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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000074S
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00:06 Sermon #S039 - That Wasn't Part Of The Agenda - (Part 1)
00:20 Pastor Snell: So today we're going to go into the word. I invite you to stand to your feet as we go to the scriptures today. 00:26 I initially planned to have you go to a number of different places, but I'm going to just have you go to Mark 15:21. 00:43 When you get there, let me hear you say, Amen. Mark Chapter 15. And we'll begin together at Verse 21. Just one verse today. 01:00 Mark 15:21. And You all look good in the house of the Lord today. Praise God. It's good to see you. 01:08 And we are grateful for those who join us online as well. Mark 15:21. 01:15 The Bible says, "Then they compelled a certain man, Simon, a Cyrenian, the father of Alexandria 01:27 and Rufus as he was coming out of the country and passing by to bear his cross." 01:37 I just want to read it one more time. "Then they compelled," he didn't volunteer for this. 01:43 [Congretation: Laughing] 01:46 He didn't sign up for this. They compelled a certain man, Simon, a Cyrenian, the father of Alexandria and Rufus, 01:54 and as he was coming out of the country, and he was what? 01:59 [Congregation: Passing by.] 02:00 Just passing by to bear his cross. For just a little while today, Saints, 02:06 I want to talk to you under the subject "That Wasn't On The Agenda." Let's pray together. 02:16 Father, would you give us a unique reverence for this moment today? Father, we pray for just a special move of the Holy Ghost. 02:27 Lord, sweep through with a force and a freshness, 02:31 Lord, that quickens us and makes us alive to the reality of the cross in a whole new way. 02:37 And so, Lord, my prayer is that in the hearing of the word that faith will be multiplied exponentially. 02:43 And Lord, would you shift us to a place where the cross is not just theology? 02:49 Lord, help us to get to a place where the cross is our lived reality. Hide me in the shadows of Thy cross we pray. 02:57 So that Christ alone might be seen, that Christ alone would be heard, and at the end of our time together, 03:03 may Jesus alone be praised. We ask this in the name of Him who is altogether lovely. 03:09 It is in the name of Jesus, that we pray. Let God's people say together, Amen. 03:14 [Congretation: Amen] 03:15 And amen. You may be seated in the house of the Lord today. 03:26 You know, friends, the story of Simon of Cyrene is fascinating to me. 03:33 One, because there is so little detail that is actually given. 03:38 All that we know is that he is a brother from the eastern part of Libya, which is in the northern continent of Africa. 03:46 We know that he has two sons, Alexander and Rufus, and we know that he was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. 03:56 But one of the things that sticks out to me, friends, is that this was not on his agenda for the day. 04:03 The Bible says that Simon just happened to be passing by. In other words, Simon had a circumstance that required him to pivot 04:14 and be a part of God's divine plan. 04:18 And it's amazing because he becomes a historical figure 04:22 because it seems that he happened to be at the right place at the right time. 04:27 But how many of us know that when some see coincidence, believers ought to always see providence? 04:36 In other words, this was not on his agenda. He perhaps comes to Jerusalem to spend time with his sons who live there. 04:45 And remember that he is an outsider to the Jewish tradition. He is an outsider to their feast. 04:51 He has no dog in the fight that he encounters along the way. In other words, the night before, as Simon prepares for the day, 05:01 he decides "I'm going to do some work before I leave. I'm going to travel at a certain time. 05:07 I'm going to stop by the wall of Jerusalem. I'm going to stop by the market to get some supplies. 05:13 And my goal is to get to the house by sunset." 05:16 But Simon does not know that the invisible hand of God has been guiding him every step of the way so that he might be a blessing to 05:28 the Son of the living God. 05:30 As I look at this text, the first thing I learned or it teaches us, is that whenever there is a need, 05:38 God is already guiding help in that direction. Let me say it away. So that when God sees your need, 05:45 he is always sending help in the direction of your need. In other words, friends, 05:51 Jesus needs Simon to help him not because he is weak. He needs Simon because he is depleted. 06:01 Remember that Jesus took his last supper with the disciples the night before. 06:07 So, it's been about a day since he has eaten and in the last 24 hours, he's gone from Ananias to Caiaphas, to Pilate 06:17 and back to Caiaphas, and back and forth. In other words, it's been a day since he has eaten. 