When Everything's Against You- God Is For You | Jentezen Franklin

0:00 Hello, this is Jensen Franklin, and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast. Our goal is to provide you with biblically-based teachings that will challenge, inspire, and equip you to live for Jesus. If you haven't already, I'd love for you to go ahead and subscribe today to this podcast so you can get the latest updates from us and you don't ever have to miss a new message. Let's go right into the service. Record it at Free Chapel. I believe it's going to bless you today. I want to use one verse of Scripture, Mark chapter 11, verse 2. And Jesus said unto them, go your way into the village over against you. It's an interesting little line. And I know I'm doing a play on words, but that's exactly what the King James version of the Bible says. The oldest translation would be the King James.

0:59 Go into English. Go your way into the village over against you. And as soon as you're entered into it, you'll find a colt tied wherein never a man set. Loosen and bring him. I want you to notice that verse. It was the instruction of Jesus to his disciples. They were moving up from the southern part of Israel, leaving Galilee, leaving Capernaum, going straight up to Jerusalem. It was time for the feast of Passover. They were headed to Jerusalem. And this village was so small, we're not told anything about it. We're not given its specific geographical location.

1:52 or name in the text, we're only told that Jesus sent his disciples into the next village that, I like the wording of it, that was against them. So the only name that we have of this little village was against. Sometimes Jesus will send you into places and into circumstances and into situations that will be against you. And the devil didn't send you into it. The devil may love to kill, steal, and destroy through some of the things that we end up in, but God allowed in his sovereignty for his disciples to go into a place called against. the word against means opposed the word against means resistance the word against means that something is you're in a fight this is against me sometimes God will send you into a season called against it just feels like everything's working against you everything that used to work is not working and it's not one problem, but it's multiple problems sometimes. And you're just in a season of against a place called against. He said, I want you disciples because I always love to put my people in. I order them. I, I give the directions go into against Daniel go into the lion's den. And those lions will not be a petting zoo. They will be against you. But when you're surrounded with what's against you, you need to know that I am for you. And when you get in it, I'll be with you. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, I'm sending you into a fiery furnace that is heated up seven times hotter.

4:00 And I want you to understand that I am allowing you to go into a place that is against you. They'll throw you into the fire. And we preach it, you know, we preachers, we say that they were dancing with the fourth man in the fire because you know the story. When they got in there, the fire didn't burn them. Neither was there the smell of smoke. But the scripture said that no one I couldn't find anywhere where Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego ever saw the fourth man in the fire when they were in the fire. The Bible said the king looked in at some of God's servants going through a fiery furnace. And when the ungodly king looked in, he said, I'm looking through my binoculars. I'm preaching it like I want to.

4:54 And he's looking and he says, I see, I know I put three in the fire that were bound and I see one, two, three, four loosed. But they never saw him. We're never told Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego saw the fourth man. Because sometimes you can be going through the fiery furnace and the place of against and you don't feel God and you don't see God. But the fourth man is in the fire. Three plus fire equals four. And the fourth man, you can't get to him sometimes until you go through the fire. And whatever you went in bound by is going to be loose. All the fire is going to burn up is what's been binding you. Because there's blessings. There's blessings in that place that's called against.

5:50 It's tough. It's hard. One time Jesus told his disciples to get into the boat and go out into the ocean. And he knew or go out into the Sea of Galilee. And he knew that as they were crossing that massive lake that they would encounter a storm. It's where you feel everything's against you. You know that Jesus told you to do it, but everything is opposing you and trying to stop you. Jesus wanted his disciples to learn a valuable lesson that when God allows you to go through things, and this is what I'm preaching on, when everything is against you, God is for you. And I'm going to prove that to you through the scripture in just a moment. But many times we need to understand this valuable lesson that what we perceive is against us is actually full and containing blessings that we can't even imagine. We would never choose to go through it. We'd never choose to voluntarily go to that place of against. But if God tells you to go and God leads you there, it's because he's got something that's tied up for you that nobody else can get and you can't get to it until you go through against. It contains benefits. It contains miracles. I guess what I'm saying is if you feel like you're going through that place of against, it just feels like I'm, everything is against me. It's not, I'm not, it's hard. I'm going through this. You need to get your spiritual treasure detector out. You ever seen those people on the beach with one of those things you need to understand if God is allowing you to go through against that there are hidden treasures of darkness there that God has tied up waiting for you.

7:49 He'll never let you go through a season of against and not have something tied up that if you get your spiritual metal detector out, treasure detector out, you're going to find, if nothing else, you're going to find the praise in there that you didn't have before you went into it because you knew he was a savior, but you didn't know he was a healer. He was a deliverer. He was a family saver. He was a child rescuer. You didn't know that until you go through that. it's against you. It's opposing you, but there's hidden treasure in it. He said, I want you to go to that place and I've tied up a blessing. I've tied up a colt upon which a man has never rode before. In other words, I've got some brand new things that are coming out of what you're going through that feels like it's against you, But this is what the Bible says.

