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		<title>God Is For You &#124; Marvin Mitchell</title>
		<link>https://www.northcities.org/god-is-for-you-marvin-mitchell/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Vince Stegall]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 20:50:36 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>The post <a href="https://www.northcities.org/god-is-for-you-marvin-mitchell/">God Is For You | Marvin Mitchell</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.northcities.org">North Cities</a>.</p>
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<h3>When the whole world seems to be against you, remember — God is not.  every miracle God has stored up for us isn&#8217;t just for our benefit, it&#8217;s for His great name. Marvin Mitchell exhorts us to put the past behind and turn our faces toward the God who goes before us.</h3>
<p>There are moments when life makes it difficult to believe that God is working in your favor. The circumstances have not changed. The pressure has not lifted. The enemy still seems close, and yesterday&#8217;s mistakes can feel closer than tomorrow&#8217;s promises.</p>
<p>But Scripture gives us something stronger than what we feel.</p>
<p>Psalm 56 declares, <strong>“When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.”</strong></p>
<p>In his message <strong>“God Is For You,” Marvin Mitchell</strong> brought a simple but powerful reminder to North Cities: God is with you, God is for you, and your past does not have the authority to determine the future God has prepared for you. Through Psalm 23, Psalm 56 and other passages, he challenged us to stop allowing regret, fear and the enemy&#8217;s accusations to keep our attention fixed backward when God is calling us forward.</p>
<h2>God Is With You in the Valley</h2>
<p>Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. We hear it at funerals, quote it during difficult seasons and find comfort in its description of the Lord as our Shepherd. But the beauty of the psalm becomes even greater when we recognize the hardship surrounding David&#8217;s declaration.</p>
<p>David knew fear. He knew uncertainty. He knew what it was like to run, to experience betrayal and to wonder what tomorrow would bring. Yet his confidence in God was not determined by the circumstances around him.</p>
<p>“The Lord is my shepherd.”</p>
<p>That was more than beautiful poetry. It was a declaration of trust.</p>
<p>David could walk through the valley of the shadow of death without surrendering to fear because he knew he wasn&#8217;t walking through it alone. His Shepherd was with him.</p>
<p>That same truth matters when your own valley becomes personal. When difficulty reaches your family, your finances, your health, your relationships or your peace of mind, God does not watch from a distance. He walks with you.</p>
<p>You may not always feel His presence, but His faithfulness is not dependent upon your feelings. <strong>You are not alone. God is with you.</strong></p>
<h2>Your Life Is Personal to God</h2>
<p>One of the most encouraging truths in Psalm 23 is how personally David speaks about God.</p>
<p><strong>He is my Shepherd. He leads me. He restores my soul. He is with me.</strong></p>
<p>Jesus carries that picture into the New Testament when He identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. God&#8217;s relationship with His church is corporate, but His saving work also reaches us individually.</p>
<p>Your well-being matters to God.</p>
<p>Your pain matters to Him. Your struggle with sin matters. Your family matters. Your fear matters. Your future matters.</p>
<p>You do not disappear into a crowd when you come into God&#8217;s presence.</p>
<p>And you don&#8217;t have to become perfect before you belong in church. North Cities isn&#8217;t a gathering of people who have everything figured out. We are people who need the grace of Jesus.</p>
<p>Every family has struggles. Every person has a story. Every believer still needs God&#8217;s mercy.</p>
<p>The good news of the gospel is that <strong>your sin is not greater than God&#8217;s grace.</strong></p>
<h3>Your Greatest Mistake Is No Match for God&#8217;s Grace</h3>
<p>Sometimes our greatest struggle isn&#8217;t believing God can forgive other people. It&#8217;s believing His grace still applies to us.</p>
<p>We remember the decision we wish we could change. We replay the conversation. We wonder what life might look like if we hadn&#8217;t made that mistake. Eventually, yesterday&#8217;s failure starts influencing today&#8217;s identity.</p>
<p>Regret asks questions that can never be answered: <em>What if? What might have been? What would my life look like if I had done something differently?</em></p>
<p>But the gospel does not call us to spend the rest of our lives living in the residue of forgiven sin.</p>
<p>Sin is destructive. It takes us farther than we intended to go and costs more than we expected to pay. Yet Marvin Mitchell reminded North Cities of a truth every believer needs to remember: <strong>your greatest mistake is no match for the God who is for you.</strong></p>
<p>God&#8217;s mercy is greater.</p>
<p>God&#8217;s grace is greater.</p>
<p>And Jesus gave everything so you could have life—and have it more abundantly.</p>
<h2>Stop Looking Back at What God Is Calling You Beyond</h2>
<p>There was a memorable physical illustration in this message: without moving your feet or changing direction, try looking directly behind you.</p>
<p>We simply weren&#8217;t designed to spend our lives looking backward.</p>
<p>The same is true spiritually.</p>
<p>God has called us forward, yet regret continually tries to turn our attention toward yesterday. We replay failures God has forgiven. We resurrect mistakes God has covered with grace. We allow an old version of ourselves to define the person Jesus is transforming us into today.</p>
<p>But your past belongs behind you.</p>
<p>That does not mean pretending it never happened. God&#8217;s grace doesn&#8217;t require denial. Instead, grace allows us to acknowledge where we&#8217;ve been without allowing it to control where we&#8217;re going.</p>
<p>If Jesus has forgiven you, you don&#8217;t have to keep punishing yourself for what He has already covered.</p>
<p>There is a future in front of you.</p>
<h2>Goodness and Mercy Are Following You</h2>
<p>David concludes Psalm 23 with an extraordinary promise:</p>
<p><strong>“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”</strong></p>
