The Guided Mind & The Guarded Heart

0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:04.680 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdik. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.160 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.520 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:12.600 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.600 --> 0:00:15.440 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:20.200 And I've been waiting to ask you, are you ready 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:25.320 for the Word of God? Not be really ready? Why 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:28.720 are you ready? Come on, y'all better stretch for this word? 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:36.760 All right, quit banging on those bongos and let me preach. 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:42.320 First Kings, Chapter twenty. First Kings Chapter twenty remains standing 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:45.560 for the reading of God's word. It's good to see 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:49.560 my niece Hattie with blonde hair. I barely recognized her. Wow, 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:52.520 a lot has changed. I used to have blonde hair, Hattie. 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:55.760 Look it up. It's on Google. First Kings, Chapter twenty, 0:00:56.440 --> 0:01:00.520 versus one through thirty four. You want to hurry today? Okay? 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:07.280 Are you hungry? Hungry for the bread of life, the 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:09.920 manna from heaven? I have food to eat that ye know, 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:15.479 not of Okay, King James, let's do it. One Kings 0:01:15.520 --> 0:01:20.840 twenty verse one. Now ben Hadad, King of Aram, mustered 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:26.479 his entire army, accompanied by thirty two kings with their 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:30.120 horses and chariots. He went up and besieged Samaria and 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:34.320 attacked it. He sent messengers into the city to Ahab, 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:38.920 King of Israel, saying, this is what Ben Hadad says. 0:01:39.680 --> 0:01:44.560 Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:50.120 your wives and children are mine. And the king answered, 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:54.840 just as you say, my lord, the King, I and 0:01:55.040 --> 0:02:03.160 all I have are yours. How are you going to 0:02:03.200 --> 0:02:11.640 give up that easy on what God gave you? I 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.480 and all that I have are yours. And the messengers 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:17.240 came again and said, this is what ben Hadad says. 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:20.320 I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives, 0:02:20.320 --> 0:02:22.440 and your children. But about this time tomorrow, I'm going 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:24.240 to send my officials to search your palace. In the 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:27.080 houses of your officials, they will seize everything you value 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:31.240 and carry it away. And the King of Israel summoned 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:33.680 all the elders of the land and said to them, 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:37.280 see how this man is looking for trouble. When he 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:42.000 sent for my wives and my children, my silver and 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:45.600 my gold, I did not refuse him. Let's key in 0:02:45.680 --> 0:02:49.280 on these next verses. The elders and the people all 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:55.800 answered don't listen to him or agree to his demands. 0:02:56.639 --> 0:02:59.600 So he replied to ben Hadad's messengers, tell my Lord 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:02.519 the King, your servant will do all you demand it 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:07.480 the first time, but this demand I cannot meet. And 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:12.400 they left and took the answer back to Benidad. They 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:16.760 left and took the answer back to Benadad. This demand 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:22.920 I cannot meet. Don't listen to him or agree to 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:27.360 his demands. Now that that scripture was probably unfamiliar to 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:29.080 most of you, how many you never heard that one before? 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:33.160 Don't remember hearing it? We can't start my first Sunday 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:37.480 back with y'all, lion right here in church. Come on, 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:39.160 how many of y'all like I don't really know much 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:42.520 about Benadad. I'm gonna balance. I'm gonna balance this and 0:03:42.560 --> 0:03:45.000 give you a familiar scripture, and then we'll preach. But 0:03:45.040 --> 0:03:50.360 look real quick at Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four, 0:03:50.520 --> 0:03:56.440 verse six. Do not be anxious about anything, but in 0:03:56.520 --> 0:04:03.720 every situation, by prayer, petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:09.680 to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:16.880 will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:23.120 So for the next few minutes, let's talk about the 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:30.159 guided mind and the guarded heart. And in case that's 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:36.520 too pretty, here's the other title. Take it back. Take 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:40.960 it back, Father, I thank you for this day of deliverance. 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:44.880 Do what you said you would do. In Jesus' name, Amen, 0:04:45.400 --> 0:04:47.760 on your way to your seat, punch your neighbor gently 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:50.960 if they are not COVID conscious, and say, take it back. 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:58.000 We need to get a new Touch your neighbor, Oh, 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:05.360 touch your neighbors. Take it back. So I want to 0:05:05.440 --> 0:05:08.640 make a confession to you. This is one of my 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:10.520 friends advised me not to share this. I'm gonna share 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:14.760 it anyway. About ten years ago, I went to have 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:20.280 a consultation for liposuction. Buck went with me. This is 0:05:20.320 --> 0:05:24.599 not an endorsement or a negative publicity against cosmetic surgery 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:28.120 in any way. But I went to get an endorsement 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:32.240 for what do you call it? A consultation to see 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:35.560 if the doctor thought I should do liposuction. I didn't 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:37.719 do it. He talked me out of it. And the 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:42.719 reason I went is because I want to have abs 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.480 and I like fried rice, So that's why I went. 