Regaining Lost Ground

Pastor Shane Idleman: Difficulty and challenges break us and humble us. Then, when we come in, we sing worship songs like *Amazing Grace*. How sweet it is; it saved a wretch like me. Lord, You are my strength. You are my provider. Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Jireh. He takes you through the storm and leads you by still waters. He holds me and comforts me. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because I have seen the risen Savior. My eyes have seen the King of Glory. Now you become a worshiper because God has touched your heart. He gives us a challenge to change us and a crisis to conform us.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us here at Westside Christian Fellowship, located in Leona Valley, California, one hour north of Los Angeles. Today on Regaining Lost Ground, we hear part one of the message titled, *If All Is Well, Why Am I Like This?* This is from the sermon series *Through the Bible*.

English writer and preacher John Bunyan, when speaking on humility, once said, "The people of the Lord in humility are to lay themselves and their prayers and all that they have at the foot of their God, to be disposed of by Him as He in His heavenly wisdom sees best. Yet not doubting but God will answer the desire of His people in the way that will be most for their advantage and His glory."

Please join us as Pastor Shane encourages us to honor the Lord today, clothing ourselves in humility, quick to forgive, and quick to submit to one another in Christ's love. We encourage you to listen to this message of hope, allowing the Holy Spirit's peace to fill you—that peace that passes all understanding found only in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

You can hear the whole message at Pastor Shane's YouTube and Rumble channels. Make sure to subscribe today. For more information, visit us online at westsidechristianfellowship.org. We also encourage you to hear more truth from Pastor Shane with the *Idleman Unplugged* weekly podcast. And now, from Westside Christian Fellowship in Leona Valley, California, here is Pastor Shane Idleman.

Pastor Shane Idleman: We're still talking about God's will from Genesis 25. The title is, *If All Is Well, Why Am I Like This?* What we're doing, if you're not aware, is we're going through the whole Bible. I'm not going exactly verse by verse, but through chapter by chapter and gleaning principles from it. You can get caught up. This week, read Genesis 1 to chapter 25. You can actually read through the whole Bible within a year if you just do 20 minutes a day.

People say that's hard and they don't know what it's saying. Again, come Wednesday, because that's the main problem. Come Wednesday because there should be an excitement. What does God's word have to say to me today? Or if you doubt that it's God's word, that's a whole other topic. Once you deal with that doubt, once you have that fire of the Spirit and you're praying, you want to see what God has to say. I believe that God still speaks to us through His word. You have the words of the living God ready to speak to you.

What a sneaky trick of the enemy to keep us away from that. This isn't just reading a book. God wants to speak to us. His word is living and powerful, sharper than any double-edged sword. It pierces; it divides. That's why the enemy wants to keep you away from prayer and the reading and application of God's word more than anything else. That's where true, genuine maturity in the faith grows. God's will actually isn't as hard as we make it out to be. If you're in His word, you're praying, you're led by the Spirit, and you're full of the Spirit, it doesn't mean you're perfect. We all have to repent daily. But it does mean we're going in the right direction. Actually, those who are full of the Holy Spirit know they have to repent. Those who aren't don't think they ever have to repent. They play the blame game. Let me shift the blame on someone else. I'm good. No, you're not good. You need that filling of the Holy Spirit.

So, the title is, *If All Is Well, Why Am I Like This?* Can anybody relate? If all is well, what in the world is going on? Again, I've been talking a little bit about knowing God's will. I'm a little leery to say this because now I'm really going to have to hold myself to it, but I've been working on a book, mainly just for my kids, on discerning and knowing the will of God. Your feelings have to go through filters like the storms of life. I'm hoping to release it to the whole church at some point. I just need the time to write it and organize the notes I've been putting out there.

The way our nation is going, it's really important that we begin to know God's will even more so than ever before. What happens when you can't buy or sell? You don't think they're switching to a digital dollar at some point? Cryptocurrency? Bitcoin's crashing, but guess what? Something's getting ready to be resurrected. Cryptocurrency, whether the government starts it or somebody else. How are we going to regulate that? What am I supposed to do? Look at the school systems. Here come mask mandates again, and maybe the vaccine push. You cannot navigate these waters in the flesh. You have to be filled with God's Spirit.

