Chris Hodges - From a Setback to a Comeback
All right, who’s glad to be here today, anybody, anybody? Anybody want to give Jesus just a little bit more worship, anybody, anybody? Oh yeah, it is so good to see all of you guys here today. Welcome to week number four of a five-part series called «The Comeback,» and I’ll tell you more about that in just a minute, but let me look into the camera like I always do and say hello to all of our locations today, to the men and women in the Alabama Department of Corrections. We are actually in all 28 of those facilities across the state of Alabama right now. And then of course… you want to clap? I, I just, yeah, I’ll wait for it, it’s all right.
And then, of course, people are watching online live and then later on demand, and we’re glad you’re along for the ride as well. But we have to give our special shout-out today because they can hear you now at every location. Say a big hello to the Opelika campus, everybody, whoo! And after ten years of being portable, that’s not our average, we like to keep it somewhere around six or seven portable, but they’re ten years portable, they are now in a permanent paid for facility, everybody, and to God be the glory. And thank you to everybody here at Highlands. Your generosity makes all that possible. And in fact, we are headed already, in fact, it’s already going up over in Oxford and then down in Daphne.
And so, it continues, as we build these locations out and have facilities that will be there for generations to come, leading people to Jesus. What a blessing that is. So shout out to Pastor Kevin and Kayla and Pastor Mark and Jill Pettus are there today celebrating with them. We love you guys. We’re proud of you guys and so grateful for what the Lord is doing all across the Highlands family. Today, we wanna jump right into this message. Before we do that, you’ve already heard from your campus pastor about what’s happening, of course, this weekend, and it’s no surprise to everybody. Hopefully you know next weekend we will celebrate our Risen King, and you’ve heard their take on it. Let me give you a few things and thoughts of my own. I’m very excited about it. We’re gonna actually have 120 services across all of our locations next weekend, adding services, because this is the one weekend you guys all show up on the same weekend, all right?
So, which is a blessing. And then we always, if history repeats itself, we’ll end up with, you know, tens of thousands of people here for the first time. And I’m gonna ask you to do three things before I jump into the message. I’m gonna ask you to do three things, and I really mean this. This is something I’ve shared every Palm Sunday for a number of years. And the first is, I need your prayer. I need everybody this week, when you, when you have a meal, would you just throw in an extra sentence and say, «Lord, would you just bless the services at Highlands this weekend and as people are coming, that their hearts would be open to God»?
That’s what I’m praying for. We’re gonna do our best, but our best happens when really, when there’s what I call an open heaven, where people just for the first time can, can sense the presence of God. Maybe they’ve heard the message of Jesus for a long time, but all of a sudden, it all makes sense. The Bible calls that «a spirit of wisdom and revelation». It’s actually a spirit that happens through prayer, and I’m gonna ask you to pray for people that come, that they be open to God in a great way, and we’ll see a bunch of people give their lives to Jesus. And then pray for us. We’re gonna work really hard and do double about what we normally do on a weekend, myself, and then of course, the music teams, and the serving teams, and the kids teams, and so, let’s just pray.
Everybody pray, if you would do that please. Second is, you’ve already, you know this, I’m gonna ask in you, if you’re ever gonna be someone who’s a bringer, you’re gonna invite somebody to sit with you in church, this is the weekend to do it. And on your way out today, we have some little invitation cards, and these are not intended for you just to throw out, like stuff in lockers if you’re a student or put on a windshield. That actually doesn’t help. That hurts, okay? Don’t do that. What we would love for you to do is just make these personal. So when you share with someone, hand them this. And then the best thing is don’t let them figure it out. Say, «Hey, which service, here are the services, which one would you like to come to? I’ll come with you».
And then let them sit right with you, and, and by the way, I want that for them, but I also want it for you, because there’s nothing like the feeling of having somebody far from God sitting next to you in church and then seeing them respond to God. It’s gonna be one of your favorite services you’ve ever attended as you see that happen. So, I wanna encourage you to do that. And then finally, I want you to participate, and what I mean by that is, let me tell you a quick story to illustrate this. When I gave my life to Jesus, I can’t tell you who was preaching, what the message was, or what the music was. I vividly remember the participation of the people in the crowd. The crowd wanted me to Jesus, not the stage. It was when I saw people, I’d never seen Christians love God like that before.
