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See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.360 --> 0:01:30.080 UNEs dot co. 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:32.800 We're so glad to have you with us on the 0:01:32.840 --> 0:01:36.480 podcast today. Twenty nineteen is going to be an awesome 0:01:36.560 --> 0:01:39.560 year in your life. When you're finished listening, I hope 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:42.200 you'll take a minute and write a quick review. Your 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:46.400 encouragement will help others to be inspired and encouraged. Enjoy 0:01:46.440 --> 0:02:00.800 the message now well, God bless you. It's a joy 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:03.080 to come into your homes and if you're ever in 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:05.880 our area, please stop by and be a part of 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:08.720 one of our services. I promise you we'll make you 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:12.040 feel right at home. I like to start with something funny, 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:15.120 and I heard about this pastor. He'd been out bear 0:02:15.200 --> 0:02:18.800 hunting all day long and searched and searched through the woods, 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:22.320 no sign of a bear. Finally, in frustration, he threw 0:02:22.440 --> 0:02:25.080 his gun on the ground and went to the stream 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:28.280 to cool off. About that time, he sees this huge 0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:32.239 grizzly running toward him, full speed ahead, about one hundred 0:02:32.320 --> 0:02:35.120 yards up in front of him. He fell on his knees, 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:39.840 said God, I need protection. Please convert this bear into 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:44.360 a Christian. Miraculously, the bear froze in his tracks. Put 0:02:44.400 --> 0:02:47.240 both pauls toward the heavens, and said, Lord, thank you 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:50.880 for this food that I'm about to eat. Say it 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.680 like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:56.119 what it says I am. I have what it says 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:58.720 I have. I can do what it says I can do. 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:03.079 Today I will talk the word of God. I boldly confess. 0:03:03.520 --> 0:03:06.880 My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. I will 0:03:06.919 --> 0:03:10.640 never be the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:15.600 I want to talk to you today about designed to withstand. 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:20.120 There are times in life we can feel overwhelmed, like 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:23.600 the pressure's too much, we go through a loss, we're 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.359 dealing with an illness, or we're not being treated right. 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.680 A lady told me how things had come against her 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:32.120 at work and looked like she was going to lose 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:35.960 her position. She said, I can't take it anymore. The worry, 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:39.840 the stress, the demands is too much to handle. She 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:43.360 felt like she was going to collapse under that weight, 0:03:43.880 --> 0:03:48.120 like it was unbearable. But Paul said in First Corinthians, 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:51.800 God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:55.600 with more than you can bear, but with the temptation 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.280 will make a way of escape so you can bear it. 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.240 Paul was saying God will not let you face more 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:07.200 pressure than you can handle. He won't let more weight 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:10.360 come on you that you don't have the strength to bear. 0:04:11.160 --> 0:04:15.280 When an architect designs a building, a big skyscraper, he 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:18.760 doesn't just design the outside, what it's going to look like, 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:22.880 the color, the size, the shape. That's important, but it's 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:26.240 of no use if he doesn't design the inner structure. 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:30.719 He calculates all the loads, how much each floor will weigh, 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.200 how much wind it will face, how much equipment will 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:37.640 be on it, then he'll know how big the still 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:40.880 beams should be, and how deep the piers in the ground, 0:04:41.080 --> 0:04:46.120 how thick the foundation. In California, where they can have earthquakes, 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:50.200 you have to put special reinforcements in the framing, more 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:53.880 than we do here in Florida. The glass has to 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:58.120 withstand hurricane force winds. I was at a hotel in 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.840 Colorado during the summer. I notice on the slope roof 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:05.400 all these cables and wires. I didn't know what it was. 