Challenging The Status QUO

in the house of the Lord today.

Thank you for worshiping him.

For he truly is worthy.

He is worthy.

How many of you as myself,

I've just been feasting on last week,

all week, last Sunday morning, wow.

The spirit of the Lord moved in a mighty, mighty way.

I'm grateful for that move and thankful for that move.

I'm gonna try my best to touch on some of that,

that word that we just shared a little with you last week.

We'll try to bring some of that to you today.

Just a little change with our text though.

We're gonna look at verse 35 through 39

of the book of Romans, the eighth chapter.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation, distress, persecution,

famine or nakedness or peril or sword?

As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.

We are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors

through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life

nor angels, principalities nor powers nor things present

nor things to come nor height nor depth

nor any other creature shall be able to separate us

from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Challenging the status quo, Father we love you today.

Thank you for your goodness and your mercy

and I ask God that you'd have your way.

Lord as your word is so rich and it is the bread of life,

I ask God now that you'd have your way in our hearts

as we have broken the bread, may our hearts and lives

receive it for your glory and for the edification

of the body.

May we leave here different than we came.

We love you and we thank you.

In Christ's lovely name the church said amen and amen.

You can be seated.

As your neighbor, you ready to challenge the status quo?

Amen.

The eighth chapter of Romans is one of our favorites

as believers, it's one of mine.

Especially if you back up to that 28th verse,

it gives me hope for all of the unexpected events of life

where Paul would declare that all things work together

for good, amen.

That gives us a little hope, that gives me a little

encouragement, that gives me a little something to stand on

day by day when things are not so good, if you will.

For us, every believer will face seasons of chaos

from time to time in our life.

Turmoil will find its way in our lives.

There will even be times when we live life on the edge

and we are desperately seeking rest and peace from the Lord.

There are those days that we must have it.

There are those days when we find ourselves in the company

of old brother Job in the seventh chapter as he would write

in that fourth verse, he said when I lie down I say

when shall I arise and the night be gone and I am full

of tossing to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

We've all had those nights that before we were born

you had those nights that before the sun went down

you were already wishing that the night season

would not come but the dawn would be the rising.

You are dreading the midnight hour.

I don't know why the devil loves to work the most

at the midnight hour but that just seems to be when he

thrives in the lives of people.

It seems like when your children are young that the fever

don't rise till about 1130.

It's 99 and a half or 100 all day but about midnight

she peaks out at about 103 and 104 and you're stressing

through the night praying the grace of God, amen,

finding the tine all, getting the moat from finding

whatever you can get to get the fever down

and it's in that midnight hour many times in the fever

of life when it begins to rise.

It's because this I believe it's because we are trying

to put our minds at rest.

We're trying to put our bodies at rest and the devil

does not want your mind at rest and he doesn't want

your body at rest so if he can torment you all night long

and you get occupied during the day and you think

everything's gonna be okay but when the darkness

approaches and the midnight hour comes at the fourth watch

if you will the enemy is doing his best to steal, kill

and destroy and torment your mind but I'm here to tell

you today that's not the plan of God or the will of God

for your life, it's not torment.

We know what Paul wrote to the young preacher Timothy,

you've not been given the spirit of fear but you've been

given power, you've been given love and you've been given

the soundness of your mind so I'm here this morning

to challenge the status quo when we understand the idea

of status quo and what it's trying to bring into

and through our lives it's a simple thing, status quo

is the existing state of affairs.

It may be good, it may be bad, it may be positive,

it may be negative but it's the moment in which you're

living and the state of affairs of your life

and what you are dealing with, that is the status quo.

It's what you're going to face in the immediacy

of the moment, it's what the devil is throwing at you

right now but I'm here to challenge the status quo,

I'm here to challenge the state of affairs

because I know in whom I believe, in whom I do trust.

Is that not what we see written here in Romans

when that challenge is there?

I initiate that challenge if 28 is the mandate

and the promise hanging over our life,

if all things work together for good, I love it

when Paul got on over just a little further

and he declared then who shall separate us

from the love of God and then he begins to go

through the plethora of the list and he begins

to lay things out of the existence, if you will,

of the resistance in our life.

Who shall separate us from the love of God?

