Charles Stanley Sermons Today 🙏 When You Truly Feel God’s Presence… Everything Changes

0:07 [music] InTouch with Dr. Charles Stanley, [music] celebrating 45 years of God's faithfulness. Next on InTouch, wisdom for [music] life's trials. >> One of the most frequently asked questions is this. Why is it that God who is a loving father allows his children to go through such terrible trials, painful, sorrowing trials? Why does he do it? We say that he's omnipotent and that he's a god of love. And if he's a god of love and a god of

0:53 omnipotence, which means he's all powerful, he should love us enough not to let that happen. And if he really and truly loves us, why does he let it happen? Does it just happen? That is, has he just created everything, walked away and just let things transpire? Or does he have anything to do with it? I think about all these tornadoes, for example, and floods and all the heartache and the burdens and the trials that people go through. Where's God in all that? And there is an answer in the word of God. It's the only place you can get the real answer. People have all kind of answers. They'll say, "Well, God created the world and then he just turned away and let it just unfold the way it would choose to unfold." Some people would say, "Well, I don't know what happens. It doesn't make any

1:39 difference. It's just happening and here we are. We're sort of victims." Well, that's no real peaceful, tranquil, helpful kind of attitude. So, what does the word of God say about the trials that you and I face? Well, I want you to turn, if you will, to James chapter 1 because he deals with this whole issue of facing these trials in our life and facing them wisely. And when you first begin to read this, if I were not a believer, I would probably read this second verse and say, "Count me out because there's no way I could do this." So look if you will in in James 1 and then I want you to notice it may appear that he's talking about three or four different things but he's talking about the same thing. James a bondervant of

2:25 God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes who are dispersed abroad. Greetings that he's talking about all the Jews who've been dispersed and scattered all over the world because of their captivity and so forth. Then he says, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting. For the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the winds. For that

3:11 man ought not expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all of his ways. But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position, and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass, he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass, and the flowers fall off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed. So too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial. For once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Now, as I said, it looks like he's

3:56 talking about three or four different things, but he's not. And uh he makes a statement in this very first part of this chapter that I think most anyone reading it for the first time or maybe several times would say now wait a minute does he really and truly mean that I am I am to have joy when I encounter various trials. In other words, we might say um joy or put it this way, trials and tears, trials and heartache, trials and burdens, trial and uh rejection, trial and suffering. But trial and joy, those two don't go together. Well, they don't go together unless you understand God's viewpoint of what life's all about. And

4:44 so when I look at this chapter and realize that here's what he says. And he says this specifically and clearly, consider it all joy, my brethren, when not if you encounter, but when you encounter trials. And when he says, notice various trials. That covers everything. All kinds of difficulty and hardship and trials that people go through. He says when you encounter them, encounter them means they come upon you. In other words, it's sometimes a sudden situation, not something that you bring upon yourself necessarily. When you do that, he says, we are to rejoice. And when he talks about joy, he's not talking about this happy, frivolous feeling. He's talking about an inner sense of calmness and quietness and peace and tranquility and assurance

5:30 that's far more than just clapping and saying, "I'm happy that I'm going through this trial." That's not what he's talking about at all. Something much, much deeper than that. And if you'll notice how he says this, he says, "Count it all joy when you encounter these trials knowing that knowing that something's happening." And so it's what I, watch this, it's what I know during these trials and while these trials are coming on that make the difference of whether I'll be able to survive or not. So all of us could think about some trial we've been through and I think about the people who have been through so many trials when it comes to physical and natural calamities that are taking place even right now while we're speaking and they have a reason to question wait a minute now how am I to

6:16 rejoice over all this what is my attitude what what is the proper attitude when you and I go through these trials in life well when I think about that and I think about what God says in this passage and ask the question, well, first of all, he says, "Count it all joy." And then looks like he switches the subject to wisdom. Well, he's not switching the subject. Here's what he's saying. In order to understand the trial and in order to understand it in a fashion that I'm able to have this deep sense of joy down inside in spite of what's happening, I have to have wisdom. I need wisdom to know how to look at this. So, let's define wisdom. Wisdom is simply this. The Bible says all wisdom

7:01 starts with reverencing God. Wisdom is viewing things. Listen, seeing things from God's viewpoint and then responding according to scriptural principles. It is enough for me to see as God sees it, but I'm to respond in the way that fits who I am as a follower of Jesus and to fit the holy scriptures. So it's seeing it as he sees it and following the scriptural principles that he gives to us. And when we do that, for example, I think it's pretty evident, we will be able to evaluate circumstances and people and make the right decision. And we'll be able to uh make decisions based on uh the past experiences in our life, the present situation that's there and the

7:47 future plans that we have. But looking back in the past, how has God worked in our life at in the past and different situations? And then likewise, we have to ask the question, if I'm wise, what would God have me to do in this particular situation? Wisdom is viewing things from God's viewpoint and responding accordingly. So when it comes to these trials, here's what he says. If you'll notice again and the way he says it, he says, "When you encounter these things, you know something." He says, "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect complete work, lacking in nothing." That is God is up to something in our life when there are trials. multitudes of people all across

8:35 this nation of ours who are undergoing all kind of difficulty and hardship and trial and loss and suffering and pain and sometimes feeling guilt that is false guilt but sometimes feeling guilt that is indeed legitimate. Now wisdom enables us to face trials confidently and triumphantly with and that's why he says wisdom so that so that God gives us wisdom enable us to face these things and to face them and come out listen being blessed not destroyed being helped not hindered expressing his love not his disfavor. So whatever trial you're going through, it doesn't make any difference what it is. It fits this because he said

