Faith is more than a feeling or a theory. It's
a decision that moves your feet, opens your hands,
and activates God's promises. In our brand new
book, Faith Act, Jeffrey and I take you on a
powerful journey through some of Scripture's
most transforming moments, where ordinary people
dared to obey and saw heaven move on their behalf.
Order your copy of Faith Act today on Amazon.
This is week number three. Everybody say week
number three. In our series entitled, Not Mine,
But God's. Everybody say, Not Mine, Not Mine,
But God's. And we've been, what we've been talking
about, or as I could say, like the big idea here,
is a shift of focus. Because we all, our focus
in life is to always turn to ourselves, our own
resources, our own abilities. When our immediate
response should be, to turn to who God is, his
ability, his supply, his things. Because we're
very good at relying on ourselves, and we're
very good at being independent, we could say.
But God wants us to be dependent, not on ourselves,
not on the people around us, not on our jobs,
not on what the world says. He wants us to be
dependent. Everybody say dependent. He wants
us to be dependent on his word. Dependent on
his word. And we've asked this question at the
beginning of each week, is who or what is your
source? Who or what is your source for everything?
Because your source, who you draw from, who you
are filled with, determines your display, determines
what comes out of you, determines what shows
in the world around you to the people around
you, is who you are feeding on, who your attention
is on, who you draw from for every area of your
life. And we all draw, you could say, I'll keep
using that now, you know, we all draw from different
things. Right? We all draw. But who we're filled
with, I had this thought of a coffee cup this
morning. I love coffee. How many of you love
coffee? I love coffee. Yeah. A little too much.
A little too much. I'm working on it. First step
is admitting I have a problem. So here I'm here
in my group this morning saying I have a problem,
but I'm not willing to give it up. Okay. I want
to like. I can't remember how long it is ago,
so I'm not going to make it up. But I was drinking
coffee in the lobby. You know, everybody's coming
in, shaking, hugging, all that kind of stuff.
And someone bumped me, and I spilled my coffee
all over the floor. And I had this thought this
morning, like, you know, if my cup was filled
with orange juice, if my cup was filled with
orange juice, something like that, that would
have been what spills out, right? If my cup was
filled with milk. and someone bumped me, milk's
going to come out. Like, if my cup's filled with
orange juice, and I bump it, and coffee pours
out, that'd be weird, right? I would fall on
the floor and open my mouth, and let the heavenly,
pour it, no, no, no. But what you're filled with,
what you allow into your life, what you feed
on through your eyes, What you say with your
words fills your life and who your attention
is on and your source determines your display.
And so what you're filled with, if you're filled
with the word, right? When something bumps you,
when something shakes you in this world, the
word's going to come out. It's so simple. I mean,
it's not like I'm saying something revolutionary
here. This is very simple information, right?
You know, if I'm filled with irritation and someone
bumps me, anger is going to come out, right?
If I'm filled with, you know, all kinds of things.
If I'm filled with my worry and something bumps
me, I'm going to spiral out of control, right?
It's going to take me farther away. But I'm going
to mention this. We haven't talked about this.
The specific word, you know, we talk about like
the word from God is like a very general blanket
statement. But the specific word that you are
filled with, that you receive into the soil of
your heart, when you get a hold of that, when
it fills your cup, right, that word that you
honor, will pour out of you. But it's not just
all the words. Like, we don't just get everything
all at once. I wish we did. That'd be really
nice, right? If all of a sudden I just read the
Bible one time and I'm just like, I got it. You
know, I got every little thing. It's just all
here. No, but the specific things that God reveals
to you when you get a hold of them in your spirit.
That's the specific things that you can draw
on as your source. Okay? I'm going to keep moving.
We depend on, we display who or what we draw
from, right? But listen, until you draw, until
your first response, until your natural response,
quick reflection instinct is to draw from the
greater one, you're going to be the same one.
