Capacity

I'm gonna talk to you this morning about capacity capacity how many times have you thought

! or said to yourself I don't have the capacity I don't have the capacity to handle my my my business

! my job I don't have the capacity to handle my marriage I have the capacity to handle single being

single I know the capacity to handle all these kids I have the capacity to handle our church

I don't have the capacity to handle my living situation

I don't have the capacity to handle all the things wrong with my house

I don't have the capacity to handle my health

I don't have the capacity to handle

I mean you guys keep going, you get the point?

I don't have the capacity, we say this

maybe we don't say it out loud

but it's reverberating in our minds, right?

Oh, I can't do this, I don't have the capacity

it's like, I'm at the end of myself

what's the definition of capacity?

the maximum amount that something can contain, produce, or hold

another way of saying it is, what someone can handle

what this life, this person can handle

and what happens is you feel like, oh

more than I can handle just got put on my plate

more than I can handle has been doled out to me

and therefore, I can't handle it

I don't have the capacity

so what's your max?

you know, what's

what's

what is the max that you can handle?

how do you view your max being challenged

and your weakness being exposed?

do you freak out about that?

do you avoid that?

do you embrace that?

let's look at 2 Corinthians chapter 11

2 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

24 to 30

2 Corinthians 11

24 to 30

speaking of capacity

this is Paul

five times I received at the hands of the Jews

the 40 lashes less one

okay, you could stop there

I don't know if

capacity wise

five times

the

the

the 40 lashes less one

that's some intense lashing right there

okay

five times that happened to him

one time would probably do us in

okay

five times

it goes on

three times

I was beaten with rods

how many times have you been beaten with rods?

why not?

