This biblical teaching is a production of The Walk Ministries with Pastor Jeno Shaw. You can watch the video below, and then read the teaching notes that follow.
Where Are The Parables Of Today?
Years ago, I was hanging out with a bunch of pastors after church. We went out to eat, and everyone was in a good mood, so we took turns telling jokes around the table. One joke that was told just stuck with me. I’ll try to do it justice, so here goes.
There was a Christian king that was the outdoors type. He loved the outdoors and exploring and all that stuff. Well, one day right before going out, he found a coconut. He wanted to eat the coconut because they are healthy and good for you. While trying to chop the coconut open, he accidentally chopped off his thumb. His servant was standing right there next to him and said, “That’s good!” The king, obviously in pain, angrily said, “Good? This is not good. I just chopped off my thumb, you fool! Guards, put this man in jail right now!”
So after a few days, the king was bored, so he decided to sneak off into the jungle to do some hunting. While hunting, he got captured by some head hunter tribesmen. They were going to kill him and eat him, but then they noticed he was missing a thumb. They said, “We cannot sacrifice this man because he has a defect. Our pagan god will not be pleased with this sacrifice,” so they let the king go.
The king, as you could imagine, was so happy and pleased! As the king pondered about his life, he thought about the servant that he put in jail earlier, so he decided to release his servant from jail. When the servant was released from jail, the king began to tell his hunting story and about getting captured. The servant let out an outburst, “That’s good!”
The king couldn’t believe his ears, and he became angry yet again. The king said, “What’s with this guy that keeps saying, ‘That’s good; that’s good,’ to EVERYTHING?”
And the servant explained, “That’s good that I was in jail and not with you because, if I was with you, then the head hunters would have passed over you, and they would have killed me instead!”
You see, God can use what we think are problems to protect us. What looks bad to us can actually be “good!”
You see, the picture I’m getting is the enemy throws curve balls at us, and I see God stepping in and catching those curve balls, and he blesses us. Whenever the enemy is throwing lemons at us, God turns it into lemonade!
Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
You would think to be an effective evangelist, you would need to travel, and that’s what Paul did. But the enemy sought to stop him, and as such, he was arrested. But what happened? It was during his arrests that Paul was able to still pen some of the gospels in the new testament, namely Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, and Philippians. What boldness came out of him during incarceration. Paul says with boldness that his captivity was first of all TO CHRIST! I mean, these were not “boo-hoo letters,” “look at me; feel sorry for me.” Noooo!
Philippians 1:12-14 (NLT)
12 “And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. (13) For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. (14) And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.”
You would think that going to jail would be a setback for Paul, but it did the opposite; it advanced the gospel instead!
You see, sometimes the way forward is backward, and God uses these curve balls that the enemy throws at us, and he turns it around for good!
Think back in your life and tell me how God used a curve ball in your life and turned it around. Write it in the chat. I want to read your testimony.
I truly love you all,
Pastor Jeno
