Getting Honest With God

Transcript

Alright, thank you very much. And hello again radio friends. How in the world are you? Doin’ all right today? God bless you, I trust so. This is your friend, Bob Cook. I’ve just been praying that God might put His love, and His truth, and His power into my very voice and into the words that I say; so that you’ll be blessed, and helped, and encouraged, along the way. You get yelled at enough in life, don’t you? (Laughs) You need, need some encouragement once in a while, and that’s exactly what I’d like to do today, from the Word of God. And I want to remind you that there’s a very special relationship between you, and your Savior.

“Unto you therefore which believe, He is precious.” The Lord Jesus Christ is the one who wants to be the center of all of your heart, and all of your love. Let that be so today and every day. February 14, is also my mother’s birthday. She went to heaven before I could get to know her; I don’t remember her except from what people tell me and the picture of her that I have. But I’ll get to meet her some day. Don’t you wonder how much people know who, who… believers who have slipped on ahead of us? Don’t you wonder sometimes whether they’re able to look in on us and see what’s going on? Well, we’ll understand that when we get to the glory.

Lot’s of questions that we have now will be answered when we see our Savior face to face.But, be that as it may, you and I may very well thank God for the dear ones that He has given us who knew our Lord. In my case, I had a praying mother who prayed with two other ladies, they tell me; prayed at 10 o’clock every day for me when I was on the way. She carried me under her heart during those months. The ladies prayed every day for the life that was on the way. So if I’m blessed today, it’s an answer to prayer, isn’t it? (Laughs) I hope some day to be able to walk down the golden streets and thank that dear saint, my mother. It’ll be great, wouldn’t it?

Ah well, come with me to 1 Peter 5, and we’re going to finish up our discussion of the 7th verse hopefully, if the speaker isn’t too long-winded. “Casting all you care upon Him.” And I said this involves turning the management of the situation over to Him, turning the management of your feelings over to the Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t try to kid God about things. If you’re mad, tell Him so. If you’re discouraged, tell Him so. If you don’t really want to do the right thing, tell Him so.

There’s a tremendous relief in just being honest with God. Have you found that out? A tremendous release from the pressures of life in just being honest with God. And, and tell God what the score is. This goes for every part of all of life. Just be honest with Him. It’s one thing to pray, “Lord, bless me…” Now that’s a good prayer and I’m sure God answers it in His own wonderful way. But, some of, sometimes we need to say, “God, I’m angry about this, and I know I shouldn’t be. And I want to give my anger to You by faith, and let the Lord Jesus cleanse me.” See? That’s the sort of thing I’m talking about. Be honest with God.

Or when you’re so discouraged, you can’t really reach up to touch bottom; you feel like giving up on everything. Tell God about it. And, and, and be honest with Him and tell Him, “Lord, I’ve had it! I’m discouraged, and I’m down, and, and I feel like giving up the whole thing.” See? Tell God about it. And you’ll be surprised what will happen. You’re, you’re whole mood will, will change. We don’t sing this song any longer, it’s not in, in most of the song books; but it, they used to sing it when I was a boy. ‘I must tell Jesus all of my troubles, I cannot bear these trials alone; Jesus will help me, Jesus alone.’ Then the chorus went on to say, ‘I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus; I cannot bear these trials alone; I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus; Jesus will help me, Jesus alone.’ Remember that old song, any of you old timers?

Well, it’s true, isn’t it? Tell him, tell him, tell him. See, if you sit and incubate your troubles, you just rot. How much better to bring the whole mess to Jesus and say, “Lord, this is how it is. You take hold.” This is what’s involved in this verse, “Casting all your care upon Him.” Bring it to Him and let go of it. Let Him have it. He’ll handle it for you. Amen.

Now Peter says, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.” Another verse, it says, “You are His concern.” You’re His concern. He’s concerned about you. He is concerned especially for you. Now, you can know that this is so because Jesus said, “God has put a separate number on every hair follicle on your head.” Not just to count them — that would be very easy in my case — but a separate number. “The hairs of your head are all numbered,’ said He. God cares about you. “God knows when the smallest sparrow falls to Earth;” Jesus said, ‘how much more is He going to care for you?”

Some wag has paraphrased that statement by saying, “You birds are worth more than those birds.” (Laughs) Well, however you put it, God is concerned about you. And it’s a great enough God to be specifically concerned. He knows where you hurt. “He careth for you.” There is nothing impersonal about this God. There’s a very blessed, personal, precious relationship between you and your Savior; because the Lord Jesus died for you, and because He rose again to be your ‘High Priest’ and ‘Intercessor’, He is mentioning you before the Father. It says, “He ever liveth to make intercession for them that come unto God by Him.”

