Sermon #S039 - That Wasn't Part Of The Agenda - (Part 1) 00:00:06.33\00:00:20.08 Pastor Snell: So today we're going to go into the word. I invite you to stand to your feet 00:00:20.12\00:00:26.92 as we go to the scriptures today. I initially planned to have you go to a number of 00:00:26.96\00:00:43.37 different places, but I'm going to just have you go to Mark 15:21. When you get there, let 00:00:43.41\00:01:00.49 me hear you say, Amen. Mark Chapter 15. And we'll begin together at Verse 21. Just one 00:01:00.52\00:01:08.86 verse today. Mark 15:21. And You all look good in the house of the Lord today. Praise God. It's 00:01:08.90\00:01:15.40 good to see you. And we are grateful for those who join us online as well. Mark 15:21. The 00:01:15.44\00:01:27.45 Bible says, "Then they compelled a certain man, Simon, a Cyrenian, the father of 00:01:27.48\00:01:37.73 Alexandria and Rufus as he was coming out of the country and passing by to bear his cross." I 00:01:37.76\00:01:43.77 just want to read it one more time. "Then they compelled," he didn't volunteer for this. 00:01:43.80\00:01:46.40 [Congretation: Laughing] He didn't sign up for this. They compelled a certain man, Simon, 00:01:46.43\00:01:54.94 a Cyrenian, the father of Alexandria and Rufus, and as he was coming out of the country, 00:01:54.98\00:01:58.98 and he was what? [Congregation: Passing by.] 00:01:59.01\00:02:00.55 Just passing by to bear his cross. For just a little while 00:02:00.58\00:02:06.69 today, Saints, I want to talk to you under the subject "That Wasn't On The Agenda." Let's 00:02:06.72\00:02:16.50 pray together. Father, would you give us a unique reverence for this moment today? Father, we 00:02:16.53\00:02:27.58 pray for just a special move of the Holy Ghost. Lord, sweep through with a force and a 00:02:27.61\00:02:31.65 freshness, Lord, that quickens us and makes us alive to the reality of the cross in a whole 00:02:31.68\00:02:37.92 new way. And so, Lord, my prayer is that in the hearing of the word that faith will be 00:02:37.95\00:02:43.49 multiplied exponentially. And Lord, would you shift us to a place where the cross is not 00:02:43.53\00:02:49.20 just theology? Lord, help us to get to a place where the cross is our lived reality. Hide me in 00:02:49.23\00:02:57.47 the shadows of Thy cross we pray. So that Christ alone might be seen, that Christ alone would 00:02:57.51\00:03:03.91 be heard, and at the end of our time together, may Jesus alone be praised. We ask this in the 00:03:03.95\00:03:09.28 name of Him who is altogether lovely. It is in the name of Jesus, that we pray. Let God's 00:03:09.32\00:03:14.26 people say together, Amen. [Congretation: Amen] 00:03:14.29\00:03:15.49 And amen. You may be seated in the house of the Lord today. 00:03:15.52\00:03:26.70 You know, friends, the story of Simon of Cyrene is fascinating 00:03:26.74\00:03:33.14 to me. One, because there is so little detail that is actually 00:03:33.17\00:03:38.38 given. All that we know is that he is a brother from the eastern part of Libya, which is in the 00:03:38.41\00:03:46.76 northern continent of Africa. We know that he has two sons, Alexander and Rufus, and we know 00:03:46.79\00:03:56.77 that he was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. But one of the things that sticks out to 00:03:56.80\00:04:03.84 me, friends, is that this was not on his agenda for the day. The Bible says that Simon just 00:04:03.87\00:04:14.62 happened to be passing by. In other words, Simon had a circumstance that required him 00:04:14.65\00:04:18.32 to pivot and be a part of God's divine plan. And it's amazing because he becomes a historical 00:04:18.35\00:04:22.32 figure because it seems that he happened to be at the right place at the right time. 00:04:22.36\00:04:27.83 But how many of us know that when some see coincidence, believers ought to always see 00:04:27.86\00:04:36.10 providence? In other words, this was not on his agenda. He perhaps comes to Jerusalem to 00:04:36.14\00:04:45.25 spend time with his sons who live there. And remember that he is an outsider to the Jewish 00:04:45.28\00:04:51.92 tradition. He is an outsider to their feast. He has no dog in the fight that he encounters 00:04:51.95\00:05:01.43 along the way. In other words, the night before, as Simon prepares for the day, he decides 00:05:01.46\00:05:07.30 "I'm going to do some work before I leave. I'm going to travel at a certain time. I'm 00:05:07.34\00:05:13.44 going to stop by the wall of Jerusalem. I'm going to stop by the market to get some supplies. 