should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given
to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted
above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me.
Thrice means three times.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect
in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
For I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses
for Christ's sake.
For when I am weak, then am I strong.
What I want to talk to you about tonight is the thorn in your flesh, the thorn that's
in the flesh.
And there's always going to be a thorn in the flesh.
Paul here, the great man of God that he was, the great preacher that he was, I mean here's
a man who was fully committed in his life to preaching the gospel to every creature.
I mean he was bringing the gospel to every nation that he could.
I mean here's a man who was sold out and separated and dedicated himself to God.
I think of Romans 1-1, Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
under the gospel of God.
I mean here's a man who was as dedicated as anyone, and yet he suffered from some kind
of a thorn in his flesh that doesn't really say exactly what it is.
It doesn't really matter what it was.
He had a lot of different things that he suffered, but there was one thing that was
just the major thorn in his side.
I mean the one thing that if he could just get rid of anything in his life, if he could
just have one problem in his life solved, that was it.
I mean this was the big thing that he struggled with.
I mean look, he struggled with a lot, but there was one big thing that he said, good
night, I would give anything just to have this one thing fixed about my life.
And he asked God three times, and God actually gave him an answer and said, my grace is sufficient
for thee.
He said, your thorn in the flesh is going to remain.
He said, this is going to keep you humble.
This is going to be something that I use in your life.
I want to keep you weak, where you have to rely on me.
And so he said, my grace is going to have to be sufficient for you, Paul.
And he said, don't even ask me again on this matter, because it's going to stay.
Now I think that sometimes in our lives, and turn with you to Luke chapter 9, many
times we have this philosophy where our goal in life is to live a perfect life.
I mean we want to have all our ducks in a row.
And all of us can fall into this trap.
I mean we want our family situation to be perfect.
And we want to get our finances just perfect.
And we want to go to a church where everything's perfect.
And we want to have everything in the house clean and perfect, and everything to be fixed
in the house.
You know, that's OK, honey.
God's just kidding.
But anyway, everything is fixed, and everything's just perfect.
And we've got a perfect little routine, right?
And we get up at a certain time, we go to work, we have lunch, and we get off, and it's
all organized, and everything's perfect, and the house is clean, and everything's fixed,
and we're comfortable.
Our health is good, and our finances are good.
And it seems like sometimes that's our goal in life, is that we're working toward perfecting
every area of our life so that we can live a comfortable, you know, enjoyable, balanced,
and these are all good things.
I mean, is there anything wrong with being comfortable?
No.
Is there anything wrong with having your finances in order?
It's great.
Is there anything wrong with being healthy?
No, that's absolutely wonderful to be healthy.
Is there anything wrong with being balanced in your life?
No.
Is there anything wrong with being on an even keel, or having a schedule, or having a routine?
These are all good things.
But I hate to break it to you, you're never going to get to the point where all of them
are in a row.
That's just never going to happen.
You're always going to have a thorn in your flesh, just like Paul did, just like everybody
has.
And that one big thing right now that you're struggling with, the one thing that's the
messenger of Satan to buffet you, I mean, you feel like it's just beating up on you,
that's what buffet means.
I mean, you feel like somebody's just slapping you in the face, or punching you in the face,
and attacking you all the time.
I'm going to promise you something, once that area is solved and fixed in your life, once
you get it all in a row, once you get it all straight, it's going to be something else.
I'm not trying to be depressing here, but you know, it's your finances.
Oh man, if I can just get my finances straight now, they're so messed up, and I'm struggling
with it.
As soon as you get your last financial duck in a row, you're going to get sick or something.
You're going to have problems with your pay, you know, something's going to break.
I mean, this is life.
And I'm not trying to be depressing or negative or anything, what I'm trying to do is to maybe
see if throughout this sermon you can adjust what it is that your goal is in life, okay?
Because if your goal is to live a perfect cush life, that's pretty sad because you're
going to be really frustrated because it's never going to happen.
There's always going to be something in your life that's a thorn in your flesh and a thorn
in your side.
It's never going to be exactly just so.
And the problem is that many people, they think, I'm going to serve God, I'm really
going to give it everything I've got once I turn the corner financially.
You know?
Or man, once I get my marriage straightened out, I'm going to jump in, you know, with
both feet, I'm going to jump in full blown, I'm going to get excited, I'm going to delve
into this thing, I'm going to give myself to the work of God.
Or if I can just get my health straightened out, then I'm going to be ready to serve God
and win souls and do what I need.
Now is just a bad time because of the things I'm struggling with, whether it be money,
whether it be family, whether it be health, whether it be finance, whether it be repairs
around the house.
You know, once I get, I mean, look, if I waited to get everything repaired around my house,
it needs to be repaired right now, this whole city has died and gone to hell because I'm
not giving them the gospel, okay, because I mean, good night, there's no end to it sometimes.
You know, if you live in a house that's a little bit older, I mean, there's no end to
the repairs.
And I know that firsthand.
But look at Luke chapter 9, verse 57, and I mean, you'll see some people that have some
really legitimate concerns here, and you'll see some things that Jesus says that, we'll
just look at it.
