Blessed with Persecution

0:00:01.240 --> 0:00:03.760 Hi, it's Jolin Victoria. What a joy to be with 0:00:03.840 --> 0:00:06.440 you today. We always counted an honor. Know that we're 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:08.640 praying for you and your family. We sure hope you 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:11.879 enjoy this podcast today and we just are praying for 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:14.800 you and know that God is for you, so enjoy 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:19.120 today's message. God bless you. It's great to be with 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:21.920 you today, and I hope you'll stay connected with us 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:25.239 during the week through our daily podcast, our YouTube channel, 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.600 social media, and you can come visit us in person. 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:30.520 We'd love to have you be a part of one 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:33.600 of our services. I'd like to start with something funny. 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:37.680 I heard about this mother. She had two young sons 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:42.559 that were known for their mischievous behavior. Anytime trouble occurred, 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:44.800 they were certain to be a part of it. She 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:47.720 decided to take them to see their pastor one at 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:50.920 a time. The pastor said to the first boy son, 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:55.320 where is God? He sat there silently, and he asked again, 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:58.920 where is God? Still no reply. The third time he 0:00:58.960 --> 0:01:02.360 asked the out the door ran home and told his 0:01:02.440 --> 0:01:05.280 brother God is missing. And they think we did it. 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.480 Say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:12.320 I am what it says, I am. I have what 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:14.920 it says I have, I can do what it says 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:17.800 I can do. Today I will be taught the word 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:22.000 of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert, my 0:01:22.120 --> 0:01:26.520 heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:30.479 God bless you. I want to talk to you today 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:35.720 about blessed with persecution. We all believe for God's goodness 0:01:35.720 --> 0:01:38.800 on our lives, and we stand on his promises that 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:41.640 will lend and not borrow him. That our children are 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:44.760 mighty in the land, that we are crowned with his favor. 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:49.560 That's releasing our faith. That's what activates God's blessing and favor. 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.800 But what we don't always realize is the blessing never 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:59.120 comes alone. The blessing brings jealous people and being criticized 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:03.080 misunder stood. If you expect everyone to be for you, 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:06.920 all your friends to celebrate your promotion, your co workers 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.320 to be happy you got that new house, you're going 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:14.720 to be frustrated. Blessing stir up jealousy. Favor causes people 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:19.520 to become critical. Promotion brings resistance. You can't have the 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:24.200 blessing without opposition. It's a part of the package. When 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:27.600 you understand this. You don't let it bother you. You 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:31.000 don't try to fight all those battles and straighten everyone out, 0:02:31.720 --> 0:02:34.840 convince the jealous people to be for you. You stay 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:37.919 on the high road. Let God deal with the opposition 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:41.960 while you enjoy the blessings. This is what Jesus told 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:45.400 his disciples. They had left everything to follow him, made 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:50.400 great sacrifices, put their careers on hold, and Peter asking effect, 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:53.280 what are we going to get in return? What's in 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:56.880 this for us? And Jesus didn't get upset that Peter, 0:02:57.000 --> 0:03:00.440 you're selfish. You should be grateful that I chose you. No, 0:03:00.600 --> 0:03:03.320 Jesus wanted to be good to them. He said in 