When Everything's Against You - God Is For You | Jentezen Franklin
Sunday, November 2
God can hide some of your greatest blessings and miracles right inside your hardest seasons. This message from Mark 11 is a powerful reminder that no matter what, God is always on your side.
Key Points
1. Get your metal detector out. When you go through something challenging, get a spiritual metal detector out because there is a treasure in the midst of it. He will never let you go through a season of against and not let you come out with a blessing.
2. God is about to do something you have never experienced before. God will use your trial to bring new blessings to your life that will take you to your eternal destiny.
3. Good things are often tied up in bad places. God knows where you are and can turn your mess into a success. When God allows you to go through something, it’s not meant to kill you but to bless you.
4. Kiss your against and call it “friend.” Forgive those who have hurt you, kiss your trials, and call them “friend,” because God is using them to get you to your purpose and untie the blessings of God.
Final Thoughts:
When everything is against you, God is still for you. Don’t make much ado about nothing when Jesus is everything. You may have trials in this life, but you are headed for glory!
Introduction
And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.
Today we’ll explore the message, “When Everything’s Against You – God Is For You’ by Pastor Jentezen Franklin. The message encouraged us to view our trials and difficult life experiences differently. We were challenged to see these issues, not as setbacks, but rather as opportunities for God to reveal some truth critical to us becoming the Children of God that He desires for us. Moreover, it is an opportunity for God to reveal His hand of providence and His strength in victory that could be only revealed to us in our times of weakness and need.
This week we will dig into:
· The Village Over Against You
· Reveal What’s ‘Tied Up’ In The Darkness
· Kiss It And Call It Friend
LET’S START THE DISCUSSION:
· What stood out to you in this past Sunday’s message?
· What are some of your major adversities? Have you seen how God has now, or could use them in the future? Explain.
Faithful in the Fire
Sometimes Jesus doesn’t lead us around the storm—He leads us straight into the village that’s against us. That’s exactly what happened to Daniel and to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They didn’t stumble into trouble; they were sent. The king’s decree, the jealous officials, the roaring lions, the furnace blazing seven times hotter—it all felt like the end. Yet Heaven had already named the place “Against” because that’s where the miracle was hiding.
Daniel 6:16–17, 22 (NIV) So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den… A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den… My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight.
Pastor Jentezen said it this way: “You could be in the fire and not feel God or see God, and somebody else is seeing God through what you’re going through.” That sleepless night, that doctor’s report, that prodigal child, that empty bank account—get your spiritual metal detector out. There’s a treasure tied up in the darkness, and Heaven is shouting, “Loose him and let him go!”
· When was the last time life felt like a lions’ den or a fiery furnace? What kept you praising anyway?
· Who in your world needs to see the “fourth Man” through your story this week? Reach out and tell them, “I’m in the fire—but I’m not alone.”
Untie the Miracle: When God Sends You to the Village Against You
Mark 11:2. “And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him.”
The village in Mark 11:2 is called “over against you” in the King James—exactly the spot God providentially sends us when the next step looks nothing like we planned. Everything feels against us, tied tight in darkness. Yet notice the order Jesus gave: go, loose him, bring him.
As Christ-followers we go by faith. When we arrive and find tests, trials, even the silence of God, we loose the hidden treasure by declaring: God is sovereign, He allows the good and the bad, He’s no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), and His steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 100:5). The “good” He’s after isn’t instant comfort—it’s our transformation toward glory.
So we bring Him praise while the rope is still knotted, because we know He’s the Potter and we’re the clay (Isaiah 64:8). He crafts masterpieces! One day soon we’ll ride that unridden colt—new promises, new revelation, new hope—straight into the Hosanna parade.
Pastor Jentezen remembered preaching to an empty auditorium and a cold camera lens. What the enemy meant for evil, God untied into a 10x explosion of online reach—and one simple sax solo racked up 580,000 views in a single week! The enemy is a defeated foe!
· Can you share with the group something that looked dark and impossible (tied up) only to look back and see it was the sovereign hand of God actually brining you from dark to light?
· If you are in a situation now that looks like an impossible “knot,” would you be willing to praise Him and thank Him for whatever He is doing to bring you to an unridden colt – a new promise land, a new revelation, a new growth phase or an unseen blessing?
Kiss It and Call It Friend—God Is For You
We’ve all felt it before—that deep, gut-wrenching sting of betrayal. When someone we care about lets us down in a big way, it can be devastating. What do we do when we’re crushed by disappointment and heartache?
In today’s message, we’re encouraged to “kiss it and call it friend.” What a strange response! Nevertheless, in God’s Kingdom, perspective often defies logic. Consider Jesus’ response to Judas—while Judas was plotting against Him, Jesus still washed his feet and called him friend. When we understand that Jesus Himself is familiar with suffering and betrayal, we are reminded that we are never alone. Now we, too, have the power to “kiss it and call it friend”!
Psalm 56:8 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”
We serve a God who not only understands our pain but is actively working all things together for the good of those who love Him.
Romans 8:31, 38–39 declares, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? … For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Be encouraged today by Paul’s bold declaration of God’s unwavering love for us. With this revelation, we can confidently trust that God is always for us.
Let’s declare this together: If it’s against me, God is for me!
· Think about a challenging situation you are facing—or have faced in the past. How can your response reflect the idea to “kiss it and call it friend”?
· Meditate on God’s love as described in Romans 8:38–39. How can this truth transform your outlook on your current situation?
Conclusion
Psalm 56:9Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me.
In Psalm 56:9, David acknowledges his struggles and oppression, but he also knows that this is an opportunity for God to reveal who He is. The very fact that he overcame against his enemies was evidence to David that God was for him. The same is true for us. What the enemy may mean for evil, God will inevitably use for His good to those that love Him and are called according to His purposes. It takes us back to this truth: ‘there is a treasure tied to your ‘against.’
Call To Action:
· Find one ‘against’ situation in your life,
· Kiss it, greet is as God’s means to reveal Himself to you,
· Call it friend, maintaining a positive attitude and embracing it with expectation of God revelation,
· Actively praise God for what He is doing through the adversity and the victory that is yours.
Prayer:
Lord, I thank You for the village over against me that may seem to be an insurmountable obstacle, because I know that in it you have hidden a treasure of great worth to me. Give me the courage and the faith to view each obstacle as an opportunity from You; empower me to see what You would reveal to me; and embrace what You are calling me to do or become. Help me to praise You in these seasons and all of life’s journey. In Your Holy Name Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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