A Temporary Inconenience

Hallelujah. Come on. You can do better than that.

That one was a little weak. Hallelujah. Break

every stronghold. Amen, amen, amen. If you have

your Bibles, turn with me to 2 Corinthians, the

fourth chapter. 2 Corinthians 4. I don't know

if you've noticed, but there's been a very intense

presence of the Lord for about the past month.

And the Spirit of the Lord has really, really

been present with us, and I'm grateful and thankful

for that. Amen. We have several folk that are

not. able to be with us today, so we need to

remember them. Brother Ron's sick. Sister Natalie

Price is in the hospital. We need to remember

her. Different ones are under the weather. Not

feeling well. Sister Charlotte. Jacobs needs

a touch from the Lord. A lot of things going

around. A new surgence of a new strain of COVID's

out there, and many of you probably already had

it. Of all things, a winter condition is stricken

in the summer. This strep throat stuff, it feels

bad enough in the winter when you're trying to

stay warm. But when you're hot and miserable

already, that's no bueno. Amen. So let's remember

our church family. We do have some on vacation,

traveling out and about. We pray for the Lord's

safety. A good time for them, rest for them,

and a great vacation. Amen. We just want the

Lord's will to be done. This morning, I just

got a stirring down deep. Amen. It's so good

to see you here. Thank you for being here. And

if I forget before I dismiss this morning, if

you're visiting with us, please stop. Go out

those doors to my left and that welcome center

right there. I have a beautiful smiling face

waiting for you with a good parting gift. Amen.

Just to say how much we appreciate you being

here today. Amen. So please do that. And I thank

you for being in the house of the Lord today.

2 Corinthians. I want you to go home today sometime

and read the entire chapter. It will do you good.

I'm not going to take the time to read it all,

but I will start at verse 8 this morning. It

says, We are troubled on every side, yet not

distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair.

Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast down, but

not destroyed. Always, listen to this now. People

seeing Jesus in you, folk. So then. Death worketh

in us, but life in you. Paul talking to the Corinthians.

We having the same spirit of faith, according

as it is written, I believed and therefore have

I spoken. We also believe and therefore speak.

In other words, he says, I'm preaching what I

believe. I'm declaring to you exactly what I

believe. My faith, I'm declaring it to you. For

all things are for your sakes that the abundant

grace might through the thanksgiving of many

redound to the glory of God. For which cause

we faint not. But though our outward man perish,

yet the inward man is renewed day by day. Now,

here you go. Start paying real close attention

there at 15 through down. For our light affliction,

which is but for a moment, works for us a far

more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While

we look not at the things which are seen, but

at the things which are not seen. For the things

which are seen are temporal. But the things which

are not seen are eternal. For a little while,

with the help of the Lord today, I want to speak

to you on this thought. A temporary inconvenience.

A temporary inconvenience. If you'll say that

with me, it'll start building up in you. A temporary

inconvenience. And the more you say it, the more

excited you get about it. And I've been saying

it for about 18 hours now. And I'm really excited

about it. Amen? I'll pray for you if you pray

for me. Father, we love you. We thank you, Lord,

for your goodness and your mercy and the abundance

of your grace and love. I ask God now, with that

anointing that you place upon our heart and life,

that spirit that you place within us, stir it

up, that gifting. That calling that you've placed,

stir it up. I stir it up myself, Lord. I stir

deep within myself. I feel this this morning.

I feel it this morning, Lord. I feel you got

a word for us today. And I ask God that you would

let our ears hear it. May our ears hear. May

we open our ears and hear with our understanding

what the Spirit is declaring to the body of Christ

today. And Lord, we'll be quick to praise you

for it. In Jesus' mighty name. And the church

said, amen. Before you're seated, I want you

to look around a couple folks around you. If

you don't know them, tell them your name because

today I'm going to ask you to do some things

that I don't normally ask you to do. I'm actually

going to ask you to get involved. Hello. Usually

I just let you sit there and do whatever you

do. But today I'm going to ask you to kindly

get involved. Introduce yourself to some of them

new people. That way you don't scare them when

you follow instruction today. Yeah, this is going

to be a participatory sermon today. We're going

to participate a little. And that way it will

keep you engaged when I go over the hour in my

preaching. All right, now I didn't say break

down the party. I just said introduce yourself.

You've got to be careful how you loose the sheep.

I thought about y 'all the other day. See, it

started already. I thought about y 'all the other

day. I was in Crossville, and I pulled up to

the red light, and this guy pulled up beside

me, and he's coming up in the left lane, and

I hear, I thought. He pulled up beside me, this

little old sheep in the back of a truck. He looked

out the window, looked right at me, and went,

I said, We're starting early. It's about to get

right, saints. Hallelujah. Some additional scripture

for you to write down for your note takers. Hopefully

you find things noteworthy enough to write down.

