A Person Living In Difficult Situations - Mothers Day - Ralph Douglas West

[Music] Tom pastor Ralph necklace with pastor the church without laws and I'm so excited that you've joined us today our heart is the Usher lost souls to Christ and power believers to our spiritual maturity and I'm thrilled to share that heart with you today through the life transforming power of the word of God I also want to invite you to get a daily encouragement by signing in for my free devotional at Ralph Douglas West dot org now this here today's message be it so there's something about marquee players people that make the top of the list in theatre and cinema in fact some of these names as what attracts us to the different movies I mean hidden figures and you see Taurasi cookie there and [Music] that's just enough to make you want to go to the see the show you see Viola Davis name there that's enough to actually magnetize you to the movie life is very much like that in the Bible that that you have your marquee players people talk about Eve or Sarah are Rebecca or Hanna they always get big buildings on days like today they are marquee players Mary and Martha and rightfully so could they played big roles but sometimes the show is stolen by supporting cast there are times where these supporting actors they're so big until you walk away said yeah they were good but she stole the show that happens this morning for me in Genesis 29 the fugitive Jacob is on the run he's trying to outrun his elongated shadow only to discover that that same shadow is cast in his direction from another character he'll meet his shadow self and his aqua uncle Laban Jacob makes his arrival to his mother's native country and he halts at a whale that is clothed by a stone he sees sheep and waiting for the herd he sees a shepherdess in the distance he makes inquiry about his location it's revealed he is where he's supposed to be in comes Rachel Rachel's defined as being fine and that is true it speaks of a form and a shapeliness that's why I tell you got to read the Bible sometimes you don't have to result down on the vulgarity if you just read the Bible and it makes preaching more fun when you kind of got a hint then I'm not making everything up other than I'm trying to you know he's just trying to no it says it speaks of a form and a beauty and so in some ways these Patriots feminist theologians would say is objectified sister Rachel [Applause] to the extent that Jacob weeps when he greets her so he meets Lehmann this is his uncle she acts for his daughter's hand in marriage he agreed that he would be a good suitor to settle the marriage proposal with his daughter and so he agrees and so like a good man he works and he works for the hand of the woman that he's going to marry the wedding ceremony has been performed the bride has been given and now they go to the tent and they do what married people do the next morning when he gets up to his surprise he is married he is in the family he's just consummated the marriage with the wrong woman that's why again you don't have to go get Harlequin romance novels all you have to do is just read the scripture this is a very tense situation to say the least and Leia is the one that has been married this causes some real difficulties for Jacob and leaving fit look your man where you come from you upset the equilibrium of the social structure word has already got me that you on the run you're blessed because you stole what would yours you took from your brother but in my house we play by the rules now for those of you that know nothing about this story Laban and Jacob are cut from the same stone diamond is meeting diamond now Jacob is a trickster Laban his uncle is the og I mean in fact let me just throw a little preaching and it is you can fool around all you want eventually you will run into your mash and so the deal is made a second time oh you can mare Rachel that he works seven years to map Rachel I mentioned the stories speaking of the form of Rachel for reason it speaks of her beauty and her shape and form when you read about Leah it speaks about I think around verse 17 it is about her weak eye then the New Revised Standard Version refers to it this way her lovely eyes which if that's the right translation it may say that was the only thing lovely amount she's objectified she's looked over she's marginalized she's reduced and yet God knows even in those circumstances your difficult situations there are people this morning that are going through difficult situations I don't know all of them but God's interested in all of them some of you are at the difficult situation of reaching the milestone of age some of you are dealing with the difficulty of changing friendships others of you are going through the transitioning of being out of the spotlight or the difficulty of beginning a new job are the difficulty and uncertainty of moving into a new space some of you are going through the difficulty of surviving an injury some of you are going through the difficulty of changing roles now or the difficult uncertainty of aging or the difficulty of dealing with the death of a loved one I'm here to tell you that difficult as your situation is your neighbor may not know but God knows your situation let me give you one more God knows your difficult situation therefore you persevere until things get better [Applause] laya gets the short end of the bark she's married but she knows she's married by default and now something happens you come now to these verses around verse 30 or following because Leah had to live under one truth and that is she's tolerated while rachel is loved it's no fault of all Laban is guilty of this and so now the children start showing up and God saw that leah was not loved and God is a God of love and God gets a little bit out of godliness when God sees one of his children mistreated God in His darkness said I can't stop stand by and let nothing happen so I'll tell you what I'm gonna do I'm gonna give them some children and she started having children and God started answering her difficulty in the children that she had listened to some of the names that she had she can see she had a baby that I will name him Reuben because the Lord has seen my misery then she had another baby said I'm gonna name him Simeon because the Lord heard that I was not loved she had another basic said i'ma call them Levi because now my husband will become attached to me there's yet another baby and said I'm a column Judah and I'm a shout all over this tin wait wait they get good score for a zero for Lear zero Rachel now take that all the you old religious snobs here this morning there's always looking down your nose at the people that's going through difficulty God loves even those in that situation free pastor where you see God doesn't play by the rules we play by when we keep these scores that they get you good and right and upright everything is gonna turn out right and God said no that ain't the way I play the game in fact how to look at those who have been mistreated left out abused who have been separated segregated know that up in just connected know that they've just inherited and I got away a showing up at their house to let them know just because you are not the first shot that meets that I forgotten who you are first of me are