Big God or Little god

When you realize you have a big, awesome, majestic, holy, righteous, loving grace giving father literally walking in you every second of every day, it changes the way you walk into family life today where we want to help you pursue relationships that matter most and Wilson and Dave Wilson and you can find us if family life today.com or on our family life is family life today. I'm pretty excited for our listeners today is that because I sat under your teaching you been my pastor for 40 years because I say my teaching in the kitchen and in the family room and sat under my jeans. Sure I like you have let our church. I've been sitting under your teaching for so many years that you have some core messages that man when you preach on this it loses out of your very soul. It's part of who you are, you know which one I'm thinking about like you have a few core messages, but one of your favorite things. I'm letting out anybody that's heard me probably would say the gutter yes yes those were really going to like it because you totally live this out in your life. Your view of God be in a big God is the most important thing to impact and transform a marriage.

In fact we talk about that at the we can remember marriage getaways how big your God is in fact you can go right now to set up for a weekend, remember for half-price which is amazing yeah and you want to do it right now for my life today.com sign up and go, and I'm telling you, you will not only get a transform marriage but a transform view of God. He is a God that does the impossible, especially in our marriages and I'll never forget, probably 40 years ago hearing this idea from Dr. Howard Hendricks talk about sitting in the chapel at Dallas seminary when some of the seminarians would come in and preach and he was a prophet and he sees a prof there and he said I would sit in the back and often I would listen to them and realize some of them had a big God. And so mom had a little guy think he would distinguish between the two. Yeah like big gutter little gutter and it wasn't that God is smaller but it was just that their understanding of the greatness and the majesty of God was somewhat more more little gutters there, God wasn't that big and others were big gutters.

They believed in a huge, huge guy and he think this pertains to our marriages yeah family.

I know that for me that understanding.

As a young follower Christ obviously heard and thought I want to be a big gutter that I want to believe in a God who can do the impossible glass is literally who he is and yet as you think about that whatever you believe about God. I call that your theology is going to influence every part of your life. Every decision you make. And obviously it's can affect your family and your marriage in how you are a husband or wife, or how you do as a father or mother. I think it's core detailed. It's a core belief.

And it's interesting Jesus said when the disciples asked in Matthew 17, Luke 13 it's referenced several times when the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith.

What he say yeah. He said if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, and maybe some of you have seen the size of a mustard seed, it's teeny tiny and minuscule. Yeah, he said, if you have faith that tiny that's small you could say this mountain move.

In other words, he said it's not the size of your faith that matters. I believe he said it's not size your faith that matters, it's the size of your God that matters. You don't need great big faith in a little God, you need little mustard seed size faith in a huge majestic holy God of the impossible.

So what you hope for today fire listeners what would you say like I really hope this for you today. My hope is that we always get a better understanding of who God is and an understanding of what that means for our marriage and our family and our job, our life, you name it, because when you realize you have a big, awesome, majestic, holy, righteous, loving grace giving father literally walking in you every second of every day, it changes the way you walk changes where you live.

I remember when I was in high school I was driving my car just got my license with a buddy in the high school football team name Bobby: big Bob because he was just this big offense of lineman I think was 250, 300 pounds and you know we were driving through our little town, Finley Ohio and I'm embarrassed to admit this but somehow I got me. I just sort of cut this guy often.

He was some guy with his family and he got on my bumper and was trying to not you just yell at me and so is a little bit of road rage going on now is that you know this is long long time ago and I'm again I'm just a high school kid, but all I know is I should've done this I slow down even slower to just the ballgame and then he drives around me. You don't know the story you didn't have it I just I don't know the guy was bugging me and I do so is ridiculous.

He's doing this is because wife and kids in the car and you're an irritating team. So instead of saying God bless you and move on. I slow down and irritating more. He pulls in front of me. I pull in front of him. It was just I don't know anyone that this but finally I'm like this is getting out of control. I'm just going to whip off of the street and losing so he was in front of me at this point and so I just turn into the subdivision and he went on and on like that's the end of that and I'm not kidding less than 30 seconds later he went up to the light turn came in that subdivision on the street.

