When GOD’s Call Looks Controversial | Mary and the Misunderstanding | John Giftah Sermon

0:01 Speaker 1: Do you ever look around and think, Wow, the world

0:05 Speaker 1: is a crazy place and it just seems to get

0:08 Speaker 1: crazier and crazier. Ease your mind and take a break.

0:13 Speaker 1: This is Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta. We're

0:17 Speaker 1: a hub for inspirational Christian sermons, practical keys for Christian living,

0:23 Speaker 1: and Christian discussions and interviews. You'll be inspired to live

0:27 Speaker 1: the life that you were created for. Your host is

0:30 Speaker 1: a top ranking podcaster, best selling author, world record holder,

0:35 Speaker 1: aerospace engineer, life coach, evangelist and founder of John Gifta International.

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

0:49 Speaker 2: Hello everyone, Welcome to this edition of the Fuel for

0:51 Speaker 2: the Soul with John Gifta podcast. And it's such a

0:53 Speaker 2: joint honor for me to be with you through this

0:55 Speaker 2: Christmas season as we unpacked various lessons from the passages

0:59 Speaker 2: around the Birth of Christ that we can inculcate in

1:02 Speaker 2: our everyday lives as well. So today I'm going to

1:06 Speaker 2: talk about one of the aspects with regard to the

1:09 Speaker 2: aspect of walking in a God given calling and purpose. Right,

1:12 Speaker 2: I always challenge people and I always remind people that

1:15 Speaker 2: if you have not checked out, I want you to

1:16 Speaker 2: understand that. I've also ordered one of my best selling

1:19 Speaker 2: books called Unrail Your Purpose, which will enable you to

1:23 Speaker 2: find and walk in God given purpose because I really

1:25 Speaker 2: believe that you and I need to try to walk

1:28 Speaker 2: in a God given calling and purpose. Right. I don't

1:30 Speaker 2: want us to just live when APUs had mannered a

1:33 Speaker 2: life without any aim in life. The Bible very clearly

1:36 Speaker 2: says in Ephesians, you know, don't live aimlessly and carelessly

1:40 Speaker 2: because we need to know what the Master wants and

1:42 Speaker 2: we need to walk in that purpose or that God

1:45 Speaker 2: has created us for. And sometimes we also talk about

1:49 Speaker 2: the aspect of the Bible says all things work together

1:52 Speaker 2: for good to them that love the Lord and who

1:56 Speaker 2: are called according to His purpose. Right, all things are

2:00 Speaker 2: not going to randomly work together for your good. If

2:02 Speaker 2: God has called you to go towards London and you're

2:04 Speaker 2: going towards San Francisco, things are not going to work

2:08 Speaker 2: together for good because you are deliberately walking outside of

2:11 Speaker 2: God's will. Like when God called Jornah to go to Ninevah,

2:14 Speaker 2: he had to go to nineva. If God is calling

2:16 Speaker 2: you to go in a certain direction, walk in a

2:19 Speaker 2: certain purpose, and call away your life. You need to

2:21 Speaker 2: strive to do that. But I wanted to understand when

2:24 Speaker 2: we talk about walking in our God given calling and purpose,

2:27 Speaker 2: you know it's not going to come to us easy.

2:29 Speaker 2: There are going to be challenges that are going to

2:31 Speaker 2: be obstacle. There are there are going to be moments

2:33 Speaker 2: when you feel like throwing in the towel, you want

2:35 Speaker 2: to give up, you want to just run away and hide.

2:37 Speaker 2: But I want you to understand that if God has

2:40 Speaker 2: called you, the Bible says that He is faithful to

2:43 Speaker 2: lead us to our final destination, he is going to

2:46 Speaker 2: be able to complete everything that He has purposed for

2:49 Speaker 2: our life. So that's the assurance that you and I

2:52 Speaker 2: have that when we walk in a God given calling

2:55 Speaker 2: and purpose, he is going to be by our side,

2:58 Speaker 2: leading us every step along the way. See now, I

3:01 Speaker 2: want you to understand. One of the aspects that I

3:03 Speaker 2: want to talk to you today about the aspect of

3:05 Speaker 2: saying yes to God's call and purpose over our life,

3:08 Speaker 2: is the fact that as much as it sounds fancy

3:11 Speaker 2: and nice and saying you know what, yes, you need

3:13 Speaker 2: to say yes to God's call and purpose. There will

3:15 Speaker 2: be challenges. There will be obstacles. There will be things

3:17 Speaker 2: that are coming against us. One of the things that

3:20 Speaker 2: sometimes we forget is the aspect that God's call will

3:24 Speaker 2: also be accompanied by controversy. You know, this is something

3:28 Speaker 2: that many of us don't look at, We don't expect

3:31 Speaker 2: because many of us want to say, yes, you know what,

3:34 Speaker 2: I need to be a good witness for Christ. I

3:37 Speaker 2: need to be blameless. I need to be in a

3:39 Speaker 2: position nobody can point fingers towards us. But I want

3:42 Speaker 2: you to understand that sometimes that this didn't happen that way,

3:47 Speaker 2: that doesn't work that way. Let me give you an example.

