First Baptist Church of Highland Park

Rev. Dr. Henry P. Davis III: Hi, I'm Henry Davis, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland, a Bible-believing, Christ-centered, and spirit-led congregation. I want to welcome you to our radio broadcast, and remember, there's power at the park.

Second Corinthians chapter four is where we turn our spotlight in this worship experience. Second Corinthians chapter four, verses eight and nine, New Living Translation. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. And through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

You may go to your seats around the building. Amen. Verse number eight, Second Corinthians 4. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. What a blessing not to be driven to despair. I gave you a wrong number. Our staff is very quick. We have 43 persons 90 and above. 43. That's a blessing.

I titled this message, "I Know You Can't Believe It." Turn to your neighbor and say, "I know you can't believe it." Throughout this weekend, I'm preaching from the theme "Stronger Than What Tried to Stop You." I started that last night in our Saturday night experience, and I talked about how God was working while they were watching. I looked at Joseph the dreamer, his elevation, and the challenges we deal with with elevation.

So, we look at the reality that every now and then in life, you will run into people who look at you with a sense of amazement. They know what you went through. They heard about the setback. They saw the storm you had to endure. They know the pressure that surrounded you. And when they look at you now, still standing, still moving forward, still trusting God, they almost say it with disbelief.

I know you can't believe you're still here. But if the truth be told, they're the ones who can't believe it because some people watched your struggle, but they never understood your strength. It's getting ready to get juicy in here. They saw the attack, but they did not see the God who sustained you. They saw the pressure, but they did not see the power that kept you. We can be grateful today for the keeping power of God.

And that's exactly what the Apostle Paul is talking about in Second Corinthians chapter four. Paul is writing to believers in Corinth who had begun to question his ministry. Some critics believed that because Paul experienced so much hardship, that must mean God was not with him. But Paul flips their argument upside down. Instead of hiding his suffering, he uses his suffering to highlight the sustaining power of God.

And he says in verse number eight, we are pressed on every side by troubles, but we're not crushed. In other words, pressure was real, but the pressure did not win. Paul's ministry was anything but easy. He endured imprisonment, beatings, rejection, and constant opposition. Yet, he never interpreted suffering as the absence of God. Instead, Paul understood something profound. Sometimes, hardship is not evidence that God has left you. Sometimes, hardship is evidence that God is carrying you.

This insight echoes the theology of the German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who preached during the rise of Nazi Germany. Bonhoeffer resisted the evil of Hitler's regime and eventually paid for that resistance with his own life. Yet, in prison, Bonhoeffer maintained a deep conviction: faith is only real when it stands firm in the midst of suffering. In other words, true faith is not proven in a comfortable space. True faith is revealed under pressure.

And that's what we look at when we look at this text today. Number one, pressure didn't destroy you. That's the first thing we're going to talk about because we can deal with pressure, but pressure is not going to destroy you. Secondly, opposition didn't define you. Oh no, it's not going to define me, and it's not going to confine me. It's not going to limit me whatsoever. And thirdly, God's power sustains you. You're not sustaining yourself. I'm leaning and dependent on Jesus. Rambo, we can go to our surgeries, and Penny Party, I see you back in worship, and whatever the challenges are, we can celebrate a God who walks with us at all times.

Nothing's too hard for God. No mountain too high, no valley too low, no ocean too deep. And no matter what other people think, we can celebrate a God who's told us, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." And so my first point in this worship experience: pressure didn't destroy you. Paul says, "We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed." The Greek word for "pressed" suggests being squeezed from every direction. It paints the picture of being surrounded by pressure.

But the word for "crushed" comes from the Greek word *stenochoreo*, which means to be trapped in a narrow place with no room to move, to be suffocated by pressure. That almost sounds like the Middle Passage, and our ancestors were stuffed on the bottom of ships, but they had no room to move. But yet they're able to be sustained all the way across those waters. Thanks be to God. But Paul says, "We are squeezed, but we were never suffocated."

We were surrounded, but we were never trapped. Because whenever pressure closed in, God always made room for deliverance. Somebody ought to feel me this morning. God can make room for your deliverance. What the Bible says he can provide us with a way of escape. That means the pressure never had the authority to finish you. My pressure might have come, but the pressure doesn't have the authority because God has the final word.

