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I Was Born For This

Series: In the Fire

James 1:2-5, 12, Acts 27:21-44

Pastor Groeschel

Hey, welcome today, to all of our LifeChurch locations, all of our partnering network

churches. We love you all so much, and those of you all over the world, at Church

Online. Thank you so much for worshiping with us today.

Let me tell you, two weeks from now, we’re starting a brand new message series

called Puzzled – what do you do when you don’t have all the pieces, and you don’t

understand what God is doing, and what’s going on in your life? That series starts in two

weeks. I also want to remind you, on July 5 and 6 – you guessed it – “At the Movies” is

back. We have what I believe is the best lineup of movies. If you’re new with us, we

look at movies, we pull spiritual truths, our campuses go crazy, and we bring all sorts of

people who normally wouldn’t come to church, and we watch God do amazing things.

That’s July 5 and 6 – we’re starting the next “At the Movies.”

Today I want to introduce to you a very good friend of mine, who’s going to preach an

amazing message. Pastor Carl Lentz is the pastor of Hillsong New York, an amazing

church that’s grown to about 6,000 people in just three years. This guy is a true

evangelist. He reaches people that no one else could ever reach. He’s a pretty cool

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dresser, and he’s an amazing man of God. Would you please welcome my good friend,

Pastor Carl Lentz?

Pastor Lentz

It’s so good to be here. How’s everybody doing? Quickly look at the person next to

you and say, “I prayed all week I’d sit right next to you.” An absolute honor to be here,

and a big hello to LifeChurch in general, and all the network churches, and if you’re

watching online ... We love you. We need you to shout us down. Even though you’re

not here, we know you’re here in spirit, so go ahead and scare your neighbor. If you’re

watching at home, just shout down a computer screen. Be involved.

But it is such an absolute blessing to be here, and on behalf of a lot of churches like

mine, just want to thank LifeChurch for your amazing generosity in general. If you don’t

know what it’s like to plant a church, it’s very scary, and because of men like your pastor,

who gives so much, churches like mine are allowed to thrive. And I happened to get to

know your pastor personally. A lot of other pastors would get online and take your

resources, but I get to call him in panic, not just get online. And he has always been

generous to love guys like me.

So, on behalf of Hillsong New York City, thank you for your love, LifeChurch. You

are amazing – your giving, week in and week out, what you do. Even though you might

not know anybody in New York right now, you have a hand in a lot of people getting

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saved. We’ve seen almost 50,000 people meet Jesus in a couple years’ time, and it

wouldn’t be possible without you. Such a blessing …

If you have a Bible, I want you to grab it right now, if you’re here with us. Just let me

see who is spiritual. Hold up a Bible. Okay. Look at the person next to you, say, “My

Bible’s better than yours.” And I want you to turn with me quickly to James chapter 1.

Are you glad you’re here? Isn’t it good to be in church? Who’s glad you go to a great

church? I talked to a guy, recently, who said – he was like, “I don’t go to church.

There’s too many hypocrites.” I said, “We’ve got room for one more. We can fit you

right in.” Churches are not supposed to be perfect; they’re supposed to be home. So,

make sure you find your place.

The Book of James is pretty powerful, and it’s important you know a little bit of

context. And it’s always a challenge to preach at LifeChurch, because you have to find a

message that you didn’t just completely rip off from Pastor Craig. And this Book of

James – If you’ve never read the Bible – maybe you’re visiting LifeChurch today, or at a

different campus, or watching online – and we actually believe the Bible is the living

Word of God. We don’t believe that it’s a Book of ‘maybes’; we actually believe this

whole thing can change your life, from Genesis to Revelation. It is a love letter from

heaven, to us. Even the maps will change your life.

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And the Book of James was written by the brother of Jesus, and this is pretty cool,

because when you know who wrote something, even the tone of the way He wrote it was

interesting. So, being the brother of Jesus would have been interesting. If you have a

sibling – have you ever heard of the thing “sibling rivalry”? There would have been none

of that with James and Jesus. No matter what James did, he would have came home and

been like, “Hey, Mom, had a good day. Got an ‘A,’” and Jesus would have came home,

and she would have been like, “Hey, Jesus, how was Your day?” “Mom, it was good. I

saved everybody.” Tough to be James …

And he writes a letter to a bunch of people who were going through it, not everything

going perfect, not, “I’m following Jesus, so everything’s great now.” These are people

who were being chased out of their homes. In this day and age, people were being

burned alive; they were being thrown into the lion’s den. They were going through it.