00:05:13.48\00:05:16.91 And my goal is to get to the house by sunset." But Simon does not know that the invisible hand 00:05:16.95\00:05:28.12 of God has been guiding him every step of the way so that he might be a blessing to the Son 00:05:28.16\00:05:30.36 of the living God. As I look at this text, the first thing I learned or it teaches us, is 00:05:30.39\00:05:38.93 that whenever there is a need, God is already guiding help in that direction. Let me say it 00:05:38.97\00:05:45.64 away. So that when God sees your need, he is always sending help in the direction of your need. 00:05:45.67\00:05:51.58 In other words, friends, Jesus needs Simon to help him not because he is weak. He needs 00:05:51.61\00:06:01.46 Simon because he is depleted. Remember that Jesus took his last supper with the disciples 00:06:01.49\00:06:07.03 the night before. So, it's been about a day since he has eaten and in the last 24 hours, he's 00:06:07.03\00:06:17.21 gone from Ananias to Caiaphas, to Pilate and back to Caiaphas, and back and forth. In other 00:06:17.24\00:06:23.21 words, it's been a day since he has eaten. It's about a day and a half since he has slept, and 00:06:23.24\00:06:31.69 now we have a bloodied and wearied and depleted Jesus, who is now loaded up with the weight 00:06:31.72\00:06:35.72 of a horrible cross. And without complaint, my Jesus carries the cross through the streets of 00:06:35.76\00:06:44.67 Jerusalem as far as he is able to take it and I need you to know that there is no 00:06:44.70\00:06:51.64 coincidence that my man Simon gets stuck in traffic and was appointed to help Jesus carry 00:06:51.67\00:07:00.12 the cross as soon as his body craters under the weight of that cross. Are you hearing me today? 00:07:00.15\00:07:01.55 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:07:01.58\00:07:03.42 And I need you to get that Simon who was His helper was not there waiting for Him the entire time. 00:07:03.45\00:07:08.69 He did not make an appointment to say, "Let me stand at this point and wait for Jesus to show 00:07:08.72\00:07:16.93 up." In other words, I need you to know that God ordains it that His help passes by as soon as 00:07:16.97\00:07:26.31 His strength runs out. Y'all not here with me. [Congregation: 00:07:26.34\00:07:27.81 Clapping] In other words, Jesus could not see where His help was going to come from. 00:07:27.84\00:07:32.01 Jesus could not see if there was going to be any help because just like us, Jesus had to carry 00:07:32.05\00:07:41.66 His burden by faith. And it's amazing that God actually allows His strength to completely run 00:07:41.69\00:07:47.66 out, but the good news is that in the moment when He could not carry it any further, His help 00:07:47.66\00:07:56.97 just happened to be passing by. [Congregation: Clapping] 00:07:57.01\00:07:59.07 In other words, I need you to get, friends, that God had been orchestrating every step that 00:07:59.11\00:08:05.31 Simon had taken. In other words, God ordained what time he would leave Cyrene. God ordained when 00:08:05.35\00:08:14.12 he would run into traffic along the way. God ordained when he would have to stop and tie his 00:08:14.16\00:08:22.70 sandals. God ordained how long the line would be in the market. God ordained how long it would 00:08:22.73\00:08:29.70 take him to get his haircut, because if Simon got there 5 minutes early, he would have 00:08:29.74\00:08:37.65 already passed by the Savior and if he got by 5 minutes late, then Jesus would have already 00:08:37.68\00:08:43.52 passed by. So that when the son needed help, he would be right there in the rightful place, and 00:08:43.55\00:08:52.36 see, I need you to know that God is with it the entire time. So that when Jesus is being falsely 00:08:52.39\00:09:02.60 arrested, guess what? Help is moving in His direction. When Jesus is being beaten, help is 00:09:02.64\00:09:10.91 moving in His direction. When Jesus is being flogged, help is moving in His direction. So that 00:09:10.95\00:09:12.15 