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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in. We're gonna be in First Samuel, chapter 19 and verse 1. Now, Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants. Watch this. That they should kill David. Now, we discovered last week that all David was guilty of was fighting a giant that no one else wanted to fight and winning. And all of this hate, this animosity and this threat over David's life, it all happened because some ladies sang a song. And our caution last week was also, ladies, be mindful that often a man's ego is as fragile as a woman's heart. So keep that in mind before you celebrate other people too much in the presence of the guide that loves you more than any other. Well, the lady sung this song. Saul has slain his thousands, and David his what? Tens of thousands. And all Saul heard was a comparison. And here's the deal. We all have buttons and high sensitivity to things that confirm our already low opinions of ourselves. And this was what was going on with. With King Saul. In fact, I'm going to give you a little bit more background lest you think I'm taking too much license today so you can understand better what was happening in the heart of King Saul. Let's go to First Samuel, about nine chapters back, chapter 10 and verse 22. Therefore, they inquired of the Lord further, has the man come here yet? So we're kind of in the middle of something. You can tell, but by where we started. But in verse one, Samuel had privately told Saul that he would be king. But when the time came for the public announcement, Saul hid. And, you know, he was actually in the supplies. We'll see that in the next clause. And it took actually a word from the Lord to find him. And, you know, they didn't find the man. They called the tribes forward and. And they said, no, not that tribe. Not that tribe. Then they came to the tribe of Benjamin. Yes, that tribe. And then they separated the families. Not that family. Not that family. Then they came down to Saul's family, and then they discovered the king was gone. And the Bible says that the Lord answered, and the Lord will help you find things that are lost and people that are missing. And the Lord answered, there he is. Watch this. Hidden among the equipment. The equipment. So he was hiding in what we might call the supply closet today. He was terrified by the thought of becoming the king of Israel. And we see that Saul began his reign As a very, very humble man. But over time, his modesty denigrated or degraded into security insecurity. And there's. This is important. A lot of people just ignore me when I say things like this, but there's a thin line between low self esteem and self absorption. In fact, often our self consciousness and over self consciousness. I know that's not gonna land well. Has a lot to do with us being overly preoccupied with ourselves. CS Lewis made this comment. He said, humility is not thinking less of yourself. What is it? It's thinking of yourself less. Yeah, I knew that would go over just like that. So they ran and brought him from there. And when he stood among the people, watch this. Saul was taller than any of the other people, from his shoulders upwards. So he was head and shoulders taller than everybody else in the kingdom. I mean, this is the whole land. If all the men in the nation lined up, you'd be able to see King Saul, because again, his head was above every other individual's heads. And at this time in history, kings led their armies into battle. And since Saul was the tallest man in Israel, he was the one most naturally equipped to fight Goliath. And as the warrior king. So you need to understand that not only were the soldiers running and hiding, so was King Saul. And it is true that by that time in history, Saul was likely in his 40s, early 40s or so. But how many know, some of our top MMA fighters today are also in the in their early 40s. And to understand what's going on with Saul, Saul here, with what's happening in his heart, you gotta realize sometimes people don't really hate you. They hate themselves because you became what they wish they could be. And this is what happened When David defeated Goliath. He felt upset. He knew that if there was any man in the kingdom that had the anointing, he was anointed King Saul was. God's power was on him. If anyone should have taken on Goliath, it was him. But instead, this little boy that was a little shepherd boy that knew how to sling stones, he was the only one in the nation with the courage to step up to the fight. And I'm sure he felt a little bit insecure about that reality. Let's go back to 1st Samuel 19:1. Now, Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants that they should kill David. So imagine your dad telling you to kill your best friend. This was the situation that Jonathan was in. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted greatly in David. Again, they were best of friends. They were very, very close. And this put Jonathan in a very, very difficult position. And you know, Jonathan, he was, you know, in this situation. He wanted to be both loyal to his dad, but he also wanted to be loyal to his friends. But I wish, though, we had a lot more men like this Jonathan, a lot more women like this Jonathan, because I want you to watch what he did. So Jonathan told David saying, watch this. My father, Saul, seeks to kill you. Now, what I like about Jonathan is his own self interest. Didn't stop him from being honest about his dad's weaknesses. You know, it's a next level feeling of loneliness. When you have a group of friends, one does you wrong, but no one's willing to call it what it is. Because everyone wants to protect themselves from looking like they're taking sides. And you're left out there alone, supportless and kind of wondering in your head, did that really happen? No one else seems to see what happened. And maybe, you know, I am wrong, but moments like these, they reveal your real friends, your true friends, because real friends will take a risk to make sure you're okay. Yeah. And Jonathan was that guy that took that risk. And by the way, I wish I knew these things because I was just really an astute person when it came to studying the scriptures. But a lot of these things I preach every Sunday come out of my own life. And I just wish I didn't know. And probably you wish you didn't know. But the reality is, when you're in a crisis and everyone's just trying to protect themselves, and no one seems to care about your interests, it's a very isolating and lonely feeling. And Jonathan understood that. And he wouldn't let David experience that. He wouldn't let it happen. And again, moments like that expose your real friends. Therefore, please be on your guard. Now, Jonathan is basically telling on his dad. He's saying, david, be on your guard until morning and stay in a secret place and hide. So Jonathan did not want to betray his father, but he also wanted to protect his friend. He didn't want to leave David out there like that. And when you're stuck in the middle of two people you love, all you can do is be honest about what's right and wrong, help when needed, and leave the rest to God. Here's a pretty good rule. Unless it involves you or perhaps you've been invited in, keep other people's names out of your mouth and your nose out of their business. And he said, listen, Dave, I will go out and stand beside My father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you. So how many of you know the Bible tells us in the Ten Commandments to both honor our mother and father? Right. But doesn't the top 10 also tell us not to murder? Yeah. So he's in a really precarious situation. It took courage for Jonathan to take the position that he took. And an honorable person doesn't excuse themselves from doing wrong just because an authority figure told them to do so. Dr. King said, if you're neutral in the face of injustice, by default you've already sided with the abuser. Then he said this. He said, listen, listen, I'm gonna do right by my dad. I'm gonna do right by David, and I'm gonna call wrong, wrong, right, right. And wherever that lands me, that's just where I am. And it takes courage to live that way and be that way. So he told David the truth. And then he said, then I'll observe. I'm going to look at my dad's face, and then I'm going to come back to you and report. And we all need intercessors. We all need people that are willing to go between you and an adversary and calm the waters and build a bridge. So in this situation, all Jonathan could really do was tell the truth. He couldn't control his father's heart, and there's just nothing. All he could do is be honest. And again, as Dr. King said, the silence of good people is more dangerous than the brutality of bad people. And Jonathan refused to remain silent. Thus, Jonathan spoke well of David. Now, that was really a rub, and I'm sure it made Saul furious. Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul, father, and watch what he said to him. He said, let not the king sin against his servant. Against David, Jonathan was willing to call a spade a spade. He was willing to get in his dad's face and say, dad, you were wrong. And then he continues, he says, listen, I'm apprised of all the facts. I know what's going on here. He has not sinned against you. You see, insecurity causes us to often nurse more slights than there really are. And not that David was perfect here, no one except Jesus is perfect. How many know that's true? Yeah. And just because someone's imperfect doesn't mean you need to leave them out there and just kind of let them fend for themselves. But, you know, David wasn't perfect, but he also was not the monster that Saul had created him to be in his own mind. You know, all of us, at one time or another, maybe you were born of a virgin, but for the rest of us, all of us at one point or another, have put someone else down to make ourselves feel better. How many have ever done that? Okay, there's like five honest people in the room. Okay? But this is why we need people like Jonathan in our lives, to help us come back to our senses, to see things as we ought to see