July 11, 2025 • 47 mins
Do you ever feel like Jesus could not possibly know what you are going through? He is the God of the universe after all! Does He really know your daily struggles? The good news is that He does. Pastor and author Max Lucado will unfold the heart of a Savior who longs to live in relationship with you. Discover the Christ, full of grace and life, forgiveness and fun! Join us for a look into the life of Jesus on earth on this edition of Equipped!
Featured resource:
Jesus: The God Who Knows Your Name by Max Lucado
July thank you gift:
Surrendered Sexuality by Dr. Juli Slattery
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:15):
Please enjoy this encore edition of equip with Chris Brooks. Well,
hey there folks, welcome to another exciting edition of Equipped
with Chris Brooks. I am so glad you tuned in today.
Why don't you strap on your seatbelt? We've been praying
for you. We're going to navigate through the contours of culture,
(00:38):
as always, with the lens of the biblical worldview on.
But before we do that, let me remind you, this
is the day that the Lord has made. He has
given it as a gift so that you and I
might rejoice and be glad in it. So let's do
just that. Let's follow the words of the Apostle Paul.
Let's rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice.
(00:59):
And with that, I welcome you into what will be
a very encouraging edition of equip. Today we're going to
talk about God, and in particular, we're going to talk
about Jesus. And I want to start by asking you
to consider a very dangerous question. Maybe two very dangerous questions.
(01:20):
The first is this how much or how well do
you know Jesus? Now, that question may not seem dangerous
to you. As a matter of fact, you may say,
Chris Brooks, what's dangerous about the question? How well do
I know Jesus? Well, I think it's dangerous on a
couple of levels, in particular in the area of the
(01:42):
fact that we often assume too much when it comes
to our knowledge of Jesus. On the one hand, there
are those who have been raised in church for most
of their lives or have been Christians for a quite
some time now, and may assume you may be tempted
to assume that you know all there is to know
(02:04):
about Jesus. As a matter of fact, you can quote
chapter and verse. You can tell everyone the bio of Jesus,
his activities, his works. But you know, what I found
to be interesting in life is that life has a
way of arresting our assumptions and challenging our presuppositions and
confronting us with pain and hurts and difficult seasons that
(02:29):
expose our ignorance, often of the depths of his love
for us, of the extent of his grace for us.
On the other hand, there are those who may feel like, well,
I know practically nothing about Jesus, but once they get
a chance to spend time in His Word, getting to
(02:49):
know him according to Scripture, they realize, wow, Jesus has
been present in my life in tremendous ways for quite
some times, and I didn't and I didn't even realize it. Today,
what I want to do is help you to understand
Jesus more. I want to help you to revisit maybe
(03:10):
some of your assumptions about Jesus so that you can
get to know Jesus as he presents Himself in Scripture.
Not just the rumors about Jesus, not just your assumptions,
not just what you heard from a third party, but
getting to know Jesus for yourself. But my second question,
(03:32):
maybe even equally as important, is how well do you
think Jesus knows you? You know, it's really easy to
assume that in a universe that is as big and
expansive as ours and a world, an Earth that is
populated with 7 billion souls, that you are just one
(03:54):
in a number. You're just a grain of sand on
the seashore that somehow your life is not pertinent or
important to God. But I don't know where that idea
derives from. What I do know is this is that
it's not consistent with what we read in Scripture, because
(04:14):
what we read in Scripture tells us an entirely different story.
It tells us the story that Jesus sees us, that
he knows us and that he cares. Today, I want
to send that message to all of us. Uh, in
particular to those of you who are wrestling with guilt
or discouragement, those of you who are feeling overwhelmed by life,
(04:39):
those of you who feel lonely today. Uh, today, I
want you to know that Jesus, who knows you. We're
going to be surveying a wonderful book by Max Lucado. And, uh,
many of you know Max Lucado. He's a phenomenal author.
And all I have to say is this is that
he has over 130 million products in print. Now, when
(05:01):
you think about the expansiveness of that, that portfolio of
of resources, you realize how many people this man has
been a blessing to. And he joins me today to
discuss his newest work. It's a very unique work and
it's simply entitled Jesus, the God who Knows Your Name. Max.
(05:24):
Uh oh. I think that, uh. Max is there. Max,
are you there?
S2 (05:28):
I am, I am. How are you doing, my friend?
S1 (05:31):
You know, the joys of live radio and technology continue
to bless me each and every day. It is great
to hear your voice. It is great to hear your
voice on so many levels. Max, thank you for the
newest resource. I you know, I gotta be honest with you,
I love and hate reading your work. I love it
(05:54):
because I love the way you draw my heart in.
I hate it because it continues to expose the fact
that just when I thought I had Jesus all figured out,
there are new aspects of his grace. New, uh, dimensions
of his mercy and the extent of his love for
me that I have to realize I just did not know.
(06:16):
Take us to this orphanage in Haiti. You open the
book by recounting this beautiful story, uh, that you, uh,
heard and learned about while standing in the lobby of
your church. Can you give us a sense of that story?
S2 (06:33):
Well, one of one of the big reasons or pluses,
I should say, of, uh, continuing to pastor all these
years is that I just get to hear so many
fascinating stories. And this is a special family from our
congregation who, um, told me the story of their adoption of, uh,
this precious girl from Haiti and, uh, and helped me
(06:55):
envision what it was like when they went down to,
to meet her. But then they had to leave, come
back to the US and set things in motion for
the adoption. And they described how once she knew that
she had been chosen and adopted, once she had a
(07:15):
picture of her family and a picture of her home,
and could put it up over her little bunk bed, that, uh,
that her whole personality changed and I couldn't help but think,
you know, that's that's what God does for us. Uh,
before we know Christ, uh, we we feel like orphans. Uh,
but once we connect with him, uh, once he gives
(07:39):
us a picture of our forever home and our forever family. Uh,
it doesn't mean that we don't have any more problems.
Not at all. But it certainly means that we have
a picture of the life that is to come. I
believe that promise of our next life. I believe the
assurance of Christ coming, that that's enough to lift us
(08:01):
in our dark, dark times and help us to look
forward to the future. Here. And that's a picture of
what Christ has done for us.
S1 (08:10):
I love that, and you know, I gotta be honest
with you. I'm an adoptive dad. So when I read that. Man,
that grips my heart. And it's such a special and
awesome picture, right? And I remember what love.
S2 (08:23):
Did you understand then? A love that an adoptive. I'm
not one, I'm not one. But I've had adoptive dads
talk to me about the, uh, the love, the special
bond they have toward their adopted children.
S1 (08:38):
It's it's a beautiful thing. But, you know, the other
thing that your book highlights is this, uh, this in-between stage,
that biological parenting, uh, it doesn't experience. And that is
when you have been placed with your adoptive child and
they know you're coming for them and you know you're
going to get them. But there's this in-between phase, right
(09:01):
where your hearts, both your hearts, are eager and anticipating
the moment that is to come. And in many ways, Max,
we're living in that in-between phase, aren't we?
S2 (09:13):
Exactly, exactly. That's it. We're in the middle of the
right now. And the. Not yet. You know, the kingdom
of God is here, but also the kingdom of God
is still coming. And this explains so much, at least
it does to me. It explains the tension that I feel,
the longing that I feel, the unhappiness that I feel, uh,
(09:35):
and and, uh, it helps. It solves so many of
the deepest sadnesses in my life. You know, when I,
when I, as a pastor, speak at a, at a
funeral or as a the son of my father and mother,
when I attend their funeral, the deep longing that I
have to to see death removed from this life, uh,
(09:57):
and the assurance that it will be, uh, I'm so long.
I so desire for people to to have that kind
of awareness that here's where we are in history, you know,
where history is headed somewhere. Uh, and it it lifts
such a burden from our hearts when we accept that
(10:17):
this is the, the time of in-between, where we don't
have it all figured out yet. But someday we will.
Someday we'll know why. Someday it'll make sense. But until then,
let's just prove faithful. And. And someday the one who's
adopted us will come for us to take us home.
S1 (10:34):
Now, the purpose of this book, Jesus, the guy who
knows your name, folks, is to be able to minister
to the hurting. Those who feel guilty, lonely, discouraged, to
let you know that God sees you and he loves
you with a love that is beyond any love that
(10:55):
you've ever experienced. But yet I think that it could be, said, Max,
that there's an apologetic that you give here, and I
know that that is not the focus of the book.
It's not really a defense of the Christian faith and belief,
but in many ways you're doing that. And let me
just start with worldview, right. Because one of the things
(11:17):
that is unique about the Christian worldview, when understood biblically,
is that we're not deist, meaning that we don't, uh,
posit or believe that our God simply created the world
and then left it to run on its own evolutionary
forces and is uninterested and detached emotionally. We believe in
(11:40):
a God. That yes is transcendent. Yes is above and
greater than his creation. But he is so involved and
he cares. And he sees us talk about the unique
worldview of the Christian faith that people need to understand.