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:09.159 I asked the man. He said, those are heaters to 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:12.640 melt the snow. He explained that if you don't keep 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:16.080 the snow off, it can pile up, and that weight 0:05:16.360 --> 0:05:21.520 can cause the roof to collapse. The architect specifically designs 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:26.000 each structure so it can withstand the pressure, so it 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:30.360 can bear the weight. The good news is your architect 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:34.520 is the most high god. He not only designed solar 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:38.839 systems and mountain ranges, but he designed you. When he 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:43.080 laid out the plan for your life, he calculated everything 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:46.920 you would face, all the pressure, all the weight, all 0:05:46.960 --> 0:05:51.240 the winds. He took into account every hurt, every loss, 0:05:51.480 --> 0:05:55.880 every injustice, every mistake, and he designed your beams big 0:05:55.960 --> 0:06:00.920 enough your foundation thick enough. He put in you the determination, 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:05.880 the courage, the stamina that no matter what comes against you, 0:06:06.520 --> 0:06:09.640 it will not be too much to bear. You've been 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:15.159 designed to withstand the storms, designed to outlast the opposition, 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:20.479 designed to endure until the dream comes to pass. God 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:23.039 wouldn't be just if he knew we were going to 0:06:23.040 --> 0:06:26.000 face one hundred and twenty mile an hour winds. But 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:29.039 he only designed us for eighty mile and hour winds. 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:33.360 That wouldn't even pass code. You couldn't get that designed 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:37.560 through city planning. How much more has God put in 0:06:37.600 --> 0:06:41.400 you exactly what you need? You may not be able 0:06:41.440 --> 0:06:44.640 to see it, but your walls are strong enough, your 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:49.920 foundation is deep enough you can bear whatever comes your way. 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:55.159 God didn't miscalculate when he designs you. He didn't forget 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:59.440 about what environment you'd be in, what conditions you would face. 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:03.359 He didn't accidentally leave out a beam. Now you can't 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:07.919 handle the weight. Nothing you face will cause you to 0:07:08.040 --> 0:07:11.560 collapse under the weight. Now, thoughts may tell you it's 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:15.160 too much, you can't handle it. You need to remind yourself. 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:19.560 I've been designed to withstand. I have what it takes. 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:23.840 I am determined enough I'm strong enough, I'm bold enough, 0:07:24.040 --> 0:07:27.920 I am well able Now. An architect doesn't wait till 0:07:27.920 --> 0:07:31.160 the pressure comes to see what kind of beams to 0:07:31.200 --> 0:07:34.080 put in. He doesn't wait till the middle of the 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:37.560 storm to check the force of the winds to see 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:41.520 how much resistance to decide what kind of structure to build. 0:07:42.200 --> 0:07:47.120 It's all calculated ahead of time. It's designed before one 0:07:47.200 --> 0:07:51.360 concrete truck shows up, before one hammer is lifted. The 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:57.560 specs are studied, calculated, and approved before construction ever begins. 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:01.720 In the same way, before you were formed in your 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:08.200 mother's womb, your specs were carefully designed. Everything was strategically 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:11.720 and precisely put in you for what you're going to 0:08:11.800 --> 0:08:16.080 need when you face big challenges. That means you have 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:21.120 big beams, you have strong infrastructure. You don't really know 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:24.880 what's in you until you get some weight on you. 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:28.000 You don't know what you can handle until the pressure comes. 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:32.200 And when something happens that we've never faced, a loss, 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:36.080 a disappointment, a set back. It's easy to think I 0:08:36.120 --> 0:08:39.640 can't handle this, it's going to sink me. The truth 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:43.640 is you wouldn't be facing it unless you could handle it. 0:08:44.280 --> 0:08:47.040 If it was too much to bear. God wouldn't have 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:50.719 allowed it. The very fact that it happened is a 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:54.000 sign that you are well able. Now. You may have 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:57.400 never put that kind of pressure on your beams, the 0:08:57.440 --> 0:09:00.680 glass walls of your building, so to speak, may have 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:05.400 never experienced winds so strong. That's why you're tempted to 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:10.880 feel overwhelmed. You don't realize the structure has been designed for. 0:09:10.960 --> 0:09:15.000 That pressure. Wasn't a surprise to your architect. He knew 0:09:15.040 --> 0:09:18.680 ahead of time. That's why he made the glass so strong. 