The Proper Attitude In Adversity

Pick up our Bibles if you've got your Bible there with you and let's wave those Bibles around and make Jesus glad and the devil mad, and let's say this together Say Heavenly Father, I'm on purpose and intentionally tuning into live stream tonight.

I am hungry for more.

I want the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me in life and I have need of instruction on how best to approach the things that face me.

I'm an overcomer tonight.

In Jesus' name, amen, praise God.

Let's turn in our Bibles, if you would, to John, chapter 16 and verse 33, very, very familiar verse of Scripture.

John 16 · chapter mention

If you've been around glorious way church much, I've preached out of this verse lots of times.

One verse of Scripture is amazing what one verse of Scripture can do when you get understanding.

This is Jesus speaking right before he was crucified, the night before talking to his disciples, and he said in verse 33, these things I have spoken unto you, these things, what's he talking about?

These things I have spoken.

Well, everything they talked about, the Holy Ghost, everything he talked about that night I mean he took the last supper he talked to them about.

It was better for him to go away and the Holy Spirit would not come if he didn't leave, and if he did leave, the Holy Spirit would come.

They'd have another comforter.

So he said I've spoken these things unto you that in me you might have peace, or you might have shalom, the Hebrew there, which I'm sure he said.

Shalom is health, prosperity and peace In the world.

You shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer.

I have overcome the world.

Be of good courage.

In other words, I have overcome the world and of course the implication is you can too.

And so tonight I wanted to share a message entitled the proper attitude in adversity.

The proper attitude in adversity.

You know this message is a cousin, you know, to the message that I preached just this past Sunday battle ready, victory minded.

And if you weren't here for that message, it would do you good maybe to tune into that message and find it on Facebook or on YouTube, and or it might be up on the website.

But these are companion messages, different verses, but they have the same intention, and that is to help you overcome whatever you're facing here.

Jesus is preparing the disciples for the road ahead.

He knew they were going to be faced with some tough consequences of his death, burial and resurrection and a lot of persecution was about to come their way and he was preparing them.

He said in the world you shall have tribulation, tribulation and pressure, anguish, distress, trouble.

He said, but in me you might have shalom, that in me you might have the might is not on God's side, it's on our side.

The word might is not the idea that God might give us peace or he might not.

It's whether we are going to receive his peace or not, it's whether we do what we have to do in order to walk in that shalom that he has provided.

So.

So he said be of good courage.

You see, being in Christ will overcome being in the world.

You know, in the world, tribulation in Christ, peace In the world, tribulation in Christ, shalom.

You see the see, the see the contrast.

And so we're talking about the proper attitude.

In adversity.

Adversity comes to all.

That's what Jesus said and it's proven out.

You know, I get tickled when I read this verse because I'm reminded of when I first got saved.

It took me about six months after I got saved for me to realize that I needed to leave the Catholic Church and go to Lakewood Church as my full-time church.

But up until that time, until I heard that that order from headquarters.

I was going to Lakewood maybe once a month, but every day during the week I would tune into a Christian AM station I believe it was KJOJ and Conroe and I'd tune into that station and I'd listen to Brother Hagan and Charles Caps and Brother Shambock and and I would just, I would feed on the Word of Faith and listening to Brother Osteen.

That when I would go to the Lakewood I had the impression this was a wrong impression, but I had the misguided impression that if I could just get enough faith I wouldn't have any trouble.

And and that's just how I understood what I was listening to.

I'm just starting out, I'm just listening, just beginning to discover this whole life of faith, and I got so excited about it I thought, man, if I could just build my faith big enough, I'll never have any trouble.

And actually I discovered that the opposite is true.

And I remember someone gave me a cassette tape back then.

They had cassettes and I had plugged it in.

It was a woman preacher she was, had somebody had bought her tape at a woman's aglow meeting says oh, john, you need to listen to this lady.

She's really got a revelation on faith.

And so I plugged it in.

I was listening to everything I could listen to and she was a southern lady.

She had this southern drawl Maybe she's in Georgia, alabama, mississippi one of those kind of southern accents and a little different than Texas accent.

And and she said you know, you're either just coming into a battle, in the middle of a battle or just coming out of a battle.

And she was preaching on you know overcoming.

Well, when she made that statement, man, I pushed eject and I flipped that.

I flipped that cassette tape in the backseat.

I said I'm not listening to that, that's not, that's not the word of God.

