WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:24.620 Hi everyone and welcome to another episode of Truth Talk. 2 00:00:24.620 --> 00:00:27.320 I'm so excited to be here today. 3 00:00:27.320 --> 00:00:34.920 I just want to share some really, really good praise reports about some things that 4 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:41.960 have happened recently in my own personal life to try to encourage so many people who 5 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:48.360 have very similar stories to mine and may have lost some hope on some things that maybe 6 00:00:48.360 --> 00:00:50.840 they've had to lose in the process. 7 00:00:50.840 --> 00:01:00.120 I know that for me, you get to a point in your life where it's even painful to pray 8 00:01:00.120 --> 00:01:09.480 to the Lord and ask Him for things like reconciliation and healing in relationships that get broken 9 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:13.520 because when you pray about it, you think about it. 10 00:01:13.520 --> 00:01:16.480 And for most of us, we don't want to think about it. 11 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:27.040 So this journey that the Lord has had me on has been pretty intense in emotions. 12 00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:34.160 So I'm just going to tell you today, if I get emotional, just bear with me. 13 00:01:34.160 --> 00:01:41.760 This journey for me, you know, of course, I'm 40 years into having been sexually abused 14 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:46.400 by my father, but it was 12 years ago. 15 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:52.800 In fact, we just passed the 12 year mark at the end of last month that I finally told 16 00:01:52.800 --> 00:01:59.480 my dad that I needed to, you know, have some time apart from him and needed to be able 17 00:01:59.480 --> 00:02:05.360 to just really focus on my relationship with the Lord. 18 00:02:05.360 --> 00:02:08.000 And of course, that was the best decision that I ever made. 19 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:14.320 At the time, I did not have any idea that it would be 12 years later and we still would 20 00:02:14.320 --> 00:02:15.800 not be reconciled. 21 00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:20.760 That was never anything that the Lord revealed to me. 22 00:02:20.760 --> 00:02:26.240 And obviously I know why, because I probably would not have been near as willing to let 23 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:29.600 him go at that point. 24 00:02:29.600 --> 00:02:36.240 The first several months were horrible and excruciating. 25 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:38.400 I thought about him all the time. 26 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:49.480 And then the more that I saw that I was really drawn more to find that father relationship 27 00:02:49.480 --> 00:02:57.160 with the Lord and the more fulfilled that I became in my relationship with him, the 28 00:02:57.160 --> 00:03:04.640 less that it bothered me that I didn't have that relationship with my earthly father. 29 00:03:04.640 --> 00:03:08.400 Not to say that I don't miss him and don't love him, because I do. 30 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:15.320 It's very, very painful in many different situations and circumstances, but it's not 31 00:03:15.320 --> 00:03:18.080 like it was at the beginning. 32 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:23.520 And I prayed for a long time that the Lord would bring us back together. 33 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:29.640 And I lost several siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, you know, pretty much everyone 34 00:03:29.640 --> 00:03:32.640 on his side of the family. 35 00:03:32.640 --> 00:03:37.640 And it just got to a point where the more I prayed about it, the more painful it was 36 00:03:37.640 --> 00:03:39.520 just to even think about it. 37 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:43.720 And I had a pastor at one point that said, because I felt like I was supposed to pray 38 00:03:43.720 --> 00:03:51.440 about it, and he said, Wendy, he said, that's when the body comes together and lifts that 39 00:03:51.440 --> 00:03:52.600 up for you. 40 00:03:52.600 --> 00:03:57.960 It's not that nobody's praying about it or if I don't pray about it, nothing happens. 41 00:03:57.960 --> 00:04:02.400 It's that the body of Christ, you know, we bear one another's burdens. 42 00:04:03.160 --> 00:04:08.560 And so I know that I have had people praying about things, you know, this whole time. 43 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:18.320 And so I just want to report that in the last several months, two of my long lost siblings 44 00:04:18.320 --> 00:04:26.240 have reached out and we have started talking and they are now grown up and they have their 45 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:27.240 own families. 