Deuteronomy 8, 2 through 4 reads, And thou shalt

remember all the way which the Lord thy God led

thee these 40 years in the wilderness to humble

thee and to prove thee to know what is in thine

heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments

or no. Verse 3. And he humbled thee and suffered

thee to hunger. and fed thee with manna, which

thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know,

that he might make thee know that man doth not

live by bread alone. There's a familiar quote

for you. If you want to know where it came from,

there it is. But by every word that proceeded

out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. Thy

raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did

thy foot swell these 40 years. Skipping down

to verse 14. Then thine heart be lifted up and

thou forget the Lord thy God. What he's giving

them is some instruction about how good God was

going to be to them and had been to them. And

they're about to go into the promised land. And

he said, now when you get in there, I don't want

you to forget God. Because what's going to happen,

you're going to get all cozy and you're going

to get all comfortable. And if you're not careful,

if you don't stay on guard, then thine heart

be lifted up. and thou forget the Lord thy God,

which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt

from the house of bondage, who led thee, you

need to underline that, who led thee through

that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were

fiery serpents and scorpions and drought, and

there was no water, but brought thee forth water

out of the rock of Flint, not just... Limestone,

flint. If you know much about stone, if you don't,

go look it up. Flint's a whole different creature.

Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna which

thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee.

Notice there's this flow here. And that he might

prove thee, test thee, try thee, to do thee good

at thy latter end. If you'll notice, God says

that he suffered them. He allowed them. He permitted

them to get hungry. He's telling Moses, you share

with this new generation that your fathers went

through. They'd never seen any manna. They'd

never seen what God did, but God allowed them

to suffer. He allowed them to find and to feel

the heat of the wilderness. the fiery serpents

in the wilderness, the skeeters and the pestilence

of the wilderness, the heat and all of these

things. He suffered them. He permitted them to

go through all those things. Now, he let them

get thirsty. He let them get in tight places.

He let them get in distress. He let them be uncomfortable.

And I just know this morning that I'm talking

to somebody. that knows that God has let you,

allowed you, permitted you, or may have even

led you into trouble. No, God wouldn't do that.

Well, then you need to find another Bible to

read. Because this one said he did. And he had

a reason and a purpose behind every bit of it.

Right? He will let you get hungry from time to

time. He will permit you to get into a place

where you feel like your back is against the

wall from time to time. He will let you stand

before a Red Sea and an Egyptian army breathing

down your neck from time to time. And you look

and you're in between a rock and a hard place.

And you do a little Bible study and you'll see

that's exactly where they were. They were stuck

between a rock and a hard place with a sea in

front of them and no escape possible behind them.

And God led them there. Are you hearing what

your pastor is saying? And God led them there.

They followed the cloud there by day. And if

they were walking at night, they followed the

fiery pillar cloud. And the cloud stopped. And

when it stopped, that's where they stood. They

didn't have enough sense. They had been in bondage.

They had been in slavery for 400 years. They

didn't know where they were at. They're knowing

how to get to where God told them to go. So God

led them to a rock and a heart. God led them

into a dangerous spot. Oh, my Lord. God surely

wouldn't do that to me. Oh, yes, he would. He

led them. Evidently, somebody got snake bit before

they fell out of the sky for disobedience. Evidently,

somebody encountered a fiery serpent along the

way. There's scorpions in desert places. If you've

never been to that part of the world, it's just

rocks and dirt. A little greenery around a water

hole from time to time. But everything else seemingly

is barren. But there is life in that wilderness.

There is life there. He'll let you spend the

night in a hungry lion's den. He may even lead

you to the door of a fiery furnace and you have

to go in by faith, trusting God. I just don't

believe God will do that. Well, I'd love to write

you down my entire testimony and the places that

the cloud has led me The fire has led me. It's

not all been a rose garden. Amen. It's not been

lilies and daisies. Amen. There's been some serpents

along the way. There's been some furnaces I've

had to go through. There's been some desert valleys

I've had to walk through. And going through them,

they've been a little thirsty. Can I get a witness

in the house? I know I'm talking with somebody

that's been in a dry, thirsty place. I know somebody

got snake bit along the way. And you've got stung

by the venom of the ant. enemy along the way

and God and knowing that God led you to where

you just got bit. But in all that, you have to

understand that you say, well, why did God do

that for me? He's just proven you. He's testing

our faith. You know, everybody's good with God

as long as it's just hunky and dory. Right? When

your faith is not challenged and your faith is

not tested, oh, God's the greatest thing since

sliced wonder bread. Even better than manna.

Amen? It's all bound up in a bag for you. Amen?

As long as things are like that, you don't struggle

with having faith in God. But the very minute

when you stand before the threshold of a wilderness,

what you going to do then, Willis? Now what you

going to do? What are you going to do when there's

a fiery serpent looking you in the eye trying

to take you out? What are you going to do? Well,

you just step up a little higher, step on down

a little harder, and just keep on trotting in.

God is proving your test and your faith in him,

and he really wants to know, if you remember

in our text, he wants to find out where their

heart was. He said, I really want to know where

your heart is, whether you trust me or you don't.

Amen? To put you to the test. Because if you

love me, then you're going to serve me. You're

going to follow me. And my commands are not arduous.

