While...
by Raymond Sloan
August 29, 2022 · Cornerstone Apostolic Church
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Genesis 22, Genesis 22:13, Hebrews 13:5, Psalm 37:1-8

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/raymond-sloan--while-pastor-sloan-8-28-2022
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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pray with me church lord we love you and we thank you for another day thank you lord for the opportunity to gather in the room today in the sanctuary of the lord in the presence of almighty god thank you for the opportunity today lord we call upon you right now one more time we speak the name jesus believing you lord for great things i make myself available to you jesus one more time in your name great god let the spirit of the lord flow in this house we have sung the songs of zion we have prayed we have worshiped and lifted our voices and our hands to you right now lord we ask you to let the word speak to our hearts today that the name of jesus be exalted in all things we'll love you for it we'll bless you for it in jesus name in jesus name come on church would you give the lord some praise right now all together come on one voice lifted to heaven we love you jesus we magnify you hallelujah to the lamb of god hallelujah hallelujah thank you singers and musicians ensemble thank you to all of our teachers our staff the water setter outers the car parker honors the keeping people safers and all of that thank you all everybody who's involved i thank you and i love you i'm so glad that you're part of cornerstone amen somebody shout glad to be in church also let me say as well from this pulpit i thank all of you for this past week a lot of busy things monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday we're back today if you were not here on thursday night you missed a great session district-wide network it was a lot of fun to be here for those of you who were here was real cool to be a part of it so keep in mind if you've not registered for that i admonish you it's a disciple-making session every tuesday night september october from the district there will be sessions taught need information about it and see brother sam he's helped with that brother dylan myself we'll try to get you pointed on and where to sign up for that i honor all of you for being here today thank you so much for coming to church you look really good while you're here well most of us do i welcome back our college kids we're glad y'all are back yeah yeah study hard and act like you're somebody that's right that's the advice you get right you can be seated today if you feel like you need to thank you brother herb thank you so much how many how many have ever noticed that there are some things in life that simply take forever to happen anybody i mean it just seems like it takes forever the ripe young age of 13 you're like lord will i ever get a driver's license and then once you get a driver's license you pray harder lord will i ever get a car to drive with my driver's license and then you start into college will i ever get through this and then the the age-old statement lord just let me get married someday and have children and a white picket fence and whatever else your dream is i want to give you an example some things that take time there's a plant called the puja raimondi plant it only grows in the andes mountains maybe you've heard of it i'd never until i did some research this particular plant can grow to a height of 50 feet or more but it takes 80 years for the plant to reach its maturity 80 years listen to this once the plant comes to maturity at 80 years there are approximately 20 000 flowers that bloom on this plant go online look it up it's a gorgeous plant beautiful plant it's very odd looking but it's beautiful 20 000 flowers blooms will grow on this one plant and the blooms will last for approximately three months at its peak after 80 years of growth three months it is covered with flowers it is known as the queen of the andes that's what it's known as as a plant after it blooms though after they have peaked and after 80 years give or take to mature and all the 20 000 flowers that show up on it the plant dies 80 years to reach its peak and then once the flowers show up one time they claim it dies it'll never produce again it'll shrivel up and any seeds that were left from the growth of that one plant begins the process again takes a long time a slow process to get there to its fullness but then it quickly fades away talking about a lifespan i know one day i'll have flowers i'll have flowers i'll have flowers done how many want to be a plant like that on the other hand now y'all stay with me for those of you who are of the new generation on the other hand there is a a species of plant called a bamboo now there's a whole bunch of different types of bamboo but a lot of the bamboo plants this was intriguing to me can grow at the rate of one and a half inches an hour 36 inches in a 24-hour period that this bamboo can grow now not all of them do but the big ones and they're like way younger that way high that big around some of them very hardy very robust plant but the truth about bamboo is what if you ever see it planted you'll never get rid of it it just keeps coming and keeps growing you can mow it man i had it in my yard in uruguay i'd mow it and within a day or two i've got these stalks sticking up and where did you i just mowed you and then the next week i'm back over it again spray all the stuff on it you want to it simply laughs at you two different examples one took 80 years to grow and then it grew and died one can grow like this and you can't hardly get rid of it i gave you these two examples of growth today to simply give you an idea of the difference of how some things mature and grow some take a long time some things are very quick and they're over and they're very very quick and they're over there very quick and they're over much like a group of us sitting in this room today if i were to ask you each one of you right now about what has happened in your life how long you have been in the present position that you are some of you would say you know what man i came up i knew what i wanted i began to connect and i started forward and maturity came and things happen some of you sitting here today are well up in age but maturity is still not there i'm just saying some of you you're wondering if your kids will ever mature and grow up they're all we're all at different positions and stages in our lives if i were to ask two of you to stand up here today for an