3:49 Speaker 2: Right when you look at Luke one, there's a classic

3:53 Speaker 2: moment where the Angel of the Lord comes to Maye

3:55 Speaker 2: and says, you know what, You're going to give birth

3:57 Speaker 2: to a son called Jesus, whom you have to understand

4:01 Speaker 2: that he's going to save the world from sin. And

4:05 Speaker 2: I wanted to understand something. He says, something very very

4:08 Speaker 2: powerful that you know it's going to be conceived by

4:13 Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. Now today, you and I who are

4:16 Speaker 2: believers in Christ, who are believers of the world, we

4:19 Speaker 2: accept and understand that Jesus was virgin bonn But I

4:23 Speaker 2: wanted to understand that Mary had a huge cost to pray.

4:29 Speaker 2: You know what that was to the rest of her life.

4:33 Speaker 2: There would always been people spreading rumors, spreading conspiracies, spreading

4:38 Speaker 2: this element of controversy surrounding Mary, saying are you really

4:44 Speaker 2: believing in the fact that she was virgin when Jesus

4:47 Speaker 2: was conceived or born? Do you really believe that Jesus

4:52 Speaker 2: was virgin born? Maybe there's some cover up, maybe there

4:55 Speaker 2: is something that she's not telling, or maybe there's something

4:59 Speaker 2: the family is even Joseph is playing a role. You know,

5:02 Speaker 2: Mary had to live with that controversy the rest of

5:06 Speaker 2: her life. See as much as we say, oh, Mary

5:10 Speaker 2: was so bold when she said in Luke one was

5:13 Speaker 2: thirty eight. You know, I am the Lord's servant. May

5:16 Speaker 2: everything you have spoken, let it happened. When Mary said that,

5:20 Speaker 2: we say, wow, that is the way to go. You

5:22 Speaker 2: have to say yes to God's call, no matter the price.

5:25 Speaker 2: But sometimes we don't understand that the price includes controversy,

5:30 Speaker 2: because controversy is something that not many people like we

5:34 Speaker 2: are okay with saying, oh, I'm facing this problem because

5:36 Speaker 2: I'm saying yes to God's call. I'm facing this challenge

5:39 Speaker 2: because of saying yes to God's call. But sometimes controversy

5:43 Speaker 2: is something you can't even explain. Are you getting what

5:46 Speaker 2: I'm saying? Controversy is something where people misunderstand. They don't

5:49 Speaker 2: give you the time of day to accept, or to

5:52 Speaker 2: give your point of view, or to even give you

5:54 Speaker 2: the benefit of doubt. I hope you're getting what I'm saying.

5:57 Speaker 2: So Mary had to live with this contract see the

6:00 Speaker 2: rest of her life where some people would never accept

6:04 Speaker 2: that Jesus was virgin born, that some people would always

6:07 Speaker 2: be spreading rumors about her, or talking behind her backs,

6:11 Speaker 2: or maybe just whispering or gossiping and saying, you know what,

6:15 Speaker 2: there's something that's not adding up. My question to you

6:19 Speaker 2: is are you willing to say yes to controversies? Are

6:23 Speaker 2: you willing to go by the call of God upon

6:26 Speaker 2: your life, even if it includes some people who will

6:29 Speaker 2: never accept what the Lord is doing in your life?

6:32 Speaker 2: Are you willing to say yes to God's call and

6:35 Speaker 2: go by it even if you realize that some people

6:39 Speaker 2: will always look at you as someone who did something wrong.