S2 (11:57):
What a great observation there, Chris. Yeah, to be a
deist is to believe that God started the world, but
he's removed himself from the ongoings of the world. Uh,
we believe in a God who not only created the world,
but he is engaged in the, uh, in the outflow
(12:17):
of history. Uh, so much to the point that he
chose to become one of us and show us who
he is, and that everything he did while he was
on this earth in the form of Jesus Christ, is
a picture of the heart of God right now. Chris,
in my morning devotional time, I'm reading through the gospel
(12:40):
of Mark, and I read the most beautiful story this
morning of Jesus healing a man whose ears did not work.
And in the story he he spits, Jesus spits, and
he and he touches the man with his saliva. And
I thought, how earthy is that? How earthy is that,
that that God himself would enter the world and even
(13:03):
have saliva glands and spit. And then and, you know,
it's just earthy, it's real, it's touchable. And that he
would say a the word if epaphra or be released,
he would speak a word with a tongue. And so he's,
he's a touchable physical God so that we absolutely know
(13:26):
here's how God feels when he sees sickness. And in
that story I read this morning, as Jesus was healing him,
the Scripture says, Jesus sighed. He sighed as if to say,
it shouldn't be this way. And so there's all these
images that we have a God who's not so far
and removed, but we have a God who can spit,
(13:49):
who can touch, who's sighs, who heals. This is a
game changer. This is a game changer. You know, once
read in a book by Philip Yancey. The reason that
he is a Christian. Philip said, reason number one is
the life and personality of Jesus Christ. Reason number two
(14:11):
I don't like plan B, and I resonate with that.
I believe I'm a Christian because I'm so fascinated with
the life of Jesus Christ. And number two, plan B stinks.
I don't like plan B. I've tried.
S1 (14:25):
It. Well, when we know that he not only cared
enough to die for us, but he cares enough to
see us. It changes everything. And I do agree with you.
This is a game changer. Do you know him as Emmanuel?
Do you know him as friend? As teacher, as miracle worker,
(14:46):
as the Lamb of God. Today we're going to introduce
some to Jesus, maybe reintroduce others to him. But I
want you to stick and stay. We'll also take your
calls at 877 live. Maybe we can pray for you.
Maybe we can ask. Answer some of your questions about Jesus.
You call (877)Â 548-3675. We'll answer your questions. Don't forget, social
(15:12):
media is available to you as well. Facebook and Twitter
at Equip Radio. Whatever you do, don't change the dial.
The best is yet to come. Next up on equipped
with Chris Brooks. Do you have questions about your sexuality
(15:40):
that no one seems to address? Whether it's sexual sin,
gender confusion, or issues in your marriage? Surrender Sexuality by
Doctor Julie Slattery has insights you need. She'll help you
to see that God wants to be invited into your
questions and struggles. And when you do, everything changes. Request
(16:00):
your copy with your gift of any amount. To equip,
simply call 888644 4144 or visit Equip radio.org. Chris Brooks
here reminding you that today's program is pre-recorded. While we
won't be taking calls, we do want to connect with
you on social media. Welcome back to equip with Chris Brooks.
(16:26):
My guest today is the one and only Mr. Max Lucado.
Grateful for you joining me. You know, in every one
of his books he has written about Jesus. But this book,
Jesus the God Who Knows your name, is the first
one where he has exclusively written about Jesus. Every chapter
is dedicated to helping you to understand the Lord more. Uh,
(16:51):
and uh, there are six different sections to it. I
referenced it when we were going to break that. I
would love for you to just kind of explore Jesus
as Emmanuel, Jesus's friend, as teacher, as miracle worker, and
his Lamb of God, the God who saves. Let me
tell on myself first, Max, and then we'll get a
(17:13):
chance to expose others. But, uh, I, you know, if
you were to ask me maybe four months ago, um,
Chris Brooks, how well do you know Jesus? I would
have said, man, I think I know him pretty well,
but it was in a counseling session. My wife and
I have been going through grief counseling over a significant loss,
(17:34):
but it was in a counseling session that a counselor
asked a question. Chris, is God pleased with you? Is
God pleased with you? And I don't know why. Max.
I paused long enough for him to know there's something
wrong here, and he pressed, like any good counselor would. And, uh,
(17:55):
just kind of unearthed that my theology had been built around. Well,
I know he loves me. I know that he's forgiven me.
I know that he's redeemed with redeemed me. But this
whole thought of pleasure or delight, that's that's a totally
different deal. And then here I am reading your book.
And in your book you quote job 23 and ten.
(18:17):
He knows the way that I take. And then you
go to Isaiah 62 and four and it says, the
Lord delights in you and man. When I read that,
it was like, God, uh, how is it that I've
poured myself into studying Scripture and missed this point? It
is so easy for us to miss aspects of Jesus.
(18:39):
Just talk about why it's so important to you to
communicate the heart of Jesus. Even for the believer who's
been walking with Christ for a long time.
S2 (18:51):
Well, what a great, great observation and what a beautiful
revelation to understand us that we serve a God who
who passionately loves us and we don't have to perform
for him. Uh, Chris, I'm so thankful for you and
your honesty about that. And and I struggle with the
(19:13):
same thing. Maybe we're kind of cut from the same cloth. Uh,
I here's what I think. I think everything else in
life is performance based. Uh, you think about everything else
that we do. You know, if you grow up playing
sports or you grow up, uh, you know, in, in academics, uh,
or in any kind of competition, everything is performance based. Yeah.
(19:36):
And today, uh, with social media making it even more so,
we're always comparing ourselves to one another that we find
this language with which God loves us. His his passion
for us. Very unique. You mean God would love me
independent of what I do for him? Uh, he would
(19:56):
care for me, independent of my performance for him. That he.
He isn't just loving, but he is love. This is
just a beautiful discovery. And, uh, it's one that, uh,
even though it might come across as something that we
should know from the get go from the early part
of our Christian walk. The truth is, we're all learning
(20:18):
to lean into the love that God has for us. Uh,
in fact, I think that's what the apostle Paul wanted us.
He said, let your roots go down deep in the
love of God. You know, he wants us to be
strong in the love of God. And so God bless
you for for saying that. And, uh, may, may your
admission of that, uh, it's a reminder to me to
(20:41):
trust in the God who delights in me. And I
would imagine there are many listening today who need to
know that God loves us.
S1 (20:48):
Yeah, what a blessing it is to know that the Lord,
according to Psalm one 4711, the Lord takes pleasure in
those who fear him, in those who hope, in his mercy.
And so what a great reminder. Want to go to
the phone lines? The number is 8775675. That's 877548 3675.
(21:10):
If you have any questions about Jesus, maybe something that
Max and I are sharing today is resonating with your heart.
Feel free to give us a call 877548 3675. Jack
from Cleveland. Uh, thanks, Jack, for listening to equip. Uh,
and for your call. What's your question for Max?
S3 (21:30):
Good afternoon. I'm going to try to make this quick
and to the point. Um, I appreciate you guys taking
my call. Um, walk with Jesus. I got saved 15
years ago. Um, probably within the last seven years. Issues
of life have just been so overwhelming that I find
myself disconnected. Um, not so much not believing or not
(21:53):
believing the Bible, but through personal tragedy in my family,
with children, the death of a wife, certain things. Now
I'm going through personal health issues, and I can't get
over the guilt and shame of. Being disconnected from him
and not knowing how to get back to him.
S1 (22:15):
Yeah. Yeah.
S3 (22:16):
If that makes any sense. So any input you could
give me would be great.
S2 (22:23):
Yeah. Well, brother, uh, I'm so sorry. Uh, I cannot
imagine the challenges that, uh, that have come into your world. And, um,
first of all, Lord, I'd like to pray for this.
My brother, I'd like to ask my heart right now.
Just as heavy for him. Heavy for him as he
(22:44):
acknowledges that he feels disconnected from you. So I pray
for him. I ask that your Holy Spirit, who lives
with him, lives in him, would give him strength. In
Jesus name, Amen. You know the fact that you would
even want to come back, uh, closer to God, my friend,
is a suggestion that you're closer to God than you imagine. Uh,
(23:06):
that's the Holy Spirit, uh, speaking to you and through you. Uh,
if you were completely separated from God, like somebody who
has rejected him and never accepted him, then that person
lives with a, you know, oblivious to the presence of God.
What I hear in your heart is a tenderness and
a longing, uh, toward God. And so, uh, believe just
(23:30):
believe that what matters most is his hold on you,
not your hold on him. So on those days that
you don't feel close to him, that's okay. Uh, some
days we don't feel close to God. But what matters
is God has a hold on us. And that feeling
will return. Faith is not always accompanied by feeling. Uh.