06:23 It's about a day and a half since he has slept, and now we have a bloodied and wearied and depleted Jesus, 06:31 who is now loaded up with the weight of a horrible cross. 06:35 And without complaint, my Jesus carries the cross through the streets of Jerusalem as far as he is able to take it 06:44 and I need you to know that there is no coincidence that my man Simon gets stuck in traffic 06:51 and was appointed to help Jesus carry the cross as soon as his body craters under the weight of that cross. 07:00 Are you hearing me today? 07:01 [Congregation: Affirming] 07:03 And I need you to get that Simon who was His helper was not there waiting for Him the entire time. 07:08 He did not make an appointment to say, "Let me stand at this point and wait for Jesus to show up." In other words, 07:16 I need you to know that God ordains it that His help passes by as soon as His strength runs out. Y'all not here with me. 07:26 [Congregation: Clapping] 07:27 In other words, Jesus could not see where His help was going to come from. 07:32 Jesus could not see if there was going to be any help because just like us, Jesus had to carry His burden by faith. 07:41 And it's amazing that God actually allows His strength to completely run out, 07:47 but the good news is that in the moment when He could not carry it any further, His help just happened to be passing by. 07:57 [Congregation: Clapping] 07:59 In other words, I need you to get, friends, that God had been orchestrating every step that Simon had taken. 08:05 In other words, God ordained what time he would leave Cyrene. God ordained when he would run into traffic along the way. 08:14 God ordained when he would have to stop and tie his sandals. God ordained how long the line would be in the market. 08:22 God ordained how long it would take him to get his haircut, because if Simon got there 5 minutes early, 08:29 he would have already passed by the Savior and if he got by 5 minutes late, then Jesus would have already passed by. 08:37 So that when the son needed help, he would be right there in the rightful place, 08:43 and see, I need you to know that God is with it the entire time. So that when Jesus is being falsely arrested, guess what? 08:52 Help is moving in His direction. When Jesus is being beaten, help is moving in His direction. When Jesus is being flogged, 09:02 help is moving in His direction. So that at the moment where He falls to the ground, help is already in place. 09:10 [Congregation: Cheering] 09:12 Okay, let me say it to somebody who is in the struggle today. 09:15 You've got to get to a place where you don't assess God's faithfulness based on what you can see. 09:21 [Congregation: Affirming] 09:24 In other words, I need you to know that your help might not always be obvious but your helper is always faithful. 09:30 [Congregation: Affirming] 09:32 Your provision, may not always be obvious, but your provider is always faithful. In other words, friends, 09:38 I need you to get that Abraham's ram was already in the thicket 09:43 and God just pointed it out with the help that had already moved in His direction. 09:48 Do you realize that Jesus was already in the fiery furnace before the three Hebrew boys ever showed up? 09:56 [Congregation: Clapping] 09:58 Help was moving in their direction. The angel didn't come to the lion's den after Daniel was there. 10:03 The angel was already en route so he will be there by the time Daniel showed up. 10:09 [Congregation: Affirming] 10:11 Do you realize that the raven didn't stockpile meat for Elijah to eat? But by the time he started getting hungry, guess what? 10:18 That raven showed up with food to eat. 10:20 And let me just let somebody know that God is already moving help in anticipation of your need. 10:28 Y'all are not with me today. 10:29 [Congregation: Affirming] 10:31 See, I need somebody to understand that even if you need help financially that somewhere somebody's writing a check with your 10:37 name on it. 10:38 [Congregation: Cheering] 10:40 And putting it in the mail so that it shows up just in the nick of time. 10:44 Somewhere somebody's about to move out of State and leave a vacancy at the job that God has ordained for you to get ready to have. 10:54 In about a month, somebody's going to put a house on the market that God is going to preserve just for you to close on. 11:02 [Congregation: Cheering] 11:04 A young person somewhere, your future spouse is breaking up with their boyfriend or girlfriend and he is setting them apart. 11:09 [Congregation: Cheering] 11:11 So, a year from now, they will be ready for you. And I need somebody to know that God is not sitting 11:17 and watching the world unfold in real-time, but God is sitting in the future, waiting for the present to catch up. 11:25 [Congregation: Cheering] 11:27 And He knows where your needs are going to show up and guess what? He is already sending supplies. 