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:50.599 That's what I told him. So when he heard me talking, 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:55.560 he said, oh, you're one of these guys, And I 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:57.320 said one of what guys? And Buck was there, so 0:05:57.560 --> 0:06:01.599 he was there with me. He said, these guys you 0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:06.680 just want to You want me to fix the fat, right, 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:10.720 but you still want to eat the food, he basically, 0:06:10.800 --> 0:06:12.320 And I think the guy had a lot of integrity 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:16.440 because he said, get out of here. He said, come 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:20.960 see me after you've changed your processes. Come see me 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:23.320 after you've changed some things, you know, maybe your diet, 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:26.120 you're exercising all that. Then if you still he said, 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:29.920 but but don't come to me asking me to fix 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:36.000 what you are unwilling to change. So I left and 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:37.839 I didn't do it, and I still haven't done it 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:39.240 to this day, but I might one day. I don't 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:43.680 know making any commitments like that. What I've noticed a 0:06:43.680 --> 0:06:49.800 lot of times spiritually is that we bring God our problems, 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:52.680 and that's good. I want you to know you can 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:56.919 bring any problem that you ever have into the presence 0:06:56.960 --> 0:07:02.719 of God. Your problems are welcome in God's presence. You 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:04.799 might as well bring him into the presence of God. 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:09.720 It's not like he doesn't know about them anyway. My 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:14.160 problems are welcome in God's presence. And that helps me 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:16.280 to know that there's nothing that I'm dealing with that 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:18.480 I have to carry by myself. I don't get extra 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:23.000 credit for holding it to myself. When I come to God, 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:25.560 I can start talking about you know, like Paul said 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:30.400 in Philippians chapter four, anything he said, don't be anxious, 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:35.000 but instead pray. And I'm so grateful that there's nothing 0:07:35.040 --> 0:07:38.320 that I have to hide from God. I can bring 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.280 him any problem that I have, not just a big 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:44.160 one but a small one. Not just a small one, 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:47.240 but a big one. God doesn't have a scale where 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:51.320 he weighs my problems and says that's too big. I'm busy. 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:53.640 And on the other hand, God doesn't have a must 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:55.680 be this tall to ride sign in his presence where 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.840 he says, if your problem isn't a certain amount, I'm 0:07:57.880 --> 0:07:59.680 not concerned with it, because He's number the hairs on 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:03.480 my head. He cares about what I care about. But 0:08:03.640 --> 0:08:05.880 lately I felt the Lord challenging me. And I'm want 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:08.120 to start this teaching with you today and this will 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:11.680 just really be the beginning of it. But God's been 0:08:11.760 --> 0:08:17.320 challenging me instead of always just bringing me your problems, 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:21.280 which you're always welcome to do. Why don't you start 0:08:21.320 --> 0:08:30.120 bringing me your thoughts instead of coming to me, you know, 0:08:30.200 --> 0:08:33.560 like in an emotional state where you're all worked up 0:08:33.600 --> 0:08:35.959 and you're so depressed, and you're so anxious and all 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:37.920 these other things that I know I'm not supposed to be, 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:40.920 but I get there and then asking God, will you 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:46.240 please suck it out? It's been a while. Have y'all 0:08:46.240 --> 0:08:50.000 prayed any prayers lately? God? Would you please suck this 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:53.959 out of me? Have you ever come to the Lord 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:58.120 for light? Bo is what I'm trying to say, where 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:01.199 I'm asking God to deal with the consequences, and that's fine, 0:09:01.240 --> 0:09:03.600 and I would not discourage you from that. There's nothing 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:06.120 that you've brought in here today that God hasn't seen before. 0:09:07.200 --> 0:09:09.880 Please don't ever be arrogant enough to think that you 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:12.520 have created a new category or species of sin that 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:15.160 God is somehow going to be repulsed or surprised by. 0:09:17.320 --> 0:09:18.959 And please don't ever think that you're going to bring 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:21.480 God something that he would be intimidated or insulted by. 0:09:22.600 --> 0:09:26.120 At the same time, wouldn't you like to find out 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:29.600 what it would be like that instead of letting the 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:32.880 problem get to the point where it's so tangled up 0:09:32.920 --> 0:09:34.840 inside of you that you have to bring it to 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:38.520 God as a full grown problem. What if you started 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:44.360 involving God earlier in the process, at the level of 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:49.640 your thought. When I read you the scripture from One 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:53.360 Kings twenty, it was a surprising scripture for me that 0:09:53.400 --> 0:09:57.600 God led me to to preach, because the main character 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:00.760 in the passage is not King David, or you know, 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:03.920 Man after God's own heart, or Moses who was no 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:09.160 ordinary child, but a king that we don't preach much 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:12.520 about named Ahab. Now, the only time you ever hear 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:16.280 Ahab's name is in connection with the problem that he caused. 0:10:16.960 --> 0:10:20.360 And AaB caused a lot of problems in fact, for 0:10:20.440 --> 0:10:22.040 any of you who feel like you're too bad for 0:10:22.080 --> 0:10:24.480 God to bless you, or you can't like really give 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:26.840 what God has for you. The Bible says in One 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:30.360 King sixteen that Ahab was the most wicked king who 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:35.000 ever lived, all right, So that's who we're talking about. 0:10:36.240 --> 0:10:39.000 And the Bible says that thirty two kings came to 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:43.280 attack him, a confederacy of thirty two different kings led 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:46.040 by ben Hadad, who AaB fought three different times and 0:10:46.080 --> 0:10:48.800 I'm just giving you all this background to remind you 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:54.240 that Ahab, in One Kings Chapter twenty, the king who 0:10:54.320 --> 0:10:59.960 needed for God to do something. Let me read it again. 