God's power and provision told through stories.

0:00 is your God too

0:01 small when is the last time you saw God

0:05 do something in your life so incredible

0:07 that it just left you in awe

0:10 today I'm just going to tell some

0:13 God stories from my own experience from

0:15 times that God just left me in awe when

0:18 it was either incredible

0:22 coincidence or it was God you know if

0:25 something of a great coincidence just

0:27 happens once you can kind of ride it off

0:29 as coincidence but when things happened again

0:32 and again and

0:34 again that's hard to write off as a

0:37 coincidence hi my name is Brad Bright

0:39 this is the god is the issue podcast

0:41 where we show how God is the issue in

0:44 every issue I grew up with a dad who

Faith in the face of deadly danger

0:47 believed God for incredible things his

0:49 name was Bill Bright. He was the founder

0:51 of Campus Crusade for Christ I remember

0:54 growing up him telling stories you know

0:55 when I was a child of things that God

0:58 had done and they would leave me and a I

1:01 remember one story he told he had been

1:02 over in an Asian country and he was

1:04 scheduled to speak that night at a big

1:06 Meeting Hall and he had heard that there

1:09 might be some radicals coming to Stone

1:11 him that was the rumor so he arrived

1:13 that night and he went up on stage to

1:15 speak and sure enough number of men

1:18 around in the audience stood up with

1:19 stone in their stones in their hands and

1:21 he immediately stopped speaking and he

1:23 asked the audience he said would you

1:25 join me in singing praise to God and at

1:28 the moment they started is singing every

1:31 one of those men who had Stone and their

1:32 stones in their hands fled from the room

1:36 fled as though they were being chased by

1:38 fire you see that's the power of God is

1:41 that coincidence or is it God and I

1:43 remember him telling so many other

1:45 stories over the years stories about how

1:47 God had provided financially stories

1:49 about how God had opened the doors for

1:51 the gospel to go forward in areas that

1:54 had not been open to the gospel for

1:55 hundreds and hundreds of

1:58 years those were the stories I grew up

2:01 with and yet as I as I grew into a young

2:04 man I thought you know I know that if my

2:07 dad believes God for something I know

2:10 it's going to

2:11 happen but what about for me will God do

2:16 that for me

2:18 too I'll bet you some of you out there

2:20 listening have asked that very same

2:23 question you say I know God is all

2:25 powerful I know God can do anything but

2:28 will he do those things

2:31 me folks today I'm just going to tell

2:34 stories from my own experience of when I

2:36 saw God do those things for me starting

The prayer of a child: Unforgettable vacation

2:40 with when I was a young child when I was

2:42 eight or nine years old I decided that

2:46 as a family we needed to go to Hawaii we

2:48 needed a family vacation in Hawaii and

2:50 so during our family devotion time I

2:53 started praying that God would send us

2:56 on vacation to Hawaii now I I I knew we

2:59 didn't have the money mom and dad had

3:00 chosen to be in full-time Ministry they

3:02 had chosen to live a modest lifestyle so

3:05 we didn't have the funds to go vacation

3:07 in Hawaii I knew that however I kept

3:10 praying and Mom and Dad said later on

3:12 they said you know we kind of cringed

3:14 inside because we thought we're not sure

3:17 that's the kind of prayer that God

3:18 usually answers and they didn't want to

3:21 see me to be disappointed in God but you

3:24 know what it was shortly after started

3:25 praying this prayer at Family devotions

3:27 a friend of my dad came to him and said, Bill

3:31 we'd like to send you on a family

