Archive for January, 2008

Do you Really Want it?

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

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This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Miracles

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome again as we continue the series we’ve been looking at for the last two weeks on the miracles of Jesus Christ during His first coming.We live in a world, a culture, that is always looking for the quick fix – “send it our way!”. How many of you know someone that is always hopping onto the latest “get rich quick” scheme? They are always looking for a financial miracle. Raise your hand if you know somebody like that! How many of you know someone that is always trying the latest diet pill, miracle diet system or latest exercise machine? How many of you know somebody that’s looking for a weight loss miracle. Raise you hand? Exactly. We all do. Why don’t you point at them? I’m just kidding – don’t point at them!

The thing is, we live in a culture where we are always looking for the miraculous – the quick fix – something that will cure our problems and do so fast!

I want to tell you a story today about a guy who was searching for a miracle. He was like many of us, but this guy searched for a particular miracle for 38 years! Talk about persistence! If you have your Bibles, turn with me to John 5 and we’ll look at this story together – but let’s pray first.

PRAY

John 5. It says,

1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. [which are like porches surrounding this pool] 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie–the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. 4 5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
John 5:1-5 (NIV)

Here’s the story. Jesus is coming back to Jerusalem, and He walks into this area called Bethesada. He’s walking in and He sees these two pools, and he sees these big porticos or porches that are covered, and He sees hundreds, maybe even thousands of handicapped people that are laying around these porches, all just stairing at the waters of Bethesada. People who had traveled miles, and miles, and miles, just to be able to lay around the porches of this pool. Well, the reason why they did so, is because there was an urban legend back in that day that says periodically, an angel would fly over these pools, begin to stir the water, and then the waters would become an instrument of miraculous healing. The first handicapped person to get in the waters after the angel stirred them, would receive instant miraculous healing. And so, that’s why people traveled from all over just to sit there because of the chance that maybe, just maybe they’d get the miracle that they’d always dreamed of having. And the Bible then introduces the star character. John records that there was a man who had been handicapped for 38 years, who was laying around the pool.

Now, I understand a little bit about what it’s like to have a physical handicap. Being hearing impaired since I was four has brought several unique challenges to my life. I’m grateful for the blessing of technology in hearing aids that allows me to hear much better than I would otherwise, however there are still times where I wish for a miracle myself. I’d love to be able to hear naturally again. So I understand a little bit about being handicapped.

The reality is however, that everybody in the world is handicapped in one way or another. The only difference is that you can see some people’s handicaps but some people have the ability to disguise theirs.

If you’re taking notes this morning, here’s my first question, “What is your handicap?”

What is your handicap?

What is it? Is your handicap that you are spiritually blind? Blinded to the things of God? He’s drawing you, but you are just not seeing it? Maybe you don’t realize that God has created you with massive gifts and purpose, and you are living below the level He has called you to live at. There are others of you here that are just struggling with sin in your lives and you are blinded to the fact that it is not only destroying your life, but it is destroying those people that are around you and love you, and care about you. Maybe your handicap is that you are spiritually lame. Maybe at some point in your past you were abused sexually, verbally, physically, or mentally. Or you’ve been cheated on. You’re hurting, Your heart is broken. You’re not happy any more. Maybe your are here today and you are spiritually paralysed. You are looking back on the first half of your life, and you are saying, “Man, isn’t there something more to life?” Maybe you feel like you are stuck. Some of you may feel like you are in reverse! There’s others of you that are just going through spiritual apathy – you haven’t felt a fresh touch from God for months. Or maybe you are struggling with an addiction, and it has paralysed you. Everything revolves around that.

The people sitting around the pool of Bethesada that day, they not only were physically handicapped, but there were many of them just like you and I that were spiritually handicapped, and they were struggling, and they were just waiting for healing in their life. So in walks Jesus – and He sees the pool, and He sees the handicapped people, and He walks straight over to this guy who had struggled with his handicap for 38 years. What does He say to him?

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
John 5:6 (NIV)

Say it again with me? What question did Jesus ask? “Do you want to get well?”

Do you want to get well?

That’s the question. Do you want to get well! I’m reading this and thinking to myself, “Jesus, come on! This guys been struggling with this for 38 years. He hasn’t been able to get a regular job. He hasn’t been able to take care of himself. He’s had people waiting on him hand and foot.” Then it hit me, that’s why Jesus is asking him, because this man’s grown comfortable with his handicap.

So, just like Jesus approached this guy at the pool in Bethseda, I believe Jesus is approaching many of you today. Wherever it is that you are sitting, He is asking you the same question: “Do you want to get well?” or, have you grown comfortable with your handicap? Have you grown comfortable with being spiritually apathetic? Have you grown comfortable with the control in your life? With the negativity? Have you grown comfortable with a sub-par marriage? Have the things that once broke your heart and broke the heart of God ceased to phase you?

Maybe there’s some of you sitting here today, and you are thinking, “Hey, you know what Darren? I’m just going to be honest, the answer to this question, ‘Do you want to get well?’ is no. I know what God requires. I know He requires 100%, but right now in the place that I’m living, I’m willing to give Him about 50%. And there’s others of you that are just absolutely afraid that you will never, ever be able to change, you have struggled with this thing for so stinking long.

Let me share some scripture with you,

He said, “If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”
Exodus 15:26 (NIV)

This word “heal” is Jehovah Rapha, which means, the Lord our healer. It means that Jesus is the spiritual surgeon of the soul. With grace and mercy, love and compassion, Jesus looks down into your handicap, and He can bring healing like nothing else. Doctor Phil can’t heal you. Oprah can’t heal you. Money can’t heal you. Relationships can’t heal you. Your addictions can’t heal you. The only one who can heal you is the Spiritual Surgeons of the soul. All you have to do is turn everything over to Him. Allow Him to do the miraculous!