Even though there are different views on some of these things, you have to be able to understand His will in your life and make right decisions, not decisions guided by fear. Is anybody making decisions based on fear? It's pretty quiet. Making decisions based on feelings? I always get in trouble for saying this, but I'm going to say it. Here come the emails; I hear them coming. This is a true statement. If I were a betting man, which I'm not, the vast majority of those who fled California fled because of fear and feelings. "I hate this place." I get it; I'm getting there too sometimes. I understand it. But we don't make decisions based on feelings, fear, and anger.

In the last week, I've heard from two people who have already moved and wish they were back. Why? Because the grass isn't greener. When are we going to realize that? Abraham would love to plant a church in East LA, Inglewood. Wait a minute. When you're in the center of God's will, right? We have to get back into what is His will for my life and then be willing to go where He says. Many of us are making decisions based on fear and feelings and not where God wants us. There's nothing wrong with wanting to move and having a better life and a better school system for your kids. I get it. But just make sure it's bathed in prayer and the application of God's word. Make sure you're going in the right spirit and God is leading you. There's a lot of safety in that. God moves people all over the place.

But that's why we need to know God's will, especially in these dire times, because we don't know where things are going, especially if Newsom runs in 2024. If it's a real fair election, he might have a chance. Hold on, guys, I'm getting off track. Genesis. I don't know whether to laugh or cry in some of these situations. It's like, Lord, please, come, Jesus. That's why we have to pray for our leaders. I truly believe that God can grab the hearts of the hardest sinners.

When He starts to bring revival, I would read Billy Graham's journals or his biography. Think of how many people came to his tent revival in Los Angeles. Known mafia connections there in LA and New York and just evil men would come to know the Lord. Louis Zamperini was one of the Olympic sprinters; he won the Olympics. Talk about having a difficulty. First, your plane crashes in the ocean, and you're on a raft for 40 days. I think it was the Japanese who picked you up, and then you became a POW. This guy went through a lot, but he came to know the Lord. He was having vivid dreams and nightmares, and God just saved him. God can save the least likely, and He often does, so He gets all the glory and all the credit.

Finally, Genesis 25. Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife because she was barren. That happened a lot in the Old Testament. We read about women who were barren. They would even have a higher value on children back then as they were a true blessing from the Lord. Dealing with that barrenness, the Lord granted his plea. Let's not miss this. The husband interceded on behalf of the wife, and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah, his wife, conceived.

So she had a child in her womb, but the children struggled together within her. She said, "If all is well, why am I like this? If I'm in God's will, what is going on?" Haven't we all said that? Many times I've said, "Lord, if You've called me to pastor, what in the world is going on? This is a battlefield, not a resort." I was thinking of nice beaches, metaphorically speaking, but it's a battle. It's a warfare; it's challenging. If I'm in God's will, why am I going through this?

The first key here is God's will is not about our comfort. It's good to relax from time to time and get the needed rest and the comforts of life. Don't you like going on vacation, spending time with your family, and getting away? All those things are wonderful. But His will will encompass comfort, but it's not necessarily about comfort. He gives us a crisis to conform us and a challenge to change us. I don't know about you, but it's not very often I will make some drastic changes that God wants me to make without a crisis, without a little heat being applied, and without a little difficulty. Correct? So that's how God often changes us. We don't change when we're in the comfort zone; we change when we're being challenged because that leads us to look within. Self-reflection.

If you can really hold on to this concept—that God's will might take you through hell before you get to heaven—you might say, like Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." So many people, if you can get this down, that we could even lose our life. In America, it's hard to really understand that, but if you talk to somebody in the Middle East who becomes a Christian, do you know what they're doing when they get baptized? Often they say, "This could cost me my life." They don't get bitter because they didn't get that parking spot or they didn't get that job. They don't get bitter. They know what God's will involves.

