Don't Believe the Lie
Bishop Mark Foster 3/16/2025
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35:03
Summary
Bishop Mark Foster encourages believers to reject the enemy's lie that God is indifferent to their pain, reminding the church that struggle is the necessary friction that signals spiritual transition and breakthrough.
Key points
- •The devil is the father of lies and his primary deception is convincing you that God does not care about your struggle.
- •Struggle is an essential part of life that refines us and prepares us for the transition to a higher level of ministry and faith.
- •Never mistake the silence of God for the absence of God; waiting on the Lord is a period of strength renewal, not abandonment.
- •Worshipping through worry turns a battle into a breakthrough, as God often uses our greatest times of lack to display His miraculous provision.
Scripture
Faith
Provision
Trial
Spiritual Warfare
Life application
This week, when you encounter a moment of frustration or lack, stop and vocalize a prayer of gratitude and praise specifically for that struggle, trusting that God is using it to move you to your next level.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of my life am I currently tempted to believe the lie that God doesn't care?
- How has a past struggle in my life served as a 'cocoon' that eventually led to a 'butterfly' moment?
- Who is watching me go through my current trial, and how can my faithfulness change their perspective of God?
- Are there things I have been tempted to 'quit' because of friction, and how can I view that friction as a sign of movement instead?
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Full transcript
0:00that Pastor a great church in in uh
0:00Southern than Los Angeles but I I just
0:00want to talk to you today for a few
0:02moments on the subject don't believe the
0:06lie we all go through
0:10trials and we find out that as bad as we
0:14hate it
0:16struggle is a part of
0:19life now I'm just going to be honest I
0:23don't like struggle
0:30but it is just a part of life I don't
0:33like hard
0:37times and I
0:39remember the first time pulling into
0:42Charlotte North Carolina with our travel
0:46trailer behind us and parking behind the
0:49little church on how we Circle and I saw
0:53the
0:54sacrifice that our friends David and
0:56Linda Elms were making and I saw them
1:00raising their children and I saw him
1:03build a church with his own hands and
1:06and and I saw what God was doing and I
1:10saw his struggle but what I want to tell
1:13you is every time he had a ready smile
1:18your dad and your mom they face life
1:21with a smile it didn't matter where they
1:24were it didn't matter what they were
1:26going through it didn't matter matter
1:28what was happening in their life they
1:31had that smile they had a good word and
1:34you know what I watched Miracle after
1:37Miracle after miracle happened there in
1:40Charlotte North Carolina through the
1:43Elms
1:45family
1:47now John 8
1:51and44 is a scripture that we all need to
1:54know it's simp the the last portion of
1:57it says that that the devil is a
2:01liar and he is the father of
2:06lies and so the devil will do everything
2:10in his power to lie to you and One Lie
2:14that I want to talk about today that he
2:17tells you is that he that God doesn't
2:22care about your
2:26struggle and that's a lie Job chapter 14
2:30the Lord told us this man that is born
2:33of woman is a few days and full of
2:38trouble and we can understand that this
2:41is what you've got to understand you can
2:44not
2:46get to where God is calling you without
2:50the
2:53struggle and sometimes struggles come
2:56through no fault of our own while at
3:00other times we create our own
3:06struggles and sometimes the struggle and
3:10the
3:11trials are the people we're with if your
3:14struggle is sitting next to you please
3:17just keep your eyes straight ahead
3:24today the ones the closest to us uh can
3:29sometimes challenge us the most I've got
3:32to understand that the struggle refines
3:35me so number one hear this and don't
3:38ever forget it God is for
3:43you when I don't know that God is for me
3:47I can think that everybody is against me
3:51but I've got a recognize and realize
3:54devil I want you to understand and know
3:56that I know that that God is for me and
4:01the scripture says if God be for me who
4:05can be against me and somebody needs to
4:08catch that and get it down in your
4:11spirit and get it down in your soul this
