#23 - A Fresh Start with God

WEBVTT

00:00:04.669 --> 00:00:08.109
Hi there, I'm Dr. Corey Potter, and I'm really

00:00:08.109 --> 00:00:11.750
excited to share this week's episode with you

00:00:11.750 --> 00:00:14.990
I want you to know that it's probably one of

00:00:14.990 --> 00:00:17.550
the most critical things I could do and I want

00:00:17.550 --> 00:00:20.690
you to know that Not just because someone told

00:00:20.690 --> 00:00:26.370
me because I've experienced this There is power

00:00:26.370 --> 00:00:33.049
in the Word of God and I believe the Bible and

00:00:33.469 --> 00:00:37.789
There are so many people that get caught up in

00:00:37.789 --> 00:00:40.710
misinterpretations and misunderstandings that

00:00:40.710 --> 00:00:44.750
they don't find the simple truth. And so today

00:00:44.750 --> 00:00:48.770
I want to welcome you to Mind & Faith Matters.

00:00:49.149 --> 00:00:53.229
If you're hurting, searching, doubting, or really

00:00:53.229 --> 00:00:57.109
unsure where you stand with God, I want to share

00:00:57.109 --> 00:01:00.210
with you the most important message there is.

00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:07.719
It's the gospel, which means the good news of

00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:12.700
what God has done for us in Jesus. The gospel

00:01:12.700 --> 00:01:16.939
answers the biggest questions of life. Who am

00:01:16.939 --> 00:01:23.859
I? Why am I here? What do I do with my guilt

00:01:23.859 --> 00:01:29.620
and pain? Where is hope found? What we are talking

00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:34.049
about today is an invitation to a relationship

00:01:34.049 --> 00:01:37.609
that can change everything. It's about knowing

00:01:37.609 --> 00:01:42.930
with confidence the God who made you and loves

00:01:42.930 --> 00:01:47.489
you. Before we begin, I want to be honest. I

00:01:47.489 --> 00:01:50.230
am fully aware some people have been deeply hurt

00:01:50.230 --> 00:01:55.370
by Christians or by the church. And maybe that's

00:01:55.370 --> 00:01:58.629
where you are today. Maybe you've been hurt by

00:01:58.629 --> 00:02:05.019
people who claimed to follow Jesus. really weren't

00:02:05.019 --> 00:02:08.300
or weren't following his way or maybe you felt

00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:11.979
judged or ignored by those in the church and

00:02:11.979 --> 00:02:15.819
I want to say to you I know that pain is real

00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:23.639
but what if even through that pain God's heart

00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:29.240
for you has been different all along what if

00:02:29.240 --> 00:02:32.180
he's been caring for you in ways you didn't see

00:02:32.829 --> 00:02:39.509
Yet. And I want you to know this. That was never

00:02:39.509 --> 00:02:44.250
God's heart for you. His heart is towards you,

00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:46.569
not against you. What we are talking about today

00:02:46.569 --> 00:02:50.870
is meant to meet you right where you are. I want

00:02:50.870 --> 00:02:55.229
to meet you with honesty. I want to introduce

00:02:55.229 --> 00:03:00.370
you to grace and the truth. But let me give you

00:03:00.370 --> 00:03:03.819
a picture. There was this young man renting a

00:03:03.819 --> 00:03:08.039
small apartment in the city. Life was hard, money

00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:11.659
was tight, and most days he felt like he was

00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:15.340
barely making it. He figured no one was really

00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:18.199
looking out for him, that he was on his own.

00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:22.460
But what he didn't know was that his landlord,

00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:26.139
an older woman who owned the building, had been

00:03:26.139 --> 00:03:29.400
quietly watching over him. When the heat went

00:03:29.400 --> 00:03:32.159
out in the middle of the night, In the winter

00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:35.719
she had it fixed overnight at her own expense.

00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:39.319
When he fell behind on his bills she covered

00:03:39.319 --> 00:03:43.199
the water without saying a word. She even kept

00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:47.419
his rent lower than others just so he could stay.

00:03:48.780 --> 00:03:51.039
For years he thought he was surviving by his

00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:54.919
own strength and then one day she passed away.

00:03:56.099 --> 00:03:59.719
He found a letter she had written and it said

00:03:59.719 --> 00:04:02.189
something like this I wanted you to have a place,

00:04:02.650 --> 00:04:05.370
a safe place until you found your own footing.

00:04:06.250 --> 00:04:10.689
You mattered to me. And that moment changed everything

00:04:10.689 --> 00:04:14.310
for this young man. He realized he hadn't been

00:04:14.310 --> 00:04:18.449
alone. Someone had been caring for him all along.

00:04:19.810 --> 00:04:22.649
And that is what the gospel reveals about God.