8:48 There's a guy in the Bible named Jacob. And he said in the book of Genesis, I believe it's the 40th chapter. He said, everything is against me. He said, everything is against me. But then there's another guy by the name of David. And David said in the scripture, but God is for me. There it is. He said, I'm going through it. I'm going through hell. But he said, and God is bottling up all my tears because all I'm doing is weeping. I'm weeping. I'm weeping. He's bottling up my tears and he's putting them in a book and writing about them. But when I cry unto thee and then shall mine enemies turn back for this, I know. That's what you got to know. You got to get that in your spirit. When everything is against you, this is what I know. God is for me. Even if I messed up, even if I didn't listen to him, God never deserts you. He never gives up on you.

9:42 if you will earnestly cry out to him that here comes the best part. So when everything's against me, number two, God is for me. Number three, and here's how God is for you. Romans 8 and verse 28. For we know that all things work together for the good, not just for anything and not for your good. He's not talking about your good. He's not saying, oh, God's going to give me everything I want. That's not what he's saying. all things work together for the good to them that love God. Anybody love God in this place? See, I don't love him when he blesses me. I don't love him anymore when I'm, when I'm high on blessing than when I'm low going through the valley. My love actually is more. I cling to him. I say my help comes from the Lord. and those who are called, the rest of the verse says, according to his purpose.

10:41 In other words, if God is letting you go through and everything is coming against you, everything's against me, but you've got to know in that moment, but God is for me. And when he has tried me, I will come forth as pure gold. because all these things in it, there is a tied up blessing.

11:05 And it's a donkey that's never, a man's never rode before, meaning there's a new experience coming, new blessings coming. And remember, that donkey was the one that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem and the people would shout and wave palm branches as he was entering into the Holy Week where he would die and be resurrected. It all was dependent upon him fulfilling a prophecy in the book of Zechariah that riding on a colt or a fold, he will come upon which a man has never rode. He was fulfilling a prophecy that was prophesied thousands of years, hundreds of years, certainly maybe 1,500 years before he was even born, Jesus was. that prophecy was being fulfilled. In other words, I want you to understand sometimes God lets you and can you hear the people screaming, Hosanna, praise, praise, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna. And they were crying and throwing their coats down for that donkey to walk over that was carrying Jesus. Sometimes God will let you go through a season when everything is against you. He sent them to against to untie the, the, the coat that would literally take Jesus to his eternal purpose and place of destiny, the cross and Calvary and the resurrection in the tomb and the ascension to the right hand of the father. It was all tied. In other words, and the people when he was writing started praising.

12:44 God will get praise out of what he allows you to go through that comes against you when you don't quit and you will say there's a blessing in this. People are watching. And God is watching. Tell somebody I found blessing in against. If I were to take this microphone and go around this room, I could interview people all over this building and they'd say, I thought it was the end of my life. I thought that I lost everything. I went bankrupt. I went through a divorce. I'm telling you, I thought that was it. I went through this. I went through that. I had cancer. I'm going through it. And we don't deny the fact that most of life is against. You live it in a place called against. Welcome to life. The alternative is die if you don't like it. we're going to suffer in this life.

13:40 We're going to go through stuff in this life, but everything is better with Jesus because he's for me. And if he's for me, he works and uses those things to mold me more out of what I've been against. He makes me more like him. I get that stubbornness out. I get that pride out. I get that self-will. I let go of that addiction. I let go of that lie. I let go of that bondage. and more and more I'm looking like Jesus. It's not about me looking better. It's about me looking like Jesus. You see, good things are tied up in bad places. It was a place called against, but there was something good tied up. And some of you don't ever want to go into a bad place, but you can't get to the tied up blessings, the big ones, without going through against.

14:40 I thought about COVID when I was thinking about this message. I thought about COVID. I used to come in this room right here on Fridays, and they had a cameraman back there on the camera, and we couldn't have church. We were not, and there's 3,000 seats, fixed seats, and then we have stacked chairs, and then we have overflow. and I would come in this room month week after week month after month after month after month and I'd walk up to this pulpit and and the little red light would come on the camera and I'm preaching to 3 000 empty seats every Sunday that's why when I when I get a little excited. I wish he would calm down. I brought my friend and it's embarrassing. He screams. He screams. But you ought to come in here. I know what the rapture is going to be like if you're left behind. I came to church and there was nobody here but me. And I was the preacher. I said, Lord, And if I ever get back a crowd, if I ever get back in God's house with God's people, if I ever get a choir back, if I ever get people back, I promise you I'll never let that praise be said.

16:10 If we get under nuclear attack, the doors will be open. We'll go out praising our King. Everything may be against us, but God is for us, and he works all things together for our good. Everybody take a praise break. All right. All right. Sit down. So, so COVID hits in the middle of COVID. I get a phone call and I have someone suing me because I hit their bumper. And, and on top of that, that's a personal lawsuit. And when they found out it was pastor Franklin, that's another level. Amen. And, and, And then on top of that, the church goes through a lawsuit. And it's attorneys and it's serious. And I felt so helpless.