See, I was misguided in those days, but I've come to find out and I totally agree with that woman now that the more your faith grows, the more the enemy is going to oppose those things that you believe.

And so we need to have the proper attitude and adversity, because we live in an adversarial world and God expects us to overcome.

And I, you know, I preach these messages because we have so many people listening to this broadcast, as well as so many people coming to our church that perhaps didn't have a word of faith background.

Like I did, I mean, I cut my teeth on Brother Osteen and Brother Hagin and Charles Cap and all those great word of faith preachers, and but not everybody's, so that many people have the have other ideas about what the word says about adversity and one of the common things that people say.

Well, you know, that's all well and good, but what about Paul's thorn in the flesh?

The Bible says that God gave him the thorn in the flesh to keep him humble, and so I just second Corinthians, chapter 12, it's worth turning over there.

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Let's read it together.

In the King James Verse, verse six, paul is writing to the Corinthians and he said for though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth.

But now I forbear less to any, should think of me above that which he sees me to be or that he hears of me, and lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelation, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

And and so we see that it's a well, you know, god gave Paul a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble, and that's why I'm going through this trouble.

Right now I'm just, you know God's humbling me.

Well, it says there was given unto me.

The question was who gave it to him?

Did God give him the thorn in the flesh?

Well then you go on down.

What is the thorn in the flesh?

Is that sickness?

Is that a car wreck?

Is that what is that?

Is that pain?

And so it says clearly what it is.

It says the thorn in the flesh comma the messenger of Satan.

To buffet me when you read the life of Paul, everywhere he went the devil would stir up men and women.

In fact, one place women were stirred up against him and people were stirred up against him and they brought persecution to him everywhere he went.

In the Bible, in the Old Testament, it uses thorn in the flesh or thorns in your sides.

Those references are always references to people.

They're not references to cancer, they're not references to trouble in the flesh.

Like you know, having pain.

It's talking about persecution, it's talking about adversaries.

And so God didn't give it to him.

You know it's the devil that didn't want him exalted.

You know, bible says promotion cometh not from the south, the east of the west, but God is the judge.

He puts down one and sets up another.

I mean, you know, humble yourself, therefore, into the mighty hand of God that you may be exalted in due time, casting all your care on him, for he cares for you.

See, god is not against you being exalted or promoted.

He's the author of that.

What he is against is people exalting or promoting themselves, a spirit of pride, a spirit of entitlement that people begin to have, and that's not appropriate.

But it's obvious that the devil gave him this thorn in the flesh to suppress him, to make him back off, because he was a prominent minister, he was having great success in the kingdom, preaching and teaching and healing people all around the area at that time.

So you can never overcome adversity that the devil is bringing you.

See, the devil's the author of adversity, the devil is the author of trouble.

So you can never overcome that trouble.

You can never overcome that adversity if you're deceived into thinking that God brought it, if you're thinking religious thinking, which I've heard plenty of Christians say.

This religious thinking says that God is.

This is everything, brother, everything happens for a reason.

That's a real high and lofty statement people make when they don't have an idea what the Bible says.

But that's why I'm teaching this so you can learn what the Bible says about things.

Don't just believe it because I'm saying it.

Believe it because it's in the Bible and you know trust and blame are incompatible.

I mean, you're either gonna trust God or blame God.

And blaming God is not faith.

Trusting God is faith and that's how we please him.

So the proper attitude and adversity I found over all these years, over 40 years of being saved, over 34 years in the ministry, there is a certain attitude that winners have.

You know, a winning attitude is not the Houston Texans, that's not a winning attitude.

A winning attitude is you're confident.

You're confident, you have a confidence, you have a boldness, and it's not just in your own strength, it's in who you're trusting.

You're trusting in God.

So the proper attitude and adversity we can see here the first one I wanna talk about is mentioned there by Jesus himself in John 16, 33.

The first one is be of good courage, in other words, fear not.

And we could say it, and I mentioned this Sunday morning in the other message battle ready, victory minded.

But the Bible says in Philippians 4, 4, rejoice in the Lord.

Always, again, I say unto you rejoice, rejoice, and again I say rejoice.

So what adversity does is it tends to try to suppress our rejoicing and our joy.

It tends to rob us of our joy and our gladness.

I like Psalm 104, 34,.

I shall be glad in the Lord.