Verse 57, it came to pass that as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord,
I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
That's a pretty bold statement.
I'm going to be there.
I mean, I don't care if it's up in the mountains, through the desert, you know, wherever, to
a foreign country.
I mean, if I have to speak a foreign language, if I have to live in, whatever, wherever you
go, I'll go.
And Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.
He said, let me just warn you, I don't even know where I'm going to sleep tonight.
If you want to come, that's fine, but I don't know where we're sleeping tonight.
And then, of course, he has second thoughts and doesn't end up coming if you read through
the story.
Verse 59, it says, and he said unto another, follow me, but he said, Lord, suffer me first
to go and bury my father.
Jesus said unto him, let the dead bury their dead, but go thou and preach the kingdom of
God.
You see, there's always something that you've got to do first.
You've got to straighten this out first.
You've got to take care of this first.
You've got to figure out where you're going to stay tonight first.
You've got to do this first.
You've got to do everything else first.
But I'm going to tell you something.
If you're going to wait until everything is straightened out in your life before you really
serve God, you're never going to do anything for God.
You're never going to serve God.
You're never going to do anything for God because there's always going to be something
in your life that doesn't add up, that doesn't fit, that's messed up, or something that you've
got to do first.
My office is right over there.
There's paperwork in there that needs to be done.
I never, ever in my job get to a point where I've just totally caught up on all the jobs
and all the paperwork, and I'm just like, wow, I'm done.
It just never happens.
I mean, does it happen at your job?
No.
I mean, you never get to that point.
So if your goal is to get to that point, you're going to be really frustrated.
I mean, if your goal is to have a clean desk and an empty list, a to-do list, and you've
checked off everything off the list, you're going to be real frustrated because it's never
going to happen.
And so, you know, what I do, this is my philosophy.
If I ignore it long enough, it might go away.
I'm just kidding.
That's not really what I do.
Now, when it comes to fixing things around the house, that's another story for another
time.
But did I tell you to turn to Psalm 126?
Go ahead and turn there, please.
Psalm 126, here's a verse that we quoted a lot, and I love this scripture, and it's a
favorite verse, a life's verse of many people, these two verses.
But maybe I can give it a slightly different meaning, because I've heard this verse preached
on Goodnight a hundred times.
I mean, if I've heard it once, I've heard it a hundred times.
Because it's such a great scripture, and it's worthy of being preached a hundred times.
But I'm going to preach it a little bit different right now than I've ever heard it preached.
But the Bible says in Psalm 126, verse 5, famous passage, they that sow in tears shall
reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Now, this is how I've always heard it preached, and this is very legitimate.
I'm not saying that the way I've heard it preached was wrong.
I'm just giving another aspect of the verse that maybe you might not have thought of.
But when I've heard this preached, they're saying, boy, if you go out with a burden for
lost souls.
I mean, if you go out and you're bearing the precious seed, of course, which is the word
of God, and you take that seed, and you go out with a burden, and you're weeping for
lost souls.
Hey, God is going to bless you.
You're going to get somebody saved, and you're going to bring that sheave with you.
You're going to be rejoicing one day with the convert that you bring to church, that
you want to the Lord.
Okay?
Now, that's the truth.
Amen and amen.
But does it really necessarily say that the weeping is because you're weeping for lost
souls necessarily?
Not really.
Okay?
And even if you study the chapter, it's talking about them being in captivity, and bondage,
and suffering in their life.
And let me put forth to you that maybe if you go forth, and maybe you're weeping about
something else.
I mean, maybe you're weeping because your finances are down the toilet.
Maybe you're weeping because your marriage is on the rocks.
Maybe you're weeping because your kids have gone astray.
Maybe you're weeping because you're in physical pain.
Maybe you're weeping because of physical pain that's in your body.
But God says, hey, if you go anyway, you're going to come again with rejoicing, bringing
your sheep with you.
He said, no matter what you're weeping on in your life, you want to have joy in your
life.
It's just pick yourself up and say, I know, I'm sad, I'm weary, I'm tired, I'm in pain,
I'm struggling, but I'm going to go forth.
Yes, I'm weeping, but I'm going to go forth and bear that precious seed.
I'm going to preach the gospel.
And you know what?
I believe that God will give you joy in your heart, no matter what you're going through.
I mean, you could be in physical pain.
You go out and when somebody cries, bring that sheep with you, you're going to have
some rejoicing.
I mean, it doesn't matter what situation you're in, you're going to come with joy again.
I've just never heard that aspect of this preached.
Weeping from lost souls is a wonderful thing, but sometimes we weep because of other things
in our life.
And I think that God has a special blessing for those who go soul winning, even when they
are struggling in areas in their life.
And I think that, you know, there have been times, I'll just be honest with you, there
have been times when I did not want to go soul winning at all.
That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I said, you know what, I'm just going to go
because I'm trying to be consistent, I'm trying to be faithful, you know, I'm trying to just
go consistently, this is the time that I go, and I just, I had a bad attitude in a way.
I mean, I just, whatever, let's put in the time, you know, let's get this over with.
And I saw people get saved, I mean, I saw God's power in some of those times.
