September 4, 2024 • 57 mins
Can enduring life's struggles lead to a more profound sense of purpose and personal growth? Join us on the Daily Bread Podcast with Dr. Jarrell Stokely Jr. and Angela Stokely as we promise an inspiring journey through the trials and triumphs of faith. Starting with scriptures from James and 1 Peter, we unpack how challenges are designed to refine our character and strengthen our faith. Our first segment, "The Struggle Just Got Real," centers on maintaining joy and perseverance through adversity, encouraging listeners to embrace struggles as pathways to maturity.
In "Navigating Through Struggle," we delve into how resilience and strength are cultivated through adversity, buttressed by faith. Drawing from the biblical experiences of Jesus, Paul, and Silas, we highlight how each trial can elevate us to higher levels of glory. We also weave in contemporary research from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, demonstrating how overcoming obstacles enhances key character strengths like bravery, persistence, and resilience. By maintaining a growth mindset and faith, we illustrate how to navigate hardships without losing hope.
Our final chapters, "The Power of Enduring Grace" and "Finding Hope Through Struggle," focus on finding strength in weakness and placing our hope in God rather than worldly things. We reflect on Apostle Paul's thorn in the flesh and Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, emphasizing that enduring pain can be an integral part of God's plan to refine us. We discuss the importance of verbalizing our struggles and the transformative power of faith, as exemplified in Romans, Chapter 5. Through honest dialogue and spiritual resilience, we advocate for inner renewal and the profound growth that comes from trusting in God's will amidst life's inevitable trials.
Please sponsor the Daily Bread Podcast through your giving support at https://www.covenantgracechurch.org. Any amount helps spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
All right, welcome everyone.
Welcome back.
Welcome back to Daily BreadPodcast.
I am Dr Jarrell Stokely Jr andmy lovely, admirable, kind, warm
, generous, beautiful, sexy,anointed wife, angela Stokely,
we are here with you today.
(00:21):
Thank you for tuning in to ourshow and to this time of
ministry and empowerment andeducation and girding you up in
the body of Christ to fulfillyour passion, your purpose, your
dream and all that God hascalled you to do.
Thank you for being here,angela.
You want to welcome our guestsand viewers and family.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hey, family, it's so good to our guests and viewers
and family, hey family, it's sogood to have you with us and us
have this opportunity to sit inthe seat again, to share God's
revelation power, his word, andto edify you in every area of
your life so that you canaccomplish the very thing that
(01:02):
God has called you to do.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
So we are glad you are here, all right.
Just a quick note aboutsponsorship and partnership.
We do want to ask you to pray,be led by God to commit to a
monthly partnership with PastorA and I as we continue to take
Daily Bread podcast around theglobe.
We want to be able to continueto bring you the word of God and
(01:26):
empowerment.
In order to do so, we need yoursponsorship and your
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on the Daily Bread podcast pageand you can sow your support
there, or you can just go todailybreadpodcastcom I think
that should get you to the pageand so your gift of support.
(01:47):
We need you.
We can't do this without you.
Of course, you know there is acost for studio time and cameras
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continue to put this podcast outeverywhere that we can.
You can find us on everyplatform available Daily Bread
Podcast with Dr Jarrell andAngela Stokely.
(02:09):
So please consider if you havebeen fed by this podcast in the
past, if you are being fed bytoday's session, which is going
to be so great, please, please,partner with us and sow to help
keep us on the air.
You can sow in increments of 15.
You can sow $15 a month, $30 amonth, $45 a month Whatever gift
(02:30):
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You got to pray first andcommit as a monthly partner.
We need your monthlypartnership, but if you can give
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The Bible says give and it shallbe given back to you a good
measure, pressed down, shakentogether and running over.
(02:52):
So we pray, as you give, thatyour harvest comes running over
in your life.
In Jesus name.
Today's topic, which is awesome, is it just got real again the
struggle.
Just got real again, let merepeat that.
(03:14):
The struggle just got real again.
If you tuned in to the strugglejust got real part one oh my
God, it's going to bless yourlife.
If not, this one will standalone.
Go back and listen to thestruggle got real, just Real.
Part one oh my God, it's goingto bless your life.
If not, this one will standalone.
Go back and listen to theStruggle Just Got Real, part one
.
This is the Struggle Just GotReal Again.
We want to start off with twopassages of scripture to help
(03:35):
lay a foundation, because whatwe understand is that each of us
, as believers, are going toendure struggle, matter of fact,
whether you're a believer ornon-believer, no matter who you
are on this planet, if you'realive and breathing, you are
going to go through struggles inyour life, and it is critical
to know how to endure andprocess through struggle in a
(03:56):
healthy way, in a way where youhave power, where you are moving
through with your joy intactand you are practicing your
disciplines to build you up inyour faith, your character, your
perseverance, your grit, yourtrust in God.
And we're going to talk aboutall about, all about, about and
process through our teaching ontoday.
(04:18):
So the struggle just got realagain.
So I'm going to ask Pastor A tolead out with our first passage
of scripture in the book ofJames, chapter one, verse two
through four, and I'm going tochime in in first Peter, chapter
one, verse six through eight,and then I got some crazy stats
for you to show you about kindof what's going on with struggle
and how you can benefit from it.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Amen.
So, james, chapter one, versestwo through four, consider it
pure joy, my brothers andsisters, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, becauseyou know that the testing of
your faith produces perseverance.
Let perseverance its work sothat you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anythingthat is so powerful.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
So we learn, pastor, from this first passage of
scripture is that there actuallycomes times when we're going
through a lot of differentstruggles at the same time and
that's when it gets real again.
And in cases like that, jameswas talking to the church at
Jerusalem and he was basicallytelling them listen, you know,
(05:26):
these things didn't come todestroy you.
God doesn't allow tests todestroy you.
But they came to test you.
He doesn't send problems tokill you, to take you out, to
destroy you, but to test yourfaith.
And that word in the Greek,that word test your faith or try
your faith, it actually comesfrom this idea, in this concept
(05:48):
of purifying a coin or a pieceof gold to get all the dross.
Actually, god using real lifecircumstances in order to refine
us in our faithful um, in ouranointing and our gifts and in
(06:15):
our trust and belief in him.
So we we come out better if wehave the right focus and
perspective when we're goingthrough tests.
So remember, when these trialsand stuff are coming, god's not
sending something to kill ordestroy you.
God's refining you.
The Bible Jesus talked aboutthose who are in me shall bear
(06:37):
much fruit.
And then you know, he said andthose who bear fruit shall be
pruned to bear even more fruit.
And pruning is a difficultprocess.
Challenges and suffering is adifficult process, but we're
supposed to go through thatprocess a certain way.
I want to read my commentaryfrom the book of James and then
(06:59):
I'm going to jump to Peter, justto piggyback on how we go
through trials and tribulations.
Just to piggyback on how we gothrough trials and tribulations.
It says these are outwardcircumstances, conflicts,
sufferings and troublesencountered by all believers.
Trials are not pleasant and maybe extremely grievous, and I
like this.
This is in your Bible, sayingthat you're going to go through
some things.
That's extremely grievous, itsays.
(07:20):
But believers ought to beconsiderate.
Believers ought to considerthem as opportunities for
rejoicing.
Troubles and difficulties are atool which refine and purify
our faith, producing patienceand endurance.
I love that.
I love that God is notintimidated to inform us that
(07:45):
life gets grievous and life isprepackaged with suffering.
But when we are born again, weare prepackaged with the joy of
the Lord, with our strength.
So when that suffering comes,my joy ought to be elevated to
saying and that's a learnedprocess, you have to learn to
(08:05):
rejoice in tribulation.
But let's look at 1 Peter andsee what Peter says about this,
and I love this passage.
1 Peter, chapter one, startingin verse six, and he says in
this you, you greatly rejoice,though now for a little while.
And I want you to hold on tothat, because most suffering
(08:27):
doesn't last long and those thatdo last long, in comparison to
what God has in store for us, isa little while.
He says for a little while, ifneed be.
You have been grieved byvarious trials, being.
Watch this.
He said that the genuineness ofyour faith I like that word the
(08:49):
genuineness of it, the strugglecome to get down to the genuine
you, the genuine believer, soyou can see, you know where your
metric is, you know where is mymetric, you know what's my
rubric.
Am I down here in my faith?
Am I up here in my faith?
The test come to show me whereI am in my faith, so that the
genuine faith, the most preciousfaith, it says, being more
(09:12):
precious than gold.
Wait a minute, my faith is moreprecious than gold.
Number one.
It is to God, who means morethan anything than anybody in
this world, means more thananything than anybody in this
world.
Watch this now, it says, moreprecious than gold that perishes
though it is tested by fire.
Oof, that is something May befound to praise, honor and glory
(09:39):
at the revelation of JesusChrist whom, having not seen you
love, though now you do not seehim yet believing you rejoice
with inexpressible and full ofglory receiving the end of your
faith, the salvation of yoursoul.
(09:59):
It means, if you hang on inthere with Jesus in the process,
you're going to see the end.
That Christ is real, he camefor you, that God has eternal
life in store for you, he hasrewards stored up in heaven for
you, and that you endure throughthe fire of your struggles.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Struggles are fiery.
Pastor.
One of the things that weforget as believers is that this
entire process is taking ussomewhere.
Come on.
And that is to go.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Can you say that to the kids?
I love that.
Can you say that?
Speaker 2 (10:36):
You know, we as believers, sometimes we forget
that this entire process andthis entire Christian journey is
taking us to a place, andthat's what we forget.
And I believe that, because weforget that the plan is to get
to heaven, that's the whole plan, that we can't get tripped up
(10:57):
at what happens in the journey,what happens along the way,
because ultimately, and nomatter what my destiny is sure
I'm going to make it to heaven.
You know what I mean.
And I think that if we learn toreflect on that a little bit
more and let that really bealmost a guiding thought, if you
(11:20):
will you know what I mean Ilike that I am on a journey to
glory.
I'm on a journey to be in thepresence of my father.
Come on.
That's so good that, that thatperspective, mentality and
posture can shift how we manage.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
During the struggle struggle.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
This is so good, that's so powerful what you're
saying, because it took me tothe reality when the scripture
says if we're going to reignwith Christ in victory and
triumph in eternal life in theheavenlies with our Father, we
must first suffer down here asChrist suffered.
Not pleasant, it's grievous,but with Christ with me dwelling
(12:08):
in me, I can endure thisprocess and build my
perseverance and my characterand my grit and my power and my
faith and my prayer life alongthe way.
Check this out.
Okay.
So here's some statistics onpost-traumatic growth Whenever
(12:29):
you ever heard those three wordstogether post-traumatic growth
In 2017, a study published bythe Journal of Positive
Psychology found that people whoexperience significant
struggles, such as trauma, oftenreport positive changes in
character, including increasedresilience, a deeper
appreciation for life I lovethat one, that's me and improved
(12:53):
personal relationships.
Just because you made itthrough your struggles, just
because you went throughsomething, when you go through
with the right perspective watchthis About 50 to 60% of
individuals report some form ofpost-traumatic growth following
adversity, and this is Tedeschiand Calhoun 2017.
(13:16):
So you can look up this reportfor yourself.