3:32 vacation to Hawaii folks one of the best

vacations of my life I remember it to

3:40 this day so let me ask you was that

3:45 coincidence or was it

3:47 God the next story I've told many many

The panic prayer of a college student

3:51 times because it was it was a watershed

3:53 moment in my life when I realized God

3:55 really was listening but it was when I

3:56 was a freshman in college 

3:58 college up in Chicago and I remember

4:00 Christmas time and I was flying home and

4:02 so I arrived at O'Hare Airport and I

4:05 walked in and that airport was packed

4:08 wall to wall with people it's the most

4:10 most packed airport I've ever seen in my

4:12 entire life before or since and I walked

4:15 in I thought this is not good but I

4:17 didn't know what to do so I just went

4:18 and got in line to to get my ticket to

4:20 get on on the plane and I was standing

4:23 there I realized you know what I'm not

4:26 going to make this plane and so out of

4:29 just p panic I prayed Lord I need 10

4:31 more minutes and I looked up at the

4:33 board and it went click that was in the

4:36 days when they they weren't all digital

4:39 went click and the flight had been

4:40 delayed 10 minutes and I went oh

4:45 cool and so I was standing there a

4:47 little longer in line and and waiting I

4:49 realized I'm still not going to make

4:50 this plane so once again I prayed a pay

4:54 prayer of panic folks I maybe it was

4:57 Faith but it was it was panic and I said

4:59 Lord I need 10 more minutes I looked at

5:03 the board and it went

5:04 click the flight was delayed another 10

5:07 minutes and I went oh that's not cool

5:10 that's amazing and what I realized was

5:14 God was listening and God cared about me

5:18 God wanted to have a

5:20 relationship with me and it was just a

5:22 little way of him saying Brad I'm here I

5:25 got it but my question for you is was

5:28 that coincidence

5:30 or was that God about 10 years later I

5:34 was living in Atlanta and I was running

5:36 a foundation it was a foundation to try

5:38 to develop private sector alternatives

5:40 to federal government programs and it

5:42 was something I was very very interested

5:44 in doing because I really felt like the

5:46 private sector should be more involved

5:48 in helping to feed the poor helping to

5:50 house the

5:52 poor but one day I realized I think it's

5:55 probably time for me to step down but I

5:59 wasn't sure sure so I I set aside 10

6:01 days just kind of go through a process I

6:03 had a checklist and at the end of those

6:05 10 days the last thing on the checklist

6:07 was to call my dad and just ask his

6:09 advice now why was my dad at the end of

6:11 the checklist it's because he was out of

6:13 the country and I knew he wouldn't be

6:15 home and home back home until that 10th

6:17 day and so I went through my checklist

6:20 and then on the 10th day it arrived and

6:22 I called my dad I said

6:25 Dad I'm thinking of of stepping down

6:28 from the foundation

6:30 and he said I know and I said what I I

6:33 said how could you know I haven't told

6:35 anyone and you've been out of the

6:36 country this whole time how could you

6:38 possibly

6:39 know and he said well as I was talking

6:43 to God this morning he told me and I

6:47 think you're doing the right thing folks

6:50 that was about the easiest career

6:52 decision I have ever made in my life

6:55 when your dad says to you oh yeah I I

6:57 God already told me about it and I think

6:59 you making the right decision I'll tell

7:00 you what easy decision you know the

7:03 decision I made but here's my question

7:05 for you was that just your

7:08 coincidence or was it

7:11 God fast forward five years I've gotten

The answer to prayer that left me stunned. Obeying God and watching Him provide.