Because God said, thank you for coming, thank you for putting me first, thank you for doing
my work, even when it wasn't easy.
You know, your attitude might stink, but He said, thank God you did what was right anyway.
And He said, I'm going to bless you for that.
And you know, I usually went away, I didn't go away, well, somebody got saved, but still,
I went away rejoicing.
And I got in the car and said, hey, who cares about, who cares about what I'm struggling
with?
Somebody just got saved!
And that's going to make you shout and rejoice.
Brother Jimenez, of course, most of you all know Brother Jimenez, but he was telling me
he was at work, and he was, he just finished winning this guy to the Lord, like at the
break room at his job.
And he gave him the gospel and went through it with him, and he had the Bible and he went
through it with him, and the guy got saved, and he was talking to him, and all of a sudden
the supervisor walks in, okay, and he said the supervisor's a really nice guy, and this
was very out of character for him.
And the supervisor walked in, and just kind of had a stern look on his face, pointed at
the Bible, and put his finger on the Bible.
And he said, so Jimenez, how's that such and such assignment coming along?
You know, with something that he was supposed to be working on, or whatever, and just kind
of real mean look, and just pointing at the Bible, and Brother Jimenez said, you know,
that's very out of character, he's usually a really nice guy, and he's not as great,
you know, he's just relaxing in the break room.
And so Brother Jimenez kind of looked at him, just kind of puzzled, like he just didn't
really know what to say.
And he was kind of thinking of what he was going to say, like, you know, and this is
kind of rare, I mean this doesn't usually happen, but the guy that he had just warned
the Lord was kind of an outspoken guy, I guess, just in his character, about a lot of things.
And that was just, you know, some people liked that.
And the guy just shouts out, the guy that he just warned the Lord just yelled out, he
said, who cares about some stupid such and such assignment, I just got saved!
And Brother Jimenez was like, whoa, I mean, he was taken aback, he was shocked, but the
guy just yelled that out.
And then this is what the guy said to the boss, the boss is like, uh, he's like, you
mean you weren't religious before?
And then, you know, because he doesn't understand what he means by getting saved.
And the guy says, I was religious, but I was wrong, because, you know, he's a Pentecostalist,
he's a charismatic, he said, I was wrong, you know, I was religious, but I was wrong.
And the guy's just like, uh, okay, you know, that was a great story.
But you see how things kind of take on a different perspective sometimes, you know, problems
that we have, I mean, they might be big problems, but when it comes to somebody being saved,
that kind of just overshadows anything else that's going on.
I mean, it truly does.
And so he could go forth and weep at fair and pressed to see, he might come back rejoicing.
No, it says, shall be doubtless.
I mean, even if it just said, shall come again with rejoicing, I mean, that would be a promise.
Just like, whosoever shall call upon the Lord shall be saved.
But I mean, God even chose to insert another word here, shall doubtless.
I mean, he wants you to know, this is not a questionable thing, this is not a doubtful thing.
When you talk about being outspoken, it's funny, I was out sold in yesterday afternoon,
and I knock on this guy's door, and you know, he said he was saved and everything,
he went to such and such in church, and he said, well, you know, I'm just one of those quiet Christians.
Like, I think he meant referring to the fact that I'm out knocking his door, you know,
preaching the gospel and everything, and so he's kind of justifying himself.
I didn't say anything to him, but he's just trying to justify himself why he doesn't do this.
He said, I'm one of those quiet Christians, and so I just said, well, I guess that makes me one of the big loudmouth Christians.
He's like, well, I guess we need those two, you know. Hey, I wish we had more of them.
Somebody that would open their mouth boldly and make known the mystery of the gospel, but I thought that was funny.
I'm one of those quiet Christians.
But look if you would at Matthew chapter 6.
Matthew chapter number 6.
And another famous passage.
Matthew 6.31, the Bible reads, Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat?
Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Now, these are legitimate things.
He's not saying, oh, can we get a new SUV?
Oh, man, we need more square footage in our house.
Oh, can I please get a new iPod?
I mean, these are things that you need, like food and ramen.
Drink, water, I mean, it's something you've got to have.
He says, Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or wherewithal shall we be clothed?
For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.
For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought to the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Now turn back to Deuteronomy 11.
Let me show you what I consider, and as I read the book of Deuteronomy,
I consider this the Old Testament version of Matthew 6.33.
You know that famous verse, But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you?
Deuteronomy 11, I believe, teaches the same concept in the Old Testament.
And what God's trying to say is, look, if you want to just get all wrapped up in your finances,
you want to get all wrapped up in your meal planning,
you want to get all wrapped up in your food, your clothes, your house, your car, your job, your friends, your family,
He's saying there's really just going to be no end to it.
You better seek first the kingdom of God and realize that God knows what you need,
and God can give you what you need. But look at Deuteronomy 11, verse 10.
And I love this, it's one of my favorite passages in the book of Deuteronomy,
but it says in Deuteronomy 11, 10,
For the land whither thou goest in to possess it is not as the land of Egypt from which ye came out,
where thou sowest thy seed, and waterest it with thy foot as a garden of herbs.
Now, he's saying here, you're going to the Promised Land.