And James wrote them this letter.

I’m going to pick it up, chapter 1, verse 2. It says, “Consider it a sheer gift, [my]

friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.” Have you ever had a

season of life like that, where it’s not just raining down, but you’re getting hit from all

angles? Who loves those seasons? Me, neither! But right off the bat, we’re challenged

to consider those seasons joy.

He said:

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3 You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and [it]

shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. 4 Let it do

its work [in you] so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any

way.

5 If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. [And] He loves to help

[you]. [And you’re going to] get His help … when you ask for it.

It goes down, and this amazing Scripture, in verse 12 – this is my favorite part. He

said, “[Anybody] who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is

mighty fortunate. For such [people] loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more

life.”

Come on, somebody, give me a Pentecostal shout right there. Let me get a drink real

quick. Anybody need one? Cheers … Hopefully, it’s just water. Apparently, James is

encouraging regular believers to know that if you’re going through some drama and some

challenge in your life, number one, you are not alone. And number two, the best reward

in life is not having a life free of controversy or problems, but actually getting through it.

Jesus goes on, later, to tell His disciples, “Take heart, because I have overcome the

world,” which leads me to call this little message, “I Was Born for This.” Let me say it

again. You can pretend that it matters, and you love it – “I Was Born for This.” Look at

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somebody quickly and say, “I was born for this.” And then, look back at them and say,

“Quit talking to me; it’s getting awkward.” “I Was Born for This.”

When you read this right here, you start finding out that, Maybe I was born for this

life, not all the stuff that goes in it, but because I have Jesus, I can make it through

anything! And I think there has to come a day, as a Christian, where you stop asking God

to deliver you from some things, and you start looking at that same situation, or that same

trial, and start saying, “No, I was actually born for this.”

Christians are notorious for asking to be delivered from their own prayer requests. We

have a rule in Hillsong New York City: You are not allowed to ask Jesus to deliver you

from that which you prayed for the week before, because you can have an altar call –

“Who wants to be used by God?” – and everybody comes up. The next week, they’re

emailing, “I’m leaving church because I feel used.”

There has to come a day, as a Christian, where you start looking at some storms, and

some challenges – maybe your marriage is difficult today – where we have people not

running from their marriage, but saying, “You know what? I was born to fight for what’s

right.”

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Or maybe you got a bad doctor’s report. Rather than go panic and try to find

somebody to cry with, you start saying, “You know what? I’m not happy about the trial.

I didn’t ask to be in this. But I’m going to believe that I was born for this.”

And sometimes, you even have to talk yourself into doing stuff you would never do on

your own. It’s called “hanging out with Australians.” My wife is Australian, I’ve got

some Australian friends, and they can pump you to do anything. Some stuff you would

never do on your own – “Go ahead, mate. It’s going to be great, mate. Swim with the

sharkey. Go ahead, mate.” And they will pump you to do some things you would never

do on your own.

As a Christian, you’re going to have to talk yourself into doing some things that,

without Jesus, you could never do. I was born for this. You might not believe it, but

you’ve got to talk yourself into it.

You know, I am not the biggest outdoorsy guy in the world. I always feel less manly

when I’m in any part of Oklahoma, or maybe Texas, where men have hats and boots, and

I come in just looking like I’m from New York. And I’m not comfortable doing

outdoorsy things. I’m okay with that. I don’t want to go on a hike, at all. If I’m going to

be on a hike, I’m going to hike my way to a spa. I’m secure; I’m okay with that. There

are some things I’m just not born to do!

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And recently we went skiing with our family, and I’m not a big skier. And so, we

went, just a couple of days, upstate New York, and I remember walking up, as we looked

at these giant slopes … And there was a day in my life where I might have had to prove

that I was a skier. But I’m 35. I’m just as happy now to sit in my log cabin, with satellite

TV, and look at everybody else skiing. I don’t need to prove anything. So, I sat on my

couch for three straight days, while my wife and my children went skiing.

The last day, my wife’s like, “Honey, are you going to go skiing?” I’m like, “No,

baby, I’m good right here. I’m a 35-year-old man playing Call of Duty. Don’t judge me.

