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Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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We're going to be in Luke chapter 8 and verse 19. Then his mother and brothers came to him. Even Jesus had to deal with the ups and downs of family. How many know about that? You know, family is a very risky proposition because the deeper the love, the deeper the loss when things go wrong. But what we're gonna find in scripture, Jesus didn't just float down from heaven. Jesus became one of us and he suffered the struggles of all of us. And we're about to discover that every family, even the first family, has problems. Family seems to be the place that we love the most, but also the place we act the worst. Family can be the place of your biggest support, but also the place of your deepest pain. So his mothers and his brothers came to him and they could not approach him. John 7 and verse 5 tells us that Jesus brothers did not believe in him until after the resurrection. Matter of fact, Luke 2 and verse 48 tells us his parents even scolded him. Imagine being perfect and your parents getting on your case. In John 2 and 4, Jesus had to firmly but politely distance himself from his own mother. You know, part of doing great things and part of being great is sometimes being misunderstood. And they could not approach him because of the crowd. Jesus was a little bit more hard nosed than many of us realize. You think again that the family had, you know, this special access to Jesus. But I want you to watch what happens here. And it was told him by some who said, you, mother and your brothers are standing outside desiring to see you now. Mark 3, verse 20 through 21, we're going to learn the Bible just a little bit here. In those verses we see a little bit more. It tells us that his family actually thought that Jesus was losing it. And your family is often hard on you because they love you and they want to protect you. But sometimes in life they may not understand you. And it seems from the passages of scriptures that all that's attached to that. His family wanted Jesus to tone it down and kind of, to just kind of go more with the flow of the religious leaders and stop speaking back to them so harshly at times. And he just wanted, you know what, Jesus, you could still do miracles. And we know you're the son of God, but you could play a little bit nicer. And this was the attitude of the family. But here's the deal. A coward Gets scared and gives up. A hero. Gets scared, but goes on. And Jesus wouldn't even let mom, dad, brother, sister get in the way of purpose. But watch this. But Jesus answered, and this is important. Even Jesus had to answer for himself. So don't be surprised when you have to answer and perhaps explain yourself. But when we stand up for ourselves, we're also standing up for everyone that will follow our example. And he said to them, my mother and my brothers. And this is a little tough now, mom and dad, you know, I don't know, dad. Joseph's probably dead by then, but family's at the door and they can't get in because of the crowd. They send a message into Jesus, and then the messenger comes. And it almost looks like Jesus talking behind their back. But he tells the messenger to tell them so. I guess not. But he says, tell them, my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. And he was like family. Even y' all need to call me Lord. See, Jesus understood who he was. He had a sense of identity like none other. Now this, on the surface, it seems cold. But, you know, I've learned in my life at least, and perhaps you've learned in yours, that our stubbornness sometimes requires God to come back at us as hard as we dare come at him. At least in their thinking, they should have understood that he was a prophet. And if he's speaking prophetically to his family to do X, Y, and Z, and they're not listening because you know what? He looks. He's too familiar and all the rest. There was a problem, and they were going to hurt themselves by approaching Christ's ministry that way. Not only was he a prophet, he was, of course, the son of the living God. And they had to acknowledge that matter of fact, in the book of James, James doesn't even call himself the brother of Jesus. He just calls himself the servant of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jude does the same thing. Because they recognize he wasn't just kin. He was God taking on flesh, Emmanuel, God with us. But what Jesus talking about here is he was inviting them into a bond that was deeper than mother and child, a bond that was deeper than a brother and sister, father and son in the family that Jesus was inviting them into. It wasn't about blood, but the blood of Jesus. My mother and my brother, he said, are those who hear the word of God and watch this and do this and do it. I want to spend the rest of our morning looking at how each of us can join this families of Doers and hearers. You know, words may encourage that. Words are wonderful, but only words followed by action create change. You know, even this last trip, we could have prayed about Kenya. But until, unless, you know, 12 of us got on an airplane, travel, put feet on the ground, went into the jungle, we could not have had the impact