example and i would ask you to lift a thousand pounds there are a few of you in here that could do it but there's a whole bunch of us that would say not even going to try because we're smarter than that somebody say amen depends on your level of life and how you have grown and matured and how you have lived every one of us approach life in a different way we all get to a certain point a different way there are some of you in this room that you look to life as a great adventure oh i want to jump out there and give it everything i can you're the one that looks at it as an adventure you're sucking every bit of life all excitement and things from every single moment you simply want to be living a life to its fullest and there are some who are taking the gentler side you're you're thinking about it but you really don't want to ripple the water because it makes it a little uncomfortable therefore you're in the jazz kind of mode somebody say amen thank you each one of us are made different we have different influences we have different very distinct lessons in life that we have learned it makes us unique i'm thankful for the uniqueness of every single one of us look at your neighbors say you're different than me and i'm glad you have a different perspective you have a different purpose maybe in life you look at things but every one of us have been made the same way in god's image amen look at your neighbor and say you're special and god made you my point in this simple example is simply this i talk to you about the plant life and how that some run and some are very slow it's a simple demonstration that there are different places of life where you and i can grow and you and i can understand things depending on who we are wrapped around and who we wrap ourselves around many of you for an example you have known the power of the name of jesus christ for a short time some of you though have matured to a place where every other breath you take you realize you can speak the name jesus and he'll move in your situation it's called a level of life in the spirit others of you have walked in the spirit of god and you understand the power of the holy ghost some though in the lessons that you're learning you're trying your best to get through it and you're falling flat of your face you're learning you're growing you're jumping up you're moving forward you are maturing but yet it's a question of can i live mature and do life like everybody else i want to ask you a question today in the sanctuary can god do anything if you believe that would you wave a hand to me like you're awake today come on you believe that god can do anything now depending on how you answered that question you might be looking back at the times of your in your life when you saw the hand of god come in and move in a certain situation you may have actually witnessed the miraculous hand of god that you knew only god could do in your life some of you therefore with a response that you are not ashamed of but you will quickly and definitely say yes god can do anything because you have experienced it therefore your response is i believe in god but what about the times hear the preacher today what about those in the times that you had a situation come up in your life and you ask god to do a certain or a particular thing and you wanted to and you prayed it and you thought it and you believed it with all of your heart god heal a family member god take care of the situation only to discover that shortly after your prayer heartfelt prayer that god would not heal them but instead they would pass away or that one that that pray god i know you can help me pay my bills only when the electricity was turned off or things that happened in your life you scratched your head and said i thought god could do anything and the questions that rise in your mind there's a million examples that i could give to you i have prayed prayers i believe them only to find out that it did not happen it did not unfold the way my mind was looking at it the way my heart was believing it and i don't mind telling anybody today that well listen i have stood on the rock and i have shaken but the rock has never shaken under the feet of which i was standing there are issues that come your way there are things that you look for when it comes to life's problems and something that happens is happening in your life and you're trying to figure it out you might look to a situation right now and you might say did you notice the smallest detail of the wind that blew so powerful in the storm last night somebody else may be in that same storm and look at it and say the wind was so strong i just knew that i was going to die therefore i just closed my eyes same position same storm but a different outlook on the storm hear what i'm saying as men and women we are alive today and we are living our lives according the way that we see it as christians you and i have helped today jesus christ he gives us a different perspective as we allow the power of the holy one to work in our lives we allow the principles of the word of god to work in our lives we can adjust the way that we see things and we can decide you know what i will let god be god in my life and i will discover the good things of god as he shows them to me hold on to me somebody we're headed somewhere today let me give you an example in the book of genesis chapter 22 there's a powerful demonstration of exactly how god works abraham was a man that was chosen of god and he was told after the miraculous birth of his son isaac i want you to take your son your only son and take him to a mountain and crucify him kill him on a rock strange desperate situation for abraham isaac was the promise that god had given him and now the great god of glory that spoke the promise to him that was there when isaac was born has spoken again with the same voice to abraham and told him take your son and take him to a place and offer him there is a sacrifice notice the response of abraham lord i will do as you have commanded me to do go through the story in genesis chapter 22 and you'll discover that abraham got up he did all that he did took his son with him took the fire the knife and the wood and took off walking three days journey the bible says and he lifted his eyes and he says you guys wait right here me and my boy are going to the mountain to worship we'll be back in just a little while all the questions that his son had brother daniel they were logical questions that any father needs to answer all the things that was going through young isaac's mind at this point there were logical concerns that