Creflo Dollar - Recovering From Heartbreak
If you have your Bibles this morning, go with me to the book of Psalms 147 and verse 3. The book of Psalms 147 and verse 3 and today we're really gonna get in the Word. We've been talking about brokenness, but I wanna spend a lotta time showing you in the Word of God where you can have hope. Today, we're gonna talk about recovering from heartbreak, recovering from heartbreak. And, you know, the dictionary defines "heartbreak" as crushing grief. Think of that. Crushing grief. It also defines it as anguish or distress, so if you are an individual who understands heartbreak, and I'm certainly not on the outside of that and there are people in the Bible that are not on the outside of that.
And if you understand the crushing grief and the anguish and the distress that may have even come at the loss of a loved one, then this is what it means to have heartbreak. You know, in today's world the term "broken heart" or "brokenhearted", it usually describes someone who has suffered a failed relationship or loss of a loved one. But a broken heart may be brought on by a myriad of causes, such as, maybe, disappointment in a child's lifestyle, or it could be brought on by a loss of possession or a loss of job. And so, whatever the cause, the pain of a broken heart, it can be enormous, and so today we get a chance to see two systems, one way of how they deal with a broken heart, and God's way of how he deals with it.
The world would assert that hope lies in psychoanalysts and that it lies in medication, and the world would give you advice that may include taking an antidepressant. It may include writing an angry letter, and then tearing it up. It may include going on a shopping spree or, you know, getting a makeup, but I need you to understand something. Even some would advocate, you know, maybe the power of positive thinking, but here's one thing I want you to understand: that the most common cure for a broken heart is time. Time, T-I-M-E, time. The world's focus is on feelings, but God, according to 1 Samuel chapter 16:17, God weighs and he looks at the heart.
Man looks at the outer core, man looks at the feelings, but God looks at the heart. And while the non-Christian may sense a waning or lessening in the intensity of a heartbreak by doing all of those things that are recommended, medications and writing, filling letters and all that kinda stuff, you may feel a decrease in the intensity of that heartbreak, but only a Christian can experience complete recovery. Boy, that's something I want you to think about. In one system, the world's recommending that you do all those things, and it lessens the intensity of the heartbreak. But the Christian has the opportunity to experience complete recovery from a heartbreak, and that's what I wanna show you this morning, how you can experience complete recovery from a heartbreak.
And somebody says, "Well, how would you even conclude that"? Because only the Christian has access to the power of the Spirit of God, and when you have access to the power of the Spirit of God, you have access to be able to experience complete recovery. Look at what he says in Psalms 147 and verse 3, and you grab hold of what he says here, 'cause we Christian people, we live by faith. We find it in the Word, and we take possession of it. What it says here, he says, "He healeth the broken heart", he healeth the broken in heart, "and he bindeth up their wounds".
So, you take that, you take that. This is gonna work better than a shopping spree. This is gonna work better than a makeover. This is gonna work better than an anti-depressant. The finished works of Jesus Christ that declares that he healeth the broken in heart and he bindeth up their wounds, it is available for you. Now by faith you take it. So now, let's spend some time in the Word today. Let's examine this brokenness in heart in the Bible, and the events in Job's life may be the earliest biblical record of heartbreak, so let's look at Job and check out what happened in his life.
See, in Job's life, in one day Job lost his children, he lost almost all his worldly possessions, he lost his health, and he lost his means of livelihood, and yet you look at his response. I mean, what was his response? He loses his children. I mean, you think about that. What would be your response if you lost your children, you lost all your worldly possessions, you lost your livelihood? I mean, some of you would get so mad with God. "Well, I'm mad at God, and I don't wanna have anything to do with God, and I don't wanna have anything to do with the church".
And you do that, but what was Job's response? How did Job response to this loss? Look at Job chapter 1 and verse 20 and 21. This is pretty amazing. Here is a man who... I mean, listen. That's bruising, that's crushing. Losing your children, that's crushing, losing everything you have, almost all of that, all of your health, your livelihood. But what was his response? What can we learn from Job here? Look what he says. He said, "Then Job arose. He rent his mantle, shaved his head, fell down upon the ground", look what he did, "and he worshiped". And he worshiped. He's lost this kids, he's lost his livelihood, he's lost his health, and he worships. And the Bible says, "And he said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return hither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord".
