WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.419 If you've been following this ministry for some 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:08.199 time, you've heard me say it not once, but literally 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:15.900 hundreds of times, that no matter what your troubles 00:00:15.900 --> 00:00:23.800 are, as long as God is still on His throne, and 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:27.920 His unanswered prayer, And just so long as your 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:36.460 faith in him is still intact, everything will 00:00:36.460 --> 00:00:42.359 come out all right. Remember something. I do 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:49.700 not just say those words. I believe that statement 00:00:49.700 --> 00:00:56.460 with every atom of my being. Trouble has a way 00:00:56.460 --> 00:01:01.079 of stalking down the road and meeting us so many 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:10.079 times when we least expect it. And it may befall 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:15.359 us without our being personally or even directly 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:21.099 the cause of it. And many, many times, trouble 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:26.599 is beyond our control. But we should remember 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:31.840 that trouble, as well as the hours of sunshine, 00:01:31.980 --> 00:01:36.579 is a part of divine arrangement and has a place 00:01:36.579 --> 00:01:40.480 in our program, in our living, in our lives, 00:01:40.620 --> 00:01:44.620 in the shaping of our lives, in making character. 00:01:45.739 --> 00:01:49.980 Trouble and severe testings are not necessarily 00:01:49.980 --> 00:01:54.390 a sign of sin or of failure. or a lack of spirituality. 00:01:54.709 --> 00:01:57.609 I'm saying something today that I want you never 00:01:57.609 --> 00:02:05.390 to forget. Remember that very often, trouble 00:02:05.390 --> 00:02:10.669 is a sign of spirituality. It's a sign of growth, 00:02:10.789 --> 00:02:16.169 which God must test and prove, for never forget, 00:02:16.409 --> 00:02:23.319 we are His workmanship. The cruelest thing that 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:29.819 anyone can do is to say when trouble and sorrow 00:02:29.819 --> 00:02:32.319 and affliction comes into the life of a Christian 00:02:32.319 --> 00:02:35.939 that is because of some sin in that life and 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:40.719 that one is very quick to judge that one. Nothing 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:45.240 could be farther from the truth. On the other 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:48.069 hand, Many people have gotten the notion that 00:02:48.069 --> 00:02:51.590 the life of a Christian is or should be somewhat 00:02:51.590 --> 00:02:55.930 of a charmed life, void of trouble, void of testing, 00:02:56.069 --> 00:02:59.590 tribulation, and suffering. Such people have 00:02:59.590 --> 00:03:04.009 shaped up for themselves or they hold as an ideal 00:03:04.009 --> 00:03:07.270 of real Christian living an absolutely impossible 00:03:07.270 --> 00:03:13.990 and unscriptural conception as an objective. 00:03:15.530 --> 00:03:18.469 And where in the world such people have been 00:03:18.469 --> 00:03:20.930 living all of these years, I do not know. For 00:03:20.930 --> 00:03:24.449 surely they do not know history. They do not 00:03:24.449 --> 00:03:29.909 know Christian experience or the Bible. Because 00:03:29.909 --> 00:03:35.669 the Word of God teaches, man is born into trouble, 00:03:35.729 --> 00:03:41.189 and as the sparks fly upward, as found in Job, 00:03:42.830 --> 00:03:46.030 Here's another scripture. Many are the afflictions 00:03:46.030 --> 00:03:48.370 of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him 00:03:48.370 --> 00:03:53.969 out of them all. Go a little further in the word. 00:03:54.189 --> 00:03:59.229 For our light affliction, which is but for a 00:03:59.229 --> 00:04:04.830 moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and 00:04:04.830 --> 00:04:10.990 eternal weight of glory. Go a little deeper. 