Just Because It Happened to Them… Doesn’t Mean It Will Happen to You | John Giftah | Christian Sermon

0:01 Speaker 1: Do you ever look around and think, wow, the world is a crazy place, and it just seems to get crazier and crazier? Ease your mind and take a break. This is Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. We're a hub for inspirational Christian sermons, practical keys for Christian living and Christian discussions and interviews. You'll be inspired to live the life that you were created for. Your host is a top ranking podcaster, bestselling author, world record holder, aerospace engineer, life coach, evangelist and founder of John Gifta International.

0:41 Speaker 1: Welcome to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta.

0:45 Speaker 2: Hey everybody, it's such a joy for me to join you on this segment of the Fuels for the Soul with John Gifter podcast. I just want to let you know that as we are starting with this week, we're going to be talking about various lessons that we can take away from the incident recorded in Acts chapter 12 from verses 1 to 5. You know, I just love to go deep on these scriptures because I believe there's so much to learn, so much to unpack. And I really challenge you to join me as we are learning various things.

1:11 Speaker 2: Today, the first and foremost thing I want you to understand is that A lot of times when we look at life, what we do is we look at what happened to somebody else and say, if this happened to them, it might happen to me as well. If this person lost their life because of this kind of an incident, I'm also going to lose my life. If this person lost their life because of the sickness, I'm also going to lose my life. If this person struggled to get a job, I'm also going to struggle to get a job. If I'm going to be in this place where everybody else is suffering in the same kind of a financial state, a state of life, I'm also going to have the same.

1:47 Speaker 2: Can I tell you something? A lot of times we look at what happened to somebody else and we think that is the standard for our life. We think that God is going to, you know what? This is your lot in life. This is what is happening for everybody else. Just settle, just... except this is your lot in life. And we think that this is all that's going to happen. First and foremost thing I want you to understand is that in this passage, there's a moment when the king, King Herod Agrippa, what did he do? He put Apostle James to death.

2:19 Speaker 2: All right. And right now what happened is that he has seen that he gets a lot of attention. Everybody's happy and the Jews are pleased when he put Apostle James to death. So he's now taken Apostle Peter and he has planned to do the same to Apostle Peter. Here's the thing I want you to understand, right? We think that, oh, James was killed. Now it's Peter's turn. We would just give up even before the fight begins. We say that, oh my gosh, everybody in my job scenario, in my company, they're all losing their jobs.

2:52 Speaker 2: It's time for me to suffer as well. I'm also going to lose. I'm not going to get the good one. We start thinking defeat even before the fight begins. See, I want you to understand just because James was killed doesn't mean Peter was killed. What happened eventually was that because in Peter's case, the Lord showed up in a supernatural way and delivered Peter. This is the word I want to challenge each one of you today. That you know what? Instead of looking at somebody else's life and thinking that's the standard for your life, I want you to understand your standard is the promises of God over your life.

3:28 Speaker 2: The individual plan that God has for you. So, I'm not saying that you won't have troubles. No, that's not what I'm saying. In this world, you will have troubles. I'm not saying that, you know, you're going to live forever. You're never going to get killed. That's not what I'm saying. Right. You know, for it is appointed by God that man shall die once and then comes the judgment. That's what the scripture says. So we will not, you know. be able to escape that but the truth of the matter is god will fulfill the purpose for our life we should not look at what happened to somebody else or everybody else died of corona i'm also going to die of the sickness or everybody else face this problem i'm also going to face this can i tell you something there were situations in my life i've seen this where people say john you know what everybody else is going through this you're also going to go through this I'm like, you know what?

4:18 Speaker 2: I'm not going to let other people's whatever happened to them become the standard for my life. I'm going to choose to believe. Yes, God, something happened for them. I'm sorry. Pray for them. Sympathize, strengthen and encourage them. But I'm not going to let that dictate. date my life. I'm not going to give up even before the fight begins. I'm going to choose to believe God. You know what? Yes, James was killed, but you know what? I'm Peter. Maybe God's plan for my life is different. I'm not going to choose to live in defeat, choose to sit in defeat, but I'm going to allow this truth to set into my life.

4:54 Speaker 2: So that's my challenge to you that even as we step into this week, I want you to just believe think about areas in your life where you're already looking at somebody else's life and you're thinking that you know what this is what happened to them this is the thing that never worked for them this business idea never worked for this family member or this kind of a You know, marriage never worked for somebody else. Can I tell you something? What happened or did not happen to them is not the standard for your life.

5:22 Speaker 2: What God has ordained for you will prevail over your life. Amen. I really challenge you to share this with someone and leave a comment if you're checking this out on YouTube. I would love to check up with you guys very soon. God bless.

5:35 Speaker 1: You've been listening to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. We hope you were blessed and inspired to live the life that God has for you. Make sure to subscribe to the John Gifta YouTube channel for regular uploads of sermons, skits, interviews and more. Follow John Gifta on Instagram for regular inspirational posts. And don't forget to check out the best-selling books written by John Gifta, Who Am I?, which will help you understand your identity. And the latest number one bestseller, Unveil Your Purpose, helping you discover your purpose and to start walking in it.

6:09 Speaker 1: Make sure to leave a rating and review and be sure to share it with your friends and loved ones. If you'd like to donate, you can find the PayPal link in the description. And if you'd like to invite John Gifta to speak at your event or to get more details, go to the website at www.johngifta.com. See you on the next episode of The Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. God bless you.