I’d like to start with something funny. I heard about this minister. He bought a new horse. He trained it to respond to Praise the Lord, meaning Giddy up, and Hallelujah, meaning Whoa. Every time he said Praise the Lord, the horse took off running. When he said Whoa, it quickly stopped. One day he was out riding and the horse got spooked, and took off straight toward the cliff, running full speed. In the panic, he couldn’t remember what he trained the horse to respond to. He said, Bless God, Glory, and Amen. Nothing happened. At the last second, he shouted, Hallelujah. The horse came to a screeching halt, just inches before the edge of the cliff. He breathed a sigh of relief and said: Praise the Lord.
I want to talk to you today about blessed in the dark places. We all go through situations in our life that we don’t understand. A company was downsizing and we got laid off. A friend walked out of a relationship and now we’re having to start all over. A young lady I met last week, she had been pregnant for 5 months with her first child. She was so excited, already decorated the baby’s room. Something went wrong and she had a miscarriage. She looked like she was numb; no expression. A dark place.
In 1981, my family thought we’d be celebrating the Christmas holidays, looking forward to fun and fellowship. Instead, we learned that my mother was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. It was a very somber cancer. All of us at some time will go through dark places. A loss, a sickness, a divorce, a child that broke your heart. It’s easy to get discouraged, give up on your dreams, and just settle there. But, God uses the dark places. They are all a part of His divine plan.
Think of it like a seed. A seed cannot germinate in the light. As long as a seed stays up on a shelf, it will never become what it was created to be. You have to plant the seed in the soil in the dark place so that what’s on the inside will come to life. In the same way, there are seeds in you, dreams, goals, and talent, potential; that will only come to life in a dark place.
And if you study the Scripture, every person that did something significant went through one of these dark places. Moses made a mistake and killed a man. He spent 40 years on the backside of the desert, alone, feeling like he had blown it. But in that dark place, something was happening on the inside. It was getting him prepared. He was developing patience, humility, and confidence. Without the dark place, he would have never held up the wand and parted the Red Sea. The dark place is a prerequisite to stepping into the fullness of your destiny.
Esther was an orphan, a young lady that had lost both of her parents. She felt alone, forgotten, a dark place. But God used her to help save the people of Israel. Elijah was so depressed he wanted to die. A dark place. Yet, he is one of the heroes of faith. God doesn’t send the difficulties but He will use anything that comes into our lives. In those dark places is where we really grow. That’s where our character is developed. We learn to trust, to persevere. Our spiritual muscles are getting stronger. In the dark places, you pray more. You draw closer to God. You draw quiet and listen to what He’s saying. In those dark places, you re-evaluate your priorities. You spend time with your family. You have a new appreciation for what God has given you.
A friend of mine was told that he was going to lose his vision. He had some sort of infection and he had a surgery and wasn’t supposed to see after the operation. But it wasn’t what the doctors expected; they were able to correct it. His vision is perfectly clear. Now, every morning when he wakes up, he spends the first 15 minutes staring at the sunrise, staring at the flowers, staring at his children. You may not realize it but in the dark places you’re being blessed. Something’s happening on the inside. It’s helping you to realign your vision.
When you go through enough dark places, you don’t complain about small things. You don’t get upset because you didn’t get your parking spot. You don’t lose your joy because you got stuck in traffic. You’re not offended because a coworker was rude to you. You’ve been through too much to let that sour you. You’ve got a backbone made of steel.
A person said to me the other day, Joel I heard so-and-so was talking about you, I’m so sorry they were saying that. They meant well, they were being kind, but I thought to myself, you don’t have to feel sorry for me, I buried my father, I was my mother fight through terminal cancer, I learned how to minister when every voice told me I couldn’t do it, I believed for this place when the odds were against us. If I could make it through that, I could make it through somebody not liking me.
But you know really, you know really that’s just a little Nat that you’ve got to flick away. When you go through a few tough places, it toughens you up. The dark places are what have made me into what I am today. I like the good times a lot better, I prefer everything going my way, but it wasn’t the good times that brought out the best in me. It was the lonely nights, the times I didn’t think I could do it on my own. The times that I didn’t see a way.
That’s when I really learned how to pray. That’s when I developed an unshakeable confidence in God. That’s when my faith was stretched and increased. Don’t complain about the dark times. There are blessings in the dark places. God is doing something that can only happen in the fire of affliction. When my father died, I was trying to learn how to minister and I was so nervous to get up in front of people. There were many nights after dinner I would go to my closet to pray. Victoria would come looking for me, ask the children where’s dad, and she would find me in there praying.
