[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Gracious Words. Gracious Words is taken from the Weekly Women's Bible Study
[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_00]: taught by Cheryl Brodersen at Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.
[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_02]: We're behold to glory God in the face of Christ. It shows us who you are. We're feeling who you are.
[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Today we'll see how God used challenges and conflicts in Isaac and Rebecca's life to deepen their dependence on him.
[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_00]: We will not escape difficulties in life, but as we endure them, God can use them to develop and strengthen our walk with him.
[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_00]: And now here is Part 3 of Cheryl's message titled, Discerning the Will of God.
[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_04]: I had somebody call me and they said, you know, Cheryl, I've got some questions about, you know, should I do this or should I not do this?
[00:01:27] [SPEAKER_04]: And she's speaking to me. I said, listen, I can give you a hundred reasons why you should.
[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_04]: She's like, oh, and I said, I can give you another hundred why you shouldn't.
[00:01:37] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh, I said that at the end of the day, you can weigh out all the pros and cons.
[00:01:43] [SPEAKER_04]: But God doesn't use pros and cons, does He? He has His will.
[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_04]: And sometimes His will looks absolutely ridiculous. It's all cons and no pros.
[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_04]: If I do that, I might die. It doesn't look like it.
[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_04]: I remember when we moved to England, taking our kids out of a Christian school, going on a, you know, having for the first time in our lives,
[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Brian and I were in the black and had a savings account. It felt so good.
[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_04]: And moving to England meant an end to all of that.
[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_04]: It just everything. We had a house, we had a church that was substantial that loved us.
[00:02:25] [SPEAKER_04]: And yet we felt so much that God is saying, pick up everything, move to a country that you do not know that you're unfamiliar with and start a church.
[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_04]: It was crazy. I mean, no offense, but Calvary Chapel Vista, I hope the same for Calvary Chapel Coastal Coastal Coastal Coastal Coastal Coastal Coast,
[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_04]: got voted best church in Vista three years in a row.
[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_04]: And our mayor was Mormon and she loved us. We had so much favor.
[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_04]: But when it comes to the will of God, it's not about prosperity.
[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_04]: It's about the will of God. And it cannot be measured or discerned by pros and cons, but only by actively seeking it.
[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_04]: As he's there, the men of Gerard become envious. But what of it?
[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Isaac has protected status. Abimlet becomes intimidated by Isaac's might and success.
[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_04]: And Abimlet calls Isaac in and says, go away from us for you are much mightier than we.
[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Rejection is so hard. We take it so personally, don't we?
[00:03:35] [SPEAKER_04]: Later, Isaac will say, what are you doing here to Abimlet? I thought you hated me.
[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_04]: Rejection is so hard. Yet God will use rejection to get us away from the wrong people in the wrong place.
[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_04]: We want to leave on our own initiative without being told, but sometimes we need that push that only rejection can bring.
[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_04]: After all, Isaac was enjoying great prosperity in Gerard. The last thing he would want or conclude was that God wanted to move him on.
[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Now, Isaac doesn't move too far away. He moves to the Valley of Gerard.
[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Since water is an essential, he goes to where his father Abraham had been.
[00:04:26] [SPEAKER_04]: And he sends his servants to dig up the wells that Abraham had first dug.
[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Why? Because Abraham, by digging those wells, had established water rights.
[00:04:40] [SPEAKER_04]: Therefore, Isaac had a right to that well.
[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_04]: But this first well brings him in conflict with the herdsmen of Gerard.
[00:04:49] [SPEAKER_04]: And there is a quarrel. So he names it Isaac Strife.
[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Do you know what naming it means? It means he's taking authority over it.
[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_04]: It means he's saying, I'm not a victim of this, but I'm moving on.
[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_04]: Isn't that great? I'm not a victim of this quarrel.
[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not moving because I'm a victim. I am moving because I don't want a quarrel.
[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_04]: Isaac does not put up resistance or fight, even though the well is his by right.
[00:05:23] [SPEAKER_04]: He moves on. His servants dig another well somewhere in the Valley of Gerard.
