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Light Of His Word The Sermons of Pastor Mike Walls Freedom Baptist Church Used By Permission Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. |
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Light Of His Word The Sermons of Pastor Mike Walls Freedom Baptist Church Used By Permission Psalms 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. |
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CAN
I GET OVER THE HARD TIMES AND HARD PLACES? Introduction: Many times we have hard times and hard places
in our lives. Some of these are our own making.
Other times we may be like King David and have an Absalom
who is working behind the scenes causing trouble that making
us live in hard times or in a hard place. Of course,
our adversary, the devil loves to see us sweat over the
hard times and hard places regardless who or what made them
that way. Many times over the years,
I felt that I was in between a rock and a hard place.
It seemed that there was no end in sight. Here is
a taste of reality. This is real life. That
which does not kill us can make us stronger. So trouble or hard times
and hard places can be normal. Let me show you what
the Bible says on the subject in just a minute. Life
is basically made up with three classes of people.
The optimist says that the glass in half full. The
pessimist says it is half empty and the realist says that
if he hangs around long enough he is going end up washing
the glass. That is my view of life. I try to
be a realist. Does the Bible address trouble?
Does it have realistic view of life? Job
5:7 “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of
trouble.” Show me someone, who does
not have troubles, I will show you someone who has not lived
a real life. Some people are escapists. As soon
trouble shows up, they try to escape from it. Some
try to escape with pills or booze. Whatever is used,
there is a reality that they cannot escape. The trouble
with trouble is that it will eventually show up and stay.
It is better to face it than try finding an escape from
it. Today I want to explore this
question that I entitled this message. Can I get over
the hard times and hard places? Without much thought
and knowing what our test says, the answer is yes.
Is there any disease too
hard for God? Are there any financial problems that
are too hard for God? Are there any church problems
that are too hard from God? I could ask this question
over and over again and the answer would be the same.
There is absolutely nothing and I repeat nothing that is
too hard for God. This includes the thought that God
can ever save that one that seems too hard. I like practical things.
Some see a computer as a big game controller. I see
the practicality of it for the ministry. This message
is meant to be of a practical nature. I am going to
give you some practical Godly daily living answers to that
which seems to be a hard time and hard place. I. WE CAN
GET OVER THE HARD TIMES AND HARD PLACES WITH PROVIDENTIAL
HELP. So
how do we get this providential help? A. We
will get our providential help when we get in touch with
the Lord. Jeremiah 33:3 “Call
unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and
mighty things, which thou knowest not.” If we don’t call upon the
Lord, how can we expect His help? That is almost
a dumb question. When we get in touch with the Lord,
He can give some answers and the strength needed be a
vibrant witness to those around us. Even if He does not give
the answers, it may be that we don’t need to know why.
We may just need to know that He is aware of our situation.
There is nothing that He does not know about us.
There are several truths
that I want to give in response to this verse in Jeremiah.
Brother Al Hughes calls it God’s telephone number.
When you have some problems like a fire or medical emergency,
you dial 911. This is our spiritual 911. We have the Person in which
we can call. It is our great God and Saviour.
The One who does anything and nothing is too hard for
Him. Not only do we have the Person
in whom we can call, we have the promise confirmed.
He said that He would answer. His answers may always
be to our liking but we still have the promise that He
will answer. Here is a great illustration
I gleaned from Brother Hughes on answered prayer.
It was a blessing to me and I am sure it will be to you
too. While crossing the Atlantic
on an ocean liner, the great preacher F. B. Meyer was
asked to deliver a message to the passengers on "Answered
Prayer." An agnostic who was present at the service was
asked by his friends, "What did you think of Dr. Meyer's
sermon?" He answered, "I didn't believe a word of it." That afternoon the agnostic
put two oranges in his pocket before going for a stroll
on the deck. On his way he passed an elderly woman sitting
in her deck chair fast asleep. In the spirit of fun, the
agnostic put the two oranges in her lap. Later as he passed
her way, he saw her happily eating one of the oranges.
"You seem to be enjoying that orange," he remarked with
a smile. "Yes, sir," she replied, "My Father gave them
to me." "Your father? Surely your father can't be still
alive!" "Praise God," she replied, "He is very much alive."
"What do you mean?" pressed the agnostic. She explained,
"I'll tell you, sir. I have been seasick for days. I was
asking my heavenly Father to somehow to send me an orange.
I fell asleep while I was praying. When I awoke, I found
He had not only sent me one orange but two!" The agnostic
was speechless. We have the person in whom
we call and we have the promised confirmed, we have the
promise conferred. It does not matter if you need
great counsel or mighty works. It is conferred that
He can do the impossible. There is the plenteous climax
that He will do that which we know not. It is the
expecting the unexpected. It is the Lord exceeding
our request. He may have to tear down and destroy
before He can heal and rebuild. But whatever, it
is His doing. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will
draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and
purify your hearts, ye double minded.” 1. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what
is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” If you are not submitted
to the Lord, you will never be in tune with Him. 2. “Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there
is favour.” When the Holy Spirit speaks
to your heart in regards to sin, don’t quench Him or
make fun or light of it. To do that means that
we cannot be in tune with the Lord. 3. This means that we have to
humble ourselves. We must remember that we are
nothing without God and with God we are saved only because
of His good grace. Without people, we cannot
do that which we could do. God uses people.