The fact is, I never prayed like that in the good times. I never went out of my way to draw closer to God when everything was going my way. It was the dark places that helped me to really develop these spiritual muscles. Even though I didn’t like what I was going through, I didn’t like having to stretch, I was uncomfortable, I wouldn’t change it. It made me better. God uses the dark places.
When Joseph was falsely accused and put in prison for 13 years, the Scripture says, as he sat in those chains of iron, his soul entered into that iron. He developed a strength, a perseverance that he could not get any other way. There are some things that you can only learn in the dark places. Quit complaining about what you’re going through, who hurt you, how bad it was. It may be uncomfortable, you may not like it, but it’s working for you. You’re getting stronger. It’s developing something that you could only get in the dark.
You cannot reach your highest potential being in the light all of the time. No adversity, no problems, no one coming against you. That sounds good but it will stunt your growth. David said, God enlarged me in my times of distress. He wasn’t enlarged in the good times; he was enlarged when things weren’t going his way. As a teenager, he wanted to be out having fun with his friends but he got stuck taking care of his father’s sheep. Month after month, he was out there alone, nobody to talk to; it didn’t look like he could ever accomplish his dreams.
But those years in the lonely shepherd’s fields are what helped prepare him to become a champion. When he went out and defeated Goliath, people called him an overnight success. But the fact is, it didn’t happen overnight. It happened because he went through the dark places with a good attitude. When he didn’t get his way, when he didn’t understand it, when he felt like God had forsaken him, he just kept doing the right thing. David understood this principle.
His attitude was, God this is a dark place. I may not see it but I believe it’s working for my good. I believe I’m getting stronger, developing character, patience, learning to trust. At the right time, he not only came out but he came out increased, promoted, better than he was before. It’s not a coincidence that David said the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still waters, and though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
David was saying, in effect, the same God that leads me to the green pastures, the same God that leads me beside the still waters, is the same God that leads me through the valley. We can all trust Him in the green pastures; that’s easy. We can trust Him beside the still waters. I’m asking you to trust Him even in the dark valleys. He hasn’t left you. You may feel alone, forgotten, life hasn’t turned out the way you wanted. But God is still leading you. The dark places are all a part of the plan to make you into who you were created to be. It may not be easy, you may not understand it, but faith is trusting God when life doesn’t make sense. Dare to believe that He’s blessing you, even in the dark places. What’s meant for your harm, He’s going to use for your advantage.
David went on to say, after you go through the valley, after the dark places, God will anoint your head with oil, He’ll prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies; your cup will run over. Notice, you’ve got to go through the valley to get to the table that’s already set for you. You’ve got to go through the loneliness, through the betrayal, through the sickness, to get to the fresh anointing, the new beginning. You’ve got to go through the shepherd’s fields, doing the right thing when the wrong thing is happening. Through the struggle, the lack, the debt, before you come to your cup that runs over. Too often, we want the overflow and not the valley. God, give me more favor, more resources, more influence. God says, okay fine but you’ve got to be willing to go through the valley with me.
In the dark times is where we prove to God what we’re really made of. Can God trust you with more favor, with more influence, with more resources? You have to be faithful in shepherd’s fields. When you’re not getting your way, when it’s lonely. Joel, I don’t like my boss, that’s why I show up late to work. He doesn’t treat me right, that’s why I slack off. No, if you’re not faithful in the wilderness, how can God trust you to be faithful in the promise land? Have a new perspective. The dark places are opportunities to grow. You’re not there by accident. If God wasn’t going to use that for your good, He would have never allowed it.
You may not understand, it may not make sense, but God knows what He’s doing, pass that test. This is what I had to do when my father went to be with the Lord. It was a dark place and sometimes when you go through a loss it’s easy to get discouraged and kind of feel like God let you down and there won’t be any more good days.
I’ve learned, any time something is dying in your life, something else is coming to life. It looks like the end but God has a new beginning. A friend betrayed you, walked away, that relationship died; at the same time, God is birthing a new relationship. He’s got a new friend already destined to come across your path. You lost a position, a client, an opportunity. That may have died but God’s already lined up a new position, a new opportunity, a new level.