You know, it's a choice and the proper attitude in any adversary, adversarial situation trouble, pain, sickness, anything, pressure that's another word, pressure, such pressure being exerted right now by the enemy.

Well, the proper attitude is one of rejoicing, one of gratitude, not for the trouble, but in the trouble.

No, we don't thank God for the trouble.

He didn't send it.

No, it's not praiseworthy as far as that goes.

It's something, though, that God deserves praise, no matter what's going on, amen.

So life is not about learning how to endure the trouble and just outlast it, but rather, I mean it's learning how to dance in the rain.

I mean, you know, maybe it's raining.

Well, let's learn how to dance, let's learn to laugh at trouble.

Learn to laugh at trouble.

You know, in 2 Corinthians 12, if we keep reading there about Paul and I don't know anybody that went through more trouble than he did His ministry was fraught with trouble day in and day out, and so he's talking to the Corinthians about this trouble and how that the enemy had come to bring a thorn in the flesh.

And he said in verse eight for this thing I besought the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

And so here he is.

He get a picture of this.

This is Paul the apostle.

And he said oh God, please take this trouble away.

Oh God, please take this trouble away.

I hope you've hung around glorious way church long enough to know that that's not a good prayer.

That's why it's right here.

See, he made the mistake of praying that prayer, expecting God to do something else besides what he had already done.

Jesus had already died on the cross.

All authority in heaven and earth has been given unto Jesus.

And then he said go, ye, therefore.

So he transferred and delegated every bit of authority that he had to the church, which means that that's a vain prayer to ask God to do anything about trouble.

It's our job to rule and reign over trouble, to kick trouble out, to overcome the trouble.

And here he is praying for God to do something about it.

No, god says you do something about it.

And he said unto me, jesus said unto me.

Jesus actually answered him and said my grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

Well, we read this.

I've heard preachers say this.

Oh well, that just means that we just need to be weak.

When we're weak, that's the best we can do.

God has mercy on us.

When we're weak, just admit that you're weak.

No, that's not what that's saying at all.

It's saying I have grace available for you.

I have grace available to you.

What is grace?

Is grace just some kind of namby, pamby little pat on the head?

Oh, you poor thing.

I feel so sorry.

No, grace is God's ability to do anything.

It's God's ability.

So when we are tempted to be weak, when we're under assault, when we're under attack, when the doctor has given us a diagnosis and it's hard to hear that diagnosis, or when our bank account is drained or whatever the circumstances are, and when we're tempted to be weak, listen, we have grace available to us.

1 Corinthians 12, 13 said that there is no temptation, test or trial taken us, but such is common to man.

Whatever you're facing is common to man, but the weapons of our warfare, according to 2 Corinthians 10, 4, the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, they're not carnal, but they're mighty through God.

So the devil is limited to think concerning the flesh, but our weapons and our answer to his attack are weapons that are concerning to God.

God's weapons are greater than the devil's weapons.

That's the bottom line that you need to know.

And there is grace available for you, amen.

And so he goes on to say most gladly, therefore, because I've got access to this grace, I'd rather glory in my infirmities, not for the infirmity, infirmity not for the infirmity.

I'm glorying in my infirmity that the power of Christ may rest on me.

I tell you, when you start praising God, god's power comes upon you to reverse the situation that you're facing.

The word glory there means to boast, to vaunt to, joy in or rejoice in, and so listen to what the apostle said.

He said more gladly, therefore, well, I'd rather rejoice in my infirmity, I'd rather boast.

What's he boasting about?

That God's grace is sufficient for him.

That's all I need.

I've got access to the supernatural weapons and, devil, you are on the losing side.

That's what he's saying.

Oh, praise God, lift your hands, thank God for grace that's available to us.

So let's not allow ourselves to be intimidated by this situation that we're facing.

Let's rejoice, let's learn to laugh at adversity.

And the second one I've kind of given a little advanced warning on the second thing that we need to do the proper attitude and adversity, and have an attitude of confidence in God's grace, say, that's what I just got through reading about.

See, all the tests that you can have, all the temptations, all the troubles, all the trials that you face, are limited to the flesh things of this world, the things of the flesh.

But we have supernatural weapons.

And second, corinthians 12, nine, he said my grace is sufficient for the eye.

I gladly, therefore, glory in my infirmity.

So Paul has got confidence in the grace of God.

