Remaining True

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Welcome to Healing Begins. My name is Pastor Gail Krack,
and I'm really glad that you have chose to join
me this morning. Don't know what you're doing. Maybe you're
out riding your bike, or are you're working out at
the gym, or you're driving home early in the morning
from work, or maybe you're just depressed and you're up
late listening to the radio hoping to get a word

(00:40):
or something that will encourage you to help you keep
going throughout your week. Well, I'm here to tell you
that God loves you, he cares about you, and he
wants to be a part of your life. And so
maybe you look for resources, things to read, things to do,
and I would encourage you to contact Spiritual Care. You

(01:02):
can call Spiritual Care Consultants at two sixt' nine nine
two nine oh one and talk to somebody there. Careen
o'melody would be glad to pray for you. We have
I AM cards that you can read and carry with
you throughout your day. We have books, you know. I
have books The Unexpected, Call God, Moments and Jesus in

(01:27):
the Mountains, what you can find on Amazon dot com.
And there are other resources that you could tap into.
So I hope you're encouraged. I hope you know that
Jesus loves you and that you're not alone. And so
I was just thinking about a topic I wanted to
talk about this morning, called remaining true, remaining true, and

(01:51):
I'm thinking about especially if you ever go into the
political realm. It's hard to remain true to God sell
and what you believe the Bible teaches, because when you
get into that realm, there will be great pressure to
compromise and go the wrong direction. And so I do

(02:12):
some work in the Lansing Capital once in a while,
where I will go in and pray for representatives and
pray with them as they are trying to stand for
godliness and righteousness. And that's a very interesting thing to do,
and I'm glad to have a chance to do that.
Revelation Chapter two, verse thirteen and twenty six says, I

(02:36):
know where you live, where Satan has his throne, Yet
you remain true to my name. You did not renounce
your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipus,
my faithful witness, who is put to death in your
city where Satan lives verse twenty six to the one

(02:58):
who is victorious and does my will to the end,
I will give authority over the nation's revelation three eleven.
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have
so that no one will take your crown. You know,
there's a great pressure today to go with the crowd,

(03:20):
And if you want to walk with the Lord and
obey his word, it'll be like a fish swimming upstream
against the current. Being true to yourself and true to
God will be very difficult. There will be times well
it seems like everyone is against you. So we need

(03:43):
wisdom in today's world. As I watched the political world today,
both parties are fighting. One is jockeying for position over
the other and claiming this and claiming that, and claiming
this and claiming that. Well, you know what, you never
know what they're going to stand for till really when

(04:04):
they get in office and you truly see who they are.
We've been given the right to vote, and I think
that's a great right to have, and you ought to say, Lord,
who do you want me to vote for? Who is it? Lord?
That is more like the scripture, who is it that
you want me to vote for? And then follow the

(04:25):
presence and leading of the Holy Spirit. In that what
can you do to remain true? I've got ten points
of things you can do to remain true. Point number one,
you must have a strong biblical foundation of truth. Many

(04:46):
times what people believe about God is what they've been told,
and that's not me. I grew up being told about
God all through my childhood. But when I got a
certain age, I had to I'm to the point where
I said, what do I really believe? For me? What
is it that I truly believe? So I began to

(05:10):
read my Bible, and since nineteen eighty nine I have
started reading my Bible in a very methodical way. I
think I've read my Bible about I'm going on my
twenty third or twenty fourth time through the Bible, which
means I have a strong, true Biblical foundation. It also

(05:32):
means I have a lot to learn. There's so much
about the Bible. As you read it, as you get
into it, as you study it, you realize how deep
it is. It's just not like an ordinary book. It
is the inspired, infallible Word of God. And when you
read it, you really got to pray for God to

(05:53):
give you wisdom, revelation, and insights. So to remain true,
you must have a strong foundation in God's truth, and
you must have a determination that you are not going
to deviate from what you believe is true no matter
what people say to you. It can be very difficult