at the moment where He falls to the ground, help is already in place. [Congregation: Cheering] 00:09:12.18\00:09:15.25 Okay, let me say it to somebody who is in the struggle today. You've got to get to a place 00:09:15.28\00:09:21.96 where you don't assess God's faithfulness based on what you can see. [Congregation: 00:09:21.99\00:09:24.29 Affirming] In other words, I need you to know that your help might not always be obvious but 00:09:24.33\00:09:30.43 your helper is always faithful. [Congregation: Affirming] 00:09:30.47\00:09:32.47 Your provision, may not always be obvious, but your provider is always faithful. In other words, 00:09:32.50\00:09:38.11 friends, I need you to get that Abraham's ram was already in the 00:09:38.14\00:09:43.08 thicket and God just pointed it out with the help that had already moved in His direction. 00:09:43.11\00:09:48.75 Do you realize that Jesus was already in the fiery furnace before the three Hebrew boys 00:09:48.78\00:09:56.62 ever showed up? [Congregation: Clapping] 00:09:56.66\00:09:58.63 Help was moving in their direction. The angel didn't come to the lion's den after Daniel 00:09:58.66\00:10:03.60 was there. The angel was already en route so he will be there by the time Daniel showed up. 00:10:03.63\00:10:09.30 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:10:09.34\00:10:11.71 Do you realize that the raven didn't stockpile meat for Elijah to eat? But by the time he 00:10:11.74\00:10:18.21 started getting hungry, guess what? That raven showed up with 00:10:18.25\00:10:20.58 food to eat. And let me just let somebody know that God is already moving help in 00:10:20.62\00:10:28.16 anticipation of your need. Y'all are not with me today. 00:10:28.19\00:10:29.12 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:10:29.16\00:10:31.53 See, I need somebody to understand that even if you need help financially that somewhere 00:10:31.56\00:10:37.43 somebody's writing a check with your name on it. 00:10:37.47\00:10:38.77 [Congregation: Cheering] 00:10:38.80\00:10:40.34 And putting it in the mail so that it shows up just in the 00:10:40.37\00:10:44.41 nick of time. Somewhere somebody's about to move out of State and leave a vacancy at the 00:10:44.44\00:10:54.35 job that God has ordained for you to get ready to have. In about a month, somebody's going 00:10:54.38\00:11:01.99 to put a house on the market that God is going to preserve just for you to close on. 00:11:02.02\00:11:04.43 [Congregation: Cheering] A young person somewhere, your future spouse is breaking up with their 00:11:04.46\00:11:09.93 boyfriend or girlfriend and he is setting them apart. [Congregation: Cheering] 00:11:09.96\00:11:11.90 So, a year from now, they will be ready for you. And I need somebody to know that God is not 00:11:11.93\00:11:17.07 sitting and watching the world unfold in real-time, but God is sitting in the future, waiting 00:11:17.11\00:11:25.05 for the present to catch up. [Congregation: Cheering] 00:11:25.08\00:11:26.98 And He knows where your needs are going to show up and guess what? He is already sending 00:11:27.02\00:11:31.65 supplies. [Congregation: Cheering] 00:11:31.69\00:11:33.72 Listen, I've seen this happen in my own life. I remember back in about 2003. My wife 00:11:33.76\00:11:38.99 and I bought a used SUV and because it was used, we decided to get an extended warranty off 00:11:39.03\00:11:48.20 of the internet. And so, after we had the car for about 3 or 4 months, we got to notice that 00:11:48.24\00:11:56.78 this warranty company had gone belly-up and that basically, we were going to lose our money. 00:11:56.81\00:12:04.79 And so, after a while, we got a notice to join a class action lawsuit. So that those like me 00:12:04.82\00:12:11.16 will be able to recoup our money after a while. And so, Church, guess what? We signed out this 00:12:11.19\00:12:18.87 paperwork expecting nothing to ever come from this. Now, this happens in 2003. Now from that 00:12:18.90\00:12:24.71 time, I moved from Mississippi to Kentucky, and from Kentucky back to Huntsville. And then 00:12:24.74\00:12:32.78 about 5 years ago, when we were getting ready to close on our house, you know when you get 00:12:32.81\00:12:36.82 ready to close on a house, the bank wants your money