11:31 [Congregation: Cheering] 11:33 Listen, I've seen this happen in my own life. I remember back in about 2003. My wife 11:39 and I bought a used SUV and because it was used, we decided to get an extended warranty off of the internet. 11:48 And so, after we had the car for about 3 or 4 months, we got to notice that this warranty company had gone belly-up 11:56 and that basically, we were going to lose our money. And so, after a while, we got a notice to join a class action lawsuit. 12:04 So that those like me will be able to recoup our money after a while. And so, Church, guess what? 12:11 We signed out this paperwork expecting nothing to ever come from this. Now, this happens in 2003. 12:18 Now from that time, I moved from Mississippi to Kentucky, and from Kentucky back to Huntsville. 12:24 And then about 5 years ago, when we were getting ready to close on our house, you know when you get ready to close on a house, 12:32 the bank wants your money or financial condition to stay the same. 12:36 [Congregation: Affirming] 12:38 In other words, you have all kinds of expenses as you're shutting off this and as your igniting that 12:43 and you're getting ready for a down-payment and because the closing on our house got moved back like 4 different months. 12:50 Guess what? My landlord is gouging me and making me pay whatever he wants me to pay 12:56 and it's amazing because, friends, I'm at a place where it's not at a critical moment just yet, 13:02 but guess what? About 12 years later, that class action lawsuit that I signed up for in Mississippi... 13:10 [Congregation: Cheering] 13:12 I go to the mailbox and guess what? I get an envelope that says you started the lawsuit in 2003. 13:19 Here in 2017, guess what? We're going to send a check in the amount of $2,000. Y'all not hearing your boy today. 13:28 [Congregation: Cheering] 13:30 In other words, God took it almost 15 years prior and saved it, and sent it right when I needed it. 13:37 [Congregation: Cheering] 13:40 Are you all hearing what I'm saying? So that God sends what you need in anticipation of your burden. Are You all hear me today? 13:45 [Congregation: Affirming] 13:47 The second thing that this story teaches us is that sometimes you have to carry burdens you didn't ask for. 13:54 [Congregation: Affirming] 13:59 Now friends, the second detail we are given is that Simon does not ask for the cross. 14:07 The Bible says that they compelled him to carry the cross. In other words, he does not volunteer to carry the cross. 14:15 The cross is essentially assigned to him. Are you all with me today, friends? 14:20 Now again, I don't want to take all credit away from Simon because when you read Desire of Ages, page 781, 14:26 she literally says that Simon, when he sees the mob shouting ugly statements at Jesus and he notices the visage of the Savior, 14:37 he begins to show compassion and sympathy toward Him outwardly. And when those see he is sympathizing with Jesus, essentially, 14:49 what they do is they thrust the cross upon his shoulders. In other words, friends, 14:55 I need you to get this. That Simon has to carry this cross not because of any wrong action of his own. 15:02 And I need you to be reminded that this cross was initially framed for the notorious Barabas. 15:09 It was eventually assigned to Jesus our savior but it is Simon that carries it across the finish line. 15:17 Are you hearing me today? Now, again, I want to just remind the church that this is not why he came to Jerusalem. 15:26 He is there perhaps to see his kids and his grandkids. He's just there to kick it and get some kosher meat and lamb. 15:33 He just wants to spend a little time. He just wants to get a little R&R but Simon personifies that on the journey of providence, 15:44 sometimes you've got to carry some burdens that you didn't ask for. 15:51 [Congregation: Affirming] 15:52 Can I just pause and say this and if you don't get nothing else, get this? 15:55 How many of us understand that in the army of God, sometimes it's not a sign-up, sometimes it's a draft. 16:04 [Congregation: Affirming] 16:07 See, sometimes we operate under the faulty notion that God is only going to assign to us the things that we normally feel 16:16 comfortable doing. But the Devil is a liar, am I telling the truth today? 16:21 I need us to know that sometimes the things that we want are about our comfort, 16:27 but the things that God assigns are about His glory. 16:31 [Congregation: Affirming] 16:32 Let me ask, has anybody ever been drafted by God? 16:37 [Congregation: Affirming] 16:39 Where you've just been given some tasks and assignments that were nowhere on your agenda? They were not in your wheelhouse. 16:46 They were not part of your preference, but somehow providence led circumstance to lay that particular burden at your feet. 16:56 In other words, there are some of us that have raised our kids 17:02 and it wasn't in your plans to be raising grandkids or nobody else's kids, am I telling the truth today? 