(06:17):
when it's someone in authority and who is threatening you
or threatening your job, and they don't like what you
stand for, stand for the truth, you know. I'm reminded
of the story of Stephen. What he was being stoned.
People didn't like what he had to say. He had
a strong foundation of truth. And in the Book of Acts,

(06:38):
they got so mad as Stephen they drug him out
and they began to stone him. And the Bible says
that as he was being stoned, Stephen looked up into
heaven and he saw Jesus standing by the right hand
of the Father standing up for him as he was
being stoned. And not really believe that as we stand

(06:59):
for truth, as we stand for what's right and we
don't compromise, that God stands up for us, that Jesus
stands up for us. And I pray that God would
give you the strength and the internal fortitude to stay
true to walking with him each and every day. Hey,

(07:23):
it's not going to be easy. Believe me. Today, in
the political world in which we live, if you stand
true for something and it goes viral on social media,
you can be harassed, you can be threatened, you can
be put down. I mean, it's terrible today. So you've

(07:43):
got to really pray for the strength of God. Number two,
Keep your eyes on Jesus and trust him to see
you through. I can't say that enough. Keep your eyes
on the Lord, not your circumstances, not what other people
are saying about you, and trust God to see you through.

(08:05):
You know, if you're standing for what's true, you're going
to be slandered. You're going to be put down sometimes.
But don't listen to it, don't look at it. Put
blinders on. Keep your eyes on Jesus and keep walking
with the Lord, and keep standing for truth, and you

(08:26):
will be really glad you did so. Keep your eyes
on the Lord. Number three. Pick your battles. Is it
worth fighting for? Pick the things that are worth fighting for.
Don't get caught up with petty little difference as well.
I believe this, or I believe that, or I believe

(08:49):
this or I believe that. Pick the things that are
worth fighting for. Pick your battle. You can get yourself
into unnecessary battles that will wind up robbing your peace,
and so pick the right battles to fight. The Holy

(09:10):
Spirit will guide you, He will direct you, He will
give you revelation, and he will show you what to do.
The Bible promises that about the Holy Spirit, that he
will guide you into all truth and take the deep
things of God and make them known to you. Point

(09:32):
number four, don't get unnecessary attention. Sometimes the thing you
do or say can get you into unnecessary attention. One time,
a pastor friend of mine said something he should have
said on Facebook. I mean it was ridiculous, but he
said it anyways, and man, people piled on him on Facebook.

(09:57):
He got so much on this sid necessary attention he
wished he'd never done it. It's what good is Facebook? Anyways.
We need to get our face out of Facebook and
put it in the book and get to know the Bible.
So don't do things to draw attention unto yourself. Try
to only do the things that God has called you

(10:20):
to do, that He's asked you to do, and the
things that He wants you to accomplish. It's very important
that you don't draw unto yourself unnecessary attention. Number five,
surround yourself with like minded people, or should I say,

(10:42):
surround yourself with godly people. The Bible says in a
multitude of counselors is wisdom, surround yourself with good people,
godly people, the right people, God's kind of people. That's
the kind of people you want to surround yourself with,
so that when you're down or you're about to make

(11:03):
a decision and you don't know what to do, you
can get the guidance, you can get the counsel you
need to remain true. You can't be isolated. If you're isolated,
that's a good way to get picked off by the enemy.
I remember, I think it was on a National geographic
a show one time, watching a group of wilderbeasts. They

(11:25):
were running and a little one got behind and a
pack of wolves came and pick the one that was
straggling off. And so, if you're in a group of
people that are good, godly people, they can surround you,
they can pray for you, they can help protect you
in your hour of need. So when you remain true,

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you need to be with other people to help you.
That is so important to be able to remain true.
Number six, Be a part of a good church. This
is also very important thing to do. Find a church
for you to attend. Maybe you listen to me and
you're in the Grand Rapids area, Man, there's some good

(12:12):
churches in Grand Rampants. There's Keystone Church, There's a Grand
Rapids First Assembly of God, There's Calvary. There's many different
churches in Grand Rampads that would be good for you
to be a part of. Pick one. Try it out,
go attend. The Bible says that we are not to