Our God is a big God. Really, in light of immensity of the universe and the wonders of what He created – its very hard for the human mind to even comprehend just how big and how powerful He is. It is impossible for us to accurately describe His full capabilities and immensity! In C.S. Lewis’ book “Prince Caspian” (part of the Chronicles of Narnia series). One of the children comes upon Aslan, the Christ-figure of the Narnia stories, after a prolonged absence. “Aslan, you’re bigger”, she says. “That’s because you’re older, little one”, answered he. “Not because you are?” “I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

How true it is, as C.S. Lewis describes it – that the more we understand and the more we learn about God how much we ultimately realize that there’s more to discover!

If you are taking notes, my next question for you is, “How big is your God?” how big is God to you?

How big is your God?

Jesus walks up to this guy and says, “Do you want to get well?” What does this man say in return? The creator of the universe is in front of Him. This is His chance to experience healing.

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
John 5:7 (NIV)

You can almost hear the crackling and whining in his voce as he is saying it. Life is all about him. He had struggled with his handicap for so long, everything revolves around him and the handicap in his life. Kind of like the lyrics to a song I read recently:

I want to talk about me. I want to talk about I. I want to talk about number one, oh me, oh my. What do I think, what I like, what I want, and what I see…

And it goes on…while reading this story – did you notice all the personal pronouns in the guy’s response to Jesus? It’s my sickness. It’s my healing. I need to get well. Nobody’s going to help me. Nobody will help me get down into the water. This guy’s handicap had gotten so big that he couldn’t see that Jesus was standing right in front of him!

6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Psalms 33:6-9 (NIV)

I cannot do a very good job explaining how big God is. There’s no words that can adequately describe that, but if you look at this verse, it simply says that God used His breath and spoke things into existence. God didn’t need a “How to Create the Universe” manual that you order off the celestial internet. He didn’t need a template. He just spoke and it was. He spoke and the heavens were made, and the earth was made – the animals, the exotic animals and sea life. Everything from the antelope to the puffer fish and sea squirt. God created the biggest dinosaur and the smallest amoeba.

You know God is big when even the smallest parts of His creation give evidence to the incredible design in their makeup. Take the monarch butterfly for instance. An electronic design expert responsible for designing parts in sophisticated electronic gadgetry, including navigation equipment for various space and defence projects certainly understood the phenomenal level of technology in the circuits that guided men to the moon. Jules Porier, the expert, says this,

However, the navigation equipment packed into the brain of the monarch butterfly shows, through the incredible feats of migration performed by that creature, that there is a far greater level of technology involved. And it is all packed into a brain no bigger than a pinhead!
(quoted from “The Magnificent Migrating Monarch” by Jules Porier – http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/763)

The monarch butterfly is about 4 cm (1.5 inches) long and weighs half a gram. Each one of its four wings has about 1.4 million scales. Every scale is filled with air to provide buoyancy and make it easier to fly. This incredible living flying machine can “perform a migration flight of thousands of kilometres, navigating unerringly to reach a place it has never seen. For instance, some monarchs fly from Nova Scotia, Canada to the mountains west of Mexico City, some 5,000 kilometres (3,000 miles) in all. Not just to the very same place to which their forefathers migrated, but each one often to the very same tree!.

“Monarch butterflies can fly in still air at a spped of around 50 kilometres (30 miles) per hou, and considerably faster with a tail wind. They usually fly close to the ground, but have been found as high as 3,500 metres (12,000 feet). They have been known to fly more than 600 kilometres (375 miles) over water non-stop in 16 hours. Their 5,000 kilometre migration takes them eight to ten weeks, traveling only in daylight. …[they] can be taken hundreds of kilometres off course and still find their way to their destination. How do they perform this amazing feat? To this day, no scientist knows for certain…”

Simply, God’s incredible design extends to even the smallest of creatures! He is a big God.

God is in control. He owns everything. He is the star of the show. He is CEO, and you and I don’t’ own anything at all. It is all His. The Bible even tells us that He knows exactly how many hairs we have on our head, or that we used to have on our head, or that we have on our chin. He doesn’t worry. He is self-existent. He is all-powerful. There’s nothing that He cannot do. He is the creator of everything, and the sustainer of everything, and it is that God that lives deep inside of who we are, and can help us overcome our problems.

Yet, some say, “I want to talk about me. I want to talk about I. I want to talk about number one. Oh me, oh my, but Darren, you don’t know how bad my pain is. You don’t know how bad my handicap is.” How big is your God? “You don’t know about my past, Darren!” How big is your God? “You don’t know how long I have been struggling with this addiction.” How big is your God? God is bigger than all of your problems. God is bigger than anything you can throw at Him.

If you are taking notes, my next question for you is, “What is God telling you to do?”

What is God telling you to do?

Jesus looks at this guy after he whines about His problem, then Jesus said to Him, say it with me, “Get up!”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”
John 5:8 (NIV)

There is an exclamation point here. Verse 9 says,

At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked…John 5:9 (NIV)

Jesus didn’t ask him, probably because He didn’t want to hear another excuse. Jesus simply told the man, “Get up!” and because this guy obeyed what God was asking him to do, he experienced the miraculous. He was healed and was able to walk. He was able to run. He was able to swim. He was able to climb, all because he obeyed what God was asking him to do.

Listen to me carefully, obedience precedes the miraculous. Repeat it with me, obedience precedes the miraculous, but so many of us aren’t interested in the obedience thing. We are just interested in the “obedience” of God to our requests, “Just take this thing away from me. God, I have this party coming up in two months, I need you to take six inches off right here….God, would you put $2,000 in my account? God, would you just take this addiction away from me?” But, the common theme that we see spread throughout scripture is that obedience precedes the miraculous.