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:10.800 Isn't it crazy? I just read it again that the 0:11:10.920 --> 0:11:18.480 king of Israel, the nation that belonged to God, didn't 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:25.880 even ask for God's perspective before he agreed to the 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:32.160 enemy's demands. If you notice, there is no section in 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:36.080 this scripture that Ahab stops and calls for a prophet. 0:11:37.240 --> 0:11:39.360 There is no section in the scripture that I read 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.480 you that Ahab stops and says, well, let's see what 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:45.640 the Lord says about this. There is no there is 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:52.280 no indication see aep I hate Ab because he caused 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:55.880 all this trouble for the nation and then wanted to 0:11:55.880 --> 0:12:00.360 blame the enemy for an agreement that he him elf 0:12:00.400 --> 0:12:05.480 made with the enemy. How many times in my life, 0:12:05.600 --> 0:12:10.280 in your life, have we asked God to deliver us 0:12:10.360 --> 0:12:14.200 from an agreement that we made with the enemy without 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:22.240 consulting him. Oh, you're one of those kinds. The life 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:25.280 of suction doctor said to me, you just want me 0:12:25.360 --> 0:12:27.480 to suck it out. You just want to bring me 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:30.360 the results of your habits and have me fix them 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:36.440 without adjusting any of them. AaB is so quick to 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:41.560 agree with the enemy. I wonder how many times in 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:48.040 your life have you agreed with the enemy without even 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:51.920 consulting God. You know what I mean by agreed with 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:55.720 the enemy. It comes along in the form of anxiety. 0:12:56.200 --> 0:12:59.400 I'm not one of these people who wakes up to 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:06.560 my first alarm clock. In fact, my default disposition in 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:13.040 the morning is despair and discouragement. Holly, that's too loud 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:14.360 of a laugh, and you just keep it down on 0:13:14.360 --> 0:13:18.760 that front. Row my default position. And so in some 0:13:18.880 --> 0:13:21.920 ways the verse I read you in Philippians. I know 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:24.120 you don't think these two scriptures go together, but I'm 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:27.160 going to show you how they do. Because Philippians four 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:29.280 six to someone like me is just about the most 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.280 annoying Bible verse in the Bible, where Paul says, don't 0:13:32.320 --> 0:13:35.120 be anxious about anything. And I want to file that. 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.560 My first instinct is I want to file that in 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:43.440 the court of useless advice. And I also want to 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:47.520 argue with Paul because his kids didn't have Snapchat, and 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:49.840 so when he's telling me don't be anxious about anything, 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:51.800 he didn't even have kids, So how are you going 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:54.480 to sit here and advise me on a situation that 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:57.040 you never had firsthand experience of. And I want to 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:02.600 argue with Paul, don't be anxious about anything, because to me, 0:14:02.679 --> 0:14:09.600 at first it seems like an impossible demand. So then 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:11.800 he says something else. He says, but in every situation, 0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:18.440 by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:21.640 Do not be anxious about anything. But in every situation, 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:25.680 by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. Now, 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:27.640 this is the end of a letter that Paul wrote 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:29.720 to the Philippian church. This is not the first thing 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:31.800 that he said to them. This is not your annoying 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:34.480 friend that gives you unsolicited advice. This is a church 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:36.800 that he had a great relationship with. This is in 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:39.080 a time of his own imprisonment where he has more 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:41.120 to worry about than they have to worry about. And 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:44.320 when we see the word anxious, I know you can't 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:47.280 relate to this. But a few people in the church 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:52.000 have had more anxiety in the past year than they 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:55.040 ever had before. There's a few people in the church, 0:14:56.000 --> 0:15:00.720 just a few dirty sinners. And what the to me? 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:05.400 Over the course of the pandemic is very interesting. It's 0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:11.320 almost by getting me to indulge in the little thoughts 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:16.040 I noticed that he had. He had, he had tempted 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:20.240 me to make agreements that I didn't even know that 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:27.120 I made. That almost that almost caused me to give 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:33.320 up what God gave me, an agreement with the enemy. 0:15:34.160 --> 0:15:37.040 So Ahab has a wife named Jezebel, and she has 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:40.280 taught him to depend on idols. She is a Phoenician woman. 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:42.640 She does not serve the God of Israel. She has 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:46.200 taught them to serve the rain god. Bail the rain God. 0:15:46.360 --> 0:15:48.600 But he has just been proven false on a mountain 0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:51.760 called Mount Carmel under a prophet named Elijah. And now 0:15:51.840 --> 0:15:55.280 after a state of famine, the nation is weakened, and 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:59.240 so Benedad makes a strategy. I will attack them while 0:15:59.320 --> 0:16:02.480 they are still week from the famine. And it's not 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:04.920 just one enemy that you got to worry about. The 0:16:04.920 --> 0:16:08.080 Bible says that he went and got thirty two other kings. 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.560 Because you need to know before you agree with the enemy. 