And my dictates towards you are not hard. And

you take them with joy. And the instruction that

I give you, you're all willing to follow. You

don't bow up when I give you some instruction.

You don't bow out whenever things get a little

hard. And I just want to know where your heart's

at. Somebody needs to know that. And be reminded

of the words that Jesus said. There's a day coming

when you're. going to say unto me, Lord, Lord,

did we not cast out devils in your name? Did

we not lay hands on the sick and they recover

in your name? And you're going to be looked at

and hear these terrible words. Depart from me

for I never knew you. Why? Because your heart

was never where it ought to be. Your heart was

never sold out. Your heart was never totally

committed. But I got good news. That's the hard

part. We've handled the hard part. Now let's

get on to the good stuff. The good news is according

to our scripture text today, it's just a temporary

inconvenience. Now something you need to know,

it was not God's plan. He led them into the wilderness,

but he led them in the wilderness to go through

it. God's intention was not for them to wander

in circles for 40 years. Come on somebody. Now

I'm about to preach right here. God led them

around an enemy that they would have to fight

in the process of getting to the promised land.

He led them the long way around because he knew

their hearts would faint in battle and they weren't

ready to fight the enemy just yet. So God took

them the long way around because he was protecting

them. And the long way around was through the

wilderness. But it was never God's intention

for them to remain in the wilderness for 40 years

and to face the serpents and the drought and

the dryness and the hardship of the wilderness.

No, he led them straight to where he promised

to take them. He led them straight to a promised

land which flowed with milk and honey and was

abundant. And it was them who bowed up when they

got there. It was them who backed up. But just

like God, when we bow up and we back up, he got

a provisional plan. According to our scripture,

it's a temporary inconvenience. It's temporal,

meaning for a little while, for a season, a short

time, lasting only for a limited period of time.

Temporal. Somebody needs to tell you. Look at

that neighbor you had to introduce yourself to

and say, it's only temporal. Look at them and

say it out loud. It's only temporal. This thing

is only here for a little while. Whatever you're

looking at is only here for a little while. It's

temporary. It's a temporary inconvenience. And

sometimes you've got to have somebody say, look,

this ain't going to last forever, child. Just

hang on. And every now and then you've got to

look at the mirror and you've got to see yourself

and I and have a good, honest conversation with

you. Has anybody done that besides myself? I

mean, you really had one. You know what they're

saying? Sometimes you've got to talk to yourself

to have an intelligent conversation. So I look

in that mirror. Sometimes I have to talk to myself

because I'm the only one that can make sense

out of what I'm thinking and saying. Everybody

else is saying, what are you talking about? So

I talk to myself and try to make sense out of

it all. But I have a personal accountability

session with myself. If you've never done that,

get yourself in front of a good, toothpaste -spotted,

free mirror. And get real close and say, what

are you doing? And then talk it out. Don't slap

yourself. Just talk it out. Make your way through

it. It's for a short season, for a limited period

of time. And you've always got to remember what

God told them. It's to do the good at thy latter

end. All of that other is just so that you can

get to the good. These temporary inconveniences

is only about getting to the good. God's plan

is not the wilderness. It's the good. It's the

blessing. That's what he's trying to do. He's

trying to align you and get you into the promise

that he's already made. Amen to promise. So the

first thing we have to do is sort this mess all

out. Tell somebody, look at that neighbor again,

tell somebody what you're going through won't

last forever. Go ahead. I mean, that's the part.

Like Brother Randy says on Wednesday, that's

a question, but this is the directive. Tell that

person this is not going to last forever. Now

look, people. I had to call you back to your

seat a while ago. You got so excited about it.

Now this is a... I don't do this much. So humor

me and just do it. Because it's going to help

you. It's going to help you. You might help them.

Who knows? We all need help. You know, see, these

emotional battles that we're going through, they're

not eternal. This stuff going on in your head.

When you feel like the world won't stop spinning

and life won't stop spinning and you feel like

you got vertigo, but it's not your inner ear,

it's your head and your heart spinning because

the world has got so much out of kilter. Amen.

It's like, what is that tip top to world? What's

that thing called? Where that thing spins and

it turn you up on your side. Tilt the world.

That's the way I feel about life. Come on. Anybody

cannot go in a circle? Brother Randy has this

fear he told us Wednesday of falling down. He

can't do that. He said he can go around and around,

but he can't do it. I can catch my breath with

my left hand going down, but when we go like

this, I'm out, baby. It's over. I took one of

my grandchildren, I think it was Jaylee, when

she was little, we went to Lake Winnipesoka,

and you know they still have the Dumbo elephants?

And it goes on and around. I was green as your

seat by the time we got off of Dumbo. Just going

around. And we weren't going fast. It don't have

to be fast. It just has to be in a circle. I

can't do the circle. Drop me, baby. Drop me.