that we had. Thank God for prayer. But prayer should position us to act. Genesis 6:13. Today's going to be a little bit more like a Bible study. Let's look at some of the stars in this Faith family. Verse 13. And God said to Noah, the end of all flesh has come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them from the entire Earth. How many of you agree this is bad news? This is not something you want to hear God say. But if you learn to obey God, bad news for everybody else doesn't have to be bad news for you. Psalms 91 said, A thousand may fall at my left hand, ten thousand at my right hand, but it shall not come near. You know, we see marriages failing, churches closing. We also see people from all over turning from the faith. And I've learned I just have to say it over and over again to myself, it's bad, but God's got me. And you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, the devil might have got them, and I hear that. But if I dwell under the shelter of the Most high, as Psalms 91 tells us down in verse seven, it tells me this thousand may fall at my left, 10,000 at my. So the only thing I need to do is stay close and just dwell and listen. Not just visit church every now and then, not just visit Christ when I'm in a crisis. You hear what I'm saying? But really dwell under the shadow of the Most High, make him my habitation and my daily way of living, and pray before I do it, pray before I think it, pray before I say it. You hear what I'm saying? When I live like that, certain results come that everyone else won't get. And he said to Noah, make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch. So Noah heard the Word. But what I want to tell you this morning is Noah hearing that statement from God was not enough to save him from the storm. What saved him from the storm was verse 22. Thus Noah did. God has said a lot of things to you that could have saved you from a lot of things. But because we didn't do it, we are sinking, we are drowning, and we're looking at God like, how did this happen? Why did this happen? God's like, listen, I told you, but you wouldn't hear. Thus Noah did, according to all, you can listen to God in 90% of the places. But that 10% is enough to sink a boat. Imagine if you're in the middle of the ocean, and it's a beautiful ocean liner. And I mean, it's just wonderful. The trip and the voyage is great. But 10% of the ship suddenly gets a hold. It doesn't matter about the 90%. 100% of the ship is gonna sink. So when God tells you to do something, you want to do it, and you want to do it fully. Are you still with me saying, Bishop, you got too serious there. Thus Noah did, according to all that. God kind of made a suggestion that you should do it. Commanded him. So he did. I'm grateful for all that we hear. God has said all that we read. God has said all that in our private, quiet time. God says, but unless we do, profits nothing. James 2:20 says this, you foolish person, faith without action is dead. And what he's hinting at is faith without action is not faith at all. In fact, it's a form of foolishness. It's a form of religious deception. Many people will go to the gospel concert. Many people will turn, you know, 104.1 joy, you know, whatever that number is on our radio. We'll listen to God's word. And every now and then, we might even come to church. But when it comes to actually doing the things we hear, it's a whole other thing. Genesis 12 and verse 1. Let's look at Father Abraham. Now. The Lord had said to Abram, get out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. How many of you know, this was a hard saying. Abraham was flesh and blood, like you and I. Abraham did not know the end from the beginning. He only heard God's voice. And he only felt like a human would feel hearing such a statement. He can't read the story because it hasn't happened yet. So this is not past tense for him. He's in process. It's not easy to leave your political affiliations. He had to leave his country. He had to leave his family. He had to leave his friends to seek first the kingdom. But in the end, God's purposes are always greater than our sacrifice. Skip to verse four. So Abram just heard it? No, he did it. He departed as the Lord had spoken to him. What Has God been telling you to do, to say that you have not? But then it adds lot went with him, and that's a whole story. And Abraham was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. And are you seeing a pattern so far that these people are not just hearing? These great men and women, they're not just hearing, but they're doing. So if you want to be part of this great family of people that get it done for God, you gotta hear and do. It's great that you can quote scripture, but the power is in stepping out and living it. Exodus 14 and verse 16. Let's take a look at Moses. The Egyptians were behind him, Red Sea in front of him. What did God say to him? God just parted the Red Sea. That's not what happened. He said, moses, lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And when you do that, the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. You see, the Red Sea did not part when Moses heard it. The Red Sea did not just part here at God's word. It parted after he stretched out his hand. God's hand will move when we trust him enough to stretch out ours. Verse 21. Then Moses said, I heard you, God. I'm going to fold my hands, and if you said it, you'll do it. No. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord caused the sea, once he stretched out his hand to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea into dry land and the waters were divided. Somebody said, I think it was Amelia Earhart, that the best, the most effective way to do it is just to do it. And sometimes, like, you know, here he's in this tough situation, and God has spoken. And the thing is, Moses didn't read the book yet either. Moses was in the midst of it. Your story you're writing right now, and how your story ends will not just depend on whether or not you hear me today, but what you do with what you hear today. And he made the sea into dry land. And the waters were what divided. He lifted up his hand and he stretched it out. He did it for God. He did it for his family. But sometimes you also got to do it for the people that want to see you fail. He did it for the Egyptians that were chasing him. There are people mocking you, making fun of you, saying your God's not real. God wants to demonstrate his power in your life, but you're going to have to have the chutzpah the grit, the gumption to stretch out your hand and dare do the thing that God told you to do. Let's look at First Kings 17:8. Let's take a look at Elijah. The nation was in crisis. The nation was in famine. Then the word of the Lord came to him and said, arise and go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon. This was a Gentile territory, meaning God doesn't only want to bless the Jewish people, he wants to bless the Gentiles alike. Go to this Gentile area and dwell there. See, I have commanded a Gentile widow woman there to provide for you. This is important. God will not only provide for your soul, he'll also provide for practical and financial resources. How many of you ever been poor? How many of you know that's not fun? That's not. That's painful. That's very difficult. When you can't feed your children and you can't send them to school. How many know God cares about that? If his eye is on the sparrow, you know he watches over you. So he arose and went to Zarephath. When he heard it, he did it without second guessing. If God's word says it, it ought to settle it. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks, just like God said to the prophet. But he wouldn't have seen it unless he did. You will only see God's promises when you obey its stipulations. Then the prophet, after everything, you know, confirmation came. The woman was exactly as God told her she would be doing exactly what God told him that she would be doing. And he asked the woman for some bread and water. And sometimes you only get what you have the courage to ask for. She said, as the Lord your God lives. I don't have any bread, only a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar. And see, I'm gathering a couple sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die. This woman was on her last leg. She was in a very, very bad situation. But someone from Faith's family showed up on the scene. And Elijah said to her, do not fear. When you hear what God says and does and do what God says, you don't fear what other people have to fear. Let me see if I can say that better. When you hear God and do what he says, you don't have to fear what other people fear. Elijah said, don't fear because God's going to give you in action, something to do. That will be the solution. A lot of us, we want solutions just to come down from heaven. But just about 100% of the time in my life, the solution involved me doing something. Whether it was saying something, giving something, releasing something. And there's always there was something apart for me to play God. The Bible says we are co laborers with Christ. The Bible says his yoke is easy to burn his light. But his imagery of a yoke, of a big ox and a small ox doing things in tandem, doing things together. The anointing comes when we partner with the Lord. Not just saying, lord, you do it. But, Lord, I'm going to do my part as you do your part. I'm going to lift with my strength. But then you're going to add your strength to my strength. And that power is going to be unstoppable. Jesus, as great as he was before he fed the multitude, he asked for a little boy's lunch. And after he received the lunch, he added to that lunch and fed the multitude. But first the disciples had to do something. Andrew had to go and get a boy's lunch. There is almost 100% of the time in order for you to get victory, you're going to have to act. And Elijah said, don't fear. Go on and do as you have said. But I know it seems rude. I know you're going to think ill of me. But God's ways are not. Our ways as high as the earth is from the heavens are his ways far away are different than ours. As you have said, make me a small cake from it first and bring it to me. And afterward make some for yourself. In Son, how many of you would immediately question the prophet's motives here? But what God is using the prophet to show us is that if you put God first, you will last. If you put God first, you will last. Some of us are not going to make it because God's second, third, fourth, fifth. But when you put God first, you were last. This was a concrete example of a person putting God first and then God showing himself strong. So many of us, we cling to promises, seek first the kingdom and its righteousness, and all these other things shall be added to you. How many of you like those other things? That a promise that will be added to us? Yeah, but the condition is seek first. And if you don't put God first in your heart, in your finances, in your speech, in your behavior, in your actions, you're not going to have the results that Scripture promises. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, if you obey me, if you test me in this thing, I will show myself strong. The bin of flour shall not be used up. But you got to first use what you have. Release it from your hand before I let go of what's in my hand. The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth. And what God was saying here is, you know, little widow woman, the people around you may be in chaos, they may be in lack and shortage, but when you trust and obey me, everybody else's problem don't always have to be your problem. But such teaching and preaching is for family. A lot of folks just say, well, I heard that. I received that without doing the work required to get that. What measure you meet shall be measured back unto you. No investment in God's word. Understanding it, listening to it, learning it, reading it. When trouble comes, you're not going to know the Word's answer to your problem. The measure you meet shall be measured back. That's scripture. That's in red. That's Jesus word. So the investment you make into God's kingdom is going to be the thing God measures his response to your investment by. So how much of my life I yield to him is how much of my life he's able to bless. And a lot of times it's in proportion to our obedience. It's not in proportion to how good a sermon you just heard preached. It's not always in proportion to how much you want a thing. There was a man that was lame that sat by the pool of Bethesda. But Jesus said, listen, man, how long you been in that situation? And he went on and on, I ain't got nobody. He came up with all the excuses, you know, I don't got the help other people got. Jesus looked at him, well, you can at least do something. He didn't just zap him. A lot of us just want to zap. That's typically not the way it works. Jesus said to him, he didn't say, you know, done. He just said, rise up, take up your mat and walk. The man had to exert some effort. And as the man tried to get up, he found strength in his knees and his legs he hadn't had before. Here's the deal. Why did he tell him to take up the mat? Because he didn't want any residual of what he used to be like and the situation he used to be in, to be left behind. God wants to heal you so Good that people don't even believe you're the same person. Because afterwards he went to the Sadducees and Pharisees and they were like, the people are like, is he the man, you know? Is he the guy, you know, that laid by because they didn't quite believe him because he was so different. But that difference requires us to lean in and to take steps to do what God wants you to do. Forgive me for this, but as I sit here, we just feel, well, Lord, because I love you. My marriage is supposed to be perfect. Stand, snap your finger. Listen, God couldn't snap his finger to make you do right. I'm going to look at this side of the room. So how's he going to snap his finger to make your spouse do right? It's all a process. So she went away and did. Watch this. She did. According to the word of Elijah. You know, I've learned, and I know you want me to be more spiritual than this, but I'm not. I've learned to feel the fear, but do it anyway. I can't tell you how many times I just had to do it. Afraid. The most important decisions in my life were on the other side of some fear. Think about what you know, what if this goes wrong? What if that goes wrong? But I've learned everything God has for me is on the other side of some fear. And fear is a prison. And just because I feel it doesn't mean I gotta do it. And when I feel it, I've learned to just move and in the direction of God's word and all that stuff will fall off and I'll look back and wonder what took me so long to do what God had told me to do. Matthew 14:28. And we're gonna wrap up. And by the way, after she did it, her household ate for many days. And by the way, you're just one faith decision away from. You know, others are going to be dying, but you going to be kept alive because of the decision you've made. People falling away, people giving up on God, people giving up on family. But because you made that faith decision, God's gonna keep you from any day. Matthew 14:28. One last one and we're through. And Peter answered him, and how many y' all know this passage where Jesus. Where Peter's about to walk on water? Watch what Peter says. Lord, if it is you, please don't think I'm telling you to be reckless. I'm not talking about you doing something stupid. Talking about you doing what God has said. Peter made sure he got confirmation from God's word, but also a proven counselor in his life because he asked Jesus who was counseling him. Peter did not just take advice from anybody. You gotta really learn