three times

or any time

one time I was stoned

three times I was shipwrecked

a night and a day

I was adrift at sea

on frequent journeys

in danger from rivers

danger from robbers

danger from my own people

danger from Gentiles

danger in the city

danger in the wilderness

danger at sea

danger from false brothers

in toil and hardship

through many a sleepless night

in hunger and thirst

often without food

in cold and exposure

and apart from other things

there is the daily pressure on me

of my anxiety for all the churches

who is weak

and I am not weak

who is made to fall

and I am not indignant

if I must boast

I will boast of the things

that show my weakness

if I will boast

I must boast

I will boast of the things

that show my weakness

that's quite a list

it's quite a list

and

you know

when we talk about these kind of things

over my many years of preaching

I've observed

that two people

hear the exact same sermon

and they have a completely different response

what is

one is burdened

and one is challenged

okay

one is burdened

and one is challenged

and one is challenged

why is that

well

it really depends on what we believe

about

what we can handle

really believe

it depends on what we believe

about our capacity

which really means

it really depends

what we believe about God

okay

1 John 5 verse 3

1 John 5:3

says

his commands

are not burdensome

how many times have we said

the very opposite

of what the word of God

just says right there

maybe you didn't say it out loud

but in your heart

you said

oh I can't do this

his commands are burdensome

it's too much

the preacher preaching

the commands of God

it's too much

well what does the Bible say

his commands are not burdensome

which are you going to believe

are you going to believe

your feelings

are you going to believe

your thoughts

are you going to believe

what you see

or are you going to believe

what the word of God says

his word says

his unchanging

unshakable word

says

his commands

are not burdensome

and then in 2 Peter 1 verse 3

2 Peter 1:3

reading from the NIV

it says

his divine power

has given us

everything we need

for life

and for godliness

through our knowledge

of him who called us

by his own glory

and goodness

what has his divine power

given us

most of what we need

some of what we need

part of what we need

no

his divine power

has given us

everything

we need

for life

and for godliness

do you believe that

this morning

do you believe that

do you believe it

Monday morning

do you believe it

Friday morning

do you believe it

every day

how many times

do we wake up

and we'll sometimes

even say it out loud

I can't do this

right

oftentimes

Gina

does

is a dual

a lot of times

with people in their birth

and at some point in time

during their birth

the wife

the mom will say

I can't do this

right

I can't do this

but the truth is

this crazy thing

women do it all the time

right

they have babies

but at some point

in that process

they say

I can't do this

and if someone

looking from the outside in

says that's not true

you actually can

and you will

as many people

before you have

for thousands of years

and yet so often

we believe

what we feel

more than we believe

what is true

and I'm telling you

you have everything

you need

for life

and for godliness

and where does it come from

his divine power

God's power

has given you

everything you need

for life and godliness

do you believe that

you trust that

will you believe that

more than you believe

how you feel

will you believe that

more than what you see

with your eyes

okay

I want to look at

five things that drive

our capacity

okay

first one

gospel driven capacity

alright

gospel driven capacity

God's forgiveness

an awareness of

God's forgiveness

knowledge of and experience

of God's forgiveness

expands our capacity

Luke 7 47

Jesus says

her sins

which are many

are forgiven

for she loved much

but who forgives

little

loves little

who's been forgiven

little loves little

so who's been forgiven

much loves much

whoever's been forgiven

loves little

what does that mean

your

your capacity

to forgive

your capacity

to love

is directly

proportionate

to how much

you believe

you've been forgiven

does that make sense

so

when you feel like

I can't love

you need to go to

the well of forgiveness

and your

your capacity

will be expanded

sometimes

it's just like

you know

the story of the guy

who gets forgiven

so much

and then he's like

gets out of jail

and he goes to that guy

and he says

basically give me my five dollars

and if you don't pay me

back everything

I'm putting you in jail

you just think

what is wrong

with that guy

he lacks the capacity

to love

why

because he did not realize

and internalize

how much he'd been forgiven

it wasn't even

excuse me

wasn't even that he wasn't

forgiven a lot

is that he couldn't

he didn't realize it

he didn't internalize it

he didn't experience it

and this can happen

as us as Christians

it's not that you

haven't been forgiven a lot

it's that we just don't

believe it

we don't experience it

or we experience it

in the past

but we're not experiencing it now

we've forgotten

that's just why we take

