But God!

The following program is recorded content created by the Truth Network.

This is Michael Brown. Welcome to the Line of Fire. We have a special set of broadcasts coming your way this week. I am overseas at an undisclosed location this week, but we're going to have special shows every single day. You'll be blessed. You'll be stirred. In particular, if you're doing ministry work at an active level, if you're pastoring leading congregations, if you're in the midst of times that can be spiritually discouraging and difficult, I believe you're really going to be especially encouraged and blessed this week. Let me tell you where we're going through the week. Today, we're going to open up the Word and talk about these great words in Scripture.

But God, circumstances seem a certain way, things are dark and difficult, but God. We'll be talking about that, opening up the Word. Then tomorrow's broadcast, I'm going to be giving you interviews, four different interviews that I've recorded with pastoral colleagues. I've either been a spiritual mentor in their lives or worked with them closely over the years or just gotten to know them more recently, but all with churches that are really growing and seeing God do amazing things, very different churches, each one different than the other, two in Florida, one in Texas, one in Colorado.

But you'll be encouraged. I just want you to hear stories of what God's doing through regular people around America today, wherever you are, especially if you're in places where it's really difficult, where it's tough going, you'll be especially, especially encouraged as you listen, but everyone will be blessed. Then Wednesday, I'll be speaking with another pastor in Texas, spending the whole hour talking with him.

I've been a spiritual father in his life since 2014. You will be blessed. Thursday, a very important Thoroughly Jewish Thursday broadcast.

And Friday, I'm going to pick some choice questions that you've submitted to answer them at the end of the week. So don't miss a broadcast. Right now, if you're watching on YouTube or Facebook, give a thumbs up on YouTube, give a like on Facebook, then click share on Facebook, click share on YouTube. Let's get this out to the maximum number of people that we can. We're also launching a really powerful, edifying, faith-building, free e-newsletter that'll be coming out in January called the Frontline Newsletter. We want every one of you to get this. We'll take you behind the scenes more, share more testimonies with you, have some special features every single month, and it's all free. If you get our emails, you're getting it automatically.

So you don't need to do anything else. Get it automatically. If you're not getting our emails, the moment you have a chance, if that is now, then go to our website right now, AskDrBrown, askdrbrown.org. Go to the website, and you'll see right on the home page, click to sign up for the emails. It'll just take you a few seconds.

Make sure you're getting our Frontline Newsletter, which will start coming out in January. Okay, what's the principle of but God? The principle is that many times, things are dark and difficult. And according to everything that we know, this should be the end, or this should be disaster, or this should be a real setback, or this should be a massive problem. We don't have a way out. But God. But God. It could be we have the best doctors working on a medical crisis for a loved one, and they're doing everything they know how to do, and they come and tell you, listen, we've done everything we can do. We don't think there's a chance that your loved one's going to make it. And we say thank you for all you're doing.

We appreciate it. But God. Maybe you have a promise from God that that loved one is going to live. Maybe there's a scripture that comes alive, and it jumps at you. And I want you to hear it.

We're going to look at a lot of scripture today, and then I'm going to give you some faith principles. Because, friends, we're in a battle. Our broadcast is the line of fire, but we're all in the line of fire.

That's the reality. Today, there's a target on our backs. As followers of Jesus, more than we've known in our lifetimes, it is more intense, it is more challenging. The battle has come to us.

You might say, I don't really want to be involved. The battle has come to you wherever you are. As a parent, as an educator, as a young person, as an older person, whoever you are, as a pastor, as an evangelist, as a business person, as someone in media, the battle has come to you. The darkness has come to your door.

The assault has come to where you live. And I'm here to encourage you, in the future, with faith and truth, to help you stand strong in the midst of the battle. And if we can understand this but God principle, it lives in me.

It's planted in me. By the grace of God, it's a reality in my life that everything may be negative but God. And in fact, before we look at Ephesians 2, we're going to start there. Our CFO in our ministry, he and his wife, longtime friends of Nancy's and mine, 40-year dear friends of ours, Cindy runs our ministry. Gary is a CFO. They work together as a team to help lead our ministry in amazing ways. And I'm going back to an email, and this was June 11th of 2002.

