Craig Groeschel

The Catholic girl that gets saved in the Word is mentored by Africans. If you're in profits, it gets freed from alcohol.

I don't know anybody like you.

I don't know anybody like you.

So there's so much I want to say to it because I've been there. Like my honeymoon stage as a new Christian, I mean, I was... out of control, witnessing, crying out to God, praying for everybody, sensing His presence, feeling it. I got saved out of what was like kind of the church I went to was like a no expression into a very charismatic, vibrant, God's everywhere.

So there's so much I want to say to it because I've been there. Like my honeymoon stage as a new Christian, I mean, I was... out of control, witnessing, crying out to God, praying for everybody, sensing His presence, feeling it. I got saved out of what was like kind of the church I went to was like a no expression into a very charismatic, vibrant, God's everywhere.

And it's a little bit like with Amy, you know, we were madly in love. We didn't have a fight for three years when we were married until we had our first kid, and then we made up for lost time because I was dumb. But then now we're 33, almost 34 years into it, and...

And it's a little bit like with Amy, you know, we were madly in love. We didn't have a fight for three years when we were married until we had our first kid, and then we made up for lost time because I was dumb. But then now we're 33, almost 34 years into it, and...

the like the new um goosebumps thing isn't there all the time but the depth of intimacy is a thousand times what it was before like legitimately anyone who says a godly marriage isn't possible um talk to amy well it is it is very very possible and the same is true with god that i think and it's just a theory and there's doesn't say this in the word but i think god gives you a little extra when you're a new christian kind of like a baby needs a little more care

the like the new um goosebumps thing isn't there all the time but the depth of intimacy is a thousand times what it was before like legitimately anyone who says a godly marriage isn't possible um talk to amy well it is it is very very possible and the same is true with god that i think and it's just a theory and there's doesn't say this in the word but i think god gives you a little extra when you're a new christian kind of like a baby needs a little more care

You need to burp. Someone needs to change your diaper. You know, goo-goo-ga-ga. I think when you're a baby Christian, I think God gives you a little bit extra sometimes and just shows himself to you in other ways. And then after a while... Without faith, it's impossible to please God. Sometimes you have to pursue Him without feelings and just faith. Like, literally, faith pleases God.

You need to burp. Someone needs to change your diaper. You know, goo-goo-ga-ga. I think when you're a baby Christian, I think God gives you a little bit extra sometimes and just shows himself to you in other ways. And then after a while... Without faith, it's impossible to please God. Sometimes you have to pursue Him without feelings and just faith. Like, literally, faith pleases God.

And so, why don't I always feel the presence of God? Again, the Bible gives us some clues. Sometimes I think we're over-sensationalizing it. Jesus said, hey, everybody's looking for a sign. Everybody wants a feeling. And so— I don't want a sign. I want what the sign points to, and the sign points to Jesus. So we're not looking for a sign. We're actually looking for the sign pointing to Jesus.

And so, why don't I always feel the presence of God? Again, the Bible gives us some clues. Sometimes I think we're over-sensationalizing it. Jesus said, hey, everybody's looking for a sign. Everybody wants a feeling. And so— I don't want a sign. I want what the sign points to, and the sign points to Jesus. So we're not looking for a sign. We're actually looking for the sign pointing to Jesus.

So we want to keep our eye on Jesus. Another thing, too, would be this, that we know that sin does separate us from God, right? So if you were in Oklahoma a month ago and it was really, really cold, negative two degrees one day, If you put on a lot of clothes, the clothes will separate you from the cold. It won't feel as cold. You'll be separated.

So we want to keep our eye on Jesus. Another thing, too, would be this, that we know that sin does separate us from God, right? So if you were in Oklahoma a month ago and it was really, really cold, negative two degrees one day, If you put on a lot of clothes, the clothes will separate you from the cold. It won't feel as cold. You'll be separated.

If you sin a lot, ongoing sin, it doesn't mean like, you know, you did something wrong, so God doesn't love you. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying, you're cheating on your wife and you're not repenting. You're living in pornography and you don't care. You're doing drugs on the side and you're keeping it a secret. You're living in ongoing sin.

If you sin a lot, ongoing sin, it doesn't mean like, you know, you did something wrong, so God doesn't love you. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying, you're cheating on your wife and you're not repenting. You're living in pornography and you don't care. You're doing drugs on the side and you're keeping it a secret. You're living in ongoing sin.

That might block some of your intimacy with God.

That might block some of your intimacy with God.

If I am not being truthful to Amy or hiding something from her, I'm not going to be as intimate with her because sin separates. And so it could be that it's not that God has moved away, but you've put up some kind of a barrier. It could be that sometimes God just wants you to draw close.