9:22 various trials. So I want to think for just a few moments about what is God's purpose for allowing these things in your life. Well, the first one is this and that is to do what? To test our faith. Now watch this carefully. He uses a word here in the Greek uh that would be sort of meaningless to you, but the word is damon which means to approve. And if you'll turn to uh first Peter for example 1 verse 7, listen to what he says. He says verse 6, in this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while if necessary you have been distressed by various trials. Distressed by them. Listen what he says. So that

10:07 the proof dakamean the proof the approval of your faith being more precious than gold which is perishable even though tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now what is he saying? Simply this. He says you and I can rejoice even though we're going through these this particular trial. Now how can we rejoice? He says knowing this that the proof that is this test is to prove your faith genuine. So that the gen watch this your faith under trial proving to be genuine he says is more valuable to you really than

10:55 what than any kind of gold or precious uh metals. He says there's nothing to compare with it. So I ask you a question. Would you say that it's worth going through a trial for God to build great faith in your life? I can tell you that's the only way he says these various trials. He says here proving that your faith and so he's not testing your faith to say what's wrong with it. The the proving of your faith is listen to make it stronger and stronger because untested faith is unreliable. A person's never been tested, never been tried. They don't know whether they've got any faith or not. It's the test and the trials in fa in life that build our

11:42 faith and make our faith what God intends for it to be. And so, one of his reasons for allowing trials in our life is to build up faith. But there's a second purpose and that's simply this. It also tests our devotion to Christ. Let's say for example you have a trial in your life and and God is God has sent this trial in your life to do what? to test you and to enable you to understand where you are on the scale of obedience of of obedience with him and where is that if he requires something of you in some trial are you willing to say I don't like it God I this is not what I would choose but I'm going to obey you

12:29 no matter what and listen the only way you and I know how obedient we're going to be is when our obedience is tried when we're tempted ed and tried as we would say and we see these things and we have opportunities to do the wrong thing or the right thing. How do you know how obedient you are? On what scale of obedience do you stand? Only when you're tested, only when you're tried. Only when you're offered alternatives to obedience. And so you can choose to obey and not obey. So how do we grow? We grow by being tested in our faith. We grow in our devotion to Christ by making wise decisions under fire. Then

13:16 one of the reasons he he sends trials in our life, watch this because it provides him an opportunity to demonstrate his love for us, to demonstrate his power in our life and to demonstrate his care for us, his intense care and love for us. If everything just sort of came our way and uh there was no trial, no difficulty, no hardship, we take him for granted. When do you pray the most? Things get the worst. And so one of the reasons we have to be wise is to recognize the fact that sometimes what is he doing? He's creating a situation in their life whereby he can demonstrate I can give you a job when 25 people have asked for

14:02 it and I gave it to you. I can supply your need when you didn't have any earthly idea had could possibly happen. I can heal you when you've had all those bad reports. In other words, God is up to something good in their life. No matter what the trial may be, when God sends a trial or allows one, he has an eternal purpose in mind. So when I think about all that and I think about the fact that he's always one of his purposes always to produce Christlike spirit in our life. He's always up to that. He listen, watch this. Every trial in your life, and my life has a divine prescription on it. He knows exactly where we are, where he wants us to be,

14:48 and how to get us there. And so, he's at work in our life. And so, I could say to you this, if I were 25 or 30 years of age, you could ignore a lot of this. But I'd have been around long enough times, long enough to tell you it works. No matter what, it works as long as we respond wisely. and we we don't want to blame somebody else and no matter what's going on, we want to say, "God, what are you up to in my life?" So, he's he's working on making us Christlike. Now, the issue here is, look, we need wisdom to to discern the proper response. I'm going to give you 10

15:33 things. So, I would encourage you to write it down. If you can't write, get somebody next to you who can because you're going to need it. number one. But now watch what he said. He said, "Count it all joy when you find yourself in these various kinds of trials." Now, here's the question I'm going to answer. When can I rejoice? What must I believe in order to rejoice in those difficulties? Number one, I must believe that God is in control of the time and the intensity of my trial. If I'm going to be able to walk through them triumphantly, I must believe that he is in control of the time and the

16:20 intensity of my trial. That nothing's going on without his knowledge. Number two, that he has a specific purpose for our trials. He does. Whether he sends it or he allows it, he has a design in mind and a clear purpose in mind for what he's doing. So I must believe that. I must believe he's in control. Must believe he has a purpose. And thirdly, I must believe that this trial is designed to meet a specific need in my life. For example, when you pray, you don't pray, well, God just blessed me. You pray for something specific. God does not send or allow trials in our life haphazardly. He knows you. He knows his purpose. He knows his goals. He knows what he wants

17:06 you to accomplish in life. And so, he designs it to fit you. Now, if you, for example, you ladies, you have a dress made, you don't go in and say, "Oh, just make it big as you want to." You wouldn't say that. Nor would a man just say, you know, I wear a 41, but give me a 62. You wouldn't do that. You want it designed to fit you. God designs the trial, watch this, to fit his purpose in your life. That's why it doesn't do me any good to complain and mo and groan about it. Number four, the trial will prove to be good u if I respond in faith. It'll prove to be good for me if I respond in faith. If I don't respond in faith and object, then what happens? I just end up wasting my sorrow and my hurt and my pain and gaining nothing

17:53 from it. Then of course the trial can strengthen my faith. I must believe that. If I don't think the trial is going to help me, strengthen me, develop Christlikkeness in me, grow me up, enable me to be a better servant of God, then you know what? I'm not going to respond right and I'm not going to be blessed. But I must, in other words, if I'm going to respond wisely, I must believe these things. Then of course the trial, I must believe that the trial is an opportunity to demonstrate perseverance under pressure because one of our greatest testimonies is when somebody sees you walking through some very difficult trial in life and somehow in spite of it while other people would