6:42 Speaker 2: They will not accept what the Lord is doing in

6:44 Speaker 2: your life. They will not be able to believe you,

6:47 Speaker 2: or they will not be in a position to support

6:49 Speaker 2: you for what the Lord is doing. They will always

6:54 Speaker 2: look at you as somebody who's doing some cow up,

6:57 Speaker 2: some manipulation or something wrong. But are you willing to

7:02 Speaker 2: live by that? Are you willing to say even if

7:05 Speaker 2: that's the cost I need to pay, it's okay because

7:09 Speaker 2: my vision is not to please people. It is to

7:12 Speaker 2: please the one who called me. You know, one of

7:15 Speaker 2: the areas that's very controversial about my life. There are

7:19 Speaker 2: so many areas of course, people ask me like, you know,

7:22 Speaker 2: why is it if you're saying you have the call

7:24 Speaker 2: of God, why isn't this working out for you? Why

7:26 Speaker 2: are you doing these things in a weird way. I'm

7:29 Speaker 2: known as the Scooby Doo pastor. I use Scooby Doo

7:31 Speaker 2: in one of my tools in my ministry. That's very controversial.

7:34 Speaker 2: People have heard of sports ministry, music ministry, but nobody

7:38 Speaker 2: has heard of Scooby Doo ministry. Right. It's something very controversial,

7:42 Speaker 2: and many times over the years people have put me down,

7:45 Speaker 2: people have not taken me seriously. But the Lord was

7:48 Speaker 2: always bringing me back to it, bringing me back to it, saying,

7:52 Speaker 2: you know what, I didn't put that desire in you

7:55 Speaker 2: for nothing. I didn't let you get the world records

7:57 Speaker 2: in the area of Scooby Doo for nothing. If you

8:00 Speaker 2: can use it to breach new grounds, go for it.

8:06 Speaker 2: It has always been an element of controversy. There were

8:09 Speaker 2: people who said who would never took me seriously because

8:12 Speaker 2: of that or my comedy or the Scooby Doo aspect

8:16 Speaker 2: of doing things in a funny way or unique way.

8:19 Speaker 2: People never accept it. But I always stood my ground

8:22 Speaker 2: because I knew if God has called me, I got

8:25 Speaker 2: to go in the route that he's calling. Whatever be it,

8:29 Speaker 2: Lord should let it be done. Just like maybe that's

8:32 Speaker 2: has been my prayer, and my challenge is let that

8:35 Speaker 2: be your prayer as well, even if it means controversial,

8:39 Speaker 2: even if it means like because I'm not taking the

8:41 Speaker 2: traditional route in ministry, things have been more difficult for

8:45 Speaker 2: me because I don't get the traditional support. Many times,

8:48 Speaker 2: many people don't accept because I'm not following the traditional

8:53 Speaker 2: pattern or convention in the ministry. But it's okay. If

8:59 Speaker 2: some people are always never going to accept me or

9:03 Speaker 2: like my approach, it's fine. I'm not here to please people.

9:08 Speaker 2: I'm here to please the one who called me. Can

9:11 Speaker 2: that be your prayer today. And then this comes down

9:14 Speaker 2: to another point I want to share and close Today.

9:18 Speaker 2: December the third happens to be the seventy third birthday

9:21 Speaker 2: of Pastor Beni Hin. Now, I want you to understand

9:24 Speaker 2: that I've shared this many times on my videos, my podcast,

9:27 Speaker 2: how the Lord used Pastor Beni Hin to open my

9:30 Speaker 2: spiritual eyes at a time when I was least interested

9:33 Speaker 2: in the things of the Lord. You know, I encountered

9:37 Speaker 2: the Lord for the very first time, experienced a part

9:39 Speaker 2: of the Holy Spirit in Pasta Beani Hin's crusade as

9:42 Speaker 2: a eleven year old kid in Bangalore, India. And I

9:46 Speaker 2: want you to understand that I remember seeing the miracles,

9:50 Speaker 2: seeing all of this and the impact and the touch

9:52 Speaker 2: from the Lord, and I said, Lord, now, did I

9:54 Speaker 2: know that You're so real? I want you to use

9:56 Speaker 2: me like this and translating that into my life Right now,

10:00 Speaker 2: I'm so grateful the Lord used Pastor Benny him to

10:03 Speaker 2: open my spiritual eyes. And here I am ministering to multitudes,

10:08 Speaker 2: touching millions of lives through television, YouTube, podcasts, social media,

10:13 Speaker 2: traveling and preaching. I'm grateful to God. Like it's been

10:16 Speaker 2: thirteen years of ministry. But here's the thing I want

10:20 Speaker 2: you to understand. Pastor beany hin, let's be honest, is

10:23 Speaker 2: a controversial figure, right, there are things many of us

10:27 Speaker 2: don't agree with. I honor him as a man of God.

10:30 Speaker 2: I honor him, and I'm grateful for his life, and

10:33 Speaker 2: I'm glad God used him to open my spiritual Liyes, grateful.