And he begins to make that wonderful loving list

that gives me encouragement and lets me know

that the chaos of the day, the status quo of the moment

is not gonna be the final dictate of my life.

Somebody needs to hear that today.

Oh, and we can mind ourselves and take the words

of scripture and say that we will press toward the mark

for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

And the only way you can press toward the mark

for the prize of the high calling is if you take

the front part of that verse and add it to your life,

forgetting those things which are behind, I press.

Forgetting what's behind me, I press.

I am ignoring the status quo and the state of affairs.

If the state of affairs and the status quo

does not align to the dictates of the word of God

for my life, then the status quo deserves to be challenged

in the moment which I'm living because the challenge

has already been mandated for all things work together

for the good of those who love God and those who are called

according to his purpose.

If you've been called out of darkness

into his marvelous light, you've been called to his purpose.

And therefore, you have been gifted the ability

to challenge the status quo because if God be for you,

then who can be against you?

I'm here today to challenge the state of affairs.

I'm here today to challenge doctor reports.

I'm here today to challenge all that the enemy

comes against us with.

Look, I may die from whatever they tell me I got,

but it won't be because I don't challenge it.

I know this body is subject to disease,

but I also know this body is subject to the divine nature

and the healing of Jesus Christ touch on it.

So I challenge the status quo this morning.

I know the devil's out seeking to kill, steal and destroy,

but that's not the status quo at which I live by.

Greater is he that is in me than he that is in this world.

I challenge the status quo.

Faith overcomes the status quo.

don't just challenge the status quo it overcomes it Ronald Reagan defined status

quo this way he said you know status quo is Latin for the mess we're in you know

that right it's Latin for the mess we're in I thought that's pretty good you know

we start scratching our head throwing words around like status quo what's

that's what well it's just redneck use of the term it's the measure in but

there's a promise for ever mess that we can find ourselves in and by virtue of

there being a promise in the Word of God for ever miss that we can find

ourselves in it brings the reality about in my life that I can challenge the mess

that's before me I can challenge because when my mind is tormented and I feel

like job you think about Joe and all that he had to deal with and all that

he had to live through I'm not scraping bowls with pot shears I'm not sitting in

an agony in my body I'm not sitting wondering about the the lives of my ten

children that I had just lost I'm not worried because I'm broke busted and

disgusted I'm not worried that my reputation has now been tainted job had

all of these things come against him but in the midst of the status quo in the

challenge of the moment that was before him he chose rather he chose rather to

declare oh he and his wife so in despair she's saying job curse God and let's

just give up and die but job had this wherewithal within him that he

understood where the camels came from he understood where the donkeys came from

he understood why he had so many sheep he understood why he had ten children he

understood why he had it all he said honey we can't do that he said it's the

Lord that kills and the Lord that takes away but I'm gonna find courage don't

get quiet on me now my soul oh I can hear old Joe don't get quiet on me now my soul

don't hush your voice now but I'm here to tell you the Lord gave it and the

Lord takes it away but know this honey bless it be the name of the Lord how

that's a challenge in the face of the status quo when your friends come to try

to comfort you but yet they only bring you lower down it's there in the midst

that God begins to speak he comes in the whirlwind and in the middle of the

whirlwind he causes job to stand upon his feet he said stand up oh man of God

it's time you challenge the status quo oh when it's misery he began to doubt

some water and he began to challenge God with his condition and his position but

in that challenge God showed up because job had been faithful oh it would be

job who would declare with these eyes I shall see my Redeemer for I know that my

Redeemer lives and my Redeemer will take care of me it's his confession there and

God in the midst of the status quo of Job's life didn't want him to get too

low so out of a whirlwind he comes to job and he said stand up job stand up

like a man there'll be a whirlwind show up what you're at their lowest point of

your life God will reveal himself and it's the job he begins to pose some

questions he said where were you now sometimes we we wonder where God's at

knowing I have I've wondered not so much about where he was at but when he was

going to show up hello I know where he be he'd be on his throne high and lifted

up but what I'm wondering about is when he coming to me oh come on to hell what

I wondered about and worried about is when's he gonna show up for me in the

midst of my status quo in the midst of the state of affairs in which I'm living

or as President Reagan said in the middle of the mess that I'm in when are

you coming down here oh I'm so grateful and so thankful for God he didn't let

job get too far out and he's questioning but he stood up and questioned job where