I'm on the same street like 50 miles an hour in a subdivision now and is coming right at me and now I'm scared so I like pullover like my tires going to the front yard of this house, so he gets out of his car and starts running toward my car and he's really upset on her forget I have my window down, for whatever reason I put it in reverse and I'm like I'm getting out here in Bob's like just this dude crazy get out here started to back out.

He grabs me.

He ran up and grab my collar and I was so scared I just backed up really quick.

He lost his grip, but as I'm pulling away, takes his fist in the pounds it is hers again against my hood just is this your little green Capri that I mean I was like this my car so I put it in park and then I think that's it and I get out on our mad yeah I walk up were still 15 yards away and I'm as I walk up he starts to walk toward me and he's a bigger man and I'm just a sick senior boy and then I'm scared like, oh, what I get myself into. So I'm about ready to turn and go back to the car and all of a sudden I see him get very fearful and he starts backing up the starts walking away he just like okay dude yeah I'm sorry I got you know and just see just backs up that I had no idea why until I turned around and I saw big Bob was standing behind me sorted an easy fix for what he sorry for almost 300 pounds tight T-shirt on and I realize he's not scared of me.

I saw big Bob and that scared SOS is what matters, get you should get out here you know you're wrong and I just thought later I thought. Look at my confidence how it all changed. The second I realize big Bob right now. Obviously you know the application is like, you know, the truth is big Bob's and follow me around the rest my life. But there is a God whose huge he's majestic he's holy.

The attributes of God are the most incredible truth you ever get your Re: merit on the unit are all creation in the Bible is clear. If you're a follower of Jesus where it is big God, live yeah if you've repented, if you called on the name of Jesus.

He resides with pain within us. We are now the temple police and so the.

The implications of that truth are just think about this. If we live as if we really understood that is the God who resides in us and literally walks into every situation. Our lives with us actually better net in yeah you remember Jesus said it's better for you that I go away, and the disciples are like when talking about that can be better and yet it's like now. Now it is better because he couldn't be with them everywhere but now in the Holy Spirit of God. He can be in us, that's who. Yes. And so the confidence that I experience in that little subdivision is a confidence we could have every second of our day, knowing there is a God that lives in us and walks with us members. That's really good and so the truth is, and this is the theme of my core messages. Is this right this down if you listen write this down or put this away so you never forget it. I think this is a life-changing truth that I've never forgotten and is literally this the size of your God will determine the outcome of your life and what I mean by that is if you're a little God or as Howard Hendricks said, you just might see little things have your big guy again. I'm not saying that you know if you have a big God everything to be right in your life and everything to be perfect you're still going have trials in the hard times, but you're going to have a little bit of faith. That's all you need must receive five faith in a big God who gives you confidence to walk into each and every situation with the belief that God is here, and God is at work and therefore I can take risks that I would never take on my own because I'm not on my own. I am literally walking with the God of the interviews. I can imagine some listeners hearing that and thinking okay I get that for me. The size of my God will determine the outcome of my life and when you apply it to marriage, they might be thinking, but my spouse doesn't have that same view of God and because of their little faith or their little God, it's affecting. He or she is affecting our marriage, what would you say to that positives are about to say what would you say I would say you can only do your part, majestic God lives in you. And that's enough for right now, like he's in control of that you can trust him in that and I think I've spent way too much time judging you judging other people like all if they would only such and such, our marriage would be good and I think that that's really important. This is on us. This is the site of my God I can't make your God get any bigger, you know he's already huge, but in your eyes that make sense data to other side say if God is big that you can trust your spouse to them and I can change them. But God can. And so it's like I can work on me. I can't change them but got a huge got his God of the impossible. All things are possible with him again to trust my spouse doing. I think you knows you think about life. Life is literally insane literally because I really think it's actually a balance between faith and fear. How big is my God. When we go to do about a man think about when our boys were just little boys on the side of the pool. You know I be in the pool and whether was CJ Ross or Cody. You know when they're first going to do the jump jump in the pool. You know first time yeah before you just sort of carry him in the pool and I got there little floaty's on or whatever, but this is when they're just getting a little bit older, maybe close to what two years old, maybe whether you actually going to jump yet. I can remember you're in the pool, looking at him, and you're just like it's this battle between faith and fear because they're thinking you know, I'm afraid I've never done this, the water and then they look and specially my case you like, look at that's huge are given to them.