I’m fine.” And she was like, “It’s fine.” She was like, “Your kids are going to judge you

the rest of your life, but it’s fine.” So, I’m like, “Fine. I’ll ski one day.”

And I remember going out to the slope, and I’m like, I’ll just go on a bunny slope. It’s

not going to be the biggest deal. I did the classic “dude who can’t ski” thing with my

son. We’re skiing, I was like, “That wasn’t so bad. I wasn’t born to ski, but I’ll give it

another shot.”

So, I went back up, and I went down this one slope. And I had started with a group of

people, but as I went down the slope, apparently there was a fork in the road that I didn’t

see, because I ended up by myself. And I land at the bottom of the slope, and I’m like,

Well, that’s kind of weird. I’m by myself. But I’ll just get on the little ski chair and go

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back up. And as the ski chair hit me, at about 50 miles per hour, I look over my shoulder.

I’m like, Wait, does that say “triple black diamond”?

As I’m ascending into heights unreachable, as the air gets thinner, I start realizing I’m

in trouble. I’m like, I’m on the wrong lift. And I’m looking at my clock – I’m like, I’ve

been on this thing for ten minutes. Have you ever seen the movie Grinch, when you’re

looking down on the city? That was me.

And I finally get to the top of this ski slope, and as I hit the ground, I’m looking

around. There’s whistling wind; there’s no help. I’m looking for a red emergency phone.

There’s professional skiers spraying me, because they could just tell that I didn’t belong

there. And I remember walking around going, This is bad. I don’t even want to be here.

I’m not a skier. I’ve ended up on a triple-black-diamond slope. This is a horrible day.

And I walked up to the edge of the slope, and I look down, and it’s, like, sheer ice, and

I’m like, “I’m not going to do this. Lord, I’m humble. I see what You’re doing here.

The pastor’s on camera – ha, ha, ha! I’ve got it. I’m not doing it.” And I was like, “You

know what I’m going to do? I’m going to take myself from Virginia, and I’m going to

pick up my skis, and I’m going to walk myself down this slope, and I’m going to live to

see another day.”

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As I look over one more time, I don’t know how I slipped, but I did, and I slipped and

went head over heels down this entire slope. It looked like a yard sale – every goggle,

every ski thing, every piece of equipment …

And as I picked the rubble up of my life, and look up – I got saved 19 times on that

slope, by the way. As I picked up the rubble – and my nose is bleeding. I’ve got, like,

my goggles … I looked up at the slope, and I’m like, “Yeah, but you know what, slope?

I did it! I’m a skier! I was born – I did it!”

But I remember seeing my kids later, as we’re eating lunch, and my kids are like,

“Dad, are you okay?” I’m like, “I’m fine. There’s no problem. I just dominated a

slope.”

You might find yourself, this year, on a ski slope you did not want to be on, a situation

you did not plan on being in. And when everything in you wants to back away and say,

“I can’t do this. I can’t go on any further” – maybe you feel lonely – you were born to

fight through it. Do not give up hope. Maybe you’re going through a health challenge

right now, and everybody else wants you to run away. I pray that the Holy Spirit,

somehow, some way, reminds some of you, Jesus Christ is with you. The Holy Spirit is

empowering you. You were born for this. You were born for it.

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So, with my time that I have remaining – Pastor Craig said, “We know you’re from

Virginia, so we’re going to give you Southern Baptist time – three and a half hours” –

I’m going to show you how to handle the heat of this life a little bit better, just three

simple ways. Is that okay? I’ve actually got 37. Who wants all 37? The people at home

just went to ESPN.com. Come on back.

I’m going to read you something out of the Book of Acts. You can go there with me

real quick. And if you’re single, watching this message, make sure you hold your Bible

out in front of you. Make sure it’s kinds of highlighted in there. Okay. Acts chapter 27

– our church is filled with single people. That’s why our worship is so good in Hillsong

New York City, not because we love Jesus, because people are desperate. They are

crying out to God.

How to handle the heat better in this life … Because I do think some Christians really

feel like, Hey, I got saved. I’m following Jesus. Why is all this bad stuff happening to

me? I think there comes a moment when you realize, Wait a second. If there’s an

absence of adversity in my life, there might be an absence of progress, as well. We

cannot run from the challenges of this life. Jesus didn’t promise that everything was

going to be better; He just promised that He would be with you. So, we’ve got to figure

out how to handle the heat better.