(23:52):
And when it's not, you just have to believe in
the fact that God's got a hold on you.
S1 (23:58):
I love everything that Mack said. And I just want
to say amen to what Mack said. And, Jack, I
just want you to know, brother to brother. I love you, brother.
And I'm grateful that you had the courage to call.
There is no coincidence today. God knew you needed to
hear this. And. And I'm grateful for you calling in.
You know, just to reiterate what Max just said, I
(24:18):
often think Jack and Max about how my relationship with
my children looks different from their perspective versus my perspective.
There's no way for them to fully comprehend how much
I love them. I got a little six year old
guy named Judah, and sometimes I'll ask Judah. Judah, how
(24:38):
much does daddy love you? And he'll stretch his arms
big and say this much right now what he doesn't
really understand is that his little arms aren't big enough
to know how much I love him. And in our minds,
aren't big enough to know how much we love. He
loves us. Our God loves us. But I do know
this is what the word says. Hebrews 15 four and
15 says that he sympathizes with our weaknesses. In Isaiah
(25:04):
43 and one says this, fear not, for I have
redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You
are mine. Jack, no matter what you go through in
this season that you've just been through has been terribly painful.
But just know this. He does love you. He cares
for you. He is Emmanuel. He is with you. And
(25:25):
so be encouraged, brother. And again, I just add my
prayers for you to Max's prayers for you. And as
a way of just being an encouragement to you, I
want you to stay on the line. We're going to
give you a copy of Max's wonderful book, Jesus, the
God Who Knows Your Name, just to encourage you, brother. Thanks, Jack,
for giving us a call. Maybe you want to give
a call to, uh. The number is 8775675. That's 877548 3675.
(25:53):
Don't forget, social media is available to you. I want
you to take this break, and I want you to
order a copy of Jesus the God who knows your name.
Not just for you, but for someone you love. Go
to equip radio. We'll be right back with more of
equip right after this. Chris Brooks here reminding you that
(26:17):
today's program is pre-recorded and we won't be taking your calls.
Welcome back to equip with Chris Brooks, my guest, Max Lucado, preacher, storyteller,
pastor's heart with a poet's Pen. Uh, Max has released
his most recent work, Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name.
(26:41):
So grateful for Max joining me today. Uh, Max, I
actually have two resources in front of me. This is
a great day for me. Not only do I have
your book, but I have the updated Encouraging Word Bible.
Talk about this awesome resource, Max.
S2 (27:00):
Well, yeah, it's it's been a busy, uh, stretch for
us as we generated the Jesus, the God who Knows
your name book. But in addition, over the last probably
18 months, we've worked really hard to to create the
Encouraging Word Bible. Uh, to be clear, I didn't rewrite
the Bible. This is these are we're using two reliable translations,
(27:25):
either the New International Version or the new King James Version.
What we did do, though, is create a Bible in
which devotional material appears in the margins, as well as
on extra pages and then some study material. Uh, personality
profiles of some of the significant characters in Scripture. Uh,
(27:49):
some reflection questions. Uh, what we wanted to do was
create a kind of a, you know, once in a
lifetime type Bible that a person can use for years
and years and have with them and don't have to
carry additional, uh, devotional books, uh, because that material is
right there in the margin or in the additional pages, uh,
(28:12):
so that this could be a part of a person's
devotional reading or, uh, part of their serious Bible study. Uh,
and we're real pleased, really pleased with how it turned out. Uh, Chris,
I did one of these 20, I think, 24 years
ago now, 25 years ago. And, uh, it's it's it's
it was so well received that we felt it time
(28:33):
to update it and, uh, put out a updated version
of it.
S1 (28:37):
What I love about it is that it is great
for those who want to do devotional reading. But for
those who teach regularly pastors, Sunday school teachers, Christian aid directors,
those who teach on a regular basis, there are sections
in here that will help you to be a better
student of Scripture and a better expositor of Scripture. I
(29:01):
love for your journey the section for your journey, in
that you'll get a chance to see, uh, notes on
the situation that is happening within a particular text observation,
their inspiration, even application. Uh, and the way that that
section lays out throughout the text is absolutely awesome for
(29:24):
Bible teachers. So what, you need a Bible for devotional
reading or for more in-depth study? Uh, the Lucado Encouraging
Word Bible is just a huge resource and a blessing.
And Max, I appreciate how your sacrifice blesses us so much.
So thank you, brother.
S2 (29:44):
It's my honor. I wouldn't call it sacrifice. I'm just
the most blessed person on the planet. I get to
love a church. I get to get to write, and
most of all get to go to heaven. I don't
know what could be.
S4 (29:56):
Better than that.
S1 (29:57):
That's not a bad deal, is it?
S4 (29:59):
That's a good gig.
S1 (30:01):
Not a bad deal. All right, let's go back to
the phone lines. Let's go to Joe. Who's listening in Pennsylvania. Joe,
thank you so much for giving us a call for
listening to equip. What's your question for Max today? Joe,
are you there? Can you hear.
S4 (30:17):
Me?
S5 (30:18):
Yes. Hello.
S1 (30:19):
Hey, Joe. Thank you for listening to equip. What's your
question for Max today?
S6 (30:24):
Um, well, I hope I can articulate it well enough.
One of my questions. I heard what you were saying about, uh,
deists versus what we believe that Christ God is a
part of our our world. And my question is kind
of like if God is unchangeable, which we hear throughout
(30:45):
the Bible. Um, do our prayers for specific intentions like
healing from an illness or, uh, preventing a miscarriage or
safety if his will is unchangeable and, and he has
a will for our particular lives. Is it better to
(31:08):
pray for strength to deal with what he has already
preordained for us? Or do we actually do our prayers
for specific intentions actually have value?
S1 (31:20):
Yeah, I think phenomenal question. Phenomenal question that reveals a
lot about both the character of God and how he
interacts with us as his people. There's a lot I
want to say, Max. I want to give you an
opportunity to respond. And then Joe, I'll respond as well.
S2 (31:36):
That's a really profound question. It really is. Every morning
when I study at home, I sit at a desk
that my daughter convinced our family to buy when she
was ten years old. We all went to a furniture
store to buy something that my wife was wanting. My
ten year old daughter found a desk and I told
her we weren't going to buy it. By the time
(31:57):
we left the store, we did buy it. And I've
used that as an illustration of how her longing to
own a desk convinced her father to change his will.
Now it was my will that she have a desk.
I had promised her that, but I just wasn't going
to buy one on that particular Saturday. But she wanted
(32:18):
that one. She found it, and she changed my heart.
And she did so by, uh, respectfully requesting and then
making a case for it. Now, I say that little
story because I think that our Heavenly Father, uh, receives
our requests. Uh, there are certain things that we will
never change. There are upper story issues that we can, uh,
(32:42):
request that do not fall into our pay grade. But
there are certain things that do. And he has allowed
us to engage with him, to talk to him about them,
because that's what a father does. That's what a father does.
And I do believe that our prayers make a difference.
But I do believe it is important for us to
say always, but your will be done. We submit ourselves
(33:06):
to you. Here's our request. We ask for healing. We
ask for help. We ask for strength. But I trust
you because you know what is best. Some days we
go home with a desk and some days we don't.
But we know that what God does is always right.
S1 (33:21):
Well said. Um, one verse on this, uh, Joel. And
that is Philippians four and six. Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
Let your requests be made known to God. So he
invites us to request, I think, one of the theological
tensions in Scripture, Max, uh, that we won't resolve this
(33:46):
side of heaven is the relationship between God's sovereignty, what
he determines, and human responsibility what we're responsible for. But
what is very clear in Scripture is that both exist,
that both human responsibility and God's sovereignty exist in a
(34:06):
beautiful ways. And so he is in control. We can
affirm that, that he is fully in control. And as
Max said, there's certain parts of the higher the upper story,
if you will, that will not be changed. But yet,
because he is a tender father who loves us, he
invites us to make our requests known to him. So pray, uh,
(34:27):
pray that you would have a heart that's in line
with his will. And I would just say one last thing, Max,
and that is that I think that it's important. Joe's
question brings up a very important, uh, aspect of this
whole thing of understanding prayer. That prayer is not primarily
the place where I try to persuade God to my will.
(34:49):
Prayer is primarily the place where I ask God to
conform my heart to his. And so I think that's
a very important place for us to understand. Prayer, uh, to,
to understand is a place where, uh, our hearts are
being conformed to his image as well. Joya, I hope
that helped. I appreciate you so much for giving us
(35:11):
a call. Let's go to another call. Uh, I appreciate
those who are calling in. Uh, again, the number is 87767587754833675.
Let's go to Brad who's listening in Nashville, Tennessee. Grateful
for those who are listening to the show in Nashville. Hey, Brad.
