WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:04.639 Now you know, folks, today, it seems like that all 2 00:00:04.679 --> 00:00:07.240 the values that create a healthy society have been turned 3 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:11.279 upside down. You agree with this. It seems like everything's 4 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:14.599 being shaken. Our economy and the foundations of our economy 5 00:00:14.599 --> 00:00:18.760 are being shaken. The way we've done government in America 6 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:23.199 for hundreds of years is being shaken. Our freedom, our 7 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:26.679 freedom of speech and conscience and religion being shaken. Marriages 8 00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:31.760 are being shaken, Families are being shaken, so many things. 9 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:36.439 Education is being shaken. The foundations of our moral and 10 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:41.640 ethical values are being shaken. Now we're living in a 11 00:00:41.679 --> 00:00:45.439 time of great upheaval, when there's a lot of shakiness 12 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:48.399 going on. But I'm not here to talk about doom 13 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:51.799 and gloom because this book is not about doom and gloom. 14 00:00:52.119 --> 00:00:55.520 It's about the answer. It's about the answer to those 15 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:00.920 and God says, no matter how bad the world gets, 16 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:06.599 in a rapidly changing world, and even in a decaying culture, 17 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:11.400 God says, I want you to survive, and not only that, thrive, 18 00:01:11.560 --> 00:01:15.599 and not only that, I want you to succeed. What 19 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:20.359 should you do when your life is upended, when your 20 00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:27.599 world is shaken up by a death, a divorce, a failure, 21 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:32.120 a bankruptcy, and a hundred other things that could up 22 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:35.879 in your life. How can you thrive in this culture? 23 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:41.120 First suggestion when your life is thrown into chaos, when 24 00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:45.200 your world is shaken up. Number one, don't be surprised 25 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:48.519 by adversity. Now here's what the Bible says in one 26 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:53.000 Peter four twelve. Dear friends, don't be shocked or surprised 27 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:58.560 when you suffer painful tests and trials, as if something 28 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:02.560 strange is happening to you. He said, you know, shakeups 29 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.159 are a normal part of life in a broken world. 30 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:09.879 We do not live in heaven. In heaven, everything's perfect, 31 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:12.759 everything's done great, there are no tears, no sorrows, no suffering. 32 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:16.680 But on earth everything is broken because of sin. Every 33 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:20.840 relationship is broken, every body is broken. We don't have 34 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:25.159 healthy minds, the weather's broken, the economy is broken, and 35 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:28.039 so we shouldn't expect things to be perfect here on earth. 36 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:31.439 And when something bad happens in your life, instead of 37 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:34.439 going why me, you might want to say why not me? 38 00:02:35.639 --> 00:02:39.840 I live here on earth and this is not heaven 39 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:44.599 that's coming later, and so there are going to be sufferings. 40 00:02:44.599 --> 00:02:46.639 There are going to be trials, and don't be surprised 41 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:50.240 by it. Jesus said it like this, John sixteen thirty three. 42 00:02:51.639 --> 00:02:57.840 Jesus said, in this world you might experience difficulties. Well, 43 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:01.080 that's not what he said. In this world you what 44 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:05.000 circle that will? Now if Jesus said it, you can 45 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:09.280 count on it. You will have problems in life. You 46 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:11.840 are going to face adversity. You are going to have 47 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:15.439 times where your world is tossed upside down and everything 48 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:18.120 is shaken and bacon and flying, and you don't know 49 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:22.199 which way is up. In this world, you will experience difficulties. 50 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:26.280 Jesus promised that, but he said, take heart, I have 51 00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:29.680 conquered the world. He said, I've told you this so 52 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:34.479 that in trusting me, you will be unshakeable and deeply 53 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:38.439 at peace. Jesus warned us that adversity is going to 54 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:40.840 be a part of life. Don't let it blow you away. 55 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:44.879 Don't be surprised, don't be shocked. But you need to 56 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:48.280 be unshakable. I'm telling you so you won't cave in. 57 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:51.159 Now you know what the typical response is when you 58 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:55.960 go through a crisis. The typical union human response when 59 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:57.800 I or you go through a crisis is this. The 60 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:00.560 first thing we do is try to figure out who's 61 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:04.159 to blame. That's the last thing you need to work on, 62 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:07.879 whose fault is it. As long as you're fixing the blame, 63 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:12.479 you can't fix the problem. To blame is to be blame. 64 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:15.080 That's how you spell blame. And so when you when 65 00:04:15.080 --> 00:04:18.240 you blame other people, you're not You're just perpetuating the problem. 66 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:22.399 You're not solving anything. Politicians love to blame each other. 