Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 362 | We are Passing Through: Embracing God's Promises

Transcript

362 | We are Passing Through: Embracing God's Promises · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

• 0:00
  Music.
• 0:07
  Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries,
• 0:11
  where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
• 0:18
  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
• 0:21
  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
• 0:25
  or on our website at watwm.org,
• 0:28
  we invite you to sit down with us as we look to the scriptures to learn more
• 0:33
  about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
• 0:38
  Living a life for Christ. She's a happy girl.
• 0:38
  Music.
• 0:48
  She's a happy girl.
• 1:02
  Trouble is everywhere. It is impossible to escape.
• 1:06
  Job 14.1 tells us, Man that is born of a woman is of a few days and full of trouble.
• 1:12
  However, trouble doesn't have to have a hold on you.
• 1:15
  As a child of God, the trouble you are facing isn't yours to face alone.
• 1:20
  It is a battle that belongs to the Lord, and when we trust Him completely,
• 1:24
  allow Him to have full control of our lives, and follow in full obedience,
• 1:28
  we know the victory that is in Christ Jesus.
• 1:30
  We are pilgrims and strangers in this land. We aren't meant to stay here forever.
• 1:35
  We are just passing through.
• 1:37
  Therefore, the issues we face, the troubles that come our way,
• 1:40
  and the obstacles in our paths are temporary.
• 1:43
  As pilgrims and strangers, we are just passing through, and that includes passing through them.
• 1:49
  Come join Kim in this episode of Woman at the Well Ministries as she takes us
• 1:52
  on a journey through the scriptures, highlighting Isaiah 43-2,
• 1:56
  reminding us that we are just passing through.
• 1:59
  We aren't stuck, and this life isn't our forever home.
• 2:04
  Hello, and thank you for joining us in this podcast of Woman at the Well Ministries.
• 2:09
  It's important that we realize who we are and whose we are.
• 2:15
  We truly are children of the Most High God, and that means we are pilgrims and
• 2:24
  strangers in this world.
• 2:27
  And when you really get an understanding of the fact that this isn't our forever home.
• 2:34
  In John chapter 3 and verse 16, we read, for God so loved the world that he
• 2:39
  gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
• 2:44
  but have everlasting life.
• 2:47
  This everlasting life promised by God himself and provided by his son,
• 2:55
  Jesus, is not here on earth and now.
• 3:00
  No, it is eternal life forever with Jesus Christ in a place where sorrow and
• 3:10
  sin don't have a presence,
• 3:12
  in a place where the river of life runs fully.
• 3:17
  Where the streets are of gold and the walls are of jasper and the gates are of pearl.
• 3:22
  Where those who have gone on before us who have run the race are waiting as
• 3:29
  a cloud of witnesses to usher us home for our forever home.
• 3:33
  I bring that to your remembrance because when we are in a problem,
• 3:38
  it seems like the problem goes on forever.
• 3:41
  It seems like that when we are in the problem we think that we're never getting
• 3:48
  out of the problem but the scripture says in Isaiah 43 2 he says this when thou
• 3:56
  passest through the waters.
• 3:59
  I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.
• 4:04
  When thou walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned.
• 4:09
  Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
• 4:14
  Friends, you're going to pass through whatever it is that you're going through right now.
• 4:21
  The trials, the tribulation, the hurt, the pain, you're going to come out on the other side.
• 4:28
  Because nowhere in this passage in Isaiah 43, does he say you're going to be
• 4:34
  stuck forever and eternity in this problem, in this situation,
• 4:39
  in this place that doesn't bring you joy.
• 4:43
  In John chapter 10 and verse 10, he says that he came that you might have life
• 4:47
  and have it more abundantly.
• 4:49
  And that, my friend, speaks to the here and now.
• 4:53
  And if he come that you might have life and have it more abundantly,
• 4:56
  you can be sure that you can't live forever in a horrible, stressing,
• 5:02
  uncomfortable situation.
• 5:05
  And so part of our strategy for walking through this life is to be fully aware
• 5:12
  of the truth about our life.
• 5:16
  We're told in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 13 that we are just pilgrims and strangers.
• 5:26
  This account in Hebrews 11, it reads, These all died in faith,
• 5:31
  not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off.
• 5:36
  And were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers
• 5:41
  and pilgrims on this earth.
• 5:45
  Friends, in Hebrews, we have the hall of fame of faith.
• 5:51
  We are able to see people who understood their place and their position in Christ
• 5:59
  embrace what was happening around them because they were framing it in the promises
• 6:07
  of God that they fully believed.
• 6:10
  And they realized this isn't our home.
• 6:13
  Seeing, I have not seen an ear hasn't heard.