They look huge, but you know there's a thing is I know him and he carried me before, but there's that that tension and I love how John Oberg actually talked about this in his book if you want to walk on water. You gotta get on the boat. By the way a great book about how big is your God, and trusting taken risk you know the whole thought is this, so if I jump I find out if your child jump your grandchild jumps. They find out that dad can be trusted. And guess what they're going to run out of the pool and jump again because they've experienced a took a risk and God the father met them and caught them. But there's consequences if they don't jump as well because if they don't jump like maybe they just walk away. They never risk they never have the.

The adventure of finding out that the father can be trusted, and they may even think yeah I'm just not really a risky person and they don't take other opportunities and they sort of develop a life of just safety and I think this was scary things that we can do is live a life safe. I don't want to do that. And yet, you're right. I'm thinking back to the first time I was 18 years old and I gave Jesus everything and I told him like Lord. It's basically I'm jumping I'm gonna jump off this cliff. The faith I minute go wherever you want me to, I'll do whatever you want. I am all yours. And that's scary because it feels like you have no control over. You don't know what God can do.

Where he's gonna take you what the outcome will be but because I had gotten to know him.

I had a sense that he can catch me but you're not at that point the first time. It's just like Lisa with our kids in the pool there wondering is my father. There will he catch me if he had good father. I would challenge every single one of us to make that leap. Because we have done it now multiple times all the time and he has always caught us yeah and in some sense were sitting here in this studio because of a leap of faith. Yeah, you're getting with trust in our lives to Christ and then just as we said a little boy or girl on the side of pool. Once they jump and realize he's trustworthy. My dad is all competent to take care of me. You take other jump but here's a question that I thinks important to consider is what happens if we wake up tomorrow morning and we believe in a small got if we wake up in our God is too small.

One of the consequences of that and again I think there's so many. One of them could be this good or say it this way. We live in fear and anxiety.

We live in constant fear and anxiety because everything depends on us, our moods will be governed by our circumstances and that true yes because God's too small to change anything and so we live that way and I think often that's what we do as parents we live.

Fear-based, because our God is not big enough and so we parent out of fear.

We all have a tendency to do that, especially in this culture were afraid of what our kids are to be exposed to and there is a healthy fear in like we don't want to put them in situations that would put them at risk that I had this one situation are all this. I think he was 13 and she asked to go to a friends house and I didn't know the family just for the day just to hang out. I didn't know the family quite as well. They went to R's Christian school at the time, but I had this I just had this angst. I was afraid of pornography.

I just had a lot of fears.

Fear-based. I think I was gonna say no, but he's getting a little older and I'm wanting to give him more opportunities. He really liked this guy and so I said yes totally petrified neon as a parent. Then you go through all your fears of what could happen and so I remember taking all of that. I remember going upstairs to my bedroom and I prayed this prayer like Lord, that was a dumb thing to do, and that the smart thing to do but here's what I'm praying Jesus I pray that if anything bad. CJ could be exposed to. I'm praying that you somehow stop it.

I've read in the Bible.

How you can do all things that are miraculous and that you can't even imagine. This seems like a little thing. So if there's anything that he could it be exposed to that would be negative.

Would you just stop it. Miraculously, it was almost as if I'm just saying here it is kind and giving it to you. All my fears and anxiety. My worry so later he came home it was late at night and he's going to ban my case and when you guys do today.

He goes on these channels on his TV. Ellen think Elliott's HPL eat all the things he could watch because we were really excited because his parents forgot we're gonna watch these movies.

I might know no egos and then the cable went out and the whole thing went out to play outside. The whole day, which was really fun, but we were really pretty excited about watching all these cables and I would like, you know, it's just that it was amazing and so God is in your prayer. He did notice you.

This video is now I can't always explain why God did or didn't do the things I wanted him to do all I can do is trust him with those that was a reminder. Yeah it's so easy is apparent to just parent in fear and there are a lot of fears and I kids will fail as we fail, but at the end of the day.

There is a heavenly father.