10:36 Speaker 2: But the truth is there are elements of controversy. But

10:41 Speaker 2: here's the thing I want you to understand. Right, just

10:44 Speaker 2: because you don't agree with someone, you don't have to

10:49 Speaker 2: hate on them. You don't have to argue with them.

10:52 Speaker 2: What you can do is pray for them. If you

10:56 Speaker 2: feel there's somebody like, for example, we can't understand what

11:00 Speaker 2: he's going through or what their family is going through,

11:03 Speaker 2: you know, through divorce or all of the different challenges

11:06 Speaker 2: that they're going through. Because I can tell you one thing, right,

11:09 Speaker 2: being in ministry, I know that a lot of people

11:11 Speaker 2: who attack ministers don't really understand the pain or the

11:14 Speaker 2: attacks the ministers are going through the kind of attacks

11:17 Speaker 2: I've been through or I'm going through in my life.

11:20 Speaker 2: I can't even explain to people, you know, the kind

11:23 Speaker 2: of persecution, the kind of attacks, the kind of trauma,

11:26 Speaker 2: the kind of ways the enemy attacks is tremendous. I

11:30 Speaker 2: really urge you guys to pray for me as well.

11:32 Speaker 2: I think I've shared that I've had a very rough

11:34 Speaker 2: year this year, and I'm telling you it's not easy.

11:39 Speaker 2: But that's what makes me be in a place where

11:41 Speaker 2: I'm like, you know, instead of hating on someone, let's

11:44 Speaker 2: pray for them. If like Mary. You know, somebody on

11:48 Speaker 2: the outside might look at Mary's controversial, but she was

11:53 Speaker 2: still as a human walking in a God given calling

11:56 Speaker 2: and she was on the right thing. Now, I'm not

12:00 Speaker 2: supportive of everything that's happening in Benyhein's ministry or any

12:03 Speaker 2: other ministry that's controversial for that matter, but I can

12:07 Speaker 2: tell you this that you know, if you don't agree

12:10 Speaker 2: with the minister, if you don't agree with what's happening

12:12 Speaker 2: with someone, if you feel somebody's life seems controversial, instead

12:16 Speaker 2: of attacking them or exposing them, why don't we just

12:20 Speaker 2: pray for them? Because you really don't know what is

12:23 Speaker 2: happening behind the scenes. You don't know the pain, you

12:26 Speaker 2: don't know the trauma, you don't know the kind of attacks,

12:29 Speaker 2: the enemies holding out against them. So that's the challenge

12:33 Speaker 2: I want to leave with all of us today, even

12:35 Speaker 2: as we step into the season. Let's have a heart

12:39 Speaker 2: that's christ Like. Let's have a heart that wants to

12:42 Speaker 2: build the Kingdom of God, bring in unity, not division.

12:45 Speaker 2: So understand walking in God's calling involves controversies, and that

12:51 Speaker 2: includes some people misunderstanding us. And that includes us misunderstanding

12:56 Speaker 2: somebody else. That includes us attacking someone and without knowing

13:00 Speaker 2: the full story. And today my challenge is, let's pray.

13:05 Speaker 2: If you don't understand something, if you don't agree with something,

13:09 Speaker 2: let's pray. Let's just be people who will be united

13:14 Speaker 2: as one in Christ to build the Kingdom of God. Amen,

13:17 Speaker 2: God bless you.

13:19 Speaker 1: You've been listening to Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta.

13:23 Speaker 1: We hope you were blessed and inspired to live the

13:26 Speaker 1: life that God has for you. Make sure to subscribe

13:29 Speaker 1: to the John Gifta YouTube channel for regular uploads of sermons, skits, interviews,

13:34 Speaker 1: and more. Follow John Gifta on Instagram for regular inspirational posts,

13:39 Speaker 1: and don't forget to check out the best selling books

13:42 Speaker 1: written by John Gifta Who Am I which will help

13:45 Speaker 1: you understand your Identity and the latest number one best

13:48 Speaker 1: seller Unveil Your Purpose, helping you discover your purpose and

13:52 Speaker 1: to start walking in it. Make sure to leave a

13:55 Speaker 1: rating and review, and be sure to share it with

13:57 Speaker 1: your friends and loved ones. If you'd like to donate,

14:00 Speaker 1: you can find the PayPal link in the description, and

14:02 Speaker 1: if you'd like to invite John Gifta to speak at

14:04 Speaker 1: your event or to get more details, go to the

14:07 Speaker 1: website at www dotjongifted dot com. See you on the

14:13 Speaker 1: next episode of The Fuel for the Soul with John Gifta.

14:17 Speaker 1: God bless you