17:09 [Congregation: Affirming] 17:11 There are some of us that I'm looking at today that did not sign up to be the leader of a Ministry. 17:15 But somehow, you got drafted and that burden was laid upon your shoulders just the same. 17:22 There are some when you got married, you did not sign up to be a caretaker of a sick husband or wife. 17:30 Somewhere, you didn't sign up to be a caretaker of a sick parent. You didn't sign up to be an ambassador for cancer. 17:39 You didn't sign up to be an ambassador for this hurt. When my wife and I got married, 17:44 we didn't sign up to be ambassadors of our miscarriage and loss, 17:49 but I need you to know that sometimes the greatest Ministries are not the ones that you volunteer for, 17:55 but sometimes it is when God drafts and puts an assignment on your shoulders. 18:03 [Congregation: Cheering] 18:05 And let me just say this one thing before I move to my next point. This won't necessarily make it better, 18:09 but I hope that it adds a little bit of perspective. The one thing I know about God is that when God puts a burden upon you, 18:17 he'll never put a burden on you that's greater than what you can bear. 18:21 [Congregation: Affirming] 18:23 See, we learned it just this past Wednesday, in 1 Corinthians 10:13, the Bible says, "God is faithful, 18:29 who will not place upon you more than that which you are able to bear," 18:34 and I just need to say for those who were not here if God brought you to it... 18:40 [Congregation: Affirming] 18:41 If He brought you to it, God is going to bring you through it. 18:47 [Congregation: Affirming] 18:49 See, I need you to know, God is a tailor, who doesn't give you clothes too big for you. 18:54 [Congregation: Affirming] 18:56 He has measured your specifics. He has measured the height of your faith. The depth of your resilience. 19:01 That he knows the width of your character and he'll never play something on you that he has not first measured. 19:08 Are you all here in the pastor today? 19:09 [Congregation: Affirming] 19:11 I mean it's real. Just like this. There are times when we come home from Sam's or Costco or the grocery store 19:17 and what happens is me and the kids will go to the back to unload the groceries from the back of the car. 19:23 And so, I will go, and I'll get the things out of the trunk, 19:26 but I need you to know, Malcolm, that I don't just start taking stuff and just dispersing it to the first person in line. 19:33 What happens when I grab something? I first weigh it by holding it myself. 19:38 [Congregation: Affirming] 19:40 And I weigh it in my arms and then I'll decide which child is going to carry it. Y'all not hearing me. 19:46 [Congregation: Cheering] 19:48 So, if it's really heavy, I give it to my oldest son. If it's a little less heavy, 19:52 I'll give it to my daughter. If it's snack food, I can't give it to the youngest because he's going to get distracted. 19:58 I got to reassign it to somebody that can handle it. In other words, I don't just start dispensing burdens. 20:05 I measure burdens and I give them to the one that can handle them. 20:10 [Congregation: Cheering] 20:13 And what I'm saying today, Church, if a fallen, messed up daddy like me, knows how to measure burden for his children, 20:20 what about your Father in Heaven? 20:24 [Congregation: Cheering] 20:26 That before he dispenses it, he's measured it, he's weighed it and made a determination that you're able to carry it. 20:36 Are you all hearing me today? 20:38 [Congregation: Affirming] 20:40 The third thing this teaches, friends of mine, is that sometimes, 20:46 it's the heavy burden that you didn't ask for that brings you close to Jesus. 20:51 [Congregation: Affirming] 20:55 In other words, if He wasn't given something heavy to carry, He would have just kept on passing by. 21:03 If He wasn't given a heavy burden, He would have just been living His best life. 21:09 If He wasn't given something heavy to carry, He probably would have lived a prosperous earthly life. 21:16 But if He wasn't given something heavy to carry, He might have missed out on eternal life. 21:22 [Congregation: Affirming] 21:23 And can we be honest today, Church? 21:25 That some of us would have never made it to the foot of the cross if God didn't give us something heavy to carry. 21:31 [Congregation: Affirming] 21:32 See, one of the things I've learned through both study 21:35 and observation is that a life without burden is going to be a life without God. 21:41 You see, I need us to be clear that there is something about humanity's fallen nature that needs 21:48 something to disrupt our carnal nature and draw us into a relationship with him. You all acting brand-new on me today. 21:57 In fact, the one common thread between deeply spiritual people, 22:03 the one thing that all spiritual folk have in common is that somewhere along the line, 22:09 they had to carry something heavy. 22:11 [Congregation: Affirming] 22:14 See friends, our flesh is so powerful. It is so strong. 