67 00:04:22.519 --> 00:04:25.000 These groups and that groups blame each other. You know 68 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:31.079 what blame is not blame is blame. And instead instead 69 00:04:31.079 --> 00:04:33.079 of asking whose fault it is, you need to be 70 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:35.680 asking what should I do now? Just so you'll know, 71 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:38.480 let me tell you there are four sources of the 72 00:04:38.519 --> 00:04:41.800 problems in your life. The first source of the shakeups 73 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:45.959 in your life is your own nature, your old nature, 74 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.240 which is your own biggest problem. You might want to 75 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.199 write next to that. Roman seven. Roman seven is the 76 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:55.079 classic chapter explains how you are the biggest problem to you, 77 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:59.439 and I won't go into that. The second source of 78 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:02.879 the problems in your life is the world, the world 79 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:06.920 and the world. Your nature is within you. The world 80 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:08.839 is around you, and it wants to pull you down 81 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:11.040 and The primary way the world tries to pull you 82 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:15.720 down is through ridicule and through withholding approval. We are 83 00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:18.680 desperate for the approval of other people, and so we 84 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:21.639 will lower our standards, and we'll change our convictions, and 85 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.279 we'll give in and give up simply because we want 86 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:28.360 somebody to like us. You don't need the world's approval 87 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:31.319 to be happy. You're as happy as you choose to be. 88 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:34.439 You don't need the world's approval. But the world causes 89 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:36.839 a lot of problems in your life too. The third 90 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:40.959 source of problems is, of course Satan. The devil is 91 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:44.759 real evil incarnate, and the moment you wake up in 92 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:47.759 the morning, he's plotting to discourage you, to defeat you, 93 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:52.680 to create doubts, depression, discouragement, distractions, all these different things. 94 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:54.360 When you get up in the morning, if you don't 95 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:56.480 meet the devil head on, it just means you're headed 96 00:05:56.480 --> 00:05:59.959 the same direction because he's been planning to take you down. 97 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:03.120 He hates you. God has a good plan for your life. 98 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:06.160 He's got a bad plan for your life. Okay, so 99 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:09.480 my old nature, the world, the flesh and me, and 100 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:12.720 the devil, they all work on me. But the one 101 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:14.680 I want to talk to you about this weekend. Is 102 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:19.600 the fourth source of problems in your life, and it's God. God. Yes, 103 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:25.199 some of the problems and pressures and difficulties you have 104 00:06:25.240 --> 00:06:30.560 in life actually come from God. God will sometimes shake 105 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:34.759 up your life for very good reasons. And that's why 106 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:37.279 I want to cover this in detail, because this is 107 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:40.720 the one that's unexpected, and I want you to look 108 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:44.120 at that now. It really doesn't matter where your problems 109 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.439 came from. They could be caused by the devil, they 110 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:48.759 could be caused by the world, They could be caused 111 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:51.720 by you. They could be brought on in your life 112 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:55.399 by God. It doesn't really matter. God will use every 113 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:57.839 one of them for your good if you will trust him. 114 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:01.160 You mean, even the bad thing in my life, even 115 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:04.000 my own sins. Yes, even God can use those for 116 00:07:04.279 --> 00:07:08.279 good in your life. He can turn crucifixions into resurrections. 117 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:10.399 He can bring good out of bad. Anybody and bring 118 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:12.639 good out of good. But God can change even bad 119 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:17.000 things into good if you will trust him. So, regardless 120 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:19.720 of the source of your shaking. What's got you all 121 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:22.600 shaken up? I lost my job, I can't get married. 122 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:24.920 I want this and it hasn't happened. I have this 123 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:27.519 dream and I'm hitting the barrier. Regardless of whatever is 124 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:31.079 shaking you up, God wants to use it for good, 125 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:35.639 So the source isn't nearly as important as your response. 126 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:40.399 Now here's the second step based on that. Anytime the 127 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:43.800 world your world is shaken up. Number two, look for 128 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:49.680 ways that God might use it for good. Look for ways. 129 00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.240 I look for ways that God might use it in 130 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:57.199 my life for good, because He wants to use everything, 131 00:07:57.639 --> 00:07:59.360 even the bad things in your life. He wants to 132 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:01.800 bring good out of even those And if you want 133 00:08:01.839 --> 00:08:05.160 to succeed and thrive rather than just survive in a 134 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:08.360 hostile culture, you need to look for ways that God 135 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:11.199 takes the things that shake you up and can use 136 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:13.759 them for good. Jeremiah twenty nine to eleven says this. 137 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:17.399 God says, the plans I have for you are plans 138 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:20.160 for good and not to harm you. Their plans to 139 00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:23.720 give you hope and a future. The devil has bad 140 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:27.519 plans for your life, and therefore bad and for destruction. 