Participants:
Series Code: RQRA
Program Code: RQRA000007A
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00:01 I don't understand.
00:04 Why did this have to happen to me? 00:08 I feel like I just can't make sense of things. 00:12 I need answers. 00:15 Where is God? 00:19 You know, one of the most sublime 00:21 and beautiful truths of Christianity 00:23 is that God wants to be close 00:25 and intimately connected with us. 00:27 He wants to get us to know Him. 00:29 He wants to be close and experience 00:31 beautiful communion and fellowship with Him. 00:34 But oftentimes, that's where we seem to struggle the most is 00:37 in that connection with Him. 00:39 Welcome to Raw Questions Relevant Answers. 00:41 This is a program where we are seeking 00:44 Bible answers 00:45 for some of the most raw and personal questions 00:48 that go down to the depths of our hearts that we have, 00:51 especially these young people. 00:52 I'm joined by my co-host, 00:53 Michelle Doucoumes, and Dee Casper. 00:55 And we want to welcome you here today. 00:59 We basically get a bunch of questions 01:01 from young people around the world on Facebook. 01:03 And these are the questions 01:04 that we're going to be answering. 01:06 Today, we have some from California and Malaysia. 01:08 So that's kind of cool, all the way around the world. 01:12 To start off, we want to go to this first question. 01:16 And this is a really good one. 01:18 So this comes from a female, 26, from California. 01:22 "I have a business relationship with my dad, 01:24 and I transpose similar feelings to God. 01:27 How do I begin to form a loving relationship with God 01:30 that is more than a business interaction 01:32 when I am not open, raw, or vulnerable with my father?" 01:37 You know, our experience with God, 01:40 our view of God is based largely upon 01:43 our experience with our parents. 01:45 Like it or not, that's the truth. 01:47 God said, "It's not good for man to be alone." 01:49 And there are things experienced 01:51 in the covenant of marriage that you learn 01:52 about the character of God that you can't learn otherwise. 01:56 And those aspects of the image of God 01:59 are then kind of exhibited before the children 02:02 to kind of learn what He's like. 02:03 So if we have an absentee father 02:06 or difficult relationship with our father, 02:08 that would be a normal response to have. 02:10 I guess it's kind of my initial response is that 02:14 that's not uncommon for people 02:15 to have those types of feelings. 02:17 What do we do about it? 02:18 One of the best ways to understand the father 02:20 is what Jesus says in John, I believe, 16. 02:23 He says, "If you see Me, you've seen the Father." 02:27 One of the best ways to understand 02:29 what the Father is like, 02:30 how inviting He is, compassionate, and tender 02:33 is by seeing the expressed image of the Father 02:36 in His Son in Scripture. 02:38 That's a first place to start. 02:40 Yeah, it's funny, this question 02:42 because I've kind of been accused of this before. 02:45 I am a business person, I teach business. 02:48 My father is also into business, 02:50 so sometimes we come across as very business. 02:53 But it's not always like that, thankfully. 02:56 But I can relate to kind of leaning towards 02:59 the business side of things more naturally 03:01 which is not bad, 03:03 but it leaves out a huge part of who God is 03:06 if that's all there is. 03:08 But, you know, I think all of us 03:10 have certain misconceptions about God from our families, 03:14 whether we had really pretty good families, 03:17 pretty lousy families, 03:19 it's never going to be a complete picture. 03:22 And that is why, as Dee said, 03:25 it's so important to go into the Scripture 03:27 and find out more about who God is from there. 03:30 I love the gospel of John, also the epistles of John. 03:34 John is so good. 03:35 It just bringing out the love of God, 03:38 His relation to us as a Father, 03:41 what that really means. 03:43 There's verses like Zephaniah 3:17, 03:45 that talk about a God 03:46 who rejoices over us with singing. 03:49 And it's crazy because this can be 03:53 something that really rewires our view of what 03:57 the parent-child relationship or love relationship is like. 04:01 It's something that can prepare us to know 04:03 how to love other people 04:04 whereas we have deficiencies on our own. 04:07 And so I do think that 04:09 it's a process of letting the Word of God 04:11 kind of rewrite to that wiring in our minds as far as 04:13 what those relationships look like in their true form. 04:17 So then... Go ahead. 04:18 I was just going to say in Jeremiah 31, 04:20 there's this appeal from God. 04:22 And it says in verse 3. Jeremiah 31:3. 04:26 It says, "The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying, 04:27 'Yes, I have loved you..." This is the Father speaking. 04:30 "I have loved you with an everlasting love, 04:33 and therefore, with loving kindness, 04:35 I have drawn you." 04:37 Jesus then mentions in John 12, I believe, in verse 32 that, 04:40 "I, if I'd be lifted up, 04:41 will draw all people to Myself." 04:43 One of the best ways to be drawn to the Father 04:46 is to see the exhibition of His love, 04:48 you know, the perfect example of His love at Calvary, 04:51 and it draws us. 04:53 And so sometimes when we just hear about 04:55 judgment or stern expectations, it can maybe repel. 