God told Moses, take off your sandals – because Moses took of His sandals, he led the children of Israel out of slavery. God told Noah, “Go build yourself an ark,” and he did it, even though everybody was making fun of him and saying “This is the craziest thing you have done.” – because He obeyed, we are sitting in this room today. He told Naaman, “Go dip seven times.” Naaman was a leper – his skin was falling off. He obeyed; he was healed. Jesus told Peter, “Come to me on the water.” Peter obeyed. The miraculous happened. He walked on the water. He told the blind man, “Go wash the mud off” Because he obeyed, he was able to see.

Our obedience precedes the miraculous. What is God telling you to do?

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:27 (NIV)

We have to become people that are intently listening to the voice of God. What is He saying to you? What is He asking you to do? Forget about what you think He’s asking other people to do…what is He asking you to do? Follow Him, no matter how hard, no matter how tough. Follow Him where He is asking you to go, and you will see the miraculous in your life.

Let’s take this one step further – not just what is God asking you to do but instead what is God telling you to do? Is He telling you to get rid of your internet connection because of your addiction to pornography? Is He telling you to go to someone and ask for forgiveness, or to give forgiveness? Is He telling some of you to push that extra plate of food away because enough is enough? Is he telling you to tithe? Is He telling you to tear up your credit cards? Is He telling you to walk away from your addiction? Is He telling you to walk in and to ask your boss for a promotion? Is He telling you to get up early in the morning and finally spend some time with Him? Is He telling you to volunteer someplace? Is He telling you to spend more time with your kid? Is He telling you to invest in your marriage and be authentic and real and absolutely truthful?

If you do what God is telling you to do, you are going to see the miraculous absolutely explode in your life!

CONCLUSION

In a series called, “miracles”, some of you come to hear some cool miracle stories. Others of you come because you are in desperate need of a miracle in your own life. You’re struggling with a handicap in your life. Maybe you’ve been struggling for years. Maybe you’re ready to walk away from it. I want to know that Jesus can change you. Jesus can change you. Jesus can change you. You have to remind yourself, in the midst of your struggle that God is bigger than your problem. He’s the creator. He’s big – if he cares enough to design the butterfly to be able to navigate 5,000 miles to a place it’s never been you can be sure that He loves you, and He cares about you. You have to be obedient and do what He’s telling you to do – simply because He knows what needs to be done! No more choices; no more options. Simply say, “Yes, God, no matter what it is, I will follow You. Wherever it is, I will be obedient,” and it is then that you are going to see the miraculous begin to explode in your life. Do you really, do you really want to get well? Because, Jesus can heal you, no matter what you are dealing with.

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Faith in the God of Miracles (not the miracles of God)

Sunday, January 13th, 2008

Podcast: Download

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Miracles

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome again to everyone here today. Today we are in the second week of a study on some of the miracles Jesus performed in scripture and as we begin today let me just say that I absolutely believe that God is the God who still does miracles. Last week, we spent some time in the conclusion of the service praying for some miracles in people’s lives. You know what? I’d love to hear some stories about what miracles God has done or is doing in your life. If you have a story you could share with me will you write it down and give it to me sometime? You can email me at hpc@gohpc.net or you can just write a note and drop it in my mailbox.I want to tell you a story that impacted me. We all know that children can come up with the darndest things sometimes can’t they? With my family there is hardly a day goes by where something doesn’t happen that either brings tears to Kerryanne and I or laughter! Anyway, something that happened back when Zachary first started school that I’ll never forget. It’s our custom when our kids come home from school to ask them how their day went. Most times we’re really paying attention to what they are saying but sometimes we’re a bit distracted by other things. Well this day we asked Zachary and as we stumbled in the house listened to Zachary go through the seemingly random highlights of his day…the lunches his friends ate, the books they read, the new friends he made – all of a sudden Zachary said – “oh and guess what?” “what Zachary?” “We were playing kickball and one of my friends fell down and got hurt.” “Oh?” “Yeah, he’s okay though, I went up to Him and put my hand on Him and prayed for Him – he’s all better now.”

Heading into the living room while Zachary was telling his story I almost missed it in one of those “distracted” moments but then I clued into what my son had just told me. “Wait a minute…did you just say you prayed for your friend?” Zachary said, “yeah, he was hurt so I went up to Him and put my hand on His head and prayed to God and said – Dear God help my friend feel better?” “Out loud?” “yeah – why not Dad?” Right! Who was I to question the faith of this little boy in the playground believing that God will heal a friend who gets hurt! The kind of real genuine faith of a four-year-old child who just believes that if God says it’s possible, it is! I learned an important lesson that day.

I want that kind of faith, the faith of a child. Jesus said a little bit of faith can move mountains. A lot of times, the mountains seem to move my faith instead of the other way around, but let’s define faith as we look at miracles today.

Hebrews 11: 1 gives us a great definition of faith:

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Sure and certain. Faith is sure and certain. Why is it though, that my faith is often unsure and uncertain? Don’t get me wrong. I believe in God absolutely. I believe that God can do all things. Honestly though, I just have an easier time believing that God will do it for you than the fact that God will do it for me! I don’t know why that is, okay? Let’s say you’ve got some person that is wild – off the charts, a crazy person who doesn’t know God, and you say to me, “Darren, can we pray that God will reach this person?” I’m like, “Yeah, let’s pray. I know He will,” and I believe He will. Okay? But if I’ve got that person in my family, and they are wild and you’re saying let’s pray for him. I’ll say, “Dude, you have no idea how bad this person is. Even God can’t reach them.” Okay? Someone is sick in your family. I’m like, “Man let’s pray that God would heal them.” Someone is sick that I love, I’m thinking – “Oh, man, they’re going to die.” I just seem to have an easier time believing for other than I do for myself.

If you have your Bibles with you today, and I hope that you do, let’s open them up to Mark 9, and we are going to examine the life of a guy who had a kind of faith that is a “sort of” kind of faith. He kind of believed, but not really all the way. I can relate to some of his faith struggles.

