Number 2, TS 81 When you're okay, when
you're worried about something, you've got a problem.
See, once we switch from nothing to something,
then we're not biblical anymore.
And so he tells us to worry about
nothing.
Now, I've seen some people that ought to
worry.
You know, you think.
Because they get, they have some wrong ideas.
But, you know, some people think, well, the
way then is to live is with your
head in the sack.
You know, and you've seen mothers like that,
haven't you?
With their head in the sack.
You know, they've got these kids and they're
saying, ladies, do something.
You know, and it's real interesting.
You ever go to a pediatrician?
You know, it's a pediatrician place where they've
got all the kids that are sick and
getting shots and all that stuff.
You go in there and no one will
claim who's theirs.
You know, they'll have all playing the floor.
And, you know, you just see these people,
they just, you know, they're horrible monsters.
These mothers will be looking around and finally
they call and have to grab theirs out
of the bunch and go in, you know.
But they just kind of ignore them.
Well, we're not talking about that kind of
an existence.
Living with our head in the sack.
That's not real.
God doesn't call us to live like that.
God wants us to know what's going on
and to face the issues.
But he tells us there's an alternative to
worry.
So, worry isn't, in fact, I was going
to share this starting tonight.
And that is that God is more concerned
about how we respond to what we go
through than he is about what we go
through.
That's important.
God is more concerned of my response to
my crisis than he is my crisis.
Because God knows there's always an alternative response.
Two people can go through the very same
situation.
One comes through a strong Christian.
The other one washes out.
Same thing.
Same God, same Holy Spirit, same grace, same
everything.
One comes through just great.
Did you ever think of why God allows
us to go through the fires?
And so often the things that cause us
to worry is what the fires.
Isn't it?
It's the thing we worry about.
The fire experiences in our life.
Or the things that cause us to get
upset.
Why does God allow us to go through
the fires?
Wouldn't it be easy if we didn't have
to suffer?
Now, I don't like suffering.
I'm not out here preaching suffering.
I don't like it.
I don't want to suffer.
I don't ever care to suffer.
When I die, I want to go to
sleep and wake up in heaven, and I
know just exactly how I want it all
done.
I don't want to suffer at all.
I don't like it.
I'm not into suffering.
But I know I'm going to have to.
And God seems to know just what kind
of suffering we need, and it's the worst
kind.
It's just the worst kind.
If I could just suffer like you, I'd
be okay.
But I have to suffer my way.
And God says, well, if you suffer like
them, that's not suffering.
And so we all have to go through
the trials, because the trial of your faith
is very important.
And if you're not going through the trials,
I wonder if you're going to grow.
That's one way of measuring where you are
in your Christian life, is what God allows
you to go through now, and then how
you're able to respond to these things.
Maybe there's a time in your life where
they just audit you to come unglued.
But now you don't come unglued in that
same situation.
You've got a lot more resources now to
go through those things.
But you know when the children of Israel,
those three kids, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and
remember they threw them in the fiery furnace.
Do you know that when they were thrown
in the fiery furnace, something was burned?
They know it wasn't.
Oh, yes, it was.
And if you don't teach that, then you
missed the lesson.
Something was burned.
What was burned?
The ropes that bound them.
It was that fiery furnace, that freedom.
And in the midst of the fiery furnace,
those who were watching, what did they see?
Oh, it looked like the Son of Man,
who was revealed in the fire.
Did the fellows in the furnace see Him?
I don't know.
But those on the outside watching, Do you
realize that the trial of your faith is
God's way of allowing people on the outside
to see Christ revealed in your life?
And they can see it because they know
you've got something that works.
Because if your faith won't take you through
the fire, what good is it?
If you're just going to collapse like everybody
else, then why be a Christian?
The fourth hint, God says, be careful for
nothing.
There's an alternative to worry.
What's the alternative?
It's called prayer.
You ever heard of it?
You can worry about it, or what?
You can pray about it.
You know what it says in 1 Peter
5, 7?
Someone want to quote that verse?
Good.
Okay.
Now, we can go down the lake and
we can get a lesson in casting.
That's what I do.
I cast it on him.
I cast it back on him.
And I cast it again on him.
You know, the French translate that verse real
well.
You know the word they use?
It's the same word they use for dump
truck.
It's dump it all on him.
Just let it slide all off on him.
That's what that Greek word is.
You know, we're just going to be dump
truck Christians.
You just dump it all on the Lord.
Just let it all slide off on him.
Isn't that wonderful?
Just let it all just slide off.
Why?
Because he really cares.
Isn't that something?
You go and talk to someone, your heart's
breaking, and they don't care.
I mean, oh, they listen and everything, you
know.
And just when you're getting to the heartbreak,
they are, you know, and you go, oh.
Doesn't that ruin it?
But you know, he never looks at his
Lord.
And the Lord never says, well, that's not,
you know.
Well, let me tell you one better.
You know, that's nothing.
I'm going to tell you what I went
through.
He never does that.
He really cares.
You can just dump it on him, and
he cares.
And that's super.
And you need to look at those many
different verses in the Bible on turning it
over, rolling it over on him.
So he says, worry about nothing, but pray
about everything.
And the peace of God that passes all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds as
they rest in Christ Jesus.
And that's the struggle of anxiety, isn't it?
It's our hearts go wild.
And we get beguiled.
And, you know, women are more susceptible to
beguilement themselves.
And beguilement is when Satan puts a thought
in your mind.
And we have, in our culture, we believe
because we think something that then it's automatically
true.
Just because we had a thought, we think
it's true because we thought it.
That happens all the time.
Let's say that you walk down the hall,
and one little lady quickly turns and goes
up the stairs.
I knew she didn't like me.
You know, I've known it all along.
Those people on the East Coast are funny
anyway, you know.
But that just shows you how much she
doesn't like me.
You know, you're just being beguiled all over
the place.
It says in Corinthians, be careful, Christian, lest
Satan beguile you.
Be careful about that because you know Satan
can put thoughts into your head.
We're going to see this later on.
Satan can put thoughts in your head and
in a child's head.
That's biblical.
Well, you just stick around.
We'll look at it.
It says right in the Scripture that Satan
puts it right in.
Satan can put thoughts in your mind.
And just because you have a thought doesn't
make it true.
And that's where we begin to worry.
We worry about the what ifs and the
what mights.
Don't we?
What if this would happen?
What if that would happen?
You know, maybe this will happen.
And you can just be way down the
road thinking of all these things that could
possibly happen.
In fact, one of the things we have
people do that have tremendous fears is to
visualize the very worst thing that could happen.
Just think it through.
Think it through the way.
The very worst thing that could happen to
you in that situation.
One of the worst things.
And do you know what?
When you do that, it's never so bad.
Let's say that you think that Ryder Cowan
is going to fire you.
And here you are just, you know, you're
an elderly person.
And there you're going to be out in
front.
Out there on the street.
On Highway M.
With your few belongings clutched around you.
Sitting in the snow.
You know, because you just don't scrub like
you used to.
And then what's going to happen?
Well, you'll slowly fire to death.
And then what will happen?
Then you go to be with the Lord.
Isn't that wonderful?
Not that you can hardly wait to get
fired.
Can't you?
But we need to think these things through.
People don't.
They only think so far.
And then they get all worried about.
And if you're going to start, go to
the end.
What's the very worst thing that could happen?
And it's not so bad.
And usually the worst thing is dying.
And that's not bad at all.
You know, there's a scripture verse that I
think warriors really need to memorize.
It's a verse that our church has claimed
this year for our year verse.
And it's Ephesians.
And it's a verse that you all know.
There's Ephesians 3.20. And we have to
remember that God is able to do.
That's important.
God can.
God is able to do.
And when you are not.
You tell me what you worry about and
I'll tell you how big your God is.
That's just how big your God is, what
you worry about.
And see, God is not only able to
do.
