in the house of the Lord today.
Thank you for worshiping him.
For he truly is worthy.
He is worthy.
How many of you as myself,
I've just been feasting on last week,
all week, last Sunday morning, wow.
The spirit of the Lord moved in a mighty, mighty way.
I'm grateful for that move and thankful for that move.
I'm gonna try my best to touch on some of that,
that word that we just shared a little with you last week.
We'll try to bring some of that to you today.
Just a little change with our text though.
We're gonna look at verse 35 through 39
of the book of Romans, the eighth chapter.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, distress, persecution,
famine or nakedness or peril or sword?
As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life
nor angels, principalities nor powers nor things present
nor things to come nor height nor depth
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Challenging the status quo, Father we love you today.
Thank you for your goodness and your mercy
and I ask God that you'd have your way.
Lord as your word is so rich and it is the bread of life,
I ask God now that you'd have your way in our hearts
as we have broken the bread, may our hearts and lives
receive it for your glory and for the edification
of the body.
May we leave here different than we came.
We love you and we thank you.
In Christ's lovely name the church said amen and amen.
You can be seated.
As your neighbor, you ready to challenge the status quo?
Amen.
The eighth chapter of Romans is one of our favorites
as believers, it's one of mine.
Especially if you back up to that 28th verse,
it gives me hope for all of the unexpected events of life
where Paul would declare that all things work together
for good, amen.
That gives us a little hope, that gives me a little
encouragement, that gives me a little something to stand on
day by day when things are not so good, if you will.
For us, every believer will face seasons of chaos
from time to time in our life.
Turmoil will find its way in our lives.
There will even be times when we live life on the edge
and we are desperately seeking rest and peace from the Lord.
There are those days that we must have it.
There are those days when we find ourselves in the company
of old brother Job in the seventh chapter as he would write
in that fourth verse, he said when I lie down I say
when shall I arise and the night be gone and I am full
of tossing to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
We've all had those nights that before we were born
you had those nights that before the sun went down
you were already wishing that the night season
would not come but the dawn would be the rising.
You are dreading the midnight hour.
I don't know why the devil loves to work the most
at the midnight hour but that just seems to be when he
thrives in the lives of people.
It seems like when your children are young that the fever
don't rise till about 1130.
It's 99 and a half or 100 all day but about midnight
she peaks out at about 103 and 104 and you're stressing
through the night praying the grace of God, amen,
finding the tine all, getting the moat from finding
whatever you can get to get the fever down
and it's in that midnight hour many times in the fever
of life when it begins to rise.
It's because this I believe it's because we are trying
to put our minds at rest.
We're trying to put our bodies at rest and the devil
does not want your mind at rest and he doesn't want
your body at rest so if he can torment you all night long
and you get occupied during the day and you think
everything's gonna be okay but when the darkness
approaches and the midnight hour comes at the fourth watch
if you will the enemy is doing his best to steal, kill
and destroy and torment your mind but I'm here to tell
you today that's not the plan of God or the will of God
for your life, it's not torment.
We know what Paul wrote to the young preacher Timothy,
you've not been given the spirit of fear but you've been
given power, you've been given love and you've been given
the soundness of your mind so I'm here this morning
to challenge the status quo when we understand the idea
of status quo and what it's trying to bring into
and through our lives it's a simple thing, status quo
is the existing state of affairs.
It may be good, it may be bad, it may be positive,
it may be negative but it's the moment in which you're
living and the state of affairs of your life
and what you are dealing with, that is the status quo.
It's what you're going to face in the immediacy
of the moment, it's what the devil is throwing at you
right now but I'm here to challenge the status quo,
I'm here to challenge the state of affairs
because I know in whom I believe, in whom I do trust.
Is that not what we see written here in Romans
when that challenge is there?
I initiate that challenge if 28 is the mandate
and the promise hanging over our life,
if all things work together for good, I love it
when Paul got on over just a little further
and he declared then who shall separate us
from the love of God and then he begins to go
through the plethora of the list and he begins
to lay things out of the existence, if you will,
of the resistance in our life.
Who shall separate us from the love of God?
And he begins to make that wonderful loving list
that gives me encouragement and lets me know
that the chaos of the day, the status quo of the moment
is not gonna be the final dictate of my life.