It's not going to be the same in the Promised Land as it was in Egypt.
Now, Egypt represents worldliness, living in the world.
Now, you can still be saved. You've applied the blood to the doorpost,
you know, symbolically, as they did in Exodus, chapter 12.
You've applied the blood, I mean, you've been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ,
but you haven't necessarily crossed the Red Sea
and gotten away, you know, separated yourself from worldliness in the world.
Some Christians are still living in Egypt, and some Christians who've left Egypt,
they say, hey, let's make a captain and let's go back to Egypt.
Remember, Brother Jimenez preached on that last time he was here.
And so, we see here that, he's saying, look, the way that you lived in Egypt,
where you go out, you sow your seed, you water it, you reap it, you take care of it,
he's saying things are going to be a little different in the Promised Land.
In verse 11, he says,
But the land whithers you go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys,
and drinketh water of the rain of heaven, a land which the Lord thy God careth for.
You see, now, he's taking care of your needs.
Not, I've got to go out and do everything myself.
God's saying, I'm taking care of the land, I'm going to watch it.
He says, God's going to care for it.
The eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it from the beginning of the year,
even at the end of the year.
Verse 13,
And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments,
which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God,
and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season,
the first rain and the latter rain,
that thou mayest gather in thy corn and in thy wine and in thine oil,
and I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle,
that thou mayest eat and be full.
Hey, God is saying here that when you were in Egypt,
and God created this world, and God's knowledge is so infinite,
He created Egypt in a special way.
He created it in such a way where it doesn't rain there.
And the Bible said, and I don't know if it rains there today,
because I know weather patterns change and everything,
but back then it didn't rain there.
And the Bible talks about it not raining there.
And so, they had to water it themselves.
They had to sit there and irrigate and run pipes for water,
or carry water somehow, and irrigate the land.
God's saying, the Promised Land is not like that.
He's saying, I'm the one who waters it.
And you're going to have to rely on me to water it,
because I'm the one who decides whether it rains or not.
Because you've got to remember there were times in the history of Israel
where God shut up the heaven and it did not rain.
The longest time was for three years and six months,
in the days when the lives of the Tishbite was facing off with King Ahab and so forth.
Three and a half years of no rain.
God is saying here, when you're living the Christian life,
it's not a life where you have to just take everything into your own hands and do it yourself.
He said, I can help you, I can do it for you,
but you need to focus on serving me with your whole heart and your whole soul,
and hearkening diligently to my commandments.
If you do that, I'll provide it for you.
Now I'm not saying, I'm not going to go to work today, I'm just going to serve God.
Now look, part of God's commandments is to go to work.
Part of God's commandments is to work hard.
And I go out and I work hard and do everything I can with my time.
But you know what, I just have the faith to believe
that if I maybe step back a little bit from my job,
to where I'm not just my job, job, job, job, my whole life,
24-7, it's all about my job.
If I step back and say, okay, you know, Saturdays, Sundays, whatever,
I'm going to take time and just serve God with all my heart and soul,
and throughout the week I'm going to hearken diligently to his commandments,
I'm going to meditate on the word of God day and night,
hey, God is going to have to make up the difference in my life.
Am I wealthy? Am I rich? No.
I mean, I'll be honest with you, even right now in my life,
I'm going through some things in my life right now that are not perfect.
Wow, isn't that a shock?
I have certain struggles that I'm going through right now.
But you know what?
Before I was dealing with some of the things I'm dealing with right now,
it was something else.
You know what I mean? Before that, it was something different.
I mean, it's always...
You know, there have been times when I felt pretty good financially,
and there was just something else.
Other times you're leaning financially, and that's a lot of the time.
And, you know, a lot of people are struggling financially right now,
because the economy is suffering and whatever.
And then there's uncertainty because the election, you know,
you might get some commie.
We're either going to get a commie or a dictator, fascist, or I don't know, whatever.
But people are uncertain, you know, who's it going to be?
And so they're nervous about maybe expanding and about spending money and about these different...
Everybody wants to hang on to their money tight.
And so I'm here to tell you that you've got to just stop and say,
you know what, I can't do it myself.
And so I better just harken diligently to God's commandments.
I want to serve Him with my life.
I want to spend some...
Please think about this for a minute.
Let's say you work your whole life.
And I hope you're getting the sermon tonight.
I'm trying to get across to you the best I can.
But let's say you work your whole life in order to build financial security.
And boy, you get your health just dialed in.
I mean, you're eating and drinking everything perfectly healthy.
You got your finances dialed in.
You got your marriage, it's just like perfect relationship.
Everything is just exactly right.
You spend your whole life and work on that.
But that consumes you and you don't really have as much...
You don't really have the time.
You don't ever get out solely because you're too busy getting everything set up here.
You don't really do any real long sessions of Bible reading for hours on end
because you got all this other stuff to take care of.
You're going to get to the end of your life and you probably live a really nice life,
really comfortable.
Probably people look at you and say,
wow, there's a person who's really got it together.
There's a guy, there's a lady.
Man, they got it together.
I envy them.
Look at their wife.
Look at their 2.5 kids.
Look at the white picket fence.
Look at the minivan.