But He says that God is able to
do above all.
For God says He's able to do.
He's able to do above all.
In fact, it says He's able to do
abundantly above all.
In fact, He's able to do what?
Exceedingly abundantly above all that we could what?
Ask.
And then we get through asking.
He can even do more than what we
can think.
And He's asking us to trust Him.
See, can you trust Him?
What do you worry about?
Well, you worry about what?
Temporal things.
A fellow said this and I think it's
very important.
He said this.
I am trusting God for eternal salvation.
I am trusting God to raise this body
out of the grave.
I am trusting God to take me to
heaven in a rapture.
If He comes before I die.
Can't I trust Him for a dollar?
If we have to trust Him all eternity,
can't we trust Him now?
We need to think about that.
We're trusting Him.
I mean, if you can't trust Him for
a dollar, how can you trust Him with
your soul?
And for eternity.
I just trust that Satan's not doing that.
I had a man come in one time.
I had two really strange people come into
my life.
And these fellows said things so differently.
But they said it so well.
This guy's sitting in there and this guy's
having all kinds of moral problems.
He's sitting there and he said, Chaplain, Satan's
doing a number in my head.
I'm like, that's well put.
If Satan's doing a number in your head,
you're just all worried about this, that, and
the other thing.
It's all I have to get through today.
It's just as bad to give him the
victory today as to give the victory of
something else.
And remember, women are more susceptible to worry
than men.
Just their very nature.
A woman becomes concerned about things in the
house when the faucet's dripping.
The husband becomes concerned when the plaster falls.
I mean, it's just different.
Basically different.
The guy, it just takes a whole lot
to get a guy, especially about family things.
A woman gets concerned about the kids and
everything else long before a fellow does usually.
And she just has to turn it over
to the wife.
If it's her husband's department.
Because she can't worry about it.
What I'll do, when we were doing the
college, someone came in and said, oh, I'm
a worrier.
I said, oh, well, we help lots of
worriers.
The person wants you to put down, how
much do you worry?
How much do you worry?
Well, two hours a day, four hours a
day.
No, I'm a professional.
By eight hours a day.
I worry all day long.
So it's good to have a professional worrier.
Then I have them write down all the
things they worry about.
What do they worry about?
And I put it all down.
And then I ask them a question.
You hear they're sitting there writing all this
stuff down.
It's just not, it's a busy time.
They don't know that.
They're writing all this stuff.
They worry about all this stuff.
And then I say, well, what has worry
ever accomplished for you?
I've been writing this stuff maybe a half
hour.
They look at me and they say, what?
I said, what has worry ever accomplished for
you?
Nothing.
Now, what has worry ever changed?
Nothing.
Well, then why do you do it?
I mean, if it doesn't work, why do
it?
You know, as long as it's not working
for you, why don't you try a better
way?
There's got to be something better than that.
You know, if it's not working out, if
worry's working, fine.
But if it doesn't do anything, maybe there's
a better way.
And we have to take them to the
Word of God and show them.
One of the most difficult things to deal
with, and I know worry, you can buy
a lot of good books on worry.
I mean, not to worry, but how to
handle worry.
But, see, what we have people do is
to put down what they worry about and
then they'll work out plans.
You know, begin to put some feet under
it.
Maybe there's things you need to do.
Maybe there are legitimate concerns.
You know, people say, oh, I'm just worried
my kids are going to turn out bad.
Well, that's a good motivation to start doing
something with those kids now.
What are you doing now?
With them now, they don't turn out bad
when they're teenagers.
What kind of a program do you have?
And then they start doing things.
They don't worry anymore.
So we have to realize there are legitimate
concerns, aren't there?
There's things we ought to be concerned about.
But not to the point that we get
sick over them, but to the point it
motivates us to do and fulfill basic responsibilities.
So you're going to give God your concerns,
but you can't give God your responsibilities.
You're responsible to raise children for Christ.
You can't say, well, I've dedicated my children
to God, and now it's God's responsibility.
In fact, it's not my responsibility, it's your
responsibility.
You're responsible for those kids, and you've got
to raise them.
And you know one of the most tragic
things?
Is there's too many child evangelism workers that
have crummy kids.
You better believe that.
Amen?
That's right.
Will it profit you to save all the
kids and lose your own?
Don't lose your own.
You don't have to lose your own.
Rich and children of the world.
Don't you neglect your kids.
That's for the devil.
We know a child evangelism couple, and they
were actually a missionary.
And their kids were a mess.
Capital M.
The little boy was the terror of the
town.
The daughters came home from the mission field
and were turned off from God.
Now, I think they've been redeemed.
But those girls went through sin and all
kinds of things.
That ought not be, and it doesn't have
to be.
But don't get so concerned about the neighbor's
kids you neglect your own.
God never did that.
The most important ministry you and I ever
have is right in our own home.
If we reach our own children, then we
know how to reach other children.
But if you can't discipline your own children,
how are you going to help others?
That's their problem.
You know, what you learn with your own
becomes a ministry to others.
So don't lose your children.
Don't cast your children away for ministry.
God never asked you to do that.
And maybe your priorities aren't straight or something.
It's a heartache.
It's a tragedy to see something like that
take place.
But one of the struggles that people have
are fears.
Fears are worse than worry.
But they come in there, don't they?
They're under that category.
And we can only do a little bit
on fears.
But the Psalms are excellent with fears.
There's many Psalms that were written about fears.
And one of the Psalms that I like
real well is Psalms 23.
And I would like you to turn there.
There is a real problem with familiar passages
of Scripture.
They have a tendency not to speak to
our hearts.
Oh, I know that.
And I know that one.
And so when we read the Scriptures, and
if we have in our mind, oh, I
know that, we'll never get new insight.
God is not able to give us new
truths from those Psalms, or from that verse
or whatever, because I know that already.
And I don't have a learning spirit.
Lord, speak to my heart.
Show me a new truth from this passage.
But there is a tremendous study that I
think is excellent for people that fear the
future especially.
Just have a fear of, well, how do
I know what I'm supposed to be doing?
Three weeks ago.
You know, I just don't know.
I never know if I'm doing what I'm
supposed to be doing or whatever.
You know, they always settle.
And Psalms 23.3, there's a statement here
that's just outstanding.
Well, this whole Psalm.
The Lord is my shepherd, and because He
is, I shall not want.
See, I will not lack anything that I
need.
That's a tremendous thing.
When He's my shepherd.
See, when He's guiding my life.
It says, He maketh me to lie down
in the green pastures.
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul, and He leads me
in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Now, I did a study on this, and
this is so tremendous.
And that is, He leads me in paths
of righteousness.
So you could translate that modern, very modern,
and say, The Lord will lead me in
the right paths for His reputation.
It's not my reputation.
It's His reputation.
I'm committed to Him.
I've given Him my life.
I said, Lord, here's my life.
You take it.
You use it.
You direct it.
And now, it's His reputation that's at stake
in leading me.
Isn't that tremendous?
And you can do a study.
I don't know if you can see it
in my Bible.
But I hang up from the top here
all the way down, verses all the way
from Exodus on, wherever God's reputation was pleaded.
Do you remember Moses?
I mean, you know, you remember him.
But this was his time in Moses' life.
Moses was down in Egypt, and then he
came out with children of Israel, and they
were murmuring and complaining.
They had a lot of problems, number one,
critical spirit and all that stuff.
God came down to Moses, and He said,
Moses, you know, He says, I'm going to
let you in on a little thing here.
He says, I'm going to destroy all these
people.
I'm just going to kill them all.
And then I'm going to raise up a
tribe.
Instead of the tribe of Abraham, I'm going
to call it the tribe of Moses, the
children of Moses.
And Moses said, You know, God, that has
a ring to it.
The children of Moses.
I like that better than the children of
Abraham.
You know, it has a ring to it.
Did he say that?
No.
He said, God, you can't do that.