18:38 be crying and weeping and moaning, you have a settled faith. You step forward. You don't hold back. You're very confident. You're very assured. You may be crying on the inside, but there's a perseverance on the outside that's very, very evident. If I really and truly believe that God is going to use these things in my life for something good, and I'm going to be able to persevere, I'm a I'm going to be able to walk through it confidently. Then, of course, I must believe that this trial will develop Christlikkeness in me, which we said a few moments ago, that is his purpose. If I believe that, watch this. You're going through something that's very, very painful. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is using that to make you

19:26 Christlike, grow you up, build your faith, transform you, equip you for something future. If you don't believe that, you won't respond correctly. But if you believe these things, no matter what you're going through, you're going to come through it triumphantly. Then I think you have to you have to believe that this is going to help you measure where you are in your spiritual walk with God. Trials help us measure things. What the last time I had a trial, what did I do? Moaned and groaned and complained. This time somehow I have a sense of quietness and calmness and peace and assurance in my life. Why? Because God is growing you up. God is maturing you.

20:15 God is working in your life. In other words, what is he doing? He He He's making you the person he designed you to be. God is at work in your life. Watch this. It doesn't mean that you are no longer sensitive. It doesn't mean that you're not sensitive to other people. But it means that things that go on that used to trouble you don't because God has already proven to you he will take you through this no matter what. Then of course you will only rejoice if you believe that God is going to walk with you through this all the way through and accomplish something good in the end of it. Do you believe he's with you? This is why I said before when a person says I I'm

21:00 just desperate and they're just crying and weeping in desperation but don't know what to do or where is Jesus. I'm not saying you should be insensitive to pain and hurt. I'm just simply saying this. What's What's the wise response? The wise response is, "God, I don't like it." You say, "Well, could you tell God you don't like something?" Well, you might as well tell him. He already knows anyway. He knows what you don't like. He knows how you're hurting. He knows every pain you have. He knows what you would change. And he knows you don't like him at the moment. That doesn't bother him. You know what he does? [laughter] He just keeps the pressure on till he breaks that stubborn will until you get down here and you say, "Okay, God."

21:45 Sometimes it's really funny when you think about how patient he is that no matter what we think and how we feel, he knows what he's up to. And you know why I think sometimes God may smile? Because here you are back here complaining and moaning and groaning and God sees this awesome thing he's going to do in your life and he's just saying he's bringing you along and he knows that when you get over here you're going to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you you didn't listen to my prayers. Thank you dear God that you didn't do what I wanted you to do because here's the reason. He loves you too much to give in to your complaints when he's got something awesome in your life. And then of course, you've got to believe that by

22:31 his grace and power, you're going to overcome it. If you believe those 10 things, you have the wisdom to face anything in life that God may allow in your life. Now, the question is, how do you respond? The trials are there and they're going to come and they're going to increase. And if you can just remember when it gets tougher and tougher, he's got something better and better, not worse and worse. The issue is how do I respond to the trials and the heartaches and the burdens and the things God allows in my life so that when he gets you to that point, you're equipped and you're ready and your influence and the skill in your life and the

23:18 testimony of your life will be weighty in the life of someone who desperately needs what you know. Now you may say, "I'm not even a believer. I'm not even I don't tell me this joy. I'm not even a believer." Well, I understand that. Let me ask you this. When you go through those trials, what do you have? Well, you say, "I have my mother, my father, my friends." Mhm. What can they do for you? Well, they can do thus and so, but when it comes down to the critical things, there's some things nobody can help you do. They can't keep you alive one second more, but God can. that situations and circumstances they can't protect you because they're not there. There are thousand things I could

24:03 I could mention. The most important thing in your life is your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And that begins when you ask him to forgive you of your sins. Trust his death at Calvary to pay for your sins and ask him to come into your life and surrender your life to him. Then you have him with you in you. And as you walk wisely with him, all the things that we're talking about, God will take care of. So what is your choice? Watch this. Here's your choice. To walk alone. You say, "I'm not alone. I got all these folks." No, you only have that temporarily. You either have life in Christ or you don't have it. The wisest thing you could do at this

24:49 moment is to ask Christ into your life and to tell him that you knew that you you knew that you'd blown it. You're not really equipped to live a godly life. You're not even equipped to live a happy life, a peaceful life. And you see, there's so many folks around us who have this and have that and have the other. They got all kind of recognition and popularity and all the rest. when they go home at night and they lie down and they cut out their lights, you know what? They are miserable. And if they aren't miserable, they're worried. Because let me ask you a question. Ask it to you as a believer. What do you have that you really have, that you really own, that you can really put faith in, that you can really trust

25:34 in that you can't lose in a moment? [music] Not a thing. If you have Jesus, you've got it all. And that's my prayer for you. And Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit [music] will awaken the heart of people who listen, who watch, who have been deceived into believing that they're okay. When the only hope of heaven is Jesus, [music] when the only true, ultimate eternal friend is Jesus. The only one who can take care of [music] every single area of life is Jesus. Grant them wisdom, the simple wisdom to [music] say yes even as they're

26:21 listening. And we thank you for it in Jesus name. Amen. [music] InTouch [music] the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Next on InTouch, the confidence [music] to face the unknown.