141 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:30.959 God has plans. His plans are always good, there to 142 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:32.960 give you hope and there to give you a future. 143 00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:38.519 Sometimes God shakes things up. I'm talking about in your life. 144 00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:43.919 Sometimes shakes things up in my life to inspect me, 145 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:48.159 to inspect me. And what I mean by that is 146 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:50.559 God will bring a problem in my life that reveals 147 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:53.879 a motivation that's out a whack, or a character or 148 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:57.639 a thought or an emotion or a motive. He examines 149 00:08:57.679 --> 00:08:59.240 and he checks it out, and he does it all 150 00:08:59.279 --> 00:09:02.279 the time. You've got a fear, you've got a wrong motivation, 151 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:04.559 you've got a value, you got a misperception, there's some 152 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.360 lie that you're believing. God uses problems to inspect you. Now, 153 00:09:08.519 --> 00:09:10.559 of course, God already knows what's going on in you. 154 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:14.120 He doesn't need any problem to tell him what. He 155 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:16.840 knows you better than you do. When God allows a 156 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:18.600 problem in your life is because He wants you to 157 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:23.120 know what's out of whack. And sometimes when things are 158 00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:25.440 just flying off the wall and you're in a crisis 159 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:29.960 and you know yours just your whole world is shaken, 160 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:33.200 God is saying, I want you to see what I 161 00:09:33.240 --> 00:09:34.759 want you to work on in your life. We're going 162 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:39.799 to inspect this in your life. Jeremiah seventeen ten says this, 163 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:43.679 The Lord searches our hearts and examines our deepest motives. 164 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:47.559 So he can give to each person his right reward 165 00:09:47.840 --> 00:09:51.960 according to how he has lived. Now, notice God examines 166 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:57.120 your motives. Listen to this. Why is always more important 167 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:01.960 than what in life. What you do in life is 168 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:05.879 not nearly as important to God. That's why you do it, 169 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:08.480 Not what you do, but why you do. There are 170 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:09.879 a lot of things you can do in life. God say, 171 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:11.279 that's fine, go ahead and do that. I made you. 172 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:12.559 You could do that or that or that or that. 173 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:15.120 That'd you all be fine with me? I just want 174 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:17.679 to know why are you doing it? God looks at 175 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:21.080 the heart, He looks at the motivation. You see. What 176 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:24.200 matters in your maturity spiritually is not how high you 177 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:27.799 jump when you feel God in a worship concert. The 178 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:30.240 test is how straight you walk when you don't feel 179 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:35.000 God during the rest of the week. And I have 180 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.120 no emotion, I'm in the desert, I'm in a dry period, 181 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:39.320 I'm in the wilderness. Will you trust me? Will you 182 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:43.080 obey me? You see what God is saying is that 183 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.279 the problems that come into your life, they're a measuring tool, 184 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:53.159 and your reactions to difficulty actually measure your faith and 185 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:56.399 a bunch of stuff. Your reactions to difficulty. Measure your faith, 186 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:03.720 measure your commitment, measure your mature. They measure your integrity. 187 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:09.279 What does this problem reveal about me? When your whole 188 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:13.159 life is being shaken and everything you're on shaky ground, 189 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:18.159 the foundation is unstable, what does this problem reveal about me? 190 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:23.879 Here's another reason. Sometimes God shakes things up in your life, 191 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:28.120 not to inspect you, but to correct you. God wants 192 00:11:28.159 --> 00:11:31.240 to correct me. And here's a very important verse Hebrews 193 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:36.039 Chapter twelve, verses eight to twelve, eight to eleven. God 194 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:40.159 corrects all of his children, and if he doesn't correct you, 195 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:44.120 then you don't really belong to him. WHOA So if 196 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:45.720 you can sin and get away with it, you should 197 00:11:45.799 --> 00:11:50.080 doubt am I really in God's family? God corrects his children, 198 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:51.960 and if he doesn't correct you, then you don't really 199 00:11:51.960 --> 00:11:54.759 belong to him. God corrects us for our own good, 200 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:58.440 because He wants us to be holy as he is. Now. 201 00:11:58.679 --> 00:12:01.039 It's never fun to be corrected. How many of you 202 00:12:01.120 --> 00:12:04.639 agree with that part of the Bible? It's never fun 203 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:08.480 to be corrected. In fact, at the time it's always painful. 