Don't spin me. I can't do it. Can't do it. But

isn't that the way life is, though? Sometimes,

folks, it can't be dropped. The devil makes sure

something gets kicked out from under you and

you fall. For the rest of us who can take the

fall, but we can't take the spin. He tries to

give you life. I watched a little thing clip

the other day. These old boys were in a spinning

top competition. They were around, looked like

a five -foot rope around the top, about that

big around. Kids don't know what I'm talking

about, but you old people, you with me. And he

wound that thing up, and he gave it a sling and

jerked that cord, and, son, that baby just went

to spinning. And that's the way the devil tries

to do us sometimes. If you can take the fall,

fall, he'll try to get you in a flat spin and

try to get you so dizzy and discombobulated with

life that you fail to trust God. But I'm here

to tell you, it's only a temporary inconvenience.

The emotional distress doesn't last forever.

Sickness is not eternal. You've got to know that

the issue you're dealing with right now that's

giving you problems is not eternal. The pain

of betrayal, believe it or not, heals. You will

find another friend. I would plant right there,

but I've got to move on. It's temporary. I have

to stay close to this today. This is one of these

I can't just run rabbits and get together to

end. I got to stay with it. It's temporary. You

might be crying today, but I'm telling you joy

is coming. Look here, look here. You may be broke,

busted, and disgusted today, but remember God

said I'll supply you need. You might be in pain.

You may be physically hurting. But you have to

know that he comes with healing in his wings.

Amen. You may be walking today, but know this.

Your ride may just pull up any day. I say your

ride just may pull up any single day. You may

be unemployed, but if you keep knocking on the

doors, the right door will open. Why? Because

the butler of heaven will open it for you. My

God. How do you know? And what say ye? Because

he is the one who opens doors, and he's the one

who closes doors. I'm telling you, you keep going,

keep pushing. You never know. Send that resume

another hundred times. It'll get through to the

right one because he will open the door. It's

temporary. A temporary inconvenience. Inconvenience

means a bother. It means a nuisance. It means

hassle. It means difficulty. It's a temporary

bother. It's a temporary nuisance. It's a temporary

hassle. It's like when you have to... Brother

Hester, is he here today? He's up top somewhere.

There he is over here. Resident plumber here.

And any other DIY head of the household. A temporary

inconvenience is when you have to turn the water

off. Nobody's been to the bathroom all morning

until you cut the water off. They've been perfectly

content to sit in their stank until 11 o 'clock.

But you turn the water off. I've got to take

a shower. I've got to leave. I've got to yada,

yada, yada. What are you doing this morning?

They don't do that until you turn the water off.

Huh? You don't ever want to cook that favorite

meal until the power goes out. When the power

goes out, you can't cook a keto coconut cream

pie with no power. But I want you to know that

original one came through mighty fine, Sister

Kim. All three pieces. It made it. Temporary

inconveniences. Things don't ever happen until

you're trying to do something. It's like for

some of you, if Verizon or T -Mobile has a little

bit of glitch in the system, my God. God, don't

you fall to pieces. Wow, my phone, my phone.

Wow, I can't get a text. I can't get a TikToker

or whatever. I can't get, ah. Three minutes later,

it's back on. Oh, crisis avoided. But the trauma.

Some of you experience PTSD because you can't

get on that stupid thing for 15 minutes. People

can't track your every meal. Look, I'm glad you

get to go out to nice places. It's a temporary

inconvenience. Back to regular schedule programming.

Eyes back on the outline. Get back to the point.

Temporary inconvenience. Life is filled with

temporary inconvenience. Don't y 'all be laughing

at me on the front row now. None of us enjoy

them. But whether we realize it or not, there's

some positives that can be drawn from these inconveniences.

It makes you feel real good when the lights come

back on. There's no better sound than that. After

the water's been off. Went over to mom's the

other day. They've been on a well for 30 years.

It's a protected thing, water. Dad's always thinking

the well's going to go dry. That well's never

went dry. But it gets hot, and if it don't rain

every other day, it won't run out of water at

all. And I hear mom, went, I got a horse and

dishes. And then here it goes. Well, it's gone

down. We used to live at the foot of the hill

and never lost a drop of water on the same well.

Of course, now I might have been siphoning out

of their house. I don't know. Gravity. Inconveniences.

They happen. They come our way. But they do have

some positive influence on our life if we will

permit them to do so. It makes us feel good.

It makes us feel alive when just simple things

that we were inconvenienced that we don't have.

are back on line. Doesn't it? Just think how

much better your spiritual life is and how much

better you'll feel when you realize that these

temporary inconveniences aren't meant to last

forever. They are motives to gain positive input

on your faith from. Just keep on trusting God.

And the more you trust God, the greater the testimony.

You know what? Testimony. What's a testimony?

Well, unless you've ever been through a test,

you'll never have the money. Amen? I didn't say

money. I said money. Unless you've been through

the test, unless you've been through the trial,

unless you've trusted God walking through the

wilderness, unless you've trusted God when the

power was out, unless you trusted God, amen,

when you couldn't afford this or you couldn't

afford that or you couldn't do this and the inconvenience

of the moment when it passed and you were overjoyed

with goodness. Secondly, the wilderness was never

supposed to be fun to begin with. Amen? It wasn't

supposed to be comfortable. It wasn't supposed

to be enjoyable. It was supposed to be difficult.

