Embracing God's Presence Amidst Brokenness and Technology

Sermon Summary

In this season of Advent, we reflect on the profound truth that God desires to be with us, as demonstrated through Jesus' coming. This truth invites us to consider whether we are living our lives with God or without Him. The choice to live with God is transformative, as illustrated by Terry Storch's personal journey. Terry, who did not grow up in a Christian home, found himself in a place of deep brokenness and emptiness despite worldly success. It was in this state of brokenness that he encountered God, leading to a radical transformation in his life. This story reminds us that our brokenness can be the very condition that prepares us to hear from God and experience His presence.

Terry's journey also highlights the intersection of faith and technology. As a leader in the development of the Bible app, Uversion, Terry has witnessed how technology can be a powerful tool for spreading God's word. The app, which started as a pivot from a failed website idea, has now reached nearly 800 million devices worldwide, including places where the Bible is banned. This demonstrates how God can use technology to make His word accessible to people everywhere, even in the most challenging circumstances.

In our technologically driven world, finding God amidst the noise can be challenging. Terry shares practical steps for managing technology in a way that fosters spiritual growth. By creating intentional spaces and times for God, free from the distractions of technology, we can cultivate a deeper relationship with Him. This practice of being present with God, even when we don't hear from Him, is crucial. It teaches us to value being with God over controlling our interactions with Him.

Ultimately, the Advent season reminds us that we are not in control. The Incarnation was beyond human control, and our role is to make space and time for God, recognizing that He is with us in every moment. This realization invites us to let go of our need for control and embrace the peace and presence of God in our lives.

Key Takeaways

1. Embracing Brokenness: Our brokenness can be the very condition that prepares us to hear from God. Instead of running from it, we should acknowledge and accept it, allowing God to work through our weaknesses. This acceptance can lead to profound spiritual growth and transformation. [09:25]
2. Technology as a Tool for Faith: Technology, when used wisely, can be a powerful tool for spreading God's word. The Bible app's success story shows how God can use technology to reach people in places where the Bible is not allowed, making His word accessible to all. [16:01]
3. Creating Space for God: In a world overwhelmed by technology, it's essential to create intentional spaces and times for God. By setting boundaries with technology, such as not having a phone in the bedroom, we can foster a deeper relationship with God. [21:02]
4. Being Present with God: It's important to value being with God over controlling our interactions with Him. Even when we don't hear from Him, being present with God is valuable and can lead to spiritual growth. [25:19]
5. Letting Go of Control: The Advent season reminds us that we are not in control. By letting go of our need for control and making space for God, we can experience His peace and presence in our lives. [27:55]
** [27:55]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:10] - The Story of Uversion
[00:55] - Advent: God With Us
[02:18] - Terry Storch's Journey to Faith
[03:38] - A Life-Changing Encounter
[05:35] - Hearing God's Voice
[07:23] - The God-Shaped Hole
[08:40] - Embracing Brokenness
[10:49] - The Fellowship of the Withered Hand
[12:00] - Finding God in Technology
[13:16] - The Bible App's Global Impact
[16:30] - Stories of Faith and Perseverance
[19:05] - Managing Technology in Daily Life
[21:57] - Creating Space for God
[25:19] - Being Present with God
[27:37] - Letting Go of Control

Sermon Clips

In this season of Advent, we reflect on the profound truth that God desires to be with us, as demonstrated through Jesus' coming. This truth invites us to consider whether we are living our lives with God or without Him. The choice to live with God is transformative. [00:50:44]

I woke up one day in my early 20s, a telecom entrepreneur, financially doing really well and resourcing a really destructive life. That's not a real good combination. I had been drinking that night and decided to go out for a drive and found myself in a parking lot calling out to God. [03:21:12]

I entered that time broken. So many parts of my life were just not working. Everything from a worldly state should have made me happy, should have brought joy, and nothing was working. There was no joy, and I was just a broken young man, seeking after how do I fix those problems. [06:37:36]

The real heart behind that, Bobby and I, who had been a part of it from the beginning, we just recognized the reality that we know that we're supposed to read the Bible and that we're supposed to be engaging in it, but when it's sitting in my house, we just really weren't engaging with it. [13:36:04]

We had 83,000 people that downloaded that app on that first weekend, and those numbers just blew our mind. It's like, wow, 83,000. And so this little side project of a team became a full-time effort of like, man, God's in this, and we need to do more of it. [15:18:39]

These two women had smuggled, if you will, the Bible app on their phone and were in a prison and were doing church in their area, and it was their lifeline. They got out, obviously, to tell us that story, but just hearing how reading God's word in that moment in their language was what made them hold on. [17:18:60]

I don't have a phone near me in the bedroom, and so I charge it in another room. I don't have access to that when I wake up in the morning. I don't go to it first. I make my coffee, start my day in a unique way, and then I engage with my device, which is on do not disturb. [20:59:60]

I have a chair in my home office that is my devotional time. I find God with coffee. I love that in the morning, and then before I enter anything else, there's no email open, there's no social media open, there's nothing open, and that is when I start in prayer and engage in God in prayer. [21:57:52]

There are many times when I don't hear a thing, and that will be a great comfort to a lot of people listening right now. What do you do with those times when that happens and you're listening, you want to hear a word, you don't hear anything? How do you respond when you do? [22:49:36]

I've developed the discipline and the habits to stick with it, and over time, now the ability to kind of look back and times when I didn't think that I was hearing anything from God, when you get a month or two or a year or even further, you can kind of look back and say, you know what, I actually was. [23:57:48]

The Advent season is often a time when we think we're supposed to be perfect. We think our families are supposed to be perfect. We think our experience of the holidays is supposed to be like a Hallmark commercial, and so we actually become more aware of our brokenness than ever. [25:15:19]

The invitation is to let go of being in control. Part of the message of the Advent season is we are not in control. Nobody was in control of the Incarnation, and your job is when you and I get up in the morning, make space, have a space for Him, make time, have a time for Him. [27:37:36]

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