Frankie Mazzapica - The Gift of Adversity
We just want to welcome you. The title of today’s message is «The Gift of Adversity.» There are certain Christmas presents that you just really want to give back. You know when somebody gives you a gift on Christmas and they say, «Hey, I have the receipt if you want to return it,» and you’re thinking, «Yes, I want to return it.» You don’t really know how to work that out, so you’re going to wait a couple of days and come up with an excuse like, «Hey, it doesn’t fit. I want to get a different color.» I remember my wife—she’s the love of my life—but she brought a Christmas present to the family: matching pajamas. If I remember correctly, they were like onesies. I mean, only babies are supposed to be in onesies! I think it was a giraffe pattern. I looked like I was on Madagascar. I was like, «Please, this is a gift I don’t want.» When God gives you the gift of adversity, these are the gifts that you say, «I don’t want that one.» When God sends you adversity, it’s actually a gift. So we’re going to unpack it today, using Moses as a case study.
In Exodus 32:9, we read about it. I’ll quote it in a minute, but just to set the scene: the children of Israel were in slavery under the Egyptians—there were about a million of them—and the Lord used Moses to deliver them and to walk them through the wilderness. This was intended to take about ten days or so to reach the land He promised. In those days, if you were on land that had green grass, streams, and water, all of your livestock would get stronger and stronger, and you could become very wealthy. The Lord says, «I’m going to take you out of slavery, and I’m going to bring you to a Promised Land.» But they were so sinful that they ended up staying in the wilderness because the Lord said, «If we’re not going to be in covenant, then you’re going to stay here.»
A lot of times, people want blessings from God, but if you’re not in covenant, if you’re not all in, then the Lord says, «No, no, no. The blessings that you’re believing for don’t come just because you want them to.» We have to be in covenant with each other. So, the Lord gets really angry. This is what the Bible says: the Lord looked down and saw the people and said to Moses, «These people are stiff-necked, rebellious, and proud. They’re like, 'I’m going to live my life the way I want, and I don’t care about the things of God.'» Now, if you ask them, they’ll say yes, but they’re indifferent. When you’re like that, you’re stiff-necked. The Lord looks down and says, «These are stiff-necked people.» He looks at Moses and says, «Leave me. Go away.» Can you imagine talking to God face-to-face? The Lord says to Moses, «Leave me so I can let my anger burn within me.»
Have you ever looked at someone and said, «Look, I’m about to go nuts. You need to go somewhere else, I’m about to throw something.» The Lord tells Moses, «I want you to go away so I can destroy these people.» Moses steps up; he becomes someone he wasn’t just moments before. He says to God, «Are you going to allow the Egyptians, the people that had them in slavery, to say that you delivered them with evil intent, just to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth? Are you going to let the Egyptians say that?» He then pleads with the Lord, «I am begging you to turn from your fierce anger, stop being so angry, and relent from your plans—relent from the disaster you are sending your people.»
The Lord looks back at Moses and says, «I will relent and will not do what I have threatened to do.» See, in this moment of adversity, Moses experienced three gifts. Number one: he became a source of strength to everybody else. It wasn’t just about him. Number two: he made an important discovery—it was a gift, a moment of discovery he would never have experienced if it weren’t for that moment of adversity. And number three: he had a revelation about God.
So let me talk about this source of strength. He approached God, and I missed a little sentence in the middle of that scripture I quoted—God says, «I’m going to destroy the people, but I will make you a great nation, and all of your children will be blessed.» Moses replies, «I know you have plans for me, but I need to talk about them.» He becomes a source of strength, representing them, praying for them, interceding for them. Have you ever prayed for someone else before? You’re a source of strength. That only comes in adversity.
My challenge for you is to recognize that when adversity comes, most people turn into a person who is not encouraging—they become pessimistic. Their attitude shifts and changes. But I believe that the Lord gives us adversity so that He can raise up a people who are a source of strength in the middle of adversity. He says, «I’m giving you this adversity so I can set you apart from everyone else.» Most people get discouraged, but I’m raising you up to be a leader.
Let me give you an example. About two years ago, in March, I was sitting in a living room with our pastors. In a moment of transparency, I felt like I was doing horrendously in everything—I was a horrible husband, a horrible father, a horrible pastor. I just felt like you guys needed another pastor, a better pastor. I would tell God, «Look, I just want to go to heaven. Just take me, get me out of here.» My pastors looked at me and said, «Frankie, you’re a phenomenal husband, father, and pastor.» I started arguing with him, but he insisted, «No, no, no, you’re a phenomenal husband, a phenomenal father, a phenomenal pastor. It’s not time for you to go to heaven; you have great things to do.»
He was doing exactly what Moses did—he was a source of strength for me. He pulled me up. You see, it’s easy to look at a person and talk to them where they are. I have a friend who was so addicted to drugs that he would pawn his things to buy more drugs. He’d pawn his watches—anything of value. Now he’s completely free and has been for several years. I asked his wife, «How did you put up with all of that? Why didn’t you leave?» She said, «I kept reminding myself that his behavior is not who he is. There’s a better man in there, a greater man, and I’m going to pray it out of him.» When they would argue, she would say to him, «You’re a great man, and there are good times ahead.»