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:18.000 He always brings company that you didn't count on an 0:16:18.080 --> 0:16:23.480 agreement with the enemy. Have you made any agreements with 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:30.560 the enemy that need to be broken? Today before you 0:16:30.600 --> 0:16:36.200 can move forward into the promise that God has for 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:44.240 your life, do not be anxious about anything. I don't 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:49.680 like that verse because frankly, I like my anxiety, and 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:52.000 I'm not talking about as a medical condition. You know, 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:55.080 terms get so culturally loaded. They mean different things to 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:58.000 different people. I am not telling you not to consult 0:16:58.040 --> 0:17:00.440 a professional. That is not the point of this sermon. 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:05.960 But many of us have made an alliance with anxiety 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:11.520 somewhere deep in our hearts, and we have actually grown 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:16.120 so accustomed to our anxiety that it now feels normal 0:17:16.200 --> 0:17:20.879 to us, and peace feels foreign. And so now you 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:24.080 get used to just waking up feeling weird all the time, 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:26.320 and now you get used to feeling on edge all 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:28.600 the time, and you begin to think that it is 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:34.239 normal because it's all that you've ever seen. And I 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:37.040 love what the elders said to Ahab. This is what 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:39.600 I believe the spirit of God is saying to somebody today, 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:43.719 and it's the message God gave me. Do not listen 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:52.080 to your enemy or agree to his demands. Just because 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:56.399 my enemy speaks something doesn't mean I have to agree 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:03.080 with it. After all, it is not the voice you 0:18:03.160 --> 0:18:07.640 hear that determines the life you end up with. It's 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:13.280 the voice you believe, and before the enemy can get 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:15.879 you to agree with it, he has to get you 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:19.000 to believe it. So in order to get you to 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:22.520 believe it, he'll get somebody to say it. And how 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:26.520 many have found out you cannot believe everything you hear? 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:31.440 Not these days, I was reading the list of things 0:18:31.480 --> 0:18:34.240 that Paul said that we should think about, because he's 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:36.439 trying to give us a new perspective. You have to 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:38.919 believe everything that crosses through your mind. You have to 0:18:38.960 --> 0:18:41.880 accept everything that comes across your heart. He said, don't 0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:46.720 be anxious about anything, but pray about everything. Now he says, 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:48.760 there are some things we should think about verse eight. 0:18:49.520 --> 0:18:52.399 Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever 0:18:52.440 --> 0:18:54.879 is pure, whatever is lovely. But see, I stopped at 0:18:54.880 --> 0:18:57.760 part one when he said, finally, brothers and sisters, whatever 0:18:57.880 --> 0:19:00.800 is true, think about such things, because I wondered, how 0:19:00.800 --> 0:19:06.000 do I even know anymore what that is? How do 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:11.960 I even know what is true? How can I possibly know? 0:19:13.200 --> 0:19:20.680 In this culture of headlines and highlights. Now you don't 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:23.960 even just believe the headline. You believe the retweet of 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:28.919 the retweet of the retweet of the retweet. How do 0:19:29.000 --> 0:19:32.960 I even know what is true anymore? How do I 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:37.440 even know? Because if I make an agreement with the enemy. 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:40.560 That's why I was excited about uth X. I think 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:47.320 that if we can undo some of the untruths and 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:56.320 keep our young people from making some agreements with the enemy. Now, 0:19:56.560 --> 0:19:59.760 this is what I'm praying. This is what I'm praying, 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:02.280 not only for this week, but I'm praying this for 0:20:02.359 --> 0:20:04.720 my kids all the time. You'll know I've got a 0:20:04.760 --> 0:20:07.959 good prayer life because I've got three children that are 0:20:07.960 --> 0:20:11.159 still living in my house. You'll know I got a 0:20:11.160 --> 0:20:13.679 good prayer life because one of them as his driver's permit. 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:15.919 You'll know I got a good prayer life because I 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:18.120 have a beautiful ten year old daughter. And oh, I'm 0:20:18.160 --> 0:20:23.120 praying every day. Don't let my daughter, don't let my sons, 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:33.119 don't let me make agreements with the enemy. Don't let 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:36.720 me make an agreement with the enemy. You know, sometimes 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:39.880 you get in this self pity mode and you kind 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:41.680 of go with it and you start thinking, oh, I'm 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:43.760 just worthless, I'm just this, I'm just that, I'm just 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:45.399 the other. You know why you do that, because it 0:20:45.440 --> 0:20:50.840 takes the pressure off for a minute. You know why 0:20:51.240 --> 0:20:53.720 Ahab gave up his silver and his gold, and the 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:59.320 Bible said his best wives not you can have the 0:20:59.359 --> 0:21:01.399 other ones, but Lord, let me keep the best ones. 0:21:02.320 --> 0:21:04.360 I'm gonna take your silver and your gold, and I'm 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:06.240 gonna take your best wives and your best kids. In 0:21:06.240 --> 0:21:10.080 other words, I'm attack the land. They have said, okay, 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:12.800 because if I agree with you, maybe you won't attack me. 