And when I saw people on fire for God and loving God, it inspired me. And I just want you to know, your participation in the weekend plays a role. It’s not just up to all of us up here. Y’all understand that, everybody? You really play a role as you just worship God with all your heart. Even in the hallways, if you see somebody lost, just go ahead and deputize yourself as a greeter and help them find their way, okay, everybody? And just, let’s all participate. And then, for the past 24 years, we have actually done only at Easter what I call the Easter Survey, where we’ll ask some real survey questions at the beginning of my message, but then at the end of the message, I turned it into a spiritual survey, where I ask everybody that’s here to participate.
So even if you’ve been here forever and you know that we know that you’re a Christian, I want you to still fill out the card with me because that gives confidence to all those that are here for the first time. So, everybody, just participate in that. And then if history repeats itself, thousands upon thousands of people are gonna give their lives to Jesus. In fact, last year, are you ready for this? Get ready to celebrate. Last year, 6,444 people gave their life to Jesus on Resurrection Weekend! Come on, everybody. So, it’s such a great opportunity, and I just needed to give you some of those thoughts. So, help us out, everybody. It’s gonna be a great, great time together.
All right, our theme verse for this series is found in Romans chapter 8, verse 11. It’s my favorite Easter verse. We’re using it for the whole series, and it says this, that «the Spirit of God,» the Spirit means the power, or the wind, or the breath of God, «who raised Jesus from the dead,» so you have to admit, it took power. He didn’t just get up. I mean, power was present to get a dead body alive and then out of that grave. That same power that happened 2,000 years ago «lives inside of you». So it’s available to you today. And I love these words, «just as,» so, in the same way, in the same way as what? It’s the same way as Jesus got up out of that grave, «God actually will give life to the things that are dead in your life, your mortal bodies,» and you need to know that.
I tell you this to know that, that Jesus didn’t just get up out of the grave so we could have a holiday, okay, everybody? He did it so that you could have the same power to give life to the dead things in your life «by the same Spirit that lives inside of you». So we’re asking ourselves this question in this series, where in my life do I need a resurrection? Or we’re saying it this way, «Where do I need a comeback»? What is, what is not at the place it should be? It’s either never was there or it once was there and for some reason, circumstances, life, has got you in a bad place in some area of your life. And what we’re trying to do is build hope inside of you that because of what Jesus did on that Resurrection Day and because of the stories we’re telling you, you can get one too. Can I hear a good amen right there everybody?
It’s true. And this church is filled with stories of people. You’ve heard it on the, on the testimony video of people whose lives were completely turned around, I mean, losing family, losing babies, going through hardship and difficulty. And today, we’re actually gonna talk about discouragement and disappointment. A disappointment is a missed appointment. You wanted, you wanted to be here, but it didn’t work out there, it ended up in a different place. In fact, the way I’m phrasing it is is that «when life isn’t turning out the way you planned».
So I don’t know where that fits for you. I know all of us, if we could pass a mic around the room, you’d have a story, and you might be living it right now. I want you to know, and this is gonna sound so preacherish. I’m just gonna tell you it does, and I sure hope you don’t take it that way, because this is nothing cliche about this. This, I’m getting ready to say, is an absolute fact, that «God can take every setback and lead you to a comeback,» and that’s a fact. He has this unique ability, it’s not a verse we’re sharing today out of Romans chapter 8, that God can take all things, turn it around for the good to those that love him and are called according to his purpose, and that’s a fact.
I said «that’s a fact,» everybody, that God can take whatever mess up, disappointment, even the one you created, 'the' one you might be in right now. It might be your health, it might be your, your, your mental capacity, your mental health, it might be your, your emotions, your marriage, your money, your job, your kids, your wife, I don’t know what it is. But we’re trying to build faith inside of you to not, to not stay in the setback, to move into the comeback. And I wanted to, before we headed into Easter Sunday, I wanted to give you the steps. Like, how do you get from the bad place back to this other place? Because what you might need to know is there are some steps that not only God does, but there are also some that you have to do.
So there are some things, there’s a way for you to play a role in your own recovery from that bad place. And so this is a message about discouragement and disappointment, and I tell it in this Passion Week because even the Passion Week gives a picture of it. Jesus came in on Palm Sunday with celebration, and then it turned real quickly. And even Jesus modeled for us. I mean, he went to this ultimate place of what seemed like defeat on the cross on Good Friday, only to be resurrected and see victory. Even that shows us these steps of coming out. And I want to tell it to you through the story of someone in the Old Testament. In fact, It’s the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, and probably one of the most popular stories in that book is the story of Joseph.