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:09.680 verse twenty nine, anything you've given up from me, houses, brothers, sisters, property, 0:03:10.360 --> 0:03:14.960 you will receive one hundred times more in this life, 0:03:15.080 --> 0:03:17.480 not in the sweet by and by, not when you 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:20.880 get to heaven, but in your lifetime. God was saying, 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:25.280 I'm gonna promote you, open doors, give you houses you 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:29.520 didn't build, cause you to break barriers, set new standards, 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:34.240 blessings you've never seen. But he said, there's one caveat 0:03:34.680 --> 0:03:38.480 one qualification. I have to make clear this is all 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:43.440 going to happen with persecution. I'm gonna bless you and 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:46.680 all the persecution will lead. I'm gonna promote you and 0:03:46.760 --> 0:03:49.760 the negative chatter will stop. I'm gonna give you so 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:53.480 much influence, there won't be any trouble. No, the blessing 0:03:53.680 --> 0:03:59.920 attracts trouble. Favor attracts criticism, New levels attract new devils. 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:04.200 Here's the key. Don't take it personally. It's not you 0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:08.040 they don't like. It's the favor on your life. Some 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:12.000 people can't handle you being blessed. They're fine as long 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:15.400 as you stay at the same level, don't make any waves. 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:19.599 But when God promotes you and doors open and you 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:24.559 start shining brightly, that stirs up jealousy in people, brings 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:28.760 out a critical spirit, and they'll try to discredit, minimize, 0:04:28.880 --> 0:04:31.960 make you look bad. It's tempting to get upset. Want 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:34.719 to straighten them out and why are they doing this? 0:04:35.279 --> 0:04:38.920 Or stay in peace. You can't have the blessing without 0:04:38.960 --> 0:04:43.800 the persecution. And sometimes we don't enjoy the blessing because 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:47.599 we're fighting with the opposition, upset over what they said, 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.520 trying to get rid of something we can't get rid of. 0:04:51.480 --> 0:04:55.240 Can you handle the blessing? Can you deal with the persecution, 0:04:56.160 --> 0:04:59.440 not let the criticism get under your skin, and not 0:04:59.520 --> 0:05:03.880 fight back with small minded people. The enemy would love 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:06.960 for you to miss the blessing because you're focused on 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:11.159 the persecution. The truth is you can't change that. You're 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:15.200 not the problem. The blessing is the problem. You're being 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:19.320 persecuted because of what God has done. The flip side 0:05:19.440 --> 0:05:22.440 is if God took away the blessing, then people leave 0:05:22.440 --> 0:05:25.560 you alone. If you didn't have his favor causing you 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:29.480 to shine and stand out, set new levels, nobody would 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:33.159 bother you. But for where God is taking you, the 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:37.440 assignment on your life, the greatness on the inside. There's 0:05:37.480 --> 0:05:40.720 going to be some of these one hundred times blessings 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:46.120 where God catapults you ahead, takes you where you've never imagined. Now, 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:48.760 the key is you have to learn to enjoy the 0:05:48.760 --> 0:05:53.520 blessing despite the persecution. You can't be blessed in a 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:58.760 greater way without having greater persecution. We want big blessings 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:03.240 with little opposition, but it doesn't work that way. Paul said, 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:07.360 A wide door of opportunity is open to me, and 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:12.760 there are many adversaries, big doors, big opposition. But can 0:06:12.800 --> 0:06:16.480 I encourage you. We serve a big God. You don't 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:20.120 have to fight it. It's not your job to fix people, 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:24.880 change the critics' mind, stop the politics at work. That's 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:29.440 God's job. The scripture says he will silence the lying lips. 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:33.320 He shut the mouths of hungry lions to save Daniel. 