22:19 It is so desensitized that it cannot be trained just by choice and good intention. 22:26 Sometimes it is the burden that trains the flesh. It is the burden that disrupts the flesh. 22:32 It is the burden that God lays upon us that moves us into a posture of prayerfulness that we would not seek outside of that burden. 22:41 Are you hearing me today? And see, I need us to know that every now 22:44 and then God has to kind of draw you as the prophet says, "outside of yourself." 22:49 So that you can become intensely interested in the salvation of others, 22:53 because in a life where you don't have to lift something for somebody else 22:58 and you don't have to carry something for somebody else and you don't have to bear something for somebody else. 23:04 What happens is we live a self-centered life that leaves us estranged from the most high. 23:11 [Congregation: Affirming] 23:14 And let me just share with you a quick quote here, Desire of Ages, page 781. Hopefully, this will come up here in just a second. 23:20 Desire of Ages, 771, because I want you to see what a difference the burden actually makes in the life of the believer. 23:28 Are you with me today, Friends? Listen, Desire of Ages, excuse me, page 742. She literally says, "At this time, a stranger Simon, 23:36 a Cyrenian, coming from the country meets the throng. He hears the taunts of ribaldry to the crowd 23:42 and he hears the words contemptuously repeated, 'Make way for the King of the Jews!' 23:47 He stops in astonishment at the scene and he expresses his compassion as they seize him and place a cross upon his wide shoulders. 23:56 [Congregation: shoulders] 23:57 Simon had heard of Jesus. His sons were believers in the Savior but he himself was not a what? 24:04 [Congregation:believer.] 24:05 Bearing the cross to Calvary... 24:09 ...was a blessing to Simon. He was ever after grateful for this providence, 24:18 it led him to take upon himself the cross of Christ from choice and ever cheerfully stand beneath its burrow. 24:31 [Congregation: Cheering] 24:33 In other words, it was carrying the cross that made him choose the cross. 24:40 [Congregation: Yeah!] 24:42 Are you all hearing me today, friends? And see, now, as I'm looking at this thing, I'm trying to figure out, okay? 24:46 How does my man Simon decide by carrying the cross to become a lifelong disciple? Can I just talk for a quick moment and I'm done? 24:54 See, one of the things I like about Simon, friends, is he meets Jesus at the cross, not in a crisis. 25:04 [Congregation: Affirming] 25:07 So, let's meet your boy Simon in a time when most people did not travel more than 20 miles outside of where they lived. 25:15 We know that Simon was a person of some means 25:17 because he's literally traveling from one country to the next that he has some means to be able to move about. 25:25 And see, the reason I need you to know is that it is a crisis for Jesus, but it is not a crisis for Simon. 25:32 In other words, he got some money in the bank, he got kids and grandkids. He's got some things going for him 25:39 but he meets him at the cross, not a crisis. 25:44 Now, the question is, have you ever wondered why certain people in the Bible are named by name 25:51 and some are only known by their condition? 25:54 [Congregation: Oh...] 25:57 Now again, I don't have an exact answer but the reason certain names we know, we know Lazarus, and we know Mary, 26:03 and we know Martha, and we know Nicodemus and we know Simon when they didn't really do anything all that extraordinary, 26:13 but guess what? We never know the name of the woman with the issue of blood. 26:17 We don't know the name of the man with the withered hand. We don't know the name of the 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus. 26:24 And again, I don't want to state this as a doctrine 26:26 but one scholar begins to suggest the reason that some are known only by condition is 26:33 because as soon as their condition was reversed, they stopped following the Lord. 26:40 But those whose names are known were recorded because they continue to abide in a relationship with the Lord. 26:49 [Congregation: Affirming] 26:52 In other words, see, the problem, when you meet Jesus in a crisis, is that as soon as the crisis is averted, then guess what? 26:59 Your need for the Savior dissipates. And let me suggest that a crisis can lead you to Jesus, 27:07 but it's the cross that fastens you to the Lord. 27:10 [Congregation: Affirming] 27:12 Thank you so much for joining us for the Breath of Life Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell! 27:19 We hope and pray that you have been blessed by this second message in the sermon series entitled “The Pivot.” 27:25 Join us next week for Part Two of the message entitled “That Wasn't on The Agenda.” You don't want to miss it! 28:11 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 28:34 [END] |
Revised 2023-06-22