Beginning in Genesis 37, Joseph was the, was the great-grandson of Abraham. So you have Abraham, his son Isaac, his son Jacob, and then Jacob had 12 sons. His 11th son was named Joseph. And the problem with this story is that Joseph was his favorite. And so, and he showed favoritism to Joseph. In fact, he worked his brothers and Joseph stayed in the house, and Joseph, he made him of this coat of many colors, and it made all the brothers jealous. And then God gives Joseph this dream that, that his brothers, his older brothers, are gonna bow down and worship him. Now, why don’t you think about your own siblings and them come up to you and saying that, «You’re gonna worship me one day».
Like, yeah, right, whatever, you know? And so that’s what they did. It made them mad. It made them so mad that they decided to kill Joseph. So we don’t, we don’t kill him. And they all said, «Let’s just, let’s just kill him,» you know. And then the older brother, which is so funny to me, because, you know, the older brother probably was gonna get the heat if they did kill him, they said, «No, let’s don’t kill him, let’s just sell him». Come on, how many of y’all know that’s a lot better, right? You know, anyway. And so, they throw him into a pit. If you know this story, they throw Joseph into this pit, and then they sell him to this Ishmaelite tribe, who would actually end up trafficking him, bringing him to Egypt and to make some money off of him, and Joseph ends up in, in slavery in Egypt.
And that’s where I wanna pick up the story. It says, «Joseph had been taken down to Egypt to a guy named Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of the Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, and he bought him,» so he’s trafficked, «he’s bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there». And then you get this little, this almost annoying phrase sometimes, because nothings good’s happening, nothing good is happening. And then the Bible throws in, «And the LORD was with him». Well, I’m thinking, well, if the Lord was with me, I wouldn’t be a, I wouldn’t be a slave, I wouldn’t be thrown in a pit. Like, my brothers wouldn’t have done this to me if the Lord was with me. But you need to know that.
«The LORD was with him so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master». And it says that, «When his master saw,» there it is again, «that the LORD was with him and that the LORD would give him success,» and you’re thinking, yeah, but he’s a successful slave. You know, oh, praise God, I get to be a happy slave. You know what I’m thinking? I mean, I’m just, I want you to see it that way. «In everything he did, Joseph found favor in the eyes of Potiphar and became his attendant. And Potiphar liked him so much that he put him in charge of his household and entrusted his care to everything he’s owned».
And I just want you to see this, again, I call it the surprise phrase of, in the middle of everything going bad, God was still with him. Because I think some people in this room, your theology is that when things are bad, you must have done something wrong, and maybe even God’s doing something wrong, and that’s not always the case. In fact, many times it’s not. And if you watch this, if you have bad theology in your dark days, it keeps you from getting out of that situation, because you don’t have right theology. You can be right in the middle of something bad and the Lord is still with you. All right, so the next part of the story is Potiphar goes and runs some errands in town, right? And while he’s gone, Potiphar’s wife notices how handsome Joseph is.
And so while Daddy’s away, she comes in and says, «Ooh la la». Now he’s 17 years old, y’all, okay? And so she says, «Hey, Potiphar’s gone for a while. Let’s go, go to bed together». And she tries to seduce him. And Joseph, now you gotta remember, this dude’s 17, he’s got hormones flying, this is, right, this is… and he says, «How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God»? And when I read that, I thought, you mean sin against the God who’s allowed all this bad stuff to happen to you? Is that the God you’re talking about? And what I want you to notice is that Joseph had this ability, even though nothing externally or circumstantially is showing that God is even remotely helping him, that he’s still being faithful to God.
And I’m only saying that because I’m not sure some of us, and I don’t… maybe not even me, I don’t think, I don’t know if I would be, like, you know? What do I have to lose? What are they going to do, throw me in a pit? What are they going to do, sell me? You know, I’m already a slave. What can you do to me? Yeah, let’s, let’s go girl, let’s go. And then he doesn’t. And I want you to see that. And the Bible says that «when she saw that he had left his cloak,» so she grabs him, and he goes, «No»! And he runs away, and when he runs away, «His coat came off of him and into her hands and, and he ran out of the house, she calls her household servants,» and she flips the story. She lies and says, «Look, this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us! He came here to sleep with me, but I screamed. And when he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house».
