulfilled.
How many of you love that place? This is the
place. Yes, Lord, this is what you have destined
me for. And in 2 Samuel 5, finally, all the tribes
of Israel come to David. And David took the stronghold
of Zion. That is the city of David. And it says
in verse 10, so David went on and became great,
and the Lord God of hosts was with him. Now here's
an interesting verse. These are the things we
have to learn in the places of abundance. And
we only learn them, I think, if we learned the
season of lack well. It says David knew. He knew.
That the Lord had established him as king over
Israel. He knew it didn't come from his own manipulation
of trying to make the promises of God come true
for himself. God had established him as king.
And that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake
of David? No. For the sake of his people, Israel.
Israel. David knew this. And the times that David
struggled in his season of abundance, because
David didn't always handle his abundance well,
did he? He had seasons of pride. I think of the
census when he began to count his men and the
Lord had to bring consequences to him. He had
his seasons of self. absorbedness with Bathsheba
and her husband. He didn't always handle it well,
but what you find is that David was a repentant
man, and this is good news for us. Because we
don't always handle our lack well, and we don't
always handle our abundance well. But if we will
have a heart toward God, a heart of repentance,
if we will recognize that God's mercies are new
every morning, and I can come before him just
as David did, and I can repent, he is restoring
God. He will restore us. I think of when King
David, because even in his fulfillment of becoming
king of Israel, it doesn't mean that everything
went okay for him. And I think of when his own
son, Absalom, wanted the kingdom. And his own
son betrayed his father, David. His own son tried
to win the loyalty, the affection in the hearts
of Israel so they would make him king. And David,
because of his own son, had to run again in the
wilderness. I can't imagine. Again, he's lost
his home. He's lost his kingdom for these moments
as Absalom is taking the throne. And as he is
running, there is one from the house of Saul
that begins to curse him and curse him. And David's
man wants to go and kill him. And I love even
in this moment, if David once again in the place
of abasement, after being king of Israel, he
says, no, you don't know that God didn't send
him. You don't know that that is not from God.
Can you imagine? Continually a heart of saying,
God, have your way in my life. In the good, in
the bad, in the ugly, have your way in my life.
There was a saint back in 225. 225. This was
the early church. And St. Lawrence was born in
Spain. And St. Lawrence served as a deacon in
Rome during time of major persecution. And one
of the most notable stories of St. Lawrence is
that of his martyrdom. It's interesting. Sometimes
we get turned away because we hear the word saint
and we think of, you know, Orthodox or Catholic.
But a lot of these men and women were amazing
men and women of God. And he is martyred for
his faith. The emperor at the time had it out
for all Christians. But he specifically had his
sights. on St. Lawrence. He gave Lawrence the
opportunity to save himself, asking Lawrence
to show him where all the church's gold and silver
were. He wanted in in the money bags of the church.
And so when asked for the gold and the silver
of the church, Lawrence returned three days later.
And he had with him the poor, the sick, the handicapped.
And he presented to the emperor, here, this is
the wealth of the church. They had a different
view of lack. Of a basement? Enraged, he put
Lawrence, he had him burned in public on a griddle.
And I love, this is the beauty of martyrs. There's
a grace that comes on those, I believe, being
martyred. And they are always known in those
moments to have such joy. The martyrs of the
early church were known for their joy and their
singing as they were being led to their death.
And St. Lawrence was no different. He's in that
moment of execution. He's joking with the guards.
And he's saying, it's time to turn me over. I'm
done on this side. Can you imagine? Flip, it's
time to flip me over. I made pancakes this weekend.
What does he have? There is in, it's a spirit
that Paul had. It matters not whether I am in
the place of provision or poverty. I have learned
how to do both well. And I often think that the
breakthroughs we believe for aren't happening.
Because we have yet to learn some things well
in the places of restraint and restriction that
God wants us to get. I know you guys get so excited
and amening at my sermons. You're like, bring
Darren back. Let's believe for breakthrough.
Think about the life of Paul. How much he spent.
imprisoned, being beaten. He wrote 13 of the
27 books of the New Testament, four of those
he wrote while being imprisoned, a home imprisonment,
but still he was restrained and restricted. And
he wrote Philippians while being imprisoned.
So while he's in restraint, he's saying, hey,
I know what it is to abound and be well fed.
And I know what it is to be restricted and abased.
As he's imprisoned, he writes this. And he says,
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
me. I can do all things, the abasement, the poverty,
the restriction. I can do all things. He wrote
Ephesians while being restricted. I love Ephesians.
