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Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000037S
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00:11 Sermon #S020 - That Wasn't On The Program - Part 2)
00:19 Welcome to The Breath of Life Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell. 00:25 In today's episode, Pastor Snell will share part two of the powerful message 00:30 "It Wasn't On The Program" Let's learn more about God's power through the study of His work. 00:38 Pastor Debleaire Snell: Sometimes, God sends a delay to preserve you from some things. Sometimes, 00:43 He's preserving you from a danger you can't see. 00:47 Sometimes, He's preserving you from a marriage that's going to bring you pain. Sometimes, 00:53 He's preserving you from a job that's going to compromise your values. Sometimes, 00:58 He is keeping you from circumstances that will bring our unrest. discord, and strife to your life. 01:05 Sometimes, He's preserving your from and sometimes He's preserving you for. 01:11 Sometimes, God blocks some avenues so he can preserve you for the right job. 01:17 He preserves you for the right house. He preserves you for the right spouse. 01:22 He preserves you for the right situation. Instead of complaining that is taking too long, just be still and wait on the Lord. 01:32 Let things begin to unfold and see what He's preserving you for and what He's preserving you from. 01:39 I've seen this happen in my own life. I remember probably about four or five years ago. 01:44 My wife and I had been here already about six or seven years. We had rented a couple of different homes. 01:51 So, we decided that we wanted to just go ahead and buy a house in faith and put some roots down here in Huntsville. 01:57 We identified the neighborhood and the model house that we were interested in getting. 02:02 We had already been approved based on our preliminary loan. But then, as they got into underwriting, 02:10 our tax preparer had wrongly interpreted the financial data from another property that we owned. 02:16 Guess what? It falls through right at the end. At that time, we were very frustrated 02:22 because we had prayed and we thought God was leading us to a particular neighborhood. 02:27 We had to sign a lease for another year and remain where we were. I need you to know that during this time, 02:34 the housing market continued to get worse. Where are you all at today, church? 02:39 In other words, they are at a point where they lowered the price of the build of the house. The interest rates continued to fall. 02:46 The builder offered more incentives than they did the year before. 02:50 I was sitting up there mad at the delay when God was preserving us from a higher price. 02:57 He was preserving us from a higher interest rate. He was preserving more upgrades for free. 03:02 I was having a bad attitude because I didn't realize what God was protecting me from 03:10 I'm also a witness that sometimes God will preserve your for. Sometimes, 03:17 I'm afraid to share this testimony in front of young folk because I don't want you to get the wrong impression. 03:21 When I was here as a student, my senior year, because I was Mr. USM, I wasn't doing my business. I failed my Greek class. 03:32 Because of my Greek class, I wind up having to do summer school for about eight weeks after graduation. 03:40 Now, the conference after I got hired wanted me to go straight to Andrews after graduation. 03:45 Now, I'm stuck behind my class during summer school for graduation. 03:50 I'm delayed in my start even though I take additional classes to get out of Berrien Springs as quickly as I possibly can. 04:01 I get to the end of two years and I've got one class to take my very last semester. 04:09 I've got to stay in Berrien for another semester just to take one class. 04:14 I need you to know that God is at work in the delay because I wasn't married at the time. 04:22 I need you to know my wife and I, we were campus brother and sister to that point. I mean, I would pray for her. 04:30 If she needed a ride, I'll give her a ride because I had a car. That last semester, she broke up with her boyfriend. 04:38 You all are not hearing me today. That last semester, she broke up with him. About a couple of weeks later, 04:46 she was hanging out with me. We spent the rest of the semester hanging out. 04:52 We didn't become a couple until about two weeks before I left Andrews. 04:58 We dated long distance until I propose. Now, church, I'm not saying that God made me fail the class. 05:07 Don't blame that on Jehovah. I believe that all things work together... 05:14 [Congregation: Continuous Clapping] 05:16 Pastor Snell: ...for the good of them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. 05:24 Don't get mad at the delay because sometimes, He's reserving you from and sometimes He's preserving you for. 05:34 Are you all hearing the world today, friends? She's my campus sister. I was interested in her spiritual wellbeing. 05:48 Hallelujah. Come on over and pray. P-R-A-Y. Amen. 06:02 Now, this is going to be a little rough here, but it's good news. 06:06 Third thing this teaches us is that you can't dictate where God intervenes. 06:15 Can I say this to somebody? God will never leave us helpless. 06:25 But just because God doesn't help when you want and how you want, 06:32 it doesn't mean that you are without help. Are you all hearing me today, friends? 