Refuel Throwback: "A Biopsy of Our Burdens" Pastor Reginald W. Sharpe Jr. Wed. October 12, 2022

1:57 Psalm 34 verse 19. If you find that in whatever version you have, as long as it says Bible, you're in good shape. I'll be reading out of the King James Version first and then I'll tiptoe around in the Message Bible a little bit before the sermon is completed. If you're able to stand with me, stand in body or stand in spirit as we honor and reverence God's word today. Tell somebody beside you, tell them I'm ready to eat. The 34th Psalm, the 34th Psalm, verse 19 reads like this. many are the afflictions of the righteous thank you you may be seated many are the afflictions of the righteous somebody can say i know that's right many many many many many are the afflictions of the righteous i want to talk today from this thought very simply a biopsy of our burdens. A biopsy on our burdens. A biopsy on our burdens.

3:08 You know, I was reflecting with over the over the year as we came to the first Sunday of the 11th month of this year and if you would allow me to use the linguistics from hip-hop culture, it's been a hell of a year for me. I know some of you that's just too harsh and it just pierces your ears to hear me say that. Well, that's your problem because I'm testifying. It has been a hell of a year for me. I thought 2020 threw some stuff, but literally from the opening, from the commencement of January of this year, it's just been a heavy year. The same day that those rioters stormed the Capitol was the same day that we found out something was going wrong with my grandma. It was the same day she was admitted into the hospital. So literally, personally and politically, my world's crashed on January 6th. And it didn't stop there.

4:05 It just kept on happening. Just stuff kept on. While my grandmother was in the hospital healing from COVID-19. And it got so bad, y'all. It got so bad. I started writing her eulogy. It got so bad. It got so dismal. It became so discouraging that I called the cemetery where her other sisters were buried just to see if there was a spot for her near her sisters. It was the funeral director at the cemetery who then asked me, well, when did your grandmother pass? I said, she hasn't. He said, well, brother, quite frankly, we need to wait on this conversation. He said, as long as she's alive, there's still hope. You know it's something when a funeral director has to check your faith. it's just been a year. So my auntie, while my grandmother was healing, she went missing for three days. They had to bus into her house.

4:58 They had to check on her. And we found her. She was incapacitated. She had to go through rehabilitation. I've lost an uncle. I've lost two aunts. I've lost a cousin. All of this has been... And I just started reflecting on, God, why have you allowed this year to be like it has been? Why does it feel like this year has been absolutely agonizing and heavy? I think about families like the Martin Patterson family who we just buried, Miss Emma Patricia Ann Patterson on Friday. That family has dealt with death after death. I look around at some of our families in our church and people have just been hit with tragedy after tragedy. In less than one month, we've buried babies beneath the age of three years old. We've had to see two caskets, one with a three-year-old, one with a five-month-old. And I've just wondered personally, God, can you just speak to my soul?

5:58 Maybe nobody else is tired. Maybe nobody else is weary. Maybe nobody else is going through it. Maybe nobody else has grieved this year. But God, can you and have you ever in your own private moment with God, ask God to speak to you? I asked God to speak to me recently and God led me to this verse. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. And I call this sermon a biopsy on our burdens because literally when it comes to a biopsy, it is the removal of tissue from any part of the body with the purpose of a closer examination. whenever you have a biopsy you you take a sample piece of tissue that is taken from the body in order to examine it more closely and i wanted god to help me have a biopsy on our burdens a biopsy on the load some of us have been carrying a biopsy on the weight we've been under the heaviness we've been feeling the worries that we've navigated and the weariness that's been on our soul today you don't know it but this is not a sanctuary this is a surgical room there's a biopsy going on we're getting ready to probe through some pain and examine some exhaustion and do some inquiries on our injuries and make some observations on our obstacles and have some perusals on of our perplexities and have some analysis on our adversities and some surgery on our struggles and some diagnostic examinations on our dilemmas because I wanted God to help me look a little bit closer into all of the pain and the anguish and the hurts and the grief and the losses and the loads and the weights that we've been carrying.

7:44 And nobody is better prepared to help us have a biopsy on our burdens than my homeboy David. David is the author of this psalm. And David is qualified and credentialed to talk about burdens and afflictions because from the time he was a young man, he knew all about the heaviness of life. He knew all about the fact that many are the afflictions of the righteous. The first thing we learn as we tiptoe through this text is that we learn about our trouble. Somebody say our trouble. Yeah, say it a little bit louder, our trouble. The text says many are the afflictions of the righteous. Don't run over that many. He places an adjective in front of these afflictions. He doesn't just say a few. He says many. He doesn't just say every now and then. He says many. He didn't say a couple of afflictions. He says many.

