I Thought God Would Fix Everything… | Phil Kniesel

Sometimes we assume that if we’re following God, life should go smoothly. But what happens when it doesn’t?

 This week, Pastor Phil Kniesel continues our He Never Said That series by confronting the idea that following Jesus guarantees a pain-free life. You’ll be encouraged by the truth that even when things don’t go as planned, God is still with us and His plans are good.

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Transcript

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- Hey, this is Phil Kal, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.- This one is for the fathers and all the father figures, stepfathers, grandfathers, godfathers, the heroes, the mentors and anchors, the coaches and counselors, teachers and trainers, the men who shape us and show us the definition of faithful, strong, and wise. The fathers always by our side with us and for us, steady and courageous, ready to inspire and encourage and give us a word of wisdom, a voice of reason. There is no doubt where their strength comes from, what their hope is set on, who their eyes are fixed on the embodiment of legacy, humility, integrity, needed and necessary, dependable and trustworthy. The fathers, the men who lead and love and believe in us even when we don't. The fathers, the men who nurture and point us towards purpose, almost bigger than life, but always down to earth. The fathers, the men who give guidance direction and keep everything in perspective, making room for us to grow. We may never know the prayers, the tears, the sacrifices that fathers make on our behalf, yet still find time to play and laugh and rejoice in the day that the Lord has made the fathers the heroes. We honor you today.- I too want to take this moment to say a happy Father's Day to all the dads. Whether you're, you're a, you're a new dad trying to figure it out. Uh, a stepdad, a dad with kids outta the house. Know this. Your influence matters. And so fathers, across all our campuses, I want to speak a blessing to you. Not because you're perfect, but because you're present. Not because you always get it right, but because you keep showing up. You matter. Your role is powerful and deeply important in God's plan for your family. Studies consistently show a strong correlation between a father's faith and church attendance and his children's faith development and their church engagement. And so dad's, I bless you today with no pressure to do more, but with encouragement to keep going. God is proud of you. Even if at times you feel like a failure, know that he walks with you. He is for you. May you sense his goodness, his kindness, his encouragement. May you live in his confidence and his strength. May you hold your head high knowing that the one who saved you is also the one who called you and anointed you for your position as dad. And so across all our campuses, happy Father's Day, you are loved, needed and celebrated. Now we're in a series entitled He Never Said That, where we're looking at misconceptions people have about the things Jesus said, things we ourselves may believe are true but aren't. And around here we believe that following Jesus is the best decision anyone can make. And to follow him, well we need to know what he said, not just think we know what he said last week. I started with some trivia, uh, by picking a saying and getting you to decide whether this was a slogan or from Solomon in the Bible. And I would say you all needed some help. Okay, , so I wanna try this again. I'm gonna give you a saying and you have to decide whether it's from the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah known as the weeping prophet, or if it's a lyric from Justin Beaver. Alright, so we got Jeremiah or Justin, you ready for this? Here's the first one. I'm all alone and my joy has turned to moping. How many of you would say that's the prophet Jeremiah? All right, how many would say it's Justin Bieber ? All right, the answer is Justin Bieber. If you got that one right, give yourself a pat on the back if your dad and you got that right, don't admit it. number two, when will you stop running? Jeremiah? Justin, the answer, Jeremiah third one, my heart is a vacant house. Jeremiah or Justin? Justin. All right, how we doing across all our campuses? There's the answer. Okay, two more for you. Number four, I'm tired of always giving you another chance. Jeremiah . Justin. Justin. Okay, here we go. Aha, I knew that when would get you ? Here's the last one. Haven't I had enough pain already? Jeremiah, Miah, Justin, and the answer, Jeremiah, I think you need some more help, right? Come back next week. Have you ever heard someone say, I've tried Jesus and it didn't work. I had a guy, I heard a guy say, I tried the church thing for two months and during that time my girlfriend broke up with me, I lost my job and my car broke down. And I know it sounds like a bad country song, , but ultimately he's saying, I tried Jesus and it didn't do what I thought it would do. How about you? Do you ever feel like you're trying your best to do the Jesus stuff and life is just not going the way you expected? There's this idea that is sometimes preached, not here. Mind you that if you turn to Jesus, your life will never be tough, that you won't have bad days. Kind of like whoever does, the will of my father will get the best parking spot. Or if you lose your life for my sake, you'll always look good in your bathing suit. And I'm sorry, I know summer's coming or seek first the kingdom of God and the Oilers will bring the cup to Edmonton. , I'm not gonna lie, I might have even prayed about that one a little bit. . Jesus never said