Hello, I'm Shelley
Quinn and well come to another
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Issues and Answers.
What is your concept
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of God the Father,
that's what we gonna
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be talking about
today. And I have with us
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Pastor Jerry Connell
and Jerry is a pastoral
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psychotherapist and
a marriage and family
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therapist joining
us again from Lincoln,
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Nebraska. Good to
be here. Well I'm so
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glad you're back
because we really enjoyed
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your program. The
last program we did was
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on marital intimacy
and today we're gonna
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be talking about
intimacy with the Lord,
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aren't we. But
particularly we gonna
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be talking about our emotional
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response to God the Father.
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Now it's a very
interesting topic how
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did this, why did
you choose this topic.
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Well it kind of grew
over the years because
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when I do intakes,
when people come and
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to talk to me, they
want help with their
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marriage or just
if its an individual
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wanting some help
or wanting to kind of
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process with
some issues, I have a
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intake form that I
ask a lot of questions
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about. So I can
really get to know them
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but because I'm
both a pastor and a
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clinical pastoral
counselor, I've got some
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questions that
normally don't show up
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in a regular say non
Christian counselor's
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office and one of
those questions after
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I deal with some of
their issues and family
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issues, the background
is, tell me about your
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experience with God?
And you know it really
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does affect our
emotional response to
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God the Father
really affects us. I know
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I usually share a
scripture, and the
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scripture that I
would use for this program
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would be Hebrews
1:3 and let me tell
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you why I grew up
believing in Jesus
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Christ, I knew
about the Holy Spirit or
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I learned about the
Holy Spirit in my 20s
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but I had a
terrible picture of God the
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Father. I was very
fearful of the Father
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and Hebrews 1:3
helped me overcome that.
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Let me read that
to you, it says, He,
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Jesus is the sole
expression of the glory
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of God, He is the
perfect imprint and very image
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of God's nature. And
you know when I learned
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that Jesus and the
Father were one and the same,
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then I was able to
love the Father because
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I knew he was just
as loving and tender as
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Jesus Christ,
just as merciful and
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compassionate and
it did away with that
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picture that God
was just up there ready
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to zap me when I
made a mistake. But
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what are some of
the way that it affects
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us if we don't
have the right image of
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God the Father. Well
I think it affects us
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in our spiritual
life in many, many ways
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obviously wanting
to spend time with God,
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right, or wanting
to read the word.,
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or just the whole
idea of letting God
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get close to us.
That's huge and people get
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a very distorted
picture of God, yes,
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and its so distorted
that it well sometimes
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people frankly they
just walk away from God and
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you know the thing
is in scripture the term
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Father is used a
couple hundred times,
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very prominent, and
especially in the gospel
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of John its probably
the most prominent book,
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but I think Jesus you
know when the disciple
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said, well you
know show us the Father
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and that will be
good enough and Jesus said
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well if you've seen
me you have seen the
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Father. Jesus, I
believe knew that if we got
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that right, that would
solve an amazing amount
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of things in our
spiritual journey,
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if we can only get
right what the Father would
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really like, amen, if
you have seen Me you have
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seen the Father. One
of my favorite authors
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Dr. Michael Green
who for years pastored
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a church in Oxford, he
is now at Regent College
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of Vancouver, Canada
but he said Jesus sole
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passion was his
Father, and to show us,
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that was, yeah and
that was the passion because
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you know we're
spiritual by nature.
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We're created an
image of God but we have
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a distorted image of
God, yes, Jesus believed
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and tried to
communicate and tried to help us
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to understand if we
only get this right it
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would solve and
that's why he wanted to model
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what God the Father
was like. So, he could say
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well if you've seen
Me you've seen the Father
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because He knew
what we believed about
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God really does
effect our journey,
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especially our
spiritual journey.
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Well and I imagine it
affects more than just
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our spiritual
journey, it probably affects,
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very much affects
our family dynamics.
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Does it not, if you
don't trust God the Father
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you're not gonna
trust your own Father that
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much or if you got a
bad relationship with
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the Father you won't
trust God the Father,
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how does this show up
in a Christian counselor's
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office. Well it shows
up often if people are
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tying to, sometimes
work in their marriage and
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they get down to some
of the spiritual issues
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in their marriage
it'll show up there and so
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we'll need to deal
with those kinds of issues.