<p>Not only on the good days.</p>
<p>Not only when you get everything right.</p>
<p>All the days of your life.</p>
<p>Marvin Mitchell described goodness and mercy as two agents of God&#8217;s grace standing between the believer and yesterday—pushing us forward instead of allowing our past to pull us backward.</p>
<p>That changes how we see our story.</p>
<p>When you look backward, don&#8217;t only see the failure. See the mercy that met you there.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t only remember what you lost. Remember the God who sustained you.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t only remember who you were. Remember what Jesus has been doing in you.</p>
<p>God&#8217;s goodness and mercy have been present in places you may not have recognized at the time. And they&#8217;re still following you today.</p>
<h2>Don&#8217;t Let the Enemy Distract You From God&#8217;s Future</h2>
<p>The enemy would love to keep believers staring backward.</p>
<p>If he can keep your attention consumed by shame, fear, bitterness and regret, he can distract you from what God is calling you to do today.</p>
<p>In Luke 4, when Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus told him, “Get thee behind me.”</p>
<p>That provides a powerful picture for our own spiritual lives.</p>
<p>The enemy doesn&#8217;t belong in front of you, determining where you&#8217;re going. Put the accusation behind you. Put the distraction behind you. Put the condemnation behind you.</p>
<p>You have somewhere else to look.</p>
<p><strong>Look to Jesus.</strong></p>
<p>He is the author and finisher of your faith.</p>
<p>The enemy may remind you of your past, but God is calling you toward His promises.</p>
<h2>God Has Prepared a Table for You</h2>
<p>Psalm 23 does not say God removes every enemy before He blesses His people. David says God prepares a table <strong>in the presence of his enemies.</strong></p>
<p>The opposition may still be present, but God is present too.</p>
<p>The valley may still exist, but the Shepherd is there.</p>
<p>The enemy may still accuse, but goodness and mercy are behind you.</p>
<p>And there is a table in front of you.</p>
<p>Throughout the closing moments of the message, that table became a picture of everything God has prepared for His people: healing, wholeness, sanctification, salvation, renewed mercy and restored hope.</p>
<p>The challenge is to stop staring backward long enough to receive what God has placed before us.</p>
<h2>God Is For Your Family and Your Future</h2>
<p>For people searching for a church in <strong>Garland, Texas</strong>, or throughout <strong>Murphy, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett and Wylie</strong>, this message speaks to something every family experiences: seasons when we need to know that God has not forgotten us.</p>
<p>Whether you&#8217;re in <strong>Dallas County, Collin County or Rockwall County</strong>, you may be walking through circumstances that make God&#8217;s promises difficult to see. Your family may need restoration. You may need freedom from your past. You may be praying for healing, wrestling with regret or simply trying to find hope again.</p>
<p>Psalm 56 gives us a declaration for those moments:</p>
<p><strong>“This I know; for God is for me.”</strong></p>
<p>Your circumstances do not have the final word.</p>
<p>Your past does not have the final word.</p>
<p>Your mistakes do not have the final word.</p>
<p>The enemy does not have the final word.</p>
<p>Jesus does.</p>
<h2>Turn Your Eyes Toward Jesus</h2>
<p>There comes a moment when we have to stop looking backward.</p>
<p>Leave yesterday where it belongs.</p>
<p>Receive the mercy that is new today.</p>
<p>Trust the Shepherd who is walking with you through the valley, and turn your attention toward the future He has prepared.</p>
<p>Maybe you don&#8217;t know exactly how God will work everything together. Maybe you cannot yet see the restoration, healing or answer you&#8217;ve been praying for.</p>
<p>You can still know this:</p>
<p><strong>God is with you.</strong></p>
<p><strong>God has not abandoned you.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Goodness and mercy are following you.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Jesus is leading you forward.</strong></p>
<p>And <strong>God is for you.</strong></p>
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<p>The post <a href="https://www.northcities.org/god-is-for-you-marvin-mitchell/">God Is For You | Marvin Mitchell</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.northcities.org">North Cities</a>.</p>
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		<title>God Will See To It &#124; Derrick Weeks</title>
		<link>https://www.northcities.org/god-will-see-to-it-derrick-weeks/</link>
					<comments>https://www.northcities.org/god-will-see-to-it-derrick-weeks/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Vince Stegall]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:08:02 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>The post <a href="https://www.northcities.org/god-will-see-to-it-derrick-weeks/">God Will See To It | Derrick Weeks</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.northcities.org">North Cities</a>.</p>
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<p>There are seasons when trusting God feels natural. The provision is visible, the prayer has been answered, and the future seems to make sense. Then there are seasons when faith is tested—when what God is doing feels unclear, what we love feels uncertain, and the provision we need cannot yet be seen.</p>
<p>In his message <strong>“God Will See To It,” Pastor Derrick Weeks</strong> teaches from Genesis 22 and Abraham’s testing on Mount Moriah. It is one of Scripture’s most challenging stories, but it reveals a powerful truth for every believer: <strong>before Abraham ever saw God’s provision, God had already seen it.</strong></p>
<p>Testing does not necessarily mean God has abandoned you. Sometimes the test is one of the ways God forms a faith strong enough to carry the weight of what He has called you to do. The question becomes whether we can trust God when we cannot understand Him—and whether we love the Promise Maker more than the promises He has placed in our hands.</p>
<h2>God Uses Testing to Build an Enduring Faith</h2>
<p>Throughout Scripture, God&#8217;s people encountered tests. Israel was tested in the wilderness. Job&#8217;s faith endured tremendous suffering. David learned to trust God while hiding in caves. Daniel and the Hebrew young men faced Babylon, and Jesus Himself was tested in the wilderness.</p>