If you’ll go through the valley trusting, believing, knowing that God is still in control, then you’ll come into the table that’s already prepared for you. To the fresh anointing, to increase, to where your cup runs over.
A friend of mine that I used to play baseball with many years ago was the star player on the team. He always led the league in hitting and fielding. His dream was to play professional baseball. During the summer, he was invited to play in this highly competitive team that travelled around the nation. It was a big honor; you had to be extremely talented. He played that year and it went exceptionally well. But some of the players were jealous of him. They started spreading lies and rumors about him.
The next year, the coach, even though he liked him very much, he believed these rumors and didn’t invite him back to play. My friend was very discouraged. He tried to get on several other teams but there was no place; they were already full and for the first time that summer he didn’t have anywhere to play. He went the whole season, no games, no opportunities; a dark place. He didn’t understand it. It wasn’t fair but he didn’t get bitter. He knew that the same God that led him to the green pastures and the still waters was now leading him through the valley.
Every night, he would go up to the batting cages and keep improving his skills. He kept working out, lifting weights, staying in shape. No games, not treated right, but he knew on the other side of that valley was the table already prepared for him. You’ve got to go through it to get to it. Don’t get stuck in your valley. Don’t get bitter and lose your battle, well Joel I don’t understand why this has happened to me they laid me off after all these years, they broke my heart, I’m living with this sickness because I just don’t – if you’re always trying to figure it out, you’re going to get stuck.
Think about this. In punctuation, an exclamation point is simply a question mark straightened out. If you want God to take your question marks, the things you don’t understand, and turn them into an exclamation point, you have to trust Him. In those dark places, where it wasn’t fair, instead of wondering why did this happen to me, no, turn it around, God I know you’re still on the throne, I may not understand this but I believe on the other side of this valley is my exclamation point. The table that’s already prepared for me, the fresh new anointing, the new beginning, the new level.
If you’ll go through the dark valleys like that, you’ll come into those exclamation points. You’ll see God amaze you with His goodness. When my father died, I had a lot of question marks. Would the Church make it? Could I really get up and minister? Would anybody listen to me? Over time, one by one, as I stayed in faith, went through the dark valleys with a good attitude, I saw question marks turn into exclamation points. Would the Church make it? Yes. Here’s the Compaq Center to hold all of the people. Exclamation point. Would anybody listen to me? Yes. And here are some #1 books, here are networks that will carry your program, here’s a SeriusXM radio channel. Exclamation point. One after another, after another.
You may be in a dark place right now. You went through a breakup, somebody broke your heart, you’re hurting, you’re lonely, you’re wondering if you’ll ever be happy again. I can tell you firsthand I am a living witness if you’ll keep honoring God, moving forward, God will bring somebody into your life better than you ever imagined. Somebody kinder, friendlier, that will treat you like a Queen. Like a King. You won’t even miss that person that left you. God has an exclamation point waiting on you.
Maybe in your health, it’s a dark place. You don’t see how you’re going to make it. The medical report is not good. Stay in faith. Like my mother, diagnosed with terminal cancer, 33 years later she is still healthy and strong. That’s great but here’s the exclamation point: every week my mother goes up to the medical center to pray for other people that are sick. That’s God making the enemy pay.
Or perhaps is it in your finances, a dark place? You had a bad break, a disappointment, lost a client? You’re wondering, is it ever going to get any better? Yes, on the other side of the valley is where your bucket runs over. Increase, abundance, a new level of your destiny. You may have been in the valley for a long time; you need to get ready, this is a new day. You’re about to see the breakthrough; you’re about to see the overflow. That problem is about to turnaround; don’t quit believing. God didn’t bring you this far to leave you. He has an exclamation point coming your way.
This is what my friend did, the one that played baseball. One day he was out practicing, minding his own business; what he didn’t know was that there was a scout from a professional team up in the stands. This man was there to watch another player but when he saw how talented my friend was, he called him over and said I want you to try out for our team. That’s God putting you in the right place at the right time. God knows how to get you to your destiny. He tried out, made the team, played a couple of years in minor league baseball and then he got bumped up, went on to the major leagues, went on to have a long, successful professional baseball career.
But think about, early on those other guys they tried to stop him by spreading rumors. But people don’t determine your destiny, God does. A bad break can’t stop you. Rumors can’t stop you. Injustice can’t stop you. God has the final say. And if you’ll go through the dark places with the right attitude, you’ll see exclamation points coming your way. You’re surpassing greatness, in God’s favor.