or financial condition to stay the 00:12:36.85\00:12:38.92 same. [Congregation: Affirming] In other words, you have all kinds of expenses as you're 00:12:38.95\00:12:43.32 shutting off this and as your igniting that and you're getting ready for a down-payment and 00:12:43.36\00:12:50.77 because the closing on our house got moved back like 4 different months. Guess what? My landlord 00:12:50.80\00:12:56.71 is gouging me and making me pay whatever he wants me to pay and it's amazing because, friends, 00:12:56.74\00:13:02.81 I'm at a place where it's not at a critical moment just yet, but guess what? About 12 years 00:13:02.84\00:13:10.52 later, that class action lawsuit that I signed up for in Mississippi... [Congregation: 00:13:10.55\00:13:12.42 Cheering] I go to the mailbox and guess what? I get an envelope that says you started 00:13:12.45\00:13:19.76 the lawsuit in 2003. Here in 2017, guess what? We're going to send a check in the amount of 00:13:19.79\00:13:28.77 $2,000. Y'all not hearing your boy today. [Congregation: 00:13:28.80\00:13:30.71 Cheering] In other words, God took it almost 15 years prior and saved it, and sent it right 00:13:30.74\00:13:37.65 when I needed it. [Congregation: Cheering] 00:13:37.68\00:13:40.12 Are you all hearing what I'm saying? So that God sends what you need in anticipation of your 00:13:40.15\00:13:45.55 burden. Are You all hear me today? [Congregation: Affirming] 00:13:45.59\00:13:47.56 The second thing that this story teaches us is that sometimes you have to carry burdens you didn't 00:13:47.59\00:13:54.73 ask for. [Congregation: Affirming] 00:13:54.73\00:13:59.43 Now friends, the second detail we are given is that Simon does not ask for the cross. 00:13:59.47\00:14:07.21 The Bible says that they compelled him to carry the cross. In other words, he does 00:14:07.24\00:14:15.95 not volunteer to carry the cross. The cross is essentially assigned to him. Are you all 00:14:15.98\00:14:20.36 with me today, friends? Now again, I don't want to take all credit away from Simon because 00:14:20.39\00:14:26.93 when you read Desire of Ages, page 781, she literally says that Simon, when he sees the mob 00:14:26.96\00:14:37.81 shouting ugly statements at Jesus and he notices the visage of the Savior, he begins to show 00:14:37.84\00:14:49.05 compassion and sympathy toward Him outwardly. And when those see he is sympathizing with 00:14:49.08\00:14:55.36 Jesus, essentially, what they do is they thrust the cross upon his shoulders. In other words, 00:14:55.39\00:15:02.23 friends, I need you to get this. That Simon has to carry this cross not because of any wrong 00:15:02.26\00:15:09.17 action of his own. And I need you to be reminded that this cross was initially framed for 00:15:09.20\00:15:17.51 the notorious Barabas. It was eventually assigned to Jesus our savior but it is Simon that 00:15:17.55\00:15:26.39 carries it across the finish line. Are you hearing me today? Now, again, I want to just 00:15:26.42\00:15:33.86 remind the church that this is not why he came to Jerusalem. He is there perhaps to see his kids 00:15:33.90\00:15:44.31 and his grandkids. He's just there to kick it and get some kosher meat and lamb. He just 00:15:44.34\00:15:50.98 wants to spend a little time. He just wants to get a little R&R but Simon personifies that on 00:15:51.01\00:15:52.58 the journey of providence, sometimes you've got to carry some burdens that you didn't ask 00:15:52.61\00:15:55.55 for. [Congregation: Affirming] Can I just pause and say this and if you don't get nothing 00:15:55.58\00:16:04.29 else, get this? How many of us understand that in the army of God, sometimes it's not a 00:16:04.33\00:16:07.40 sign-up, sometimes it's a draft. [Congregation: Affirming] See, sometimes we operate under the 00:16:07.46\00:16:16.81 faulty notion that God is only going to assign to us the things that we normally feel 00:16:16.84\00:16:21.64 comfortable doing. But the Devil is a liar, am I telling the truth today? I need us to know 00:16:21.68\00:16:27.42 that sometimes the things that we want are about our comfort, but the things that God assigns 00:16:27.45\00:16:31.45 are about His glory. [Congregation: Affirming] 00:16:31.49\00:16:32.79 Let me ask, has anybody ever been drafted by God? 00:16:32.82\00:16:37.36 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:16:37.39\00:16:39.76 Where you've just been given some tasks and assignments that were nowhere on your agenda? 