Seek God’s Plan - Bobby Schuller

[Applause] wow today is is really a special day uh it is our last taping sunday for the season and it's a fitting one because we we have such a tremendous honor to hear who i think is one of the most gifted and compelling teachers and speakers in the world today um today we have the real pleasure of hearing from nick voyacic uh nick of course many of you know who he is he was born with tetramela which is essentially he was born with no arms and legs and that is a compelling part of nick's story but i really feel like nick's message transcends that there are many speakers and authors who have disabilities but nick's ability to invite people into the love and and the spirit of christian living is something that is matched by almost no one let's welcome with some real energy nick voyages hello good morning thank you very much praise god praise god you may be seated you know when we look at our lives we we really need to to really find hope and until you actually find as bobby was saying the value of who you are that you are valuable that you are here for a greater purpose that was what was life-changing for me rich or poor sick or healthy if you know who you are in jesus because he loves you and that god has a plan for your life arms and legs i mean it's going to give me arthritis later on anyway i i just want you to know that in life we look for things but the one thing that we must find is hope and some of us waste our entire life looking in the wrong places and uh for those who do not know me i just want you to know that when i was a kid i was wishing that god would give me arms and legs he didn't give me arms and legs but he healed my heart and he gave me heaven in my heart and i just love the idea of hope real hope now hope you might think is well just a copy mechanism for you nick but heaven is real just as miracles are real well if miracles are real then where are your arms and legs well my answer is i have a pair of shoes in my closet in case he says yes because i've seen 12 miracles i can look you without flinching in the eyes and saying i've seen blind people seeing deaf people hearing lame people walking i've seen crooked backs come straight skin diseases fall off bodies but yet i remember when i was a kid when i was six years old watching how the last days of my 27 year old first cousin died of bowel cancer even though i pleaded for god to keep him alive god took him where home there is a place called heaven whether you see it or not that doesn't change the existence of god's ultimate plan for our life what is that plan in jeremiah he says that there is a plan god has a plan sometimes we're like can i suggest a plan b that's what i was doing because heaven didn't seem real to me at times because i didn't see it some people think i only have one foot just because they see only one foot but i have a little second one right here and it's always there god's presence is always there if you call upon the name of the lord you shall be saved and healed and redeemed i don't know if god's going to give me arms legs in this lifetime but i'll tell you just one quick story of why i have joy in my life thank god for my parents first of all and my family for loving me through that but eight years ago i was here in this area speaking at a church and a little boy with no arms no legs was in the crowd the father held him up 19 month old little daniel martinez no arms no legs little foot just like me and i'm like wow that's so cool we're gonna wrestle later on i got the father to bring him up on stage and everyone was looking at him and people were crying i looked at him he's looking up at me with his big brown eyes and a big smile and when i looked at him i remembered when i was at school when i was getting teased when i was getting bullied when i felt alone when i was broken when i was depressed to the point of an attempted suicide at age 10. i tried to drown myself in our family bathtub because i felt alone i felt worthless and i felt life was pointless if there is no point to my suffering then if god's not going to relieve my suffering then i'll do it myself but by the grace of god i did not go through with that because the love of my parents but i thought one way of really seeing a miracle would be if god would send a limbless man to my school and talk to all these kids about bullying that would have changed my life that would be classed in my eyes as a miracle well when you don't get a miracle you can still be a miracle of god for someone else it's that 15-foot radius around you the people you come into contact with people notice my smile people notice when i look them in their eyes they're like what's a guy without arms and legs smiling about well i i love god and he has set me free the only cure to death is resurrection and because i believe i'm living forever and ever and ever not that just heaven is real but jesus is real to me now he carries me when i cannot walk and if god can use a man without arms and legs to be his hands and feet then god can use you too if god used my broken pieces then god can use your broken pieces if god caused a lame woman to walk in india in front of me he can cause you to walk if you cannot walk but let me tell you about the love of god for a second this old woman in india she looked about 144 years old i mean she was she couldn't close her mouth because she was that weak she looked at me she was trembling like this and through a translator we spoke to her where were we in india in the red light district of brothel houses 150 brothel houses where 10 year olds are kidnapped and sold by their parents sometimes for seven hundred dollars forced into sex slavery that's where we were going to preach the gospel and we went into a home and this old woman was sitting down on the floor her sister walks in and says stop talking about your god stop talking about jesus show me that he's real make this woman walk she said i don't want to hear about your god let me see it so i sort of took a step step back and i'm like okay god you know that she's putting you on the spot here not me right you know that you're not putting me on the spot she's putting you on the spot i just want you to get that here so we prayed about it uh prayed for her prayed um just right there and then with even a camera rolling and the first time she tried to get up she couldn't get up she was trying to stretch her legs out she hadn't walked for four years she has never left that front door for four years they carry her to the restroom she her sister was saying that she was dying now we prayed again she got up all by herself she started jumping up and down it was a miracle but here's the