Let me start by giving you some of the context of this story. There was this little kid with an evil spirit, and the disciples tried to cure this kid. They tried to do the miracle, and they messed it up! They couldn’t do it, and so all the Pharisees and all the religious people saw this as a chance to attack Jesus and His disciples which led to a kind of argument going on. People were badgering back and forth, and that’s when Jesus walked up on the scene. Let’s start with verse 16 of Mark 9. Jesus walks into the argument, and He says, “Hey guys, what are you arguing about?”

17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
Mark 9:17-18 (NIV)

Let’s stop right there for a moment. Imagine the pain of being a parent and watching your child go through that, but let’s be honest. When you go through stuff, it hurts, but when someone you love goes through stuff, it hurts in a different kind of way, and I would say, even more intense. A lot of you right now, you’ve got some stuff that’s causing you pain in your own life, and it’s tough. There are others who love you, and they are watching you go through it, and they hurt in a different and very real way. I’ll explain it like this.

One of the most painful seasons of my life was the sudden death of my father just over three years ago. It was one of those things that you can never prepare for and happens so suddenly that you don’t fully understand what’s happening until it’s too late. My Dad started showing some weird symptoms of being paranoid and reclusive in October of that year just after thanksgiving and for the longest time we just assumed He was going through a bit of a nervous breakdown. Even the doctor was prescribing him some medications to treat Him for that. Then in early December he got so bad that on one of the frequent visits to the hospital they admitted him and the doctor’s began to suspect that he had something much more serious than a nervous breakdown. In the space of two weeks my Dad went from someone with what we thought was a recoverable mental illness to someone with a rare and fatal disease. My dad was always the strong one in my family. Whenever there was a crisis or something needed to be done you could count on Dad doing what needed to be done or providing the wisdom and directly for what we should do. The disease my Dad was diagnosed with is called Creutzfeld Jakobs disease and it’s so rare that they still don’t know exactly what causes it and have no way of treating it. Basically what this disease does is turn the brain into sponge. Gradually, the various areas of the brain cease to work and eventually the person dies. My dad was experiencing the symptoms of this disease for nearly 2 months but in the 2 weeks that we knew what he had the symptoms progressed even faster and there was little over a week that we were able to communicate with him.

We prayed. We prayed a lot. And I remember my church family praying for my Dad too. There were many times where I was at the place where I’m like, “God, what’s going on here?” Okay? You can raise the dead. You can heal blind eyes. You can do miracles – why don’t you take care of my Dad? Why? I want to believe, but You are making it hard for me right now. Why don’t’ You do what I think You should do?” Okay?

The father in the story recorded in Mark is probably going through some very similar things. He’s been watching his boy grow up in agony, and he is crying out, “Nothing’s working.” He probably took him to doctors. He took him to specialists. He took him to the disciples of Jesus. He’s like, “none of this is working, okay?”

Jesus jumps into the conversation in verse 19 and says,

19 “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him…
Mark 9:19-22 (NIV)

Imagine that – the father is watching his son, when this evil spirit tries to get the kid to go into a fire or drown in water. Now watch what this father says next,

…But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
Mark 9:22 (NIV)

If. There’s the key word. If You can do anything. If. Take pity on us. If You can. That’s where many of you are right now. You’ve got so big in your life, and all of the experts have told you nothing is going to happen, and you are saying, “God, if You can. You might be able to, but I’m not sure.” If.

Now, others of you, you are like, “No, man, I know God can. My ‘if’ is this…I know He can, but the question is, I wonder if He will.” He can, but why hasn’t He? If you can do anything Lord… It’s a sort of, kind of thing. I think You might be able to, but I’m not sure. I’ve seen You do other things, but I don’t know if You’ll do it for me. If You can.” Jesus replies back in verse 23 with a question. He says, almost sounding hurt, He says, “If You can?…

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
Mark 9:23 (NIV)

How much is possible? Would you say it out loud? He says, “Everything.” One more time, how much is possible? “Everything!” Everything is possible for him who believes.

Pause there for a moment. Everything is possible for him who believes. Everything is possible. Okay? So, right now, you’ve got this major deal. Your marriage is in big, big trouble – you don’t think it will ever work. Do you think it is possible that God in His love and sovereign power could actually heal your marriage and make it better than new? Absolutely He can. Your kid that you love is going the wrong way fast, and you’ve tried everything you can to bring the kid back, and you love them, and they are making dangerous decisions, and you are thinking, “What’s going to happen? Can God bring them back?” No doubt about it. Every doctor says six months or less and somebody is going to die. Could God heal that person? Unquestionably. If we really believe that everything is possible – okay?

So this dad in this story is wigging out. He’s thinking maybe like some of you are right now, “If there was one thing that could be different, it would be my son. God, heal him. I’d trade places with him. Anything. This is the one thing.” Some of you right now, you have a one thing that is very real to you, and I don’t know what it is, but “If this one thing could be different, God, if it is possible, just touch me in this one area God. Just do this one thing, God. Just heal this one relationship, God. Just give me hope. Just this one area, if You can, please do.” And Jesus said, “It is all possible if you believe.” Now watch how this dad responds.

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed… Mark 9:24a (NIV)

He did what? He exclaimed – I’m going to tell you something about that word in a minute. What did he exclaim? He exclaimed, “I do believe, sort of.” Do you see it? He said,

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24b (NIV)

“I do believe, but not completely. Help me overcome my unbelief. I want to believe wholeheartedly, and sometimes I do, but then things haven’t been working out, so it is kind of difficult for me to do. I want to believe, and I did last week, but I don’t have so much faith right now. I want to believe, but I’m just not sure that I can.”