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:22.520 He took into account wins that you never knew you 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:27.040 would encounter. Nothing you face will cause you to collapse. 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:31.800 You've been designed to withstand. Now you can collapse in 0:09:31.880 --> 0:09:35.640 your mind, in your thinking. You can give in and think, oh, 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:38.480 this is too much. I'm overwhelmed. I can't handle it. 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:42.720 That's why the scripture tells us, don't faint in your mind. 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.520 Your structure is strong enough. Now, get your mind strong enough. 0:09:48.360 --> 0:09:51.520 Quit telling yourself it's too big. It's been this way 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:55.600 too long. I can't take it anymore. You are well able. 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:59.640 No weapon formed against you is going to prosper that 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:02.880 different dificult. He didn't come to stay. It came to pass. 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:07.080 But to say we can't handle it is to say 0:10:07.400 --> 0:10:11.840 when God designed me, he miscalculated. He didn't make my 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:15.079 foundation deep enough. He left out a beam. I can't 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:19.680 carry this weight. God doesn't make mistakes. The Psalmas said, 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:24.400 you have been fearfully and wonderfully made. It's not just 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:28.240 talking about the outside, our looks, our size, our talents. 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:33.040 That's talking about your specs as well your infrastructure. How 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:37.559 God designed things that you can't see, how he planned 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:42.079 ahead of time for challenges and obstacles. Things you would 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:45.520 think would cause you to collapse. But out of nowhere, 0:10:45.640 --> 0:10:50.319 strength rises up. A courage comes, a faith to overcome, 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:55.800 a determination to stand strong and outlast the opposition. When 0:10:55.840 --> 0:10:59.440 we acquired this building, it didn't have any rooms for 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:03.679 chillchildren's and youth facilities. It's a big sports arena. We 0:11:03.720 --> 0:11:08.000 needed some classrooms, so we built a five story building 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:11.320 on the end that connects through the lobbies. It's our 0:11:11.360 --> 0:11:16.080 family life center. We told the architects, one day, we're 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:18.640 going to want to add five more stories. We're going 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:23.800 to need to expand, so they designed the foundation, the peers, 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:28.080 the underground to accommodate ten stories. But when you see 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:31.480 the building. What you see as a five story building. 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:35.240 Unless you have the plans, unless you have the specs, 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:39.600 you don't realize it's designed for ten stories. People driving 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:43.240 down the freeway think the building's finished, it's peaked, that's 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:45.800 as tall as it will ever be. They don't know 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:50.679 what's underground. What enables it to go higher is the 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:54.559 way that the beams can handle the thickness of the foundation. 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:58.960 In the same way, you may think you've reached your limits, 0:11:59.320 --> 0:12:01.839 you've been at that same level a long time. Can 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:06.040 I encourage you? You have more floors in you. You've 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:10.080 handled this much pressure, fine, You've gotten comfortable carrying this 0:12:10.240 --> 0:12:13.360 much weight. It's no problem. But if you could look 0:12:13.400 --> 0:12:16.840 at your specs, if you could see the plans God 0:12:16.880 --> 0:12:20.600 has for you, you would notice your beings are much 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:24.320 bigger than what you're carrying right now. You could think 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:28.120 God over designs you. He put things in you that 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:31.960 you don't need. No, He's coming. God has new levels, 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:36.280 and with that increase comes more weight. You're going to 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:39.440 have more pressure. Now. I don't mean pressure in a 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:43.520 bad sense. This is pressure that makes you stretch, makes 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:47.679 you grow, makes you release your faith, believe bigger and 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:52.920 take on new challenges, not just difficulties, but positive pressure 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:56.840 where you discover you can handle things that you never 0:12:56.880 --> 0:13:01.240 thought you could handle. For seventeen years I worked behind 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:05.280 the scenes here at Lakewood doing the television production. In 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:08.080 nineteen ninety nine, when my father went to be with 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.959 the Lord, I knew I was supposed to step up 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:13.719 and pasture the church, but I didn't know how it 0:13:13.760 --> 0:13:16.680 was going to work out. I had never faced that 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:20.240 much pressure, not only having to get up in front 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:24.000 of people, thoughts telling me I wasn't qualified, nobody was 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:27.960 going to listen, but losing my father was very traumatic. 