Living Above See Level

Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here's Adrian Rogers. Take God's word, please, and find 2 Corinthians. Uh chapter 4.

I want to talk to you tonight about living above sea level. S E E That is learning to live by faith. Our learning To see The invisible.

Now we've often heard this little motto that what you see is what you get. That's just the world's way of saying the things that are real are the things that we can touch. Things we can taste. the things we can hear. The things that we can Smell handle with our five senses.

But there's another very real world out there. It is the unseen world. The Apostle Paul have been going through affliction. You and I would call it deep affliction, but he called it light affliction. I want you to look in verses 17 and 18.

He says, For our light affliction which is but for a moment. Worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight. of glory.

So he's contrasting. The lightness of this present affliction The weighty glory That shall be ours. He is contrasting here Pain And glory. And he's going to contrast that which can be seen and that which cannot be seen. Look in verse 18.

While we look. not at the things which are seen. but at the things which are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporal. That means they're temporary.

transitional. But the things which are not seen are eternal.

So he says we are looking at things. Which are not. Scene, it sounds like double talk. But if you'll stay tuned, you'll understand it's not double talk. When I was a little boy, I heard a little poem that said something like this, last night.

I saw upon the stair a little man who was not there. He was not there again today. Oh, how I wish he'd go away.

Now that's the kind of double talk some think that we find right here in this passage of scripture. But this is not double talk. Paul is not playing with words. He's talking to us about some great eternal truths. that we must learn to live by if we would live the life of faith.

Now I want you to think with me about, first of all, What I'm going to call the reality. of an unseen world. The reality Of an unseen world. The Bible teaches that there is a visible material world. And there is an invisible spiritual world.

And these two coexist side by side.

Now we would be very foolish to deny that there is an unseen spiritual world just because we cannot see it. with our physical eyes. A blind man would be foolish. To deny The radiant splendor of a sunset simply because he cannot see it. If you were to take my great-grandfather, and bring him back to this world and tell him that this room right now is full.

of music. And sports. And drama. and action and automobiles crashing and news from all over the world. He'd say, no, that's not true.

That you're telling a lie, but we know that it is true. And we took a television receiver up here and plugged it in and tuned it right, it would draw all of these images out of the air. They're here. And they're in the air.

Now, because we cannot see them right now just simply means that we're not tuned into them, but we know that they're here. Isn't that true? Sure, you know, that's true. These things are in the air. We have a wonderful illustration of another world in this age in which we live that our great-great-grandfathers did not have.

But unless you have your antenna up. And tuned into station JESUS, you may not know it. You may say, well, these people, they're just conjuring up things, they're talking about things that are reality, that are not reality. There is more to life than what you can touch, what you can taste, what you can smell, what you can hear.

Now, here's the point. What is not seen is even more real. than that which is seen.

Now go back, take your Bibles. And just fast forward a little bit to Hebrews chapter 11. Let me show you what I'm talking about. I'm saying. that what is not seen is more real than what is seen.

Hebrews Chapter 11, and turn to it, it's worth turning to, and look with me in verse 3. Here's what the Apostle Paul says.

Well, let's start in verse 1.

Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. the evidence of things not Seen, just underscore that. That is, faith is the evidence that there is an unseen world out there. For by it, that is by faith, The elders obtained a good report. Would you like to get an A on your report card?

Well, pay attention. Through faith that the worlds, that is the universes, were framed, that is, brought into being. By the word of God. That is, God spoke. And God made something.

out of nothing.

so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Now, Moffat translates that this way, the visible is made out of the invisible. Things that are seen were first made of things. That can't be seen. That is the invisible was here before the visible. Before there was anything that you could touch or taste or hear or smell.

There was the invisible Spirit of God. and the word of God that brought all of these things here. The invisible was here before the visible.

Now, sometimes people try to deny the idea of God because they say it all. just happen. And they even try to explain how life happened.

Sometimes, as a matter of fact, about 15 years ago, a scientist went into a laboratory. And he said he had created life in that laboratory.