I want you to feel the passion that is coming out of this desperate father. The word “exclaim” comes from a Greek word. I tis the word kradzo. Everybody say “drad’-zo”. This word means to croak as a raven. “Awkk,” or something like that. I don’t know fi that is a raven, but that is kind of what I would imagine it, okay? It means to scream. If you are taking notes, it means to call aloud or to shriek. Can you all of a sudden, see the passion in this dad? From deep within, he has this passion screaming out of him, “I do believe, but I still have doubts. I want to believe it is possible, but I just don’t know if I can.” Why is it that we want to have the faith of a child, but yet, we don’t? Why is it that we have the tension, the questions, and the faith struggles?

Let me give you three quick obstacles to real faith. Most of us at one time or another have dealt with these faith obstacles. The first one, if you are taking notes, is “sign demanding faith”

Sign-demanding faith

Most of you have probably done something like this before, “God, if You would just get me out of this, I’ll follow You forever. If You will just give me a sign, then I will know You are real.” Be honest. How many of you here today, you have done something like that before? The problem in looking for a sign is that a sign is not the real thing! Let’s say you are looking for a hotel, and you see a sign that says “hotel three miles”. You don’t go to sleep on the sign, do you? Because it is not the real thing.

Too many people want to sleep on the sign. “I need to see a sign.” The sign simply points to the real thing. The real thing is Jesus. “if you will just help me pass this test, O Jesus, and I’ll serve You forever.” Okay, you get a “C” and you still go on doing your own thing. “O God, just get me off this roller coaster alive, and You can have my life,” – ever said that? It just doesn’t work.

I found this out in my life. I did so many deals with God growing up…”God just do this – and then I’ll do this…just give me a sign!” The problem with the sign is – it’s not the real thing. It just points to the real thing.

Then there are other people with…

Second-hand faith

How many of you grew up in a Christian environment? Maybe you had some Christians in your family, or neighbours, a grandma…how many of you grew up with some Christians around? Maybe, because of that, you went to church occasionally. Maybe at Christmas and Easter only? Maybe you got baptized as a little kid or went to confirmation classes or got an extra point for bringing your friend or a star from doing your Bible verse – and all that stuff. Maybe you grew up close to the things of God, but the faith that others had never became your own. Mom’s a strong Christian, or dad…or grandma, or the people I hang out with, but it’s never been your own faith.

Listen to me – there is no such thing as faith by proximity. Jesus was talking to His disciples and He said, “hey, who do other people say that I am?” And they replied, “Oh, oh, oh, some say John the Baptist. Oh, oh, oh, oh some say Elijah, the prophet.” Jesus looks at Peter and says, “But Peter, who do you say that I am?” That’s the question! Who do you say that He is? It doesn’t matter that momma or grandma believes. What do you believe?

There’s a third obstacle to real faith….

Self-centred faith

This is how the self-centred faith will play out. This is so common. It happens all the time. “Okay, God, here is what You are going to do. All right? You are going to do this, in this way, at this time, and when all of that goes down, okay, then we’re tight. Okay?” But then, when God doesn’t, you say, “Okay, God, where were You? You didn’t do what I asked You to do. Forget You, okay? I was doing all of this, and I went to the Bible study, I tried to be good, I read my Bible, said my prayers. All I asked You to do is get me the promotion, and I didn’t get the promotion, so I am not going to go to church. That’ll teach You, okay?”

Or, “God, I just told You by the time I am thirty, I am going to be married. Right? That was the deal. I’m thirty, and I’m not married. Forget You, God.” Okay?

What that does is it puts ourselves in the place of God, and it is a very self-centred faith. How do we grow past that? How do we have the child-like faith of a four-year-old who sees a friend hurt in the playground and prays for their healing? Well here’s something that might help.

The first thing we do to really build faith is to….

Immerse yourself in God’s Word

This becomes our daily friend. God’s word. It’s living. It builds faith.

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17 (NIV)

Notice it is not by hearing the latest self-help person, or by reading the best selling book at the bookstore, or by listening to Darren Ethier tell stories about his kid. It is faith that comes by hearing the word of God. That is where the power is okay? If you want to get in good shape, chances are, you probably want to eat the right things right? You start eating the right things , and you’ll probably want to exercise to!

When it comes to faith, you want to feed and renew your mind with God’s word. It becomes an integral foundation of your life. When you exercise, your muscles get bigger. When you listen to God’s word it expands your faith.

I can look back in my life and notice that the times when my faith is big and I’m believing God are the times I’m in His word. The times when I am in doubt, I am not in His word.

Now you may say, “I tried to read scripture. I don’t even know how to start. Well, where do I start?” There’s no right or wrong way…just start reading! Some of the best helps for me have been following a read through the Bible in a year – it gives you the day and the scripture verses you read for that day. Another thing Kerryanne and I try to do is read a section of scripture every night together before we go to sleep.

If your anything like me, you’ll read the Bible and there will be some things you’ll come across that just don’t seem to make sense – but they might next year. There have been times where I’ve read something and it didn’t make sense and then something else I read in the Bible later brings it all into focus. Just keep feeding yourself the Word, and it will renew your mind out of the garbage of this world into the truth of the kingdom of God, and your faith grows.

Then…we don’t just engross ourselves in God’s word, but the second thing that we do is…

Act on God’s word.

We don’t just believe in it, but we believe it, and there is a difference. The demons, scriptures say, even believe in God. We don’t just believe in His word, but we believe it in such a way that we are willing to stake our lives on it. We are willing to act on it.

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
James 2:26 (NIV)

Faith without working, faith without taking action is dead. Maybe you have been to a church like what some people say to me, “I went to such and such a church and it seemed dead.” What are they really saying? What they are saying is, “Maybe there were spiritual words, but I didn’t see anyone acting on it. There was no sense of spiritual anticipation and movement. Maybe we do believe this, and it was kind of like, ‘We just did church. Check’ and we went on with our life.”