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And so let me go
directly Shelley into some
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of the stories to
illustrate, 'cause
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it's best we learn
by stories and it's best
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illustrated by
stories. Now I just want to say
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before I share
some of these stories,
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I have permission to
share this, go ahead.
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And when people just
open up their life to
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me I feel like Moses
at the burning bush when
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God said, Moses take
off your shoes because
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the ground you're
on is holy ground, this
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is people's journey,
this is people's life that
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they're opening up
to me and I don't take
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that lightly at all.
I mean this is like real
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communally serious
stuff that and they've invited
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me into their life
at this level, and so
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I hope there's some
scared trust but they
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have given me
permission so that other
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people can learn and
particularly so a parent
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can learn, amen. The
influence of their life
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has on their
children. There is no part of
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a child's life that
the parent's life does not
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affect. There is no
part at all, that's true,
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nothing. We're just
gonna isolate some spiritual
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dimensions
today, okay. Here's one
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of the stories. This
young adult was in her
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20s, grew up in a
home where dad was,
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he worked for the
denomination, he was
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a workaholic, he
was gone often all night
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at his job even
though it was a day job
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and if there was a
problem at home this
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daughter could
phone her dad at work,
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he would come home
solve the problem then
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he go back to
work. There is lesser
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experience with
her father, so I said
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well tell me about
your experience with God.
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Now listen to this,
this is a quote okay,
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"sometimes he's
distant, I run to him when I
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can't go anywhere
else. When I have a
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problem I pray," yes,
tell me your experience
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with God. Sometimes
when I have a problem I
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pray, or talk to him.
It feels good for a while
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but it doesn't last.
Notice the parallels,
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perfectly newed
her relationship with
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the father. Here's
another one, this young
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adult when this young
adult came in to see me
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in her 30s. Grew up
in a situation where dad
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was a rageaholic,
would just go ballistic,
00:08:02.59\00:08:06.33
literally would
hide behind mom when dad
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would just go
nuts. And they felt as a
00:08:09.38\00:08:15.59
young adult they
can never do anything
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enough. It didn't
matter how hard they tried
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to be good it was
only until time that dad
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would go ballistic,
amen. And then I asked the
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question eventually,
well how do you experience
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God. Tell me how
you experience God?
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This is what they
said, I try to be good
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so he'll like me.
I'm very consistent in my
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devotion, in family
worship. This is as a
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married young adult,
but regardless of how
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hard I try it feels
like its only a case of time
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till God will get
really angry at me. And
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you know I identify
with that. If I mess up
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he'll reject me, I
identify because that's
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what I grew up
with, sort of, yeah.
00:09:05.26\00:09:07.45
There's another one,
this person was in her early
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40s when she and
her husband came to talk
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to me and they drove
some distance to come.
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And this person grew up
with just lots of chaos,
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emotional abuse,
sexual abuse by her mother.
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And I asked the
question tell me how's your
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experience God?
What's your experience with
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God like? Well I've a
hard time trusting God
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where feeling
accepted by him much like
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I have a hard time
trusting my mom and
00:10:00.72\00:10:03.76
feeling accepted by
her. Now that's interesting
00:10:03.77\00:10:07.18
because you would
think that it was more of
00:10:07.19\00:10:10.99
how she related to her
father that would affect
00:10:11.00\00:10:14.03
God the Father
but even the mother's
00:10:14.04\00:10:16.13
relationship this was
her picture of parental
00:10:16.14\00:10:19.90
authority. Father
was out of the picture.
00:10:19.91\00:10:21.44
That's interesting. So
you see the parentified
00:10:24.20\00:10:28.24
image of God, right.
Let me give you another one.
00:10:28.25\00:10:31.88
Its amazing when
some, because I have people
00:10:34.73\00:10:37.78
come into me of a wide
spectrum of professions,
00:10:37.79\00:10:41.81
doctors to lawyers
to pastors, nurses to
00:10:43.45\00:10:47.42
people working in the
technological world to
00:10:47.43\00:10:53.07
construction, you
name it, okay. But this
00:10:53.08\00:10:56.94
person was a mid-level
management person, okay,
00:10:56.95\00:11:02.69
very professional.