Now, here's one of the things I want you to understand. I know that God didn't do this. And maybe Job wasn't aware of this, but I don't believe that was Job, what he was saying. You know, Job had fear that this could happen, and his fear opened him up to all of that, and here's what I want you to see here. But here's what Job said. Job said, "Listen, maybe God took it. And maybe, you know, the Lord gave and maybe he took it away". Job's attitude is, "But none of that is gonna stop me". Look at what it said in verse 22. He said, "Blessed be the name of the Lord". He says, "In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly". He didn't charge it to God's account.
You know, I know people, when things like this happen in their lives, they get mad at God. They quit coming to church. They don't wanna hear no Scripture. They don't wanna get in the Word. "I'm mad at God". Lemme tell you something: you're mad at the only one that can help you. You're mad at the only one who can heal your broken heart. You're mad at the only one who can bind up your wounds, and Job said... look what happened. I mean, that's never happened to you. You've never lost your children, your health, your job, your livelihood all at one time, and yet this man was so committed to God, he said, "Okay, he gave it to me and maybe he took it away. I don't know, but I'm gonna worship God".
I think we need to learn something there. I think we need to get to a point where we make up in our mind that "no matter what happens in my life, no matter how bad it gets, it's not gonna separate me from God. It's not gonna separate me from the love of God. Yeah, my heart was broken, yes, I got wounds, yes, I'm in grief, but I will not stop praising and worshiping God". That ministered to me, because, you know, we have little stuff, little things that happen, and we're ready to leave God. I mean, just a few things that happened. Not nearly as intense as what Job went through, and we're just ready to leave God. We gotta stop that, we gotta stop that, we gotta stop.
You know, you get to a point, "I wanna leave God 'cause he didn't give me my car that I prayed for. I wanna leave God because I lost my job. I wanna leave"... No, no, no, no, no. There is something that happens when you make your mind up that "nothing is gonna separate me from the love of God", when you make your mind up that "no matter what happens, in the midst of brokenness and wounds I will worship God". So, what's the end of this story? What really happened to Job that made his mind up to do this? Well, look at Job 42, verses 1 through 5, and I wanna read it in the NLT.
Job 42:25. See, you know, Job, of course, ladies and gentlemen, he grieved, yet he worshiped God, and he remained faithful. Although he had doubts as to God's goodness in these terrible events, through the trial he grew closer to God through God's revelation of himself. He grew closer to God. Look at what he said here. Let's look at verse 1 through 5. He says, "Then Job replied to the Lord: 'I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, 'Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?' And I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me". Verse 4, "You said, 'Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.'" Verse 5, "I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes".
There's something that happened through that brokenness. "I heard about you before, but now I've seen you with my own eyes". Job learned what all believers can learn through heartbreak. Here is what he learned: that God is faithful, and God is good, and God is trustworthy. God is faithful, and God is good, and God is trustworthy. Boy, that really ministered to me. It really ministered to me that no matter what hurts and pains and heartbreaks and betrayals that you have in your life, at the end of the whole deal when it was God who kept you. It was God who delivered you out of a ditch. It was God who allowed you to maintain your sanity. Some of you would've lost your mind a long time ago if it wasn't for God, but here is what we learn through brokenness: God is faithful, God is good, and God is trustworthy, amen.
Let's look at another example. Let's look at the life of David. The Bible talks about David. He says David, a man after God's own heart, and yet David suffered many heartbreaking circumstances. And yet, if you'll read it carefully, each time he recovered and was even stronger than before. He was a stronger man of God than before, and in Psalms 34 David gives an example of how he overcame heartbreak, and I wanna share with you those three things that David learned. What did David do to overcome the heartbreak? Well, the first thing we see is in Psalms 34:4. What did David do to overcome the heartbreak? Psalms 34 and verse 4. The Bible says, he said, "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears".
So, the first thing you see David doing here is that David overcame by calling on the Lord. David overcame by seeking God. Seeking God and trusting God, they go hand in hand. You can't trust God and not be a God seeker, and so in the middle of his heartbreaks one of the things you find David doing is, "You know, I'm gonna seek God. I'm gonna trust God". When you go through heartbreak do you trust God, or do you just get in a corner somewhere and, you know, moan about what happened? And, "Where was God? And how come this went on in my life"? No, David began to seek God, according to the book of Psalms 34:4. He says, "I sought the Lord, he heard me", notice what happens, "and delivered me from all my fears".
