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Greater Guild Announcer (00:05):
Welcome
back to the Church Nerds United
podcast. Today, we're divinginto our second sermon in the
series, make up your mind,titled, Dungeon of Doubt,
Finding Faith in the Shadows. Inthis episode, we'll explore the
murky moments of our spiritualjourneys. Those times when we
feel uncertain, confused, oreven lost. Just like adventurers
(00:26):
in an RPG, we often facechallenges that test our faith
and push us to grow.
Together, we'll discover how tonavigate these shadows, embrace
our doubts, and trust god evenwhen the path isn't clear. So
grab your favorite drink, getcomfortable, and let's embark on
this journey of faith.
Pastor Brandon Holm (00:46):
In our
second message of our series,
make up your mind, we're divinginto a theme that resonates deep
in all our lives, as both gamersand as followers of Christ.
Murky obedience. Often, when Godcalls us to do something, it can
feel confusing or unclear, like,we're stuck in a tough quest or
mission with no clear marker.We're going to explore how God
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uses these murky moments tostrengthen our faith and lead us
to victory. Let's consider ourjourney in RPGs for a moment.
Imagine you're adventuring in avast world, grinding through
quests, battling enemies, andleveling up your character. But
what happens if you stick to thesame low level areas? Well
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you'll hit the plateau, andunable to grow stronger, and
unlock new abilities. Toadvance, you need to take on
tougher challenges, explore newterritories, and adapt your
strategies. This principle isapplies to our spiritual lives
as well.
In John 12, we see a great crowdgathered as Jesus enters
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Jerusalem. So they took branchesof palm trees and went out to
meet him crying out, Hosanna,blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord, even the Kingof Israel. However, for the
disciples, things weren't asclear. They were swept up in the
moment celebrating Jesus'sentrance without fully grasping
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the epic narrative that wouldunfold. God knows that just as
we face our tough bosses anddifficult quest in games, our
spirits need challenges to grow.
We need spiritual growth throughchallenges. We need When we
encounter a confusion oradversity, it can push us closer
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to him. Paul reminds us inRomans 12:2, don't be conformed
to this world, but betransformed by the renewal of
your mind. That by testing, youmay discern what is the will of
God, what is good and acceptableand perfect. God desires us to
cultivate our spiritualabilities, making choices that
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align with his kingdom even whenthe path is shrouded with
uncertainty.
Think about RPG mechanics. Tolevel up, you often need to
tackle quests that require skilland strategy, plus maybe tackle
quests and bosses that are alittle bit higher in your level.
Again, imagine if you stayed inthe starting zone defeating the
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same weak enemies. You'll missout on valuable experience and
the opportunity to become morepowerful and capable. In the
same way, God invites us toembrace challenges that stretch
our faith.
When we face uncertainty, it isa chance to deepen our trust in
him. Often, we encounterintrusive thoughts that lead us
away from God's plan, but we cancombat these by setting our
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minds on higher things. This isthe essence of our spiritual
journey, choosing to thinkdifferently and act faithfully,
even when the way forward seemsunclear. The journey of faith
isn't about finding clarity. Itis about continual growth.
Just as we wouldn't expect tothrive by grinding in the same
area forever, we shouldn'texpect our spiritual lives to
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flourish in familiar territory.Sometimes God leads us into
murky waters to prepare us forgreater quests and battles
ahead. So as we reflect on this,let's remember that spiritual
gains come from pushing throughuncertainty and confusion.
Embrace God's call even when ittakes us off the beaten path.
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This murkiness can be a signthat we're on the right track,
strengthening our faith, andbuilding resilience for the
adventure yet to come.
And in talking about murkyobedience, let's really talk
about obedience. It's easy tofollow God when everything is
clear, but what about when it'snot? The disciples didn't fully
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understand the significance ofJesus's action at the time. In
fact, John points out that hisdisciples did not understand
these things at first, but whenJesus was glorified, then they
remembered that these things hadbeen written about him and had
been done to him. You're in yourRPG quest, and the quest is
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unclear.