The work has been done, thestudy has been done.
People who go through adversityand struggle are the strongest
people on the planet, and whenyou have God on your side in the
midst of that, you come outwith a testimony.
You come out with resilience,your bounce back grows, your
(13:37):
ability to resurrect out ofevery situation improves and
increases, and that's how, Ibelieve, we go from glory to
glory.
Come on somebody.
Jesus went from being rejectedby the Pharisees and Sadducees
one level of glory beingrejected by the Jews when they
(13:58):
wanted to throw him over thecliff in the city another level
of glory.
Being beaten and whipped atPontius Pilate's right, being
flogged and whipped with a catof 39 to another level of glory,
because every time he wentthrough suffering, it was
another level of glory.
Then he went to the cross,which was his final level of
glory in terms of suffering, andthen he died and was
(14:21):
resurrected in power.
Which another?
Which that's another realm ofglory, that's another dimension
of glory that he moved in.
So, listen, you're not a victim.
You're one of the strongestgroup of people on the planet
from what you went through.
Can we break this down accordingto what this word is teaching
(14:41):
us and what this, what thesestats are teaching us?
Listen to this.
This talks about characterstrengths.
This was a study Researchpublished in the Journal of
Personality and SocialPsychology 2015, showed that
individuals who encounter andovercome their difficulties
often develop key characterstrengths.
(15:02):
Come on now.
What is character?
Integrity, altruism, doingwhat's right for the right
reasons, the golden rule do untoothers as you would have them
to do unto you.
All this happens.
Here's some of them bravery,persistence, resilience.
The study noted thatindividuals who faced and
(15:22):
navigated adversity reportedhigher levels of these strengths
.
So so when you get in suffering.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Time to start navigating.
Yeah, you have to turn on yourGod mind.
You have to.
You have to turn on yourscripture, your word mind and
you have to turn on the.
You have to tap into the wisdomof God, because now it's time
to navigate.
Turn on the.
You have to tap into the wisdomof God because now it's time to
navigate.
It's not time to sit still anddie when you get in suffering.
You have to start navigating bythe word of God.
What does God want me to getout of this?
(15:52):
How do I not go through this?
But how do I grow through this?
This reminds me of my book GrowInto your Greatness.
Oh my God, oh my God.
It's already out.
It's on Amazon, it's on a bornto noblecom, it's at Westbow
press and, of course, you canget copies through Jarrell
(16:13):
Stokelycom.
But people think greatness isfor the elite Number one.
No, it's not.
All of us have greatness insideof us.
Greatness is tapping into thebest version of yourself and
evolving into the best versionof yourself.
That is the greatness in yourlife.
Greatness is defined asextraordinary.
There's only one.
You.
Nobody has your fingerprint.
(16:34):
Oh my god.
And we and people think youcould step into greatness.
Greatness is not a destination.
Greatness is growth.
Yeah, it's an evolution, and soquit trying to step into your
greatness, and my greatness iscoming.
No, your greatness is alreadyin you.
Yeah, and this talks aboutnavigating through suffering,
(16:56):
because that suffering bringsout the greatness that is in you
.
It's a process that's what I'm.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
It's a process.
That's what I'm saying.
It's a process.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Shameless plug on the book, but it's a process, oh my
God.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Yeah, it is.
You know, I was.
I was thinking, oh Lord.
I think one of the one of theerrors that we make when going
through struggles is spending.
We spend so much time wishingthat we were not going through
(17:29):
the struggle.
And as a result, we kind of forlack of a better phrase he and
her about it.
You know, we moan and be moan.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
There, you go.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
You know we ache and pain and we go through all of
that and we spend a lot of time.
Yeah, the why me's, the I don'tlike this, all of that.
We stay there too long.
Right, I'm not saying it's notnormal to go through that,
because I feel like it is normalas a human being.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Oh, I'm glad you said that you know.
Can you repeat that?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
so the listeners and the watchers can hear.
It is very normal to go throughthose types of feelings, but
the thing is it's not stayingthere and for whatever reason I
keep thinking about.
Was it Peter in prison?
Was it Peter who prays?
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Paul and Silas did.
Thank you, it was Paul.
Okay, I was like Peter.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
It wasn't sounding right, but Peter was in prison
too.
Okay, so Paul and Silas foundsomething other to do than
complain about their situationCome on.
You understand what I'm sayingand the reality is is that they
had a reason to complain.
Come on, If they did complain,I believe we would all
understand.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Right, they hadn't done anything wrong.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Right, right but instead, they tapped into a
greater power.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
They tapped into the gift of prayer and the power of
prayer and the power of praise.
Boy, if we could just shiftthere quicker than we usually do
, if we can hurry up and getthere again, we may complain, we
may moan about it, we may acheabout it, but we have got to
(19:15):
start.
I like to say this, givingourselves a time limit.
I remember years ago I'd belike, okay, well, you only have
these amount of tears to cry, socry them tears.
And we got to get up and we gotto get moving, because you
acknowledge that it happened,but you can't park it right
there.
You've got to get back up andyou've got to do something, and
(19:39):
that's something.
Let's take a note from Paul andSilas.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Let's pray and let's pray.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Oh, that's so good.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Because it'll shift situations.
It'll shift you Right Whileyou're still in your situation.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
What's the if that'll shift?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
them.
I didn't hear you.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
The if you said it will shift.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
What's the?
Speaker 1 (19:59):
if.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
What's the it?
What's the it Prayer?
Speaker 1 (20:04):
and prayer Prayer.
I just wanted you to repeat it,yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Prayer and praise.
It will shift you.
Come on, it will shift you, andI think that I think that's one
of those, those things that wehave to learn, we have to train
ourselves to do.
You know, ok, I'm going throughthis struggle.
Yes, I don't like it.
Yes, I don't like it.
Yes, I may cry about it, yes, Imay be upset about it, yes, I
may be frustrated, yes, I maymoan and complain.
(20:30):
And we've got to get to thepoint, as the body of Christ,
that we hurry up and get that,but in our sentences.
But God is going to deliver meout, but I still trust that he
has a plan for my life, but heis able.
You know what I'm saying.
We've got to so that we don'tgive opportunity to the enemy to
(20:57):
beat us up any more than wealready feel beat up while we're
going through our situation.
So I think one of the one ofthe really important things for
us to learn in the process is tohurry up and shift.
We have to learn to hurry upand shift.
Don't say, yeah, it's a realityand it hurts and there are
tears and there, but we got tohurry up and get over to praise
(21:21):
hurry up and get over to prayer,you know, so that it will help
shift us while we're processingand growing through that
struggle.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
That's so good.
Yeah, as you were talking, Iwas reminded of a passage of
scripture in second Corinthians,chapter four, starting in verse
16.
And Paul, writing here, saystherefore, we do not lose hope,
even though our outward man isperishing.
(21:55):
It is, it's present tense, see,that's, that's a right now
thing.
That's happening because in thesociety and the culture that we
live in right now, the climatethat we live, we live in, all of
us are processing newaffliction.
See.
It says, though, our outwardman is perishing.
(22:18):
Perishing is that trouble, thataffliction, that moaning, that
agonizing.
Some stuff is agonizing.
I know I've got some peoplewatching or listening.
You've been going through someagonizing.
It's not strange to go throughagonizing.
The church of Jesus Christ wentthrough agonizing in the New
Testament when the diaspora,when the believers were
(22:39):
scattered under Roman authority,when Nero was killing
Christians and putting them inspike barrels and rolling them
downhill and killing them bydropping them into hot boiling
oil and pitching them with tarand lighting a match on them and
using them as lamps down thecorridors to his castle.
(23:02):
So you know, it's not the firsttime that we have gone through
struggle.
We've just become softer by theculture that we live in.
But here it says our man isperishing, but our inward man is
being renewed day by day, whichgoes back to what you said.
(23:22):
If you don't quickly make theshift from the problem, the pain
and the prison to the prayerand the praise, you'll do what
Paul said here You'll lose heart.
You will yeah, and that's whenyou start diminishing in the
suffering and you start losingheart.
Yeah, and maybe some of you arethere right now.
(23:42):
We like this podcast to beministry.
We're not just here to talk.
Maybe you are heavy of heartright now.
God wants to give you thegarment of praise for your
spirit of heaviness and, if youwill allow God, right now, in
this very moment, I feel theHoly Spirit.
This happens on this podcast.
(24:05):
I feel the power of God movingfor someone.
I see crying, I see tears, Isee so much pain right now in
the spirit.
Listen, don't you lose heart.
Make your shift.
Yes, it's grievous.
Yes, it's grievous.
Yes, it's suffering.
The suffering just got realagain and it may get real again
(24:26):
and again and again, over andover, but count it all joy.
When you fall into thesediverse temptations, god is
purifying you.
He doesn't hate you.
He hasn't left you.
This is a purification process.
We all are going throughsuffering, so God doesn't
abandon us in the suffering andhe doesn't have to send it.
It's here on earth.
Suffering is a part of thehuman existence.
(24:49):
I want you to know somethingMake that shift so your heart
can be healed and made wholeagain, because God loves you,
loves you and he has that planfor you.
You want to jump in or you wantto read this?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
I was thinking about.
One of the things that I use tocope with struggle is that I
remind myself that God loves metoo much to allow it to take me
out.
Come on.
And because of that, because Iam convinced of that, then I
(25:25):
learned to say okay, god, if youallow this, I consider it a
compliment.
Come on, because you obviouslysee something in me that I have
not yet realized, that you haveon the inside of me that is so
good.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
My goodness, I think you're preaching.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And so, god, I thank you for trusting me with this
trouble.
It does not mean that I likethe trouble.
I don't like it it means that Irecognize that if God allowed
it, the God who is overeverything, if he allows it,
then he is going to allow it tobe worked out for good in my
(26:11):
life.
When I was 828.
Again, it's going to work forgood.
It doesn't feel good, itdoesn't look good, none of it
seems good, but once God getsfinished it doesn't look good.
Yeah, nothing about it seemsgood, but once God gets finished
, come on.
I got to believe the word ofGod that tells me that all
things I mean all things he willtake and make all things good
(26:36):
for me.
So, god, I thank you.
It is a compliment, because ifI had to choose, I would say
there's no way I can handle that, come on.
There's no way.
If you tell me in advance, I'mgoing to tell you I am not the
girl for the one for it.
But what he does is he sends itbecause he knows that you're
already qualified.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Yeah, come on, come on.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
God, what would it be amazing if you got a job and
people say I'm calling you toget you this job because I
already know you qualify.
I'm about to run, oh my God.
But that's what God does,because he knows us.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
And he knows us better than we know ourselves.
He's like, by the time thisthing is done, you don't even
realize the person that you'regoing to be after this.
So it's a compliment to anintroduction of what's next in
you.
Come on in you, oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Oh my.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
God, I love that, oh my.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
God.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Introducing.
That's His way of introducingus to a version of us that we
have not yet met.
Oh my God, a powerful versionof us, yes, an ordained version
of us.
Isn't that something?
Come on, Isn't that something?
Come on, Like this struggle.
This struggle is a tool for myenhancement.
(27:59):
Come on, it's like you's likethe cell phones have an update.