<p>Tests can feel like interruptions, delays or even losses. Yet Pastor Weeks reminded North Cities that God can use testing to develop an <strong>enduring, load-bearing faith</strong>—the kind of faith that can stand beneath whatever life places upon it.</p>
<p>Testing reveals things ordinary circumstances can hide. It exposes what we fear losing, what we instinctively reach for when life becomes uncertain and what we may be holding more tightly than we realize. God does not expose those things simply to shame us. He wants to form us.</p>
<p>He is teaching us how to worship through tears, obey before we understand every detail and trust Him before we can see His provision.</p>
<p>And that brings us to Abraham.</p>
<h2>Can You Trust the Promise Maker With the Promise?</h2>
<p>By Genesis 22, Abraham was no stranger to uncertainty. God had called him away from everything familiar and sent him toward a land he had never seen. Abraham experienced famine, family difficulties and years of waiting for the son God had promised him.</p>
<p>Then Isaac finally came.</p>
<p>Isaac was more than something Abraham wanted. He represented God&#8217;s promise for Abraham&#8217;s future. Through this son, God had promised to build a great family and ultimately bless the nations.</p>
<p>Then came an unimaginable test.</p>
<p>God told Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest,” and go to Moriah.</p>
<p>The language presses progressively deeper: <strong>your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love.</strong></p>
<p>God was touching one of the most tender places in Abraham&#8217;s heart. The test was not merely whether Abraham loved Isaac. Of course he did. The deeper question was whether Abraham could trust the One who gave him Isaac.</p>
<p>Could Abraham trust the Promise Maker when obedience appeared to threaten the promise itself?</p>
<h3>When God&#8217;s Gifts Become the Foundation of Our Faith</h3>
<p>That question reaches beyond Abraham&#8217;s story and into ours.</p>
<p>Sometimes without realizing it, we can begin using God&#8217;s gifts as the evidence upon which our confidence in God rests.</p>
<p>As long as the marriage is strong, God is faithful. As long as the body is healthy, God is faithful. As long as the career continues progressing, God is faithful. As long as the ministry remains fruitful, God is faithful. As long as our children are doing well, God is faithful. As long as the future unfolds according to our expectations, God is faithful.</p>
<p>But what happens when one of those things begins to shake?</p>
<p>That is often when we discover how tightly our confidence in God has become connected to what He has given us.</p>
<p>Pastor Weeks posed a challenging question: <strong>Can you still trust the Promise Maker when you can no longer hold the promise?</strong></p>
<p>Biblical faith says yes.</p>
<p>God&#8217;s goodness does not depend upon our ability to understand our circumstances. His faithfulness does not disappear because our plans change. He remains God when the future feels secure, and He remains God when everything we expected suddenly becomes uncertain.</p>
<h2>What Is Your Isaac?</h2>
<p>Most of us will never experience a test resembling Abraham&#8217;s, but every believer eventually faces the question behind Genesis 22.</p>
<p>What are you holding tightly?</p>
<p>It may be your career or business—the thing that provides financial security and gives you confidence about tomorrow. It may be a relationship you have prayed for and deeply treasure. It may be your children, your health, your ministry, your reputation or a dream for the future.</p>
<p>It may even be your timeline.</p>
<p>Perhaps you expected to be married by now. Maybe you thought the healing would have happened already. You expected to be further along financially, professionally or spiritually. You prayed, planned and believed, and now life looks different than you imagined.</p>
<p>Those are often the places where fear begins asking difficult questions.</p>
<p><em>God, if this changes, are You still faithful?</em></p>
<p><em>If I lose what I thought You promised, are You still good?</em></p>
<p>Genesis 22 invites us to answer those questions not by tightening our grip, but by opening our hands.</p>
<h2>Living With Open Hands Before God</h2>
<p>One of the central invitations of <strong>“God Will See To It”</strong> is to live before God with open hands.</p>
<p>An open-handed life does not mean we stop loving the people God has placed in our lives or appreciating the blessings He has given us. It means we refuse to make those gifts greater than the Giver.</p>
<p>We can thank God for the blessing without worshiping the blessing. We can love our family deeply while recognizing they ultimately belong to God. We can work diligently while refusing to make our careers the source of our identity. We can carry dreams for the future without demanding that God fulfill them according to our preferred script.</p>
<p>Open hands say, <strong>“God, I love You more than what You gave me.”</strong></p>
<p>That is surrender.</p>
<p>It is trusting God with your children. Trusting Him with your finances. Trusting Him with your health. Trusting Him with the unanswered prayer. Trusting Him with the future you cannot yet see.</p>
<p>Faith does not always know what God is doing.</p>
<p>Faith knows who God is.</p>
<h2>Is God Really Number One?</h2>
<p>At the heart of Abraham&#8217;s test was an issue of priority.</p>
<p>Was God first?</p>
<p>Not theoretically. Not simply because Abraham could say the right things about Him. Was God truly first when Abraham was asked to surrender what mattered most?</p>
<p>That same question deserves an honest answer in our lives.</p>
<p>It is relatively easy to say Jesus is first when following Him does not conflict with anything else we want. Priority becomes visible when obedience costs us something.</p>
<p>Can we surrender the relationship?</p>
<p>Can we surrender our preferred future?</p>
<p>Can we surrender our status, finances, plans and ambitions?</p>
<p>Can we place everything God has given us back at His feet and say, “You are still enough”?</p>
<p>Genesis 22 shows us that Abraham&#8217;s deepest confidence was ultimately not in Isaac. His confidence was in God.</p>
<p>That is the kind of faith God desires to form in us.</p>
<h2>God Already Sees What You Cannot See</h2>