He said, What will people think of me
if you kill all these people?
What did he say?
What will the Egyptians think of you?
He pleaded God's reputation.
What will they think of you?
Not me.
And you go through, Daniel pleaded God's reputation
when he was praying.
You go through some of the greatest prayers
in the Bible, they didn't say, they pleaded
God's reputation.
God, your reputation is at stake.
What are you going to do?
And you go through, you do a study
on that.
It's an interesting study of all through the
Scripture, how God's reputation was at stake.
And His reputation was at stake in my
life as a believer to lead me.
So I don't have to worry about it.
It's His responsibility.
But let's go on.
Yea, even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil.
Now, why didn't he fear?
What kept David from fearing?
He said, For thy rod and thy staff,
they comforted me.
And I thought, the rod and the staff
comforted me.
David, I don't get it.
You know, two pieces of wood, a club
and a long stick.
Why in the world would that be comforting
to David?
You know why?
The staff is what the shepherd used to
lead the sheep and guide them.
The club he used, the rod he used
to beat off the enemy, the wolf.
And you know what those two things symbolize?
That the shepherd was in control.
And David said, When I'm reminded that the
shepherd is in control, what have I got
to fear?
Have any of you gone to the Verna
Berkey thing?
Successful workshops for women?
She's a good friend of my wife.
And what's Verna Berkey's byline?
What is she telling women across America?
Do you remember?
God is the what?
Do you remember?
God is the blessed controller.
She said, Ladies, stop pushing the panic button.
God's in control.
And that's what David said.
Now I don't fear anymore because I know
God is in control.
That's tremendous.
And that's one of the most important things
that you can do with someone that has
tremendous fears is to realize that God is
in control.
And when God is in control, what have
you got to fear?
Remember Jesus was in the boat?
And the boat was filling with water?
You know, it really doesn't make any difference
how much water you put the boat in.
It's how much water's in the boat.
You know, that's where you got the problem.
And they said, You know, there's too much
water in this boat.
And they said, Lord, wake up.
Don't you care we perish?
They said that.
I didn't say that.
They did.
And they were bailing out like crazy.
You know, the waves were coming in.
This is working so hard.
They were fishing.
They said, We're going to go down out
here.
Can you swim?
Not that far.
Wake them up.
And what did Jesus say to them?
I'm so glad you woke me up.
He said, All ye of little faith.
You know why he said, All ye of
little faith?
Because he said, Let's go to what?
The other side.
And when Jesus said, Let's go to the
other side, let me tell you, you're going
to get to the other side.
Twice he had a problem with that.
Twice he had a fear of falling.
He said, What are you guys afraid of?
Didn't I tell you we're going to go
to the other side?
When I say we're going to go to
the other side, we're going to make it.
Isn't that true?
You know, he's in control.
And he's going to take me clear through.
So what in the world am I afraid
of?
I'm afraid of because there's things that may
happen that I don't understand.
But he knows all about them.
He understands.
There's not one thing that's going to happen
tomorrow that he doesn't know about already and
he's in control of.
Maybe the post will be burnt.
Well, just scrape it and turn the burnt
side down.
You know, I mean, there's all kinds of
things that could happen tomorrow.
Couldn't it be the lights could go off?
The plumbing not work?
You know, all kinds of things could happen
tomorrow.
But, you know, we don't have to worry
about it.
Let's worry about the building could catch on
fire.
Well, I don't have to worry because it's
not far from the first floor out the
window.
But you older ladies on the second floor,
I'd worry.
I don't know if I'd sleep tonight.
Because, you know, it's possible it could catch
on fire.
It's possible.
And it may snow.
Now, we could be snowed in here.
Maybe we'd run out of food.
Probably do us all good if they did.
But, you know, it's just possible.
We may be here longer than what we
think.
And then, you know, it just may be
when I fly home that the plane will
crash.
Maybe I'll have to walk.
You know what I mean?
We can just get ourselves sick just thinking
about all the things that might happen.
You know, maybe they'll re-elect Carter.
Oh, no.
But, you know, there's no end to it.
Is there any end to it and you
just want to let your mind just go?
You know what the scripture says?
Gird up the loins of your mind.
You know what that means?
It means to put a band around them.
Boy, let me tell you.
An idle mind is a devil's playground.
And we're not just to put our mind
blank.
We're to set our mind on things above.
And you've got to get a worrier in
a program of scripture memory and meditation.
And if you can find out what they
worry about, give them some of God's promises
to put in their mind.
And so, when they're tempted to worry, then
they knock that temptation out with the promise
of God.
If they're worried about the future, then the
script.
That's what the kids at Calvary are all
worried about.
You know, here they are.
You know, 19 years of age.
You know, where are they going to be
when they're 40?
Who knows?
You may be dead, you know.
Boy, you're 40.
Who knows what's going to happen?
But you'd be amazed what these kids are
all worried about.
You know, I'm 20 years old and I
haven't dated.
You know, I just see myself now.
The spinster of the year.
19 or 200,001 or something.
All these projections these kids struggle with.
You'd be amazed.
You wouldn't think college kids would do that,
would you?
Let me tell you.
These college kids are just notorious worriers.
Notorious.
They don't tell you.
They're just all inside wondering all these things
are going to happen.
The fellows are looking, you know, is anything
going to grow here?
All this stuff.
Really, really struggle.
But you can help a worrier.
And if you're a worrier, you can help.
God's word is the real answer for a
worrier.
We want to get now from anxiety to
anger.
Because that's harder to deal with.
It seems to be harder to deal with.
Worrier, hurt yourself.
You know, if you don't have a book,
None of These Diseases, then you've got to
get that book and read it.
Every Christian ought to read that book.
And just see what worrying will do to
you.
It'll just literally ruin you on the inside.
But let's look at this thing of anger.
Because that is so devastating.
You know what I mean?
You can worry about the children in the
club.
That won't be so bad.
But, if you lose your cool at the
club, Kids, shut up and swear we're going
to have a Bible in here!
You know?
And let me tell you, that happens.
These kids drive me crazy!
Oh, we're so glad to have you on
the team.
Right?
You ever drive me nuts?
Kids drive me nuts.
But not far and not for long.
Because I'll let them know I'm the boss
around here.
You kids shake up.
Don't let them drive you nuts.
But you know when you blow it in
front of the kids?
Boy, they're just like my dad.
You know, dads are notorious.
Mothers are notorious worriers.
Dads are notorious angry people.
They are.
There's two things that teenagers hold against their
fathers.
One is, why is he always angry?
And number two, why does he never say
he's wrong?
They just kill kids.
They can't understand.
I'm talking about Christian kids with Christian dads.
Why is dad always so angry?
And, you know, why can't he say he's
wrong when he's wrong?
And a dad thinks if he says he's
wrong in front of his kids, he's going
to what?
Lose respect.
And what the dad doesn't know is because
he won't say he's wrong, he's probably lost
it.
Because the kids know he's wrong.
So I remember, well, you know, I want
you to know that, I mean I wish
I could tell you, you know, I never
said it.
I'm the most perfect dad you ever saw.
I really blew it at Christmas time.
I mean a lot of times to blow
your Christianities at Christmas time.
But we had our two grandkids there.
We had our missionary daughter was home.
Our married daughter was home.
Her husband came with her.
She brought the two grandkids.
Our missionary daughter's boyfriend was there.
And we had a household.
You know, day after day, day after day,
day after day.
And there's lots of things going quick.
And you're supposed to be doing responsibilities and
everything.
And we were sitting at the table.
And I wish I could.
It was awful.
Anyway, we were sitting at the table.
And my wife said something to my son.
And I didn't realize how much I'd let
this stuff just build up.
I'm just not one for confusion.
I hate it.
Now, I'm not the most orderly person.
But I can't stand confusion.
And this just was confusion in and out.
And besides that, we're working on that puzzle
downstairs.
The ice cream cone.