The struggle is like an update.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
That's so good.
That's it.
Hold on.
No, ladies and gentlemen, thestruggle is your update.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
My goodness, by the time this thing is finished.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Beyonce said let me upgrade you.
I think time this thing isfinished.
Beyonce said let me upgrade you.
I think she got that from Jesus, right?
What Don't be trying to stealJesus' stuff.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Right what?
I'm going to function at alevel greater than I was
functioning before.
Oh my God, this struggle is anupdate.
That's so good, it's sopowerful.
Oh God, Thank you.
Good, it's so powerful, oh God,thank you Jesus.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Oh my God.
Okay, that took me back.
I lost my thought andeverything that I was going to
say.
But some of us, Pastor, we gothrough long-term suffering.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
And to my brothers and sisters who have been in
long-term suffering, beensuffering for a long time.
I have some things that I'vebeen suffering for a long time.
I had some stuff it took meuntil I was 40 something years
old to get over.
Let me tell you, I understandlong suffering.
I get it.
(29:29):
You ask my wife, she's awitness.
In my life I get long suffering, but you must understand that
in your long suffering, god isworking out his plan.
In your life, in your weaknessis his strength.
So let's look at Paul, then,because we know that he had a
(29:51):
thorn in his flesh that he keptgoing back to God with.
God said no, this one I'm goingto allow you to live with, to
live with this right here.
This critical moment that we'reteaching is for people who've
been living with long-term agony, long-term suffering Ooh, god
loves you.
Long-term pain Ooh, god lovesyou.
(30:11):
He hasn't forgot about you.
You just got more grace thanthe rest of them.
Let's look at them.
So here it is 2 Corinthians,chapter 12,.
Pastor, I'm going to show themPaul and I'm going to show them
David, 2nd Corinthians, if youget there before me.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 12.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 12.
(30:35):
Right, and let's look at verse7 through.
And let's look at verse sevenwho?
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Verse 10.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
I found it, you get, can you get?
Can you get some 22?
Yeah, and that's David.
Here's what Paul says.
He says unless I should beexalted above measure.
So now, mind you, thissuffering was protection from
him, based on what he's saying.
He said unless I should besorted, I wouldn't be exalted
above measure by the abundanceof the revelations that I get
from God and the Holy ghost.
(31:12):
I get all these abundantrevelations that God speaks to
me, shows me things.
They come to true, they come topass.
He has me to write about them.
They come to true, they come topass.
He has me to write about them.
And all these abundance.
Y'all know Paul wrote twothirds of the New Testament that
we read.
He like all this revelation andthe stuff God was giving me.
Watch this.
He gave me a thorn in my flesh.
A thorn in my flesh was givento me A messenger of Satan to
(31:36):
buffet me.
Watch this now, buffet me,watch this now, lest I be
exalted above measure.
That means God didn't send thethorn.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
He allowed it.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Oh my God, oh my God.
Now, this whole word he usedabout to buffet me.
It comes from a Greek word thatmeans to polish, to refine.
Remember we were talking aboutthat in the book of James and in
the book of 1 Peter that Godallows challenges and
tribulations to refine us likegold, to bring the best out of
(32:12):
us.
See, if Paul would have beenhigh-minded in all this
revelation that he had, it wouldhave been terrible to deal him.
Look at what he did when he washigh-minded about the law.
He was so zealous, high-mindedabout the law of Judaism he went
around killing Christians.
So if he get high-minded aboutChristianity, he gonna go around
killing Jews.
(32:32):
God, like man, I gotta keep youhumble, yeah, so that you bring
me glory and don't defame myname.
Watch this, he says.
Concerning this thing, he saidhe pleaded y'all.
I pleaded with the Lord threetimes that it might depart from
me.
Hit the brakes.
You got to read your Bible.
(32:53):
This is the man of God begging.
This is the apostle of theGentiles wrote most of the New
Testament church writing letterson his missionary trips in
prison.
This is the one that was soanointed that one time he was
preaching, a little boy fell outthe window and died.
Paul went over to him and laidon him and the boy got up.
(33:13):
Paul went right back topreaching.
He had the anointing toresurrect the dead, but he's
over here begging.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
God don't you consider yourself resurrect the
dead, but he's over here begging.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
God, don't you consider?
Speaker 2 (33:26):
yourself an outcast, because the struggle is real.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Let me preach it, pastor Say whatever you want,
come on.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
That's on the hand, because the struggle is real
Again.
The struggle is real Again.
We're not exempt.
Come on, we're not exempt.
It doesn't matter what ourtitle is, it doesn't matter what
we're anointed to do, we arenot exempt.
Come on, we're not exempt.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
It doesn't matter what our title is, it doesn't
matter what we're anointed to do, we are not exempt from
struggle, and don't you letpeople with false spirituality,
which is nothing but massreligion, make you feel bad
because you cried aboutsomething or you had a day where
you were sad or you weredepressed.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
Ie, you were human, you were human.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
You were going through some sorrow, paul.
You are telling Paul wasbegging.
Why are you judging me?
He was begging God to take hisstuff away.
Do you know what it means toplead?
He had to be on his knees, hehad it.
Ok, let's, let's back up, let'stake it to Jesus.
What about Jesus in the gardenof Gethsemane, who was going
through the pain and sufferingof knowing he was going to be
(34:27):
separated from the father onthat cross?
He said if you would let thisbitter cup pass me by.
And he was in such agony thatthe carpals burst in his skin
and it's raising his cells andblood start coming out instead
of sweat.
What kind of agony is that?
(34:49):
But you know what he said.
Not my will, god, I trust you,your will be done.
I'm coming out of this better.
I'm coming out of this withpersistence.
I'm coming out of this withresilience.
I'm coming out with a versionof me I've never seen before.
I'm coming out of this withpower.
(35:09):
And he did it.
And Paul said I beg three times.
He said.
And he said to me my grace,grace.
We've limited, we've narrowedit down to God's unmerited favor
.
Please, let's do better thanthat.
God's grace is God's presence,his goodness, his kindness, his
(35:31):
gifts, his love, his favor.
Grace is everywhere.
Grace was before the law, gracewas before the New Testament,
because Jesus is grace.
Jesus is the gift of grace tous.
That's why the Bible says weare saved by grace, through
faith, right, not of works, lestthat any man should boast.
(35:52):
So grace is all the goodness ofGod that you can come up with,
of God that you can come up withthat's grace.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,oh my God, oh my God.
(36:14):
So we know that God has givenus grace.
We know that God has given ushis grace to endure.
What was God really saying toPaul?
You're going to endure this,paul.
You're going to make it throughthis.
You're going to make it throughthis.
You're going to be okay.
And I need to talk to somebody.
God knows you have diabetes,but you're going to be okay.
God knows you've been battlingthrough cancer and it went into
remission and it came back andremission, but you're going to
(36:36):
be okay.
God knows that you're livingwith some type of skin disease.
It's going to be okay.
God knows that you are livingwith financial struggles it's
going to be okay.
Sometimes the gifts that hegives us to bring us out is
(36:56):
grace and grace doesn't bring usout.
Sometimes physically is graceand grace doesn't bring us out.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
sometimes physically, it brings us out internally.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
It brings out our peace, it brings out our joy,
but most of all it gives usstrength to endure when we
believe in him.
I didn't mean to take that muchtime with that you know.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Oftentimes I'll say what my experience and struggles
have been.
If I you know.
This may sound kind of petty,but it's real, if I can just
feel better, if I can just feelbetter, sometimes it's not so
important for the thing to beresolved, it is for the burden
to be lifted Come on.
(37:33):
You know what I mean and for meI think that is powerful,
Because if I can just learn tomanage it, if I can pray and
praise my way through the burdenand the pressure of it, I can
still keep holding on until I amdelivered out of that thing.
(37:56):
You know what I mean.
We, we, we we've learned topraise God and, and when we do
it right, we can praise in a waywhere we shift I said this a
minute ago where we shift butwe're still in the prison.
Come on, and the way we saw itbefore praise is not how we see
(38:16):
it after praise.
We see it after praise.
Come on, my God.
So praise will in fact shift useven before we are delivered
out of the struggle.
Speaker 1 (38:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
And I think that is so powerful.
Sometimes we want so bad to beout of it that we can't
appreciate the tools we havethat shift us while we're still
in it.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Glory to.
God, that's so good, very wellvery well said my God, thank you
.
Well, because that goes back towhen Paul said though my
outward man perished my innerman is being renewed.
So when you're in that prisonyou go through an inner renewal
that gives you deliverance whileyou're in it.
So only thing that isimprisoned by that situation is
your body Exactly Nothing else.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Nothing else that's powerful.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
That is so good.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
That is, that's that's transforming it is.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
That's life transforming it is.
What about David's distress?
And what do you say there inPsalms, psalms?
Speaker 2 (39:17):
22, one and two 2 it says my god, why have you
forsaken me?
Why are you so far from savingme, so far from my cries of
anguish?
My god, I cry out by day butyou do not answer.
By night, but I cannot.
But I find, wow, wow, this isKing David the warrior.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
The warrior, the man of the gods on heart, one of the
greatest kings in Hebrewhistory, the one we preach about
, one who slayed Goliath, onewho would go out and slay a
thousand Philistines and bringtheir foreskins and cast them
before Saul.
(40:03):
King Saul that David was goingthrough so much suffering, he
said God, why did you leave me?
That's permission, ladies andgentlemen, to be human, to be in
suffering and say God, whereyou at, where you at, man Daddy,
(40:23):
where are you?
I need you.
Why have you left me here?
It's OK.
What you're doing is you'reprocessing through your
suffering.
Just remember to hold fast toyour strength, like David did.
He said why is my soul castdown?
Why is my soul disquieted in me?
(40:45):
I will look to the Lord.
So you got to come back to thereality that I know God loves me
and he's going to see methrough.
But don't you come undercondemnation just because you
went through it.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
That's so good for somebody right now.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
So you need to know that God is with you in your
suffering.
So let's look at this.
So I was reading somestatistics, sweetheart, and I
called you sweetheart online.
I can't help it.
You're my sweetheart, it says.
Research indicates thatreligious coping can buffer
(41:20):
against the negative effects ofstress.
See so when you practice yourspiritual disciplines when you
talk about religious, we'regoing to talk about spiritual
when you let the fruit of thespirit manifest in you, when you
practice prayer and devotionand consecration and fasting and
(41:41):
worship and praise in yourstruggle.
Yeah, come on, it has a.
It has, it's a buffer.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
Against the negativity going on in your life
.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Oh, that is so good.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
Absolutely.
I think you know the lastepisode.
We talked about prophecy and wetalked about confessing.
That is so powerful.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Right, that's another one.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
You know we have to.
We have to be sure to professthe word of God over our life.
We have to be sure toconstantly, you know, speak
those things that be not asthough they already were, and
that is rehearsing the promisesof God.
Come on, that was for somebody.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
You've got to get to the point where you rehearse the
promises of God, because aslong as I know that if I have a
promise from someone who isreliable and dependable and I am
constantly reminding orrehearsing that promise, I am
(42:48):
reminding myself to have hope inthat very thing that I was
promised.
