God Never Said That: Part 2 - "More Than You Can Handle" with Craig Groeschel - LifeChurch.tv

I just can't do it anymore I am nothing left between the divorce the cancer your mom dying and being laid off I know it feels like you're going through a lot huh believe me I have been there just remember when God closes a door he opens a window and never forget God never gives you more than you can handle god never said that it is great to have all of you with us today at all of our life churches and our network churches and those of you in countries around the world on the other side of computer screens a church online we're actually in part two of a four-part message series called God never said that we're looking at for cultural beliefs about God that God actually never said for example if you missed last week we dove into the controversial belief system that above all else God wants us happy God actually never said that next week part three is probably my personal favorite of all four of the messages we're going to deal with the very popular cultural belief that it doesn't matter what you do as long as you don't hurt anyone the reality is God never said that and our actions matter a lot we're going to dive into that next week and then week number four maybe the most important of all the four messages as we deal with the belief that it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere God never said that what you believe matters and makes a big difference and we're going to dive into that in week number four today though we're going to look at what may be one of the biggest miss beliefs about God and I'm going to walk into it with a little introduction then I'll tell you what it is my pastor pastor Nick Harris used to always say something that I really didn't like but I think it was really true pastor Nick would always say that chances are pretty good that you're either about to go into a difficult season in your life or you're in the middle of the difficult season in your life or you're just now coming out of a difficult season in your life not very encouraging but how many of you say that kind of seems like it's pretty close to the truth that'd be like every time you turn around either for you or for somebody you love that's close to you life can get kind of complicated rather quickly and whenever that happens to me it seems like whenever life starts spiraling downward it's amazing how fast it seems like there's more than we can handle some of you right now you're going through a lot it could be financial burden could be you got a bad report from the dock for you or someone you love could be like relationships are blowing up maybe your job is not stable as it once was it could be your battling with depression any number of different things and then the weight just gets heavier and heavier and heavier and heavier and finally you think I just can't take any more of this it never fails when you get to that place where you just feel like I cannot take any more along come some well-meaning Christian with annoying Christian advice I don't know if this ever happens to you where you live but it seems like I see it all the time you're about to pull your hair out because you can't take it and someone comes up and says oh don't worry don't worry whenever God closes a door he always opens a window what the heck does that mean anyway open when it opens a window if you're on the twelfth floor that sounds like bad news to me right but I don't even know what that means but they say or they'll say well remember remember god helps those who helps themselves okay God never said that too but that's a whole nother subject the one I want to deal with today is what they don't worry don't worry hey don't worry don't worry talking to be okay remember God will never give you more than you can handle so I'm going to be okay because God will never give you more than you can handle we need to embrace the reality that God never said that in fact the truth is often the opposite of that misbelief now why do so many people believe and they'll even say the Bible says God will never give you more than you could handle I believe that this belief system comes from a misunderstanding or a misquote of a very powerful verse of scripture in first Corinthians chapter 10 and in the 13th verse of this chapter Paul was talking to the Corinthians about temptation and we're going to deal with this first and even more detail next week but here's what Paul said he said God is faithful this is good news and he will not let you what all of our churches let's work together he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear but when you're tempted here's the good news God will also provide a way out scripture never says that God will not let you endure more than you can handle it does say he won't let you be tempted beyond what you can bear but it never says that he won't give you more than you can handle in fact when you just kind of survey the entirety of the Bible you will see story after story of people who had more than they can handle you look in the book of Judges there's Gideon who says I'm the weakest and my clan I'm the least in my family god I don't have I don't have what it takes to do what you want me to do Moses now I'm slow of speech I'm not a good speaker I'm not a good leader these people are wearing me out I can't do it all I don't have I don't have what it takes Esther I'm very very afraid David King David when the weight of his sin caught up Jim he said this in Psalm 38 verses 4 & 8 he said my guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear I can't take it all he said I'm exhausted and completely crushed listen to his word he says my groans come from an anguished heart I don't have what it takes to handle this even Jesus in the New Testament Mark's Gospel tells us this mark 14 33 