That's enough to get everybody nuts.
But anyway, I can't remember.
My wife said something to my son.
You know, a typical teenager, he never heard.
No, he sat there and didn't hear.
And she said something else.
Well, he said something back.
And he said it.
And I know now, he doesn't talk back.
But it sounded like he was talking back.
And I went to shove him on the
shoulder.
But I hit his face.
And he looked at me and tears came
down his eyes.
And he said, Dad, you don't have to
take your son.
And there's all the rest of the family
sitting at the table.
I just went dead quiet.
Tears were coming down his face.
Because I really hurt him.
I didn't mean to slap him.
I meant to hit his shoulder.
Because I wanted him to listen to his
mother.
And I shouldn't have done it.
But I was saying, listen to your mother.
And she's talking to you.
I want you to listen.
This is bad.
Well, back to his room in the evening.
He went up to his room.
And I'm sitting in the bedroom justifying myself.
I didn't mean to hit him.
I'm not going to say I'm sorry.
Go to someone else's house.
Leave me alone.
And I thought, this is awful.
Because he went up to his room.
And I never hit him.
Now, I spanked him.
There's a difference between spanking a child and
hitting one.
I can't remember the last time I ever
hit Richard.
You know, ever done anything like that.
And I just felt terrible.
And so I called him down.
And he came down.
And see, I had wounded his spirit.
And you know, a wounded spirit, you know,
it says a heart knows its own bitterness.
A wounded spirit, who can bear it?
A brother offended is harder to be one
than a walled city.
It would be easier for me to go
in and take St. Louis single-handed than
to try and work with my son when
I wounded his spirit.
To do anything spiritual with him because he
would just close me off.
And so I called him down.
And I said, Richard, you know, I am
very sorry.
I want you to know I really did
not mean to hit you.
I said, I meant to bump you on
the shoulder.
And I shouldn't have done that.
I did not mean to hit your face.
I said, I missed.
You know, I missed your shoulder.
And just hit him like this.
And he thought I slapped him.
Well, he was a little bit guilty because
he knew he wasn't listening to his mother
when he should have been.
And so I asked if he would forgive
me.
And I told him I loved him.
And my desire was for him to be
a boy that God would use.
And I wanted him to grow up to
be God's man.
And when I failed like that, it was
because deep in my heart, I had God's
best for him, even though I was failing
him.
And I said, I'll probably fail you again,
Richard, but I want you to know that
deep in my heart, I only want God's
best for you.
And he cried.
And I cried.
And he forgave me.
And so, you know, as Christians, it isn't
that we don't fail.
We do fail.
We just need to, when we fail, know
what to do to correct that failure.
That, to me, is an immature Christian.
It's not a Christian that doesn't fail.
It's one who will correct his failures or
knows what to do when they fail.
Sometimes we don't know what to do.
And so I want to share this thing
of irritation.
If you've been to the Bill Godfrey seminar,
this is from his seminar, and this is
probably one of the best, well, he has
a lot of excellent things there, but this
is probably one of the better charts that
they have developed to really help us to
understand how to deal with this thing of
anger.
So if you haven't gone, why look at
it?
And if you have gone, why, you might
want to take a few notes down.
But there are at least three sources of
irritation.
The first source is people.
Just look at how many people can be
irritating.
The second source can be our environment.
Our environment, you know, a squeaky door, a
car that won't start.
Boy, did I have fun.
I was to fly down to Calgary Bible
College to speak to the freshmen for a
week.
I ran out.
The one car is down at the repair
shop.
The other car is in the driveway.
Ran out, got in the car.
I live an hour and a half from
the airport, so I had an hour and
45 minutes.
Got in the car on Labor Day.
Stuck the key in and turned it over
and nothing.
I mean nothing.
Well, the first thing you do as a
mechanic, a good mechanic, is get out and
kick the tires and then get back in
and try again.
You know, maybe bang the hood a couple
of times, but that's the experience of my,
maybe throw a wrench or something.
You know, that's all I know about mechanics.
I don't know anything about mechanics.
So here I got a car that won't
go, and I got an airplane I had
to catch, and I got to drive an
hour and a half to get there.
And I only lost 15 minutes leeway.
Oh, these farmers come in, they jump out
of the pickup, and they threw up the
hood, and they looked in.
Ah-ha, ah-ha.
It's a buffalo.
Oh-ho.
Then I got going.
And, you know, and that can be irritating.
Right?
The environment can be irritating.
So that's a source.
Another source can be ourself, personal thorns, limitations
that we have that really irritate us.
Oh, if I only, you know, if I
only didn't have arthritis.
If I did, oh, I could, you know,
it just gets to me, and we get
all upset and uptight about it.
So these things are coming to us all
the time, and we never know when they
come.
They don't ever come at the right time.
They always seem to come when we're out
of, all out of steam.
And then we're all out of spirits or
whatever, and then they come.
Now, there are three ways of handling these
things.
The first is to defend yourself.
Defend yourself.
I had a personal source of irritation.
I had a man in one of my
churches that felt that he should come and
straighten me out, which was fine, except he
came every Saturday to tell me what was
wrong with me.
At that particular time, I hadn't worked out
my self-image, so I had a real
crummy self-image, and this guy wasn't helping
at all.
And I would hear his car hit the
gravel at the church, and when I'd hear
this gravel crunch, my stomach would turn over.
I'd go, oh, no.
Another lecture.
And then he would come and tell me
all that was wrong with me.
Didn't have faith.
We should have this.
Why don't we have a ball team?
You know, this church used to have a
ball team.
If we had a ball team, more people
would come.
I'm like, oh.
You know, what's going on?
I'd preach like crazy on Sunday, and he'd
sit over there, and I'd preach over here.
You know, I just couldn't.
And then I told my wife about it.
She was picking up a reproach.
She didn't like him either.
You know, she was hurting her husband.
He was hurting her husband.
That's really devastating.
We didn't know about Psalm 15.
It says, you know, that's one of the
ways to become unstable.
There's 11 qualities for stability in Psalm 15,
and one of them is, don't you dare
pick up a reproach, which is to dislike
somebody for what they did to somebody else.
And a lot of wives do that.
Your wife's shame on you.
You know, you just pick up these reproaches,
or these kids come to you.
Oh, my God.
Oh, that dirty, no-good bum.
You don't tell him, but inwardly, you feel
this way towards his dad.
You never met him.
You don't like him.
There's three blocks down.
You know, I wouldn't witness to him.
He deserves hell.
My sweetest kid like that.
You know, let him go there.
Terrible guy.
And you know, sometimes you meet these dads,
and they're as bad as what the kids
picture them.
You go to the door, waiting for this
guy to come.
You know, he opens the door.
Oh, he's real nice.
I think I got the wrong house.
Your kid come to my club?
Hmm.
Then you find out.
You know how it says?
A fool believes one half of the story.
But a wise person gets both sides.
So be careful about judging parents by what
some kids say about them.
Because they may not be half as bad
as what the kids are telling you.
And they can be worse sometimes than what
the kids are telling you.
I know that, too.
But defend ourselves.
You know, this guy would come, and he'd...
I'm not like that.
You know, I knew it wasn't any good
to defend him to him.
But you know, it's him that comes to
you.
And our natural thing is to get out
from under the pressure.
You know, here this person's coming.
They're really giving it to you.
And we want to defend ourselves.
And that's spiritual.
I didn't do it.
My director did it.
The president did it.
Get him in California.
I'm sure you can catch him.
If you call quick before he flies back
this way.
You know?
But we have a tendency to do that.
Even here.
Well, I didn't type it.
Well, I didn't proofread it.
It wasn't me.
And then what goes along with it is
to put the blame on someone else.
You know, and that's going home and kicking
the cat.
You've probably heard that story.
And it ends up, you know, they kick
the cat.
And you ought to go home and kick
the cat first.
But blaming.
Put the blame here.