Thanks for listening. What's your question for Max?
S7 (35:32):
Hey, Chris. Hey, Max. Um, just had a quick question.
Seems like over the last month, it seems like I've,
you know, I'm. It just feels like. Almost like I've
drifted away from the Lord, and I'm really struggling to
be back. Just feel close and intimate with him. And just.
If I could get some wisdom or some encouragement there.
S2 (35:55):
Well, Brad, I'd like to pray for you. Do you mind? Lord,
I'd like to ask you to to touch Brad. You
heard his confession. That's just a beautiful longing. He has
to to be close to you and to feel close
to you. And so, Heavenly Father, I ask you to
(36:15):
to hear him now, as he as he turns his
heart back to you. Through Christ, I pray. Amen. You know, Brad,
our relationship with our our heavenly Father is um, in
many ways like a relationship with a with a friend.
And sometimes in our walk with humans, you know, with
(36:38):
with friends, we drift apart, we drift apart. And sometimes
that's because we violate the friendship. We do something that
is wrong. And so one of the questions that you
could ask yourself is, do I need to confess anything?
Have I willingly, uh, or gradually, uh, rebelled or violated
(36:59):
my relationship with God? Uh, we can you can pray
the prayer that King David taught us to pray. Search
my heart, oh, Lord, and show me if there is
any waywardness within me. And just go to your heavenly
father and say, Lord, if if I have where I
have fallen short, please forgive me. But you've got to
believe also that the Heavenly Father, your Heavenly Father, calls
(37:23):
himself father for a reason. He is your father, and
Jesus is your Savior and the Holy Spirit is your comforter.
He's present and they want to. I mean, the whole
the whole Trinity works together because God wants a relationship
with you even more than you want a relationship with him.
And it sounds to me like you certainly do. So
(37:45):
believe that a prayer of confession just opens the door
to a renewed relationship. And and it's going to happen.
It's going to happen. And God bless you.
S1 (37:57):
Well, I think that God is blessing our brother. And
I just want to again encourage you by way of
giving you a copy of Max's wonderful book. Again, Jesus,
the God who knows your name. You hang on the
line and we'll get that over to you right now.
My producer will get your information, Brad, and send it
(38:17):
right over to you. Thanks, Brad, for calling in and
for listening. Max, before we go to break, I just
want to ask another quick question about Jesus being a
miracle worker because I was thinking about our sister's question
about prayer. And so often, you know, we find ourselves
in situations where the doctors say they've they've exhausted their
ability to answer the problem. We find ourselves in situations
(38:40):
that outstrip our own wisdom and resources to solve. Why
is it so important for us to understand that our God,
that Jesus our Lord is a miracle worker?
S2 (38:53):
Thanks for asking that. It's so essential for us to
believe that Jesus is a miracle working God, because we
are in need of miracles. We are. And if we
believe that the only power is the power, that, uh,
is the result of human ingenuity or human physical strength,
(39:13):
then we are very limited. And this is so important
because we need to have hope. We need to have faith.
We need to believe that our God is a good
God because this lifts our hearts. There are many people
who battle long extended seasons of depression and fear. And
we need to pray for one another that we can
(39:36):
have the faith and a good God who can help
us through these tough times.
S1 (39:40):
He's not limited. He's not finite. He is the God
who is able to perform miracles. He's also the Lamb
of God and the returning King. We're going to talk
about that on the other side of this break. Don't
go anywhere. Much more to come. Next up on equip
with Chris Brooks and Max Lucado right after this. As
(40:08):
a dad, a friend, and a neighbor, I share your
concerns over the growing problems in our culture. That's why
on equip we tackle the tough issues learning how to
respond with grace and truth. We're looking for like minded
partners to stand with us. Would you be willing to
become an Equipper today and this role? you'll give a
monthly donation to support the Ministry of Equip and as
an Equipper, you'll receive insider benefits such as a bi
(40:30):
weekly email that contains pastoral messages prepared just for you.
Become an Equipper today by calling 888644 4144 or go
to equip radio.org. Do you have questions about your sexuality
that no one seems to address? Whether it's sexual sin,
gender confusion, or issues in your marriage? Surrender Sexuality by
(40:51):
Doctor Julie Slattery has insights you need. She'll help you
to see that God wants to be invited into your
questions and struggles. And when you do, everything changes. Request
your copy with your gift of any amount. To equip,
simply call 888644 4144 or visit Equip Radio.com. Today's program
(41:15):
has been pre-recorded so our phone lines are not open.
Welcome back to a clip with Chris Brookes Max Lucado.
My guest today. Two great resources that I want to
highly encourage you to get your hands on the Lucado
Encouraging Word Bible. This is a great Bible that is
(41:37):
written to really allow you to journey through Scripture in
a way that connects your heart to the Lord, and
it helps you to understand the beauty of Scripture in
a fresh way. It has so many wonderful features as
an aspect of it. I would love for you. To
learn more, go to our website equip radio.org. You'll get
(42:00):
a chance to see people profiles. You get a chance
to understand Scripture in context from the sections entitled for
Your journey. You get a chance to just track with
Jesus through the Bible and to grow in your understanding
of Christ and so much more. There's no sections for
(42:20):
you to be able to take notes, full color maps
and concordance and all the things that you would want
in a great study Bible. It really might be an
all inclusive Bible for you that will track with you
for a lifetime. At least that's the hope. And so
go to our website Equip Radio. But also I want
you to get a copy of this wonderful book. And
in particular, if you know someone who's struggling with guilt
(42:44):
or loneliness or hurt or pain or discouragement, get them
a copy of the book. Jesus, the God Who Knows
Your Name. You know, when I think about Max, how
this book can be best used, I can't help but
to think about what it will mean to somebody who
feels like Jesus is absent, not present, doesn't see me.
(43:06):
You have done a great job in driving home the
fact that he sees you, but I want to make
sure we hit this section before you. I let you
go and that is he is the God of the resurrection.
He's the Lord of the resurrection and a soon coming King.
S2 (43:22):
Amen. Amen. You know, if you don't have an answer
for death, you really don't have an answer for life. Um, I,
as a pastor now for. Good grief. Chris. 40 years,
I think I've often I've it's often occurred to me
that no time or people paying closer attention than when
I'm speaking at a funeral. It's just the most amazing thing.
(43:46):
There's something about the reminder that we're all passing from
this life somewhere that causes us to wake up and say,
wait a second, I need to pay attention. The the
message of Christianity speaks volumes about the, uh, passage of
this life, from this life into the next. The reason
(44:08):
we believe this is because Jesus himself is resurrected from
the dead, and he is right now in heaven overseeing
the A the affairs of mankind. And we believe this
because the tomb is empty and. And when the Apostle Peter,
50 days after the resurrection, declared that Jesus had raised
(44:29):
from the dead, nobody could prove otherwise. You know, it
had only been less than two months. Somebody could have pointed,
taken Peter and everybody else to an occupied grave if
there was one.
S4 (44:41):
Absolutely.
S2 (44:42):
But there wasn't one. And and the reason that the
New Testament church exploded like it did is because they
knew that Jesus had risen from the dead. Uh, the
resurrection of Christ is the keystone in the archway of
the Christian faith. Uh, we believe that Jesus is the
Son of God because he rose from the grave and
(45:04):
because he rose from the grave. That's a that's a
picture and a preview of our own resurrection. Uh.
S4 (45:10):
I would imagine.
S2 (45:11):
Many listeners today are dealing with bodies that are weak,
but someday a body is going to be given to
them that is free of disease.
S1 (45:19):
Let me ask this question. I hate to cut you off,
but I want to get this question in. Scott and
I can't put Scott on the air right now, but
he's calling in from Georgia. 13 year old son in
remission from bone cancer. He's trying to instill Christ into
his heart. What do you think and advice you give
to Scott on how he can best minister Christ to
his son?
S2 (45:40):
Well, Scott, God bless you. God bless you. You know,
someday we're going to know why these diseases are brought
into our life. But I would urge you to speak
words of comfort and peace over your son, that you
as a father, really have the spiritual authority to pastor him.
(46:01):
And as you pray for him, as you speak words
of comfort and peace over him, you may not be
able to take away the disease, but you can help
take away the fear and remind him that he is
known by God. Speak against any lies that might come.
Like I'm being punished by God. That's not true. Uh,
encourage him to know that God is there and that
(46:24):
the God of miracles will heal him, if not in
this life in the next. And of that we can
be sure.
S1 (46:32):
What a great word. What an encouragement to know that
he sees us, that he cares, and that he is
a soon coming King. Max, as always, thank you for
your love for Jesus and helping us to love him more.
God bless you my brother.
S2 (46:48):
God bless you. You sure do a great job. Thanks
for letting me be on the program again.
