Good morning. How’s everybody doing today? I’m Greg short. My wife Amy and I have been coming here to the roads for about 10 years now and such an honor and a privilege to get to be the one speaking to you today. Pastors, you can see his back from his tanning session on the beach and are you just glad that we just want to give opportunity to bless our pastors. They do such an amazing job in town. I just want to say thank you for making church fun. I’m telling you, don’t you love that? I just, I enjoy coming. I know that I’m going to get a good word. I know that I’m going to get ministered to and get the minister and have opportunity and all that and I had this blesses my heart. I want to be here. I’m sad when I don’t get to be here.
Amen. It’s so good. So you get to listen to me today and so bear with me here. We’ve got, God actually gave me a Norris City Church word in my heart to share with you, so that’s a plus right now. Just had to pull something out or I didn’t go to sermons.com for this one. I actually prayed and Holy Spirit kinda invested into me, something to share with you. And so I just want to encourage you in that because I really truly believe that this is a word for the church today. I really believe that what the Holy Spirit wants to speak to you this morning is very timely and it’s something that’s going to change your life if you’ll embrace what he has to say to you. So if you have your bibles or your phones, let’s turn to the 139th song. Yeah. Hey man, cited about the word. Also want to welcome our online guests.
We’re excited you’re here joining us today, so I’ve bear with me here. I’ve got to get these things out. Apparently I was on a mission trip earlier this year and we were in a darker church and I always have my a pocket Bible when I go on mission trips. It’s the prince fairly small and I was really struggling to see the words. I’m just like, and so I go the eye doctor and they’re like, well, you have what we call your over 40 is there anybody in the house who can tell me, man, after 40 oh my goodness, so Yay. And people at work say, you look like Santa Claus to my thanks. You get the red suit, man, you can pull it off. I’m like, great, thanks guys. Makes you feel really good. Right? All right, so we’re going to dive into the word. We’re going to start with verse 13 one of my favorite passages in the word it says for you formed my inward parts.
You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are your works and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance yet being uninformed. How interesting is that? He saw us before we even had formed and in your book you need to get this in your spirit, in your book. They were all written the days fashioned for me when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are your thoughts to me? Oh God, how great is the, some of them, if I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand. When I awake, I’m still with you. What an amazing word from our father to his children.
Is that awesome? Let’s pray. Father, we are so excited what you’re going to do this morning, Lord. Father, just I’m in awe at the fact that you think of me, that their marvelous thoughts, they’re their countless father. You’re, you’re so incredible and you’re so good to us. I there, there wasn’t a thing I did to deserve any of that attention you gave me, Lord, even from the beginning of time you thought of us. And so we just sit here in awe and, and, and say yes to you. Father, we give you our yes, we bless you. We love you. It’s in the name of Jesus that we ask and pray. Amen. Amen. Uh, maybe around a month or so ago, few weeks ago, uh, some of you saw my testimony up on the screen here and for those of you that don’t know, last December, uh, was traveling to a Norris City Church very dear brothers, uh, his son had passed away unexpectedly and, and we had traveled to, to Kentucky to be in a part of the funeral and to be there and to support our dear brother.
And, and I ended up with a migraine headache. Does anybody actually on the way over there, it was developing and getting worse. Does anybody in here deal with Migraines at all? Oh my goodness. When you have a Migraine, it’s like the worst thing. If he, at the moment it feels like the worst thing that can happen cause there just seems like you just cannot get any relief and it hurt this bad an hour ago, but now it hurts this mad and it just continues to climb. And so through this process, and I don’t have enough time to share with you, but through this process, I ended up in the hospital nonresponsive. I’m in the emergency room. They’re hollering at me. They in. If you work in the medical field, if you have somebody that comes in on responsive, they tend to do some things, some pretty drastic things to get you to respond.
They take their knuckles and they grind your sternum, which feels fantastic because even though I could not move, I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t speak. I could see straighten where my eyes were pointed. I could see, but I could hear and feel everything. They’re stabbing me with sharp objects. They’re pinching me, they’re smashing my fingernails and I’m thinking, why are you picking on me? This is horrible. It’s bad enough that I’m really starting to freak out because I’m starting to choke on my own spit. I can’t hardly swallow. They’re sticking a tube in my throat. They’re doing all these things and so they get my phone and thankfully, thankfully with technology, they use my thumb to unlock my phone and they call my wife in. The doctor gets the phone from my friends and and I hear, ma’am, your husband is having a stroke, and I’m thinking, wait a minute here I’m, I’m 45 years old.