them. And then it says, jonathan continues. He said, listen, I know how you feel, but I've been watching and I've seen what David has done. His works have been very good towards you, Mr. King. These are very strong but very honest words. And he didn't stop there, he said, for he took his life in his own hands and killed the Philistine. And the Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel. Everything David had done was for the benefit of the king and the benefit of the kingdom. And basically, what he's saying here is, listen, you've benefited from this guy. This guy has only served. He's only been. Been good to you. And when you saw his works, you saw the giant come down and his other victories, you saw it, and all of us, we rejoiced. But then you got the evil eye. In other words, Saul changed his heart. David didn't. Sometimes you think the person changed. What really happened is your heart and your eye changed. Unchecked insecurity will cause you to bite the hand that feeds you. You see, in reality, David did not fight these giants. And we see this later on in the chapter, as I said last week, when he refuses to kill King Saul, he had opportunity, and King Saul was already pursuing him, but he refused to kill him, which lets you know that he wasn't trying to take the throne. So we see here that again, also, not only was he not trying to take the throne, his motivation wasn't necessarily to be popular. And you don't always, you know, everybody's not always trying to be popular, but when you do the right things, many times people hear about it and fame spreads and all the rest. All he wanted to do was serve his king. So be careful about judging people's motives without first considering your own. Matthew 7:3. Jesus said this. He said it this way. He said, and why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the big old log, telephone pole, plank in your own eye, or how can you, with a straight face? That's not in the text, but that's kind of what he's saying, say to your brother, let me remove that little tiny speck of dust or piece of wood or whatever it is that blew, hay that flew into your eye, and look, and a plank is in your own eye. Watch Christ's response to this hypocrite. You see, the hypocrite always fusses about the small matters in other people's lives, but ignores the issues in their own lives. I'm preaching better than you saying Amen. Here's some great advice. He says, first remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly. So the problem is you not seeing clearly. You see, our top priority when it comes to helping another with a fault is, is first making sure that you're seeing clearly enough to help. So sometimes you gotta breathe, sometimes you gotta slow down. Sometimes you have to have a conversation with someone you think that's more fair and objective. Sometimes you have to research some facts before you open your mouth and say anything, because you want to make sure you're seeing clearly. You also want to make sure it's not a projection. You also want to make sure that you're responding to what they did, not just how you feel and. And the day you happen to be having and what Jesus is saying. Listen, I want you to help your brother get the speck out of their eye when they're wrong. I want you to be a help and an aid. But here's the deal. You need to see clearly enough to be a help. Really, really important. And if your insecurity is the thing motivating you, you're probably gonna mess up, pluck out that person's eye more than help get the thing out of their eye. So he says here, first remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly. He wants us to see clearly. He wants you to see clearly to address that issue in your child. He wants you to see clearly to address that issue, perhaps in your spouse or friend. But before you address that person, you need to make sure you have adequately looked in the mirror and address your own stuff. First, remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to help remove the speck from your brother's eye. So the goal of clear vision is not to condemn, it's to help and to remove. Again, it's not to poke the other person's eye out, but to get the little infraction out so they can see also more Clearly. Back to first Samuel 19:5. And then Jonathan continues with his dad. He says, why then will you Sin. Watch this. Against innocent blood. I've watched this and realized Jonathan is injecting himself between his dad and his friend. And his dad has a violent temper. His dad could be a very bad boy at times. We'll see that in a moment. So why are you doing. He calls it a sin. He calls it what it is. And then he says, david is innocent. Not perfect, but innocent. To kill David without what a cause? Now, Jonathan was King Saul's eldest or oldest son. He was also the heir. Apparently, he was also a great military leader. And if anyone had a right to feel a little bit threatened by the success and the abilities of David. Matter of fact, if there was anyone that had a motive to let his dad kill David, it was Jonathan. But Jonathan's eyes were clear, and he knew that David was both a good man and a friend. Not a perfect man. And what happens sometimes in relationships because one party's not perfect, you start focusing on all the faults that had nothing to do with the situation at hand. And because of that, you feel justified in not properly engaging. I don't know who I'm speaking to, but I really felt that the Lord directed me to move down the avenue. We're on. So Saul, watch this. Heeded. This would not have happened unless Jonathan had the courage to do it. Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan that some things will not be addressed or fixed unless you stand up and you say something. So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and watch this. Saul swore, as the Lord lives, he or David shall not be killed. So what had happened was when Jonathan addressed his dad, obviously the Lord touched the heart of Saul regarding David. And this is why we need each other. We all have blind spots and we need people say, no, dude, you are wrong. You need to address that. You need to correct that. You're just cutting off your nose to spite your face. He's a good guy, and all he's doing is killing the Philistines, not trying to hurt you or harm you. Watch verse 7. Then Jonathan called David. So he first went to his dad, and then he goes back to David. And then Jonathan told him all these things, so you know, he's honest with both sides. And he called a spade a spade. And by the way, this is why we've launched let's Talk and Unity Weekend and all those types of things. Because Jesus said, blessed are those that cause strife and always finding faults and always come with complaints. No, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Now, other folks, these complainers, these whiners always finding fault, always trying to create a problem. Now they might be churchgoers, but Jesus said, what makes you a son of God is that peace is your motivation. It's really easy to add more bricks of cynicism and hurt and all the rest to the wall that separates us. But the Jonathan's of this world, they aren't trying to build walls, they're trying to build bridges. And this is what Jonathan did and why he was such a great man. So Jonathan brought David to Saul. What did he do? He brought the people people together now please. We're not always a medal in people's business, understand? He was invited in by David. And he was also a part of what was going on because his dad asked him to kill David. So you know he had a right to interfere if you will. So Jonathan brought David to Saul and he was in his presence as in time past. So everything because of the intercession of Jonathan went back to how it used to be. At least for a little while. But this is important. Our victories are only as important as our vigilance to protect them. And you know, things may be good today, but if you don't keep communication going and all the rest, don't be surprised you got a problem tomorrow. Things may be good today, but if you're not willing to guard against crazy thoughts that come your mind that have no business, don't be surprised if you end up back in the same place you were months ago. Verse 8, it says, and there was war again. Now in this life you're either in the middle of a storm, you're coming out of a storm, or you're going into a storm. That's just what life is. But one thing about these storms is storms draw things out of us that calm days never will. You know, God doesn't promise and I know we kind of wish he would. But he never promises in scripture to stop every war. He never promises to calm every storm. He only promises to help us calm ourselves in the midst of the storm. Every now and then and probably more times than not, God will stop things and block things things. But sometimes you know that stormy weather is part of God's plan. I preached on this many times before Jesus sent the disciples into a storm. He dismissed them, stayed on the shore and he said, you guys go ahead of me to the other side. Now he's God taking on flesh. He was aware that trouble was a brewing, but nonetheless he sent them into the midst of it. And he did not stop that storm until they adequately called on his name. And there are some storms in your life that they will not cease, they will not stop until you adequately call on that name. And you're saying, how did this happen? Why did this happen? But God's working on something. You know, if God just made everything peaceful all the time, would you. We probably never grow. You'll never discover your strength. And also we'll never tap into the strength of God if we never need says, and there was war. Again, I love this verse because this verse captures life very, very well. If it's not one thing, it's another. How many y' all know that's true? I mean, when it comes to trouble and war and problems, it's like rinse and repeat. But what I've said to you in the past is the problem is seldom the problem. The problem is more often than not, our attitude about having problems. We feel that because we love Jesus, we shouldn't have any problems. But where do you find that in