It is so important during thestruggle that we learn how to
rehearse the promises of Godthat our hope can remain.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
That's powerful.
Speaker 2 (43:07):
That our hope can remain, because oftentimes and I
think you touched on it alreadywhen we are going through the
struggle one of the things ifwe're not careful, we can become
very disheartened and begin tofeel hopeless when we really
have an opportunity to behopeful.
Speaker 1 (43:27):
Can you get Psalms 39 and 7?
Oh my God and 119 and 147.
That scripture just hit me 39and 7?
Speaker 2 (43:40):
Yeah, 39 and 7 hit me , 39 and seven.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
Yeah, 39 and seven.
What is 39 and seven?
If you can read that please.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
But now, lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
Come on somebody.
Where do we?
Speaker 1 (43:52):
land our hope, ladies and gentlemen, because you
brought up hope and hope is sopowerful Psalm 119 and verse 147
.
Hope is expectation.
It is it's saying I'm goingthrough this suffering because I
know he loves me.
I expect God he doesn't have tobring me out.
I expect him to be with me inthe struggle, and if that means
(44:17):
him guiding me out of it, fine.
If that means him renewing mein it, fine.
But I do.
I have an expectation that Godis with me, absolutely, and I
have a hope that God is with me.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
Absolutely.
Okay, come on Psalm 119, 147.
It says I rise before dawn andcry for help.
I have put my hope in your word.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
Can you please ask our audience families and
friends where have they put myhope in your word?
Can you please ask our audiencefamilies and friends where have
they put their hope?
Speaker 2 (44:43):
Where have you placed your hope?
See, that's so important.
It is very important.
Come on, talk to us, Pastor itis very important where we place
our hope, because we have toplace our hope in a place where
our hope can be fulfilled, andthat is not in material things.
Our hope has to be in a place,in a place that can actually
(45:06):
build our hope.
Come on, that's it.
I love it, come on.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
He is the deliverer.
Speaker 2 (45:11):
He is, he is the deliverer, absolutely he is.
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (45:16):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
And I think you said it on the first episode, and I
think you said it on the firstepisode you talked about
Sometimes the struggle thatwe're in is because of of what
did you say, of what we, or didI say, that did, did or did not
do.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
I think you said that .
Speaker 2 (45:32):
OK, so sometimes, when we put our hope in places
that can't deliver hope.
There you go.
We find ourselves in a strugglethere you go.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
That's where I'm going.
With that, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (45:43):
Sometimes, when we place our hope in the wrong
things, the wrong places, webecome hopeless because they
were never meant to deliver.
Hope To be deliverers.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
God has to be our one and only deliverer, as he was
for the children of Israel.
For 400 years they were prayingfor deliverance, but they knew.
Even though it took 400 years,they kept praying to the same
God because their hope was inJehovah, oh my God and the God
of Abraham, isaac and Jacob.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
I was just going to say.
And another thing have to.
We have to be willing to behonest with ourselves when we
start feeling our hopediminished.
We have got to run to the onewho gives us hope, and that is
in the word of God.
I can recall one day I rememberI said to God.
(46:38):
I said I'm starting to feelhopeless.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
I don't like this.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
So we have to, we have to be willing, just like
just like David cried out indistress, just like um Paul went
, went to God about the thorn,we've got to be willing to be
honest about where we are.
This thing is troubling me, ormy hope is fading.
Help me, but I know I gotta goto your word to get the hope.
(47:05):
I know that, I know that youknow what I mean.
But we have to be willing toabout where we are, because
silence sometimes is a killer.
Keeping our mouths closedsometimes is the worst thing to
(47:25):
do, worst thing to do.
Sometimes it is necessary toopen up our mouths for one, to
cry out to God.
Come on.
Number two, to confess what webelieve God is going to do in
our lives, but also to be honestabout where we are.
When we try to hide from ourrealities, it gives the enemy
(47:49):
more power to suffocate us inthose things.
But when we are verbal to Godand say, god, here is my
struggle, god, here is mydilemma, god, here is what I'm
dealing with.
God, it gives power.
It gives power for God to beable to come in and speak to our
(48:10):
situation.
But when we quiet over in thecorner man, that enemy going to
start sending you all kinds ofthoughts, the wrong ones, to do
all kinds of things that youought not be doing.
But when we can be transparentbefore God and say here's what
I'm dealing with, this is whatI'm struggling with.
I'm starting to feel a little,you know, lost.
(48:31):
I feel a little confused.
Whatever it is, we gotta bewilling to be transparent with
God.
The Bible talks aboutconfessing your sins one to
another, but I'm talking aboutconfessing them to the Lord.
What about that part?
God?
Here I am, this is what'shappening, this is what I've
done, this is what I'm feeling.
(48:51):
I'm starting to get angry, andI'm angry too long, and I know
the word says don't be angrylong, or otherwise you're going
to sin.
I don't want to sin, but I feellike I'm right there on the
verge of doing something crazy.
Help me, teach me, guide me,lead me whatever it is, you know
what I?
mean.
Speaker 1 (49:13):
I think it's important that we do that.
Yeah, you really hit on what Iwas thinking about and how men,
when a man continues to gothrough suffering and problems
and issues, he can get bitterand angry.
And if he is not practicing adeep, intimate relationship with
God and allowing the process torenew him inwardly, to refine
(49:37):
him, he will come out of it abitter, angry man and he will
become an abuser rather than anembracer and someone who
promotes, protects and liftothers up.
He'll become the type of personthat is angry, bitter,
sarcastic, pessimistic, you knowit's sharp-tongued and even
(50:01):
abusive in a lot of ways andviolent.
So it's important, you know,for everybody.
But it is important, brothers,to hear me.
Well, you're going through onetest after the next.
Humble yourself under themighty hand of God and in due
season he will exalt you,because men are most frustrated
with failure.
We become most frustrated witha lack of success.
(50:23):
I'm not the financial providerI want to be.
I'm not the brave man I want tobe.
I'm not the success story.
I want my family to see me asI'm not the presence that I want
at home and at work.
It's not there.
I don't have the job I want.
I'm not getting paid what Iwant, I'm not getting treated
(50:45):
like I want.
Here I feel the Holy Ghost.
Do not let yourself go bitter.
Humble yourself under themighty hand of God and in due
season he will exalt you when hesees that your inner man has
grown through the process.
So your hour of that parish.
(51:05):
Your inner man is renewed dayby day.
This takes me to Romans, chapterfive, and this could be our
last passage of scripture.
We can, we can.
We can wrap this up.
I think we've really hit onsome really key things about
suffering.
When the suffering just gotreal again.
One thing, most critically, isbe renewed through it, not
(51:26):
ruined through it.
Be renewed through it, notruined by it.
Let it renew you and refine you, not ruin you.
And refine you, not ruin you,and define you.
Come on, somebody Throw in alittle preaching up in there.
Romans, chapter 5.
Oh, you smile so pretty.
(51:46):
Thank you, romans, chapter 5.
Therefore, having beenjustified by faith, Verse 3?
.
Romans 5, verse 1.
I'm sorry, verse 5.
Therefore, having beenjustified by faith, how am I
justified?
Justified means you'reacquitted as if I didn't do it
my faith.
So God's not trying to punishme.
(52:09):
My sins are not before God.
My righteousness is.
God's not cursed me, god's notmad at me.
My righteousness, therighteousness of Christ, is
before me when God looks at me.
So now we have peace with God.
There it is Through our LordJesus Christ.
Watch this.
Through whom also we haveaccess?
(52:29):
Somebody you need to know.
You've got access by faith.
There it is An expectation,that hope into this grace in
which we stand.
Hallelujah, I'm standing ingrace, oh my God, okay, and
rejoice in the hope of the glory.
It's so much packed in thatthat I don't have time to break
(52:50):
it down.
He says this and not only that,as if you needed any more than
that.
If I got his grace, if I'vebeen justified, if his glory is
with me, if I'm in the glory ofChrist, if my faith is bringing
me into this grace, what else doI need?
But, he says and not only thatverse three, but we also, here
it is we glory in ourtribulations.
(53:13):
Glory means that we praise,that we honor God, that we exalt
God in our tribulations.
Glory means that we praise thatwe honor God, that we exalt God
in our tribulations.
Why, knowing that tribulationproduces perseverance, trouble
molds me to better processthrough new trouble.
Speaker 2 (53:36):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (53:38):
And so once I get up, once I become the pattern of
perseverance, now I can gothrough anything.
See, once you're molded into apattern, nothing can come and
unmold and unshape you.
A quarter is a quarter, a pennyis a penny, it's molded into
the pattern.
See, once I go throughsuccessfully, go through my
(54:01):
tests, I can go through the sametest over and over and over
again and not be moved.
Oh my God, I'm trying to helpsomebody.
So, since God knows trouble isalways headed our way, he says
I'm going to allow these sets ofsuffering so that they can
prepare you for the rest of thistrouble that you're going to
see through your lifetime andyou'll be whole and, in time,
(54:22):
wanting nothing Because you'llhave perseverance.
Watch this.
He says I have perseverancebecause I have some perseverance
about me, the ability to gothrough something.
Now I have character For mypeace, I can keep my temperament
, I can keep right, I can havebravery, all right.
(54:43):
Character, then, gives me hope.
Right, because once I'm calmand I'm content and I'm stable
and I'm balanced and I'm stillin my righteousness, all right,
the only thing on my mind isokay, I'm believing in my God.
So I have hope.
(55:04):
Watch this Now, hope does notdisappoint.
Come on somebody, because thelove of God has been poured out
in our hearts.
By who?
Here we go back to thatrelationship with the Holy
Spirit, by the Holy Spirit whowas what Given to us.
Speaker 2 (55:14):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (55:15):
Come on, gift.
I have hope in God in mysuffering, because he poured out
his love on me.
I know he loves me.
The knowledge of his love iskeeping me through some of the
worst times of my life,absolutely.
Come on, somebody.
(55:36):
The struggle may have gottenreal again, but this time you're
coming out better than you wentin.
Amen, oh my God.
Speaker 2 (55:47):
Amen.
Can I tell you something?
When we allow the struggle todo what God wants, the struggle
to do, we come out so muchbetter than we.
The struggle to do Come on.
We come out so much better thanwe ever thought we would.
Come on, but we have to bewilling to.
It goes back to trusting God.
We talked about that part one.
It goes back to trusting God.
I have to trust him, even in mystruggle.
(56:10):
I have to trust him.
Right, I have to trust him,trust him.
I have to trust him becausewhen I trust him then I can say
no matter how this feels orlooks, I know beyond a shadow of
a doubt that I come out of thisbetter than I was in.
Speaker 1 (56:30):
That's a moment Did you feel that God said that's it
, leave it right there.
I want you to take this momentto practice trusting God.
Set your heart on him, set yourmind on him, set your focus on
(56:51):
him, set your love towards him.
Gaze your eyes upon him, andright now in this moment, your
trust is growing.
The struggle is real again, butso is your help.
So is your grace.
Lord, thank you for this timethat we've had.
(57:11):
In Jesus name, amen.
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, whatever is on your heart, butwe're looking for monthly
partners and subscribers.