I’m not having a stroke in the name of Jesus. I am not having a stroke. And Amy, when, when she got the news, she was kind of the same. She’s like, no, no, he’s not. You know, she wasn’t going to accept that or receive it and I didn’t want to receive that. That’s, no, this is bad. But yet there’s man, what’s happening to me right now. It’s crazy. They did the imaging, they saw a bleed on my, my a right frontal lobe and, and so they rushed me over to UK and come to find out UK is like known in the world for treating strokes. So I was in the best place. I had my pastor with me, I had half my India team with me. I mean I was covered. I was surrounded by amazing people who are fighting on my behalf. And, and so I’m, I’m just, I’m laying there and when they wheel me in, there’s a neurologist waiting on me and bless his heart, he just starts screaming at me and he reaches down and grabs my chest, grabs a hunk of whatever twist picks me up off the bed.
And drops me and I’m like owl obviously. I mean in my head I couldn’t say anything. I wouldn’t twitch respond nothing. And they continued to smash my finger nail that. So, okay guys, we already been through this at the other place. Why don’t we have to do it again? So there’s, they do, they fold your fingers up and smash. You’re bringing it. I was like, I don’t know what they use, but they stab you with it on your forehead on everywhere imaginable they’re stabbing me and my body’s not even twitching. My nerves are not responding to the stimulus that they’re giving to me. And back when I was in college, I’m just going to open up the closet and let you guys look in and see all the junk here because I really want some, I really want you to get what God wants to say today.
When I was in college, first time living away from home and there was a situation in our family that was too much for, I felt I could handle and I was going to commit suicide. And I had a big old bottle of pain pills and I took a bunch of them, like over half the bottle and I’m like, this is it. I’m going to die in the room. The reason I share that with you is because the feeling I had, I knew I was dying. I knew that this was it and I didn’t want to live anymore. I’m wanting to move on and I felt that feeling. And so that familiar feeling came back. I’m laying there, they’re getting ready to put me in another CT scan and I’m to do more imaging at the other hospital and I can feel this is it. And as I’m feeling that, I hear the Lord call to me and, and, and I just kind of see in my heart.
I see. You know, it’s like when you’re staring at the sun or no, sorry, you’re not staring at the sun, but you’re talking to somebody in the sun’s behind them and all you see is a blackout line. That’s what I saw. And I’ll be honest with the eyes, a little bummed out. I’m like, I am having a meeting, a one on one awesome meeting with Jesus and I can’t even see his face. Oh man, I was really bummed about it. Yeah, it’s funny you think about everything else going on. That’s what you’re thinking about that first Norris City Church thoughts. I’m really God on one, see your face. You know, come on. So he calls out to me and he says, do you want to come home or do you want to fight? And I gotta Tell You, churches, believers, you know, we read the Scriptures and where he just tells us, hey, I go, Jesus left the earth so that he could prepare a place for his bride.
Right. For us. And for Jesus to say to you, when I come home, I’m like, wow, that is so awesome, right? I mean, that’s the goal, right? We’re going to leave at that appointed time for us to leave and then we’re going to get to go be with him in the place Jesus himself has prepared for you. That’s something to shout about church. That’s exciting. And so, I mean, that’s pretty tempting, right? That was so tempting. That was just an amazing offer that he was giving me in this moment. But yet when he asked that, it was a rhetorical question, meaning that we, we both knew the answer to it. I just, there was something stirring inside of me laying, going into the MRI machine, CT scan, whatever it was. I’m laying in there and there’s just a stirring in my heart and I just knew that God, there’s, you’re not done with me.
There’s, there’s a, it was a sense of purpose. It’s hard to describe. There was such a sense of purpose that God, you created me for a reason. And I mean, yeah, I want to be with my wife and kids still. But you know, the thought of, Hey Babe, sorry, you’re on your own now. You know, God’s got you. It’s okay. You know, that was tempting. But yet the overwhelming I couldn’t, I just couldn’t get over how overwhelming it was, the sense of calling and purpose that God had placed inside of me. And so I said, God, I want to fight. I know and believe that’s fully what you want for me to do. And, and so this is really weird, but welcome to my world, right? Um, I saw an Oreo cookie. Basically anybody in the house loves some love them, some Oreo cookies, and I saw myself as an Oreo cookie. I’m a double stuff, just so you know.