that. Peter didn't take advice from the people in the boat. And that's the problem. You taking advice from people in the same boat, they just as broke, they just as messed up, confused. On their 15th marriage, Peter took advice from someone who was already walking on water. I want advice from people that are doing the thing I want to do. Not the critics, not some bozo that all he got is some, some followers and some likes, but ain't never accomplished nothing in life. I want some folks who are doing. He said, lord, if it is, you want a clear confirmation. And he knows Jesus is a boss. I know that you think he's all soft. He's a boss. And Peter knew this about him. He didn't say, well, Jesus, you know, just, you know, suggest. Give me an idea about what. No. He said, command me. You are the Lord of the universe. You're the Lord of the seas, the mountains, the hills, the valleys. Do the God thing, Jesus. Lord, command me to come to you on the water. Watch Jesus. He said, oh, you asked too much. Oh, oh, oh, that's just too. Man, I tell you, all the lights in heaven are gonna dim if I use my power to make you walk on this water. Jesus looked back at him. He said, without a stutter, come, but listen, that word by itself was not enough. Watch this. When he was in the boat, he wasn't walking on water. As long as you stay in the boat, you're not going to walk on water. It says, and when Peter came down out of the boat, see, it's not till you come out of some things and step into some things that you're going to see the miracle working power of God. And when Peter came down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. You see, success doesn't come just because of what you can do. It comes by overcoming the things you think you can't do. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink. He cried out, we know the narrative. Said, lord, save me. But guess what? Jesus knew he would sink, but still told him to come. Jesus knew you would mess up, but he still wanted you to start moving, at least in the right direction. Yeah, we're going to fail, but at least fail moving forward, trying to do something in your life. God knows you and I, we will not do it perfectly. Matter of fact, I have never done anything in my life perfectly. Ask my wife. There's nothing perfect about me. Yes, Peter sank, but he sank trying. Listen to me. Please hear me. Perfectionism is the enemy of progress. You trying to you like, well, I can't do it purpose. So you don't do it. You gotta have enough faith in God that even if I don't do it right, you got me, God. You can keep me, God. My faith is not in my perfection. It's in the God that can keep me and uphold me. Sometimes you gotta get over yourself and try to hit that note, even though you're not certain or make that statement. You know, offer that or give that ask. But you got to be humble enough to try. And I was such a proud young guy that I was resistant to try certain things because I didn't want to fail. But as I finally started getting over myself, I began to realize that failure is really just a part of success. Let me keep going. And immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him. You see, when you try for God, he will catch you when you fall. Okay, well, it's recorded that Peter sank. Well, it's also recorded that those guys that stayed in the boat never walked on water again. Failure is not the opposite of success. It's a part of it. And we got to take a humble pill and say, lord, I may not do it right, get it right, but I'm going to lean in towards you. I'm going to trust you. I'm going to take you at your word. You know, sometimes we have to stop being so hard on our children because, you know, God has not been that hard on you. Someone said, failure is just success in progress. And just like you had to fail to get to where you are, our kids might have to fail to get to where they're going. And making mistakes is a part of life, and we must be humble enough to embrace it and get up, dust off, and move on. Yes, we are imperfect, but God still has a perfect plan that includes even our imperfections. But if you really want to be part of Christ's family, he said, my brothers, my mother are those who hear the word of God and do it. And sitting in this church does not make you family. What makes you family in the household of faith is hearing the word of God and doing it. So as I speak today, there are things coming to your mind, and I know I'm a little bit over time. And the Lord's gonna bring it to your mind. Do it. Take the risk or lose the chance. We're all gonna die. I mean, if Christ doesn't come. We only come this way once. We're not getting any younger. Why are you putting it off? Procrastinating? You're not gonna be down here forever. An opportunity of a lifetime only lasts the opportunity of a lifetime. I want to encourage you this morning to take the step. Get off the sidelines, get on the field, take that step and watch God do what only God can do. Hope you got something out of today's message.
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Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember, you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Greer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derekreer.com by clicking the link in the description.