that he never promised you'll be healthy, wealthy, get the best parking spots or that the Oilers will win the cup. Here's what he did say, and this was in a conversation with his disciples right before he went to the cross. He starts it by saying this, in a little while you will see me no more. And then after a little while you will see me. Well, let's kind of confuse the disciples. And Jesus notices their confusion and says, are you asking one another? What I meant when I said, in a little while, you will see me no more. And then after a little while, you will see me very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn into joy. You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. Now, the Greek word for world is cosmos. If you were to read further in the book of John, Jesus uses that word 19 times in this and the next chapter. At an earlier time, Jesus said that the ruler of this world is Satan and the whole world is under his control. He also said that the Christian is not of this world even though we are in it. And James, the New Testament writer, tells us that we should refuse to let the world corrupt us. And the world in these passages is all that goes against God. It's the order of things alienated from God. And so Jesus tells his disciples, very soon you're gonna be incredibly upset. He's foreshadowing the pain they will experience because of his death on the cross. Their grief he says, will turn into joy. It's the moment of Good Friday versus Easter Sunday. Jesus' death and his resurrection, Jesus died on the cross so that our sins might be forgiven and to make us right with God. He didn't stay dead, but he rose to offer life both now and eternally. And whoever believes in him can share in that life. However, maybe our definition of life is different than Jesus's. Maybe that's where the misconception lies. And so Jesus is telling the disciples you will have grief and pain, but it's not forever. It's gonna be for a while, for a season and friend. Maybe you're in that season, you're walking through grief. Something is painful for you. Listen to what Jesus says next. He says, now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice and no one will take away your joy. I love that line. No one will take away your joy, not even your boss, your bills, nothing. Your sadness will develop into gladness. But right now I get it. It seems hard to even think beyond the pain of today. And then Jesus drops this line. I have told you these things. So the things we just heard, so that in me you may have peace in this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world. I told you this so that you don't panic in trouble. I told you this so that you know in trouble, peace is a reality. I told you this so that you know in this world you will have trouble. Another version of scripture says Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. This is a guarantee, friend. This is not a maybe this is a fact. You will have trouble. Notice the distinction. Jesus says in this world, meaning not in the world to come. In the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, we actually read about this world to come. And this is what it says. It says, look, God's dwelling place is now among the people and he will dwell with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away. That's our future hope. But for today, in this world, you will have trouble. You will have trials and sorrows. Welcome to Hope City Friends where we make you feel good about yourself and life. Listen to me. Just because you followed Jesus doesn't mean you're promised a pain-free life. He's not a genie in the bottle with three wishes and the last wish is to have 20 more wishes in this world, you will have trouble right now there's some massive trouble brewing in the Middle East and church. I would say anytime we see things like this happening, the Bible says, lift up your eyes. It's worth noting. Jesus said, the time we're living in is the end times. And the Bible says, in this world, things will get worse. Before they get better. In this world, you will have trouble. Maybe that's you. You're in the middle of a difficult season. You feel left out overlooked, rejected. Maybe alone. You've failed at something and you've lost your confidence. You're depressed, you're walking through a hard time financially. You have health challenges. You've lost loved ones. Your kids' choices are causing you to stress. You have immense pressure at work. You're a dad feeling a massive weight right now. You're trying to follow Jesus and you're hitting some pain. You're hitting resistance or a wall and the wall doesn't seem to move. No matter how many encouraging worship songs you play, listen, there's a high chance your pain isn't because of something you did. Now I say chance because sometimes our grief is caused by our own actions. And I believe all of you are smart enough to figure out what I mean by that. But overall pain and sorrow in this world are a result of what's called the fall at the beginning of human existence. When Adam and Eve went outside of God's design in the garden of Eden, sin entered the human experience, which in turn brought pain, death, and hardship. Paul actually explained this to Christians in Rome when he said this. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, that would be Adam and death through sin. In this way, death came to all people because all sin suffering was not part of God's original creation. And Jesus builds on this reality. He guarantees that we will have trouble in this world. It's a promise. So if pain is a promise, there must be some purpose behind it. And I'm gonna give you a perspective, especially if you're experiencing pain today. I wanna give you two blessings of trouble. And yes, I said blessings. And the first one is this, trouble proves your faith. Trouble reveals the depth of your faith and the depth of your trust in Jesus. He actually once told a story relating to this very thing. It's called the parable of the sower. I wanna read it to us. It's outta the book of Matthew. This is what Jesus says. A farmer went out to sow his seed as he was scattering the seed. Some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns which grew up and choked the plants still other seed fell on good soil where it produced a crop 160 or 30 times what was sewn? Whoever has ears let them hear. And he goes on to explain what this meant because the disciples really had no idea what he was talking about. And so he says this, listen then to what the parable of the sower means. When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sewn in their heart. This is the seed sewn along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. So Jesus was saying, those who have no root won't last when trouble comes, if your faith doesn't go deep, it won't stand when trials hit. In other words, trouble proves your faith. There's a, there's a type of aspen tree known as the Pando, and it's been nicknamed the trembling giant because of the trembling sound it makes when the wind blows. And down in Utah, in Fish Lake National Forest, there are over 40,000 Pando trees. I wanna show you a picture of them. Here's what's kind of wild about these trees. They all share the same root system, meaning that they all came from one seed. Scientists consider pando to be a single organism. It spans over 106 acres, possibly making it the most massive known living thing on the planet. I would say besides Costco on a Saturday afternoon . And when one tree dies or is damaged, new shoots rise from the same root base. The roots go deep and they're massive making them a source of life no matter what happens on the surface. Trouble proves your faith because it shows how deep your roots go. It shows your source of life no matter what happens on the surface, your strength in the trial comes from deep within from who you are. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah alluded to this when he said this. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord whose confidence is in him. They will be be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit translation, get yourself some deep roots and don't panic when the heat comes. See, the most important part of you friends is unseen. It's a part of you that is like a tree planted firmly and rightly. It's where your roots grow deep. And so how do you roots grow deep? It's the habits you build in secret. It's your daily routines, your prayer time, it's reading scripture, it's worship. It's all those things that create the depth of who you are. They make you rooted. Now, if you're anything like me, one of the hardest things to do while facing trouble is keeping your mind in check. I can easily worry. I can get anxious, I can become fearful, sometimes angry. I can at times compare my life to others and this always starts in my mind. Anyone else know what I'm talking about or is that just me? You know, one of the biggest things in getting rooted is guarding our minds in times of trouble. And you know how we do this? We do this by speaking God's word over us. So if your mind has been going everywhere lately, I wanna speak God's word over you. Psalm 91 has been called the 9 1 1 of the Bible. And it's so fitting for harder situations and for keeping our minds in check. And I know some of you need to hear this right now. So if you want close your eyes and just listen to the word of God. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Surely he will save you from the Fowler snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers. And under his wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness will be your shield. And rampart, you will not fear the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness nor the plague that destroys at midday. It goes on. If you say the Lord is my refuge and you make the most high, your dwelling no harm will overtake you. No disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against the stone. Because he loves me, says the Lord. I will rescue him. I will protect him. For he acknowledges my name, he will call on me and I will answer him. Here it is, I will be with him in trouble and I will deliver him and honor him. God's word over your mind. You know two times there I read about, read about dwelling in God. This means to live, remain and stay continually in close connection with him. That's getting your roots deep. We also read about making the Lord our refuge. Refuge is a shelter from trouble. God is your protector in times of trouble. See, trouble doesn't pummel your faith. Trouble proves your faith. And the disciple Peter, he wrote two books in the New Testament. First and second Peter I know real original titles and he wrote the first book around 62 to 64 ad during a time of increasing persecution of Christians under the emperor Nero in the Roman empire. And man Nero, he was nuts. He hated Christians and he blamed them for a massive fire that hit the empire, which then opened up unbelievable persecution. Historians like Tacitus, Satton and Casey's deal documented that Niro would burn Christians alive and used them as torches at night in his gardens. He threw them to wild beast and he even clothed some in animal skins to be torn apart by dogs. It was horrible. And it's into that context. Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says, and all this, you greatly rejoice what though now for a little while you may had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials, these have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes, even though refined by fire may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed in all of that, rejoice. Come on Peter. Why would you write that these have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith may result in praise, glory and honor? He wrote this because trials prove your faith. They show that your faith is genuine. And so if that's the case, that our faith can be proven genuine, it also means that there can be something as faith that isn't genuine faith that is counterfeit, that doesn't run deep. And hope, sitting my heart for you is that your faith would not be counterfeit. That your faith wouldn't be one where the roots don't go deep, that it's not nominal faith. And I actually think those most in danger of this are those who have been in church the longest or just grew up in church but never really fully owned it. Like you know when to stand, when to sit, you know the scriptures, what we should look like, what we should do, what we should say. We know all the right things on the outside. Yet on the inside we can be pretty shallow. I also pray friends that you wouldn't put your faith in others, whether it's some pastor, some parent, some leader.'cause listen, people will always let you down hope city. My prayer for you is that you would know the depth and the joy of following Jesus. That you would love him with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your soul, and with all your mind. That your faith is grounded, that your faith is rooted. It's deep so that when the struggles come, when the winds blow, you don't just stand or barely stand. You stand firm, you stand strong, you stand under the power and the anointing of a holy God who is for you. May your roots grow deep trials prove your faith. And here's the deal. I know a lot of you can attest to this because I've heard you tell me this. You say, because of my trial, I know God better, deeper and more because of my struggle, I've pressed greater into prayer and I met God in ways I never would've because of my trouble. His word has come alive to me. You've discovered what Jesus meant when he said, in this world you will have trouble. But I've told you these things that you may have peace in the middle of a pain filled, troubled scenario. You have a peace that goes beyond the human ability to understand. And that is the first blessing of trouble. It proves your faith. The second blessing is this trouble prepares your heart. Listen, trials are not just things happening to you, but God is doing something in you. They don't just require a response of faith. They actually require a reset of heart.'cause to grow stronger in anything, you know what we need Resistance. Trouble prepares your heart to become stronger because resistance is what strengthens your faith, comfort and ease. Don't do that, James. A New Testament writer says it this way, consider it pure joy. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, there's that whole joy in trials thing again because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be maturing, complete, not lacking anything. The testing of your faith does something in you. It develops perseverance, which is steadfast endurance. Something that is not instant but developed over time. Something developed through trials. And when perseverance does its work, we are mature and complete. We grow, we get rooted. It prepares our heart for what God wants to do in and through us. Friends, listen to me. God wants more than survival for you. He wants sanctification, meaning he wants you to become more like him. Paul built on these words from James and he said it this way, not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings. There's that phrase again because we know that suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance, character and character hope. Perseverance is active endurance. It's a spirit and powered fortitude that keeps you steady under pressure. And here's what this always does. It gives you hope. It prepares you for purpose. You know, often God's preparation comes packaged as pain. Prime example is the story of a guy we have in the Old Testament called Joseph At a young age he was given some dreams about the future which he confidently shared with his brothers. And we read in Genesis 37 that they hated him for it. So they devised a plan to get rid of him. And first they threw him in a well, but later decided to sell 'em into slavery because they felt kind of bad for him rotting in a well. He gets taken to Egypt and he rises to favor in Potiphar's house. That's a high ranking official where he resists temptation from Potiphar's wife who wants to sleep with him but is falsely accused. Anyway, leading to his imprisonment in prison, he ends up staying longer than expected. In fact, he's forgotten about until one day God gives him the ability to interpret Pharaoh's dream. And this gets him promoted to second in command in Egypt. But talk about troubles. Joseph lived through rejection where God stripped him of his pride. He had slavery where he lost all control and God taught him servanthood. He faced prison, which was an injustice. Yet while there, God formed his character, he was then promoted to the palace, which ushered in leadership and God fulfilled his purpose in him. His trouble prepared him for what God had in store. And because of this, he was also able to forgive his brothers when they came begging for food in Egypt. Well, not before he had a little bit of fun with them. But you can read that story to get