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:20.840 So sometimes we find ways to make the attack stop 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:24.840 that actually make the battle worse and weaken us on 0:21:24.880 --> 0:21:31.560 the inside after the fact. This is the root of addiction. Oh, 0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:33.600 I was praying for our kids when y'all were standing 0:21:33.680 --> 0:21:36.480 up earlier. I was praying, God, don't let them make 0:21:36.560 --> 0:21:41.600 an alliance with something early in their life. Don't let 0:21:41.600 --> 0:21:44.440 them make an agreement with something. Some of us make 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:48.359 agreements with things that provide us with temporary relief. But 0:21:48.480 --> 0:21:53.000 they are false gods. They cannot save, they do not 0:21:53.200 --> 0:21:56.760 serve us, they do not satisfy us. They are broken 0:21:56.880 --> 0:22:03.520 cisterns that cannot hold water. So if we're going to 0:22:03.560 --> 0:22:06.920 preach about anything, if we're going to preach about repentance 0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:10.600 from sin and dead works, we have to first understand 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:13.640 that before the problem, this is my sermon, before the 0:22:13.680 --> 0:22:17.679 promise of God can be received, your agreement with the 0:22:17.800 --> 0:22:27.160 enemy has to be broken. And there are things there 0:22:27.160 --> 0:22:30.680 are things about you that are not true, that are 0:22:30.720 --> 0:22:34.240 not right, that are not noble, that are not good, 0:22:34.320 --> 0:22:37.760 report that are not virtuous, that are not praiseworthy, that 0:22:37.800 --> 0:22:42.240 you have begun to believe, because sometimes it is easier 0:22:42.280 --> 0:22:45.399 to believe the lie that looks like the evidence I 0:22:45.440 --> 0:22:51.640 can see, then believe the truth that is new. And 0:22:51.680 --> 0:22:55.760 it's easier for me to bring God my love handles 0:22:57.440 --> 0:23:02.240 and ask him to suck them out. Have you ever 0:23:02.560 --> 0:23:04.520 crawled up in the presence of God when it's so 0:23:04.680 --> 0:23:08.640 bad that you can't even hardly pray anymore? After you've 0:23:08.680 --> 0:23:15.880 been fifteen rounds with Oh God? And I've had God 0:23:15.960 --> 0:23:18.720 help me in those times. To be honest with you, 0:23:18.960 --> 0:23:21.120 I wouldn't bear if he didn't help me in those times. 0:23:21.400 --> 0:23:23.760 So there's nothing wrong with that. But I heard the 0:23:23.800 --> 0:23:26.199 Lord say to me the other day, this would have 0:23:26.240 --> 0:23:34.040 been easier if you'd have brought it to me earlier. Listen, 0:23:34.640 --> 0:23:37.639 it starts before you see it. Say that out loud. 0:23:37.920 --> 0:23:42.280 It starts before you see it again. It starts before 0:23:42.600 --> 0:23:45.480 you see it. That's true for a leak in your roof, 0:23:48.000 --> 0:23:50.639 that is true for an emotional state. I was so, 0:23:50.960 --> 0:23:55.120 I was so obsessed with Paul's instruction to the Philippians. 0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:58.760 He said, the peace of God will guard your heart 0:23:58.880 --> 0:24:00.840 and your mind. In Christ, he says, look at this 0:24:00.880 --> 0:24:03.159 in verse seven, and the peace of God. So I 0:24:03.160 --> 0:24:05.160 want the peace of God. God, give me your peace. 0:24:05.200 --> 0:24:07.399 I'm so stressed out, I'm so anxious. I don't know 0:24:07.440 --> 0:24:11.160 what to do about it. And he said, well, if 0:24:11.160 --> 0:24:17.240 you don't guide your mind, it's impossible for God's peace 0:24:17.280 --> 0:24:21.840 to guard your heart. How many know your mind needs 0:24:21.880 --> 0:24:25.439 to be guided. Oh? Let me, Oh, I need to 0:24:25.440 --> 0:24:30.160 break it to you. Your mind needs guidance. Your mind 0:24:30.240 --> 0:24:35.440 is an undisciplined, rabid dog that will bite the whole neighborhood. God, 0:24:36.080 --> 0:24:39.399 your mind needs guidance. That powerful computer of your mind, 0:24:39.480 --> 0:24:46.320 that mind needs guidance. Elon Musk didn't make a self 0:24:46.400 --> 0:24:50.760 driving mind yet, y'all. I don't think there's one coming 0:24:50.840 --> 0:24:56.680 on the market. So if I'm going to bring God 0:24:56.720 --> 0:25:03.359 into my problems but not bring him into my process, 0:25:04.040 --> 0:25:10.560 what's what's going to happen? Every single time? When the 0:25:10.640 --> 0:25:15.000 King said to the enemy ben Adad, I can't meet 0:25:15.040 --> 0:25:19.719 these demands. The Lord gave a promise in verse thirteen. 0:25:19.800 --> 0:25:23.479 Listen to this. This is Firse King's twenty thirteen. A 0:25:23.560 --> 0:25:27.360 prophet came to Ahab, King of Israel, and announced, this 0:25:27.440 --> 0:25:32.040 is what the Lord says. Whoo, this is what the 0:25:32.040 --> 0:25:36.879 Lord says. I'm supposed to read what comes next, but 0:25:36.920 --> 0:25:41.840 that's where I'm stuck. This is what the Lord says. 0:25:42.600 --> 0:25:47.800 Everybody say it. This is what the Lord says. What 0:25:47.920 --> 0:25:50.880 did I come to church to hear what the Lord says? 0:25:51.119 --> 0:25:53.240 What do I want to fill my heart with? What 0:25:53.280 --> 0:25:56.280 the Lord says? What do I want my kids to believe? 0:25:56.560 --> 0:25:59.520 What the Lord says? What am I building my life 0:25:59.600 --> 0:26:02.359 on that can't be shaken with a storm? What the 0:26:02.400 --> 0:26:06.280 Lord says? What has the power to defeat and uproot 0:26:06.320 --> 0:26:10.040 every lie? I believe? What the Lord says? What am 0:26:10.080 --> 0:26:13.760 I steering my life according to what the Lord says? 0:26:14.080 --> 0:26:16.960 What has the final say over what happens to me 0:26:17.400 --> 0:26:20.680 in this season of my life? What the Lord says? 0:26:21.040 --> 0:26:25.960 What has divine power to demolish strongholds and defeat every 0:26:26.119 --> 0:26:29.720 devil in hell? What the Lord says? This is what 0:26:29.760 --> 0:26:33.720 the Lord says, I heard what you said, Nadadh. But 0:26:33.920 --> 0:26:37.880 this is what the Lord says. Do you see this 0:26:38.080 --> 0:26:42.600 vast army. Do you see these problems? Do you see 0:26:42.640 --> 0:26:46.840 this situation? This is what the Lord says. I will 0:26:46.920 --> 0:26:54.080 give it into your hand today. Then you will know. 0:26:55.440 --> 0:27:00.240 I am the Lord. Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply 0:27:00.400 --> 0:27:04.639 to me. I'm divorced, Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply 0:27:04.760 --> 0:27:08.320 to me. I'm twelve, Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply 0:27:08.440 --> 0:27:11.960 to me. I got a learning disability, Well Pastor Steve. 0:27:12.240 --> 0:27:15.280 That doesn't apply to me. I got an eating disorder, 0:27:15.480 --> 0:27:18.480 Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply to me. I don't 0:27:18.520 --> 0:27:21.919 have any friends, Well Pastor Steve. That doesn't apply to me. 0:27:22.200 --> 0:27:24.840 I got a ge d. If God did it for 0:27:25.040 --> 0:27:32.680 Ahab him sure enough to do it for me. I 0:27:32.840 --> 0:27:45.199 amn this child, Do it for me, Lauren. Do it 0:27:45.240 --> 0:27:50.040 for me, Lauren. I have been carrying the burdens of 0:27:50.200 --> 0:27:59.280 battles that my decisions created. I have been anxious about 0:27:59.359 --> 0:28:06.600 agreement that I made with the enemy. But the Lord said, 0:28:06.600 --> 0:28:12.160 I'm gonna I'm gonna deliver them into your hands today. 0:28:14.720 --> 0:28:23.479 Then you will know. Then you will know, and the 0:28:23.520 --> 0:28:30.240 peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your 0:28:30.320 --> 0:28:33.680 heart and mine. Wait a minute, what's the difference heart 0:28:34.040 --> 0:28:38.680 and mine? Heart and mind? The heart is the emotions. 0:28:40.240 --> 0:28:45.200 The mind is the thought process. And I can't pray 0:28:45.560 --> 0:28:50.400 my way out of emotional states that my thinking cost. 0:28:56.960 --> 0:29:00.440 Y'all didn't shout too good over that heart. Sit down, 0:29:00.480 --> 0:29:07.160 We're still we're still just getting started. I'm not very 0:29:09.120 --> 0:29:13.479 I'm not very good at vacation. I don't know how 0:29:13.480 --> 0:29:17.320 you can be bad at vacation, but I am. Usually 0:29:17.320 --> 0:29:20.320 I'm too lazy to do anything fun with my kids 0:29:20.320 --> 0:29:30.520 and make any memories. But then sometimes when I try stuff, 0:29:30.520 --> 0:29:34.120 it just goes horribly wrong. In fact, every time I 0:29:34.280 --> 0:29:36.160 try to do something a little interest, it goes wrong. 