17:02 I felt so bad. I've never, I've gone all these years, never had a scandal to God's grace. Thank you, Jesus. Never, never, never. And this is, you're in the middle of all of that. The congregation's dying. People are dying. situations, church, staff, all of that. You got to keep everything going, keep everything going. I get up every day. Oh God, everything's against me. I was crying in my Cheerios, just like you who are still home. Some of you have never come back to church. You're still eating Cheerios, watching me right now. That's all right. I'm glad you're there because my church on there is bigger than this church. Oh, you don't hear me. I thought it was against us. Then we started growing. We used to have thousands and tens of thousands. We'd get up to maybe 25,000, 30,000 watching live on all of our outlets.

17:58 Now, during COVID, our numbers go 100,000, 150,000, 200,000. One time the president called and tweeted out and said, I'm going to watch Free Chapel and Pastor Franklin this Sunday. We had a million people watch in one service. Oh, don't get all political on me. I'm talking about Jesus stuff right here. He can use anybody. He can use COVID. He can use anything to lift his name high.

18:29 Everybody take another praise break. You know, I'm not boasting. I'm telling you the truth. Do you know last week, me and Bill played, I played saxophone last week. Just tooted my little horn. And he played the piano. And we did Great is Thy Faithfulness. Just played it on the saxophone. Our media team posted it, and it's had 580,000 views since last Sunday. Oh, come on here. What the devil meant for your evil, what you think is against you, is not against you. The devil's not in charge. Hell is not in charge. God is in charge. And He is for you, and He's working it for your good if you'll trust Him and be about His purpose and love Him.

19:23 Now I want to say something. If God were to allow you to take out from the book of your life the ugly chapters. even the babies are praising him this morning Hallelujah. if God would allow you to take out of the book of your life the ugly chapters, the dark chapters, the depressing days, I can't take it no more nights, I give up, I just want to die, I can't go on.

20:21 If God were to do that, you would not be where you are and who you are without what you've been through. There's a blessing tied up in what's against you. He had it tied up for them. And by the way, He must have been through there because He knew it was there. He's been where you are and He knows where you are and He knows how to get out of there. Thank God for what came against you. there's a treasure in it that's how jesus could call judas the bible said when judas the snake all right i'm preaching to you now you know all those people you can't stand you better check your spirit Thank you.

21:22 You know what Jesus did to his betrayer? Judas, you know Judas, sold him out for 30 pieces of silver. And you know what Jesus did when he came in the garden? The Bible said he kissed him and called him friend. You know what you're supposed to do when people hurt you? Pray for those who despitefully use you. Love your enemies. I hate that verse. I'm just being on. I don't want to love them. I want to hit them. And if I can't hit them, I want to hire somebody who can. But Jesus has a betrayer who will cost him suffering and beating. But I want you to see it like Jesus sees it.

22:15 Now, it looks like this guy's against me, but actually all things are working together for his purpose. I have to have a betrayer to fulfill prophecy because it's foretold that I'll be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver hundreds of years ago. So I've got to fulfill that prophecy. And I washed his feet just a few hours ago just to show him, just to give him one more chance. I washed his feet. I knew he was going to betray me. And he kissed him and Jesus called him friend. you have to kiss some things and call it friend. Nobody would choose cancer. But if you have it, kiss it and call it friend and say, somehow, someway, God is working through this. I don't understand it.

23:08 I'm believing that I'm going to be healed. But you know what? The ultimate place of faith is when you get there where you say, live or die. I want Jesus glorified in my life. I know I'm not going to live forever. And look, we all want big miracles, but sometimes the miracle is just to trust God through it all and say, you know what? You're going to get the glory, God. You're going to get even the things I don't understand. And I'm going to tell you, when you get that revelation, that when everything is against me, Jesus is for me, God is for me, and he's working all things together for the good to them that love him. I know I love him. And are called according to his purpose. It's not my life. So some of you, if you lose the house and you lose the car, that's your world. My world is not my house and my car.

24:04 My world is Jesus. All of that is just, thanks God, I appreciate it. It's, I'm a very, you hear about the man that was so wealthy and he was a little bit portly because he'd been eating too much. And the little kid, and he said, I'm a self-made man. I have millions. I'm a self-made man. And the little kid looked up at him and said, what'd you make yourself like that for?

24:28 All you who think you're a self-made man or woman, can I tell you something? You don't own a thing that you'll have 100 years from now. All you are is a steward. You have it while you have it. And that's my car. That's my property. That's my, it won't be yours soon.

24:50 But when you have Jesus, you go from glory under glory. I know one thing. I'm headed for a mansion on the other side. I'm headed to a land where there's no sorrow. And so whatever comes against me, if God is for me, He's working all things.

25:10 Whether I live or whether I die. To live is Christ, Paul said. To die is gain. So come and cry a little bit when I die, but then have a shouting service. I hope somebody rejoices. Sharice, not you. Amen. they'll read my my wheel and they'll rejoice amen How many of you can say amen? How many of you can really say amen? I really want to say thank you for joining us this week. If you haven't already, make sure you click on the subscription button and leave us a review. It helps this podcast reach even more people when you comment, when you give us your feedback.

26:07 For more messages and inspirational materials, download the Jensen Franklin app. Or you can head over to jensenfranklin.org. I want to thank all of you who give generously to help us produce weekly content like this to reach the world with the message of Jesus.