Somebody needs to hear that today.
Oh, and we can mind ourselves and take the words
of scripture and say that we will press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
And the only way you can press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling is if you take
the front part of that verse and add it to your life,
forgetting those things which are behind, I press.
Forgetting what's behind me, I press.
I am ignoring the status quo and the state of affairs.
If the state of affairs and the status quo
does not align to the dictates of the word of God
for my life, then the status quo deserves to be challenged
in the moment which I'm living because the challenge
has already been mandated for all things work together
for the good of those who love God and those who are called
according to his purpose.
If you've been called out of darkness
into his marvelous light, you've been called to his purpose.
And therefore, you have been gifted the ability
to challenge the status quo because if God be for you,
then who can be against you?
I'm here today to challenge the state of affairs.
I'm here today to challenge doctor reports.
I'm here today to challenge all that the enemy
comes against us with.
Look, I may die from whatever they tell me I got,
but it won't be because I don't challenge it.
I know this body is subject to disease,
but I also know this body is subject to the divine nature
and the healing of Jesus Christ touch on it.
So I challenge the status quo this morning.
I know the devil's out seeking to kill, steal and destroy,
but that's not the status quo at which I live by.
Greater is he that is in me than he that is in this world.
I challenge the status quo.
Faith overcomes the status quo.
don't just challenge the status quo it overcomes it Ronald Reagan defined status
quo this way he said you know status quo is Latin for the mess we're in you know
that right it's Latin for the mess we're in I thought that's pretty good you know
we start scratching our head throwing words around like status quo what's
that's what well it's just redneck use of the term it's the measure in but
there's a promise for ever mess that we can find ourselves in and by virtue of
there being a promise in the Word of God for ever miss that we can find
ourselves in it brings the reality about in my life that I can challenge the mess
that's before me I can challenge because when my mind is tormented and I feel
like job you think about Joe and all that he had to deal with and all that
he had to live through I'm not scraping bowls with pot shears I'm not sitting in
an agony in my body I'm not sitting wondering about the the lives of my ten
children that I had just lost I'm not worried because I'm broke busted and
disgusted I'm not worried that my reputation has now been tainted job had
all of these things come against him but in the midst of the status quo in the
challenge of the moment that was before him he chose rather he chose rather to
declare oh he and his wife so in despair she's saying job curse God and let's
just give up and die but job had this wherewithal within him that he
understood where the camels came from he understood where the donkeys came from
he understood why he had so many sheep he understood why he had ten children he
understood why he had it all he said honey we can't do that he said it's the
Lord that kills and the Lord that takes away but I'm gonna find courage don't
get quiet on me now my soul oh I can hear old Joe don't get quiet on me now my soul
don't hush your voice now but I'm here to tell you the Lord gave it and the
Lord takes it away but know this honey bless it be the name of the Lord how
that's a challenge in the face of the status quo when your friends come to try
to comfort you but yet they only bring you lower down it's there in the midst
that God begins to speak he comes in the whirlwind and in the middle of the
whirlwind he causes job to stand upon his feet he said stand up oh man of God
it's time you challenge the status quo oh when it's misery he began to doubt
some water and he began to challenge God with his condition and his position but
in that challenge God showed up because job had been faithful oh it would be
job who would declare with these eyes I shall see my Redeemer for I know that my
Redeemer lives and my Redeemer will take care of me it's his confession there and
God in the midst of the status quo of Job's life didn't want him to get too
low so out of a whirlwind he comes to job and he said stand up job stand up
like a man there'll be a whirlwind show up what you're at their lowest point of
your life God will reveal himself and it's the job he begins to pose some
questions he said where were you now sometimes we we wonder where God's at
knowing I have I've wondered not so much about where he was at but when he was
going to show up hello I know where he be he'd be on his throne high and lifted
up but what I'm wondering about is when he coming to me oh come on to hell what
I wondered about and worried about is when's he gonna show up for me in the
midst of my status quo in the midst of the state of affairs in which I'm living
or as President Reagan said in the middle of the mess that I'm in when are
you coming down here oh I'm so grateful and so thankful for God he didn't let
job get too far out and he's questioning but he stood up and questioned job where
were you when I put all of this into existence where were you when I flung