and 34 that when Jesus was looking ahead to what he would endure on the cross mark said Jesus began to be deeply distressed and troubled and Jesus said this my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to what say it aloud to the point of of death as he's he's sweating drops of blood he says I physically I my soul is overwhelmed to the point of death God never said that he wouldn't give you more than you could handle in fact today for those of you that are under weight and pressure in your life right now and you feel like you don't have what it takes I want to show you two reasons why God will occasionally allow you to have more than you can handle here's the question why would God allow us to have more than we can handle the first response if you're taking notes is this because I believe there are times that he wants to teach us to depend on his presence he wants to teach us to depend on his presence for example how many of you noticed that when things start going really well it's actually easy to forget about God be honest be honest right when life's going the way you want it to you're like yeah God I know you're still there and I know I kind of need you but right now not so much because everything's working great and I hope you keep it working great but you just don't feel the urgent need for God when things are going well but oh my goodness when things start going down you start remembering God because oh god I need you God I need you God I need you it's a little bit like a lady that I met on an airplane trip it was funny every time I sit next to someone I almost want to lie about my occupation because every time one of the first questions they ask us so what do you do for a living and every time I say I'm a pastor the conversation goes one of two ways either oh you're a pastor well that's really neat they never talk again or they turn into like religious freak you know for five minutes we had a normal conversation what are you for look I'm a pastor oh well praise the Lord brother how to Lou you thank you Jesus glory to God I'm so thankful that God preordained me to sit next to a man of a cloth because in a moment this airplane is going to take up and we're going to soar on wings like eagles we're going to fly and not be faint how do I where'd that come from you were normal a minute ago now you're religious man you know and so I've never lied but I want to lie well one lady she said you know what do you do for a living said well I'm actually a pastor of a church and she said well that's fine as long as you remember two things number one I am NOT a Christian and number two I do not want you to convert me on this flight fair enough let's to start right there she goes as great as done I won't try to convert you let's just enjoy the flight together and so we actually started developing a kind of a good conversation together and midway through the flight man we hit turbulence from hell now I don't know how many of you have been in turbulence from Hell there's there's turbulence and some kind of novice flight like oh it's bumpy you know and then there's like rededicate your life to Jesus just in case turbulence you know your theology may not even call for that but at that point you don't care you know your confessing sins just in case you know and it was that kind of gut-wrenching turbulence well since she wasn't a Christian she had no reason not to cuss so she was just like she had the gift of cussing it was like an art form I believe but I mean she said every cuss word I've ever heard she created new combinations I didn't even know we're possible you know she let me just go and you know it's like I'm sorry bast about that bleep lately and so midway through as she's cussing I just leaned over for fun I said still don't believe in God and she's like bleep you know I don't know I was kind of stuff and she's still going for it and then about five minutes later it's still we still hadn't gotten out of it and she said I don't believe in your bleep bleep God but while you're praying your Ma's will pray for me too okay there you go okay there you go I don't believe in God but you might as well pray for me too it's amazing when life gets difficult how suddenly you're drawn to the presence of God now why would God allow us to go through something that is more than we could handle one of the reasons might be to teach us to depend on his presence you can see the reality of this in the Old Testament story of Jonah if you know his story basically God said hey go preach to the Ninevites and Jonah's like now not happening heck no I won't go I don't like them and I'm not doing it and so he started to rebel much like what some of you might be doing right now and after time when you rebel your life starts to spiral downward and that's what was happening to jonah through an odd series of events he was thrown off of a ship into the water and a giant fish swallowed him up we pick up the story in Jonah 2 verse 2 and verse 7 and here's what Jonah said he said in my what let's say it aloud all of our churches he said in my let's do it again Fort Worth I need you guys to help me out all of our churches in my what in my distress I called to the Lord and he answered me notice what Jonah didn't say Jonah didn't say in my success I called the Lord but in my distress it's amazing how much more we crave God notice that we need him during our distress and often overlooked him in our success in my distress I called to the Lord he said when my life was ebbing away I remembered you Lord oh my goodness I remember god oh I I should run to God I should call on God I remembered you Lord and my prayer rose to you and my distress I called on the Lord here's the challenge for some people as they get in the middle of the storm and they start to wonder about God life isn't going the way I thought it should I