That's spiritual.
And the most spiritual way is to hold
in anger.
That's really.
I'm not mad.
You can't see it.
To hold in the anger.
And say, oh, you know, this person's coming
again.
They're going to give you some struggles.
Yeah, I won't go that far.
Give me an up cord and I'll hang
myself.
And so holding in anger.
So many Christians do that.
You know, the anger rests in what?
A bosom of a fool.
Don't hold in anger.
Don't hold.
There's a better way.
And that's what I want to show you.
What is a better way of responding to
the irritations that come into my life?
Someone said this.
And it's such a blessing to me.
And I memorized it.
Just, I heard it once and I just
memorized it.
And it's meant so much to me down
through the years.
And that's this.
God will not allow anything to come into
your life which is beyond your control, which
will ruin or hinder God's purpose.
That's a tremendous statement.
Let me say that again.
It's an excellent statement.
God will not allow.
See, God's in control.
Anything to come into your life which is
beyond your control, which will ruin or hinder
God's purpose for your life.
Now, we'll get into, I hope, reproofs.
Many Christians know nothing of reproofs today.
It's a tragedy.
It's like a whole section of truth of
Scripture that's hidden.
Now, reproofs are what comes into my life
when I violate Scripture.
I'll give you an illustration of reproof.
I was in Los Angeles, lived on top
of a hill, right at Pelham, where I
live.
And I decided I was going to buy
a car.
And we had been married and had two
children.
I thought, now it's time for me to
get my first car.
Well, a fellow where I work taught me
how to drive a push-button Dodge.
Remember the push-button Dodge that had that
push-button on the side?
Well, he taught me to drive on an
L.A. freeway.
I had my driving lesson on the freeway.
It was the easiest place to learn how
to drive.
I would never teach anybody to drive on
the freeway, but I didn't know.
I never drove before, so driving on the
freeway seemed a good place to learn how
to drive.
Los Angeles freeway.
Anyway, he had a lot of faith, and
I learned to drive on the freeway.
I guess I figured I could drive there,
drive anywhere.
Well, I went to buy a car, and
I had $100 cash, cold cash, $100.
And I got a 50 Ford Special Deluxe,
one of these, you know, car lots that
had these low-priced economical cars.
So, I got this car for $100, and
the only problem was it had no push
-buttons.
It had a standard shift.
I didn't know how to drive a standard
shift.
I had driver's license, but I didn't know
how to drive it.
So, this friend of mine drove it home
on top of the hill of Los Angeles,
which is a real steep hill.
And it was two blocks on top, and
every night I'd take my family for a
little drive.
You know, as I would jerk this thing
around until I was getting low on gas.
And when I ran out of that tank
of gas, I better know how to shift
this thing, because we had to get down
to the gas station to fill it up.
But I had to go up these hills.
And you should see these hills.
They're nothing but just, you know, two blocks
straight up, you know, and you have to
shift four times to get up them.
You know, oh, well, I got the car
off the hill, and going up and driving
the car.
And I'm driving this $100 Special.
And one day I'm driving to work, and
it's making a noise, a very strange noise.
So, I went for a fire song.
That doesn't mean a thing.
I just wasn't on the accounting.
So, I was going to Biola College.
So, I went in, and I said, you
know, I was driving my car.
And it makes noises, but it made a
different noise today.
The guy said, what did it sound like?
And I said, oh, strange.
He said, is there any red lights on
the dashboard?
I said, oh, yeah, a red light came
on a few weeks ago.
What are you guys laughing about?
I haven't told her that before.
He said, you're kidding.
I said, no, I'll drive the car.
Don't drive it anyway, he said.
He said, when's the last time you put
oil in it?
I said, what?
I said, you put water in the front
and gas in the back.
What do you mean oil in it?
He said, you put oil in the car.
I said, you do.
I said, you're kidding.
You put oil in cars?
Oh, I said, you're leading me.
You're putting me on.
No, I'm not.
He said, you put oil in the car.
I said, no.
He said, we better go out there.
So, he took the ditch stick.
That's how I found out what it was.
Pulled it out and it was little black
curls.
It was really nice.
It was clean.
Nothing on it.
I thought, really good.
He stuck it down in there again and
pulled it out.
Nothing.
It took four and a half quarts.
I said, I'll go drive it.
He said, don't you drive it anyway.
You run over there and get the oil
and put it in here.
Now, it's not fair because I didn't know
that you put oil in the car.
What did I know?
whether I knew it or not, what?
I had a suck of the reproof.
And there are a lot of people who
have red lights and they're clunking, but they
don't know what's wrong.
That's the truth.
I'll tell you.
That's the truth.
Stick around.
It gets better.
But I'll tell you, it's so important.
That's the thing that thrilled me about the
school is we would go and help people
to find out what the reproofs were.
You know, what was going on in their
lives.
And that's what that thing is.
See, there's things beyond my control, but there's
things that's within my control.
Do you know there's certain things that if
you don't do for a child by the
time they're certain ages, those child will have
predictable problems.
Do you know there's the quality of parents?
And you know that you guys cannot be
parents.
Don't ever become a parent to a child.
You'll never be their parent.
You can't be their parent.
You are just there to assist the parent.
The Sunday school can't be parents either.
The church can't be parents.
All we are is to assist the parents
to achieve what God wants them to achieve
with those children.
But the parents must do it.
And that's where child advantage is frustrating.
Because if the parents don't, so much doesn't
happen.
But if you have parents that cooperate with
you, there's no end to what God can
do in the life of a child when
you get the mom and dad with you
too.
And you need to encourage.
Somehow you need to put as much emphasis
on getting the mom and dad behind you
if you possibly can as getting the kids.
But there's certain qualities.
And if you don't build them in a
kid's life, they'll have problems.
There's certain qualities a child has to have
by the time he's five.
If he doesn't have that quality when he's
five, he'll rebel when he's 15.
Another quality if a child doesn't have them
by the time they're 12, they'll have problems
the rest of their lives.
What's the first quality you build in a
child's life from one to five?
Basically the mother's responsibility.
Obedience.
And if a child does not learn to
submit his will to his father and mother
who he can see, he'll struggle submitting his
will to his heavenly father who he cannot
see.
The quality of a child's life by the
time he's 12 is loyalty.
And if a child does not learn how
to be loyal by the time he's 12,
he'll struggle the rest of their lives.
And we have a disloyal culture today.
Don't we?
Yeah.
What about your teachers?
Well, you talk to pastors.
You know, somebody's got a better movie down
the street.
You know, they've got the Firehouse Five and
their horses.
So they're down over there to see the
entertainment this Sunday night.
You know, they're over here to see the
entertainment over here.
That's not loyalty to anything anymore.
It's just bad.
And we've got to turn the thing around.
Well, let's go on here.
The first thing that I need to do
when these struggles come into my life, I
need to do this.
And that is, have I dedicated myself to
God's will?
And boy, we need to lead everyone to
dedicate ourselves to God's will.
And if I have dedicated myself to God's
will and dedicated myself to God, dedication equals
belong.
You've been bought with what?
A price.
And you're not what?
You're not.
We belong to Him.
See, I don't belong to me.
I belong to Him.
And that's the first thing that's right.
Here's this conflict coming in my life.
God is more concerned how I respond to
this conflict than what the conflict is.
And so I have to say, have I
dedicated to God?
Yes, I belong to God.
The next thing I need to ask myself,
is God bigger?
Is God bigger than this conflict?
Is God bigger than this situation?
And if God is bigger than this situation
that I'm facing, this frustration or whatever it
is, then God could have stopped it.
If He's bigger.
God could have stopped it.
Now, if God doesn't stop it, then I
know it's what?
God's what?
Best for me.
This is God's best for me.
Why?
Because there's purpose in it.
And how do I know that?
Well, there's a scripture verse that's absolutely fantastic.