were you when I put all of this into existence where were you when I flung

and cast the stars in the sky and I hung the earth on its axis and give her a

spin and she still spin where were you when I did all these things but it's

gonna be okay because I'm here now my my my my my hallelujah when you begin to

put some things in perspective oh my lord we think that our problem is the

biggest mountain in town God said I'm doing other things Joe I haven't

forgotten you sometimes you got to walk by faith in the middle of your mess

amen but you don't have to walk alone and know that you're not alone hallelujah

you're not alone you've not been forsaken you've not been given up on so

stand up and challenge the status quo don't challenge God stand up and

challenge the status quo and the state of affairs and which are coming against

you challenge him in the promises of God and look at your problem and say where

were you when God was putting all of this together oh he's watching over

he's keeping it and he is the caretaker of my life where where Paul begins to go

through that litany of status quo he said tribulation

tribulation trouble from this world trials in this world you know I think

one of the most dangerous doctrines that can be preached among many dangerous

doctrines is the idea that believers once you're a believer everything's

going to be alright not in as much as it's going to be alright but it's just

going to go smoothly right that everything's just going to be perfect in

your life you're a Christian now you've been saved hello and you got smiling

people that gives you four points on how to keep smiling while the status quo is

about to choke the life out of you huh when the state of affairs and

circumstances of life and this mess that we're in is about to overwhelm us I'm

here to tell you I don't need a five-step help plan I need somebody to

stand in front of me saying thus saith the Lord this is what the word of the

Lord is for your situation oh God is on your side he's never forsaken you and

he's never left you but when you understand tribulation is going to come

into your life it makes me feel a little better when it does it lets me know that

God's Word is true why because God says you're gonna have tribulation trouble

John 17 14 and the world has hated them because they are not of the world and

even as I am not of the world he said in this world you shall have trouble

trouble is going to come your way in reference to job the declaration this

man that is born a woman is a few days and full of trouble so if you're not

getting any promise of God in your life but trouble praise him anyhow hello how

faith is put to the test you've heard it said if there's no test there's no

testimony hello but what wonderful testimony that we have that the status

quo of life is challenged with the promises and the word and the presence

and the spirit of God being made available to our life Jesus said you

have tribulation you shall have it it will come your way but I am so grateful

that is not the last declaration in that verse of Scripture he said but be of good

cheer because I have overcome the world and later on he would declare I give

you peace not as this world gives you peace but my peace give I unto you that

your joy may be full I don't know what the world's telling you I don't know

what the devil's telling you I don't know what some TV preachers telling you

but you can still be in trouble and still be full of joy you can have all hell

breaking against you and still be filled with joy because joy has nothing to do

with the state of status quo but it has to do with the glory of God and the

presence of his promise living out in your life we get it confused I got to be

doing something wrong that's what Job's friends tried to tell him you have had

to sin against God somehow no I didn't I promise I've self-examined I've I've went

over every act in my mind look when you're in torment don't you do that

oh mine goes in the hyperdrive we go searching we go looking we go asking God

is there anything and that one friend of Job's that sat there and looked at him

for seven days without saying a word I'd like to slap him I mean he didn't even

accuse him it a set there across fire look down like he's getting spiritual

with him or something there's some point I don't need you to be spiritual with me

I need you to come on and encourage me in something like this well if you have

sinned if a man does he has an advocate with a father have you been to him tell

me that don't just stare at me hello just looked at him I guess if he's able

he might have got up and slammed I don't know there's more to this life than just

trouble it's the grace that accompanies you in the midst of your trouble it's a

pastor I thought this gonna be an encouraging word it is because whether we

like it or not trouble comes hello it's coming your way if you're not there you

either just left or it's on its way but the thing about it with every trouble

that arrives there's grace that accompanies it the devil think he has

the upper hand in our life bringing things against us but he knows what he's

doing and he knows he's defeated and what he just fails to remember is that

your faith in the God in which he's counting on you giving up he's counting

on us turning back he's counting on us not praying he's counting on us not to

praise in the midst of the storms of our life he's counting on you to give in and