Look at the perfect health.
He's at the gym.
He's working out.
I mean, he's everything.
I mean, he's got the degrees.
He's educated.
Now, that's person A.
Now, let's take person B.
His finances are totally messed up.
His car sounds like a washing machine, okay?
His health is poor.
You know, he fights with his wife.
You know, he's got problems, you know, stuff's broken around the house.
This is a self-portrait.
No, I'm just kidding.
Just kidding.
But, you know, he's just trying.
I mean, it's not because he's a bad guy or lazy, but, you know,
have you ever met those people that just don't seem to make it in life?
They just never really made it, you know what I mean?
It's like they just never really made it financially.
They just never really succeeded in anything big.
They don't have any big trophies on the wall.
They don't have any great achievements.
They've never really, you know, they just never really made it.
It just seems like they just kind of struggled all the way.
But imagine if that same guy said, you know what, I'm struggling.
My marriage is not perfect.
You know, my finances are just messed up royally.
I mean, just I'm struggling.
I mean, I'm doing bad financially.
You know, this is person B. I mean, this guy, his finances are messed up.
His health is messed up, OK?
His house is dirty.
You know, his lawn needs to be mowed, his stuff.
But then imagine that same guy just said, you know what, though?
I'm going to do the best I can all week long.
But I'm going to devote to some serious, heavy time on the weekends
towards Holy.
And you know, I'm going to take the time in my day
to sit down and read the Bible and to know God.
Now, that guy's probably not living as comfortable in life.
He's probably got a lot of stress.
He's probably going through a lot of pain, OK?
But who do you want to be at the end of the day, at the end of life?
The guy over here who was a failure in everyone's eyes, right?
A failure financially.
A failure in every area you could look at him.
Maybe he's not good looking, you know?
He doesn't have anything going for him.
He's a failure.
But hey, what if he won 500 people to the Lord in his lifetime?
This guy over here, he had it all together.
He won one to the Lord maybe once in a blue moon, you know?
A couple of people saved in his whole lifetime.
So what does it mean to be a failure or a success?
Think about it.
I mean, think about that for a minute.
What is success?
Is success having your finances in a row?
Is success having the perfect family?
Is success having the perfect being the picture of health,
and you could be on the front of a magazine for fitness?
Is that what success is?
Is success wearing nice clothes?
Is success having a perfect schedule and a routine
that you never deviate from, and your budget is perfect,
and your schedule?
Is that what success is, or is success serving God
and accomplishing something for the kingdom of God?
Now, maybe I'm not as eloquent right now as I'd like to be,
or I'm not expressing this accurately,
but I'm going to tell you something.
There are people who fail in this life,
but when they get to heaven, they're a big success.
I mean, think about it.
You walked, oh man, when I die, I have a penny to my name.
I mean, good night.
My kids owed $20, and it was a massive.
And you know, oh, what was your 401K like?
You know, it didn't exist.
Oh, but what were your achievements at your job?
You know, I flopped on the job, OK?
But you know what?
Success is what you did for God.
And so you've got to understand, I'd rather fail in life
and win souls.
I'd rather fail in life and love God.
I'd rather fail in life and know the Bible.
I'm just telling you the truth here.
I mean, what if Faithful Word Baptist Church failed, right?
I mean, the church failed.
Pastor Stephen Anderson failed.
It was all a big flop.
It was all a big failure.
You know what?
Let's say this church just fails.
It just falls apart.
It just dies, and it's all over, and it was all big waves.
And boy, Pastor Steve Anderson's a big failure.
But you know what?
There are going to be hundreds and hundreds of people
in heaven no matter what happens to this church,
no matter what happens to me, no matter what happens to you,
no matter what happens to my bank account,
no matter what happens in my health,
no matter what happens in my job.
Hey, there's going to be hundreds of people who are saved.
And nobody can ever change that.
And nothing can ever change that.
And no man had taken my joy from me.
I'd rather fail as pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church.
I'd rather flop and fail and be the biggest failure
and be a laughingstock in the world
and have everybody say, oh, what an idiot.
What a fool.
And all those people down there, they
think they're fooling and blah, blah, blah.
And we all failed.
It was a miserable flop.
Hey, I'd rather do that than to succeed and be
some kind of a highbrow church.
Boy, the building's great.
And let me tell you something.
There's a lot of churches like what
I'm going to describe right now.
Beautiful building.
Beautiful music program.
I mean, the music is beautiful.
The building is beautiful.
The pastor's a wonderful speaker, more eloquent than I.
He's a great speaker.
Boy, the song leader, he doesn't even
know what it is to hit a false note.
I mean, everything is perfect.
The pews are so padded.
I mean, they envelop you when you sit down in them.
But who's being saved?
Who's being baptized?
What are they doing?
And so they can say, man, that's a successful church.
Look at the crowd.
Look at the building.
Look at the vehicles.
Look at the assets.
Look at the property.
Look at the bulletin.
Listen to the music.
Listen to the sermon.
Hey, I'm going to tell you something.
That's not what I want.
I want the power of Christ upon me.
And Paul said that sometimes it ought
to have the power of Christ to rest upon you.