27:09 Because you and I cannot see into the future. Life is full of unknowns. The question is how do you and I respond to those unknowns in life? Some people respond with confidence and assurance. Many people respond with fear and anxiety and frustration and worry. How do you respond when you face those unknowns in life? Well, that's what I want to talk about in this message entitled The Confidence to Face the Unknown. And I want you to turn, if you will, to Hebrews chapter 11. And in the midst of a number of short biographies of God's saints in the past, there's one here about Moses. And I think in this passage of scripture is the key to be able to face the unknowns in our life with confidence and assurance and absolute boldness. No matter what we

27:55 face in life, we do not have to be afraid. We do not have to be anxious. We do not have to be fearful of all the outcomes. So in this 11th chapter of Hebrews, beginning in verse 23, here's what the scripture says. By faith, Moses when he was born was hidden for three months by his parents because they saw he was a beautiful child and they're not afraid of the king's edict. And if you'll recall that Pharaoh wanted to kill all of those young Hebrew children, the male children. By faith, Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure the ill treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. You need to mark that one in your Bible, the passing pleasures

28:40 of sin, because that's a good description of what sin's about. Verse 26, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. Then he says, "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who would would destro he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land, and the Egyptians when they attempted it were drowned." Now all of us have uncertainties in our life. Person goes to work and they say you know we don't need you anymore. Jobs are

29:26 uncertain. Health is uncertain. Relationships are uncertain. Families are uncertain. Everywhere you turn, everywhere you look, you look around you and you ask yourself the question, what is security? What is certain? What is for sure anymore? What does the future hold? And that was a time when people could have a certain bit of security about their job and their future and their finances. but no more. My friend, listen to me carefully. If you do not know God through his son, Jesus Christ, you have absolutely no certainty about anything in your life. And you're naturally going to live with a sense of uncertainty and some bits of fear and anxiety and frustration. And even though you may have all the money in the world you need to buy anything you need, you can't buy good health. You can't buy

30:12 yourself life and avoid death. You can't buy yourself into heaven. And therefore everything proves to be uncertain. No matter how many degrees you have, how wise you appear to be, without Christ, everything in your life is indeed uncertain. And so the question is, how do we live? How are we to live? And how can we live with certainty in a world that's so full of uncertainty and insecurity? And there's so much emphasis on security and so much emphasis on benefits and so much emphasis on the future. And the truth is in spite of all the plans that man makes the only real genuine security he has is wrapped up in not many relationships but one specific relationship. It is a spiritual relationship. It is a relationship with Jesus Christ. That is the only true

30:59 basis of security here and security in the life that comes after. So when we think about that I want you to notice what this scripture says. He says in verse 27, "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured." Now watch that word. He endured as seeing him who is invisible. How does a person see what is invisible? Well, how does a person see God? You and I see him. Listen, we see first of all, let's put it this way. I just have to tell you how I see him. And this is the best way for me to speak about it. When I open God's word and begin to read, one of the things I'm always looking for, I want to see what God is up to. I want to see how he thinks. I want to see how he

31:46 operates in David's life or Daniel's life or Joseph's life or Moses' life. I want to see what he did. I ask the question, why did he do it? I want to know if he did the same thing in someone else's life. What would have happened if this if he had not operated this way? Is this a pattern? Is this a principle? Is this is this who God is? Am I able to see who God is? Yes. Listen, the clearest and the safest way to see God is to read his word. Now, here's why I said it's the safest way. Because people can come up with all kinds of ideas about what God is like. And there are many people who believe have concepts of God that are absolutely totally unscriptural. God's not anything like what they say he is. And so in order to keep, listen, in order to keep my focus right and to be sure that I'm seeing God

32:33 and not something else, I must be in the word of God. Anything I see with my eye of faith that contradicts the word of God, I'm not seeing the God who is God. Not seeing the God who is God. And so reading the scripture, I began to see how he operated in Moses' life. How did he operate in Joseph life? How did he operate in Daniel's life? How did he operate in Paul's life? How do you operate in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ? How does God work in the lives of these men? To me personally, it has been the greatest advantage of my life to go back, read, ask the question over and over and over again, why? What were you saying? Somebody says, are you questioning the scripture? No, I'm questioning God's actions in the lives of these people. Not to question whether

33:18 he was right or wrong, but to question God, what's the principle? What did you do? Can I expect the same thing to happen in my life? If if you put me in some challenge, can I expect you to be just as real to me as you were to Moses, David, Daniel, Joseph, and all the Joshua, and all the rest? Yes, I can. Why? Because principles never change. God never changes. He has a will and a purpose and a plan for your life. And having a will and a purpose and a plan, he will work that out if you and I will submit to his will. And so therefore, when I look at the lives of these men and how they operated, so what happens? I I'm I'm beginning to see who God is. I'm beginning to see God. Therefore, a second thing is this. We see God when we begin to be able to identify the works of God in the lives of other people as

34:04 well as in our own life. We see his handprint, his fingerprint, his footprint. We see where God is. We see how he operates. We see how he moves in people's lives. We see how he saves the lost. We see how he guides the saints. We see how he undergardds us in our life in difficult and trouble. What are we doing? We are seeing the manifestation of God. I do not have to see a visible image of a God who is so absolutely real, awesomely real. I cannot describe him but try wonderfully how to describe this awesome God who has made himself so real. What did he say? I'll never leave you nor forsake you. What did he say? He says he came to indwell us. Every single believer is indwelt by the presence of the Holy Spirit who is one person of the Godhead. Therefore, if you and I are

34:49 one, if you and I are indwelt by one person, the Godhead, we have God living on the inside of us. And therefore, we ought to be be able to clearly see the presence of God. Be aware of the presence of God. Not only aware of his presence, but see God at work. And if you and I going to live with confidence and assurance, we must listen. We must train our heart to be able to discern his presence. We must train our minds to be able to see him. Listen, train our spirits to discern truth from errand, the presence of God in the absence of what appears to be the lack of God in a situation or circumstance. That's the key. And he says he he says he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Now in difficult circumstances of our life, you see why

