Participants:
Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000006S
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00:05 Sermon #S004 - It Never Goes Like You Planned It Part 2
00:19 Pastor Snell: Greetings family, I'm Pastor Debleaire Snell. I'm very excited to be able to bring the gospel 00:25 of Jesus Christ right there to your living room. On last week we began a message entitled "It Never Goes Like 00:32 You Planned It". You've seen this in your life, you plan it one way but it goes another way but the word 00:38 of God teaches us how to handle all those things. So this week we want to give you Part 2, so won't you 00:42 get comfortable right there where you are as we get ready to go into the study of God's Word. 00:49 Pastor Snell: And see, I need you all to get this, saints. 00:53 Because somehow in our time, staying married has become a controversial position to take. 01:03 But did you notice what the Bible says in verse 6? The Bible says in verse 6, 01:08 watch this "That the Lord visited his people with bread." Where are you all at, church? 01:16 No, no, the Word says that when they were running out of the Promised Land, 01:21 God had a date of deliverance.[Congregation: Yes] 01:24 God had a day of provision. That God had set a day when he was going to change things. 01:34 God had already a plan to end the famine. 01:37 But they were so busy running from the famine that they forfeited the miracle 01:44 because they left the Promised Land too soon. And what I'm saying to us today, 01:50 the famine may be severe but how many of us know that God has a day that he's going to end the famine in 01:57 your life?[ Congregation: Cheering] 01:59 He's going to end the financial famine. He's going to end the emotional famine. 02:02 That God has got a day that he's going to send bread, 02:06 but don't abandon the miracle too soon. [Congregation: Yes. That's right. Cheering] 02:13 See, you realized that those who remained, that's a hard thing. 02:17 When you see your cabinet and your pantry get down to the last slice of bread. 02:24 They see it in the pantry, the bottle gets down to the last drop of oil. 02:29 Somebody on that last day gets their last piece of fish. 02:33 But because they abode in Promised Land, right when they got down to nothing, 02:40 they found out that God was still up to something. 02:43 And what I need somebody to know today is that it's hard to winter in this terrain, 02:49 but sometimes, it's when you get down to nothing, that you find out that God was still up to something. 02:56 But don't forfeit the miracle prematurely. 03:00 Are you all hearing what I'm saying today, saints?.[Congregation: Yes] 03:01 Listen, I remember, one day, I was in my old church office 03:05 and the kids were with me hanging out for the day. I was going to go upstairs and get them some snacks. 03:10 And there was some little stale stuff that was in the office already, 03:14 but I told them I'm going to go get you all some snacks, all three of you all, 03:17 you all just hang here and I'll be back with something good for you all. 03:20 But there were some little stale potato chips that were already there 03:24 and I guess I took too long to come back. I need you to know that I got two boys and a girl. 03:32 I need you to know that these boys, you know how they are, they ain't going to wait for nothing. 03:36 And so what the boys do is they just go ahead and they eat the stale potato chips. 03:41 But then when I come back with Dunkin Donuts...[Congregation: Cheering] 03:45 ... they're already full and their appetite is spoiled 03:49 because they couldn't wait for what I told them was coming. 03:53 But guess what? My baby girl sat there and then touched nothing.[Congregation: Cheering. Applause] 03:57 She waited based on the word that was spoken. 04:01 Now, I think I need you to get is this, not only does she get what I got for her, 04:06 I was able to give her the boys' portion.[Congregation: Cheering. Applause] 04:10 Because she was willing to wait on what daddy said. Are you all not hearing me today? 04:15 And what I'm saying is sometimes, you forfeit the provision...[Congregation: Cheering] 04:18 Pastor Snell: ... when you don't wait on what daddy said. 04:21 And how many of us know why some people get a double portion? 