June 11th of 2002. Our ministry and the school that we're leading, Fire School, we really had no finances. And personally, we were under a tremendous crunch. And I mean, it was just, you've been through it, some of you have been through it, some of you faced bankruptcy or foreclosure or other hardships. Some of you right now, you're under it.

You're under it. And you've done everything you know, you've honored the Lord, you're working hard, you're generous and you're giving and you don't know what else to do. And your backs are against the wall and you're thinking, what do we do now? Help! Help God!

That's the only thing we know to do, is to pray, to cry out. So here's my email entry. We had a really difficult money-related meeting at our house. We sat down and talked together about finances.

It was bringing the reality, you know what I'm saying? Like, Mike, we've got some real problems. So June 11th, 2002, I emailed Gary at 11.13 in the evening.

This is the same night of our very difficult meeting. God has really been moving on me, us, today. And I can say with total confidence, and without any natural evidence at all, breakthroughs are coming.

I have this in all caps. Breakthroughs are coming. Finances are coming. Release is coming. I know it. One exclamation point, another exclamation point, two exclamation points.

I know it. And then my journal entry for the next day, June 12th, amazingly we get a call from my secretary at the office. There was a check from a supporter we'd hear from for some, here and there.

It could be years and years we go by without hearing from them. And there's a gift of $30,000, which especially then was like a massive amount of money when we had absolutely nothing. And then another gift, regular support is for $9,000. Okay, now for some of you, that's like trillions of dollars. For some of you, that's a drop in the bucket.

That's nothing. But I'm just telling you, where we were that moment, that was like, oh yes, some breathing room, some liberty. And it was just one of those things where circumstances said this, but God was saying something else. So let's go to this amazing passage in Ephesians, the second chapter. Ephesians, the second chapter. And look at what Paul writes there. Ephesians chapter 2, well-known words.

I've just got to pull it up properly on my computer here and I'll start reading it to you. Ephesians 2. As for you, so you and me, us, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live, when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work and those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts like the rest we were by nature deserving of wrath.

But God, because of his great love for us, did you get that? We're enslaved. We're enslaved to the devil. We're enslaved to darkness. We're enslaved to sin.

It's our very nature to do these things. We are submitted to the prince of the power of the earth. We are submitted to Satan himself and our wills and our minds and our desires. And we are deserving of wrath by our very nature and the choices we have made. We are deserving of wrath but God. This is the greatest but God you can find.

The but God of spiritual redemption and salvation. But God, because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, he made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions, it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ, with the Messiah, and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Messiah Jesus in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Messiah Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works so that no one can boast.

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. So, we were lost. We were headed to destruction.

We were hopeless. We were deserving wrath and judgment but God. But God intervened. God who is rich in mercy. God himself intervened on our behalf. There are other but gods in scripture that are words of rebuke.

For example, in Luke, the 12th chapter, you have the parable of the rich fool. I am set. I am set for life. I am going to build bigger barns and put aside more stuff for myself so I can live however I want to live and do whatever I want to do the rest of my life because I call the shots I am adding to the account to give the picture of what is being said there.

The arrogance. I am self-made. I got it all together. I am going to get richer and richer. I am set. Luke 12-20, but God said to him, God said to him, You fool, this very night your life is being demanded of you and the things you have prepared.

Whose will they be? So there is that but God of rebuke. Sometimes we need to know that because there seems to be so much injustice in the world. And there is. And it seems that things are just out of order. And people are just trying to hurt us and come against us. And again, it seems that God is not active. God is not working. That is how it seems.

That is how it appears in our natural vision. But God, he just steps in and intervenes. Luke 16, Jesus is speaking to hypocritical religious leaders. And he said to them, You are those who justify yourself in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts. For what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God. So that is encouraging to know. People can boast.

People can strut. People can look so big and look so good and look so special. And things seem unfair and seem unjust and everything is turned upside down and not the way it is supposed to be. But God. And you should also be encouraged that God knows your hearts. And he knows the hearts of the hypocrites. And he knows the hearts of those that are boasting in their arrogance. And here you are seeking to honor the Lord, seeking to do the right thing, and being misunderstood and being misjudged. But God knows the hearts of those who are attacking and accusing falsely. God knows the hearts of the hypocrites. God knows your heart as well. That should be encouraging to you if you're a child of God.