But came into me because
00:11:02.70\00:11:07.41
he had a hard time,
was having a hard time
00:11:07.42\00:11:10.04
feeling he said. And
couldn't bond, feel like
00:11:10.05\00:11:14.46
couldn't bond with
his wife and his children
00:11:14.47\00:11:16.09
in his early 40s, how
painful. And so in the
00:11:16.10\00:11:21.44
process I began to
ask him, you know the
00:11:21.45\00:11:26.49
questions about his
growing up years and
00:11:26.50\00:11:30.45
this is among the
things he said, he grew up in
00:11:30.46\00:11:35.21
a home where dad
was very distant, harsh,
00:11:35.22\00:11:39.51
judgmental,
emotionally distant, very
00:11:39.52\00:11:46.02
unnurturing. And so I
said tell me about your
00:11:46.03\00:11:53.90
experience with God.
This is what he said,
00:11:53.91\00:11:57.70
he's far away,
judgmental, stern, not a
00:11:59.67\00:12:07.08
person I would go
running to pretty much
00:12:07.09\00:12:11.03
like my dad. Exactly
like my dad someone I would
00:12:11.04\00:12:15.59
run from. Oh mercy, how
sad, did you see Shelley
00:12:15.60\00:12:22.53
the influence we have
as parents on our children.
00:12:22.54\00:12:26.14
Did you see why Jesus
would say if we've seen
00:12:26.15\00:12:30.28
him we've seen the
Father because Jesus wanted
00:12:30.29\00:12:33.34
us to at least
understand this to get it right,
00:12:33.35\00:12:35.47
because of the
influence that I mean imagine
00:12:35.48\00:12:39.72
running from God
instead of running to him
00:12:39.73\00:12:42.00
because God to him was
so much like his father.
00:12:42.01\00:12:45.58
Well in, as I said
at the beginning of the
00:12:47.19\00:12:49.41
program I can
imagine because its hitting
00:12:49.42\00:12:52.76
a little close to
home and thank God that
00:12:52.77\00:12:54.52
he brought me out
of that and taught me
00:12:54.53\00:12:56.43
that Jerry don't you
have some positive stories
00:12:56.44\00:12:59.12
about how people's
relationships with their
00:12:59.13\00:13:03.43
parents have
influenced their image of God.
00:13:03.44\00:13:05.34
Yeah, yeah, I want to
get to those, I've one
00:13:05.35\00:13:08.55
more young adult 25
years old. The father
00:13:08.56\00:13:17.43
abandoned the family,
he moved some hours away.
00:13:17.44\00:13:21.92
Very occasionally the
father would visit, the
00:13:25.02\00:13:30.17
father was into drugs,
alcohol, mom worked long
00:13:30.18\00:13:34.57
hours wasn't around
much. So the kids were
00:13:34.58\00:13:40.57
on their own, lot
of growing up. You know
00:13:40.58\00:13:43.54
it's pretty
overwhelming for kids they have
00:13:43.55\00:13:46.16
to raise themselves,
even though their mom's
00:13:46.17\00:13:51.46
working hard to try
and provide for the family,
00:13:51.47\00:13:53.22
for the children. But
if they don't have someone
00:13:54.82\00:13:58.61
to turn to for
nurture, to care for them and so
00:13:58.62\00:14:04.78
I ask them eventually
in the journey together
00:14:04.79\00:14:07.55
with me the
question, how do you experience
00:14:07.56\00:14:12.05
God? What's God like?
How do you experience God?
00:14:12.06\00:14:15.09
"I feel like he's not
around a lot, sometimes
00:14:19.69\00:14:25.70
he's there. I wish I
felt like He was there
00:14:25.71\00:14:29.40
more, I wish I felt
like he cared about me
00:14:29.41\00:14:32.69
especially when
I'm overwhelmed, I
00:14:32.70\00:14:36.45
would love to feel
Him closer." Bless her
00:14:36.46\00:14:39.04
heart. The exact,
now here's the sad thing
00:14:39.05\00:14:45.78
Shelley, with most
of the examples these
00:14:45.79\00:14:52.10
are people who are
very active in church
00:14:52.11\00:14:53.76
teaching Sabbath
schools, some of them. Oh!