So he is faithful to God, says no to sin, and then gets accused of rape and gets convicted of rape and ends up going to prison for doing the right thing. Just trying to show you that maybe if you’re going through something difficult, it might not be what you think it is, that God is still working in ways you cannot see. And that’s my job is to help you see your disappointments and your dark days the right way. Are y’all following me, everybody? This is very important. And so he ends up in prison now. So he goes from the pit to Potiphar to the prison. Okay, now watch this. «And while Joseph is in prison, the LORD is with him,» in prison? Yeah, the Lord’s with you there too. «And the LORD showed him kindness».
Now, I don’t know, I don’t know, y’all, I mean, I still marvel at the fact that we get to be in the Correctional Facilities of Alabama, and our hearts go out to you guys. But this, we’re not talking like what the prisons and facilities like we have today. This was probably an underground dungeon with a warden that probably had a limp. You know what I’m saying? And maybe, you know, okay, you just got a picture at the right way. «And the LORD showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden». And I would like to say probably just the eye, right? You know what I’m talking about? He’s probably just like, you know, anyway, so I’m just trying to give you a picture. You gotta see a little humor in Scripture. I’m just telling you, it has to be there.
But anyway, «So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. And the warden,» watch this, «paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care because,» and there’s a little annoying phrase, you know, «I’m in prison, but the Lord is with me,» right? «And gave him success in whatever he did». The Bible goes on and tells this part of the story that I don’t have time to show you all the Scriptures. You ought to go read it. It’s a, it’s a great read for a few chapters in the book of Genesis. But he meets two people in prison, a cupbearer and the baker of Pharaoh. And one day, those guys woke up and their face was all long and sad.
And Joseph said, «What’s going? Why are you guys so sad»? He goes, «Man, we both had horrible dreams last night, but we don’t know what they mean». And they said, «Well, if your dreams are from God,» Joseph said, «I can tell you what they mean». And they shared the dream, and he tells the cupbearer, he said, «Oh, your dream means you’re getting out of here in three days. And by the way, if you do get out, please remember me. I’d like to get out of here too. I mean, tell them I’m in here for reasons that aren’t true. Help me get out». And then, and then the baker, he says, «And your dream means you’re going to die in three days. You’re actually going to be impaled by Pharaoh, and you’re going to die in three days,» which that wasn’t a good one, but anyway, that’s what he told him, and that actually happened.
The baker died, and the cupbearer gets out. But when the cupbearer gets out, he doesn’t remember Joseph. And what I’m trying to show you again is the number of setbacks. In fact, I went through and counted in the story. I actually went through and every time another bad thing happened versus another good thing happened, and there were actually literally twice as many setbacks as comebacks. And I don’t know if you think, man, that’s just, that’s my story. And what Joseph does, he gets out. The rest of the story is, of course, he gets out. What happens is, Pharaoh has, two years later, by the way, Pharaoh has a dream, and the cupbearer goes, «Oh my goodness, I was supposed to remember this guy. There’s a guy who can tell you what that means».
And he brought Joseph in, interprets the dream of there’s going to be seven years of plenty, seven years of famine, and you’re going to store up grain, and you’re going to become very, very wealthy. And of course, Joseph ends up in second in command of Egypt. So he goes from his daddy’s house to the pit, to Potiphar, to the prison, and now to the palace, and that’s the story of life. That’s what you call life. Okay, watch this. This is the key part of the message that you’ve got to grab. That only happens, not by God’s will alone, that happens when you and I make some choices understanding, having right theology about our setbacks and right theology of how to get it, make it, turn it into a comeback.
There’s things that you and I need to do, and I want to give them to you, and these can change your life, because watch this, it can speed up the process or, if they’re ignored, slow down the process. So here we go. And number one is you have to «recognize,» and I should have highlighted the third word there too, «and value the fact that God likes developing people’s character,» okay? Now it’s not my favorite part of God. You know, God just is interested in our growth. And I don’t know about you, I’m happy to go to heaven dumber than a stump, come on, somebody, right? But, but God, God does not mind developing. He, in fact, he’s more interested in your character than he is your comfort. In any church, it’s always like, «Oh, it’s good, it’s good, it’s good, God’s good, he just wants to give, give, give».