And as anybody in the house love to take the cookie apart and get the inside out first, I mean just, Oh yeah, come on. You know, you do. Right? And so I just had this crazy image and I’m just like, God, I want you to get all of the goody out of me. I don’t want to leave this earth not having fulfilled the purpose that you have me because you put me together. You placed things inside of me and searched. It’s one of the things as we read that passage in Psalm, the one thing that we need to understand is that every person represented in this place and watching online, God has put specific things on the inside of you. They’re special things, they’re incredible things. They’re unique things and you are awesome. If you haven’t heard that yet this week, you need to hear it now.
You are amazing. Why? Because God puts you together. But from the foundation, church or the world, God puts you together, he instinctively and purposefully put you together. You are not an accident. You have purpose and there are incredible things. There’s things about you that you might even yourself feel, this is weird. Why do I do this? But the, but it’s awesome. It’s special. It’s unique. Each and every one of you is unique. Just like me and my Oreo cookie, right? It’s unique. We are unique and intrinsically made by God. And so, um, I want to also, yeah, next verses Jeremiah one five. I love this. Now remember as you read this passage, God is not a respecter of persons, even though we realize God’s speaking to Jeremiah in this passage. And he said, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. That’s pretty wild.
Okay. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I ordained you a prophet to the nations. Wow, okay. So before we even had a form, God knew us. Um, he sanctified us. He set us apart. He placed things inside of you, meaning he, that he prepared you. And he is dedicating you. Okay. And and so it’s, it’s like a calling. And so what I was feeling, I really believe in that moment I was feeling that very thing that before the foundation of the world, God knew me. He knew me and he, and remember we just read in song, the thoughts he has towards me are countless. You can’t count them. His thoughts, church that he has for you are countless. Is that amazing? Sometimes we don’t feel loved, right? Sometimes we don’t feel important. We just go on through our day. We’re at work, we’re taking care of the Kiddos.
We’re, we’re shopping or we’re just a, you know, it’s like, it’s like asking your spouse, what do you want for dinner? It’s always lot. I Dunno what he want. I don’t know what you are, right? You know, we go through life and so we get there. I get there. It’s just like, man, what, what am I even doing here? Am I just taking up space? The Bible clearly tells us no, because God has a purpose in a plan for your life. The title of this morning’s message is the power of your potential in what we need to real highs is that there so much more to us than we give God credit for so much. We were created by God, right? Not GM or Ford. We were created by God the right, there’s nothing greater than God and so, so when he, when he put these things inside of us there for a purpose and there are calling just like I felt laying there in that hospital, I just felt that that polling in that drawing, I’m like, okay God, what do you want me to say here?
So we’re going to look at three things. Pastors getting me conditioned here. Okay, so there are three ends we’re going to look at because God has invested in you place things inside of you and those three ins we’re going to look at this morning our intuition, instinct and ingenuity. And now, well before we get started here, I’ll, I often just simply got intuition and instinct mixed up. I really felt that they were the same thing, but we’re going to discover this morning that they actually are different. And so God has placed inside of you, intuition and intuition is the ability to understand something immediately without the need for conscious reasoning. And so there are things God placed on the inside of you that you do them without really having to think about them. And we can go on all day about situations to where this takes place. And one thing I was thinking of is, uh, Amy and I used to pastor a church in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
And, and, uh, we, we had some friends that had a cement pond. Does anybody know what a in pond is? The swimming pool? We didn’t have these were, I wouldn’t have seen man ponds and Ellery I mean, you went to a pond if you wanted to go swimming when I was growing up, unless you went up to Albion and went to the pool. But, um, so yeah, they had a very nice swimming pool. And our daughter, our oldest is, she was the only one of the three we had at that time. She’s about two and a half years old. And we were getting all ready and stuff. And, and, uh, like I said, I said in the first service, my kids often get put into my sermons and the usually afterwards they have to gather, they meet together. Okay, who did that talk about this time?