In the Scripture, when Jesus had the little boy’s lunch, 5 loafs of breaks and 2 fish, and was about to feed the thousands, He lifted them up and gave thanks. Then it says He broke the bread and it multiplied. Notice the blessing was in the breaking. The more He broke, the more it multiplied. There are times that we all feel broken. Broken dreams, broken promises, a broken heart. The young lady that lost her baby; as she told me, tears ran down her beautiful face. She said, Joel I wanted this baby more than anything else. When you feel broken, you go through a disappointment, don’t get bitter, don’t give up on your dreams. The brokenness is not the end. It’s a sign that God is about to multiply.
That’s what David said; God enlarged me in my stress. In that brokenness, it may have been meant to stop you but God’s going to use it to increase you. The loss, the disappointment, the person that didn’t keep their word. They thought they were hindering you but in fact they were setting you up for God to multiply. You may have gone through more than your share of bad breaks but take heart the more broken you are, the more God’s going to increase. The bigger the disappointment, the bigger the blessing. God has beauty for your ashes, joy for your mourning; the brokenness is only temporary. Now don’t settle in the valley; don’t get comfortable there. The valley is not your home. The shepherd is leading you through the valley. On the other side, there are new beginnings, fullness and joy, great relationships, health and holiness, dreams coming to pass.
Jesus said, in John 12, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it will remain alone. But if it dies, it will produce much fruit. He’s using an example of a seed. You can have a seed on your desk for a lifetime. It won’t do any good until you plant it. As long as it’s where it’s comfortable, it doesn’t have to stretch, deal with adversity, then its potential will remain locked up on the inside. Only after it’s planted and it goes through a process of germination and the outer shell breaks off, new growth begins, that is when it will blossom and produce much fruit. The problem with some people is they want the fruit but they don’t want to go through the process, they don’t want to be uncomfortable, they don’t want to stretch, have to deal with adversity, betrayal, opposition. But without the dark place, your potential will not be fully released. The seed can germinate in the light.
Now I’m sure if you were to ask the seed, it would say I don’t want to go in the dirt. It’s dark, it’s lonely, it’s uncomfortable. I don’t want people walking on top of me. It looks like it’s buried, like it’s the end, but what the seed doesn’t realize is it’s not buried, it’s planted. It has the life of almighty God on the inside. In those dark places, even though it’s uncomfortable, it’s a critical part of the process.
Over a period of time, as the seed germinates and grows, instead of just being one seed buried, it can become a beautiful flower, blossoming, producing much fruit. If you were to ask the seed after the process, it would say I didn’t like the dark place but I realize now it was a blessing. Look what I’ve become. Look what I’ve blossomed into.
We all go through these dark places, and it feels like at times we’re buried. Thoughts will tell you, hey you’ve seen your best days, that layoff ruined your career, that divorce it just tainted your future. That sickness is going to be the end of you. No, find a new perspective. You’re not buried, you’re planted. If you would have never had the loss, the disappointment, the dark place, you would never discover what’s on the inside. Like that seed, your potential is about to be released. You’re not only going to come out, you’re going to come out bearing much fruit, better, stronger, fully in blossom.
See, when my father went to be with the Lord, it kind of felt like I was buried. I could feel that pressure. But in that dark place, when something was dying, something was being birthed new on the inside. That’s when I discovered gifts, talents that I didn’t know I had. I did’t like going through the process but that’s what caused me to blossom. None of us like to be planted. It’s lonely, uncomfortable, but in the dark places you have to remind yourself new growth is coming my way. Even though it feels like something is dying, something else is coming to light. You’re not buried, you’re planted. When you come out, you’re going to bear much fruit.
Now, my challenge to you is today be willing to go through the process. Too many people get bitter, discouraged. Joel, if God was good, how could He let this happen to me. No, dare to trust Him. God knows what He’s doing. There might be dirt all around you right now. It’s uncomfortable. That dirt is not there to bury you; it’s there to bring out the seeds of greatness on the inside. It’s just a matter of time before you break out and blossom into who you were created to be.
If you will go through these dark places with the right attitude, I believe and declare that God is going to turn your question marks into exclamation points. You will go through every valley with a table prepared for you, with a fresh anointing, to increase where your cup overflows. You will be able to say like David, God enlarged me in my distress, He blessed me even in the dark places. In Jesus’ name. If you receive it, can you say Amen today?
