God Can Speak To Us

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Is it investment, legal or 0:01:00.080 --> 0:01:00.600 tax advice. 0:01:01.320 --> 0:01:04.440 You're ready for a comeback, and with Purdue Global you 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:07.520 can do more than take classes. You can take charge 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:12.039 of your story, of your career, of your life, Earn 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.080 a degree you can be proud of, and get an 0:01:14.200 --> 0:01:19.040 education employer's respect. It's time, your time, not just to 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:21.480 go back to school, but to come back and move 0:01:21.600 --> 0:01:26.320 forward with Purdue Global PURDUECE Online University for working adults. 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:30.399 Start your comeback at Purdueglobal dot edu. 0:01:31.280 --> 0:01:34.160 Hi, this is Joelan Victoria. Thanks for listening to our 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:37.520 podcast and thanks for supporting the ministry. If you enjoy 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:40.160 today's message, why don't you be a blessing and share 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:42.680 it with a friend. We appreciate you and pray for 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:56.800 God's very best in your life. Well, God bless you. 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:00.240 It's always a joy to come into your homes. We 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:03.120 love you, We know God has great things in store. 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:05.720 And if you're ever in our area, I hope you'll 0:02:05.760 --> 0:02:08.079 stop by and be a part of one of our services. 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:10.400 I promise you we'll make you feel right at home. 0:02:10.480 --> 0:02:13.120 But thank you so much for tuning in. Thanks again 0:02:13.200 --> 0:02:16.160 for coming out today. I like to start with something funny. 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:18.840 And I heard about this man that was very stingy 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:22.400 with his money. Just before his death, he made his 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:25.480 wife promise that she would have him buried with the 0:02:25.639 --> 0:02:29.880 fifty thousand dollars he had saved. The wife reluctantly agreed. 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.320 At the funeral, just before they closed the casket, she 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:37.200 slipped in a small wooden box. Her friend said, surely 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:40.079 you didn't just bury the money, did you. The wife said, 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:43.200 of course I did. I'm a Christian. I can't lie. 0:02:43.680 --> 0:02:45.560 I promised him I would do it, so I did it. 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:49.280 She said, you mean you just buried fifty thousand dollars. 0:02:49.560 --> 0:02:51.880 The wife said, yes, I did. I wrote a check. 0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.519 Hold up your Bible, say it like you mean it. 0:02:57.320 --> 0:03:00.240 This is my Bible. I am what it says. I am. 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:03.239 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:05.919 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:03:06.040 --> 0:03:10.000 taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:13.519 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:18.320 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:21.360 to talk to you today about how God can speak 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:26.079 to us even in our doubts. Sometimes we think we're 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:29.520 supposed to have a perfect faith, where we never doubt, 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.040 we never have a question, we never get discouraged, we 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:37.080 never wonder why something has happened. If we waver at all, 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:41.200 something must be wrong with us. Surely God couldn't do anything. 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.200 I talked to a gentleman that had worked for a 0:03:44.280 --> 0:03:47.840 company for thirty six years. He was in the banking industry, 0:03:48.320 --> 0:03:51.280 just a few months from retirement, and the bank soul. 0:03:52.120 --> 0:03:55.800 The new owners restructured everything to where they didn't need 0:03:55.960 --> 0:04:00.040 his position anymore. He not only lost his job, he 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:03.760 lost all of his retirement, all of his benefits. He's 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:07.400 in his late fifties. He said, Joel, I just don't 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:11.880 understand how God could let this happen to me. Of course, 0:04:11.960 --> 0:04:14.560 I went into my two minute pep talk about how 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:16.960 God is in control and he's going to open up 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:20.320 another door. Then he said something that stuck with me. 0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:24.360 He said, I want to believe. I just wish I 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:28.120 didn't have all these doubts. He said it almost like 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:31.880 he was apologizing, like he felt so badly for thinking 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:34.920 that way. Here's what I want to tell you. It's 0:04:35.040 --> 0:04:39.599 okay to have questions. It's okay to wonder why something 0:04:39.839 --> 0:04:44.040 has happened. God doesn't expect us to be mister and 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:49.000 missus super believer that never has a doubt, never gets discouraged, 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:53.479 never has a question that's not reality. I heard somebody 0:04:53.600 --> 0:04:58.599 say the presence of faith doesn't mean the absence of doubt. 