04:28 Some people get a double portion 04:31 because they get the portion that God brought for those who were too impatient to wait on Him. 04:38 Are you all not hearing me today, saints? [Congregation: Applause] 04:40 And how many of us know that God is going to give you double for your trouble if you learn to wait on his 04:46 Holy Word? [Congregation: Cheering] 04:50 Are you hearing the Word, saints? So, the Word says here in verse number 16. 04:56 The Bible says, "But Ruth said, 'Entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you. 05:02 For wherever you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge. 05:05 Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.'" 05:10 The third thing this teaches us, beloved, is the power of a family witness. 05:15 So, Naomi and her husband, they moved into the land of Moab. 05:22 As the boys grow into young adult life, they marry Moabite women 05:27 because that's all they actually have to choose from. 05:30 But one of the things that I think is powerful about this story is that after the husbands 05:36 and the boys die, Naomi actually was thinking that she is doing them a favor. 05:42 Says, "Listen, ladies, you all need to go and make the most of your life while you're still young. 05:47 You need to contemplate getting remarried to someone else. 05:50 I don't want to drag you down the road that I am on. 05:54 I need you to go back to your people where you will have an opportunity to start over." 06:00 Now, understand that when most folks get a chance to get away from their mother-in-law... 06:10 [laughing] ... most people see that as a good opportunity. 06:13 But I need you to get that Naomi had such an attractive Christian character...[Congregation: Cheering] 06:22 That her unbelieving daughters-in-law wanted to follow after her even after their husbands had died 06:31 and gone to sleep. It's amazing how Naomi literally has to try to push them away. 06:36 And it's amazing how Ruth ultimately decides that she's just going to roll with Naomi wherever she goes. 06:43 She gets up in Naomi's face and it's just like, "Listen, where you go, I'm going to go. Where you lodge, 06:49 I'm going to lodge. Your people are going to be my people and your God is going to be my God." 06:54 Some of you all missed your shot already. 06:56 Do you realize that Naomi's witness was so strong over her daughters-in-law that 07:02 the daughter-in-laws wanted to mimic her habits? They wanted to follow her customs, 07:07 they wanted to adopt her lifestyle, and then they wanted to serve her God. [Congregation: Cheering] 07:15 See, the thing I liked about Naomi is that Naomi is not condescending because she's got the truth. 07:26 You see the thing I like about Naomi is that she doesn't condemn them because they eat bacon, 07:32 she does not beat them up with doctrine, she does not wear them out 07:37 because they take mass instead of communion, 07:39 she does not look down on them because they worship on a wrong day. 07:43 What she simply does is love them with the love of Jesus Christ, 07:49 and it is the love that awakens a willingness to follow her tradition. [Congregation: Yes] 07:58 And I need us to get this that like us, it wasn't the ideal situation for Naomi, 08:03 this was not her preference. 08:05 Her preference would have been for her sons to marry spiritual Hebrew women 08:10 so that the Godly heritage will ultimately be able to be preserved. 08:15 But once they got married and the boys make up their minds, she stops her protest and counsel 08:22 and just loves them with the love of God. Are you with me today, saints? [Congregation: Yes] 08:27 Don't mishear me on this 08:29 because I think it's appropriate for you to want your children to marry inside of the church, 08:33 to want your siblings to marry inside of the faith. 08:36 It is appropriate for you to want your grandchildren to be equally yoked so that you can continue a Godly 08:42 lineage and a Godly heritage. But how many of us know that once they get engaged or decide to get married, 08:52 you got to stop your protest and you've got to start loving them with the love of Jesus? 08:58 Are you all hearing what I'm saying? [Congregation: Yes] 09:00 How many of us, really talk, you know you can't make grown people do anything they don't want to do? 09:08 And the truth is that if you are raising kids that are rebelling against you, 09:13 you realize the more you try to break them up, 09:16 you actually create the adhesive that makes them stay closer together. [Congregation: That's right] 09:24 Sometimes, instead of trying to break folk up, what you got to simply learn how to do is pray, 09:28 "Lord, let the scales be removed from their eyes. Help them to see what I'm able to see." 09:36 And see, if they choose not to be able to see, what you got to simply do is attack 09:41 and bum-rush them with the love of Jesus. Are you all hearing what I'm saying? [Congregation: Cheering] 09:45 See, when your child or your grandchild gets engaged, or they get married, you know what you got to learn? 