Faith without actions, faith without living it on Monday, is dead. It is a joke. Either we believe that God’s word is for our life Monday through Sunday or we are simply playing church. Either we believe that God is real, or what we are doing right now is a first-class joke, and we should just go home and never come back again.

Friends that is the crucial miracle that must take place before any other miracle – the miracle is not simply believing that God could and also that He will do something but something more. It is the miracle of a faith that is not dependent on the outcome but simply in the character, the heart, and the nature of God. Real faith doesn’t hinge on the outcome. It depends on the heart, the character and the nature of God.

CONCLUSION

So, you are desperate today. You need a miracle. This father needed a miracle, and he cried out, (kradzo) “I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief”. And here is what happened in the story

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.”
Mark 9:25-26 (NIV)

Now imagine, this really happened! He was healed by the power of a good God. God is a God of miracles.

I told you about my Dad earlier. The support my family got from friends and churches while my Dad was sick was absolutely amazing. People all over were praying for Him. My family was praying for Him. Yet, on December 20, 2004 my Dad died. But let me tell you something that is the real miracle in the midst of the pain of that time – the real miracle is that in spite of what my Dad was experiencing – in spite of the grief I was feeling and witnessing in my family – my faith wasn’t in the outcome – it mattered to me whether or not my Dad lived – but it mattered more that His life was in God – and that it was. My faith was not in the outcome – it was in God. That is why today I still proclaim the goodness of God, because my faith is not in the outcome as much as it is in the character, the heart of who God is, the good God.

The Bible shares the story of three boys with child-like faith. Their names were Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego. They said, “We love the one true God.” King Nebuchadnezzar in the Old Testament said, “I am sick of hearing about your God, you guys bow down and worship this statue of me right now or I will kill you by throwing you in the fire.” And then these three young men said one of the greatest faith statements you will ever hear. They said, “You go ahead and throw us in the fire, but we will not worship your God because our God will deliver us.” That’s faith. Then, they cemented their demonstration of faith when they said, “And even if He doesn’t, we will not worship your false God. We will still believe.” Our God can. Our God will. And even if He doesn’t, we will still believe. The faith of a child.

PRAY.

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Raging Storm, Calm Waters

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

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This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Miracles

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INTRODUCTION

If you have your Bibles with you, let’s open them up today to Mark, chapter 4. I’m beginning an important and new series today called “Miracles”. For the next few weeks we’re going to journey through the gospels and examine some of the miracles of Jesus.As we start, I’d like to tell you a story that happened a few years ago. Back in our first few years of ministry hear at HPC Kerryanne and I had two vehicles that we drove around. Nothing fancy, an old van that some people had graciously given to us as a vehicle to transport our growing family and an old two door Mercury Topaz that was Kerryanne’s first car she got while we were at Bible college. Those who know me well, know that I tend to be a bit of an absent minded guy. We originally had two keys for the Topaz but I went and lost one set at the beginning of one week and we were down to one key for the Topaz. Now I usually kept the car keys on a separate chain from the van keys and one day I decided to go and run some errands. Because the van was parked last in the driveway I took it. To make a long story short I arrived home and at some point during the next day I realized that I didn’t have the car keys. No problem, I thought to myself, Kerryanne has them. But just to be sure I asked and after rummaging through her purse – no keys. Now ordinarily this wouldn’t be a big problem but of course I had gone and lost the last set of keys for the car. Really smart right? And yes, with the beauty of hindsight I know we should have got another copy made but at the time all I was thinking was oh great – way to go Darren…with my wife’s fervent agreement…

I was starting to freak out. I sometimes do that when crisis hits. I racked my brain trying to think of where I put those dang keys. Calmly (as she often does when I’m freaking out…), my wife suggested that we pray and ask God to help me find the key (notice she still didn’t let me off the hook for finding them). So, we did that. Just a simple prayer, “God, I know you can, and it was kind of stupid of me to lose my keys, but if at all possible could you help me find them?” While praying I thought well, I’ll just go to all the places I had visited the previous day during my errands and see if they turn up. I did that. I checked Canadian Tire, I checked Home Hardware – and then I made my way to Walmart, with that sick feeling you get when what you hope for doesn’t look like is going to happen. I parked close to where I thought I had parked the day before when I went to Walmart and headed into the store looking all over the ground as I had in the previous two stops to see if by any chance I had dropped them. Without finding them I headed into the store and asked to see if any keys had shown up. Nope. Oh well, serves me right for not being careful with them.. I sadly made my way back to the van when my feet kicked something across the pavement on my way back. I looked down to see what I had kicked and guess what it was? Yeah, I’m serious, the truth – not a lie – it was our car key. I couldn’t believe it at first. But I picked them up and it was it all right! Needless to say I thought it was pretty cool that God indeed had answered my prayer and performed this miracle of helping me find my car key! (of course I went back into the store and had a copy made immediately )

So, anyway, you can ask me – “Darren, do you believe that God still does miracles?” And my answer to you is, absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I believe that God still does miracles today. Then you might ask me, “Darren, do you understand why He does some miracles and then doesn’t always do miracles?” And my answer is, “No, Not at all.” It bothers me sometimes to think that I could pray for some lost keys to show up and God would, for whatever reason, make them appear, and yet, I go to the hospital and pray for someone who is sick and they die. I don’t understand it at all. As we study some of the miracles of Jesus, I pray that God will not only give us understanding, but that God will expand your faith to just believe Him for things that others would say are absolutely impossible. Let’s start today with the miracle of the calming of the storm.

In Mark 4:35 it is recorded,

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”
Mark 4:35 (NIV)

Now, let’s pause right here for a moment. This body of water that Jesus was referring to was actually the Sea of Galilee, which was some 680 feet below sea level surrounded by mountains. Because of the terrain and the weather in that area, this place was known (and still is today) for being beautiful one moment and then, “Boom!” the next moment a storm could appear, apparently out of nowhere. This will give you a little bit of context for what’s about to happen.