7:14 married in the meantime I'm living up in

7:17 in Seattle north of the University of

7:19 Washington and my wife and I my wife

7:21 Kathy and I were working at the

7:22 University of Washington with campus

7:24 Crusade for Christ working with these

7:26 crazy college students and loving every

7:29 minute

7:30 but after our first year where we'd been

7:32 living about a half an hour north of of

7:34 Seattle you know away from campus and in

7:37 in an apartment we could afford just

7:39 felt God was saying Brad I want you to

7:41 move down into the University District

7:43 now folks that the University District

7:45 is an expensive place to live in and

7:47 we're on a missionary's

7:49 salary but we just had this strong sense

7:51 as we prayed about it that that was God

7:53 what God was saying and so we said okay

7:56 and I said well let's tell the students

7:57 what God is telling us and Kathy was a

7:59 at first because she said

8:01 well well what if God doesn't provide

8:04 what will that do to the faith of the

8:06 students and I said

8:07 honey I cannot worry about God's

8:11 reputation God needs to worry about his

8:13 own reputation what I need to be

8:14 concerned

8:15 about is doing what he tells me to do

8:18 and frankly she agreed and so from that

8:21 moment on we let people know and we were

8:23 trusting God to provide for the summer

8:26 we put everything in storage we we left

8:28 for the summer on a summer Miss project

8:30 and came back two weeks before school

8:33 started well we looked all over the

8:35 place couldn't find anything we could

8:36 afford the best we could do and it was

8:38 pushing our budget was was a 500 square

8:41 foot apartment space and that really

8:43 wasn't what God was calling us to do i s

8:46 he wanted us to use a home to entertain

8:49 students and to be able to bring in

8:51 large groups of students in a 500 foot

8:53 apartment would have cut it now early on

8:56 in those two weeks I called my dad I

8:58 said Dad

9:00 this is what God has put on our hearts

9:02 and we want to do this I said do you

9:03 know of can you think of anyone possibly

9:06 in the area that that might be willing

9:08 to to buy a home or rent an apartment

9:10 for so we can minister to these students

9:11 my dad said you

9:14 know I really can't and he said frankly

9:18 you're probably wasting your time and I

9:20 I got off the phone I went if my dad

9:22 can't believe God for something like

9:24 this who do I think I am anyway but you

9:27 see God was just getting ready to

9:32 act that Sunday afternoon we got a call

9:35 from this this woman we had never met

9:37 before in our lives didn't know who she

9:39 was she said yesterday I was talking to

9:43 my sister and she told she told me about

9:45 you guys that you're wanting to move

9:47 into the University District and and

9:49 have a home where you can entertain and

9:51 minister to students she said could you

9:54 come down and have have dessert with us

9:56 on Wednesday night come down to our home

9:57 and I said sure now the thing about that

10:00 though was that was our second wedding

10:02 anniversary as well but I just sensed

10:06 God was doing something so I said yes

10:07 we'll be there on Wednesday and night

10:09 arrived we walk into their home we chat

10:11 for a few minutes we sit down and then

10:13 the wife starts telling her story she

10:16 said Saturday I was over at my sister's

10:18 house and she started telling us about

10:19 you guys this young couple on stab with

10:22 campus crusade for Christ who wanted to find a

10:24 home in the UN University District so

10:26 they could minister to the college

10:29 student

10:30 she said that was Saturday then Sunday

10:31 she said I was sitting in church and God

10:33 said to me you know that money you you

10:36 you've put away that you saved to buy

10:38 buy a vacation home down in Newport

10:40 Beach and she said yes Lord he

10:43 said I want you to use that money to go

10:46 buy a home for this young couple and she

10:47 said Okay Lord I I think she was a

10:51 little taken off guard but she clearly

10:53 heard God say that she said okay she

10:55 said so that's why we asked you to come

10:57 down here we wanted to meet

11:00 you the husband said okay here's your

11:03 budget go find a home we'll buy it but

11:07 he said you know what I'd really

11:08 appreciate would you mind paying the

11:11 utilities in in the taxes on it each

11:14 month said well yeah we'll do that well

11:18 Kathy and I went went away that night we

11:19 went and had dinner for our anniversary

11:21 but we look sat at dinner looking each

11:23 other other over the table just staring

11:26 like what just happened I think anybody

11:28 watching would have thought would have

11:30 never guessed we were celebrating our

11:31 second wedding anniversary we were just

11:34 stunned do you know what it means to be

11:35 stunned that night I knew what it meant

11:38 to be stunned I was in shock but in

11:41 gratitude to

11:43 God folks the next day we went and we

11:46 started telling the students and

11:47 everybody what God had done but the most

11:50 fun part of the whole thing was I got to

11:53 call my dad my dad whose Faith was

11:56 incredible he picked up the phone and

11:58 the first thing I said said to him was

12:00 oh ye of little

12:02 faith and then I told him the story you

12:05 know I have never seen a man so excited

12:08 about being being told oh ye have little

12:11 faith and my dad was on that call that

12:13 day he was excited with it to see how

12:16 God had provided now

12:19 folks you may call that incredible

12:22 coincidence or you can call that

12:25 God about 15 years ago we were having a

Unexpected & timely check: coincidence or divine intervention?

