The Lord Was There

Intro: If you have your bibles, I want you to look in the depths of the Old Testament, to be precise in the book of Ezekiel.

Many of you have been the topics of conversations a number of you have been the main topic of some very serious discussions. There have been some people discussing you. And in the discussion some questions arose, question such as how in the world did they endure so many different experiences, hardships, difficulties, really how did they encounter so many problems and adversities in the years past and yet you are still here.

Some of you don’t have to go back that far, because there have been some of you that have been through some major transitions just on this last month and you really don’t know how you made it. How is it that some of you survived the car wrecks, some of you experienced physical assaults and attacks on your health?

Some have experienced some things that nobody knows about but you and God, some inner hurts, some inner pain, and even some love scars. And the question has gone out, how in the world giving all that you have been up against, after experiencing the university, of hard knots, how is it possible that you are still in your right mind and you are still alive in the land of the living.

Others raised the question, how is it possible that they have endure great stress, how is it that they have handled these problems of such a serious and extreme nature, how it is that you have been under so much extreme pressure and such great stress, and you have not taken a leave of your senses, someone may ask how is it that they have been under such tremendous distress and have not yet been institutionalize at some center for the mental insane.

The reason some of you are still in their right mind I submit to you that the answer is found in the four last words of our text. The four last words of our text tell us, even though you been through hell and high waters the real reason that you have made it is because the Lord was there.

Saints my soul leaps with joy just to be able to mention these words to you “The Lord Was There” it’s been ruff sometimes, your way may have got dark sometimes, some people counted you out, some people had wrote you off, but what they didn’t know is that you was never in the situation by yourself. What they didn’t know is that the Lord was there. I wonder will you turn to somebody and tell them I’m still here because the Lord was there X3.

My brother’s and sister’s I believe that while we were going through our calamities and our tribulations, I believe that there is a tendency, a propensity, a predisposition, a issue on our part that we have spent too much time dwelling on who was not there. I believe that there is a strange proclivity, a strange inclination and tendency on our part, that we focus to much on who didn’t come through, who didn’t show up and who let me down when I so desperately needed them. I believe that we’ve been too busy concentrating on the haters in our lives. But want to I submit to you this morning to stop focusing on those who was not there, and start focusing on who was there.

I suggest to you that we need to stop looking to those who really had no power to help you in the first place. In fact, I’m glad that some people didn’t show up, because if they would have been there, they might’ve said the wrong thing, given me the wrong advice, pointed me in the wrong direction. Because the truth of the matter is if you have the Lord on your side and then you could recite Romans 8 and 28 no matter how bad the situation is you can say: and we know that all things work together for the good of them that love the God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

So for the people that didn’t show up, so for the people that didn’t respond, when I was sick, when I was hunger, when I was homeless, when I was thirsty, when I was broke, when I was lonely, when I was sad, when I broke and broken, for those of you that didn’t show up in the time of need I want to say thank you, because the Lord was there.

And can I drop this in your spirit? The God that I serve knows when to show up. Let me call some witnesses to the stand. Come here Abraham, I read Abraham how you took Isaac the mountain of Mt. Moriah to slay him, can you tell this audience what happen. When I was prepared to slay my son I heard a voice from heaven call my name twice Abraham, Abraham, I knew that it had to be important because he called my name twice, the voice said I know that you fearest me, and when I looked up there was a ram in the bush. And I know that it was only because the Lord was there.