04:58 We don't understand how to work with that. 05:00 But my encouragement would be 05:02 to spend as much time as you can 05:04 embracing and experiencing the love of God in Scripture 05:08 in the Old Testament and the New Testament, 05:10 to set your compass to true north to realize that 05:12 the Father wants you to know 05:14 that you have access to intimacy with Him, 05:17 not just a business. 05:19 "Here's what I want, do it right or else, 05:21 I love you. 05:23 And with My love, I'm trying to draw you." 05:25 It has been a big benefit to me, 05:27 a big blessing to me to see that's how God views me 05:29 and wants to have a relationship with me. 05:31 Daniel 2, I think, it says the astrologers 05:35 and stuff say that, you know, "His dwelling is not with men." 05:38 They say in Daniel 2, 05:40 kind of the pagan view of God that He's distant. 05:42 He's nowhere near us. 05:43 The Judeo-Christian view is that 05:46 there's a God who tabernacle among us, 05:48 who became one of us, 05:50 and who is inviting us to have a relationship with Him. 05:53 I think it's a big, big difference. 05:54 You know, it's interesting. 05:56 I think, almost every episode, 05:58 we get down to the same kind of thing, what is the answer? 06:03 This, the Bible, the love of God in the Scripture, 06:06 and beholding the cross of Calvary every day, 06:09 beholding the love of God every day. 06:12 As it says, I believe, in John 15: 06:13 around verse 9 or 10, "Abide in My love." 06:17 You know, God wants us to stay connected to Him 06:22 through abiding in His love 06:23 through constantly looking at His love, 06:25 through knowing that He loves us. 06:27 In that walk, it purifies those bad images that we have of God, 06:32 and it ennobles us. 06:33 It makes us more loving. 06:36 It's that irrefutable law of the universe, 06:38 by beholding, you become changed, you know. 06:40 If we're looking at the love of God on the daily basis, 06:44 well, guess how we're going to treat the people around us? 06:46 We're going to loving. 06:47 We're going to emulate the character of Christ. 06:49 So I think to answer this question 06:51 then, we can basically say 06:53 keep looking at the true picture of God. 06:54 Yes. 06:56 So that's the first question. 06:57 Our second question comes to us 06:59 from a 22-year-old female in Malaysia. 07:02 And this one, I think, 07:04 is really practical in a lot of ways. 07:07 "If I don't see miracles in my life, 07:09 does that mean I didn't spend time with God? 07:12 Does that mean I don't have enough faith in God? 07:14 Does that mean I'm not asking enough, not praying enough, 07:16 not surrendered enough, or have the wrong motivation? 07:20 Thoughts? Wow. 07:22 You know, I think of something that Jesus said to the Jews 07:26 when they were looking for miracles, 07:28 and they wanted signs of Him. 07:30 In Luke 16:29, it said, 07:34 "They have Moses and the prophets, 07:36 let them hear them." 07:37 And then in verse 31, he said, 07:39 "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, 07:41 neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead." 07:45 Like even if they saw the biggest miracle, 07:48 if we don't believe God's Word, it's not going to be enough. 07:53 Now does that mean that God doesn't do miracles? 07:56 God does miracles. 07:58 But when miracles become the test of our faith, 08:00 or "I'm not going to believe unless I see a miracle," 08:04 then sometimes there can be a problem. 08:07 And honestly, I believe God is doing miracles every day. 08:10 We just don't see them. 08:11 The Jews saw many, many miracles. 08:13 They had God in human flesh with them, 08:17 the biggest miracle ever, and they were blind to it. 08:21 And so something that's also helped me as not feeling like, 08:23 "Wow! Well, I didn't see this huge miracle, 08:26 so maybe God's not with me." 08:28 But realizing the presence of God in daily life 08:31 that God is always at work 08:33 and if I'm not cognizant of those things, 08:36 I might not even be persuaded if a large miracle happened. 08:40 I was just thinking like in the Upper Room, 08:41 Jesus confirmed to Thomas. 08:44 Jesus didn't have to do this, 08:46 but He did it anyway just to help Thomas 08:48 with what he was struggling with, you see. 08:50 So I'm not going to believe 08:51 as I put my fingers in the side, 08:52 my fingers in His palms, even though the testimony 08:55 of everyone around Him who knew Jesus 08:57 and that he confirmed what Jesus said He would do. 09:00 Even in those moments, 09:02 when our faith struggles or wrestles, 09:03 there are times when God is willing to acquiesce 09:07 just to come and meet us 09:08 where we are and to encourage us. 09:10 But I think the amazing thing is even when we do doubt, 09:13 God still wants to use this... 09:14 There's this amazing verse just before 09:15 the Great Commission in Matthew 28. 09:18 In Matthew 28:16, we go right into 18 generally 09:21 and talk about how Jesus gave the Great Commission 09:23 to tell the gospel to the world. 09:25 But listen to this, the verse 16, 09:27 "The 11 disciples went away into Galilee to the mountains 09:30 which Jesus had appointed for them. 09:32 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, 09:35 but some doubted." 