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:02.200 In other words, we may have doubt up here in 0:05:02.320 --> 0:05:06.400 our head, in our thinking, but down here in our hearts, 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.839 where it counts, we know God is still in control. 0:05:10.320 --> 0:05:13.320 We know God is good even though something bad may 0:05:13.400 --> 0:05:16.599 have happened. Now I want to take the pressure off. 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:21.159 God understands what it's like to be wronged. He knows 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:24.480 what it's like to have someone walk out of a relationship. 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:28.160 He knows how it feels to pray and pray, but 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.600 your loved one didn't make it. God doesn't right us 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:35.320 off and say, look at them, they're down, they're doubting. 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:38.560 I thought they trusted me. See if I ever do 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:42.280 anything for them. No, it's just the opposite. God is 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:46.800 moved by our faith, but sometimes it's our doubt that 0:05:46.920 --> 0:05:51.000 will actually draw God to us. When Jesus rose from 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:53.880 the dead, he appeared to Mary and Martha at the 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.880 garden tomb. He said, go tell my disciples word quickly 0:05:57.960 --> 0:06:02.000 got out that Jesus was alive. Everyone was so excited. 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:06.880 There was great joy among all the disciples. All that is, 0:06:07.120 --> 0:06:11.680 except one person. Thomas said, Wait a minute, guys, I'm 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:15.760 a believer. I love Jesus. I know he promised that 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:18.680 he would come back to life. Yes, I understand those 0:06:18.760 --> 0:06:22.240 women said that they've seen him. But unless I see 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:26.040 him with my own eyes, unless I feel the nail 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:29.560 prints in his hands, unless I touched the scars in 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:33.520 his side, that I'm not going to believe here. Thomas 0:06:33.880 --> 0:06:36.520 had spent just as much time with Jesus as the 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:39.880 other believers. You might say. He grew up in church, 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:43.840 he went to vacation Bible school, he knew all the scriptures. 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:47.800 Deep down, he wanted to believe, but in his mind 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:51.400 it was filled with doubts. A few days later, the 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:55.080 disciples were in a room together. All of a sudden, 0:06:55.640 --> 0:06:58.840 Jesus came walking through the door. They thought it was 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:04.000 a ghost. They recognized it was Jesus. What's interesting is 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:08.280 Jesus didn't go over to Peter and say hello. He 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:10.960 didn't go over to Matthew and give him a big hug. 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:13.960 He didn't go over to John and say hey, I'm back. 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:18.520 It's great to see you. Know, Jesus headed straight toward Thomas. 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:22.400 He didn't go to the people that had faith. He 0:07:22.520 --> 0:07:26.080 went to the one disciple that had doubt. He looked 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:28.840 him in the eyes and said, Thomas, I've heard what 0:07:29.000 --> 0:07:32.480 you've said about me. I've heard you don't believe, you 0:07:32.600 --> 0:07:36.120 have questions, you have doubts, and you know what, Thomas, 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:40.600 that's okay. That's why I've come to you first. Now 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:44.320 feel the nail prints in my hands, touch the scars 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:47.520 on my side. Be assured of this, Thomas. I'm a 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:51.280 faithful God, and I will do what I've promised. What 0:07:51.400 --> 0:07:57.560 am I say? Our doubts don't drive God away. He 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:01.640 doesn't ride us all and close the door. God is 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:06.280 so merciful. Those doubts can actually draw God to us. 