00:16:39.79\00:16:46.13 They were not in your wheelhouse. They were not part of your preference, but somehow 00:16:46.17\00:16:55.98 providence led circumstance to lay that particular burden at your feet. In other words, there 00:16:56.01\00:17:02.05 are some of us that have raised our kids and it wasn't in your plans to be raising grandkids or 00:17:02.08\00:17:09.29 nobody else's kids, am I telling the truth today? [Congregation: 00:17:09.32\00:17:11.36 Affirming] There are some of us that I'm looking at today that did not sign up to be the leader 00:17:11.39\00:17:15.56 of a Ministry. But somehow, you got drafted and that burden was laid upon your shoulders just 00:17:15.60\00:17:22.14 the same. There are some when you got married, you did not sign up to be a caretaker of a 00:17:22.17\00:17:30.28 sick husband or wife. Somewhere, you didn't sign up to be a caretaker of a sick parent. You 00:17:30.31\00:17:39.05 didn't sign up to be an ambassador for cancer. You didn't sign up to be an 00:17:39.09\00:17:44.63 ambassador for this hurt. When my wife and I got married, we didn't sign up to be ambassadors 00:17:44.66\00:17:49.00 of our miscarriage and loss, but I need you to know that sometimes the greatest 00:17:49.03\00:17:55.77 Ministries are not the ones that you volunteer for, but sometimes it is when God drafts and puts 00:17:55.80\00:18:03.38 an assignment on your shoulders. [Congregation: Cheering] 00:18:03.41\00:18:05.45 And let me just say this one thing before I move to my next point. This won't necessarily 00:18:05.48\00:18:09.05 make it better, but I hope that it adds a little bit of perspective. The one thing I 00:18:09.08\00:18:17.09 know about God is that when God puts a burden upon you, he'll never put a burden on you that's 00:18:17.13\00:18:21.10 greater than what you can bear. [Congregation: Affirming] 00:18:21.13\00:18:23.10 See, we learned it just this past Wednesday, in 1 Corinthians 10:13, the Bible says, "God is 00:18:23.13\00:18:29.54 faithful, who will not place upon you more than that which you are able to bear," 00:18:29.57\00:18:34.51 and I just need to say for those who were not here if God brought 00:18:34.54\00:18:40.45 you to it... [Congregation: Affirming] 00:18:40.48\00:18:41.92 If He brought you to it, God is going to bring you through it. 00:18:41.95\00:18:47.96 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:18:47.99\00:18:49.69 See, I need you to know, God is a tailor, who doesn't give you clothes too big for you. 00:18:49.72\00:18:54.00 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:18:54.03\00:18:56.00 He has measured your specifics. He has measured the height of your faith. The depth of your 00:18:56.03\00:19:01.17 resilience. That he knows the width of your character and he'll never play something on 00:19:01.20\00:19:08.01 you that he has not first measured. Are you all here in 00:19:08.04\00:19:09.81 the pastor today? [Congregation: Affirming] 00:19:09.84\00:19:11.95 I mean it's real. Just like this. There are times when we come home from Sam's or Costco 00:19:11.98\00:19:17.82 or the grocery store and what happens is me and the kids will go to the back to unload the 00:19:17.85\00:19:23.39 groceries from the back of the car. And so, I will go, and I'll get the things out of the trunk, 00:19:23.43\00:19:26.93 but I need you to know, Malcolm, that I don't just start taking stuff and just dispersing it to 00:19:26.96\00:19:33.57 the first person in line. What happens when I grab something? I first weigh it by holding it 00:19:33.60\00:19:38.61 myself. [Congregation: Affirming] 00:19:38.64\00:19:40.61 And I weigh it in my arms and then I'll decide which child is going to carry it. Y'all not 00:19:40.64\00:19:46.45 hearing me. [Congregation: Cheering] 00:19:46.48\00:19:48.08 So, if it's really heavy, I give it to my oldest son. If it's a 00:19:48.12\00:19:52.69 little less heavy, I'll give it to my daughter. If it's snack food, I can't give it to the 00:19:52.72\00:19:58.86 youngest because he's going to get distracted. I got to reassign it to somebody that can 