You know, when your heart has been broken, there's a lotta fear that's gonna be there, and it's so important that you know how to seek God, and you trust God. And what happens? He will deliver you, he will deliver you. He will deliver you from all of your fears, and that's the thing you need to be delivered of, 'cause when you go through heartbreak the fear is not gonna know who's gonna do it again. "Is this person gonna break my heart? Is that person gonna break my heart"? But when you seek God, he will deliver you from all your fears.
Here is the second thing we see David doing. Psalms 34:18, Psalms 34:18. David knew this. He sought God, but on the inside he knew this. He said, "The Lord is near unto them that are of a broken heart". David knew that God is near those who have a broken heart. "And he saveth such as be of a contrite", repentant, "spirit". So, David knew that. You know, there are certain things you have to know when your heart has been broken. There are certain things you got to be sure about. You know, if we don't clear up the ignorance in our life, then these things can dominate us, but David knew that God is near those who have a broken heart. God's not far from those who have a broken heart.
If you've experienced a broken heart, God's near you. God's near you. I wouldn't say he's closer to you at that time than ever before, but I know he's near you at that time. He's not far from you. He's near you at that time, and so here is the third thing we see David doing in Psalms 34, verse 19, right after verse 18. Here's what we see. We finally see what David is doing here. He says, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all". That's important for you to know. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but God delivers them out of them all". David expressed a confidence in the love of God that every believer should have, the confidence of knowing that "no matter what afflictions that I go through, God will deliver me out of them all".
I'm asking you to get that same confidence. I'm asking you to get it in your heart, "God delivers me from all affliction". And even a heartbreak. God delivers you from all affliction. It doesn't matter what the affliction is. God is near you. Why? To deliver you from what? All afflictions. And yet you've got to decide whether or not you're gonna believe this. You've got to decide whether or not you're gonna possess this. You gotta decide whether or not you're gonna use your faith to take possession of this.
What's the alternative? You get beat up and have your life destroyed from a wound that never healed. What's the alternative? The alternative is instead of allowing him to come in and to heal your wounds and heal your broken heart, what you do is you put a cover over it. You put a blanket over it so nobody can see the wound, and then through that blanket you produce a false identity, and the real you doesn't ever show up, because that identity, that false identity is something that came through the covers. It came through the blanket. It came through what you used to covering the wound up, and God want that wound to be healed so you can be your authentic you. But you can't be the authentic you.
That's why there's so much fake in the church today. It's because instead of allowing and believing that God has made it available for us to have healing of our wounds and healing of a broken heart, we wanna cover it up. And we've perfected phoniness in the body of Christ, and we're meeting one false identity after another false identity, because we don't believe that he will deliver us out of all of our afflictions. You know, one might ask in a moment of despair, "Well, Brother Dollar, he may have helped David, he may have helped Job, but does God care about me"? And that's a real question that a lotta Christians ask sometimes.
You know, when you have a broken heart you wonder, "Does God care about me"? I mean, my heart's been broken a lot. My heart's been broken to the point where it was broken in so many pieces there was nothing else left to break, and yet, at the same time, the only way out was believing that God cared about me. The only way out was to believe that he loved me, and when you question God's love for you, you're gonna be in a hopeless situation. When you question God's love for you, you gotta know that he loves you. You gotta know, let's go to the Word. Let's see what the Word has to say. Look at Romans chapter 8. And here's the question, you know, does God care about me? We see he cared about David. We saw that he cared about Job. Well, in a moment of despair, in a moment of a broken heart, in a moment of pain does he care about me?
Well, Romans chapter 8, verse 32, and then Hebrews 13:5. I wanna read Hebrews 13:5 in the Amplified, but Hebrews 8:32. Here's what it says, "He that spareth not his own Son", he said, "but he delivered him up for us all". So, he didn't spare Jesus. He delivered Jesus up for us all. He said, "How shall he not with him also freely give us all things"? That's powerful. Well, does God care about you? He cares about you so much that he gave the most valuable thing that heaven had to offer, and he says, "If I'll give you the most valuable thing that heaven has to offer in my Son, why would you ever question whether or not I'll care about you? Why would you ever question if I'll heal you and if I'll mend your wounds? I gave you my Son. I gave you my Son. I care about you".