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:10.560 When we go through things we don't understand. Somebody does 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:14.040 us wrong. We prayed, and our loved one didn't make it. 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:18.840 Our child is born with special needs. So often we 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:23.120 think we're supposed to be superman, superwoman and never shed 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:27.360 a tear, never get discouraged, never have a doubt. That's 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:31.280 not true. It's okay to say, God, I prayed and 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:35.440 it didn't work out. God, I don't understand it. I'm hurting. 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:40.000 I have these doubts. I'm wondering where you are. The 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:45.359 scripture says God is touched by the feelings of our infirmities. 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:50.840 That means when you hurt, God hurts when you're disappointed. 0:08:51.280 --> 0:08:55.439 God feels your pain when you're discouraged. God knows what 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:59.240 it's like. He's been there. When Jesus was in the 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:03.199 garden of this about to be crucified, he was so 0:09:03.440 --> 0:09:08.280 depressed that he sweat great drops of blood on the cross. 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:12.280 He cried out, my God, my God, why have you 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:17.319 forsaken me? Even Jesus, the son of God, a man 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:21.319 that never sinned, a man that had perfect faith, he 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:25.640 even got so discouraged and so despondent that he questioned 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:29.400 his father. God didn't say, Jesus, you know I haven't 0:09:29.440 --> 0:09:32.000 forsaken you. You know I'm still on the throne. You 0:09:32.160 --> 0:09:34.360 know you're going to rise again. Now you need to 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:35.280 quit thinking like that. 0:09:36.320 --> 0:09:36.360 No. 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:39.319 God knew that he was human. God knew that he 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:43.480 had feelings, he had emotions. In the same way, it's 0:09:43.559 --> 0:09:47.599 okay to feel disappointed. It's okay to say God, I 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:50.760 feel like you forsaken me. I don't know where you are. 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:54.480 I want to believe, but God, I have all these doubts. 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:59.160 God is more pleased when we are open and honest 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:03.760 and come before him, even with our doubts, our questions, 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:07.680 the things we don't understand. He'll respond to that quicker 0:10:08.320 --> 0:10:10.719 than when we try to hide all these things that 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:13.559 he already knows, and we try to act like we're 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:17.439 this perfect display of faith that's never been discouraged, never 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.880 had a doubt, never had a question. When Jesus was 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:23.679 on his way to be crucified, they made him carry 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:27.240 his own cross. He had been so beaten down and 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:31.480 so mistreated he couldn't carry it the whole way. He 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:35.400 fell down under the weight of his cross. Don't you 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:39.040 know God could have strengthened him to finish the journey. 0:10:39.760 --> 0:10:42.599 God could have given him a second wind, so he 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:46.400 wouldn't have fallen down and looked weak and defeated. Now 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:50.000 God was sending this message, you don't have to be 0:10:50.200 --> 0:10:54.240 strong one hundred percent of the time. It's okay to 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:57.480 fall down. It's okay to have a doubt. It's okay 0:10:57.559 --> 0:11:01.439 to say God, I can't take this anymore. Sometimes the 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:05.400 cross we're carrying can get heavy. We think I can't 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:08.880 raise this child, I can't stay in this marriage, I 0:11:09.000 --> 0:11:13.040 can't deal with this legal situation another day, and those 0:11:13.120 --> 0:11:17.120 accusing voices will come and try to convince us that 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.800 if we've ever had a doubt, if we've ever gotten discouraged, 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:24.040 if we've ever fallen, then God's not going to do 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:27.400 anything for you. Man, Look, you're weak, you're on the ground. 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:29.160 You're letting life get the best of you. 0:11:29.760 --> 0:11:29.800 No. 