00:04:11.789 --> 00:04:18.350 Into the word, yea, and all that will live godly 00:04:18.350 --> 00:04:26.670 in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. That's 00:04:26.670 --> 00:04:31.589 not all. In the world ye shall have tribulation, 00:04:31.750 --> 00:04:39.250 but be of good cheer. Jesus said, I have overcome 00:04:39.250 --> 00:04:45.000 the world. Don't stop there. Go to the fifth 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:50.920 chapter of Romans. And not only so, but we glory 00:04:50.920 --> 00:04:56.680 in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation 00:04:56.680 --> 00:05:04.360 worketh patience. You know, as Christians, after 00:05:04.360 --> 00:05:06.300 we're convinced in our hearts that trouble is 00:05:06.300 --> 00:05:11.029 not designed to defeat us, is not a mere nuisance 00:05:11.029 --> 00:05:15.949 or a cruelty, but is one of the corrective elements 00:05:15.949 --> 00:05:21.490 in great living, then we must needs learn how 00:05:21.490 --> 00:05:25.470 to use it. And that's exactly what I want to 00:05:25.470 --> 00:05:30.870 talk about today. You and I must learn how to 00:05:30.870 --> 00:05:35.829 use trouble. How many problems would be solved 00:05:35.829 --> 00:05:40.170 and shipwrecks of faith be avoided? If only we 00:05:40.170 --> 00:05:44.329 could take a positive, a constructive attitude 00:05:44.329 --> 00:05:49.269 and see that trouble is one of the agents. Trouble 00:05:49.269 --> 00:05:52.569 can be a mighty instrument that's placed in our 00:05:52.569 --> 00:05:56.470 hands for the shaping of character and the releasing 00:05:56.470 --> 00:06:01.110 of potential power for correct and glorious building. 00:06:01.689 --> 00:06:07.790 Oh, trouble can literally be an angel in disguise. 00:06:08.779 --> 00:06:14.439 You never thought of it as such. How do you use 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:19.240 trouble? How did you use that trouble when it 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:25.720 came to you a year ago, six months ago, yesterday? 00:06:29.300 --> 00:06:34.079 Trouble is not to be reasoned with. You simply 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:39.550 cannot reason with trouble. utterly unreasonable. 00:06:42.089 --> 00:06:51.189 She is to be used. Please disabuse your minds 00:06:51.189 --> 00:06:55.730 of the erroneous thought that if you are good 00:06:55.730 --> 00:07:01.870 or if you are a really spiritual Christian, totally 00:07:01.870 --> 00:07:05.009 yielded and consecrated, that your life is therefore 00:07:05.009 --> 00:07:09.819 to be a charmed one. and that God will spare 00:07:09.819 --> 00:07:13.779 you from trouble and from disappointment. No, 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:18.459 my friend. To reach such a fine place of consecration 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:24.079 and yieldedness is only to make you a fit candidate 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:32.019 for tribulation. Tribulation is a word that God 00:07:32.019 --> 00:07:38.550 uses in relation to saints. And the word means 00:07:38.550 --> 00:07:44.069 threshing. The farmer does not thresh weeds. 00:07:44.410 --> 00:07:48.529 He threshes the golden wheat that the grain may 00:07:48.529 --> 00:07:53.689 be separated from the sticks and the stubble 00:07:53.689 --> 00:07:59.290 and the chafe. He's after grain. The farmer is 00:07:59.290 --> 00:08:03.250 after grain. The Heavenly Father is after grain. 00:08:04.430 --> 00:08:08.430 not trying to pound out some straw. Therefore, 00:08:08.430 --> 00:08:12.750 God says, tribulation worketh patience, that 00:08:12.750 --> 00:08:17.649 is, the golden grain of patience, long -suffering, 00:08:17.649 --> 00:08:23.750 and kindness comes by way of threshing our tribulation 00:08:23.750 --> 00:08:28.370 and trouble. Think the spendage spiritual grain 00:08:28.370 --> 00:08:33.269 of character and noble living produced only through 00:08:33.269 --> 00:08:38.309 the tribulation and trouble process. The spiritual 00:08:38.309 --> 00:08:42.549 tone and quality of the mighty men of God came 00:08:42.549 --> 00:08:48.610 only through trouble, came only through suffering. 00:08:48.690 --> 00:08:52.730 Ask Paul, one of the greatest examples of suffering 00:08:52.730 --> 00:09:00.389 and of trouble. Do not misunderstand me. I'm 00:09:00.389 --> 00:09:04.610 not saying that trouble alone makes us strong 00:09:04.610 --> 00:09:09.730 or noble, or that it alone has a transforming 00:09:09.730 --> 00:09:14.230 power. That's not what I'm saying. I'm dealing 00:09:14.230 --> 00:09:16.710 with you as Christians who believe the 8th chapter 00:09:16.710 --> 00:09:19.629 of Romans, the 28th verse. And that text, as 00:09:19.629 --> 00:09:23.389 you see it, is never to be applied to lives which 00:09:23.389 --> 00:09:27.879 are not surrendered. That's why many unsaved 00:09:27.879 --> 00:09:32.360 people never quite understand the outworking 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:36.980 of the Scriptures in the daily walk. But if the 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:41.779 Christian has anything remotely opposing the 00:09:41.779 --> 00:09:47.519 Spirit of Christ, he can make trouble a servant 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:59.039 to bring forth the best in him. Beloved, be careful 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:06.179 how you act when trouble comes. Trouble in itself 00:10:06.179 --> 00:10:13.200 is neutral or passive. The whole matter depends 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:19.159 upon how we use it. It makes all the difference 00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:24.470 in the world as to how you use trouble. trouble 00:10:24.470 --> 00:10:27.590 when it comes into that life of yours. And if 00:10:27.590 --> 00:10:30.769 you are a part of humanity, you will have trouble. 