Now I love to embarrass my Kiddos and they love me and we got a really good relationship. But my oldest, she’s like, she’s like, I’m like, Cassie, you got your bathing suit? She goes, yes, steady. I have my baby soup. That was her word. That’s until today. That’s the running joke in the family. He cast, you’ve got your baby soup. And so she’s like, Dad, really? I was too, I mean, come on, give me a break. And so parents, you know, as parents, especially when they’re that little, they’re really mobile, you cannot hardly turn your back. Right. And so I’ll find myself in a situation. The Amy and I were talking and you know, the lady that owned the house, we were going to talking and it’s like worst Cassie. I turn around and I see my two and a half year olds head about six inches under the water, bobbing up and down.
Now. I didn’t look at her and say, hm, I think she’s got this. I mean, maybe she’ll just learn to swim, right? I mean, she didn’t know how to swim. She’s two and a half and what did I do? Immediately as soon as I saw the situation didn’t, I didn’t think about this. I just dove in and scooped her up and pulled her up with her choking and coughing and you know, she was okay. But there are things that we do, right? You don’t think about them. I always think of moms are this and dads are a little more, I a rub some dirt on her. Yeah, you can swim, right? You know you’re all right. Shake it off. You know. But maybe there is something tell, I’ll tell you, there is something about a woman’s intuition. Husbands, let a little pointer here. We need to listen to our wives in a lot of areas because I don’t know what it is. My wife has saved me countless amounts of times. There is something going on about woman’s intuition in gentlemen. You will have years added to your life if you listen to your brides.
That’s right ladies, you can pay me later. It’s okay. So God has placed intuition inside of us and a job, 38 36 says, and God is speaking to a job, you know, from a whirlwind, which is pretty wild. You know, job went through a lot. If you’ve not ever read the book of Job, I encourage you to do it. It’s an incredible story. Job’s in a bad, bad way. And so God’s asking job rhetorical questions and he says, Joe will, who gives it intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind. So he, this intuition he gives you as into your inner most being in your inner man. He’s given that to you. And there are situations you find yourself in. There’s just sometimes you say, I don’t know why I know this. And you react to that situation according to, okay, something’s going on here when you find out, well that was actually true.
That’s one of the things that God has placed on the inside of you. And then the other in his instinct, and this is where we don’t confuse intuition and instinct because instinct is actually your skill. It’s talents, gifts and abilities and capacity. And so I’m of course I got to insert my kids into my sermon because I love to give my kids a hard time, right? And, and life and testimony is just incredible, isn’t it? It’s we learned so much. I’ve heard so many of your testimonies in the things that God has brought you through and in the struggles and the trials and how awesome God is through those. And so when, so when I think of of the capacity and ability, you know, I think of my middle daughter amber, who’s, who’s in Alaska for King Salmon season, she told us, Hey dad, I can make a lot of money if I go to Alaska and we’re going to fishery and I’m thinking, you hate fish.
When she was little, she would only eat macaroni and cheese. I’m like, really? She goes, yeah, that amber is going, she’s a, uh, going through ministry training at the ramp and Hamilton, Alabama. And she just over and over and over just surprises and amazes us with her ability to overcome and do things. But when amber was born, she was born at home and uh, our, we had our midwife there and she was born. I’ve never seen or even heard of this before, but she was born with a smile on her face. I mean, I just, I will never forget that now. I tend to believe that it was because she looked at me and said, Oh wow, I got an awesome dad. Yes. I guess that wasn’t the case because that’s actually how she is. She’s so easy going has a humongous capacity to love people.
She would be in a situation at school. You know how school is, right? When they’re little. I mean, kids are just mean to each other. I mean, they just don’t, they don’t think, they don’t think about the consequences or anything. They’d see something that they want, they take it or whatever, you know, and, and the kids, sometimes school can be pretty tough on kids and amber is very tenderhearted and like she just, she wants to love everybody. She’s like, why doesn’t everybody just want to love everybody? I don’t understand. It’s just doesn’t, it doesn’t just fit in her, in her heart, you know? It’s like, why isn’t that? And She just loves people. And so even people who would pick on her, she would be easy to forgive him and she would just love him. I’d be like, she comes home and you know, we’re sitting at the dinner table and, and uh, we’re talking about our day and it was, yeah, this kid hit me today.