S1 (46:52):
Folks, it's called Jesus, the God who knows your name.
Go to our website now. Order a copy for you.
For someone you love, young or old. They'll be blessed
by it again. That's the God who's who knows your name.
And it's always remember. Equipped with Chris Brooks is a
production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
Please enjoy this encore edition of equip with Chris Brooks. Well,
hey there folks, welcome to another exciting edition of Equipped
with Chris Brooks. I am so glad you tuned in today.
Why don't you strap on your seatbelt? We've been praying
for you. We're going to navigate through the contours of culture,
(00:38):
as always, with the lens of the biblical worldview on.
But before we do that, let me remind you, this
is the day that the Lord has made. He has
given it as a gift so that you and I
might rejoice and be glad in it. So let's do
just that. Let's follow the words of the Apostle Paul.
Let's rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say rejoice.
(00:59):
And with that, I welcome you into what will be
a very encouraging edition of equip. Today we're going to
talk about God, and in particular, we're going to talk
about Jesus. And I want to start by asking you
to consider a very dangerous question. Maybe two very dangerous questions.
(01:20):
The first is this how much or how well do
you know Jesus? Now, that question may not seem dangerous
to you. As a matter of fact, you may say,
Chris Brooks, what's dangerous about the question? How well do
I know Jesus? Well, I think it's dangerous on a
couple of levels, in particular in the area of the
(01:42):
fact that we often assume too much when it comes
to our knowledge of Jesus. On the one hand, there
are those who have been raised in church for most
of their lives or have been Christians for a quite
some time now, and may assume you may be tempted
to assume that you know all there is to know
(02:04):
about Jesus. As a matter of fact, you can quote
chapter and verse. You can tell everyone the bio of Jesus,
his activities, his works. But you know, what I found
to be interesting in life is that life has a
way of arresting our assumptions and challenging our presuppositions and
confronting us with pain and hurts and difficult seasons that
(02:29):
expose our ignorance, often of the depths of his love
for us, of the extent of his grace for us.
On the other hand, there are those who may feel like, well,
I know practically nothing about Jesus, but once they get
a chance to spend time in His Word, getting to
(02:49):
know him according to Scripture, they realize, wow, Jesus has
been present in my life in tremendous ways for quite
some times, and I didn't and I didn't even realize it. Today,
what I want to do is help you to understand
Jesus more. I want to help you to revisit maybe
(03:10):
some of your assumptions about Jesus so that you can
get to know Jesus as he presents Himself in Scripture.
Not just the rumors about Jesus, not just your assumptions,
not just what you heard from a third party, but
getting to know Jesus for yourself. But my second question,
(03:32):
maybe even equally as important, is how well do you
think Jesus knows you? You know, it's really easy to
assume that in a universe that is as big and
expansive as ours and a world, an Earth that is
populated with 7 billion souls, that you are just one
(03:54):
in a number. You're just a grain of sand on
the seashore that somehow your life is not pertinent or
important to God. But I don't know where that idea
derives from. What I do know is this is that
it's not consistent with what we read in Scripture, because
(04:14):
what we read in Scripture tells us an entirely different story.
It tells us the story that Jesus sees us, that
he knows us and that he cares. Today, I want
to send that message to all of us. Uh, in
particular to those of you who are wrestling with guilt
or discouragement, those of you who are feeling overwhelmed by life,
(04:39):
those of you who feel lonely today. Uh, today, I
want you to know that Jesus, who knows you. We're
going to be surveying a wonderful book by Max Lucado. And, uh,
many of you know Max Lucado. He's a phenomenal author.
And all I have to say is this is that
he has over 130 million products in print. Now, when
(05:01):
you think about the expansiveness of that, that portfolio of
of resources, you realize how many people this man has
been a blessing to. And he joins me today to
discuss his newest work. It's a very unique work and
it's simply entitled Jesus, the God who Knows Your Name. Max.
(05:24):
Uh oh. I think that, uh. Max is there. Max,
are you there?
S2 (05:28):
I am, I am. How are you doing, my friend?
S1 (05:31):
You know, the joys of live radio and technology continue
to bless me each and every day. It is great
to hear your voice. It is great to hear your
voice on so many levels. Max, thank you for the
newest resource. I you know, I gotta be honest with you,
I love and hate reading your work. I love it
(05:54):
because I love the way you draw my heart in.
I hate it because it continues to expose the fact
that just when I thought I had Jesus all figured out,
there are new aspects of his grace. New, uh, dimensions
of his mercy and the extent of his love for
me that I have to realize I just did not know.
(06:16):
Take us to this orphanage in Haiti. You open the
book by recounting this beautiful story, uh, that you, uh,
heard and learned about while standing in the lobby of
your church. Can you give us a sense of that story?
S2 (06:33):
Well, one of one of the big reasons or pluses,
I should say, of, uh, continuing to pastor all these
years is that I just get to hear so many
fascinating stories. And this is a special family from our
congregation who, um, told me the story of their adoption of, uh,
this precious girl from Haiti and, uh, and helped me
(06:55):
envision what it was like when they went down to,
to meet her. But then they had to leave, come
back to the US and set things in motion for
the adoption. And they described how once she knew that
she had been chosen and adopted, once she had a
(07:15):
picture of her family and a picture of her home,
and could put it up over her little bunk bed, that, uh,
that her whole personality changed and I couldn't help but think,
you know, that's that's what God does for us. Uh,
before we know Christ, uh, we we feel like orphans. Uh,
but once we connect with him, uh, once he gives
(07:39):
us a picture of our forever home and our forever family. Uh,
it doesn't mean that we don't have any more problems.
Not at all. But it certainly means that we have
a picture of the life that is to come. I
believe that promise of our next life. I believe the
assurance of Christ coming, that that's enough to lift us
(08:01):
in our dark, dark times and help us to look
forward to the future. Here. And that's a picture of
what Christ has done for us.
S1 (08:10):
I love that, and you know, I gotta be honest
with you. I'm an adoptive dad. So when I read that. Man,
that grips my heart. And it's such a special and
awesome picture, right? And I remember what love.
S2 (08:23):
Did you understand then? A love that an adoptive. I'm
not one, I'm not one. But I've had adoptive dads
talk to me about the, uh, the love, the special
bond they have toward their adopted children.
S1 (08:38):
It's it's a beautiful thing. But, you know, the other
thing that your book highlights is this, uh, this in-between stage,
that biological parenting, uh, it doesn't experience. And that is
when you have been placed with your adoptive child and
they know you're coming for them and you know you're
going to get them. But there's this in-between phase, right
(09:01):
where your hearts, both your hearts, are eager and anticipating
the moment that is to come. And in many ways, Max,
we're living in that in-between phase, aren't we?
S2 (09:13):
Exactly, exactly. That's it. We're in the middle of the
right now. And the. Not yet. You know, the kingdom
of God is here, but also the kingdom of God
is still coming. And this explains so much, at least
it does to me. It explains the tension that I feel,
the longing that I feel, the unhappiness that I feel, uh,
(09:35):
and and, uh, it helps. It solves so many of
the deepest sadnesses in my life. You know, when I,
when I, as a pastor, speak at a, at a
funeral or as a the son of my father and mother,
when I attend their funeral, the deep longing that I
have to to see death removed from this life, uh,
(09:57):
and the assurance that it will be, uh, I'm so long.
I so desire for people to to have that kind
of awareness that here's where we are in history, you know,
where history is headed somewhere. Uh, and it it lifts
such a burden from our hearts when we accept that
(10:17):
this is the, the time of in-between, where we don't
have it all figured out yet. But someday we will.
Someday we'll know why. Someday it'll make sense. But until then,
let's just prove faithful. And. And someday the one who's
adopted us will come for us to take us home.
S1 (10:34):
Now, the purpose of this book, Jesus, the guy who
knows your name, folks, is to be able to minister
to the hurting. Those who feel guilty, lonely, discouraged, to
let you know that God sees you and he loves
you with a love that is beyond any love that
(10:55):
you've ever experienced. But yet I think that it could be, said, Max,
that there's an apologetic that you give here, and I
know that that is not the focus of the book.
It's not really a defense of the Christian faith and belief,
but in many ways you're doing that. And let me
just start with worldview, right. Because one of the things
(11:17):
that is unique about the Christian worldview, when understood biblically,
is that we're not deist, meaning that we don't, uh,
posit or believe that our God simply created the world
and then left it to run on its own evolutionary
forces and is uninterested and detached emotionally. We believe in
(11:40):
a God. That yes is transcendent. Yes is above and
greater than his creation. But he is so involved and
he cares. And he sees us talk about the unique
worldview of the Christian faith that people need to understand.