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:34.640 Always remember, even Jesus couldn't carry the weight of his 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:39.400 own cross. Notice what happened when he fell down. God 0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:42.680 didn't leave him there. God didn't say too bad, Jesus, 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:44.599 you should have had more faith. I told you not 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:49.079 to doubt me. No, God immediately sent another man across 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:52.760 his path by the name of Simon, and Simon carried 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.000 the cross for him. Here's the point. When you're down, 0:11:56.679 --> 0:12:01.240 when you have doubts, when you're discouraged, will always send 0:12:01.400 --> 0:12:05.079 somebody to help you back up, somebody to encourage you, 0:12:05.480 --> 0:12:07.679 somebody to tell you that you're going to make it. 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:12.000 It may be my voice today letting you know that 0:12:12.600 --> 0:12:17.760 it's okay to fall. Just get back up again. It's 0:12:17.840 --> 0:12:21.679 okay to have doubts, just don't stay there. It's okay 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:26.920 to be disappointed. Just realize that disappointment is not the end. 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:30.599 It's a new beginning. God still has something great in 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:35.040 your future. Several years ago, some friends called from another 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:38.439 state and they were expecting their second child and so 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:42.040 excited about it. But when the baby was born, they 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:45.199 discovered that she had special needs and was going to 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:49.400 require a lot of extra care. This couple were strong believers. 0:12:49.840 --> 0:12:53.040 They had grown up in church, they knew all the scriptures, 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:57.199 but this baby being born like that really rocked their faith. 0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:01.559 They begin to have these questions things that they didn't understand, 0:13:02.200 --> 0:13:05.760 things like if God loved us so much, how could 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:08.640 he let this happen. We're good people. Why didn't we 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:12.120 have a healthy baby? They said, Joel. We want to 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:16.120 believe we know the right thing, but we're so disappointed. 0:13:16.559 --> 0:13:21.240 We're hurting so badly. We're wondering where God is. They 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:24.720 were expecting some great explanation from me, but I told 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:28.120 them just what I'm telling you. It's okay to feel disappointed. 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:32.880 It's okay to have questions. Faith is not about hiding 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:37.559 everything and trying to act like we're superhuman. Faith is 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:41.560 about being real, like Jesus on the cross. There's nothing 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:44.439 wrong with saying, God, why have you forsaken me? 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:45.080 God? 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:49.199 I'm heartbroken, I'm lonely. God, I don't understand why this 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:53.400 has happened. When you are real with God and you're 0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:57.960 honest enough to even express your doubts, those doubts will 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:01.280 not drive God away. It'll do just the opposite. It'll 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:04.160 draw God closer to you. Now. I went on to 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.640 tell this couple that baby being born to your family 0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:12.000 is not a mistake. It's not an accident. God chose 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:15.959 you because He trusted you to raise this child. She 0:14:16.200 --> 0:14:19.760 has special needs, but God knows you have special gifts. 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:23.640 She's going to take extraordinary care. But God knows both 0:14:23.680 --> 0:14:27.840 of you are extraordinary people. You're not being punished. God 0:14:27.960 --> 0:14:31.000 is not telling you you've done something wrong. No, this 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:34.320 is just another chapter in your life that God has 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:38.880 already equipped you for. And sometimes on the way to 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:42.760 our divine destiny, the weight of the cross gets so 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:46.640 heavy that we fall down. We don't know why somebody 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:50.000 walked out of a relationship for like a man I 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:53.960 mentioned why he got laid off, So close to retirement, 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:57.200 or why we prayed and prayed but our loved one 0:14:57.280 --> 0:15:02.040 didn't make it. You may have questions things you don't understand. 