1 Thessalonians 5, 18.
That is a horrible verse.
Isn't it a horrible verse?
You ever read that verse?
It says, in some things, give thanks.
It's just possible it might be God's will
for you.
What does it say?
In everything.
Give thanks.
For this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus concerning you individually.
You know, we want to become like Jesus
Christ.
And we always shove away the tools.
Scott, I don't understand.
You're praying to be like Christ.
You're bringing these tools in.
You shove the tools away.
I don't understand.
What are you doing?
Here I'm bringing these tools in your life
that are perfecting character.
And you keep shoving away the tools.
And you keep praying to be more like
Jesus.
You know what?
We didn't recognize the tools.
That's the problem.
We don't see the tools.
And when we...
See, we focus on the person instead of
realizing they're in the hand of God.
We need to see they're in the hand
of God.
And God is using them to develop and
to refine my character.
The second thing I need to ask myself
is did I cause this?
You know, is this situation down here something
that is my responsibility?
Now, the first thing I need to do
is to thank God.
If you and I refuse to thank God
for any situation we find ourselves in, we
will not have the spiritual creativity to deal
with it in a biblical way.
Because we'll get resentful.
And when resentments spring up, you can't handle
it in a spiritual way.
So the first response to a situation is
to realize that God has allowed it.
I need to thank God for it.
And then I need to feel, is God
allowed this to happen because I have failed?
And there's something that I need to do.
You know what?
Say this person is an enemy.
You know what enemies are usually?
Former friends.
You and I are not to have personal
enemies.
The only enemies you and I can have
are Jesus' enemies.
Jesus said, they hated me and they'll hate
you too.
Because when we identify with Jesus Christ, not
only do we get eternal life, but we
pick up all his enemies.
Isn't that right?
We have God's enemies.
That's the only kind of enemies we can
have are enemies who cast him out and
will cast us out too because they're rejecting
him.
But if you have personal enemies, that usually
means there's people that you've hurt, people you
let down, maybe someone you said something about
to, someone you told not to say anything
that told and they got back to them
and now they dislike you.
You said, no, I really don't think we
ought to have it in her house because,
you know, you feel like spraying the kids
with Lysol when they come out.
I said, yeah, I know, I realize that.
I sat on the floor one time and
tried to get off and I wasn't sure
if it was just rhinestone and I couldn't
get off the floor, it was sticky.
You know, maybe just a little remind.
To someone in very confidence, I said, you
know why they won't have a club in
your house?
It stinks.
I got it right from the director.
You know?
And then you're like, well, this person is
not on your friend list anymore.
You'd be amazed.
You know, never tell anybody anything.
The worst thing is don't write anything down.
Don't write anything down you don't want the
world to read.
Don't ever put anything in writing you don't
want anybody to read.
Don't say, well, we've got locked filing cabinets.
One day it won't be locked and the
janitor will be in there and he'll know
it all.
You know, it'll slip out or fall out.
Don't ever write anything down.
That would be detrimental.
And surely don't tell anybody.
And be careful about saying anything detrimental about
anybody to anybody.
It can destroy your work later on.
You can be sowing seeds of destruction in
your work and then you'll reap it later
on.
So maybe God has allowed this as kind
of a mirror that I realize I need
to correct my attitude.
You know, is this so that I can
correct a bad attitude?
Do I need to ask forgiveness?
You know, have I offended this source here?
Do I need to make restitution?
You know, is this something I've done?
I've done that.
And I owe them.
And when you do restitution, at least give
them that plus interest.
At least that.
You know, it says if a man steals
because he's hungry, people can understand.
Now, here's a man who steals and he's
hungry.
He doesn't have anything to eat.
And God says he has to pay back
what?
Sevenfold.
Well, he didn't have anything in the first
place.
How did he pay back sevenfold?
What he said.
But we need to look at restitution in
Scripture And the least that was ever required
in the Old Testament was double.
So if you owe somebody something, then you
need to give it back plus.
If they say, no, no, no, then that's
all right, but you give it, say, no,
I really want you to have it because,
you know, I'm sorry, but I shouldn't have
had it and so on.
But let's say you can cross out number
two, you're saying, no, this situation, I haven't
done anything.
Then I know that I am a hundred
percent okay in this situation.
And then this is going to be an
attitude or a character building situation.
That God is going to use this situation
to develop in my life His purpose.
And what is God's purpose for you and
I?
Why are we here?
Huh?
Right.
Romans, what?
828, 829, as for, we know that what
all things are working together for good to
them that love God or dedicated to God,
for whom He did foreknow, God foreknow, He
did predestinate that we might be conformed, what?
To the image of His Son.
So what is God doing today?
He wants you to develop the image of
Christ in us.
He knows the world needs to see Jesus
today.
Not on a flannel graph, not on a
book cover, no matter how clever those things
are.
It's not the Christ that God wants people
to see.
He wants people to see Christ in our
countenance.
And so God will use these situations to
produce the character of Christ in our life.
And we want to show up here, Galatians
5, 16.
And we want to show you in a
situation down here, the different characters are aspects
of the fruit of the Spirit that God
can build in our life through this.
Okay, if God wants to build love in
our life, what will He do?
How will He usually do that?
He will build love in our life by
bringing someone very unlovely in our life.
And you may have to say, God, you're
going to have to love that person through
me.
God, I can't love them.
You know, it's just not in me to
love them.
I just can't.
You're going to have to love them through
me.
Make me a channel of your love.
There have been unlovely people that you've had
to work with.
Just difficult to love.
And your tendency is just to avoid them.
You know, just to be around them as
least as possible.
And God says, you don't want to bother
them in your life, because I want to
deepen your love.
We've had husbands and wives.
They just were, I mean, they were innings.
You know, people say, I'm going to get
a divorce.
Why?
I don't want my wife anymore.
I say, that's no problem.
What do you mean, no problem?
It just shows you didn't have the right
kind of love in the first place.
What do you mean?
Well, it says, God's love never fails.
The love you had failed.
You loved her once, yeah, and it failed,
yeah.
Well, then you didn't get the right kind
to start with.
You know, so that's no problem.
You can't leave her for that reason.
And I said, well, you know, you need
to love her as, you can't love her
as a wife.
Then you love her as a neighbor.
Love her as a neighbor.
He says, I can't.
It's too high.
I said, would you think maybe your wife's,
would you consider, I hate to say this,
an enemy?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I can divorce her.
No, Jesus would love your enemies.
You know, so you start loving her like
an enemy.
That's what you do.
Really, I'm being serious.
You love her like an enemy.
How do you love your enemy?
Well, you meet basic needs.
If your enemy's hungry, give him something to
eat.
You first give him food.
You're meeting basic needs.
You've got to start loving your wife and
meeting basic needs.
Then after you love her like an enemy,
then you love her like a neighbor.
Then you love her like a wife.
You just start way out and move in.
And it's amazing when they start doing.
Love is not a feeling.
Love is a doing.
For God so loved that he sat down
and he mowed it.
No, he gave.
See, God's love motivated him to give to
the basic needs.
And he's willing to sacrifice his son to
demonstrate his love.
Okay, joy.
What are the situations that God will cause
to happen so often if you want, and
joy is a very elusive word.
It's a very difficult word to try and
get any kind of definition for.
You know what God, how God so often
builds joy through sorrow.
Joy so often comes out of sorrow.
Peace, you know how God developed the quality
of peace in our life?
You'll die.
It isn't a little trailer on the lake.
It isn't walking in the woods.
If I take a walk in the woods,
you know what happens to me?
I'm going to have ticks.
But you know, I walk across the lawn,
tickers.
But you know how God develops peace in
a person's life?
In confusion.
Go to the orient.
A good lesson in peace.
Patience.
How does God develop patience?
Well, you know there's something worse to pray
for than patience?
You know what's worse to pray for than
patience?
Faith.
If you pray, God, increase my faith, you
better duck.
