How To Face DISAPPOINTMENT Without Being DISAPPOINTED!

God's Heart TV

How do you deal with disappointment as a Christian? Are your expectations spiritual or natural? Discover the secret of contentment and how to face disappointment without getting disappointed in this must-watch sermon from Brother Chris during a recent God's Heart TV Partner Meeting.   "If material things are a measure by which we define success, progress, growth, prosperity - you will continue to compare yourself to a standard you can never attain. You will continue to compete for a prize that you can never gain. And you will continue to complain about things you can never obtain." - Brother Chris  If God has prompted your heart to join God's Heart TV as a partner, you can do so here - https://godsheart.tv/partnership/   ➡️ Receive Daily Encouragement on WhatsApp - https://godsheart.tv/whatsapp/ ➡️ Support God's Heart TV financially - https://godsheart.tv/financial/ ➡️ Information about Interactive Prayer - https://godsheart.tv/interactive-prayer/ ➡️ Volunteer as a God's Heart TV Translator - https://godsheart.tv/translate/ ➡️ Share your testimony - https://godsheart.tv/testimony ➡️ Join our Live Prayer Service on the first Saturday of every month - https://www.youtube.com/godshearttv/live

Transcript

00:00I'm not saying people will not disappoint you.

00:03I'm not saying that circumstances will not disappoint you.

00:06But as Christians, we should not be disappointed.

00:09Because our expectations are not material.

00:12Our expectations are spiritual.

00:14And God will never let us down.

00:17Disappointment does not belong in the vocabulary of the spiritually minded.

00:23Grace and peace to you all people of God.

00:29In the wonderful, wonderful name of Jesus Christ.

00:34Let us begin this time together in a moment of prayer.

00:40Because we know we need God's mercy and favor in each and every step we take.

00:48So let us pray together right now.

00:51Lord Jesus Christ.

00:55We thank you for your divine mercy and favor.

01:02Son of David, have mercy on us.

01:07Let your mercy and favor speak for us in every part of this meeting today.

01:16Lord Jesus, open our hearts to receive your word.

01:23To receive revelation from your spirit.

01:31And give us the grace to walk, act, move in the light of your holy word.

01:41In Jesus' mighty name we pray.

01:46And the people of God said, Amen.

01:52Amen, Amen, Amen.

01:54Wow.

01:55Once again, everyone, I want to greet you in the name of Jesus Christ.

02:00Welcome.

02:01Welcome, welcome to this first partner meeting here at the new God's Heart TV studio.

02:10I want to talk today in this word of encouragement about a spiritual principle.

02:18And I was reflecting on this particularly after I had a phone call with someone, a word of counsel.

02:29And the person concerned is someone who by the grace of God has been supporting the ministry of God's Heart TV

02:37from a financial perspective.

02:39She's been giving as God put in her heart.

02:42But was going through some particular hard times in her workplace.

02:51And when I was speaking to her, it was clear that there was a disappointment in her tone.

03:01And she said this, she said,

03:02I don't understand why this is happening to me when I'm supporting God's work.

03:10When I'm doing this, I'm doing the right thing.

03:12But why is this happening to me?

03:15And I think this is a very common thing.

03:17A very common problem people fall into today.

03:21Not just in terms of giving to support the ministry,

03:24but even in terms of any spiritual service,

03:26whether it's I've prayed, I've prayed, I've prayed and yet I'm facing this.

03:30Why? Or I invest my time in volunteering for God's projects.

03:36I support the less privileged.

03:38I do this.

03:39I do that.

03:40And yet when a circumstance that doesn't meet my expectation unfolds,

03:45I get disappointed.

03:47Why is this happening?

03:48Because I'm doing A for God.

03:51So why is B manifesting in my life?

03:53I think it's a very common issue.

03:57And I want to warn us today about the danger of this.

04:03Because look, if the devil cannot prevent your exposure to the truth,

04:12he will attempt to twist it.

04:16To try and deceive you to misinterpret it.

04:23Think about that.

04:25The devil wants us to misinterpret spiritual things in a natural manner.

04:37You know in the gospels of our Lord Jesus Christ,

04:40many times you saw how our Lord Jesus rebuked his disciples

04:46because they had natural interpretation of spiritual instruction.