4:15morning Psalm 138 and8 so what watch
4:19this close the Lord will
4:22perfect that which
4:24concerns me the Lord cares about you now
4:29I I like the way this version of Psalm
4:32139 reads you saw me before I was born
4:37every day of my life was recorded in
4:41your book every moment was laid out
4:44before a single day had passed uh how
4:49precious uh are your thoughts about me
4:52oh God they cannot be numbered I can't
4:57even count them they outnumber the
5:00grains of sand and when I wake up you
5:03are still with me I'm preaching to
5:06somebody today God sent somebody to tell
5:10you you are not worthless uh but you are
5:14God's child you are a king's kid he's
5:18got you he's keeping you and he's going
5:21to see you
5:24through and there's something very
5:27powerful
5:28about knowing that he is my
5:32father first John 4 and4 says ye are of
5:36God little children and have overcome
5:38them because greater is he that's in you
5:41than he that's in the world so what I
5:44want you to know is God's already won
5:46your Victory God's already won victory
5:48for your family it doesn't matter what
5:50struggle you're in what mountain you're
5:53climbing what valley you're going
5:55through God has already want it you're
5:59here today because Somebody Prayed
6:02somebody believed God for the miracle
6:05somebody believe for you and somebody
6:07believed in you I'll never forget when
6:10Paul and I first went to Winston sa
6:13North
6:15Carolina we had we we we didn't
6:18understand we had actually come from a
6:22large church that had wanted us to be
6:25their Pastor they had asked and we
6:28pulled into town I don't have time to go
6:30into that story today but we we we
6:32thought it was the will of God pastor
6:34and when we rolled into town we realized
6:38there was a cloud on a sunshiny day
6:41there was a cloud over our car and I
6:43said Paul I don't think this is it so
6:46the next weekend we went to Winston
6:48Salem and when we rolled into town we
6:51felt like the Angels were singing
6:56Hallelujah and and and we we went and we
7:00we took that church with just a little
7:03handful of people and we slept on the
7:06floor uh the first night or two in the
7:09little office it was February we plugged
7:11in a little heater Paula made a pallet
7:14for us and our two boys and then we
7:16actually stayed with somebody that was
7:19there in the church until we bought a
7:22trailer that had bullet holes in
7:25it screens were dangling paint was
7:28peeling to the bare metal but baby it
7:30was
7:35cheap now we were there 10 days uh when
7:39it
7:40happened every day except Sunday when I
7:43would go to the church mailbox there
7:45were letters from from lawyers
7:49collection agencies to the
7:51church I found out that uh they were
7:54considering foreclosing on the building
7:58I couldn't write we couldn't write a
8:00church
8:01check to make the payment in fact I
8:05couldn't make the payment when the first
8:07time I went to make a payment they said
8:09you can't make a payment because you've
8:11got two of them do right now and we
8:13won't take one payment unless you've got
8:16two and they wouldn't I had a check they
8:19wouldn't they told me then I couldn't
8:20take the check they couldn't take the
8:22check we didn't know it but we found out
8:24that the Pew company was dis patching a
8:28truck to come repossess the
8:32pews and uh well let me just say this
8:38there was no misappropriation of funds
8:41there simply were no funds to
8:46appropriate all
8:48right they had built a new building it
8:50was a small building beautiful building
8:53but they just couldn't pay for it and uh
8:56so 10 days in a man met us at the office
9:02he came in it was a tiny little office I
9:04was sitting behind a little metal desk
9:06Paula was sitting on the other side he
9:09brought a big Pap does anybody remember
9:10the paper sack big brown a grocery bag
9:16all right well they he brought that full
9:18to the top of bills he turned it over
9:21dumped it out on the desk and
9:25there it looked like a out I was sitting
9:29there and then he turned around and
9:31walked out and the devil jumped on my
9:33shoulder and the devil said preacher
9:36boy this is your
9:38struggle but you don't have to go
9:40through this struggle you've got enough
9:43Revival's book to to preach three years
9:47if if nobody else ever asked you nobody
9:50knows you're in North Carolina even just
9:53get your family get in that automobile