0:29:36.360 --> 0:29:39.360 We were talking this summer. We went to the beach 0:29:39.480 --> 0:29:42.640 this summer, and and they've had kayaks that you can 0:29:42.720 --> 0:29:45.800 ride in the ocean. But it's different. When Holly gets 0:29:45.840 --> 0:29:49.240 in the kayak, it's peaceful. When I get into kayak, 0:29:49.440 --> 0:29:54.240 it's cursed. And there's three three times we got in 0:29:54.280 --> 0:29:56.520 the kayak that it went bad all in one week 0:29:57.360 --> 0:29:59.800 last summer. I didn't get into kayak this summer. It's 0:30:00.240 --> 0:30:03.200 this cursed when I get in one of the times 0:30:03.200 --> 0:30:06.200 that the kayak had ended with a man with scissors 0:30:06.200 --> 0:30:07.640 pointing them at me, telling me he was going to 0:30:07.680 --> 0:30:10.360 stab me with the scissors. And that happened. That happened, 0:30:10.600 --> 0:30:12.360 and we don't have time to talk about that, and 0:30:12.400 --> 0:30:13.760 I don't really want to talk about it. It's a 0:30:13.800 --> 0:30:19.360 horrible memory. But even when I'm not in the kayak, 0:30:19.880 --> 0:30:21.720 listen how bad I am. Listen how bad I am 0:30:21.800 --> 0:30:28.080 at adventures. We swam in the ocean two summers ago, 0:30:28.800 --> 0:30:31.360 and I think I told you all this story where 0:30:31.520 --> 0:30:34.560 the rip title. Yeah, I told you that, But it's 0:30:34.600 --> 0:30:37.200 a conversation that I had with Elijah that I wanted 0:30:37.200 --> 0:30:40.520 to say to you. And maybe I'll say more about 0:30:40.520 --> 0:30:42.080 this at Youth Thanks, because they're gonna let me preach 0:30:42.080 --> 0:30:43.640 a session too, and I might have talk more about this. 0:30:45.720 --> 0:30:49.680 I said, Elijah, You've got to be so careful how 0:30:49.680 --> 0:30:53.959 far you swim out from me, because even if I 0:30:54.040 --> 0:30:58.160 want to get to you out there, there is a 0:30:58.200 --> 0:31:02.120 place that you can get so far away from me. 0:31:03.040 --> 0:31:05.000 I'm your dad, I'm your father. If I could get 0:31:05.000 --> 0:31:08.080 to you, I'll get to you. But in this particular instance, 0:31:08.080 --> 0:31:10.480 the undertow was so bad I had Abby on one arm, 0:31:10.520 --> 0:31:13.400 and Graham was hanging on the other. And they weren't 0:31:13.480 --> 0:31:15.360 care if I lived or died. They were just using 0:31:15.400 --> 0:31:19.440 me to get out as an object. And I said, 0:31:19.760 --> 0:31:22.760 if you get too far out, it won't be about 0:31:22.840 --> 0:31:25.680 whether I want to come get you. There is such 0:31:25.720 --> 0:31:27.960 a thing, and I used it to parallel to them, 0:31:28.000 --> 0:31:30.520 not just the water. But I just talked about in 0:31:30.920 --> 0:31:33.920 your teenage years, in your decisions, there is a place 0:31:33.960 --> 0:31:43.840 where you can get far enough out. Now. I'm not 0:31:43.880 --> 0:31:46.120 saying God's love can't reach you wherever you are, especially 0:31:46.160 --> 0:31:47.480 for y'all in the back, how y'all doing. I'm not 0:31:47.520 --> 0:31:52.400 saying you're too far away for the Lord. But what 0:31:52.440 --> 0:31:56.720 I'm saying is you can't make an agreement with the 0:31:56.960 --> 0:32:00.200 enemy in your soul and then ask for peace in 0:32:00.240 --> 0:32:04.200 your life. If you do, it's going to be cyclical, 0:32:05.200 --> 0:32:07.120 and you're just going to keep bringing your problems to 0:32:07.160 --> 0:32:10.400 God over and over again and he'll accept them. But 0:32:10.440 --> 0:32:13.360 the Lord has been asking me, do you always want 0:32:13.360 --> 0:32:16.800 to be bringing me your problems or do you want 0:32:16.840 --> 0:32:26.680 to bring me your thoughts before they become problems? So 0:32:27.120 --> 0:32:30.320 I think we have to decide will we be willing 0:32:30.360 --> 0:32:33.600 to let God guide our minds, so that is peace 0:32:33.600 --> 0:32:36.360 can guard our hearts. And the term is a military term. 0:32:36.720 --> 0:32:39.640 It's a great, amazing picture that Paul gives. It's a 0:32:39.680 --> 0:32:42.520 military term. Is talking about a detachment that God will 0:32:42.560 --> 0:32:44.640 set up at your heart, the peace of God. There 0:32:44.640 --> 0:32:46.920 are two things mentioned in Philippians chapter four. You may 0:32:46.920 --> 0:32:49.040 not notice them on the surface, but they're both right there. 0:32:49.240 --> 0:32:50.880 One is the peace of God and one is the 0:32:50.880 --> 0:32:56.080 God of Peace. In Philippians four seven, it says, in 0:32:56.120 --> 0:32:59.040 the peace of God which passes all understanding. And every 0:32:59.040 --> 0:33:01.520 time I call someone who's going through something that you 0:33:01.560 --> 0:33:03.560 can't imagine or can't figure out how to deal with, 0:33:03.680 --> 0:33:06.400 or you can't counsel, the standard thing that I will 0:33:06.400 --> 0:33:08.560 pray for them is God, And I pray that your 0:33:08.640 --> 0:33:12.600 peace that passes all understanding will guard your heart of mind. 0:33:12.760 --> 0:33:15.040 Because you know, when you're calling someone who lost their 0:33:15.160 --> 0:33:17.960 child as a pastor, or when you're calling somebody who 0:33:18.040 --> 0:33:19.840 is in the fight of their life and dealing with 0:33:20.000 --> 0:33:22.880 things that you know they didn't cause for themselves, it's 0:33:22.960 --> 0:33:25.760 no good for you to try to explain it to them. 0:33:26.080 --> 0:33:28.040 So I'll just pray that the peace of God that 0:33:28.080 --> 0:33:31.880 passes all understanding would guard their heart and their mind 0:33:32.200 --> 0:33:36.760 in Christ. But some of the agreements that you make 0:33:36.800 --> 0:33:40.840 with the enemy, instead of keeping out anxiety, peace of 0:33:40.840 --> 0:33:44.080 God wants to keep out anxiety. But sometimes your agreements 0:33:44.160 --> 0:33:50.040 with the enemy keep out the peace of God. You 0:33:50.080 --> 0:33:53.760 know when I tell myself I'm not worthy. In psychological terms, 0:33:53.760 --> 0:33:56.720 they talk about rumination, and a lot of us we 0:33:56.800 --> 0:34:01.720 think that we're overthinking things. We're really under thinking things. 0:34:02.720 --> 0:34:04.840 We're just thinking the same thing over and over at 0:34:04.840 --> 0:34:07.600 the same level. Never involve God. Just give the enemy 0:34:07.640 --> 0:34:09.920 whatever he wants. Just give him our mind. Just believe 0:34:09.960 --> 0:34:15.320 anything that goes through our mind. Right, But the peace 0:34:15.320 --> 0:34:17.439 of God will set up a guard at your heart. 0:34:17.520 --> 0:34:23.480 That's your emotions if you guide your mind. And that's 0:34:23.480 --> 0:34:28.520 why he says there's power and prayer. I don't. I 0:34:28.520 --> 0:34:33.320 don't pray like I like I could, like I should. 0:34:34.840 --> 0:34:36.640 Sometimes I don't pray till the pressure gets so bad 0:34:36.640 --> 0:34:39.680 I feel like I'm about to explode, And the Lord's like, 0:34:39.719 --> 0:34:41.440 are you Are you done with that? Now? You want 0:34:41.480 --> 0:34:45.279 to come on over here? And if you drag that 0:34:45.480 --> 0:34:47.680 far enough across the floor, you've got low enough now. 0:34:48.120 --> 0:34:49.320 But what if you don't have to wait till it 0:34:49.360 --> 0:34:55.840 gets to that point. Lord, keep me from doing something 0:34:55.920 --> 0:34:59.040 crazy in the next five minutes. It's gonna take me 0:34:59.080 --> 0:35:01.360 the next five years to what if you prayed that? 0:35:05.960 --> 0:35:08.359 What if we prayed about What if you involved God 0:35:08.480 --> 0:35:13.719 earlier in the process, like before it goes all the 0:35:13.800 --> 0:35:16.080 way to level ten? What if God wanted to meet 0:35:16.080 --> 0:35:19.640 you at two? Oh, this is slipping a little off tray. 0:35:19.880 --> 0:35:22.720 Like if you drove your car like you guided your mind, 0:35:23.920 --> 0:35:27.320 you being a ditch. Just let go of the wheel 0:35:27.400 --> 0:35:30.680 until the last minute. You're steering into a semi Now 0:35:30.719 --> 0:35:33.320 you want to drive, but we do it with our souls. 0:35:35.680 --> 0:35:39.240 We wait until let's see exact last minute. Oh, God, 0:35:39.520 --> 0:35:42.319 deliver me from the decisions that I've made all week. 0:35:43.360 --> 0:35:45.440 You no, I'm serious, y'all. Do me like that in 0:35:45.600 --> 0:35:48.600 one hour on Sunday. You want me to preach a 0:35:48.680 --> 0:35:52.400 word that will deliver you from the decisions just spend 0:35:52.440 --> 0:36:01.960 all week making. That's not right, it's not fair. I 0:36:02.040 --> 0:36:04.960 told the dental hygienist one time, I'm not gonna flyss. 