00:04:24.649 --> 00:04:28.050
Some people think we are on our own trying to

00:04:28.050 --> 00:04:32.689
carry out life. carry our own failures and guilt

00:04:32.689 --> 00:04:38.110
But God has been caring for us the whole time

00:04:38.110 --> 00:04:44.730
Some people don't know but in Jesus He stepped

00:04:44.730 --> 00:04:48.689
in at his own expense paying the debt we could

00:04:48.689 --> 00:04:53.209
never pay and when we finally see it when we

00:04:53.209 --> 00:04:58.410
realize the cross and the empty tomb our God's

00:04:58.410 --> 00:05:02.829
letter to us saying You matter to me. It changes

00:05:02.829 --> 00:05:07.069
everything. So I want to look at four simple

00:05:07.069 --> 00:05:11.709
truths of the gospel. Truth number one. God loves

00:05:11.709 --> 00:05:17.810
you. And this first truth is very simple. He

00:05:17.810 --> 00:05:21.629
does. He loves you. He created you on purpose

00:05:21.629 --> 00:05:27.589
for a purpose. And the Bible says He knows you.

00:05:27.629 --> 00:05:34.100
He sees you. He deeply loves you He made you

00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:38.839
for connection with him and with others John

00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:42.220
3 16 in the Bible says it this way For God so

00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:44.959
loved the world that he gave his one and only

00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:49.600
son that whoever believes in him Shall not perish

00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:54.819
but have eternal life But the Bible also talks

00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:59.089
about love and love requires freedom God didn't

00:05:59.089 --> 00:06:02.290
make us as robots. He gave each and every one

00:06:02.290 --> 00:06:05.430
of us the freedom to choose to love Him or to

00:06:05.430 --> 00:06:10.050
turn away. Real love always requires a choice.

00:06:11.230 --> 00:06:15.370
We have all made choices that pulled us away

00:06:15.370 --> 00:06:21.910
from God. We look for peace, we look for identity,

00:06:22.470 --> 00:06:26.009
meaning, or even control in the wrong places.

00:06:27.209 --> 00:06:32.149
even in things that seem good. When we choose

00:06:32.149 --> 00:06:36.810
anything over Him, we become disconnected from

00:06:36.810 --> 00:06:40.829
Him. And that brings us to this second truth.

00:06:42.449 --> 00:06:47.569
Our sin separates us from God. In the book of

00:06:47.569 --> 00:06:53.029
Romans, the Bible says in Romans 3, 23, that

00:06:53.029 --> 00:06:57.730
all have sinned and fall short. of the glory

00:06:57.730 --> 00:07:01.850
of God. And sin is more than just breaking rules.

00:07:02.949 --> 00:07:07.730
It's turning away from God. It's really our choice

00:07:07.730 --> 00:07:12.269
to live outside of God's design. Sin is saying,

00:07:12.689 --> 00:07:18.850
I want it my way, not his. And another truth

00:07:18.850 --> 00:07:22.610
here is that God is holy, perfect, and good.

00:07:23.990 --> 00:07:26.850
And because of his holiness, He will not allow

00:07:26.850 --> 00:07:31.389
sin in his presence. Just like darkness disappears

00:07:31.389 --> 00:07:35.029
in the light, sin cannot survive in the presence

00:07:35.029 --> 00:07:40.009
of a holy God. And in Romans chapter 6 verse

00:07:40.009 --> 00:07:53.209
23 the Bible says, See, we cannot fix the sin

00:07:53.209 --> 00:07:57.649
problem on our own. we need help and that leads

00:07:57.649 --> 00:08:01.009
to truth number three Jesus died and rose again

00:08:01.009 --> 00:08:05.949
for you God did not leave us to figure it out

00:08:05.949 --> 00:08:10.990
on our own he sent his son Jesus to live a perfect

00:08:10.990 --> 00:08:15.949
life and then he was crucified or killed on the

00:08:15.949 --> 00:08:20.129
cross for our sins he took on our sins the Bible

00:08:20.129 --> 00:08:23.829
says through his death and then resurrection

00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:27.899
or God bringing him back to life, he offers forgiveness

00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:32.620
and new life to us. And this is grace. God giving

00:08:32.620 --> 00:08:36.480
us what we could never earn on our own and offering

00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:40.940
love and mercy in place of judgment that we deserve.

00:08:42.019 --> 00:08:53.519
2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 15 says, and was

00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:57.960
raised again grace is the heart of the gospel

00:08:57.960 --> 00:09:01.840
god meets us not because we were good enough

00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:07.480
but because he is good we do not work our way

00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:13.019
to him in other words he comes to us and the

00:09:13.019 --> 00:09:19.820
fourth truth you are invited to respond to this

00:09:19.820 --> 00:09:24.470
the gospel is an invitation for you right now.