the Bible? Everyone who lives godly in Christ Jesus suffers persecution. The children of Israel were called into a promised land, but that promised land was possessed of giants and by other warring nations, and they had to run out the nations in order to occupy the land. So why do you feel entitled not to have giants in your way? Why do you feel entitled never to have to take up your spiritual weapons? Why do you feel entitled to never have to fight the good fight of faith? Because you love Jesus. It's not in the Bible. In fact, Jesus, as soon as the dove came down from heaven and. And God spoke from the clouds, he immediately was sent into what? Vacation and pampering and a massage and a pedicure and manicure? No, he was sent into the wilderness to deal with the devil. You see, God empowers you to deal with your adversary. And sometimes your adversary is standing between where you are and where you need to go. And. And it's part of God's plan and process. Why we say why? Why? So you don't depend on yourself. He gives you a giant this big, so you're like, I know I can't do it. But, Lord, if God be for me, who could be against me? And you take what he gave you and you aim it properly. Stop being so. You got surprised because you got some problems. We all got problems. Listen, I read through the Bible at least every year. I used to read through it several times a year. I still got problems. Matter of fact, if I be honest with you, when God promotes you, he just promotes you to more problems. All the Promotion is. You deal with larger problems with larger consequences. So promotion is dealing with more problems. Jesus, when he stepped into his ministry, you know, I don't know, and I can't speak. Well, I guess I can. Kind of can. Yeah, I can. There's no record of him casting out any demons. No record of him healing the sick. But as soon as the anointing of God came upon him, the Holy Spirit came in that special way. All of a sudden, demons get the help. No, I know who you are. All of that. When the power came, the enemy arose. So if you want power in your life, don't be surprised you bump into a few adversaries along the way. All right. Yeah. None of that was in my notes. And there was war again. Biblical joy is not the absence of problems. It's possessing the emotional wealth to face them with a slight smile. It's like, as bad as this is, as much as this hurt, I know I'm gonna be all right. I'm gonna make it to the other side. I'm gonna somehow do this thing. And there was war again. And there will be war again. There will be problems again in your life. And get over this hurdle. There's going to be another hurdle. Have you ever watched people run track? They intensely put hurdles on the path to the finish line. And they don't just put one hurdle, they put a series of hurdles. And the way you win is by overcoming hurdle after hurdle after hurdle, not quitting, not giving up, persevering, and then pressing through the tape. So don't be surprised as you run this race with the Lord, that you bump into hurdle after hurdle after hurdle after hurdle before you are finished. And there was war again. And David stayed at home. No, he got in trouble when he stayed at home. Y' all know what happened? Started looking at his woman bathing from the roof. But David went out and he fought. And many of y', all, y' all wanted, you know, you don't want to be involved. You don't want to be engaged, and that's why you got that mess going on. You're looking at things you shouldn't be looking at and doing things you shouldn't be doing because your gifts aren't engaged properly. And David went out and fought with the Philistines. Now, David, he had a special knack for killing Philistines. This was his. His thing. And we all have special gifts and talents that without you being in the proper place, the team is always less than God intended. And David struck the Philistines with a mighty Blow. And they fled from him. So what happened here is God was giving Saul. Saul. Yeah. Really another chance to finally beat jealousy. Now, listen. Here's the thing. You're gonna feel it, but you don't have to do nothing. You don't have to do the wrong, even if you feel the. A lot of folk, you know. I feel it. That's why I did. No, no, no. Just because you feel a little twinge doesn't mean that you gotta do wrong. Fight that battle on the inside. You hear what I'm saying? I've been saying, someone I've been counseling, you can't stop a bird from flying over your head. I think Martin Luther was the one that said this first. But you can't stop him from building a nest. And Satan's gonna inject thoughts and he's gonna keep injecting to see if it lands. But if you don't let it land, just let that bird fly over. You can't stop the birds from flying over. But listen, I can stop them from putting nests on my head. You hear what I'm saying? So in your life, you're going to feel twinges. You're going to feel emotions that you don't really like. But just because you felt them, you don't have to yield to them. So he said. And David struck the Philistines with a mighty blow, and they fled