[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_04]: And another quarrel ensues. And Isaac names this well Sitna or Inmity.
[00:05:35] [SPEAKER_04]: But again, he names it. He puts a name to it. He takes authority over it.
[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_04]: His servants dig another well moving on further. And at this one there's new quarrel.
[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_04]: So they call it Raoboth, meaning God has made room for us or prepared this place for us.
[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_04]: And we shall be fruitful in the land.
[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_04]: So, I'm going to read the first verse 22.
[00:06:01] [SPEAKER_04]: From there, Isaac and his entourage move to Bersheba.
[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_04]: Now Bersheba is about 17 miles away from Gerard.
[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_04]: It's the first place that Abraham built an altar.
[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Now Isaac so far has been redigging, redigging his grandfather's wells.
[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_04]: But when he comes to Bersheba,
[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_04]: he doesn't first redig his grandfather's well.
[00:06:30] [SPEAKER_04]: He rebuilds his grandfather's altar.
[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_04]: And it's in this place after building that altar for the second time God appears to Isaac,
[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_04]: this time at night. It's almost as if God is saying,
[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Welcome! I've been waiting for you to arrive.
[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_04]: And God reiterates his promise to Abraham. That now belongs to Isaac.
[00:06:50] [SPEAKER_04]: I am the God of your Father Abraham. Do not fear, for I am with you.
[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_04]: I will bless you and multiply your descendants for my servant Abraham's sake.
[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_04]: After all Isaac has been through, the departures, the delays, the deficits,
[00:07:04] [SPEAKER_04]: the dilemmas, the difficulties, the denunciations, and disagreements,
[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_04]: God is saying don't be afraid. It's over. You've arrived.
[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_04]: And this is when Isaac builds his first and only recorded altar to God.
[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Here is a place that Isaac is reclaiming for God.
[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_04]: He is proclaiming the God of Abraham over the land of Baal.
[00:07:34] [SPEAKER_04]: He is saying this land belongs to God.
[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Isaac calls on the name of the Lord worships.
[00:07:42] [SPEAKER_04]: Isaac pitches his tent, settles in this place.
[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_04]: News follows from his servants that they have discovered water.
[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_04]: You see first the appearance of God, first the word of God,
[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_04]: next the altar, next the water. Isaac had it out of the wrong order.
[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_04]: He thought first the water, then the word of God, then the altar.
[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_04]: But God is showing him first the word of God, then the altar, then the well.
[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_04]: This means that Isaac can settle in and down.
[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_04]: There is water for crops, company, and animals.
[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_04]: This is the second confirmation of God's will, the first being his encounter with God.
[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_04]: A third confirmation follows, here comes, look who's coming.
[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Here comes a bimlak with a huzath.
[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_04]: No doubt a huzath, it says a friend.
[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Commentators believe this is a friend of Isaac's.
[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_04]: And a bimlak is saying, look, I've got your friend.
[00:08:48] [SPEAKER_04]: It's going to be peace because he's also coming with the call, the commander of his army.
[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_04]: But what he wants is a covenant of peace with Isaac.
[00:08:56] [SPEAKER_04]: So he brings the commander of his army saying, see my commander's here.
[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_04]: He's entering into this covenant too that we will not do you any harm.
[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_04]: He agrees to it too.
[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_04]: And as long as you do not do us any harm either.
[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_04]: Why does a bimlak now want a treaty, a covenant with Isaac?
[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_04]: Because he has seen God's blessing on Isaac.
[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_04]: It's not amazing.
[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_04]: So many times when we look on our own life, we only see the trials and the deficits and the hardships.
[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_04]: But others are looking on going, wow, I can see God's blessing.
[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_04]: He got you out of that.
[00:09:38] [SPEAKER_04]: He got you out of this.
[00:09:39] [SPEAKER_04]: He got you out of that.
[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_04]: A bimlak doesn't see the hatred, the dismissal, the rejection or the quarrels, the moves.
