THE SOURCE OF UNDERSTANDING

Good morning, for some of you folks who don’t know who I am as Eudora is continuing to grow since I last preached here, I am Bill Collins, one of the Council members for Cornerstone along with my beautiful wife Megan. I absolutely love coming down to Eudora as it is always warm and inviting and you can feel the Holy Spirit move here. You all have been also very welcoming to my wife with the Women’s Ministry that Kris has done an absolute phenomenal job at!

I am filling in for Shannon today as he is on his mission spreading the gospel at our Kenya campuses, plural as we have brought so many to Christ and saved so many lives, literally. Shannon no doubt will continue to do God’s work their and bring many more to Christ saving their lives and making a generational shift for those who accept Christ. To have such an anointed man of God on such a big mission and leading this church, spreading the Word of God in a foreign country who needs to know about Christs love for us and our salvation in him. I think we all should feel honored to call Pastor Shannon our Pastor, I get the honor to not only call him my Mentor, but a true friend.

Don’t worry Matt, I haven’t forgotten about you, or Brother Cory either. Also, great word A couple weeks ago about taking a Stand as Christians.

Shannon and these men are truly men who I have seen seek God’s face everyday and continue to grow their relationship with the Lord daily.

See ya’ll thought I would start out with a good Dad joke like Shannon, I have come to realize I cannot pull them off like he does. So I will remain mindful and understanding not to try them again.

As believers we want to know and understand what the Word says so that we can have a safe haven to go to, or find an answer when something is weighing on us so heavy.

I believe that some of you today came here to find understanding and find that relationship with Christ. But, you just dont know how.

Mark spoke about this with his and the Apostles time with Jesus.........

Mark 4:33–34 ESV

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

What I want you to take away from this verse is the part about; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Jesus was talking about the alone time he spends with us, but that alone time only comes when “WE” give it to him. And then......and only then will things be explained that we do not understand.

Our time alone with him is so important as God is not always clear, He has Jesus speaks in parables or stories.

He even had to raise from the dead at one point for the disciples to believe him

John 2:22 ESV

22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

So what do we do when we don’t understand and we are not seeking that alone time with Christ or the relationship with him as his disciples.

What do we do when we don’t understand just a Bible verse in our daily reading.

What do we do when we read a verse that just hits differently that day and strikes a cord in our life and we want clarification so we can apply it in our daily walk.

What do we do when you have given your life to Christ or you havent yet and things go wrong and you have no understanding on what to do......

WHAT DO YOU DO...........

WHEN THINGS GO WRONG......

WHEN THINGS GO WRONG

Well, tomorrow marks 20 years since I lost my Father. 20 Years since I recieved a call that I never would have expected. See my Father, the man who raised me, was my Step Dad, who knew me since I was 3. When he married my mother, he took me and raised me like I was his only son. Never made me feel any different. He raised me to love baseball, took me to all my games and even coached me all the way up until High School. Taught me how to hunt and love the outdoors. Loved me unconditionally. Everything this man did, he did for his family. And I know he loved the Lord, because the one person who took me to Bible School every Sunday until about the age of 12, was his mother, my grandmother and even though she was a stern lady, we knew she loved the Lord and we needed to also.....

Well 20 years ago tomorrow, I was stationed in Alaska at the time, I picked up the phone and on the other end was my Mother, telling me, your Dad is dead. I was in shock and had understanding of what she was saying. Him and my mother at the time were going through a divorce and that day they went to court and finalized it. It was to much for my Dad as he loved us all so much to include my mother and he took his own life.

The anger, hurt, frustration towards my mother, and the immediate anger towards God to allow my Father to do this.... I just didnt understand.

That lack of understanding took me to a dark place.

- I was seeking understanding everywhere else.

- I was selfish and self centered.

- I was drinking heavily.

- I was cheating

- I was what David calls in Proverbs a sluggard, or person who lacks judgement.

Proverbs 24:30–31 ESV

30 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.

I questioned God and had hate in my heart for not understanding. Now at the time I wasn’t saved either and had no understanding of Christ, except for what I knew as a kid. No understanding of the Holy Spirit.

This anger went on for almost 3 years until one day, now living in Alabama, being stationed at Fort Benning Georgia, I met a neighbor Charles, and he started talking to me about Jesus while we were fishing together. Little by little everytime we were together. Then he invited me and convince me to come to church and I met a man named Pastor Mike and between Charles and Pastor Mike, they ministered and answered every question I had about God and my Fathers decision to the point of me coming to find the Lord and committing my life to Christ as I could feel his love and the peace I had been missing. He filled my heart with joy and took out the stubbornness.