the Lord's table

every week

right

to remember what we've been

forgiven of

those have been forgiven

much love much

those have been forgiven

little love little

Luke 7 47

God's mercy expands capacity

Romans 12 verse 1

Romans 12:1

and then he says

I urge you brothers and sisters

in view of God's mercy

to offer your bodies

as living sacrifice

again it doesn't just say

sometimes we think

oh I gotta offer my body

as a living sacrifice

I have to sacrifice

I have to give up things

and we forget the first part

of the verse

it doesn't just say

offer your bodies

as a living sacrifice

it says in view

of God's mercy

if you're trying to offer

your body as a living sacrifice

and God's mercy

isn't in your view

you're gonna

you're gonna have

the strong sense that

I can't do this

I can't sacrifice

I don't want to sacrifice

I can't sacrifice

what's the problem

God's mercy isn't in view

when God's mercy is in view

you all of a sudden

have this gumption

this motivation

to sacrifice

because of how much

he sacrificed for you

in view of God's mercy

offer your bodies

as living sacrifices

okay

God's mercy

expands

our capacity

God's grace

expands our capacity

Titus chapter 2

Titus 2 · chapter mention

11 to 12

how often do we try to live

self-controlled

upright

godly lives

in this present age

without being motivated

by the fact that

God loves us

when we were

not self-controlled

when we were not

upright

and not godly

your ability

your power

to live self-controlled

and godly

and upright

in this present age

is directly proportionate

to your revelation

of how much

he loved you

and how he died for you

when none of those

things were there

that he loved you

for who you are

not who you should be

because none of us

was as we should be

he loved us

because

he is love

because he is God

and he shows mercy

in who he shows mercy

not because we were

worthy of mercy

we were not

but if you try to do

these things

and God's mercy

isn't in view

or God's grace

is not

your motivating factor

you'll burn out

you won't have the capacity

you won't have it it takes

but God's grace

expands capacity

God's love

expands capacity

1 John 4 19

we love

because

he first loved us

okay

if you're trying to love

which is obedience

1 John 5 verse 3

1 John 5:3

says this is love for God

to obey his commands

you're trying to obey

his commands

you're trying to love God

oh God I want to love you more

and it's just like

but I'm losing motivation

I'm losing energy

I'm losing strength

well are you doing it

because he first loved you

or are you just trying to do it

are you doing

are you trying to love God

to get God

or are you getting God

so that you can love God

you got it

you got it all twisted up

and

mixed up

if you're trying to love God

based off of yourself

the motivating factor

is God's love for you

do you know how he loves you

are you meditating

on how he loves you

are you experiencing

how much he loves you

do you wake up in the morning

and instead of saying

I can't do this

you could say

God

remind me

how much you love me

I've forgotten

once again

have mercy on me

I am a forgetful sinner

and then

you know that

he loves you

in that moment

for who you are

not who you should be

and it

love in your heart

wells up for him

and you want to obey him

desire comes from that place

2 Corinthians 5 14

says Christ's love compels us

there's a compelling nature

to his love

when you see it

you view it

you experience it

okay

especially

when you believe

his love never fails

okay

Psalm 135 verse 5

Psalms 135:5

but I trust

in your

unfailing love

my heart rejoices

in your salvation

do you believe

that God's love

is unfailing

is that not

what our fear is

when we say

we don't have capacity

is that I don't know

if God's love

will be enough

I don't know

if it's going to

be there for me

Psalm 26 1 to 3

I've trusted in the Lord

and have not faltered

test me Lord

and try me

examine my heart

and my mind

for I have always

been mindful

of your unfailing love

and have lived

in reliance

on your faithfulness

did you hear that

is that us

I have always

been mindful

of your unfailing love

and have lived

in reliance

on your faithfulness

saying you don't

have capacity

is like saying

God's love

is going to fail me

I can't depend

on his faithfulness

he's not faithful

his love fails

no

I have always

been mindful

of your unfailing love

and I have lived

in reliance

on your faithfulness

therefore I believe

I have everything

I need for life

in godliness

therefore I believe

I have the capacity

because your love

has never failed me

and your faithfulness

can always be counted on

Psalm 32 verse 10

Psalms 32:10

says many are the woes

of the wicked

but the Lord's

unfailing love

surrounds the one

who trusts in him

what are you trusting in

maybe the reason

you feel so

incapacitated

is because you woke up

trusting in yourself

and your tank

was already low

to begin with

you went to bed

with a low tank

you think you're

going to wake up

with a much higher tank

just because you got

a little bit of sleep

sleep might fill

your physical tank

but it ain't going to

fill your spiritual tank