Hubert Mitchell asked me one time; he said, “Do you know what the work of the Lord Jesus is, now?” Well, I hesitated a moment and he told me; he said, “It’s to pray for you, Bob.” “He ever liveth to make intercession for them that come unto God, by Him.” — Hebrews 7:25. Oh, thank God for the open door into the very throne room of heaven. Thank God that He cares about me. He knows about me.

A man we used to call Kelly Beal, I don’t really know what his first name is, to tell you the truth — Kelly was all we ever called him. He became president of ‘Youth for Christ’ in the old days; and served for a year or two in that capacity. And then, went out West and has been broadcasting the Gospel for many years. I think he’s retired now. But he was with me in a crusade in Sioux City, Iowa. Sioux City, Iowa crusade in the early 50’s — 1951, I suppose it would’ve been, or ‘52.

Now, that crusade was never written up as the greatest since Billy Sunday, I’ll tell you that. Everything seemed to go wrong. It wasn’t properly prepared. The chairman was surprised when I arrived a day before the thing was supposed to start. He said, “Are you here already?” I found that a lot of the advertising material was still on a table and in his back kitchen. And the choir hadn’t been rehearsed, and the ushers didn’t ush, and the trustees, I don’t know if they could be trusted or not. But there was a lot of stuff that was undone. And as a result, we didn’t have much of a crowd to begin with.

Well when I’m up against a situation like that, my first thought is to pray and then do what you can; which is precisely what I did. I called for an all-night prayer meeting. And we had several of them during those two weeks; and God brought us through. And I also did some advertising and promoting, and brought in some special people. And the Lord gave us a pretty decent crowd. We had a lot of people saved, and paid the bills, and went home with some money for ‘Youth for Christ’. So, it was a success after all. But oh, there were some of those nights when we really had to pray our way through!

One such evening, (Laughs) along about one in the morning we were praying in this all-night prayer meeting. And I remember Kelly was there, and Evon Hedley was there, and oh, I don’t know who else. And we were praying. Well, our brother Beal started to pray, and he didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. You know there are times like that when you’re, when you’re trying hard to pray and pray through, and get through to God and, and, and get some assurance that your prayer is being answered; and he just didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. And suddenly he broke off and said, in a note of desperation, “Hey Lord, it’s me Kelly Beal, here in Sioux City. Remember me?” (Laughs) Well we all broke up for a moment, and then went back to praying.

But you know, he wasn’t so far wrong. Yes, God knows your name, and He remembers you, and He knows where you are. He said, “I will guide thee with mine eye.” God has His eye on you. “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole Earth to show Himself strong on those whose heart is perfect toward Him,’ said the Bible. God has His eye on you. He knows you, beloved. He hasn’t forgotten you. He knows your situation. He knows what you’re going through. Jesus is mentioning your name, beloved, this very instant in the presence of the thrice Holy God, there yonder in the throne room of heaven. Hallelujah for that! “He careth for you.”

Now He cared enough to save you and forgive you. He cares enough to keep you and guide you. “The Lord shall guide thee continually, and make fat thy bones. Thou shall be like a watered garden whose waters fail not,” the Bible says. Cares enough to guide you and keep you. He also cares about what’s going to happen in your life. He cares about the future. It says concerning our Lord Jesus, “He Himself knew what He would do,” — He’s got plans already laid.

The prophet quotes God as saying, “I know the thoughts that I think towards you; thoughts of good and not of evil, to give you a desired end. Delight thyself in the Lord, He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. The steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord. Though ye fall ye shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand,’ said the psalmist.

Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; that where I am, there ye may be also.” He cares about the future. God has plans for your future. Do you believe that? God has plans for your future.

Yes, He can take care of the past. ‘Calvary covers it all, my past with its sin and shame; My sin and despair Jesus took on Him there; And Calvary covers it all’, the songwriter said. Yes, He takes care of the past. Yes, He’s guiding you in the present. “I am what I am by the grace of God,” Paul said. Yes, He has plans for you in the future. And He’s in the process of working them out. We know that, “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” said Paul in Romans 8:28. He’s working out His, His plans in your life, this minute. Keep on, giving control to Him by faith.

Dear Father today, Oh may we have the good sense of turning things over to Thee, so that You can work out Your perfect plans in us. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Till I meet you once again by way of radio, walk with the King today and be a blessing!