8:38 David knew all about many afflictions because he had to fight lions as a young shepherd boy. He knew about many. He had to fight bears as a young shepherd boy. He knew about many. He had to fight a nine-foot giant from Gath called Goliath. He knew about many. He knew about dealing with insecure leaders who will try to kill you simply because God's favor is on your life. He knew about many. He knew about ducking and dodging the javelins and the spears of King Saul. He knew about many. He knew about being betrayed by your own son who's trying to usurp your authority and your position as king so they could be king. Next, he knew about many. Ain't no hurt like hurt from somebody who's been close to you. He knew about many and he says many are the afflictions and there are about a hundred of y'all and I make a hundred and one who can testify. David wasn't lying. Oh, it's many, many struggles, scars and scuffles.

9:33 Many mountains, midnights and misunderstandings. Many liars, limits and labels. Many racist, ratchet people and recklessness. Many devastations, decisions and dilemmas. Many tears, trials and tempestuous storms. storms. Many addicted, afflicted, and some can't get acquitted. Many funerals, frustrations, and failures. Many lonely, languished, and lacking. Many who are underneath pressure right now. The person beside you looks like they got it together, but oh, if you were to sit down and have some coffee with them next week, they could tell you a little something, something about many, many headaches, many sleepless nights, many co-workers who can't stand them, many people who they thought were faithful but they were fickle. Many times I went to praise God but didn't have the energy to praise because I had the weight of worry on my mind. Can I holler at somebody who knows a little something something about trouble? I don't like folk who fake it till they make it. I like folk who've learned how to faith it till they make it because when you are honest about it you can look around and testify Yes, I'm saved, but I know something about many afflictions.

10:48 Somebody say, that's our trouble. But the biopsy is not over because if you go a little bit deeper, you'll find some tension. Yeah, one layer is our trouble, but the next layer is our tension. What do you mean, preacher? The text says many are the afflictions of the righteous. Now wait a minute. I thought if I was righteous. I thought if I treated people right, they'd treat me right. I thought if I paid my tithes, God was, y'all say he gonna open up a window while I'm waiting on the window.

11:31 I thought if I did people right, treated people right, was a good person, and I'm righteous, then I should be rewarded with blessings. But the taxing. many are the afflictions not of the unrighteous but of the righteous have you ever sat with that tension how you've been faithful and you've still been frustrated have you ever sat with the tension of the fact that you really do believe God with all your mind body and soul and yet your family had to bury somebody who was actually good to everybody? Have you ever sat and watched good people die and you wondered personally? Now God, if you're looking for a list, Just holler at me before you pick the good ones and the righteous ones.

12:32 I got a list for you, Lord, but have you ever wondered? There's a book I learned about years ago called Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? that's the tension and I got stuck here while I was reading because I had to ask God why would you allow that the righteous be afflicted the righteous be overwhelmed the righteous to go through pressure the righteous to lose their children the righteous to have to bury family member after family member why would you allow the righteous and whenever in your humanity you've got the audacity to talk to divinity you better be ready for an answer and God spoke back to me y'all and I want to just give you quickly some of the things that God told me and I'm going to keep on moving but this is a biopsy and since I had the faith to ask God said I got the courage to answer he said do you want to know why many of the afflictions are the righteous he said number one he said the first reason why we go through all of this number one is because you are being purified the bible says in first peter chapter one verse six through seven i need you to listen to me it reads like this out the message bible i know how great this makes you feel even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine when jesus wraps this all up it's your faith not your gold that god will have on display as evidence of his victory one reason we go through who are righteous is because our faith is just like gold and if you want gold to be refined you don't refine it out of the fire it's refined in the fire so you have to turn up the heat on it so the impurities will be burned away so that any dirt or debris would

14:40 burn away so that you can have the luminosity and the shine and the glow and the glisten on you that God wants to have on you because God wants to make you his display case. He wants people to look at you and see his grace on you but in order for us to represent the glory of God we've got to go through seasons where we're purified by the fire.

15:10 And so sometimes you're not in the heat because you're in trouble. You're in the heat because you're in transition. Preach sharp, I'm trying. Sometimes you're in a hot place because God is trying to make you something you've never been, trying to do something with you he's never done, trying to take you somewhere you've never gone. And I don't know who I'm preaching to today, but somebody ought to lift your hands on the virtual ship or on the ship and say, Lord, keep purifying me. Another reason why we go through is because we're being pruned. Somebody say pruned. John 15 verse 1 and 3 says, I am the real vine and my father is the former. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes and every branch that is great bearing. He prunes back. so it will bear even more you already pruned back you are already pruned back by the message i have spoken literally here jesus is teaching his disciples that there are two times that god will cut he will cut number one to correct fruitlessness or he'll cut number two to create fruitfulness.