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forsake be assembling ourselves together. All the more as we
see the day approaching one day, the coming of the Lord.
The closer we get to the coming of the Lord,
the more chaos in, the more trouble that's going to
be in the world that you're going to be faced.
So you need to be in a good Bible, believe

(12:55):
in praying church. One that can surround you and help you. Now,
not just one online, not just one you see on Facebook,
but how about one that is near you, so that
if anything happened and you needed someone, someone could come
visit you, pray with you, be with you at your
r of need. You know, I've had a lot of

(13:17):
people say to me, yeah, listen, I go to church online.
Well what happens if you get in the hospital. Who
are you gonna call? Who's gonna come visit you? Surely
not that online preacher that lives states away. You want
to be a part of something local. You want to
be hooked into a small group or something like that.
I get a chance to go to a terrific men's

(13:39):
Bible study. It's usually on Wednesday mornings at six thirty am. Men.
It's early. It's at Kingstone Church and I really like
it when I can attend. And of course I live
in Battle Creek, so it's a long drive for me
to go there. But once in a while I get
up early and I go be a part of this
men's group. Fantastic. It's a great group to be a

(14:02):
part of. Why we all need fellowship, we all need prayer,
we all go through hard times. Believe me, you're not alone.
You're not the only one that goes through a hard time.
And when you're in those hard times, in those days
when you're lonely, you need people. You need people to

(14:24):
help you to pray for you, to walk alongside you.
All right point. Number seven, Pray for wisdom. You know,
when everything's going on and you got to remain true
and you got to pick the battles that you're gonna fight,
you're gonna need wisdom. You want to stand for the
right things, not for everything. You want to stand for

(14:48):
something Jesus would stand for. And you're gonna need the
Holy Spirit's guidance and discernment to show you when you're
not standing for the right thing, or when you pick
something to stay and for. That's more or less trivial.
And so pray for wisdom each and every day because,
believe me, there is a lot going on in the

(15:09):
world today and we are living in a day where
we need wisdom and we need guidance. You know, it
says in Proverbs three, five and six. Trust in the
Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own
understanding in all your ways, Acknowledge Him, and he shall
direct your past. So God gives us a promise that

(15:32):
if we will trust him, that he will direct our path.
He will show us what to do. So we need wisdom.
Number eight. You need to remember you will be rejected
at times for things that you are standing for, and
that's Okay, it's okay if everyone doesn't like you. It's

(15:54):
okay if everyone doesn't believe what we believe. But you're
going to be rejected. Hey, look, Jesus was rejected. Not
everybody liked him for what he stood for or for
what he said, and not everybody's gonna like you. So
you got to remember being rejected is just part of

(16:17):
the process of remaining true. All right, Number nine, Stay
focused on heaven. Your reward will come at the end
when you stand before Jesus. The scripture says, these light
and momentary afflictions are working for us in eternal weight

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and glory. That fire outweighs them all. So we fix
our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen,
For what is seen is temporary, what is unseen is eternal.
We must keep our eyes on the fact that this world,
the world, is not it for us. This world is

(17:03):
not our home. We're actually passing through and we're headed
toward heaven. You know, Abraham, he was looking for a city.
Who's makers an architect and founder was God. Well, Abraham
found it. He found that city he was looking for.
He's in heaven with Jesus. He was a great man
of faith. He was a father of faith, and we

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follow in his footsteps as a father of faith. And
so you know you're going to be rejected. And by
the way, keeping your focus is a whole lot harder
than you think it is. You know. Hebrews chapter twelve,
verse one says that we are to fix our eyes
on Jesus, the author and the perfector of our faith,

(17:50):
who for the joy before him ending the cross. You see,
I don't think and I don't find anything comforting in
the cross. But when Jesus thought of the cross, he
thought of you, and he thought of me. You see,
he had heaven in mind. He knew that one day
you and I would accept Christ as our savior, and

(18:14):
that one day you and I would be with Him
in heaven. And it's so important that we keep our focus.
Do you know, Jesus, are you where you should be?
If not, I invite you to pray this prayer with
me right now. Say Jesus, i've wandered away from you.

