Peaceful on Purpose

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See terms and conditions at UNEs 0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:30.080 dot co. 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:34.800 Hi, this is Jolan Victoria. Thanks for downloading our podcast. 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:37.880 We enjoy spending this time with you. I hope you'll 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:38.679 leave Inspire. 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:41.959 Make sure you subscribe to get new messages every week. 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.240 We appreciate your support. It helps keep the ministry going. 0:01:45.640 --> 0:02:01.520 Enjoy the message. Well, God bless you and welcome. It's 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:04.120 a joy to come into your homes and if you're 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:06.840 ever in our area, please stop buying be a part 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:09.560 of one of our services. These are the finest people 0:02:09.680 --> 0:02:12.160 in all of Houston, Texas, right here at Lakewood. But 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:15.400 so glad to have you today. I like to start 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:18.600 with something funny, and I heard about this minister. He 0:02:18.720 --> 0:02:21.280 was driving down the road when he got pulled over 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.640 by a policeman. The officer came up to the window 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:28.160 and smelled alcohol. He saw a thermist and said, sir, 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.000 what are you drinking. The minister said, just water. Officer, 0:02:32.520 --> 0:02:35.239 he asked to see the thermiston. He took one sniff 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:38.880 and said, smells like wine to me. The minister said, 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:43.920 what do you know? Jesus did it again? Say it 0:02:43.960 --> 0:02:47.040 like you mean it. This is my Bible. I am 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:49.520 what it says I am. I have what it says 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:52.160 I have. I can do what it says I can do. 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:55.360 Today I will be taught the word of God. I 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:59.639 boldly confess. My mind is alert, my heart is receptive. 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:03.640 I will never be the same. In Jesus' name, God 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:07.120 bless you. I want to talk to you today about 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:11.600 peaceful on purpose. If you're going to live in peace, 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:15.360 it's not going to happen by accident. Every day we 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:19.320 have opportunities to get upset, to be offended, to live 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:25.000 worried life, happens. People get on your nerves, unexpected bills 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:28.240 of family members in the hospital. If you wait for 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:31.720 all your circumstances to calm down, then you're going to 0:03:31.720 --> 0:03:34.920 have peace. Then you're going to stop worrying. You'll be 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:39.160 waiting your whole life. God never promised that he would 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.720 keep us from difficulties. He never said that we wouldn't 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:46.240 have storms. But he did say he would give us 0:03:46.320 --> 0:03:49.680 peace in the midst of the storms. He calls it 0:03:50.000 --> 0:03:55.280 a peace that passes understanding. That means, despite what's going 0:03:55.320 --> 0:03:59.360 on around you, you still have peace. The medical report 0:03:59.520 --> 0:04:02.400 wasn't good good, but I'm not worried. I know God 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.320 has me in the palm of his hand. I didn't 0:04:05.360 --> 0:04:08.320 get the promotion that I worked for, but I'm not upset. 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:11.360 I know God has something better come in my way. 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:14.800 My coworker was rude to me. I'm not offended. God 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:18.440 is my vindicator. He'll fight my battles. You have to 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:23.520 protect your peace. You weren't created to live worried, uptight 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:28.000 on edge. This is the reason many people have health issues. 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.200 They can't sleep at night, their food won't digest, they 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:36.400 have ulcers. It's because their mind is never at rest. 