you need to rest

and trust

in the unfailing

love of the father

do you wake

and praise him

and look to him

and say God

my love fails

my strength fails

my promises fail

everything I look to

fails

you are the only one

who is unfailing

and the Lord's

unfailing love

surrounds the one

who trusts in him

if you awake

trusting in him

say God

I must trust

in your unfailing love

I cannot trust

in my ability today

it will not get me

through

it will not give me

the capacity

but his love will

Psalm 33

18 to 22

the eyes of the Lord

are on those

who fear him

on those whose hope

is in his unfailing love

to deliver them

from death

and keep them alive

in famine

we wait in hope

for the Lord

he is our help

and our shield

in him our hearts rejoice

for we trust

in his holy name

may your unfailing love

be with us

Lord

even as we put

our hope

in you

put our hope

in his unfailing love

Psalm 147

Psalms 147:11

verse 11

says the Lord

delights in those

who fear him

who put their hope

in his unfailing love

when's the last time

you experienced

the delight

of knowing

that God

delights in you

putting your hope

in his unfailing love

not only is his love

unfailing

but when you put your hope

in his unfailing love

he delights in you

he likes that

he enjoys that

not only can you

experience

his unfailing love

but you can experience

his delight

in you trusting

in his unfailing love

it's like

it's a double

it's a double blessing

his unfailing love

is already

pretty high

on the list

it's love

that doesn't fail

but then when you hope

in unfailing love

which is like

the biggest

no-brainer ever

how often

do we hope

in things that fail

so it's just like

man

it seems so easy

to hope

in things that fail

but I have such

a hard time

hoping in the

unfailing love

and then you think

about that

you think

what the heck

am I thinking

why is it so hard

to hope

in something

unfailing

and why do I so

often gravitate

for that which

fails

the fact that

God would then

delight in me

hoping in something

that's unfailing

how hard is it

to hope in something

unfailing

it's only hard

if you don't see it

you don't believe it

you don't know it

you haven't experienced it

and you're not

saturating yourself

in this love

Bible says

keep yourself

in the love of God

keep yourself

in the love of God

and then 1 Corinthians

13 8

love never

fails

do you believe that

do you believe that

this morning

do you believe it

every day

and are you a

trumpeter of this

what about to your

brother and sister

on the days when he

he or she doesn't

believe it

are you telling

him or her

God's love never

fails

God's love never

fails

you failed

your promise

failed

your strength

failed

your plans

failed

God's love

never fails

God's love

never fails

this is true

this is true

number two

rest driven

capacity

okay there's rest

in carrying his

yoke

Matthew 11

28 to 30

right we all

know this verse

come to me

all who labor

and are heavy

laden

and I will give

you rest

not I might

not hopefully

you will

man that would

be really nice

if you did

come to me

all who labor

and are heavy

laden

are you

are you heavy

are you laboring

are you tired

are you weary

he says come to

me

come to me

all who labor

and are heavy

laden

I will give

you rest

I will give

you rest

and the devil

whispers in your

he's not going

to give you rest

it's not restful

to come to him

it's burdensome

don't believe it

don't believe it

that's not true

you tell that lie

to go back to hell

where it came from

that's where it

belongs

and you quote the

scriptures to the

devil just like

Jesus did

you say no

that's not true

he said come to me

all you are weary

and heavy laden

I am weary

I am heavy laden

he said you will

give me rest

he didn't put any

conditions on it

he didn't say

if you got your life

all put together

if you have all the

faith in the world

if you made sure

you had the right

amount of quiet time

and you didn't talk

mean or harsh

to your spouse

no he said

come to me

that was the requirement

that was what

you needed to do

just come to him

you might be

dragging yourself there

you might be

limping all the way there

you might have

barely any faith

to get there

but you have enough

just to come

and that's all

that he requires

of you

and he says

I will give you rest

not I might give you rest

you gotta count on it

you gotta count on it

like your life

depends on it

because it does

because without it

you're weary

without it

you don't have the

strength to go on

and you think

life gets easier

you think

oh

you know

just the passage

of time

will make my life

easier

when has that

ever been true

that's never

been true

more things

keep coming on

do you believe

his grace is sufficient

if you do

you have to come

and that's the only

requirement

come as you are

come beat up

come bedraggled

you just come

and he says

I will give you rest

and then you take

his yoke upon you

and learn from me

for I am gentle

and lowly in heart

and you will find

rest for your souls

for my yoke is easy

and my burden is light

take my yoke upon you

you say

oh my yoke is too heavy