00:14:53.77\00:14:55.82
My goodness, oh,
that's tragic, yeah, that's
00:14:55.83\00:15:00.32
tragic, yeah. Imagine
teaching Sabbath school
00:15:00.33\00:15:06.98
but in your personal
life you don't even trust
00:15:06.99\00:15:09.51
God, won't let him
close to you. It all stays
00:15:09.52\00:15:11.74
up here its all
cognate, you keep all of your
00:15:11.75\00:15:13.73
information cognate.
But we as in the therapeutic
00:15:13.74\00:15:16.84
world we know long
ago that people often will
00:15:16.85\00:15:20.34
over development
the cognate domain even
00:15:20.35\00:15:22.10
in their religious
life so they won't have to
00:15:22.11\00:15:24.40
deal with the stuff
in him. And put it in
00:15:24.41\00:15:26.37
layman's terms it's
head knowledge instead
00:15:26.38\00:15:28.98
of heart's knowledge,
yeah, we don't have that
00:15:28.99\00:15:30.94
experience you may
know the scriptures
00:15:30.95\00:15:33.17
but you don't have
that personal experience
00:15:33.18\00:15:35.95
with God. Let me tell
you a story that happened
00:15:35.96\00:15:39.87
several years ago that
just as I was beginning
00:15:39.88\00:15:43.85
to see this picture
come together from the
00:15:43.86\00:15:45.65
clinical study, my
second daughter Cara who's now
00:15:45.66\00:15:52.40
26, she was 18 at
the time so 8 years ago
00:15:52.41\00:15:57.69
she was applying for
a job at Glacier View
00:15:57.70\00:16:01.33
Ranch in Colorado,
they worked their for the
00:16:01.34\00:16:03.77
summer and so she was
at home sitting at the
00:16:03.78\00:16:08.06
dinning table
filling out the application.
00:16:08.07\00:16:09.67
I said sweetie, after
you fill it, do you want
00:16:09.68\00:16:11.95
daddy to check it
over and make sure its also
00:16:11.96\00:16:13.68
done right and
then I can mail it from
00:16:13.69\00:16:15.90
the office for you
and she said sure dad.
00:16:15.91\00:16:17.31
So she filled it out,
left it on the counter
00:16:17.32\00:16:19.89
in the kitchen, I
stuck it in my briefcase it
00:16:19.90\00:16:22.55
stayed there for a
few days and finally
00:16:22.56\00:16:24.06
I thought oh man I
really need to mail
00:16:24.07\00:16:25.37
this thing and I
read it over to check it
00:16:25.38\00:16:27.43
and Shelley that
knocked me over. Now
00:16:27.44\00:16:32.16
she knew nothing
about this God image
00:16:32.17\00:16:34.12
theory stuff just a
teenager, enjoying being
00:16:34.13\00:16:37.06
a teenager. I xeroxed
it and I had it for a whole
00:16:37.07\00:16:43.19
year before even told
her I xeroxed it but I
00:16:43.20\00:16:45.51
was asked to go to a
seminar about helping
00:16:45.52\00:16:48.13
people understand God's
grace and I said to her,
00:16:48.14\00:16:52.05
Cara I didn't tell
you this but a year ago I
00:16:52.06\00:16:54.43
xeroxed your
application because of something
00:16:54.44\00:16:57.00
you put in there and
I used this, you suggest
00:16:57.01\00:17:01.65
that, that had to
please her. Here it is,
00:17:01.66\00:17:04.22
in so much as you're
applying for a summer
00:17:06.97\00:17:08.79
position at Glacier
View Ranch please share
00:17:08.80\00:17:10.59
your thoughts in
the following areas.