<p>As Abraham and Isaac traveled toward Moriah, Isaac recognized something was missing.</p>
<p>There was fire. There was wood. But where was the lamb?</p>
<p>Abraham&#8217;s answer became one of the defining declarations of the story: <strong>God would provide.</strong></p>
<p>Abraham could not yet see the ram that would eventually become God&#8217;s provision. He did not have all the details. He could not explain how God&#8217;s command and God&#8217;s promise would fit together.</p>
<p>He simply knew God could be trusted.</p>
<p>That is the hope behind the title <strong>“God Will See To It.”</strong></p>
<p>Before Abraham saw the provision, God saw it.</p>
<p>Before Abraham understood the ending, God knew it.</p>
<p>Before Abraham knew how a way would be made, God had already prepared the way.</p>
<p>You may be standing in a similar place today—not because your circumstances are identical to Abraham&#8217;s, but because you are being asked to trust God without knowing how the story ends.</p>
<p>You cannot see what is on the other side of the diagnosis. You cannot see where the financial provision will come from. You cannot see what God is doing in your family. You cannot see how the unanswered prayer will resolve. You cannot see how the promise and your present circumstances could possibly fit together.</p>
<p>But your inability to see does not mean God cannot see.</p>
<p><strong>God sees, and God will see to it.</strong></p>
<h2>Trust God in the Fog</h2>
<p>Faith is especially important when life feels like walking through fog.</p>
<p>You can see enough for the next step, but not enough to understand the entire road. Our instinct is often to demand visibility before obedience. We want God to explain where we are going, why He is leading us there and what will happen when we arrive.</p>
<p>Abraham did not receive those answers.</p>
<p>He received a word from God and responded in faith.</p>
<p>For Christians throughout Garland, Murphy, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett, Wylie and communities across Dallas County, Collin County and Rockwall County, this message speaks directly to the uncertainty so many families face. Trusting God in difficult times does not require pretending the circumstances are easy. Biblical faith allows us to acknowledge the difficulty while remaining convinced that God is faithful.</p>
<p>You may not understand the test.</p>
<p>You may not see the provision.</p>
<p>But God sees what you cannot.</p>
<h2>Put It Back in His Hands</h2>
<p>The invitation of this message is simple, but it is not easy: <strong>open your hands.</strong></p>
<p>Whatever you have been gripping tightly, place it back into God&#8217;s care.</p>
<p>If it is your family, trust Him with your family. If it is your future, trust Him with your future. If it is your finances, trust Him with your finances. If it is your identity, your ministry, your plans, your health or your unanswered prayer, surrender it again.</p>
<p>Not because those things are unimportant.</p>
<p>But because Jesus must be greater.</p>
<p>The God who called Abraham was already present at the end of Abraham&#8217;s test. And the God who is leading you is already present in the tomorrow you cannot see.</p>
<p>You don&#8217;t have to know everything He knows.</p>
<p>You only have to trust the One who does.</p>
<p><strong>God sees. God knows. God provides. And God will see to it.</strong></p>
</div></section>

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<p>The post <a href="https://www.northcities.org/god-will-see-to-it-derrick-weeks/">God Will See To It | Derrick Weeks</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.northcities.org">North Cities</a>.</p>
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		<title>Cautions Ahead &#124; D. G. Hargrove</title>
		<link>https://www.northcities.org/cautions-ahead-d-g-hargrove/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Vince Stegall]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2026 02:00:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Messages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Connecting to God]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.northcities.org/?p=75642</guid>

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<h2 class="PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer" data-section-id="h2v5sm" data-start="0" data-end="55">Cautions Ahead: Guard Your Heart Before It Grows Hard</h2>
<h3>Sin is deceptive. It can harden the heart, weaken faith, and draw people away from the living God. Its bondage is real, and it can hold people captive. Hebrews calls believers to encourage one another daily and to hold firmly to their confidence in Jesus. Bishop D. G. Hargrove offers biblical guidance for resisting sin, standing firm in times of temptation, and persevering in faith.</h3>
<p data-start="57" data-end="151">Following Jesus is not only about how we begin our walk with God. It is about how we continue.</p>
<p data-start="153" data-end="477">In <strong data-start="156" data-end="199">“Cautions Ahead,” Bishop D. G. Hargrove</strong> continued his pastoral warning about the spiritual dangers that can slowly pull believers away from God. This time, his emphasis centered on one of the most serious cautions in Scripture: <strong data-start="388" data-end="439">the danger of allowing sin to harden the heart.</strong></p>
<p data-start="479" data-end="771">A hardened heart rarely happens in a moment. It develops through repeated resistance. Conviction comes, but we dismiss it. God speaks, but we explain it away. Something once bothered our conscience, but after enough exposure, justification and compromise, it no longer seems quite as serious.</p>
<p data-start="773" data-end="1143">That is why Scripture repeatedly calls us to watch, guard and examine our lives. For believers and families throughout Garland, Murphy, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett, Wylie, Dallas County, Collin County and Rockwall County, this message is a timely reminder: <strong data-start="1029" data-end="1143">spiritual health requires more than good intentions. We must intentionally guard what God has entrusted to us.</strong></p>
<h2 data-section-id="rzlkxg" data-start="1145" data-end="1183">A Hardened Heart Develops Gradually</h2>
<p data-start="1185" data-end="1251">One of the great dangers of sin is its ability to become familiar.</p>