It's wilderness. Right? It's supposed to be hot

in the day and freezing at night. The ground

was supposed to be hard and rocky. It's supposed

to get hungry and thirsty. It's dry out there.

They were supposed to hate the wilderness, despise,

detest the wilderness, find it very disgusting.

They were supposed to disdain the surroundings

of the deadly poison of snakes and all the trouble

of the wilderness. God intended for it to be

temporary. He wanted them to despise it so much

that they would run toward the promise that he

had made them. But just like people. The problem

arose. They adapted and grew adjusted to wilderness

living. Mmm. About to drop the plow and turn

the furry right here. They adopted this wilderness

mentality. They got comfortable just scraping

by. They grew comfortable and satisfied with

just enough. Right? Just enough to get gas in

the car. Just enough manna. Oh, we're full. There'll

be some more out there in the morning. God said,

look, your fathers know nothing about manna.

You're the only one that I've done this for.

And it's because of what was supposed to be temporary,

you wanted to make it a mainstay. You grew adjusted

to watching out for the stakes. You got a mentality

around, well, God's going to give us manna, and

when we get really thirsty, if we cry and whine

and complain long enough, he'll have Moses strike

a rock or speak to a rock, and we'll just, and

then it just follows us through. My Lord, what's

that dragon up the rear? That's the rock. Well,

what rock? It's the water fountain. Make you

comfortable with it. Just enough. Sometimes we

get comfortable with just enough to exist. And

not just life. We do that with our spiritual

walk, too. Just enough. Just enough to stay saved.

Well, how much is that? With what I told you

earlier, I'd be afraid to try to get to heaven

on just enough. Because there's a song out there

that goes like this. My God is more than enough.

He'll supply all my need. Right? He, my El, should

die. That's who he is. And his intention is not

for us to remain satisfied in the temporary inconveniences

and just let our peace be there. We've got to

have more. Of a mentality toward these temporary

inconveniences and that we walk beyond them and

we trust God through faith and by faith. God

gave them just enough. Just enough manna from

heaven. Just enough water from the rock. Their

clothes didn't wear out. Their feet didn't swell

and get sore. Amen. Shoes went with their feet

and grew with their size. I know there's some

mamas in here with young boys growing. You wish

that God would do that for Nike and your child.

I asked Lauren, I said, what can I get the boys?

She said, shoes. They had to grow out of them

every six weeks. Shoes. For somebody in this

house today, for them, they were supposed to

transition from wilderness of just enough into

promised desire. For you and I, you've got to

go back in that bathroom, bedroom, or that five

-foot mirror you've got that you look at yourself

and do this in. You've got to get there. You've

got to find that spot. You've got to get in front

of it, and you've got to tell yourself that this

is just temporary. This is just temporary. God

didn't set this. He may have led me here, but

he led me here to take me through here, and I

am not. I'm not letting my mentality get set

around, well, this is my new normal. Come on,

somebody. It's not my new normal. I heard that

enough around 2020. Well, this is the new normal.

No, I don't accept that. Uh -uh. I just got back

to normal. I kept doing things the way I always

done things. And I'm going to keep doing things

the way I did them then. It worked then. It worked

just now. I'm going to keep moving forward. I'm

going to keep trusting God. Amen. And when inconveniences

enter into my life, I refuse to allow my mentality

to accept that this is the new norm for my existence.

I refuse that. Why? Because God has made me a

promise. And the promise that he has made unto

me, that I will have and settle for nothing less.

All right, it'll be worth it. Just a couple more.

You with me good? All right, it's just now stroke

12. Baptists are getting out in their head, and

I'll let you out in about 20, and you'll be good.

It's going to be worth it. Are you hearing me?

Look at me. Tell your neighbor. Pastor said it's

going to be worth it. It's going, well, how does

he know? Because the Bible says so. Because the

Bible says it's going to be worth it. Amen? Paul

said our light affliction. I don't know what

affliction he was talking about. I don't know

what comparison he was putting affliction with

because that old boy had been beat with rods,

had been stoned nearly left for dead, and he

calls it a light affliction. It's just a temporary

inconvenience. You know, I got held up a little

bit while the Lord raised me from the dead out

of a rock pile. Just temporary inconvenience.

They took him outside the city. They stoned him

and thought he was dead or they would have kept

rocking him until he was. Oh, man, there's a

knot. Looking out his right eye because his left

one swelled over. Why? Because somebody chunked

him with a big one. Trying to kill him for his

testimony. The glory of Jesus Christ. Oh, and

you think what we're dealing with? No, no. What

you and I got is very light. We're just lightweight.

It's just featherweight in the realm of affliction.

Well, you don't know what I'm going through.