00:17:10.60\00:17:12.32
The first one, God,
He's so loving that He let
00:17:12.33\00:17:18.31
his Son die in the
cross. I picture God like my
00:17:18.32\00:17:22.49
dad, how precious,
he's loving, caring,
00:17:22.50\00:17:28.75
forgiving, merciful,
he's interested in me,
00:17:28.76\00:17:32.43
in my life and
what I do. Do you see
00:17:32.44\00:17:38.57
the incredible responsibility as
00:17:38.58\00:17:41.88
parents, amen, that
we have on our shoulders,
00:17:41.89\00:17:45.88
amen. It's just to me
it was an overwhelming
00:17:45.89\00:17:51.77
thought, that I can
color my children's picture
00:17:51.78\00:17:56.10
in relationship with
God by my relationship
00:17:56.11\00:17:58.73
with them, amen,
its beautiful. It's my
00:17:58.74\00:18:04.66
oldest daughter, she
was for, one year went
00:18:04.67\00:18:09.67
to public school
grew up in church school
00:18:09.68\00:18:10.89
but in grade 11, my
wife was working on her
00:18:10.90\00:18:13.46
graduate degree at
the local university
00:18:13.47\00:18:15.30
in Nebraska, in
Lincoln and I was working.
00:18:15.31\00:18:18.32
I'd started I bid
into my doctoral program,
00:18:18.33\00:18:20.49
she went to public
school for one year because
00:18:20.50\00:18:23.68
we couldn't keep all
the kids in church school
00:18:23.69\00:18:25.10
she said just for
that one year daddy and
00:18:25.11\00:18:27.04
so she joined a
group called Young Life
00:18:27.05\00:18:30.50
I think is, it's an
evangelic organization
00:18:30.51\00:18:33.55
that their sole
purpose is to teach the high
00:18:33.56\00:18:35.25
school students, the
Christian high school
00:18:35.26\00:18:37.18
students how to do
relationally evangelism
00:18:37.19\00:18:39.97
with the non-Christian
high school students
00:18:39.98\00:18:42.46
and bring them to
Christ and so she belonged
00:18:42.47\00:18:45.17
to that and in a
couple of weeks they brought
00:18:45.18\00:18:46.59
her, took her into
the leadership and had
00:18:46.60\00:18:48.47
meetings with
different peoples homes, we
00:18:48.48\00:18:50.04
hosted at our house
too and she came home one
00:18:50.05\00:18:52.68
of those one night
Shelley and she said,
00:18:52.69\00:18:54.07
I asked her how it
went, she said fine dad,
00:18:55.29\00:18:57.70
I said what you do?
She said well you know
00:18:57.71\00:18:59.40
we had our Bible
study tonight, and lets,
00:18:59.41\00:19:01.47
what was the topic
tonight? She said it was
00:19:01.48\00:19:03.86
on the judgment and
our concept of God to
00:19:03.87\00:19:06.79
be a God. And I
said so what happened,
00:19:06.80\00:19:09.87
she said well we went
around in a circle and
00:19:09.88\00:19:11.68
finally I was last
and they looked at me and
00:19:11.69\00:19:13.79
they said Andrea
what do you believe about
00:19:13.80\00:19:16.15
the judgment and
your concepts of God and
00:19:16.16\00:19:18.35
I said so what do
you say. She said well I
00:19:18.36\00:19:20.75
explained it dad the
best I could and then she
00:19:20.76\00:19:23.18
said this to me,
because most of the people in
00:19:23.19\00:19:26.25
this young life
they're evangelicals. She
00:19:26.26\00:19:30.89
said dad where do
these Christians of other
00:19:30.90\00:19:32.61
denominations get
their view of God from?
00:19:32.62\00:19:35.06
She says they're
such legalists, she say my
00:19:35.07\00:19:37.12
view of God is so
relational. That's
00:19:37.13\00:19:40.67
precious, but you
know while at night when I
00:19:40.68\00:19:43.27
would pray with the
kids as they were growing
00:19:43.28\00:19:44.81
up before they went to
bed I would either hold
00:19:44.82\00:19:47.88
them in my arms or
just hold their hand,
00:19:47.89\00:19:49.79
I'd kneel beside
their bed and hold them in
00:19:49.80\00:19:51.19
my arms or hold
their hand, occasionally
00:19:51.20\00:19:53.60
I would say something
like this in the prayer
00:19:53.61\00:19:55.20
not again every
night I don't wanted to
00:19:55.21\00:19:57.34
redundant but I'd say
this, I'd say Lord Jesus
00:19:57.35\00:20:00.02
I want to thank you
for the privilege being
00:20:00.03\00:20:02.10
Andrew's daddy or
Cara's daddy David,
00:20:02.11\00:20:04.23
Jerry, whoever.