Because you know how God increases your faith?
He lets the bottom drop out.
I mean, the bottom's just gone.
You know, I tell God, listen, God, I
don't want a crash course in nothing.
Just take it slow and easy.
Inconveniences.
You know, I'm the born loser at the
supermarket.
Today for lunch, I decided to have some
unfat yogurt.
And some guy got behind me.
I said, don't get behind me.
You'll be sorry.
I said, I'm the born loser when it
comes to these lines.
Guy said, yeah, really?
Guess what happened?
Check stand thing broke down.
It doesn't bother me.
I just expect it.
I go to the bank.
You know, there'll be seven people here.
And one person, I stand there with one
person.
You know what they're doing?
They're making deposits for the year on their
business.
It's unreal.
It really is.
I tell my wife.
I said, you get in that line and
I'll get this one.
That one will go.
You know, I used to just be amazed.
In Kansas City, I drove 25 miles into
the college every day and 25 miles back,
mostly on the freeway.
And I will drive 55 miles an hour.
Not 56, not 55 and a quarter, but
55.
And there's certain people who think that that's
wrong.
And I get in the fast lane and
stay there because the Kansas City to go
to Calebaba College, it keeps you from changing
lanes.
You know, the freeway goes this way, that
way, and everything.
You stay in the fast lane, you end
up at the school.
You know, so I just stay in the
fast lane.
And I'll get people to come around me.
They're on their way to work and I'm
going, what a way to start the day.
You know, I had one guy slam his
brakes on the front.
So I hit him.
He was so mad.
Because I was only going 55.
And this guy wants to build patience in
his life.
Robert, do you know what God's trying to
do in your life?
Well, he wasn't listening.
You know, inconveniences.
And you know, don't we miss them?
We get in an inconvenient situation and we're
just off.
Turmoil, we're just having fits and everything.
I'm gone.
I'm going to be late.
Late, I'm telling you.
My watch went out today.
I didn't know what time it was.
I thought I'm going to miss dinner again.
I'm going to be the skinniest person around
here.
I thought they probably had a good lunch.
They have a crummy dinner.
I just know it.
Stew tonight.
We're going to have stew and brussels sprouts.
My two favorites, you know.
And they probably had chicken for lunch.
And I missed it.
Maybe it was my yogurt, you know.
Fat-free yogurt at that.
Gentleness, but they didn't.
But you know, it just seems like things
just have a way of going.
And we can miss everything.
It's no wonder we don't have any qualities.
Because we're flunking all the tests.
Gentleness.
How does God build gentleness in us?
By bringing harsh people in our life.
Boy, did I tell him a thing or
two.
It'll be a long time before they do
that to me again.
Probably.
But you know what?
If you shove away the tools that God
is using now, guess what he does?
He raises bigger ones.
That's right.
He uses a two-by-four than a
freight train.
I mean, why don't we just cooperate?
God, I'll just cooperate in this whole thing,
you know.
And let you, because what?
These qualities are important.
They're the fruits of the Spirit.
The world needs to see these things.
God says, you don't know how desperately the
world needs this.
Let me do the work in your life,
will you?
And, you know, stop hindering it.
Goodness.
And that's a godliness or a godlikeness.
How?
In corruption.
And boy, let me tell you, there's ever
a time that the world needs to see
some godliness today, isn't there?
There's so much corruption today.
Television's full of corruption.
The films at school the kids are seeing,
some of them are just horrid, you know.
Faithfulness.
This one will get you.
You'll say, oh, child evangelism is trying to
develop faithfulness in me.
You know how God develops faithfulness?
By sending us unwelcome responsibilities.
You know, it's so easy to be faithful
to do what you'd like to do.
But not faithful in doing that which you
don't like.
And here's one that we haven't seen.
Meekness.
Meekness is developed in our lives when we're
put in situations where we can either be
angry or worried.
That's the positive quality, is meekness.
We don't have time to do a study
on meekness.
I wish we could.
Just study meekness.
Just put the word meekness down.
Get out your concordance.
Look it up.
Read the verses out.
And you'd be amazed at all the promises
that God gives to those who have developed
this quality of meekness.
Those who will get rid of anger and
worry in their life.
Tremendous quality.
And tremendous promises.
And then self-control when we have wrong
desires.
So there are nine qualities that God wants
to develop in our life.
These are the tools.
And those tools can be so irritating unless
we see them in God's hands.
You know, it's very possible that God is
going to allow this organization to hire an
individual whose main purpose will be on this
whole place to develop most of these qualities
in all of you.
You say, oh yeah, I know her.
She works over in Ohio.
It's amazing though.
Sometimes you wonder, how in the world, how
did they hire this loser?
How did they ever get through the screening
and everything?
You know, and you say, oh, why?
And you know, I'm not saying go out
and find one.
But if God brings you one, then learn.
Learn what God is going to develop in
your life.
The people here are sheltered.
The ones who really get it are the
ones out there.
And these people come to be club workers.
And you know, club workers, wow.
And yet, you'd be amazed at what God
can do in your life through these people.
Let's put our chart back on again and
see tonight.
We looked at anxiety and anger, which is
based on temporal values.
We get angry or we get upset or
we worry about things that only count for
time.
And the quality that God wants us to
develop is the quality of meekness.
Meekness is yielding all of my possessions and
my personal rights to God.
And we need to build an altar and
give it all to God.
Everything that belongs to us.
And then, if God gives it back to
us, realize it's only loaned to us by
God.
And that we don't own anything.
It's all His.
And that is a very tremendous quality to
practice in your life.
And to really get it down.
And God will give us opportunities again and
again to show where our heart really is.
One time I was home.
My wife and daughter had gone to the
grocery store.
We lived out in the country in Kansas
City.
We lived way out.
And they were gone kind of a long
time.
And finally, Terri ran in the house.
I had a long-distance call from the
kid here.
I was counseling over the phone from St.
Louis.
He was all messed up.
And she said, come quick.
Mom's been in the back.
And I said, hey kid, I've got to
hang up.
Call me back before I spin around.
Sure, Logan.
Go ahead.
So I hung up.
We ran outside and there was some guy
in the other car.
And we drove down to where the car
was.
And my wife was coming this way down
this highway out in the country.
And the car was in the ditch facing
the other way.
And so the guy let me out of
the car.
And as I walked up to the car,
I had an opportunity to do two things.
And it would reveal where my heart was.
I could check out the dance in the
car.
Or I could check out the dance in
my wife.
And whichever one I would choose to do
would tell my wife what.
What was most important to me.
The car or her.
Now, to my mind, you want to know,
don't you?
Remember that question about being nosy?
Well, I passed that one.
I checked her out.
Because, see, it wasn't my car.
It was God's.
If God wanted his car all smashed into
the rear end, that's his business.
It was his car and it got all
smashed into the rear end.
The only thing I was worried about was
the groceries in there.
We hadn't given those to God yet.
But I'll tell you, you'd just be amazed.
You'd just be amazed at how many times
during the day that we are tested in
this area.
Are we building our life around things that
count for eternity?
Are we really concerned about eternal things?
Are we concerned about right now?
And don't sacrifice eternal character for the right
now.
Don't do that.
It's not worth it.
You know, God wants to build a tremendous
quality of meekness in your life.
Don't worry.
Don't.
That's a sin.
And if you don't have pride in your
life, then you have the grace to conquer
worry.
But if you've got pride, you're going to
flunk.
Because remember, if God resists the proud, he
doesn't give grace to the proud.
So you've got to deal with pride.
You get pride dealt with.
Then, if you have a struggle with anxiety,
you know that God will give you the
grace not to worry.
It doesn't mean he's going to change your
situation.
It's just that your response to the situations
that are worrying about it will now be
one of prayer and trusting.
Instead of getting angry about a situation, you're
going to try to identify personal rights.
Because so often when we get angry, it's
personal rights that we're upset about.