Ephesians talks about how we are rich in Christ.
It talks about how he lavishes all grace on us.
And we read that and we think, oh, God's lavishing
all grace. I'm going to do all this great stuff.
Listen, he lavishes grace on us. so that in poverty
and in wealth, we can do all well because we
have grace. 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul wrote
this. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming
conceited, isn't it good to know our own weaknesses?
I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger
of Satan to torment me. Three times, much like
Jesus, he pleaded that it would be taken. Let
this cut pass. But he said, my grace is sufficient
for you. For my power is made perfect in what?
In strength? In weakness. We have to learn to
do weakness well. Because it's there that his
power is made perfect in your life. But when
we have unforgiveness, when we have resistance,
when we are just frustrated and upset with God
because we're in this place of weakness, we're
cutting off the source of strength. Therefore,
he said, I'll boast in my weaknesses so that
Christ... power may rest on me. Therefore, for
Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults,
in hardships, in persecutions, and in difficulties.
I'm wondering when we're getting together, are
we delighting in, hey man, everything went wrong
for me this week. Praise the Lord. That must
mean he's doing, that means I have access to
his power. That must mean God's up to something.
Praise the Lord. I've had trials this week. I've
had difficulties this week. I fear that that's
not how we're talking about our struggles. For
when I am weak, then I am strong. We cannot wait
for the places of abundance to begin to walk
out. what God has called us to do. He's looking
for us in the places of restraint and restriction
to begin to do it. You can't wait for a better
moment. You can't wait for a perfect opportunity.
It is the call of obedience. God, you've called
me to do this, so I'm going to do it in the lack.
I'm going to do it in the restraint and the restriction.
Paul carried out his purpose. He didn't say,
well, I'm imprisoned, everybody, so get in touch
with one of the other apostles, please. He didn't
wallow. He didn't complain. Was it hard? Yes.
Would he have preferred to have the cup passed
from him? For sure. In fact, he said, I persevered
in demonstrating among you. the marks of a true
apostle, including signs, wonders, and miracles,
even in the hardship. I'm going to ask the worship
team to come. I know that I preached a little
longer today, but I really believe with all of
my heart that God's given to each of you, God
-given purposes and promises, and the years have
gone by. I've yet to really see in the Bible
great men and women that have not gone through
seasons of abasement and trial before they were
brought into the fulfillment of God's purposes.
I've yet to really see them, even in the fulfillment
of it, to not see them in difficulty. And I want
us I want us to grab hold of Paul's attitude.
I have learned. God, I'm not handling my lack
well. I'm not handling my physical ailments well.
I'm not handling my financial situation well.
I'm not handling my loneliness well. Would you
teach me? I want to learn like Paul learned.
Would you teach me contentment in these places?
Would you teach me to be satisfied by your presence
in these places? I don't want to be a fair weather
follower. I want to follow you on the path of
Gethsemane if need be. I want to be where your
presence is at. And for some of us that may mean,
I've had to in my heart as I've asked this question,
Lord, do I trust your restraint on my life? It
doesn't feel safe. It doesn't feel secure. The
unknown is scary. Do I trust your restraint in
my life? I've had to ask myself hard questions.
I've had to repent of attitudes. in the restraint.
And for some of us today, that might be you saying,
I've not been doing it well. In fact, I've not
even been open to learning how to do it well.
In these final moments as we worship, I want
you just to find a space, whether it's at your
seat or at this altar, I don't care. But can
we begin to just say to the Lord, Lord, Forgive
me for being resentful and carrying unforgiveness,
for despising the places of lack, for being discontented
and embittered. Would you forgive me? I want
to make those spaces now sacred spaces of your
presence. Places where I encounter you. Your
presence is enough, Jesus. Your presence is enough,
Jesus. And so if you'll stand with me in a few
moments, we'll be finished. But I don't want
to leave without creating a space to respond
to the Lord. I'm walking out of here saying,
I'm going to do the difficult places differently.
them places where the power of Christ is displayed
I'm gonna make them the places where I encounter
the suffering of Christ the fellowship of the
suffering of Christ he wants to encounter with
you in those places he wants to encounter with
you And so as the team leads us, I want you to
be respectful. If you're having to leave, if
you could just slip out quietly, because we want
to make this place a place of response to the
Lord, a place of encounter to the Lord. Thank
you, Lord.