00:10:30.990 --> 00:10:38.710 I don't care who you are. You will have trouble. 00:10:40.769 --> 00:10:46.370 And the whole matter depends on how you use that 00:10:46.370 --> 00:10:52.799 trouble. You've noticed in lives a Two -fold 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:57.740 reaction to trouble or tragedy. Either it will 00:10:57.740 --> 00:11:04.500 break us in spirit, melting the hardness and 00:11:04.500 --> 00:11:09.600 bringing us into our helplessness to God. It 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:14.700 can make us a bigger, a better person. Or it'll 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:18.940 throw us upon our own feeble resources and human 00:11:18.940 --> 00:11:22.289 reasonings. And I told you a minute ago, trouble 00:11:22.289 --> 00:11:30.110 cannot be reasoned with. And if you throw that 00:11:30.110 --> 00:11:34.769 trouble upon your own feeble resources and human 00:11:34.769 --> 00:11:39.970 reasonings, this in turn will harden you in spirit. 00:11:40.289 --> 00:11:45.769 It'll make you critical and often cynical. And 00:11:45.769 --> 00:11:50.940 I meet folk like that every day of my life. It 00:11:50.940 --> 00:11:54.379 robs the heart of the great privilege of trusting 00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:59.419 God and the developing of the life into rich 00:11:59.419 --> 00:12:08.299 and helpful avenues. Be careful how you act when 00:12:08.299 --> 00:12:14.460 trouble comes. You've got to face it. You have 00:12:14.460 --> 00:12:17.899 to do something about it. You can't just sweep 00:12:17.899 --> 00:12:21.220 it under the rug. and act as though it never 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:25.460 happened. It'll either make you a cynical person, 00:12:25.539 --> 00:12:34.519 a bitter person, or it will mean a growth in 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:43.139 character and a deeper spiritual life. Trouble 00:12:43.139 --> 00:12:51.029 will either make you bitter or better. You're 00:12:51.029 --> 00:12:56.250 never quite the same. No person can ever be the 00:12:56.250 --> 00:13:03.429 same. When trouble comes into his life, it will 00:13:03.429 --> 00:13:10.450 either make you bitter or better. And notice 00:13:10.450 --> 00:13:15.789 how very much alike these words are and how very 00:13:15.789 --> 00:13:20.269 little is needed to change them. Just... The 00:13:20.269 --> 00:13:29.889 letter I. Yes, it is the I that changes the whole 00:13:29.889 --> 00:13:35.450 matter. When the I keeps out of the question, 00:13:35.509 --> 00:13:39.110 out of the difficulty, life would be better. 00:13:39.330 --> 00:13:42.629 But when the I is introduced and we get mixed 00:13:42.629 --> 00:13:49.059 in the troubled life, we become bitter. We become 00:13:49.059 --> 00:13:52.279 hard. We become critical. We become cynical. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:59.940 Too many times his eye gets in the way. The poor 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:05.860 little hurt eagle gets a slap, and down the street 00:14:05.860 --> 00:14:09.120 he runs, screaming for attention. The dear little 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:14.220 eagle sits in his doorway and weeps tears of 00:14:14.220 --> 00:14:18.990 self -pity. until his eyes are so red and inflamed 00:14:18.990 --> 00:14:25.289 that he just cannot see things as they are or 00:14:25.289 --> 00:14:34.629 should be. It takes a quiet heart, peace of spirit, 00:14:34.889 --> 00:14:44.659 and clear vision, and a long rain. Remember that 00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:49.940 long range. You and I are not living just for 00:14:49.940 --> 00:14:55.659 today. We're not living for just this hour. We 00:14:55.659 --> 00:15:04.539 must have a clear vision, a long range to interpret 00:15:04.539 --> 00:15:08.759 trouble in terms of strength and high living. 00:15:09.899 --> 00:15:15.720 Little souls, small people, are usually hurt 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:20.840 all the time. They get their feelings hurt almost 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:28.200 instantly with the smallest things. Little souls. 