And if you want to do it right, please, I'm going to decide. Alright, check out this special announcement from our great co-sponsor, Trivita. This is Michael Ellison, founder of Trivita Wellness. I want you to hear an amazing testimony from my friend, James Robison. And most all of you will know of him. He and his wife, Betty, host the Life Today television program. Now here is James. Let me tell you about a miracle I experienced. My friend, Michael Ellison, he and his wife are our 40-year-plus best friends.

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Call 800-771-5584 or go online to TriVita.com. This is how we rise up. It's the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Welcome back, friends, to the Line of Fires. I am overseas this week. I won't be taking live calls.

We are looking at the Scriptures and encouraging with the theme of But God. Hey, just a quick note about our friends at TriVita, our great co-sponsor. So I'm enjoying Thanksgiving. A couple weeks back with my son-in-law, Jimmy, and our family, but specifically with Jimmy, we were rooming together in a townhouse, and I'm taking my TriVita in the morning. I said, hey, Jimmy, you want to try this out? So it started today the way I do it. Nitric oxide, myo-health. If I'm not going to work out, I'll do it in the morning.

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You may be interested in other wellness products there, TriVita.com. And use the code BROWN25 when ordering. Okay, I'm going to go over to Genesis. Remember what happens with Joseph. 17 years old, gifted, called by God, getting divine dreams, but not having the wisdom or maturity to keep him to himself. Shares him with his brothers. They're already jealous of him because he's getting special treatment as the youngest son by their father Jacob. So they decide they're going to kill him now. They'll sell him into slavery.

And they do. So he ends up in Egypt. He's sold to the Israelites, then from there to the Egyptians. He ends up in the Egyptian dungeon, and then God raises him up for the saving of many lives, for the saving of his brothers.

Think of that. The brothers who betrayed him were saved by his betrayal. Isn't that a picture of the gospel? That those of us who are, through our sin, rejected Jesus and nailed him to a tree? That that's how we're saved? Through our rejection of him, he goes to the cross, and now God has mercy on us and grants us hearts of repentance so that we turn back and receive eternal life.

Amazing. Genesis 45.8, Joseph is talking to his brothers as the death of their father Jacob looms near. He said, It was not you who sent me here, but God. It was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

This is when he's disclosing his identity to his brothers. And then soon after, elderly Jacob will come and then live the rest of his life there in Egypt. And look at what Jacob, Israel, says to Joseph shortly before he dies, Genesis 48, 21. Then Israel said to Joseph, I am about to die.

Think that's the end of my story. I'm going to die here in Egypt. And there are all these promises that were given to my father Isaac and his father Abraham about God giving the land to our descendants. I'm going to die here in Egypt. Israel said to Joseph, I'm about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your ancestors.

So, it's not Joseph directly who will go back, but his descendants, generations later, they will go back to the promised land. I'm about to die. This isn't my story, but God lives on.

Friends, please hear me. I feel confident that this is very relevant to some of you listening. There were promises that were given to someone in your family or to you, and it seems like the expiration date has come. In other words, the person during the promises were given died and didn't seem fulfilled. The person that had the expectation of what God was going to do, and you all believe for it together, that person's gone, and it seems the prophecy just ends, the promise just ends. Perhaps God will fulfill it through a descendant.

Perhaps that promise that came to the Father will be fulfilled through the Son. I heard a very moving story from some pastors in one city. They were eyewitnesses.

They knew the people involved. There was a woman whose husband was on the pastoral leadership team of the church, and his name was Timothy. And they had a son named Joshua. Timothy died in a car accident. And not only was it a horrific loss, as only those who've experienced it can imagine, I can't, I've not experienced something like this, but that the wife losing her husband, the son losing his father at a young age, I lost my dad at 21, that was traumatic enough, but now you think at a young age and the trauma of that and the widow having to raise the son, but along with the pain of the loss, there was a spiritual question mark because there had been promises that God had given to that family, promises that God had given to that man that they knew were from the Lord.

And that's what was also troubling, like he seemed to have a destiny and a purpose and a future. And now what? Is it over?

Is it all over? So she and her son, I don't know how young he was, but he was not, he was not in his 20s. So a younger man, they had, the service had ended and they were on their way out into the parking lot when a brother, a prophetically gifted brother, had a word for a woman who lost her husband Timothy, enough detail that they said, oh, they just walked out the door. So they ran back out, got them, and this brother speaking by the Spirit said, you've been asking the Lord, what about all the promises to Timothy? What about all the promises to Timothy? And he said, the Lord says they will be fulfilled through Joshua.