46 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:33.560 And so I've been able to meet in-laws that I didn't know I had and nieces and nephews 47 00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:35.680 I didn't know I had. 48 00:04:35.680 --> 00:05:00.000 And it is truly amazing when I think about the times that were so hard and were so painful 49 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:08.080 for me especially concerning the safety of my siblings and not knowing if they 50 00:05:08.080 --> 00:05:17.080 were okay or had experienced anything like I had gone through. It was so hard 51 00:05:17.080 --> 00:05:29.520 not to know and not to talk to them about it but that's really where I 52 00:05:29.520 --> 00:05:39.120 learned to trust the Lord and and know that he loves them more than I do and he 53 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:47.720 had a plan for them as well. So thankfully recently I have discovered 54 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:55.560 that nothing like that happened and that those siblings are absolutely wonderful 55 00:05:55.560 --> 00:06:06.040 and we are now back in relationship and I'm so thankful because there's nothing 56 00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:13.720 I could do or even like I said pray about because of how much emotion and 57 00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:21.080 pain it brought to me but what I love about God is that and Jesus because he 58 00:06:21.080 --> 00:06:31.520 sits to the right hand of the Father and he prays for us and he knows what we 59 00:06:31.520 --> 00:06:40.320 need more than we do and so I'm so thankful that while I've just been 60 00:06:40.320 --> 00:06:47.600 sitting and waiting and working on my relationship with the Lord that God was 61 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:52.120 working out the other things and he knew those relationships were important 62 00:06:52.120 --> 00:07:01.920 to me and so he has slowly started to bring those back. So I know that there 63 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:10.960 are people right now that are either contemplating you know what would happen 64 00:07:11.240 --> 00:07:19.000 if I said something? What would happen if I told somebody what this person did to 65 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:25.120 me? Because this person might be the leader of the family or a really 66 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:34.560 important family friend or whoever it is and they're afraid of what I was always 67 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:41.000 told you know don't rock the boat and what I learned was the boat was sinking 68 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:49.160 the boat was already sinking and the perpetrators that get away with what 69 00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:57.520 they do to us is what gives the power to them is the silence and that's where the 70 00:07:57.520 --> 00:08:03.960 enemy wants to keep us because of fear of losing out on relationships, fear of 71 00:08:04.080 --> 00:08:10.000 you know being ostracized by our family. Whatever he can use that he knows 72 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:14.840 will push a button that's what he is going to use and so I just want to 73 00:08:14.840 --> 00:08:24.280 encourage you that God knows what you're gonna have to give up but God is also a 74 00:08:24.280 --> 00:08:32.840 God of restoration and I know that in the place that I am today versus where I 75 00:08:32.919 --> 00:08:40.440 was 12 years ago that my relationship with the Lord is so much better and the 76 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:47.880 way that I will be able to handle these new relationships is so different. I used 77 00:08:47.880 --> 00:08:53.240 to walk on eggshells with my family because I was so afraid of losing them 78 00:08:53.240 --> 00:09:01.320 and now after having lost them it is it is not a fear anymore of course I don't 79 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:08.760 want to lose any of my family members but I know that if there is no one else 80 00:09:08.760 --> 00:09:17.400 that God has me and that I am complete in him he is all I need and so that for 81 00:09:17.400 --> 00:09:26.120 me is so it's just it's a it's a reassurance that you can't read that in 82 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:32.120 a book and come out with that knowledge and understanding it's something you 83 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:38.440 have to go through and I just want to encourage anybody who is on the fence 84 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:47.520 about maybe you know coming forward or talking about it the prism we build for 85 00:09:47.520 --> 00:09:56.400 ourselves before we learn to open the door walk out and get our freedom which 86 00:09:56.400 --> 00:10:01.920 is only found in Christ and 87 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:07.720 only found in bringing that secret to the surface so that it can be healed. 