The Tight Spots of a Christian, Part 1

Sharon Hardy Knotts: Greetings friends and new listeners, welcome to this program of the RG Hardy Ministries. I'm Sharon Knotts, thanking you for being with us today because we know faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Today's message by my father, Brother Hardy, is certain to uplift you, especially if you're in a tight place. In fact, that's the title of today's message: The Tight Spots of a Christian. So if you are in need of encouragement, you are in tune with the right station to hear a timely word. The Tight Spots of a Christian.
R. G. Hardy: You know the big difference between a child of God and a sinner? One big difference I've found between the child of God and someone that doesn't know Jesus. Let me put it that way. You know the Bible said that the rain falls on the good or the just and the unjust. How many say amen? Trials and tests, hard places, pressing ways come to the just and unjust. We know that. A lot of people have a misconception. They have the wrong idea. They believe that when they get saved, they're never going to have a test anymore. There's never going to be a hard spot. There are not going to be burdens, battles, and consequently, they're not prepared. A lot of people think they're going to fly to heaven on a magic carpet. I'll tell you what, I've been serving the Lord about 20 years and I've read that Bible all from cover to cover and a lot in between. I haven't found a magic carpet yet. I haven't found that magic carpet. How many have got that magic carpet? You got it? Quit hiding that thing! Move over, let me sit down on it! Amen. How many say amen? Don't misunderstand me. The Lord is going to work it all out. But you see, a lot of people think that when I get saved, I'm never going to be confronted with a bad situation anymore. There are not going to be any hard places anymore. There are not going to be any tight spots anymore. How many thought there'd never be a tight spot? Well, that's contrary to the Bible. You know what the Bible said? Many, M-A-N-Y. That means a whole lot. Does the word many mean a whole lot? How many believe that? Many are the afflictions. Now, remember I said the word affliction wasn't sickness and disease. A lot of people think when they think of the word affliction, they think of disease or sickness. But that wasn't the Hebrew and the Greek meaning of the word affliction. Anything that was a hard spot was called an affliction. The Bible said many are the afflictions of the righteous. How many say amen? The Greek word translated affliction means a tight spot. It means really a narrow, confining place. You're in a tight spot. You just about can't make it. It's rough and it's hard. It's a tight spot. You're just squeezing through. Let me bring it up to the 20th century. Somebody said, "How'd you get out of that fix?" "I made it by the skin of my teeth." Well, that's what the word affliction means, by the skin of your teeth. I just made it by the skin of my teeth. Well, the Bible said you're going to get in many a place as a Christian that you're just going to make it by the skin of your teeth. I don't care, just so I make it. That's all that I'm interested in. I just got by by the skin of my teeth. Many! You're going to find yourself if you follow the Lord and he tarries. Of course, maybe some of you will never learn this scripture because the Lord isn't going to be long coming. Come on Jesus! Right now is all right with me. Don't worry. You'll meet your boy and wife in the air. Go on! How many say amen? But if you follow on to know the Lord, you're going to get in a lot of predicaments that if you get out of it, it's going to be by the skin of your teeth. Amen. Hallelujah! Many are the tight spots of the righteous. You see, it rains on the good and the bad and tight spots come to the good and the bad. The only difference between the just and the unjust is that when the tight spot comes, they don't have Jesus. That's what it is. I've got Jesus. How many say amen? That's the difference between a sinner and a saint. We all are going to go through tight spots, but I've got somebody to help me. That's the big difference between being saved and unsaved. We all are trying to make a way in life. How many say amen? Calamities come to all of us. Famine might come. Maybe a war will come in our lifetime. Sinner and saint. But if you're a saint, honey, God's going to make a way where there seems to be no way. He's going to get you out. Come on Jesus! Come on Lord! The only difference between a saint and a sinner when they get in a tight spot, they can't throw their head back and holler, "Come on Jesus!" When I was in the world and didn't know Jesus, I got in tight spots. I called on Mama, and I got in spots Mama couldn't help. It wasn't any use calling on Daddy, I knew he wasn't going to help. I knew no use calling my father when I got in a tight spot with Mr. John Law. My father said, "You made your bed, now lay in it." I was in a tight spot, I didn't want to hear that stuff. That bed was hard. How many say amen? Now I began to call on people. I sat there, I thought about everybody. Who in the world could I call? I didn't care who it was. If I had known the Devil, if I had really believed there was a Devil and I