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:36.120 He can shut the mouths of people that are trying 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:40.320 to discredit you. He'll vindicate you better than you can 0:06:40.400 --> 0:06:45.360 vindicate yourself. Stay on that high road. Overlook the offenses. 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:49.000 Don't pay any attention to the negative chatter. You have 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:53.880 a destiny to fulfill. You've an assignment to accomplish. Your 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:57.800 time is valuable. Don't waste it fighting battles that you're 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:01.479 not supposed to fight, trying to stop something that God 0:07:01.520 --> 0:07:04.920 says is a part of the package. The blessing comes 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:09.400 with persecution. When we hear that word persecution, we can 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:12.840 think of oppression by the government, people put in prison 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:16.760 for their faith, even martyrdom, losing their lives, and that's 0:07:16.880 --> 0:07:20.360 part of it. But the word Paul used for persecution 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:27.360 they're in the Greek, is much broader. It means pressure, resistance, harassment. 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:31.800 It's talking about people coming against you that resent the 0:07:31.880 --> 0:07:36.240 blessing that try to stop your progress and ruin your reputation. 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:40.400 Jesus was warning his disciples, I'm gonna bless you in 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:44.360 great ways, but don't be surprised when it stirs up trouble, 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:48.400 when you get unfair judgment, when opposition comes out of 0:07:48.440 --> 0:07:52.080 the woodwork. Here's the good news. The blessing on your 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:56.880 life is stronger than the persecution. The trouble cannot stop 0:07:56.920 --> 0:08:00.760 your purpose. The jealous people, the ones that try to 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:03.920 pull you down, that's a sign that his favor is 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:08.400 on you. The one hundredfold blessing often will come with 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:11.840 one hundredfold chatter. Don't sweat it. It's a part of 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:15.119 the package. See, God could have just as easily said 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:18.360 I'm gonna bless you with one hundredfold and take away 0:08:18.400 --> 0:08:21.600 all the trouble, quite all the naysayers. You're not gonna 0:08:21.640 --> 0:08:25.400 have any pressure. That wouldn't take any faith. God wants 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:28.800 to see what you're made of. Will you trust him 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:32.240 when things come against you that are not fair? Will 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.719 you stay in faith when you're misunderstood, when people are 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:39.320 talking bad behind your back, when that coworker does his 0:08:39.440 --> 0:08:42.280 best to get on your nerves. You are tempted to 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:45.240 lose your cool, tell him off, No, come back to 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:49.200 that place of peace. Those are battles you're not supposed 0:08:49.200 --> 0:08:52.959 to fight. The mark of maturity is when you can 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:57.800 enjoy the blessing despite the persecution. When you don't spend 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:00.800 your valuable time trying to get rid of the opposition 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:03.800 focused on who did you wrong? God? To put out 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:08.040 this fire? You just move forward in faith, being your best, 0:09:08.400 --> 0:09:13.040 thanking God that he's fighting your battles. Seventeen years I 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:16.000 worked behind the scenes here at Lakewood, and I didn't 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:19.200 really have any enemies to speak of, very little persecution 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:23.000 or opposition. Life was good. But when my father passed 0:09:23.040 --> 0:09:26.280 and I stepped up to pastor the church, I saw 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:29.480 that one hundredfold blessing, so to speak. I never dreamed 0:09:29.520 --> 0:09:32.040 I could do this, and never dream we'd have the 0:09:32.080 --> 0:09:36.200 former Compact Center, I'd have books and media. But along 0:09:36.240 --> 0:09:41.360 with that great blessing came great persecution. People that didn't understand. 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:46.599 They would try to discredit, pressure, opposition, trouble. If you 0:09:46.760 --> 0:09:50.679 focus on that, you'll miss the blessing. You'll spend all 0:09:50.720 --> 0:09:54.240 your time frustrated trying to fix things you can't fix. 