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:41.520 They're constantly trying to figure everything out, worried about their health, 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:45.760 upset about their job, stressed out over the traffic. Your 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:49.120 mind needs a break. It wasn't meant to go all 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:53.240 the time. And the scripture says, cast your cares on 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:56.559 the Lord. You have to learn to turn it over 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:59.960 to God. You weren't designed to carry that heavy love. 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:04.760 It will frustrate you. Here's the key. When you rest, 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:09.240 God goes to work. But when you work, God rest, 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:12.800 if you try to be God, God will step back 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:16.000 and say, Okay, you figure it out, you handle it all, 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.800 and I'll take a break. But when you come back 0:05:18.839 --> 0:05:21.960 to a place of peace and say, God, I trust you, 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:25.760 my life is in your hands. I'm not going to worry. 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.719 I'm not going to live stressed. You have this all 0:05:28.760 --> 0:05:32.240 figured out, so I'm going to be still and know 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.039 that you are God. That's when God goes to work. 0:05:35.880 --> 0:05:39.640 In the scripture, David faced all kinds of opposition. People 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:42.640 came against him. Enemies were trying to take his life. 0:05:43.200 --> 0:05:46.719 He could have lived worried, stressed out, but he understood 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:51.560 this principle. He said, the Lord is my shepherd. He 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:56.160 leads me by the still waters. One version says, by 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:59.920 the RESTful waters, he was saying. The way I can 0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:03.480 keep my sanity, the way I protect my peace, is 0:06:03.520 --> 0:06:07.080 on a regular basis, I go down to the still waters, 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:10.599 and I empty out all my worry, all the fear, 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:14.960 all the anxiety. He let his mind rest. I'm not 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:19.080 talking about a physical place. I'm talking about in your spirit. 0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:24.520 It can be chaotic all around you, traffic, people, problems, drama, 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:30.239 but on the inside there's a rest. You're at peace. Friends. 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:34.000 Worry is a thief. It will rob you of your 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:37.239 sleep at night. It will rob you of your joy, 0:06:37.920 --> 0:06:41.360 rob you of your creativity. You don't make good decisions 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:45.039 when you're worried. If you allow it, worry can keep 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:48.520 you from your destiny. And the scripture says, we can't 0:06:48.600 --> 0:06:53.000 add one inch to our life by worrying. If we could, 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.520 some of us would be twenty three feet tall. What 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.839 are you worried about? What's keeping you awake at night? 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:03.839 What's stealing your joy? It's time to come back to 0:07:03.920 --> 0:07:08.040 the still waters. When you get quiet, when you're in peace, 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:11.400 it will help you to have the right perspective. But 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:16.200 when we worry, we're making our problem our God what 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:19.160 you see as the biggest thing in your life. In 0:07:19.200 --> 0:07:22.720 one sense, that's your God. If you worry about your 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:25.480 health night and day, you can't sleep, that's all you 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.800 talk about, all you think about. You're making that sickness 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:32.840 your God. Do yourself a favor. Take the worry off 0:07:32.880 --> 0:07:36.440 the throne, take the sickness off the throne, take the 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:40.240 financial difficulty off the throne, and put God back up 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:45.320 on the throne. Use that same energy to thank God 0:07:45.520 --> 0:07:49.520 that he's still in control. Every time you're tempted to worry, 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:53.240 turn it around and thank Him that he's taking care 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:57.800 of that situation. Let the worry be a reminder to 0:07:57.920 --> 0:08:01.960 switch over into praise, switch over into things that are 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:05.560 of a good report. You have to guard your mind. 