0:36:06.840 --> 0:36:09.120 I'll be here every six months. Do the best you 0:36:09.200 --> 0:36:11.320 can whenever you can get out of my teeth in 0:36:11.400 --> 0:36:14.080 that time. Just do it and the rest. Leave it, 0:36:14.200 --> 0:36:16.640 and it'll grow for the glory of God until you 0:36:16.719 --> 0:36:19.399 remove it again. I know it's gross, but I let 0:36:19.440 --> 0:36:22.719 it build up until the last minute. And God has 0:36:22.719 --> 0:36:25.480 been saying to me, you can bring me your problems, 0:36:27.680 --> 0:36:32.640 but you can also bring me your thoughts. Now I'm 0:36:32.680 --> 0:36:37.279 at the point where I will pray about absolutely anything 0:36:38.480 --> 0:36:42.480 because you know why I do it, because Paul said 0:36:42.520 --> 0:36:46.360 I could, and he wrote the Bible. And I know 0:36:46.520 --> 0:36:49.640 you think there's certain things we're not supposed to pray about, 0:36:49.680 --> 0:36:52.279 but you didn't write the Bible. I don't care what 0:36:52.360 --> 0:36:56.360 you think about it anymore, because Paul said, don't be 0:36:56.480 --> 0:37:00.920 anxious about anything. Listen to this. Pray in Eva every situation. 0:37:02.320 --> 0:37:07.759 So in Greek every situation means every situation in that 0:37:07.960 --> 0:37:16.000 deep I got a degree in the Bible. I'm gonna 0:37:16.000 --> 0:37:20.000 blow your mind. A porn addict can pray while he's 0:37:20.040 --> 0:37:24.799 looking at porn. I'll see y'all next week. We gotta 0:37:24.840 --> 0:37:31.040 do this. In doss LJ. You can pray in the 0:37:31.080 --> 0:37:35.719 middle of a panic attack, not after it's over and 0:37:35.760 --> 0:37:38.080 you're on the floor. You can pray, you know what. 0:37:38.239 --> 0:37:40.680 You can even start with a selfish prayer if you 0:37:40.719 --> 0:37:44.000 have to. You have to wait until you want the 0:37:44.080 --> 0:37:46.560 right thing to talk to God. You've been waiting the 0:37:46.600 --> 0:37:50.960 rest of your life. You're too dysfunctional to wait until 0:37:51.000 --> 0:37:54.080 you want the right thing to pray. Delight yourself in 0:37:54.080 --> 0:37:55.840 the Lord, and he will give you the desires of 0:37:55.880 --> 0:38:06.560 your heart. He will put them in there. So I 0:38:06.640 --> 0:38:08.759 prayed the man who had the scissors at me, and 0:38:08.880 --> 0:38:11.480 the thing I pray, God, I want to take his 0:38:11.520 --> 0:38:13.839 sisters from him, because I was more fit than him. 0:38:13.880 --> 0:38:16.239 I could see it. I you know, I sized it 0:38:16.280 --> 0:38:21.480 up real quick. And I and so you know, they 0:38:21.480 --> 0:38:23.319 say pray for your enemies. It doesn't say what you 0:38:23.360 --> 0:38:28.959 pray for him. So you have to start somewhere like, Lord, 0:38:29.000 --> 0:38:37.640 let him fall on his scissors right now. But but 0:38:37.719 --> 0:38:42.600 the important thing is that you involve God in the process. 0:38:44.480 --> 0:38:51.040 Right you ever had to pray in anger? Pray angry? 0:38:52.960 --> 0:38:54.920 I was getting ready to preach one time, and I 0:38:54.960 --> 0:38:57.080 start praying to the Lord, why will you hide your 0:38:57.120 --> 0:39:00.960 face from me? Wh're the block? Then I why have 0:39:01.040 --> 0:39:04.560 you forsaken me? I wouldn't feel anything to God. And 0:39:04.600 --> 0:39:09.520 I thought as if God was saying, oh there you are, there, 0:39:09.560 --> 0:39:14.120 you are. Why am I hiding my face from me? 0:39:14.160 --> 0:39:18.480 Why are you hiding from me? You keep God out 0:39:18.480 --> 0:39:23.359 of the process, You keep God out of the then 0:39:23.400 --> 0:39:27.120 you end up just being just like a half Oh 0:39:27.160 --> 0:39:30.960 I hate a haveb but I gotta be honest. I 0:39:31.040 --> 0:39:34.799 kind of relate to him. Enemy is attacking me with 0:39:34.840 --> 0:39:38.200 thirty two kings. Okay, you can have it. You can 0:39:38.200 --> 0:39:44.160 have it. It is easier to just believe the lie 0:39:46.719 --> 0:39:50.000 than it is to you know, you got to train 0:39:50.080 --> 0:39:58.200 yourself in truth. It doesn't come naturally. Paul said, whatever 0:39:58.280 --> 0:40:04.120 things that you have seen, received or heard from me, 0:40:06.760 --> 0:40:09.320 a lot of us have never actually seen a pattern 0:40:10.480 --> 0:40:14.799 of how to fight our battles with God's help. We 0:40:14.880 --> 0:40:16.680 believe the way that we've seen it done is the 0:40:16.680 --> 0:40:20.280 only way that it can be done. We don't really believe, 0:40:20.360 --> 0:40:23.520 like really believe that I can give my battle to 0:40:23.560 --> 0:40:28.600 the Lord. I don't really believe that the peace of 0:40:28.640 --> 0:40:34.480 God will guard my heart in my mind. But I 0:40:34.520 --> 0:40:40.319 want you to watch what happened to Ahab. You know, 0:40:42.719 --> 0:40:45.560 the enemy doesn't just attack you once and if it 0:40:45.600 --> 0:40:49.759 doesn't work, he leaves you alone. Because the Lord gave 0:40:49.800 --> 0:40:54.800 Ahab a victory over Benedad. But just after the victory, 0:40:54.840 --> 0:41:03.880 the prophet comes back and came to Ahab again. And 0:41:03.960 --> 0:41:07.080 look at this. In verse twenty two, he said to 0:41:07.120 --> 0:41:12.680 the King of Israel, strengthen your position and see what 0:41:12.920 --> 0:41:18.240 must be done, because next spring the King of Aram 0:41:18.840 --> 0:41:27.640 will attack you again. I'm under attack again. I'm dealing 0:41:27.640 --> 0:41:32.840 with depression again. Jesus died for me, and I believe 0:41:32.840 --> 0:41:38.880 that his blood cleanses me. But I'm struggling with unworthiness again. 0:41:40.000 --> 0:41:43.200 And the prophet said something very interesting. It's not just prayer, 0:41:43.200 --> 0:41:46.480 it's not just peace. He says, strengthen your position and 0:41:46.560 --> 0:41:51.160 see what must be done, because see the officials. Verse 0:41:51.200 --> 0:41:53.720 twenty three of the King of Aram had a theory 0:41:54.280 --> 0:41:57.440 on why God gave the victory to the Israelites the 0:41:57.480 --> 0:42:02.280 first time, and they advised him their gods are gods 0:42:02.320 --> 0:42:05.560 of the hills. That is why they were too strong 0:42:05.640 --> 0:42:07.640 for us. But if we fight them on the plains, 0:42:08.040 --> 0:42:12.160 surely we will be stronger than they. So do this, 0:42:12.400 --> 0:42:15.799 remove and replace them, or remove all the kings from 0:42:15.800 --> 0:42:19.200 their commands and replace them with other officers. Remove and 0:42:19.239 --> 0:42:21.000 replace would be a good sermon, by the way, to 0:42:21.280 --> 0:42:24.000 remove and replacement, not today. You must also raise an 0:42:24.080 --> 0:42:25.480 army like the one you lost. Horse for horse and 0:42:25.560 --> 0:42:28.040 cherio for chery. So we can fight Israel on the plains. 0:42:28.239 --> 0:42:30.360 Then surely we will be stronger than they. And he 0:42:30.480 --> 0:42:38.279 agreed with them and acted accordingly. He agreed with the 0:42:38.360 --> 0:42:42.000 lie and acted accordingly. This has been a dad the enemy. 0:42:42.200 --> 0:42:45.680 He agreed with the advice of his counselors. He thought 0:42:45.719 --> 0:42:51.160 that God Yahweh, was like Bail of the Phoenicians. He 0:42:51.280 --> 0:42:55.280 thought that God was only limited to one geographical locale. 0:42:55.520 --> 0:42:58.359 So the reason they beat you was because you fought 0:42:58.360 --> 0:43:00.440 them in the hills. But if you fight them in 0:43:00.440 --> 0:43:02.520 the low place. Now here's the thing. Some of you, 0:43:02.760 --> 0:43:05.760 the enemy attacked you on one level, and it didn't 0:43:05.800 --> 0:43:08.760 work because you still have your faith and you still 0:43:08.760 --> 0:43:11.480 have your sanity, and you didn't blow your brains out, 0:43:11.719 --> 0:43:14.160 and you didn't give in, and you didn't walk away. 0:43:14.440 --> 0:43:17.960 But now watch this, he's hitting you with a low blow. 0:43:19.040 --> 0:43:21.160 He said, if you fight them in the plains, will 0:43:21.200 --> 0:43:23.520 be stronger than them. But look what the word of 0:43:23.560 --> 0:43:25.360 the Lord says. And I want to show you this 0:43:25.400 --> 0:43:27.640 in verse twenty eight, and I'm closing. I'm closing because 0:43:27.640 --> 0:43:29.839 it says that they lined up against them, and they 0:43:29.840 --> 0:43:32.200 seem like a flock of small goats, and they look 0:43:32.280 --> 0:43:34.799 too small, but they had God fighting for them. Verse 0:43:34.800 --> 0:43:36.399 twenty eight. The Man of God came up and told 0:43:36.400 --> 0:43:38.960 the King of Israel. Here it is again. This is 0:43:39.000 --> 0:43:43.200 what the Lord says. This is what the Lord says, 0:43:43.920 --> 0:43:48.560 because the Eramians think the Lord is a god of 0:43:48.600 --> 0:43:57.560 the hills and not a god of the valleys. Because 0:43:57.719 --> 0:44:02.359 the enemy face that if