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-the table. Say God here’s an area that I need to improve in. If you have a problem with being impatient, a problem with spending money you don’t have, a problem with drugs or alcohol, the first step to being free is to identify what is holding you back. You cannot conquer what you will not confront. As long as you’re downplaying, trying to hide it, acting like it’s not there, it’s not going to go away.
Ignoring the enemy isn’t going to make him leave you alone. He already knows the area of your greatest weakness. You should know it as well. Not to go around feeling bad about yourself but so you can stay especially on guard.
The Scripture says in Hebrews, let us lay aside the weights and the sin that does so easily beset us. Notice it says, the sin. It infers that every person has one thing they have to specifically deal with. I call it a persistent temptation. Whenever you try to move forward, the same temper, the same self-pity, the same addiction, the same compromise, is there to try to hold you back. Some people, every time they’re about to be promoted, the same problem with their mouth gets them in trouble; speaking their mind, saying things they shouldn’t. If they would just get honest with themselves and say God this problem with my mouth is so easily upsetting besetting me I’m going to get serious and deal with it. When you get honest, God will help you to get up higher.
Don’t go the next 40 years letting the same bad attitude, the same temptation, the same compromise, keep you from moving forward. I know this lady. She was hurt in a relationship. This was more than 20 years ago. This man did her wrong. Now, every time she’s about to get serious in another relationship, with a good man, a loving man, a kind man, that same fear of being hurt again rises up. The same thoughts: You’re making a big mistake, he’s going to leave you, you can’t trust men, and they’re all the same. Until she gets honest and deals with that fear, she’s not going to have happy relationships.
What is that one thing that can easily beset you? What is that persistent temptation that you struggle with? Identify what it is. Here’s the good news. The enemy doesn’t have any new tricks. Once you recognize what that one thing is, and learn how to defeat it, you can overcome it your whole lifetime.
2 Peter 2:19 says, you are a slave to whatever controls you. You can be a slave to a bad attitude. A slave to worry, a slave to lust, a slave to food. In the scope of your destiny, it’s a small thing to let a bad temper control you. It’s a small thing to let fear or worry control you. Your destiny is too great. You’re assignment is too important. Your future is too bright to let something small hold you back. You’ve got to make up your mind, this is a new day, and you’re not going to keep giving in to the same old temptations. You know what they are; the enemy doesn’t have any new tricks. It’s going to be the same thing, year after year. But if you’ll dig your heels in, put your foot down, the temptation may not go away but God will give you the strength to overcome it.
You don’t have to be a slave to self-pity, a slave to a bad attitude, a slave to an addiction. God created us to be free. Not partially free but totally free. I’m asking us to get rid of that one thing that can easily beset us.
I know a pastor friend. When he was 12 years old, he started smoking, hiding in his house, not letting his parents know. By the time he was 14, he was totally hooked. This young man had an incredible gift to minister. From an early age, he was extremely anointed and powerful. He could preach these amazing sermons. He would fill in at the local Church. The whole time he had to hide the fact that he smoked.
His mentor, an elderly gentleman, was the pastor there. The pastor knew that he smoked; he didn’t condemn him, he didn’t chew him out. He simply said, son I believe that God wants to take you a long, long way, and that cigarette is a small thing to keep you from where God wants you to go. That one statement broke a stronghold in his mind. He had a new perspective. His attitude was, my destiny is too great to let something small hold me back. he changed his mind. When you change your mind, you can change your life. Today, he has a ministry that touches the world.
But think about what he could have missed out on if he could have let a small thing hold him back. Whatever that small thing is. Maybe pride, jealousy, bad attitude, addiction; it’s a small thing to keep you from the amazing future God has in store.
How do we resist temptation? Jesus said in Matthew 26:41, pray that you don’t enter into the temptation. Notice, he didn’t say pray that you’ll never be tempted. God please don’t let me have a negative thought. God, please don’t let me ever have a wrong desire. That’s not realistic. He said, pray that you don’t enter into the temptation. The reason most people keep giving in to the same thing year after year is because they never ask God for His help.
Listen, we can’t overcome temptation on our own. You can’t resist that desire to compromise all by yourself. We can’t break addictions in our own strength; we need God’s help. When you humble yourself and say, God I don’t want to be critical and sour, help me to have a good attitude. God, my mouth keeps getting me into trouble; help me to bite my tongue and not say things that I shouldn’t. God, I don’t want to watch the wrong things, I don’t want to pollute my mind. God, help me to resist this temptation. If you ask God to help you, He’ll give you the strength to overcome.