88 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:11.240 There's nothing that's going to be healed while it's kept in the ground and 89 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:16.400 it's swept under the rug. That's not... that is not how we get healing. But there's 90 00:10:16.400 --> 00:10:23.800 so much fear that is being perpetrated and that the enemy is trying to keep us 91 00:10:23.800 --> 00:10:29.800 quiet. And you can see that in the world today. There's so many people right now 92 00:10:29.800 --> 00:10:35.600 that don't want to go along with, you know, the narrative of what is happening 93 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:42.560 but out of fear of being canceled, fear of what would somebody else think, they 94 00:10:42.560 --> 00:10:48.640 just go along to get along. And guys, we are past that. We as Christians, we have 95 00:10:48.640 --> 00:10:54.160 got to be bold. We have got to stand up and we have got to put on the armor of 96 00:10:54.160 --> 00:11:01.760 God and fight this battle. And sometimes that is, you know, going full force 97 00:11:01.760 --> 00:11:08.080 forward and other times it is just being still and praying and trusting the Lord. 98 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:15.120 But never ever is it to live in fear. That is never the answer and it is never 99 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:21.080 the answer to let the enemy control what you do because God promises us that 100 00:11:21.080 --> 00:11:28.360 greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. And I want to just 101 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:36.400 share a verse with you that just like really hit me because so many of us in 102 00:11:36.400 --> 00:11:40.520 everything, you know, whether it's these relationships, whether it's in our job, 103 00:11:40.520 --> 00:11:43.920 whether it's in parenting, you know, being a mom, whether it's in, you know, our 104 00:11:43.920 --> 00:11:49.520 friendships, no matter what it is, we so try to do that ourselves and we so try 105 00:11:49.520 --> 00:11:58.840 to, you know, just be perfect at everything. We're very much performers 106 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:05.720 and perfectionists by nature of what happened to us. But there is a verse, you 107 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:09.880 know, Jude is a very short book of the Bible, so there's only one chapter, but 108 00:12:09.880 --> 00:12:14.960 the way that that book ends in verses 24 and 25, it says, 109 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:22.560 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless 110 00:12:22.560 --> 00:12:28.960 before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior who alone 111 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:36.400 is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Guys, 112 00:12:36.400 --> 00:12:44.040 listen, to him who is able to keep you from stumbling. That doesn't say to those 113 00:12:44.040 --> 00:12:52.640 who are able to keep from stumbling. We are going to stumble all the time. If you 114 00:12:52.640 --> 00:12:57.600 got up out of bed this morning, you're gonna fail before the day is over. It's 115 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:04.760 called being human. It is, it is, there's no avoiding it. We are going to mess up. 116 00:13:04.760 --> 00:13:11.720 We are going to sin. Sin, the word sin just means missing the mark, okay? None of 117 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:17.680 us hit the mark every time we try. It is, it's an impossibility because none of us 118 00:13:17.680 --> 00:13:24.560 are perfect, okay? And then it says, the same him who is able to keep you from 119 00:13:24.560 --> 00:13:33.720 stumbling, he also presents us blameless, okay? So, blameless is perfect before the 120 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:40.360 presence of his glory with exceeding joy. So, the whole point here is to remind us 121 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:46.680 that there's nothing we can do. It's not in our own power. It's in the power of 122 00:13:46.680 --> 00:13:52.640 the Holy Spirit and it is only through him that we are able to not stumble and 123 00:13:52.640 --> 00:14:00.840 to be blameless. And I am just so reminded of that in the world we live in 124 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:08.320 today. It seems as though we are being bombarded with all these new rules, you 125 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:16.400 know, our new normal. And, you know, there is nothing that we're gonna do or not do 126 00:14:16.400 --> 00:14:23.760 that's gonna change one day of our lives. The Lord, before we were created, he knew 127 00:14:23.760 --> 00:14:27.640 our birth date and he knew our death date. And there's nothing we're gonna do 128 00:14:27.640 --> 00:14:35.560 to change that. Just like there's nothing that I'm gonna do to have my family 129 00:14:35.680 --> 00:14:41.080 members reconcile with me. I can't control that. That's something that God 130 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:46.800 has been working behind the scenes doing things I didn't even know he was doing. 131 00:14:46.800 --> 00:14:54.560 That's in every area of our lives. God, I heard the saying one time, if we see God 132 00:14:54.560 --> 00:15:00.960 doing something, just know he's doing a million things. 133 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:04.720 things he reveals to us that make you know it's like obvious that wow God is 134 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:09.600 really, really moving here. God's really working here. You can see God's hand in 135 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:15.000 something. People who don't know God call those things coincidences. That's 136 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:22.720 just not what it is, but there are millions times more that we don't see 137 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:29.040 what he's doing. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than 138 00:15:29.040 --> 00:15:38.120 our thoughts, and that is the only thing we can rest in today. You cannot turn on 139 00:15:38.120 --> 00:15:46.040 the news. You cannot, you know, even check your email and not be discouraged over 140 00:15:46.040 --> 00:15:51.320 something else that we found out today. You know, Jen Psaki said something this 141 00:15:51.320 --> 00:15:54.160 week. I haven't even clicked on it because I don't really even want to know 142 00:15:54.160 --> 00:15:59.200 what she said, but, you know, clearly separating the vaccinated from the 143 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:04.360 unvaccinated. You know, they are moving us into our camps, right, and 144 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:09.880 they're separating us just like they've tried to do in the past, and the thing I 145 00:16:09.880 --> 00:16:20.600 love about God is God adopted all of us. He is about including those who want to 146 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:26.120 believe in him. He's not going to include people that reject him and 147 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:33.400 reject his son. That's not part of the deal. He is, the invitation is for all, 148 00:16:33.400 --> 00:16:41.680 but it is a gift that must be received, and unfortunately so many people don't 149 00:16:41.680 --> 00:16:49.720 want the gift, and I do not understand that. I just, I cannot understand why 150 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:58.280 somebody would reject the one person who has literally died for them, that 151 00:16:58.280 --> 00:17:08.440 gave up everything to come to the earth and to be brutally murdered, and this was 152 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:21.480 a perfect, perfect man. Jesus, even by historical records, was a great man that 153 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:30.600 people were drawn to. I mean, he had no sin. That's, even atheists can read about 154 00:17:30.600 --> 00:17:40.760 that, but this man was also 100% God. He gave up everything he had in heaven so 155 00:17:40.760 --> 00:17:47.800 that he could come to the earth and die for us to give us a way to be with him 156 00:17:47.800 --> 00:17:55.520 forever. I don't understand why somebody would not want to receive a gift like 157 00:17:55.560 --> 00:18:01.880 that, that cost them nothing, but receiving it. It is just beyond 158 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:08.960 understanding for me, and I am urging you today, if you don't have a relationship 159 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:15.960 with the Lord, to please reach out to us. Find another believer that you can talk 160 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:23.600 to. Just ask them questions. Most believers want to share our Savior with 161 00:18:23.600 --> 00:18:31.040 people, and I say it all the time. I will say it again in closing. You know, when 162 00:18:31.040 --> 00:18:38.320 somebody saves you from dangling over the pit of hell, it is very difficult not 163 00:18:38.320 --> 00:18:45.560 to talk about him, and if you were in a burning building, okay, we are about to 164 00:18:45.560 --> 00:18:53.000 have the September 11th 20-year anniversary, and if that's something that 165 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:59.200 you know, you were in those towers before they collapsed and someone 166 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:06.240 rescued you, I'm pretty sure everybody in your world is aware of that person's 167 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:14.000 name, and that is nothing compared to what Jesus did for the world, and I just 168 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:20.240 want to urge you today, you have got to learn about him, and you will want a 169 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:26.960 relationship with him, because there is nothing else right now that can be 170 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:34.880 depended on, that can be trusted, that we can put our hope in other than God the 171 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:42.480 Father, His Son Jesus, the Holy Spirit in the Bible that He left us. This is the 172 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:49.000 only thing you can trust. That article you read today may be kind of true, but I 173 00:19:49.040 --> 00:19:55.080 promise there's something in it. There is an untruth somewhere. There is a bias in 174 00:19:55.080 --> 00:20:01.480 everything we read, everything we hear. The Word of God 175 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:07.480 is never changing. It is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And it is 176 00:20:07.480 --> 00:20:15.240 all we can afford to put our hope and trust in. So I just pray that today, you 177 00:20:15.240 --> 00:20:22.640 know, before the sun goes down, that you will find someone or reach out to us to 178 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:28.400 find out more about this Jesus who loves you so much that He gave His life for 179 00:20:28.400 --> 00:20:34.200 you. I want to thank you guys for tuning in today. We invite you to come back next 180 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:41.360 week for the last episode of this season of Truth Talk with Wendy.