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:31.680 I had worked with him every day for years. We 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:35.679 had traveled the world together, and now he was gone. 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:39.439 I should have been overwhelmed. The pressure should have caused 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:43.120 me to shrink back and be discouraged. But in the 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:46.360 midst of that turmoil, I felt a strength that I 0:13:46.360 --> 0:13:51.720 had never felt, A determination, a resilience, a confidence that 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:55.080 didn't make sense to my mind. When I stepped up 0:13:55.080 --> 0:13:58.240 to minister. Yes, I was nervous, I was afraid, but 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:01.160 down deep, I believe that I could do it. I 0:14:01.200 --> 0:14:04.440 believed I had what it tanks. There was a boldness 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:09.480 that I had never experienced. I realize now that wasn't 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:13.280 just me being strong. I had been designed for this. 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:18.280 I was designed to withstand the pressure. I was designed 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:23.200 to overcome the loss. I discovered My beams were big enough, 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:27.400 my foundation was strong enough that this didn't catch God 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:31.880 off guard? What am I saying? You've been designed for 0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:35.880 everything you're go into face. When you come into things 0:14:35.880 --> 0:14:40.240 that seemed too hard, too big, too unfair, things that 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:44.040 should cause you to collapse, don't worry. God knew they 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:47.640 were coming. He already made your beams big enough. You 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:52.680 will be able to bear it. Now. It may be uncomfortable, 0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:56.200 you may have to stretch, but that pressure is not 0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:59.520 going to stop you. You're going to discover ability that 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:03.520 you didn't oh you had. Even now. I have some opposition, 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:07.840 people that don't understand me, but that no more bothers me. 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.560 I never pay any attention to it. For some people, 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:16.080 that would cause them to be negative, bitter, spiteful, But 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:19.520 God's given me the grace to handle it. The pressure 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:23.200 that would cause some people to collapse doesn't affect me. 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.960 Whatever is in your future, you have the grace to 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:32.480 handle it. Nothing you face will be beyond what you've 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.520 been designed for. But if you would have told me 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:38.640 back in my twenties, when I was behind the scenes, 0:15:38.680 --> 0:15:40.680 that one day I would be up here in front 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:43.960 of you every week and have to have something to say, 0:15:44.400 --> 0:15:47.040 and we would own the Compact Center, and I'd be 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.280 responsible to raise the funds, I'd say, there's no way 0:15:50.640 --> 0:15:54.440 I can't carry that much weight. It's because I couldn't 0:15:54.480 --> 0:15:58.480 see the infrastructure. I'd never been put under that kind 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:01.960 of pressure. But when when it comes, like with me, 0:16:02.560 --> 0:16:06.920 you'll discover your beams are in place, your foundation is 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:10.720 strong enough, your steel is big enough. Now the key 0:16:11.480 --> 0:16:15.120 is don't lose the battle in your mind. Your mind 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:19.320 will tell you your five stories when you're designed for ten stories. 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:23.520 Your mind will say it's too much. Shrink back, it's 0:16:23.560 --> 0:16:26.600 not fair, it's never going to work out. I might 0:16:26.680 --> 0:16:30.840 believe you if your architect live down the street, you 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:35.040 might convince me. If your architect work for a firm downtown, 0:16:35.480 --> 0:16:38.960 he could make a mistake. But can I remind you 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:43.000 your architect is the god who spoke worlds into existence. 