I ain't seen no rock piles yet. Haven't seen

you floating out in the deep for three days and

nights. Sharks probably swarming or whatever

going on out in the deep day and night. I've

not been there. I've not been in peril with sword

from within and without. That means the church

folk and the heathens. Everybody was out to get

him. And he says this light affliction, it's

going to be worth it. How do you know? Because

the Bible says, eye hath not seen, ear hath not

heard, and neither has it entered into the heart

of man. What God has laid up in store for those

who, I'm telling you, it's temporary. He said,

which is but for a moment, by the way. It didn't

come to stay. It'll pass. Don't panic. Sometimes

you hear people talk about the midnight hour,

right? You know, a kid not going to spike a fever

until after 12. Raise three, never happened.

Nine o 'clock, 10 o 'clock, you're trying to

get them to lay down and go to bed. They're just

running crazy. Midnight, they're screaming their

lungs out. Going there, and the first thing you

do is... Burning up. Midnight. That's when discomfort

comes. The devil does his best work in the darkness.

Amen. Oh, yeah, he works. He works through the

darkness. He endeavors to get you down. The midnight

hour is critical because that's when it can go

either way at midnight. I'm telling you, it can

go either way. Paul and Silas were beaten. Their

backs were bloodied. Feeding stocks and shocks.

But at midnight, the Bible says they begin to

pray. And they begin to sing some old hymns.

Amen. I find myself hearing those old hymns in

my head every now and then. And he walks with

me and he talks with me. And he tells me I am

his own. And the voice I hear falling on my ear.

Right? Yeah, that's what you do in the midnight

hour. You get on that stuff right there. Amen.

You begin to remember that he's with you and

he's not forsaking you. He's not leaving you

anywhere. Not for a moment. It's just but for

a moment. That critical hour of midnight when

things can go either way. You have a choice right

there. Are you going to pray and sing? Or are

you going to panic and go to pieces? My Lord,

I go with let's pray and sing at the midnight

hour. Amen. Because it is at midnight in Exodus

4 and 11 that the death angel goes through Egypt.

In Judges chapter 16 and 3, it's at midnight

Judges 16 · chapter mention

when Samson takes hold. the gates of the city,

and he takes off, and he heads toward Gaza, and

he carries them out, amen. It's at midnight when

we're going to hear when the bridegroom comes.

There's a cry that's going to go out at midnight.

Behold, the bridegroom comes. Don't panic when

it's midnight and trouble. Seems like it's your

way. Daylight is coming. You know what the best

thing I like about midnight? It only lasts about

60 seconds, honey, and then you're in a brand

new day, my Lord. Matter of fact, it's one click

past 12 p .m. It goes 12 p .m. 01, and the seconds

are beginning to count down. You're in a brand

-new moment. So it's the way you look at it,

my God. It's the way you take hold of it. Yes,

it's midnight, but midnight only lasts so long.

And I'm in a brand -new morning, and everybody

knows weeping may endure for the night, but joy

comes in the morning. I'm here to tell you today

it's a temporary inconvenience. The Lord knows

where you are. He led you there. We think, oh,

God, I got here by myself. No, you didn't. Your

steps are ordered and guided. If you're following,

now, if you've got to where you are on your own,

then you own your own, honey. But if you followed

him there, it's only a temporary inconvenience.

It's going to be all right. God still works at

midnight. 60 seconds. Pain can go to praise,

can't it? Dark to light. Lost to found. Weeping

to rejoicing. Broke, busted, disgusted to divine

overflow. Now if you're counting on the lottery.

I'm trying to tread lightly right here. I don't

think I'll tread at all. Midnight's gone in 60

seconds. So where we sit today, understand it

doesn't take God long to bless you. You can't

give up. You can't turn back. You can't quit

now. And in these moments of temporary inconvenience,

this very morning, somebody ought to be praising

God all the way through it. Amen? Psalm 34, 19

says, many are the afflictions of the righteous.

These people that say, and I've been on this,

touched on it a couple times for the last two

or three weeks. The people that say that saved

people, God's love and no trouble comes to you

after you accept Christ. No. Then why do we have

this? Verses in scripture like this, many are

the afflictions of the righteous. But. Don't

you love that little word sometimes? I don't

like to hear it out of my kids when they're growing

up, but no. But when God says it, I'm ready to

look. But a grammatical word used in the middle

of or at the beginning of a sentence to introduce

something that is true in spite of either being

or seeming contrary to what has just been said.

But. Many are the afflictions of the righteous.

But the Lord delivers them out of them all. You

know what the Greek word for all is? All. Everything.

Total. Total compass. Everything included before

and after. All. Scripture is like, but my God

shall supply two or three of your needs according

to his. No. Half. No. But my God shall supply

all of your need. Totality of it. Now, your wants

and my wants are subject to his approval and

disapproval. But my need. You'll see that my

needs took care of. And aren't you glad that

from time to time he'll let you have a won't,

permit you to have a won't? Yeah. That's the

way we are as parents. Don't give your kid everything

they won't when you go into the store. Amen.

Don't matter that little fit they pitch you to

register and you're embarrassed. Don't be embarrassed.