this is too much

then you lay it down

before him

and say

give me your yoke

give me your light

and easy yoke

give me your light

and easy yoke

and he says

and you will find

rest for your souls

do you believe that

again these are promises

this is the word of God

I am speaking to you

the word of the Lord

you want a prophetic

word for you

you will find rest

for your souls

if you come to him

that's really prophetic

you bet it is

it's the word of God

you'll find rest

for your souls

you can take that

to the bank

there is nothing

that can get in the way

of that

that is true

today

tomorrow

in the pouring rain

in the noonday sun

it is always true

it has always been true

and it always will be true

will we believe him

to go to him though

or will we go

to other things

will we go

to other things

to try to find rest

Netflix isn't your rest

doom scrolling

on social media

isn't your rest

working more

isn't your rest

okay

drowning it out

with food

or alcohol

or pick your poison

that is not your rest

Jesus is your rest

his yoke

is your rest

take it upon you

and you will find rest

for your souls

his yoke is easy

and his burden is light

Psalm 46 10

says it this way

in the NASB

it says

cease striving

and know that I am God

cease striving

give up striving

I'm not going to strive anymore

I'm not going to strive

to be something

what did we just sing

what did we say

is the power in us

Christ in me

right

is holiness

remember we were just saying that

it's easy to sing it

do you believe that

or are you

is striving in me

your holiness

if I just try hard enough

if I just

push myself hard enough

then I'll be holy

no that's not true

holiness in you

is Christ in you

holiness in you

is Christ in you

cease striving

and know that I am God

cease striving

and just let him be

who he is

not that you can stop him

from being who he is

in general

but you can definitely

get in the way of him

being who he is

in you

and we can't do that

you have to cease striving

and that cease striving

isn't a rebuke

as much as it's good news

stop fighting

stop striving

release it

let go of it

and know that I am God

there's rest

in his finished work

Romans 4 3 to 8

says what is the scripture saying

Abraham believed God

and it was counted to him

as righteousness

not of the one who works

his wages

are not counted

as a gift

but as is due

make sense

and to the one

who does not work

but believes in him

who justifies the ungodly

his faith is counted

as righteousness

man that is such good news

to the one

who does not work

meaning does not work

for salvation

does not work

to be seen differently

before the Lord

the one who does not work

for his righteousness

but the one

who has ceased

from his work

and who believes in him

who justifies the ungodly

isn't that awesome

that he justifies

the ungodly

isn't it awesome

that it doesn't say

that he justifies

the godly

because if he said

that he justifies

the godly

then he wouldn't

justify anybody

do you understand that

there is no godly

there is no one

who does good

there is no one

not even one

it says

if he didn't say

that he justifies

the ungodly

and said

no I only justify

the godly

there would be

no hope for us all

when he says

I justify the ungodly

he says

I justify people

like you and me

the one who does not work

but believes in him

who justifies the ungodly

his faith

is counted

as righteousness

just as David

also speaks

of the blessing

of the one

to whom God

counts righteousness

apart

from works

is your righteousness

apart from works

or does your

lack of works

or your evil works

come against you

and cause you

to believe

that your righteousness

is somehow at stake

that your righteousness

was somehow dependent

upon your works

so much so

that you can't

tell people

your weaknesses

you can't

voluntarily

offer up your weaknesses

and if someone

confronts you

in your weaknesses

you have to

defend yourself

and not let it

be exposed

because

I'm counting

in my own righteousness

and if someone

exposes my unrighteousness

it's a direct assault

on that which I find

my identity

and my worth in

this verse is

an affront

to that mentality

and guess what

it's in all of us

there's a little bit

of self-righteousness

in all of us

that says

no it's Jesus

plus my efforts

that's what it is

no

it never was

it isn't now

and it never will be

it's not Jesus

plus your efforts

it's Jesus

plus his efforts

plus his work

plus zero view

zero

Jesus plus nothing

equals everything

okay

you don't add to it

you can't add to it

and your attempts

to add to it

are disgusting

the Bible calls it

like a filthy rag

like a filthy menstrual rag

is your attempts

at righteousness

but we should be

the ones who cease

from our works

the ones who believe

and trust

and the one who justifies

the ungodly

and then our faith

is counted as righteousness

just as David speaks

of the blessing

of the one to whom

God counts righteousness

apart from works

blessed

are those whose lawless deeds

are forgiven

and whose sins are covered

blessed is the man

against whom the Lord

will not count his sin

amen and amen to that

Hebrews 4 9-10

says