he had but i want somebody to hear the preacher today in the book of genesis chapter 22 verse number 13 the bible says this and abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns and abraham went took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son and abraham called the name of that place jehovah jireh as it is said to this day in the mount of the lord it shall be seen abraham following the voice of god i've got to tell somebody today that as abraham and isaac were walking up the mountain preparing for a sacrifice that would literally stop the bloodline of abraham in its tracks i believe beyond the shadow of a doubt that what abraham was doing was following god's voice listening through his mature ability to listen to decide i will do what god wants me to do but i've come to tell somebody killing his son on that altar would have ended all of the future in the mind of abraham but i've got to tell someone today that while abraham and isaac were walking up the side of a mountain there was a ram coming up another side of the mountain and hey abraham did not realize what the god of all creation was doing but it was in the middle can i tell you of the wild it was in the middle of the wild that while abraham was ascending the mountain that god was sending a ram around the mountain to become the sacrifice in the process of the happening in the midst of the miracle in the midst of the issue in the midst of all of what's going on i've come today under the unction of the holy ghost to tell somebody it doesn't matter where you are today it doesn't matter what battle you're fighting while you're in the midst of the battle there's a god that is still working for your benefit there is still a god working while you're in the middle of your trial while you're in the middle of the discouragement while your health is falling apart there's a god still working when daniel was praying in his window like he had done so many times god was preparing while he was praying god was speaking to lions while the church was praying while they were believing peter was walking out of a prison while the disciples were hiding jesus was altering the grip of death and hell you and i today i realize that right now you might be in the fight of your life right now the battle may be raging in your life you have no idea what's about to happen the problems the hurts the heartaches the pain and the issues while you are struggling right now while you're in the midst of it right now god is working even when you don't see it he's working even when you don't understand it he is working i've come to this podium today with a word for somebody we serve the god of the wild while you're in the middle of whatever you're going through god is still moving mountains god is still making a way god is still putting the pieces together the situation you live in might be severe and you may feel like you've fallen into the vat of hopelessness it might be that the very life that's in you is being sucked out of you right now you might be weary you might be confused but i stand here today to remind somebody the book of hebrews 13 5 let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have for he has said i'll never leave you nor forsake you i've come to let somebody know today that the great god of all creation is still god in the midst of your wild i'm going through this but while i'm struggling god is preparing something i'm going through this heartache but while i'm marching through it god is making a way i'm going through this heartbreak but while i'm moving god is making a way i don't know how it's going to turn out i don't know how it's going to unfold but i know that while i'm in it god is still working god is still working it's very easy for us to get into the midst of discouragement and fail your fault and problems and simply give up god must not be hearing me i know that there's several in here today listening to me right now you've made some of the dumbest mistakes that anybody could make and you wonder why did i do that clearly proving that you have issues clearly proving to all around you that you're messed up person but for some odd reason in the midst of all of your foolishness pride and arrogance and the things that have separated you from others while in the middle of all of that god has been working picture with me if you will the infamous prodigal son give me what's mine you got it take it and spend it it's gone but in the midst of all of that while he was in the pigpen god was drawing him out i can give you a million more examples in the word of the lord of how that in the midst of all the trials the struggle and the pain and the sorrow in the midst of it while they were going through it god was moving things i have repeated and i have said multiple times from this podium and as others that i sometimes wonder why things happen in our lives and why the struggle and why the pain why can't it be that we simply believe god for great things and then watch the miraculous unfold i'm here to declare to you that we all have a choice to make we all have a decision that we need to make you know we give the devil a lot of credit for things don't we we do the fact is if the devil could have killed you he would have already it'd be over and done look at your neighbor and say that's a fact right there but in the midst of everything and all the stuff and all the garbage and all the junk that you pile upon yourself or that your life brings you you need to understand something while you're in that midst god is moving and working we have quoted we have misquoted we have used and we have misused the scripture that said he's working things for my good the fact of the matter is is you don't even know what's for your good some of us would desire the good thing to be a million dollar check in our hand right now huh come on some of y'all like yeah a lot of money yeah i take that million right million dollar check right there in your hand man you could right now sitting there looking at it brother rob you could declare a whole stack of things that could happen with that million dollars right and then you make the awful mistake of going to the bank to cash it and they simply look at you and say this check's no good all the dreams that you just had all the false things you just painted what happens am i right huh some of you can wish that you'd be the smartest person on your job or that you're the greatest athlete that's ever lived i've come to tell you michael jordan anybody remember him he came on the scene with one thing coming out of his mouth he said i know that while i'm