Look what he says in Hebrews chapter 13:5. Does God care about me? That's an important thing for you to know, because if the devil can convince you that God doesn't care about you, you'll walk around broken because you don't believe God cares about you. Listen to this in Hebrews 13:5. He says, "Let your character and moral disposition be free from the love of money". You know what he's saying here? "Be free from trusting money more than you trust me".
You know, you don't wanna make decisions based on money. You wanna make decisions based on the anointing. He says be free from the love of money and trusting it more than you trust God. He said that includes greed and avarice and lust and craving for earthly possessions. He said, "Be satisfied with your present circumstances", that means being content, "and with what you have; for he God himself has said", now listen to what he said, "I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (nor relax my hold on you)! Assuredly not"!
That sounds like someone who cares. Look at what it says in 2 Corinthians chapter 13:4. Does God care about me? 2 Corinthians. Excuse me. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 3 through 4. Does he care for me? Yes. You have to know this. You have to have faith that "God cares for me". In fact, when you have a broken heart or when afflictions occur in your life, you have to know that God loves you so much, that you start looking for his love in the midst of those situations. 1 Corinthians. You start looking for that love.
2 Corinthians. Yeah, 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verses 3 through 4. Verse 3 through 4. He says, "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all of our tribulation". Bam! God will comfort you in all of your tribulations. Why? "That we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble". God comforts us so we can comfort somebody else. He says, "By the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God". So, God says, "I'm gonna comfort you so that you'll be able to comfort someone else".
Isaiah chapter 43, verse 2, and this is powerful, ladies and gentlemen. I want you to know that you have a God that will comfort you. If you have a broken heart, God's there. And life Taffi said last week, he's there for a reason, but you've got to use your faith to lay hold and take possession of him being there ready to comfort you. Look at verse 2. He says, "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee". Why? 'Cause he's there. He's there.
Okay, you'll get your feelings hurt. Okay, you'll get a broken heart. He says, "But I'm not gonna allow you to be destroyed. I'm not gonna allow you to be burned. This thing can only go so far". Why? "'Cause I'm with you and all will be well". You see, God never failed one of his people when they cried out to him, and he will not fail the brokenhearted. He will not fail the Christian whose heart has been broken, who cries out to him today. He may not always answer exactly in the way that, you know, we would like.
You know, some people, you know, God healed the broken relationship but I'm gonna show you next week that, you know, God doesn't heal every broken relationship. And that's gonna shock some of you, ha. But he answers according to his perfect will and timing and while we are waiting for the answer, guess what happens? While we are waiting for the answer, 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and 9, declares that his grace is sufficient for you. So, yeah, you might be going through some pain right now but God's grace is sufficient for you. It's just enough to make sure you can get through. Yeah, you might have lost your job but his grace is sufficient for you. Provisions will be there.
See, just 'cause you're going through a hard time, it doesn't mean that you're not gonna make it. His grace is sufficient for you. So those who belong to Christ and are enduring heartbreak must know that God loves them and that his love is unconditional. I said his love is unconditional. I mean, imagine the grief. You talk about grief, that God the Father endured as he witnessed the crucifixion of his Son on the cross. Think of that. That's just like you looking at your little child being executed. What an amazing love that he would give us his Son and that same God is there to comfort the brokenhearted and to restore the joy of salvation.
So, here's what we do know. We do know God is there to heal that bruising, crushing heart. But where does it come from? Most of the time, like I said, that hurt, that pain, comes from broken relationships. So let's talk about just for a few minutes, you know, the healing process, the healing of the hurt of that broken relationship, the healing of the hurt from that broken relationship. How can I heal from the hurt of a broken relationship because, whoa, some people, it's been four years, no healing yet. And I'm telling you, your life is destroyed when you don't receive complete healing that God offers, that you continue to try to get it the ways that the world talks about.