9:57and get out of town and the sad thing is
10:01the preacher was
10:06listening and it's a terrible thing for
10:09a pastor and his wife to be discouraged
10:11at the same time and we
10:14were and about that time the door
10:17creaked open now normally some folks say
10:20I'm
10:22wired where would they get that from
10:25pastor
10:28normally I would have jumped up to go
10:30see who it was but I was discouraged and
10:33I just sat
10:34there and a man walked in he found his
10:37way in and it was very obvious he was
10:44drunk and he started trying to find me
10:46with his finger he said
10:48preacher God sent
10:51me and I looked
10:54up and I didn't say it out loud but in
10:57my mind I said thanks a lot
11:02God it's all I
11:05need and then in he couldn't find me so
11:08he anchored his shoulder against the
11:11doorpost and he found
11:14me and the drunk was drunk no more and
11:17he said preacher God sent me to tell you
11:22that you're God's man for this city God
11:25has called you he's going to keep you
11:28and your family and he's going to give
11:31you Revival and God said don't you think
11:34about
11:38leaving and then he was drunk
11:42again and he took a couple of steps
11:44backwards before he could start going
11:47forwards and over his shoulder he said
11:49pray for me pray sure and out the door
11:50he went and Paula and I jumped up I ran
11:54around that desk we were laughing we we
11:57were crying we were talking in tongues
12:00uh we were jumping up and down uh
12:03because God had come in through a drunk
12:06man and said I care about your struggle
12:09I care about your struggle God had said
12:12don't you believe the lie don't you
12:15believe I'm preaching to somebody right
12:17now don't you believe the lie God cares
12:20about you God knows where you are God's
12:23Got You God's got your family
12:25everything's going to be all right
12:30God is for
12:33you number
12:36two keep going in the
12:40struggle you're always going to have
12:42those that oppose your
12:44vision speaking of
12:47vision Pastor you know what I you know
12:49what I
12:51see and nobody may want to hear
12:56this but I see through the eyes of Faith
13:00this place pack Jam like it is right now
13:05not once on Sunday morning but twice on
13:07Sunday
13:11morning that's what I see that's what
13:14God's showing me I see pastor preaching
13:17not once on Sunday morning but twice on
13:20Sunday morning you may have to do one at
13:238:30 and 10 or 8:30 and 10:30 but but
13:27let me tell you this place is packed
13:29jammed and this is too good to keep to
13:32ourselves uh I'm preaching to somebody
13:36that God's got you God cares about you
13:39and there's Apostolic Jesus name Holy
13:42Ghost one God Revival in this house like
13:46you've never dreamed
13:49[Music]
13:55of there will always those that oppose
13:58your vision but I
14:00declare even though there's always going
14:03to be haters uh haters have a purpose uh
14:07let the haters hate but let them Push Me
14:11Higher let my haters become my elevators
14:15uh and keep on going
14:18higher I don't like
14:22opposition but opposition signals
14:26transition all
14:28right
14:30friction signals
14:34movement
14:36friction creates some
14:39heat friction is not always
14:43welcome but friction means I'm moving
14:47and what God is saying is there some
14:50that have been sitting still for too
14:53long and God's trying to create some
14:56movement in you today to get you off a
15:00dead center God's getting ready to use
15:03you like you've never dreamed God's
15:05getting ready to blow your mind you
15:08can't go to another level without the
15:14struggle don't believe the
15:19lie that caterpillar struggles to get
15:23out of the Cocoon that caterpillar's in
15:26the and it's dark and he's
15:29struggling to get out but he doesn't
15:31quit I'm preaching to somebody it's not
15:34time to quit it's not time to give in
15:36give out give up or give over but it's
15:39time to stay in the struggle it's time
15:41to stay in the fight it's time to keep
15:44going because when that caterpillar
15:46breaks out it breaks out as a beautiful
15:49butterfly somebody's getting ready to
15:52break out somebody's getting ready to
15:54get your butterfly wings
16:02Hallelujah I came in one day to that
16:05little
16:07trailer and Paula said Mark I did
16:10something
16:12today I said what is it baby
16:15girl she said
16:18well she said the the TR the dryer quit