00:19:58.89\00:20:05.83 handle it. In other words, I don't just start dispensing burdens. I measure burdens and I 00:20:05.87\00:20:10.77 give them to the one that can handle them. [Congregation: 00:20:10.81\00:20:13.07 Cheering] And what I'm saying today, Church, if a fallen, messed up daddy like me, knows 00:20:13.11\00:20:20.88 how to measure burden for his children, what about your Father 00:20:20.92\00:20:24.02 in Heaven? [Congregation: Cheering] 00:20:24.05\00:20:26.29 That before he dispenses it, he's measured it, he's weighed it and made a determination that 00:20:26.32\00:20:36.50 you're able to carry it. Are you all hearing me today? 00:20:36.53\00:20:38.23 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:20:38.27\00:20:40.90 The third thing this teaches, friends of mine, is that 00:20:40.94\00:20:46.21 sometimes, it's the heavy burden that you didn't ask for that brings you close to Jesus. 00:20:46.24\00:20:51.95 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:20:51.98\00:20:55.25 In other words, if He wasn't given something heavy to carry, He would have just kept on 00:20:55.28\00:21:03.93 passing by. If He wasn't given a heavy burden, He would have just been living His best life. 00:21:03.96\00:21:09.23 If He wasn't given something heavy to carry, He probably would have lived a prosperous 00:21:09.26\00:21:16.54 earthly life. But if He wasn't given something heavy to carry, He might have missed out on 00:21:16.57\00:21:22.18 eternal life. [Congregation: Affirming] 00:21:22.21\00:21:23.55 And can we be honest today, Church? 00:21:23.58\00:21:25.68 That some of us would have never made it to the foot of the cross if God didn't give us something 00:21:25.71\00:21:31.52 heavy to carry. [Congregation: Affirming] 00:21:31.55\00:21:32.72 See, one of the things I've learned through both study 00:21:32.75\00:21:35.76 and observation is that a life without burden is going to be a 00:21:35.79\00:21:41.90 life without God. You see, I need us to be clear that there is something about humanity's 00:21:41.93\00:21:48.94 fallen nature that needs something to disrupt our carnal nature and draw us into a 00:21:48.97\00:21:57.85 relationship with him. You all acting brand-new on me today. In fact, the one common thread 00:21:57.88\00:22:03.18 between deeply spiritual people, the one thing that all spiritual folk have in common is that 00:22:03.22\00:22:09.02 somewhere along the line, they had to carry something heavy. 00:22:09.06\00:22:11.56 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:22:11.59\00:22:14.36 See friends, our flesh is so powerful. It is so strong. 00:22:14.36\00:22:18.97 It is so desensitized that it cannot be trained just by choice and good intention. 00:22:19.00\00:22:25.97 Sometimes it is the burden that trains the flesh. It is the burden that disrupts the flesh. 00:22:26.01\00:22:32.25 It is the burden that God lays upon us that moves us into a posture of prayerfulness that we 00:22:32.28\00:22:41.02 would not seek outside of that burden. Are you hearing me today? And see, I need us to 00:22:41.06\00:22:44.09 know that every now and then God has to kind of draw you as the prophet says, "outside of 00:22:44.13\00:22:49.10 yourself." So that you can become intensely interested in the salvation of others, 00:22:49.13\00:22:53.84 because in a life where you don't have to lift something for 00:22:53.87\00:22:58.27 somebody else and you don't have to carry something for somebody else and you don't have to bear 00:22:58.31\00:23:04.25 something for somebody else. What happens is we live a self-centered life that leaves 00:23:04.28\00:23:11.75 us estranged from the most high. [Congregation: Affirming] 00:23:11.79\00:23:14.19 And let me just share with you a quick quote here, Desire of Ages, page 781. Hopefully, this 00:23:14.22\00:23:20.30 will come up here in just a second. Desire of Ages, 771, because I want you to see what a 00:23:20.33\00:23:28.67 difference the burden actually makes in the life of the believer. Are you with me today, 00:23:28.70\00:23:36.08 Friends? Listen, Desire of Ages, excuse me, page 742. She literally says, "At this time, a 00:23:36.11\00:23:42.78 stranger Simon, a Cyrenian, coming from the country meets the throng. He hears the taunts 00:23:42.82\00:23:47.76 of ribaldry to the crowd and he hears the words contemptuously repeated, 'Make way for the King 00:23:47.79\00:23:56.06 of the Jews!' He stops in astonishment at the scene and he expresses his compassion as they 00:23:56.10\00:23:57.93 seize him and place a cross upon his wide shoulders. [Congregation: shoulders] Simon 00:23:57.97\00:24:04.94 had heard of Jesus. His sons were believers in the Savior but he himself was not a what? 00:24:04.97\00:24:05.64 [Congregation:believer.] Bearing the cross to Calvary... 