04:54Jesus Christ would give them an instruction or tell them something

04:57and within themselves they would reason about it

04:59and conclude that it meant something natural.

05:02Whereas Jesus was referring to something spiritual.

05:06This is a very easy trap to fall into.

05:14Where we misinterpret a spiritual principle through our material mindsets.

05:26And I remember I was speaking to this lady

05:30and there were two points of concern with what she said

05:34and I want to share with everyone what I said to her

05:37because it's a lesson, it's a lesson, it's a lesson.

05:40I told this lady that the first thing blocking your blessing is your definition of it.

05:51Because she had already internally associated blessing from God

06:01with something measured materially.

06:06Material.

06:09It's like we use worldly yardsticks to measure spiritual things, godly things.

06:19It's a trap.

06:21If I was to ask everyone today,

06:23okay, people of God, how do we define success?

06:27How do we define blessing?

06:28How do we define progress?

06:30It's very common for people to immediately link such words to material things.

06:38Okay, well this person is successful because they have financial resources

06:43or this person is successful because of their position in society

06:48or their status or their stature.

06:51It's very common for us today to link such things with material things.

06:57Now, let me be clear.

07:01I'm not saying that such things cannot be a sign of success.

07:07They certainly can be.

07:09But, remember we are in the world, we are not part of them.

07:13We should not use worldly definitions for spiritual things.

07:18God is spirit.

07:23His reward for his children is primarily spiritual.

07:31Something that cannot be measured materially.

07:35Something that cannot be discerned naturally.

07:40If we use material measurements to define success,

07:44tell me which of the apostles in the Bible would be considered a successful person?

07:50The disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

07:52Pillars of faith.

07:53Heroes of faith.

07:54God's generals.

07:56If we use material measurements to determine the value of success,

08:02how many of them would be classed as successful?

08:06When many of them in the natural had nothing material to boast of

08:13and even we know how many of them ended their life,

08:18martyred for their faith.

08:21It's just today when we thank God for the holy record.

08:26The word of God.

08:27We can look back at their lives and learn from their lives.

08:31But at that moment when they were given their oaths for Christ,

08:34I think many people would not look at their lives and say,

08:37well, this is a successful person.

08:39This is a blessed person.

08:40This is a prosperous person.

08:42If you use material measurements.

08:45So, going back to my points.

08:49The problem with what that lady expressed to me.

08:53Why am I facing this after I'm doing this for God?

08:56Is first of all, you are defining blessing from a carnal perspective.

09:03Okay.

09:05Blessing means that at my workplace, there's material fruitfulness.

09:09That was the definition.

09:12The way God sees things is different from the way man sees things.

09:20Secondly, we must be careful not to fall into the trap

09:26of placing material expectations on spiritual investments.

09:36Sowing to the spirits and expecting visible material manifestation.

09:45Please, I want to repeat.

09:47I'm not saying that they cannot come.

09:50I'm not saying it is not a sign of God's blessing.

09:54I'm not saying that, look, if you follow godly principles,

09:58even in your work, your career, financial management,

10:02those godly principles will pave the way for material prosperity.

10:08But, that should not be our focus.

10:15That should not be the center of our expectations.

10:22I repeat, God is spirits.

10:29The scriptures say,

10:30he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

10:41But we don't have the rights to determine

10:49the way in which that reward manifests.

10:55A lot of people engage in spiritual activities,

11:00spiritual assignments,

11:02and internally have placed a material expectation on them.

11:06And what happens?

11:08If the material expectation is not met,

11:13they get disappointed.

11:18This is what I want to speak about today.

11:21Facing disappointments without being disappointed.

11:27I'm not saying people will not disappoint you.

11:30I'm not saying that circumstances will not disappoint you.

11:33But as Christians, we should not be disappointed.

11:36Because our expectations are not material,

11:39our expectations are spiritual,

11:40and God will never let us down.

11:45Disappointment does not belong in the vocabulary of the spiritually minded.

11:50I want to read a scripture to you.

11:531 Corinthians chapter 2,

11:55and let me read from verse 12 to verse 14.