wish this weren't happening why is this happening if God were with me this would not be happening I don't understand why God is allowing this I prayed for one thing and I'm getting the opposite so God must not be with me if God were good this wouldn't be happening if God were powerful this wouldn't be happening I don't believe God is with me I came to tell somebody this never let the presence of a storm cause you to doubt the presence of God ooo I'm going to say that again and somebody's going to get excited before long and you're going to start working with me because every now and then the winds will blow and the waves will crash and you never let the presence of a storm cause you to doubt the presence of God because he will never leave you he will never forsake you why would God allow you to experience more than you can handle sometimes it's to teach you to depend on him to draw you to call on him in my distress I remember the Lord and I called on him David said this about calling on God Psalm 145 verse 18 the Lord is near to all who do what the Lord is near to all who call on him to those who call on him and truth some of you right now you may be in the presence of a storm and you're going to remember to call on him to seek him when you seek him he will reveal himself to you when you draw near to him he draws near to you never let the presence of to him cause you to doubt the presence of God why would our God allowed you to experience more than you could handle sometimes it's so that you'll be drawn to his presence to remember his goodness and to lure you into calling on the name of the Lord I am convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that God allowed me to get to a place that I had more than I could handle in college to draw me to his goodness I am convinced he let me get deep in the valley so I would recognize who he was and call on his name I think I made more stupid decisions early in college and you could imagine I made some stupid decisions last week but in college whoo I excel in stupid decisions my first year of college I got arrested for shoplifting I got in trouble for partying and my scholarship was on the line in question as to whether I could stay at the University this is all a real short period of time for my fraternity brothers got busted for grand larceny and they were considering removing our Charter and kicking our fraternity off of campus and then I cheated on my girlfriend with one of my fraternity brothers girlfriends yes I was that guy horrible and I'm embarrassed to say that but that's what I did and I was so low I mean potentially losing the scholarship been arrested now you know and a weeks before I was like popular well-respected liked and then I betrayed a fraternity brother and everyone had kind of turned on me and rightfully so and I just remember sitting in my room crying my brains out going I don't know where to turn and so the only place I need a term was to God and I didn't even know God personally I started reading the Bible for the first time I didn't know where to start I didn't I didn't really know how to understand it but I was I had nowhere else to go and so I turned to God and here's what I've noticed I mean God used that time to draw me to himself and I am Who I am today because he allowed me I believe to get to the place right nowhere else to turn but to him and life can be like that man it's like you can be in the valley and then you could be on the mountaintop and then you could be in the valley you can be on the mountaintop and I know you can experience God on the mountaintop but I'm telling you what I best experience him in the valley I really do I'm most aware of my need for him yea though I walk rue the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil why because thou art with me you are with me I best experienced the present a most aware of His goodness in the valley and I can tell you with all sincerity that I would rather be in the valley with Jesus then on the mountaintop without him I would rather be hurting in his presence with His goodness than on the mountaintop and unaware of who he is and what he's doing I don't know who needs this but you're hurting right now you are not alone never let the presence of the storm cause you to doubt the presence of God why would our God allow you to experience more than you could handle maybe to teach you to depend on his presence he will never leave you he will never forsake you the second reason if you're taking notes is this why would God allow you to experience more than you can handle one is to teach you to depend on his presence too as to teach you to experience his power to help you experience his super natural power because too many of us are doing life on our own for example when I was growing up as a kid my parents didn't have the luxury that we as parents have today on road trips okay some you know I'm talking about parents today you got it so easy you got iPods iPads video games DVD I mean you had so many ways to keep your kids quiet it's not even fair okay when we were growing up man we had we had to entertain ourselves in the back seat of the car the only thing that I remember that was really cool back then was the backseat of the car back behind the seat by the rear window they had a flat thing back there where the speaker's would come out who remembers I'm talking about and what could you do up there you could get up there take a nap oh that was so cool to get up there and take a nap and if your dad was really cool or your mom you could take your racecars and put them back there in the back and then when they turn really fast it'd make your racecars go from one side to the other you may not have had a childhood as good as mine that was pretty awesome when your cars could race across the flat plastic back of a Buick Century back in 1975 or so