00:24:05.67\00:24:09.01 ...was a blessing to Simon. He was ever after grateful for this 00:24:09.04\00:24:18.79 providence, it led him to take upon himself the cross of Christ from choice and ever cheerfully 00:24:18.82\00:24:31.10 stand beneath its burrow. [Congregation: Cheering] 00:24:31.13\00:24:33.60 In other words, it was carrying the cross that made him choose 00:24:33.64\00:24:40.41 the cross. [Congregation: Yeah!] 00:24:40.44\00:24:42.74 Are you all hearing me today, friends? And see, now, as I'm looking at this thing, I'm 00:24:42.78\00:24:46.21 trying to figure out, okay? How does my man Simon decide by carrying the cross to become a 00:24:46.25\00:24:54.96 lifelong disciple? Can I just talk for a quick moment and I'm done? See, one of the things I 00:24:54.99\00:25:04.53 like about Simon, friends, is he meets Jesus at the cross, not in a crisis. [Congregation: 00:25:04.57\00:25:07.30 Affirming] So, let's meet your boy Simon in a time when most people did not travel more than 00:25:07.34\00:25:14.98 20 miles outside of where they lived. We know that Simon was a person of some means 00:25:15.01\00:25:17.91 because he's literally traveling from one country to the next that he has some means to be 00:25:17.95\00:25:25.65 able to move about. And see, the reason I need you to know is that it is a crisis for Jesus, 00:25:25.69\00:25:32.13 but it is not a crisis for Simon. In other words, he got some money in the bank, he got 00:25:32.16\00:25:39.03 kids and grandkids. He's got some things going for him but he meets him at the cross, not a 00:25:39.07\00:25:44.34 crisis. Now, the question is, have you ever wondered why certain people in the Bible are 00:25:44.37\00:25:51.65 named by name and some are only known by their condition? 00:25:51.68\00:25:54.85 [Congregation: Oh...] 00:25:54.88\00:25:56.99 Now again, I don't have an exact answer but the reason certain names we know, we know Lazarus, 00:25:57.02\00:26:03.59 and we know Mary, and we know Martha, and we know Nicodemus and we know Simon when they 00:26:03.63\00:26:13.13 didn't really do anything all that extraordinary, but guess what? We never know the name of 00:26:13.17\00:26:17.14 the woman with the issue of blood. We don't know the name of the man with the withered hand. 00:26:17.17\00:26:24.11 We don't know the name of the 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus. And again, I don't want to state 00:26:24.15\00:26:26.75 this as a doctrine but one scholar begins to suggest the reason that some are known only 00:26:26.78\00:26:33.42 by condition is because as soon as their condition was reversed, they stopped following the Lord. 00:26:33.46\00:26:40.30 But those whose names are known were recorded because they continue to abide in a 00:26:40.33\00:26:49.57 relationship with the Lord. [Congregation: Affirming] 00:26:49.60\00:26:51.97 In other words, see, the problem, when you meet Jesus in a crisis, is that as soon as the 00:26:52.01\00:26:59.65 crisis is averted, then guess what? Your need for the Savior dissipates. And let me suggest 00:26:59.68\00:27:07.39 that a crisis can lead you to Jesus, but it's the cross that fastens you to the Lord. 00:27:07.42\00:27:10.46 [Congregation: Affirming] 00:27:10.49\00:27:12.69 Thank you so much for joining us for the Breath of Life Television Ministries broadcast 00:27:12.73\00:27:19.00 with Pastor Debleaire Snell! We hope and pray that you have been blessed by this second message 00:27:19.03\00:27:25.91 in the sermon series entitled “The Pivot.” Join us next week for Part Two of the message 00:27:25.94\00:28:11.42 entitled “That Wasn't on The Agenda.” You don't want to miss it! (Breath of Life Theme Music) 00:28:11.45\00:28:34.68 [END] 00:28:34.71\00:28:49.72