That reminds me of the courage of Harriet Tubman in this Women's History Month. Harriet Tubman was born into slavery, endured brutal conditions, and escaped bondage. But she didn't stop with her own freedom. My God, you know some folk, they get themselves free, and that's all they're concerned about. But here, Harriet Tubman said she returned to the South over and over again to guide others to freedom through the Underground Railroad.

Each journey was dangerous. Slave catchers were searching. Rewards were posted. Opposition surrounded her on every side. Yet, Harriet Tubman once said, "I never ran my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger." In other words, she was pressed, but she was not crushed. And the same God who guided Harriet through dark nights and dangerous paths is the same God who is guiding you through seasons of pressure.

We've got pressure going on. Gas prices are going up. War going on in Iran. And a lunatic is in the leadership position who was able to deliver a message for one hour and 47 minutes and call it the State of the Union. My God, that was filled with lie after lie and things that do not add up. But I'm thankful that we can still rise and shine and give God the glory. Come and lift up our hands. I know you've got pressure with layoffs going on and government pressure and pressure on the job.

A person stopped me this week and said, "Rev, I'm going through some things on the job." But I want you to know, and we stopped and prayed, because I let them know that God is able. Oh yeah, oh yeah, boy, I look all around the room, God is able. I thank God that he can show up and show out. I thank God that he can make a way out of nowhere. I thank God that he can throw out a lifeline. I'm thanking God that God said, "I can fight your battle."

And no matter what your battle is, nothing is too hard for God. That's why I talked about Joseph last night, and you can look at Joseph, but you've also got to look at David. Because David was able to bring down a giant. But Daniel's waving at me now, because Daniel's saying, "Don't talk about David, talk about me too." Because at one time, I was in a lion's den, but you was able to turn those lions into pussycats.

I thank God that God can make a way out of nowhere. And I see three Hebrew boys waving at me now: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And they said, "Oh, you've got to talk about us because they threw us in a fiery furnace, and we were in there chilling." And not only were we chilling, but we had some company because the Bible said they threw in three, but I see a fourth one in there. And so we might be under pressure, but we're not going to be crushed.

Oh yeah, the second thing is that opposition didn't define you. Paul continues, "We were perplexed, but not driven to despair." Perplexed means confused or uncertain. Paul admits there were moments when he did not understand what God was doing. And I thank God that he's not the only one, that there will be times when we will not understand what God is doing. I don't understand how it is that folk who can catch raise all this hell, and the Lord doesn't take them out of here, but then we've got to come to funerals of some of the nicest people in the world.

I wish God would ask me about some folk. I've got some names I could give him. But I thank God that we're not going to understand everything that comes our way, but confusion did not lead to despair. Paul did not understand it, but he said, "I'm not going to be in despair." Because Paul refused to allow opposition to determine his identity. And the same truth applies to us. Just because someone opposed you, just because someone doubted you, just because someone tried to block your progress, it does not mean they have the authority to define your future.

I wish I had a witness this morning. Only God has that authority. Only God, only God. Athletes understand this principle well. In basketball, there's a defensive strategy called the full-court press. Yeah, the full-court press. My high school coach, he loved the full-court press. The defense would surround the offense from every side. They would not let the ball come up the court easily. The goal is to apply pressure until the offense makes a mistake.

Yeah, and that's what we wanted to get them to do: a turnover. And then once we would get them to turn, we'd get the ball and score. But experienced teams know something: if they remain calm, if they keep moving the ball, eventually they can break the press. I'm trying to help somebody out there who feels like the press is on you. And when the press breaks suddenly, there is an open court ahead.

In other words, Satan is trying to put you in a full-court press. But you keep on praying, keep on praising, keep on coming to worship, keep on lifting up your hands, keep on reading your Bible, keep on falling down on your knees. And after a while, and by and by, God will show up. And not only will God show up, but God will show out. The enemy thought the pressure would trap you, but God used the pressure to prepare you for breakthrough.

I'm breaking through, I'm coming out of this, I'm coming out of this with my hands up, I'm coming out of this giving God the praise. I might be going through this, that, and the other, but I will still bless the Lord at all times. I will still lift up my holy hands. I will still talk about the goodness of the Lord. I don't need a microphone to do it. You can catch me in the mall, you can catch me at the supermarket, and I can talk about the greatness of a great God who keeps on blessing me over and over and over again.