(18:35):
I asked you to forgive me of my sins, Come
into my heart and be my savior. I rededicate my
heart in my life to you Lord. Fill me with
the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus. Amen. And
if you prayed this prayer, I want you to know

(18:56):
I'm proud of you. I want you to know that
I'm glad you prayed that. But do find a good
church to attend in the area in which you live.
Number ten. This is very important. There will be times
you feel like giving up, but keep fighting the good
fight of faith. Have you ever felt all alone? I have.

(19:19):
Have you ever felt like giving up? I have. But
when I feel like that, I stop. I get in
my quiet place with the Lord, and I refocus on
him and I put my eyes on Heaven. See, Heaven
is where I'm going. This Earth, I'm just an alien

(19:41):
and a stranger. I'm just passing through. Heaven is my home.
I'm a citizen of Heaven. But in the meantime, I'm
living on Earth. I'm sixty four. I'm going to be
sixty four in September. And if I leave, and if
I live to be eighty ninety, even one hundred years old,
well that is not a lot of time compared to eternity.

(20:03):
And so I'm just passing through. And if you know, Jesus,
Heaven is your home. You're just a stranger. And an
alien on this planet. But we got a job to do.
We got a king to serve, we got people who
need to know the Lord. And if you've been struggling

(20:24):
with remaining true, don't beat yourself up over it. Just
say Lord, I'm sorry, I've compromised. I'm sorry. Lord, Please
forgive me from not remaining true, and please help me
to put these ten points into practice so I can
stay true to your name. Let me repeat the ten

(20:45):
points again. Number one. You must have a strong biblical foundation.
Number two. Keep your eyes on Jesus and trust them
to see you through. Number three. Pick your battles the
ones that are worth fighting. Number four. Don't cause yourself
unnecessary attention. Number five. Surround yourself with like minded people

(21:08):
or godly people. Number six. Find a good church to
be a part of. Number seven. Pray for wisdom. Number eight.
You will be rejected at times, but it's okay. Number nine.
Keep your focus on Heaven. You will be rewarded at
the end of your life when you stand before Jesus.

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And number ten, there will be times you feel like
giving up, but keep fighting the good fight of faith.
Let me pray for you, Heavenly Father. I pray for
those that are listening under the sound of my voice.
I pray that you would comfort them. I pray that
you have strengthen them, and I pray that you would
help them to remain true to your name, to you

(21:50):
and to themselves. Help them to stand on a strong
biblical foundation. Help them to keep standing for what is right.
I pray for those that are feeling like giving up.
I pray Lord today that you would give them your strength,
you would give them your peace, and that you would
help them to walk another mile, Help them to know

(22:12):
that they are not alone and that you are with them.
Thank you, Jesus, that you love us this morning, and
I pray that you give us a good week. In
the name of Jesus, Amen, I want to thank you
for joining me for Healing Begins. I would love to
hear from you. My email is share at Healingbegins Radio

(22:36):
dot com. Share at Healingbegins Radio dot com. I'd love
to hear from you. I'd love to know your prayer
requests in how you like the program. So may God
bless you, May He keep you, May He cause his
faith to shine upon you. May God be gracious to

(22:56):
you and give you peace. And may you always know
it's worth it to remain true, especially one day when
we meet Jesus God bless you. We live in a

(23:24):
world of worries, stress and fear, and many times people
don't have a very good support system. I would like
to hear from you. I would like to know how
you like the program, any prairie question might have, or
any future subjects that you would like me to address
on future programs. My email is share at Healing Begins

(23:48):
Radio dot com. Again that Share at Healing Begins Radio
dot com. Healing Begins is brought to you by Spiritual
Care Consultants located in Hastings, Michigan. At the Healing Center,
we see children and adults at no costs. We do

(24:10):
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We also value your feedback and would like to hear
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L e. At Spiritualcareconsultants dot com. We would like to

(24:32):
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cause us face to shine upon you and give you peace.

(24:55):
Thank you for listening.