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And this story is a chunk of what is a fantastic passage, by a guy named Paul. And I

will recap, as fast as I can. Paul is a prisoner on a ship. Modern-day things are called

“cruises,” but to me, it just sounds like being a prisoner on a ship. And he is facing

imminent death. And we’re going to pick up the story when he’s in the middle of the

heat, in the middle of the fight. Keep in mind, I already would have been done, but

somehow Paul has the wherewithal to take part in what is one of the most powerful

accounts in this Bible.

It says this: “21 With our appetite” – this is Acts 27, if you’re following along, from

The Message Translation. I don’t know if you think that’s a spiritual translation. We

happen to say the most spiritual translation of the Bible is the one you actually read.

Having said that, I invented a thing called YouVerion, and … gave the idea away,

because we’re a giving church, and a young, struggling pastor named Craig Groeschel

was like, “Thanks,” and he did well with it. “21 With our appetite for both food and life

long gone, Paul took his place in our midst and [he] said, ‘Friends, you really should have

listened to me back in Crete.’” Don’t you love Christians like that? They’re happy to tell

you how wrong you were, after you already did the thing.

21-22 … You really should have listened to me back in Crete. We could have

avoided all this trouble and [all this] trial. But there’s no need to dwell on that

now. From now on, things are looking up! I can assure you that [there will] not

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be a single drowning among us, although I can’t say as much for the ship – [this

thing] is doomed.

Got to love Christians that keep it real – “Oh, man, I really messed up.” “It’s not that

bad.” “Nah, it’s that bad. You’re tripping. You’re in trouble.” “23 Last night God’s

angel stood at my side, an angel of this God [that] I serve, 24 saying to me, ‘Don’t give

up, Paul.’”

Just freeze with me for a moment. Some of y’all need to hear that. God could have

sent this angel to say anything: “Tithe more! Do more! Learn more Bible! Be a better

Christian. Do more religious things.” But this angel whispered to a beleaguered Paul,

“Don’t give up.” Somebody needs to hear this today. Do not give up. It’s the Word of

God for you today.

24 “… Don’t give up …. You’re going to stand before Caesar yet – and

[everybody] sailing with you is also going to make it.” 25 So, dear friends, take

heart. I believe God will do exactly what He told me. 26 But we’re going to

shipwreck on some [other] island.

Love how he keeps bringing that up.

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27-29 On the fourteenth night, adrift somewhere [in] the Adriatic Sea … about

midnight the sailors sensed that we were approaching land. Sounding, they

measured a depth of 120 feet … shortly after that ninety feet. Afraid that we were

about to run aground, they threw out [the] anchors and [they] prayed for daylight.

30 Some of the sailors tried to jump ship.

Freeze with me for a moment. You might want to take inventory of your friendships,

here and now. Because when you’re in the heat, you want to pay attention to who’s

trying to get out of your ship, and who’s staying in. In New York, we say, “Don’t pay

attention to the friends that want to ride with you in the limo. Pay attention to the friends

that want to walk with you to the bus stop, when the limo breaks down.”

30-32 … They let down the lifeboat, pretending they were going to set out more

anchors from the bow. Paul saw through their guise and [he] told the centurion

and his soldiers, “If these sailors don’t stay with the ship, we’re all going down.”

So the soldiers cut the lines to the lifeboat and [they] let it drift off.

“33 With dawn about to break, Paul called [everybody] together” – and I love this – “[he]

and proposed breakfast.”

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It is spiritual. If you’re having a bad day, get yourself some food. If you are in the

middle of a trial, you get yourself some Krispy Kreme doughnuts. You have biblical

precedent that is God’s blessing on your life.

“33 ... [He] proposed breakfast: ‘This is the fourteenth day we’ve gone without food.’”

Can you imagine how mad these people would have been? If I don’t eat for three hours, I

lose my salvation. Fourteen days without food ... “33 ... None of us [feel] like eating!

34 But I urge you to eat something now. [You’re going to] need [your] strength for the

rescue ahead. You’re going to come out of this without even a scratch!”

Isn’t it amazing that Paul is in the middle of the worst season ever, the worst trial ever,

but he still has the wherewithal to speak vision and life into those around him? If you are

in a hostile work environment, maybe don’t ask God to deliver you from the work

environment. Maybe ask the Holy Spirit to open up your eyes to how much vision and

life you can breathe to those that might die without you in that office.