(57:32):
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You can put it in the memo tothe podcast or you can go to
dailybreadpodcastcom.
It should get you there.
God bless you.
We'll talk to you next time andsee you next time on Daily
Bread Podcast with Dr Jarrelland Angela.
Stone.
All right, welcome everyone.
Welcome back.
Welcome back to Daily BreadPodcast.
I am Dr Jarrell Stokely Jr andmy lovely, admirable, kind, warm
, generous, beautiful, sexy,anointed wife, angela Stokely,
we are here with you today.
(00:21):
Thank you for tuning in to ourshow and to this time of
ministry and empowerment andeducation and girding you up in
the body of Christ to fulfillyour passion, your purpose, your
dream and all that God hascalled you to do.
Thank you for being here,angela.
You want to welcome our guestsand viewers and family.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Hey, family, it's so good to our guests and viewers
and family, hey family, it's sogood to have you with us and us
have this opportunity to sit inthe seat again, to share God's
revelation power, his word, andto edify you in every area of
your life so that you canaccomplish the very thing that
(01:02):
God has called you to do.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
So we are glad you are here, all right.
Just a quick note aboutsponsorship and partnership.
We do want to ask you to pray,be led by God to commit to a
monthly partnership with PastorA and I as we continue to take
Daily Bread podcast around theglobe.
We want to be able to continueto bring you the word of God and
(01:26):
empowerment.
In order to do so, we need yoursponsorship and your
partnership.
You can go tocovenantgracechurchorg and click
on the Daily Bread podcast pageand you can sow your support
there, or you can just go todailybreadpodcastcom I think
that should get you to the pageand so your gift of support.
(01:47):
We need you.
We can't do this without you.
Of course, you know there is acost for studio time and cameras
and lights and batteries andSIM cards and air time to
continue to put this podcast outeverywhere that we can.
You can find us on everyplatform available Daily Bread
Podcast with Dr Jarrell andAngela Stokely.
(02:09):
So please consider if you havebeen fed by this podcast in the
past, if you are being fed bytoday's session, which is going
to be so great, please, please,partner with us and sow to help
keep us on the air.
You can sow in increments of 15.
You can sow $15 a month, $30 amonth, $45 a month Whatever gift
(02:30):
that you feel led by God inyour heart to sow.
You got to pray first andcommit as a monthly partner.
We need your monthlypartnership, but if you can give
a one-time gift, we praise Godfor that as well, all right.
The Bible says give and it shallbe given back to you a good
measure, pressed down, shakentogether and running over.
(02:52):
So we pray, as you give, thatyour harvest comes running over
in your life.
In Jesus name.
Today's topic, which is awesome, is it just got real again the
struggle.
Just got real again, let merepeat that.
(03:14):
The struggle just got real again.
If you tuned in to the strugglejust got real part one oh my
God, it's going to bless yourlife.
If not, this one will standalone.
Go back and listen to thestruggle got real, just Real.
Part one oh my God, it's goingto bless your life.
If not, this one will standalone.
Go back and listen to theStruggle Just Got Real, part one
.
This is the Struggle Just GotReal Again.
We want to start off with twopassages of scripture to help
(03:35):
lay a foundation, because whatwe understand is that each of us
, as believers, are going toendure struggle, matter of fact,
whether you're a believer ornon-believer, no matter who you
are on this planet, if you'realive and breathing, you are
going to go through struggles inyour life, and it is critical
to know how to endure andprocess through struggle in a
(03:56):
healthy way, in a way where youhave power, where you are moving
through with your joy intactand you are practicing your
disciplines to build you up inyour faith, your character, your
perseverance, your grit, yourtrust in God.
And we're going to talk aboutall about, all about, about and
process through our teaching ontoday.
(04:18):
So the struggle just got realagain.
So I'm going to ask Pastor A tolead out with our first passage
of scripture in the book ofJames, chapter one, verse two
through four, and I'm going tochime in in first Peter, chapter
one, verse six through eight,and then I got some crazy stats
for you to show you about kindof what's going on with struggle
and how you can benefit from it.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Amen.
So, james, chapter one, versestwo through four, consider it
pure joy, my brothers andsisters, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, becauseyou know that the testing of
your faith produces perseverance.
Let perseverance its work sothat you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anythingthat is so powerful.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
So we learn, pastor, from this first passage of
scripture is that there actuallycomes times when we're going
through a lot of differentstruggles at the same time and
that's when it gets real again.
And in cases like that, jameswas talking to the church at
Jerusalem and he was basicallytelling them listen, you know,
(05:26):
these things didn't come todestroy you.
God doesn't allow tests todestroy you.
But they came to test you.
He doesn't send problems tokill you, to take you out, to
destroy you, but to test yourfaith.
And that word in the Greek,that word test your faith or try
your faith, it actually comesfrom this idea, in this concept
(05:48):
of purifying a coin or a pieceof gold to get all the dross.
Actually, god using real lifecircumstances in order to refine
us in our faithful um, in ouranointing and our gifts and in
(06:15):
our trust and belief in him.
So we we come out better if wehave the right focus and
perspective when we're goingthrough tests.
So remember, when these trialsand stuff are coming, god's not
sending something to kill ordestroy you.
God's refining you.
The Bible Jesus talked aboutthose who are in me shall bear
(06:37):
much fruit.
And then you know, he said andthose who bear fruit shall be
pruned to bear even more fruit.
And pruning is a difficultprocess.
Challenges and suffering is adifficult process, but we're
supposed to go through thatprocess a certain way.
I want to read my commentaryfrom the book of James and then
(06:59):
I'm going to jump to Peter, justto piggyback on how we go
through trials and tribulations.
Just to piggyback on how we gothrough trials and tribulations.
It says these are outwardcircumstances, conflicts,
sufferings and troublesencountered by all believers.
Trials are not pleasant and maybe extremely grievous, and I
like this.
This is in your Bible, sayingthat you're going to go through
some things.
That's extremely grievous, itsays.
(07:20):
But believers ought to beconsiderate.
Believers ought to considerthem as opportunities for
rejoicing.
Troubles and difficulties are atool which refine and purify
our faith, producing patienceand endurance.
I love that.
I love that God is notintimidated to inform us that
(07:45):
life gets grievous and life isprepackaged with suffering.
But when we are born again, weare prepackaged with the joy of
the Lord, with our strength.
So when that suffering comes,my joy ought to be elevated to
saying and that's a learnedprocess, you have to learn to
(08:05):
rejoice in tribulation.
But let's look at 1 Peter andsee what Peter says about this,
and I love this passage.
1 Peter, chapter one, startingin verse six, and he says in
this you, you greatly rejoice,though now for a little while.
And I want you to hold on tothat, because most suffering
(08:27):
doesn't last long and those thatdo last long, in comparison to
what God has in store for us, isa little while.
He says for a little while, ifneed be.
You have been grieved byvarious trials, being.
Watch this.
He said that the genuineness ofyour faith I like that word the
(08:49):
genuineness of it, the strugglecome to get down to the genuine
you, the genuine believer, soyou can see, you know where your
metric is, you know where is mymetric, you know what's my
rubric.
Am I down here in my faith?
Am I up here in my faith?
The test come to show me whereI am in my faith, so that the
genuine faith, the most preciousfaith, it says, being more
(09:12):
precious than gold.
Wait a minute, my faith is moreprecious than gold.
Number one.
It is to God, who means morethan anything than anybody in
this world, means more thananything than anybody in this
world.
Watch this now, it says, moreprecious than gold that perishes
though it is tested by fire.
Oof, that is something May befound to praise, honor and glory
(09:39):
at the revelation of JesusChrist whom, having not seen you
love, though now you do not seehim yet believing you rejoice
with inexpressible and full ofglory receiving the end of your
faith, the salvation of yoursoul.
(09:59):
It means, if you hang on inthere with Jesus in the process,
you're going to see the end.
That Christ is real, he camefor you, that God has eternal
life in store for you, he hasrewards stored up in heaven for
you, and that you endure throughthe fire of your struggles.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Struggles are fiery.
Pastor.
One of the things that weforget as believers is that this
entire process is taking ussomewhere.
Come on.
And that is to go.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Can you say that to the kids?
I love that.
Can you say that?
Speaker 2 (10:36):
You know, we as believers, sometimes we forget
that this entire process andthis entire Christian journey is
taking us to a place, andthat's what we forget.
And I believe that, because weforget that the plan is to get
to heaven, that's the whole plan, that we can't get tripped up
(10:57):
at what happens in the journey,what happens along the way,
because ultimately, and nomatter what my destiny is sure
I'm going to make it to heaven.
You know what I mean.
And I think that if we learn toreflect on that a little bit
more and let that really bealmost a guiding thought, if you
(11:20):
will you know what I mean Ilike that I am on a journey to
glory.
I'm on a journey to be in thepresence of my father.
Come on.
That's so good that, that thatperspective, mentality and
posture can shift how we manage.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
During the struggle struggle.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
This is so good, that's so powerful what you're
saying, because it took me tothe reality when the scripture
says if we're going to reignwith Christ in victory and
triumph in eternal life in theheavenlies with our Father, we
must first suffer down here asChrist suffered.
Not pleasant, it's grievous,but with Christ with me dwelling
(12:08):
in me, I can endure thisprocess and build my
perseverance and my characterand my grit and my power and my
faith and my prayer life alongthe way.
Check this out.
Okay.
So here's some statistics onpost-traumatic growth Whenever
(12:29):
you ever heard those three wordstogether post-traumatic growth
In 2017, a study published bythe Journal of Positive
Psychology found that people whoexperience significant
struggles, such as trauma, oftenreport positive changes in
character, including increasedresilience, a deeper
appreciation for life I lovethat one, that's me and improved
(12:53):
personal relationships.
Just because you made itthrough your struggles, just
because you went throughsomething, when you go through
with the right perspective watchthis About 50 to 60% of
individuals report some form ofpost-traumatic growth following
adversity, and this is Tedeschiand Calhoun 2017.
(13:16):
So you can look up this reportfor yourself.
The work has been done, thestudy has been done.
People who go through adversityand struggle are the strongest
people on the planet, and whenyou have God on your side in the
midst of that, you come outwith a testimony.
You come out with resilience,your bounce back grows, your
(13:37):
ability to resurrect out ofevery situation improves and
increases, and that's how, Ibelieve, we go from glory to
glory.
Come on somebody.
Jesus went from being rejectedby the Pharisees and Sadducees
one level of glory beingrejected by the Jews when they
(13:58):
wanted to throw him over thecliff in the city another level
of glory.
Being beaten and whipped atPontius Pilate's right, being
flogged and whipped with a catof 39 to another level of glory,
because every time he wentthrough suffering, it was
another level of glory.
Then he went to the cross,which was his final level of
glory in terms of suffering, andthen he died and was
(14:21):
resurrected in power.
Which another?
Which that's another realm ofglory, that's another dimension
of glory that he moved in.
So, listen, you're not a victim.
You're one of the strongestgroup of people on the planet
from what you went through.
Can we break this down accordingto what this word is teaching
(14:41):
us and what this, what thesestats are teaching us?
Listen to this.
This talks about characterstrengths.