It ought to have the power of Christ to rest upon your church.
He said, there's going to be infirmity.
There's going to be pain.
There's going to be suffering.
There's going to be a failure in your life.
I'm not afraid to fail.
You know, I'm just not.
I'm not afraid to be a failure.
Oh, man, you know, when you first
went out to start this church, were you
afraid that you might fail?
Had people ask me, you know what?
Did I think it was a possibility that I could fail?
Sure.
OK.
Possible, right?
But you know what?
It really didn't matter to me, because this is what I say.
And I remember I told somebody this
like the first week I was here starting this church.
I said, you know what?
How can I be a failure if I'm winning somebody
to Lord almost every day?
You know what I mean?
Because back then, I was going to soulmate every day.
When I was first starting the church,
it was daily in the temple and in every house, OK?
And I mean, I was on the doors every day.
I said, how can I be a failure if I'm winning somebody
to Lord every day?
I'd love to fail like that.
Oh, the church is a flop.
Well, it's not a flop.
But you know what?
Back then, I didn't know what it was going to be like.
I didn't know what was going to happen.
You know, in the day of the liberal, contemporary,
mainstream, you know, the way churches are going,
I didn't know what was going to happen.
I didn't know how many years it was going to take.
And to be honest with you, I just decided, you know what?
How can I fail if I'm winning people to Christ?
And you know, you may be wondering right now
whether you're going to succeed in life.
I mean, think about your life personally.
Am I a success?
I mean, is my family succeeding?
Is my marriage succeeding?
Is my business succeeding?
Am I going to make it financially?
Am I going to live the American dream?
Am I going to do this?
Is the recession going to hurt me?
Am I going to lose my job?
Am I going to be successful?
I'll tell you something.
You go out and knock those doors and win somebody to Christ,
you're a success.
Period.
I mean, it doesn't matter what your health is like.
It doesn't matter whether, they're probably, you know,
re-coing your car out of our parking lot right now.
But even if they are, hey, you're a success.
Your clothes, your shoes have holes in the bottom of them.
Your clothes are falling apart.
Everything's busting your house.
Hey, if you're a soul winner, you're a success.
That's what the Bible teaches my friend.
And so think about that for a minute.
What's your goal in life?
I mean, if you have to go through life with a bad marriage,
why don't you just win souls all the way?
Bad marriage and all.
I mean, if you have to go through life
just financially bankrupt your whole life,
and dead up to your eyeballs,
I'm not condoning or recommending
that you mess up your finances.
But you know what?
If you're gonna go through life like that,
can you just win souls all along the way?
As your finances are a joke?
You may have no talent.
There are some people who go to their job
and they just don't have any talent.
And they're always gonna be mediocre on that job.
But you know what?
God can use anybody to win souls.
And God can use anybody who wants to be faithful to church.
Who wants to get on board and be a blessing to the church.
Hey, God can use you.
You're not a failure if you're serving God ever.
And so maybe you just gotta adjust
what you think of as failing.
Listen to this scripture.
You don't have to turn there.
If you would, turn to 1 Corinthians chapter four.
But let me read this for you.
This is from Habakkuk.
I love the book of Habakkuk.
In chapter three verse 17, listen to this.
Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
this doesn't sound like a pretty picture to you, listen.
Although the fig tree shall not blossom,
neither shall fruit be in the vines.
The labor of the olive shall fail,
and the fields shall yield no meat.
The flock shall be cut off from the fold,
and there shall be no herd in the stalls.
Now that's not a very good picture.
Saying there's no food in the fridge,
there's no money in the bank,
the fruit trees are all bare,
all the plants have died,
the flowers died in the yard, okay?
My money, my bank account's empty,
my closet's empty, my fridge is empty,
my cupboards are empty, my pantry's empty.
I mean, that's basically what he's saying.
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.
This is what Habakkuk is saying.
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength,
and he will make my feet like hinds' feet,
and he will make me to walk upon my high places
to the cheapest thing on my strength.
What does he mean by that?
He's saying even though I'm just financially
and physically destitute of all things,
God is gonna make my feet like hinds' feet.
That's talking about running very fast.
You remember the Bible always talks about hinds
and rows and roebucks, how they run really fast
in the Old Testament.
You remember reading that a little bit?
How they run very fast.
He's saying God's gonna make me run fast,
and he will make me to walk upon my high places.
He said I'm going to higher ground spiritually,
and I'm going 100 miles an hour.
Hey, I'm serving God at 100 miles an hour.
I'm destitute of all things.
I don't have anything to my name.
I don't have a pain in my name.
I don't have anything going for me.
I don't have the talent.
I don't have the looks,
but I'm going 100 miles an hour,
and God's gonna lift me up to new heights in my Christianity.
Hey, he said I'm gonna rejoice in the Lord
and the God of my salvation
even when I'm destitute of all things.
Like Paul said, he said I know how to be based.
I know how to be brought down into the dirt.
I know how to be in the gutter,
and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things,
I'm a strength both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer and to eat.
I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me.
But look, are we in 1 Corinthians 4?
Look at verse number nine.
For I think that God, this is Paul speaking,
hath set forth us the apostles last,
as it were, appointed to death.