06:38 Jesus steps into this moment unscripted. It wasn't planned. It wasn't on the agenda. 06:48 This woman did not have a resurrection in the program. 06:54 Sometimes, you got to have enough faith to leave a little room for God to move. 07:02 Now, I need you to get that as powerful as this occurrence is, that God resurrects the boy from the dead. 07:10 If you would have asked the mom if she would have preferred a resurrection or if she just kept him from getting sick, 07:22 her preference would have been God intervene earlier in the process. 07:28 Because remember, this girl, this lady is broken. She then already lost her man. She then have been through this trauma before. 07:35 The last 24 to 48 hours have been a living sense of travail as she has begin the morning of the son. 07:43 If she had her choice, she would have preferred that God... God could have showed up earlier in the day. 07:50 He could have showed up the day before, but God doesn't intervene until she's almost at the burial ground. 08:00 It's almost like Mary and Martha. They would have preferred an earlier intervention. 08:07 Do you remember Mary and Martha when Jesus shows up finally? Mary and Martha are big mad. 08:15 They're like, "Lord, if you had only been here sooner, then Lazarus would not have died." 08:24 One of the things I'm learning about us is that we have so many preferences. 08:32 No matter how God moves, we always wish God had done it a different way. 08:41 Remember when Jesus walked on water to the disciples in the storm. 08:47 Now, I need you to remember go back with it for a minute, because remember, 08:51 when he was on the shore, what He did was He sent the crowd away and kept them from the storm. 08:58 Now, the crowd that gets sent away is mad because they can't follow Jesus because Jesus knows a storm is coming. 09:07 All the disciples that are in the storm, when Jesus walks on water, are mad because Jesus let them in the storm in the first place. 09:16 Those that didn't get to go are mad. Those that are saved by Jesus are still mad because we are never happy with how God intervenes. 09:28 As grateful as this woman is for a resurrection, she wishes that God have moved in a different way. 09:35 Are you all hearing me today, my friends? 09:38 I need us to get, beloved, that God intervenes in different ways in the affairs of people. 09:42 He does not do the same miracles with repetition or in the same way because He's not trying to prescribe a procedure. 09:51 He just wants you to know that "I am able." You don't get to dictate how God intervenes. I mean, think about it. 10:01 There are certain people, He just kept them from getting sick. There are others that He delivered from sickness. 10:09 There are some that He kept in sickness. Some won't be made whole until the resurrection. Are you all with me today, friends? 10:17 I guess what I'm saying, beloved, is never begin to covet how God intervenes in somebody else's life. 10:27 Your takeaway shouldn't be that God ought to do it for me the same way. Your takeaway ought to be that God is able. 10:35 [Congregation: Amen.] 10:39 There are some of us here trying to figure out how God is going to intervene in us financially clearing through school. 10:47 You're mad because God intervened for somebody and that their parents saved up the money from the time that they were kids. 10:54 God intervened for somebody else and that they got a scholarship upon graduation. 10:59 God intervened for somebody in the last couple of weeks as financial aid finally came through. 11:04 God intervened for somebody another way when a stranger wrote out a check with your name on it. 11:10 How many of us know that God intervene for everybody in different ways, 11:15 but it is the same God that intervene for everybody at some point? 11:21 You don't got to worry about how God does it for them. Because in four years when God gives you a degree, 11:27 you ain't going to be worrying about how he paid the bills. You're just going to be thanking God that He did it. 11:34 Are you all hearing what I'm saying today, friends of mine? 11:38 I need us to be clear, beloved, that God is going to do it in some different ways. 11:42 There are going to be some that have just always had a job. For some, God is about to give you a job. 11:50 For somebody, God is going to teach you I can feed you even if you ain't got no job. God sustains us in different ways, 12:02 but it is the same God that sustains all of us. We are all experiencing God's sustaining grace in some way. 12:13 Are you all with me today, church? Some of us are being kept from trouble. Some of us are being delivered from trouble. 12:24 Some of us are being sustained in trouble. The truth is you're going to visit one of those categories at some point down the line 12:34 Let me be clear that my preference is always to be kept from trouble, 12:40 but can I just give a quick endorsement for those that are being kept in the trouble that they're in? 12:47 I need you to understand that there is a special blessing that is given only 12:53 when you know what it is to be kept by the goodness of God. Why are you all acting brand new in here with me today? 13:02 Is there anybody that knows what it means to just be kept by the hand of the Almighty God? 13:10 Are you all hearing me today? I need you to know that is what I'm talking about. 13:15 It only really is going to feel good for those that are trying to make heaven their home. 13:21 In other words, there are certain miracles you can get that don't require a relationship. 