This was a study Researchpublished in the Journal of
Personality and SocialPsychology 2015, showed that
individuals who encounter andovercome their difficulties
often develop key characterstrengths.
(15:02):
Come on now.
What is character?
Integrity, altruism, doingwhat's right for the right
reasons, the golden rule do untoothers as you would have them
to do unto you.
All this happens.
Here's some of them bravery,persistence, resilience.
The study noted thatindividuals who faced and
(15:22):
navigated adversity reportedhigher levels of these strengths
.
So so when you get in suffering.
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:31):
Time to start navigating.
Yeah, you have to turn on yourGod mind.
You have to.
You have to turn on yourscripture, your word mind and
you have to turn on the.
You have to tap into the wisdomof God, because now it's time
to navigate.
Turn on the.
You have to tap into the wisdomof God because now it's time to
navigate.
It's not time to sit still anddie when you get in suffering.
You have to start navigating bythe word of God.
What does God want me to getout of this?
(15:52):
How do I not go through this?
But how do I grow through this?
This reminds me of my book GrowInto your Greatness.
Oh my God, oh my God.
It's already out.
It's on Amazon, it's on a bornto noblecom, it's at Westbow
press and, of course, you canget copies through Jarrell
(16:13):
Stokelycom.
But people think greatness isfor the elite Number one.
No, it's not.
All of us have greatness insideof us.
Greatness is tapping into thebest version of yourself and
evolving into the best versionof yourself.
That is the greatness in yourlife.
Greatness is defined asextraordinary.
There's only one.
You.
Nobody has your fingerprint.
(16:34):
Oh my god.
And we and people think youcould step into greatness.
Greatness is not a destination.
Greatness is growth.
Yeah, it's an evolution, and soquit trying to step into your
greatness, and my greatness iscoming.
No, your greatness is alreadyin you.
Yeah, and this talks aboutnavigating through suffering,
(16:56):
because that suffering bringsout the greatness that is in you
.
It's a process that's what I'm.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
It's a process.
That's what I'm saying.
It's a process.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Shameless plug on the book, but it's a process, oh my
God.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Yeah, it is.
You know, I was.
I was thinking, oh Lord.
I think one of the one of theerrors that we make when going
through struggles is spending.
We spend so much time wishingthat we were not going through
(17:29):
the struggle.
And as a result, we kind of forlack of a better phrase he and
her about it.
You know, we moan and be moan.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
There, you go.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
You know we ache and pain and we go through all of
that and we spend a lot of time.
Yeah, the why me's, the I don'tlike this, all of that.
We stay there too long.
Right, I'm not saying it's notnormal to go through that,
because I feel like it is normalas a human being.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Oh, I'm glad you said that you know.
Can you repeat that?
Speaker 2 (18:02):
so the listeners and the watchers can hear.
It is very normal to go throughthose types of feelings, but
the thing is it's not stayingthere and for whatever reason I
keep thinking about.
Was it Peter in prison?
Was it Peter who prays?
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Paul and Silas did.
Thank you, it was Paul.
Okay, I was like Peter.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
It wasn't sounding right, but Peter was in prison
too.
Okay, so Paul and Silas foundsomething other to do than
complain about their situationCome on.
You understand what I'm sayingand the reality is is that they
had a reason to complain.
Come on, If they did complain,I believe we would all
understand.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
Right, they hadn't done anything wrong.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Right, right but instead, they tapped into a
greater power.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Right.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
They tapped into the gift of prayer and the power of
prayer and the power of praise.
Boy, if we could just shiftthere quicker than we usually do
, if we can hurry up and getthere again, we may complain, we
may moan about it, we may acheabout it, but we have got to
(19:15):
start.
I like to say this, givingourselves a time limit.
I remember years ago I'd belike, okay, well, you only have
these amount of tears to cry, socry them tears.
And we got to get up and we gotto get moving, because you
acknowledge that it happened,but you can't park it right
there.
You've got to get back up andyou've got to do something, and
(19:39):
that's something.
Let's take a note from Paul andSilas.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
Let's pray and let's pray.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Oh, that's so good.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Because it'll shift situations.
It'll shift you Right Whileyou're still in your situation.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
What's the if that'll shift?
Speaker 2 (19:54):
them.
I didn't hear you.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
The if you said it will shift.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
What's the?
Speaker 1 (19:59):
if.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
What's the it?
What's the it Prayer?
Speaker 1 (20:04):
and prayer Prayer.
I just wanted you to repeat it,yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Prayer and praise.
It will shift you.
Come on, it will shift you, andI think that I think that's one
of those, those things that wehave to learn, we have to train
ourselves to do.
You know, ok, I'm going throughthis struggle.
Yes, I don't like it.
Yes, I don't like it.
Yes, I may cry about it, yes, Imay be upset about it, yes, I
may be frustrated, yes, I maymoan and complain.
(20:30):
And we've got to get to thepoint, as the body of Christ,
that we hurry up and get that,but in our sentences.
But God is going to deliver meout, but I still trust that he
has a plan for my life, but heis able.
You know what I'm saying.
We've got to so that we don'tgive opportunity to the enemy to
(20:57):
beat us up any more than wealready feel beat up while we're
going through our situation.
So I think one of the one ofthe really important things for
us to learn in the process is tohurry up and shift.
We have to learn to hurry upand shift.
Don't say, yeah, it's a realityand it hurts and there are
tears and there, but we got tohurry up and get over to praise
(21:21):
hurry up and get over to prayer,you know, so that it will help
shift us while we're processingand growing through that
struggle.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
That's so good.
Yeah, as you were talking, Iwas reminded of a passage of
scripture in second Corinthians,chapter four, starting in verse
16.
And Paul, writing here, saystherefore, we do not lose hope,
even though our outward man isperishing.
(21:55):
It is, it's present tense, see,that's, that's a right now
thing.
That's happening because in thesociety and the culture that we
live in right now, the climatethat we live, we live in, all of
us are processing newaffliction.
See.
It says, though, our outwardman is perishing.
(22:18):
Perishing is that trouble, thataffliction, that moaning, that
agonizing.
Some stuff is agonizing.
I know I've got some peoplewatching or listening.
You've been going through someagonizing.
It's not strange to go throughagonizing.
The church of Jesus Christ wentthrough agonizing in the New
Testament when the diaspora,when the believers were
(22:39):
scattered under Roman authority,when Nero was killing
Christians and putting them inspike barrels and rolling them
downhill and killing them bydropping them into hot boiling
oil and pitching them with tarand lighting a match on them and
using them as lamps down thecorridors to his castle.
(23:02):
So you know, it's not the firsttime that we have gone through
struggle.
We've just become softer by theculture that we live in.
But here it says our man isperishing, but our inward man is
being renewed day by day, whichgoes back to what you said.
(23:22):
If you don't quickly make theshift from the problem, the pain
and the prison to the prayerand the praise, you'll do what
Paul said here You'll lose heart.
You will yeah, and that's whenyou start diminishing in the
suffering and you start losingheart.
Yeah, and maybe some of you arethere right now.
(23:42):
We like this podcast to beministry.
We're not just here to talk.
Maybe you are heavy of heartright now.
God wants to give you thegarment of praise for your
spirit of heaviness and, if youwill allow God, right now, in
this very moment, I feel theHoly Spirit.
This happens on this podcast.
(24:05):
I feel the power of God movingfor someone.
I see crying, I see tears, Isee so much pain right now in
the spirit.
Listen, don't you lose heart.
Make your shift.
Yes, it's grievous.
Yes, it's grievous.
Yes, it's suffering.
The suffering just got realagain and it may get real again
(24:26):
and again and again, over andover, but count it all joy.
When you fall into thesediverse temptations, god is
purifying you.
He doesn't hate you.
He hasn't left you.
This is a purification process.
We all are going throughsuffering, so God doesn't
abandon us in the suffering andhe doesn't have to send it.
It's here on earth.
Suffering is a part of thehuman existence.
(24:49):
I want you to know somethingMake that shift so your heart
can be healed and made wholeagain, because God loves you,
loves you and he has that planfor you.
You want to jump in or you wantto read this?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
I was thinking about.
One of the things that I use tocope with struggle is that I
remind myself that God loves metoo much to allow it to take me
out.
Come on.
And because of that, because Iam convinced of that, then I
(25:25):
learned to say okay, god, if youallow this, I consider it a
compliment.
Come on, because you obviouslysee something in me that I have
not yet realized, that you haveon the inside of me that is so
good.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
My goodness, I think you're preaching.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
And so, god, I thank you for trusting me with this
trouble.
It does not mean that I likethe trouble.
I don't like it it means that Irecognize that if God allowed
it, the God who is overeverything, if he allows it,
then he is going to allow it tobe worked out for good in my
(26:11):
life.
When I was 828.
Again, it's going to work forgood.
It doesn't feel good, itdoesn't look good, none of it
seems good, but once God getsfinished it doesn't look good.
Yeah, nothing about it seemsgood, but once God gets finished
, come on.
I got to believe the word ofGod that tells me that all
things I mean all things he willtake and make all things good
(26:36):
for me.
So, god, I thank you.
It is a compliment, because ifI had to choose, I would say
there's no way I can handle that, come on.
There's no way.
If you tell me in advance, I'mgoing to tell you I am not the
girl for the one for it.
But what he does is he sends itbecause he knows that you're
already qualified.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
Yeah, come on, come on.
Speaker 2 (26:59):
God, what would it be amazing if you got a job and
people say I'm calling you toget you this job because I
already know you qualify.
I'm about to run, oh my God.
But that's what God does,because he knows us.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Oh, my God.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
And he knows us better than we know ourselves.
He's like, by the time thisthing is done, you don't even
realize the person that you'regoing to be after this.
So it's a compliment to anintroduction of what's next in
you.
Come on in you, oh my goodness.
Speaker 1 (27:35):
Oh my.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
God, I love that, oh my.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
God.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
Introducing.
That's His way of introducingus to a version of us that we
have not yet met.
Oh my God, a powerful versionof us, yes, an ordained version
of us.
Isn't that something?
Come on, Isn't that something?
Come on, Like this struggle.
This struggle is a tool for myenhancement.
(27:59):
Come on, it's like you's likethe cell phones have an update.
The struggle is like an update.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
That's so good.
That's it.
Hold on.
No, ladies and gentlemen, thestruggle is your update.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
My goodness, by the time this thing is finished.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Beyonce said let me upgrade you.
I think time this thing isfinished.
Beyonce said let me upgrade you.
I think she got that from Jesus, right?
What Don't be trying to stealJesus' stuff.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
Right what?
I'm going to function at alevel greater than I was
functioning before.
Oh my God, this struggle is anupdate.
That's so good, it's sopowerful.
Oh God, Thank you.
Good, it's so powerful, oh God,thank you Jesus.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Oh my God.
Okay, that took me back.
I lost my thought andeverything that I was going to
say.
But some of us, Pastor, we gothrough long-term suffering.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
And to my brothers and sisters who have been in
long-term suffering, beensuffering for a long time.
I have some things that I'vebeen suffering for a long time.
I had some stuff it took meuntil I was 40 something years
old to get over.
Let me tell you, I understandlong suffering.
I get it.