and cast the stars in the sky and I hung the earth on its axis and give her a
spin and she still spin where were you when I did all these things but it's
gonna be okay because I'm here now my my my my my hallelujah when you begin to
put some things in perspective oh my lord we think that our problem is the
biggest mountain in town God said I'm doing other things Joe I haven't
forgotten you sometimes you got to walk by faith in the middle of your mess
amen but you don't have to walk alone and know that you're not alone hallelujah
you're not alone you've not been forsaken you've not been given up on so
stand up and challenge the status quo don't challenge God stand up and
challenge the status quo and the state of affairs and which are coming against
you challenge him in the promises of God and look at your problem and say where
were you when God was putting all of this together oh he's watching over
he's keeping it and he is the caretaker of my life where where Paul begins to go
through that litany of status quo he said tribulation
tribulation trouble from this world trials in this world you know I think
one of the most dangerous doctrines that can be preached among many dangerous
doctrines is the idea that believers once you're a believer everything's
going to be alright not in as much as it's going to be alright but it's just
going to go smoothly right that everything's just going to be perfect in
your life you're a Christian now you've been saved hello and you got smiling
people that gives you four points on how to keep smiling while the status quo is
about to choke the life out of you huh when the state of affairs and
circumstances of life and this mess that we're in is about to overwhelm us I'm
here to tell you I don't need a five-step help plan I need somebody to
stand in front of me saying thus saith the Lord this is what the word of the
Lord is for your situation oh God is on your side he's never forsaken you and
he's never left you but when you understand tribulation is going to come
into your life it makes me feel a little better when it does it lets me know that
God's Word is true why because God says you're gonna have tribulation trouble
John 17 14 and the world has hated them because they are not of the world and
even as I am not of the world he said in this world you shall have trouble
trouble is going to come your way in reference to job the declaration this
man that is born a woman is a few days and full of trouble so if you're not
getting any promise of God in your life but trouble praise him anyhow hello how
faith is put to the test you've heard it said if there's no test there's no
testimony hello but what wonderful testimony that we have that the status
quo of life is challenged with the promises and the word and the presence
and the spirit of God being made available to our life Jesus said you
have tribulation you shall have it it will come your way but I am so grateful
that is not the last declaration in that verse of Scripture he said but be of good
cheer because I have overcome the world and later on he would declare I give
you peace not as this world gives you peace but my peace give I unto you that
your joy may be full I don't know what the world's telling you I don't know
what the devil's telling you I don't know what some TV preachers telling you
but you can still be in trouble and still be full of joy you can have all hell
breaking against you and still be filled with joy because joy has nothing to do
with the state of status quo but it has to do with the glory of God and the
presence of his promise living out in your life we get it confused I got to be
doing something wrong that's what Job's friends tried to tell him you have had
to sin against God somehow no I didn't I promise I've self-examined I've I've went
over every act in my mind look when you're in torment don't you do that
oh mine goes in the hyperdrive we go searching we go looking we go asking God
is there anything and that one friend of Job's that sat there and looked at him
for seven days without saying a word I'd like to slap him I mean he didn't even
accuse him it a set there across fire look down like he's getting spiritual
with him or something there's some point I don't need you to be spiritual with me
I need you to come on and encourage me in something like this well if you have
sinned if a man does he has an advocate with a father have you been to him tell
me that don't just stare at me hello just looked at him I guess if he's able
he might have got up and slammed I don't know there's more to this life than just
trouble it's the grace that accompanies you in the midst of your trouble it's a
pastor I thought this gonna be an encouraging word it is because whether we
like it or not trouble comes hello it's coming your way if you're not there you
either just left or it's on its way but the thing about it with every trouble
that arrives there's grace that accompanies it the devil think he has
the upper hand in our life bringing things against us but he knows what he's
doing and he knows he's defeated and what he just fails to remember is that
your faith in the God in which he's counting on you giving up he's counting
on us turning back he's counting on us not praying he's counting on us not to
praise in the midst of the storms of our life he's counting on you to give in and
succumb to the will of your flesh but my God once the spirit has been resurrected
once you've been touched by the grace and the love of God and you've lived