[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_04]: In all these things that Isaac has been through, a bimlak testifies we have certainly seen the Lord is with you.
[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_04]: You are now blessed of the Lord.
[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_04]: It was by the peace.
[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_04]: It was by the refusing to assert his rights.
[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_04]: It was in these things that a bimlak sees the hand and blessing of God.
[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Isaac through a somewhat unexpected and circuitous route has come to the very place God intended for him.
[00:10:26] [SPEAKER_04]: In contrast in chapter 26, it ends with Esau's intentional removal of himself and the will of God.
[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_04]: We already saw at the end of chapter 25 how he chose the stew over his birthright.
[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_04]: And now we see that instead of waiting as Isaac did to have the wife of covenant, he just chooses Canaanite women.
[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_04]: Remember Abraham how important it was to grandfather Abraham that Isaac not marry a woman from Canaan?
[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_04]: And yet Esau goes out and he gets himself two wives.
[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_04]: With Esau we see this pattern, the same pattern that we see with Eve, the pattern of sin.
[00:11:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Take, you see it, see and take for yourself. See and take for yourself.
[00:11:31] [SPEAKER_04]: So Esau went outside, hunted, saw and took for himself.
[00:11:40] [SPEAKER_04]: Esau, the Canaanite woman. He sees them, he takes for himself.
[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_04]: He is intentional with his removal of himself from the promises and will of God.
[00:11:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Here is one who cares more about his needs, his desires and wants his needs and his desires fulfilled his way, his timing.
[00:12:06] [SPEAKER_04]: Esau does not wait for his parents or God to find him the covenant wife.
[00:12:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Even as he hunted for game, he hunts in Canaan for women to be his wife.
[00:12:14] [SPEAKER_04]: And these wives of Esau make Rebecca and Isaac's lives miserable.
[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_04]: When Char was about 10 or 11, Kristen came home from school, just fit to be tied.
[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_04]: Kristen being my oldest daughter, his older sister.
[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_04]: And says, Char has got a girlfriend.
[00:12:38] [SPEAKER_04]: And I said, oh really? Who is it? And when he told me, I was like, uh-oh.
[00:12:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Because I've been in trouble a lot at this school.
[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_04]: And Kristen said, Mom, this girl is not right for Char.
[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_04]: And I said, okay, I'll take it from here.
[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_04]: 10 or 11. I said, can we talk? She said, sure, Mom.
[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_04]: He has that total guilty look. Char could not know.
[00:13:01] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, you could look at his face and go, okay, what did you do wrong today?
[00:13:05] [SPEAKER_04]: He just had one of those faces like, hi.
[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, guilt. It was like guilt, guilt, like a neon sign.
[00:13:11] [SPEAKER_04]: So I said, let's just sit down. I remember sitting outside our house on the curb.
[00:13:14] [SPEAKER_04]: And I said, I want to read you a scripture.
[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_04]: So I read him this scripture.
[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_04]: And they were a grief of mine to Isaac and Rebecca.
[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_04]: I said, Char, your choice of girlfriend doesn't just affect you.
[00:13:30] [SPEAKER_04]: It's going to affect dad. And it's going to affect me.
[00:13:35] [SPEAKER_04]: So I want you, whenever that time comes that you feel like you want a girlfriend,
[00:13:39] [SPEAKER_04]: to choose wisely. He goes, did Christian tell you? I said yes.
[00:13:44] [SPEAKER_04]: He goes, okay, Mom, I wasn't feeling a peace about it anyway.
[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_04]: And you know, that's good.
[00:13:51] [SPEAKER_04]: Do you want the will of God for your life?
[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_04]: If you want the will of God, then be assured that God will lead you right to the very center of it.
[00:14:01] [SPEAKER_04]: The very things that might make you think that you are out of his will
[00:14:05] [SPEAKER_04]: are the very instruments that God is using to put you into his will.
[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Once you submit the departures, the delays, the deficits, the dilemmas, the difficulties,
[00:14:22] [SPEAKER_04]: the dissensions, the denunciations and disagreements,
[00:14:24] [SPEAKER_04]: once you give them over to God,
[00:14:27] [SPEAKER_04]: they become the very instruments that God will use
[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_04]: to make sure that you are in the center of his will.