you know the glory days the problem was that they didn't have air conditioner like cars on the ceiling now and out of that in there is only on the front and so you had to sit between the two seats there's a little V thing there need to edge off your brother or sister to get the dog you know just to get the air conditioner and then you'd fight with your brother and sister and your mom or dad would reach back there with the death grip with one hand they could call you and paralyze you to where you couldn't move until Tuesday and then they would tell you stay on your side there's an imaginary line don't cross the line of course you're rebellious you pierce the line with your you know that with your finger you know anyway I don't know how I got off on that so back to where I was going with the story there wasn't anything to do so my dad came up with this game he said Craig I bet you you can't hold a handkerchief out the window on the whole road trip from our house to Grandma's to ours now here's here's what's stupid about this okay there was no payoff it wasn't like I bet you $5.00 there wasn't like you can stay up 30 minutes late there wasn't like a lollipop or a donut all he said was I bet you can't and that's not fair to ever do to a guy because we are programmed to take that bet I bet you can't onbust I can you can be this to I bet you can't run through that brick wall with nothing but your bare head or do you think I can't watch this I'll run through that brick wall bye it said we're guys we're stupid like that and all he did was say I bet you can't give me that handkerchief and watch this and so he gave me his handkerchief I rolled down the window we're driving down the road 65 70 miles an hour he's like you can't do it it's gone I'll show you Hank I just learned a little long on tuck y'all hold on anything wrong cuz I says oh you know I had to ask did you watch it and then when they get time I'd use a double hand my hands are freezing off like there's like handkerchief blisters and I can't couldn't hold a pencil til November and like go on a lot of my dad's like wow you won I can't believe you want you won the bet it was like two decades later when I had my own kids suddenly realized I didn't win dad was smoking my butt the whole time I didn't win yeah but all that to say I just remember that holding on the hankie holding on the hand holding on the Hagan's and that to me is an exact picture of what so many of you are doing your strength your strength I can do this I can do this look much more than like a hail like the reason you hang on with your own strength is you've been programmed to believe the lie that God will never give you more than you can handle if you won't give you more than you can handle then you have to hold on and you have to have the strength and you have to have the power but that's simply not true because you were not created to have all the power to do it yourself you were created to need God to be desperate for him and when you recognize that he didn't expect you to handle everything that's when you experience his power the Apostle Paul he he lived this like some of you might learn to live it in Corinthians he talks about a thorn in his flesh and this thing it plagued his life he wanted it to go away you may say what was the thorn it's most likely a metaphor for something we don't know exactly what the thorn is scholars have speculated for centuries man maybe it was his failing eyesight because we think he couldn't see well we don't know what it was but he pleaded with God three different times take this away now when you read it while I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away you may think he prayed for three days three times it what this means is there were three significant seasons of seeking begging pleading probably fasting may be having churches that he planted praying it was it was an ongoing process like my wife Amy she's dealt with ongoing chronic infections and they really they'll put her down for days and has gone on for years and years and years and I don't know how many seasons of Prayer are six months nine months we're fasting a big majority of the time we've got all of our life group praying we've got campuses praying we're believing this is the time God is going to heal her and we continue to see please dear God take this away that's what Paul is doing now I'm going to look at this from my perspective and I'm thinking to myself okay if God is going to heal somebody I'm kind of thinking Paul's a good candidate right I mean just based on my human side of you know some people deserve more than others based on what Paul did I'm thinking if there is any scale that merits deserving it I'm thinking Paul deserved it I'm thinking if anybody had faith for it Paul probably had faith for it and there will come a time I promise you if you walk with God long enough and live in the sin filled world long enough where you're going to find your own form that just doesn't go away and you're going to ask God why don't you remove this can't you answer my prayer can't you just help the depression go away that can't you just heal my child of these headaches I hate seeing someone I love suffer so much can't you just fix this marriage can't you just turn my team back towards you can't can't you just help me for one month not to be behind financially God can't you just do this one thing and you know he can and he doesn't and you think why would God allow me to have more than I can handle why didn't he just do it when he could and this is exactly where Paul was and God actually spoke to Paul and said something that is so powerful and it ministers to me and such at such a deep level and I hope it does to you as well Paul's it why didn't you do this and God said to him my grace is sufficient for you for my what somebody stay alone for my power