Trusting What God Says About Me

0:01 And now we're going to speak to the one who made that astronaut. That this being who's keeping him alive, keeping all of us breathing, we're actually going to speak to him right now. I hope you are infinitely more excited about coming into the presence of Almighty God right now than anything else in life. I really mean that. Man, I'm literally going to talk to him who created the heavens, and he's going to hear me. He's going to listen to me. You guys, this is the most amazing thing, the most amazing opportunities that we get to speak to God. Amazing things happen when we speak to God. This last year, I hope you spoke to God and saw God answer. Let me just remind you who we're speaking to.

1:00 Okay, because sometimes we can just close our eyes and you think I'm just talking to you. No, I'm not talking to you. Let me remind you from Hebrews chapter 12. Listen to who we are approaching. Hebrews 12. Pay attention to this. I'm about to speak to this. Hebrews 12, verse 18. For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given. If even a beast touches a mountain, it shall be stoned.

1:55 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. we're going to come into his presence now. This blazing fire.

2:46 And when he spoke, the people back then is like, please don't speak anymore. I can't take this voice. And I'm literally going to speak to him right now. Would you come with me into his presence? Oh God, are you kidding me? That we are in your presence right now, speaking to you because your word says we can come with confidence through the blood of Jesus. as millions of angels are just celebrating you right now. And you, this blazing fire, our judge, our savior. And God, all we are asking for is you.

3:47 Can we have more of you? Would you open our eyes to who you are? God, may we truly experience you. by the power of your Holy Spirit, please, please, please make something real happen. for your glory. In Jesus' name, Amen. I want to read a couple verses that I think are very important for you to understand, very important to this generation. It's Isaiah 55, verses 8 and 9. In Isaiah 55, verses 8 and 9, this is what God says.

4:44 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Do you guys want to know what I think? No answer. Do you guys want to know what I think?

5:20 Okay. Wrong answer. Did you see the verse I just read? You don't want to know what I think. Because my thoughts are not God's thoughts. You see how the heavens, he says, are higher than the earth? That's how much higher God's thoughts are than my thoughts. Amen. okay so when a teacher says hey you want to know what i think i don't really care what you think you're supposed to tell me what god thinks open up this book you think i wake up in the morning and sit alone with my thoughts i don't want to know my thoughts if his thoughts are infinitely higher than mine then what's the point of thinking about my thoughts no i wake up in the morning and I empty myself of my thoughts and I just start reading this.

6:17 Because I go, God, I want to know these thoughts. These thoughts are higher. As far as the heavens, that space station is, as much as he is above where we are, that's the way God's thoughts are. That's the way his ways are. I think one of the most destructive practices of your generation is that you value your own thoughts way too much. when God says, my thoughts aren't the same as yours. and you want to look inside, and you want to tell everyone else what you've been thinking and what you've been feeling, rather than opening up the Word of God and saying, these truths are way beyond mine. Do you believe that? You value your thoughts too much and it's killing you. One of the things we've got to learn is to stop believing everything we think and everything we feel and to stop valuing that so much and valuing the Word of God because his thoughts are infinitely higher than ours.

7:32 here's a passage I want to get to it's what I've been praying for you for the last few days it's Ephesians chapter 1 Ephesians chapter 1. Verse 16 says, he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. Okay, so Paul was praying for the Ephesian church. He goes, I keep praying the same thing.

8:51 This is what I've been praying for myself. It's what I've been praying for you. And he goes, my prayer is that God would give us, okay, this is something he has to give us, the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. Okay, this is what we're on our knees just now, or I was on my knees just praying. It's like, God, this is what we need. We need your Holy Spirit. We need something spiritual to happen. Like, I can't communicate this to you. Impossible. I can't make you get this. There's no way I am gonna make you get this. he says having the eyes of your hearts enlightened did you know your heart had eyes okay there's something in in your very soul the core of your being the heart was like the the mission control center of your being your seat of emotions like deep in you something from God has to happen so that you can see, so that you can be enlightened to that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you.