knew him, I'd have called on him. I was in such a bad spot. I used to call Mom and Mom would drop everything and try to get me out of that tight spot. But honey, I got in spots Mom couldn't get me out of. You know, in the beginning, Mom used to be able to get me out of little spots. How many say amen? But as I got older, my spots got harder and tougher, and Mom couldn't do it. I was in trouble. I was in a tight spot. I was looking for somebody to help me. There wasn't nobody to help me. That's what the Bible and the psalmist said. It said they that hated David saw and gnashed on him. It said they got in trouble, they looked for help. It said they even called to the Lord and the Lord wouldn't help them. That's the difference between a sinner and a saint because if a sinner gets in a tight spot and says, "Hey God, get me out," God says, "No, you've got to get saved first." I don't have to worry when I get in a tight spot. "God, you've got to get me out. You've got to get me out." Say how, how do you know? Well, the Bible told me to pay my vow to the Most High God. I know he's got to get me out, I've paid my vows. How many ever heard that scripture? It said pay thy vow to the Most High God and do what? He said, "Then in the time of trouble, call on me and I will deliver you. I will." Say keep your vows to God, and when you get in a tight spot, just call on him. "Hey Jesus, I know you. I've seen you do a miracle. You're going to do some more for me." How many say amen? I'm glad I've got Jesus. I'm glad I'm saved. I said I'm glad I'm a child of God. My God, I wouldn't want to be in a fix I'm in and be a sinner. My Lord, help me Jesus! My Lord! I said I wouldn't want to be living in this society. I wouldn't want to be living in Baltimore City with all the troubles there are and be a sinner. No sir, honey! I believe I'd barricade myself in a room and I wouldn't go out. I'd be scared to death. How many say amen? I'm glad I'm saved! You know what? You know something? I'd rather be the most tried and tested tight spot Christian that ever lived than the freest sinner right here in Baltimore. I'd rather be in all the tight spots that you can get in and be a Christian than be free and be a sinner. Because I know that if I'm in a tight spot, God's got to get me out. I don't have to do nothing, he's got to get me out. He's got to. Somebody said, "Why's he got to get you out?" Because number one, I'm righteous. I'm his child. And number two, his word said he'd get me out. And God's got to do it because he said it! I'm going to go up to God and say, "God, I'm your child. The blood's on me. Put the blood on me right now." How many say amen? "I'm your child. Your blood's on me. You've got to move for me. You've got to get me out of this tight spot. You've got to move!" I said bless God tonight, God, you've got to move! Oh honey, if you had everything handed to you on a silver platter, how you know God can do all those things? I won't have no problem with faith when old Death comes. I said I don't believe I'm going to have any trouble when it comes time to meet Mr. Death. I ain't going to be afraid of Mr. Death. Say, "Are you going to be afraid of him?" I'm going to say, "No." I'm going to say, "Hey Death, where's your sting?" You know what it's going to take to be raptured. Who knows what it's going to take to be raptured? It's going to take faith. How many say amen? And all these little tests are just purifying our faith so that when the big challenge of faith comes, we just won't have to worry. How many say amen? When the devil comes in and tries to break your faith at the old deathbed and is showing you death all around you. Maybe, I don't know, maybe America might be invaded and they might try to make you deny Jesus. And when he's got that gun there and that demon looking at you and death's looking at you, how many say amen? Oh, God wants to bring you to the place that you can say, "For me to live is Christ, but to die is gain." Pull that old trigger! You know we just might be, we might just be brought to that before it's over. You know the early apostolic church, the church of the apostles, had to have that kind of faith. As you read the story of the apostles, you find that every one of them went out as a martyr. As I began to read the autobiography of Paul. Say, "Where did you read it? You know he wrote it himself." How many say amen? You know that there Greek word *auto* means self. The story of my own life by me. This is the story of my life by me, Paul the Apostle. He wrote it himself. How many say amen? When did he write it? When he said, "Timothy, fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life." He said, "Timothy, I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, preach the gospel. Be instant in season and out of season. Reprove and rebuke and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." He said, "For I'm about to be offered up and the time of my departure is at hand." He said, "This is my autobiography. I've fought a good fight." I believe in fighting. I don't believe in fighting a defeated fight. I believe in fighting the good fight. And the good fight is fighting the good fight of faith. Have faith and punch the devil! How many say, believe God and lift up the blood-stained banner? Somebody