Now what he had done was to synthesize some amino acids. that had lifelike qualities. And so he said, you see, I have created life. Of course, after a while, other scientists began to laugh him to scorn. That would be like a man whose father was a master builder.

and had built an incredibly beautiful and stately mansion. And while his father was away, this man would take his father's tools. and his father's building materials. Take his father's plans and study them very carefully. Take his father's model and look at it over and over again.

And then, with his father's tools, his father's materials, his father's plan, and the model before him. were to build a little chicken cook. And then he steps back and looks at that chicken cook and says, You see that? That proves my father doesn't exist. That's what this man was doing in the laboratory.

He was taking God's materials, God's tools, God's model, all of it, and synthesizing something that wasn't even life and stuck out his chest and boasted as if there is no God. But the truth of the matter is that all he could use were materials that are already in existence. But God made everything out of nothing. Do you believe that? I believe that.

God made everything out of nothing.

So the invisible world was here first. Again, let me read that scripture to you. Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed. by the word of God.

So that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. That is, the visible is made out of. The invisible.

Now, not only was the invisible world here, first, But the invisible world will be here last. It's going to outlast. Uh the visible world. As a matter of fact, the scripture that we just read to you 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 18. Paul says, while we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen.

For the things which are seen Or what? temporal. It is temporal. It deals with time. It is passing away.

Everything around you is changing, winding down, and decaying. It is temporary. What is more real, therefore? That which is passing away or that which can never pass away. What I'm trying to say, the things that are not seen are eternal.

Now, the unseen world is more real than the seen world because the unseen world was here first and the unseen world is here last. And if you're living for the things that are seen, you're in for a big disappointment. I want to tell you that. We've talked to you about the reality of this unseen world. How do we know it is there?

Because God Himself says. that it is there. We would be foolish to deny it. But now let me talk to you not only about the reality of it. But the resources of it.

What good does it do for us to know that there's an unseen world?

Well, there are great vital resources that are wrapped up in the unseen world that can be ours, and I'm going to tell you how to tap into those resources right out of the Word of God in a moment. But let's just see what kind of a resource knowing that there is an unseen world can be to me and to you. In the first place, Knowing that there's an unseen world is a great, great resource when you're going through trouble. and we're all going to go through troubles. If you've not had any troubles lately, just settle down and hang on.

There's some out there waiting just for you that have your name on them. And being a Christian does not make you immune. As a matter of fact, let's just back up all the way to verse 3. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.

Now lost people cannot understand spiritual things. because they don't have the spiritual antenna and receiver to receive station J E S U S. In whom the God of this world, notice that word God is spelled with a little G, that is Satan, who is the God of this world, not Almighty God, the God of this world, spelled with a little G, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Now these people are blind. How are they blind? Not blind physically. But they are blind. Spiritually.

Who is the blinder? Satan. the God of this world. He has blinded the minds of them which believe not. Why?

Because he doesn't want the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the image of God, to shine into them. Then the Apostle Paul says, for we preach not ourselves. but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants. For Jesus' sake.

Well, Paul, if you preach Jesus, God's going to bless you and the world's going to be good to you. You won't have any problems.

Well, just hold on and see if that is true. He says, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts. to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure, that is the glory of God, in earthen vessels, in clay pots. that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

We are like a clay pot. And the only thing that makes us worthwhile or anything good about me, you, or any other person on the face of this earth is Jesus Christ, the treasure that is in the clay pot. And then Paul describes the difficulty that he got in. He said, we're troubled on every side. But not distressed.

We are perplexed. But not in despair. We are persecuted. But not forsaken. Cast down.

But not Destroy. What he's saying is, I've been knocked down, but I have been knocked out. I keep getting up, always bearing about in the body, that is my body, this clay pot. the dying of the Lord Jesus. that the life of Jesus also might be made manifest in our bodies.

Now what Paul is saying is, listen. It's not me they're after, it's Jesus. I simply have Jesus on the inside of this clay pot. And the reason they keep striking the pot, the reason that they keep after this earthen vessel, is because there is a treasure in this earthen vessel. And rather than treasuring the treasure, they detest the treasure, and so they're after me.