You have to gather a specificitem, let's say, but the map is
very vague. You don't have allthe information, but you have to
decide to trust the quest giver.In our lives, sometimes God asks
us to follow him into uncertainterritory. Jesus told his
disciples to fetch a donkeywithout explaining why. Imagine
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their confusion.
They didn't understand theprophetic significance of this
act, but they complied anyway.And this leads us to the truth
that our responsibility isn't tofully understand God's plans,
but to trust and obey him. Inmoments of murky obedience, we
need to choose compliance overclarity. This isn't about having
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a strategic plan. It's aboutsaying yes to God even when the
path isn't clear.
Remember, Proverbs 3:5 through 6tells us, trust in the Lord with
all your heart, and do not leanon your own understanding. In
all your ways acknowledge him,and he will make straight your
paths. Think of the manycharacters in video games who
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embark on quests without knowingthe end goal. Sometimes the n p
c's give you vague instructions,and you must figure out the
details as you go. It's allabout trust.
When we face these murky momentsin life we can draw strength
from God's word. He promises hispromises guide us even when we
feel lost. The act of followingeven without a clear
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understanding is where our faithgrows. The disciples, unsure of
what they were doing, stillmoved forward. They didn't let
confusion hold them back, and weshouldn't either.
As we move forward in faith,let's commit to obeying god even
when the path seems unclear.Trust that he is weaving a
beautiful tapestry in our lives,one that reflects his glory and
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love. The more we say yes tohim, the clearer the path will
become, even if we can't see itright now. God's methods are
often unorthodox. He rarelyfollows our expectations.
Again, look at the donkey. If wewere planning a grand entrance,
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a majestic horse would be morefitting. Right? But Jesus chose
to ride on a humble donkey. Thisreflects his approach to
leadership and power.
A kingdom really turned upsidedown. If we go back to 2nd
Kings, let's consider this asthe story of Naaman who sought
healing from leprosy. And Elijahsent a messenger to him saying,
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go and wash in the Jordan 7times, and your flesh shall be
restored, and you shall beclean. You know, Naaman really
balked at this idea. Feeling itreally was truly beneath him.
But Naaman was angry and wentaway saying, behold, I thought
that he would surely come out tome and stand and call upon the
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name of the Lord his God, andwave his hand over the place,
and cure the leper. Sometimes,God asks us to do something that
feels small or foolish toaccomplish great things. In the
gaming world, how often do weunderestimate the value of a low
level quest or item? Sometimesit's the most unassuming gear
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that can lead us to victory in atough boss fight. Similarly, God
often uses unexpected means tobring about his plans.
Reflect on how Jesus performedmiracles differently even for 1
individual. As they came to thetheta, and some people brought
to him a blind man and beggedhim to touch him. And he took
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the blind man by the hand andlet him out of the village. And
when he had spit on his eyes andlaid his hands on him, he asked
him, do you see anything? And helooked up and said, I see
people, but they look like treeswalking.
Then Jesus laid his hands on hiseyes again and he opened his
eyes. His sight was restored andhe saw everything clearly. He
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healed this blind man usingvarious methods. In this
instance, touching and spitting.However, other miracles required
truly different methods, andeach methods what each method
was unique.
Showcasing that God doesn't fitinto our box of expectations.
When we face challenges in ourlives, let's remember that God
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often operates outside of ourunderstanding. He might call us
to serve in ways that might seeminsignificant, but they are part
of his grand design. We can'treduce God to a formula. His
plans are greater than we canfathom, and that's what makes
following him so exciting.
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As we navigate our murkyobedience, let's be open to
God's unorthodox methods. He'snot confined by our
expectations. Instead, heinvites us into a world of
possibilities. We need to trustthat his ways, though different,
are ultimately for our good andhis glory. And in murky
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obedience, we must keep ourfocus on the kingdom.
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem wasmarked by praise, but it also
foreshadowed his sacrificialdeath. The people wanted a
conquering hero, but God had adifferent plan, a plan rooted in
love and sacrifice. As wenavigate our own paths, we
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should remember that our aim isto glorify God. The world may
pull us in various directions,but our priority should be to
the kingdom. Jesus spoke toPeter.