And there was Joshua standing next to the wife of Timothy. I just feel that for some of you here, you have that question and maybe you are the child and you know that there were gifts and calling that were on your mom or your dad and it seemed that they were taken away in the prime of life and you wonder, what about those promises? And in some cases, God's renewing them through you saying they will be fulfilled through you. So the promises given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, then Joseph, they were fulfilled through future generations, but every word came to pass. Look at this, Genesis chapter 50 verse 24. Then Joseph, now Joseph is about to die, said to his brothers, I'm about to die, but God. So remember, his father, Jacob, says I'm about to die, but God.

Now Joseph repeats virtually the exact same words. I'm about to die, but God will surely come to you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Now, same thing, Jacob said to Joseph, he'll bring you to the land your ancestors, but it wasn't Joseph, it was generations later. Joseph says to his brothers, God will bring you up out of this land to the land he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but it wasn't them, it was generations later. This also shows us that the person is not just the person, but their progeny, their offspring. That's why there's a Jewish tradition that's actually repeated in the Quran that he who destroys one life is as if he destroyed the whole world because within this individual or the descendants that's why there's the interesting verse in the book of Hebrews that Abraham in a sense, in a sense through his descendant Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek, Melchizedek, that Abraham pays tithes to him in Genesis 14, but because Levi was a future descendant, it was as if Levi was doing it.

That's a biblical mentality. You're not just you, but you're related to that which came before you, especially to godly heritage, and you're related to that which is coming after you. So maybe things do look dark, maybe there's been an expiration date that would seem that prophecy that was supposed to come to pass, that promise that was given to someone that never came to pass, maybe the promise still stands. Maybe they'll be fulfilled through a son or a daughter or a grandson or a granddaughter. Maybe the whole reason God laid this teaching on my heart to share with you this day was for one person to hear it. I know it speaks to many, and by God's grace may it speak to millions, but for sure there's someone, and this is going to come alive in you, and it's going to tie in with your sense of spiritual destiny and calling.

Yeah, it looks like you got to the last chapter of the book, end of the story, but there was so much more of the story to be written, but God says, I'm going to write the rest of that story. He's saying that to you. Receive that from him. All right, we'll be right back. Hey friends, Dr. Michael Brown here. Do you remember when people thought I was crazy when I said it's not too late for America that God can still do something in our country, that there is going to be a pushback, a gospel-based moral and cultural revolution, and do you remember when people thought that you were crazy because you felt the same way, because you believed what I was saying and already felt it in your heart? Well, friends, that pushback is here. The gospel-based moral and cultural revolution we've been talking about for 25 years is unfolding, and we are right in the thick of it, and the line of fire broadcast is divinely positioned for such a time as this. Friends, you would be so gratified and blessed as I hear, if you could hear what I hear, testimony after testimony as leaders, young people, old people, moms, dads, students, people from all backgrounds come up to me and say, Dr. Brown, you're providing a template for us. You're providing a blueprint for us. You're showing us how to do this, how to have hearts of compassion, backbones of steel.

But friends, it's a joint effort. We do this together, and with your support, we can amplify this broadcast around the nation and amplify this voice to shake the nation. Join our support team today.

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This is how we rise up. It's the Line of Fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the Line of Fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. Friends, one of the best ways that you can partner together with us, along with being a monthly supporter, one of the best ways you can partner with us is to share these broadcasts with your friends. Whatever form you're listening, if you're listening on radio, tell a friend about the radio station and what time you listen. If you listen by podcast, send the link. Say, hey, check out this podcast. I think it'll bless you.

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Askdrbrown.org. I just want to read through a bunch of but God scriptures for you, so you get the feel for it. And then we're going to give some principles of what faith really is about, because the whole purpose of this broadcast is to build your faith and to encourage you. Because we are in a battle, some more intense than others, but we are in a battle, and by faith, we overcome. Acts 7, 9.

The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt, but God was with him. I don't want to oversimplify, but if God's with you, everything's going to work out. It's that simple. If you're in right relationship with God, and he's with you, everything's going to work out.