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:58.480 The persecution is a sign that you're blessed. They're not 0:09:58.559 --> 0:10:01.679 against you. There Again, it's the favor God put on you. 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.760 God gives you grace for every season that you're in. 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:09.360 When I work behind the scenes doing the television production, 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:11.600 I love that. I thought I'd do that the rest 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:14.960 of my life. But when God promoted me and I 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:19.160 had greater influence and favor, I also had the ability 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:23.640 to ignore the negative chatter, to overlook the insults, to 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:28.280 enjoy my life despite the persecution. Sometimes the reason we're 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:31.920 living upset and frustrated is we're not tapping into that grace. 0:10:32.559 --> 0:10:34.920 We're trying to do it all on our own. Fix 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:38.760 this person, respond to this comment. Pay that coworker back. 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:42.480 That's not your job. You have the grace to ignore it, 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:46.760 to rise above it, to enjoy life despite what's coming 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:51.000 against you. What are you focused on? The blessing or 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:55.160 the persecution? To get rid of all the persecution would 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:56.839 mean that God would have to get rid of all 0:10:56.840 --> 0:11:09.080 the blessings. Acts Chapter five, the disciples were seeing favor 0:11:09.160 --> 0:11:11.679 in great ways. People brought the sick out of the 0:11:11.800 --> 0:11:14.959 villages and they were healed. And these big crowds were 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:20.240 gathering church was multiplying. The whole city was impacted. They'd 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:23.480 never seen this kind of influence in favor. Well, you'd 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:27.000 think everybody would be happy, people being healed and freed 0:11:27.080 --> 0:11:31.440 and uplifted. But verse seventeen says the high Priest and 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:36.320 his friends reacted with great jealousy. Some people are so 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:39.840 small minded they can't handle the blessing on your life. 0:11:40.440 --> 0:11:43.960 Instead of celebrating people being healed and the church growing, 0:11:44.520 --> 0:11:48.160 the High Priest got jealousy. He had the disciples arrested 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:52.160 and put in jail. Here they had just seen great favor, 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:56.720 the biggest victories of their life. Now they're seeing great persecution. 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:00.680 Many times, you're not being persecuted, but because you're doing 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:04.800 something wrong. It's because you're doing something right. You're being 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:08.720 good to people, going the extra mile. It were loving 0:12:08.760 --> 0:12:12.800 your family, making a difference. Yet people try to push 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:17.040 you down, discredit you. Don't let it bother you. It's 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:20.360 not you that's offending them. It's the blessing on your life. 0:12:20.880 --> 0:12:23.800 It's what God put on you. You can't stop it. 0:12:24.200 --> 0:12:27.280 And the good news is they can't stop it. You 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:30.640 stay in peace and God will take care of the opposition. 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:34.480 In the middle of the night, while the disciples were sleeping, 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.200 an angel came and opened the doors of the jail 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:41.520 and brought them out. The angel told them to go 0:12:41.559 --> 0:12:44.679 to the temple and share the good news. Early the 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:47.640 next morning, at daybreak, they were back in the temple, 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:51.960 teaching the blessing on your life. Doesn't make you untouchable, 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:56.720 but it does make you unstoppable. God wouldn't have allowed 0:12:56.760 --> 0:13:00.000 the opposition if it's going to keep you from your purpose. 