succumb to the will of your flesh but my God once the spirit has been resurrected

once you've been touched by the grace and the love of God and you've lived

through a trial or two and you've overcome a tester too and you got a

couple testimonies behind you there's a confidence that rises that by the blood

of the Lamb and the word of my previous testimony and the promises of God that

are yet amen this too shall pass distress he said distress extreme

anxiety sorrow he said we're distressed he'd he'd write in that letter to the

Corinthians in his second address to them he let them know that we're

troubled on every side fourth chapter 8 verse he said Oh Corinthian people we are

troubled on every side I think Paul understood knew a little bit about

trouble I think he understood a little bit about tribulation persecution amen

he said but we're not distressed we're troubled tribulation comes but you're not

distressed don't let it overcome you we were troubled on every side yet not

distressed trouble can come around you you don't have to be overcome by extreme

anxiety sorrow fear and worry why because who shall separate us from the

love of God high-death power principalities angels devils you name it

nakedness perils sword none of this is going to separate you this can't keep you

from the love of God it can't keep the love of God from you so next time that

you're feeling like you're about to be squashed to death and you can't breathe

because of the status quo of life know this you may have tribulation you may be

troubled on every side but you are not distressed the people who become

distressed are those who are losing their focus and their faith in Jesus

Christ I need a little something to back that up okay I'll show you distress

Jesus is walking across the water the disciples are in a boat there's a storm

raging and they think they see a ghost but the voice of the Lord begins to

speak to them and Peter said Lord if that's you it's about me to come upon

the water and he hears the coming so while your faith is high and you've

heard the voice of the Lord you bail out of the boat and go walking across the

waves but somehow the tribulation that you're in begins to draw your focus

another direction and you take your eyes off the one who is stable and you begin

to see the distress that is around you but then you begin to see that's what

happened he became extremely anxious about his situation because he just

realized that he'd got on the water before he knew what he was doing

isn't that the way it happens sometimes there's a term for that it's called

zealousness we get zealous man we've got a word from the Lord and here we go we

take literally is what David said I can run through a troop and leap over a wall

hallelujah so before we know it we think we're David and we're running and

starting to slow down those are troops and the closer we get we say that's a

big wall distress begins to set in but don't be distressed you may be in

tribulation but you are not distressed but we are not reading we are not

distressed hallelujah we are look he said we are preplexed but not in despair

sometimes when we see the status quo we become confused we become overwhelmed

and we get perplexed by the matter but hold on oh because see then if you

become perplexed understand that you will not fall in a state of despair

despair is a whole lot worse than being perplexed despair means you have believed

the perplexities that are coming against you and you have

believed and accepted that which is perplexing you is greater than what is

keeping you no no no no no Paul said you don't have to be yes you may be

perplexed but not in despair what are you saying pastor I've said it may be

rough but don't give up don't give in to the perplexing problem of the status

quo don't give it don't yell don't fall into despair you're traveled on every

side oh he'd go on in that verse he say you are cast down think about it you got

knocked down you got knocked over you got hit as Jackie Gleason used to say

right in the kisser and you're flat of your back you think it's over no no

because every time you get knocked down you get saved by the bail there's a pause

there's a timeout you get set drug back in the corner and set up on the stool

and the smell and salt of the Holy Ghost gets put in front of you whoa

seeing them boxers go whoa right when they break out ammonia take the ammonia

of the Word of God and whoa pull a Ric Flair on that's what the preacher

priest Friday night I love you I mean no but Scotty Hager big

Schumer he come out there doing the Ric Flair strut you got to be a little bit

older than some of these folks in here remember Ric Flair he'd come out there

it's stiff-legged strut whoa when he glasses on that's who you are come on you

may get cast down what am I can say don't rejoice over me though I'm knocked

down I'm getting up somebody's tell the devil you about to get up if I ever

heard mama say that I got real doing whatever mama told me to do I'm about to

get up from here because it's it with mother if you got past the threat of the

getting up if she got up I don't care what you do I don't care how sweet you

try to be go hide but get tanned or striped whichever or both belts are made

for tanning limbs are made for striping case y'all didn't know that have me know

what I'm down now some of you need to I'm just saying I got to get back to this

as long as God is on his throne as long as he answers prayer and he's gonna

answer prayer as long as he leaves us here below hello as long as he answers

prayers along with this world is turning and as long as his word is true how long