13:29 Remember the ten lepers that got healed. They got their healing, but only one came back to give thanks. 13:36 The 5,000 love Jesus as long as he was giving out free fish sandwiches, but the Bible says that at the end of John 6, 13:45 by the time He finishes preaching that one day, you're going to have to eat My flesh and drink My blood, 13:51 verse 66 says that not many of them followed Him any longer. I guess what I'm saying, beloved, 13:58 is you can get miracles in the drive-thru, but you get sustained by God when you sit at the table. 14:10 There is a blessing in being sustained in trouble that cannot be received from any of the way. 14:19 Remember what the Apostle Paul says, he says, "I've got a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet at me," and he says, 14:29 three times, I have prayed that it would be removed; three times, I prayed that the miracle would take place." 14:37 But He says, "I found something greater than a miracle." He says, "I found out that His grace is sufficient 14:45 and God is able to sustain me in whatever situation I'm in." 14:51 Notice church, He says that, "God's strength is made perfect in my weakness. 15:00 So that when I'm sustained, I'm perfected in a way that I am not when I just get what I want in the drive-thru." 15:09 You all are not hearing me today. 15:11 Is there anybody that's willing to admit that as much as I want the trouble to be taken away, 15:17 go ahead and admit that I need a little more time in the furnace. I need a little more time in the oven. 15:24 I need a little more time for God to work on me. 15:27 Is there anybody that's thankful enough to say even when the trouble isn't taken away, 15:33 I'll praise God that He sustains me! I'll praise Him for the healing, but I'll praise Him more that He sustains me when I'm sick. 15:43 I praise Him for increase, but I thank Him for the times that he sustained me in lack. I praise Him for friends, 15:51 but I thank Him for the times that he sustained me with enemies abounded. In other words, I praise Him for the good, 15:59 but there is a special praise that I reserved for the times that God sustained me. 16:06 Is there anybody that will just say, "Lord, I thank you that you got me to the end of the week. 16:12 Lord, I thank you for sustaining me to be able to get up and see another day. 16:19 Lord, I thank you that when there was more month than money, you made sure there was bread on the table. 16:26 Lord, I thank you that when they came to get that little car, I wasn't home. 16:31 " Is there anybody thankful that when the marriage should have dissolved God kept it? 16:36 Is there anybody that can just say, "Lord, I don't have it all. It's not all good, 16:42 but I thank You for sustaining me." Are you hearing the word today? The word says... Friends, I want you to get this. 16:56 The Bible says, "When the Lord..." The word says, "And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, 17:10 a dead man was being carried out." Verse 13 says, "When the Lord saw her..." When he saw her, "...He had compassion." 17:27 Oh, Jesus. Oh, help me, Lord. He saw her and had compassion on her. 17:35 Listen real quick. I'm almost done. Fourth thing this teaches, friends of mine, is that sometimes, your sorrow intercedes for you. 17:44 [Congregation: Clapping] 17:48 Pastor Snell: Remember, I told you last week, 17:50 that one of the reasons Christ had to come is He had to come show us what God is actually like. 18:00 Notice that the miracle commences not because of what she said, but the word simply says he saw her. 18:13 I need you all to get this, friends of mine. 18:15 The word says that He saw a woman so overwhelmed by a grief that was probably triggered by the loss of her man. 18:25 When he sees her swallowed up by life's adversities, 18:31 the Bible says that God cannot sit with indifference toward the suffering of His children. 18:39 She doesn't even make an ask. God resurrects the boy simply because He saw her. 18:50 Before I even get to the good part, I just want to let somebody know today that God sees you. 19:03 I want to say to the soul that feels invisible, that feels invaluable, that feels overlooked under notice because after all, 19:14 you're family, don't come check on you. Your friends have not come to see about you. 19:19 Your loved ones have no idea of what is swimming on the inside of your soul. 19:27 I need you to know that if nobody else sees, if nobody else cares, 19:33 if nobody else gives a good doggone, I need you to know that there is a God who sees you. 19:46 Now, I need you to get this friends because this miracle is not a response to some major act of faith. 20:01 Are you all hearing me, saints? This miracle is not a response to some major act of faith. 20:09 I need you to get where this woman is in her emotions. This woman then already lost her man. 20:14 Notice that she passed by Jesus as if He was not there. She walked by as if He was just another bystander in the crowd. 20:22 She is at a place where she has lost and lost and her prayers have gone so unheard, that she doesn't even have a further expectation. 20:30 The Bible says she doesn't even make a request of God, but the Bible says that He sees her pain. He sees her sorrow. 20:40 He is moved to act even though there is no supervening act of faith. 