S2 (11:57):
What a great observation there, Chris. Yeah, to be a
deist is to believe that God started the world, but
he's removed himself from the ongoings of the world. Uh,
we believe in a God who not only created the world,
but he is engaged in the, uh, in the outflow
(12:17):
of history. Uh, so much to the point that he
chose to become one of us and show us who
he is, and that everything he did while he was
on this earth in the form of Jesus Christ, is
a picture of the heart of God right now. Chris,
in my morning devotional time, I'm reading through the gospel
(12:40):
of Mark, and I read the most beautiful story this
morning of Jesus healing a man whose ears did not work.
And in the story he he spits, Jesus spits, and
he and he touches the man with his saliva. And
I thought, how earthy is that? How earthy is that,
that that God himself would enter the world and even
(13:03):
have saliva glands and spit. And then and, you know,
it's just earthy, it's real, it's touchable. And that he
would say a the word if epaphra or be released,
he would speak a word with a tongue. And so he's,
he's a touchable physical God so that we absolutely know
(13:26):
here's how God feels when he sees sickness. And in
that story I read this morning, as Jesus was healing him,
the Scripture says, Jesus sighed. He sighed as if to say,
it shouldn't be this way. And so there's all these
images that we have a God who's not so far
and removed, but we have a God who can spit,
(13:49):
who can touch, who's sighs, who heals. This is a
game changer. This is a game changer. You know, once
read in a book by Philip Yancey. The reason that
he is a Christian. Philip said, reason number one is
the life and personality of Jesus Christ. Reason number two
(14:11):
I don't like plan B, and I resonate with that.
I believe I'm a Christian because I'm so fascinated with
the life of Jesus Christ. And number two, plan B stinks.
I don't like plan B. I've tried.
S1 (14:25):
It. Well, when we know that he not only cared
enough to die for us, but he cares enough to
see us. It changes everything. And I do agree with you.
This is a game changer. Do you know him as Emmanuel?
Do you know him as friend? As teacher, as miracle worker,
(14:46):
as the Lamb of God. Today we're going to introduce
some to Jesus, maybe reintroduce others to him. But I
want you to stick and stay. We'll also take your
calls at 877 live. Maybe we can pray for you.
Maybe we can ask. Answer some of your questions about Jesus.
You call (877)Â 548-3675. We'll answer your questions. Don't forget, social
(15:12):
media is available to you as well. Facebook and Twitter
at Equip Radio. Whatever you do, don't change the dial.
The best is yet to come. Next up on equipped
with Chris Brooks. Do you have questions about your sexuality
(15:40):
that no one seems to address? Whether it's sexual sin,
gender confusion, or issues in your marriage? Surrender Sexuality by
Doctor Julie Slattery has insights you need. She'll help you
to see that God wants to be invited into your
questions and struggles. And when you do, everything changes. Request
(16:00):
your copy with your gift of any amount. To equip,
simply call 888644 4144 or visit Equip radio.org. Chris Brooks
here reminding you that today's program is pre-recorded. While we
won't be taking calls, we do want to connect with
you on social media. Welcome back to equip with Chris Brooks.
(16:26):
My guest today is the one and only Mr. Max Lucado.
Grateful for you joining me. You know, in every one
of his books he has written about Jesus. But this book,
Jesus the God Who Knows your name, is the first
one where he has exclusively written about Jesus. Every chapter
is dedicated to helping you to understand the Lord more. Uh,
(16:51):
and uh, there are six different sections to it. I
referenced it when we were going to break that. I
would love for you to just kind of explore Jesus
as Emmanuel, Jesus's friend, as teacher, as miracle worker, and
his Lamb of God, the God who saves. Let me
tell on myself first, Max, and then we'll get a
(17:13):
chance to expose others. But, uh, I, you know, if
you were to ask me maybe four months ago, um,
Chris Brooks, how well do you know Jesus? I would
have said, man, I think I know him pretty well,
but it was in a counseling session. My wife and
I have been going through grief counseling over a significant loss,
(17:34):
but it was in a counseling session that a counselor
asked a question. Chris, is God pleased with you? Is
God pleased with you? And I don't know why. Max.
I paused long enough for him to know there's something
wrong here, and he pressed, like any good counselor would. And, uh,
(17:55):
just kind of unearthed that my theology had been built around. Well,
I know he loves me. I know that he's forgiven me.
I know that he's redeemed with redeemed me. But this
whole thought of pleasure or delight, that's that's a totally
different deal. And then here I am reading your book.
And in your book you quote job 23 and ten.
(18:17):
He knows the way that I take. And then you
go to Isaiah 62 and four and it says, the
Lord delights in you and man. When I read that,
it was like, God, uh, how is it that I've
poured myself into studying Scripture and missed this point? It
is so easy for us to miss aspects of Jesus.
(18:39):
Just talk about why it's so important to you to
communicate the heart of Jesus. Even for the believer who's
been walking with Christ for a long time.
S2 (18:51):
Well, what a great, great observation and what a beautiful
revelation to understand us that we serve a God who
who passionately loves us and we don't have to perform
for him. Uh, Chris, I'm so thankful for you and
your honesty about that. And and I struggle with the
(19:13):
same thing. Maybe we're kind of cut from the same cloth. Uh,
I here's what I think. I think everything else in
life is performance based. Uh, you think about everything else
that we do. You know, if you grow up playing
sports or you grow up, uh, you know, in, in academics, uh,
or in any kind of competition, everything is performance based. Yeah.
(19:36):
And today, uh, with social media making it even more so,
we're always comparing ourselves to one another that we find
this language with which God loves us. His his passion
for us. Very unique. You mean God would love me
independent of what I do for him? Uh, he would
(19:56):
care for me, independent of my performance for him. That he.
He isn't just loving, but he is love. This is
just a beautiful discovery. And, uh, it's one that, uh,
even though it might come across as something that we
should know from the get go from the early part
of our Christian walk. The truth is, we're all learning
(20:18):
to lean into the love that God has for us. Uh,
in fact, I think that's what the apostle Paul wanted us.
He said, let your roots go down deep in the
love of God. You know, he wants us to be
strong in the love of God. And so God bless
you for for saying that. And, uh, may, may your
admission of that, uh, it's a reminder to me to
(20:41):
trust in the God who delights in me. And I
would imagine there are many listening today who need to
know that God loves us.
S1 (20:48):
Yeah, what a blessing it is to know that the Lord,
according to Psalm one 4711, the Lord takes pleasure in
those who fear him, in those who hope, in his mercy.
And so what a great reminder. Want to go to
the phone lines? The number is 8775675. That's 877548 3675.
(21:10):
If you have any questions about Jesus, maybe something that
Max and I are sharing today is resonating with your heart.
Feel free to give us a call 877548 3675. Jack
from Cleveland. Uh, thanks, Jack, for listening to equip. Uh,
and for your call. What's your question for Max?
S3 (21:30):
Good afternoon. I'm going to try to make this quick
and to the point. Um, I appreciate you guys taking
my call. Um, walk with Jesus. I got saved 15
years ago. Um, probably within the last seven years. Issues
of life have just been so overwhelming that I find
myself disconnected. Um, not so much not believing or not
(21:53):
believing the Bible, but through personal tragedy in my family,
with children, the death of a wife, certain things. Now
I'm going through personal health issues, and I can't get
over the guilt and shame of. Being disconnected from him
and not knowing how to get back to him.
S1 (22:15):
Yeah. Yeah.
S3 (22:16):
If that makes any sense. So any input you could
give me would be great.
S2 (22:23):
Yeah. Well, brother, uh, I'm so sorry. Uh, I cannot
imagine the challenges that, uh, that have come into your world. And, um,
first of all, Lord, I'd like to pray for this.
My brother, I'd like to ask my heart right now.
Just as heavy for him. Heavy for him as he
(22:44):
acknowledges that he feels disconnected from you. So I pray
for him. I ask that your Holy Spirit, who lives
with him, lives in him, would give him strength. In
Jesus name, Amen. You know the fact that you would
even want to come back, uh, closer to God, my friend,
is a suggestion that you're closer to God than you imagine. Uh,
(23:06):
that's the Holy Spirit, uh, speaking to you and through you. Uh,
if you were completely separated from God, like somebody who
has rejected him and never accepted him, then that person
lives with a, you know, oblivious to the presence of God.
What I hear in your heart is a tenderness and
a longing, uh, toward God. And so, uh, believe just
(23:30):
believe that what matters most is his hold on you,
not your hold on him. So on those days that
you don't feel close to him, that's okay. Uh, some
days we don't feel close to God. But what matters
is God has a hold on us. And that feeling
will return. Faith is not always accompanied by feeling. Uh.
(23:52):
And when it's not, you just have to believe in
the fact that God's got a hold on you.
S1 (23:58):
I love everything that Mack said. And I just want
to say amen to what Mack said. And, Jack, I
just want you to know, brother to brother. I love you, brother.