Turn the embarrassment back. I'm going to help

you with a little Parenting 101 right here. The

embarrassment is you let that little heathen

do that. There's your embarrassment. So the next

time they get down on the floor in the stove,

see, there I go. Let's move on. Temporary inconvenience.

That's a temporary inconvenience. Don't let them

do that. Help that child. Mama helped me, and

I turned out real good. Yours will too. Well,

I want to be their friend. There's your first

mistake. You're not called to be their friend.

You birthed that young 'un in here to teach it,

instruct it, he or she. Get about your business.

Daddy, don't leave it to mama. That's bonus.

Let's move on. Oh, here's a good one. Tell somebody

it's going to be over in a minute. It'll be over

in a minute. Job had his own set of troubles,

did he not? Had his own set of pain. When we

read the book of Job, you think this went on

for years, but some scholars say that everything

that happened to Job happened in about a nine

-month time frame. I mean, it just fell to pieces

really quick. Isn't that the way the devil does

sometimes? Life just falls apart really quick.

But if you hang on like he hang on, you get double

for your trouble. Even when the devil's hitting

and attacking and mind, soul, body, spirit, lying,

you've got to know that God is on your side.

And these inconveniences are temporary. And it's

worth it because he's working for you. Many of

us in here today need to know that. God is working

for us. Well, he ain't doing nothing. I ain't

heard him say, look, he don't have to tell us

everything he does when he does it. When he's

silenced, when he's working. You saw that picture,

the impression with the footprints in the sand.

Well, God, where are you at? If you'll look,

that's not your shoe size. Put your foot in the

print. Oh, I'm carrying you through this mess.

Don't panic. He's got you. Amen. He's working

for you. Need to know it. Romans 8, 28, and we

know that all things work together for good to

them that love the Lord and are called according

to his purpose. He works for us a far more exceeding

eternal weight of glory. Notice the comparison

and the contrast. It's a lot of fiction, a lot

of affliction, Paul said, but a heavy reward.

Huh? This eternal reward and glory outweighs

the affliction. But we, man, we're just pitiful

sometimes. We just fall apart. Right? We do.

I mean, when things don't go our way, when a

little trouble comes, we don't stop and say,

okay, God, are you trying to teach me a lesson

here? What are you doing in my life? You've led

me here, so why am I here? Right? No, we just

fall to pieces. Don't fall apart. Trust God.

How many of you are actually following him? Well,

you can trust him. While we look not at the things

which are seen. We have to look means to consider,

to think on, to contemplate, to regard, observe,

set your attention on. It's like the children

of Israel going into the promised land. Yes,

the spies came back. Two said, let's go. We're

more than able. Ten said, there's giants in the

land. And we'd be but grasshoppers in their sight.

Don't diminish yourself. Their mentality right

there positioned them for defeat. Don't do that.

Be a Joshua and a Caleb. Say, we are more than

able. Why? Because God's going with us. God's

going with you. This isn't you. It isn't your

strength. I know there's giants in the land,

but God is able. Stand with me and I promise

I won't quit. There's giants in the land. I don't

know about you. I just choose not to look at

them. Oh, I hear them. That's the first thing

that got David's attention about Goliath in the

Valley of Elah was he heard the racket going

on down there. I hear them. I just refuse to

look at them. Well, you're being in denial. No,

I'm not. There's a difference between denial

and refusal. I just refuse to give them the time

of day. Don't let the giants that are out in

the land dictate your faith, your walk with God.

Don't let the issues of life dominate your everyday.

I'm telling you right now, look, you can't get

any broker than I've been broke. How do you know?

Well, probably a bunch of you in here that hadn't

been to the federal bankruptcy court. 35, 40

years ago, I was there. Working every day and

still ended up there. So I've been broker than

broke. When they threaten to put the wheels under

your house and take it off, you're in trouble.

Especially when they didn't even have to bring

axles, I just left her hooked up, underpinned

around it. Look, people, I've done come way too

far to worry about what people think. About me.

God being too good to me, baby. Matter of fact,

I was happy as a pig in a slop when they pulled

that double wide down the hill and set her up.

God was good then and he's good now. So when

they threatened to take it, it was his, not mine.

Now if I'd just been lazy and wasn't trying,

that's on me. But I'd tithe through it all. I

don't know how we got back to here, but here

we are. Somebody just needs to know you can trust

God. When your coworkers know all your business

anyway, I was a bi -vocational pastor working

40, 50, whatever they let me work hours a week.

So come check day, everybody knew what we all

got. You know, we all worked the same. Then when

they peek over your shoulder and yours isn't.

a portion because they done cut their part out.

They garnished that thing, baby, so that I made

my payment. You know what I'm saying? And then

they look at you with this big round -eyed look.

Well, how are you making it? Open door for testimony

time. I had the money, see. I had the money.

I was living the test, but I had the money with

it. Well, let me tell you why. I said, you see

that? 10 % of the whole, not what is left. What

they took. I'm a gross tither. What's that mean?