But he says, when I endure these blows, I only endure the blows for Jesus who took the blows for me. I bear about in my body the dying of the Lord Jesus because He died for me. And when I react with love, when I react with wisdom, when I react with courage and gentleness, what do they see? When the clay pot is broken, they see Jesus Christ shining out. They see the treasure when that vessel is broken.

So he says, always bearing about in the body. That is my body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. People will see Jesus in you when you react to trouble, heartache, sorrow, and pain like a Christian ought to. And notice what he says in verse 11, For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake. That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

So then death worketh in us, but life in you. That is, he's saying, the more I die to myself, The more I'm willing to bear suffering for the Lord Jesus, the more his life radiates out of me. And he goes on to say, we having the same spirit of faith, According as it is written, I have believed And therefore have I spoken. We also believe And therefore, speak. knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and present us with you.

He says, listen. I believe What I believe. And therefore I say what I say. I may die, they may kill me, but I know that I know that the God who raised up Jesus is going to raise me up also, and he's going to raise you up also, and together we're going to meet the Lord.

So he goes on to say why he suffers. He says, For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound. To the glory of God. And then he says, for the which cause we faint not. He's just saying, I don't quit.

For though our outward man perish, Though they beat on this clay pot, Though our outward man perish, Yet the inward man is renewed. day by day.

Well, Paul, how do you do that? What keeps you ticking? What keeps you going? How do you suffer like this? How were you pickled in the Mediterranean?

How were you beat with the lictor's lash? How were you stoned and left for dead? How were you fasting and starving in prison? How, Paul, did you do this?

Well, he tells you in verse 17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.

Now, when you get into trouble, And especially when you get into trouble for standing up for the Lord Jesus Christ. You had better look into another world. You had better fix your eyes upon the things that cannot be seen. Because when you do this, God is going to give you supernatural strength. You will be marching to the tune of a different drummer.

Now, Paul was perplexed. He didn't understand it all. He said, we're perplexed, we're distressed. Just because it didn't make sense to Paul didn't mean it didn't make sense. And just because it doesn't make sense now doesn't mean it won't make sense later on.

The Apostle Paul says, I don't understand it, but I look at the things which are not seen. And the Greek word there, to look, literally means he fixed his gaze. He looked steadfastly at things which other people cannot see.

Now, that's what the Apostle Paul was doing here. In times of trouble, you need to see an unseen world.

Now, not only in time of trouble. But when you're afraid, You need to see an unseen world. Go back, if you will, to 2 Kings with me for just a moment and chapter 6. Open your Bibles to it. 2 Kings chapter 6, and I'm going to be in reading here in verse 8 in just a moment.

Now what happened is this. that Elisha is the man of God. And he is a prophet of God. He has a servant, but like any man of God, like the Apostle Paul, And like any man, woman, boy, or girl who tries to live for Jesus, he got into trouble. I've told you before that Jesus didn't come to get us out of trouble, but to get into trouble with us.

And so here's this man of God, he's in trouble. And verse 8, Then the king of Syria warred against Israel and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place, for thither the Syrians Are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of and saved himself there, not once. nor twice, therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled.

for this thing. And he called his servants and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? That is, there's a spy in the camp somewhere. He didn't know that the prophet, the man of God, had been warning the king of Israel. And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king, but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

You talk about a leak, there was one here because Elisha was tuned into heaven to an unseen world.

So he said, go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. That is, I'm going to put him under arrest. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore, he sent he thither horses and chariots and a great host.

Now, here's one little preacher out there, and he's sending a whole army after him. And they came by night and compassed the city about.

Now they want this man of God, and so they have cordrid around the city with horses and chariots and soldiers. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, and host compassed the city, both with horses and chariots. And his servants said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall we do? Plain English, we're in a mess. What are we going to do?

And he answered, Fear not. For they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, not his physical eyes, but his spiritual eyes, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire.

Round about Elisha.

Now, the enemy had his soldiers. God had his soldiers. And uh The point that I want to make is this. That when you're free, and when the devil intimidates you and blusters against you. You need to understand that the angel of the Lord encamps around about those that fear him.