is that gonna be heaven and earth shall pass away but my word shall stand

forever I'm trying to encourage some of us in the status quo today when the

affairs of life make you feel like you've been knocked down you're not out

you're not destroyed you've been cast down but not destroyed and there is a

difference if you're not destroyed that he can empower you by his grace for you

to get back up and go another round hallelujah pull a Mohammed Ali on the

devil if you got to cover your head cover your vitals lay your head on his

chest and let the devil swing away and then about round 10 once you've got your

breath and he's about tired of wailing on you then you come up and you come

out and you stand firmly in the word of God and you take the authority and you

challenge the status quo because you were down but he didn't take you out

that's where he messed up with job he got him down and he didn't take him out

but let me just share something with you he got him down and he didn't take him

out because he didn't have the power to take him out because God had already

drew the line

he didn't take him out because he didn't have the power to take him out because

the line had already been drawn do what you want to but I love it when God says

but his life is mine you can't do nothing with his life and and the devil

come against job so egregiously that he wished he was dead he just couldn't kill

him oh sometimes don't we wish for the rapture hello sometimes we get so sick

and been so sick and tired was then Lord I wish you just go ahead and take me on

well don't wish your life away child of God you may be down but you're not out

and don't let the devil stand over you and make mockery of you you look up at

him say I'm down now but I'm about to get up and when I get up from here when

I get up from here I feel somebody about to get up in here

whoa go ahead worship in the minute in his house I'm about to get up Lord

hey persecution trouble from people if you got people coming against you let

them come on the Lord is on your side yeah and all that will live Godly in

Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution just like we shall suffer tribulation

but that's okay Matthew 5 and 12 that beautiful sermon on the mound blessed are

those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for great is your

reward in heaven famine or nakedness means the lack of material prosperity

some of the most wealthy people in this world don't have a dollar to the name

never allow the enemy to try to bring and equate God's blessing and favor on

your life with zeros never never let him convince you that a dollar figure

declares and shows how much God loves you some of the richest people in this

world are so overlaid with joy but they couldn't go by hamburger huh have so

much peace they laid down at night not even knowing where their meals coming

from tomorrow but they sleep like a baby on a feather pillow because they know

their God who fed them this day will feed them tomorrow either nakedness or

peril you may feel like you're in trouble and trouble may be surrounding

you but don't worry God's not gonna let it overcome you peril or sword when

there is imminent danger to your body through disaster or sickness don't think

that God has quit living on you because he hasn't because for the

believer we understand that to be absent from this body is to be present with the

Lord amen can I tell you there's worse things than dying there's dying without

the Lord but there are no greater things than dying with him because why you get

a walk on pavement that has no potholes

I know I'm with you I enjoy life I love life and I'm not saying I want to die

today I'd just rather him come get us all and we go together

amen stand with me I'm closing challenging the status quo to live as

Christ and to die as gay and to know that God is able

God is able he's able to keep you Paul told that Roman Church that he was

persuaded are you persuaded this morning are you fully persuaded are you fully

convinced that by his grace you're able to challenge the status quo by his grace

don't challenge it in your own self you will fail but if you challenge it within

his promise and stand in firm accordance to his word you can challenge the state

of affairs but here's the thing when we challenge the state of affairs in the

status quo we have to understand that we may have to walk in the furnace right

many times we think and I'm not I'm not here in any way trying to lead you in

any other direction then you might have to go in the furnace well where's the

encouragement in that he's in the furnace waiting for you you may have to

go in the lion's den well where's the encouragement in that what softer pillow

than a lion's mane challenging the status quo challenging the mess that

you're in with the hope that he provides and the grace that he gives father I

love you this morning I thank you for your help today Lord because I've surely

felt it I have felt your help I thank you for your word I thank you for your

strength I thank you for your anointing I thank you for speaking to the hearts of

your people today

Lord I thank you for allowing me to go ahead and preach this word as you

displayed your glory in this house last week new seasons new things do you

blessings

touch today Lord

I'm going to be just needed to you know it I mean you just need a little needle

something some is status quos really start to look difficult really looking

challenging

hallelujah