God is Looking for Someone to Believe

Chapters

• 5:46 Marker 2
• 5:46 Marker 4

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:14

Hello and welcome back to Grace For my Home. I'm Audrey and I'm so glad that you've joined me here this week. I hope and pray that you are doing well. I have a few announcements this week. The first is that there is still time to register for our prayer event this Saturday, august 9th. It's called Covered in Prayer A Night for Moms, and if you live in or around the Mullen South Carolina area, that's where we're going to be. We're going to be at Awaken Coffee Bar and we're going to gather at five o'clock on Saturday and just have a meal together. I'm going to share a word with you, an encouraging word, about praying for our children, and then we're going to pray together and I would so love to have you there. I'd love to meet you, hear your story, learn a little bit about you. So if you live in or around the Mullen South Carolina area, we would so love to have you. You can register by going to the link in the show notes, and we still have room. We do ask you to register. Seating is limited, but right now we still have plenty of room and we would love to have you.

Speaker 1: 2:19

Another exciting announcement is that my new book is almost ready. Yay, it seems like it has taken so long, but it is ready and I can't wait to share it with you. If you would like more information now, you can go to the show notes and register for my email newsletter, because I'm going to share it with those who follow me first. Subscribe to my email list and you'll find out all the details first. Just to give you a little bit, the name of my new book is Seek First 31 Quiet Moments with Jesus, and it's a devotional book and I am super excited about it and can't wait to share it with the world.

Speaker 1: 3:00

This week, I'm going to share a message with you that I shared at my church this past Sunday, and it's about believing God. You know that's what God's looking for. He's looking for someone to believe, and I hope that this message is encouraging to you and that it makes your week a little better. I hope you enjoy this message. God bless. Thank you, lord. I really appreciate the opportunity to speak. I really do. I count it an honor to be able to share what I feel like the Lord is saying today.

Speaker 1: 3:31

Father, we just thank you for your presence. We thank you that you've already spoken here, lord. You've already spoken to the Lord and I thank you for your presence. We thank you that you've already spoken here, lord, you've already spoken to Lord and I thank you for preparing our hearts and God. I thank you, lord, that you never give up on us. Lord. You never give up on us, lord, we might give up on ourselves, we might give up on each other, we might give up on you, but you never give up on us and we just thank you for that. Lord, today, in Jesus name, in Jesus name, amen, amen. Well, today I've got just a short, simple word for you today. I hope that it's food for your soul, amen. I hope it's something, something you can carry with you this week and it's. It's good. I hope it's good.

Speaker 1: 4:12

Let's go back to the beginning. You know a lot of times in in the Bible I go to the Genesis all the time. God only knows how many times I've read the book of Genesis. Because Genesis is so foundational, it's so important. Have you ever heard of the law of first principle or first mention? What it means is that when something is mentioned in the Bible the first time it's mentioned, god is telling us what that's going to be like through the whole Bible. So Genesis is so important because it's laying a foundation, it's telling you how God feels about many things, and so when we go to Genesis, we get to see what was his best, what was his first intention. Now, I heard somebody else say this and I took it as my own because I thought it was really good. You know, if you want to see what God's perfect will is, take the first chapter, first two chapters of Genesis, and then take the last two chapters of Revelation, because that's the beginning. That's what he had in mind. Then there was an interruption. He worked out the interruption and the end is what he had in mind. Amen, isn't that good.

Speaker 1: 5:27

So today I want to talk with you about the beginning and we're going to turn. I'm going to turn to Genesis. Thank you, lord, thank you for your goodness, thank you for your mercy, thank you for your kindness, lord, he's kind and do you know he likes you this morning? You know we always talk about God and how much he loves us. Right, for God so loved the world. We always tell God loves you. But you know, a lot of times people say, well, I love her, but I don't like her, right? Well, god likes you Like he likes you, like he likes being around you, he enjoys being around you. And I think sometimes we forget that, we think he's just putting up with us, because we know the things we do and we know our heart and we know that the areas of our heart, that we got issues and we think, well, god must not like me I mean, look at all these issues I got. But I want to tell you he likes you. And today I want to talk with you in Genesis. I want to talk with you about what God's looking for. What is God looking for? He's looking for somebody to believe him. Amen, god is looking for somebody to believe him.

Speaker 1: 6:48

When God made the first couple, he put them in paradise. He made the first couple. It was his plan. He wanted a family. He put them in paradise. He provided everything they needed. He made the first couple. It was his plan. He wanted a family. He put them in paradise. He provided everything they needed. He made it beautiful and he visited them every day. That was his plan and it was good and they.