miracle who that woman was that woman wasn't just any woman that woman was the one who started that whole red light district 45 years ago of organizing sex slavery getting the pimps and the madames and the kidnappers and ruining and destroying thousands and thousands of girls lives and god healed her god pursued her god pursues you every day every breath for as long as you are breathing the door of mercy and grace is open to you adam and eve who had no belly button by the way were with god in the garden of eden god wanted us as a family for as long as adam and eve did not sin that one sin they would be with god forever the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil as soon as they sinned god couldn't be in their presence because he is god he is holy god is the alpha and omega the beginning and the end he created the universe he created everything we see and we don't see who am i to say hey god you you owe me an explanation for this he's gone who am i who am i that i could demand hey god please tell me what you're gonna do with me and then i'll trust you it's as foolish as me having a broken house and the best carpenter knocks on my door and i don't let him in because i want him to explain what he's about to do to fix me up jesus is the healer he loves you don't deny him into your heart just because you don't believe that you're not good enough for his love that's the amazing thing about god's unconditional love he pursues you and when you hear his voice don't harden your heart let him in i hardened my heart i didn't think he could do miracles with my broken pieces but man you know when i was a kid i never thought i'd get married i have a beautiful wife her name is kane we have a little baby boy nearly 18 months old his name is kiyoshi he's already my height he [Music] you know i used to be worried about how am i going to hold my wife's hand when i was a kid would i ever get married would i ever have a job when my parents saw me the doctor said i'm not going to be able to walk they had no idea what god's vision was they were looking for hope but they found it because they were looking in the right place jeremiah chapter 29 verse 13 says then you will call upon me come and pray to me and i will listen to you you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart that's verse 12 and 13. beginning of 14 i will be found by you declares the lord i love what rick warren says who who better to tell you what your purpose is than the one who made you that makes sense to me it doesn't make sense just to live for the sake of living and existing but when i look at my life now not just the blessings that i have but even meeting that little boy with no arms and no legs imagine that day that we meet up in heaven and he runs to me with his legs and he hugs me with his new arms and i hug him with my arms and i'm standing on my legs i can only imagine what will come out of our mouth glory to god number one god you are good and the second thing i think would be shared is daniel's saying nick thank you for helping me believe that this place called heaven was real see you can't have faith that you can pray for a miracle when your miracle doesn't come still ask for god's vision search for god's vision in your life i see some of you teenagers with gray hair and no hair here i can see all of you from here very well and god has you here for a reason he is not done with you yet there's still another person a hug there's still another person to pray for there's another missionary to send seed in and prayer for someone to comfort a child who has no grand grandparent you can be that you know that cute little grandmother that gives them all the candies you know i'm saying like that in itself you may not think that that goes deep but love is the greatest answer in the world and there was no greater love than this than jesus christ who died for your sins that if we are not forgiven we are not perfect therefore not deserving of heaven man that's a bigger problem than having no arms no legs i mean that would be cool to have arms legs and go on a bike and smash into a pole and break a leg but how distracted are we sometimes i want arms legs on one arm's legs oh if i can just get that job then everything's going to be happy and many single people are like well if i can just get married then i'll be happy if you're not happy single in jesus christ you're not going to be happy married amen can hear an amen again those are the married people so my questions and by the way my wife loves me and i love her our marriage is fine but our foundation of our marriage is knowing that we cannot do anything without jesus you can have stuff but what's the point of having stuff you can give me a billion dollars but if my wife dies tonight if my mom dies tonight if my cousin dies tonight money is nothing what are you looking for hope purpose come to jesus he's the only one who was wholly imperfect he was the only one who said he was god he's the only one who did miracles the way that he did and before he raised himself from the dead he raised a couple other people from the dead he's real he's god don't harden your heart as you hear the knock on the door he loves you whether you're running away 100 miles an hour in the wrong direction or not he loves you right now he can help you he can and only he can heal your family can heal your mind and make you a new creation does that mean now i wake up every morning and say good morning everybody don't you feel the holy spirit today you have ups and downs correct see my foot ups and downs ups and downs but the question is not how are you doing it's wherever you're going are you going with god in his strength with his plan or your plan my parents vision of my life they thought i would just be laying down the rest of my life they never knew that i could type 43 words a minute on a normal computer and do surfing and scuba diving and skydiving they never thought that their limbless kid would be a 31 year old evangelist in 2013 meeting seven presidents speaking at five congresses and 400 million people around the world heard the gospel of jesus christ i get goosebumps on the skin i don't even have when i like that's amazing that's god that's nothing to do with me nothing to do with what broken pieces he used i just gave him my heart and i said here lord here i am i don't understand what you have for me but i trust you give me arms and legs but if you don't give me arms and legs take my heart heal my heart renew my mind i want to live for you it's ironic to me that when you plan to seed in the ground it has to die before anything grows isn't that weird it's weird to me when i let my own will my own plans be