said, "Fighting?" I'm fighting now, honey! You don't know how I'm fighting now. I'm fighting for my life. Amen, I believe in God and I'm punching the devil. I believe in God, punching the devil. Said, "Are you fighting?" Yeah man! I don't know how long my voice is going to stay out, but I'm fighting the good fight of faith. I'm going to preach the good news! Hey, good news to you in a tight spot, the Lord's on the way! Hold on! Hold on! You know, God, in every circumstance and situation that we'll get in, has promised to make us the victors. In fact, as we study the word and we find out the word, we find out that wherever we are, if we're an obedient child of God, God led you there. I'm going to let that sink in. I said if you are an obedient child of God, wherever you're at, whatever circumstance you're in, God led you there. So don't let the devil tell you God don't know anything about you. He led you there. He ordered you there. Let me change it and really get biblical. If you have been obeying the Lord, wherever you're at, whatever your circumstance, God ordered you there. The steps of a righteous... that's somebody that's obeying God. That's somebody that's not disobedient. That's somebody that's not living in sin. That's somebody that's not living in rebellion. That's somebody that hasn't broken any law to be guilty. They are righteous. The steps of a righteous man are what? Oh, God ordered you just wherever you are. God ordered you to get right in that tight spot. He said, "Hardy, you've been obeying me. You've been doing what I told you. Preaching my word. Trying to lift up Jesus. Not compromising. Crying aloud, sparing not. Lifting up holiness. Crying out against sin." Said, "Get in that tight spot." I said, "All right Lord." He said, "Because I'm going to get you out of it." How many say amen? Hey, did you ever read in the Psalms where God promised the psalmist and said, "I will lead you into a large place"? Hallelujah! What do you think he was talking about? What's a large place mean? What do you mean in a large... someone takes you out of that tight spot! You know what happens when you're righteous and you obey the Lord? The Lord leads you into that tight spot. You know what happens? The devil comes running. "Bless God, you're in a tight spot. Look at you! You've obeyed the Lord. You've been righteous. Trying to get yourself righteous now." Said, "Meant to tell me the Lord loves you? Led you into this tight spot?" I said, "This is just a door." Said, "Here you are, obey God and he led you in a tight spot. What kind of God is that? Why don't you quit serving him? Why don't you give up?" I ain't about to give up! Not in that place. If I'm going to give up, I ain't going to give up in no tight spot. Are you crazy? You mean tell me I'm going to get in a tight spot and don't see no way out and I'm going to quit God there? I need him then! If I'm going to quit him, I'm going to wait till he gets me in the large place. I ain't going to quit him in the tight spot. See what I'm talking about? Hey brother, you ought to be glad you didn't quit God Wednesday. Ain't you glad you stood up there and helped me preach and shout and pray for the sick and take them through the line? Aren't you glad? Somebody said why? I'm glad he didn't quit God Wednesday. Why? Because somebody stuck a gun in him. When was it, Thursday or today? Wednesday after the church? Oh before? Oh, I'm glad you didn't quit him Sunday. Stuck a gun in him. Took his money. Took his watch. How many say amen? He was in a tight spot. Didn't have his watch, couldn't tell what time it was. It's time to praise the Lord! Said, "Why should he praise God?" That man could have pulled that trigger, that's why! But what did the Lord do? You was in a tight spot. Didn't have your watch so you knew what time it was. Didn't have his money. But the brother's been giving to the Lord. He's been sacrificing and God saw it. And the devil said, "Bless God, I'm going to rob him. I'm going to take his watch and his money." And you know what? God saw him giving. And you know what God did? Made them police catch them boys and take his watch back and his money back. How many say amen? Hey, bless God! I wouldn't, I wouldn't be a sinner now for nothing. I'd stay in the house. We heard a story just like this just a little while ago about somebody that a friend hollered to them and they stopped the car and got in the back of the car. They weren't so fortunate because when that man turned the gun on him, he shot him right in the heart. Boom! Because he didn't know Jesus, honey. How many... that was the difference. The Lord was in the car with you, brother. He let that gun get locked on. He let that finger, trigger finger, get paralyzed. You know that? You know the Lord can paralyze them trigger fingers when they want to kill you? That old devil wants you killed, the Lord just won't let him do it. I imagine them lions when they had Daniel in that den smelling him. Said, "This is a sweetest piece of meat I've smelled in a long time. Oh God!" Said, "All I've been getting is some of them stinking dirty devils. Said, "This is some of that righteous holiness stuff. Said, "Man, this is a good clean meal." Said, "I'd like to eat him." Daniel said, "You'd like to eat him, but shut up, boy! He's