is made perfect how in in weakness my grace is what you need Paul my power is made perfect in your weakness then Paul start saying what at at face values like crazy talk now once you watch the power in what he says he says okay if that's the case then I'm going to boast all the more gladly about my weakness in other words hey I'm weak here why so that Christ's power may rest on me now watch what Paul says that is why for Christ's sake I delight in weaknesses in other words thank God I'm weak here I delight in insults thank you God that people are insulting me for serving you I delight in hardships what did he experience he was beaten whipped left for dead shipwrecked snake-bitten I delight in all these hardships I delight in persecutions when there is spiritual opposition against me I delight in difficulties why somebody help me out for when I am weak then I am what then I am strong I want you to everybody to say this aloud with me for when I am weak then I am again everybody come on I'm preaching my brains out don't leave me up here by myself for when I am weak then I am strong again for when I am weak then I am strong he says I delight in this hard stuff because when I don't have what it takes I cap into a power that goes beyond my human ability to understand I have a supernatural power of God you see I have the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwelling within me for when I am weak then I am strong oh how I know this truth in speaking I just asked myself this week how many days a week on average do I speak probably four or five days a week how many times a week nine to 15 different times a week I'll tell you real honestly I don't always feel like speaking I don't always like a doll a cup 300 a 320 days a year ago huh I feel like standing up today I feel sometimes I get in a fight with my wife before I speak I'm going to talk about marriage right after a fight glory to God this is going to be fine right sometimes I don't feel I don't wake up and go hey I want to be creaked critique today so you guys can go to lunch or dinner and say I give him before on that I was better that Naz before he didn't dance this week I give him a 4 out of 5 okay I didn't like what he said about this you know I don't like over that sometimes sometimes I feel sick I've never missed a day of preaching for being sick I just pray take some medicine on that dot I'm not gonna get gross I had tummy bugs really bad I just take some some medicine put a plug in it and preach my brains out right I'm telling you is what I do I figure for 30 minutes you know if I just run something happens you won't know and we're just we're going with it you know and I don't always feel like it but here's what I found out is when I have the least to bring honestly when I'm exhausted but I'm physically depleted when I'm discouraged that's when God's power works best that's why every time I speak I do I take a little step it means a lot to me right before I start I take a step forward in my mind symbolically what I'm doing is I'm stepping out of myself into the power of God I'm stepping out of myself into the power of God you see I'm sailing not rowing some of you you're rowing right now you get in a boat you're going to row God won't give me more than I can handle so bless God I can get there I can get there and you can do it for a while until one day you just can't row anymore I've learned to put the sail up and let the wind of the Spirit bring movement because instead of trying to do it myself I serve a god that when I cannot get it done he gets it done through me it's writ for when I am weak then he is strong I don't know who's hurting today but I pray this ministers to you you may get to know him better in the valley than you ever do on the mountaintop you may experience his power even more real right now because when you are weak he is over God will never give you more than you can handle that's why you're trying to hold on to it because you think it's yours to hold on to it's not yours you were created to need him he will give you more than you can handle when he calls you to do something outside yourself he will give you more than you can handle you're going to be a foster parent there will be more than you can handle if you're going to raise teenagers there will be more than you can handle if you're going to be invested in ministry there will be more than you can handle if you're a man married to a woman a woman married to a man there will be more than you can handle you were not created to do life on your own so instead of saying oh I've got to be strong oh I've got to be strong oh I got to be struck because God will never give me more than I can handle instead of saying I have to be strong you say I have to be weak I have to be broken I have to be dependent on him I can't get it all done myself I was not created to do it myself for when I am weak then his strength is made perfect through me so I don't know who it is right now that you feel like life is giving you more than you can handle and there's something you wish that God would do to change it but yet he hadn't changed it and you're asking why and you don't understand I'm going to tell you right now and maybe said you can get to know his presence because you often better experience him in the valley that he do on the mountaintop and it's because when you delight in your weaknesses his strength is made perfect somebody needs to stop rolling and start sailing but the wind of the Spirit be exactly what you need my grace is sufficient for you God says because my power is made perfect in weakness why would God allow you to have more than you can handle maybe it's because he wants to draw you close and to reveal his presence to you and maybe he wants to give you his supernatural power because his power is made perfect in your weakness father I pray