That's all I need to know. Right? Isn't that what's written in Psalm 23? I won't fear any evil. Why? For you are with me.

That's all you need to know. Even when I go through the valley of the shadow of death or the valley of deepest darkness, I'll fear no evil, no calamity. Your rod and staff, they comfort me. Just know you're with me. I'm good.

I'm good. They did this. People may hurt you. People may actually try to hurt you.

I've had that my own life. Not just good people making mistakes that have hurt me, but people trying to hurt me, doing what they can to hurt me. And at times, there has been damage, but as long as God's with me, everything comes out all right. And what was meant for evil turns for good. What was meant for harm turns for blessing. What was meant to hurt makes you stronger. But God was with... All you need to do is be submitted to him.

Say, Father, I'm not perfect, but I want to serve you, honor you. Your will is my desire. And as he's with you, nothing to fear.

Nothing to fear because God is with you. Psalm 49, 15, talking about the human life. No one can redeem it.

No one can ransom it. Psalm 49, 15, but God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol. He will receive me.

Yeah. Human beings cannot ransom their own souls, but God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol. Psalm 52, 5, speaking to the enemies, speaking to those who fight against God and his people. But God will break you down forever. He will snatch and tear you from your tent.

He will uproot you from the land of the living. The same in Psalm 64, 7, the enemies of God's people. But God will shoot his arrow with them.

They will be wounded suddenly. It looks like evil is overwhelming the earth. It looks like terror is overwhelming the earth. It looks like wickedness is overwhelming the earth. But God will take action. Psalm 68, 21, but God will shatter the heads of his enemies.

No matter how overwhelming the odds, the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways. You know, I truly and genuinely feel bad for those who don't know the Lord and who actively oppose him. There are plenty of people that seek to live good lives, moral lives, caring lives, and they're not religious people at all. You may be one of them listening.

I'm glad you're listening. And you're not a God-hater. You just don't believe he exists. You think it might be pleasant if there was such a being, but there isn't. And you believe that there are things that are good and there are things that are bad and it's just the way we're wired somehow, wherever that happened, through biology or evolution, whatever, and you want to do the right thing and help people and be a good neighbor, etc. and, hey, yeah, do to others what you have them do to you.

That seems like a good way for human thriving. And you're not some bent on evil, destruction, wicked person that hates God and is trying to hurt God's people, but there are such people out there. I always feel bad for them. And you're shaking your fist against a God you don't know is there and you're seeking to hurt his people. And sometimes Christians, they're just persecuted around the world. Some of you listening, you're in countries where there's a lot of persecution.

Even to listen to this broadcast is very difficult. And you drink in these words because they encourage you in the midst of the battle. It looks like we're so weak and the enemies are so strong. But God, God will arise. And until then, it is an honor and glory to suffer for him.

It is our privilege. It means the world is treating us the way it treated Jesus. Psalm 73 26, My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Yeah, humanly speaking, we get to the end of ourselves, but God is our strength. Acts 2 24, Yes, Jesus was put to death by wicked people. Yes, it's true. Acts 2 24, But God raised him up.

Oh, come on. That's the ultimate but God in terms of the story of redemption. It works out the but God for us in Ephesians 2, where we're lost in sin, children of wrath, but God, who's rich in mercy, extends his mercy to us and raises us up in Jesus. And this is how it happens through the cross. People kill them, but God raised him up, having freed him from death because it was impossible for him to be held by its power. Acts 10 40, But God raised him from the dead on the third day and allowed him to appear.

Acts 13 30, But God raised him from the dead. You know, I've posted this. I don't want to sound trite in saying it. You know, we have these little sayings like, I looked at the end of the book and we win. And it's true, but sometimes it can sound trite.

And I try not to post things or say things that sound cheap, but sometimes the simple truth is the simple truth, is the glorious truth, is the wonderful truth, is the beautiful truth, and it's simply this. If Jesus rose from the dead, then everything's going to be alright. That means every purpose of God is going to be fulfilled. That means not a thing that's written in the word that he said he would do, will he not do. That means in the end, light will triumph over darkness. In the end, Satan will be utterly vanquished so as to never do any harm anymore forever. In the end, God's people will live with him in perfect harmony and bliss and joy, no sin, no sickness, no temptation, no death forever and ever and ever because Jesus rose. And just like I said, but God was with him, but God is with us.