09:53 Is that at this point, they're family now. [Congregation: That's right] 10:00 You can complain about it all but that ain't going to change the si-- Am I preaching anybody today? 10:05 You all are related. In other words, at this point, 10:08 you are obligated to show them the love of Jesus Christ. 10:12 And see, the problem with us is sometimes, we get so twisted in our thinking that we want to always show 10:18 our contempt for the relationship, we want to show our contempt for their decision, 10:22 we want to shun them in our religion. We show our displeasure by voicing our doctrine 10:28 and what we fail to realize is that you can't shun people to Jesus. 10:34 See, I need you to get that it is love that conquers all things. It is love that awakens curiosity. 10:41 It is love that awakens their interest. It is true piety that garners your respect. 10:47 It is the fruit of your life that makes them want to copy your habits and copy your customs 10:53 and be open to what you do. And God will bring about the right circumstances to bring about a harvest 11:00 if you've sown seeds of love. [Congregation: Applause] 11:05 But you can't sow seeds of hate and hope to get converted fruits. [Congregation: Cheering] 11:13 Are you all hearing what I'm saying? At some point, you got to stand down and let Jesus do the work. 11:18 Are you all hearing what I'm saying? Can we go to the Bible? First Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 11. 11:25 Can we study the book together? [Congregation: Yes] 11:28 First Corinthians chapter 7 and verse number 11. When you get there, let me hear you say Amen. 11:33 First Corinthians chapter 7 and verse number 11. When you get there, just say, "Pastor, I'm here." 11:41 First Corinthians chapter 7 and verse number 11. The Bible says, "But even if she does not depart, 11:48 let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband and the husband is not to divorce his wife. 11:53 But to the rest, I, not the Lord say, if a brother has a wife who does not believe 11:59 and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 12:02 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, 12:07 let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified," by the what? Wife 12:12 "And the unbelieving wife is sanctified," by the what? Husband. "Otherwise, your children would be unclean. 12:19 But now, they are holy." 12:21 In other words, if you decide to go down that pattern or if you've been converted after you got married 12:28 and your spouse is not, the Bible literally lets us know that you are not to try to chide that person 12:36 into the faith. But the Bible literally teaches that through a relationship with you, 12:46 you get a covering that is going to allow them to experience the sanctifying power of God. 12:52 Are you all hearing me today, saints? So go with me back in the Word. Go with me to First Peter chapter 3 12:58 and verse 1. First Peter chapter 3 and verse number 1. First Peter chapter 3 and verse1. 13:05 When you get there, say, "Pastor, I'm here." [Congregation: Pastor, I'm here.] 13:08 Pastor Snell: First Peter chapter 3 and verse number 1. Come on, come on, hurry up. First Peter 3 13:16 and number 1. My feet are burning, help me Holy Spirit. First Peter 3 and verse 1. 13:21 When you get there, say Amen. [Congregation: Amen.] 13:23 The Bible says, "Wives, likewise, 13:26 be submissive to your own husbands that even if some do not obey the," what? [Congregation: Word.] 13:33 Pastor Snell: "Word. They, without a word." Did you all catch that, saints? [Congregation: Yes.] 13:37 Pastor Snell: Oh, are you all seeing this? 13:40 The Bible says, "They, without a word, may be won by the conduct of a Godly wife." [Congregation: Applause] 13:53 In other words, what's going to win them is not a river of complaints and leading on them 14:00 but authentic Godly conduct.