00:15:32.980 --> 00:15:45.779 Undeveloped souls. Small people get hurt. Easily. 00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:50.919 The ego within is unduly important and consequently 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:57.879 is easily hurt or flattered. Such souls had too 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:01.419 small a world in which they're living. Oh, their 00:16:01.419 --> 00:16:05.480 world is so small. They must have everything 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:10.620 revolving around them. And hence everything relates 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:17.159 directly to the self within. though if you will 00:16:17.159 --> 00:16:19.100 please, one of the greatest examples I know anything 00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:22.440 about was Job. Do you want to see a really big 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:27.120 man? How do I know? Because the Word of God tells 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:36.120 us that Job was perfect and upright and one that 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:43.779 feared God and hated evil. Read it yourself. 00:16:45.549 --> 00:16:52.110 It'll do you good. His cattle were rustled by 00:16:52.110 --> 00:16:57.149 cattle rustlers. Talk about trouble, and you 00:16:57.149 --> 00:17:01.190 think you've had trouble. His horses were stolen 00:17:01.190 --> 00:17:06.390 by horse thieves. His cowboys were killed by 00:17:06.390 --> 00:17:10.869 the rustlers. His sheep were struck by lightning, 00:17:10.950 --> 00:17:14.490 and his shepherds were all killed, all but one. 00:17:15.849 --> 00:17:20.529 His camels were stolen and all the keepers were 00:17:20.529 --> 00:17:25.630 killed except just one. And you think you've 00:17:25.630 --> 00:17:29.910 had trouble. His sons and daughters were all 00:17:29.910 --> 00:17:36.869 killed by a cyclone. Job rent his garments, shaved 00:17:36.869 --> 00:17:42.349 his head, fell on the ground, and worshipped. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.099 This is the word of God. This is a man with like 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:58.559 passions as you. I'm amazed. I am awed. In the 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:04.160 light of all of this, I wonder if I really trust 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:06.700 God the way I should. I wonder what I would have 00:18:06.700 --> 00:18:11.190 done under those circumstances. After all of 00:18:11.190 --> 00:18:13.730 this happened, the word said he rent his garments, 00:18:13.950 --> 00:18:18.009 shaved his head, fell on the ground, and worshipped. 00:18:20.150 --> 00:18:30.250 He sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Nor 00:18:30.250 --> 00:18:36.230 charged God foolishly, but worshipped him. Was 00:18:36.230 --> 00:18:41.339 that all? No. His body was covered with ulcers 00:18:41.339 --> 00:18:45.079 like boils, and he sat in ashes to soak up the 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:50.279 secretion. And then of all things, here comes 00:18:50.279 --> 00:19:01.579 his wife. Of all things, his wife. And do you 00:19:01.579 --> 00:19:05.519 know what she said? Why do you hold on to your 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:13.289 faith? Curse God and die. Just go ahead. Curse 00:19:13.289 --> 00:19:22.150 God and die. Go ahead. Go ahead. Die. And then 00:19:22.150 --> 00:19:26.890 the last thing. His friends rebuked him and forsook 00:19:26.890 --> 00:19:33.589 him. What would you have done under those circumstances? 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:45.200 It was dark. It was very dark. But always remember 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:52.339 that as sure as there's the midnight hour, morning 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:57.240 will come. It can be so dark at three o 'clock. 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:00.700 It can be so dark at four o 'clock. But remember, 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:07.619 hold on. Morning will come. Morning always comes, 00:20:07.700 --> 00:20:13.700 and morning came for Job. Finish the book, if 00:20:13.700 --> 00:20:17.700 you will, please, at 42nd chapter and the 10th 00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:25.940 verse. He was blessed with twice what he had 00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:36.019 before. Be careful how you act. when troubles 00:20:36.019 --> 00:20:49.460 come. Be careful. When troubles come, that, my 00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:57.220 friend, is the time to trust God, the one who 00:20:57.220 --> 00:21:00.720 never makes a mistake.