surrendered say god take over that's when he brings live beautiful things out of dead broken bones dead broken dreams torn pieces of my heart of my mind he says i got you and when you cannot walk i'll carry you and when you mourn i'll be there i am with you i love you i have a plan trust me do you mind if we have some music in the background please just i'll play piano but i'm not warmed up yet myself but i just want you to know something that i i didn't see at all what was coming all i saw was me like this alone for the rest of my life and i tell you man it was only two weeks ago that my child hugged me for the very first time you see how long the hug is and how frequent we hug is actually not up to me it's up to him it's like our relationship with god he's there as soon as you wake up waiting to converse to speak for him to hear your prayers to say hello hi dad i love you thank you for another day i need you i can't do this without you heal me give me strength give me your wisdom and that is a daily relationship with him reminding yourself of the promises of god is an active relationship with him that will transform you from the inside out this is the word of god this is the bible god has breathed on this scripture on his word don't be distracted by any lies taking you away when you realize it's just the devil everyone say just the devil you know why god gave me one foot right so the devil can be my footstool but when you realize it's just the lies of the enemy taking you further and further to even a point of giving up when you realize that you're going home no matter what you're in god's hands when you commit your spirit into his hands all those lies and all those fears to the devil you can go you talk to the foot because the ears ain't listening and you turn around and you take one step at a time lord teach me to pray lord teach me your word lord give me your peace lord give me your strength help me to be self-control help me to love others like you love me help me to forgive others as you've forgiven me i am free man i don't even remember the last time i prayed for arms and legs i don't need him i need him do you have him in your heart is he an idea or is that relationship real every day you live not asking you how holy you are not asking how long you pray but have you died to your vision and your fear and your confusion just said god take over have you done that yet i'm jealous of some of you gray-head teenagers because you're closer to the finishing line than i but then again maybe not after all this could be the last time i'm on stage correct but that's why i smile because every day he is with me he is mine and i am his no matter what continue to seek the lord with all your heart lean not upon your own understanding trust in him he'll direct your paths you will find him and he'll be everything you'll ever need if there's anyone here in this place who can say you know what nick i don't have an active relationship with jesus and i don't want to live one more day without him i know i'll never be good enough to go to heaven and i want to ask jesus into my heart to forgive me of my sin that i may know him is there anyone here today who can say yes nick i have not been walking with jesus but today i don't want to live one more day without him if that's you stand to your feet right now in this place if you know that you have not made your life right with god just stand where you are don't worry i'm not gonna lay hands on you or anything but right now if you know within your heart that god's calling you don't harden your heart say yes lord please come in if that's you just stand right now it only takes the first person before other people stand up do not be afraid you can stand up with a friend but there is always a couple people who say yes jesus come into my life is anyone here today one anyone else just stand two three four anyone else let's give god the glory amen anyone else last call is there anyone here there you go one more anyone else just quick if you're thinking about thinking about it stop thinking about it and stand to your feet in jesus name enough's enough you don't want to do it your way you want to live gods i see you that's two more three more i'm gonna wait give you five seconds five just stand there we go four keep standing three two one awesome about 12 people standing let's just pray as we are would you say this prayer out loud with me say dear god i come to you today and i thank you for loving me thank you jesus for dying on the cross for all of my sins please forgive me come into my life and heal me please fill me with your holy spirit i want to live for you i confess you as my lord and my savior i want to know you more give me faith to live out your plan comfort me and strengthen me every day i pray in jesus name amen let's give god a shout out hallelujah you may be hallelujah maybe you didn't stand up but you said that prayer please tell someone here at this church that you did say that prayer we want to follow up with you we don't want to just give you a bible and say good luck we really want to help you with the next steps no matter what you feel right now in your heart how rejoicing your heart may be or at peace tomorrow morning you might wake up and say okay what do i do now um we want to help you there's a church and email us there if you're watching online or on tv please check out ministryoutlifewithoutlimbs.org we have also a smartphone app my wife and i also releasing a book called love without limits she's the most amazing woman on the planet and we just want to help anyone who's looking for love or uh is in a relationship that's a little rocky not that we're experts at all but we just felt to share our experiences of how god has made us one and continually making us one day by day now also as a parent want to encourage you to go check out the tables out the back if you've been praying for an evangelical ministry to help and push us all around the world please consider our ministries life without limbs and share the resources out there and i'm sorry i'm not going to be able to hug anyone here because i'm just scared someone's just going to pick me up and take me home guys god bless you thank you so much have a wonderful day and bobby thank you so much god bless you you

Channel: Hour of Power with Bobby Schuller

Views: 2,169,524

Rating: 4.9077148 out of 5

Keywords: Nick Vujicic, Hour of Power, Bobby Schuller, Shepherd's Grove, Crystal Cathedral, Faith, God, Hope, Love, Sermon Title, Bobby Schuller Sermon, Shepherds Grove, Jesus, Inspiration, Scripture, Seek God's Plan

Id: Dn-1j5QWsAM

Length: 29min 11sec (1751 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 25 2014