from him. And God gave him what? A second chance. But if you're blessed to get a second chance at something, don't waste it. Now, the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul. You see, what happened was Saul wasn't vigilant about guarding his heart. And, you know, what was the problem? Actually, one of our worship team mentioned, you know, Psalms chapter 4, Luke 22, 23. It says, above all else, guard your heart, for out of it comes the issues of life. And we'll guard our money. We'll guard this, that and the other. But a lot of times we don't guard our hearts the way we ought to because we live our lives out of our hearts. And if our hearts get dark, if our hearts get sour and bitter, our life gets sour and bitter. I'd rather have a clean, happy heart broke. No money, you know, and be okay on the inside. We gotta make sure we're prioritizing the right thing. Now, a distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul again. He wasn't willing to guard his heart. So what happens is Saul begins to backslide faster than Michael Jackson. And this happens. And don't he make it look good, though. You know what I'm saying? This happens when we don't guard our hearts properly. This is important. God only permits the devil to walk through doors in our hearts that we've chosen to leave open. You've probably heard me say this a hundred times. We are free always to choose. But we are not free from the consequences of our choices. And he sat in his house with a spear in his hand. What's about to happen is Saul's about to go back to his old pattern. Jesus teaches us In Matthew, chapter 12, if we don't fill our hearts with the right stuff and it's just swept and empty, it just opens the door for demons worse than God had to set us free from the first place to come into our lives. You see, it's crazy to keep dancing with the devil and wonder why you're still in hell. And this is what Saul kept doing. And David. Saul got the spirit. And David did what he did, like last night, what he always did. He was playing music with his hand, innocent, oblivious, and probably just a little bit naive. And a lot of times we project our hearts onto other people. David was a man with a heart after God's heart. And he said, this is the man God appointed king. So it's just easy to say, well, you know, he's probably the way, you know, on the inside. Maybe that was just a bad day he had. And David, over time, has to grow out of some of his naivete, if you will. Then Saul, watch this. Sought to pin David to the wall with the spear. This is the second time we read what happened last Sunday, despite Jonathan intervening. And here's the thing. You may, if you're a David, you may face the same attack more than once. But this doesn't necessarily mean there's something wrong with you. It might just mean there's something wrong with some of the people you keep surrounding yourself with. Then Saul, because he wouldn't guard his heart, he let the bird land on his head, build a nest. Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear. But watch this. But he slipped away from Saul's presence. What I need you to see is God did not stop Saul from attacking David. But what God did do was ensure that David survived. God will not always stop the attacks on our lives. Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, left for dead, hungry in prison. All of those things. God did not always stop the attack, but he did cause him to survive. In fact, one time, Paul was on a voyage and he was under arrest. And they Were taking him to Rome. And he said, guys, I perceive that, hey, this voyage is going to be with great hurt. There's some bad stuff about to happen. They didn't listen. They pushed off from the shore. And lo and behold, a big old storm, Eurocloudon, thank you. Hit them. And the boat started tearing up and all the rest. But an angel of the Lord stood by him at night. Didn't say, paul, I'm going to stop the storm. Didn't say that. He just says, if you guys stay with the boat, you will survive. Now, sometimes God says, peace, be still, calm. Other times, he gives you grace to go through it. And I don't know, always know which one is which. One time you bind and loose and the power of God, boom. The next time you bind and loose, it's like the devil laughs. He's like, that's all you got. And I can't explain how those things happen, but I do know that God did not stop Saul. He just protected David. And there are things that have happened in your life. You're like, God, if you love me, why did that happen? But you might have forgot that God has kept you. You are still alive. You are still breathing. This is important. The devil's intent is not just to hurt you. It's to kill you. He wants to wipe out, destroy your testimony. He's not after just a little bit of pain, he wants to totally rid the planet of your purpose and your life. Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with a very real spear, with very real power and killing force. But David slipped away from Saul's presence and he drove the spear into the wall, meaning he threw it. But he missed. So David fled and escaped that night. Now, this is a word for somebody listening today. Stop being so angry at God because something bad happened. Be happy you survived. You weren't supposed to make it. You shouldn't be here. Satan was trying to take you out. You know, the scars in our lives are there to remind you of when life tried to break you, but it failed. Every scar in your emotions, in your body, is a time the devil tried to take you out, but you made it. Give God a hallelujah. Come on, give him a little bit of praise. Until Christ returns. He's not going to take all the jealous people, the bad people, the evil people from the planet. But no weapon formed against me shall prosper. But I'm going to make it. I'm going to surprise. Yeah, the devil. But God. But God. But God. And you gotta be thankful for the Things he brought you through, the things you made it through. It was bad, it was hard, it was ugly. But God, while I was yet a sinner, died for me and loved me. And if he could love me when I was that bad, he's gonna love me now that I'm getting a little bit better. Hear what I'm saying. We should have boldness and confidence that God has us. I know I'm repeating myself, but stop focusing on all the bad things that happen in life and be grateful you're still here. You're still breathing. You're still living. You have another. Another opportunity to win again. I wish I could put God in a box. And actually, I'd mess everything up if I did. But my flesh wishes I could tell God how to do things and what to do and by what time to do it. But last I checked, God is God and I'm just a man. And if in his wisdom, he assigned me to go through some things, what the devil intended for evil, what he's going to work together for good. And, you know, I talked about all Paul went through, but all it did was make him stronger. And what Paul might not have realized when he went through is men and women like you and I, we read that, we're like, well, if God could get him through all that, I can make it through this. And he might have been like, God, why are you picking on me? Why is all this bad stuff happening to me? All I'm trying to do is fulfill my call. But God had a greater purpose. He knew we'd be reading the story. He knew we'd need encouragement. And also, Paul was a very proud man. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees. He was an intellect. I mean, you know, his IQ was probably 160, 170, you know, a man that could very easily lean to his own ability. Holidays. So God in his wisdom said, no, man, I'm gonna put you in a situation. You can't lean on your wisdom. You can't lean on your education, your intelligence. You're only gonna be able to lean on me. And because of that, Paul finishes race well. So whatever it takes, Lord, for us to finish our race well, whatever trouble must be in our way, whatever challenge must be in our path, God, joy is not based on my circumstances. It's based on the richness and the riches you've placed in my heart. The Bible said, for the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross, meaning that when they were beating him, there was a little smile when they were mocking him. If it couldn't show on his face because his lips were so busted. And on the inside there was a little smile because he saw that if I go through this, God's gonna give me all that. And when I say all that. He saw you, he saw me, he saw all that. He really redeemed for the joy set before him. He saw us. And he saw people getting their lives right and being spared from a devil's hell and people turning to him and nations turning to him. He saw the Western movement where much of the world would start operating behind Christian principles and move away from some of the ugly that had been existent and existed. He saw all that. And while they beat him, there was still a joy. That's what the Bible said, there was a joy on the inside of them. Happiness is based on circumstances. Joy is based on the faithfulness of our God. It's knowing God. You got this somehow. You're gonna work it out. I don't understand it. I don't have to, Lord, but I will trust you. And there's a buoyancy that sometimes it won't even manifest in a smile, but there's a buoyancy that keeps your head from going under. And you can't explain how come I'm not drowning. How come joy is like a life jacket that you got around you and the waves and everything, but you keep bouncing up. But that joy doesn't come from this world. It only comes from the God that loves us while we're in this world and will keep us through any situation that the world might throw at us. My prayer today is that you just keep on walking no matter what happens. Though I walk through the valley, a shadow of death. What a church here say, if you're going through hell, keep walking. If you're going through a valley, keep walking. You're going through a trial, keep walking. You're dealing with a hardship. Keep walking because you will get to the other side. Give God a hallelujah. Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekrer.com or by clicking the link in the description.