“35-38 He broke the bread, [he] gave thanks to God, [and he] passed it [all] around,

and they all ate heartily – 276 of us, all told! With the meal finished and [everybody]

full, the ship was … lightened [even more].”

It goes on to say the ship broke up, and the last part says, “42 [As] the soldiers

[crashed and] decided to kill the prisoners so [nobody] could escape by swimming … 43

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the centurion, determined to save Paul” – keep in mind, that makes no sense, but when

you’re in the middle of a trial or a test, it’s amazing how God will send even those who

used to be your enemies to breathe a little bit of life into you. His grace is that good.

“43 … The centurion, determined to save Paul, stopped them. [And] he gave orders

for [anybody] who could swim to dive in and go for it, 44 and …the rest [of them

grabbed planks].” The first biblical time we see surfing. “44 … [Everybody] made it to

shore safely.”

Now, for anybody who’s ADD, y’all might have checked out right there. Let me just

recap what happened. You have one guy on an absolutely doomed ship – horrible trial,

horrible test. But he had the wherewithal to call on Jesus to keep his vision, to keep his

faith, to keep his strength. And a whole lot of other people that probably would have

went down without him had new life because of him and his faith.

You were born for this. From this little story, I’m going to give you three ways to

handle the heat, and then we’re done. Are you ready? Write this down. Some of you

aren’t taking notes, and that’s okay, but I’m judging you on the inside.

Number one – You want to handle the heat better? Anybody in here want to handle

the heat better? Number one, see it coming, so you never end up running. Really

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simple … I actually don’t have any complicated messages. See it coming so you never

end up running.

What I love about reading what Paul did, it feels like he was two steps ahead of the

game, like he had been with God, so he knew what this world was going to bring. So, he

didn’t end up running in the middle of the fight.

I don’t know if you guys know this or not – it might be different, where you’re from –

but in New York, Christians aren’t typically known for their poise under pressure. We’re

not the people in society, typically, that the world runs to when things go bad. And you

know CNN, during a world crisis, is going to find that one weird, right-wing, Christian,

crazy dude who’s like, “This is bad! This is the Lord coming back. The clouds will part,

and Jesus on a white horse is coming back. We’re going to be at the Rapture bus stop up

here, just hanging out with some Campbell’s soup, because this is the end times.” And

you’re like, “It was just a traffic jam.” “No, it’s more. It’s signs, end times.”

Why do we always act like we don’t know that Jesus said, “In this life you will have

problems; you will have trouble”? Why do we always act like we’re the ones who are

shocked? What if our world saw a Christian generation of people rise up that, when the

worst of the worst happens, the best of the best comes out of us? We saw this coming!

I’m not shocked that I’m going through something! I’m not freaking out the moment

something happens.

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I mean, people will live in the world for 16 years, and give God six months, and if it

all doesn’t work out, they’re like, “I’m leaving.” I always say, “Give Jesus at least as

much time as you gave the club.” But sometimes you’ve got to see this stuff coming, so

you never end up running.

How do you do it? Here’s what we do at our church. Maybe this’ll work for you. We

say, “Try giving Jesus the first 15.” Just a simple phrase, because we – I mean, there are

some people who can do hours and hours in the morning. That’s great. New York –

we’re simple people, and we say, “What if you gave Jesus the first 15 minutes of your

day, where you met with the Son of God, you had the Holy Spirit lift your head before

the day met with you?”

So, we say take five minutes. Spend five minutes just waking up in the morning and

playing some worship music, preferably Hillsong United. And then, you spend five

minutes reading your Bible, whatever that is. And you can just start anywhere. You can

get on our YouVersion app that we made. You can find an easy, quick thing to do. And

you just read the Bible, start to get to know it, start to get to understand the language.

Just read it, meditate on it, and spend five minutes thanking God for who He is.

Those 15 minutes of your first part of that day can change the rest of your day. That

way, you walk into your day with something in you, so when something comes your way,

you’re not scrambling for something; you’re shouting something.