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:04.960 You wonder where God is. But the good news is 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:08.720 God is not just with us in our times of faith, 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:12.400 but He is with us even in our times of doubt. 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:16.240 He is not a fair, weathered God there for us 0:15:16.360 --> 0:15:20.040 when we're perfect and gone when we're not. He doesn't 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.280 just speak to us when we're on the mountaintop singing 0:15:23.400 --> 0:15:27.320 you are good, reading your best life. Now, No, God says, 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:31.560 I'll speak to you just as much when you're alone 0:15:31.800 --> 0:15:35.520 and discouraged. I'll talk to you when you're upset and 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:38.960 you feel like I've left you. I'll show up not 0:15:39.440 --> 0:15:43.120 just because of your faith, but I'm so merciful, I'll 0:15:43.240 --> 0:15:46.360 even show up because of your doubt. Now, I want 0:15:46.440 --> 0:15:48.720 us to take the pressure off. We don't have to 0:15:48.800 --> 0:15:52.000 go around acting like we've got it all figured out. 0:15:52.560 --> 0:15:55.400 We never have a doubt, we never think a wrong thought, 0:15:55.720 --> 0:16:00.480 we never get discouraged. No, even Jesus fell down. Even 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:03.560 Jesus said, God, I don't want to go this route. 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:07.000 Let me go another way. God, why have you forsaken me? 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:09.920 What am I doing up here on the cross? In 0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:13.720 other words, God, why did this situation not work out? God? 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:17.000 Why did these people treat me wrong? It's okay to 0:16:17.120 --> 0:16:20.320 be human because that doubt is not in your heart. 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:23.480 It's up here in your head. And God has the 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:27.640 amazing ability to look past the doubt and to see 0:16:27.680 --> 0:16:31.200 the faith that's on the inside. For some people, that 0:16:31.480 --> 0:16:34.880 doubt is a mile high. They've had things happen. They 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:39.000 don't understand things that were not fair. Maybe they weren't 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:42.080 raised in a believing environment. So I love this. It 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:46.080 says that God has put a measure of faith on 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:50.280 the inside of every person. That means people that don't 0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:54.760 give God the time of day, they don't believe, they're cynical. 0:16:55.120 --> 0:16:57.600 They look like they're full of doubt. But what they 0:16:57.640 --> 0:17:02.200 don't realize is on the inside, deep down, the creator 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:05.960 of the universe has placed a mustard seed of faith. 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:10.240 This is why it's so important to never write anybody off. 0:17:11.080 --> 0:17:15.240 That person at the office that's sarcastic, makes fun of 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:17.880 you for going to church, gives you all hard time 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:20.720 for staying on the high road. It may seem like 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:24.119 they are full of doubt. Surely God wouldn't have anything 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:28.080 to do with them. Now God says, there's another Thomas. 0:17:28.560 --> 0:17:30.480 I'll get to you people full of faith in just 0:17:30.560 --> 0:17:33.840 a moment. Right now, I'm going after them. It doesn't 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:38.080 always make sense to our theology, but sometimes God will 0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:41.200 bypass the people of faith so he can go after 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:44.760 one person that's filled with doubt. I had a lady 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:47.879 tell me how her whole life she had been an atheist. 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:52.080 She didn't believe in God, wasn't raised in a religious environment, 0:17:52.320 --> 0:17:55.240 really didn't even give God the time of day. But 0:17:55.480 --> 0:17:59.000 one morning, her daughter, she was in her early twenties, 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:03.320 was involved in a serious car accident. This mother rushed 0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:07.600 to the hospital. So stressed and so worried she got 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:10.320 the news that her daughter probably would not make it. 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.640 She stayed by her side day after day, wouldn't leave 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:18.080 the hospital. Unfortunately, the doctors told her that the injuries 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:21.760 were too great and her daughter had died. She drove home, 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:24.720 pulled in the garage. While she was still sitting in 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:29.200 her car, she screamed out to the top of her lungs. God, 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:34.160 I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. She said. 