12:29 uh strategic planning session and budget

12:31 planning session for bright media

12:32 foundation and it went over a period of

12:35 two days and I remember at the end of

12:37 the second day we we kind of had our

12:39 plan in place we had our budget in place

12:41 and and I remember saying well we've got

12:44 the plan we've got the budget we just

12:46 don't have the money we're we'll see

12:48 what God does well the amazing thing it

12:51 was right about that time A friend had

12:53 called a a family friend had called

12:55 longtime family friend and I didn't pick

12:57 it up because we were still line up all

12:59 the planning session and and everything

13:02 so I I didn't call her back till the

13:04 next morning but but when I called her

13:07 and she answered the phone and and she

13:08 said well Bradley I was just 

13:11 you that I stuck a check for a million

13:13 dollars in the mail yesterday for bright

13:14 media foundation and I went thank you so

13:18 much here's the thing though folks I had

13:20 never asked her for money I never asked

13:23 her for money at all secondly she had no

13:26 idea that we needed money or that we had

13:29 been in planning session at all she had

13:32 no idea of any of that and yet at

13:34 exactly the right time she called with

13:38 the check that we needed folks either

13:40 that was coincidence incredible

13:42 coincidence or it was God what do you

13:47 think folks I don't have enough Faith to

I don’t have enough faith to believe in so many coincidences.

13:50 believe that all of these things are

13:51 coincidences you see I believe in a God

13:55 who works all things together for the

13:57 good for those who are called called

13:59 according to per his purpose for those

14:01 who love him I believe God is looking

God is looking for opportunities in your life…

14:05 for

14:06 opportunities to touch our lives in in

14:09 ways that will build that relationship

14:11 with him that will build that trust

14:14 relationship because folks you see faith

14:18 is like a muscle the more you use it the

14:22 bigger it gets and as Faith grows so

14:25 does our relationship with God and more

14:29 than anything else that is what God

14:32 wants folks right now I I I've had a lot

14:35 of experiences over the years and now

14:38 God has taken me to the big time I've

Trusting God with the hard things, cancer

14:41 got cancer and I'm learning to trust him

14:44 in the midst of my cancer he hasn't told

14:48 me whether or not he's going to heal me

14:50 all he said is Brad I want you to trust

14:53 me and I've said okay that's what I'll

14:56 do so folks here's my question question

Here’s my question for you…

14:59 for

15:00 you has God given you something to trust

15:04 him

15:05 for something hard something bigger than

15:08 you're accustomed to is he whispering in

15:11 your ear just trust me folks we serve a

Trust God in difficult times, experience love.

15:16 faithful powerful

15:19 God I encourage you just to trust him

15:24 trust him in the midst of whatever it is

15:26 that's going on in your life right now

15:29 because here's why as you trust him you

15:33 learn to love him and you experience his

15:37 love for you so

15:40 folks in any situation when we see God

15:44 work it's either coincidence an

15:47 incredible

15:48 coincidence or it really is God folks

15:52 God is the issue in every issue

15:55 especially at times when things just

15:57 cannot be coincident

16:00 this is Brad Bright, thanks for joining me

16:02 today and folks if this has been

16:04 meaningful to you and you can think of

16:06 someone else who needs to hear this

16:07 please share it with them please do in

16:10 order to be encouragement to them thank

16:12 you very much and God

16:21 bless

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