16:21quit working now you got to understand
16:23back when we were evangelizing we still
16:25had a struggle I don't have time to to
16:27tell you all that and God was giving us
16:30Mighty Revival everywhere we went but we
16:32got a letter that called up with us two
16:36and a half weeks later that said two and
16:39a half weeks ago there had been a
16:40national disaster flood in West Monroe
16:44Louisiana and that our storage building
16:46had gone three feet
16:50underwater and it had been there
16:53soaking in the Louisiana Sun for two and
16:56a half
16:58weeks when we opened the dryer there was
17:01water in
17:03it and someway we got it to working
17:06again and I came home and Paul said Mark
17:09said the dryer quit working today I said
17:12well what did you do she said Mark she
17:17said I laid hands on
17:20it and I said Lord you sent us here and
17:23you told us that we're in your will and
17:26you're giving us Revival and you told us
17:29you were going to keep us so in the name
17:31of Jesus Lord touch and heal this dryer
17:34right now and she said I pushed the
17:37power button and it started working uh
17:40and that baby kept working for 10 more
17:42years uh I'm preaching to somebody God
17:45knows where you are I'm preaching to
17:48somebody it's not time to quit in the
17:50struggle I'm preaching to somebody don't
17:53believe the lie
17:58number
18:00three believe in God's purpose uh for
18:03your life God created you with a purpose
18:07in mind God has called you God's going
18:11to keep you and if I can believe that
18:15I'm called to a purpose it's going to
18:18help me walk through my
18:21struggle I think of Daniel Daniel was a
18:25man of prayer he knew the Lord was with
18:28him and when he knew what the answer
18:31would be according to the king and the
18:34kingdom he still opened his window
18:36towards Jerusalem and he still prayed
18:40and they threw him in the Lion's Den but
18:43somebody hear this well somebody needed
18:47to see him go through
18:51that what I don't understand sometimes
18:55about the struggle is somebody needs to
18:59watch me go through it because Daniel
19:03going through it changed the he of a
19:07king and it changed the course of a
19:10Nation God used Daniel in the Lion's Den
19:14to literally correct the course of a
19:17king and a nation I'm preaching to
19:19somebody right now maybe your family
19:22needs to see you in the struggle maybe
19:24your friends need to see you in the
19:26struggle it's not time to quit but it's
19:29time to say I know my redeemer
19:33liveth I know and whom I have believed
19:37and I know he's
19:41[Music]
19:44able Proverbs 3
19:49and5 says trust in the Lord with all
19:52thine
19:53heart and lean not unto thine own
19:58understanding in all thy ways
20:00acknowledge Him and He Shall direct thy
20:05paths Paula and I believed when we went
20:08to Winston
20:09saem we lived in that little trailer
20:11with bullet
20:15holes we didn't have two nickels to rub
20:19together your parents knew all about
20:23that but I going to tell you we knew we
20:27were there fulfilling our god-given
20:30purpose and let me tell you what God did
20:34in the first 12 months we were there
20:37while living in that little trailer with
20:39bullet holes we
20:42baptized 125 people in the mighty name
20:46of Jesus uh and that many or more got
20:49the Holy Ghost uh I'm telling you God
20:51knows your struggle God knows all about
20:54where you are but he's got his hand on
20:57you and he's keeping you don't believe
21:00the
21:01lie the devil is a
21:04[Applause]
21:06liar number four don't mistake The
21:09Silence of God for the absence of
21:13God when you feel all
21:16alone and abandoned when you can't see
21:21God in what you're going through and
21:23where you are when you wonder if God
21:27knows where you are when you wonder if
21:30he even knows his name I've been there
21:32before and I've actually looked into the
21:35heavens and I've said hello
21:38God my name is
21:42Mark just in case you had
21:46forgotten I know what that is but I
21:51know and I have known all my life that
21:55if I can just wait on the Lord if I can
21:59just remain faithful if I can just say
22:03God's got a
22:06purpose just a few months ago Paul and I
22:10got
22:11updated cell
22:15phones what did we do without cell
22:20phones but something
22:22happened one
22:25night just the week I got we got the
22:28phones I
22:30looked something was going on on my
22:33phone and it was