09:37 Like some actually doubted that He was actually there 09:40 that these things were really happening. 09:42 And the very next thing that happens in Scripture is, 09:44 "Even you, I want you to go 09:46 and told the story of the gospel to the world," 09:48 because He knew that through this process, 09:50 there may be doubts, there may be discouragement, 09:52 but His plan isn't over, He still has work for them. 09:55 And many times, in the going, 09:57 Jesus told the disciples at another place that, 09:59 "You're seeing stuff that prophets longed to see," 10:01 you're walking with Jesus. 10:03 And if you're actually walking with Jesus in your experience, 10:06 you will see things, you will receive blessings, 10:09 and you will have that confirmation. 10:11 You know, another point, this is from Isaiah 50... 10:15 By the way, do yourselves a favor, 10:18 read the Isaiah 40s and 50s. 10:20 Yes. These are powerful. 10:22 So like we talk a lot about the gospels 10:25 and how powerful those are, 10:26 Isaiah 40s especially are just as powerful. 10:30 I mean, they are the words of God Himself to humanity 10:34 expressing His love and foretelling Christ, right? 10:39 But this is Isaiah 50:10, 10:42 "Who is among you that fears the Lord, 10:44 that obeys the voice of His Servant, 10:46 and that walks in darkness, and has no light? 10:49 Let him trust in the name of the Lord 10:52 and stay or rely upon his God." 10:54 In other words, if you fear the Lord, 10:58 if you obey His voice, 11:00 and there's seeming to be darkness all around, 11:04 keep trusting, keep depending on Him, 11:07 keep relying on God to do what He has said He will do. 11:11 And you know, just one other quick point 11:13 that I want to bring in here too. 11:16 I grew up, you know, going to church, 11:18 doing what I needed to, 11:20 and paying tithe, and all those things, 11:22 but I never started seeing miracles, financial miracles, 11:27 until I started like giving not just from my abundance 11:33 but giving till it hurt. 11:34 Right? Needed them. 11:35 Exactly, exactly. 11:37 When it meant something to give, 11:38 that's when I saw the fulfillment of the promise, 11:40 give, and it shall be given back to you. 11:42 So one practical thing, if you want to see 11:44 more miracles in your life, give more. 11:47 Like step out in faith more. I've seen that too. 11:50 Miracles are not just as a little novelty, 11:53 miracles are given an urgent need. 11:55 Right. Yes. 11:57 And so we're out working for God, 11:58 and there's an urgent need, I've seen a lot of miracles. 12:01 Yes, if you give and live radically, 12:03 that's a lot of times when the miracles happen 12:05 because you're being used on behalf of God 12:07 to further a purpose as opposed to just maintaining. 12:10 Right. 12:11 God isn't necessarily going to perform a miracle 12:13 just so that you can get a slightly better benchmark 12:16 at your work, right? 12:17 But He is going to perform a miracle 12:19 so that that person down the street can see the gospel. 12:23 Okay, so one last question here before time runs out. 12:26 We don't have a lot of time for this one, 12:28 but this is again from somebody out in California, female, 12:33 "How do I stay strong when those around me 12:35 are compromising values that we all used to agree on? 12:39 How do I stay strong 12:40 when my loved ones are doubting God 12:42 and spirituality?" 12:44 My first encouragement would be 12:46 that it's difficult when we make these decisions 12:49 because when people change where they were, 12:52 maybe that you used to do things 12:53 that you choose not to do anymore, 12:55 immediately, everyone you hung out with is convicted by that, 12:58 and they feel condemned even though you may love them 13:00 and treat them no differently. 13:01 And that's par for the course, that's normal. 13:04 But that question is more of... 13:06 Can you repeat the question on that? 13:07 Yeah. 13:09 "How do I stay strong 13:10 when those around me are compromising?" 13:12 And I would add something to that, I do think 13:13 there is an importance to Christian community 13:16 as much as you can utilize Christian mentors, 13:20 Christian friends, we do need that in times 13:23 when we are surrounded by other influences. 13:26 We are meant to be a community and support each other. 13:28 And too, Jesus is acquainted with situations like this, 13:31 where there were people, His own family members, 13:33 His own brothers didn't believe in Him, 13:35 and we can receive Christ's spirit of strength 13:37 in the midst of those difficulties. 13:38 We can cry out to Him and say, 13:39 "Jesus, I need Your strength to be faithful right now 13:42 because I don't have it." 13:43 And I guarantee you He wants to provide that. 13:45 For sure, and one other very practical thing, 13:47 be careful in who you maintain close friendships with. 13:51 Like it or not, you will be influenced by them. 13:53 I mean, you are a combination of your three closest friends. 13:57 If you want... 13:59 And this is no joke, you want to be careful 14:01 who you form close friendships with. 14:03 Unfortunately, our time is up, 14:04 but if you have any more questions, 14:06 find us on Facebook, 14:07 Raw Questions Relevant Answers 3ABN. 14:09 God bless. 14:10 Thank you so much for joining us today. 14:12 Take care. |
Revised 2018-08-09