For we are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels.
I mean, it's pretty bad when the angels
are making fun of you.
I mean, that's bad.
He said we're a spectacle to the angels
and the world and men.
I mean, everybody looks at us and has disdain for us.
He said we're fools for Christ's sake,
but ye are wise in Christ.
We are weak.
Now, is that your goal in life, to be weak?
Man, I want to be weak.
Man, I want people to make fun of me.
I want people to hate me.
I mean, I want an empty bank account.
What's your goal financially?
I want to receive how close I get to zero.
I mean, I want to go to the bank
and have like five cents in the bank.
I mean, I want to get as close down
to the bottom cell as possible.
People think you're nuts.
This isn't what, I'm not saying that should be your goal.
Some of you, it seems like it.
No, I'm just kidding.
You know, I'm not saying that that should be your goal.
But would you like to be like the apostle Paul?
I mean, he's a great Christian.
I mean, he's a great preacher.
He's a great sower.
This is what he's like.
This is the life he's living.
Think about that.
He says, but ye are strong.
Ye are honorable.
Wouldn't you like to be honorable?
We're despised.
People hate us.
He's saying, nobody respects us.
Nobody honors us.
He says, we're despised.
Even under this present hour.
He's saying, right now, while I'm writing this, okay?
He's saying, even under this present hour,
we both hunger.
He's like, I'm hungry right now.
He's writing the Bible.
And he's saying, I'm hungry.
I'm thirsty right now.
By the way, I don't have proper clothes on right now.
You see that?
He says, even under this present hour,
we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted
and have no certain dwelling place.
I don't even know where I'm living right now.
I'm not even dressed right now.
I don't even have food and drink right now.
He says, and labor, working with our own hands.
Oh, you know, he was just in the ministry full time, right?
He had that ministry paycheck.
No, he's not working with his hands.
Being reviled, we bless.
Being persecuted, we suffer.
Being defamed, I mean, people are lying about him.
They're dragging his name through the mud.
Listen to how strong the statement is.
We are made as the filth of the world.
We're made as the filth of the world
and of the off-scouring of all things unto this day.
I mean, can you imagine going through life like Paul did,
getting to the end of your life and say,
you know where I'm at in my life?
You wanna know where I'm at physically in life?
I would describe my current condition as
I'm just the filth of the world.
I'm like the off-scouring of society.
I mean, I am just like in the dung heap with my life.
That's not what we would think of as a goal.
And I'm not saying that should be your goal.
But what I'm saying is I don't think Paul was a failure.
That's what I'm saying.
And that's where he was, okay.
And look at the next verse.
He says, I write out these things to shame you,
but as my beloved sons, I warn you.
He said, I'm not trying to shame you,
like make you feel bad because you live in a night,
you sleep in a nice bed, you eat a nice meal.
He's like, I'm not trying to make you feel bad for that.
I say, I'm just warning you.
And he's saying, you know, the world considers me a failure.
They consider me trash.
I mean, they would call Paul white trash, right?
Who's ever heard of that term?
White trash, you know.
That's what Paul is saying.
That's me.
I'm like the filth of the world.
I'm like off-screen.
I mean, I'm like trash.
I'm one of those trashy people is the way people saw him.
But was he trash?
He's one of the greatest men that ever lived.
And so here's a man who knew what it was to have success.
Yes.
But in life, he was kind of a failure.
Prison.
And you say, oh, but he had fame and popularity.
Now he does.
Back then, he was despised.
He was defamed.
He was the off-screen.
He was the filth of the world back then.
Nowadays, God has lifted him up through the scriptures.
Back then, it wasn't so, my friend.
Look at 2 Corinthians 11.
2 Corinthians 11, and look at verse 24.
2 Corinthians 11.
2 Corinthians 11, 24.
The Bible reads, of the Jews five times
received that 40 stripes, save one.
Wow.
Think about that.
That's 195 times the whip hit his back
and left a bloody stripe.
I mean, it didn't just hit his back.
I mean, it left a stripe.
I remember Paul said in Galatians 6, he said,
from henceforth let no man trouble me.
He said, leave me alone.
Hey, from henceforth let no man trouble me,
for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.
He said, I have the same beating that Jesus had.
I mean, I could, he's saying, look, man,
you wanna criticize me, you wanna attack me,
why don't I, I can take off my shirt right now
and show you 195 scars for me beaten.
He's saying, just leave me alone, please.
He says, thrice was I beaten with rods, verse 25.
Once was I stoned.
I mean, they thought he was dead.
They stoned him to death.
They thought he was dead.
They just left him there.
They said, well, he's dead, we're done with him.
He got up and walked back into town.
I mean, this guy can't stop this guy.
I mean, God was probably just keeping him alive.
If it's not your time, you're not gonna die.
He says, thrice I suffered shipwreck.
And you think it's bad that you got in three car accidents.
I mean, this guy, I would like to be
in a shipwreck three times.
He said, a night and a day I've been in the deep.
That's 24 hours of floating
on some driftwood out in the ocean.
I mean, that's what that means.
A night and a day I've been in the deep.
That's the real deep side of the water.
