Some people avoid raising any questions about their faith, not wanting to argue with God. Pastor Ray Bentley says, Don't worry about that. Have you read the Bible and seen how many people argue with God, and we go, oh, he's gonna kill. He doesn't kill people who argue with him or ask him questions. He wants to get into a little discussion and into a bit of an argument. Why? Because in the answering and asking of questions,

Pastor Ray Bentley says we can learn a lot about how God uses people by looking at the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Every single one of us plays a significant role in God's purpose and plan. God, in his grace, chose a girl from the city that had the worst reputation to be the mother of the Messiah, the promised one.

Today, pastor Ray Bentley says when sinners come to Jesus for forgiveness, a transformation takes place. Their sin is no longer a factor. He says, I will remember your sins no more forever. It's not just that he will erase our sins, like with an eraser. He says I will blot them out as if they had never been committed. And if he doesn't want to remember, I'm not going to remind him.

Lazarus worshiped Jesus through fellowship. You can worship him with fellowship as well. In the last week of Jesus' earthly life, Lazarus enjoyed fellowship with the Lord. Pastor Ray Bethany says, We need to follow that example and worship Christ through fellowship. No matter what's going on in life, we can fellowship with him every day, through every circumstance, every trial of our lives. He wants to be involved in every intimate detail of our lives.

od doesn't relish the idea of judging the rebellious. Pastor Ray Bentley says his compassion is seen in his dealings with a certain king. God loves the world. His heart is longsuffering, merciful, gracious. He is looking for the smallest little reason to show forgiveness, to show mercy, to show love, even with someone whose heart is so full of pride as Nebuchadnezzar spread.

Sometimes the events of our lives may be God's efforts to get our attention. Pastor Ray Bentley wonders, are we listening? How many of you live with anxiety? How many of you live with uncertainty and you're wrestling with all of our fears and anxieties? We are wrestling not with my circumstances, not with my spouse or my children. Even. Those are just the outward circumstances. The one I'm really wrestling with is God.

People were skeptical about Jesus in biblical times, just as they are now. Pastor Ray Bentley has a case in point from the Gospel of John. It says, Nathaniel said unto him, can there come anything good out of Nazareth? Can anything good come from Nazareth? And Philip saith unto him, come and see. You meet Jesus, and you won't be talking about Nazareth. You'll be talking about Jesus spreading.

It's easy to get discouraged when we see our own sinful shortcomings. But pastor Ray Bentley has good news. He says the Lord has a better vantage point. Would you like to know what Jesus sees when he looks at you? I think you would be amazed because he not only sees what a man is, he sees what a man will become in many ways, until you come to Jesus, you have not even begun to be your true self spreading.

We each must take responsibility for our actions, the things we do, the decisions we make. Pastor Ray Bentley puts it in perspective. We always want somebody to blame. But guess what? We are the sum total of the choices that we have made in life, and therefore all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And there's nobody to blame but me. Do you know what Jesus is saying? But be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.

How do we find our calling in God's kingdom? Today, pastor Ray Bentley says, start by following the humility and focus of John the Baptist. Jesus was there in the crowd, and they don't know who he is, and he's standing right there among them. See, they were all, wow, this John guy is awesome. He's a great prophet of God. And he says, I'm nothing. And John says, behold. And now he points him out. Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.