Latest / Challenges of Faith Radio Program / Time to Rebuild! Ep 3408

Transcript

Time to Rebuild! Ep 3408 · Challenges of Faith Radio Program

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  Speaker 1: Dear Heavenly Gracious God, as we come before your holy presence,
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  Speaker 1: we thank you for who you are and who you
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  Speaker 1: continue to be in each of our lives. Forgive us
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  Speaker 1: for each and every known sin, be it words, thoughts,
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  Speaker 1: or actions that we've committed in our life. And we
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  Speaker 1: thank you for what Jesus Christ did at the cross
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  Speaker 1: of Calvary for each one of us. As we enter
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  Speaker 1: today's message, we ask you to allow your Holy Spirit
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  Speaker 1: to take it and make it real. Make it real
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  Speaker 1: unto the listener as you continue to make it real
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  Speaker 1: for my individual life. In Christ's name we ask you
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  Speaker 1: and thank you. Amen. Welcome back to Challenges of Faith
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  Speaker 1: radio program. I'm Gary McCance. Thank you for joining. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you for joining. We want to talk about obstacles. You know,
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  Speaker 1: like despite them that's occurring in your life, maybe on
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  Speaker 1: a daily basis that you can see. Because you remember now,
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  Speaker 1: you're either in a trial, coming out of one, or
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  Speaker 1: waiting for one. But you remember that during the last
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  Speaker 1: few months, you had a chance to see around the globe,
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  Speaker 1: irrespective of where you are, and maybe where you are.
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  Speaker 1: Natural disasters as they struck neighborhoods where, you know, little
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  Speaker 1: children once played and their beloved moms and parents drove
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  Speaker 1: their babies. But now they've been destroyed. And you've seen
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  Speaker 1: houses that have been turned into muddy, moldy, mountains of debris.
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  Speaker 1: Families where you live at are still without your utilities
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  Speaker 1: as they dig through the rubble. You've seen it on TV,
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure you have. You see them cleaning up for months,
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  Speaker 1: maybe years. But none of us know if or when
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  Speaker 1: one day We're going to have to do the same thing,
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  Speaker 1: you know, sift through the wreckage that was once our
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  Speaker 1: life's treasure. You know it's true. You've been there. Maybe
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  Speaker 1: that's where you are now. And we may or may
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  Speaker 1: not endure that particular trial firsthand. But we do know this,
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  Speaker 1: that we all have to endure hardships of one kind
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  Speaker 1: or another throughout our life. You know, the challenges of
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  Speaker 1: our faith. Maybe the sudden death of a loved one
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  Speaker 1: or you lost your job, or you've been betrayed by
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  Speaker 1: that person that was close to you, or maybe you've
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  Speaker 1: had financial ruin from a bankruptcy standpoint, or maybe you're
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  Speaker 1: seriously ill on your deathbed, going through a divorce. None
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  Speaker 1: of these challenging whirlwinds appear on your radar right now
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  Speaker 1: before they hit you. Remind me. In a trial, waiting
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  Speaker 1: for one, or coming out of one, but all of
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  Speaker 1: them leave us with this task of picking up the pieces.
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  Speaker 1: And the question you've got to ask and answer is,
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  Speaker 1: what's going to help you rebuild after that challenging storm?
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  Speaker 1: Do you know the answer? Because you know you're going
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  Speaker 1: to need help cleaning up the mess and then trying
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  Speaker 1: to move forward. Well, let me ask you a question.
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  Speaker 1: You don't mind, do you? In your life right now,
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  Speaker 1: do you have the ability to see God's presence? Can
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  Speaker 1: you perceive His power? Can you focus on His plan
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  Speaker 1: irrespective of what the obstacles happen to be in your life?
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  Speaker 1: You know, there was a prophet in the Word. Remember him, Nahum?
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  Speaker 1: Remember how he envisioned God's presence in the storms? And
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  Speaker 1: the question you've got to ask and answer in your
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  Speaker 1: own life, are you going to let the Lord have
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  Speaker 1: his way? Think about in that challenging whirlwind, in that