<p data-start="1253" data-end="1549">The first compromise may trouble us deeply. The next one may still bother us, but perhaps not quite as much. Eventually, we can become skilled at explaining away what once brought conviction. Instead of allowing God&#8217;s Word to correct us, we begin finding reasons why the correction doesn&#8217;t apply.</p>
<p data-start="1551" data-end="1601">That is the danger Bishop Hargrove warned against.</p>
<p data-start="1603" data-end="1671"><strong data-start="1603" data-end="1671">Every time you silence conviction, the next time becomes easier.</strong></p>
<p data-start="1673" data-end="1881">The issue is not simply committing one wrong action. The greater danger is what repeated resistance can do inside us. A heart that continually says no to God can eventually become less sensitive to His voice.</p>
<p data-start="1883" data-end="2098">Hebrews warns believers about being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Sin deceives because it rarely announces where it intends to take us. It asks for one compromise, one excuse or one exception at a time.</p>
<p data-start="2100" data-end="2152">Before long, we can normalize what once troubled us.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="1w2h4ed" data-start="2154" data-end="2191">Conviction Is Something to Protect</h2>
<p data-start="2193" data-end="2315">In a culture that often treats discomfort as something to avoid, biblical conviction can actually be understood as a gift.</p>
<p data-start="2317" data-end="2515">When God&#8217;s Word confronts us, when the Holy Spirit deals with us, or when we recognize that an attitude or behavior needs to change, our response should not be defensiveness. It should be gratitude.</p>
<p data-start="2517" data-end="2558">A sensitive heart can still be corrected.</p>
<p data-start="2560" data-end="2595">A sensitive heart can still repent.</p>
<p data-start="2597" data-end="2675">A sensitive heart can still hear God say, &#8220;This needs to change,&#8221; and respond.</p>
<p data-start="2677" data-end="2828">The goal of the Christian life is not to become increasingly talented at defending ourselves. It is to become increasingly surrendered to Jesus Christ.</p>
<h3 data-section-id="1yca6hr" data-start="2830" data-end="2882">Don&#8217;t Explain Away What God Is Trying to Correct</h3>
<p data-start="2884" data-end="2997">There is a subtle difference between wrestling honestly with conviction and constantly rationalizing our choices.</p>
<p data-start="2999" data-end="3311">We can defend an attitude because of what someone did to us. We can excuse careless words because we were angry. We can justify what we consume because &#8220;everyone else does it.&#8221; We can slowly adjust our standards until our convictions conform to our environment rather than allowing God&#8217;s Word to shape our lives.</p>
<p data-start="3313" data-end="3363">That is where spiritual caution becomes necessary.</p>
<p data-start="3365" data-end="3418">The question is not simply, <strong data-start="3393" data-end="3418">&#8220;Can I justify this?&#8221;</strong></p>
<p data-start="3420" data-end="3507">A better question is, <strong data-start="3442" data-end="3507">&#8220;Is this helping me remain sensitive and surrendered to God?&#8221;</strong></p>
<h2 data-section-id="3xrtnb" data-start="3509" data-end="3560">The Spirit Helps Us, but We Must Guard Our Lives</h2>
<p data-start="3562" data-end="3643">One of the central truths Bishop Hargrove emphasized was personal responsibility:</p>
<p data-start="3645" data-end="3770"><strong data-start="3645" data-end="3732">“The Spirit helps us, but the responsibility to guard our lives is placed upon us.”</strong></p>
<p data-start="3772" data-end="3952">We desperately need the Holy Spirit. We cannot live victoriously through human strength alone. But dependence upon the Spirit does not eliminate discipline from the Christian life.</p>
<p data-start="3954" data-end="4036">Grace does not make guarding unnecessary. Grace empowers us to guard what matters.</p>
<p data-start="4038" data-end="4256">Scripture tells us in Proverbs 4:23 to keep our hearts with diligence because the issues of life flow from them. That means there are areas of our lives we should intentionally watch rather than casually leave exposed.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="hlxi2n" data-start="4258" data-end="4276">Guard Your Mind</h2>
<p data-start="4278" data-end="4347">What repeatedly enters your mind eventually influences how you think.</p>
<p data-start="4349" data-end="4565">We live in an age of nearly unlimited access to entertainment, opinions, images and information. Our phones can put the voices of thousands of people in front of us before we have spent five minutes listening to God.</p>
<p data-start="4567" data-end="4639">Not everything competing for our attention deserves access to our minds.</p>
<p data-start="4641" data-end="4854">Guarding your mind means paying attention to what you repeatedly watch, read, listen to and dwell upon. Philippians 4:8 calls believers toward things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely and worthy of praise.</p>
<p data-start="4856" data-end="4962">That doesn&#8217;t mean Christians hide from the world. It means we refuse to surrender our thought lives to it.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="msdpzs" data-start="4964" data-end="4996">Guard Your Heart and Attitude</h2>
<p data-start="4998" data-end="5070">We also have to pay attention to what is developing beneath the surface.</p>
<p data-start="5072" data-end="5286">Bitterness rarely begins as bitterness. It can begin as a legitimate hurt that we refuse to surrender. Pride can begin as insecurity we attempt to cover. Resentment can grow from an offense we continually rehearse.</p>
<p data-start="5288" data-end="5375">Given enough time, what we tolerate internally begins shaping who we become externally.</p>
<p data-start="5377" data-end="5547">This is why guarding your heart includes guarding your attitude. We should be willing to ask God to reveal what is growing inside us before it produces destructive fruit.</p>
<p data-start="5549" data-end="5681">A healthy relationship with God requires the humility to pray, &#8220;Lord, if there is something in me that doesn&#8217;t please You, show me.&#8221;</p>
<p data-start="5683" data-end="5709">And when He does, respond.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="1h67q2b" data-start="5711" data-end="5731">Guard Your Tongue</h2>