The Scripture says, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We had good intentions, we want to do the right thing. I have no doubt if you struggle with an addiction, if you could you would give that up.
You would give up being impatient, give up compromising. The spirit is willing; it’s not enough to just have the desire. You have to pray so that your spirit man will get stronger in that area. If you can get your inner man stronger than your outer man, you will resist the temptation every time.
Here’s the key. Don’t wait until you’re in the middle of a temptation to ask God for His help. Pray ahead of time. You’ve got a problem with your temper; when you get up in the morning, before you leave the house, God I’m asking you to help me control my temper today. God, help me to stay calm and not give in to the temptation to get upset. See, don’t wait until you’re in the heat of the battle and your emotions are high and your passions are out of control. Pray ahead of time. Get your inner man stronger.
Maybe you’re trying to lose weight, be more disciplined in your eating. Well, you can’t wait until you’re at the mall and you smell the cinnamon rolls in the air and 3 people walk by with an ice cream sundae and your 2 friends are going to get a fudge bar. By that time, it’s too late. You’ll think, let me just eat and I’ll repent later. No, pray ahead of time. When you get up in the morning, Father help me to be disciplined in my eating today. God, help me to stay focused.
You’ve got to get your inner man built up and develop this reservoir of strength. So when that temptation comes, you’re so prayed up, you’re so strong, so disciplined, so focused, you’ll be able to resist it. When you know that something is going to be more difficult, you need to make sure you get praying. If you come home every Monday stressed out, irritable to your family, then you need to start praying on Friday and Saturday and Sunday. God, help me to not give in to the pressure to get stressed out on Monday.
If you know your mother-in-law’s coming in this Christmas, you need to start praying right now. And I have a great mother-in-law. It’s the daughter I have the problem with. If you struggle with depression, don’t wait until you’ve been depressed for 3 days to ask for His help. No, on your good days, when you’re encouraged, when you’re happy, God help me to resist the temptation to get depressed. God, help me to control my thought life and stay happy, hopeful and positive. Pray ahead of time.
It’s like this man I heard about. He said, God so far I have been well today; I haven’t lied, cheated or gossiped. I haven’t lost my temper, been rude, grumpy, angry, selfish or nasty. But God I’m going to need your help today because I’m about to get out of bed this morning. Pray ahead of time and God’ll help you.
Jesus was about to be crucified. He knew there were difficult times up ahead where he would be tempted to get discouraged and give up. What did he do? He prayed. Father if you will take this cup from me but not my will let your will be done. Here He was the son of God yet He was saying Father I can’t do this on my own. I’m tempted to not go through with it; I need your strength.
The Scripture says, after He prayed, the angels came and strengthened Him. If you will pray and ask God to help you resist, He will send his angels to strengthen you, as well. This is what David did, twice in the Psalms he asked God to help him control his mouth. He was focused, disciplined, a great leader, yet maybe this was the one thing that could easily beset him. He said, God put a watch over my mouth. He asked God and God helped him to overcome in that area. Jesus said to Peter, I’m about to be crucified, you’re going to be tempted to deny me, Peter you need to pray so you don’t give in to this temptation. Well, it was late in the day, Peter was tired, he didn’t feel like praying. Plus, Peter was proud. He thought he could do it in his own strength.
He said, in effect, Jesus, I don’t need to pray. I’m your friend, I don’t need to deny you. I’ll be with you through thick and thin. You know the story. Two hours later, when the soldiers questioned him, he denied that he knew Jesus. But I wonder what would have happened if he would have taken time to pray. I wonder if he had just done like David and just say God I need your help today? I believe it would have been a different story. If Jesus thought it was necessary to pray and ask God for strength, if He told us to pray so we don’t enter into temptation that tells me this should be a part of our everyday life.
Some of you, the only reason you keep giving in to the same thing again and again and again is you’re not asking God for His help. But when you do like Peter and you think you can do it on your own, God will just step back. But when you humble yourself and say, God I need your help today, God help me to not compromise. God help me to not let my eyes wander. God, help me to be disciplined in my eating. When you ask God for His help, God will send the angels to strengthen you.