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:50.000 He doesn't miscalculate. You will never face a situation that 0:16:50.040 --> 0:16:54.320 you're not designed for. You will never face pressure that 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:58.160 has to cause you to collapse. A problem that's too big, 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.800 a dream where you can't care the weight. And when 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:04.840 I look back over my life at the critical points 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:09.159 where I could have been overwhelmed, my mom being diagnosed 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:12.879 with terminal cancer, the death of my father, the lawsuit 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:17.639 with the Compact Center, every time it was uncomfortable, I 0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:22.160 could have been discouraged and given up. But I discovered 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.920 not that the pressure went away, but that I could 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:30.600 handle more pressure. I discovered I was designed to carry 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:34.560 more weight. And if you don't face the pressure, you'll 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:38.720 never know who you really are. The higher you go, 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:42.240 the more pressure there will be. The good news is 0:17:42.640 --> 0:17:46.119 you have the beams to handle it. At some point 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:50.800 that pressure will subside and you'll see you're stronger than 0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:54.720 you think. Some of the things that overwhelmed you ten 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:58.320 years ago, you can look back now and say, like me, 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:02.640 it's no big deal. That trouble at work that almost 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:05.920 gave you a nervous breakdown, but you came through it. 0:18:06.560 --> 0:18:10.120 Now things like that don't bother you anymore. It's not 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:14.240 so much that God changed the circumstances. It's that God 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:18.199 changed you. He showed you who you really are. You 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:21.760 thought you'd always be at five stories. You better get ready. 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:26.720 There's a skyscraper in you. There are new levels, new 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:32.119 mountains to climb, new giants to conquers, new skills to learn. 0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:37.600 With the new comes more opposition, more weight, more pressure. 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:41.960 Don't let it overwhelm you. Let it inspire you. That 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:45.159 means God's about to add another floor. He's about to 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:49.160 take you higher. Well, Joel, I didn't have a good childhood. 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:52.240 Nobody was there to encourage me to cheer me on. 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:56.119 That wasn't fair. But you have the beams to handle it. 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.960 You have the infrastructure to rise above it. That didn't 0:19:00.119 --> 0:19:03.680 stop your future. Well, I came down with this illness. 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:09.280 That's why I'm overwhelmed. Isaiah said, take hold of God's strength. 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:14.240 It will be overwhelming if you don't remind yourself that 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:18.040 it's not a surprise to God. He wouldn't have allowed 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:21.679 it if you couldn't bear it. Since he did allow it, 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:25.600 that means you are well able now all through the day. 0:19:25.920 --> 0:19:28.760 You need to take hold of his strength. Father, Thank 0:19:28.800 --> 0:19:31.679 you that I am strong in the Lord. Thank you 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:34.119 that you are fighting my battles. Thank you that you 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:37.240 being for me is more than the world being against me, 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:43.080 the apostle. Paul faced all kinds of unfair situations. Three times. 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:46.320 He was beaten with rods, he was put in prison 0:19:46.760 --> 0:19:50.600 without a trial, He was shipwrecked, spent the night on 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:54.560 the open sea, bitten by a poisonous snake. He could 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:59.359 have collapsed under all the pressure, lived overwhelmed. Yet he's 0:19:59.400 --> 0:20:03.240 the one that said, thanks be to God, who always 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:07.400 causes us to trial. He knew God won't let us 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:11.760 face things that we can't handle. If you'll stay in faith, 0:20:12.000 --> 0:20:16.240 you'll discover, like Paul, you've been designed to withstand the 0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:19.919 pressure that the enemy didn't somehow come up with the 0:20:20.000 --> 0:20:24.320 scheme to outwit the God who created you. He can't 0:20:24.359 --> 0:20:27.600 send a storm so powerful to knock your walls down. 0:20:28.280 --> 0:20:30.560 He can't put so much weight on you that your 0:20:30.560 --> 0:20:34.480 beams can't hold up. Paul said, we are pressed on 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:38.200 every side, but we are not crushed. He was saying, 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:43.000 in effect, we've been designed to withstand the difficulty. Our 0:20:43.200 --> 0:20:47.520 architect took into account all the trouble, the wind, the 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:51.560 bad break, and he's put in you the courage, the stamina, 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:56.480 the endurance to withstand. As a young man, David was 0:20:56.520 --> 0:20:59.639 anointed to be the next king of Israel. But he 0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:02.320 didn't go to the palace. He went back to the 0:21:02.359 --> 0:21:06.720 shepherd's fields and took care of his father's sheep for years. 