<p data-start="5733" data-end="5777">Words reveal more than we sometimes realize.</p>
<p data-start="5779" data-end="6028">Jesus taught that our words flow from what fills our hearts. That means our speech can serve as a spiritual diagnostic. Constant criticism, gossip, bitterness, dishonesty or destructive language may reveal something deeper that God wants to address.</p>
<p data-start="6030" data-end="6166">Guarding your tongue is not simply learning when to remain silent. It is allowing God to transform the source from which our words come.</p>
<p data-start="6168" data-end="6233">A surrendered heart should eventually produce surrendered speech.</p>
<p data-start="6235" data-end="6384">For followers of Jesus, the question becomes: <strong data-start="6281" data-end="6384">Do my words bring life? Do they reflect Christ? Do they build people or continually tear them down?</strong></p>
<h2 data-section-id="1yaz1xc" data-start="6386" data-end="6422">Guard Your Conduct and Appearance</h2>
<p data-start="6424" data-end="6491">Our faith is inward, but it was never intended to remain invisible.</p>
<p data-start="6493" data-end="6752">Bishop Hargrove also challenged believers to guard their outward conduct and appearance. That call is not about obsessing over appearances or creating a performance-based Christianity. It is about recognizing that surrender to Christ touches the whole person.</p>
<p data-start="6754" data-end="6875">What we do with our bodies matters. How we conduct ourselves matters. The choices we make when nobody is watching matter.</p>
<p data-start="6877" data-end="7046">Biblical holiness is not about earning God&#8217;s love. It is the response of people who have been transformed by His love and now desire every part of life to belong to Him.</p>
<p data-start="7048" data-end="7127">The Christian question should not always be, &#8220;How close can I get to the line?&#8221;</p>
<p data-start="7129" data-end="7242">Sometimes spiritual maturity says, <strong data-start="7164" data-end="7242">&#8220;If this continually pulls my heart away from Jesus, why would I want it?&#8221;</strong></p>
<h2 data-section-id="npl0ad" data-start="7244" data-end="7281">Discipline Protects What You Value</h2>
<p data-start="7283" data-end="7345">We naturally build boundaries around things that matter to us.</p>
<p data-start="7347" data-end="7459">We lock our homes. We protect our children. We secure important information. We maintain things we want to last.</p>
<p data-start="7461" data-end="7523">Why would our spiritual lives deserve any less intentionality?</p>
<p data-start="7525" data-end="7582">Spiritual discipline is not punishment. It is protection.</p>
<p data-start="7584" data-end="7838">Prayer helps guard the heart. Scripture renews the mind. Worship redirects our attention. Fasting teaches our appetites that they are not in control. Faithful church community places believers around people who can encourage, strengthen and correct them.</p>
<p data-start="7840" data-end="7982">These practices do not save us. <strong data-start="7872" data-end="7891">Jesus saves us.</strong> But disciplined Christian living helps us remain attentive to the Savior we are following.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="16fa2dp" data-start="7984" data-end="8021">Don&#8217;t Lose Your Sensitivity to God</h2>
<p data-start="8023" data-end="8175">Perhaps the most important question coming out of <strong data-start="8073" data-end="8093">“Cautions Ahead”</strong> is not whether you have ever failed. Every one of us needs God&#8217;s mercy and grace.</p>
<p data-start="8177" data-end="8224">The question is: <strong data-start="8194" data-end="8224">Can God still correct you?</strong></p>
<p data-start="8226" data-end="8270">When His Word challenges you, do you listen?</p>
<p data-start="8272" data-end="8327">When the Holy Spirit brings conviction, do you respond?</p>
<p data-start="8329" data-end="8441">When someone you trust speaks biblical truth into your life, do you consider it—or immediately become defensive?</p>
<p data-start="8443" data-end="8518">There is tremendous hope in having a heart that can still say, &#8220;Yes, Lord.&#8221;</p>
<p data-start="8520" data-end="8787">You don&#8217;t have to continue down a road simply because you have already taken several steps in that direction. Repentance allows us to turn. Grace allows us to begin again. The blood of Jesus still cleanses, and the Spirit of God still empowers us to live differently.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="ibjm6q" data-start="8789" data-end="8834">Cautions Ahead Are Evidence of God&#8217;s Grace</h2>
<p data-start="8836" data-end="8967">A warning sign on the road is not there because someone wants to ruin your trip. It is there because someone knows what lies ahead.</p>
<p data-start="8969" data-end="9029">In the same way, God&#8217;s cautions are expressions of His love.</p>
<p data-start="9031" data-end="9254">He warns us about sin because He knows what sin destroys. He calls us to holiness because He knows the freedom of a surrendered life. He convicts us because He loves us too much to silently watch our hearts become hardened.</p>
<p class="" data-start="9256" data-end="9445">So guard your mind. Guard your heart. Guard your attitude. Guard your tongue. Guard your conduct. Protect your life from the subtle compromises that can slowly weaken spiritual sensitivity.</p>
<p data-start="9447" data-end="9484">And above all, keep looking to Jesus.</p>
<p data-start="9486" data-end="9865">For our North Cities family and those searching for a <strong data-start="9540" data-end="9568">church in Garland, Texas</strong>, or a church near Murphy, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett or Wylie, this message is an invitation to more than religious activity. It is an invitation to a living relationship with Jesus—one in which our hearts remain tender, our lives remain surrendered and our response to His voice remains <strong data-start="9857" data-end="9864">yes</strong>.</p>
<p data-start="9867" data-end="9895">There may be cautions ahead.</p>
<p class="" data-start="9897" data-end="9988">But God has given us His Word, His Spirit and His grace to help us keep walking faithfully.</p>
</div></section>

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		<title>The God Who Speaks &#124; Paul Brochu</title>
		<link>https://www.northcities.org/the-god-who-speaks-paul-brochu/</link>