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:38.280 She heard a voice. It was the kindest, most gentle 0:18:38.480 --> 0:18:42.359 voice you could ever imagine. It said, that was the 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:45.520 first time you've ever spoken to me, and I want 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:49.200 to tell you how much I loved you. She said, 0:18:49.880 --> 0:18:52.960 I never believed in God before, but at that moment, 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.240 there was no doubt in my mind that God was real. 0:18:56.760 --> 0:19:00.480 I felt a peace that I never felt before. It 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:05.000 was the presence of the creator of the universe. That 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:09.359 was God looking beyond years and years of doubt to 0:19:09.520 --> 0:19:13.320 that one small seed of faith. We all know that 0:19:13.440 --> 0:19:16.240 God is moved by our faith. That's the best place 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:19.719 to live. But what I'm saying today is God can 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:23.240 even be moved by our doubt. In those times that 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:27.560 we don't understand it, we have questions, we feel alone 0:19:27.760 --> 0:19:31.080 and abandoned. That's when God has a way of showing 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:34.840 up and doing something amazing in our life. That's just 0:19:34.920 --> 0:19:38.520 what happened to Thomas in the midst of all those believers. 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:43.719 Jesus went to Thomas first, the one doubter, and said, Thomas, 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:47.320 take a look at my nailed, scarred hands. The reason 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:50.879 Jesus shows up in those times of doubt is so 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:54.840 that our faith will be restored. He could have said 0:19:54.880 --> 0:19:57.879 to that lady, too bad, That's what you get for 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:00.520 not giving me the time of day. Em all you 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:04.639 want to it's payback time. No, God is full of mercy. 0:20:05.160 --> 0:20:07.840 He knows what it's like to lose a child. He 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:11.399 lost his only son. And God is not in the 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:15.600 business of giving us what we deserve. If that was 0:20:15.680 --> 0:20:18.560 the case, Thomas wouldn't have had a chance, or he 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:21.639 wouldn't have let this lady feel his love. God is 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:25.359 in the business of restoring our faith. He's in the 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:28.639 business of getting us back on track so we can 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:33.480 live as a believer and experience his abundant life. And 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:36.680 some of you today you have questions, things that you 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:39.760 don't understand, and you feel badly because you're not in 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:42.720 faith one hundred percent of the time. But God is 0:20:42.800 --> 0:20:47.080 saying that's okay. You're a human. You don't have to 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:50.720 have a perfect faith. There's nothing wrong with saying God, 0:20:50.800 --> 0:20:55.960 I just don't understand it. Like Thomas, those questions that 0:20:56.480 --> 0:21:00.160 seemingly doubt is not going to keep God away. He's 0:21:00.200 --> 0:21:02.920 going to draw God to you. He is not going 0:21:03.000 --> 0:21:07.920 to leave you wondering, confused, discouraged. He's going to show 0:21:08.080 --> 0:21:12.000 up so that your faith will be restored. I heard 0:21:12.040 --> 0:21:15.280 Jensen Franklin tell something that happened to him. Jensen is 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:18.479 a good friend and a great minister. He's the pastor 0:21:18.560 --> 0:21:22.719 of Free Chapel in Atlanta. When his daughters were much younger, 0:21:23.040 --> 0:21:25.760 he and his wife, Charise decided to go to Sea 0:21:25.840 --> 0:21:29.440 World in Florida. He had already made arrangements to leave 0:21:29.480 --> 0:21:32.480 on Monday and then we'd be at the park on Tuesday. 0:21:33.040 --> 0:21:36.360 But for some reason, Charis really wanted to leave Sunday 0:21:36.440 --> 0:21:39.960 after church. Jensen said, well, I've already made the flight 0:21:40.160 --> 0:21:43.520 reservations and the hotel reservations. I'd have to change everything. 0:21:44.200 --> 0:21:47.160 She felt so strongly about it. He made the changes. 0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:50.400 They left Sunday and went to the park on Monday 0:21:50.760 --> 0:21:53.959 instead of Tuesday, and at one point they were at 0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:57.200 this outdoor arena waiting for the dolphins show to begin. 0:21:57.600 --> 0:22:00.959 It's a perfectly beautiful sunny day. All of a sudden, 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:04.600 out of nowhere, there was this huge clap of thunder. 