10:20 Okay, do you get this? A miracle needs to take place right now. Okay, so God, a miracle needs to take place right now so that I actually can see and know the hope to which he's called me. Okay, let's admit, we are terrible hopers. Aren't you a terrible hoper? I used to hope real well when I was a little kid. But then you start hoping for things and they don't come true. And they don't happen. You start hoping in people and they actually betray you. You get anxious about things. So what we do over time is we stop, we stop hoping. We go into situations and we expect the worst, right?

11:17 This way we won't be disappointed. Someone's just telling me about the happiest people group in the world. As they studied them, it says the reason was because they had low expectations. They just figured this day's going to be terrible. Oh, it was only bad. Good. It's that whole, right? Don't we do this. We go into situations, and you go into a movie, this isn't going to be very good. You're going into everything, this isn't going to be very good. This way I won't be hurt. But the whole idea here is, God, I want you to teach me to hope, to know the hope to which I've been called. I mean, is there like this anxiety in you almost, like, I've got to be there, I've got to be there, I can't wait to see him. I can't wait for this hope to which I've been called. That's why it was so cool to me to see Beth talking to Piper and going, man, we're going to be there.

12:15 We're going to be there. Because no one talks like that anymore. No one has that kind of hope. See, but that's a miracle that took place in their lives. To where from the core of their being, they're going, any day, any day, any day. God caused them to know the hope. I mean, you know what it's like if you're about to go on vacation. You're just like, oh man, I can't wait till tomorrow. I can't wait till tomorrow. I'll put up with anything today. I don't care because tomorrow I'm jumping on that plane or jumping in that car or whatever. That's the anxiety, the excitement we ought to have about our hope. And I don't hear people talking about this because it's a miracle.

13:00 In fact, if you turn over to 1 Corinthians 2, this is really cool. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9 says this, But as it is written, what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. Look at verse 10. these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.

13:38 You see that? He says, don't you get, God has something prepared for you and for me. He says, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has ever imagined how good it is. But then he says right after that, but God has revealed this to us by His Spirit. that means there is a way in which a miracle can take place and that God that I was praying to can actually open up and enlighten my heart and his spirit can actually reveal to me this future that I spend every day of my life going man this could be the day this could be the day this could be the day because I know from the core of my being this hope to which I've been called I mean, can you imagine if we all really knew, really knew the hope to which we've been called? Nothing would get us down.

14:38 If we could really see it, if the Spirit would reveal that to us. So that's what I've been praying, is God, could you have that happen right here? Where through your Spirit, you give us that spirit of revelation and wisdom that we can know this.

14:58 But then the next phrase, this is the one I've had the most trouble with in life. Ephesians 1. what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints he wants us to know what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in this pay attention to every word What are the riches of his? Wait. His glorious inheritance?

15:53 I thought we were talking about my inheritance. No, earlier in Ephesians 1, he talks about our inheritance. But here he changes it. And he says what God's got to open up your hearts to see is to see God's inheritance, His glorious, the riches of His glorious inheritance. But what is his glorious inheritance?

16:19 Us. wait a second are you kidding me like god is looking at me as his inheritance how am i supposed to believe that man like many of you i grew up with a dad that i just felt never wanted me. I never had one conversation with him. I never matched up. I was never good enough. And when he died and I was 12 years old, there's a part of me that says, I don't really care. And I don't think he ever really wanted me because when I was born, his wife died giving birth to me. And so all your life, you're just like, I'm not good enough. I'm not good enough. You didn't even want me to be born.

17:17 Man, I never matched up to my sisters and their perfect grades. I never matched up to my brother and everything you could do. No one's ever wanted me. And now you're telling me that the God of the universe is just looking at me and go, there is my inheritance. Did Jesus Christ really do something so beautiful in me that God's anticipating me? like a groom going, there's my bride, there's my bride, the riches of my glorious inheritance. you believe that about yourself? For some of us, man, we need this miracle from God, don't we? Say, God, for me to believe that you look at me like that, I want to believe that. I want to hope for this future.