And I'm grateful that you had the courage to call.
There is no coincidence today. God knew you needed to
hear this. And. And I'm grateful for you calling in.
You know, just to reiterate what Max just said, I
(24:18):
often think Jack and Max about how my relationship with
my children looks different from their perspective versus my perspective.
There's no way for them to fully comprehend how much
I love them. I got a little six year old
guy named Judah, and sometimes I'll ask Judah. Judah, how
(24:38):
much does daddy love you? And he'll stretch his arms
big and say this much right now what he doesn't
really understand is that his little arms aren't big enough
to know how much I love him. And in our minds,
aren't big enough to know how much we love. He
loves us. Our God loves us. But I do know
this is what the word says. Hebrews 15 four and
15 says that he sympathizes with our weaknesses. In Isaiah
(25:04):
43 and one says this, fear not, for I have
redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You
are mine. Jack, no matter what you go through in
this season that you've just been through has been terribly painful.
But just know this. He does love you. He cares
for you. He is Emmanuel. He is with you. And
(25:25):
so be encouraged, brother. And again, I just add my
prayers for you to Max's prayers for you. And as
a way of just being an encouragement to you, I
want you to stay on the line. We're going to
give you a copy of Max's wonderful book, Jesus, the
God Who Knows Your Name, just to encourage you, brother. Thanks, Jack,
for giving us a call. Maybe you want to give
a call to, uh. The number is 8775675. That's 877548 3675.
(25:53):
Don't forget, social media is available to you. I want
you to take this break, and I want you to
order a copy of Jesus the God who knows your name.
Not just for you, but for someone you love. Go
to equip radio. We'll be right back with more of
equip right after this. Chris Brooks here reminding you that
(26:17):
today's program is pre-recorded and we won't be taking your calls.
Welcome back to equip with Chris Brooks, my guest, Max Lucado, preacher, storyteller,
pastor's heart with a poet's Pen. Uh, Max has released
his most recent work, Jesus, the God Who Knows Your Name.
(26:41):
So grateful for Max joining me today. Uh, Max, I
actually have two resources in front of me. This is
a great day for me. Not only do I have
your book, but I have the updated Encouraging Word Bible.
Talk about this awesome resource, Max.
S2 (27:00):
Well, yeah, it's it's been a busy, uh, stretch for
us as we generated the Jesus, the God who Knows
your name book. But in addition, over the last probably
18 months, we've worked really hard to to create the
Encouraging Word Bible. Uh, to be clear, I didn't rewrite
the Bible. This is these are we're using two reliable translations,
(27:25):
either the New International Version or the new King James Version.
What we did do, though, is create a Bible in
which devotional material appears in the margins, as well as
on extra pages and then some study material. Uh, personality
profiles of some of the significant characters in Scripture. Uh,
(27:49):
some reflection questions. Uh, what we wanted to do was
create a kind of a, you know, once in a
lifetime type Bible that a person can use for years
and years and have with them and don't have to
carry additional, uh, devotional books, uh, because that material is
right there in the margin or in the additional pages, uh,
(28:12):
so that this could be a part of a person's
devotional reading or, uh, part of their serious Bible study. Uh,
and we're real pleased, really pleased with how it turned out. Uh, Chris,
I did one of these 20, I think, 24 years
ago now, 25 years ago. And, uh, it's it's it's
it was so well received that we felt it time
(28:33):
to update it and, uh, put out a updated version
of it.
S1 (28:37):
What I love about it is that it is great
for those who want to do devotional reading. But for
those who teach regularly pastors, Sunday school teachers, Christian aid directors,
those who teach on a regular basis, there are sections
in here that will help you to be a better
student of Scripture and a better expositor of Scripture. I
(29:01):
love for your journey the section for your journey, in
that you'll get a chance to see, uh, notes on
the situation that is happening within a particular text observation,
their inspiration, even application. Uh, and the way that that
section lays out throughout the text is absolutely awesome for
(29:24):
Bible teachers. So what, you need a Bible for devotional
reading or for more in-depth study? Uh, the Lucado Encouraging
Word Bible is just a huge resource and a blessing.
And Max, I appreciate how your sacrifice blesses us so much.
So thank you, brother.
S2 (29:44):
It's my honor. I wouldn't call it sacrifice. I'm just
the most blessed person on the planet. I get to
love a church. I get to get to write, and
most of all get to go to heaven. I don't
know what could be.
S4 (29:56):
Better than that.
S1 (29:57):
That's not a bad deal, is it?
S4 (29:59):
That's a good gig.
S1 (30:01):
Not a bad deal. All right, let's go back to
the phone lines. Let's go to Joe. Who's listening in Pennsylvania. Joe,
thank you so much for giving us a call for
listening to equip. What's your question for Max today? Joe,
are you there? Can you hear.
S4 (30:17):
Me?
S5 (30:18):
Yes. Hello.
S1 (30:19):
Hey, Joe. Thank you for listening to equip. What's your
question for Max today?
S6 (30:24):
Um, well, I hope I can articulate it well enough.
One of my questions. I heard what you were saying about, uh,
deists versus what we believe that Christ God is a
part of our our world. And my question is kind
of like if God is unchangeable, which we hear throughout
(30:45):
the Bible. Um, do our prayers for specific intentions like
healing from an illness or, uh, preventing a miscarriage or
safety if his will is unchangeable and, and he has
a will for our particular lives. Is it better to
(31:08):
pray for strength to deal with what he has already
preordained for us? Or do we actually do our prayers
for specific intentions actually have value?
S1 (31:20):
Yeah, I think phenomenal question. Phenomenal question that reveals a
lot about both the character of God and how he
interacts with us as his people. There's a lot I
want to say, Max. I want to give you an
opportunity to respond. And then Joe, I'll respond as well.
S2 (31:36):
That's a really profound question. It really is. Every morning
when I study at home, I sit at a desk
that my daughter convinced our family to buy when she
was ten years old. We all went to a furniture
store to buy something that my wife was wanting. My
ten year old daughter found a desk and I told
her we weren't going to buy it. By the time
(31:57):
we left the store, we did buy it. And I've
used that as an illustration of how her longing to
own a desk convinced her father to change his will.
Now it was my will that she have a desk.
I had promised her that, but I just wasn't going
to buy one on that particular Saturday. But she wanted
(32:18):
that one. She found it, and she changed my heart.
And she did so by, uh, respectfully requesting and then
making a case for it. Now, I say that little
story because I think that our Heavenly Father, uh, receives
our requests. Uh, there are certain things that we will
never change. There are upper story issues that we can, uh,
(32:42):
request that do not fall into our pay grade. But
there are certain things that do. And he has allowed
us to engage with him, to talk to him about them,
because that's what a father does. That's what a father does.
And I do believe that our prayers make a difference.
But I do believe it is important for us to
say always, but your will be done. We submit ourselves
(33:06):
to you. Here's our request. We ask for healing. We
ask for help. We ask for strength. But I trust
you because you know what is best. Some days we
go home with a desk and some days we don't.
But we know that what God does is always right.
S1 (33:21):
Well said. Um, one verse on this, uh, Joel. And
that is Philippians four and six. Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.
Let your requests be made known to God. So he
invites us to request, I think, one of the theological
tensions in Scripture, Max, uh, that we won't resolve this
(33:46):
side of heaven is the relationship between God's sovereignty, what
he determines, and human responsibility what we're responsible for. But
what is very clear in Scripture is that both exist,
that both human responsibility and God's sovereignty exist in a
(34:06):
beautiful ways. And so he is in control. We can
affirm that, that he is fully in control. And as
Max said, there's certain parts of the higher the upper story,
if you will, that will not be changed. But yet,
because he is a tender father who loves us, he
invites us to make our requests known to him. So pray, uh,
(34:27):
pray that you would have a heart that's in line
with his will. And I would just say one last thing, Max,
and that is that I think that it's important. Joe's
question brings up a very important, uh, aspect of this
whole thing of understanding prayer. That prayer is not primarily
the place where I try to persuade God to my will.
(34:49):
Prayer is primarily the place where I ask God to
conform my heart to his. And so I think that's
a very important place for us to understand. Prayer, uh, to,
to understand is a place where, uh, our hearts are
being conformed to his image as well. Joya, I hope
that helped. I appreciate you so much for giving us
(35:11):
a call. Let's go to another call. Uh, I appreciate
those who are calling in. Uh, again, the number is 87767587754833675.
Let's go to Brad who's listening in Nashville, Tennessee. Grateful
for those who are listening to the show in Nashville. Hey, Brad.
Thanks for listening. What's your question for Max?
S7 (35:32):
Hey, Chris. Hey, Max. Um, just had a quick question.
Seems like over the last month, it seems like I've,
you know, I'm. It just feels like. Almost like I've
drifted away from the Lord, and I'm really struggling to
be back. Just feel close and intimate with him. And just.