That's more concerned about our kids and we are so it comes back to okay am I gonna trust in a big God, or trust to myself.

Here's another one. If we wake up tomorrow and our God is too small. I wrote it down this way and it and again it comes out of the book of you want to walk on water, get out of the boat, but is ever God is too small. We give into temptation's claiming that we given the temptations and even addictions because we believe it's up to us to fill ourselves up. There is not a God is going to meet us wrote God isn't big enough or close enough to come through for us so we settle for a cheap substitute that we know will leave us empty and it's just again. It's like if God small.

It's almost like he's impotent heat. He can't provide. What were looking for.

These can't meet our needs not fulfillment there. Forget I was at a Super Bowl breakfast, 30, 40 years ago a long time ago and Dr. Larry Crabb spoke, we loved him.

He was such an insightful Bible teacher, writer or author. He's therapist day since passed in these now with the Lord. But other forget it was just all the NFL chaplains that were at this meeting.

At that at this breakfast and afterwards and I never do this, I went up to ask him a question. I usually just leave the speaker guy alone, but I went up to another, forget I sort of said hey you know I have a friend who has his struggle, and I could tell he looked at me like she smile like is this a friend or is this you guys.

I have a friend has a struggle yeah sometimes when he travels with his NFL team is the chaplain he struggles with looking at porn and there wasn't Internet porn back them but it was like movie channels and the question is this why does this guy struggle with this and I could tell he looked at me like I think this is you, but I'll never forget his answer. Mrs. four decades ago. He just looked at me and he said because God's not enough.

I can only mean he goes, I think you probably struggles because in that moment the pleasure is immediate and God is distant and is God is too small.

He doesn't know how God can meet the very core search of this man's heart.

That is what God does.

He's that big. That's a consequence of having a small God. It's like we don't understand our search for what ever it is word filling with a substitute can actually be met by the God of the universe. That's really good for all of our temptations is God enough that were asking. I think as I hear that I think will how do we make him enough in that instant, because you said you lived that out down I'd say the bottom line is where we started. You don't need increase your faith. You need increase your understanding of who God is. How you do that, I think the best thing you and I can do and I encourage your listener to do is get in the word is what happens when I believe when you read the word consistently. You're just in taking his word. Here's what happens.

Your view of God gets bigger. You know you see him show up in different situations throughout Scripture. I mean literally page after page in impossible situations. He shows up and he shows them who he is, but as were reading that it gives us again just mustn't see faith but it's like that so yes I forgot it's almost like Arena Scripture, you're like, I think God wrote that for me because you're going through something that you're afraid or your God is become too small to just remind you. He can be trusted. I am with you on that. And we've shared on here before, but every year I go through the Bible and isn't this true for me every time I open the wear and like I said cell. I've read it hundreds of times every time.

It's a reminder, this is who God is. This is how big he is. I can jump into his arms. I can trust him because he did it before and he's doing it now, and he will do it again yet so I would say boil boy if you're listening and you're in a valley. Maybe your marriage is struggling and maybe your child has walked away and you just don't know if God will show up. I would say pray. But the biggest thing is they open your word, remind yourself of who is he is the God of all creation.

What's amazing about that.

That means he's big, he's holy he's in control the universe. But he's also the God of the small that has an essay which means he's personal and loving in not only is he big but he knows and he sees and is literally their cares. He loves you yeah and I go sit here and say he's going to do a miracle and it's all gonna work out just the way you want. I don't know how it can work out and I don't know how God's going to show up, but he is going to show in a powerful way and you just need to trust a little bit in a huge big God and let him be God and do what he will do for you, through you enter your family been talking about today has been the foundation for so many years of everything we talk about and teach at our family life. We can't remember marriage getaways. Many of you know we been hosting these getaways for more than four decades now, and there have been millions of couples who have attended spent a weekend with us couples who some of them were in distress in their marriage. Many of them who were coming who were in a good marriage and they just wanted a tuneup they wanted to make sure their marriage continued to have in the right direction and what they found is that a weekend away with us focusing on the big God who cares about the little things we're going through learning about what his word has to say about marriage. It's been transformative revolutionary for so many couples we got about 30 of these getaways happening in cities all across the country this fall.

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