22:36systematically erasing my
22:39calendar and it was it was
22:42gone it was gone I went to the Verizon
22:45place they couldn't
22:47help I Paul and I then went in Houston
22:51to
22:53the uh Apple Store
22:58and we finally got the third person and
23:01they said this is the expert of
23:05experts she will be able to
23:07help and she tried and tried and tried
23:10and we even left in in that in that mall
23:14and and went to some other stores and
23:16came back and she was still working on
23:18it and
23:21finally she handed it back and she said
23:25I'm sorry I don't understand it I can't
23:30do
23:31anything with
23:34it and about I looked and I said well
23:37something's happening right now and she
23:38looked at it and she said oh my it's
23:44restoring right now and here's what she
23:47said she said I guess I just didn't wait
23:51long
23:54enough Isaiah 40 and 31 but they that
23:58wait upon the Lord shall renew their
24:02strength uh they shall Mount up with
24:04wings as eagles they shall run and not
24:07be weary they shall walk and not faint
24:10I'm preaching to somebody it's time to
24:13wait uh it's time to wait uh and it's
24:16time to work the wait uh but that's
24:18another message uh Psalm 46 says God is
24:21our refuge and strength a very present
24:24help in the time of trouble
24:30[Applause]
24:32and number
24:36five when I worship through my
24:40worry my battle can become my
24:47breakthrough the reason we
24:51don't
24:52often realize it is because we get our
24:57Focus off of Jesus and we get our Focus
25:02uh on the
25:08struggle Doug came to me in Winston
25:12Salem and he said
25:14[Music]
25:16pastor I got laid off my job what am I
25:20going to
25:22do and I threw my hands in the air and I
25:25said praise God Doug that's great
25:30news and I didn't know whether he was
25:32going to hit me or
25:34not he said what are you talking about I
25:38said Doug it's time to start praising
25:41God I said I've thought for a long time
25:45you're worthy of a far better job uh
25:48you're you're worthy of far better
25:50taking care of your family and now is
25:52your opportunity and he came a couple of
25:55weeks later and he said said pastor
25:57you'll never believe it I said oh I'll
25:59believe it tell me Doug he said I've got
26:01the best job I've ever dreamed of
26:03getting in my life he said I've got
26:06better benefits than I've ever had I'm
26:08preaching to somebody it's time to
26:10praise your way through the
26:13[Applause]
26:18struggle our musicians are coming right
26:24now Psalm 23 says y though I walk
26:27through the valley of the shadow of
26:29death I will fear no evil for thou art
26:33with me thy rod and thy staff they
26:37comfort me thou preparest a table before
26:39me in the presence of mine enemies thou
26:41anointest my head with all my cup
26:43runneth over I don't have time to go
26:45into this today but let me tell you
26:47something yay though I walk through key
26:50word is through key word is walk walk
26:54through key phrase is walk through y
26:56though I walk through it's not time uh
27:00to build a house where God said pitch a
27:04tent uh but it's time to keep walking uh
27:07I'm not going to wall in the valley I'm
27:10going to walk in the valley somebody's
27:12in a valley today somebody's in a
27:15struggle today but you got to keep
27:17walking uh because you're going to go
27:19through it uh he's bringing you out on
27:22the other side and then according to
27:24that fifth verse you're more more
27:26anointed in the struggle than you've
27:29ever
27:33been don't get stuck in the
27:41struggle and then I close with
27:45this Paul and
27:48I were living in that little
27:51trailer bullet
27:54holes I've been teaching by ible studies
27:57I was teaching 12 Bible studies a week I
27:59was in and out of houses and businesses
28:01every day I was I was I was beating the
28:04bushes I was praying and fasting and
28:06working and I came home one
28:09evening for
28:12supper the boys were out playing with
28:15somebody else some other kids there and
28:17I played with them a little while and
28:18then I walked up on that little wooden
28:20porch and walked in and I would say that
28:23Paula was setting out our finest
28:28China only she was setting out our only
28:31China
28:32Pastor we'd gotten it 10 years earlier
28:35as a wedding
28:37gift and I thought she's never set our
28:41China out in this little
28:45trailer what special is going on then
28:49she set