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  Speaker 1: challenging storm. But you remember with Nahum and the clouds
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  Speaker 1: are the dust of his feet. You can see that
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  Speaker 1: in Nahum chapter 1 verse 3. Remember the household of faith.
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  Speaker 1: Can you see God's sovereignty at work in your storm,
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  Speaker 1: in that challenging storm? And if your vision is blurred
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  Speaker 1: by tears, it may be challenging, it may be hard,
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  Speaker 1: and I understand. But most importantly, God understands. It's hard
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  Speaker 1: to see beyond the mountain of that wreckage in front
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  Speaker 1: of you. Think about it. Your vision needs to be
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  Speaker 1: sharpened now. It has a lot to do with your
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  Speaker 1: attitude at the same time. Are you staying positive or
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  Speaker 1: are you running around panicking? Are you praying with deep
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  Speaker 1: sincerity Are you letting the Lord know that this is
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  Speaker 1: His moment? This is where He can take charge and
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  Speaker 1: you're going to trust Him in the days to come?
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  Speaker 1: Are you really going to believe that God is going
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  Speaker 1: to get you through? Are you going to have confidence
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  Speaker 1: in His Word, in His grace? Are you going to
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  Speaker 1: let His grace enable you to step up and do
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  Speaker 1: what's needed? Are you going to be willing to be stretched,
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  Speaker 1: stretched in the challenge and adversity that's in your life?
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  Speaker 1: Are you going to let God stretch your capacity to
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  Speaker 1: accomplish more than you ever thought possible? Are you going
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  Speaker 1: to be determined, my brethren, the household of faith, to
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  Speaker 1: hang tough when the going gets rough, knowing that no
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  Speaker 1: magic wand is available to make everything new again? Are
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  Speaker 1: you going to be determined to help you lock your
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  Speaker 1: eyes on God's vision, not some man's, some woman's, some woman's,
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  Speaker 1: some man's vision, but God's vision? And then the obstacle,
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  Speaker 1: that challenging obstacle, that challenging obstacle, are you going to
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  Speaker 1: let God remove it for you? Well, are you? It
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  Speaker 1: has a lot to do with how you respond. You know,
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  Speaker 1: the story is told of a business owner. One day
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  Speaker 1: his business was being burnt down. And as it was burning,
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  Speaker 1: one of his employees called him. And he went to
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  Speaker 1: the fire. where his building was being burned down. And
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  Speaker 1: he just watched an employee asking, aren't you afraid, scared,
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  Speaker 1: you know, all anxious? And the owner told him, no.
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  Speaker 1: He said, I dedicated that building to God, that business
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  Speaker 1: to God, and if that's what God wants to happen,
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  Speaker 1: then that's what happened. I'm going to trust God. I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to trust God. You know, Caleb was 85 years
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  Speaker 1: of age when he declared, if the Lord is with me,
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  Speaker 1: I'll drive the enemies out of the land. Just as
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  Speaker 1: the Lord said over in Joshua chapter 14, verse 12.
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  Speaker 1: Caleb locked his eyes on God's vision for him. And
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  Speaker 1: he took the mountain that the Lord has promised. In
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  Speaker 1: your life right now, in that challenging faith, you're hurting.
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  Speaker 1: And you may need time just to grieve. But eventually, though,
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  Speaker 1: you're going to need to rebuild, and that process begins
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  Speaker 1: with seeing God's presence in your storm and his plan
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  Speaker 1: through that storm. But you've got to remember, he hasn't
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  Speaker 1: abandoned you. Men and women, women and men may abandon you,
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  Speaker 1: but he has not abandoned you. He's in your comfort.
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  Speaker 1: He's the peace you're aching for. He's the strength you
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  Speaker 1: need to start fresh. Let me ask you a question.
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  Speaker 1: Why don't you open your eyes to what God has
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  Speaker 1: in store for you? Because after the storm, that challenging storm,
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  Speaker 1: you need to, guess what? Rebuild.