					<comments>https://www.northcities.org/the-god-who-speaks-paul-brochu/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Vince Stegall]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 19:49:16 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Messages]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Connecting to God]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.northcities.org/?p=75552</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The post <a href="https://www.northcities.org/the-god-who-speaks-paul-brochu/">The God Who Speaks | Paul Brochu</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.northcities.org">North Cities</a>.</p>
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<p data-start="22" data-end="309">There are moments in life when God feels silent. A prayer goes unanswered. A diagnosis changes everything. A relationship falls apart. A door closes that we desperately wanted to open. In those moments, it&#8217;s tempting to wonder whether God is listening—or worse, whether He speaks at all.</p>
<p data-start="311" data-end="809">Missionary Paul Brochu confronts that question with a resounding answer in <strong data-start="386" data-end="408">The God Who Speaks</strong>. Drawing from Job 11, Jeremiah 29, Matthew 7, and throughout Scripture, he reminds us that while God&#8217;s ways are higher than ours, He has never been a silent God. The God of the Bible is not distant, indifferent, or impossible to know. He reveals Himself through His Word, through His Spirit, and through a personal relationship with those who sincerely seek Him.</p>
<p data-start="811" data-end="1097">For individuals and families throughout Garland, Murphy, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett, Wylie, Dallas County, Collin County, and Rockwall County, this message offers hope for anyone searching for direction, purpose, or reassurance. The God who created the universe is still speaking today.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="1um2nqc" data-start="1099" data-end="1164">God Is Greater Than We Can Understand—But Not Beyond Our Reach</h2>
<p data-start="1166" data-end="1442">The message begins with Job&#8217;s suffering. As Job searched for answers, one of his friends concluded that the deep things of God simply could not be known. His implication was clear: God is too mysterious, too distant, and too silent for anyone to truly understand His purposes.</p>
<p data-start="1444" data-end="1493">Many people today quietly believe the same thing.</p>
<p data-start="1495" data-end="1677">Life&#8217;s disappointments often convince us that heaven has gone silent. We assume that unanswered questions mean God has withdrawn. Yet Scripture paints a completely different picture.</p>
<p data-start="1679" data-end="1903">God certainly reminds us that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways. His greatness will always exceed our understanding. But His greatness has never prevented Him from revealing Himself.</p>
<p data-start="1905" data-end="2197">Jeremiah records God&#8217;s invitation: <em data-start="1940" data-end="2016">&#8220;You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.&#8221;</em> Jesus echoes that promise when He says, <em data-start="2057" data-end="2084">&#8220;Ask&#8230; Seek&#8230; Knock&#8230;&#8221;</em> God is not hiding from sincere seekers. He delights in revealing Himself to those who pursue Him wholeheartedly.</p>
<p data-start="2199" data-end="2291">The problem is rarely God&#8217;s willingness to speak. More often, it is our willingness to seek.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="1fqj0sk" data-start="2293" data-end="2330">The Bible Reveals a God Who Speaks</h2>
<p data-start="2332" data-end="2492">One of the most repeated expressions throughout Scripture is, <strong data-start="2394" data-end="2419">&#8220;Thus says the Lord.&#8221;</strong> More than four hundred times, God communicates directly with His people.</p>
<p data-start="2494" data-end="2537">That simple observation changes everything.</p>
<p data-start="2539" data-end="2746">The God of Scripture is not like the lifeless idols worshiped throughout history. He is not distant like the false gods imagined by ancient mythology. He is not an impersonal force somewhere in the universe.</p>
<p data-start="2748" data-end="2769">He is the living God.</p>
<p data-start="2771" data-end="2801">And living people communicate.</p>
<p data-start="2803" data-end="3184">From Genesis through Revelation, God speaks through prophets, dreams, angels, His written Word, His Spirit, and ultimately through Jesus Christ Himself. His communication is not driven by a desire for recognition. It flows from His love for humanity. God speaks because He desires relationship. He speaks because He wants to guide, protect, correct, encourage, and ultimately save.</p>
<p data-start="3186" data-end="3332">Every time we open Scripture, we are not simply reading ancient history. We are hearing the voice of the God who still addresses His people today.</p>
<h3 data-section-id="1cudk0" data-start="3334" data-end="3386">God Still Speaks Through His Word and His Spirit</h3>
<p data-start="3388" data-end="3515">While many long for dramatic experiences, God most consistently speaks through the foundation He has already provided—His Word.</p>
<p data-start="3517" data-end="3695">Scripture is described as forever settled in heaven. It provides truth when culture changes, stability when emotions fluctuate, and direction when circumstances become confusing.</p>
<p data-start="3697" data-end="3844">Alongside His Word, God&#8217;s Spirit continues to impress convictions, provide peace, offer correction, and reassure believers that they belong to Him.</p>
<p data-start="3846" data-end="3956">The same God who spoke creation into existence continues speaking life into hearts that are willing to listen.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="os6jdo" data-start="3958" data-end="4008">The Search for Meaning Always Leads Back to God</h2>
<p data-start="4010" data-end="4150">Missionary Brochu shares the fascinating story of French philosopher Albert Camus, one of the twentieth century&#8217;s most influential atheists.</p>
<p data-start="4152" data-end="4356">Camus believed the universe was silent. To him, life itself was ultimately without lasting meaning. Human existence, he argued, was absurd because there was no divine voice providing purpose or direction.</p>
<p data-start="4358" data-end="4406">Yet late in life, something remarkable happened.</p>