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.880 This is where the main battle is taking place because 0:08:09.920 --> 0:08:13.679 good thoughts, they don't automatically come into our mind most 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:17.720 of the time, especially in difficult situations. The first thoughts 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:20.960 are negative things like, oh man, that pain in your side. 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:24.960 That's dangerous, same thing your grandmother died from. You'll never 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:27.960 get married. You've been single so long, You'll never get 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:30.680 past this bad break. All the odds are against you. 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:34.720 The easy thing to do is to believe those lies. 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:37.760 Start dwelling on it. What if I don't get well, 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:40.560 what if the report isn't good, what if I can't 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:44.720 make those payments. Don't fall into that trap. Your life 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:49.640 is going to folly your thoughts. If you live worried, anxious, uptight, 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:55.360 you're inviting discouragement, bad breaks, negativity. You have to turn 0:08:55.400 --> 0:09:00.120 your worry into worship. Thank God that he's fighting your battles, 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:03.679 thinking that no weapon formed against you will ever prosper. 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:07.400 When I look back over my life, most of the 0:09:07.440 --> 0:09:11.280 things I worried about never came to pass. I wasted 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:15.320 a lot of time and energy being uptight. It's easy 0:09:15.320 --> 0:09:17.400 to wake up in the middle of the night and 0:09:17.480 --> 0:09:20.319 find something to worry about. And a lot of people 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:25.520 these days are professional worriers. They can multitask worry taking 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:28.400 a shower, worry brushing their teeth, worry driving to work. 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:32.920 Somebody asked me, if I could do anything over again, 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:36.720 what would I do differently. I told them I would 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:41.280 trust God more, I wouldn't lose sleep, Worried about the budgets, 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:44.120 worried if I was able to minister, Worried if people 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:46.840 are going to like me. None of that worrying helped 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:50.600 me to move one inch forward. I wonder how many 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.360 things you'll worried about that are never going to come 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:57.600 to pass. Years ago, Victoria and I received to notice 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:00.720 that the city was going to put in speed humps 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:03.600 on the street where we lived. These are those humps 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:06.840 in the street that slow cars down. We had two 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.960 small children. Sometimes people would drive through the neighborhood really fast, 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:13.720 so we were all for it. We signed a petition 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:16.680 to help make it happen. A couple of other streets 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:20.439 in the subdivision already had speed humps. Now I noticed 0:10:20.640 --> 0:10:23.720 that the city put up a sign to notify drivers. 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:27.839 It was a big yellow, permanent sign like a stop sign, 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:32.200 that said speed humps up ahead. One day, while I 0:10:32.320 --> 0:10:35.920 was out running, it dawned on me they always put 0:10:35.960 --> 0:10:39.360 the sign in front of the second house in from 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:42.720 the corner. Well, it just so happened. We lived in 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:46.240 the second house from the corner on our street. Now 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.520 I was no longer for those speed humps. I did 0:10:49.520 --> 0:10:52.959 not want that big, ugly sign in front of our house. 