And what we need to do when we're afraid is to say, Lord, open my eyes. Help me to see, Lord, that you are with me.

So many times. We're in danger and may not even know it.

So many times God may send an angel escort. Uh to pick us up. to take us and take care of us. One time I was in serious danger. I mean very serious danger.

And that danger passed. I was in physical danger. And I went to the Word of God, and it said. You will not die, but live. And you will bear testimony of me.

And God just took that word right off the page and gave it to me. But the strange thing was... That several days after that, I received three letters, one from down in Mississippi, one from in Georgia. And one from another place right here. They said, Adrian?

Were you in difficulty? Were you in trouble? God laid on my heart that I should pray for you. And what a blessing it was to get these letters that I don't understand it, but God told me to pray specially for you. Such a blessing to know that the angel of the Lord encamps around about those that fear Him.

God is a good God, He protects His own. And if we could only see in time of trouble, if we could just say, Lord, show me the things that are eternal. If we, in times of fear and persecution, could say, Lord, Open my eyes to see the angels that encamp round about me that are protecting me. And nobody can get to you. No thing can get to you except to come through God's angels first.

If God allows it, He will allow it for your good and for His glory. And I'm telling you, folks, in times of temptation. If you ever get tempted, and you will get tempted, you need to see the unseen world. Turn to Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for. The evidence of things not seen. Do you see that?

Now with that in mind, go down to verse 24. And look at it. By faith. Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God.

than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

Now Moses could have had fathomless wealth. He could have had luxurious lifestyle. He could have dabbled in every sinful worldly pleasure that this world offered. He could have been the king of the most powerful nation on earth. But he refused, the Bible says, to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. esteeming the reproach of Christ Greater riches. than the treasures in Egypt. For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. That is, he looked to the bottom line.

He looked to the conclusion of the whole matter.

Now verse 27, by faith. He forsook Egypt. not fearing the wrath of the king, Now here's the verse I wanted. For he endured. as seeing him who is invisible.

One more time. One more time, we see that in time of trouble, you have to see the invisible. In time of fear, you have to see the invisible. In time of temptation, you have to see the invisible. That's what's going to keep you going.

That's what's going to keep you straight.

Now, how are you going to bring this into your life? How is this going to be made known to you and real to you? We've talked about the reality of this unseen world. We've talked to you about the wonderful resources of this unseen world.

Now, how do you release? the power of the unseen world in your own life. First of all, You need to understand that there are three great enemies of our faith. One is Appearances. Second, Emotion.

And third is reason. Those are three big enemies of faith.

Now nothing wrong with any of them, except they war against our faith. For example, appearances. Can be a great enemy of faith. Hebrews 11, verse 1.

Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. the evidence of things not C.

Now, what is hope? Hope means anticipation. that is joined with assurance. That's what hope is. Anticipation.

That is joined with assurance. Faith is the evidence of anticipation that is joined with assurance. Hope means there's something that we anticipate happening. and it actually has the anticipation of joy.

Now, sometimes I anticipated a spanking when I was a little boy, but there was no joy. I didn't hope for it. although I knew it was coming. But hope means anticipation joined with assurance. that is based and that assurance is based on divine promise.

So faith comes by hearing the Word of God. When we hear the Word of God, We have this hope. And faith. is the substance of it. Uh now Many times we want to see something.

We want something we can touch, something we can feel. You remember Thomas? I doubted the resurrection and he failed in his faith because he refused to live above sea level. John chapter 20, verse 25. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord.

But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand in his side, I will not. Believe.

Now here was a man. whose faith was hindered by the desire to see. The desire to see. is such a hindrance to faith. Simon Peter.

Learn that we are not to live this way. 1 Peter 1, verse 8, it speaks of Jesus, whom having not seen, ye love. in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Adrian, have you seen Jesus? No.

But I love him. I have not seen him. But I love him and I believe. on him.

Sometimes We just Believe what our senses tell us. Rather than letting that faith be the evidence of things not seen. things hoped for. I think I told you a story years ago. about an experience that I had.

