Somebody broke up with you, and you thought you couldn't make it without them,
and then you looked them up on Facebook, and you fell on your knees and thanked God that
they broke your heart. "Oh, thank God they weren't interested in me.
Look at what could have been. Look at what the Lord has done."
I don't always understand the reason, but I praise God for the result.
This takes faith. Can you praise God for the result of a situation that is not yet resolved?
Not to say 10 years later "I'm glad it happened," but while you are still sitting in a Roman prison
cell, can you say, "God, if you're going to get some glory out of this, I'm glad"?
Paul might have talked to Lazarus. He might have.
I don't know when Lazarus died the second time. Now the first time he died was weird, because
Jesus knew he was sick and was about to go to him, but he delayed his trip to let him die.
Weirdest thing in the world for the Son of God, the Savior of humankind, the compassionate Christ,
the one who combs the hair of lambs on his lap as he sings lullabies to the lambs… You know,
the Jesus you always hear about. He said something so shocking to his disciples
when they came to him with the news that Lazarus, whom he loved, had died.
I want to put it on the screen, because you won't believe it's in the Bible if
I don't show it to you. He told his disciples plainly, "Lazarus
is dead…" Watch what comes next. Not weeping. Not tears. "…but for your sake I'm glad."
"I'm glad it happened. I'm glad I didn't get there in time to heal him.
I'm glad, because now I get to show you a level of my glory
that you could not see if I had shown up and done what you thought I should do.
I'm glad it happened."
I looked at my friend and said, "You know, I wouldn't choose what we went through,
but I don't think I'd change it either."
See, I'm glad it happened, whatever it may be for you. I'm not talking about the promotion.
Of course you're glad that happened. I'm not talking about the miracle breakthrough you got,
the check in the mail, the tax refund. Of course you're glad that happened.
I'm talking about the thing that other people feel sorry for you about,
having the faith to say, "I'm glad for my weakness. It led me to deeper strength." It's
getting quiet at the Praise Party. I know how to preach you into a little bit of a frenzy. I can do
that anytime. This is the deep work that requires mature faith to be able to look at something…
When I grew up in the Methodist church, in the youth group we had prayer requests and
praise reports. This is old school. "Why don't we bring that back into the church? That would
be wonderful, Pastor Steven." No. People are too crazy, and I will not give them the mic. Okay?
Paul would have messed up praise reports and prayer requests, because the praise
reports is where you put the good stuff and the prayer requests is where you put the bad stuff,
but Paul has reached the point in his life now where he says,
"I don't know the difference anymore. My prayer requests have become my praise reports.
I know y'all are praying for me to get out of prison, but I have to be honest with you. I'm
running a revival, and I'm not sure I'm ready to leave yet. So could y'all bring the prayers down
a little bit? Because I think there's something God still wants to do while I'm in this prison."
Are you all clapping to be polite or do you really believe that some
of the things you would have prayed away are the instruments of change?
Paul has no problem rejoicing, because he knows the result. When I showed Graham Rocky IV,
I wasn't nervous when Drago won the first three rounds. Why? I know how this ends.
Some of y'all need to look at 2018 before it even gets started and declare in the face of the Devil,
"I'm not nervous. I'm not worried. I'm not anxious. I'm not freaked out,
stressed out, maxed out. I know how this ends!"
Take 18 seconds right here and praise him for how it is before it even starts.
Oh, the Devil hates this!
He hates when you get glad about what your eyes have not seen and your ears have not heard.
God is going to get some glory out of everything I've gone through, and the more I've gone through,
the greater the glory. Shout about that! This is a resurrection moment.
I'm glad about it. I'm
not glad about the pain; I'm glad that in the pain is a purpose. I'm glad about it.
I cried enough about it. I spent enough time wishing it would go away,
but now I'm standing here with my praise intact, in my right mind. I'm glad about it!
I'm glad they rejected me. It showed me that God was enough and I don't need them.
Paul makes a resolution now. He made the revision. He set the record straight.
He said, "I want you to know what's really happening here,
because y'all are feeling sorry for me, but don't feel sorry for me. I'm getting results.
God is getting some glory through my life. Don't feel sorry for me."
Some of y'all need to call some people and say, "I don't need you to apologize,"
and then if you want to mess with their whole mental state, send them a gift card,
whoever hurt you. No, I'm serious about it.
I know it sounds kind of weird to be glad somebody came against me,
but I'm glad it happened. Aren't you glad that the storm stripped away everything you really
didn't need so you could know what was core to the essential nature of who Christ made you to be?
Aren't you glad that you're not going into the next year carrying dead weight
of worthless relationships?