[00:14:36] [SPEAKER_04]: You know, sometimes we have an idea of what the ministry is that God has for us
[00:14:42] [SPEAKER_04]: and how we're going to do that ministry.
[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_04]: We've got it all written for God.
[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_04]: And something happens that seems to throw us way off course.
[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_04]: I had a friend, she's still my friend so I shouldn't say past tense
[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_04]: and she's still walking, living, breathing.
[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_04]: But she had this incident happen to her.
[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_04]: She was supposed to speak at these homeschool conventions
[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_04]: and she saw how her life was going.
[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_04]: And something beyond her control happened
[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_04]: and all of a sudden she was associated with the community
[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_04]: that she never ever would naturally associate herself with.
[00:15:26] [SPEAKER_04]: And all of a sudden she was being denounced on Facebook
[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_04]: like you would never ever believe.
[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_04]: The homeschooling convention canceled her,
[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_04]: didn't want anything else to do with her.
[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_04]: I mean it was terrible, the onslaught.
[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_04]: I remember she asked Kathy Gilbert to pray
[00:15:42] [SPEAKER_04]: and Kathy Gilbert says if I'm praying, Cheryl's praying
[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_04]: because she always brings me into these prayer times.
[00:15:47] [SPEAKER_04]: So Kathy called me up and we prayed together
[00:15:51] [SPEAKER_04]: and then I had a chance to meet with this woman
[00:15:54] [SPEAKER_04]: and go out to coffee with her.
[00:15:57] [SPEAKER_04]: And I said to her, you know what?
[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_04]: God has just put you in a mission field
[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_04]: that you never expected.
[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_04]: And probably a mission field that you didn't particularly want
[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_04]: but nevertheless it's your mission field.
[00:16:10] [SPEAKER_04]: It's not because you sinned because you haven't
[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_04]: but this is now the place that God has for you.
[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_04]: I have another friend who found out she had cancer
[00:16:22] [SPEAKER_04]: and she said to me this isn't the mission field
[00:16:25] [SPEAKER_04]: that I ever wanted but it's the mission field
[00:16:28] [SPEAKER_04]: that God gave me and I intend to use it for a mission field.
[00:16:32] [SPEAKER_04]: I remember when my dad had lung cancer
[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_04]: and he had to go for his chemotherapy appointments
[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_04]: and I went with him and it was,
[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_04]: these men started talking and my dad was really quiet
[00:16:44] [SPEAKER_04]: just kind of, when dad was in pain
[00:16:46] [SPEAKER_04]: he wouldn't speak and he would kind of go into himself
[00:16:50] [SPEAKER_04]: and he was just kind of there and I could tell
[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_04]: I was sitting right across from him that he just needed
[00:16:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Pepina.
[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_04]: And I was sitting in that room waiting for the chemotherapy
[00:17:02] [SPEAKER_04]: and knowing that all of the people in this room
[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_04]: with the exception of myself had a death sentence
[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_04]: and these two men were talking
[00:17:10] [SPEAKER_04]: and for some strange reason I just joined into the conversation
[00:17:15] [SPEAKER_04]: and somehow by the spirit of God
[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_04]: I was able to lead the conversation of Jesus.
