131: Becoming Strong Men In Hard Times

[00:00:00] You've probably heard that hard times create strong men. So what are you doing right now with your life in these hard times in which we live, our country's divided. I mean, what's ahead for our election season is we have no idea where are these hard times coming from. And how are you allowing these hard times to produce you, to create you and shape you into a strong man and to even be a better man and a stronger man? In Psalm 63, David was up against hard times. He was running either from Absalom or from Saul. He's outside the comforts of his own house, his own living, and he's remembering the temple. He's crying out to God, you are my God. I mean, he's not at home. I mean, he's on the run for his life. If the wrong person sees him, he could potentially be dead. But he says something very key. He says earnestly, I seek you. David wasn't seeking a prophet. He wasn't seeking a pastor. He was just seeking the father. I think that's very key for us to do in these hard times to be men who seek the father. Living this way is going to benefit our families. We've got to focus on our health, our physical bodies, our emotional well being, and our spiritual fervor, our spiritual intensity and tenacity. These hard times come from God. God is using these hard days to purify his bride, to actually get your attention, to get my attention, that we would draw near to him and he would be our power source. He would be our comfort, he would be our security. David remembered these things in Psalm 63 when he was out in the middle of nowhere in the hardest hour of his life, one of the hardest hours. [00:01:26] And he's remembering the sanctuary and he's remembering the power of God, and he's putting his faith in the sovereignty of God. And I think about Christ. Paul said about Christ in Colossians. He says that the full fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Christ. Think about that. I love my children unconditionally. A good father loves her children unconditionally. [00:01:49] But does that mean I'm pleased with them? Being pleased with them is a whole other level of like, how are they living? What kind of decisions are they making? Are they living in the virtues and the values that I trained them in and gave them? [00:02:00] So Jesus lived in such a way that the full measure, the fullness of God was pleased to dwell with him. It's easy to dismiss that because we think, oh, well, he was a son of God. Of course the full measure of. The fullness of God was pleased to dwell with him, of course, but don't do that. That cheapens it, and that removes you from the ability to live that way. So realize this, that Jesus was fully man, fully flesh, and he was fully spirit, just like you. Just like me. He's the second Adam. And so Jesus comes, and he lives out the Torah, he lives out the values of God, and God sees that and is pleased with him. And the full measure of God is pleased to dwell with the son because of the way he lived. Hebrews says that Christ, you know, can empathize with us. Cause he understands what it's like to be tempted, but he doesn't understand what it's like to give in to sin. [00:02:49] So you gotta see this. It's very key. Jesus lived a particular way, and he overcame darkness in his life, not in his death, okay? His death is his blood on the cross had the power it had because of the way he lived. Now, he lived that way so he could overcome and atone for Urania's sin, but also to invite us into a new way of living. [00:03:14] So I want you to think about that today. What are you doing with these hard times? Are you earnestly seeking after God? Because you need to be. You need to increase that in your life by ten more minutes today. You need to reduce other things in your life. You need to know what you've said yes to so you know how to say no to the other things that are just distractions. And is the full measure of God pleased to dwell in you? Think about how much greater your life would be, your marriage would be, your relationships, your work, everything your hand touches. [00:03:39] If the full measure of God was pleased to dwell within you. Now, that's not something that you've got to perform your way into and wait a hundred days to get to this place and that place. No, you can actually have it right now. But the problem, we have to live in a sensitive way. We have to live sensitively, be sensitive to the things of God so we don't offend God. The wrath of God is coming against a list of some really intense things that we struggle with. [00:04:06] And so God's wrath, it's God's holiness, is coming against these things. So today, as we. I just wanted to bring that to a focal point today, are you earnestly seeking God more than you are a prophet's voice or a pastor's voice? [00:04:21] And is the full measure of God pleased to dwell within you? [00:04:24] I'd encourage you to increase these in your life so that you can bring great impact and you put a great purpose these hard times and allow it to produce the strong man that God wants you to be. Stay strong, my brother.