he hits you in your 0:44:02.440 --> 0:44:05.799 weakest spot. Just be honest, how many of you the 0:44:05.920 --> 0:44:09.200 enemy has hit you with a low blow lately, like 0:44:09.280 --> 0:44:12.319 in the place where it hurts the most. This is 0:44:12.360 --> 0:44:16.000 what the Lord says, because he hit you where you 0:44:16.080 --> 0:44:20.520 were the weakest. I am going to display my strength 0:44:20.880 --> 0:44:27.799 in the greatest way because the enemy thinks, oh, if 0:44:27.840 --> 0:44:31.000 I fight him there, they'll give in. But he's wrong 0:44:31.120 --> 0:44:34.920 about it. The harder he hits you in the most 0:44:35.000 --> 0:44:38.760 vulnerable place, the greater a candidate for the grace of God, 0:44:38.840 --> 0:44:48.160 you become. Some of you. The enemy couldn't defeat you 0:44:48.239 --> 0:44:50.680 while you were awake, So now he started sneaking into 0:44:50.719 --> 0:44:53.200 your sleep. You've been having dreams in the middle of 0:44:53.239 --> 0:44:55.680 the night about scenarios. You've been waking up in a 0:44:55.719 --> 0:44:58.480 cold sweat, not even rested. He couldn't fight you, couldn't 0:44:58.520 --> 0:45:02.719 beat you awake, so now he's fight you asleep. Some 0:45:02.800 --> 0:45:05.799 of you. The enemy took a lot from you personally, 0:45:06.000 --> 0:45:07.880 but it didn't cause you to lose your faith. So 0:45:08.000 --> 0:45:12.279 then he hit your kids. There was one thing for 0:45:12.320 --> 0:45:14.320 you to be dealing with it, but now you're watching 0:45:14.360 --> 0:45:17.400 your kids suffer. Oh, if I can't beat them in 0:45:17.440 --> 0:45:23.959 the hills, I'll fight them on the plains. God said, 0:45:24.000 --> 0:45:37.440 I am the God of unconditional victory. I believe that 0:45:37.560 --> 0:45:41.680 God is calling somebody today to take back not only 0:45:41.719 --> 0:45:46.240 the high places. But God said, because your enemy thinks 0:45:46.520 --> 0:45:51.400 that I am only the God of the hills, I 0:45:51.480 --> 0:45:56.960 am going to show you a victory in the valley 0:45:57.120 --> 0:46:03.560 so you will know I'm not like bail. I don't 0:46:03.640 --> 0:46:09.080 operate based on physical location. I don't need perfect circumstances 0:46:09.120 --> 0:46:13.200 to do my work. In fact, if you have faith 0:46:13.239 --> 0:46:16.840 to believe it, I hear God saying I stack the 0:46:16.880 --> 0:46:22.960 odds against myself. That's what the Lord said. I'm making 0:46:23.040 --> 0:46:26.960 it so impossible because I want you to know that 0:46:27.080 --> 0:46:31.680 it's your weegh. I want you to know that it's God. 0:46:33.920 --> 0:46:37.040 See when they're fighting you in the mountains, when they're 0:46:37.040 --> 0:46:40.120 fighting you in the good time. You think it's you, 0:46:40.120 --> 0:46:42.880 You think it's your leverage. This is what the Lord 0:46:43.000 --> 0:46:46.440 says in this season, I'm going to do something in 0:46:46.520 --> 0:46:51.480 the lowest place, in the most vulnerable place, in your weakness. 0:46:52.840 --> 0:47:03.080 I am strong. So what does the Lord say? That's 0:47:03.120 --> 0:47:08.480 what I want to know. I don't want to agree 0:47:08.480 --> 0:47:14.880 with the enemy about anything that keeps me from hearing 0:47:15.840 --> 0:47:22.000 what God has said about me, whether it's why I'm unworthy, 0:47:22.800 --> 0:47:28.320 why I'm incompetent. In fact, Lord, right now, in the 0:47:28.400 --> 0:47:35.160 name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, I break 0:47:35.239 --> 0:47:39.680 the power of the agreements that your children have made 0:47:39.719 --> 0:47:45.080 with the enemy, and we call on you, God of Peace, 0:47:47.400 --> 0:47:53.799 to set up an armed guard at our hearts. In Christ, Jesus, 0:47:54.280 --> 0:47:58.560 we thank you that our position in you is permanent 0:47:59.120 --> 0:48:06.640 and it is fixed. Lord. Today, we don't want to 0:48:06.640 --> 0:48:10.839 give the enemy so easily what you died with your 0:48:10.840 --> 0:48:15.080 blood to purchase for us, and you came to give 0:48:15.160 --> 0:48:20.960 us peace right now, standing all over this house, every location, 0:48:21.160 --> 0:48:28.239 watching online, God said, take it back. You agreed with 0:48:28.280 --> 0:48:32.640 the enemy, but take it back. I know I agreed 0:48:32.640 --> 0:48:34.320 in my heart that I was workless. I know I 0:48:34.360 --> 0:48:36.600 agreed in my heart that my best days were behind me. 0:48:36.760 --> 0:48:38.799 I know I agreed in my heart that I wouldn't ever. 0:48:39.040 --> 0:48:42.680 But I take it back, because this is what the 0:48:42.680 --> 0:48:48.120 Lord says. God, We're not going to be so quick 0:48:48.120 --> 0:48:50.040 to hand over the best of what you gave us. 0:48:52.200 --> 0:48:54.680 We've let the enemy have enough. He's taken enough ground 0:48:54.680 --> 0:48:59.359 in this season. We've given up enough ground. Not another inch, 0:49:00.800 --> 0:49:09.080 not another inch. I thank you that now, in this moment, 0:49:09.239 --> 0:49:19.360 you are releasing your peace, your unconditional victory. Lord. I 0:49:19.360 --> 0:49:21.799 want to pray for somebody today who has believed the 0:49:21.840 --> 0:49:24.240 lie that you are a god of the mountains, only, 0:49:25.400 --> 0:49:29.080 that you can only win into hills, that you can 0:49:29.120 --> 0:49:30.799 only use perfect people, and that you can only work 0:49:30.840 --> 0:49:35.560 in perfect circumstances. It's a lie. And because the Aramians 0:49:35.600 --> 0:49:37.440 think that you're only a god of the hills and 0:49:37.520 --> 0:49:41.640 not the valleys, I dispatch victory into the valleys of 0:49:41.680 --> 0:49:45.600 your people's lives today. Well, I thank you for it. 0:49:46.920 --> 0:49:50.200 I thank you for it. In advance. We have heard 0:49:50.280 --> 0:49:54.200 your word today. This is what the Lord says. We 0:49:54.280 --> 0:49:57.400 have sung your word today. This is what the Lord says, 0:49:58.640 --> 0:50:02.640 and we thank you Jesus your name. Then, over these 0:50:03.800 --> 0:50:06.560 next seven days of our life, as we meditate on 0:50:06.640 --> 0:50:12.880 this word, we will not rehearse the reasons that we 0:50:12.920 --> 0:50:16.240 should feel defeated, and we will not rehearse the reasons 0:50:16.280 --> 0:50:20.640 that we should be afraid. We will remember the victories 0:50:20.719 --> 0:50:24.080 that you have given and anticipate the ones that you 0:50:24.160 --> 0:50:28.719 have promised. All of God's people who agree with this word, 0:50:28.760 --> 0:50:32.080 lift up a great shout of braves, lift up a 0:50:32.080 --> 0:50:38.239 great shout of friends. Thank you Lord. Come on, lift 0:50:38.239 --> 0:50:44.479 your hands, lift your hands. I declare victory over your life. 0:50:44.800 --> 0:50:48.000 This is what the Lord says. I'm gonna give it 0:50:48.400 --> 0:50:53.160 into your hands. Receive it, receive it right now, receive 0:50:53.200 --> 0:50:57.160 it right now. I give it in your hands. It 0:50:57.320 --> 0:51:03.200 is a kid. See that. All the people who receive 0:51:03.280 --> 0:51:09.680 this word clap your hands and say Amen. So good 0:51:09.719 --> 0:51:13.840 to see you again. I missed you. Have you missed me? Well, 0:51:14.080 --> 0:51:17.759 we're back back together again. I pray that you heard 0:51:17.800 --> 0:51:20.720 something from the Word today that you can put into practice. 0:51:20.800 --> 0:51:22.960 That's what Paul said, and Philippians for check it out. 0:51:23.000 --> 0:51:26.279 He said, and whatever you received, put it into practice. 0:51:26.680 --> 0:51:29.240 So you're going to practice what God says this week 0:51:29.680 --> 0:51:32.799 instead of rehearsing what you heard from the enemy. I 0:51:32.880 --> 0:51:35.319 just pray that this week you come into agreement with 0:51:35.360 --> 0:51:39.120 what God says about your future, about your gifts, what 0:51:39.200 --> 0:51:41.360 God says about you as a person. He loves you, 0:51:41.400 --> 0:51:44.080 has a great plan for you. Thank you for being 0:51:44.120 --> 0:51:46.560 a part of the ministry, all of you who give 0:51:46.800 --> 0:51:50.880 and pray and share these messages and come here regularly. 0:51:51.080 --> 0:51:54.120 Just it's a blessing to be connected with you. I 0:51:54.160 --> 0:51:55.919 look forward for what God is going to do next. 0:51:56.400 --> 0:51:57.919 I love you. Take it back