I believe I've got some witnesses this morning, and you can celebrate how great—that's why we sang that song: "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." That wasn't an accident. That wasn't just something we just picked up. But the third point is that God's power sustains you. Paul finishes with these words, "We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed." Notice the rhythm of Paul's testimony: pressed but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, hunted but not abandoned, knocked down but not destroyed.

The attack was real, but God's sustaining power was greater. And that is the testimony of every believer who has walked with God through a difficult season. You may have been knocked down, but God would not let you stay down. Thank God I went down, but I got back up, dusted myself off, and I said I'm going to give God the praise. And that's why some of you walked into the church this morning with a testimony.

You should have been crushed, but you're still here. You should have lost your mind, but God kept you in perfect peace. You should have given up, but God strengthened your faith. And when people look at you now, I know they can't believe it. I know they can't believe you've made it. But the truth is, you know exactly how you made it. It wasn't your strength. It wasn't your resource. It wasn't your connection. It wasn't your sustaining power of God.

And if God kept you through everything you've already faced, then somebody ought to give God some praise this morning because the same God who kept you yesterday—hallelujah—you can look at somebody: "I'm stronger than what tried to stop me." Thank you, Jesus. And if you believe that this morning, you ought to give God a praise like you know the pressure didn't break you. Thank you, God, that you show up.

I know you can't believe it, but I've got clapping in my hands, I've got running in my feet, I've got joy in my heart, because can't nobody do me like the Lord. Good morning, Highland Park. May the Lord bless you real good. But when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done for me, my soul—I said my soul—does cry out and give God the praise. Do you love him this morning? Do you love him this morning?

God loves you so much that he sent his son to Calvary's cross. They thought they had him on a Friday, but Sunday morning, he got up with all power in his hand. Do you love him today? Won't he do it? He's able to put clapping in my hands. He's able to bless me over and over again because every time I turn around, he keeps on blessing me. Ain't he alright? He's a great God. Fairest of 10,000, Bright and Morning Star. Mother for the motherless, father for the fatherless. Can't nobody do me like the Lord. Won't he do it?

I don't know how you feel about it, but when I think about God, how I think about a God who can look past my faults, see my need, I've got a whole lot to praise God for. Say yes! Say yes! Say yes! I know you can't believe it. I know you can't believe it. But you don't know who's on the inside because something on the inside working on the outside. Oh, what a wonderful change has come over me. Do you love him today? Do you, do you, do you?

I love the Lord. Say yes! I know you can't believe it. Sometimes you've got to look in the mirror and you've got to thank God because you know it wasn't about you, but it was all about him. Hallelujah. And that's why God can walk with you no matter what the challenge is. I know you can't believe it, but I believe in Jesus, and I believe in his word, and I believe that his word is a timeless word, and it can see me through any and every challenge.

As I said when I started, no mountain too high, no valley too low, no ocean too deep. And no matter how dark it gets, God can meet you right where you are. Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. Keep on blessing. Keep on showing up. Keep on making a difference. Keep on speaking to my life. Keep on giving me hope. I know, I know Jesse Jackson got hope, but he said we're going to keep hope alive. But I thank God I've got hope in the word. I've got hope in the word.

Say yes! I know you can't believe it. And when you give your life to Christ, you're going to have folk who will be looking at you trying to figure it out. We've got folk who've been through surgeries and diagnoses, hospital stays, breakups, loss of job, but they still smile. Still got joy! Still got joy! Because the joy I have, the world didn't give it to me, and the world can't take it away. I know you can't believe it. I know you can't believe it. I know you can't.

But I tell you what: get Jesus. Get Jesus in your heart, and it's the best—I said the best—decision you could ever make. That decision—I say that song, "I Surrender All." All to him I owe. I mean, I know we had a short night, I know, I know, I know. I got mad at my alarm clock this morning. I mean, I just got mad with it. I wanted to toss it, but I know I couldn't do that. I said, "Get your behind up. You've got work to do today."

You've got some work to do today. You can't be laying up in here. Doors of the church open. Come on, clap your hands, everybody. You've been listening to the radio broadcast of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland. If you want to receive a CD or DVD of what you have just heard, please call 301-773-6655 or visit us on the World Wide Web at fbchp.org. And remember, there's power at the park.