36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
Mark 4:36-37 (NIV)

How many of you are boat people? I mean you love going out in a boat and boating? Now, what about big boats…one of the more well-known “big boats” in this area is the Chi-Cheemaun…how many of you have ever been on that ferry? I don’t know if any of you have ever been on the Chi-Cheemaun in a big storm but I have. Ordinarily I can handle a little bit of roughness – and you usually experience this when crossing Lake Huron on the Chi-Cheemaun regardless of what kind of day it is. I’ll never forget the one day I was with my Grandpa, my Dad, and Chris (my brother-in-law) and we took the ferry on our way up north to go fishing…(or share experiences in canoe as a possible illustration, i.e. the one time on a lake with a makeshift sale, or the one time on a lake on Manitoulin Island when a storm moved in…)

…That’s my experience. Now, I could not even imagine what it would have been to be in a little boat with twelve other men, thinking to yourself as the waves crash over, “This could be it. This could be the end.” That is exactly what the disciples thought… “We’re not going to get to say bye, bye to mom.” Those who might have had kids say, “I won’t get to see my kids grow up.” This is exactly what’s going on in their minds.

Now if you are like a lot of people, you might be thinking, “Hey, dude. Now I’m in a boat with Jesus, the Son of God. This shouldn’t be happening. He should keep me safe. I know a lot of people who are Christians and they will say, “You know what? I became a Christian and life got hard!” Just because you are a Christ follower does not mean that you are exempt from the storms of life.

A question I would ask you today as we start this study is, “What storms are you facing in your life? What is it you are in the midst of?” Most of us, we have different storms. For some of you, it’s job related. You’ve got a job that you just can’t stand. The people you are with drive you crazy or you feel like you couldn’t do it another day, and you are like, “Ahhh, I just hate this job,” and the person sitting next to you is like, “Dude, you are just lucky you have got a job, ‘cause I don’t” And so, some of you have that challenge. A lot of people I know are fighting to stay alive financially. Others are dealing with bad news from a doctor. You know how it is. You are cruising along, and life is fine. And then, you go in to get something checked out, and boom. All of a sudden life is on hold. What’s the doctor going to say? Some of you, it’s someone you love. A family member has gotten bad news from a doctor, and you are thinking, “I just never thought we might do life without this person!” There might be some of you where your marriages are hurting or your family is hurting. So many people that are just trying to hang on. I know some people who are just depressed, some with obvious reasons – others who are depressed and don’t really know why. Some of you on the relational end of things, have kids – you raised your kids right and now they are doing screwy things, and you are going “I could help you stay out of this trouble, but you are going down the wrong road…” And it just hurts to watch your kids go down the wrong road. Some of you got really jazzed up about the holidays, “Whoo hoo, Christmas is here – New Years!” Others of you have been saying, “Crap, they are here again.” Why do you say that? Because you’ve got to deal with family members, psycho family members. Those of you who are laughing, you are laughing because you have psycho family members. Those of you who are not laughing, you are the psycho family members…”why are they laughing? I don’t understand”….j/k .

What storms are you facing in your life? Because we all face them.

Today as we study this miracle, I pray that God will speak to you in a way that builds your faith, but at the same time, does something very, very profoundly spiritual on the inside.

Three things to remember when you are in the storm. When you are in the storm…

1. You are in the storm by God’s appointment…

God knew before you were born what was going to be happening during this season in your life. Look at verse 35 again – “That day when evening came,”…who was it that’s speaking to the disciples? Would you say it out loud? I was Jesus who said to his disciples, let us go to the other side of the lake. Now, check this out – The trip was Jesus’ idea and being the Son of God, God in the flesh, certainly He knew that a storm was coming. It was Jesus’ idea so from that we can conclude that the disciples were in the storm, not because they were out of the will of God, but they were in the storm because they were in the will of God, following Jesus’ direction.

You may be in a storm right now and you are saying, “I wish I wasn’t here.” God knew you were going to be here! You might say, “Well, where did the storm come from?” Three possibilities:

i. Bad decisions
There are a lot of storms that come from bad decisions. You may have had experience with this. We make a simple decision, or a stupid decision, and boom – we’ve got some nasty consequences to deal with.

ii. attack of satan
You may be experiencing a storm from the enemy, the evil one, satan, the dark one, the prince of darkness – Lucifer, whose mission is to steal, kill and destroy. Maybe you are under satanic attack

iii. broken world
Sometimes we experience storms simply because we live in a broken world – a world that has been corrupted by sin. Jesus is the one who said, “In this world, you will have trouble”. Just a simple, broken world, but Jesus also said, “Take heart, for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Are you in a storm? God knew you were going to be in a storm! I personally believe that God isn’t the author of most of the storms we face in life but nevertheless He does know when there’s one coming your way. Even though He may not cause them, nevertheless, God allows the storms to enter our lives because He wants to use it because He knows that on the other side of the storm are the greatest blessings that you could never imagine and that you would never know without going through the storm.

You might be some place you wish you weren’t, and God may be taking you some place that He really wants you to go. “Let’s go to the other side,” Jesus said, fully understanding that there would be a storm. Let’s reread verse 36-37…

36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
Mark 4:36-37 (NIV)

Next time something like that happens to you, hopefully it won’t, but chances are it will. You will get a phone call and on the other end you will hear some news and everything will change [snap fingers] just like that. You will get a report and everything will change instantly. You will say goodbye to someone and you will think you are going to see them again, and you won’t, and everything changes just like that. When that happens, remember that you are in the storm by His appointment. He knew it was going to happen, and God is a good enough God to bring about good in all things, in all things to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

You are in the storm, number one, by His appointment. Secondly…

2. You are in the storm with His presence

Never forget that!