0:22:05.200 --> 0:22:08.800 It was so loud everyone practically jumped out of their seats, 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:11.520 and a few moments before they knew it, it was 0:22:11.640 --> 0:22:15.520 pouring down rain and lightning like nothing they'd ever imagined. 0:22:15.680 --> 0:22:19.000 Of course, everyone ran for cover while they were underneath 0:22:19.160 --> 0:22:23.600 the bleachers, there was another very loud clap of thunder. 0:22:24.320 --> 0:22:28.040 Jensen and Cherisa's little three year old daughter got very scared, 0:22:28.560 --> 0:22:31.600 and instead of turning to their parents, she ran to 0:22:31.720 --> 0:22:34.440 a twenty five year old girl that they had never 0:22:34.560 --> 0:22:37.639 seen before about fifteen feet away, and gave her a 0:22:37.720 --> 0:22:40.919 big hug and held on to her and wouldn't let 0:22:40.960 --> 0:22:44.240 her go. Jensen and Cherise looked at each other. It 0:22:44.400 --> 0:22:47.160 was the strangest thing. They didn't know who the young 0:22:47.240 --> 0:22:51.560 lady was and why their daughter would be drawn to her. Normally, 0:22:51.680 --> 0:22:54.280 their daughter would never go to a stranger like that. 0:22:55.080 --> 0:22:57.879 They went over very politely and tried to get the 0:22:58.000 --> 0:23:01.360 daughter away, but she just wouldn't let go. The young 0:23:01.440 --> 0:23:05.679 lady began weeping. Her parents were there. They started weeping 0:23:05.800 --> 0:23:09.720 as well. Come to find out that young lady had 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:12.679 a three year old daughter that was born with congestive 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:17.119 heart failure, and just six weeks earlier, her daughter had died. 0:23:17.840 --> 0:23:19.640 She had not been out of the house in those 0:23:19.680 --> 0:23:23.760 six weeks because she was so depressed. That day, her 0:23:23.880 --> 0:23:27.480 parents talked her into going to the park. She said, later, 0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:30.800 when your little daughter was hugging me the whole time, 0:23:31.240 --> 0:23:34.879 I could feel healing being poured into me. God was 0:23:35.000 --> 0:23:37.359 letting me know that my little girl is up there 0:23:37.400 --> 0:23:40.000 in heaven and I can move forward with my life. 0:23:42.080 --> 0:23:45.960 That was God speaking to her, not in her faith, 0:23:46.520 --> 0:23:49.520 but in her doubts. You know what Jensen's little three 0:23:49.600 --> 0:23:52.879 year old daughter was. She was a simon helping her 0:23:52.960 --> 0:23:56.960 to carry her cross. Sometimes God knows we go through 0:23:57.080 --> 0:24:01.000 things that we don't understand in our In our head 0:24:01.080 --> 0:24:04.000 we think, God, how could this happen? God, where are you? 0:24:04.840 --> 0:24:08.159 But in our hearts, God can see those seeds of 0:24:08.280 --> 0:24:11.200 faith that he's playing it on the inside. Like this 0:24:11.359 --> 0:24:15.680 young lady, God will never abandon us. He'll never say 0:24:16.040 --> 0:24:18.240 we're too bad, you should be stronger, you should have 0:24:18.400 --> 0:24:22.080 more faith. No, God will always show up and help 0:24:22.160 --> 0:24:26.960 to restore our faith. In those difficult times we're like Jesus, 0:24:27.359 --> 0:24:30.639 the cross is so heavy that we fall down, or 0:24:30.840 --> 0:24:34.359 like Thomas, we want to believe, we just can't until 0:24:34.400 --> 0:24:36.639 we see it with our own eyes, or like this 0:24:36.800 --> 0:24:39.560 young lady, we're so discouraged we don't even want to 0:24:39.600 --> 0:24:43.480 leave the house. You can rest assured you are not alone. 0:24:44.080 --> 0:24:47.080 The God we serve doesn't just show up in our 0:24:47.160 --> 0:24:50.600 times of faith. He even shows up in our times 0:24:50.640 --> 0:24:55.159 of doubt. I remember my father for more than forty years, 0:24:55.720 --> 0:24:58.480 he preached to people about how God could heal you. 0:24:59.160 --> 0:25:02.920 He saw my syl Lisa healed of something like cerebral palsy, 0:25:03.359 --> 0:25:05.960 a birth injury, and of course he saw my mother 0:25:06.119 --> 0:25:09.000 healed in nineteen eighty one of terminal cancer. And he 0:25:09.119 --> 0:25:12.960 prayed for many other people and saw God do amazing things. 0:25:13.440 --> 0:25:17.639 But one thing my father never fully understood. In spite 0:25:17.680 --> 0:25:21.639 of all those other people being healed, his whole life, 0:25:22.040 --> 0:25:25.560 he struggled with high blood pressure. In fact, that's what 0:25:25.760 --> 0:25:28.480 caused his kidneys eventually to fail, where he had to 0:25:28.560 --> 0:25:31.960 go on dialysis. And there were times he thought, God, 0:25:32.080 --> 0:25:34.800 you're doing it for everybody else, why don't you do 0:25:34.880 --> 0:25:38.120 it for me? God, this doesn't seem fair. Where are 0:25:38.200 --> 0:25:41.840 you when I need you? There were times those thoughts 0:25:41.880 --> 0:25:44.919 of doubt came and tried to keep him from moving forward. 0:25:45.600 --> 0:25:48.680 My father was very open and honest. He never tried 0:25:48.720 --> 0:25:51.320 to hide anything. Now I love the way he finished 0:25:51.359 --> 0:25:54.480 his life. He was seventy seven years old and he 0:25:54.560 --> 0:25:57.919 couldn't sleep. One night, he was sitting up in his recliner. 0:25:58.280 --> 0:26:01.240 Around midnight, he called my brother in law Gary, to 0:26:01.280 --> 0:26:03.080 see if he'd come over and visit with him, and 0:26:03.520 --> 0:26:06.560 they talked for a couple of hours. At one point 0:26:06.960 --> 0:26:10.040 Gary asked about suffering and what he was going through 0:26:10.200 --> 0:26:13.560 and where is God and all of this. My father said, Gary, 0:26:14.080 --> 0:26:17.320 I don't understand it all. I have plenty of questions, 0:26:17.600 --> 0:26:22.040 but one thing I know is God's mercy enders forever. 