28:50out a little dish of green beans another
28:55little dish of carrot
28:57and another little dish of humy and then
29:00she turned and smiled sweetly at me and
29:03said Mark go call the boys we're ready
29:06to
29:06eat and I looked at those three
29:11dishes and I looked at the stove and
29:13there was nothing else on the stove I
29:16looked in the oven and there was nothing
29:18in the oven and I said baby baby where's
29:22the the beef or the chicken or something
29:28little
29:29tears started coursing down her pretty
29:34face and she said Mark I didn't want to
29:36tell you
29:38this but this is the last food we have
29:42left in the
29:43house she said we have nothing else we
29:48have no
29:49bread we have no cereal we have no milk
29:55we'll send our boys to school hungry in
29:58the morning and then she grabbed my hand
30:01and she said but don't you get
30:03discouraged don't you get down uh she
30:06said God called us uh God's going to
30:09keep us uh and we're going to praise our
30:12way through this uh and we raised our
30:15hands and we praise God right
30:17[Music]
30:21there I got the boys they came in they
30:25ate we they didn't they were too young
30:28to know better put them to bed one of
30:31the real Miracles Pastor
30:33was they weren't hungry when they got up
30:36the next
30:38morning I took them to
30:40school went to the little church was
30:43praying doing some work there hoping the
30:46school didn't call me asking why we sent
30:49our boys to school with no
30:51breakfast the phone did ring at 10:00 I
30:54said Heaven View and it was this pretty
30:57girl on the other end and she was
30:59bubbling she said Mark I just got back
31:02from the mailbox uh she said somebody
31:05heard our story that we don't even know
31:10and said the Lord nudged them to send us
31:13$50 uh come get me and let's go buy
31:15groceries uh in 1981 $50 would buy a lot
31:19more than it will today but I'm telling
31:22you God knows where you are he's never
31:24going to leave you he's never are going
31:26to forsake you he's got you he's keeping
31:29you everything's going to be all right
31:32don't believe the lie whose report are
31:36you going to believe uh let's everybody
31:39just remain standing and magnify him
31:42right
31:43now there's Revival in the this house
31:47there's Revival in your family your
31:49aners here today your healing is here
31:53today oh your filling is here
31:56today yes yes yes yes yes yes
32:00yes
32:02woo now if you have a spiritual
32:08need if you need to repent if you need
32:11to receive the Holy
32:14Ghost if you need a refilling of the
32:16Holy Ghost if you need to be baptized if
32:19you just need to draw closer to Jesus
32:21number one if you have a spiritual need
32:23number two if you have an emotional need
32:27maybe there's
32:28something it could have gone on many
32:31years ago in your life and you've never
32:34been able to get over it never been able
32:36to get through it number number
32:39three if you have a relational need
32:44maybe with a spouse a parent a child a
32:47family member a a a associate on the job
32:51a friend or a neighbor number four if
32:55you have a a physical need in your body
32:58if you need healing and number five if
33:01you have a financial need and that
33:04covers everything if you have a
33:06spiritual need an emotional need a
33:09relational need a physical need or a
33:12financial need that covers it all
33:14whatever the need is I want you to very
33:16quickly step out from where you are
33:18right now just excuse yourself and I
33:20want you to bring that need down here
33:22and come down here saying I refuse to
33:24believe the lie I'm I'm believing
33:28[Music]
33:33God push in closer others are coming
33:36push in spread out beautiful
33:41[Music]
33:44beautiful yes prayer team would you come
33:46help us pray right now let's everybody
33:49all over the house raise our hands in an
33:51act of surrender tell him Lord I need
33:54you today I P of every sin
33:58today I need healing I need spiritual
34:02healing emotional healing relational
34:05healing physical healing Financial
34:08healing uh I need you today keep pushing
34:12in close folks are still coming push in
34:15closer this is beautiful yeah yeah yeah
34:17yeah yeah now just talk to him out of
34:19your heart just talk to him right now
34:21out of your heart there's Revival in
34:24this house the answers in in this house
34:26uh healing is in this house uh yes yes
34:30yes yes yes
34:38[Music]