• 6:17
  What lies in store for them that love the Lord? This situation you're in,
• 6:23
  though it may be grave and though
• 6:26
  it may be troublesome and though it may cause you pain and heartache.
• 6:31
  It is only temporary.
• 6:33
  Our life is but a vapor, and even if you've lived your entire life in that situation,
• 6:38
  it would be a vapor, but you're not going to because the Lord says,
• 6:43
  when thou passest through,
• 6:45
  when thou walkest through, these
• 6:49
  are words that have distinct meaning that you're going to get through.
• 6:54
  But the devil lies to us.
• 6:57
  We're told that he walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
• 7:01
  And he devours us because we allow
• 7:04
  him because greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.
• 7:07
  He can't get you unless you offer yourself up to him.
• 7:12
  But we find ourselves believing his lies because unlike the heroes of faith,
• 7:19
  unlike those that are being talked about in Hebrews chapter 11,
• 7:22
  we aren't embracing the promises of God.
• 7:26
  We are living in the moment, and we're forgetting who holds the moment.
• 7:31
  Jesus holds your moment, and buckle up with the Holy Spirit and hear me.
• 7:37
  He holds your future as well, and he held your past, but he will never hold
• 7:44
  your past against you, because there is therefore now no more condemnation to
• 7:49
  them that are in Christ Jesus.
• 7:51
  Your sins are remembered against you no more there as far as the east is from
• 7:56
  the west the scripture we read in Isaiah chapter 43 verse 2 is one to ensure
• 8:04
  that you understand you will endure he said you're gonna have trouble,
• 8:09
  He says you're going to have tribulation, but he said, be of good cheer,
• 8:13
  for I've overcome them. I've overcome the world.
• 8:16
  There's nothing in your past that he isn't greater than, that he hasn't sifted
• 8:23
  and through nail-scarred hands,
• 8:25
  proving his love for you, that he's allowing to be in your life so that he can
• 8:30
  mold you to be who you should be,
• 8:32
  and he can get the glory he so deserves because he has purposed you to bring him glory.
• 8:41
  This temporary moment is one in which you can have a front row seat to watch
• 8:48
  Jesus unfold like you've never seen him before.
• 8:52
  And how you handle this event and how you display your faith or lack of it during
• 9:02
  this time of trial and tribulation,
• 9:05
  during this time of uncertainty, has something to say to the people around you about your faith.
• 9:14
  Because every day you must live in faith.
• 9:19
  There really isn't a time of uncertainty.
• 9:23
  You may not know the worldly, fleshly, temporal outcome of something,
• 9:28
  and that may make you feel like you can live in uncertainty.
• 9:33
  But if you embrace the promises of God as is spoken in Hebrews chapter 11,
• 9:39
  verse 13, then you have a certainty that says this, my God has a plan for me, and it's a good one.
• 9:46
  And that's in Jeremiah 29, 11.
• 9:49
  My God will never leave me nor forsake me.
• 9:53
  My God goes before me, me. He covers me. He protects me.
• 10:00
  These are promises that if you embrace them, means regardless of your temporary
• 10:07
  situation, you experience certainty.
• 10:12
  Let's turn to Romans chapter 5, verses 1 through 5.
• 10:17
  Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
• 10:21
  Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith.
• 10:26
  We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, we're told in Romans 5, 1.
• 10:32
  And then he says, by whom we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.
• 10:38
  So let's just look at verse 1 and the first part of verse 2,
• 10:43
  where he says, Our faith justifies us.
• 10:47
  It makes the peace with God.
• 10:49
  Our sins are covered by the sinless, perfect blood of the Lamb.
• 10:54
  And it gives us access.
• 10:57
  Think about that. We have access by this faith into grace, which is unmerited
• 11:04
  favor, which causes us to rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
• 11:10
  So as we read these two verses in entirety together, I want you to think about your faith.
• 11:16
  I want you to know what your faith gets you.
• 11:19
  And I want you to understand what the results of receiving that grace by your faith should be.
• 11:27
  Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
• 11:30
  Jesus Christ, but whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
• 11:35
  we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
• 11:41
  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation
• 11:46
  worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope.
• 11:51
  And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
• 11:57
  by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us.
• 12:01
  Faith produces hope, and hope is a solid foundation.
• 12:08
  You will never be ashamed because you placed your hope in Jesus Christ.
• 12:13
  Because, my friends, when you embrace the promises of God,
• 12:18
  when you fully incorporate them into your heart and allow them to flood your
• 12:24
  mind and to cover every piece of your being, then you'll know what Isaiah meant
• 12:30
  when he said in Isaiah 26, 3,
• 12:33
  Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee,
• 12:38
  because he trusteth in thee.