0:26:22.760 --> 0:26:26.280 He took one more breath, laid back his head, and 0:26:26.400 --> 0:26:28.840 went to be with the Lord. The last words he 0:26:28.920 --> 0:26:32.720 ever spoke were his mercy endoers forever. But my father 0:26:33.119 --> 0:26:36.600 could have thought, I've been a pastor all these years. 0:26:37.320 --> 0:26:40.760 I can't admit that I have questions, that I have doubts, 0:26:40.840 --> 0:26:43.359 that I have things that I don't understand. Nor my 0:26:43.560 --> 0:26:48.119 father was real. God is not looking for mister super 0:26:48.200 --> 0:26:51.480 believer that has an answer to every question and that 0:26:51.640 --> 0:26:54.840 never wonders why something has happened. He's not looking for 0:26:54.960 --> 0:26:59.119 missus super believer that never gets discouraged, always acts like 0:26:59.200 --> 0:27:03.639 everything's okay, tries to hide every doubt, every question. Now, 0:27:03.760 --> 0:27:06.920 God is looking for people that are open and honest 0:27:07.080 --> 0:27:10.920 enough to say God, I don't understand this, Lord. I 0:27:11.080 --> 0:27:13.760 want to believe, but I have these doubts. God, I'm 0:27:13.800 --> 0:27:16.480 asking you to help me. If we will have that 0:27:16.760 --> 0:27:20.600 kind of attitude, then like Thomas, God will search you 0:27:20.800 --> 0:27:24.440 out and come restore your faith. Why don't you take 0:27:24.480 --> 0:27:28.000 the pressure off. Some of you are beating yourself up 0:27:28.040 --> 0:27:31.520 because you had a down week. You got discouraged. You said, God, 0:27:31.600 --> 0:27:34.600 I can't take it anymore. Listen, God knows what you're 0:27:34.680 --> 0:27:38.040 going through. He can feel the weight of what you're carrying. 0:27:38.600 --> 0:27:42.200 He's saying today, I'm right there with you. You're going 0:27:42.280 --> 0:27:44.520 to make it. You're not only going to come out, 0:27:44.680 --> 0:27:47.119 you're going to come out better off than you were before. 0:27:47.760 --> 0:27:53.520 Be encouraged today. The God we serve is not just 0:27:53.720 --> 0:27:56.560 with us in our times of faith, but he's even 0:27:56.680 --> 0:27:59.720 with us in our times of doubt. Some of you 0:27:59.840 --> 0:28:02.480 need to come back to that place of peace. You're 0:28:02.520 --> 0:28:05.920 so down on yourself, thinking that you're not strong enough, 0:28:06.480 --> 0:28:10.600 wondering why you have these questions. No, remember, the presence 0:28:10.680 --> 0:28:14.440 of faith doesn't mean the absence of doubt. You don't 0:28:14.520 --> 0:28:17.120 have to have a perfect faith in order for God 0:28:17.200 --> 0:28:20.880 to do something great in your life. Besides that, doubt 0:28:21.119 --> 0:28:23.920 is not in your heart, it's in your head, and 0:28:24.040 --> 0:28:26.320 God is looking down here at your heart. And what 0:28:26.440 --> 0:28:30.040 I'm saying today is it's okay to have questions. It's 0:28:30.080 --> 0:28:33.200 okay to say God, I don't understand it. It's okay 0:28:33.400 --> 0:28:36.120 to not be strong one hundred percent of the time. 0:28:36.680 --> 0:28:40.040 If you'll give yourself permission to not have a perfect 0:28:40.120 --> 0:28:44.120 faith and not feel bad if you have questions, some doubts, 0:28:44.280 --> 0:28:47.120 some things you don't understand, then you will feel a 0:28:47.200 --> 0:28:50.640 freedom that you haven't felt before, that weight of feeling 0:28:50.760 --> 0:28:52.920 like God is not pleased with me. I'm just not 0:28:53.080 --> 0:28:55.960 strong enough. I'm not measuring up. That'll lift off of you. 0:28:56.480 --> 0:28:58.680 And what God did for Thomas, he'll do for you 0:28:59.200 --> 0:29:02.080 in those times of doubt. Instead of running from you, 0:29:02.720 --> 0:29:06.120 God will come running to you. He's promised he will 0:29:06.200 --> 0:29:09.400 restore your faith so that you can move forward and 0:29:09.560 --> 0:29:12.680 become everything He's created you to be and have everything 0:29:12.760 --> 0:29:14.960 He's intended for you to have. Amen. Do you receive 0:29:15.040 --> 0:29:19.880 that today? Well? We never like to close our broadcast 0:29:20.120 --> 0:29:22.960 without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the lord 0:29:23.040 --> 0:29:26.960 of your life. Would you pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, 0:29:27.960 --> 0:29:32.720 I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I 0:29:32.920 --> 0:29:36.400 make you my lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed 0:29:36.440 --> 0:29:39.400 that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Get 0:29:39.440 --> 0:29:42.560 in a good Bible based church. Keep God first place. 0:29:42.840 --> 0:29:45.360 He's going to take your places that you've never dreamed of. 0:29:46.520 --> 0:29:49.920 Thank you for listening to the joelus Deine podcast. Help 0:29:50.000 --> 0:29:52.720 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:29:52.840 --> 0:29:56.360 all over the world. Visit jolus Deine dot com slash 0:29:56.520 --> 0:29:58.480 give Hope to give a gift today. 0:30:00.000 --> 0:30:02.720 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. I hope 0:30:02.720 --> 0:30:06.080 you'll subscribe so you can receive the latest podcast to 0:30:06.200 --> 0:30:09.360 keep you inspired all through the week. We're praying for you. 0:30:09.560 --> 0:30:11.960 I know God's best is still ahead. We'll see you 0:30:12.080 --> 0:30:12.520 next time. 0:30:22.520 --> 0:30:25.160 With millions of books on Amazon, there's a reading feeling 0:30:25.280 --> 0:30:30.240 for everyone. 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