here i will play and i will be the best but i know there's someone coming after me lebron said it a million times he might be making the most and one of the best ballplayers but he already knows every day when he gets out of bed and his knees are sore this can't last forever i found out this week that we have a retired quarterback that is now signed with another team after being the i'm not going to name his name after being a successful quarterback you know what's going to happen right i wish him well but i can see it now it's be like me getting out there on the field her own guy's looking at me and i come out we're going to have to break your cement here commercial yeah y'all gone come on oh so you know be like us getting out there trying to learn how to live within the limits that's how we do things right you ever wonder what daniel prayed while in the lion's den did daniel practice his prayers in the lion's den daniel practiced in the window do you think the three hebrew boys simply learned how to skip and jump in a fire no they had already established i trust god if i die here it's going to be at god's hand it's not going to be at your hand you understand i'm saying i mentioned a while ago peter's standing that door saying come on guys let me in come on we know the story little road to bless her heart pulls back though oh he's out there he's here guys and what'd the church say oh it's his spirit he's already been killed that done had him dead killed off and walked away and he's standing there pounding you understand i'm saying if it was up to us we already know our limitations and we already realized we would destroy him but while we are in the midst of whatever struggle we are in that's the time to look to him because he's working he's working anybody here ever been fired from a job and you thought all things ended but while that happened god began to open doors for another some of you have jobs i say this all the time you don't deserve it was god that was opening doors and moving things some of you have families you don't deserve it was god the whole while that was moving and come on there's things that's happened in your life and while it could have destroyed you and made you bitter and weak god was moving into the miraculous for you brother heard would you come please the psalmist says it this way and i need to remind us of this please listen carefully psalm 37 says this fret not thyself because of evildoers neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity for they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb trust in the lord and do good so shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed delight thyself also in the lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart commit thy way unto the lord trust also in him and he shall bring it to pass he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noon day rest the lord wait patiently for him fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass the psalm is very gently simply says delight yourself in him lord i'm fighting a battle in my mind i'm fighting a battle in my spirit but while i'm fighting this you're working things out lord i don't understand completely everything but i would delight myself in you because while i'm in the midst of this struggle you're working things out in our little minds we have a hard time sometimes believing really believing that god is all things in all places at all time and so even if you don't know how god can work in your problem and he can be working for beyond your problem the struggle that you're in right now you may not realize it but just a short time ago you were in a different place and god has still with you in bringing you through it god can do that while there is pain and while there is struggle some things take a long time to come to fruition some things come very quickly but all the while friend i want you to know god is working in your while the hard part is for us to trust him in the wild to honestly trust him while we struggle if you could fix your problem i have no doubt you would what would that do to god's plan for your life how would it affect the way that you're growing and maturing in him the best thing that you and i can do is decide now lord while i'm hurting while i'm in pain while i'm struggling while i'm pushing while i'm moving forward in that while you're god and you're still holding me you've not left me but you have a plan for my future stand with me right now all over this room lift your hands to heaven begin to call on the name of the lord come on don't be fretful because of evildoers don't be envious of the workers of iniquity they'll be cut down like grass but trust in the lord and do good yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah trust in the lord in the wild that you're in in the in the in the duration of your problem in your circumstance you've got to believe god is working and even when you can't see it he's working and even when you don't know it he's working while you are hurting he is working while you are struggling he is working while you are in your pain and sorrow he is working he is the god of the wild come on lift your voice to him lord i i'm sorry if i'm doubting you or walking away from you lord i i choose to run back to you today you've never never let me down you've never walked away from me you've always been god i won't worry about things lord i'll trust you with it oh come on there's some in this place today you've tried to pick up your problem one more time and deal with it yourself i'm asking you that while you're in this position why don't you let god do it come on god's the god of the wild come on god you know why i'm here you know what's going on i invite you to an altar this afternoon that's right i i invite you to an altar right now come on pray lord one more time i invest prayer in you one more time lord i commit my faith to you once again jesus i'm calling on your name for i believe your name is more powerful is greater i believe in that and i know lord that you're working things out i choose to trust you while i'm in the midst of what i'm in i love you come on somebody come on reconnect with him recommit to him jesus i know you can do anything i believe you're the god that can accomplish all things oh that's right come on church call on the name of the lord while i hurt your god while i struggle your god while i don't understand it you're still god i don't feel oh that's right come on god i'm gonna honor you god i'm gonna love you god i'm gonna wrap my arms around you even when jesus i'm gonna run to you oh god