That's all I need to know. The same way what fuels my fire is but God raised him from the dead. And I know that and I'm set.

I'm good. Same with you if you're in right relationship with God. Another verse from Acts 10. Peter is now preaching in the home of a Gentile.

Cornelius has never been in the home of a Gentile before. And he says, You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. That's how Jewish tradition added to Torah law to make sure that Jews would not cross certain lines and boundaries.

You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. God has shown me I should not call anyone profane or unclean. There's the but God.

God has changed my thinking. Romans 5-8 tells us that maybe somebody will die for a righteous person, a good person, maybe. But God, Romans 5-8, but God proves his love for us.

And that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 1 Corinthians 1, 27. Talking about how God deals with the wisdom of the world and the boasting of the world and the flesh. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.

Yeah, that's what he does. Ephesians 2, 4, we read that, But God, who is rich in mercy, at the great love with which he loved us, raised us up in the Messiah. Philippians 2, 27.

Speaking of Epaphroditus. He got sick working so hard for the gospel for the people in Philippi and other believers. He was indeed so ill, Paul writes in Philippians 2, 27, that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him. And not only on him, but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow upon another. I want to be absolutely straightforward with you. I have prayed for friends, for colleagues who were sick, who were dying.

Prayed, cried out, in some cases fast, it really sought the Lord earnestly, and they died. And I don't know why. I can't explain it. In other words, there are promises that seem clear. Just like promises God has given us about overcoming sin in our own lives and often we fall short. So, I can't explain it. I worship God, I love him, I know he's good.

And I know that my friends, colleagues are with him. Then there are other times that we pray and we don't even feel that we have that much faith and God intervenes and we see miracles happen. It's not always super easy to explain. It's not always easy just like math, like 2 plus 2 equals 4, or putting a puzzle together.

This piece fits here and this piece fits here. But this much I know. That if we don't see the answer when we expect it, if we continue to lean on the Lord and trust in him, that but God will kick in. Somewhere in the process, either delivering us from the disaster, before we get there delivering us out of it, or we go through it and get delivered from what the consequences should be, or delivered from the aftermath, or that which has been for evil turns for good like sending Joseph into slavery.

Honor him and walk with him and put your trust in him. That but God will be there. And you will see the light of God shining in the land of the living. I remember talking to one very, very discouraged man, suffered from depression a lot, the father of one of my good friends. And as I spoke to him I said, Sir, my brother, there is light at the end of the tunnel and he says, yeah, that's the light of the train coming right at me.

I know some of you feel like that. And that's been your life experience thus far. I encourage you, put your trust in God.

Say, Father, I don't get it, I don't understand it, it doesn't always play out the way I was expecting, but I will trust you. That's determination, God will fortify you, and you will see his hand. This is Michael Ellison, founder of Travita Wellness. I want you to hear an amazing testimony from my friend, James Robison, and most all of you will know of him. He and his wife, Betty, host the Life Today television program. Now here is James. Let me tell you about a miracle I experienced. My friend, Michael Ellison, he and his wife are our 40 year plus best friends.

Well, let me just say this to you. I had so much pain with what was called tennis elbow that I could hardly reach over and pick up the phone without pain, without it hurting me. I couldn't pick up something to drink, a glass of tea or anything.

It was very difficult to do anything without wearing a tight strap. And then Michael shared the Nopal Cactus Juice with me, Nopalaya. I began drinking about that much in the morning in a glass and that much later in the day, and in three months I was a different person. I have now gone more than 10 years with no pain. Not better, well, I have no joint pain. I am telling you it did something to the inflammation in my body that was undeniable. Now that's just my testimony. But that's been more than 10 years with no pain.

Matter of fact, if I miss for some foolish reason, a few days, I can feel it creeping back that fast. So give it a try. See if it helps relieve your pain. I hope it does like it has mine because it worked for me.

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Call 800-771-5584 or go online to TriVita.com. It's the line of fire with your host, Dr. Michael Brown. Get on the line of fire by calling 866-34-TRUTH.

Here again is Dr. Michael Brown. If you're just tuning in, I am overseas this week so I won't be taking calls. Tomorrow's broadcast, you're going to hear from four different pastors, all of whom have seen God move amazingly in their congregations, one in Colorado, two in Florida, one in Texas. And you'll be encouraged. I mean, just great reports. If you're a pastor, a leader, even more you'll be encouraged.