Aren't you glad that God closed some doors
so you wouldn't spend years of your life in the wrong room?
I'm glad it happened.
I am glad it happened. I might not be able to smile when I say it, but I'm getting there.
I'm glad it happened.
He said, "I made a resolution." How about this? Just one New Year's resolution. This
is the only one you really need. Do everything else you want to do too. Save the money. Put
the kids' college fund. Go to the moon with Elon Musk. I don't care what you do, but
do this too. This is verse 18b. "Yes, and I will continue to rejoice…" That's the resolution.
I worry about that word rejoice, because I think you might think it only means this or this. No,
he's making a decision or a resolution, because remember, resolution is a decision, not an event.
I'm not waiting to see how this turns out before I make my decision about my faith.
So I reflect and I expect. Paul says, "I don't know how this is going to turn out yet. They might
kill me." I don't know what you're going through right now, but it isn't this bad. That's why I
brought Paul to the Praise Party. If I say this crap, you might just think I haven't ever been
through anything, but you haven't had your life on the line for the gospel. Not yet.
Paul says, "I want you to know I made my resolution, and I will continue to rejoice."
"Oh Paul, did you get good news? Are they about to release you?"
"Don't know."
Resolution is not an event; it's a decision. Now watch the decision.
It's verse 20. We have to get verse 19 as well. It's just too good. I can't
do this to verse 19. I can't leave verse 19 sitting right there just looking all pretty.
"…for I know that through your prayers and God's provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has
happened…" Somebody say, "I'm glad it happened." I want that ringing in your spirit so you go out
really confessing it and really declaring it and really living in that state of rejoicing
that is not dependent on the outcome of your situation. "I know that what has happened to
me will turn out for my deliverance." Here's the word: "I eagerly expect…"
I preached a whole sermon on the Greek word that Paul made up because he couldn't find
a word in the lexicon that described how he felt about the situation. He couldn't say,
"I have a good feeling about this. I don't know. I'm enthusiastic,
Bill." It wasn't one of those things. It was a "from the gut" gladness that only comes when
your sole priority is the glory of God and nothing else holds weight in the court of your reasoning.
So he made up a word from three different words: apokaradokia. Three words: apo (to look away),
kara (head), dokia (stretch). Paul said, "I'm chained to the floor,
but these chains make a good sermon prop, because my feet are bound but my mind is free.
I can't change my situation right now, but I can make up my mind,
and here's what I've decided." I need about 130 people who will make this decision. "I
eagerly expect." In other words, I stretch my head toward my future.
I can see we need some exercise. Stand up.
I'm going to help you with your New Year's resolution. You wanted to exercise more.
We're going to do it before you hit the parking lot tonight. High-five your neighbor and say,
"I'm glad it happened." Now I want you to do me a favor, everybody, every campus, even the cool
people who are too cool to high-five your neighbor every time I tell you to high-five your neighbor.
I want you to turn around 180 degrees.
If you are geometrically challenged, you should
be facing the opposite direction you were a moment ago. All right.
The Word of God on this pulpit represents the promises God has made to you in the
future that he has in store, and we came tonight to reflect but also to expect.
You can't go into what's next that has your name on
it…your next assignment, your next breakthrough, your next level of influence,
your next season of real joy… You can't go into it facing this way.
What happened happened. It happened
whether you wanted it to or not, whether it was your fault or not. It happened.
Acknowledge it. There were some disappointments this year, some stuff that broke your heart,
but you cannot experience the purpose of God in 2018 with your head in your past.
I hear the Spirit of God saying tonight, "It's turnaround time."
Paul said, "I eagerly expect that what has happened to me will turn out
for my deliverance." Now I want you to turn 90 degrees. Just 90. I don't care which 90. Just 90,
preferably so you're facing someone else. Could you face somebody?
You can't go into this next year facing your past, and you can't go into this next year
facing other people. You cannot look to them and compare yourself to them and compare your
situation to theirs, not in going to the future God has for you. Paul said,
"I want you to know that what has happened to me, what God has for me is for me."
Sometimes we are so busy comparing our situation to the situation of others.
We are locked in cycles of resentment and regret, but it's turnaround time.
Now I want you to turn another 90 degrees, and we all should be facing forward.
This is where I'm facing.
I have my eyes on the word God spoke to me. My eyes are on the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus. I've got my head out of my past. I've got my feet in my
lane. I've got my eyes on the prize for which God called me heavenward in Christ.
I'm glad it happened! I'm glad for the dangers, the toils, the snares. I'm glad for the battles.
I'm glad for the blessings. I came tonight to give you praise for all of it, God.