35:35 does God allow them? He says to teaches endurance. And what happens when you and I go through difficulty? We are we are driven to God. When we are driven to God, something happens. Now, let's think about this for a moment. The whole idea when we said the Bible says, "Blessed are the," he says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." What do we mean by pure in heart? When a person's pure in heart, what does that require? If a person is pure in heart, it means that our thoughts are pure. Our thoughts are holy. Does that mean every single solitary thought's holy? No. But it's a way of life for us. And when something crops in that's not holy, we deal with it immediately and move on. Our thoughts are holy. Our listen, our motives are unmixed. Our motives become pure. We want to do what is right

36:21 because it's the right thing to do from God's perspective. Our conscience becomes clear. When listen, when we walk before God with a pure heart, we're going to have a clear conscience. Our will is going to be submitted to him. our motives are going to be unmixed and our thoughts are going to be holy. Now you think about this. When our mind is spiritually clear, that's when you and I will be able to see the presence of God. And this is why so many believers don't see the presence of God. Say, "Well, you know what? I I just God's up to someone." If you ask the average person, where is God? Well, he's up. That's where I pray up in heaven. Well, while God is sitting at the on his throne in the heavens, he is also sitting on the throne of our heart. And so that you and I have the capacity

37:09 to see God. But listen, God has made it possible for us to see him. And the way he's made it possible is he's given us his word. He's given us a discerning spirit. And then he speaks to us so very, very clearly. Now, I'll tell you one thing that's helped me over the years, and somewhere along the way, I think in my own desire to know who God was and who he is, uh this just became a part of my thinking, the way I think at night time when I lie down at night and uh and talk to the Lord before I go to sleep. Uh I always try to think about what I'm going to do the next day as best I can. But secondly, I always try to recall and refresh my mind what happened during the day. And the reason I want to do that is because I want to

37:54 look for the evidence of God in my life. I want to see what did God do. I want to see how he helped me in that relationship. I want to see what he did in answering this uh question. I want to see how he guided me in making this decision. I want to see how he protected me in this circumstance. And how many times have you been driving down the expressway and somebody cut right in front of you and all of a sudden or maybe you come to a traffic light and it's green. It didn't mean a thing to the other person though it was red. They came right out in front of you, almost hit you. What was your first response? Your first response should have been, "Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord." When we set God at our right hand, we're going to be continually, listen, continually looking for the evidence of

38:42 his presence. And God's presence is so real. When you think about how many people who live in our city who drive 80 miles an hour, that seems to be the speed limit. And we're 6 in apart, 3 in apart, 2 feet apart. And if you'll notice the big trucks, they only have about 6 in left on both sides. It's dangerous to be on the expressway. Who do you think's guiding and guarding every single day? Almighty God. Don't take that for granted. Now, one thing about going to bed at night and recalling those things, here's what happens. When you lie down at night and you begin to evaluate what God's been doing in your life all day long, and you look for the evidence of his handiwork, his fingerprint, you see his protection, his watch. Here's what's happening. What's happening is this. You are recalling, you are listen, you are

39:28 visualizing in your mind God at work in your life during that day. And what you're doing is you're a listen while you are recalling and being able to listen evaluate and being able to enjoy once again and even better on the second goround enjoy his presence, enjoy his handiwork, enjoy the reality of God in your life. What does it do? It just etches it in your mind that much deeper when you let the day go by and you don't stop to recall and to re-evaluate. The Bible says we should thank him every morning and rejoice in the evening about God about what he's been doing in our life. And you see, taking the time to recall is glorifying to God. Taking the time to recall,

40:14 you're going to end up praising God and thanking him because once you begin to look for him, you're going to see God as you have never seen him before. And you're going to begin to realize he's been there all day long doing his work in your life. I mean, when you're on your job, the things you have to figure out, sometimes difficulties and situations and circumstances, you need him. Call upon him. Expect him. He's David says, "I keep him at my right hand all the time. I set him before me. I set him before me daily." And also, what happens is this, we begin to interpret life through the mind of God. We begin to think the way he thinks. When you and I begin to see him, we begin to see how he operates. Then we begin to think about this is the way God operates. That's why you and I can end up being

41:00 wise and making wise decisions in our life for the simple reason we begin to understand the principles. We begin to see God as he is. And when you begin to see God as his, it will affect every single aspect of your life. So let's go back. The Bible says, "Blessed are what? The pure in heart, for they shall see God." Which simply means if I expect to be if I expect to be able to see the presence of God and his manifestations in my life, it begins not with God but with me, a pure heart. Because when my heart is pure, my thoughts will be holy. My listen, my motives are going to be unmixed. My conscience is going to be clean and my will is going to be submissive to him. Let me ask a question. Is it worth Is it worth walking in the awareness of

41:47 the presence of God to keep your heart pure? Yes. Is it worth walking in the power of God for your life and his enablement in your life every day to keep your conscience clean and your and your motives unmixed and your thoughts pure? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. By all means, it is worth every moment of it. It is worth every confession and every act of repentance because God wants to be more real to us than we even want him to be. So, well, what kind of difference will that make in your life? Here's the difference it'll make. It'll make a lot of difference. First of all, you will begin to view life from a whole different perspective. You'll begin to view life not, listen, not from who I am and what I have or how little I have. You'll begin to view life not from my handicaps, my my my lack of and my my no

42:35 talents, no gifts. You'll begin to look at look at life this way. Thank God the omnipotent one is living on the inside of me. Thank God that today no matter what happens the one who absolutely supremely rules over everything is in control of my life today I don't have to be afraid I don't have to be anxious I don't have to be worried I know that whatever I need my God is going to supply my need it will affect every single aspect of your life so let's think about maybe some specific things for example you'll begin to think in in in positive terms you'll begin to think with with a sense of confidence not I can't but I can Because listen, I can I I can't even explain to you the awesome reality of being able to see God so clearly in your life. And what

43:22 happens is there is a joy, there is a confidence there. Listen, there is a bubbling experience of exuberance over an omnipotent, omnicient, omnipresent, sovereign, ruling God who loves you enough, get on the inside of your life and guides you in those mundane decisions in life that seem to be so very unimportant. He is there all the time. You begin to look at your own life from a whole different perspective and and certainly more positive. And here's what'll happen when trials come. Instead of you saying, "Oh, dear God, what am I going to do?" Here's what'll happen when you begin to be aware of his presence in your life and you begin to see him in things. You listen, you will see the difficulties, the hardships, and the trials as stepping stones from God.