204 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:14.120 But if we learn to obey by being corrected, we 205 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:18.000 will do right and live at peace. He Ultimately it's 206 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:23.480 for your good so you can live at peace. Job 207 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:28.600 chapter five, verse seventeen. Consider yourself fortunate when God all 208 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:32.440 Powerful chooses to correct you. He says, it's a privilege. 209 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:34.919 It's an honor to be corrected by God because it 210 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:38.000 just means he loves you. I don't know why, but 211 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:40.200 sometimes God has to lay us flat on our back 212 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:44.600 before we look up to him. And God wants to 213 00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:46.159 teach you about himself, and he wants you to teach 214 00:12:46.200 --> 00:12:50.200 you about yourself. And some lessons really you're only going 215 00:12:50.279 --> 00:12:54.200 to learn through failure. You know, don't touch the stove, 216 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:01.159 you don't touch it a second time, because you learn 217 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:07.320 by being burned. And sometimes you know some things in line. 218 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:09.960 You don't learn the value of money until you've lost it. 219 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:14.639 You don't learn the value of friendship till you've lost it. 220 00:13:15.480 --> 00:13:18.879 So here's the question, what is this problem teaching me? 221 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:23.840 Instead of going why me? Instead of asking why, you 222 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:28.759 should ask what. Don't ask why? When you go through problems, 223 00:13:28.879 --> 00:13:32.159 ask what What should I be learning? Not why is 224 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:35.279 this happening to me? But what should I be learning? 225 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:40.440 Sometimes God shakes things up to direct me, to direct me, 226 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:44.000 He wants to point us in a new direction. He 227 00:13:44.039 --> 00:13:48.480 wants to guide us down a different path. Proverbs sixteen, 228 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:52.000 verse nine. A person may plan his own journey. You 229 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:55.840 got your own life plan out there, but the Lord 230 00:13:56.519 --> 00:14:00.399 directs his steps. So you have all your plans, but 231 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:04.159 the Lord is going to direct your steps. Question, how 232 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:10.080 does God direct your steps? Real simple problems, That's how 233 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:13.840 he directs your steps. Have you noticed that problems often 234 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:17.639 change your plans? Have anybody had that happened in their life? 235 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:22.559 Your problems change your plans? What is God doing? He's 236 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:26.679 redirecting you. He inspects you, he corrects you, and he 237 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:30.879 directs you when things are flying off the wall. Pain 238 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:35.320 is a powerful motivation to change. Proverbs twenty, verse thirteen 239 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:39.720 says this, Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make 240 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:42.639 us change our ways. And every one of you could 241 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:46.639 give a testimony on that verse. We rarely think about 242 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:48.799 the direction of our lives when things are going good. 243 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:53.440 When your life's going good, you got it on cruise control. 244 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:57.039 You're not even thinking about your goals. You're not even 245 00:14:57.120 --> 00:15:01.240 thinking about God. You're not thinking about anything but cruise control. 246 00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:04.559 This is fun. I'm in the driver's seat right now, 247 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:06.600 but all of a sudden, you have a traffic jam 248 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:10.159 or car accident. All of a sudden, it gets your attention, 249 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:14.759 and God gets our attention many times, and he changes 250 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:22.240 the direction. One of the values of pressure and problems 251 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:24.799 and crisis in your life is it forces you to 252 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.000 think about stuff you wouldn't normally think about on your own. 253 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:31.120 You want to just live in denial, and you would 254 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:32.679 just like to take that part of your life that 255 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.639 needs changing and just forget it and go on with 256 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:38.200 your life and go, well, I just isolate that over here. 257 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.480 I'll compartmentalize it and that'll be just fine. But it 258 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:46.879 doesn't work. What is a problem in your life that 259 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:54.679 you're pretending isn't a problem. What's the big problem, the 260 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:57.720 big elephant in your life, in your marriage and your relationship. 261 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:01.559 Then you're just very well, it's not a problem. I 262 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:02.919 know we got that there, but we've had it in 263 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:05.840 this relationship all this time. No, it's still a problem. 