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:56.120 I went to these other houses and I measured the 0:10:56.200 --> 0:11:00.520 distance from the corner, got the exact length. Sure enough, 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:03.880 that sign was going to be right by our driveway 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:07.320 in the front of our house. For months, I worried 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:10.120 about that sign, thought about how bad it was going 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:12.320 to be. I can't believe this is happening. Then I 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.480 had an idea. I thought, I'm going to get a 0:11:15.520 --> 0:11:19.560 big bush and plant it a few feet from where 0:11:19.559 --> 0:11:22.840 that sign is supposed to go, so at least it 0:11:22.880 --> 0:11:24.920 will block it from our point of view. I got 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:28.160 a big six seven foot treea planted it out there 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:31.520 way by the driveway. Looked like a random bush in 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:34.439 the middle of nowhere. I know our neighbors thought, boy, 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:37.040 those people are strange. But I knew it's going to 0:11:37.080 --> 0:11:40.360 help take care of this problem. Month after month went by, 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:43.439 my bush grew bigger and bigger. About two years later, 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:46.360 the city finally came and put the speed humps on 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:50.600 the street. But instead of installing the sign in front 0:11:50.640 --> 0:11:53.439 of my house like the others, they put it four 0:11:53.600 --> 0:11:57.080 houses down on the other side of the street. I 0:11:57.160 --> 0:12:00.680 spent two years trying to fix the problem. What happened? 0:12:01.559 --> 0:12:03.440 Every time I drove up to my house, I thought, 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:08.040 there's my worry tree. Are you trying to solve a 0:12:08.160 --> 0:12:12.160 problem that hasn't happened? Well, Joe, what if I get 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:15.320 laid off next year? What if you don't, but you 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:18.440 spend a whole year worrying about it? What if I 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:21.800 never get married? What if you do? How much time 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:24.880 are you wasting worrying? What if this pain in my 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:28.360 side is something serious? Go to the doctor, get checked out, 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:31.960 but don't spend three years worried then find out it 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:36.520 was nothing. Jesus put it this way. Don't worry about tomorrow, 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:41.040 for tomorrow will have enough worries of its own. God 0:12:41.240 --> 0:12:45.760 has given you grace for today. You don't have grace 0:12:45.840 --> 0:12:49.640 for tomorrow. Don't try to figure out the next five years. 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:52.960 Play out all the what ifs. The what ifs will 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:56.440 depress you. The truth is, if a what if does 0:12:56.640 --> 0:12:59.440 come to pass, God will give you the grace to 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:03.079 handle it. What if the report's not good? What if 0:13:03.120 --> 0:13:05.199 my loved one doesn't make it? What if I do 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:09.240 get laid off? Joel, Then the peace that passes understanding 0:13:09.480 --> 0:13:13.000 will be right there waiting for you. God promises he 0:13:13.120 --> 0:13:17.160 will arm you with strength for every battle. We may 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:20.319 not know what the future holds, but we do know 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:25.880 who holds the future. Now, don't miss today worried about tomorrow. 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:29.679 Today is a gift. We can never get this day back. 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:32.920 I believe life with me. Many of the things you're 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:36.240 worried about are not going to happen. If they do, 0:13:36.640 --> 0:13:39.240 it's not going to be as difficult as you think. 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:43.000 You don't have the grace for it today. And sure 0:13:43.320 --> 0:13:46.040 we should plan, we should use common sense, but at 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:48.440 some point you have to turn it over to God 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:52.080 and say, God, you know what's best for me. You 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.160 said you'd give me grace for every season, just like 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.840 you clothe the lily of the fields, just like you 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:00.520 feed the birds of the air. I know you will 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:03.480 take care of me. It's very free when you learn 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:07.200 to turn things over to God. You're not supposed to 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:12.600 go through life weighted down by worry, stress, anxiety. Start 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:16.680 lightening your load, go back to the still waters, empty 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:20.120 all that out. Really, it's important every morning you should 0:14:20.160 --> 0:14:24.360 start the day off in peace, not stressed, hurried rushing around. 