This is a person of strength—this is a person who lifts others up. You know why we like to be in the presence of God? It’s because when we worship Him, we feel taller. We feel stronger. We can walk in sometimes feeling two feet tall, and walk out feeling twelve feet tall. God is our source of strength. And then, what we find out is that we end up being a source of strength to other people, telling them who they are. You see, if you tell a person who they are based on where they are, they will remain where they are. But if you tell a person who they are going to be in the future, they will become that person in the future.
Have you ever thought to yourself, «I just need somebody to believe in me?» Are you with me? We all need someone who believes in us. That’s what Moses was doing; he was facing adversity and saw it as an opportunity to distinguish himself from everyone else.
The second gift is a moment of discovery. Moses was not that guy earlier in his life; in fact, he spent 40 years in the wilderness watching sheep and goats—nothing but that. Then he gets called into this moment, where the Lord says, «I want you to lead these people out,» and he begins to defend and lead them. Moses didn’t know that was inside him.
Can I tell you this? God will send you problems; He will send you adversity so that you can dig down deep and discover what He has put in you. There are certain problems and certain seasons where you begin to realize you can do things you didn’t believe you could do. There are gifts inside you sitting there, waiting. When you have to find it, it will be there, and that’s a gift—you wouldn’t have found it if the adversity wasn’t there.
I remember when Ally and I, right before we started the church, I changed my mind. I told you we were going to do this, but I changed my mind; we aren’t going to do this. My father, who is Italian, said to me, «Frankie, you get your fat head out there, and you start that church!» I said, «Dad, I have two people in the church: my wife and my six-month-old daughter. That’s it! We have no money.» My grandmother, who’s also Sicilian, said, «Frank, you got no money!» One of my friends started a church saying, «I had to stretch my faith; we only had a quarter of a million dollars.» We had no money! My father looked at me and said, «You get your fat head out there and do what you were born to do, and I won’t let you fail.»
Now, here’s the problem: I knew how much money he had—very little. I was like, «How are you going to help me?» All I heard was, «I believe in you, and this is going to work.» You see, Ally and I were so nervous when we went to buy new clothes for the first service. Three people from The Woodlands showed up—I had no idea there was something in my wife or me that could actually build a church. I’d walk down the hallway to the first service, look at Pastor Dwayne, and say, «Oh my goodness, there are people here!» I can’t believe there are people here. I still say that; I can’t believe you guys are here!
Sometimes God will put you in a season to reach down and pull something out you didn’t know was there, usually during a moment of conflict or problems. It pulls you out, and then you look back and think, «I should have died in that season.» Yes, that season should have broken me. I can’t believe that when I was in that situation, I thought it was over. The crazy part is that those seasons that almost broke us are often forgotten because we’re fighting a different battle now. But can we just take a moment? You came through a season that required you to reach deep and believe that God would pull you through. You had to reach for a faith, a gift, an anointing that you didn’t know you had, and that’s why adversity is a gift.
You end up becoming a source of strength for others. There’s something in you that says, «I’m not going to talk like everyone else; I’m going to speak life instead.» It’s a gift because you begin to discover things that you would not have discovered without the pain.
Number three is that there’s a moment of revelation that takes place. See, Moses sees a million people living like the devil but experiencing the blessings of God. Have you ever looked at someone and thought, «You don’t believe in Jesus, you don’t believe in God, you don’t go to church, you have a filthy mouth, and you are driving a Rolls Royce? What in the world? Your life is perfect! You look great, you have the house I want to have. If you had my money, you would give it away. You have so much money!» And you think to yourself, «How are you so blessed?»
You know, people can experience miracles but not have God’s favor. Did you know someone can have the blessings of God while God is angry with them? Moses went before God and asked, «Are you going to come with us? We need to move forward toward the promised land; are you going to come with us?» God responds, «No, my presence won’t come with you.»
Some people are blessed but don’t have His presence. But the blessings are enough for some people. Sometimes a gift ends up becoming the demise of a person’s life, and you think, «You’re too rich; your life is too wonderful.» Moses looks at the Lord and says, «No, no, no, we’re not moving forward if You’re not coming with us.» In Exodus 33:16, he says, «It’s Your spirit among us that makes us different. Your spirit has to be with us.»
In other words, maybe you’ve thought this: «I know what it’s like to live on this Earth during a season when I don’t feel Your presence, and I’m not going to do it again.» Because, watch this: when you’re not walking in His presence, the presence of Satan walks with you. You know the presence of Satan is with you when anger grips your heart, when you’re right and everyone else is wrong, when you’re bitter, when you’re full of lust, and when you’re indifferent about God—you believe in Him but don’t care. I want to love you enough to tell you the truth: if you’re not pursuing God’s presence, then you’re not walking with Him. You’re not fooling Him; He knows where you are.
You need to ask yourself, «If my heart were to stop beating in the next five minutes, am I ready to see the Lord?» If the answer is no, then just open your mouth and say, «I’m sorry for my sins.» I’d like for all of our prayer partners to come forward. Sometimes, you just need someone to pray for you. I’ve thought many times, «God, just make my name cross somebody’s mind and let them pray for me.» If that’s you today, I want to encourage you to step out of your seat and take the hand of a prayer partner. Let them pray with you. There’s no official dismissal; you can leave whenever you are ready.
But let’s worship Him for a few more minutes—this is why you came. Just maybe one or two times through the next song, would you put your hands out like this before you worship Him? May the Lord bless you; may He keep you. May His face shine down upon you and be gracious to you. May His countenance be lifted up on you and bring you peace. In Jesus' name, amen.