I’m like, who hit you where they live? Let’s go. We will take care of this. I’m gonna talk to their parents. Right. So, no, that’s okay. It’s all right, dad. It’s all right. You know? So, wow, that was pretty cool. So I see that in her as a young child and amber has a heart for missions. That’s really a watch. She’s going to all the ramps, just wanting to go to Knoxville next and work, work with another team there. But she and I, because of that, she and I went to Mexico last spring and I thought, well, this’ll be really neat because you know, mom, Dad, right. And I want to say, all right, you say you want to be a missionary about child. Like I said, I mean, I mean, I know her, you know, I was just like, oh, right. And so we, we, we go to Mexico together and I’m thinking, I’m going to get to watch her.
I’m going to kind of get to observe and stuff and see how she responds and let her see, oh, this is, you know, we’re going to Mexico and this, we weren’t staying at a resort. I mean the, the conditions and stuff weren’t great and the things that we were going to do. So, you know, there’s a, there’s a big crisis at the border and stuff and that’s where we were at. And we went to all these churches to minister to people and, and so forth. And that was pretty similar to a lot of the trips I’ve been on, either in India or Nicaragua or Honduras. It’s kind of similar. You go to these churches, you feed people, you share the word, you pray over him to be healed. It’s really exciting stuff. It’s really incredible. Um, and I’m just going to say, how’s my daughter gonna handle all this stuff?
Remembering that when she was born, this happy go lucky Kiddo who just love people. So we’re, we’re uh, setting up one night and they’re having what they call like block party. Now this block party is they, they have some music, they have someone seeing someone play the guitar keyboard. They set up a food stand and I noticed that they had set up a makeshift nail salon. They used about eight folding tables and it’s set up a nail salon. I’m like, well that’s Kinda different. I hadn’t seen that done. Maybe it’s a new thing, you know, that they’re doing, you know, to try and minister to people. And so the next thing I hear is there’s, okay, we are going to split up into three teams and we’re going to walk the streets here and we’re going to the brothels that are run by the drug cartels.
And I’m like, say what? I don’t know that I signed up for this and I’ll be honest with you, I was, I was starting to freak out a little bit. And so we’re, you’re splitting up into teams. I grabbed amber. I’m like, she’s on my team, she’s going with me. And so we’d take off down the street and we’re walking down this dark alley. And some of you that know me know that you can tell how I’m doing just simply by the look on my face. It’s one of those things that God put in me, I guess. Well, he was knit me together and I, that’s one of those things like, Oh God, really? Why? But yeah, you can tell how I’m doing by the look on my face. I just don’t have an ability to hide that. So my wife loves it because she knows, Huh, I know what’s going on just by looking at me.
So we’re walking down the alley and our little four foot, nothing translator looks up to me and she goes, sir, do not be afraid. And I’m like, afraid if I’m not afraid, greater is he who is in me than he was in the world. Right. I was terrified. Like, what are we doing? I got my daughter here with me. I’m like, wow. I mean this is ministry. This is real. I mean, we’re really doing this. I’m going to get shot. I’ve seen breaking bed before and going to have to go, what? I’m going to get beat up. I mean, what’s going to happen? You know, all this stuff is going through my head and I’m just like, wow, what are you doing God, you know, so, and it just so happened the very first bravo we walked up to there is a lady of the night and there’s a couple of gentleman, um, let’s just say trying to make a deal and it’s not a game show.
Um, and so our little translator, she just marches right up there and there. They had a little something to give, uh, to them, a little gift. And she gets right in the middle of them. And I don’t know why or what possessed me to do it, but I’m standing behind the lady and those two guys, they begin to look up at me and it’s like, what are you doing? You know? And I’ll be honest with you. I’m like, well Jesus, if I die, I’m going to dough serve in you, Lord. And I don’t know, something inside of me. Something inside of me rose up. And all of a sudden I find myself in a genuine Mexican standoff. It was like, I don’t know what it was while I stood my ground, dug my heels in, I stood crowd and they turned around and walked away and look, cause I didn’t know what I was going to do of them.
I was like, hey guys, what’s happening? Wow. And, and so we went through town doing this and my daughter, bless her heart, she’s just, you want to be up front. She wanted to give the gifts out. She wanted to talk to these ladies, my hamburger. What are you doing? Like just, let’s just kind of observe. Right. You know, I’m just being real. Okay. I mean, I was, I was scared. I was genuinely scared. I’m like, I’m going to get shot and they’re going to throw me in the sewer and nobody will ever see me again. Right? All of this crazy stuff going around on my head. And so we go through town doing that and then we get back to the block party. And at the block party, I noticed that. So the nail salon was set up. So they were giving an invitation to the ladies to have their nails done for free to have a meal.