If I could get some wisdom or some encouragement there.
S2 (35:55):
Well, Brad, I'd like to pray for you. Do you mind? Lord,
I'd like to ask you to to touch Brad. You
heard his confession. That's just a beautiful longing. He has
to to be close to you and to feel close
to you. And so, Heavenly Father, I ask you to
(36:15):
to hear him now, as he as he turns his
heart back to you. Through Christ, I pray. Amen. You know, Brad,
our relationship with our our heavenly Father is um, in
many ways like a relationship with a with a friend.
And sometimes in our walk with humans, you know, with
(36:38):
with friends, we drift apart, we drift apart. And sometimes
that's because we violate the friendship. We do something that
is wrong. And so one of the questions that you
could ask yourself is, do I need to confess anything?
Have I willingly, uh, or gradually, uh, rebelled or violated
(36:59):
my relationship with God? Uh, we can you can pray
the prayer that King David taught us to pray. Search
my heart, oh, Lord, and show me if there is
any waywardness within me. And just go to your heavenly
father and say, Lord, if if I have where I
have fallen short, please forgive me. But you've got to
believe also that the Heavenly Father, your Heavenly Father, calls
(37:23):
himself father for a reason. He is your father, and
Jesus is your Savior and the Holy Spirit is your comforter.
He's present and they want to. I mean, the whole
the whole Trinity works together because God wants a relationship
with you even more than you want a relationship with him.
And it sounds to me like you certainly do. So
(37:45):
believe that a prayer of confession just opens the door
to a renewed relationship. And and it's going to happen.
It's going to happen. And God bless you.
S1 (37:57):
Well, I think that God is blessing our brother. And
I just want to again encourage you by way of
giving you a copy of Max's wonderful book. Again, Jesus,
the God who knows your name. You hang on the
line and we'll get that over to you right now.
My producer will get your information, Brad, and send it
(38:17):
right over to you. Thanks, Brad, for calling in and
for listening. Max, before we go to break, I just
want to ask another quick question about Jesus being a
miracle worker because I was thinking about our sister's question
about prayer. And so often, you know, we find ourselves
in situations where the doctors say they've they've exhausted their
ability to answer the problem. We find ourselves in situations
(38:40):
that outstrip our own wisdom and resources to solve. Why
is it so important for us to understand that our God,
that Jesus our Lord is a miracle worker?
S2 (38:53):
Thanks for asking that. It's so essential for us to
believe that Jesus is a miracle working God, because we
are in need of miracles. We are. And if we
believe that the only power is the power, that, uh,
is the result of human ingenuity or human physical strength,
(39:13):
then we are very limited. And this is so important
because we need to have hope. We need to have faith.
We need to believe that our God is a good
God because this lifts our hearts. There are many people
who battle long extended seasons of depression and fear. And
we need to pray for one another that we can
(39:36):
have the faith and a good God who can help
us through these tough times.
S1 (39:40):
He's not limited. He's not finite. He is the God
who is able to perform miracles. He's also the Lamb
of God and the returning King. We're going to talk
about that on the other side of this break. Don't
go anywhere. Much more to come. Next up on equip
with Chris Brooks and Max Lucado right after this. As
(40:08):
a dad, a friend, and a neighbor, I share your
concerns over the growing problems in our culture. That's why
on equip we tackle the tough issues learning how to
respond with grace and truth. We're looking for like minded
partners to stand with us. Would you be willing to
become an Equipper today and this role? you'll give a
monthly donation to support the Ministry of Equip and as
an Equipper, you'll receive insider benefits such as a bi
(40:30):
weekly email that contains pastoral messages prepared just for you.
Become an Equipper today by calling 888644 4144 or go
to equip radio.org. Do you have questions about your sexuality
that no one seems to address? Whether it's sexual sin,
gender confusion, or issues in your marriage? Surrender Sexuality by
(40:51):
Doctor Julie Slattery has insights you need. She'll help you
to see that God wants to be invited into your
questions and struggles. And when you do, everything changes. Request
your copy with your gift of any amount. To equip,
simply call 888644 4144 or visit Equip Radio.com. Today's program
(41:15):
has been pre-recorded so our phone lines are not open.
Welcome back to a clip with Chris Brookes Max Lucado.
My guest today. Two great resources that I want to
highly encourage you to get your hands on the Lucado
Encouraging Word Bible. This is a great Bible that is
(41:37):
written to really allow you to journey through Scripture in
a way that connects your heart to the Lord, and
it helps you to understand the beauty of Scripture in
a fresh way. It has so many wonderful features as
an aspect of it. I would love for you. To
learn more, go to our website equip radio.org. You'll get
(42:00):
a chance to see people profiles. You get a chance
to understand Scripture in context from the sections entitled for
Your journey. You get a chance to just track with
Jesus through the Bible and to grow in your understanding
of Christ and so much more. There's no sections for
(42:20):
you to be able to take notes, full color maps
and concordance and all the things that you would want
in a great study Bible. It really might be an
all inclusive Bible for you that will track with you
for a lifetime. At least that's the hope. And so
go to our website Equip Radio. But also I want
you to get a copy of this wonderful book. And
in particular, if you know someone who's struggling with guilt
(42:44):
or loneliness or hurt or pain or discouragement, get them
a copy of the book. Jesus, the God Who Knows
Your Name. You know, when I think about Max, how
this book can be best used, I can't help but
to think about what it will mean to somebody who
feels like Jesus is absent, not present, doesn't see me.
(43:06):
You have done a great job in driving home the
fact that he sees you, but I want to make
sure we hit this section before you. I let you
go and that is he is the God of the resurrection.
He's the Lord of the resurrection and a soon coming King.
S2 (43:22):
Amen. Amen. You know, if you don't have an answer
for death, you really don't have an answer for life. Um, I,
as a pastor now for. Good grief. Chris. 40 years,
I think I've often I've it's often occurred to me
that no time or people paying closer attention than when
I'm speaking at a funeral. It's just the most amazing thing.
(43:46):
There's something about the reminder that we're all passing from
this life somewhere that causes us to wake up and say,
wait a second, I need to pay attention. The the
message of Christianity speaks volumes about the, uh, passage of
this life, from this life into the next. The reason
(44:08):
we believe this is because Jesus himself is resurrected from
the dead, and he is right now in heaven overseeing
the A the affairs of mankind. And we believe this
because the tomb is empty and. And when the Apostle Peter,
50 days after the resurrection, declared that Jesus had raised
(44:29):
from the dead, nobody could prove otherwise. You know, it
had only been less than two months. Somebody could have pointed,
taken Peter and everybody else to an occupied grave if
there was one.
S4 (44:41):
Absolutely.
S2 (44:42):
But there wasn't one. And and the reason that the
New Testament church exploded like it did is because they
knew that Jesus had risen from the dead. Uh, the
resurrection of Christ is the keystone in the archway of
the Christian faith. Uh, we believe that Jesus is the
Son of God because he rose from the grave and
(45:04):
because he rose from the grave. That's a that's a
picture and a preview of our own resurrection. Uh.
S4 (45:10):
I would imagine.
S2 (45:11):
Many listeners today are dealing with bodies that are weak,
but someday a body is going to be given to
them that is free of disease.
S1 (45:19):
Let me ask this question. I hate to cut you off,
but I want to get this question in. Scott and
I can't put Scott on the air right now, but
he's calling in from Georgia. 13 year old son in
remission from bone cancer. He's trying to instill Christ into
his heart. What do you think and advice you give
to Scott on how he can best minister Christ to
his son?
S2 (45:40):
Well, Scott, God bless you. God bless you. You know,
someday we're going to know why these diseases are brought
into our life. But I would urge you to speak
words of comfort and peace over your son, that you
as a father, really have the spiritual authority to pastor him.
(46:01):
And as you pray for him, as you speak words
of comfort and peace over him, you may not be
able to take away the disease, but you can help
take away the fear and remind him that he is
known by God. Speak against any lies that might come.
Like I'm being punished by God. That's not true. Uh,
encourage him to know that God is there and that
(46:24):
the God of miracles will heal him, if not in
this life in the next. And of that we can
be sure.
S1 (46:32):
What a great word. What an encouragement to know that
he sees us, that he cares, and that he is
a soon coming King. Max, as always, thank you for
your love for Jesus and helping us to love him more.
God bless you my brother.
S2 (46:48):
God bless you. You sure do a great job. Thanks
for letting me be on the program again.
S1 (46:52):
Folks, it's called Jesus, the God who knows your name.
Go to our website now. Order a copy for you.
For someone you love, young or old. They'll be blessed
by it again. That's the God who's who knows your name.
And it's always remember. Equipped with Chris Brooks is a
production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.
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