(29:29):
You ask my wife, she's awitness.
In my life I get long suffering, but you must understand that
in your long suffering, god isworking out his plan.
In your life, in your weaknessis his strength.
So let's look at Paul, then,because we know that he had a
(29:51):
thorn in his flesh that he keptgoing back to God with.
God said no, this one I'm goingto allow you to live with, to
live with this right here.
This critical moment that we'reteaching is for people who've
been living with long-term agony, long-term suffering Ooh, god
loves you.
Long-term pain Ooh, god lovesyou.
(30:11):
He hasn't forgot about you.
You just got more grace thanthe rest of them.
Let's look at them.
So here it is 2 Corinthians,chapter 12,.
Pastor, I'm going to show themPaul and I'm going to show them
David, 2nd Corinthians, if youget there before me.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 12.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 12.
(30:35):
Right, and let's look at verse7 through.
And let's look at verse sevenwho?
Speaker 2 (30:47):
Verse 10.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
I found it, you get, can you get?
Can you get some 22?
Yeah, and that's David.
Here's what Paul says.
He says unless I should beexalted above measure.
So now, mind you, thissuffering was protection from
him, based on what he's saying.
He said unless I should besorted, I wouldn't be exalted
above measure by the abundanceof the revelations that I get
from God and the Holy ghost.
(31:12):
I get all these abundantrevelations that God speaks to
me, shows me things.
They come to true, they come topass.
He has me to write about them.
They come to true, they come topass.
He has me to write about them.
And all these abundance.
Y'all know Paul wrote twothirds of the New Testament that
we read.
He like all this revelation andthe stuff God was giving me.
Watch this.
He gave me a thorn in my flesh.
A thorn in my flesh was givento me A messenger of Satan to
(31:36):
buffet me.
Watch this now, buffet me,watch this now, lest I be
exalted above measure.
That means God didn't send thethorn.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
He allowed it.
Speaker 1 (31:48):
Oh my God, oh my God.
Now, this whole word he usedabout to buffet me.
It comes from a Greek word thatmeans to polish, to refine.
Remember we were talking aboutthat in the book of James and in
the book of 1 Peter that Godallows challenges and
tribulations to refine us likegold, to bring the best out of
(32:12):
us.
See, if Paul would have beenhigh-minded in all this
revelation that he had, it wouldhave been terrible to deal him.
Look at what he did when he washigh-minded about the law.
He was so zealous, high-mindedabout the law of Judaism he went
around killing Christians.
So if he get high-minded aboutChristianity, he gonna go around
killing Jews.
(32:32):
God, like man, I gotta keep youhumble, yeah, so that you bring
me glory and don't defame myname.
Watch this, he says.
Concerning this thing, he saidhe pleaded y'all.
I pleaded with the Lord threetimes that it might depart from
me.
Hit the brakes.
You got to read your Bible.
(32:53):
This is the man of God begging.
This is the apostle of theGentiles wrote most of the New
Testament church writing letterson his missionary trips in
prison.
This is the one that was soanointed that one time he was
preaching, a little boy fell outthe window and died.
Paul went over to him and laidon him and the boy got up.
(33:13):
Paul went right back topreaching.
He had the anointing toresurrect the dead, but he's
over here begging.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
God don't you consider yourself resurrect the
dead, but he's over here begging.
Speaker 1 (33:25):
God, don't you consider?
Speaker 2 (33:26):
yourself an outcast, because the struggle is real.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Let me preach it, pastor Say whatever you want,
come on.
Speaker 2 (33:30):
That's on the hand, because the struggle is real
Again.
The struggle is real Again.
We're not exempt.
Come on, we're not exempt.
It doesn't matter what ourtitle is, it doesn't matter what
we're anointed to do, we arenot exempt.
Come on, we're not exempt.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
It doesn't matter what our title is, it doesn't
matter what we're anointed to do, we are not exempt from
struggle, and don't you letpeople with false spirituality,
which is nothing but massreligion, make you feel bad
because you cried aboutsomething or you had a day where
you were sad or you weredepressed.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
Ie, you were human, you were human.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
You were going through some sorrow, paul.
You are telling Paul wasbegging.
Why are you judging me?
He was begging God to take hisstuff away.
Do you know what it means toplead?
He had to be on his knees, hehad it.
Ok, let's, let's back up, let'stake it to Jesus.
What about Jesus in the gardenof Gethsemane, who was going
through the pain and sufferingof knowing he was going to be
(34:27):
separated from the father onthat cross?
He said if you would let thisbitter cup pass me by.
And he was in such agony thatthe carpals burst in his skin
and it's raising his cells andblood start coming out instead
of sweat.
What kind of agony is that?
(34:49):
But you know what he said.
Not my will, god, I trust you,your will be done.
I'm coming out of this better.
I'm coming out of this withpersistence.
I'm coming out of this withresilience.
I'm coming out with a versionof me I've never seen before.
I'm coming out of this withpower.
(35:09):
And he did it.
And Paul said I beg three times.
He said.
And he said to me my grace,grace.
We've limited, we've narrowedit down to God's unmerited favor
.
Please, let's do better thanthat.
God's grace is God's presence,his goodness, his kindness, his
(35:31):
gifts, his love, his favor.
Grace is everywhere.
Grace was before the law, gracewas before the New Testament,
because Jesus is grace.
Jesus is the gift of grace tous.
That's why the Bible says weare saved by grace, through
faith, right, not of works, lestthat any man should boast.
(35:52):
So grace is all the goodness ofGod that you can come up with,
of God that you can come up withthat's grace.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,oh my God, oh my God.
(36:14):
So we know that God has givenus grace.
We know that God has given ushis grace to endure.
What was God really saying toPaul?
You're going to endure this,paul.
You're going to make it throughthis.
You're going to make it throughthis.
You're going to be okay.
And I need to talk to somebody.
God knows you have diabetes,but you're going to be okay.
God knows you've been battlingthrough cancer and it went into
remission and it came back andremission, but you're going to
(36:36):
be okay.
God knows that you're livingwith some type of skin disease.
It's going to be okay.
God knows that you are livingwith financial struggles it's
going to be okay.
Sometimes the gifts that hegives us to bring us out is
(36:56):
grace and grace doesn't bring usout.
Sometimes physically is graceand grace doesn't bring us out.
Speaker 2 (37:04):
sometimes physically, it brings us out internally.
Speaker 1 (37:08):
It brings out our peace, it brings out our joy,
but most of all it gives usstrength to endure when we
believe in him.
I didn't mean to take that muchtime with that you know.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
Oftentimes I'll say what my experience and struggles
have been.
If I you know.
This may sound kind of petty,but it's real, if I can just
feel better, if I can just feelbetter, sometimes it's not so
important for the thing to beresolved, it is for the burden
to be lifted Come on.
(37:33):
You know what I mean and for meI think that is powerful,
Because if I can just learn tomanage it, if I can pray and
praise my way through the burdenand the pressure of it, I can
still keep holding on until I amdelivered out of that thing.
(37:56):
You know what I mean.
We, we, we we've learned topraise God and, and when we do
it right, we can praise in a waywhere we shift I said this a
minute ago where we shift butwe're still in the prison.
Come on, and the way we saw itbefore praise is not how we see
(38:16):
it after praise.
We see it after praise.
Come on, my God.
So praise will in fact shift useven before we are delivered
out of the struggle.
Speaker 1 (38:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
And I think that is so powerful.
Sometimes we want so bad to beout of it that we can't
appreciate the tools we havethat shift us while we're still
in it.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Glory to.
God, that's so good, very wellvery well said my God, thank you
.
Well, because that goes back towhen Paul said though my
outward man perished my innerman is being renewed.
So when you're in that prisonyou go through an inner renewal
that gives you deliverance whileyou're in it.
So only thing that isimprisoned by that situation is
your body Exactly Nothing else.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
Nothing else that's powerful.
Speaker 1 (39:07):
That is so good.
Speaker 2 (39:08):
That is, that's that's transforming it is.
Speaker 1 (39:11):
That's life transforming it is.
What about David's distress?
And what do you say there inPsalms, psalms?
Speaker 2 (39:17):
22, one and two 2 it says my god, why have you
forsaken me?
Why are you so far from savingme, so far from my cries of
anguish?
My god, I cry out by day butyou do not answer.
By night, but I cannot.
But I find, wow, wow, this isKing David the warrior.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
The warrior, the man of the gods on heart, one of the
greatest kings in Hebrewhistory, the one we preach about
, one who slayed Goliath, onewho would go out and slay a
thousand Philistines and bringtheir foreskins and cast them
before Saul.
(40:03):
King Saul that David was goingthrough so much suffering, he
said God, why did you leave me?
That's permission, ladies andgentlemen, to be human, to be in
suffering and say God, whereyou at, where you at, man Daddy,
(40:23):
where are you?
I need you.
Why have you left me here?
It's OK.
What you're doing is you'reprocessing through your
suffering.
Just remember to hold fast toyour strength, like David did.
He said why is my soul castdown?
Why is my soul disquieted in me?
(40:45):
I will look to the Lord.
So you got to come back to thereality that I know God loves me
and he's going to see methrough.
But don't you come undercondemnation just because you
went through it.
Speaker 2 (40:57):
That's so good for somebody right now.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
So you need to know that God is with you in your
suffering.
So let's look at this.
So I was reading somestatistics, sweetheart, and I
called you sweetheart online.
I can't help it.
You're my sweetheart, it says.
Research indicates thatreligious coping can buffer
(41:20):
against the negative effects ofstress.
See so when you practice yourspiritual disciplines when you
talk about religious, we'regoing to talk about spiritual
when you let the fruit of thespirit manifest in you, when you
practice prayer and devotionand consecration and fasting and
(41:41):
worship and praise in yourstruggle.
Yeah, come on, it has a.
It has, it's a buffer.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
Against the negativity going on in your life
.
Speaker 2 (41:51):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (41:52):
Oh, that is so good.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
Absolutely.
I think you know the lastepisode.
We talked about prophecy and wetalked about confessing.
That is so powerful.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
Right, that's another one.
Speaker 2 (42:06):
You know we have to.
We have to be sure to professthe word of God over our life.
We have to be sure toconstantly, you know, speak
those things that be not asthough they already were, and
that is rehearsing the promisesof God.
Come on, that was for somebody.
Speaker 1 (42:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
You've got to get to the point where you rehearse the
promises of God, because aslong as I know that if I have a
promise from someone who isreliable and dependable and I am
constantly reminding orrehearsing that promise, I am
(42:48):
reminding myself to have hope inthat very thing that I was
promised.
It is so important during thestruggle that we learn how to
rehearse the promises of Godthat our hope can remain.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
That's powerful.
Speaker 2 (43:07):
That our hope can remain, because oftentimes and I
think you touched on it alreadywhen we are going through the
struggle one of the things ifwe're not careful, we can become
very disheartened and begin tofeel hopeless when we really
have an opportunity to behopeful.
Speaker 1 (43:27):
Can you get Psalms 39 and 7?
Oh my God and 119 and 147.
That scripture just hit me 39and 7?
Speaker 2 (43:40):
Yeah, 39 and 7 hit me , 39 and seven.