0:14:24.760 --> 0:14:28.440 Look at the sunrise, listen to the birds singing, Breathe 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:31.920 in God's goodness, thank him for his blessings in your life. 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:37.600 Hebrews talks about entering into the rest of God. That 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:41.000 means you have a problem, but you're not losing sleep 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:44.800 over it. You know, God is still in control. This 0:14:44.880 --> 0:14:47.640 is one of the main ways we show God we're 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:51.680 trusting him by staying in peace, not up when your 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:57.080 circumstances are up, down when they're down, You're stable, you're consistent, 0:14:57.560 --> 0:15:01.040 You're in the rest of God. Two thousand and two, 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:04.160 the Houston City Council members voted for us to have 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:07.600 this facility. It was a two year battle and we'd 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:11.200 worked hard and convinced different council members and God caused 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:14.360 everything to fall into place. The vote was on a 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:18.520 Wednesday morning. That evening, we had a great celebration at 0:15:18.520 --> 0:15:21.880 the church. The next morning, Victoria and I, our two 0:15:21.960 --> 0:15:24.400 small children, went out of town to take a few 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:27.800 days off. We were on cloud nine. We couldn't believe 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:30.440 that it happened. We got to the hotel and started 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:33.960 unpacking our bags and my brother in law, Kevin called, 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:38.760 he's our administrator. He said, Joel, a large company just 0:15:38.840 --> 0:15:42.000 filed a federal lawsuit to try to keep us from 0:15:42.080 --> 0:15:45.600 moving into the Compact Center. They said we violate the 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:49.120 deed restrictions. I asked him what that meant, and he said, 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.720 it means that we can't move into the property because 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:55.920 it's tied up in the legal system, and the attorneys 0:15:55.960 --> 0:15:58.960 say it can take up to ten years to resolve, 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.920 and there's no guarantee that we could win. I hung 0:16:03.000 --> 0:16:07.520 up the phone and Victoria overheard the conversation. She stopped 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:11.040 unpacking and said, Joel, what are you gonna do? I said, 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.760 I'm gonna go down to the beach. She said, what 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.960 are you gonna do there? I said, I'm gonna swim. 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:21.120 She said, aren't you worried? Aren't you stressed? Aren't you upset? 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:23.720 I said, no, Victoria, We've done what we can do. 0:16:24.080 --> 0:16:30.160 Now it's in God's hands. And I told her I'm 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:33.400 not going to worry about something that I can't change. 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:36.640 I learned my lesson. I'm not putting up another worried tree. 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:39.080 I am gonna stay at rest and trust God to 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:43.600 fight my battles. Are you losing sleep over something you 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:47.520 can't do anything about. As long as you're honoring God 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:51.680 being your best, then you can rest. You may be 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.560 facing an illness you can't make yourself get well. Of course, 0:16:55.600 --> 0:16:57.960 do what you can use common sense, but at some 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:00.200 point you have to turn it over to God God 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:03.000 and say Lord, I trust you to bring the healing. 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:06.120 But in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my life. 