Speaker 1: 7:09

But there was a. There's a thing about love Love has to be chosen. True love has to be a choice. If you are forced to love somebody, then you don't love that person because you were forced to do it, and that's not love. Love cannot be forced. Love is a choice. To love someone, there has to be a decision, there has to be a choice. And Adam and Eve had no choice. Right, they had no choice. They were created. They weren't asked to be created, they were set in a perfect place. They weren't asked to be put in that perfect place, but here they were. And so God, being the good father he is, gave them an opportunity to choose him, because he wanted people to really love him. He didn't want puppets, he wanted real, he wanted a real family, he wanted real children. And so he put in the middle of that garden a no.

Speaker 1: 8:07

We all know who likes the word no Nobody, nobody. Why do we not like the word no? Because no sets a limit, a clear boundary. And to us, I shouldn't say to us, I'll say to me that often feels like you're keeping me back, you're limiting my freedom. But God made a clear no. And it's so funny because this clear no was right in the middle of everything. Good, I mean, they could have anything but one thing. Isn't that funny? They could have anything but one thing. One thing was a no. And God drew a line and said no. And so what did the enemy come for? The one thing you can have, everything good. And the enemy will come and he will draw a circle right around the one thing you don't have and say, if God loved you, then why don't you have that? And say, if God loved you, then why don't you have that? If God cared about you, then why is he holding this back? Can I get an amen? See, the enemy came and it says he was very subtle, he's very smart, he's very clever, and he didn't just come up full force, he eased his way in and he starts asking questions. He starts asking questions.

Speaker 1: 9:42

Let's read it. It's in Genesis, chapter three. It says now, the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman Indeed, has God said, you shall not eat of any of the trees of the garden. So he's testing her knowledge. He's testing her knowledge. And the woman said to the serpent From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, god has said you shall not eat of it or touch it or you will die.

Speaker 1: 10:14

The serpent said to the woman you surely will not die, for God knows that in the day that you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from the fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband, who was with her and he ate too. And the eyes of both of them were open and they knew that they were naked and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord, the Lord God, among the trees of the garden. So he knew how to get to her. He asked questions, he tested her Does she really know what God says? Does she really know the word? Does she really know what's off limits? But then he takes a step further and he calls God a liar. He said you're not surely die, because when you eat that fruit you'll be like God.

Speaker 1: 11:33

Isn't that a good thing to want to be like God? I mean, isn't that like the B thing? Isn't that like the highest aim? I want to be like God. I mean, how could this be bad? Right, how could this be bad? Because it was a no. It was a no. So you're going to be like God by disobeying God. You're going to be like God by doing exactly what he said not do. See, god wanted them to know him and then they would be like him. But see, the enemy is trying to tell them let's take a shortcut, god knows. It's almost like God doesn't want you to be like him, right? God knows that the minute you eat that fruit, you will be like him. It's like God's trying to keep something from you. God, if he was good, why would he keep something from you?

Speaker 1: 12:22

Yesterday and I will not say names to protect the innocent somebody came in the kitchen and they had an idea, something they wanted to do, and immediately Michael said no, and I thought it was a rather strong no. I mean, let's talk about it, why not? Let's talk about this, maybe we could. But it was a no and part of me wanted to go a step further and say, well, let's talk about it. I mean, maybe we could, maybe, you know, but if I had said no, and then Michael came behind me and said, well, maybe now I'd been upset, right, so I let it go, I shut my mouth.

Speaker 1: 13:07

It's not easy for me to do sometimes. I shut my mouth and said, okay, the answer is no. See, a clear no is a blessing. A clear no sets a boundary. Okay, that's. An unclear no is a good thing. God said let your yes be yes and your no be no. And God sets up clear no's for us and he sets up good boundaries for us and we can do the same for ourselves. Amen.

Speaker 1: 13:36

But we need to learn what God's clear yeses is and what his clear no's are. We need to learn what they are so that we can't, so we won't be like Eve and be easily manipulated. You know, I've always heard all my life don't test God. You ever heard that. Don't test God.

Speaker 1: 13:54

Well, you know, in Malachi he honestly says test me. He says, bring my tithe to the storehouse, bring it to the storehouse, right, and see if I will not test me and see if I will not open up the heavens and pour you out such a blessing. See, he wants us to test his promises, to show that they're true. He wants us to test them. He wants us to see that they're real. He wants us to try them out. He wants us to jump on them and see they're not going to fall apart. He wants us to believe that his promises are real enough that we can stand on them, that they're real, that they're not going to crumble like the world crumbles. The world make you promises it can't keep, and then, when it crumbles, we're defeated and we feel let down and disappointed, and rightly so. We were let down and disappointed. But God's promises are strong and he wants us to test them.