44:07 You'll see them as stepping stones to do what? Building spiritual maturity, building the principles into your life. You're be listen, you're beginning to learn to know God. Now, when you fell in love with a person uh that you are thinking about marrying or or the person you're already married to, the more you discovered about them, I certainly hope this would be true. The more you discovered about them, the more you love them and the more excited you became. Listen, we can't even compare loving someone like a intimate personal relationship with God. Because on that side, it's absolutely perfect. In this earth, there are no two perfect people. And on the other side with spiritual things, God is absolutely perfect. He loves us perfectly in every aspect. Everything that comes from him is absolutely perfect, absolutely the best.

44:53 And so what happens? We begin to develop this relationship, change our whole attitude about ourselves and our circumstances and the way we look at things. A second thing that happens is this and that is obedience suddenly becomes much more desirous to us than the pleasures of the world. When God becomes a reality in your life, a living reality that you can see the manifestations day after day, you know what happens? Sin loses its appeal. Listen, one of our prayers ought to be, God, draw me to yourself so closely. Sin has absolutely no appeal to me whatsoever, but let make holiness and righteousness and sanctification. Let let that be the attitude of my heart. And what happens is sin will it will lose its appeal because you'll get so excited about God and his relationship

45:40 with you and his love for you and his devotion and and the manifestations and listen his willingness to his willingness to show himself real in your life. Sin will lose its appeal in your life once you begin to see God from that perspective. Another thing that happens is this. You and I begin to see things as they really are. So much of what we see is not real. You can watch the news and you can uh watch the movies and uh uh so much of life's not real. And you see some people for example, you notice that uh when you first see them, they have this great appeal and after you get to know them, they're not for real. It's all fake. It's all on the surface. It's not for real. We listen, God gives us the ability to see to see reality. And guess

46:26 what happens when you and I begin to see reality? We begin to see that Satan has fabricated all these lies about what satisfies and what completes and uh what'll make you happy and full of joy. We begin to see things as they are. Sin loses its appeal. We begin to be able to to better discern in our relationships to other people what's going on. Now the things that happens is this and that is we begin to put to place the eternal over the temporal. Once you begin to see the Lord in a whole different perspective, here's what happens. Things that are temporal lose, listen, they will lose the priority in your life. And things that are eternal become the priority. And what'll happen is it it will affect your time, the way you spend your time. It'll affect with whom you

47:13 spend your time. It'll affect the way you spend your money. It'll affect the way you invest your money. It'll affect how much you give to the Lord's work. It will affect listen how you give yourself away to others. It affects everything of every single thing about us because our perspective changes. Now this God I'm beginning to see who he is and what he's like. And when I begin to see what he's like and what he offers, I want my heart to be pure. I listen. I want my motives to be unmixed. I want my will to be submissive. I want my life to be an expression of a living, walking likeness of the son of God. Everything begins to change. So he says in his word, he says that he endured as seeing him who is

48:00 invisible. And what happened? One of the results of that is that criticism and misunderstanding no longer affect us the way they used to. When you and I listen, when when you and I are walking in the presence of God and he's ever before our right hand and we keep him before us and we're beginning to see things from his perspective criticism misunderstanding, do not bring us gloom and doom. Do not bring us into depression and despair. It can just roll right over our head. We can absolutely walk away and absolutely ignore it for the simple reason. When we're walking in the will of God, we're able to deal with those kind of things with a sense of love and forgiveness no matter what. Doesn't mean that you'll always be happy about the way people treat you, but there's a sense of confidence and assurance that your God whom you serve whose principles

48:49 guide and direct your life will enable you to walk through every fire, every difficulty no matter what it might be. You see, when he said that he endured as seeing him who is invisible, him who is unseen, this isn't something that was limited to Moses. This is the gift God has offered to every single one of his children. And I want to challenge you to ask yourself this question. Do I see God in my life? Where's the evidence of God in my life? In other words, if he is, man, there ought to be some evidence. Do I see God? Listen. Do I see God in my relationship to other people? Do I see God in my conversation? Do I see God in my work? Do I see him in my family? Do I see him in relationships? Do I see him in Do I

49:37 see him working in my finances? Do I see God or do I not? Do I see God in the expression of my talents and my gifts? Do I see God in my service? Is my life making an impact in anybody else's life? Do I see God working in me and through me to affect someone else's life? So I simply ask you a question. Are you living your life looking at the things around you, your circumstances and your future in the presence of almighty God? Or do you find yourself feeling very very alone? Do you find yourself feeling very very inadequate and alone and helpless?