[00:17:21] [SPEAKER_04]: One of them was a very famous writer in Orange County
[00:17:25] [SPEAKER_04]: and I was able just to do it
[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_04]: and I remember leading the conversation to Jesus
[00:17:33] [SPEAKER_04]: and this man for the first time in his life said
[00:17:35] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm open for the first time in my life
[00:17:38] [SPEAKER_04]: and I looked at dad, I felt,
[00:17:41] [SPEAKER_04]: my dad used to like to play volleyball
[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_04]: and we would play the two of us on a team
[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_04]: and I was the setter. He'd take the first ball
[00:17:49] [SPEAKER_04]: then he would send it to me and I would set it above the net
[00:17:52] [SPEAKER_04]: so my dad could spike it and we were the dream team
[00:17:57] [SPEAKER_04]: and I felt that day
[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_04]: that I had just gotten the ball
[00:18:01] [SPEAKER_04]: and I just was setting it to my dad
[00:18:04] [SPEAKER_04]: and I remember that he looked up
[00:18:08] [SPEAKER_04]: and the spirit of the Lord came on my dad
[00:18:10] [SPEAKER_04]: and he began to tell these men about Jesus
[00:18:16] [SPEAKER_04]: and told them that he planned on seeing Jesus very soon
[00:18:22] [SPEAKER_04]: and was confident and sure of the hope he held.
[00:18:26] [SPEAKER_04]: It was majestic.
[00:18:28] [SPEAKER_04]: At that moment I remember thinking
[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_04]: there's no place I'd rather be than right here in this office
[00:18:33] [SPEAKER_04]: with this company of men who will soon see Jesus.
[00:18:37] [SPEAKER_04]: It was so amazing.
[00:18:40] [SPEAKER_04]: That was not the mission field my dad ever, ever saw him in
[00:18:43] [SPEAKER_04]: and you know how he got there by disaster?
[00:18:49] [SPEAKER_04]: By deficit of health.
[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_04]: God took him into that room
[00:18:54] [SPEAKER_04]: to lead those men to Jesus Christ.
[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_04]: It wasn't the mission field he wanted.
[00:19:03] [SPEAKER_04]: Friends, departures, delays, deficits, dilemmas
[00:19:06] [SPEAKER_04]: difficulties including natural disasters
[00:19:11] [SPEAKER_04]: dissension, denunciations, disagreements.
[00:19:14] [SPEAKER_04]: This does not say you are out of the will of God.
[00:19:18] [SPEAKER_04]: That God is prodding you gently
[00:19:20] [SPEAKER_04]: maybe even forcibly
[00:19:22] [SPEAKER_04]: writes Mac dab into his will
[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_04]: into the place he has for you.
[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_04]: A place that you would never go naturally
[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_04]: a place that you would never imagine yourself being
[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_04]: however as you submit each of these things to him
[00:19:40] [SPEAKER_04]: seeking his directives
[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_04]: he will turn these deadly deeds
[00:19:47] [SPEAKER_04]: into his perfect design for your life.
[00:19:51] [SPEAKER_04]: His goodwill.
[00:19:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Remember Isaac did not disobey God
[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_04]: Isaac did not try to dissuade Abimelech
[00:19:59] [SPEAKER_04]: or defend his rights
[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_04]: instead he sought the direction
[00:20:04] [SPEAKER_04]: and will of God.
[00:20:06] [SPEAKER_04]: God's will is good
[00:20:09] [SPEAKER_04]: and it is the place where he can reiterate his promises to you
[00:20:13] [SPEAKER_04]: and use you to claim the land for him
[00:20:16] [SPEAKER_04]: proclaim his word, refresh you, provide for you
[00:20:20] [SPEAKER_04]: and give you an undeniable witness
[00:20:24] [SPEAKER_04]: before the enemy
[00:20:27] [SPEAKER_04]: before the non-believer
[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_04]: God can give you a testimony