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:04.400 When doors closed that are unfair, don't worry. God knows 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:08.040 how to open them. When people do you wrong, jealousy, 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:11.839 trying to discredit you. They think they're pushing you down, 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:14.920 but it's going to backfire. God knows how to use 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:18.480 it to push you up. They think they're discrediting you, 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:21.640 but God knows how to prepare a table in the 0:13:21.679 --> 0:13:24.920 presence of your enemies, how to make you shine in 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:27.079 front of those that tried to make you look bad. 0:13:27.920 --> 0:13:30.880 The next morning, the high priests sent for the disciples. 0:13:31.080 --> 0:13:33.319 He's going to put them on trial and hopefully get 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:35.880 rid of them. But when his men went to the jail, 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:39.080 the disciples were gone. They went back and told the 0:13:39.160 --> 0:13:42.360 High priest the guards were still outside. The doors were 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:45.720 still locked, but when we went in, nobody was there. 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:50.880 God knows how to supernaturally turn things around. He opens 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:54.360 doors that no man can shut. You are not at 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:57.560 the mercy of what's come against you. They may have 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:02.760 more power, influence, resource, but no weapon formed against you 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:08.240 will prosper. You are unstoppable. Jealous people cannot stop you. 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:13.000 Sickness can't stop you. Injustice can't stop you. The past 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:17.240 can't stop you. You may be facing great persecution today, 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:20.960 things that don't make sense. You're being good to people, 0:14:21.640 --> 0:14:25.720 honoring God, and taking care of your family. God sees 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:30.000 what's happening. He knows the sacrifices you've made and how 0:14:30.040 --> 0:14:33.520 you've done your best to keep him first. That persecution 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:37.240 is not how your story ends. The same God that 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:41.760 delivered the disciples is about to deliver you. The same 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:45.000 God that parted the Red Sea from Moses, the same 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:48.440 God that kept King Saul from killing David, the same 0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:51.880 God that brought Joseph out of that pit. He's working 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:55.520 in your life right now. He's going to happen quickly, 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:59.400 something you can't explain. You didn't see it coming, but 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:04.920 suddenly the opposition is gone. Suddenly you're vindicated. Those enemies 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:09.240 will become your footstores You will walk on what tried 0:15:09.280 --> 0:15:13.040 to hold you back. It's because the blessing on your 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:18.560 life makes you unstoppable. Yes, persecution comes, but the blessing 0:15:18.560 --> 0:15:22.080 will override it. Yes, people will do you wrong, but 0:15:22.240 --> 0:15:25.080 God will make it right. Yes, they'll try to push 0:15:25.080 --> 0:15:28.320 you down, but God will lift you up. The high 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:31.480 priests and his men were scratching their heads. They didn't 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:34.320 know what had happened. About that time, word came that 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:38.000 the disciples were in the temple teaching. They rushed there, 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:41.400 and when they saw them, the scripture says they were 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:45.560 afraid that if they treated the disciples wrong, the people 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:49.560 would kill them. Notice how the tables had turned. The 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:53.040 ones that used to persecute them were now on defense. 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:56.680 They were concerned for their own life. God knows how 0:15:56.720 --> 0:16:00.320 to turn things. You don't have to fight battles. God 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:05.120 sees the injustice. He hears every negative word spoken against you. 