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:12.280 Worrying doesn't help you to heal. Living stressed uptight. Studies 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:15.960 show that weakens the immune system. Come back to a 0:17:16.000 --> 0:17:19.040 place of peace. Or you may have people in your 0:17:19.160 --> 0:17:23.000 life that are not making good decisions. You can't make 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:27.399 people do what's right. Don't let their poor choices sour 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:31.159 your life. You have to protect your peace. Don't go 0:17:31.280 --> 0:17:35.480 the next twenty years all worried about somebody else. Turn 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:38.879 them over to God. If you'll get off the throne, 0:17:38.960 --> 0:17:42.080 so to speak, and stay at rest, then God will 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:44.640 get on the throne and do what you can't do 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:48.520 in his own way, his own timing. He'll make things happen. 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:53.359 But really, if God is not changing them yet, what 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.800 makes us think we can change them in our own strength? 0:17:57.280 --> 0:18:00.720 And sure, we should be good examples, we should pray. 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:04.040 But what I'm saying is you shouldn't live stressed out 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:09.000 over somebody else's poor choices. You have a destiny to fulfill. 0:18:09.600 --> 0:18:13.240 You need your energy, your wisdom, your creativity to become 0:18:13.480 --> 0:18:17.159 all God's created you to be. Are you trying to 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:21.600 change things that only God can change? Your load will 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:23.920 get a whole lot lighter if you'll turn it over 0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:28.600 to him and enter into his rest. Act Chapter twelve, 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:32.679 King Herod had Peter arrested and put in prison. He 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:36.280 didn't like the fact that Peter was a follower of Christ. 0:18:36.800 --> 0:18:41.080 Peter was in the dungeon, chained between two soldiers. The 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:43.719 next morning he was going to be brought to trial. 0:18:44.359 --> 0:18:48.400 Herod had already killed James. It looks like Peter would 0:18:48.440 --> 0:18:51.880 be next. You can imagine what Peter must have been thinking. 0:18:52.560 --> 0:18:56.800 But that night, an angel appeared in the prison. He 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:01.200 went to wake Peter up, but Peter was sleeping so soundly. 0:19:01.640 --> 0:19:05.439 The scripture says the angel had to shake Peter to 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:09.080 awaken him. Now, if you knew the next day your 0:19:09.119 --> 0:19:12.120 life may come to an end you were in great danger, 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:15.520 would you be sleeping soundly or would you be pacing 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:18.879 the floor stressed out? God, please help me, God, Please 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:21.680 don't let them kill me. It's good to pray, it's 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:24.440 good to ask for God's help, but at some point 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:27.320 we all have to do like Peter, say, God, I've 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:30.680 honored you, I've prayed, I believed, I've done my best. 0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:34.480 Now God, I'm going to rest I'm not gonna worry 0:19:34.480 --> 0:19:37.880 about the medical report, not gonna live stressed out over 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:41.040 the situation at work, not gonna be upset because I 0:19:41.040 --> 0:19:45.119 don't see anything happening. God, I trust you. If Peter 0:19:45.320 --> 0:19:49.119 would have been stressed worried, maybe the angel wouldn't have 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:52.840 showed up, maybe he wouldn't have been freed. But when 0:19:52.880 --> 0:19:56.280 God saw him resting, God said, all right, let me 0:19:56.359 --> 0:20:00.680 go to work. I wonder if you would cease sits 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:04.000 turn around, if you'd simply come back to a place 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:09.520 of peace. Worry doesn't make anything better. Being frustrated doesn't 0:20:09.520 --> 0:20:14.960 get God's attention. Begging God, reminding him what's wrong, that 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:18.679 only makes us depressed. Take the problem off the throne 0:20:19.000 --> 0:20:21.880 and put God back up on the throne. If you're 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:25.439 talking more about your problem than you are about God, 0:20:25.600 --> 0:20:28.400 you have the wrong thing on the throne. I saw 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:31.360 saying the other day. It said, dear problem, My God 0:20:31.720 --> 0:20:35.000 is so much bigger than you. But even in prayer, 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:39.359 instead of praying in faith, sometimes we complain about what 0:20:39.359 --> 0:20:42.240 we don't like. God. These people at work, they get 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:45.399 on my nerves. You better do something, God, My back's 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:48.520 been hurting for six years. God, these processes are so high. 