264 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:10.559 And God will use difficulty to correct you, inspect you, 265 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:15.720 and redirect you if he needs to. We would rarely 266 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:22.279 change unless we had problems. We postponed difficult decisions. We 267 00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:25.240 put it off. I mean, if you had a disease 268 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:28.799 that didn't hurt you. You'd never go to the doctor 269 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:32.759 about it. You just let it keep taking over your 270 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:37.080 life until you die. Pain gets your attention. We ignore 271 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.600 youll illnesses if they didn't hurt. So God uses problems 272 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:45.159 to prod us and to poke us, and to push 273 00:16:45.240 --> 00:16:48.039 us and to prompt us, and he uses things to 274 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:51.440 direct us. Write this down. Question where is this problem 275 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:56.159 leading me? You want to ask yourself. You want to 276 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:58.320 get the most out of your problems. Where is this 277 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:06.440 problem leading me? Sometimes God shakes things up to protect us. 278 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:10.640 Did you know that? Sometimes pain protects you from something 279 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.160 worse that you're going through a problem, But it's actually 280 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:17.119 preventing you from a bigger problem. It's keeping you from 281 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.960 greater harm. You might have wanted a certain job at 282 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:24.440 a certain business and it didn't happen, and God was 283 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:27.319 protecting you because he knew that there was a relationship 284 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:30.559 there that was going to mess you up, and he 285 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:35.400 kept you out of that situation. Sometimes a problem is 286 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:38.960 a blessing in disguise. Honestly, there will be times you 287 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:43.279 have problems when you did the right thing, not the 288 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:47.160 wrong thing. Not every problem is because you did something wrong. 289 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:50.640 Sometimes you have a problem because you did the right 290 00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:55.240 thing job thirty six, Verse sixteen. God led you away 291 00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:57.799 from danger. God often does this and you don't even 292 00:17:57.880 --> 00:18:01.519 realize it. God has led you away from danger, giving 293 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:08.680 you freedom. Problems are the preparation for success, and it 294 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:10.559 really comes down to a matter of faith. Will you 295 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:14.359 trust God? There are people in this world who intend 296 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:17.680 to harm you. Not everybody's nice in this world. There 297 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:20.000 are evil people, There are mean people. There are people 298 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:22.680 who don't like you because you're a Christian, or because 299 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:25.160 of a moral stance or an ethical decision you've made, 300 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:28.160 because you won't go with the flow and won't party 301 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:31.440 with the crowd, and they think you're too good, or 302 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:33.720 they think you're self righteous, and they misjudge you and 303 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:37.119 on and they want to bring you down. They mean 304 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:42.400 it for bad, but God means it for good. Now. 305 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:47.759 Sometimes God removes a harmful person in your life and 306 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:52.880 it breaks your heart. Don't run after him, some of you. 307 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:54.400 That's all you need to hear. You just need to 308 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:58.920 hear your pastors say that sometimes there's a harmful person 309 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:04.079 in your life, but you're you're addicted to them, and 310 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:07.319 God will remove them from your life. Don't run after them. 311 00:19:07.640 --> 00:19:11.720 God has shake things, taking things up to protect you. 312 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:15.359 So ask this question, how could this problem protect me? 313 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:19.640 How could this problem be protecting me? What's being prevented? 314 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:22.839 What could be worse in my life? Then? What's than 315 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:24.440 this problem? Well, there are a lot of things that 316 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:28.319 could be worse, all right. Number five. The fifth way 317 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:33.119 that God shakes things up in your life, and the 318 00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:36.440 fifth reason for shaking things up in your life is 319 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:39.480 not to correct me or inspect me or direct me. 320 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:46.160 But God uses things and problems to perfect me, to 321 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:50.279 make you more like Jesus Christ, to grow your character, 322 00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:55.880 to grow you up. Pain is the high cost of growth. 323 00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:59.039 If you want to grow up, you want to be mature, 324 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:02.599 there is no way to do it without pain. Pain 325 00:20:03.160 --> 00:20:07.920 is the cost of growing up. You can't grow up 326 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:12.319 on easy street. And see, we want the product without 327 00:20:12.480 --> 00:20:15.680 the process. It is a cliche, but it is true. 328 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.359 There is no gain without pain. There is no maturity 329 00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:23.720 without growing pains. And the very thing that discourages you 330 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:26.839 is the very thing that God is using to develop you. 331 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:31.680 One Peter five ten. The Bible says this, after you 332 00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:34.359 have suffered a little, while the God of all grace, 333 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:38.799 who calls you to share his eternal glory. God's going 334 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:41.240 to share his glory with you. In union of Christ, 335 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:46.400 will himself perfect you. Circle that will perfect you and 336 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:50.880 give you firmness and strength and a sure foundation. God 337 00:20:50.960 --> 00:20:53.880 is not interested in making your life easy on this earth. 