18:11 And God says, well, then pray. Pray for the spirit of revelation. because I tell you, there are so many days where I don't feel treasured by God. I don't think I'm treasured by God. And those are the days when I need to tell myself to shut up and quit listening to myself. Who cares what Francis Chan thinks? God's thoughts are higher than my thoughts. And he does not think of me the way I even think that he thinks of me. He says, my thoughts are beyond yours. And I'm telling you right now, because of your belief in Jesus, because of what my son did, I treasure you like an inheritance, the glorious riches of my inheritance in the saints.

19:13 and that's where we're going to say, okay, I'm not going to listen to my feelings. I'm not going to listen to my thoughts because his thoughts are higher than mine. And he just said right there that I am his glorious inheritance. So shut up, Francis. And then, finally, verse 19, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe?

19:45 Look at that word. The immeasurable greatness. Is that usually how you describe yourself? when you think about your ability do you think immeasurable greatness like greatness you can't even measure see most of us in this room we're just thinking i just want to get through life i'm happy with mediocre i'm happy with survival i'm just going to assume this is all my life is going to amount to and that's what you keep telling yourself that's others have told you. And I'm saying, who cares about what others say? Their thoughts are down here. God's thoughts are higher than the heavens. And what he says is that there's this immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.

20:42 these are the words of God these are God's thoughts not your thoughts this isn't what you think of yourself this is what God says is true and the question is what are you going to believe look you think I don't struggle with this stuff why am I praying this over myself every day because I wake up this morning and go you're going to follow John Piper and Beth Moore Really? Oh, and then, I don't know if you caught this, Christine Kane last night? You notice when she says, oh, I don't know biblical Greek. We'll wait till tomorrow when you hear from Piper and Beth Moore. Oh, I caught that. You think that doesn't mess with your mind?

21:38 It's like, what, you think I didn't go to seminary? You know, it just, it goes through your mind. This is what Francis thinks. And I have to just keep going, shut up, Francis, shut up, Francis. Those are your thoughts. Your thoughts are not worth thinking. here's God's thoughts of you, is there's this immeasurable greatness of power towards me right now that I can pray to Almighty God and ask Him for His spirit of wisdom and revelation to open up your mind to where people today are set free and go, I don't care that everyone else rejects me. He looks at me as His inheritance, and I know the hope to which I've been called to, and I can't wait for it. And guess what? You know what?

22:28 I do have power. In fact, you can't even measure my greatness because that's the power he promises to those of us who believe. He says that power is like what he exercised, what he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. You guys, one of the disciplines we have got to learn in this generation is how to stop listening to ourselves and trusting the Word of God. When those voices creep up in your head, when those feelings arise, you've got to learn to just say, shut up. Shut up, Francis Chan. Why are you still talking? You're supposed to be dead, aren't you? Why are you still talking? Your thoughts are so low and God's are so high. You guys, I've been begging that we get this because I just think you may be the only person, think about it, you might be the only person from your university here, but if you really knew, if you walked around the campus knowing the hope to which you've been, I mean knowing it with the eyes of your heart, knowing the hope to which you've been called.

23:46 Could you imagine that? Just like every day, you know. You're so sure. You know what eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind. You know because the Spirit has shown you what's coming. And if you had this confidence in Almighty God, the Creator, that blazing fire, that darkness, that tempest, that voice looks at you and says what Jesus did in you makes you beautiful. And I can't wait to inherit you. Almighty God feels that way about me and you walk around campus knowing that. And then you walk around with confidence, believing that there's an immeasurable greatness of power toward us who believe. I go, man, you don't need an army. You are an army.

24:38 That type of confidence. And so I am just going to get on my knees one more time because this is the game changer, right? If God could get us all to know this in our hearts. And so I'm going to pray that that happens right now. Would you join me? Thank you. Holy, holy, holy God, what an honor. God, we don't even have words to describe what an honor it is to speak to you.

25:42 and we only come with confidence because of Jesus, and what he did on the cross was so beautiful, so complete that we can speak to you, God. And we need a miracle from you, God. Some of us have so much insecurity. that we need a miracle that you would enlighten our eyes right now to the hope. that you would enlighten our hearts right now to your desire for us, that you so loved us that you sent your Son.

26:39 and now give us the spirit of revelation and wisdom so that we can believe