You know, the world is full of people with broken hearts, broken spirits, broken relationships. The pain of a broken relationships, you know, includes a very real sense, listen to this, of personal loss not unlike bereavement. The pain of a broken relationship could be similar to the pain of, you know, losing a loved one that died. Sometimes, the hurt is so great, it prevents people from functioning properly and in extreme cases can result in mental breakdown or even a desire to commit suicide. And that's what we're seeing right now. It's tough out there, man. And yet our God is able. He's able to do some mighty things in our life.
You know, Jesus understands the pain of rejection. I used to think about that. Lord, do you really understand what I'm going through? Jesus understands the pain of rejection. Someone says, "Well, how would you know that"? Because of the Word. Look at John, look at Saint John chapter 1 and verse 11, Saint John chapter 1 and verse 11. Jesus, he knows about this. I was a little, it blessed me. Understand what I'm saying. I wasn't rejoicing because of the rejection of Jesus but just to know that he knows, it's pretty cool to know that he knows what I'm going through and so look what he said in John 1 and 11. He says, "He came unto his own, and his own received him not". He came to his own; his own people did not receive him.
Think of that. Think of being rejected by your own people. That's painful. I've been through that. I've been through the rejection of some of my brothers and sisters in the Lord. It's painful. I understand rejection. But Jesus understands rejection as well. Look at what he said in John chapter 6 and 7. John 6:71. John 6:71. This is something, John 6:71. He says, "He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the 12".
Listen to me. Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest associates. He understands what betrayal's like. You know, it doesn't really hurt unless you have a relationship. Imagine what that felt like, being betrayed by one of your closest associates. And then look at Psalms 41 and 9 in the NLT. Psalms 41 and 9, I mean, you know, Jesus knows what it's like to be kind to someone and to give your all to them and they just turn against you. Look at what he says in Psalms 41 and 9. He said, "Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me", wow. That is prophetic that that was gonna happen. I mean, this is understood. I mean, this is a serious thing.
As we deal with the pain of broken relationship we must understand that, you know, Jesus knows about this, he understands rejection, and yet he says something in 1 Peter chapter 5 and 7 that we have got to get a hold of, that in the midst of that rejection he says, 1 Peter 5 and 7, turn there, he talks about casting your care on him. It's something about, yeah, I'm going through this pain, but I have access to Jesus. And if I'll cast all my care upon him, why? 'Cause he cares for me. What is it saying when you keep the care?
What is it saying when you say, "Yeah, I'm gonna keep the care". First of all, it's saying you don't believe. You don't believe that he can take it. You don't believe he can handle it so you immediately allow your fear to put you into self-preservation and you think, "Well, I'm gonna handle this". God knows how to deal with it, man. And then look at Romans chapter 12 and verse 15. It was so amazing to me. I see the love of God here. You know, sometimes we think of him as, you know, the God on the throne and, you know, he's so busy being flawless that he can't feel me. You know, you feel me? He can't feel me. And that's not what it is. That's not like him at all.
He says in Romans chapter 12, excuse me, yeah, Romans 12:15, he says, "Rejoice with them that do rejoice", but he said this, "And he'd weep with those that weep". He'll do that. He will weep with those who weep. And here's a thing that blessed me more than anything. Hebrews chapter 4 and 5, that my feelings and my hurt and my pain, Jesus knows about that. Jesus understands what betrayal feels like. Jesus understands what rejection feels like and in Hebrews chapter 4:15, he says this, Hebrews 4:15. He talks about how he is, he says, "For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities", weaknesses, "but was in all points, he was tempted", tested, "like as we are, yet without sin".
So we don't have a high priest that doesn't understand how we feel. "Oh, but you just don't know how I feel. You just don't know what I go through". Jesus does. "Yeah, but you don't know just how bad it hurt". Jesus does. "Well, you just don't understand. I just wanna take my life". Jesus does, and quit talking about taking your life. Listen, listen, you're gonna be shocked. You don't wanna go to heaven before you're supposed to be there, ha. Don't do that. There's a lot you're supposed to do. There's a charge to keep. There's something that God has put on your life to do.
If you were not that important to the plan of God, why is Satan attacking you so? 'Cause he wants you. He wants you out of the way. He doesn't wanna worry about how to combat the anointing that you have on your life. So put the gun down. Put the knife down. You're gonna be all right. Jesus is near you, praise God. And I know there are people around you who say, "Well, that's religion". This is not religion. This is a relationship with a man who has been sent to comfort us and walk with us and guide us and care for us in this life that we're living, amen, amen, amen, amen, and amen. He knows how much you can bear. And so what we choose to do with that hurt and with that disappointment, I mean, it's gonna be on us, folks.
