Week Nine of Our Journey To Freedom Defeating Satan and This World

In this Journey of life, it is easy to feel the urge to take control, to grab the pen and write your own story. But as Christians we must remember that God is the author f our story. I believe that daily we must be reminded that God is still writing our story and to stop stealing the pen from Him. Throughout scriptures we are reminded, we must trust God even when the path seems uncertain.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Walking in the Living Word Ministries, a weekly podcast with your host, Pastor Mike Futrol.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Thank you for joining us this week in Walking in the Living Word Ministries. We're on week nine of our journey to freedom, defeating Satan and this world. You know, our song this week is God Is in the Story by Tavy Nicole. Again, at the end of the video, you will post, we will post a link for you to listen to and hopefully purchase it if you like it. You know, in this journey of life, it's easy to feel the urge to take control, to grab the pen and write our own story. But as Christians, we must remember that God is the author of our story. I believe that daily we must be reminded that God is still writing our story and to stop stealing the pen from him. Throughout the scriptures, we're reminded we must trust God even when the path seems uncertain. You know, the Bible teaches us that God realigns our on reigns over the nations from his holy throne in heaven. Psalms 47:8, God reigns over the nations. God is seated on his holy throne. Hebrews 4.16. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Even though we know that God's presence is in some distant in heaven, the teachings of scripture also make it clear that God is all omnipresent. He's presence everywhere at the same time. He sits right beside each of us. He walks right beside each other at the same time. From the beginning of Scripture, we see the presence of God hovering over the earth. Even when it was still formless and empty in Genesis 1-2. God filled the world with his creation, and his presence and his holy glory continue to abide on the earth. Numbers 1441. There are many examples throughout scripture of God's presence moving on the earth, interacting with his creation. Deuteronomy 23, 14. For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, you so that he will not see you among you anything in distant and turn away from you. Luke 135, the angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. You know, Hebrews 4.13 says, Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid before before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. Jeremiah 23, 24 explains, can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him, declares the Lord. Do not I feel heaven and earth, declares the Lord. Psalms 139 is an amazing study of God's omnipresence. Walking in faith means accepting that we do not see the full picture as God does. Just as a character in a story doesn't know the twist and turns written by the offer, we too must trust in God's narrative for our lives. Jeremiah 29, 11 assures us, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Letting go and allowing God to write our story can be challenging, especially when faced with uncertainty or adversity. However, it is in those moments that our faith is truly tested and strengthened. Philippians 4, 6 through 7 advises, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God which suppresses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. You know, trusting God's plan involves faith and patience. It means believing that God has a purpose for every experience, even if it's not immediately clear. Regular prayer, reading scripture, and seeking guidance from spiritual mentors can strengthen that trust. Remembering past incidents where God has guided each of us can also enforce our faith in his plan. Letting God write our story involves surrendering our will to his will. It means making decisions based on faith and the teachings of the Bible. Rather than our own desires or social pressures, it also involves being open to the direction of the Holy Spirit and accepting that God's ways and timing are perfect, even if they don't align with our immediate plans. Where is God? If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God is in you, He's with you, He's beside you, He's above you, He's everywhere around. God's present and watchful care never leaves you. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, God is right in front of you, inviting you, drawing you, offering you the love, mercy, and grace that He longs to give to you. Perhaps a better question than where is God is where are you in your relationship with God? Where is God when it hurts? It seems we desire to know the answer to this question most when faced with painful trials and attacks of doubt. Even Jesus, during his crucifixion, asked, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27, 46. The onlookers of that time, as well as those who first read the story, it seems that God did forsake Jesus. So we obviously conclude that he will forsake us as well in our darkest moments. Yet upon continued observation of the events that unfold after the crucifixion, the truth is revealed that nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even death, Romans 8, 37 through 39. After Jesus was crucified, he was glorified. 1 Peter 1:21, Mark 16, 6, and Romans 4, 24 through 25. From this example alone, we can be assured that even when we do not feel God's presence in the midst of our pain, we can still believe his promise that he will never leave or forsake us. Hebrews 13, 5. Keep your eyes free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. God sometimes permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves. We put our trust in the fact that God does not lie, never changes, and his word stands true forever. Numbers 23, 19. God is not human that he should lie, not a human being that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? 1 Samuel 15, 29. He who is glorified of Israel does not lie or change his mind, for he is not a human being that he should change his mind. Hebrews 7 21, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever. James 1 17. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. See, we do not lose heart over painful circumstances because we live by faith and every word that has proceeded from the mouth of God, not putting our hope in what is seen or perceived. We trust that God, our light, and temporary problems are achieving for us an eternal glory that far overweights all the suffering that we may endure on this earth. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. Because we know and believe what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4, 16 through 18. We also trust God's word, which says he is constantly working things together for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8 28. Even though we do not always see the good ends to which God is working things out, we can be assured that a time will come when we will understand and see more clearly. Our lives are like a quilt. If you look at the back side of a quilt, all you see is a mess of knots and loose ends hanging all out all over you. It's very unattractive, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the work. Yet when you turn the quilt over, you see how the maker was craftfully woven together each strand to form a beautiful creation, much like the life of a belief. Isaiah 64:8. Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter. We are all the work of your hand. See, we live in a limited understanding of things of God. Yet a day is coming when we will know and understand all things. Job 37 5, 1 Corinthians 13 12, and 1 John 3 2. Where is God when it hurts? Message to take with you in hard times is that you cannot see his hand, trust his heart, and know for certain that he is not forsaken you. When you seem to have no strength of your own, that is when you can fully rest in his presence and know that his strength is made perfect in your weakness. 2 Corinthians 12, 19 through 10. But he said to me, My grace is significant to you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why for Christ's sake I delight in weakness and insults and hardships and persecution and difficult. For when I am weak, then I am strong. See, it's difficult. It's a really a difficult decision, a different season, realizing that God is in my story. He's always been there. I just haven't always fully looked. I was just too busy sometimes listening to Satan to others to see that. Over the past few months, I've come to realize there's no much more, there's so much more for me to do than to sit around and let Satan and the world have control. The song I've added to this message is a song of hope and a song of encouragement. That God really is present with us all the seasons of our lives. The really great ones and the really difficult ones. God is not giving up on us, he's in the details of our lives. We can trust him that he is working things together for our good. I told Jan and others that I feel like I'm the only one that feels this way I do sometimes. Through my studies and talking with others, is finally hit home this week and over the last few months. Today, when I was talking to Jan, she told me, You have never been alone in this battle. Jan said there are probably 100 ifs, if not 1000 of people who feel the same way, you do. God has placed the right people in our lives, but we are so busy looking in our lives through our eyes instead of God's eyes, that we miss God's opening our eyes so that we can come to realize that we all have in common is that we all have a story to tell. Everyone messes up from time to time. We all make poor choices and bad decisions. We all say and do the wrong thing at the wrong time. Everybody fails, but how we recover from our mistakes is what really matters. Maybe you've been looking back on your life and you always thought, oh, my story is just too broken. I'm the only one who feels this way, and no one's going to want to hear about me. What we have to realize, we're all broken, and we all need fixes. Broken, but valuable. Don't let brokenness disqualify you from God's purpose. As a child, one of my favorite things to do was to color pictures. Ironically, I was very big on details and a sticker for things being perfect. I hated when my crayons broke, and I would respond with sadness and devastation. As always, I would I would share my sadness with my mom, and she would console me and remind me that broken crayons still make colors just as beautiful as new ones. However, as a child, that didn't resolve with me because I could see and understand was that the crowns were no longer shiny and new. They were broken. Over the years, though, I've learned also well that regardless of one's brokenness, we're still usable and valuable by God. Lamentations 3, 22 through 23 tells us, because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his composition never failed. They are new every morning. Great is our faithfulness. Maybe you have not been taught taking time to know and understand that people were actually seeing Jesus through your story. Because God was turning broken things in your life into beautiful things. When you feel like your story is too broken, remember that it's not because God is in it. You are not the past. You can give God all your broken pieces and find hope in His grace. No matter how messed up you feel, you're good enough to be loved and have a chance for healing. Embrace your journey and let God help you piece together your story and love and support. Prayer is crucial in letting God write our story. It's a way to communicate with God, express your desires, fears, and thanksgiving. Through prayer, we can seek guidance, gain control, and develop a deeper relationship with God. It helps align our hearts with God's will and reminds us to trust Him with our lives and narratives. 2 Corinthians 12, 9 through 10. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calm calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. Be strong, take heart, embrace your brokenness without fear. Deuteronomy 31 6. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them. For the Lord your God goes with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Let God work his will in you. Yell aloud no to the devil and watch him scram. Say a quiet yes to God, and he'll be there in no time. James 4 7 through 10. Submit yourselves then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near you. Wash your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double minded. Grieve mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning with your joy to groan. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up. Take note that brokenness is a season in our lives that does not equate to death. God does not throw us away because of the cracks and under our surface. Knowing that like broken crowns, you have the gift to create beautiful, powerful art with your past hurts. Pray, pray, and pray more. And if your answer has not come yet, reset and repeat. Reset and repeat. Don't give up. God is still writing your story. Understand that you need to embrace faith and let go because God is still writing your story, so you need to stop trying to steal the pen from Him. Thank you again for joining us with Walking in the Living Word Ministries. We're so glad you're a part of this journey to freedom. We look forward to seeing you next week as we continue our journey with walking in the Living Word Ministries.

SPEAKER_00 18:33

We pray the U.S. Podcast.