so there remains

a Sabbath rest

for the people of God

for the one who has

entered his rest

has himself

also rested

from his works

as God did

from his

some of us need

to take a rest

from our self-righteous

attempts

at being enough

everyone wants to say

you're enough

you're not

you're not enough

there's a song

I can hear it in my head

right now

and he just says

over and over again

you're enough

you're enough

you're enough

I'm like

no you're not

you never have been

you never will be

and the good news is

it doesn't matter

if you're in Christ

because he's enough

but you're not enough

your efforts aren't enough

your attempts

at being righteous

aren't enough

all your best attempts

always end up

in despair

because you can't do it

only God can do it

and that's why we

wholly trust in Jesus name

I dare not trust

the sweetest frame

but wholly lean

on Jesus name

on Christ the solid rock

I stand

right

all the ground

is sinking sand

this is true

also in marriage

I call this

married scary

authority rest

okay

married scary

authority rest

okay

going to your husband

while hoping in God

and adorned with

gentleness and quietness

1 Corinthians 14 35

says if there's anything

they desire to learn

but the master husband

is at home

it's so easy

for a wife

to be scared

that the husband

isn't going to have

what it takes

or isn't going to have

the answers

or isn't going to have

the leadership

or isn't going to be able

to do what needs to be done

and the tendency

is then to go elsewhere

besides husband

but 1 Peter 3 4-6

speaks of the

imperishable beauty

of a gentle

and quiet spirit

and how this is

how the holy women

who hoped in God

used to adorn themselves

by submitting

to their own husbands

as Sarah

obeyed Abraham

calling him Lord

and you are her children

if you do good

and do not fear

anything that is frightening

there's a rest

even in a marriage

where you feel like

your husband's

dropping the ball

that your husband's

not taking the leadership

that he should take

where you can rest

because your hope

is in God

not in your husband

and because you are gentle

not trying to fight

for your way

you're quiet

not trying to

have people hear

your case

and to go outside

of your husband

so much

because you don't believe

he's going to hear

your case

but that you can

gently and quietly

adorn yourself

with the trust in God

that the women of old

used to adorn themselves with

and that you're not

frightening that

you're not fearing

that which is frightening

which goes to say

that it is frightening

to submit to a man

it is frightening

but you don't have to fear

that which is frightening

because your hope

was never in that man

your hope is in God

and there's a certain rest

in that in marriage

when you are not being gentle

and you're trying to force your way

or you're not being quiet

and you're trying to verbally

manipulate your way

this is evidence

of not resting in the Lord

on the flip side

there's a married men's

scary authority rest as well

okay

this is a husband responding

with understanding

gentleness and honor

when the responsibility

to lead weighs heavy

and your wife is scared

let me say that again

responding with understanding

gentleness and honor

when the responsibility

to lead weighs heavy

and your wife is scared

I get an F at this one

for sure

okay

not good at this one

but I

I can rest in this

I can rest in knowing

my

I can understand

understand

I can be an understanding husband

even when the weight

of responsibility

on my husbandry

causes me to lash out

at my wife

for being scared

because of course

she's scared

I'm overwhelmed

by the weight

what's the problem

I'm not at rest

I'm overwhelmed

with work

or I'm overwhelmed

with family

I'm overwhelmed

with relationships

or I'm overwhelmed

with this that

or the other drama

or whatever it may be

and so then

wife coming to me

scared

by what's already

being scary

because I'm overwhelmed

causes me to lash out

in lack of understanding

well what's the problem

the problem is

I'm not resting

I'm not resting in him

I'm not finding

my peace

and my rest

and that light

and easy yoke in him

and so then

if wife comes to me

scared with one more thing

I get angry

I snap

not good

I gotta rest

I gotta rest

in the Lord

1 Peter 3 7

likewise

husbands

live with your wives

in an understanding way

showing honor

to the woman

as the weaker vessel

since they are heirs

with you

of the grace of life

so that your prayers

may not be hindered

I don't want my prayers

to be hindered

number 3

experience driven capacity

okay

this comes from

what you've done

and what you've seen

in others

so

having a history

in God

where you see

God come through

for you over time

is inspiring

to believe

that you can handle things

meaning

if you've handled

if you've ever handled

something worse

than what you're handling

now

you think

I can handle this

right

this is the worst

I've ever experienced

we've been through worse

we've been through harder

right

that's just a practical

but sometimes

you've got to remind

each other of that

right

you've got to look

and say

hey

come on

you've been through worse