Well thank you for the
00:20:04.24\00:20:06.47
privilege you've
given me to be their dad
00:20:06.48\00:20:08.68
and to watch them
grow up and to enjoy new
00:20:08.69\00:20:11.67
experiences and
become all that you've
00:20:11.68\00:20:13.48
created them to be
and then I would say this,
00:20:13.49\00:20:15.49
and I'd say Lord, I
love this child so deeply and
00:20:15.50\00:20:22.76
if I can love this
child so deeply you must be
00:20:22.77\00:20:25.77
absolutely wild about
them, oh how precious.
00:20:25.78\00:20:28.27
So, what kind of
picture of God do they
00:20:28.28\00:20:31.46
grow up with? Amen, amen.
00:20:31.47\00:20:33.72
Let me tell you a
couple of other stories
00:20:33.73\00:20:35.59
the people have given
me. Well here's one that
00:20:35.60\00:20:40.58
is very religious
family, very, very religious
00:20:40.59\00:20:44.32
family okay. But dad
was gone, he worked hard,
00:20:44.33\00:20:48.16
there were several
kids in the family, it was
00:20:48.17\00:20:51.42
a large family, several
kids to feed. Mom though
00:20:51.43\00:20:54.40
was the boss, she was
very structured, okay,
00:20:54.41\00:20:57.15
I mean to feed a
whole bunch of kids,
00:20:57.16\00:20:58.43
I mean like I think
it was like 8 or 10 kids.
00:20:58.44\00:21:00.33
And so she, as he
said, ran a tight shift,
00:21:00.34\00:21:04.30
right, okay but she
also tried to be close
00:21:04.31\00:21:07.81
to each child. And
when I said to him, what is
00:21:07.82\00:21:11.16
God like as you experience God.
00:21:11.17\00:21:12.96
He said, He's a
commander, no He's a
00:21:12.97\00:21:15.67
supreme commander and
He's a personal friend.
00:21:15.68\00:21:19.14
Do you see the
parallel? Yeah, how precious,
00:21:19.15\00:21:22.04
isn't that
amazing? Here's, go ahead,
00:21:22.05\00:21:25.17
you know I was just
gonna say we're getting down
00:21:25.18\00:21:27.27
to where we just have
a few minutes left and
00:21:27.28\00:21:30.69
there are people in
our audience who have
00:21:30.70\00:21:34.81
a perverted,
distorted picture of God, as a
00:21:34.82\00:21:38.48
clinical psychologist
what do you do to heal
00:21:38.49\00:21:41.93
that wound? How do
you bring them from that
00:21:41.94\00:21:44.62
place where, I mean
what do you do? Yeah,
00:21:44.63\00:21:49.19
you know its
interesting as a pastor, yes,
00:21:49.20\00:21:52.27
and as a counselor as a
pastor I got all this sort
00:21:52.28\00:21:54.70
of God stuff all over
me, yes. So even coming in
00:21:54.71\00:21:57.37
and experience the
heart of a Christian man
00:21:57.38\00:22:00.15
and who's present
emotionally present
00:22:00.16\00:22:05.74
there, who cares
very much about them,
00:22:05.75\00:22:08.15
who is very
interested in them, listens
00:22:08.16\00:22:12.33
to their pain,
listens to their journey, it's
00:22:12.34\00:22:15.14
amazing. What the
research shows on that
00:22:15.15\00:22:17.40
too is a man can give
to another man a changed
00:22:17.41\00:22:23.66
picture of God. Men
can also do that for their
00:22:23.67\00:22:27.95
daughters, men can do
that for women. So women
00:22:27.96\00:22:33.01
who come in and talk
to me I have to deal with
00:22:33.02\00:22:35.08
it sometimes with
them too. But here's a guy
00:22:35.09\00:22:37.25
whose only agenda
is to help them heal.
00:22:37.26\00:22:41.52
No other agenda in
the process. And so when
00:22:42.73\00:22:45.22
they experience a
safe male to be around,
00:22:45.23\00:22:47.79
as someone who can
listen to their heart.