I had been preaching in a revival crusade. Out near the Everglades in Florida. And on Saturday night, we had a great, glorious crusade. God blessed in that little church, and people that we'd been fasting and praying for came to Christ. And I was driving back to Fort Pierce, where I was a pastor.

And I was driving a little Volkswagen automobile. And it ran out of gas. On a dark Back road out near the Florida Everglades. It was swampy. It was dark.

And it was raining. And I thought to myself, How anticlimactic can this be? I've just been in the great revival meeting, and now I'm sitting out here on a lonely road miles from nowhere, and it's raining. And nobody knows I'm out here. It's late at night.

What shall I do?

Well, I was so full of the Spirit of God. I mean, I was in a state of revival. I had been fasting and praying and seeking God, and God was so real to me. I just said, well, Lord, I'm going to pray. And I prayed to God and asked God what to pray.

Because I believe with all of my heart that the prayer that gets to heaven is the prayer that starts in heaven. What we do is close the circuit. And so I wanted God to lay on my heart what to pray for. And I felt a distinct impression that I would pray this, that the first automobile that comes along would stop and pick me up. I checked it out.

I prayed out loud. I said, Lord, is this what you want me to pray? And I felt the faith in my heart. Have you ever felt faith in your heart?

Now, if you felt faith, you know what faith is. There are times when we Pray and we say, Lord, I believe, but we know we don't believe. We just say we believe. We think if we say it, it'll make it true. Have you ever been there?

You know, we just say, well, Lord, I'm really believing you for this. But we know we're not believing, and God knows we're not believing. But we say it anyway. But this time I knew I was believing. I knew.

That God had put this faith in my heart. And if you've ever lived by faith long enough and had experiences with faith, you know, at least you think you know, when you've got real faith there in your heart. And you know without faith it's impossible to please him and you don't get anything from God if you don't pray in faith. Pray, believe, you'll receive, pray, and doubt, you do without. And so you've got to pray in faith.

And so I said, Lord, is this what you want me to pray? This impression, I believe, was from the Holy Spirit. I said, yes.

So I said, well, thank you, Lord. And I said, Lord, I'm going to lock you in on this. And I wasn't being arrogant, but I said, Lord, I'm going to ask that the first car that stops will pick me up. But I said, Lord, if the second or third car stops... I'll not count it as an answer to prayer.

But if that first car stops and picks me up, Nobody will ever convince me it was not an answer to prayer. And so I prayed and I thank God for what was about to transpire. And then I saw the car coming on that lonely South Florida road in a rainstorm. And I saw him, and he began to slow down and slow down and almost stopped. And I said, Well, this is wonderful how God answers prayer.

I'm thinking to myself. I rolled the window down and smiled a little to help the Lord. And he came right alongside of me. He stopped his car, and I'm over here. I look at him, and he looks at me.

Our faces meet. I think this is wonderful. And then at that time, he puts the pedal to the metal. And his car just disappeared in the inky darkness. I felt the exhaust fumes come up my nostrils.

And I just heard the roar of his car as he left me sitting there in the rain. I've never been so, well, maybe I have, but a few times been so downcast as I was right then. I thought, God, I can't understand it. I just knew, I just knew that you had heard my prayer. And I said something, it may sound sacrilegious.

I said, well, I'll get the next one myself, Lord. And I stuck out my thumb for the next one. And that car went by, and another went by, and another went by. And they weren't going to stop for a guy like me on a night like that in the rain.

So I made up my mind I've just got to get out and walk. I only had one fresh pressed suit. It was Saturday night. I was going to wear the suit I was wearing that night to preach the next Sunday morning in my church in Fort Pierce, Florida. I got out of the car and I'd walked about as far as from here to that flag over there.

when an automobile came from the direction toward which I was walking, He slowed up, shined his headlights on me, rolled down the window and said, you need a ride, don't you? I said, well, yes, sir, I do. He said, I I came to get you. I thought, well, now who knows I'm out here? And then I looked at that car.

You know which card it was, don't you? It was number one. It was the first car. I Got in the car. Wipe the rain off my brow.

And I said, before we go anywhere, I've got a very important question I need to ask you. What made you Come for me. Didn't you pass by here before? He said, Yes. I said, did you almost stop?