If you can say, "Lord, Your sovereignty is my sanity. No matter what happens—and I know it's easy to say it, I'd rather say it than live it—but if you can understand, no matter what happens, God is my anchor. I'm holding on to Him for dear life. I'm not going to waver. It might be difficult. I might have ups and downs. But, Lord, I'm going to see this through and I'm going to follow You until the day I die." Life will become a lot easier for you because you're not on an emotional rollercoaster.

Anybody been there? Do you know it's funny that we get our word "happy" from the word "happenstance," which means what's happening to me? But true biblical joy comes from who is within me. I can have tremendous joy where most people would not have any happiness. Does that make sense? Joy is an inner belief, inner strength in God and what He can take you through. It changes your life.

I just want to brag on the Harbaughs. Joe's here; I don't know if your wife's here. But they went through a very difficult season with their daughter. Her picture's on our fridge; we've prayed for her, and she's really improving greatly. But I've never seen Joe worship like I've seen Joe worship the last six months. Talk about from where he was even a year and a half ago to where he is now. What happened? It wasn't a bed of roses. Difficulty and challenges break us and humble us. Then, when we come in, we sing worship songs like *Amazing Grace*. How sweet it is; it saved a wretch like me. Lord, You are my strength. You are my provider. Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Jireh. We know Him as all these words in the Old Testament because He takes you through the storm and leads you by still waters. He leads my soul. He holds me and comforts me. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because I have seen the risen Savior. My eyes have seen the King of Glory. And now you become a worshiper because God has touched your heart.

So, that's a wonderful thing. He gives us a challenge to change us and a crisis to conform us. If I were to be honest with you this morning, I don't like this part of God's will. Man, if I look over my life, I'm broken. It's like, I'd like to tell you I arrived, but you're not going to arrive until you're six feet under. It just happens, and you better become better, not bitter. You better humble yourself, repent, and let God change your heart.

I remember my daughter said this to me a while ago. A year and a half or two years ago, we got home and she said, "Dad, you're always praying for everyone else, but you never pray for me." I fell down. Now I try to make it a point to pray more with my kids and invest into them. See, you have to have that breaking, right? What if I said, "I'm just busy. Don't you know who I am? I'm busy. You know I love you." That's pride. That's making excuses. I can give you a thousand examples where I've been humbled. Have you? Amen. The kids do not lie. Spouses don't lie, either, if they love you. Lots of breaking. It's a continual process.

So, she wondered what was going on. She went to inquire of the Lord. The next verse: "And the Lord said to her: 'Two nations are in your womb.'" This is huge. Here we have Esau and Jacob. We have the nation of Israel and the Arabs. This is a big deal in the center of God's will. "Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger." This is different. The younger always served the older. The birthright was given to the older, the firstborn. But in this case, it's going to be reversed. The older, which is going to be Esau, is going to have to serve the younger, which is going to be Jacob.

Apparently, we know how they came out of the womb and in what order. When her days were fulfilled—God would say that quite often—there's a season in life. You don't have a baby two weeks later. You have nine months. There's a growth process. There's a time of fulfilling. So many times, we want something. "God, I feel You're going to do this in my life or I want this," but there's a waiting period. There's a time of fulfillment. Let you grow. God is saying, "I need you to grow so I can do in you what I want to do in you."

I was just thinking this week. When I got started in the ministry and then even after, I've watched some pastors fall. I would follow their ministry. Some of them didn't fall, but a lot of pastors started out churches, like Francis Chan started out in his 20s, I think. Mark Driscoll in his 20s. Perry Noble in his 20s. Steven Furtick in his 20s. I'm glad God didn't call me in my late 20s. I wasn't even ready until 40.

Isn't that interesting? Because God says, "Here's what I've called you to do, but it's not fulfilled yet because I've got to hurt you—in a good way. I've got to break you. I've got to humble you. I've got to get these addictions out of you or these strongholds out of you. I've got to get this pride out of you. I've got to get you ready so when you're called, you don't fall." You don't see a little apple tree producing 500 pounds of apples. It would fall; it would collapse. And so that just really stood out to me this morning. When her days were fulfilled, here are the nations; they're coming. Maybe that prayer is going to be answered. Maybe what God's called you to do is going to happen, but it's not yet fulfilled.