12:01Now, we have received not the spirits of the world,

12:10but the spirits who is from God,

12:16that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

12:25I like that statement.

12:28These things we also speak,

12:30not in words which man's wisdom teaches,

12:34but which the Holy Spirit teaches,

12:37comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

12:42But the natural man,

12:46the natural man,

12:49does not receive the things of the spirits of God,

12:55for they are foolishness to him.

13:02Nor can he know them,

13:04because they are spiritually discerned.

13:13We are often blind to our blessings,

13:20because of carnal considerations.

13:25We don't know what we have spiritually,

13:31because we focus on what we don't have materially.

13:39We don't know.

13:40We are ignorant of what we have.

13:44Look at what the scripture says here.

13:47That we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

13:53Many of us don't identify the extent of our spiritual blessings,

13:59because our hearts are set on the things of this world.

14:07And because we lack spiritual discernment,

14:12we are robbed of contentment.

14:15This is a point of reflection.

14:19The presence of disappointments reveals the absence of contentment.

14:29I'm not saying people will not disappoint you.

14:33I'm not saying that situations will not disappoint you.

14:36But you will not be disappointed,

14:39because you don't look at things through the lens of material things,

14:44but spiritual.

14:47There are three enemies of contentment I want you to be careful of.

14:51Number one, comparing.

14:54Number two, competing.

14:56Number three, complaining.

14:59Enemies of contentment.

15:01If you talk of spiritual blessings

15:04that cannot be discerned by material eyes or measured by material things,

15:08spiritual blessings,

15:10contentment is a gift from God.

15:15To be content.

15:19But there are enemies of contentment.

15:22And these symptoms, comparing yourself with others,

15:28competing, you know, running a race in the natural,

15:31complaining about what we don't have.

15:35These are symptoms of a sick heart.

15:38Because disappointment is the sickness of the heart.

15:42It comes as a consequence of shifting our focus,

15:49shifting our attention,

15:51shifting our interest from the things of the spirits

15:55to the things of the flesh.

15:58That's what the devil wants to do.

16:01He's very cunning, crafty.

16:03He looks for any opportunity.

16:05Try and shift your focus, shift your attention,

16:08shift your interest from the things of the spirits

16:12to the things of the flesh.

16:15But look,

16:18life is a learning experience.

16:25If material things are a measure

16:29by which we define success, define progress, define growth,

16:33define prosperity, just name it.

16:35If material things are a measure,

16:38Let me tell you people of God.

16:42You will continue to compare yourself

16:46to a standard you can never attain.

16:50You will continue to compete for a prize

16:54that you can never gain.

16:57And you will continue to complain

17:00about things you can never obtain.

17:05It's an endless cycle.

17:07If you're talking of material things being a measure,

17:11if that's a measure that we use to determine

17:14what we are seeking in this world,

17:16you will never find a place of contentment.

17:18Because each step you take thinking you'll get there,

17:21will reveal another step that shows you haven't.

17:24It's just an endless cycle.

17:27Endless.

17:27It just goes on and on and on.

17:30These are things that rob us of contentment.

17:33We begin to compare ourselves with others.

17:36Do you know why comparison is so destructive, so deadly?

17:41Because your comparison is based on what is seen.

17:46It's based on material, not spiritual things.

17:49So, when you compare yourself with someone

17:53based on what is seen,

17:54you are wide open to deception.

17:56Because what is seen is often not the reality.

17:58We often compare based on performance, not truth.

18:02So, how someone presents themselves,

18:05how they look, how they show off themselves,

18:08these are the basis of comparison.

18:10But that's not the truth.

18:11That's not the reality.

18:13So, we're comparing ourselves to a standard

18:17that is unobtainable.

18:19And so we're never gonna be content.

18:21We open the door easily to disappointments.

18:25And this is a big problem.

18:28A big problem people face today.

18:30Big problem.

18:31Because I'm doing A for God,

18:35but I'm expecting it to manifest materially.

18:37When it doesn't in the way I expect,

18:40I get disappointed.

18:41But as Christians,

18:43we have to recognize,

18:47even though life is uncertain,

18:49God is sovereign.

18:51The uncertainties of life

18:54do not affect the sovereignty of God.