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There are so many Christians who don’t spend enough time with Jesus on their own

because they expect to get it from a podcast, or they want to come to church and get

spoon fed, rather than go back to the essence of our faith, which is you, on your knees,

seeking heaven for yourself. And so, we call it the “blue light prayer.” There are some

Christians, the only time they pray, it’s when they see the blue lights in the rearview

mirror, and they start amalgamating every prayer they’ve ever heard: “The Lord is my

Shepherd. Jesus, halleluiah. I will not lie down. If You get me out of this, God – ehhh!”

That’s their prayer. Emergency crisis prayer … But what if you walked in somewhere

and heard bad news, and you had a word from heaven?

There’s a lot of Christians who don’t know this Bible, so they’ll search for something

in a bad day, and they’ll be like, “Oh, Jesus, where are You?” And they’ll be like, “Oh,

it’s Leviticus. Oh, God doesn’t care about me!”

But if you know you’re born for this, and you know God’s going to use you to lift

somebody’s head, to lead your marriage, to work in your office and not just survive, but

thrive in it, you’re going to realize, I’ve got to see it coming. I’m going to face some

opposition, but when I do, I will not run, because I know that God is with me.

Number two – what was number one, anybody remember? See it coming. Number

two, you’ve got to see it through. Because you have no idea what God is going to do.

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Unintentional rhyme … You’ve got to see it through, y’all, because you have no idea

what God’s going to do.

Can you imagine of Paul would have been me, or you – some of us who, admittedly,

can give up too quickly? Imagine if he would have given up at any part of this story. But

he kept on seeing it through. When he was a prisoner – I would have given up right then,

but he saw it through. When they didn’t have any food, he saw it through. Right when

the ship broke up on the beach, he saw it through.

I came to tell a couple of people today, you need to see it through. If you are in the

middle of a hot season, where you’re in the middle of a test or a trial that you did not plan

for, and you are tempted to give up … Maybe you have a son or daughter that’s walking

away from Jesus. Maybe your marriage isn’t what you want it to be. Maybe you have

had a failure recently. See it through, because you have no idea what God is going to do.

I recently prayed with a guy who called me up, and he said, “My baby’s mom has

gone into labor,” basically. I’m trying to use political terms here. They’re not married,

but they had a baby on the way. It’s called “real church.” Everybody okay with that?

And he said, “Here’s the bad news, Carl. She’s going into labor today.”

Normally we’d be rejoicing, but this was three months early. And I remember going

to pray with this guy – he’s about 6’10”; he’s a big dude. And we prayed, and I said,

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“Look, bro, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what the future holds.

But we do know Who holds it. So, as Christians, we have the right to understand, ‘God,

we’re going to see this through.’ We’re going to pray that God’s going to do what He

can do. We can’t heal, but we can pray that God can heal. We can’t predict the future,

but we know what His word says, which is, ‘No weapon formed against us will prosper,’

and we’re going to pray.”

So, we prayed, and I ran home, and I changed. I told Laura what was going on. I

called my mom, who’s my intercessory prayer team. I don’t even need a team with my

mom, because she can pray better than everybody I know. And I said, “Mom, I’ve got to

go to the hospital. I think, most likely, I’m going to have to comfort a grieving dad

who’s really going through it. And I think we might not just lose the baby, but even the

mom giving birth right now.” So, my mom started praying.

As I pull up to the hospital, I am met by this 6’10” dad, in a gown, running out, going,

“Carl! It’s a miracle! My baby boy’s here! He made it!” You could fit this little boy in

the palm of his hand, and he’s been in the hospital ever since, doing some machine work,

getting his lifting in. But as I preach this message today, that boy is healthy, and he is

whole.

There are other stories where maybe you’re like, “I don’t know if that’s always going

to happen.” Neither do I, but I do know that when you are faced with a heat season,

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where you’re like, Man, I don’t know if I can handle this, just see it through, because you

have no idea what our God is going to do.

And here’s the other thing. This is a little bonus point – you can write it down. The

trial that you’re going through, it’s not even about you; it’s about the people that need to

walk through you to get through their next part of this journey. So, if you stop, not only

do you miss out, but somebody who you’re called to lead and encourage someday with

the victory you did find in your season of trial misses out on all that God has. Not just

about you … It’s about somebody else. So, if you’re in here today, see it through. You

have no idea what God is going to do.

Number three, as we close – and if you’re in a Pentecostal church, this is the part you

call up the keyboards. We’re not all as gifted as your pastor – thanks – who can just get

up and just say four things, and it’s amazing, and then just go home. We need theatrics.