[Congregation: Cheering] 14:06 When they observe your chase conduct accompanied by fear, 14:11 do not let your dormant be merely outward. Arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel. 14:17 But rather, let it be the hidden person of the heart, 14:20 with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God. 14:28 See, the problem is we made this text about wearing jewelry. That's not what it's talking about. 14:33 What it's talking about is the inner beauty of a converted woman who doesn't have to preach 14:39 or sermon in order to win a man into the faith. 14:42 But if she just lives like Jesus and loves like Jesus, if a man leads like Jesus, 14:49 he ain't got to preach a sermon if he just lives the sermon. [Congregation: Amen] 14:57 Pastor Snell: Because your witness is not in what you teach. It's in how you love. 15:04 But how you love is what opens the door to what you have to teach. 15:07 Are you all hearing words today, saints? [Congregation: Applause] 15:12 Pastor Snell: The fourth thing, the last thing this teaches us friends, 15:14 is that it teaches us that when it comes down with our family, we got to live with greater gratitude. 15:22 And I'm not going to get through all of this today, do you know what Naomi's story teaches us? 15:27 It teaches us, friends of mine... Oh, help me, Holy Spirit, calm me down. 15:32 You better learn how to be more thankful for the family you have while you have them.[Congregation: Applause] 15:48 Pastor Snell: I believe, friends of mine, 15:50 we've got to learn to abide with one another with a lot more gratitude and a lot less scrutiny. 15:59 See, the reason we don't have gratitude for our family is that we assume wrongly 16:04 that we're going to always have them. 16:09 I'm not guessing when I tell you that Naomi did not see her life unfolding in the way that it did. 16:17 If you had talked to Naomi as a young woman and she had shared with you the way she scripted out her life 16:24 just like young people sometimes do, she had probably scripted out a scenario 16:28 where she and her husband will grow old in the city of Bethlehem. 16:33 She could foresee a day where she would see her children grow up, 16:37 that she would see her grandchildren grow up. And even in an end-of-life scenario, 16:42 she could see her and Elimelech buying a tomb right there in the heart of the Promised Land. 16:48 That she would see her children at her graveside, lowering her down into the grave, 16:53 but understand she could never foresee a day of having to bury her husband in a land that was not their own. 17:01 She would never foresee a time where life would be so radically inverted 17:05 that instead of the children burying the parent, 17:08 that the parent would have to lower both kids down into the ground, 17:12 she would have never seen herself going back to Bethlehem with only the clothes on her back, 17:18 without a pot to pee in or a window to throw it out of. 17:22 See, what Naomi teaches us is that life never goes...[Congregation: Like you planned it. Yes. That's right.] 17:30 Like you planned it. 17:33 And I need somebody to understand fundamentally that there is an impenetrable veil 17:39 between the present and the future, and it is unveiled one second at a time. 17:45 And the only one that has stood on the other side of the present is Jesus Christ Himself. 17:50 And the thing I need somebody to get the reason we are not walking around assuming that we've got tomorrow, 17:57 thinking we can do stuff later on down the line. 17:59 If being Adventist ought to teach you one thing, is that tomorrow is a promise to no one. 18:12 It's why we let the sun go down on our wrath. It's why we let so many things go without being said. 18:21 It's why we're so slow to apologize. It's why it takes us so long to pick up the phone and be reconciled. 18:29 It's why the only time we get together is at a funeral or a wedding. 18:33 It's the reason we allow family drama to go unaddressed for years and years and years. Why? 18:39 Because we assume there's going to always be a day where we can come together and get it right. 18:47 But one of the devil's greatest deceptions, friends of mine, it is not to get you to drink, 18:52 it's not to get you to smoke, it's not to get you to shack up, 18:55 it is to make you believe you got more time than you actually have. 19:00 [ Congregation: That's right.] 19:03 Pastor Snell: And so, I believe, friends of mine, that if we're going to function with more gratitude, 19:06 there are some things we need to learn how to do with each other. 