And because these ladies have been kidnapped from their families, you know, this isn’t the job. When they were a little girl, they didn’t think that this is what I want to do with my life. And they’re trapped inside of this. And then so what they do is the ladies are sitting down and they have time. They do a really good job doing their nails and ministering the gospel of Jesus that, hey, you’re beautiful, you’re wonderful, you’re amazing. God loves you. You have value. You know, they’re speaking life into them and over them. And it was just incredible. And so I’m, I’m kind of taking it all in and I look over and kneeling in the street is my daughter with her arms around this young lady who is considered an untouchable person and she’s just pouring out the love of God on her speaking life into her that Jesus died for her and loves her.
And I’m just like, oh my goodness, I got to Korea. I got to see full circle what God’s doing from when I saw her being born in us. You know, you try to, why am I made this way? God, I mean, it’s not fair for someone to pick on her and her just to forgive or we know where it’s supposed to do that, but she’s just genuinely able just to love and do that in. So it didn’t matter to her. She wanted to show the love of Jesus and it’s so natural to her. But see God put that inside of amber from the beginning of the world, from beginning of history. He says he knew her and he put that in her and he wrote in his book of her book every page of your life. Isn’t that amazing. Hold the phone. God has written a book about you.
Each and every person in this place, every person watching online, God has written a book about you and he knows every intimate detail and thought that he had towards you. That’s just amazing. There was a guy I watched on youtube, his name is Ed [inaudible], and he’s kind of one of those, uh, like a, like a coach, you know, help, help you just be your best self and in do certain things and just a wonderful person. And anyway, and one of the things that he said to sticks to me and that is that he believes that when he into heaven that God will introduce him to that person that God thought of when he thought of Ed. And I thought, wow. And he said, you know what? He said, I want to be as close to that person is I can possibly be. I want just design.
I was laying there in the hospital and I just had, I just can’t get over it. It’s just, God, I genuinely want you to have all the glory. Get everything out of me that you invested inside of me and give you all the glory. I want to bring an offering to you. Father, I want to bless you. I want you to get everything out of me that you’ve intended. And you know what? He wants to do the same with you. God wants to partner with you. God doesn’t want to drag you behind him. He wants to partner with you. And you know what’s awesome about all this is the fact that he does all the heavy lifting. I mean, all I had to do when I was in Mexico was give God my yes, I went, I didn’t really know why I was going. I thought, well the neighbors wanted to do this.
Let’s see how this turns out. I gave you my yes, I didn’t know how I was going to get. There is a lot. Mona does an amazing job that if you go on a trip with her, um, and I can only speak for her and Louis because I’ve not been with any of the other leaders here that take different mission trips, but she does an excellent job of letting you know what you’re going to be doing, kind of, you know, plans do change because, bless it, are the flexible on the mission field. For sure. You gotta be flexible, but I’m a planner. My personality type is, I want to know that. I know that I know what’s happening. Well, that wasn’t the case when we went to Mexico and I was, that was part of the reason I had fear kind of come on me is because on, I don’t know what I’m doing or what are we doing next?
What are we doing? What are we doing tomorrow? Or we going to be a just like, I don’t know. We’ll figure it out. So like, no, that’s not how you do things. We’ve got a plan. I need a plan. I’m a very, I gotta have a plan. And so God empowers your, yes, you think, man, God, how am I going to do this? I feel God, you want to do something with my life? I feel like there’s something greater. I can be doing something bigger, but I’m afraid that that I can’t do it like Chad does. I’m afraid I can’t do it like my neighbor does. Like anybody else beside me, I’ve seen wow, maybe or seeing somebody do something and you think, I wish I could do that. You know? I just, we kind of understand. God has placed specific thing. They’re there. They exist inside of you and you, we need to partner with him.