• 12:41
  Trouble's everywhere. It's impossible to escape, but it doesn't have to have
• 12:46
  a hold on you, because if you have the faith and the trust and the understanding
• 12:51
  and the knowledge, and you've embraced the promises of God,
• 12:54
  you understand he's the fourth man in the fire.
• 12:58
  You get that when you pass through the waters, he's with you.
• 13:03
  And when you go through the rivers, he will not let them overflow you.
• 13:08
  And when you walk through the fire, you won't be burned.
• 13:14
  When you come out on the other side, you're okay. Why?
• 13:18
  Because what you've gone through has been shielded by the one true living God
• 13:24
  who can do for you what no one else can do, who can be where no one else can
• 13:28
  be, who never left you in the fire, but he brought you through.
• 13:32
  And on the other side of this trial, you're stronger, you're greater,
• 13:36
  your witness has brought him glory and molded you more into who he would have
• 13:42
  you to be. He's the potter and we're the clay.
• 13:45
  Some things we go through, we've brought on ourselves. And just like it takes
• 13:49
  pressure to mold that piece of clay into what it should be,
• 13:54
  sometimes it takes pressure for us to remove things in our life that shouldn't
• 13:59
  be there, for us to conform to Jesus and allow him to transform our mind and to renew us.
• 14:07
  He never brought the three Hebrew children through the fire just to drop him,
• 14:13
  but he brought the three Hebrew children through the fire and everyone who saw
• 14:18
  what happened was miraculously transformed and changed because they watched
• 14:25
  three men be thrown in the fire and they saw the fourth man protecting and taking care of them.
• 14:32
  And those around them changed their idea of who Christ was because the three
• 14:39
  Hebrew children went through the fire.
• 14:41
  But it was the fourth man who brought him through.
• 14:45
  The three Hebrew children were not spared the fire.
• 14:48
  I have to believe they were much better for having gone through it than they
• 14:52
  would have if they hadn't.
• 14:53
  But I know for sure that God was high and lifted up and men were drawn unto
• 14:57
  him and his glory was seen and known.
• 14:59
  And I know that for countless centuries, many people who see this account in
• 15:06
  the book of Daniel are inspired and motivated, are comforted.
• 15:11
  They draw closer knowing that he's the fourth man in the fire.
• 15:16
  You don't stay in the fire forever because both in that account and Isaiah as
• 15:22
  well, verse 43, 2, you pass through it.
• 15:25
  But we're justified by our faith.
• 15:28
  The three Hebrew children were willing to be thrown into the furnace because
• 15:32
  even if God didn't spare their lives at that moment, they had embraced the promise
• 15:36
  that to serve God was better than to serve man or the world.
• 15:41
  And they were willing to die for their faith.
• 15:44
  Friends, it's time that you stop talking about how big your storm is and start
• 15:49
  talking about how big your God is.
• 15:52
  You're strangers and pilgrims in this world. You're a stranger and a pilgrim
• 15:57
  in the world of tribulation because you have peace in your heart.
• 16:00
  And if you're like the eagle and you just allow yourself to be lifted up above
• 16:04
  the problems and you wait for him to provide the answer and to provide the way,
• 16:11
  and you're just flying above and resting in the peace and the joy and the grace
• 16:16
  and the mercy of the Lord when the storm has been cleared,
• 16:20
  when the way has been made, you're going to land upon the foundation Jesus built.
• 16:26
  You'll be the person he intended you to be, and his goodness and his glory will be seen.
• 16:32
  You'll give him honor, and you'll draw closer.
• 16:36
  See, we have to rise above the things of the world through the faith we have in Jesus.
• 16:43
  In 1 Peter 2, verses 11 through 12, he says, Dearly beloved,
• 16:48
  I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.
• 16:54
  Flesh will influence you to do the exact opposite of what God is requiring and what God is asking.
• 17:03
  In this situation that you find yourself that you desperately want out of,
• 17:08
  Are you embracing the promises of God in the same manner you would if all things
• 17:14
  were good and nothing was wrong?
• 17:16
  Because if you aren't, then that faith you show when everything is great doesn't.
• 17:22
  Just make you a fair-weather friend. It gives you a false sense of faith.
• 17:27
  Faith is faith when it's tried.
• 17:31
  When things aren't going your way and Jesus is the same as he is when things are going your way.
• 17:38
  See, God is the same God on the mountain as he is in the valley.
• 17:42
  He's the same God in the valley as he is on the mountain.
• 17:45
  God does not change according to your circumstances. But my friend,
• 17:50
  I'm afraid your loyalty, your love and your devotion and your faith does change
• 17:56
  based on the circumstances you are living in.