that friends listen. Could it be that your pain is preparation for something God wants to do in and through you?'cause your trouble is not just happening to you, it's God doing something in you. And if you allow it to, it prepares your heart for something next. So what do I mean? The offense is purifying your heart. The loneliness is teaching you intimacy and trust with God. The betrayal is increasing your capacity to love like Jesus or forgive like Jesus. The hurt is allowing God to move in your life. All this and more prepares you for your next and so hope city. In this world you will have trouble, but there's always purpose in your pain. God never wastes a hurt. In fact, there is blessing in trouble. It proves your faith and it prepares your heart. You know the good news, meaning the gospel message of Jesus is not that he delivers you from all pain and your life will always be easy. The good news is that he delivers you from all sin. And that means his grace is real and his working in all things following Jesus isn't about getting life the way you want it on earth. Following Jesus is about denying yourself, taking up your cross and dying to self the world. It is temporary, passive and fading. And listen, your trouble, although so real right now is the same. Will you allow it to be a blessing? Will you allow it or view it as something that proves your faith and prepares your heart? The choice is actually yours. And it's why Jesus said, in this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world. I can ask you to stand if you are able to. I'm gonna close in prayer over you today. Jesus, I'm so grateful for your words because it just makes us know and understand that you fully too understand us. You were God and you were fully men. And so you understand when we walk through the trial, you understand when we walk through the pain through the hardship and you say, just trust me, just hang on to me. And so today I pray for all of us here at Hope City. May we be men and women whose roots go deep in our faith. May we be those who know you more greater. May we stand on the firm foundation, which is you. God, help us in every trial, in every circumstance and every trouble to put our strength, our hope, our trust in you. May we not run away from you, may we run to you. And so I pray for that individual who is facing that trial today. I ask God that as they call out to you, you meet them in a powerful way. I ask that as they open your word, the words of scripture jump out and just penetrate their heart and their minds and their spirit. I ask that as they worship you, you come alongside of them Holy Spirit, and you strengthen them, you empower them, you fill them. Why? Because we wanna be people who know you deeply. God, no matter what life throws at us, help us to stand firm, stand strong, and prove our faith. Lord and God, I pray for that person who's doubting the hardship right now. May they see what you're doing inside of them. May they have the posture of saying, God work inside of me so that you can work through me. And so I just pray this over them. Maybe you're joining us and you don't know Jesus personally. You know a friend. I said, Jesus went to the cross to die for your sins. He rose to offer you life, both now and forever. And you can have that eternal promise, that promise on earth if you just put your faith in him, if you choose to follow him. And so if you want to make that decision today, you're joining us at one of our campuses online or here at Millwoods. I'm gonna pray a prayer that helps you put into words the beginning of that journey. Why don't you pray along with me? Jesus today I see my need for you. And I thank you for going to the cross. I thank you for dying for my sins. I thank you for rising offering me life and hope both now and forever. And so I choose to put my faith in you today. I choose to trust you with all that I am. I desire to make you Lord and leader of my life. And please help me to follow you in and through all things. Help me to understand the life that you bring during the good days and during the hard days. So I thank you for that. God, I pray over every individual, every couple and every family. In fact, I pray over all the dads here today. I pray that as they go into this week, may they know that you are for them, that they can put their trust in you, that they can depend upon you, that they can walk with you. I pray that the strength of the Lord is their song. I pray that the power of the Lord is their source. I pray that you Holy Spirit, come alongside of them and help them in every situation for your glory, for your honor. And I pray that these are individuals who have faith that goes deep and deeper every single day. And I pray this over and for them in the powerful name of Christ. Amen. You know, if you prayed that prayer of surrendering your life to Jesus, can I ask you just to scan the QR code on the screen? It's also on the seat backs in front of you. It's our way of getting a book into your hands that talks a little bit more about knowing and following Jesus. And it's also our way of trying to get to know you personally in a big church. Would love for you to do that. Please, if you are joining us in person here at Millwoods and you want prayer over anything, we're gonna have a prayer team available down at your front, left after the service. Know this, pray for you lots. Love you lots, and I'm cheering you on. Dad's on your way out today, you're gonna get a hot rod as a gift that just says, Hey, way to go. Dads, we believe in you. So know that. Thanks for being in church today. Remember Tuesday night's a big deal. You might wanna pray for that. God bless you guys. Love you.