Speaker 1: 14:54

What he doesn't want us to test is his no. Don't test his no. See, they had to test to see. Does he really mean it? Does he really mean no? Maybe he just means maybe. Maybe you shouldn't. No, he means no.

Speaker 1: 15:17

And so remember when Jesus was up, when the enemy was tempting him and he was up on the highest part of the temple and the enemy said jump, he'll bear you up. The word of God says he'll bear you up, he'll send his angels to take you and you won't hit the ground. And Jesus said you shall not test the Lord, your God. That's what he was talking about. That's the test that you don't want to do, the test when God's clearly said no, but I'm going to do it anyway. See, what the enemy did was blur the lines. He blurred the lines. Did God really say that? God? He is not legalistic. Okay, like we think of being legalistic. He draws lines because he loves you. He draws lines because he knows what's on the other side of that line that you don't know.

Speaker 1: 16:14

See, we want to be like God. We want to think I know best. We want to think I can figure this out for myself. I don't need the Bible, I don't need those people telling me what's right and wrong. I can figure this out for myself. Sweetheart, you can't. The best of us can't, none of us can. We need Jesus. We need Jesus and we need to be like children that we're not obeying the rules, just obey the rules. We're trusting our Father that he has our best interest in mind, amen.

Speaker 1: 16:50

And we have to believe Him Because you're going to go out there in that world and they're going to twist everything. They twist it and it sounds so good they say well, did God really mean? Did God really say and if you don't know, then you'll fall right in that trap? And it's always something you want to believe is true? She wanted to believe. All I got to do is just eat that fruit and I'll be just like him. She wanted to believe it. It was not a bad thing. She wasn't chasing something bad. She was just chasing something that wasn't God. Amen, and that's why we need him. That's why we need him Because, you see, they lost the relationship. He come in the cool of the day to talk to him and now they can't talk, and because the relationship was more important to him than the rules, but the rules kept them in the relationship. See what I'm saying. Is this making sense? I don't like legalistic people. I don't want to be one, but for me to deny that there is a clear no or a clear yes is dangerous, is dangerous.

Speaker 1: 18:08

One of the things I love about the Lord okay is that he got me to a place that I absolutely knew I needed Him. You know, my mama told me I needed Him, she'd gotten saved, and she kept trying. She tried to get me in the car. I'd hate it. I'd come home from college, tried to get me in the car. I'd hate it. I'd come home from college and we'd get in the car and go shopping, and there's a long drive from here to Myrtle Beach and the whole time she wanted to talk about Jesus. And I'm just like God, I want new clothes. But I mean I was trapped. I was trapped. She wanted to talk about Jesus. I don't want to talk about Jesus. I don't want to talk about Jesus. See, she was trying to convince me that I needed Jesus because she's a good mama and she loved me and she wanted me to believe I needed Jesus and she knew I needed Jesus. But Jesus had to show me I needed Jesus and when he opened my eyes I saw I need Jesus. And you know what? It took a long time.

Speaker 1: 19:06

I say a long time, long time's relative right, let's just say it wasn't overnight and I got in a really bad place and I felt like there's no hope for me. Nobody cares about me, nobody knows who I really am. If they knew who I really was, they would not love me. He got me in a really bad place because he loved me and he rescued me and sometimes we got to get in a bad place before we can be rescued, because that's when we bend our knee and say, okay, I believe, I believe. And, guys, I want to tell you that is the victory.

Speaker 1: 19:47

Believing that you need him is the victory. I need him, I will always need him. I will never grow to the point that I don't need him. I will never be so mature that I've got it figured out, because when I do, I have believed the lie that I can be like God. Without God, I will never be like God. Without relationship with him, I will never be like him. I will never be like God. Without depending on him, without leaning on him, without running to him and throwing my arms around him, I will never be like him. He is the only reason there's anything good in me, and that good is Jesus. And Jesus comes in by faith. Jesus comes in by faith.

Speaker 1: 20:32

What did Eve not do? She didn't believe. We say, oh well, she ate the fruit. Oh, she disobeyed. It all stemmed from she didn't believe. She didn't believe what God said. She didn't believe what God said. She didn't believe it. And so today, god put so much importance on believing him. You know, jesus paid the penalty right Most of you in here know the story. Jesus paid for the sin. He came, he died, he was crushed, he was buried. He rose again. He paid for the sin.