I know this young lady. She’s been addicted to cocaine for 11 years but the last 92 days she’s been clean. That’s the longest that she’s ever stopped. I asked her how she was doing it and she told how she got some new friends, got rid of the people dragging her down, got people that will pull her up. And she quit thinking that she couldn’t do it and started saying I can do all things through Christ. Then she said, Joel I get up every morning and say, God I need you today. I need your strength. I need your discipline. I need your grace. God, help me to resist this temptation. When you acknowledge God as the source of your strength, you will have a power to resist that you’ve never felt before.
I wonder how much more victory we would walk in if we just get up every morning but say Father help me to not lose my temper. God, help me to not compromise. Help me to stand strong. Pray ahead of time. Get your inner man built up.
And then number 2, very important, don’t put yourself in situations where you know you’re going to be tempted. You can’t pray and ask God to help you overcome an addiction and then go hang out with people that enable you. The Scripture says, run from temptation.
If you’re trying to break that spirit of alcohol, don’t go partying with your buddies after work. Well Joel I’m just there for the company, I’m just there to visit. I’m not going to drink. No, if you play with fire, you’re going to get burned. If you hang around the beehive, you’re going to get stung. If you stay at the barber shop long enough, eventually you’ll get a haircut. Get out of that environment. Run from temptation. If your friends are not going anywhere, find some new friends. If they’re pulling you down, causing you to compromise, you can pray all day long for God to help you but until you separate yourself, it’s not going to do any good.
I read about this young lady. She really liked this young man but all he wanted to do was party and compromise. He wasn’t going anywhere; he didn’t have any goals. She tried to get him to come to Church again and again but he wouldn’t come. Finally, she looked at him and said, listen, if you’re not going to go to Heaven with me, then I’m not going to go to Hell with you. And if you’re going to get free and break loose of that one thing that can hold you back, you may have to take what seems like are drastic measures.
You may have to change friends if you want to stay faithful in your marriage. If all of your friends run around on your spouses, listen, spirits are transferable. You hang out with them long enough and you too are going to be tempted to compromise. You hang out with a jealous person long enough and you’ll end up jealous and critical and sour. Put yourself in a different environment. I know people who, the only thing that keeps them from rising higher, the only thing that keeps them from rising higher to meet their temptation, is the people who they are choosing to associate with.
I learned a long time ago that some people, the less time you spend with them the better you are going to be. You have to ask yourself, these people that are dragging me down, causing me to compromise, are they worth me missing my divine destiny over?
In the Scripture, Joseph worked for a man by the name of Potiphar. He was in charge of his house. He was being his best, minding his own business, but Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph. Day after day, she kept making advances toward him. Letting him know that she was interested. But Joseph was a man of great character. He had great integrity. His attitude was, this woman is not worth me missing my divine destiny over. I can imagine he got up every morning and prayed; God, help me to stand strong. Help me to resist this temptation. But he not only prayed, the Scripture says she kept pursuing him but Joseph did his best to avoid her.
There’s another key to resisting temptation: Avoid the wrong people. Avoid the wrong places. Avoid the wrong places. Avoid the wrong channels. Joseph went out of his way to stay out of her path. When she came inside, he went outside. If she came outside, he would go and run errands. He didn’t think oh I’m so strong I’m invincible. He knew he was fallible so he did what he could to stay away.
One day, it just so happened everybody was gone. Potiphar wasn’t there. She came into the room where Joseph was working, grabbed him by the arm, and tried to pull him to her. But the Scripture says Joseph tore himself away. Notice the determination. Notice the persistence. He tore himself away and when he did she ripped his coat right off of him. He didn’t care; he took off running without his coat.
Sometimes, in order to resist temptation you’re going to have to leave yoru coat. In other words, you might have to give up something to keep from compromising. You might have to give up playing ball with the guys if you can’t resist partying with them after the game. You might have to give up working late if there’s somebody there that’s going to lure you off course. You may have to give up premium cable if you can’t stay off of the wrong channels.
You’ve got to be willing to leave your coat. You can’t ask God to go help you and then sit in the middle of the temptation. You’ve got to go like Joseph and run from it. I know men it’s not very macho to run from a woman but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. Young people, quit worrying about how popular you are or who’s going to accept you and do what you’ve got to do.