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:09.160 He knows when people are jealous, hurtful, and trying to 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:13.120 discredit you. It's not you they're coming against. It's the 0:16:13.120 --> 0:16:17.040 blessing He put on you. Don't take it personally. God 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:21.200 takes it personally. He's your defender. He remember in the scripture, 0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:25.440 Saul was the greatest enemy of the Church. He went 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:28.080 door to door and would drag people out of their 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:32.480 homes and have them thrown into prison. Not just in Jerusalem, 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:35.120 but he traveled to other cities trying to stop the 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:38.600 message of faith. The scripture says he was breathing out 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:43.840 murderous threats against the followers of Christ. One day, while 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:47.280 he was on the road to Damascus with letters in 0:16:47.440 --> 0:16:52.600 hand from the authorities to arrest believers, a light suddenly 0:16:52.640 --> 0:16:55.640 shined down on him. He fell off his animal and 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:58.760 couldn't see him. Laying there on the ground, a voice 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:04.120 boomed out, Saul, why do you persecute me? He was confused, 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:08.160 He said, who are you? The voice said, I am Jesus, 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:12.240 the one you are persecuting. What's interesting if Saul had 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:16.439 never met Jesus, he'd never heard him teach, they'd never interacted. 0:17:17.320 --> 0:17:20.040 Jesus could have said, Saul, why are you persecuting my 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:23.760 followers or why are you persecuting the church? But he said, 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:27.760 why are you persecuting me? See when people persecuted you, 0:17:28.320 --> 0:17:31.840 God takes it personally. When they come against you. Really, 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:35.320 they're coming against him, Jesus said in a fact, Saul, 0:17:35.359 --> 0:17:38.720 you're not attacking them, you're attacking me. Can I tell 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:43.040 you God knows how to defend himself. Nothing can stand 0:17:43.040 --> 0:17:46.040 against him. This is why you don't have to try 0:17:46.080 --> 0:17:50.240 to fix everyone. Straighten them out, stop that noise, have 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.879 a new perspective. They're not attacking you, They're attacking the 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:57.800 blessing God put on you. You don't have to defend yourself. 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:01.520 You have a defender, ghost ty. God will take care 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:05.639 of your persecutors. But here's what I've learned. If you 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:09.200 take matters into your own hands, God will step back 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:11.640 and let you do it on your own. He won't 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:15.400 override that choice. That's going to cause stress and frustration. 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.679 Can't sleep at night, or let God deal with it. 0:18:19.320 --> 0:18:22.520 He'll take care of your souls. He'll deal with those 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:26.040 that are jealousy, try to discredit and leave you out. 0:18:26.320 --> 0:18:28.919 He knows how to knock people off their horse, so 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:32.280 to speak, how to change their minds and cause them 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:34.960 to see you in a new light. A friend of 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:38.240 mine work for this company for many years. It's very faithful, 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:42.880 hard worker, always doing more than required. But his supervisor 0:18:42.960 --> 0:18:46.000 was never for him. He was jealous. He'd leave him 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:49.879 out of meetings and try to discredit him. It looked 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:53.880 like my friend was stuck being limited by this unfair supervisor. 0:18:54.680 --> 0:18:58.480 The scripture says, never avenge yourself, but leave the matter 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:01.080 in the hands of God. That's what he did. He 0:19:01.119 --> 0:19:04.200 didn't get bitter, he didn't try to pay the man back. 0:19:04.600 --> 0:19:07.760 He just kept being his best, shining where he was. 0:19:08.160 --> 0:19:12.439 He understood with the blessing comes persecution. One day, the 0:19:12.480 --> 0:19:16.160 owner of the company needed something done, but the supervisor 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:19.159 was out of town, so my friend worked with the 0:19:19.200 --> 0:19:22.320 owner that week. He got him all the reports he needed, 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:26.840 sat in meetings, and gave him advice. The owner was 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:31.080 so impressed a few months later, he decided to restructure 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:34.520 the staff. He called this man in and the supervisor. 