We need lights. We need smoke.

Number one, you’ve got to – what? – see it coming! Number two, you’ve got to see it

through. And number three, you’ve got to shake it off so you can keep on yelling, “Bring

it on!”

The story does not end there. I’m going to go back to Acts 28 – and we’re almost

done. Stay with me. Is this helping anybody in here? Keep in mind, we’ve got Paul,

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now – this would have been a good enough story as it is. I mean, he saved the whole

boat, gave everybody doughnuts, speaking life, teaching people how to surf. I mean, he’s

awesome, right? It gets even better – or worse, depending on how you look at it.

So, now they’re on the beach, and everything should be getting better. It says:

1-2 Once [everybody] was accounted for and we realized we had all made it, we

learned that we were on the island of Malta. The natives went out of their way to

be friendly to us. The day was rainy and cold [but] we were already soaked to the

bone, but they built a huge bonfire and [they] gathered us around it.

3 Paul pitched in and [he] helped.

Of course he did. Paul was super Christian. “3 … He … gathered up a bundle of sticks,

but when he put it on the fire, a venomous snake, roused from … the heat, struck his hand

and held on.” It had to be a snake, didn’t it? It couldn’t have been a spider, or a falcon.

It had to be a snake. Only worse would have been if it was a cat. “4 Seeing the snake

hanging from Paul’s hand like that, the natives jumped to the conclusion that he was a

murderer getting his just deserts.”

You know what? Just a quick reminder: Be careful when you judge somebody on

their journey. You have no idea what they’re going through. It’s like, man, that seems a

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bit harsh. He’s going through something – he’s a murderer. Imagine walking into a

church in America right now, with a different color hair, or maybe a lifestyle that you

haven’t figured out yet, and the judgmental eyes, and the judgmental … Let’s just give

people grace and believe God’s best, no matter what. It’s a good little tidbit as you – No

matter what you read on TMZ.

“5 Paul” – ready for this? – “shook the snake off into the fire, [no] worse for [the]

wear. 6 They kept expecting him to drop dead, but when it was obvious he wasn’t going

to, they jumped to the conclusion that he was a god!” What is wrong with these people?

Two paragraphs ago he was a murderer, and now he’s a god.

It shows us, again, that’s why you cannot live off the praises of people, or die from

their criticism, as well. We live for an audience of one. God is our source. God directs

us. Some people are going to love you, some people are going to hate you, but only Jesus

died for you!

So, “6 … They jumped to the conclusion he was a god.” The head man in that part of

the town had a sick father, and Paul ended up healing him. In the last part of this

Scripture, it says, “9 Word of the healing got around fast, and soon [everybody] on the

island who was sick came and got healed.”

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This is incredible. Imagine, if you’re Paul, you’re already on the cruise ship from hell.

Things are going bad. You think you’re going to get a breath of fresh air. Have you ever

gone through a season, as a Christian, where you’re like, “God, if I could get a breather it

would be nice”? Ever been there? Paul definitely could have been there. But he’s

finally there. He’s warming himself by the fire, and a snake jumps out at him.

Right here, Paul is faced with a decision Christians are faced with all the time. If

you’re doing what you’re called to do on this planet, you should be starting fires, because

the lighter the glow, the more Jesus gets reflected. So, you shouldn’t have a life where

you’re not building fires, and seeing them get bigger. That’s the point! But the bigger

the fire, the more snakes are jumping out at you.

So, Paul gets hit with this snake, and he’s got one option. If he sits there and doesn’t

do anything, he dies. But he says, “I’ve got to keep moving.” So, he shakes it off. I

came to tell a couple of you, you have every right, under the cross of Jesus Christ, to

shake off that which has tried to cling to you for too long. Maybe something jumped out

of a fire you didn’t expect. You have every right to shake it off.

I told my wife – because the other day, we were in a car, and she looks at me, and just

goes, “Oooh!” I said, “Are you okay, baby?” She’s like, “Yeah, I got the shakes.” You

might have to live, for the next season of your life, as a Christian that just has a constant

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state of the shakes. You might go into work and be like … and people’ll be like, “What’s

wrong with you?” “It’s okay, I’m just shaking some stuff off. Don’t worry about me.”