[00:20:32] [SPEAKER_04]: God's will is good
[00:20:34] [SPEAKER_04]: and you will not miss the will of God
[00:20:37] [SPEAKER_04]: unless you intentionally want to
[00:20:39] [SPEAKER_04]: and I don't think there's anyone in here
[00:20:41] [SPEAKER_04]: who would say I don't want the will of God
[00:20:44] [SPEAKER_04]: I know you do
[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_04]: and I know that you are going to be in the will of God
[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_04]: and that the place that you're in right now
[00:20:53] [SPEAKER_04]: is God's will for you
[00:20:54] [SPEAKER_04]: to give you a ministry
[00:20:56] [SPEAKER_04]: maybe to people you never thought you'd be ministering to
[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_04]: maybe it's not what you imagined yourself
[00:21:02] [SPEAKER_04]: you thought you had the picket fence
[00:21:04] [SPEAKER_04]: white picket fence
[00:21:06] [SPEAKER_04]: two cars in the garage
[00:21:08] [SPEAKER_04]: stable husband ministry
[00:21:12] [SPEAKER_04]: you've got the sojourners ministry
[00:21:15] [SPEAKER_04]: but just know
[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_04]: that all of these things are God's way
[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_04]: of saying my beloved
[00:21:23] [SPEAKER_04]: I want you in my will
[00:21:25] [SPEAKER_04]: and I want to use you
[00:21:27] [SPEAKER_04]: for my highest glory
[00:21:29] [SPEAKER_04]: and your highest good
[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_04]: God's will is good
[00:21:34] [SPEAKER_04]: and he wants to get you into that will
[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_04]: you know, I honestly did not want the ministry
[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_04]: of this dressed back this week
[00:21:44] [SPEAKER_04]: I did not want, you know
[00:21:46] [SPEAKER_04]: but how could I get up and tell you
[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_04]: that God uses this
[00:21:50] [SPEAKER_04]: if my back's not out
[00:21:51] [SPEAKER_04]: if smoke detectors aren't going off in my house
[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_04]: the dog isn't trying to climb into bed with us
[00:21:57] [SPEAKER_04]: and my daughter's not in false labor
[00:21:59] [SPEAKER_04]: if I just got up and said
[00:22:01] [SPEAKER_04]: you might have these things but not me
[00:22:06] [SPEAKER_04]: you know, God uses these things
[00:22:08] [SPEAKER_04]: I remember our car breaking down
[00:22:11] [SPEAKER_04]: in England and we got in there already
[00:22:13] [SPEAKER_04]: to go to church on a Sunday morning
[00:22:15] [SPEAKER_04]: and Brian hit the thing and it went
[00:22:16] [SPEAKER_04]: didn't even go like
[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm trying
[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_04]: it just went like nothing
[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not doing anything
[00:22:23] [SPEAKER_04]: so we called this mechanic
[00:22:25] [SPEAKER_04]: he comes over to our house the next morning
[00:22:27] [SPEAKER_04]: he gets in the car and he turns it
[00:22:30] [SPEAKER_04]: and the car goes boom boom
[00:22:34] [SPEAKER_04]: like, I don't know what your problem is
[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_04]: you know, I just don't like Americans
[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_04]: and this guy said
[00:22:42] [SPEAKER_04]: he says it sounds fine to me
[00:22:45] [SPEAKER_04]: and Brian says I don't get it
[00:22:46] [SPEAKER_04]: because what were you doing
[00:22:49] [SPEAKER_04]: he goes well I was going to church
[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_04]: why were you doing that
[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_04]: Brian says well I'm a pastor
[00:22:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Brian shared the gospel with this guy
[00:22:56] [SPEAKER_04]: and the guy goes I've got this question
[00:22:59] [SPEAKER_04]: why is an apple sin?
[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_04]: and Brian's like what?