19:10 Are you all still with me, church? [Congregation: Yes] 19:12 I believe as you function in your marriage or in your home, 19:15 you would need to learn how to focus on the good. [Congregation: Yes. Amen.] 19:25 Pastor Snell: No. No. No. No. No. No. Let me say this again. Let me preach to you all on this side. 19:29 If you're going to function with gratitude, 19:31 learn how to focus on the good that's in your house. [Congregation: Amen.] 19:36 Pastor Snell: See, you got a good hand. [Congregation: Applause] 19:39 Pastor Snell: But you don't know what to do with it because you're looking with so much scrutiny, 19:45 that you can't even see the good that everybody else sees with you.[Congregation: Cheering] 19:50 Pastor Snell: Pastor Ross, I see this all too... 19:53 Ain't it amazing how the wife, she'll be married to a man and he-- and listen, it'd be true. 19:57 He ain't no good, he was a liar, he was a cheat, he was a dog. 19:59 He did all this stuff wrong, didn't have anything good to say about Him while he was alive. 20:09 But when she's standing at the head of his casket, it's amazing, 20:13 she can talk for an hour about some good things that she would never say while he was still living. 20:21 And I need you to know that those good traits didn't show up after he died. 20:27 The hurt you had while he was living just kept you from being able to see it. 20:33 And what I'm saying is, beloved, if you can find something that's good to say about them when they die, 20:40 you can find something good to say to them while they are still alive. [Congregation: Applause] 20:46 Is there anybody that can make it up in your mind to say, 20:50 "I'm going to live with more gratitude in my house, 20:53 that I'm not going to spend so much time looking at somebody else's hand, 20:57 I'm going to be grateful for what God has put in my hand." 21:02 Are you all hear what I'm saying today, church? [Congregation: Yes] 21:06 Listen, there was a sister I was counseling where she and her husband-- 21:09 She wanted him to be more romantic. She said, "Pastor, he just makes me so sick. 21:13 All he wants to do is go to work and go to church and go home."[Congregation: Laughing] 21:20 Pastor Snell: I looked at her with a little cross-eyed and said, 21:23 "You better thank God, you got a man that wants to go to work." 21:27 Where are you all at? [Congregation: Applause] 21:29 Pastor Snell: Wants to go to church and ain't sitting up in the club. He likes to come home every night. 21:32 Are you all hear what I'm saying? [Congregation: Applause] 21:35 Pastor Snell: It's learning how to focus on the good. In other words, 21:38 instead of complaining that he works so hard, 21:41 maybe you ought to say, "Lord, I thank you."[Congregation: Cheering] 21:44 Pastor Snell: Okay, out of the frying pan, and thank God that he works hard. 21:49 Brothers, instead of complaining that she gained weight, 21:53 maybe you ought to thank God that he knows how to cook. 21:56 Come on and say Amen. [Congregation: Amen] 21:57 Pastor Snell: You ought to thank God for the mother she is. Thank God for the husband he is. 22:03 Thank God for the children that you have. If you know where your children are right now, 22:08 you ought to put your hands together and bless the name of the Lord that you can locate where they are. 22:16 Are you all hearing what I'm saying, brothers? Instead of running around in the strip club, 22:20 making it rain on the woman on the pole, 22:22 you ought to make it rain on that one that's cooking food in your kitchen.[Congregation: Applause] 22:27 Make it rain on the one that's making up the bed. 22:31 Make it rain on the one that's raising your kids. 22:34 Make it rain on the one that wipes the urine off the lip of the toilet seat.[Congregation: Cheering] 22:40 You better celebrate the one that God has given you. 22:46 Are you all hearing me today, saints? [Congregation: Praise to God] 22:52 Pastor Snell: You better learn how to have some gratitude. 22:53 Are you all hearing what I'm saying? [Congregation: Cheering] 22:59 Pastor Snell: Second thing, if you don't function with gratitude, saints, 23:02 I want to encourage us to learn how to forgive sooner and apologize quicker. 23:13 Pastor Snell: Because, you know, one of the things about real love... 23:15 Do you know what 1st Corinthians 13 says? 23:17 It says, "Love keeps no record of wrongs."[Congregation: Applause] 23:22 Pastor Snell: So, to the spouse that's keeping score, that ain't godliness. 