got down to give you lockjaw! Just you can smell but you can't eat!" Hey, you can go on home if you want to. That's all right, I'm preaching anyway. I'm preaching to myself. I ain't about to quit God. God, I'm like Jacob. How many ever read the story about Jacob? Old Jacob, he was what we'd call him a conman now. If he was living now, he'd have him one of them fancy hats. He'd have them big dark glasses on. I mean he'd be super fly. He'd be down there flim-flamming all them cats. That's what he did. The Bible said he was a supplanter. Huh? He got it by being a conman. Even got his mother in on it. She worked with him, didn't she? Mother got in this and said, "Jacob, I named you right. Supplanter, conman, huh? By trickery, flim-flam, you're going to get the blessing." I'll tell you what, I don't blame Jacob. The blessings of God are so good, I'd even use flim-flam to get it. What are you talking about? Hey, I said the blessings of the Lord are so good, I'd even use conman's tactics to get it. I'd say, "Lord, bless me! I don't care what it takes! Just bless me!" He went running into his father, and his father said, "Your brother's got your blessing." Said, "I don't care, bless me! I don't care, give me some kind of a blessing!" How many say amen? Honey, I want the blessing of God! I don't care what it takes to get. Tight spots, cramped spots, bruised ankles, kicked shins, punched noses. Give me the blessing! Quit God? You kid! I believe I'm a little bit like Jacob. Old Jacob used anything he could to get out of a tight spot. Didn't he do it? Tricked his brother, starving to death, and stole his birthright. Huh? With his mother, conned his father to think he was somebody else. Put sheepskin, goatskin on. Put his brother's clothes on, smelled like his brother. Father was blind, said, "I can't see you, but I'm going to smell you. Said, "You talk like Jacob, said, "but you feel like Esau." And his father blessed him and gave him everything. Bless God, I'd put goatskins on too to get everything, wouldn't you? These folk don't believe that. And all of a sudden, he heard that Esau was going to kill him. Oh, he was in a tight spot! He knew his brother wasn't no fool boy. He ain't going to fool around. His brother was going to turn him every way but loose. He knew his brother was a wild man. And his brother said, "I won't kill him now while we're mourning, but as soon as we get our father in the sepulcher and get all the mourners out, I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him!" How many say amen? And I mean Jacob knew he was in a tight spot. Do you know what he did? He left that blessing. He left all those things that his father gave him and he ran. I said he ran! He left everything. He was in a tight spot. That man was going to kill him. That man wasn't going to do no talking. He said, "He couldn't tell that man, 'I'm going to give you the blessing.'" The man said, "I'm going to kill you and have it anyhow!" How many say amen? He ran! Didn't he do it? And on his running in his tight spot, he ran into God. That's a good one to run into! How many say amen? He didn't have anything. That's when God finds us. I mean, if God wasn't going to help us, why does he wait till we ain't got nothing? When everybody's against us. How many say amen? Esau's going to kill us. And the only thing Jacob had, his sole sum and total of his belongings was a stone for his head. Huh? And while he had his head on that stone, God found him.
Sharon Hardy Knotts: Amen, what an inspired word of encouragement by God's servant Brother Hardy, The Tight Spots of a Christian. The scripture says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all." Now, the term afflictions does not refer to a sickness but rather to a narrow, confining place as though you are being squeezed, or as Apostle Paul described, being pressed in the spirit and even pressed out of measure. In other words, a tight spot. Many are the tight spots of a Christian. But God has promised to deliver us out of every one. First Corinthians 10:13 states, "There is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted above that which you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way to escape that you may be able to endure." Child of God, your tight spot will not destroy you because God is faithful to bring you out. And James reminded us that we have the examples of the Old Testament saints who also suffered great afflictions and they did so with patience. And Peter stated that the same afflictions, the very same tight spots, are accomplished in our brethren around the world. We believe this message is one you might need to hear again, or you may know someone who is in a tight spot that you want to share it with. It can be ordered on CD for a love gift of $10 or more for the radio ministry. Request offer 127 and mail to R. G. Hardy Ministries, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland 21203, or go online to rghardy.org. Friends, even if you do not wish to order, we want to hear from you and we need your financial support to continue on this station. But to receive The Tight Spots of a Christian, request offer 127, mail to P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland 21203. Until next time, this is Sharon Knotts saying, Maranatha.