A broken relationship can be the source of a lot of negative emotions and you and I both know how futile it is to allow our lives to be led by our emotions. I mean, it is going to be pointless and it's gonna be useless if you let your life be led by your emotions. Jesus Christ has blessed us with what? Ephesians 1 and 3, "with every spiritual blessing". He has made us accepted in him. You know that Scripture, Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 6? "He has made us accepted in him". We are accepted in him.
Now, you're gonna have to believe that I have been made accepted in him. Ephesians 1 and 6, he says, "To the praise and the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved". Right now you say, "I've been accepted. I am his beloved". And you know, you're working hard for people to accept you, you're doing all kinds of things to be accepted. You're doing things that even make you feel uncomfortable. You're doing things that you don't even believe in, so you can be accepted by other people, and Jesus says, "I've already accepted you, my son. I've already accepted you".
This acceptance transcends all feelings of rejection that we may have because this is not based on "I hope I'm accepted". This is based on "I know I'm accepted". And so you can't go around saying, "Well, I sure hope I'm accepted". No, you've got to go to this next point. I know I'm accepted. I am accepted in the beloved. And every time this thought comes to your mind, you know, that you're not accepted and you start doing things to compromise who you are or what you believe because you want other people to accept you, you remind yourself, "I know I'm accepted by God", instead of "I hope I'm accepted by God".
We know that God has accepted us because why? 'Cause God's Word tells us so. And as we appropriate this truth by faith, it changes our heart and it changes our lives. Because we take possession of the truth of God's Word by faith, it changes our heart, it changes our lives. I'm sure. People who don't understand this, they think, "Well, how's that gonna help me"? And then you proceed to try to do those things that the world recommends and all of a sudden you've exalted those things higher than God but there's nothing greater than God's Word. But you gotta learn how to accept it. You gotta learn how to take possession of it. You gotta learn how to appropriate this truth into your life by faith, and you see what God has already done but so many people don't know how to take hold or take possession of what God has already done.
And you take the cheaper or what the world has to offer over the deeper, what Jesus has already done for you. It's gotta change. You have so much faith in the therapist and no faith at all in Jesus who will completely delivered you. You have so much faith in the strategy of a life coach and have no faith at all in the one who created life and knows exactly how it's supposed to work.
And I'm telling you, you might get some little results as far as intensity but you're never gonna be completely healed doing it their way. They don't know the way that gets you completely healed of a broken heart. But Jesus is a specialist in healing you of a broken heart. But you gotta know how to operate in his system, and his system is by faith. His system is find the promise, receive that promise by faith, and keep it and it will change your heart and it will change your life. The world might change your thinking for a moment, which will change your feelings for a moment and then you think you're there. But God digs deep and he takes the root of that situation out and you wake up one day completely restored because you took what he said. Praise God.
So everyone experiences the hurt of a broken relationship at one time or another. We are bound to be hurt and disappointed. Why? Because we live in a fallen world and, like I said before, what we choose to do with that hurt and disappointment can make us stronger in our walk with the Lord Jesus Christ or it can be something that destroys us. God promises to walk through the disappointment in life with us. We saw that in Hebrews 13 and 5. He says, "I'm never gonna leave you nor forsake you". He wants us to know his provisions that he's made available to us. He wants us to know that those provisions are sure. His grace and comfort are ours if we can learn how to rest in him. And that's the highest kind of faith: the faith where you so believe that you find rest and say, "All is well".
You know, here's something I learned about every born again child of God. Every born again child of God has blessings in Christ, but we have to choose to utilize them. I mean, I keep going back to what Taffi was talking about. We gotta choose to utilize them. Living in constant gloom and dejection over a broken relationship is like having a million dollars in the bank and living like a pauper because we never make a withdrawal. It's also true that we cannot use what we do not know. How are you gonna use what you don't know? "Yeah, but I don't understand what I don't know". It's 'cause you're not getting in his Word.