<p data-start="4408" data-end="4634">Through an unexpected friendship with a Methodist pastor, Camus began exploring the Scriptures for himself. The man who had publicly denied God became increasingly open to the possibility that the Creator might actually speak.</p>
<p data-start="4636" data-end="4838">Although history records that Camus died before publicly responding in baptism, his story illustrates an important truth: even those who spend years resisting God often continue searching for His voice.</p>
<p data-start="4840" data-end="4932">Deep inside every human heart is a longing for meaning that no philosophy can fully satisfy.</p>
<p data-start="4934" data-end="4998">Only the Creator can answer the deepest &#8220;why&#8221; questions of life.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="1sqydrt" data-start="5000" data-end="5026">You Are Not an Accident</h2>
<p data-start="5028" data-end="5136">One of the most encouraging themes throughout this message is God&#8217;s intentional design for every individual.</p>
<p data-start="5138" data-end="5299">Our culture often teaches that life is random. Circumstances feel accidental. Success and failure seem arbitrary. But Scripture declares something far different.</p>
<p data-start="5301" data-end="5354">You were created on purpose by a God who has purpose.</p>
<p data-start="5356" data-end="5388">Your nationality was not random.</p>
<p data-start="5390" data-end="5417">Your family was not random.</p>
<p data-start="5419" data-end="5451">Your personality was not random.</p>
<p data-start="5453" data-end="5510">Even your current season has not escaped God&#8217;s attention.</p>
<p data-start="5512" data-end="5627">That does not mean God authored every painful event. It does mean He has the ability to redeem every painful event.</p>
<p data-start="5629" data-end="5924">Missionary Brochu uses the illustration of recycling to describe God&#8217;s redemptive nature. While people often discard broken things, God specializes in restoring them. He takes failures, disappointments, conversations, hardships, and seasons of suffering and weaves them into His greater purpose.</p>
<p data-start="5926" data-end="6062">Romans reminds believers that God works <strong data-start="5966" data-end="5998">all things together for good</strong> for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.</p>
<p data-start="6064" data-end="6097">Nothing is wasted in God&#8217;s hands.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="94ulip" data-start="6099" data-end="6140">Trust the One Who Never Stops Speaking</h2>
<p data-start="6142" data-end="6207">Many people struggle with trust because someone once betrayed it.</p>
<p data-start="6209" data-end="6228">Relationships fail.</p>
<p data-start="6230" data-end="6249">Leaders disappoint.</p>
<p data-start="6251" data-end="6271">Promises are broken.</p>
<p data-start="6273" data-end="6345">Eventually, we become hesitant to trust anyone completely—including God.</p>
<p data-start="6347" data-end="6449">Yet the Lord invites us to place our confidence in Someone infinitely more trustworthy than ourselves.</p>
<p data-start="6451" data-end="6556">Science can explain many things about creation, but it cannot answer life&#8217;s deepest questions of purpose.</p>
<p data-start="6558" data-end="6601">Human wisdom changes with every generation.</p>
<p data-start="6603" data-end="6628">Feelings fluctuate daily.</p>
<p data-start="6630" data-end="6669">But God&#8217;s Word remains settled forever.</p>
<p data-start="6671" data-end="6740">When everything around us feels unstable, His voice remains constant.</p>
<p data-start="6742" data-end="6885">Deep trust becomes possible again—not because circumstances suddenly improve, but because we discover that the One leading us has never failed.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="1uomh0o" data-start="6887" data-end="6922">Don&#8217;t Delay When God Is Speaking</h2>
<p data-start="6924" data-end="7011">One of the strongest appeals in this message comes through the account of Albert Camus.</p>
<p data-start="7013" data-end="7124">After years of searching, he began moving toward faith. He intended to continue seeking. He planned to respond.</p>
<p data-start="7126" data-end="7143">But time ran out.</p>
<p data-start="7145" data-end="7223">Missionary Brochu lovingly reminds us that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow.</p>
<p data-start="7225" data-end="7287">When God speaks, delayed obedience is never the safest option.</p>
<p data-start="7289" data-end="7478">Whether He is calling someone to repentance, baptism, forgiveness, reconciliation, ministry, or deeper commitment, today&#8217;s invitation should not be postponed until a more convenient season.</p>
<p data-start="7480" data-end="7511">God speaks because He loves us.</p>
<p data-start="7513" data-end="7563">The wisest response is always immediate obedience.</p>
<h2 data-section-id="wg15dk" data-start="7565" data-end="7588">Hear His Voice Today</h2>
<p data-start="7590" data-end="7632">Perhaps you have wrestled with loneliness.</p>
<p data-start="7634" data-end="7673">Perhaps you&#8217;ve questioned your purpose.</p>
<p data-start="7675" data-end="7732">Perhaps despair has whispered that God has forgotten you.</p>
<p data-start="7734" data-end="7770">This message offers a better answer.</p>
<p data-start="7772" data-end="7790">God is not silent.</p>
<p data-start="7792" data-end="7825">He still speaks through His Word.</p>
<p data-start="7827" data-end="7862">He still speaks through His Spirit.</p>
<p data-start="7864" data-end="7894">He still calls people by name.</p>
<p data-start="7896" data-end="7935">He still gives purpose to broken lives.</p>
<p data-start="7937" data-end="7983">He still redeems what others would throw away.</p>
<p data-start="7985" data-end="8043">And He still invites every person to trust Him completely.</p>
<p data-start="8045" data-end="8226">If you are searching for direction, hope, or purpose, begin where Scripture has always invited us to begin: open God&#8217;s Word, seek Him sincerely, pray honestly, and listen carefully.</p>
<p data-start="8228" data-end="8279">The God who created the universe is still speaking.</p>
<p data-start="8281" data-end="8324">The question is not whether He has a voice.</p>
<p data-start="8326" data-end="8367">The question is whether we are listening.</p>
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