23:30 It's crazy, I've been married almost 18, it will be 19 years this year. 23:33 It's crazy because there are fights that we wasted at the time. 23:37 And I'm in my side of the house and she's in her side of the house and we're mad at each other, 23:40 and it's crazy because I look back on it and the crazy thing is, do you know what? 23:44 I can't remember what we were fighting about. [Congregation: That's right.] 23:49 Pastor Snell: And if you can't remember what the fight was about, do you know what that means? 23:54 It wasn't that deep in the first place. [Congregation: Applause] 24:00 Pastor Snell: But do you know what we do? 24:02 We like to draw a line and a stance and we'd like to take a stand. [laughing] 24:08 Pastor Snell: And do you know what's so crazy about us? 24:12 We'll take a stand on matters of preference, not principle. 24:22 What is the last principle you took a stand on? 24:27 You're going to take a stand over Taco Bell versus KFC? [Congregation: Laughing] 24:33 Pastor Snell: That's where you're going to take your stand? Over what? 24:37 show you're all going to watch on TV tonight? 24:39 That's where you're going to take your stand? 24:41 You're going to take your stand over what side of the bed to lay on at night 24:44 when you ain't took no stand over family worship, over your finances, 24:49 over the education of your kids, over whether or not to go come to church, 24:53 and we take stands over matters of preference. [Congregation: Cheering] 24:59 And we let real principle go by the wayside. 25:04 Do you know what the story of Naomi teaches us? Do you know what we ought to do, friends of mine? 25:08 We ought to learn in our families to thank God for every tragedy-free day. [Congregation: Yes] 25:18 Pastor Snell: You want to thank God for every tragedy-free day in your life. 25:25 How many of us recognize that we are all one doctor's visit away, one stray bullet, 25:34 one texting teenager while driving from having your whole life turned upside down. 25:41 And what I'm saying to this, beloved, 25:44 is that we've just got to get to a place where we stop sweating the small stuff, 25:48 where we stop dying over heels that are not calvary. 25:51 How many of us know that every battle is not worth fighting? 25:54 But every day that God wakes you up and you are still in the land of the living, 26:00 instead of complaining about what's wrong, maybe you ought to just say, 26:04 "Lord, I thank you that you allowed us to experience one more day." 26:09 Is there anybody that can say, "Lord, I thank you that my bed didn't become my cooling board,"? 26:15 Pastor Snell: Is there anybody that can say, "Lord, I thank you that when I got out of the car last night, 26:21 I made it safely to my destination,"? 26:24 Is there anybody like the old folk that can say, "Lord, I thank you for waking me up one more morning, 26:32 thank you for allowing me to be clothed in my right mind,"? 26:37 Is there anybody that can just say, "I'm not going to complain about today,"? 26:41 You're going to wake up and say, "This is the day that the Lord has made. 26:46 I will rejoice and be glad in it." 26:50 Instead of complaining, you had to wake up in the morning, 26:53 you're going to say from the rising of the sun to the going down of the sun, 26:59 that the name of the Lord is to be praised! 27:03 You realize that it is because of the Lord's mercies... [Congregation: Applause] 27:08 Pastor Snell: ... that you are not consumed. His compassions they fail not, they are new every morning. 27:15 Let Oakwood say great. [Congregation: Great] 27:17 Is thy faithfulness. It is why the Bible says, "Let everything. Let everything." 27:26 Oh, I see something, let everything. 27:28 I see someone, but let everyone that has breath praise Ye, the Lord! 27:39 Give Him praise! [Congregation: Cheering] 27:42 Thank Him if there's no cancer. Thank Him if there's no lupus. 27:46 Thank Him if there was no miscarriage. Thank Him if your husband came home last night. 27:51 Thank Him if your wife made it home from the doctor. Thank Him that there is no diagnosis. 27:57 You've got a reason to praise Him. You've got a right to praise Him. 28:02 You've got a responsibility to praise Him. It could have been different. 28:08 The outcome could have been different, but God blocked it and He would not let it be so! 28:18 Pastor Snell: And God is just trying to get us to a place, saints. 28:19 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 28:42 [End] |
Revised 2022-03-03