until things get better that's all I'm saying some of you are there now in difficult situations and you ready to quit and give up Sunday you that's an insult on God if God knows your situation and you're willing to persevere he can do something about the situation that you is everybody talks about Wilma Rudolph winning the gold medals in Rome she did but rarely did they talk about four years before that how poor showing in the games she talked about the college coach that saw her play at 14 and say I can make you into a track star rarely do they talk about the year before when she couldn't even make the team to talk about her running but they missed sometimes of Brisas they forget about a turned in foot now she had every physical right to quit she's got polio Fleet embraces people laughing at her with an awkward shape but she persevered until things got better any time you got this many people in the room I know prophet I'm not clairvoyant on every row if somebody ready to give up give up on your life give up on your husband give up on your children give up on your health give up on your job give up on your career and the Lord said hold it do you believe all that stuff you saying about do you believe all that stuff you preached about do you believe in all that stuff you tell my preach preach go ahead yeah well everybody can say yeah yeah go ahead with the sunnah shot can you yeah yeah go ahead with the clouds of rolled in when the weather is inclement in life the same God that he is you in the sunshine is the same God that I am sir you in the rain y'all better leave me alone cause I feel like preaching in here today and I didn't mean to go even this far but I feel somebody look slick after you passed it in one place as long as I have the Holy Spirit gives you messages to give to the people that got what you go quit for how you know God not don't come through if you give up too soon maybe God got you in the holding pattern so he can work some stuff down out on the ground [Applause] I'm done I'm done persevere Winston Churchill failed the eighth grade English three years in a row and then the Statesman is asked to deliver the commencement at Oxford University [Music] Churchill rolls up the way you see all the pictures in his big black Colt came and cigar gets to the dais he stands up to deliver the commencement address you know it never give up and he paused and looked around and everybody knew that he's speaking of the political military climate of the world and he looks and he waits and he just looks and then he says never give up took his hat and cane grabbed a cigar relight it and left come here never give up don't let it be said you gave up never let it be said you gave up I don't know if miss Evelyn Robinson dr. Evelyn Robinson is still living I hope she is I've never had a chance to call back and tell her I'm dead that I am to her I always loved literature I didn't know how to read literature I've just always loved to read literature and I was just reading and in Liberal Arts you have to take world literature and she would make me read little child loud time em I was reading alexander pope's rape of the locking and I was reading and she said mr. West you are a preacher I say yes man read it like a preacher I want our best students I was an A student in literature I guess I should have been since she had flunked me two times before that I finally got it right the third year now I could have given up I could have said look I'm a preacher and I'm a quit and the Lord's gonna bless me but I grew up with a mama that just said one thing we don't quit in here it may take you longer but we don't quit that ought to be a message that we give to our children and our grandchildren let me tell you something it might be hard but we don't quit we don't give up we never give up we continue all we press taught the mark of a hat calling in Christ Jesus can I tell you one last thing one last thing God knows your difficult situation you can persevere do it until things get better but then finally the life of Lea teaches us that sometimes you just got to make it on second best [Applause] there was never Jacobs first choice she was just thrown into the marital deal and that was it and yet for Sue I don't know God does it but he knows how to work through second choice so I send you home with this last word God can make the best out of second choice so my whole collegiate career my graduate career second choice my vocational career my ministry second choice I'd already mapped out how I wanted to do ministry I had it mapped out come here was an honorable route deal on staff would older past as I serve him and then when he retired I would succeed him good transitions help him grow I didn't have a problem serve and that was never from it just never worked that way you need to hit me now because I'm trying to help you itself second choice in Korea a vocation in my training today I can say without apology that my second best is God's first choice you're not listening to me you're not hear what I'm saying you can't know that until you finish some stuff and it's only when you can look in the rearview mirror can you honestly say if I had it my way I still would want to get there but I would have taken another route and yet God says no I'm taking your route because I need to send you through some places that will help a whole lot of people that's going to be coming out to you some of you know what I'm talking about how to expect anybody to be honest at this moment because we've learned how to live our way through life to look good but the truth is all of us got some second choices in our lives wait wait wait I heard you what does that have to do with this story I'm glad you asked there if not first your leg is not the best of the choice and yet she had some shoes Reuben and Simeon and Levi and Judah and and and and wait wait wait wait she has some sure let me let me announce them again Reuben Simeon Levi Judah where am I getting happy about the God you second short for first bet you know who Judah in you know who showed up from Judah I'm glad you are Judah OB yes Dave [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] God's Word is full of seemingly insignificant people whose brief appearance in Scripture proved to have a powerful consequence I want to help you discover just how significant you are to God's kingdom by sending you my five message CD series cameo appearances with critical consequences this series is my way to thank you for your gift today so call now or go online to give your copy of cameo appearances with critical consequence thank you for your generosity and be encouraged [Music]

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Keywords: Ralph Douglas West, Pas, Church, Baptist, How to live a godly life, trust God, faith, trust, How to bless, how to have faith, encouragement, Houston, Northwest Houston, Southwest Houston, North Houston, ralph west, god, trust god, how to trust god, jesus, bible, love, peace, pastor, message, happiness, hope, sermon, life, christianity, ministry, houston, ralph west ministries, the church without walls, preaching, finances, money, family, career, growth, Mother's Day, Mother Day

Id: 9ujLc79DkB4

Length: 28min 19sec (1699 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 22 2017