You know, you're talking about "Oh God, make me better", but you won't spend the time to find out what he had to say. You've been convinced by our world that doesn't know God, a world that's directed by mammon, a world that trusts money more than they trust God, and then, you know, the Bible says, you know, "Learn of me. Take my yoke upon thee. My yoke is easy. Learn of me". But when you have a lack of knowledge, just like the Bible says, people are destroyed because of what they don't know. Therefore, every believer should seek to, like the Scripture says, I think it's 2 Peter 3 and 18, seek to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord. Seek to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord. Brokenness will take place but you'll be ready for it. You'll be ready for it. Just like a lot of World Changers, man. You're ready for this.
Some of you have been preparing for 20 years for this pandemic. You're ready for it. You're ready for all the emotions that knock on the door, all of the issues of life. You're ready for it. This Word has been sown on the inside of you. You're good, man. You're good. It's a challenge but you're ready for it. You know what's going on. You've been prepared, you've been preparing. You got that Word of faith on the inside of you, praise God. Romans 12 and 22 says we must face life armed with a real understanding of what it means to walk by faith.
And Romans 12:22 talks about being transformed by the renewing of your mind, by the renewing... you've heard me say this before: the greatest thing you can do as a individual on the earth is to get born again. The greatest thing the born again person can do is to renew your mind.
So if you are born again and if you've made Jesus the Lord of your life, are you in the process of renewing your mind? You know, I used to be a Baptist preacher and I sure loved whooping and I used to love hollering until one day I realized in talking to some of the people I was preaching to that there was really no transformation going on. And I decided I didn't wanna die and go to heaven, realized I performed and could tear a church up and they could do cartwheels and flips, but I didn't give 'em nothing to help 'em transform.
And that's why I stand flatfooted and teach the Word of God and I know, I know a lot of people don't wanna hear teaching, they don't wanna hear a boring guy go from one Scripture to another Scripture, "Nya, nya, nya. I want me some dessert. I want something to get me going". No, no, no, no, no, ain't got no problem with that but that's not what he called me to do.
Now, I love good preaching and I know some good preachers and when I wanna hear good preachers, I call my friends. But we got to eat something that will help us to change our thinking. We've got to transform the way we think because "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he". And the most important thing you can do is renew your mind and be in the process of renewing your mind and you face life armed and you're ready for whatever may come. So as believers, we are not defined by past failures. The world wants to do that. The world loves trying to define you based on what you did 10 years ago, 20 years, and I don't know what it is about the world loves taking stuff that you've done a long time ago and they try to just keep you there.
And the problem with that is that it's so hard for you to judge that person based on what you saw 20 years ago because they have moved on from that place. You're the only one that hasn't moved on. They've moved on from that place. They're not even nowhere the same as they used to be, but you label them there and you keep them there. That's why it's so hard to find real true leadership in our country 'cause people are too afraid to run for office because all you gonna do is go back and report on what they used to be instead of finding out who they are right now. And so we don't have the privilege of the wonderful leaders that are in our country and in our nation because they're just like, "I just don't feel like going through all that".
They didn't make, it's not like nobody, ain't nobody perfect. And yet, you judge people as if you are and pat yourself on the back. No, I wanna tell you something right now, Christian. Listen to me loud and clear. We are not judged, believers, we are not defined by our past failures, we are not defined by our past disappointments, we are not defined by the rejection of others. Absolutely, we are defined by our relationship with God, hallelujah. We are his children. We are born again to the newness of life. We are endowed with every spiritual blessings. We have been accepted in Jesus Christ. We have faith that overcomes the world. We are defined by our relationship with God, not by our past mistakes, not by our past failures, and not by the rejection of other people.
So God has prepared each of us and has prepared for each of us a very unique opportunity to walk through the all things of life. We can either walk in our own strength or we can walk like the apostle Paul calls, you know, we walk in our own strength or, the flesh the apostle Paul calls that, doing it your own way, or we can walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. It's your choice. I wanna walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. I wanna walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. Man, I am not doing this thing where I'm trying to impress people. I'm not doing this thing where I'm trying to get accolades from people. I'm not doing this thing where I'm trying to get validation for people. I just believe if you do things out of the sincerity of your heart, you don't need somebody's validation. And if you do, then God will be the one to validate you.