16:27 why am I hurting so bad it might be because God's been checking your limbs for some fruit and sometimes God will cut us off and sometimes God will cut us back when we get cut off it's because it's fruitlessness but when we get cut back it's because he wants some more fruitfulness You know the Bible doesn't tell us why God does a lot that God does But this week get another biopsy right here in John chapter 15 Because literally here we understand why we've been cut sometimes And sometimes we're not cut because we've done anything wrong Sometimes God cuts us back so we're pruned Because if you want more fruit You've got to go through some cutting If you want things to grow healthier sometimes they have to be cut back.

17:22 Pastor Jenkins last year mentioned the fact that every sister knows something about getting their edges cut. Uh-huh, uh-huh. What they call that? What they call the stuff at the end of the hair? Uh-huh. Split ends. Keep looking straight ahead. Keep looking straight ahead. It's called split ends because some of us think we got long hair and the truth is it ain't long and you mad at the beautician. She cut my hair and I didn't want it to be this short. She was trying to give you the possibility of new growth. Oh, I'm preaching. Some of y'all have gone through some cutting because God was trying to help you grow more healthy. Stop fighting when people leave your life. Maybe they need to leave so you can grow healthy again. Bye-bye. You were split in anyway. I thought I had some real ride or die. You were never ride or die.

18:16 You were split in. the whole time giving me the illusion so sometimes God hurts us to help us because if you want to be more powerful if you want more anointing if you want more breakthroughs if you want new levels you got to go through some pruning another reason why another reason why another reason why the righteous go through afflictions because we're being prepared I'm going to try to hold it together on this one Because this verse got me through some days That I can't even tell you about Psalm 119 verse 71 says like this It is good for me that I've been afflicted That I might learn Your statues too fast It was good for me That I was afflicted That I might learn your statues I know why you're not shouting It's okay I'm going to say it until you get it It was good for me That I've been afflicted That I might learn your word Whenever you see the word statues in the Old Testament It's another word for the word of God.

19:19 Let me say it again. It was good for me that I was afflicted because I was able to learn more about your word. I was able to learn more about who God is. It was good. Somebody ought to be able to look back over 2021 and testify. Some of this stuff was good for me. I learned how to pray this year. I learned how to be by myself this year. I learned how to go to therapy this year. I learned how to stop waiting on people to clap for me this year. I learned how to clap for my doggone self I've learned how to go to sleep by myself All I need is Netflix and chill by myself I learned how to get in my pajamas And sit on my recliner And enjoy Jesus by myself I've learned this year How to get on a prayer call And how to get a prayer through I've learned how to let nonsense go And not waste my time on drama That ain't got nothing to do with me I learned that it's okay because there's some hell and hellos and there's some good and goodbyes.

20:19 I've learned. I've learned that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds and you gotta cast down every imagination I've learned this year that the righteous will never be forsaken and his seed won't beg for bread I've learned this year he can still do more than I ever expected anybody else learn some stuff don't y'all fool me See some of y'all went to Spelman, Harvard, Yale and Chicago State but some of us have been at the University of Adversity and the School of Hard Knocks and Chaos College. with Professor Payne and Dr. Dilemmas. and you ought to take five seconds and i'm gonna take ten to thank god for all the stuff you've learned in the valley david said it wasn't until i got in the valley that i realized it wasn't death it was the shadow of death you can learn some lord I heard he was a tear wiper, but now I know it.

21:36 See, there's always a difference in the life of the believer where you move from what you heard to what you know. And there are a lot of people who critique my style of preaching because at some moment in every sermon, if I'm not careful, I'll get loud. But what you don't know is I'm at the point in my personal walk with God where I've moved from hearing to knowing. I heard he was a provider now I know it I heard he was a healer now I know it I heard he was a way maker now I know it I heard he was a keeper now I know it so don't hate on me cuz I know what I know when you know what you know maybe you'll get loud too Here's what I know now unto him who's able to keep you from Tell somebody you're being prepared. It was good.

22:39 Tell three people it's all good It's all good It's all good I'm going to try to move on But I feel Y'all didn't tell nobody Tell them it's all good Every mountain, every midnight Every tear, every struggle Every lonely moment Every sickness It's all good and we know that ain't sharp that's Paul and we know that all things Work together! Somebody give God praise if you know what you know.

23:41 You don't need nobody to tell you. You don't need anybody to push you. You don't need anybody to ask you. Just holler and say, I know that. I know that. I know. Y'all sit down. Oh So y'all sit down, I'm teaching. We go through because we're being purified.

24:15 You watch it. You watch it now. We go through because we're being pruned. We go through Deacon Griselda because we're being prepared. The righteous go through, number four, because we're becoming more powerful. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7 through 12 is on the screen read it with me if you only look at us you might well miss the brightness this is Paul talking we carry this precious message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives that's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at.

25:13 keep going keep going we've been surrounded and battered by troubles but we're not demoralized we're not sure what to do but we know that God knows what to do we've been spiritually terrorized but God hasn't we've been thrown down Thank you. but we haven't broken what they did to jesus they do to us trial and torture mockery and murder what jesus did among them he does in us what does he do So everything that you've gone through is to really connect you to Jesus.