Verse 38 says that “Jesus was in the stern,” and what was He doing? Would you say it out loud? Jesus was in the stern and what? He was…he was sleeping! I like that. He wasn’t waking up. The disciples, they were freaking; He wasn’t. Think about this – do you realize that God never calls an emergency meeting? “Quick! Get me the other members of the Trinity. Get Jesus and the Holy Ghost in here. We didn’t see this coming. What are we going to do? I don’t know how to handle this.” God never panics. In the middle of the storm, think about this. Though unseen, where was Jesus? Underneath the stern. Though unseen, He was there.

You are in a storm right now, perhaps. Though unseen, realize He is with you. He is there the whole time. Though unseen, in the middle of your storm, there is One who is much greater. The son of the Living God through the presence of the Holy Spirit is with you. Be encouraged. Find hope. Find peace.

Maybe you haven’t been around church that much in your whole life. You may still know this verse. King David in the Old Testament, who was once a shepherd boy, said this in Psalm 23, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Why did he say it? He said, “For thou art,” what? Say it with me…He said, “For thou art with me.” Thou art with me. He’s with you. He’s with you. In the book of Hebrews it says this,

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5 (NIV)

God says to you that you can be content in the fact that God has promised to never, ever, ever leave those who are His! Yes, you are in a storm. You are there by His appointment. He knew it would happen. You are there with His presence and number three…

3. You are there for His purposes

Why? Because God is going to do something in you that He couldn’t do any other way.

Think of the disciples. They were about to face one of their greatest fears. What was their fear? “We don’t want to die.” What does Mark record? The disciples shouted, “Teacher, don’t you even care if we are about to drown? We don’t want to die.” Think about this. Think about the journey the disciples were in the midst of and that they would face. What happened? In a few moments, they get to see the power of Jesus. Later on, they get to see the character of Jesus. Later on, they get to experience the death of Jesus. They get to see Him after His resurrection, and through all this, God did so much in them that the very guys who here are horrified to die, ten of them are willing to die later and indeed do die… willing to die for the cause of Christ. Not only would they face their greatest fear, but they would surrender willingly to death saying, “I will never deny the One who gave it all for me.” The thing that had the biggest stronghold on them, they became free of, because God did more than just a miracle in calming a storm, He did a miracle right here in their hearts. Now, some of you, you can relate to what the disciples say. “Teacher, don’t you even care if we drown?” Okay? “SOS – I am in trouble and you are not helping God!”

Maybe there are some of you who have prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed, and you are thinking to yourself, “Okay, God, how hard would it be? You’ve done some pretty big things. All I’m asking for is this, and You won’t even do this! Where are You? Are you really there? Are You really able? If You are really able, why don’t You? If You could and You don’t, then are You even good? Do You still love me? Are You silent? Are You just a crutch that I’ve made up? God, if You could, why don’t You?”
Remember, by His appointment, with His presence, and for His purposes! Maybe that’s why James wrote this verse in His letter. It is a troubling verse in some ways. James 1:2-4 – “Consider it,” what? Say it out loud. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face,” face what? “Trials.” Think about that. Okay, “I’ve got a praise report. Praise God. I’m facing a bunch of crap.” Okay? Right? “Oh, hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus. Glory!”

But let’s finish this, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Why? “Because you know that the testing of your faith,” What does it do? “…develops perseverance” …and perseverance must do what? It must, it must finish it’s work…”complete its task so that it will make you mature and complete, not lacking anything.” This is what some person said once, it’s in your notes,

In storms, we want God to do a removing job, but He wants to do an improving job.
– anonymous

We want Him to remove the storms. Maybe He wants to improve something in us that He couldn’t do any other way.

Here’s the miracle. The disciples are like, “Don’t you care? We’re falling apart.” In verses 39 and 40 Mark records that Jesus gets up, rebukes the wind, and says to the waves…what? Would you say it out loud? He said, “Quiet! Be still!”

There are some of you that God is going to speak to your storm. He’s going to heal you. He is going to heal your marriage. He’s going to miraculously provide for you financially. He’s going to answer your prayer, and He’s going to say to your storm, “Be still!” Others of you, your storm will continue to rage on, and He will say to your heart, “Be still!” And it will, and both will be miracles. Maybe the one where you have peace and all hell is breaking loose, that might be a more impressive one. Be still and know that He is God. No matter what happens, Love Him. Worship Him. Praise Him. He says, “Peace, be still” In this case,

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Mark 4:39-40 (NIV)

CONCLUSION

Will Sangster was a preacher that told this story from his childhood. Really impacted him. He and some other guys went on a vacation and they all ran out of money, so they all sent a telegram home to their dads saying, “Dad, give us some more money.” William’s dad, also a minister, deeply loved his son, but agonized, “Should I bail him out again, or should I let him learn from his mistake,” and the father lovingly decided not to help his son, even though he had the power to do so. All of the other boys got help from their father, and William’s sitting there and didn’t get any help from his father, and all the other boys said, “Well, obviously, your dad doesn’t love you. He could help you and he didn’t, and your dad doesn’t care. You know, your dad is not a good father,” and William said, “Oh, no, no, no. You don’t understand. I know the heart and character of my father. I know that he is a good father and he loves me, and he has my best interest at heart, so I will wait until I get home and he will explain his reasons to me face-to-face.”

Hopefully not, but likely so, one day, if not now, you are going to face a storm. And one miracle will get you out of it. God might do it – God might not. If He doesn’t, those voices might say to you, “God is not a good God. If He could do it, He would. If He can and could and doesn’t, then He doesn’t love you. Maybe He can’t. Maybe He’s not good. Maybe He’s not there at all,” and you will say, “No, no, no, no, no. You don’t understand. I know the heart and the character of my Father. He is good and He has my best interest at heart. I believe in Him and if He doesn’t do what I think He should or could, I will wait until I get home, and then my Father will explain it to m” By His appointment, with His presence, and for His purposes.

PRAY.

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