No, no, no, no, he doesn’t either. He loves shaping people. And I don’t, in fact, it’s not only my theology, it’s right theology that God is not capable of creating something bad, but he’ll sure use it, and he’ll take whatever’s going on in your life and will pause it for you to learn something. It’s called testing and trials. God actually allows testing and trials. Now, before you get mad at God, so do you! If you’re a parent and you have kids, tomorrow morning, you’re gonna… when they’re fast asleep, and just as happy as a lark, and just dreaming about butterflies and princesses, you’re gonna say, «Wake up and go to school»! And they’re gonna go, «I don’t want to».
And you’re gonna say, «I don’t care what you want,» why? Because you see something in them that they’re not yet, and you’re gonna put them through tests and trials in order to get them there. In fact, when they get to school, the teacher’s gonna do the same thing. Now we’re gonna, we’re gonna take a test. In fact, they call it «tests». And some people, watch this, you understand it in the natural world, like in school, but you despise it in the spiritual world. And you’ve got to say, «You know what, God, what are you trying to teach me»? When you’re in a dark day, I’m just trying to help you.
My name is Chris, and I am your friend right now, okay? And that is, when you’re going through something dark, you can get mad at God or you can say, «Oh, Lord, what are you trying to teach me right now? I’d like to learn something». And if you pass the test, you get to go to the next grade. Come on, somebody, you get to go to the comeback, and this is absolute truth. It’ll help you to change your life. Here’s how the Bible says it in 1 Peter, «So be truly glad,» and nobody is. «There is wonderful joy,» not today, «ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials show that your faith is genuine». And let me add «or not». «It is being,» say the word out loud, «It is being tested».
Again, you don’t go to many churches where they’ll say, oh, by the way, when you have this week, it might not be a great week, you actually might go through some tests, but they’re actually good. You can appreciate them if you recognize it, and value it, and say, «God, what are you trying to teach me in the middle of this so that your faith can be purified like gold, more precious than gold. So that when your faith remains strong through the trial, it brings you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world». So, okay, so what do I have to do when I’m in the middle of it? Here’s what James says, «Consider it joy».
Now, no one does. Nobody like, «Woo-hoo, woo-hoo». «What’s going on»? «Going through a trial». Nobody really, nobody really does that. And I’m not sure I’m really asking you to act that way, but I’m just saying, you have to recognize it and value it, though. You have to realize that what you’re going through is, is a testing of your faith, «because you know that the testing of your faith develops» something on the inside of you, and just, you just need to know that part of God, and if you don’t, then faith, the faith experience is not pleasurable for you, because you don’t appreciate what God is actually trying to do in your life. But Joseph did. What you never see in this story is him despising the moment that he’s in.
He’s always realizing, in fact, here’s my belief, I think Joseph, I think Joseph did hear from God when he was 17 years old. And it’s, you’re going to see in a minute that his brothers are going to bow down and, and basically worship him. He just shouldn’t have told him. I think he did it with a little arrogance that certainly after 20 years, it takes 20 years, he’s 37 when he actually ends up seeing his brothers again. So it took 20 years for him to learn a lesson, and he went through many iterations of that to get to the place where he ends up second in command of the greatest nation at the time in the world.
You know, if you ask anybody, «Tell me your, your, your biggest life lesson. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve ever learned»? They never tell you about, «Oh, all these great things happened to me, and this is what I learned». They always tell you about their adversity. If you ever ask that question of somebody, that’s where your, that’s where you learn. And I’m just trying to be a good pastor to you today and tell you that when you appreciate and value this part of faith, you actually play a role in your setback going to a comeback. Say a good amen right there, everybody, because it’s really true. In fact, let me word it this way. «Your setbacks aren’t a jail that imprisons you, they are a school that is trying to shape you». And if you can stop and say, «Okay, Lord, what are you trying to teach me»?
All right, here’s the second one, and this is a big one, and just go ahead and get ready for your heart to be touched by God today. Because Joseph really had every right to be very, very bitter at his brothers, and he never was. In fact, for many of us, we would even get bitter at God for some of the things that have, that have happened to you that you knew God had the power to avert but he didn’t. And a lot of people get mad at God. That’s my favorite part of the story is that Joseph always forgave. And I wanna give you this. If you wanna… the role that you have to play in your own comeback, God’s not gonna do this part for you, you’re gonna have to do it, is to refuse to let offense put you in the same… I’m telling you guys, it’ll park you in the same place for decades. Unforgiveness and bitterness in your heart will just put you, it’ll keep you in the exact same place.