00:22:47.80\00:22:50.82
Eventually it
doesn't happen overnight,
00:22:50.83\00:22:52.69
its not a quick fix,
but eventually it begins
00:22:52.70\00:22:55.66
to change. But what
about the person who's out
00:22:55.67\00:23:00.27
there who can't run
to Jerry Connell and they
00:23:00.28\00:23:05.11
may not know a Jerry
Connell in their life.
00:23:05.12\00:23:07.84
Let's say that there
is someone there who maybe
00:23:07.85\00:23:11.08
doesn't even trust
their pastor or doesn't
00:23:11.09\00:23:13.32
be close to their
pastor or maybe the pastor
00:23:13.33\00:23:15.60
is not really a
people person, yeah, what
00:23:15.61\00:23:18.96
do they do? How,
what can they do to start
00:23:18.97\00:23:23.57
on that path of
healing? Well, there is a good;
00:23:23.58\00:23:26.66
there is a number
of good books out here
00:23:26.67\00:23:28.77
that they can read
on people where people
00:23:28.78\00:23:31.99
get their concepts
of God. Its in a lot of
00:23:32.00\00:23:33.86
consoling books by
Christian councilors
00:23:33.87\00:23:35.88
deal with those
kinds of issues, that's one
00:23:35.89\00:23:39.28
place. Another one is
to find someone in the
00:23:39.29\00:23:42.23
church who is, who
does have a real heart
00:23:42.24\00:23:45.43
for God. You have
to ask someone who
00:23:45.44\00:23:46.78
got a little heart
for God. Has to be someone
00:23:46.79\00:23:48.86
who has a personal
relationship with God,
00:23:48.87\00:23:50.96
a personal relationship
with God, a heart to
00:23:50.97\00:23:52.14
heart and just talk
to them, right, and just
00:23:52.15\00:23:54.54
say this is, this is
what I'm feeling, this is
00:23:54.55\00:23:57.98
what I'm experiencing
but I know this isn't
00:23:57.99\00:24:00.58
what it's all about.
Would you walk with me
00:24:00.59\00:24:03.01
for a while. That's
good. Would you journey
00:24:03.02\00:24:05.37
with me? That's good.
You know in families the
00:24:05.38\00:24:08.99
relationships are so
important and we want to
00:24:09.00\00:24:13.31
encourage families
that are watching today how,
00:24:13.32\00:24:16.59
what else can you say
to people who are watching
00:24:16.60\00:24:19.65
that will help them
pass on a legacy of love
00:24:19.66\00:24:23.92
to their children from
the Father through them
00:24:23.93\00:24:26.38
to the children. Well
again I always come back
00:24:26.39\00:24:28.88
to telling people
how important they are,
00:24:28.89\00:24:32.95
I mean you have to
realize as parents how
00:24:32.96\00:24:36.49
important you are
or it might be the
00:24:36.50\00:24:39.05
grandparents. In my
case it was my grandmother
00:24:39.06\00:24:41.33
who raised me and
you know what God end
00:24:41.34\00:24:43.62
up for me looking so
much like my grandmother,
00:24:43.63\00:24:45.57
who absolutely
thought the world of me,
00:24:45.58\00:24:48.16
who'd do anything
for me. And my picture
00:24:48.17\00:24:51.66
of God is actually
very much like her but its
00:24:51.67\00:24:55.51
for parents when
you realize again how
00:24:55.52\00:24:59.18
valuable you are,
how important you're life
00:24:59.19\00:25:01.36
is then you can
begin to make the changes
00:25:01.37\00:25:05.16
and you want to as a
Christian I'm thinking
00:25:05.17\00:25:07.08
as a Christian want
to know this, you want
00:25:07.09\00:25:09.96
to do it differently,
amen. You can't do it
00:25:09.97\00:25:12.30
the same once you
know this, that would be,
00:25:12.31\00:25:14.10
that would be
irresponsible. So then
00:25:14.11\00:25:16.92
you start the
journey this is not a quick
00:25:16.93\00:25:18.70
thing, you start
reading about how to be a good
00:25:18.71\00:25:20.82
dad, moms, how to
be a good mom. How
00:25:20.83\00:25:23.03
to model a heart
of God that to your
00:25:23.04\00:25:26.08
children and that's
what it got to go, amen.