today that the power of your Holy Spirit would be real to your children as we seek you right now all of our churches I want to just talk to those of you that you may be in that difficult season right now or I've found that sometimes it's even more difficult to what someone you love going through a really hard season all of our churches if maybe right now you're facing some significant challenges or somebody that you really care about is and you need specific prayer would you lift up your hand right now lift them up in attitude of faith right now all of our churches be all of our churches just please do this and say yes as you reach out to God father I just I hurt knowing there are so many people right now that are in a season of pain and I thank you God that you're a compassionate God who hurts with us and hurts for us and God I thank you that you care about every single detail of the lives of all of your children so right now I ask God that your presence would minister to those who are hurting god I pray that as we call on you that you would draw close to us according to your word I pray God for those who are in the valley right now but even though they walk through the valley that they would not fear God because you are truly with them god I thank you that they get to a place they realize that you are all that they have at that moment they're going to recognize God that you are all that they really need I pray God that in our brokenness in our weakness in our vulnerability that your strength is made perfect build the faith of your children today to continue to seek you that even though the thorn may still be there that your grace is sufficient your power is made perfect in weakness God I pray for the single mom who feels like she cannot go on give heard that strength and power for the marriage is hanging on by a thread give them faith to continue to believe God for those who've heard bad news from a doctor god we thank you that you are a healer and even more importantly God you were always with us God give us faith to continue to press into you as you reveal yourself to us as you keep praying today at all of our churches nobody looking around I read a verse early in the message from David when he said my my guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear I told a part of my story that I rarely tell today about what happened in college some of the stuff that I did and I'm just not I was so ashamed my life was so dark and I remember thinking could God ever forgive me of this I thought to myself maybe if I tried really really hard and I was really really good I could like work my way to God but I didn't realized that I was created to need God that my sin is too great for me to overcome that your sin is too great for you to overcome that's why God sent Jesus that's why the message of God's love is such good news some people say it's too good to be true minted right now it's too good not to be true that God loved you so much that he became one of you in the person of Jesus who never ever sinned so that he could become the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins he died and rose again why so that anyone who calls on his name will be saved so that anyone who calls in his name and that anyone includes you doesn't matter how dark your life is doesn't know how low you feel doesn't matter how bad you've been doesn't matter how messed up you are anyone in a moment when you call on him you will be saved every sin you've ever committed washed away made completely new honestly some of you recognize that's why you're here at this moment because it's more than you can handle and you are not created to deal with it on your own you recognize your need for a savior what do you do you call on him Jesus saved me when you do you separate your sins as far as the East is from the West you become a new creation in Christ Jesus the old is gone and everything becomes new spiritually and that's why you're here today and you know it now is your time now is your moment you say yes I'm ready to surrender my life completely to him there's more than I can handle I need Jesus His grace his forgiveness I give my life to him that's your prayer lift your hands high right now all over the place and say yes that's my prayer right up here god bless you both of you guys right over here as well others I'll be right back over there say yes I want to see you just lift it up for me alone right here sweetheart and this middle section god bless you guys three four five of you right back over here up here close to me others who say yes right down here bless both of you say yes to Jesus sir right here a man of God being born into the kingdom of God say yes I'm through in your way back here towards the back in a moment you're going to want to go a little crazy because we're in the middle of New Testament miracles by God right back over here others of you today you're leaning into it you're thinking about it it's too much for you you can't do it on ah you say yes Jesus I did my life to you right now lift up your hand and say yes I surrender completely to him would you all pray right back over here god bless you as well we're going to pray together everybody allow aloud pray Heavenly Father by faith I believe Jesus died for me and he rose again so I could live for you forgive me of all my sins make me brand new fill me with your spirit so I could know you so I could serve you and so I could follow you today my life is not my own I give it to you thank you for a new life now you have mine in Jesus name I pray would you all worship big worship loud welcome those born into God's family today you

Channel: Life.Church

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Keywords: Craig, Groeschel

Id: muX0qPZIVEc

Length: 37min 7sec (2227 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 16 2015