We need to tap into the things he’s invested in us and placed inside of us. The third end that I have is ingenuity. Now sitting, talking about being an engineer. I’ve been an engineer for a very long time. I’ve done automotive engineering, I’ve done industrial engineering, I’ve done civil engineering and I’m doing telecommunication engineering now and it’s, it’s exciting. I love creating things or just something on the inside of me that wants to see something take shape in form and build something. I’ve been a part of, a lot of back when I worked at Clara to Ziglar engineering and Marion, well did, we did a lot of the site plans like for the miners ball stadium and different things like that. And so how all that works. And so your car doesn’t get flooded while it’s in the parking lot during a heavy rain that all had to be engineered and thought and plotted out. So God has placed on the inside of me that ingenuity and he has placed ingenuity on the inside of you now. Now don’t, don’t shut me out because you’re like, well, I don’t draw, I don’t build anything. I don’t, you see, you can create with simply the sound of your voice. You can create with just your words, because we know that life and death are where in the power. Yeah. In the tongue. Right? So we know that if you like, if you speak over a situation,
okay,
you can speak life into that Norris City Church situation. I was, I’m in a pretty horrible situation with, with, uh, you know, gotta be general here. I don’t have the complete liberty to share to this testimony, but it was with my family in and I was just, I was ready to be done. I was just over it. It was bad. And instead, you know, at first I’m like, nope, God’s got this. God’s got this, God’s got this. And maybe you’ve been there too. You know, you’re just believing you’re, you’re holding fast, you’re believing, oh, it’s gonna Change. But there was so much back and forth and back and forth, and I was just wore out and I’d just started like, well, I guess that’s just the way it is. This is just how it’s gonna be. I can’t do anything to change a situation. I prayed. I’ve tried, I’ve fasted.
God, I don’t know what else to do. And I, I was in the moly Grubbs pastor. I was bummed out. I was just dredging through it. And, uh, my wife, I love my wife again, fellows, I, this is a good thing. I listened to my bride, she grabbed me by the shoulders and she said, stop. Stop. This is not what God’s word says. God will change this situation. God is not a man that he should lie. We will stand on God’s word til our very last breath. I mean, it Kinda freaked me out a little bit like, wow, okay baby. All right, but seriously, I’m so glad that she did that and I’m here to tell you I stopped and I said, God, there’s going to be live come into the situation because your God, you know, I made a comment and first service, I quit watching the news just because, oh, you watch the news and it’s like, and I’m not hating on anybody, but it’s wears you out and you leave in some times scrolling your Facebook feed, we’ll do the same thing.
I’m doing pretty good. And I scroll through Facebook. It was like, oh, you know, but I’m here to tell you folks, this region belongs to Jesus. This state of Illinois belongs to Jesus. Our country belongs to Jesus and I’m not going to do what I did in my situation and say, well God, I mean I use Jesus Gabi coming soon and go, man, look at what everybody’s doing. This is awful. No, we’ve got to stop that because I am looking at a body of believers, that group of people who are going to stand firm in his word and declare the love of Jesus over this land. We’re seeing it take place in Mount Carmel. We’re seeing the love of God move through the hearts of his sons and daughters, and we’re seeing him change. And so we’re not giving up our we church. We’re going to move forward.
We’re going to believe what the word of God says because he’s put something inside of you and it’s gotta come out. You gotta let it come out. He’s looking for those who will say yes to him, who will say yes, who? Hey, listen, I was, I was this morning. Even God just continues to add ingredients to a message. Jesus does. He just keeps piling onto your heart. I was listening to a message and it was, uh, Bill Johnson’s wife was speaking and she was talking about their, one of their grandchildren being born and they got a bad report. They’re at the hospital. And one of the things that she does when something shocks her, she says, I just simply ask God, what are you doing? And in this moment when they said better for babies in bad shape, it was really bleak outlook and God just said, I don’t agree with them. Just say no, just say no. And that’s how they begin to pray and baby was okay, we it, where’s the south? Sometimes that’s what the enemy tries to do. He just tries to wear us out. But there’s something greater on the inside of you than anything he’ll ever throw at you. Even though at the time you might be like, what is this? I don’t want to deal with this anymore. I just want to encourage you
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thanks so much for watching with us. We love our online family and we invite you to connect with us. We have a few different ways you can do that on our website@therhodes.church as well as on social media. You can text to give by texting the amount space roads to four, five, seven, seven, seven and we’d love to pray for any needs you might have. So send us a message and let us know how we can partner with you in bringing the light and love of Jesus to your worlds.