Jesus said to him, if my willthat he remain if it is my will
that he remain until I come,what is it that you do? What is
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what is that to do? You followme. In our lives, we might find
ourselves caught up incomparison, wondering who gets
more recognized, or who is moreeffective, and this even
happened within the disciples.But God calls us to focus on our
own individual journeys, andwhat he's calling us to do, not
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on what others are doing.
Okay. Remember the story of thetalents in Matthew 2514 through
30? If not, I suggest you openyour dusty Bible and read it.
The TLDR is this. Each servantwas given different amounts, but
what mattered was how they usedwhat they were they had been
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given.
God isn't concerned aboutquantity of our service, but the
quality of our heart. As we seekto serve God, let's remember
that every act of obediencecontributes to his kingdom.
Whether it's through our work,relationships, or daily
interactions, we can reflect onhis love and grace. The more we
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focus on his kingdom, the lesswe'll be distracted by the
murkiness of our circumstances.Let's commit to making the
kingdom our priority.
When we do this, we find clarityin our purpose even admit
confusion. God is at work in ourlives and we have the privilege
of participating in his mission.And finally, we'll know more
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later. In the heat of battlewhen things are murky, we might
feel lost or confused, but trustthat God is working. Just as the
disciples didn't understanduntil later what Jesus' entrance
meant, we may not fully graspthe full picture right away.
In our spiritual RPG, we'releveling up every day even if it
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doesn't feel like it. God iscrafting our story, and often,
we'll look back and see everymoment, every seemingly small
act of obedience fit into hisgrand design. In 1st Corinthians
chapter 1 verse 27, Paul writes,but God chose what is foolish in
the world to shame the wise. Godchose what is weak in the world
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to shame the strong. Our murkymoments are part of his plan to
glorify himself through us.
Think about your favorite gamewhere you revisit past areas,
and unlock new secrets or powerups, especially if you wanna
come a 100% complete or platinuma game. Sometimes you don't
realize the significance of anitem or a quest until it's later
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in the game. Similarly, Godoften works in our lives in ways
we can't fully appreciate in themoment. Trusting the process
means leaning into God, evenwhen it's hard. It means
believing that he sees thebigger picture, and that our
faithfulness, even in themundane and confusing moments,
contribute to his work.
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So as we journey together, let'shold on to the hope that God is
at work. He has a purpose forevery step we take, and in the
end, we'll see how all thepieces fit together. Our
obedience in the murkiness isnot in vain. It is a vital part
of our story and his plan. As wewrap up, let's remember the key
takeaways from our journeythrough the shadows of doubt.
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We need to embrace thechallenges that strengthen our
faith, choose compliance overclarity, acknowledge that his
methods are often unorthodox,keep our focus on the kingdom,
and trust that we'll understandmore in time. In those moments
of uncertainty, remember thatyour obedience, especially when
things seem murky, can lead tounexpected blessings. Just as
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the crowd raised their palmbranches and shouted Hosanna in
celebration, let's be faithfulin the small things, trusting
that God has treasures waitingfor us beneath the surface. I
wanna thank you for being partof this adventure. Together,
let's embrace the murky moments,venture into the unknown, and
follow God with our hearts.
He is with us on this journey,illuminating the path ahead even
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when it feels unclear.
Greater Guild Announcer (15:16):
Thank
you for joining us today on the
Church Nerds United podcast. Ihope today's message, Dungeon of
Doubt, Finding Faith in theShadows, has encouraged embrace
the murky moments and trust inGod's plan for your life. As you
navigate your own journey,remember that your obedience,
even in uncertainty, can lead tounexpected blessings. Don't
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forget to raise your palmbranches and shout, Hosanna, as
you celebrate the faithfulnessof God. If you enjoyed this
episode, please subscribe andleave us a review.
We'd love to hear your thoughts.You can also connect with us on
social media for updates andmore resources. Until next time,
keep exploring your faith, leaninto the challenges, and
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remember, you're never alone onthis adventure. God is with you
every step of the way.