I pay tithe on every dime that I make and in

case I miss something, I pay a little more. And

they look at you funny. Well, what's that? I

said, man, that's God's promise to me. You just

watch what happens. Seven years turned into two,

and that was over and done with. God worked a

miracle, and they're just scratching their head.

Never miss a beat. Moving right along. Temporary

inconvenience. Wasn't my fault. Gerald falls

off the banister and cracks his skull. Got that

bill. Wasn't my fault. Lauren climbed up on the

kitchen counter three years old one morning.

To get her a cereal bowl, I'm at work and she

falls and it was one of the glass bowls. It breaks

and severs her hand almost off her wrist. It

looked like Freddy Krueger had been in our kitchen

when I got home from work that evening. I'm talking

blood on the ceiling. It was everywhere. Kathy

trying to get that artery stopped. Took the ambulance

45 minutes to get to our house. They had to go

down the road and find the ambulance and bring

them to our house. When the Lord says, I'll pour

you out blessings you can't contain, you can't

put a dollar sign on all of it. My God, the sooner

you get over thinking about the dollar, the better

off you're going to be. Hey, that's a blessing.

All them bills running up. One gets stung by

a scorpion. One gets in the... Aunt Poison and

Kathy was worried that DCS was going to come

and check on her. We had all this stuff going

on. Oh, my Lord. Stomach pumped and the whole

deal is stacking up. The devil had me spinning.

He knew I can't spin, so he had me spinning.

But the Lord's in charge of the wheel. He just

reached in and stopped the spin. Took care of

it all. And when you've been there, when you

got the money for all those tests, you can stand

right here flat -footed and look all 180, 200

of you in the eye and say, look, it's a temporary

inconvenience. I can tell you of an uncertainty.

It's a temporary inconvenience. Went through

all that finance mess. That's when I learned.

I mean, I had a craving for money. I had to have

it. I'd work 16s, 18s. I'd say there were 24

hours if they'd let me. They'd have to make me

leave. I had to have it. And the Lord said, I'm

going to show you, you don't have to have it.

You just have to have me. So, he took it all

away. But he didn't go anywhere. And that's when

I learned the lesson, my Lord. All a dollar is

is a tripping hazard. It's a crescent wrench.

It's a tool that'll fit about anything you need

to work on. That's all it is. It's a tool. There's

a reason that the scripture says that the love

of money, the lust, the drive for it is the root

of all evil. It'll take you places. It'll take

you out of church to work an extra shift on Sunday.

You know who it's not affecting? People like

Chick -fil -A. They're shut down on Sunday, and

they're raking it in. They double lines them

places, two of them in town. They double lines

off and on all day long, just hand over fist.

Trust God. Just go ahead and give it to him.

Turn it loose and watch him do some miraculous

things in your life. Whatever other inconveniences

you're going through, they're just temporary,

folks. This life is just temporary. That's the

reason Paul went on to say, you know, though

the outward man dies daily, the inward man is

renewed. This old flesh is falling away, but

your spirit's going to be eternal. It's going

to live forever, and it gets stronger every day.

That's why he says the things that you see are

temporal. And he says, look, get your attention

off of that stuff. Look to the invisible. Hebrews

12 says, looking unto Jesus, who is the author

and the finisher of our faith. Don't know what

your challenge is, but if you'd readily admit

like I have from time to time that I've took

my eyes off and I'm looking more at the inconvenience

than I am his faithfulness, the Lord sent you

a message this morning. It's just temporary.

It's temporary. It will pass. Your midnight dark

hour only lasts about 60 seconds and then you're

in the first minute of a brand new day. What

are you going to do with it? What are you going

to do with it? It'll be gone in just a minute.

Father, I love you today. Thank you for your

help and your touch this morning. Touch the hearts

and lives of your people this morning. If you're

here and you need an added touch of God's grace

in your life this morning, if you're sick, need

healing, whatever you need, you maybe feel like

the floor is about to fall out from under you.

Maybe you feel like you're going in circles and

you can't even tell which way is straight. God's

on your side. He didn't intend for you to get

this accepted mentality. This wilderness is not

for your dwelling. It's for you to pass through.

Just looking at the goods of your heart to make

sure you're committed to him so that the latter

end, it can be really, really good to you. Anybody

need prayer this morning? Lift your hands together.

I'm going to pray over you all. Father, I love

you today. For every person in this room, under

the sound of my voice. I know there's needs in

here. I know you've spoke to people, and I probably

out -preached their patience. So, Lord, you're

going to have to touch them. Let their faith

be in you. Strengthen their faith. Lord, when

they stand before the mirror and have that conversation

with their self, and they say, it'll be over

in a minute, God still works in the midnight.

It's temporary. It's an inconvenience. It's a

nuisance. It'll be gone. I'm not going to panic

over the nuisance. I'm going to trust you, God.

Strengthen the faith of your people, Father,

in the name of Jesus, I ask today. We'll give

you the praise and the glory and honor for it

all in Christ's lovely name. And we declare amen

and amen. Give the Lord a hand clap of praise,

would you?