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:38.480 He said to my friend, I'm making you the vice president. 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:42.320 From now on, you'll run the company and report directly 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:45.520 to me. He turned to the supervisor and said, from 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:49.919 now on, you'll report to him. God knows how to 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.719 vindicate you. You don't have to force these things to happen, 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:57.640 prove to people get even change their mind. No, stay 0:19:57.680 --> 0:20:01.040 in peace, keep doing the right thing. You can't have 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:04.879 the blessing without some persecution. If you'll stay on that 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:08.359 high road at the right time, God will turn things 0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:11.920 in your favor. He'll take care of your souls. They're 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:15.920 not attacking you, they're attacking the blessing and favor God 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:18.880 put on you. You don't have to defend what God 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:23.840 has done. God will defend himself. You keep shining, keep loving, 0:20:24.200 --> 0:20:27.199 keep being good to others, and God will move the 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:31.000 wrong people out of the way. He'll silence the negative chatter. 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:35.160 He'll promote you in the presence of your enemies, Paul 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:39.600 said in Second Thessalonians, God will pay back those who 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:43.720 persecute you, and he will provide rest for you who 0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:47.600 are being persecuted. Maybe you're in a situation now that's 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:51.920 not fair. God sees the injustice. He sees you doing 0:20:51.960 --> 0:20:55.960 the right thing, taking the high road, overlooking the offense. 0:20:56.440 --> 0:21:00.520 Your time is coming. There's already a moment that God 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:04.600 has scheduled to turn things in your favor. What you 0:21:04.640 --> 0:21:08.760 couldn't make happen will suddenly fall into place. The vindication, 0:21:09.080 --> 0:21:14.000 the promotion, the honor. Don't sweat the persecution. You wouldn't 0:21:14.040 --> 0:21:17.840 be persecuted if you weren't blessed, people would leave you alone. 0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:21.800 If you weren't that talented, you wouldn't have opposition, if 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:25.720 you weren't a masterpiece. Make it a difference. The fact 0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:28.760 that you have persecution is a sign that the blessing 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:32.760 of God is on your life. He's promised rest is coming. 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:36.239 It's not always going to be a struggle. I know 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:39.400 you're strong, you can withstand, but that's not how your 0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:43.360 story ends. God's about to lighten the load, lift that 0:21:43.440 --> 0:21:46.520 burden like you did for my friend, where it's not 0:21:46.560 --> 0:21:50.800 a struggle. You don't have to overlook the injustice anymore. 0:21:51.240 --> 0:21:54.119 God is going to step in and pay back those 0:21:54.160 --> 0:21:57.959 who persecute you and give you rest from a season 0:21:58.000 --> 0:22:01.960 of struggling to a season of ease. But sometimes when 0:22:01.960 --> 0:22:05.320 we're blessed and we have jealous people and things coming 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:08.000 against us, it's tempting to shrink back. Just man, I 0:22:08.000 --> 0:22:11.119 don't want to stir anything up. No, don't apologize for 0:22:11.200 --> 0:22:15.880 God's blessings. Don't water down your dreams and hide your gifts. 0:22:15.880 --> 0:22:18.920 So you won't make any waves and people won't talk 0:22:18.960 --> 0:22:22.679 about you if they can't handle you being blessed. You 0:22:22.720 --> 0:22:26.159 don't need them in your life. If they're gonna judge 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:29.960 you for shining brightly and find fault because you're happy 0:22:30.040 --> 0:22:32.919 and generous and have a big vision, they are not 0:22:33.160 --> 0:22:36.720 for you. They get jealous, Dust your feet off and 0:22:36.800 --> 0:22:40.920 move on. Don't waste your time with small minded, petty, 0:22:41.240 --> 0:22:45.280 insecure people that cannot celebrate who God made you to be. 0:22:46.440 --> 0:22:50.000 You need people that cheer you on, that are inspired 0:22:50.080 --> 0:22:54.159 by your vision, that encourage you to go higher, that 0:22:54.280 --> 0:22:58.640 don't persecute you. They promote you. They're not jealous. They 0:22:58.760 --> 0:23:01.359 challenge it, or become all you were created