But all believers, you'll be smiling as you listen and they'll give you hope. Hey, why not where I live? Why not my district? Why not my neighborhood? Why not my church?

Why not my community? And in some cases, God moving in local schools as well. And then Wednesday, the whole hour, we're going to focus on talking to one pastor in Texas, a young man to whom I've been a spiritual father and mentor. So we're going to talk about a bunch of things, even what it means to have spiritual fathers and mothers in one's life. And then what's happening, the amazing things God's been doing in His church now the last four and a half years. And then a very important Early Jewish Thursday broadcast. And I'll be answering some really interesting questions on our Friday show, so be sure you don't miss a single broadcast. So as we bring to a close this talk today about But God, let me throw out some principles for you.

All right? Faith is not fantasy. A lot of times we mistake faith for just conjuring up whatever I can think of in my imagination. Faith is not fantasy. Faith is not denial.

Some people think that's what faith is. All right, let's tell you what the doctors, no, I don't want to hear what the doctor says. Now, sometimes it's because you know that you know that you know that God's going to move. And you know what the doctor says is the doctor's doing their very best to diagnose and give you an honest assessment that the news is not going to be good news. And hearing it can discourage you.

But in many cases, we mistake faith for denial. Like, I don't want to hear it. Don't tell me what's in the bank.

Don't tell me how much money we owe. And all it is is we're just sticking our head in the sand. Faith is not fantasy. Faith is not denial. Faith is taking hold of the higher, more unchangeable reality. God's reality. Faith is taking hold of the truth before it's visible or apparent.

Can I say that again? I wrote these notes and I preached these things many times, but these were notes I wrote down almost 20 years ago. Faith is not fantasy. Faith is not denial. Faith is taking hold of the higher, more unchangeable reality. God's reality.

Faith is taking hold of the truth before it is visible or apparent. So, to give you an example, let's say you owe $10,000, a major bill must be paid, or bankruptcy will set in, or foreclosure will set in, or something else will happen, real serious personal loss, or you lose a building, whatever. And you need $10,000 and you must have it by the end of the week. It's Monday and you have nothing in the account.

You have zero and you have no income coming of any kind. Well, circumstances tell you that come Friday, you're done. You have no way, earthly way of getting it.

Oh, let's make it bigger. Let's make it a million dollars. I mean, you have no earthly way of getting that money. So, all circumstances are telling you is you're going down. Your company is going down, you're losing your home, you're losing the family fortune, your ministry is shutting down, whatever it is, it's over. That's a million more than you have and you have no earthly way of getting that million.

No matter what you have at your disposal, you have no earthly way of doing it. But God has spoken to someone, a wealthy relative, who's always wanted to help you out but never known when it was the right opportunity, and they've had money sitting to help you for years and years and just waiting for the opportunity to make it count. And God speaks to them, maybe it's an uncle, your nephew, your niece, they need a million dollars, wire it to their account. And they send you a note saying, hey, I'm wiring the money, you'll have it by Wednesday. Well, that's the higher reality now, right?

That's the truth that's not apparent to others. Or what if God just spoke to you? Trust me, I've got it covered. Ooh, how about that? Trust me, I've got it covered. I've sat with people. I'm talking about with the sale of a house or with a major financial situation and said it's all going to work out. It's all going to work out. We've had loss, we've had times where we couldn't pay employees and when the school was moving and other things were happening, they said, no, we want to stay on, we'll get some outside work, we'll do this volunteer.

And the leader said, hey, none of us get paid and we just went in for it together. So I'm not saying it's always been just, you know, easy and everything works out. And we've had personal financial losses. Yeah, we've been there. We've also seen God rebuild.

We've also seen God do something better in the end than in the beginning. What if God just says trust me? I've sat with people and said it's all going to be good because I know it.

There's one thing I'm hoping, I'm hoping, I'm expecting. It's another thing knowing, knowing when that faith just comes along and you know it's good, it's fine. You can sleep like a baby even though there is no natural evidence because you've taken hold of a higher reality. You say, how do I know the difference between that and fantasy?

Because one brings reality and the other doesn't. In one case you just conjured up in your own mind that God was saying trust me. And come Friday the money is not there and everything sinks financially.