So the seven years of plenty did happen, and the seven years of famine did happen, so much so that his brothers, who were in Israel, come down from Israel to Egypt to buy grain. Well, Joseph’s 20 years older, and now he’s in Egyptian garb, and they don’t recognize him. And Joseph’s second in command of the nation. He has the ability to throw his brothers in prison or kill them. And honestly, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have felt that way. I’d at least said, «Flies in your armpits». You know what I’m saying? I’m gonna get them, I’m gonna curse you some way. I don’t know, right? Because what they did to me, how you ruined 20 years, the most important years of my life are gone because of the decision you guys made, and he doesn’t say that. And Joseph says, «You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good».
In fact, I want all of us at every location to read this verse. You don’t have to read it loud, but read it at your speaking voice. Come on, everybody, «You intended to harm me, but God intended it… for good». And when you can start to approach your dark days and your disappointments with that kind of attitude, I’m telling you, you’re gonna get out of it. And for somebody needs to hear this, that you’re actually stuck in your disappointment, and you’re perpetually discouraged, and actually, your heart condition is one of the reasons why you’re not moving on. Say, «Well, I don’t like, I mean, people are mean to me». Well, Jesus said, «It’s impossible to go through life without any offenses».
There’s no way you’re going to avoid it anyway. So one of the best things that all of us can learn is actually how to be one of the best forgivers of people. In fact, the happiest people I know are the people who do not let it land in their heart. They’re always able to say, «Yeah, they were really mean to me, and they really hurt me really badly, and man, they were really wrong, but you know what? I’m not going to hold it against them, I’m gonna let God take care of that for me».
Now, I’m gonna ask you a question. I’m going to try to get very personal right now. Why do we have so much trouble with that? And I have a theory. I want to show it to you in Scripture. And I’m going to give it to you, because if you’ll do what I’m getting ready to show you, I’m convinced you’re gonna be good at this and not bad at this. And it’s found in Colossians chapter 3. Are y’all getting anything out of this today? I feel the presence of God here right now, I’m telling you. The Bible says, «You have to make allowance for people to be mean». Like you almost have to like, it probably is going to happen. «You have to make allowance for people’s faults and forgive the person who offends you».
Doesn’t sound so easy to me, God. Okay, well how about this thought then? «Remember, the Lord forgave you». Then every time you pause and remember that I’ll never have to forgive someone more than what God has already forgiven me, now I have capacity. And I’m gonna tell you, it works. It’s when we pause, I love it, because this is Holy Week. This is our moment where we pause, and we reflect on the cross of Jesus. And what I’d like you to remember about the cross of Jesus is, is that nails were going in his hands while he was dying for the ones who were doing that to him. They were spitting on him, and he’s saying, «Father, forgive them».
By the way, if you wanna know what my favorite verse is in the Bible, here you go, a little trivia, Romans 5:8, «While we were still sinners, Christ died for us». No he like, he wasn’t laying there, «Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Before they put these nails, is anybody gonna receive this? Like I wanna make, no»? While we were still sinning. And when you more you remember that, I don’t know about you, but it gives me so much capacity to show forgiveness for other people. «Forgiving others won’t change your past». I know it hurt. I’m sorry it hurt, but I’m gonna tell you, when you can forgive, «it’ll change your future». Because I’m trying to get you out of the setback into a comeback.
I grew up with a guy in high school before I became a Christian. I went to Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge, and there was a guy that everybody in the school knew. He was a junior. I was a sophomore. Everybody knew this guy’s name was Kevin Schultz, just the happiest, most fun, most popular guy in the school. And here’s the catch, y’all, he didn’t have real legs. So he had prosthetic limbs on both legs. When he was 8 years old, he and his brother were running away from their dad, who was beating them with brass knuckles, beating the dog out of them every day, and they decided, we’re getting out of here. We’re leaving Daddy. They go to the railroad track, and the train’s moving real slow, but it had an open boxcar.
