Wildest Dreams

Or maybe you're known as the Jesus freak now. Your life changed. You gave your life to the Lord and now things are totally different. The friends you had are no longer with you. The relationships in your family. Oh, you're one of those. You're one of those. Well, if I walk into church, it's going to burst into flames. Guess what? We've been there. I've been the one that said it. And it costs you. And your obedience, it costs you. It costs Mary. It costs you your reputation, your relationship, and your safety. [00:44:49] (32 seconds)  #CourageToBeDifferent

I'd be like, hey, Gabriel, you got a lot of explaining to do. Can we get some coffee, perhaps? I couldn't drink anything with Elizabeth. She's a tea drinker. I need some coffee. Now, Gabriel, because you have told me that my life is going to change. And I need some explanation. And she did not get it. She just said, okay, yes. She said yes. It was immediate. The faith, the obedience was immediate. [00:46:07] (28 seconds)  #ObeyWithoutAnswers

So Mary's faith. She had the faith. Believing in God when nothing makes sense. Have you been there? Have you had that moment in your life where this just doesn't make sense? But I'm going to trust. You know, often we want assurance from God. We want something from God to say, okay, tell me it's going to be okay. Let me know it's going to be okay. And he's just like, trust me. Put your faith in me and you'll see. I'm going to give a light unto your path for every single step. I don't want you to see a mile down the road. [00:48:53] (51 seconds)  #TrustWithoutSight

You can't get through the impossible if you don't have the faith in the everyday ordinary. And Mary had it. She had her obedience, which cost her everything. Her reputation, her relationships and her safety. She was immediate in her obedience. And she had her faith, the faith in the impossible and the faith in the ordinary. And then she had her struggles. As a mother, she struggled with poverty. You know, they had to give two doves. They were poor. They didn't have much. But they had each other. [00:54:59] (31 seconds)  #FaithThroughStruggle

She also had to deal with watching her son suffer at the cross. She stood there in John 19, 25 and 27. She watches her son being beaten, being mocked and being crucified. She had to see that, sit and witness her son being tortured. And as a parent, it's so hard to say, wow, I don't want my kid to be sick. I remember holding my son when he was just a newborn, about four or five months old and just having breathing issues. And I have to hold a breathing apparatus over his face. And I think, oh, I would give anything to take his spot. [00:57:35] (36 seconds)  #ParentsWalkThroughPain

And this would have been Mary. Watching her son suffocate. Slowly gasping for air. And Jesus just watching. Looking down at his mother. She had to endure it. And she did. She did. She did the struggles that she had. Gave her the perseverance to understand what was going on. Presence at the cross was one of the most powerful pictures of faith ever. [00:59:20] (31 seconds)  #FaithfulAtTheCross

You have to deny yourself. This world wants to teach you to keep yourself. It's all about you. But you have to deny yourself. And Mary gives us that example. Just to have that obedience. Even when it costs us. Our relationship. Our reputation. Our safety. We just have to do it. Be obedient immediately. Be faith even when we don't understand. [01:00:07] (24 seconds)  #DenySelfFollowGod

He'll make your path straight. We do the best thing that we can when we try to muddle up. We try to go left and right and left and right. And He's right there saying, no, no, no. Come back. There's some correction. Let's get you right back on here. Get you back on the path. Get you right back on here. We have to lean on God and His understanding. Not ours. Not ours. When it's so hard to walk with Him because of the pain. Is the time when you need to lean into Him. [01:00:42] (28 seconds)  #LeanOnDivineGuidance