Speaker 1 (43:41):
Yeah, 39 and seven.
What is 39 and seven?
If you can read that please.
Speaker 2 (43:45):
But now, lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
Come on somebody.
Where do we?
Speaker 1 (43:52):
land our hope, ladies and gentlemen, because you
brought up hope and hope is sopowerful Psalm 119 and verse 147
.
Hope is expectation.
It is it's saying I'm goingthrough this suffering because I
know he loves me.
I expect God he doesn't have tobring me out.
I expect him to be with me inthe struggle, and if that means
(44:17):
him guiding me out of it, fine.
If that means him renewing mein it, fine.
But I do.
I have an expectation that Godis with me, absolutely, and I
have a hope that God is with me.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
Absolutely.
Okay, come on Psalm 119, 147.
It says I rise before dawn andcry for help.
I have put my hope in your word.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
Can you please ask our audience families and
friends where have they put myhope in your word?
Can you please ask our audiencefamilies and friends where have
they put their hope?
Speaker 2 (44:43):
Where have you placed your hope?
See, that's so important.
It is very important.
Come on, talk to us, Pastor itis very important where we place
our hope, because we have toplace our hope in a place where
our hope can be fulfilled, andthat is not in material things.
Our hope has to be in a place,in a place that can actually
(45:06):
build our hope.
Come on, that's it.
I love it, come on.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
He is the deliverer.
Speaker 2 (45:11):
He is, he is the deliverer, absolutely he is.
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1 (45:16):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
And I think you said it on the first episode, and I
think you said it on the firstepisode you talked about
Sometimes the struggle thatwe're in is because of of what
did you say, of what we, or didI say, that did, did or did not
do.
Speaker 1 (45:32):
I think you said that .
Speaker 2 (45:32):
OK, so sometimes, when we put our hope in places
that can't deliver hope.
There you go.
We find ourselves in a strugglethere you go.
Speaker 1 (45:41):
That's where I'm going.
With that, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (45:43):
Sometimes, when we place our hope in the wrong
things, the wrong places, webecome hopeless because they
were never meant to deliver.
Hope To be deliverers.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
God has to be our one and only deliverer, as he was
for the children of Israel.
For 400 years they were prayingfor deliverance, but they knew.
Even though it took 400 years,they kept praying to the same
God because their hope was inJehovah, oh my God and the God
of Abraham, isaac and Jacob.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
I was just going to say.
And another thing have to.
We have to be willing to behonest with ourselves when we
start feeling our hopediminished.
We have got to run to the onewho gives us hope, and that is
in the word of God.
I can recall one day I rememberI said to God.
(46:38):
I said I'm starting to feelhopeless.
Speaker 1 (46:40):
I don't like this.
Speaker 2 (46:42):
So we have to, we have to be willing, just like
just like David cried out indistress, just like um Paul went
, went to God about the thorn,we've got to be willing to be
honest about where we are.
This thing is troubling me, ormy hope is fading.
Help me, but I know I gotta goto your word to get the hope.
(47:05):
I know that, I know that youknow what I mean.
But we have to be willing toabout where we are, because
silence sometimes is a killer.
Keeping our mouths closedsometimes is the worst thing to
(47:25):
do, worst thing to do.
Sometimes it is necessary toopen up our mouths for one, to
cry out to God.
Come on.
Number two, to confess what webelieve God is going to do in
our lives, but also to be honestabout where we are.
When we try to hide from ourrealities, it gives the enemy
(47:49):
more power to suffocate us inthose things.
But when we are verbal to Godand say, god, here is my
struggle, god, here is mydilemma, god, here is what I'm
dealing with.
God, it gives power.
It gives power for God to beable to come in and speak to our
(48:10):
situation.
But when we quiet over in thecorner man, that enemy going to
start sending you all kinds ofthoughts, the wrong ones, to do
all kinds of things that youought not be doing.
But when we can be transparentbefore God and say here's what
I'm dealing with, this is whatI'm struggling with.
I'm starting to feel a little,you know, lost.
(48:31):
I feel a little confused.
Whatever it is, we gotta bewilling to be transparent with
God.
The Bible talks aboutconfessing your sins one to
another, but I'm talking aboutconfessing them to the Lord.
What about that part?
God?
Here I am, this is what'shappening, this is what I've
done, this is what I'm feeling.
(48:51):
I'm starting to get angry, andI'm angry too long, and I know
the word says don't be angrylong, or otherwise you're going
to sin.
I don't want to sin, but I feellike I'm right there on the
verge of doing something crazy.
Help me, teach me, guide me,lead me whatever it is, you know
what I?
mean.
Speaker 1 (49:13):
I think it's important that we do that.
Yeah, you really hit on what Iwas thinking about and how men,
when a man continues to gothrough suffering and problems
and issues, he can get bitterand angry.
And if he is not practicing adeep, intimate relationship with
God and allowing the process torenew him inwardly, to refine
(49:37):
him, he will come out of it abitter, angry man and he will
become an abuser rather than anembracer and someone who
promotes, protects and liftothers up.
He'll become the type of personthat is angry, bitter,
sarcastic, pessimistic, you knowit's sharp-tongued and even
(50:01):
abusive in a lot of ways andviolent.
So it's important, you know,for everybody.
But it is important, brothers,to hear me.
Well, you're going through onetest after the next.
Humble yourself under themighty hand of God and in due
season he will exalt you,because men are most frustrated
with failure.
We become most frustrated witha lack of success.
(50:23):
I'm not the financial providerI want to be.
I'm not the brave man I want tobe.
I'm not the success story.
I want my family to see me asI'm not the presence that I want
at home and at work.
It's not there.
I don't have the job I want.
I'm not getting paid what Iwant, I'm not getting treated
(50:45):
like I want.
Here I feel the Holy Ghost.
Do not let yourself go bitter.
Humble yourself under themighty hand of God and in due
season he will exalt you when hesees that your inner man has
grown through the process.
So your hour of that parish.
(51:05):
Your inner man is renewed dayby day.
This takes me to Romans, chapterfive, and this could be our
last passage of scripture.
We can, we can.
We can wrap this up.
I think we've really hit onsome really key things about
suffering.
When the suffering just gotreal again.
One thing, most critically, isbe renewed through it, not
(51:26):
ruined through it.
Be renewed through it, notruined by it.
Let it renew you and refine you, not ruin you.
And refine you, not ruin you,and define you.
Come on, somebody Throw in alittle preaching up in there.
Romans, chapter 5.
Oh, you smile so pretty.
(51:46):
Thank you, romans, chapter 5.
Therefore, having beenjustified by faith, Verse 3?
.
Romans 5, verse 1.
I'm sorry, verse 5.
Therefore, having beenjustified by faith, how am I
justified?
Justified means you'reacquitted as if I didn't do it
my faith.
So God's not trying to punishme.
(52:09):
My sins are not before God.
My righteousness is.
God's not cursed me, god's notmad at me.
My righteousness, therighteousness of Christ, is
before me when God looks at me.
So now we have peace with God.
There it is Through our LordJesus Christ.
Watch this.
Through whom also we haveaccess?
(52:29):
Somebody you need to know.
You've got access by faith.
There it is An expectation,that hope into this grace in
which we stand.
Hallelujah, I'm standing ingrace, oh my God, okay, and
rejoice in the hope of the glory.
It's so much packed in thatthat I don't have time to break
(52:50):
it down.
He says this and not only that,as if you needed any more than
that.
If I got his grace, if I'vebeen justified, if his glory is
with me, if I'm in the glory ofChrist, if my faith is bringing
me into this grace, what else doI need?
But, he says and not only thatverse three, but we also, here
it is we glory in ourtribulations.
(53:13):
Glory means that we praise,that we honor God, that we exalt
God in our tribulations.
Glory means that we praise thatwe honor God, that we exalt God
in our tribulations.
Why, knowing that tribulationproduces perseverance, trouble
molds me to better processthrough new trouble.
Speaker 2 (53:36):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (53:38):
And so once I get up, once I become the pattern of
perseverance, now I can gothrough anything.
See, once you're molded into apattern, nothing can come and
unmold and unshape you.
A quarter is a quarter, a pennyis a penny, it's molded into
the pattern.
See, once I go throughsuccessfully, go through my
(54:01):
tests, I can go through the sametest over and over and over
again and not be moved.
Oh my God, I'm trying to helpsomebody.
So, since God knows trouble isalways headed our way, he says
I'm going to allow these sets ofsuffering so that they can
prepare you for the rest of thistrouble that you're going to
see through your lifetime andyou'll be whole and, in time,
(54:22):
wanting nothing Because you'llhave perseverance.
Watch this.
He says I have perseverancebecause I have some perseverance
about me, the ability to gothrough something.
Now I have character For mypeace, I can keep my temperament
, I can keep right, I can havebravery, all right.
(54:43):
Character, then, gives me hope.
Right, because once I'm calmand I'm content and I'm stable
and I'm balanced and I'm stillin my righteousness, all right,
the only thing on my mind isokay, I'm believing in my God.
So I have hope.
(55:04):
Watch this Now, hope does notdisappoint.
Come on somebody, because thelove of God has been poured out
in our hearts.
By who?
Here we go back to thatrelationship with the Holy
Spirit, by the Holy Spirit whowas what Given to us.
Speaker 2 (55:14):
Amen.
Speaker 1 (55:15):
Come on, gift.
I have hope in God in mysuffering, because he poured out
his love on me.
I know he loves me.
The knowledge of his love iskeeping me through some of the
worst times of my life,absolutely.
Come on, somebody.
(55:36):
The struggle may have gottenreal again, but this time you're
coming out better than you wentin.
Amen, oh my God.
Speaker 2 (55:47):
Amen.
Can I tell you something?
When we allow the struggle todo what God wants, the struggle
to do, we come out so muchbetter than we.
The struggle to do Come on.
We come out so much better thanwe ever thought we would.
Come on, but we have to bewilling to.
It goes back to trusting God.
We talked about that part one.
It goes back to trusting God.
I have to trust him, even in mystruggle.
(56:10):
I have to trust him.
Right, I have to trust him,trust him.
I have to trust him becausewhen I trust him then I can say
no matter how this feels orlooks, I know beyond a shadow of
a doubt that I come out of thisbetter than I was in.
Speaker 1 (56:30):
That's a moment Did you feel that God said that's it
, leave it right there.
I want you to take this momentto practice trusting God.
Set your heart on him, set yourmind on him, set your focus on
(56:51):
him, set your love towards him.
Gaze your eyes upon him, andright now in this moment, your
trust is growing.
The struggle is real again, butso is your help.
So is your grace.
Lord, thank you for this timethat we've had.
(57:11):
In Jesus name, amen.
Please don't forget, go andsupport Daily Bread Podcast.
Become a monthly subscriber.
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(57:32):
Covenantgracechurchorg, you cango and give monthly.
It'll go to this.
You can put it in the memo tothe podcast or you can go to
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It should get you there.
God bless you.
We'll talk to you next time andsee you next time on Daily
Bread Podcast with Dr Jarrelland Angela.
Stone.
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Introducing… Aubrey O’Day Diddy’s former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey O’Day joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey O’Day, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
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