Yeah. Or you know that you know that that person is going to be healed because you can't accept the fact that they're going to die. And when they die you realize, okay, that wasn't real faith, that was my own imagination or desire or heart. And there are other times you know that you know and sure enough the person lives. You know that you know and sure enough that deliverance comes. You know that you know and sure enough the breakthrough comes and then you build on that. Okay, this is the difference between real faith where I just conjure it up.

Hebrews 11 one in the NLT, so a mild paraphrase. What is faith? It is the confidence assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. Here, some of us are nearsighted, right? Some of us are farsighted. So there is something out there but our vision is just not sharp enough to see it. It's out there.

In other cases we're farsighted and the thing is right in front of our eyes but we can't see it. That's how it often is with spiritual realities. They're there. The answer is there. The reality is there. We just can't see it. And it's as clear as day in the spiritual realm but we don't see into the spiritual realm because we're natural people.

We're in this world. That's what we see through the eyes of faith. 2 Corinthians 5, 7, we walk by faith not by sight. That's the difference. Moses endures Hebrews 11 by looking at him who is invisible. That's how he endures.

That's how he moves forward. I was looking at a business magazine which I don't look at much. I think traveling somewhere and it was talking about businesses that were short sighted.

So they had this gold mine just as a little down the road. I'm not a business person. I don't have business sense and savvy. I don't understand a lot of business principles. So all the more odd was it when I was reading in the early days of Amazon now it's growing to a major company but it's not the massive, massive company that it is today.

But it was starting to grow and get bigger. And Jeff Bezos at the end of the year said, Yeah, we're right on target. We lost X amount of money this year. We're making this investment and improving this and improving that and we lost this amount.

We're this much in the red this year. And I thought, how is that being on target? How is it falling more into debt on target? Well, he knew you make this investment, you make this investment in X number of years it starts to pay off and then you get the results. So there's a business short sightedness where as people say you're penny wise and dollar foolish because you don't see the big picture often we do that spiritually as well. Circumstances may say one thing.

This I had to preach to our whole community, to our church community years ago, to our school community years ago because of being under pressure, because of not having our own facilities, because of not having adequate funds. Circumstances say one thing but God says another. And what we have to do is believe God.

What we have to do is set ourselves to say, okay, I know what is written, it's 100% sure, it's as sure as God is real. And I'm going to take hold of what is written and apply it to my life and apply promises that are relevant, I'm going to take hold of those. And then there may be things God has laid on your own heart. Maybe a verse, it's like a life verse. Or prophetic words, just like Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 1.18 to fight the good fight based on the prophecies spoken.

And we'll talk about that, God willing tomorrow's broadcast. We'll talk about that very subject, the subject of God still speaking today and why we believe he is scripturally. But those words, you take hold of them and in the midst of darkness that light shines like a flare. And you say, okay, it is dark, it is difficult, but God gave a promise. And when you realize that what God says is as good as his character, that what God says is as reliable as who he is, then that faith begins to rise. The fear begins to disappear, the hopelessness begins to disappear, the sense of despair begins to disappear, and the sense of he's faithful, he's true.

And if all you can do is confess his nature, in other words, there's not a promise that comes to your mind, but you just want to confess who he is. Lord, you are good. Lord, you are just. Lord, you are righteous. Lord, you are perfect. Lord, you are all powerful. Lord, you never fail. Lord, you are full of love. Lord, you care for your people.

Lord, you finish what you started. And you say those words, something begins to happen on the inside of you. You may not feel it initially, but keep speaking what God's word says until it becomes real in your heart and your mind.

Renew your heart and mind. Sometimes, just to get us to focus, I know this is the case with me, but look at it. Look at it. And look at it. Sometimes write it out in big letters. Say it again.

Say it again. And then it starts to sink in. As it sinks in, it's amazing. The fear begins to disappear. The anxiety begins to disappear. The uncertainty begins to disappear.

And what jumps out at you in bold, big print? But God. That's who he is. People nailed Jesus to a cross, but God raised him from the dead. We were ourselves objects of wrath, deserving God's judgment. But God, with your mercy, raised us up in Jesus. Take hold of it, my friend. We'll be back with you tomorrow. Be sure to share this podcast with others so they, too, can be blessed and encouraged. Together, friends, and make a living.