through a trial or two and you've overcome a tester too and you got a
couple testimonies behind you there's a confidence that rises that by the blood
of the Lamb and the word of my previous testimony and the promises of God that
are yet amen this too shall pass distress he said distress extreme
anxiety sorrow he said we're distressed he'd he'd write in that letter to the
Corinthians in his second address to them he let them know that we're
troubled on every side fourth chapter 8 verse he said Oh Corinthian people we are
troubled on every side I think Paul understood knew a little bit about
trouble I think he understood a little bit about tribulation persecution amen
he said but we're not distressed we're troubled tribulation comes but you're not
distressed don't let it overcome you we were troubled on every side yet not
distressed trouble can come around you you don't have to be overcome by extreme
anxiety sorrow fear and worry why because who shall separate us from the
love of God high-death power principalities angels devils you name it
nakedness perils sword none of this is going to separate you this can't keep you
from the love of God it can't keep the love of God from you so next time that
you're feeling like you're about to be squashed to death and you can't breathe
because of the status quo of life know this you may have tribulation you may be
troubled on every side but you are not distressed the people who become
distressed are those who are losing their focus and their faith in Jesus
Christ I need a little something to back that up okay I'll show you distress
Jesus is walking across the water the disciples are in a boat there's a storm
raging and they think they see a ghost but the voice of the Lord begins to
speak to them and Peter said Lord if that's you it's about me to come upon
the water and he hears the coming so while your faith is high and you've
heard the voice of the Lord you bail out of the boat and go walking across the
waves but somehow the tribulation that you're in begins to draw your focus
another direction and you take your eyes off the one who is stable and you begin
to see the distress that is around you but then you begin to see that's what
happened he became extremely anxious about his situation because he just
realized that he'd got on the water before he knew what he was doing
isn't that the way it happens sometimes there's a term for that it's called
zealousness we get zealous man we've got a word from the Lord and here we go we
take literally is what David said I can run through a troop and leap over a wall
hallelujah so before we know it we think we're David and we're running and
starting to slow down those are troops and the closer we get we say that's a
big wall distress begins to set in but don't be distressed you may be in
tribulation but you are not distressed but we are not reading we are not
distressed hallelujah we are look he said we are preplexed but not in despair
sometimes when we see the status quo we become confused we become overwhelmed
and we get perplexed by the matter but hold on oh because see then if you
become perplexed understand that you will not fall in a state of despair
despair is a whole lot worse than being perplexed despair means you have believed
the perplexities that are coming against you and you have
believed and accepted that which is perplexing you is greater than what is
keeping you no no no no no Paul said you don't have to be yes you may be
perplexed but not in despair what are you saying pastor I've said it may be
rough but don't give up don't give in to the perplexing problem of the status
quo don't give it don't yell don't fall into despair you're traveled on every
side oh he'd go on in that verse he say you are cast down think about it you got
knocked down you got knocked over you got hit as Jackie Gleason used to say
right in the kisser and you're flat of your back you think it's over no no
because every time you get knocked down you get saved by the bail there's a pause
there's a timeout you get set drug back in the corner and set up on the stool
and the smell and salt of the Holy Ghost gets put in front of you whoa
seeing them boxers go whoa right when they break out ammonia take the ammonia
of the Word of God and whoa pull a Ric Flair on that's what the preacher
priest Friday night I love you I mean no but Scotty Hager big
Schumer he come out there doing the Ric Flair strut you got to be a little bit
older than some of these folks in here remember Ric Flair he'd come out there
it's stiff-legged strut whoa when he glasses on that's who you are come on you
may get cast down what am I can say don't rejoice over me though I'm knocked
down I'm getting up somebody's tell the devil you about to get up if I ever
heard mama say that I got real doing whatever mama told me to do I'm about to
get up from here because it's it with mother if you got past the threat of the
getting up if she got up I don't care what you do I don't care how sweet you
try to be go hide but get tanned or striped whichever or both belts are made
for tanning limbs are made for striping case y'all didn't know that have me know
what I'm down now some of you need to I'm just saying I got to get back to this
as long as God is on his throne as long as he answers prayer and he's gonna
answer prayer as long as he leaves us here below hello as long as he answers
prayers along with this world is turning and as long as his word is true how long