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:52.679 I need your help. Instead of begging God, instead of 0:20:52.720 --> 0:20:56.240 reminding him of everything that's wrong, why don't you try 0:20:56.480 --> 0:21:00.880 a different approach. Do like Peter, go to sleep, enter 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:05.080 into his rest. Sometimes when I pray, I say, God, 0:21:05.640 --> 0:21:08.359 you already know what I need, You already know what 0:21:08.400 --> 0:21:11.560 I want. You know all about me. So Lord, I 0:21:11.680 --> 0:21:14.080 just want to tell you that I love you, I 0:21:14.200 --> 0:21:17.360 trust you, and I thank you forgetting me to where 0:21:17.400 --> 0:21:23.120 I'm supposed to be. Not begging God, but praying from 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:26.560 a place of rest, talking to him from a place 0:21:26.640 --> 0:21:30.840 of peace. Our actions speak louder than our words. When 0:21:30.840 --> 0:21:34.040 you can sleep soundly, like Peter in a time of 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:37.560 great need, you're showing God that you trust him. You're 0:21:37.600 --> 0:21:40.960 saying God, I know you're bigger than this problem. You 0:21:41.119 --> 0:21:43.479 said you would never sleep, So I'm going to go 0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:46.719 to sleep. Even though things aren't perfect in my life, 0:21:46.800 --> 0:21:50.040 I'm a relax knowing that you're on the throne and 0:21:50.119 --> 0:21:53.160 you are fighting my battles. It's a very freeing way 0:21:53.200 --> 0:21:57.040 to live. My message to you today is very simple. 0:21:57.320 --> 0:22:00.960 Go to sleep, enter into his rest. Worrying about everything, 0:22:01.240 --> 0:22:03.760 quit trying to figure it out, turn it over to God. 0:22:04.800 --> 0:22:10.800 I see six people already asleep, Jesus said, I'm sending 0:22:10.840 --> 0:22:16.159 you out as sheep among wolves. Sheep are very calm, 0:22:16.480 --> 0:22:20.399 peaceful animals. They don't get upset. I've never seen a 0:22:20.440 --> 0:22:24.520 sheep having a nervous breakdown, never seen one pacing the 0:22:24.600 --> 0:22:29.080 fields stressed out uptight. They're always at ease. Last summer, 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:32.040 Victoria and I went to Colorado and we were riding 0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:34.680 four wheelers up in the mountains and we came around 0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:37.919 a corner. There were about three hundred sheep in our path. 0:22:38.440 --> 0:22:41.760 We couldn't get by. I thought the equipment would scare 0:22:41.800 --> 0:22:44.280 them off, but they didn't move. I put my four 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:47.320 wheeler in neutro and I ribbed the engine real loud 0:22:47.440 --> 0:22:50.320 two or three times, and those sheep just looked at me, like, 0:22:50.760 --> 0:22:54.440 why are you making all that racket? No more affected them. 0:22:55.080 --> 0:23:00.360 What's interesting is sheep are basically defenseless animals. They can't 0:23:00.440 --> 0:23:04.359 run fast, they don't have sharp teeth, they can't really kick. 0:23:05.000 --> 0:23:07.800 They rely on the shepherd to take care of them. 0:23:08.440 --> 0:23:12.239 The shepherd keeps them from danger. The shepherd protects them 0:23:12.280 --> 0:23:15.320 from wild animals. The shepherd tells them where to go. 0:23:15.680 --> 0:23:18.280 They don't worry they know, as long as they're with 0:23:18.400 --> 0:23:23.000 the shepherd, everything will be fine. We can take a 0:23:23.080 --> 0:23:27.359 lesson from the sheep. Stay in peace. The good Shepherd 0:23:27.520 --> 0:23:31.080 is watching over you, the God who knew you before 0:23:31.119 --> 0:23:34.360 you were born, the God who breathed life into you. 0:23:34.680 --> 0:23:38.840 He's guiding you, he's protecting you. And yes, there will 0:23:38.880 --> 0:23:41.960 be some wolves in our path, some attacks, things we 0:23:42.000 --> 0:23:46.199 don't understand. Don't fall apart, don't start complaining. Be like 0:23:46.240 --> 0:23:49.760 a sheep. Stay in peace. You don't have to run, 0:23:50.080 --> 0:23:52.560 you don't have to get all worked up. The good 0:23:52.640 --> 0:23:56.080 Shepherd will fight your battles. He will lead you into 0:23:56.119 --> 0:24:00.639 green pastures. He'll restore your soul. May go through some 0:24:00.760 --> 0:24:04.879 valleys and difficult seasons, you don't have to fear any evil. 0:24:05.080 --> 0:24:07.840 For the Lord you're God, the good Shepherd is right 0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:12.879 there with you. But sometimes the reason we're not seeing 0:24:12.920 --> 0:24:16.119 God work in our life is we're not acting like sheep. 0:24:16.600 --> 0:24:20.240 We're worried, living, stressed out, trying to change things that 0:24:20.280 --> 0:24:23.040 we can't change. Why don't you come back to a 0:24:23.080 --> 0:24:26.880 place of peace, come back to the still waters. You've 0:24:26.920 --> 0:24:30.120 worried about that problem long enough. Let your mind take 0:24:30.119 --> 0:24:33.840 a break. Some people never let their mind rest. They 0:24:33.880 --> 0:24:36.480 go on vacation for their body, but their mind is 0:24:36.520 --> 0:24:39.239 still worrying. They worry on the beach just like they 0:24:39.280 --> 0:24:41.920 worry at home. That doesn't help us to move one 0:24:41.960 --> 0:24:46.000 inch forward. In the scripture, when God told Anonius to 0:24:46.040 --> 0:24:50.040 go pray for Saul, Anonius didn't want to go. Saul 0:24:50.160 --> 0:24:53.439 was having believers arrested and put in prison. He was 0:24:53.480 --> 0:24:56.680 the greatest enemy of the church. But on the road 0:24:56.720 --> 0:25:01.200 to Damascus, when that light shine down bright, he became blind. 