to be. 0:23:02.240 --> 0:23:05.280 Genesis twenty six, there was a great famine in the land, 0:23:05.359 --> 0:23:09.119 and everyone was struggling and trying to survive. Isaac was 0:23:09.160 --> 0:23:11.679 about to leave and find a more fertile place, but 0:23:12.160 --> 0:23:14.560 God told him to stay there and plant his crops, 0:23:14.560 --> 0:23:16.920 and that didn't make sense. Really, there was no water, 0:23:17.560 --> 0:23:21.320 nothing could grow. But Isaac was obedient. He went out 0:23:21.359 --> 0:23:25.119 and seated all of his fields. Well the Philistines that 0:23:25.240 --> 0:23:27.879 people that lived around him, they thought he was not 0:23:28.000 --> 0:23:31.919 all there. They laughed and made fun. But in a 0:23:31.920 --> 0:23:36.840 few months, the scripture says Isaac received one hundredfold harvest. 0:23:37.600 --> 0:23:40.520 He had his biggest harvest in the middle of a famine. 0:23:40.600 --> 0:23:44.160 That's that one hundredfold blessing that Jesus talked about. When 0:23:44.200 --> 0:23:47.720 you obey, when you keep him first, you're going to 0:23:47.800 --> 0:23:50.919 see these times where God shows out in your life. 0:23:51.400 --> 0:23:54.320 And if the story stopped there and be great, let's 0:23:54.359 --> 0:23:59.280 celebrate the blessing. But with the blessing comes persecution. The 0:23:59.320 --> 0:24:03.200 philistine that thought he was so far out Verse fourteen 0:24:03.320 --> 0:24:06.920 says they became jealous of him. They tried to make 0:24:06.960 --> 0:24:11.320 his life miserable. They clogged up his wells. Water was 0:24:11.359 --> 0:24:15.240 the source of life. But Isaac didn't fight with them. 0:24:15.520 --> 0:24:19.080 He didn't try to get even defend himself. He knew 0:24:19.240 --> 0:24:21.760 it wasn't about him. It was about the blessing on 0:24:21.840 --> 0:24:25.399 his life. He kept moving forward and settled in another 0:24:25.440 --> 0:24:29.400 place that wasn't far enough away. They clogged up those wells. 0:24:30.040 --> 0:24:33.280 It happened again, but on the third time they left 0:24:33.320 --> 0:24:36.800 him alone. He said, God has brought me to Rahoba, 0:24:37.200 --> 0:24:41.600 a wide and spacious place. They meant it for harm, 0:24:41.880 --> 0:24:44.680 but God used it to take him to a bigger, 0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:50.080 more fruitful place. He was blessed before, but now because 0:24:50.119 --> 0:24:54.199 of the persecution. Because he kept God first place, he 0:24:54.359 --> 0:24:58.240 came out better than even the hundredfold harvest. He was 0:24:58.320 --> 0:25:04.440 blessed in abundance, like with Isaac, with the blessing comes 0:25:04.440 --> 0:25:09.520 of persecution. With the favor comes to Philistines. They were 0:25:09.560 --> 0:25:12.200 fine as long as Isaac was suffering in the famine. 0:25:13.000 --> 0:25:17.280 Once he saw increase, they found fault. They stirred up trouble. 0:25:17.800 --> 0:25:21.720 The question today is can you handle the blessing? Will 0:25:21.760 --> 0:25:25.720 you stay in peace when persecution comes? Will you enjoy 0:25:25.800 --> 0:25:29.919 the favor despite the negative chatter? You can't have the 0:25:29.960 --> 0:25:34.040 blessing without the persecution. Maybe you need to have a 0:25:34.040 --> 0:25:37.280 new perspective. You'll never get to the place where you're 0:25:37.280 --> 0:25:41.280 so blessed that all the trouble goes away, the negative chatter, 0:25:41.359 --> 0:25:46.080 the jealousy that's connecting to the blessing. What I'm saying 0:25:46.400 --> 0:25:49.639 is it doesn't have to bother you. That's not your battle. 0:25:50.440 --> 0:25:54.680 Quit fighting with people trying to pay back, prove defend. 0:25:55.160 --> 0:25:59.320 God is your defender. He sees what's not fair. Stay 0:25:59.320 --> 0:26:03.639 in peace, keep honoring him. I believe and declare He's 0:26:03.680 --> 0:26:07.320 going to pay back those who persecute you. Like Isaac, 0:26:07.440 --> 0:26:11.920 you will flourish in the famine. Like the Disciple supernatural 0:26:11.960 --> 0:26:16.240 doors are about to open the right people showing up vindication, promotion, 0:26:16.800 --> 0:26:21.240 a table in the presence of your enemies in Jesus' name, 0:26:21.920 --> 0:26:26.280 and if you receive it, can you say amen? I'd 0:26:26.320 --> 0:26:28.919 like to give you an opportunity to make Jesus the 0:26:28.960 --> 0:26:32.960 Lord of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, 0:26:33.680 --> 0:26:37.399 I repent of my sins, Come into my heart. I 0:26:37.600 --> 0:26:40.800 make you my Lord and savior. If you prayed that 0:26:40.880 --> 0:26:44.320 simple prayer, we believe you got born again. We'd love 0:26:44.359 --> 0:26:47.000 to send you some free information on your new walk 0:26:47.040 --> 0:26:49.199 with the Lord. You can text the number on the 0:26:49.240 --> 0:26:52.280 screen or go to the website. But I hope you'll 0:26:52.280 --> 0:26:55.600 get into a good Bible based church and keep God 0:26:55.840 --> 0:27:06.760 first place. It's easy in life to wear labels, mistakes 0:27:06.760 --> 0:27:10.360 we've made and what people have said, disappointments we faced. 0:27:10.720 --> 0:27:13.880 Those labels can diminish our sense of value and cause 0:27:13.960 --> 0:27:16.320 us to forget who we really are. And have a 0:27:16.320 --> 0:27:19.439 new book called Made by God. 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