What rights did they have to keep me
waiting?
You know, did you know breakfast was five
minutes late this morning?
Five minutes late.
I waited five minutes for a three-minute
egg.
Don't they know who I am?
Well, I'm from Brokenbone, Nebraska.
After all, I've got a lever in front
of my name.
Do you see what I would do?
Rights.
What rights did they have to do that?
What rights did they have to do this?
You and I need to identify rights and
give them to God.
There's a wonderful book written by a child,
not child evangelist, but China Inland Missionary.
Years ago, it was called Have We No
Rights?
That book is as good today as the
day she wrote it, and we don't have
any rights.
There's only one kind of right that a
dead man has.
That's kind of gave around here, and that's
last rites.
But I'm a dead man.
I've been crucified with Christ.
I have no rights.
Because I'm dead.
There's no rights.
We have no rights.
And so when you get angry, you trace
that anger to rights.
And if you don't get rid of that,
transfer that right to God, you'll get angry
again.
Over the same issue.
Again, and again, and again.
We never learn.
And then one day we said, God, there's
got to be a theme here.
And we deal with that right.
We give it to God.
And remember, what you give to God, expect
Him.
You know, people are giving things to God.
A maternal came to the Church of the
Open Door.
Have you ever had a maternal speak?
Man, he's spoken.
You just want to give everything to God.
And one of the guys there at church
decided to give his business to God.
Well, about three weeks later, he was to
see Dr. McGee.
Or about to knock the office door down.
The guy says, you remember when the maternal
was here?
He says, sure.
He says, you know, he told us about
giving our business to God.
The guy said, I gave my business to
God.
And he took it.
He was mad.
You know, we want to give it to
God, but we don't want Him to take
it.
Isn't that right?
You give God your money, and you're broke.
You're saying, I don't like that.
I want to be rich.
So be careful.
I'll end with one story, a good story.
We had a lady in our church.
She was married to a sloth.
Well, not really a sloth, but he had
sloth tendencies.
And one of the tendencies of a sloth
is get-rich-quick.
And when a guy has get-rich-quick
problems, you know, the Scripture warns about these
get-rich-quick guys.
They always want to take the minimal amount
of effort to make the maximum amount of
money.
And so the newspaper is full of these
get-rich-quick schemes.
You know, meet Sam, knock three times on
the hotel door, and tell him, you know,
give the word, he'll let you in, and
then you can invest in uranium deposits down
in the town underneath the arch or something.
You know, all these things.
They go from town to town with all
these deals where you just got a little
bit of money, and you'll make a fortune.
You're getting in on the ground floor of
this.
And all through their married life, this guy
was always threatening to put all of their
money into one of these harebrained schemes.
And she would just panic, because they were
getting older and older, and he still was
going to get rich quick.
Well, I bumped into her in a supermarket.
And she was from Germany.
She married this fellow, he was an American
citizen.
And she said, oh, Pastor Logan.
She said, oh, I can't tell you what
my husband is doing.
It is just terrible.
And I thought, well, what is he doing?
What is he doing?
She said, he's going to go to the
bank and take out all of our money
and give it to this fellow that's no
good.
I said, how do you know he's no
good?
She said, I don't know, but I know
he's no good.
He said, he's a crook.
He's a crook.
I can tell.
And you know that a woman's intuition, a
husband should listen to it.
A woman is an excellent judge of a
man's character.
She said, I just know he's a crook,
and we're going to lose all our money.
And she was just, and she said, I'm
so mad at him.
And she said, oh, she's going on and
on and on.
And she said, it's not only his money,
it's my money he's taking too, because she
works with him too.
It's all their money.
And she was really mad.
I said, you know what you need to
do, Elizabeth?
I said, you need to build a knowledge
right here amongst the cereal.
We were standing in a circle.
I said, let's take some stone.
You can build a stone over here, and
you take all of that money, and you
give it to God.
So he's not going to take your money.
He's going to take God's money and give
it to the crook.
And then I said, this crook may take
it all, and you lose everything.
And then I said, God is going to
see where you're hiding.
So you have to lay out for yourself
treasures on earth, but treasures in heaven.
And so you give this money to God,
and you've got to let God take it.
If God takes it, you'll teach your husband
a tremendous lesson.
But you have to be like Sarah and
not say a word.
You can't say, see, I told you he's
a crook.
See, I told you to listen to me.
I said, listen, husbands learn more from God
than they do from their wives.
And if you keep your mouth shut, if
he takes all the money, he'll come to
you for comfort.
But if you said, see, I told you,
he won't go to you.
I'll pass along a lot of money.
I said, Elizabeth, you're going to give it
all to God or not?
I'll give it all to God.
I said, now he may take it.
It's okay.
If God wants to take it, he can
have it.
So we prayed.
And she took all the money, put it
on the altar there in the store.
I don't know if people thought we were
doing it.
I like to do this for an opening.
I did it last night.
But you know when I go to rest
up sometimes and someone says, Would you lead
in prayers?
Well, you've eaten here before.
So I was standing there praying over the
cereal, you know.
Before we take it there.
And she prayed and she gave it to
God.
She said, oh, I feel for goodness.
And now God has the freedom to do
whatever he wants with that money.
Whatever he sees would be the best and
would be the greatest blessing.
And, you know, and it doesn't always turn
out like this.
But, you know, we found out later on
when we were praying in that A&P
store.
Her husband got second thoughts.
And he called a bit of business bureau
which connected him with the FBI that's been
trying to get a hold of this guy.
And they said, we'll come by real quick.
We'll give you marked money.
You go down to the hotel room.
You just give him the money.
You leave and we'll come in and we'll
wrestle.
This guy has been policing people state after
state after state.
And so he's been doing it in different
states.
It was an FBI type thing.
So he went down to the hotel room
with his marked money, knocked on the door,
and the guy was gone.
He just fell to rest.
Which is really not the important thing.
But you know, as far as I know,
that husband has never, never again done that.
But, you know, he could have just as
easily lost it all.
And then she could have revealed her real
value system.
Did she want God to teach her husband
eternal lessons?
Or was she going to get angry?
And I don't know.
I know that God is going to be
teaching her a lot of things here.
And I just trust that when we go
through these things, we'll think back on them.
Think back, what is God trying to teach
in my life?
You know, what quality is God trying to
bring in my life?
Maybe even this week.
Maybe even tonight.
You know, I don't have any idea what
could happen.
Just anything could happen.
Something banging on your window all night?
Or the radiator coming on and you just
won't sleep.
You look and it's coming on and blowing.
And you say, why don't you stop blowing?
And you turn it off and you lay
there in the cold.
So you put it back on and it
blows.
Or you take a shower and someone flushes
the toilet next door and it comes out
red hot.
Or they run the hot water and it
comes out cold.
You know, all kinds of things.
Isn't that right?
Just all kinds of things can happen.
Who knows what's going to happen?
But we know what?
That if you're a believer, God is in
control.
God is in control.
And he's got a purpose in it to
conform us to the news of his son.
Let's cooperate, okay?
Father, we just thank you so much tonight
for this.
Lord, we look back and I'm sure that
those especially that have had people, volunteers, working
with volunteers, have had so many disappointments.
And yet, Lord, we have to realize that
every single disappointment has been a divine appointment.
And it was an opportunity for us to
become a little more like Jesus Christ.
And so, Father, instead of walking from here
trying to avoid situations which we don't like,
Father, may we welcome them.
When all kinds of troubles come into your
life, my brethren, don't resent them as intruders,
but welcome them as friends, for they've come
to produce in your life tremendous quality.
We just thank you that portion in James
1.
And, Father, how we so often shove away
the very tool that will develop a deeper
character that we need so desperately and the
world needs to see.
So we just pray that the lesson tonight
may be written upon our hearts and that
we might think it through again and again
as we work and walk every day with
you.
In Christ's name we pray.
Amen.