18:58He is good.

19:01He is in control.

19:04And whatever he permits us to face

19:07that may look like disappointment

19:09is unto our good.

19:12That's why we can face disappointments

19:14without being disappointed.

19:20A practical word of advice at this point.

19:24A lot of disappointments spring

19:27because of the expectations

19:28we place on others in relationships.

19:31And I think it's important to emphasize,

19:34it's reasonable to place an expectation on someone

19:38when you talk of a relationship.

19:39There has to be a basis of mutual trust,

19:42mutual love, mutual understanding

19:43that forms a framework

19:45that the relationship moves forward.

19:47There's nothing wrong with that.

19:48It's reasonable to place an expectation on someone.

19:51But it's very unreasonable

19:53to hold them to the same standard as God.

19:55The problem we have

19:57is that we place others on a pedestal

20:00that belongs to God alone.

20:02That is why we are disappointed

20:03when someone disappoints us.

20:05Because we have held them to a standard

20:08that should only be held to God.

20:11My hope is not in man's word.

20:13My hope is in God's word.

20:14My hope is not in man's promise.

20:16My hope is in God's promise.

20:18So if man promises,

20:20I expect them to fulfill.

20:21But if they don't,

20:23it will not derail me spiritually.

20:26I hope you follow what I'm saying people of God.

20:30Yes, we place an expectation on someone.

20:33Yes, I'm expecting you to do what is right.

20:36But ultimately I'm governed by the principle

20:38that I love everyone,

20:40but trust is reserved for God alone.

20:46If I place man's word on the same level as God's word,

20:53I can easily find myself falling into disappointment.

20:57And you know the danger of being disappointed

21:00is that you easily mishandle,

21:02mismanage your situation

21:04when your heart is in such a state.

21:06This is a problem.

21:11I just wanted to share this with you today

21:14because I think it's a very common trap,

21:17very common trap that we fall into.

21:20If care is not taken,

21:21where our focus is diverted

21:27and we can still be doing the right thing,

21:31the good thing,

21:34investing in our spiritual life,

21:36but then we begin to place a material expectation on that.

21:40And when the material expectation is not met,

21:42and we get disappointed,

21:43maybe it will dilute our commitment.

21:46You say, oh, well,

21:48I'm doing this for God and I'm facing this.

21:50So in that case,

21:52let me stop reading my Bible.

21:56Let me stop praying.

21:57Let me stop supporting the ministry

21:59because why am I facing this?

22:01That's the danger of being disappointed.

22:03It misleads you to take actions

22:05that now later affect your life negatively.

22:07So, this is my encouragement to you people of God,

22:11to conclude this short word.

22:14The more carnally minded you are,

22:20the less content you become.

22:24If you examine your life today,

22:27and you study these symptoms,

22:30complaining about what I don't have,

22:34comparing myself with others,

22:39competing, running a race in the natural.

22:42If you study these symptoms,

22:45check your heart.

22:48Check your heart.

22:51It takes spiritual discernment

22:54to recognize spiritual blessings.

22:58And those spiritual blessings

22:59cannot be measured materially.

23:03God is spirit.

23:06Don't fall into the trap

23:08of only placing material expectations

23:13on your spiritual service.

23:17I'm not saying God will not bless you materially.

23:20He is God.

23:21He knows what is good for you.

23:23If you can manage that,

23:24He will bless you with it.

23:25If you can be a good steward of it,

23:27He will equip you with it.

23:28But that is not the framework

23:33upon which we must build our lives.

23:37It's not, well, I'm materially prosperous,

23:40so God is backing me up.

23:42It's about spiritual prosperity.

23:46Relationship with God.

23:48And there are no shortcuts

23:51when it comes to relationship with God.

23:54The more sanctified we are by His spirit,

23:57the more satisfied we are in His presence.

24:01We need more of God.

24:03More of His word.

24:05Less of us.

24:08This is the encouragement for everyone.

24:11Today people of God.

24:12How to face disappointments

24:14without being disappointed.

24:16Okay.

24:17And I pray that this word has planted a seed

24:19that will continue to grow and grow

24:22as you water it with rightful focus and meditation.

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