God's grace is sufficient, god's power is resting upon you to turn back the trouble if you'll just praise him.

So be confident in that grace.

Romans five too this is worth looking at, in fact.

Romans five one, therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom, also by Jesus also, we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

See, that says the same thing I've been saying.

So let's have access by faith into the God's grace.

See, it's not about praying God to take the trouble away, it's about us accessing the grace of God.

So the power of God can be released through our words and actions to turn this situation around, whatever it is, we have supernatural power working for us.

So you know Satan.

He's trying to keep you from being exalted.

See, god's always trying to promote you.

God's always trying to lift you up.

The devil wants to keep you down.

So what does he do?

He brings a thought that this all over now, it's all over.

God forgot about you.

See, that thought tries to exalt itself against the knowledge of God.

Those thoughts are not your thoughts.

Those thoughts have been thrown at you by some little demon on the outside, trying to discourage you, trying to bring you under intimidation.

But don't whine, shine, you know.

Put that thought down and begin to rejoice and know that God's grace is sufficient for you.

Have confidence in that.

And then it talks about the peace of God.

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So number three proper attitude and adversity is maintain your peace.

Jesus said you don't have to be overcome by the troubles of this world, but in me.

And who is Jesus?

Well, jesus is the Word of God.

You can have peace in and through God's Word the more you let the Word of God abide in you richly, the more the peace of God will keep your mind in heart.

Let's look at Colossians 315, talking about the proper attitude.

Winners have an attitude that it can't be a fate.

It's real or it isn't.

And we have the real thing, we have the real Word of God.

Colossians 315, let the peace of God rule in your heart.

I like to amplify it.

Let it rule in your heart and act as an umpire.

Let it be the gatekeeper to the which also, you're called in one body and be grateful.

So the peace of God.

Let see, you can either let the peace of God or not.

Let the peace of God.

This up to you.

It's not about praying for God to take the trouble away.

It's not about you praying to tell God oh, take this thought away.

No, you get rid of that thought, that bad thought, and you replace it with thoughts of praise and thanksgiving, thoughts of victory.

Praise God, maintain your peace.

Let peace rule.

You have to do it, you have to do it.

And then the last one is found again in 2 Corinthians 12.

And at the last here he goes on to say, after telling the Corinthians about what he discovered, that it wasn't about praying for God to take away the trouble.

It was about him being firm in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

And so in verse 10, it says therefore and here's the one that's going through trouble he said I take pleasure in infirmities.

Now you can in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses.

For Christ's sake, I take pleasure in those things.

Now, if you're not careful you'll think he's kind of like a weirdo, like he's rejoicing because he's got infirmities, reproaches, necessities.

No, he takes pleasure during I think it would be a better translation of that word I take pleasure during and from pleasure.

And who?

Pleasure in God.

You enjoy God, you love God.

That's why you're full of praise, that's why you're full of thanksgiving.

There's a song in your heart.

This doesn't come just out of the natural.

You've got to stir yourself up to do it.

When those infirmities, what is an infirmity?

It's a frailty of the mind and or the body.

Sometimes we're frailing our bodies, sometimes a sickness attaches itself to us temporarily, until we can get rid of it.

Well, that's the time that we need to take pleasure in our God, take pleasure in his Word, not in the sickness, not in the trouble.

You see what I'm saying.

So he said I take pleasure when these things happen for Christ's sake.

What do you mean for Christ's sake?

Because that's when God gets glory, that's when we're rejoicing during the trouble, when we're overcoming adversity.

We know that that brings glory to God.

And it says to Jesus everything you suffered on earth has been worth it, because look at me, I'm using what you did for me I counted in such high esteem.

I'm operating in this kind of faith that you gave me.

Thank you, jesus, for all you did for me.

Praise God, that's for Christ's sake.

See, you're doing it for Christ's sake, in other words, so he'll know that you appreciate what he did on the cross for you, and it brings him glory.

It brings the Father's glory, amen.

Isn't that what we wanna do?

Don't we wanna glorify God?

Every time that we tell the Lord oh, I just wanna glorify God, that means the devil's gonna bring something against you and you're gonna stand up and overcome it to the glory of God, amen.

So these four issues here, the proper attitude in adversity, why don't you lift your hands and receive the Word of God tonight?

Father, we thank you.

Thank you for the Word of God, hallelujah, and don't be just a doer of it be a don't be just a hearer of it, be a doer also.