And their plan was, let’s just jump into this open boxcar, and let it take us wherever it goes. And so they held hands, his older brother and then Kevin, and then they, «Here it comes, here it comes, get ready, get ready, one, two, three». And when they jumped, his brother made it into the boxcar, and Kevin was too short to make the jump, but his brother didn’t let go of his hand, and he, he swung underneath the track, and the train ran over his legs right below the kneecaps. And so, when I meet Kevin, he’s already, they’d put his daddy in prison, he’s got into a foster family of a guy who really loved God, Kevin gets saved, he’s the happiest, nicest. Like, he had the worst life, but you would have never known it. He was able to get past all of that, and he was just so, so fun.
And in fact, he used to turn his legs around and walk around school backwards, you know? He was crazy. He was just crazy. He just made the best of a bad situation. In fact, he used to say, «You know what, Chris? I’ll never be defeated again. Get it, de-feeted? It never happened to me»! You’re like… What is that? It’s a choice that put Kevin in this beautiful place. He was one of the most impactful people for me to come to Christ. Because he took his setback and turned it into a comeback by never allowing his past to be something he was gonna be bitter about. Who do you need to forgive? What situation are you mad about? Where are you even mad at God? Like, «God, you could have done something here. You’re not a good God».
And the moment you decide, «Lord, you do everything right, and I’m not holding this. You don’t owe me anything. You don’t owe me, and you gave me more than I could ever dream, because now I don’t have to pay for my own sins. Thank you, Lord, you’re so good». I promise you, you just took a massive step out of where you are into where God wants you to be, how? I’m gonna learn the lesson. I’m gonna realize that God is a God who develops my character and guys, please listen to me, the quicker you learn that, the quicker you get to move on to your next grade. And then I’m gonna believe that, unforgiveness is such a massive dream stopper. It’ll keep you dead in your tracks.
And then lastly, that, that phrase that, I don’t know, the more I read it, because nothing good’s happening, and it keeps throwing in there is, «Oh, the Lord is with you». Well, then maybe there’s something to that. Maybe it’s important for every one of us to remember that even on your worst day, God is with me, God is with me. Let me read you some verses. These are for your use. I want you to write these verses down and read them on your dark day, that «if I go up to the heavens, of course, you’re there; but if I make my bed in the depths of hell, you’re there too. And if I rise up on the wings of the dawn or settle on the far side of the sea,» where you seem like a million miles away, «even there,» where it feels like you’re a million miles away, «even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
Isaiah chapter 43 says, „Do not be afraid, for I am with you“. Jesus himself said, „Lo, I’m with you always, even to the end of the age“. And then one more, Hebrews, these are just, I’m giving these in your arsenal. You need to know these. This is my favorite right here, „Never,“ somebody needs to hear that, „Never“. Yes, he’s already left me. No, he hasn’t. „Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you“. So then I flip it. Instead of being discouraged and dark, „I say with confidence,“ even in the middle of your pit or your prison, „The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can people do to me“? Because when I know that I have to know, when I know God is with me, I can face whatever feels against me.
Would you close your eyes right there where you are? Man, I sense the presence of God here today. Would you just say this little phrase, just whisper it to God, „Lord, what are you trying to say to me? What are you saying to me? Lord, I’m asking you to help the church grow up today and be mature“. You say, „Okay, the test is fine. I’m going to pass it now, because I’m going to appreciate it and value what I’m going through as a way to shape my character“. And then if you need to forgive someone, would you do that right now?
Would you say „I forgive“ and just whisper their name? Maybe there’s some of you in this room, you need to forgive yourself. In fact, for some of you, maybe you even need to confess a sin right now. Just say, „Lord, forgive me for,“ and watch, watch you leave this room lighter than you came when you leave your sin and your unforgiveness at the altar of God, just leave it.
Come on, leave it, leave it right here. „God, I confess my sin, I forgive this person,“ and then just whisper these words, „Lord, you’re with me, you’re with me, I know it. God, I thank you for this holy moment where we’re not only learning your Word, but we’re being touched by your presence“. And Lord, I pray right now, God, you’d minister to people all over this room. In fact, if you’re here today, and you don’t even know if you’re a Christian, and you wanna surrender your life to God and make him the Lord of your life, let’s close with this prayer. Say this prayer right there where you are, just whisper it now. Say:
Jesus, forgive me for living my life without you. And today, I receive you as my Lord and my Savior. I make you the Lord of my life. Today, I choose to put my life under your will and your way, because I know you are the Son of God, and I confess that, and I believe with all my heart you rose from the dead. And today, I put my faith in you. In your name I pray, amen and amen.