Just as the Lord said of the Israelite’s in Ezekiel 36 verses 26-27

Ezekiel 36:26–27 CEV

26 I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts, 27 because I will put my Spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings.

I was seeing a lot clearer and had a better understanding of what a relationship with Christ meant and more importantly I truly understood what walking in Faith meant.

FEELING HIS PRESENCE

That was key. His presence remained with me.

See, being in the military I moved around so much and was on multiple deployments. I didn’t step foot in a church but here and there fully for 15 years. I was always gone.

Though my faith never wavered, I never expected what would happen next.

One morning once again stationed in Alaska for the second time, I was walking out of the hospital myself, after getting some good news from a test for my lower back, which I have had several injuries over the years for. The doc at the time said they could not find any noticeable or significant nerve damage.

As I am walking to my truck, I get a phone call. It was my X-wife telling me my oldest daughter, collapsed in gym class. She was crying, I told her to calm down for a minute, she was probably dehydrated and needed to she would be fine. She then told me, no, she wasn’t breathing. They are prepping her in Abilene to be Life Flighted to Wichita. My heart sunk into my stomach and my mind went to some bad places as I broke down. I had been here before. How could this be happening again. At this point in time, everything is a blur, I remember calling Megan immediately to tell her and then my bosses to let them know I needed to be on a plane immediately.

The next 6 hours trying to get out of Anchorage were agonizing as we are getting updates from Doctors, specifically Neurosurgeons, working flights as it was Spring Break and everything was full or delayed and we couldn’t get our flights bumped up to go any faster.

We finally get to Wichita Childrens Mercy and I walk in and see my Lily on every machine possible to keep her alive. I sat with her for the next 2 days, until I had to make the final decision as her father to let her go. After she passed, they were finally able to tell us she had Very Rare, especially for children Berry Aneurysm. She felt no pain, they said. The weeks after were so blurry still til this day, I am trying to piece them together. I speak to people now and they tell me about a conversation they had when they called me and I have no memory of it.

For the next year, Megan and I went through some struggles, individually and together.

I struggled with the lose, while Megan struggled with what I struggled with when I lost my Dad. She was angry, asking all the same questions I had asked when he passed.

Why would God allow this to happen.

Why didnt he heal her.

Why would he do this to us.

She asked me some many questions about my Faith.

Why do you think she had a higher purpose. God knew her heart and knew she had a pure heart, a serving heart.

How do you know she is with God. For this one she came to me in a dream. I knew where she was, even though when I woke up I wept uncontrollably, I had more Peace than I had in the weeks before.

How are you ok with this. This one, this one was hard. I told her I wasnt ok. But I knew she was ok and I could not be mad at God. She is with him and as beautiful as ever.

I told her I just fell something........

A few months after my daughter passed, I retired from the Army and moved our family back to Reno, NV where my wife grew up, because I told her I could not return to Kansas yet. After a few months there I knew, I needed to stand firm in my faith and be the Leader of our family and find us a church. Hillside Four Square’s Church. I knew I had to bring Megan to the Lord for understanding.

The next year of attending Hillside with Pastor Louie and Jonie who would come to know our story and we would end up having Colton attend their preschool, were so important to healing. We cried, we cried some more, we worshipped and fellowshipped and Megan and I started to talk about Christ and Faith and I watched a person who grew up with hardly any, a person broken from losing our daughter, start to change. She found the Word, she found Christ.

After she had found Christ, we were having a conversation about the journey we had made since we lost Lily and I told her, remember when I said I felt something. I want you to know, I felt Him....I felt Christ, He never left me and everytime I felt like I couldnt go on, I felt his arms wrap around me, letting me know it was going to be ok....I felt his Presence!!!!!!

Our relationship was being re-built again, not only our own but in the Word of God.

We really cannot lose sight that The Word of God is faithful, it’s powerful and it is “THE” connection from us to our Heavenly Father.

John said in John 1 verse 1-4.........

John 1:1–4 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John tells very clearly that the Word is Christ. Stay in the Word and you will stay with Christ, stay in the word and you will walk with Christ. Stay in the Word and he will breathe Life into you.