[00:23:04] [SPEAKER_04]: and Brian's like an apple's not sin
[00:23:06] [SPEAKER_04]: that's not the issue at all
[00:23:08] [SPEAKER_04]: and when he explained it to this guy
[00:23:09] [SPEAKER_04]: he goes I get it, I'll get it
[00:23:11] [SPEAKER_04]: I'll get it now
[00:23:13] [SPEAKER_04]: I'll get it, I'll get why we knew Jesus
[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_04]: I mean it was crazy
[00:23:17] [SPEAKER_04]: it wasn't the mission field that Brian wanted
[00:23:19] [SPEAKER_04]: we wanted the mission field
[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_04]: of the great working car on Sunday morning
[00:23:24] [SPEAKER_04]: that's not the mission field we got
[00:23:27] [SPEAKER_04]: God's got you smacked out
[00:23:29] [SPEAKER_04]: in His will
[00:23:31] [SPEAKER_04]: these things are hard
[00:23:32] [SPEAKER_04]: just God's way of keeping you there
[00:23:34] [SPEAKER_04]: making sure your will gets right
[00:23:37] [SPEAKER_04]: where it's supposed to do
[00:23:38] [SPEAKER_04]: between the grid so you can get that great car wash
[00:23:42] [SPEAKER_04]: maybe you've had some of these things
[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_04]: going on the deficits
[00:23:45] [SPEAKER_04]: the difficulties
[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_04]: maybe you know the enemy's trying to say
[00:23:49] [SPEAKER_04]: you're out of the will of God
[00:23:51] [SPEAKER_04]: you're not really alone
[00:23:55] [SPEAKER_04]: but that's you
[00:23:56] [SPEAKER_04]: would you just raise your hand
[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_04]: I just want to know I'm not alone
[00:23:58] [SPEAKER_04]: hallelujah I'm not alone there's a lot of you
[00:24:01] [SPEAKER_04]: will you take that thing
[00:24:04] [SPEAKER_04]: that's made you think
[00:24:05] [SPEAKER_04]: that you're not in the will of God
[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_04]: and will you just give it to God
[00:24:09] [SPEAKER_04]: and say Lord Jesus this is a directive
[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_04]: in my life just hold it out
[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_04]: to God use this as a directive
[00:24:15] [SPEAKER_04]: to get me right in the center
[00:24:17] [SPEAKER_04]: of your good will to show me
[00:24:19] [SPEAKER_04]: where my mission field is
[00:24:21] [SPEAKER_04]: where the place is that you want me to be
[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_04]: that I will have the greatest testimony
[00:24:26] [SPEAKER_04]: keep me in this place
[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_04]: keep me in this place
[00:24:32] [SPEAKER_00]: God's will for us
[00:24:34] [SPEAKER_00]: is good we can't let
[00:24:36] [SPEAKER_00]: the hardships and disappointments of life deter us
[00:24:38] [SPEAKER_00]: from seeking it
[00:24:39] [SPEAKER_00]: delays deficits and difficulties
[00:24:41] [SPEAKER_00]: will come but that doesn't mean
[00:24:43] [SPEAKER_00]: you are out of the will of God
[00:24:45] [SPEAKER_00]: it may be that God is using those very things
[00:24:48] [SPEAKER_00]: to bring you into the center
[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_00]: of his will a place you would
[00:24:52] [SPEAKER_00]: never go naturally or could even imagine
[00:24:54] [SPEAKER_00]: yourself being as we face
[00:24:56] [SPEAKER_00]: these challenges in life may they cause
[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_00]: us to seek the Lord for guidance
[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_00]: and direction that we may
[00:25:01] [SPEAKER_00]: be led into God's perfect will
[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_00]: we hope you have been blessed
[00:25:06] [SPEAKER_00]: by today's Bible study for more
[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_00]: information about the gracious words radio program
[00:25:10] [SPEAKER_00]: and the teaching ministry of Cheryl Brodersen
[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_00]: please visit our website
[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_00]: at graciouswords.com
[00:25:15] [SPEAKER_00]: coming up next time on the gracious words
[00:25:18] [SPEAKER_00]: program we'll look at Isaac's blessing
[00:25:20] [SPEAKER_00]: for his sons as we continue
[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_00]: our series Our Great Creator
[00:25:23] [SPEAKER_00]: in the book of Genesis with Cheryl Brodersen
[00:25:26] [SPEAKER_00]: we do hope you make plans to
[00:25:28] [SPEAKER_00]: join us again for more
[00:25:30] [SPEAKER_00]: information please visit our website
[00:25:31] [SPEAKER_00]: at graciouswords.com
[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_03]: we will
[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_03]: we will
[00:25:44] [SPEAKER_03]: we will fall on our knees
[00:25:46] [SPEAKER_03]: and surrender
[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_03]: we surrender
[00:25:50] [SPEAKER_03]: to you
[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_00]: this program is sponsored by
[00:25:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Calvary Chapel Coast Amesa, California
Sponsors