50:22 and depressed and anxious and worried and fretting and caring and insecure and sometimes even unapproachable by others because of where you are in life. Then my friend, what you need to do is to receive Jesus Christ as your personal savior by faith. What do I mean by that? I simply mean that you're willing to confess that what the scripture says about him is true. that Jesus Christ is the son of God who went to Calvary and died for your sin. He paid your sin debt in full. And if you're willing to ask him to forgive you of your sins and tell him that you're receiving him as your personal savior in that moment, your sin is forgiven. You become a child of God and you are eternally secure throughout

51:08 the rest of your life. If you want a peace that passes all understanding, if you want to be able to face life and face it confidently and assuredly, you can only do that by having God in your life through his son Jesus. And I want to encourage you, examine your life. Even if you're a believer, examine your life and ask yourself this question. When is the last time I ever said to God, "God, show me yourself." When's the last time I ever expressed real genuine hunger in my heart to see him at work in my life? And maybe it would be good if you asked the Lord, "Lord, when I lie down tonight and every night thereafter, would you just remind me

51:55 that this is a wonderful time right before I go into unconsciousness to be reminded of how you've been with me all the day and what you've been doing in my life. Lord, teach me how to live seeing you in every circumstance of my life. It'll change your life. And Father, how grateful we are that you love us enough to make yourself real to us. Love us enough never to leave us nor forsake us. Love us enough to pick us up when we falter and fall. Love is enough to hang in there with us when we are growing up and maturing in our spiritual life.

52:41 Thank you for saying I will never no never forsake you. We give ourselves a fresh and a new to you today to say father teach us how to see you in ways we have never seen you before. For we ask it in Jesus [music] name. Amen. [music] There's [music] not anything in your life you can't give up when it comes to sin. If you are willing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ

53:29 and tell him, "I've made a blunder of my life. I've messed it up. I've hurt other people. I've sinned against [music] you. I've sinned against myself. Sinned against the people I love the most. God, can [music] you help me? Here's my life. Will he help you change your life? >> [music] >> Four decades ago, we started InTouch Ministries to lead people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Throughout the years, we've [music] seen God's greatness, his love, and his blessings in such awesome ways that we just [music] want everyone to know him. So, let's open God's word and seek him together.

54:16 Next on InTouch, the battle for self-control. >> Is there any area of your life that you would consider as being out of control? What about your finances? They out of control. What about your moral life? Would you say that's out of control? What about your relationship with other people? Is it out of control? What about your attitudes towards some people? Like jealousy?

55:04 When you think about your life, is there any area of your life that you say, "Well, I think that's out of control." For example, you drink and um maybe you take drugs or maybe you gamble a little bit, you say. And what about gossiping? What about just having a critical spirit? What about being lazy? None of those fit who we are. That's why Paul said to the Galatians, "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience kindness goodness

55:51 faithfulness gentleness self-control." So when you think about your life, would you would you say that your life is under control? Or would you say that there are some areas of my life that certainly are not in control? Well, it's a battle. And that's the title of this message, the battle for self-control. We all want to be in control of our lives. And now what I mean by that is this. We want to have the relationship with our Lord by which we are submitted to him to the point that we're not always battling. Because watch this, when things are not right between you

56:37 and God, it's like a tugof-war. God wants you to do the right thing, you'd like to, but but but you don't. And so there's tension and stress and uneasiness and oftenimes unhappiness, lack of peace, lack of joy, lack of all the things that Paul just mentioned. You see, you cannot be living a life of disobedience to God and have love, joy, peace, goodness, and all the rest. You can't. You say, "Well, I'm sort of happy the way I am." Sort of. But you cannot have real happiness, real joy, real peace, real love when you and the Lord Jesus Christ are not in agreement with

57:23 about your life. So I want us to think about this whole issue of the battle for self-control in our lives because all of us either have had a battle or are in a battle right at the present time. So think about this. Would you say that your life is under control? That you have a sort of a healthy attitude about all of these things? The desire for acceptance by others. How strong is that desire that you have that you want to be accepted by everybody else? The desire to be loved by others. Do you want people to love you? That is have a close relationship. What about desires for all types of pleasure? Does that characterize you?

58:11 That just whatever is fun, whatever makes you feel good for the moment, that's what that's what you're looking for. What about sex? Do you have sexual desires that are outside the will of God? We're living in a very sexually oriented society. And Paul lived in a society that was a cesspool of immorality and so he knew about it. What about desires for wealth and security? Where does that rate on your list of important things? Wealth and security. What about desires to achieve and to excel? Is that a healthy desire you have

58:56 or do you want to excel above other people? You you want to be better than what about the desire to have notoriety and fame. You see, this is the reason people do such atrocious things as murdering other people. They'll get their name on television and their [clears throat] picture and in the newspaper, but look what it cost them. What about would you say that you have a strong desire for happiness? If that's true, what are you doing to be happy? What are you being to be happy? What about your desire for personal attractiveness? Is that wrong? No, it's not wrong. But does that uh demand a lot of your time,

59:41 a lot of your thinking? Do you just want to look good or do you want to look good better than somebody else? So, do you feel the friction of that? If I could just if I could just fix my hair like she fixes hers or if I could just dress like like like she dresses or he dresses. What about a desire to control? Do you have a desire to control other people somehow? You you you just got to be number one. And in your business you are not number one but you'd like to be. You want to be. And then for example a desire for self-acceptance. I just want to be able to accept myself the way I am. You and I will never be anyone else. So think about that. No matter what you

1:00:28 are, how you see yourself, what you intend to do with your life, you will never be you will never be like someone else. God made you just the way you are. Now whether we distort that by our actions and our attitudes, uh that's another question. But as you think about all of these, would you say that your life is under control? That you have a sort of a healthy attitude about all of these things? Now, let's talk about what self-control is. Self-control is basically thinking before you act, which is what a lot of people do not do. Thinking before you act and considering seriously the possibility of the results

1:01:16 that you'll have. Would you say that's true of your life? Your life's under control. You think before you act. So the battle for self-control. Now, beginning in the 19th verse of the fifth chapter, Paul sort of sets us up for the fruits of the spirit by saying verse 19. Now the deeds of the flesh, notice what he says. There are fruits of the spirit. That is this is the these things we just mentioned love, peace and joy. These attitudes come from the work of the Holy Spirit within us. But notice how he contrasts that in verse 19 in the fifth chapter. Now the deeds, our actions of the flesh, the way we live