That's out in a, he's been shipwrecked off the boat.
He's floating around in the water.
There have been people, I've read stories
about people being out in the water during World War II
and in water that was maybe, even water that was 65,
70 degrees.
And we're not talking about ice water.
Remember the Pacific, 65, 70 degree water.
Your body cannot handle being in 70 degree water
for really extended periods of time.
And 70's not that cold.
But you can't stay in 70 degree water for days or hours
without feeling some of the effects of it.
And eventually it will kill you.
You'll get hypothermia in 70 or less degree water.
And so he's out there 24 hours.
At night I'm sure cooled down and he's in the water.
Think about how your skin gets after you've been
in the water for three or four hours of swimming.
Now times that 24 hours of not getting out of the water,
it does some damage.
It's not comfortable.
And did he really know that he was getting out
after 24 hours?
He probably didn't know what was gonna happen.
He could have been dazed for all he knew.
He was a night and a day I've been in the deep.
In journeys often, he's saying I did a lot of traveling.
In perils of waters, perils means danger, he's saying.
In perils of robbers, he's being robbed.
In perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen.
In perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness,
in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren,
he's saying I live a dangerous life.
In weariness, he's saying I was tired.
In painfulness, in watchings often,
that means he stayed up all night is what watchings is.
In watchings often, in hunger and thirst,
in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Beside those things that are without,
which come upon me daily, they care of all the churches.
Who is weak and I'm not weak?
Who is offended, I burn not?
If I must needs glory, I will glory
of the things which concern my infirmities.
He's saying I don't wanna be prideful.
That's what he means, glory.
We would think of boasting, pride.
He's saying I don't wanna be proud.
He said I don't wanna be a fool that's
glorying and boasting and proud,
but he said, you know what, if I'm proud of anything,
if I'm gonna glory about something, it's my infirmities.
If I'm gonna brag about something,
I'll brag about how many times I've been beaten, okay?
He said I'm not gonna brag about how much money I have.
I'm not gonna brag about how good my health is.
I'm not gonna brag about my perfect relationship.
I'm not gonna brag about my picture perfect life.
I'm not gonna brag about my new vehicle.
I'm not gonna brag about my landscaping.
He said I'm gonna brag about something
I got beaten for Jesus Christ
because that's what I'm really proud of.
That's what I'm really happy about.
And when I get to heaven, that's what I'm gonna care about.
And say, you know what, I was beaten for Jesus.
That's gonna be a crown of glory that he's gonna receive.
You don't think God's gonna reward you
for anything you suffer for him?
You better know he is.
Anything you give up, he said I'll give it to you 100 fold.
He said if you're beaten for me,
he said be thou faithful unto death,
I'll give thee a crown of life.
And when you get to heaven,
you're gonna be the most proud
of some of the bad things that happen.
Some of the things that you endured.
You're not gonna be known sometimes.
You might think you're gonna be known for your singing voice.
You're not.
You might think you're gonna be known
for your business prowess.
You're not.
You might think you're gonna be known
for your great business achievements.
You won't.
But you might be known as the person
who suffered through relationship problems,
suffered through financial problems,
suffered through physical ailments,
and won souls to Jesus Christ.
That's what you might be known as.
Or you might be known as the person
who was mocked for being a Christian.
You might be the person who was known for being mocked
for preaching the old time, old fashioned,
when it wasn't popular.
You might be known as being the person
that was hated on the job.
You might be known as the person
who was ostracized from your family.
You might be known as the person
who was the filth of the world.
But I'm gonna tell you something,
that's where the glory is.
Jesus didn't have a place to lay his head.
Jesus was a, if you look at him,
and I don't wanna be blasphemous, of course.
Jesus Christ, the perfect God in the flesh.
But humanly speaking, was he a success?
I mean, humanly speaking, if I looked at him as a man,
and you didn't know that he's the son of God,
you might say he was a failure in life.
I mean, because he didn't, he never got married.
He didn't have children.
He never owned a home.
He never started a business.
He never really made it, did he?
I mean, did he ever really make it?
Even as a religious leader, he's rejected.
I mean, there was a time
when he had many people following him,
but in the world's eyes,
they'd say he probably washed up.
Because, you know, well, he was in his heyday,
but of course, he got down to about 120 disciples
at the end there.
And he was on the cross.
There's only three women and one man
that were there at the cross speaking with him
while he's hanging on the cross.
Everybody else was gone, not even present.
Is that success?
We're talking about the greatest success ever.
I mean, the safety of the world.
Think about that.
And let's bow our heads for a word of prayer.
Father, please just help us to remember
that we're not always gonna get rid of the thorn
in our flesh.
It's not trying to downplay the thorn in the flesh.
It can be bad, it can hurt.
It can be suffering, it can be torture.
But God, please help us not to fall into the trap
of spending our whole day and our whole life
and our whole week and our whole energy
trying to get that thorn out of our side.
God, help us please to just endure the pain
and say, with the thorn in my side,
with my stomach growling, with my bank account empty,
with problems in the home or problems at work,
I think I'm gonna go out and get somebody saved today.
I'm gonna go out and knock some doors.