He said, yes. I said, well, why didn't you stop? He said, I was afraid. I said, I can understand that. But what made you come back to get me?

He said, mister, it beats me. And what he said, he said, it beats me? He said, I got down here to the crossroads. And something told me I must come back and pick you up.

Now, can you imagine a man going all the way down there, turning around, and coming back to get me? I almost shouted, but the only thing that kept me from shouting, praise to God, is I wanted to kick myself in the seat of the pants for getting out and getting my head wet.

Now the point is. Here's the point. That night, my eyes, my ears, my nose, the gas fumes, the rain on my head, everything physical said God had not heard your prayer, but He had. He had. And so we have to learn sometimes to battle with those sensory perceptions that we have.

Now another thing that keeps us from living in the realm of the invisible is our emotions. Our emotions.

Sometimes it's what we see that battles against our faith, and sometimes it is our emotions. If we can't see it, then we want to feel it. Have you ever tried to pray sometimes and your prayer just didn't feel juicy? You know what I'm talking about. Your prayers are dry.

And it just seems like you're going through a some sort of a meaningless exercise.

Well folks listen. Don't let your emotions keep you from believing God. Your emotions really don't have a lot to do with it. God doesn't do his deepest work in the shallowest part. And there are times when your emotions are just not hitting on all eight.

You can wake up some mornings and have a dull headache and try to have your quiet time and you say, well, I'm just a hypocrite. I don't feel like praying. And God doesn't hear my prayer. God's a billion light years away. And you've just got an upset stomach and a headache and whatever.

You can't concentrate. If you're not careful, you'll get... to feeling unspiritual. And then sometimes you maybe take an alka-seltzer or something. You get the feeling a little better, your mind clears up, the sun comes out, your headache goes away, and you go back and you have a wonderful quiet time.

You say, boy, I've just had a, I'm so close to God. You're the same person you were when you had the headache. Do you think God's in those two Alka-Celts or Tapas? No. Listen, folks, you're just as close to God.

When you come to God in prayer, don't offer God the brass of your emotions. Come with both hands filled with the incense of Jesus' worth. Pray in the name of Jesus. And how you feel really doesn't have a lot to do with it. It's not what you see, it's not what you feel.

I found that so many times when preaching.

Now, folks, I've been preaching for a long time and I've preached a lot of sermons. I'm going to let you in on a secret if you won't tell anybody else.

Now, I promise you just won't tell. Here's the secret that sometimes I don't feel like preaching.

Sometimes, folks, I come out here and I've been sick or tired. or whatever, and I love God. And I get my foot in a lard bucket and can't get it out. And my thoughts won't come, and my mind gets confused and fogged, and my tongue gets tangled up, or a tang gets tongled up, and I don't know what to do. And I say, oh Lord.

This is awful. You ought to try it sometime. But then I give the invitation. and all heaven will break loose. All heaven will break loose.

And God said to me, Adrian, It's not your glibness. It's not your smiles, it's not your emotion, it's the power of God. that counts. We need to learn that over and over again. And sometimes we just need to tap into that invisible world and times of trouble and times of fear and times of temptation.

Understand that there is an invisible world out there. There is a real world and God is working sometimes when appearances tell us he's not.

Sometimes when emotion tells us he's not. And here's the last thing that's an enemy of this invisible world.

Sometimes reason. tells us that God is not working. Remember Don't let your heart, your mind be limited by logic.

Now, I'm not saying that it's wrong to be logical. I like to be logical. I like people who are logical. Faith is not contrary to reason, however, it goes beyond. Reason.

And uh We have to ask ourselves so many times: are we just simply calculating? and figuring rather than trusting the Lord.

Now let me tell you folks, when a man lives above sea level, He's going to see the invisible. And therefore, he's going to tap in to the unknowable, who is truly knowable, the Lord. And then he's going to do the impossible, for with God all things. are possible. If you would like to learn more about how you can know Jesus or deepen your relationship with him, simply click the Discover Jesus link on our website, lwf.org.

For a copy of this message or additional resources, visit our online store at lwf.org or call 1-800-274-5683. Thank you.