338 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:57.480 He's interested in growing your character. The easy part comes 339 00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:01.920 for eternity. You're in school right now. You're in school, 340 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:05.720 and in school, God says, there are eternal rewards coming, 341 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:08.759 and I'm going to perfect you. So knowing that God 342 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:11.759 can even use the bad things in my life to 343 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:18.160 inspect me, to direct me, to correct me, and to 344 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:22.960 even perfect me, what should be my response? Romans Chapter 345 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:27.799 five tells us we can rejoice. We can rejoice. We 346 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:31.160 can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for 347 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:35.200 we know it's perspective that they're good for us. We 348 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:37.440 run into problems with drivers, we know they're good for us. 349 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:41.480 They help us learn to be patient, and patience develops 350 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:46.640 strength of character, boom in us, and helps us trust 351 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:50.039 God more each time we use it. So here's the 352 00:21:50.039 --> 00:21:55.240 fifth question, how can I grow from this problem? So 353 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:59.319 God is saying, he said, don't be surprised when you 354 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:03.759 have adversity in the world, you will have tribulation, Jesus said, 355 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:08.400 realize that I can use it five different ways. Okay, 356 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:12.039 I can inspect you, and I can correct you, and 357 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:15.319 I can direct you, and I can protect you, and 358 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:17.839 I can perfect you. I can use all these different 359 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:22.359 ways in what's going on in your life. And so 360 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:27.359 what's the third suggestion here? It is, finally, trust God 361 00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:32.039 for what I don't understand. When there's a problem in 362 00:22:32.039 --> 00:22:36.960 my life. This one does not make sense. I don't 363 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:39.240 get it. I don't see the perfection. I don't see 364 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:42.079 the inspection. I don't see the correction. I don't see 365 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:46.240 the protection. I don't see the perfection. This problem does 366 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:50.759 not make sense. Then I trust God for what I 367 00:22:50.759 --> 00:22:53.400 don't understand, knowing that he has my best interest in heart. 368 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:59.039 Proverbs three five and six. Trust the Lord with all 369 00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:02.680 your heart doesn't say intellect heart. Trust the Lord with 370 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:07.440 all your heart. Don't depend on your own understanding. Honor 371 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:12.400 the Lord in everything you do, and he will give you. 372 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:17.920 What's the word circle that success. I want you to 373 00:23:17.960 --> 00:23:21.279 be a success in life. God wants you to be 374 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:25.079 a success in life as your pastor, as your spiritual coach. 375 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:28.279 It is my goal, my job, my role to help 376 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:31.359 you succeed in every area of the life that God 377 00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:33.440 has given you. I want you to be a success, 378 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:38.680 not just survive when times are tough, not just survive 379 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:43.880 in a hostile culture to Christians, but to thrive and 380 00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:48.319 actually get promoted and have greater influence and be used 381 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:52.400 by God an amazing way. Let me close with little 382 00:23:52.400 --> 00:23:55.920 self evaluation. Why don't you ask these questions to God 383 00:23:56.039 --> 00:24:00.160 in your mind? Here's the first one to say, are 384 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:04.640 you using these problems to inspect me? You know the 385 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:07.799 ones I'm going through right now? Are you using these 386 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:09.839 problems to inspect me? If so, what does it reveal 387 00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:14.920 about my life? Is there a weakness? Is there a 388 00:24:14.920 --> 00:24:20.039 misplaced priority in my life? Is there someplace I've compromised 389 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:24.240 the truth and you're trying to show it to me? 390 00:24:26.640 --> 00:24:29.119 And then say, Lord, are you using this problem to 391 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:33.119 correct me? If so, what do you want me to learn? 392 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:37.119 I'm not gonna ask why why is this happened to me? 393 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:39.319 I'm gonna ask what what do you want me to learn? 394 00:24:39.480 --> 00:24:44.400 What do you want me to know? Lord? Are you 395 00:24:44.519 --> 00:24:46.680 using this problem not just inspect the correct or you 396 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:51.240 use this problem to direct me? If so, what's the direction? 397 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:55.799 What do you want me to change? What's the new direction? 398 00:24:56.640 --> 00:25:01.599 Where where do you want me headed? Lord? Are you 399 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:07.559 using this problem to protect me? Did that thing not 400 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:12.400 happen because you knew something that I didn't know and 401 00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:15.319