1:02:02 are evident which are and the first three of them have to do with sexuality. S he says immorality, impurity, sensuality. Then idolatry, sorcery enmity strife jealousy outbursts of anger, disputes, dissension factions Indian drunkenness, carousing, things like these of which I forewarned you, just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, watch this verse. You may be seated here or out there somewhere and you're saying, "Then I guess I'm not going to heaven because I've done I've done one of all of those things." The key word in this passage is

1:02:47 that I have warned you those who practice such things. And so I won't get into the Greek of the of the verb here, but what that means is it's a way of life. Not not that it has not happened in your life because more than likely when I look at this list all of us to some degree have it sometimes probably committed one or all of those but it's not a practice it's not a way of life for us when you trust in Jesus Christ those things do not fit who we are so he's saying those who practice such things it's their lifestyle a person who drinks all the time it's their lifestyle person who's always into something sexual. It's their lifestyle and you can just go down that list. If

1:03:32 this is your way of life, this is what you're committed to. He says you'll not inherit the kingdom of God. So, we're not saying that a person who does one of these is not going to heaven. But if you've come to the place in your life you practice those, it's the way you think. That's who you are. It's because you're not saved. You can't live like that continuously and really be saved. You say, "Well, now I thought no." Listen to what he said. Those who practice those things will not inherit the kingdom of God. So that's our actions. But what about the fruit of the spirit? So let's let's think about that for just a moment and ask ask you a few questions. And um

1:04:18 when I think about that and think about the society in which you and I live, think about the fruit of the spirit versus what we live around. And ask yourself the question, would you be considered a follower of Jesus with your conduct? The things that you that do and see and the things places you go, how you spend your money. In other words, are all of those things in your life that you consider important, do they fit who you are? When you trusted Christ as your savior, you turned your back on sin. Doesn't mean that you'll never sin again. Turns your back on sin. And so your commitment to the Lord is to be obedient to him, to walk in his ways because you want the fruit of the spirit

1:05:04 in your life of love and joy and peace and goodness and gentleness and all these fruits you want in your life because you're going to be more satisfied. You're going to be more secure. You're going to be able to relate to other people totally different than what you used to. So as you look at your life, would you say at this point that you are walking in the spirit? And those who know you, would you say they know you as a person who walks in the spirit? There's something different about you. Or do they see in you this tension, this stress, this anxiety, this it's like a tugof-war. How do you break that tension, stress, and all the rest? By surrendering to the Lord.

1:05:51 by turning your life over to him, by saying, "God, the way I've been living doesn't work. That's not the way I want to live in my life." And I think about people who live their whole life captured by some sin, living in slavery in their hearts, and their minds. Many people live and die and never experience the love of God, the goodness of God, the freedom of God, the gentleness of God, the rewards of God, let they live their whole life and never experience that. So if somebody should say to you today, well, at this point in your life, whatever your age, where would you say you are? Would you say that you're a person who experiences the love of God?

1:06:37 a person who recognizes that he's the source of everything. Would you say that you're a person who loves other people? You're happy when you see other people being blessed. You're happy when you see other people be saved. You love listening to the word of God. Could that be said of you? Or would you have to say, "I can't exactly explain it, but I'm I'm really unhappy. I'd like to be different. There are things in my life I'd like to get rid of, but there's some things in my life that I just can't give up. Yes, you can. There's not anything in your life you can't give up when it comes to sin. If you are willing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ and tell him, "I've made a blunder of my

1:07:24 life. I've messed it up. I've hurt other people. I've sinned against you. I've sinned against myself. Sinned against the people I love the most. God, can you help me? Here's my life. Will he help you change your life? Change everything about you. Self-control. Would you say that your life is under the control of God? If not, let me ask you a question. Are you happy? No, you're not. You satisfied with how you're doing in life? No. You can't be living outside of God's will and plan and purpose for your life and be happy. You cannot. Not real joy, not real peace, not any of those fruit of the that's not going to be in your

1:08:09 life. The fruit of the spirit, not of the flesh. And the thing that concerns me most is how people live their lives and look back and think, well, why did this happen to me? Wh what why what wasn't I blessed? Was it not because you didn't listen to God? If you live disobediently before God, you suffer the consequences. In other words, all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus, there is no acceptable excuse for our not attempting to live a godly life whereby the Holy Spirit is in control of our thinking and of our actions. And when he's in control, I think before I act, and my

1:08:56 actions will follow his purpose and his plan and his will for our life. So, what is the key to our self-control? And so, this brief passage of scripture is Paul's way of giving us an opportunity to examine ourselves to see where we are in our relationship to the Lord. So, self-control requires that we think before we act. You ought to get that down. Self-control requires that we think before we act. And this is the problem. People act before they think and then they're sorry. And so, you must have a strong desire to obey God. If you don't have a strong desire

1:09:42 to obey God, you're not going to live a godly life. You're not going to overcome most anything without that strong desire for him in your life to enable you. So, you've got to believe in your heart that the Holy Spirit who lives within you is going to enable you. Now, think about this. Jesus knew all about temptation and trials and everything else. Therefore, when he promised us the Holy Spirit, he knew how awful society was in those days. When you trusted him as your savior, the spirit of God came into your life to enable you to live in whatever society you live in to overcome all types of sin. So, it's not just you against your

1:10:30 environment. It's you and the Holy Spirit who's promised to give you whatever you need to be victorious. He's there for the asking and the yielding of your life. So when you think about that and you think about you have someone to help you through this. So you should consider

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