Now, I'm careful because those guys on TV say it's just around the corner, speaking to thousands of people. "Your blessing is right there. You're going to be the head, not the tail. You're going to prosper, just keep holding tight." But if God is dealing with you about besetting sin, you better handle that first. Because our waiting period could be a period of delay because God is wanting to change our heart and wanting us to repent.

I'm often shocked, and I've shared this before. Did you know the nation of Israel, once they left Egypt, could have got to the promised land in about 12 days? It took them 40 years. Why did it take them 40 years? Actually, God destroyed every one of them in the wilderness except Caleb and Joshua. Why is that? Because My people tested Me. They had stiff necks. They tested Me. They were grumbling and complaining. There was a spirit of offense and a critical spirit. God said, "I let them wander in the desert, and I couldn't fulfill My will in their life."

As much as I don't like to say that because it's not motivational, it's the truth. I cringe sometimes when I see the guys on TV or radio sometimes who are speaking to so many people with this blanket statement that your dream is just around the corner and your blessing is about ready to burst. That could be very true in the lives of many people. You can claim that. I believe it. For example, if God put something on your heart, there's a waiting period. You're pressing in, you're praying, you're getting rid of besetting sin, you're humbling yourself—it's just then that waiting time that God is developing you.

I often pray, "Lord, am I wasting time in my waiting time? Is there something You want me to deal with that I'm not dealing with that is holding me back?" There's a lot of scripture on that, too. Against popular belief, God is not a puppet master. He gives us the ability to make decisions that will alter our course. If we're not fully surrendered to God, we can really jump outside of God's will. So, twins were born.

A couple of things: she prayed rather than complained. She prayed rather than complained. Who needs to hear that today? That's hard. That is a hard one because complaining and grumbling is within us. Isn't it? I know I said that about California, but guess who has to deal with it every day? Grumbling and complaining, too. Hello. Here it comes; it's just by nature. Those darn officials. "Biden, open the pipeline."

This whole thing on electric cars just cracks me up because our power grid can barely handle what we have now. Come on, guys, stop egging me on. Okay. Isn't it true? What sense? Common sense. It's just... Also, the husband pleaded and interceded for his wife. The defender, the husband, defended his home primarily with prayer. Guys, if you're not defending your home, if you're not leading in this area, let me encourage you this morning to do that. And don't say, "I bet Pastor Shane's home has all this in order." Nope. I'm up about four hours before my wife, and she texts me, "Want to pray?" I'm like, "Want to pray? I'm not even home. I'm gone. My day started." "Let's do devotional with the kids." "Okay, sounds great." And then all hell breaks loose. The little ones don't want to listen. What in the world is going on?

But you've got to fight for those things. So we better plan on a family devotional tonight. I'm going to try it again. But they defend the home primarily through prayer. The husband is that prayer warrior. Guys, let me just throw this out there. I threw it out there on Father's Day, and it was incredible how many guys came to morning worship, but then it's like... It's over. That has to be the pulse, the spiritual pulse of our heart. That's why we open at six in the morning to get worship on. We have communion every Sunday. Every Sunday it's up here, communion and getting our hearts right before God. It's incredible. That's how you're going to defend your home.

Hello, this is Pastor Shane Idleman. I wanted to let our listeners know that due to budgeting issues, we will be removing Regaining Lost Ground from some of the radio stations that we currently air on. Therefore, to continue listening to the sermons, I want to encourage you to follow me and Westside Christian Fellowship on YouTube and Rumble today, as well as other social media platforms. Again, due to budgeting issues, we will be removing Regaining Lost Ground from some of the stations that we currently air our program on. Therefore, to continue listening to the sermons, I want to encourage you to follow me as well as Westside Christian Fellowship on YouTube and Rumble and also follow us on all other social media platforms as well. If you have questions, please reach out to us at westsidechristianfellowship.org. Again, that's westsidechristianfellowship.org.

Guest (Male): Westside Christian Fellowship is located 60 miles north of Los Angeles in Leona Valley, California. Thank you again for listening to today's message of Regaining Lost Ground, where we are reminded daily: times change, truth does not.