is that gonna be heaven and earth shall pass away but my word shall stand
forever I'm trying to encourage some of us in the status quo today when the
affairs of life make you feel like you've been knocked down you're not out
you're not destroyed you've been cast down but not destroyed and there is a
difference if you're not destroyed that he can empower you by his grace for you
to get back up and go another round hallelujah pull a Mohammed Ali on the
devil if you got to cover your head cover your vitals lay your head on his
chest and let the devil swing away and then about round 10 once you've got your
breath and he's about tired of wailing on you then you come up and you come
out and you stand firmly in the word of God and you take the authority and you
challenge the status quo because you were down but he didn't take you out
that's where he messed up with job he got him down and he didn't take him out
but let me just share something with you he got him down and he didn't take him
out because he didn't have the power to take him out because God had already
drew the line
he didn't take him out because he didn't have the power to take him out because
the line had already been drawn do what you want to but I love it when God says
but his life is mine you can't do nothing with his life and and the devil
come against job so egregiously that he wished he was dead he just couldn't kill
him oh sometimes don't we wish for the rapture hello sometimes we get so sick
and been so sick and tired was then Lord I wish you just go ahead and take me on
well don't wish your life away child of God you may be down but you're not out
and don't let the devil stand over you and make mockery of you you look up at
him say I'm down now but I'm about to get up and when I get up from here when
I get up from here I feel somebody about to get up in here
whoa go ahead worship in the minute in his house I'm about to get up Lord
hey persecution trouble from people if you got people coming against you let
them come on the Lord is on your side yeah and all that will live Godly in
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution just like we shall suffer tribulation
but that's okay Matthew 5 and 12 that beautiful sermon on the mound blessed are
those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for great is your
reward in heaven famine or nakedness means the lack of material prosperity
some of the most wealthy people in this world don't have a dollar to the name
never allow the enemy to try to bring and equate God's blessing and favor on
your life with zeros never never let him convince you that a dollar figure
declares and shows how much God loves you some of the richest people in this
world are so overlaid with joy but they couldn't go by hamburger huh have so
much peace they laid down at night not even knowing where their meals coming
from tomorrow but they sleep like a baby on a feather pillow because they know
their God who fed them this day will feed them tomorrow either nakedness or
peril you may feel like you're in trouble and trouble may be surrounding
you but don't worry God's not gonna let it overcome you peril or sword when
there is imminent danger to your body through disaster or sickness don't think
that God has quit living on you because he hasn't because for the
believer we understand that to be absent from this body is to be present with the
Lord amen can I tell you there's worse things than dying there's dying without
the Lord but there are no greater things than dying with him because why you get
a walk on pavement that has no potholes
I know I'm with you I enjoy life I love life and I'm not saying I want to die
today I'd just rather him come get us all and we go together
amen stand with me I'm closing challenging the status quo to live as
Christ and to die as gay and to know that God is able
God is able he's able to keep you Paul told that Roman Church that he was
persuaded are you persuaded this morning are you fully persuaded are you fully
convinced that by his grace you're able to challenge the status quo by his grace
don't challenge it in your own self you will fail but if you challenge it within
his promise and stand in firm accordance to his word you can challenge the state
of affairs but here's the thing when we challenge the state of affairs in the
status quo we have to understand that we may have to walk in the furnace right
many times we think and I'm not I'm not here in any way trying to lead you in
any other direction then you might have to go in the furnace well where's the
encouragement in that he's in the furnace waiting for you you may have to
go in the lion's den well where's the encouragement in that what softer pillow
than a lion's mane challenging the status quo challenging the mess that
you're in with the hope that he provides and the grace that he gives father I
love you this morning I thank you for your help today Lord because I've surely
felt it I have felt your help I thank you for your word I thank you for your
strength I thank you for your anointing I thank you for speaking to the hearts of
your people today
Lord I thank you for allowing me to go ahead and preach this word as you
displayed your glory in this house last week new seasons new things do you
blessings
touch today Lord
I'm going to be just needed to you know it I mean you just need a little needle
something some is status quos really start to look difficult really looking
challenging
hallelujah