That person at the office is flirting with you. Run from them. Don’t play with fire. If they take the elevator, you take the stairs. If they leave at 5, you leave at 5:30. Do like Joseph and avoid temptation. If you’re trying to lose weight, stay out of the kitchen. Don’t think, I’m just going to go in here and look at these freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. After you eat half of them, you’ll go around condemned. Run from it. Like this lady that I heard about. She was on a diet, doing so well, she even changed the route that she used to drive to work so she wouldn’t have to go by the bakery that she always used to go in and buy desserts.
One day, the roads were closed and she had to go the old way. She said, okay God you’re going to have to help me today. I’m not going to stop unless there’s a parking spot right in the front of that bakery. She came home with a big dessert, told her husband, I couldn’t help it the eighth time around the block there the parking spot was. Avoid the temptation. Take a different route. Do what you have to do.
Well you say Joel I’m strong, I’m mature, I can resist it. No, the Scripture says, take heed when you think you stand lest you fall. The Apostle Paul was saying, no matter how strong you think you are, you are not invincible. Every person, every one of us, is capable of giving in to temptation. That is why we need to pray ahead of time and do what we can to avoid it. Partying with the people after work is not worth losing your destiny over. Hanging out with the office flirt is not worth you ruining your marriage. Watching things that are questionable is not worth being sidetracked from where God wants to take you. These temptations look so alluring at first but they always end in heartache and pain.
I read how an Eskimo used to kill a wolf. He would take his knife blade and coat it with animal blood and let it freeze. Once it froze, he would add another layer and another layer and another and another, until it was an inch thick of frozen animal blood. Sort of like a Popsicle. Then he would take that knife into the woods, put it in the blood, and handle first, with the blade sticking up.
In the night, the wolf with its sensitive nose would come by and start licking the frozen animal blood. The more he licked it, the more he liked it. He’d start licking faster and faster. So feverishly that he couldn’t even feel the sting of the knife slicing his own tongue. He would get so passionate in the pleasure of the moment he wouldn’t realize the point at which his own blood was now satisfying his insatiable thirst.
By morning time, the wolf would be lying dead in the snow. And many times these temptations that would come to us, they look so appealing, so inviting. We think, oh man, I only live once. It’s not hurting anything; everybody else is doing it. Don’t be deceived. Behind that pleasure there is a hidden razor blade. You may not feel it in the beginning. Going out and getting high with some friends at first may feel good but 20 years later, if you’re addicted and lonely and depressed, it doesn’t feel good. Playing around while you’re married may feel good at first but later on when the spouse and the kids and the home is broken up, it doesn’t feel good. Being dishonest, not having integrity, may get you ahead at first, but later on, when the truth comes out, and it always does, it’ll put you much further behind.
There is a temporary pleasure in getting into temptation. But, I want you to know the pain in the long run will always far outweigh the pleasure. I’ve heard it said, the pain of discipline is temporary. But the pain of compromise is permanent. Joel, it’s hard, it’s hard to resist. Yes, it may be hard, but do you know what’s harder? Living in bondage, going around feeling bad about yourself because you know you’re so far below your potential. There’s nothing worse than going through life with things holding you back that you know you can defeat.
Some of you are struggling with addictions, with wrong mindsets, with negative emotions. You’re allowing something small to control you. Let me tell you what you already know; you’re better than that. You’re a child of the Most High God. You have royal blood flowing through your veins. Don’t you dare settle where you are. You can overcome anything in your life, large or small. It doesn’t matter if it’s a negative attitude or you’re addicted to cocaine. The power in you is better than the power that is coming against you. You’ve got to keep reminding yourself, I am better than this, I am not going to settle for mediocrity, I’m going to dig my heals in, focus, discipline, and with God’s help I’m going to resist every temptation, I’m going to resist every bondage. Friends, you are well able.
Don’t let something small keep you from the big things God has in store.
What is that one thing that could easily beset you? Identify what it is and then start asking God to help you. Remember, the enemy doesn’t have any new tricks. If you can defeat it today, you can defeat it the whole lifetime. And then avoid tempting situations. Don’t put yourself into situations where you know you’re going to be tempted to compromise. If my declaration today is that we’re going out of here free, we are not going to be controlled by a temper, by a drug, by an addiction, by lust, by fear, by worry, by a person. No, every stronghold is coming down. Every bondage is being broken, every chain is being loose. You are going to resist temptation and step into a freedom like you’ve never seen before. I believe it and I declare it over each one of you. In Jesus’ name. If you receive it, can you say Amen today?