you're doing great things lord even if i can't see it even if i can't understand it although lord i'm not sure where or why or how god i'm i'm still gonna run to you come on are there worshipers in the house today in spite of your problem perhaps because of your problem you'll lift your voice you'll lift your arms your hands you'll lift praise unto him you are the god of the wise oh come on that's right run to jesus i know you know where i am oh come on that's right come on cry out to him right now great god my god my god while i hurt i trust while i struggle i trust oh come on that's right believe in him and that is believe in his word yes come on release your pain right now release the question in the heart right now i don't feel him oh god while i'm struggling i don't okay my god is who you are glory is way glory's gonna come to you that's right that's right come on don't fret don't fret get a hold of somebody close to you pray with them god straight to my brother now lord strengthen my sister god i pray encourage them in the holy ghost breathe words of encouragement into their spirit today god let them know god that you are still god you're still working the miraculous you can still do great things you'll never stop being god if you need the holy ghost he's here today jesus jesus i need answers but i will trust you even in the silence because while i don't know god you know and while i hurt you are taken care of that's right come on the healers in the house today the healers in the house today the waymakers here today the savior is in this room right now i we love you jesus i believe it we honor you today you said it oh that's right come on pray come on believe come on believe me while i don't know god i know it is so it is done you said it so i believe it yeah so it is oh come on the spirit of the lord is healing somebody now the spirit of the lord is breathing into someone's life right now breathing into somebody's spirit right now him glorify you jesus there's a there's an old-timey song we call them the classics woke up this morning singing this song and didn't know why and then i figured out why it's old school style brother dan you probably heard it glory glory glory somebody touched me glory anybody heard that one ah that's good brother i wouldn't there's another part of that says while i was praying while i was praying wow while i was praying somebody touched me while i was praying something touched me while i was praying somebody touched me oh it had to be the hand of the lord it must have been the hand of the lord glory glory hallelujah oh yes somebody touched me i believe it was the hand of the lord come on somebody in the midst of your while why don't you pray right now let him touch your life let him touch your heart oh come on while you pray let the anointing of the lord move in your life yes come on while you worship let healing happen in your body come on while you pray let the glory of god almighty breathe into your situation while i was praying somebody touched me it had to be the hand of the lord yes oh that's right come on receive it today glory glory glory somebody touched me i am different right now yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah oh yes i wish you'd grab somebody pray with them right now the spirit of the lord is touching you the glory of the lord is moving in your life the power of the holy ghost is doing something in your spirit right now come on confirm it encourage someone close to you god is working god is moving god is doing a job he is working he is doing it he is healing he is restoring he is delivering he is making whole while i was praying somebody touched me oh that's right it had to be the hand of the lord must have been the hand of the lord yeah yeah yeah yeah oh i wish i had somebody would believe in the power of a risen savior i believe you jesus i believe you today jesus oh come on somebody's walking in victory right now somebody's on the other side of the wild and you can see the hand of the lord moving oh that's right healing comes restoration comes there is victory today in the house of the lord there is victory in the house of the lord today in the name of jesus be glorified holy one be glorified jesus be glorified jesus he is the god of the wild and he's working in your life even right now god is doing great things in your family you just got to trust him for it i need to pray for somebody right now jesus i call on your name because there is no other name that can deliver and make free i plead the blood of jesus right now over this church over this church family i rebuke the enemy devil get your hands off the church you have no power here we are children of the most high god we are blood bought by the blood of jesus christ you have no home devil the keys have been taken from you but right now in the name of jesus i rebuke you to leave us alone go bother somebody else in the name of jesus i lose peace in this place right now i lose peace in this room right now i loose it in the name of jesus i lose joy in this room right now i lose the joy of the holy ghost in this room right now we bind up unbelief and cast it aside in the name of jesus in the name of jesus god almighty anoint every heart and every mind in this place and even if we can't see it god we will believe you for it we'll trust you god and while we go through it lord you're gonna move us into everlasting blessings and joy come on somebody turn loose to the pain and the sorrow and let the lord god help you through it yes jesus hallelujah to the name of jesus i glorify you the god of the wild while you're through it god is moving i'm so glad that you came to church today smile at me will you real big oh come on make it a big smile share that with somebody close to you just let them know what it looks like to be happy huh yeah if you're online today watching glad you came pray with me lord i thank you for another sunday together another sunday in the sanctuary to bless and praise your name thank you lord for my church family you know god what they mean to me i pray lord that your word your promises your power lord will unfold and demonstrate itself in every life dear god i pray for that let there be joy in the house of the lord contentment lord believing you for great things keep us this week lord go with us god help us lord our testimony and our witness god let us reach to others and share this wonderful wonderful good news good news of jesus plead your blood lord bring us back the appointed time god give us guidance and direction and everything we'll love you for it in jesus name somebody shout hey