Because the reality is, the devil is going to throw some things at you, but you have

every right, really, to do this: “Jesus, here’s the deal. I don’t like what happened to me,

but I refuse to let the old failure cling to me. I refuse to let the old pain cling to me. I

refuse to let that old discouragement –”

Maybe you’ve been abused; maybe somebody has forsaken you. The worst thing you

can do is just sit there. What do Christians do in a fire? They sit there.

Jesus is calling us to say, “Hey, take heart. I’ve overcome the world.” Make a

decision this year, when the heat hits you, to shake it off. See it coming, see it through,

and shake it off. You were born for this.

Every head bowed, every eye closed. Jesus, I pray that as we continue to take

unprecedented ground, no matter where we are, occupying our street, God, I pray we

would not run from the fight. I pray we would not give up when it gets hard. I pray we

would not start to cry out to heaven, when we know, Jesus, You poured out heaven so we

could stand strong in the middle of any trial. And Lord, we speak strength, hope, and

love into the lives of many today. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

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Pastor Groeschel

At all of our churches, as we continue in an attitude of prayer, let’s seek God together.

Father, thank You so much for this powerful message, God. I thank You that You’re

going to encourage us to see it coming, and God, to see it through, and by the power of

Your Spirit, to shake it off.

At all of our churches, as you take a moment and reflect, I know that God is speaking

to so many of you right now who are in the middle of the heat. There’s something going

on that you didn’t expect, you never would have wanted. But right now, you’re in the

middle of it, and you need God’s power, you need His presence, you need His comfort.

At all of our churches, those of you who would say, “Yes, Craig, would you just pray

for me right now? I’m in the middle of the storm; I’m in the middle of the heat,” lift up

your hands right now, all our different churches. There are hands going up all over the

place, and I feel for you. Even more so, I know that God feels for you, and knows the

intimate details of what all of you are going through.

So, Father, we come to You right now, thanking You for Your encouragement, by

Your Spirit, through this message today. God, we pray that Your presence would bring

comfort to those who are hurting, that, God, we truly could consider it pure joy when we

face trials, because, God, You’re doing something in us to develop us, to mature us, to

help us be conformed to the image of Your Son. So, God, we see it coming, knowing

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that in this world we will have trouble. And God, by Your power, help us to see it

through.

And God, we recognize that no weapon formed against us would prosper. God, give

us the ability to, with perspective, shake off anything that You would not want to stick

with us, that we could move on to do Your will and bring glory to You, God, in every

single way. God, we seek You, believing that Your presence will be exactly what we

need.

As you keep praying today, at all of our different churches, I want to just thank God

for those of you that God brought here today because you specifically need His presence.

In fact, many of you, you would recognize you are going through a difficult time, or life

may be smooth sailing right now, but you recognize and acknowledge, honestly, that you

do not have the presence of God. In fact, I believe, with all my heart, that there are times

that God may let us get to a very low place, so all we can do is look up, and call on Him.

The reality is, if we’re honest, all of us are in a low place when we recognize our

sinfulness. In fact, many of you right now, you may feel the weight of your sin, the

things that we’ve done wrong. Sometimes the trouble we get in, it’s our own fault, and

we recognize that our sin has separated us from God. What do we do?

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Well, the bad news is, we cannot work our way to Him. We can never been good

enough. The good news is that God is so amazing that He sent His Son, Jesus, who is

perfect and without sin. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, so that any of us who call on

His name will be forgiven, will be transformed, will be made new, and will be saved.

In fact, at all of our churches right now, there may be those of you that God brought

here for this specific moment. You recognize, “I need Him. I need His presence. I’m

calling on Him. Jesus, would You save me? Would You forgive me? Would You make

me new?” If that’s your prayer today, at all of our churches, would you lift your hands

high, right now, and say, “Yes, I surrender to Him. I trust Him to save me”?

As there are hands going up at all of our churches, those of you at Church Online, you

click right below me, and we’re going to take a minute. Would you all pray aloud with

those around you?

Pray, “Heavenly Father, forgive me for all my sins. Make me brand new. Jesus, be

the Lord of my life, first in every way. Fill me with Your Spirit so I could know You,

follow You, serve You, and live for You. My life is not my own. Today I give it to You.

In Jesus’ name I pray.”

Would all of you celebrate, worship big, thank God for new life in Christ?