00:25:26.09\00:25:30.94
You know I can
share from personal
00:25:31.27\00:25:33.38
experience that as
I said I had a very,
00:25:33.39\00:25:35.57
I grew up in a
extremely dysfunctional
00:25:35.58\00:25:38.44
home and I had a
very dysfunctional,
00:25:38.45\00:25:41.26
distorted idea of
who God the Father was
00:25:41.27\00:25:45.49
but I've learned
in studying the Bible
00:25:45.50\00:25:48.87
when I, when the
Lord opened His heart
00:25:48.88\00:25:51.30
of love to me then
what I learned is that
00:25:51.31\00:25:53.80
God has my
eternal benefit in mind.
00:25:53.81\00:25:55.96
Everything he's
working out for my good for
00:25:55.97\00:25:58.67
eternity and it
was something that
00:25:58.68\00:26:01.18
I just want to encourage
each one who's watching
00:26:01.19\00:26:04.36
today that do as
Pastor Jerry Connell
00:26:04.37\00:26:07.75
has said, reach
out to someone at your
00:26:07.76\00:26:09.64
church that you know
has something more than
00:26:09.65\00:26:12.39
"religion," a
personal relationship with
00:26:12.40\00:26:15.23
the Lord. Ask them
to help you on that
00:26:15.24\00:26:17.85
walk, to learn how
to pray and to trust in
00:26:17.86\00:26:20.36
God, to trust in His
word and to know the heart
00:26:20.37\00:26:23.35
of the Father. And
if you are just pray and
00:26:23.36\00:26:25.55
ask the Lord as I
do often, Lord, teach
00:26:25.56\00:26:29.58
me your love,
teach me about your love.
00:26:29.59\00:26:31.74
Show me the father,
and you know someone
00:26:31.75\00:26:33.99
out there has heard
that you're worthless.
00:26:34.00\00:26:35.94
So you've had a
parent that has told you
00:26:35.95\00:26:37.74
that, but I'm
gonna tell you something
00:26:37.75\00:26:39.18
Jesus Christ, God
sent him, Romans 5:8
00:26:39.19\00:26:43.95
says to die for you
while you were yet a sinner
00:26:43.96\00:26:47.71
and you're worth
nothing less than the price that
00:26:47.72\00:26:50.61
he paid for you with
the precious blood of his
00:26:50.62\00:26:54.36
son. And it's
something, I'm so glad that you
00:26:54.37\00:26:57.60
came here today
Jerry to, thank you,
00:26:57.61\00:26:59.29
to encourage
parents if they're making
00:26:59.30\00:27:02.01
a mistake and
they're not showing that,
00:27:02.02\00:27:03.61
I believe you've
given parents an idea of how
00:27:03.62\00:27:07.34
they need to change
and make sure that they're
00:27:07.35\00:27:09.69
passing on that
love to their children.
00:27:09.70\00:27:13.00
And for those who
may have grown up without
00:27:13.01\00:27:16.33
that father image,
you've given them some ideas
00:27:16.34\00:27:18.74
where to look. And
I've to say I believe
00:27:18.75\00:27:21.03
that your children
are very blessed to
00:27:21.04\00:27:22.83
have you as a
father, oh thank you.
00:27:22.84\00:27:24.88
Well I just want to
thank you once again,
00:27:24.89\00:27:27.24
the time went by so
quickly but thank you so
00:27:27.25\00:27:29.66
much, you're welcome.
And for those of you at
00:27:29.67\00:27:31.39
home I pray that the
grace of our Lord Jesus
00:27:31.40\00:27:34.74
Christ and the love
of the Father will become
00:27:34.75\00:27:37.59
so real to you and
that you will experience
00:27:37.60\00:27:40.79
the joy of the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
00:27:40.80\00:27:43.68
God is always with
us, he never leaves us or
00:27:43.69\00:27:47.16
forsakes us. So call
on him and get to know
00:27:47.17\00:27:50.56
God the Father. Thank
you for joining us today.
00:27:50.57\00:27:53.76