Most of the time it is the ordinary people whom God uses
the greatest. It is not always the most qualified
that God can use but the most available. I have
three thoughts in regards to other people’s help. “And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples:
and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles Jesus picked these men for
particular reasons. He only knew some of the reasons
why He chose them. I may have not picked some of
these men but Jesus did and He used them mighty in the
spreading of the Gospel. He will lead us in recognizing
talent in folks if we will ask. B. We
must respectively take no one for grant. There is
no big “I” and little “you” in God’s work. Each
person can contribute to the cause of Christ if they make
themselves available to do so. C. We
must repeatedly tell everyone that they are appreciated.
Sometimes that pat on the back will do more that money
will do sometimes. Public praise will help many
to do more. We
must remember a few important truths. A. We
must remember that you are undertaking a big task.
There is no greater and I mean this there is no greater
work to be done in this life than the work of God.
Even though the work I do as a nurse is important and
there are times that fast action saves a life, the work
that I do for the Lord far out weighs the work I do as
a nurse. Since God has called me to
preach, I would have to stoop to become President of the
United States. Preachers of the Gospel have the
message that can deliver people from the penalty, power
and even one day from the presence of sin. That
is why I must always remember my position is one of honor,
dignity and great responsibility. B. We
must remember that you must understand that there are
tough times and tender times. Not every day is a
tough day. Not every day is a tender day.
It is a matter of victory in our lives whether or not
we view each day as a tough day or tender day. Oswald J. Smith writes: “Have
you accepted Jesus Christ as your Victor, and are you
living a victorious Christian life? In 1st
Corinthians 15:57 we read these words: ‘Thanks be
unto God which giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.’ Are you a victor? The saddest experience in
the Christian life is the presence and power of sin. To
be on the mountain top today and down in the valley tomorrow,
to be in the eighth chapter of Romans today and back in
the seventh chapter tomorrow, to be in the ‘Promised Land’
today and then back in the wilderness again tomorrow,
to be up today and down tomorrow – that, I say, is the
saddest experience in the Christian life that I know anything
about.” C. We
must remember that you must be unswerving in sticking
it out in the thick and thin times. I was thinking
about a mountain climber who fell down in the dark.
His safety rope stopped him from hitting the ground but
he had no idea where he was. He asked the Lord for
help. The Lord told him to cut his safety line.
The man argued with the Lord. He was suspended with
the rope the whole night. He froze to death that
night. When the rescuers got to his dead body, he
was hanging two foot off the ground. Only two-foot
and he could have been alive. We
need to stick to it. God will let us know when it
is time to quit. He always blesses stickability.
D. We
must remember that you can unleash your burden on the
Lord. 1st Peter 5:7 “Casting
all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee:
he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” "Said the robin to the sparrow,
'I should really like to know, why these anxious human
beings, rush about and worry so.' Said the sparrow to
the robin, 'Friend, I think that it must be that they
have no heavenly Father such as CARE for you and me." Let me give you four reasons
why He really does care for us. 1. He cares for us because He is concerned with what concerns
us. 2. He cares because He is able to help. 3. He cares because He is ready to help. 4. He cares because He enjoys caring for us. The Lord enjoyed opening
and drying Red Sea for Israel. He enjoyed stilling
the storm on the sea for disciples. He enjoyed
giving oil to widow--sending fire from heaven.
He enjoyed feeding the five thousand. A mother was asked which
one of her 13 children she cared for the most, she said,
"The one that is sick, or the one that is away from
home." One
day we will be rewarded in regards to what sort our work
for Christ was done. It is not as important of size
as it is what sort our work is. Conclusion: Can we make it though the tough times
and hard places? Yes we can if we get providential
help. We can have that help if we ask for it. We may need other people’s
help. This is not a one-man show. It is cooperative
work that all to do if they just will. We must remember those practical
hints. We must remember that you are undertaking a
big task. We understand that you must understand that
there are tough times and tender times. We have to
be able to be unswerving in sticking it out in the thick
and thin times. We should unleash your burden on the
Lord. We must never forget that unquestionably God
is keeping score. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This sermon was first preached at Freedom Baptist Church located at
313 North Brightleaf Boulevard in Smithfield, NC. This large print edition
was preached at Smithfield Manor Nursing Home services. If you would like
further assistance or would like spiritual help, please contact Pastor Mike
Walls at (919) 934-3302. If you have never been saved, we want you to know
that Christ will only save those who ask Him to do so. Ask Him today and
don’t delay.
Jeremiah
32:27
II. WE CAN GET
OVER THE HARD TIMES AND HARD PLACES WITH PEOPLE’S HELP.
III. WE CAN GET
OVER THE HARD TIMES AND HARD PLACES WITH THESE PRACTICAL
HINTS.
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