0:25:01.600 --> 0:25:05.040 A voice boomed out and said, Saul, why do you 0:25:05.119 --> 0:25:08.920 persecute me? He said, who are you? The voice said, 0:25:09.280 --> 0:25:13.240 I am Jesus. That moment was a turning point in 0:25:13.320 --> 0:25:18.160 Saul's life. He left there a changed man. But Anonius 0:25:18.240 --> 0:25:21.160 didn't know anything about what had happened on the road 0:25:21.200 --> 0:25:24.959 to Damascus. He still thought Saul was a huge threat. 0:25:25.720 --> 0:25:29.120 He said, Lord, I've heard many reports about this man 0:25:29.240 --> 0:25:33.360 and all the harm that he's causing. Anonius was worried. 0:25:33.960 --> 0:25:35.960 He came up with a lot of reasons why he 0:25:35.960 --> 0:25:40.040 shouldn't pray for Saul. I'm sure he spent some restless 0:25:40.160 --> 0:25:43.040 nights thinking I must not have heard God right. This 0:25:43.119 --> 0:25:47.679 man is dangerous. He didn't realize he was worried about 0:25:47.720 --> 0:25:51.639 something that God had already taken care of. He didn't 0:25:51.720 --> 0:25:54.880 know that Saul had already had a change of heart. 0:25:55.080 --> 0:25:58.320 On the road to Damascus. When he finally went to 0:25:58.400 --> 0:26:01.840 pray for him, he found doubt that Saul was an 0:26:01.880 --> 0:26:06.000 ally instead of an enemy. Some of the things you'll 0:26:06.080 --> 0:26:10.200 worried about, just like with Anonius, you can't see it yet, 0:26:10.480 --> 0:26:13.919 but God has already changed it. He's already spoken to 0:26:14.000 --> 0:26:17.760 the right people. He's already lined up your healing. He's 0:26:17.800 --> 0:26:21.040 already arranged that breakthrough. It's just a matter of time 0:26:21.359 --> 0:26:25.160 before you walk into it. No use losing sleep over 0:26:25.200 --> 0:26:29.200 that child, this off course anymore. No use being frustrated 0:26:29.640 --> 0:26:33.480 over that negative medical reporter, over that situation at work. 0:26:33.800 --> 0:26:37.960 The threat has already been canceled. The solution is already 0:26:38.119 --> 0:26:42.000 en routed. Stay in peace, and like Anonius, you'll come 0:26:42.040 --> 0:26:46.440 in to what God has already done. Friends, don't let 0:26:46.480 --> 0:26:49.960 worry rob you. If a thief came into your home 0:26:50.119 --> 0:26:54.119 every week and took your groceries, took your clothing, stole 0:26:54.240 --> 0:26:57.960 your furniture, it wouldn't take long at all before you 0:26:58.040 --> 0:27:00.680 got fed up and say no more. That's enough. You'd 0:27:00.680 --> 0:27:03.240 put a stop to it real quickly. That's what you 0:27:03.320 --> 0:27:06.920 have to do with worry. Don't go another five years 0:27:07.200 --> 0:27:10.800 letting worry rob you of your joy, rob you of 0:27:10.840 --> 0:27:13.960 your peace. Put your foot down and say that's it. 0:27:14.320 --> 0:27:17.159 This is a new day. No more worrying for me. 0:27:17.480 --> 0:27:20.359 I'm gonna guard my mind. I'm gonna stay by the 0:27:20.440 --> 0:27:25.280 still waters. I'm gonna live from a place of peace. Remember, 0:27:25.840 --> 0:27:29.560 when you rest, God goes to work. But when you work, 0:27:29.880 --> 0:27:35.280 God rest. Whatever's bothering you, whatever you're tempted to worry about. 0:27:35.600 --> 0:27:38.919 I'm asking you to take that off the throne and 0:27:39.000 --> 0:27:42.280 put God back up on the throne. Make him bigger, 0:27:42.720 --> 0:27:46.399 use that same energy to thank him that he's working 0:27:46.480 --> 0:27:50.160 in your life. If you'll do this, I believe and declare, 0:27:50.600 --> 0:27:55.600 you'll experience peace that passes understanding. No matter what happens 0:27:55.600 --> 0:27:59.040 on the outside, on the inside, you'll be at rest, 0:27:59.359 --> 0:28:04.320 You'll overcome obstacles, You'll accomplish your dreams and become everything 0:28:04.680 --> 0:28:08.159 God created you to be in Jesus' name, If you 0:28:08.200 --> 0:28:12.440 receive it, can you say it in today? We never 0:28:12.560 --> 0:28:15.920 like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity 0:28:16.080 --> 0:28:18.919 to make Jesus, the Lord of your life. Would you 0:28:18.960 --> 0:28:23.639 pray with me? Just say, Lord, Jesus, I'll repent of 0:28:23.720 --> 0:28:28.720 my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my 0:28:28.840 --> 0:28:33.280 Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, 0:28:33.520 --> 0:28:36.160 we believe you got born again. Get in a good 0:28:36.200 --> 0:28:39.720 Bible based church. Keep God first place. He's going to 0:28:39.800 --> 0:28:41.760 take your places that you've never dreamed. 0:28:42.880 --> 0:28:46.320 Thank you for listening to the Joelus Deine podcast. Help 0:28:46.400 --> 0:28:49.160 us continue to share the message of hope with those 0:28:49.240 --> 0:28:52.800 all over the world. Visit Jolus dein dot com slash 0:28:52.920 --> 0:28:54.920 give Hope to give a gift today. 0:28:56.200 --> 0:28:59.120 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 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