Speaker 1: 21:11

But the way to access it is through belief, is through faith, is through saying I believe. That's how you access it. You know, I can have a wonderful gift for you, an expensive gift for you. I can have a gift that's so good that you just will be like why are you giving me this? This is too much, this is too extravagant, and if you don't receive that gift, then it means nothing. Doesn't matter how much I paid for, it Doesn't matter If you don't believe that I'm serious when I'm giving you that gift. It doesn't matter.

Speaker 1: 21:51

It might be just what you need. It might be just what you've been praying for, and that's how salvation is. It's just what you need. It's just what you need. It's extravagant. It costs the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It costs the highest price that could ever be paid, and he has given it. He's given it freely, but you got to believe him. That's the key. She didn't believe and she lost. Today we believe and we receive. He hooks it all on belief. He just wants us to believe him. He hooks it all on belief. He just wants us to believe Him. He's just looking for somebody to believe, somebody to believe Y'all. Remember it's the old, old hymn. I don't think we've ever sung it here, but it's only believe, only believe. All things are possible when you believe. Only believe, because, see, when we believe, that is the victory, faith is the victory. See, for a long time the enemy tried to. He didn't want me to believe, he wanted me to think this was a fairy tale.

Speaker 1: 22:55

This is one of many ways it's a good book. There's some good stuff in it, but you're not going to believe the whole thing, are you? You're not going to believe that part about the man dying and coming back to life? You're not going to believe that part, are you? You're not going to believe that part about the virgin birth, are you? That's a little extreme. Are you going to really believe that? I believe it.

Speaker 1: 23:21

I believe it because I met the man and he helped me believe. See, he came in when I needed him most and he touched me where nobody else could touch and he saved me and he loved me and it was easy to believe. When I came in contact with him. I was like, oh, it's real, it's good, it's true. Thank you, jesus, amen. I was like, oh, it's real, it's good, it's true, thank you, jesus, amen. I can't make you believe. Your mama can't make you believe. Your wife, your husband, can't make you believe. But when Jesus comes in the room, oh, it's so good, it's so good. You know you can't beat people into heaven, you can't preach fire and brimstone and get them into heaven, but when Jesus comes in the room, it's like, oh, it all melts away. Okay, that's him. You come into touch with the man, the man, christ Jesus, and he knows everything and he still loves you. That's one of my favorite parts If he knows everything and he still loves you, amen, isn't that good. He loves you. Today I'm telling you he didn't just love you, he likes you, he made you for special fellowship with him.

Speaker 1: 24:44

I remember when I was a new Christian and I want to go back to that place. We always say that right, but I remember I got my Bible out and I believed and I would read through that Bible and I would pray, and this is the kind of prayers I'd pray. I'd say Lord, show me something you've never shown anybody. God, show me something in your word that just it's like gold, lord, I'm digging for gold. Lord, I'm searching for jewels. Lord, just show me how much you love me in this word, and you know what he would do it. I mean, I'd have weeks where it was just like I can't nothing. Nothing in this word it's dead, it feels dull. And then one day, when I needed it most, it was just oh, he's talking, amen, and he wants to talk to you.

Speaker 1: 25:28

Do you believe that?

Speaker 1: 25:31

Do you believe that he wants to talk to you?

Speaker 1: 25:33

I do.

Speaker 1: 25:35

I believe that he wants a unique relationship with you, with you, your relationship with Jesus.

Speaker 1: 25:41

It's not like anybody else's in this room.

Speaker 1: 25:43

God wants to have a unique relationship with you, but it's because you believe it's because of Jesus. It's because you accepted the gift, amen. It's because you accepted the gift. It's because you said I'll take that. I know I don't deserve it, I know it's the most precious, expensive thing ever that I could never pay back or earn, but I'll take it because I believe that you did it for me, lord, amen.

Speaker 1: 26:13

And there's peace with that. There's a peace that comes in your heart when Jesus comes in there. And they don't have. I don't understand it. I can't sit here and explain it to you, I just know. I'm just just trust me. Amen, there's a peace that washes over. It says it's a peace that passes understanding and it's precious. It's the most precious thing here on earth. Amen, thank you, lord. Lord, we thank you for your word today. We thank you that you're just searching for somebody to believe that Lord, you have good things for us. You just need somebody to believe, lord and Lord, we can be that somebody. Lord, I thank you that Lord. Your great love for me, lord, it calls me to believe. And Lord, in there I found you. And Lord, I love you. I found you and Lord, I love you. Lord, I pray today that you would move in our hearts and our minds, that you would help us by faith to accept this precious gift.