0:21:07.359 --> 0:21:10.159 I'm sure thoughts told him, David, you're never going to 0:21:10.200 --> 0:21:13.560 be the king. You're stuck out here. Nobody pays attention 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:16.800 to you. He could have been discouraged, but he kept 0:21:16.840 --> 0:21:21.720 doing the right thing. He eventually defeated Goliath. He went 0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:26.280 to the palace to serve King Saul. David was good 0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:30.920 to Saul, faithful, loyal, but Saul was jealous of David. 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:34.280 He could see the favor on his life, and while 0:21:34.359 --> 0:21:37.400 David was playing the heart for Saul, trying to make 0:21:37.480 --> 0:21:41.200 him feel better, out of nowhere, Saul threw a spear 0:21:41.400 --> 0:21:45.600 across the room, barely missed David. He had to take off, 0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:49.480 running for his life. He spent months in the desert, 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:54.200 hiding in caves, living on the run, with Saul constantly 0:21:54.280 --> 0:21:58.879 on his trail. David thought it was difficult those years 0:21:58.880 --> 0:22:02.160 in the lonely shepherd's fields, but he had never faced 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:05.600 this kind of pressure, the king trying to kill him. 0:22:06.040 --> 0:22:09.760 He could have been overwhelmed, given up, faded into the 0:22:09.840 --> 0:22:15.040 sunset but David understood this principle. His attitude was, I've 0:22:15.080 --> 0:22:19.840 been designed to overcome this injustice. I know God wouldn't 0:22:19.880 --> 0:22:23.320 have allowed it if I couldn't handle it. On the 0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:27.639 way to your destiny, there will be opposition, things that 0:22:27.680 --> 0:22:31.000 are not fair, people that should be for you but 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:35.160 turn against you. You have to remind yourself you've been 0:22:35.200 --> 0:22:38.720 designed for it. You're not going to collapse under that weight. 0:22:39.000 --> 0:22:42.600 Your beams are big enough. You don't have to live bitter. 0:22:43.280 --> 0:22:46.639 You don't have to get revenge. You can forgive, you 0:22:46.680 --> 0:22:49.879 can stay on the high road. May not have been fair, 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:54.639 but like with David, you've been designed to overcome the injustice. 0:22:54.840 --> 0:22:59.520 You've been designed to outlast the opposition. If David would 0:22:59.520 --> 0:23:04.080 to complain about the Shepherd's fields, let King Saul overwhelm him, 0:23:04.520 --> 0:23:08.200 we wouldn't be talking about him. He knew God would 0:23:08.200 --> 0:23:11.760 never let him face more than he could bear. He 0:23:11.800 --> 0:23:15.400 didn't like it. It was uncomfortable, but he didn't let 0:23:15.440 --> 0:23:19.320 the pressure cause him to lose focus and miss his destiny. 0:23:20.240 --> 0:23:23.080 We all have these times where we can be overwhelmed. 0:23:23.560 --> 0:23:27.359 But the reason you have big opposition is because you 0:23:27.440 --> 0:23:31.960 have a big destiny. The good news is. God took 0:23:32.040 --> 0:23:37.159 that all into account when he designed your infrastructure. He 0:23:37.200 --> 0:23:41.920 didn't give you a big future with weak walls, little beings, 0:23:42.320 --> 0:23:47.000 small foundation. You are stronger than you think. You have 0:23:47.119 --> 0:23:53.280 more stamina, more endurance, more grace, more forgiveness. Those challenges 0:23:53.359 --> 0:23:57.040 are a sign that new floors are coming. God is 0:23:57.080 --> 0:23:59.960 about to take you higher, to show you new levels 0:24:00.160 --> 0:24:04.840 of increase in favor. Now, don't complain about the difficulties. 0:24:05.240 --> 0:24:11.560 That's when you discover what's in you. David discovered courage, perseverance, 0:24:11.800 --> 0:24:15.000 faith like he had never seen. If you'll keep the 0:24:15.119 --> 0:24:19.600 right attitude that pressure, instead of breaking you, it will 0:24:19.640 --> 0:24:23.600 develop you. You'll grow and mature so you can take 0:24:23.640 --> 0:24:27.120 your throne. Now. You may be in a time of testing. 0:24:27.200 --> 0:24:30.280 Now you feel like the weight is too much to bear. 0:24:30.880 --> 0:24:34.240 People at work aren't treating you right. That situation with 0:24:34.320 --> 0:24:38.480 your child has you overwhelmed. Have a new perspective. God 0:24:38.560 --> 0:24:42.560 is saying you've been designed to withstand. Now you have 0:24:42.600 --> 0:24:45.600 to do your part and take hold of His strength. 0:24:46.320 --> 0:24:48.920 Instead of thinking all day about how difficult it is. 0:24:49.080 --> 0:24:52.000 Turn it around. I can do all things through Christ. 0:24:52.359 --> 0:24:55.240 I've been armed with strength for this battle. I may 0:24:55.280 --> 0:24:58.280 walk through the valley of the shadow of Death. But 0:24:58.359 --> 0:25:01.720 I know a secret. I'm day in here. This valley 0:25:01.800 --> 0:25:06.200 is not my home. I'm coming out better, stronger, victorious, 0:25:06.520 --> 0:25:10.400 into new levels of my destiny. A friend of mine 0:25:10.720 --> 0:25:13.400 came to see this building a few years ago. He's 0:25:13.440 --> 0:25:16.880 an engineer. I took him through the lobbies and into 0:25:16.920 --> 0:25:19.840 the auditorium, and I brought him here on the platform. 0:25:20.280 --> 0:25:23.719 Showed him the lights, the sound system, the screams, the 0:25:23.760 --> 0:25:27.239 things that are impressive to me. He liked it. But 0:25:27.280 --> 0:25:30.360 then he asked me something that no one has ever asked. 0:25:30.760 --> 0:25:34.640 He said, can I see the mechanical rooms? I said 0:25:34.640 --> 0:25:38.480 the what he said, the mechanical areas, the power plant, 0:25:39.000 --> 0:25:42.679