20:46 I guess, saints, what I wish I could tell you today. I wrote the book on unrealistic faith, 20:52 but I wish I could tell you that everything God has done for me has been a response to unending prayer or because I never doubted. 21:01 I wish I could testify that God move because I never distrusted him or because I never cease my prayers. 21:09 I can testify that every now and then, God did some things not because I prayed hard, not because I believe long, 21:18 but simply out of the abundance of His goodness. Go ahead and tell the truth and shame the devil today. 21:25 There were times where you didn't ask. 21:28 Let me preach to this side. There are some times where you didn't have the words to pray. 21:33 There were times when you didn't have the mind to pray. There were times where you didn't have the strength to pray. 21:40 The good news is that God did it even though you didn't pray. He did it simply because He's that good. 21:53 In other words, He paid the bills because He's good. He protected the house because He's good. 21:59 He shielded your kids because He's good. Everything that happens is not a response to our goodness. 22:07 Is there anybody thankful that He does not deal with us according to what we deserve, 22:13 but according to the multitude of His tender mercies. So that even if we didn't ask, we didn't believe, we didn't trust, 22:24 God still moved because He's good. 22:30 I see some of us are still not convinced. It trips me out, the things that we believe without doubting. 22:44 It's crazy. Most of us grew up on the paradigm where we say thank God that God will leave no sin unpunished. 22:53 Do you ever heard that before? We believe that, don't we? We believe God will let no sin go unpunished, 23:07 but yet we believe that God will allow our sorrows to go unattended. We believe God will let no sin go unpunished, 23:18 but we believe God will allow our sorrows to go unaddressed. 23:22 It suggests an indictment against the character of God 23:26 because it suggests that He is more concerned with our sins than He is with our sorrows. 23:34 But I serve a God that has been touched with the feeling of my infirmities, so that when I cry, 23:45 He don't have to hear a word because He knows how to interpret the language of tears. 23:51 He knows what your groans mean and your sorrows mean, so that even when your sorrows intercede 24:01 and make an appeal to God that words cannot express. It is why Romans says you don't know how to pray like His son, 24:11 but the spirit itself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Are you all hearing me today, friends? 24:19 I need you to know that God is not more concerned with your sins than He is with your sorrows. Are you all hearing me today, friends? 24:30 God is more worried about how you're sleeping than who you slept with 10 years ago? 24:41 You think that God is only worried about what you're eating when God is worried about what's eating you. 24:49 God is more worried about where you're going than where you've been or what you've done. 24:54 Some of us have got to flip the script in our thinking to where we realize that God is more attentive to our needs than 25:02 He is to our transgressions. 25:08 "Pastor, how do I know that God is going to address my sorrows?" And I'm glad you asked. 25:17 The reason I know He's going to handle every sorrow is because He's already handled every sin. 25:25 [Congregation: Clapping] 25:27 Pastor Snell: Oh, I felt that Jessica. The reason I know He's going to handle the sorrow is because He's already addressed the sin. 25:36 Doesn't Roman say that if God already freely gave us His Son, won't He also with Him then freely give us all things? 25:49 In other words, if He's already given us the best gift, why then would He withhold the inferior gifts? Where are you all at today, 25:57 church? If He went to the Cross, if He went to the grave, if He gave His blood, then won't He pay the bills? 26:07 Won't He get you in school? Won't He answer your prayers? Won't He heal your marriage? Won't He build your body? 26:16 Won't He provide the job? Stop looking at the circumstance. Start looking at the cross. The proof is not in your bank account. 26:26 The proof is seen in the ransom that has been paid. The best gift has been given. The covenant has been ratified. 26:35 Because I've been forgiven, because I've received grace, I know He's going to provide, that He cares, 26:45 that He's going to supply every need according to His riches in glory. Somebody praise the God who cares today? 26:55 [Congregation: Continuous Clapping] 26:58 Pastor Snell: Praise the God who cares today! No, no, no. Not be indifferent God, but if you serve a God that cares, He cares. 27:07 He cares. He says cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you. 27:23 There's somebody thinking, "Man, it ain't going to get better until I get myself right spiritually." 27:29 I need you to know that when God saw the tear fall from your eyes, it spoke more powerfully than 20 minutes of prayer on your face. 27:44 The cries of your heart appeal to the mind of the God who cares so much about you. 27:54 He says, "I've numbered even the hairs on your head." I need you to know that even before you had the mind to pray, 28:05 even when you lack the will to pray... 28:07 Let me be clear. I'm not telling you you should not pray, but I just need somebody to stop beating themselves up 28:13 and know that God sees you. 28:18 (Breath of Life Theme Music) 28:41 [END] |
Revised 2022-10-05