• 17:59
  And that ought not be.
• 18:02
  You've got to know who you are. and you are a child of God, which makes you an enemy to the world.
• 18:11
  And you have to abstain from all appearance of evil.
• 18:15
  You have to abstain from fleshly lusts. You have to embrace the promises of God.
• 18:21
  You have to walk in the newness of life.
• 18:25
  And the Holy Spirit within you is teaching you and guiding you and comforting you.
• 18:31
  And he's given you the ability to be more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ who loves you.
• 18:38
  This trial, this tribulation, this illness, this sickness, this financial crisis.
• 18:44
  This wayward child, this job disappointment, whatever it is, hold on to Jesus.
• 18:51
  Draw nigh to God and allow him to draw nigh to you. You're a pilgrim in this
• 18:56
  world. You're just passing through.
• 18:59
  And as such, you will pass through this problem because you're more than a conqueror,
• 19:04
  according to Romans 8.37.
• 19:06
  Let's read the full passage in Isaiah 43, verses 1 through 3.
• 19:11
  But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee,
• 19:16
  O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed thee.
• 19:21
  Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by name.
• 19:29
  Thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee.
• 19:35
  And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.
• 19:39
  When thou walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned.
• 19:42
  Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God,
• 19:47
  the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.
• 19:51
  Oh, friends, did you hear what he wrote to you?
• 19:54
  Yeah, we all face problems. It rains on the just and the unjust.
• 19:59
  We all are placed in situations that if we don't embrace the promises of God,
• 20:04
  we could be paralyzed by fear.
• 20:06
  But he says, he created you. He formed you.
• 20:11
  He's redeemed you. He knows your name and he's called it. And you are his.
• 20:19
  He created a way for you to live in heaven with him forever.
• 20:23
  It would be an impossibility for you to do it. You don't have the capacity,
• 20:28
  the power, the knowledge, or the ability.
• 20:32
  Only God could give his son because only Jesus had the sinless,
• 20:37
  perfect blood of the Lamb to wash our sins away.
• 20:41
  And he did that. All you have to do is believe.
• 20:45
  Then he just goes a little further with the cherry on top and says,
• 20:48
  if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believes.
• 20:55
  Friends, he's the Lord, your God, your Savior.
• 20:59
  This world is just your temporary home. You truly are just passing through.
• 21:05
  But don't ever let the devil lie to you and make you think you're going to stay
• 21:09
  in this dreadful, horrible situation you may find yourself in now.
• 21:15
  Because he said, when you pass this through the waters, I will be with thee.
• 21:20
  And through the rivers, they will not overflow thee. and when thou walkest through
• 21:25
  the fire, I will be with thee. And guess what?
• 21:29
  They're not going to burn you and you'll come out the other side unharmed.
• 21:34
  Just in case those words of Isaiah are not enough. He shows you that.
• 21:40
  When he parted the Red Sea, and they walked through on dry ground.
• 21:44
  When three Hebrew children were thrown into the furnace, and they saw the fourth man.
• 21:49
  All through scripture, he lets you know you're just passing through.
• 21:53
  But he said that he came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.
• 21:57
  And I submit to you, if you embrace the promises of God, as the heroes of faith
• 22:03
  did of old, Even in the fiery furnace, you can praise, have power, and know his presence.
• 22:11
  The thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 22:17
  That's what we're told in 1 Corinthians 15, 57.
• 22:20
  Friends, we're just passing through. Hold on, walk in obedience,
• 22:26
  embrace the promises, and know the joy of the Lord.
• 22:30
  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
• 22:34
  Music.
• 22:41
  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
• 22:46
  quotes from today's podcast and scripture references.
• 22:49
  We pray today has been a blessing and we encourage you to reach out to us through
• 22:53
  our app, our website, or our Facebook page.
• 22:56
  You can find our app by searching for a woman at the well ministries in your
• 23:00
  app store or through our website at watwm.org.
• 23:04
  We're on Facebook at facebook.com slash w-a-t-w-m.
• 23:08
  If you visit our website, you'll be able to subscribe to Bible Bits,
• 23:12
  a daily devotion written by Kim and delivered Monday through Friday by text message.
• 23:17
  Woman at the Well Ministries is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving
• 23:21
  our Heavenly Father, and it is through your loving and generous support that
• 23:25
  our ministry continues to bless others.
• 23:28
  To learn how to partner with Woman at the Well Ministries, please visit our website.
• 23:32
  Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
• 23:37
  We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
• 23:42
  Remember that God loves you, you, and you.
• 23:45
  Music.