26:24 that after everything they've done hit you, fired you betrayed you, slapped you drug your name through the mud and you're still here because Paul says inside of us is some power and the pressure makes it more powerful. Have you ever seen one of those aerosol cans? It's a pressurized can. Sometimes there's WD-40 in it. Sometimes there's roach spray, ant spray. You've seen it.

27:15 But you don't get anything out of it until you press it. There's power and possibility in all of those cans, but it's untapped until it's pressed. And some of y'all been wondering why do I feel all this pressure? It's because God is trying to reveal to you just how much power is still in you. Oh my God. If that ain't a reason to shout, there is no reason to shout. because some of us didn't know how powerful we were until we were thrown under pressure. You don't get lemonade until you crush a lemon. You don't get wine until you press a grape.

28:11 You don't get perfume until you press a flower. And if you want to smell good, if you want to look good, God says sometimes I got to put some pressure on you. And as I reflect over 2021, the seasons when I had the most power I was under the most pressure so let me just warn every demon and devil that's been assigned from hell henceforth be careful what you throw at me it's alright I'm going to preach this one by myself right through here I want every demon to know the next time you try to throw something my way get ready for more power get ready for more anointing Get ready for a bigger fight! we go through because we're being purified because we're being pruned because we're being prepared because we're being made more powerful and fifthly this is what God gave me 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 12 and 13 says we are partakers with Christ oh Lord hold my mules Jesus King James Version says beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you but Y'all missed it, but...

29:42 When you're going through, learn how to. why do I rejoice Peter in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed ye may be glad also with exceeding joy then the message Bible comes along I want y'all to see it in the message Bible read again, read again, read again friends, when life gets really difficult don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on his job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual with just around. I wish some black folk came to have church.

30:38 I came to prophesy over your life. I know it's been heavy, but there's some glory. I want you to go to work tomorrow and just tell everybody on your way out of church today I want you to tell everybody you see go on and start practicing it now when you get to dialysis and treatment walk in the doctor's office do this when the doctor asks you how you feeling today I want you to look at him and just say Thank you. how you doing i heard your family had lost in the family yeah we did but they're gonna say what in the world are you trying to tell me tell them there's some glory Around the corner. Many are the afflictions of the righteous.

31:40 And I messed around and asked God why. Why? Because we're being purified. Because we're being pruned. Because we're being prepared. Because we're being made more powerful. Because we're partakers with Christ. if he died on Friday and got up on Sunday that's going to be your story too that's why Wednesday night that's why you got to be a refuel revival because something happened at the end of service we started singing my story ain't over can I tell you how we got to that point where we couldn't stop singing my story ain't over is because we started singing the song Jesus went to Calvary saved a wretch like you and me. That's love. They hung him high. They stretched him wide.

32:33 He hung his head. For me, he died. That's love. But it's that last line that got us. But that's not how. Y'all keep sitting there. I'm preaching all of this today. But that's not how. The story ends. In three days, can I speak over your life, where you are right now will not be the end of your story so go ahead and straighten your shoulders get your smile back get your joy back because God said just like Jesus this will not be the end of your story because y'all ain't got it yet y'all ain't got it y'all I'm waiting on somebody to agree with me in the spirit I'm waiting on somebody else Nice. Many are the affliction of the righteous That's our trouble That's our tension But can I show you our triumph On the other side of this colon There's some words that I'm not going to be able to fully express to you Because my soul is happy But the Lord delivereth.

33:55 King James Version. Delivereth. him or her out of them all I'm done but my soul is happy and now this is the one time I didn't like Jamar the message Bible y'all know I love the message Bible I like that it breaks it down it's more palatable it's more relatable it's easy to transfer it's applicable so I want you to see the message Bible's rendering of this verse This is what it says in the message Bible. It's real nice, but it doesn't really capture what I want to say. Come on, y'all put the message Bible up. Read this out loud. Disciples so often get into trouble. Still, God is there every time.

34:48 I said, that's so cute. God is there. I mean, that's good theology because God is there. He's omnipresent. He is there. But that doesn't capture what David was trying to say. Eugene Peterson, you missed this one. No, Doc, you missed this one. Because the King James Version says, He delivers. the new revised standard version says he rescues that's a little bit more than just being there that means when he got there He did some shifting. And he did some rescuing. And he did some healing. And he did some delivering.

35:43 And that's my testimony as I look back over 2021. God has been doing some delivering. And God has been doing some rescuing. and God has been doing some healing. Can y'all help me preach my little sermon underneath your mask and tell your neighbor, neighbor, I don't mean to bother you this Sunday, but tell him I started thinking about all the times I didn't know how I would make it.