00:09:25.870 --> 00:09:28.850
The book of John chapter 3 verse 3 says you must

00:09:28.850 --> 00:09:34.190
be born again and this is a fresh spiritual start

00:09:34.190 --> 00:09:38.269
a new heart towards God a life built on trust

00:09:38.269 --> 00:09:44.769
in Jesus instead of a trust in yourself and the

00:09:44.769 --> 00:09:49.009
Bible says that Jesus is close to us. Revelation

00:09:49.009 --> 00:09:53.350
chapter 3 verse 20 says here I am stand at the

00:09:53.350 --> 00:09:56.690
door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens

00:09:56.690 --> 00:10:00.169
the door I will come in and eat with that person

00:10:00.169 --> 00:10:04.149
and they with me and I want you to know you don't

00:10:04.149 --> 00:10:08.110
have to clean yourself up first you only need

00:10:08.110 --> 00:10:13.129
to open the door right this is not about you

00:10:13.129 --> 00:10:16.470
figuring it out and then coming to him it's about

00:10:16.470 --> 00:10:20.129
coming to him to figure it out Romans chapter

00:10:20.129 --> 00:10:23.210
10 verses 9 and 10 says it this way if you declare

00:10:23.210 --> 00:10:26.230
with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in

00:10:26.230 --> 00:10:28.889
your heart that God raised him from the dead

00:10:28.889 --> 00:10:34.389
you will be saved and I've experienced God's

00:10:34.389 --> 00:10:37.210
power in my life the same power that rose Jesus

00:10:37.210 --> 00:10:39.789
from the dead is the same power that gives us

00:10:39.789 --> 00:10:43.490
spiritual renewal and gives us the ability with

00:10:43.490 --> 00:10:47.769
his spirit the Holy Spirit in us to face life

00:10:47.769 --> 00:10:51.450
trusting him If this is that moment for you where

00:10:51.450 --> 00:10:54.450
you decide to trust Him, I have a simple prayer

00:10:54.450 --> 00:11:00.870
that you can pray out loud. Dear God, I know

00:11:00.870 --> 00:11:05.269
that I have sinned. I have gone my own way and

00:11:05.269 --> 00:11:08.590
I need your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus

00:11:08.590 --> 00:11:13.450
died for me and rose again. I want to follow

00:11:13.450 --> 00:11:18.889
you. Come into my life. Make me new. I trust

00:11:18.889 --> 00:11:25.250
you. Thank you for loving me and saving me. Amen.

00:11:27.529 --> 00:11:30.850
In Jesus name, Amen is how the Bible tells us

00:11:30.850 --> 00:11:34.950
to pray. If you prayed that with faith, the Bible

00:11:34.950 --> 00:11:39.870
says now you are a child of God. It's a new beginning

00:11:39.870 --> 00:11:43.389
for you. You're forgiven and free from all the

00:11:43.389 --> 00:11:47.299
weight and guilt of all your sin. And I want

00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:52.919
to walk with you from here. One of the most important

00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:58.059
things after this decision is making some changes

00:11:58.059 --> 00:12:01.379
in your life. And so I want you to visit mindandfaithmatters

00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:06.500
.com forward slash gospel. That's G -O -S -P

00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:15.490
-E -L. And it's mindandfaithmatters .com. forward

00:12:15.490 --> 00:12:19.090
slash gospel for some next steps on what you

00:12:19.090 --> 00:12:22.090
can do ways that you can connect with other believers

00:12:22.090 --> 00:12:25.730
and resources to help you grow in this new faith

00:12:25.730 --> 00:12:29.409
and if you're still unsure or you have questions

00:12:29.409 --> 00:12:32.870
that's okay too i'd love to hear from you you

00:12:32.870 --> 00:12:35.990
can reach out through the website you do not

00:12:35.990 --> 00:12:41.250
have to figure this out alone the gospel is not

00:12:41.250 --> 00:12:44.600
only how we begin our relationship with god It's

00:12:44.600 --> 00:12:49.720
how we live each day. We live by grace, receiving

00:12:49.720 --> 00:12:53.580
from God what we could never earn. And now we

00:12:53.580 --> 00:12:57.500
can rest in love that never runs out. And we

00:12:57.500 --> 00:13:03.000
live anchored in grace. I love that. And we're

00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:08.059
loved more than we can even imagine. So I want

00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:12.580
to thank you for listening to this Mind and Faith

00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:15.690
Matters episode. And if this message stirred

00:13:15.690 --> 00:13:18.049
something in you, a couple things you could do.

00:13:18.129 --> 00:13:20.830
You could let me know by reaching out on the

00:13:20.830 --> 00:13:23.549
website. Or you could share it with someone else

00:13:23.549 --> 00:13:27.370
who needs to hear the hope of Jesus. Remember,

00:13:28.590 --> 00:13:32.529
you do not have to stay perfect to stay with

00:13:32.529 --> 00:13:37.730
God. You stay with Him because of His grace and

00:13:37.730 --> 00:13:40.710
His love. I want you to have a blessed week.

00:13:41.309 --> 00:13:44.230
I'm so hoping. that this message makes it to

00:13:44.230 --> 00:13:47.509
as many people as possible so that they can start

00:13:47.509 --> 00:13:52.649
this fresh new life with God. I just pray for

00:13:52.649 --> 00:13:55.250
you this week and I will be continuing to pray

00:13:55.250 --> 00:13:58.710
for new believers to come out of this work and

00:13:58.710 --> 00:14:02.570
this podcast. So God bless and have a wonderful,

00:14:02.769 --> 00:14:03.549
wonderful week.