‭‭See, when God speaks into your life it is done. Take hold of that and understand, whatever opposition may come about, whatever obstacles that may be put in front of you, just remember and understand that God already said it will be done. His will for you will be done.

Our family was healing and we were ready to come home to Kansas. AND I am telling you everything from then on, was divine intervention.

Megan literally put her finger on a Map and it landed on Tonganoxie. I am not lying.

The follow weeks after we made the decision to move back here, literally March 2020, Very Beginning of Shutdown, 2 jobs came through.

Megan since we lived in Alaska, had a picture of a Bible verse....

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

For some Trust is a sticky subject, a subject hard to comprehend. But we will not know God’s Plan for us, unless we put our trust in him, in his plan for us.

The Lord does not want us to rely on ourselves. He wants us to rely solely on him with the understanding that human understanding will never be enough. We need to rely on his understanding as he is trustworthy. We can gain all the wisdom we feel is required, only to understand that all we need to do is fully trust in him and his word.

When we acknowledge the Lord’s presence not in our plans, but his plan for us, at that moment, God will remove all obstacles making a smoother path forward in our life.

The Book of Proverbs gives us a clear understanding that those who decide to follow God’s wisdom, will have a life with less struggles. I would say that is a fair statement.

One thing we can do to Seek that Understanding or Wisdom for God’a plan is to;

- Fellowship with other, whether it be here at church, at a Bible Study, Sunday Dinners, or whenever you can.

Jesus told us very clearly.......

Matthew 18:20 ESV

20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

- Pray often and be joyful, what does your prayer life look like......

Paul tells us......

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 CEV

16 Always be joyful 17 and never stop praying. 18 Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.

Never stop Praying and thanking God for every day, no matter the circumstances.

- Stay in the Word and Meditate on it.

I have a saying that I really try to apply to Understanding the Word and having my Personal Time with the Lord.

“With Meditation, comes Interpretation, then comes Application.”

After reading the Word, Meditate on the Word and the Lord will Interpret what the Word is trying to say, then he will reveal the Application in your Life.

I saw a quote by Oswald Chambers , a Scottish Baptist Evangelist from the early twentieth Century, an amazing author i hear eventhough I have yet to read his books.

"The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”

———Oswald Chambers

The Fear of not having a relationship with God, or Holy Fear, allows us not to fear anything or anyone else, but is not with us in everything that we do, we can fear everything else.

So keep Christ with you in everything you do........

Even when we don’t see or feel him working, he is there working in the shadows, shining the his light casting out the darkness in your life that you don’t even know is there or coming. If we just put our trust in him. Nothing is impossible,

Luke wrote......

Luke 1:37 ESV

37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

The Angel Gabriel was visiting Mary to tell her that she was to bare a son. Mary was in disbelief. He convinced her nothing was impossible.

If Gabriel can convince a virgin that the Lord can bless her with an unborn child and he will be called’

“The Son of Most High”

“The King of Kings”

“Lord of Lords”

“Holy of all Holy’s”

I know that the Lord can work miracles in your life no matter the circumstances. He just wants a relationship with you.

My mission today was get you to know Jesus. Know that he is their even if you don’t feel them, he is there to wrap his arms around you, bringing you Peace, a Peace that you cannot imagine. Even in our worst moments, when we feel there is nothing or no one there, He is with us. King Jesus!!!!!

But I do ask you:

Do you know Him?

Have you, but you’re far away from him?

Are you facing something that you need him to wrap his arms around you to get you through?

I will leave you with one last Message........Matthew 6 verse 33

Matthew 6:33 CEV

33 But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.

Above all things, put God first in your Life and their will be nothing to Fear.

Place your faith in Gods word. Because when he speaks something to you remember again “It is Done.”

Don’t let a situation in life, a relationship lost in your life, popularity or someone’s approval be your driving force in life, but be led by the Spirit.

I stand here have gone through so much lose in life, yet I thank God every day for the Life he has given Me and my family. I am so thankful for the relationship I have with him and How good he has been to me…You can trust in him everyday.

I am here to tell you, you can do this by staying firm in your Faith, both in what you say and by your actions.

You can let Jesus be your source of joy and happiness, rather than a person, a thing or a situation.

You can love those you interact with on a daily basis by speaking truth in their life that they may need to hear, because you seek their benefit more than you seek your own.

Speak power into their lives as The Lord does for us in times when we are in such need of it.

Above all things Seek Him.........

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