you've had harder seasons

God

God has kept you

through other things

and I always think

this

I thought this

this hit me so hard

when I had cancer

10 years ago

when I had testicular cancer

10 years ago

I thought

oh this is bad news

I have cancer

and I don't know

how bad it is

could be stage 4

I'm really old

for testicular cancer

what if it's all over my body

what if this is it

right

this could be it

this is bad news

but you know what

it's not the worst news

I've ever gotten

I've had worse

and guess what

no matter what bad news

you get in this world

there's always one thing

for Christians

that is worse

than the bad news

that you've gotten

okay

what is it

you were justly

and rightly

under the sentence

of hell

for all eternity

that's bad news

way worse than cancer

you have cancer

that's bad news

you're going to hell

way worse news

and if God came to you

in your worst news

when you were going to hell

and he intervened

and saved you

how much more

will he come to you

in way less bad news

like cancer

okay

so your experience

tells you

hey

I've been through worse

and a Christian

always has the trump card

I was destined for hell

and God came to me

in that

if he came to me

when I was destined

for hell

how in the world

do I think

that he's not going

to come

help me

when my kids

are overwhelming

it's like

well you don't know

my kids

well yeah

they're not

as bad as hell

right

they're not as bad

as hell

it's a good thing

to remember

so experiencing

experience

can remind you

but also

seeing in others

okay

there's

there's a

there's this thing

that happens

and we see it a lot

now where

people think

that they can't

handle certain things

because everyone

around them

can't handle

the same things

and then sometimes

you like talk

to an old grandparent

you know

or you watch

a documentary

of someone

who went through

world war ii

or who was in

a concentration camp

or any of this

kind of stuff

and you think

oh

oh

yeah

maybe we can

handle more

you know

maybe

we've grown

soft

maybe we've

grown to think

that we're

that we can

handle stuff

but we actually

can't

and so you

look at other

people

you look at

the ones

who've gone

before you

hebrews 13

7 says

remember your

leaders

those who

spoke to you

the word of

god

consider the

outcome of

their way

of life

and imitate

their faith

so first of

all look

are there any

leaders in

your life

who are able

to handle

things more

than you can

look at

them

and then

what's it

to say

and imitate

their life

no

no

it says

consider the

outcome of

their way

of life

and then it

doesn't say

imitate their

life

it says

imitate their

what

their faith

that is such

an important

detail

we think

oh man

that guy

can handle

a lot

or you

listen to

some podcast

oh he

can handle

a lot

or you

know

you see

you meet

someone

you hear

someone

you watch

a video

about someone

you think

they can

handle a lot

I'm gonna

do whatever

they're doing

no

that's not

what it

says

imitate

their

faith

imitate

their

faith

believe

like

they

do

believe

in

what

they

believe

they

believed

in God

they trusted

God

they came

to him

and received

the easy

and light

yoke

imitate

their

faith

where's

your

faith

let me

give you

an example

of an

old

school

guy

who's

dead

sometimes

you just

need to

look more

to dead

guys

and get

a little

inspiration

for our

current

culture

George

Mueller

let me

just give

you a little

list here

just to

help

maybe

help you

think what's

possible

kind of

the four

minute mile

right

everybody said

you can't run

a four minute

mile

scientists

and doctors

are saying

nobody can

run a four

minute mile

it's not

even physically

possible

and then

this guy

Roger

Bannister

comes by

and breaks

the four

minute mile

and for

years

no one

could

break

a four

minute

mile

Bannister

comes

and breaks

the four

minute mile

and immediately

what happens

people like

crazy are

beating his

under four

minute mile

what happened

did he discover

some wonder

drug

did he discover

some new

training technique

no

he believed

it could be

done

when everybody

said it

couldn't

and then

when someone

saw that

it was

done

then everybody

started breaking

it

so I want

you to look

at George

Mueller

the guy who

broke the

four

minute mile

right here

okay listen

George Mueller

he built

five orphanages

he started

when he was

28

okay

so he got

a little bit

late start

but he still

built five

orphanages

he cared

for 10,024

orphans

he preached

three times a

week while

caring for

orphans

he had

four children

two stillborn

his son

Elijah died

at one year

old

and his

daughter died

at 57

okay

he married

twice

his first

marriage to

Mary was

for 39

years

the second

marriage was

to Susanna

for 23

years

he became

a missionary

at the

ripe young

age of

70

so after

doing all

that he

said you

know

it's time

to retire

I'm gonna

become a

foreign

missionary

okay

at 70

he became

a missionary

and for

17

years

traveled

to 42

countries

preaching

on average

once a

day to

about 3

million

people