Until you draw from the greater one who is living
on the inside of you, you will only accomplish
in this world, and you will only see natural
things take place in your life. But in every
area, everybody say every area, every area of
life, we should learn to rely, to lean, to not
depend on our own understanding, as we talked
about. not depends on our own minds, our own
rational way, our own wills and what we want
to do. We should learn to rely on God's supply,
his ability, instead of our own. And verse here,
Acts 17, 28, all the verses are New Living Translation,
unless noted otherwise. But Acts 17, 28 reveals
this, for in him, in him, we live and move and
exist. Amen. I hope we do that. We say amen to
it. But I hope this is how we live our life.
I hope this is how we move in life and literally
impacts every part of our existence of life.
Because it's only from that position of being
in Christ, it's only from that position that
we're supposed to move, that we're supposed to
live, that we're supposed to exist. God didn't
intend for his... to do any one of these things
outside of him, apart from him, on their own.
Amen? Amen. John 14 .10, Jesus even lived as
an example for us. Amen? Lived as an example
for us and said this, the words I speak are what?
Not my own. They're not mine. This is Jesus now.
He's fully God. He's fully man, living as an
example for each one of us. But the words I speak
are not my own, but my Father who lives in me
does what? His work through me. It's not mine,
but it's God's. Amen? Not mine, but God's. Do
you think if Jesus lived this way, we should
live this way? There should be more heads bobbing.
Yeah. If Jesus lived this way, I'm going to have
to live this way. In order to accomplish the
things that he did in the earth, in order to
be like Christ, because that's what Christian
means, is to be a little Christ. We shouldn't
keep having to share these simple things. We've
got to get a hold of it. Okay? We've got to get
a hold of it. Christians are little Christ. And
we should live like him. We should desire to
be just like him and say, not my own, but it's
his. All the words that I say, I don't rely on
what I say and what I think, right? Jesus is
turning here and he's saying, look, it's not
my own. You know, your words determine the course
of your life. And Jesus here is saying, look.
I'm not going to rely on these words that I've
learned from my parents and the way I've grown
up talking to everyone around me. I'm not going
to say what they say. I'm going to 100%, listen,
100 % say what the words of my father are going
to say in order to have what the father wants
me to have, in order to live the life like he
wants me to, to fulfill his will and plan in
my life. I'm going to have to start not speaking
from me. I've got to speak from him. but not
just occasionally, all the time. I speak are
not my own. He was talking about his entire words
that he says are not my own, but my Father who
lives in me does his work through me. Kings and
people in authority, they work with their words,
right? And we work with our words to shape our
life. And if we want the will of God to be real
in us, we have to speak his words, we have to
rely on them, and we've got to hear them. Because
God is wanting to do a work in the earth, and
he's doing it through his people. 1 Corinthians
3 .9 says, For we are God's fellow workers. 2
Corinthians 6 .1 says, We then as workers together
with him. Aren't you glad you have a limitless
worker working with you? Aren't you glad you're
working, like what you're doing, you're not alone?
He doesn't just, he didn't just drop us off in
the earth and say, all right, go have fun. No,
he's always been about his presence being with
us, his presence being on us in the Old Testament,
and then his presence being in us in the New
Testament. Amen. He's wanting as a co -worker
with God, then we have an opportunity, everybody
say opportunity, to exchange our natural. Everybody
say natural. If you're here next week, you know
why I'm holding up a rock. If not, it's okay.
Just figure it out. We have the opportunity to
exchange our natural, listen, for his supernatural.
Our human things. our humanity for his divinity,
for his supernatural things. We have that ability.
We can exchange those things. Galatians 2 .20,
I love what Paul writes. He says, I have been
crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but
Christ lives in me. I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me. What he's saying is that, there's
a part of him that has died. There's a part of
him that is no more. And he's saying the life,
the life that he lives, he characterizes it as
God's life in me and through me. That's a lot,
right? To just say, I no longer live. I give
up my will. What is this? It's a picture of being
yielded and submitted to the Holy Spirit. It's
like, I no longer live, it's Christ who lives
in me. It's Christ in me. The life I now live
in the body, he continues, I live how? By faith
in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself
for me. The greatest revelation is that God just
didn't leave us on our own. He didn't just say,
these are our, you know, he gave us, listen,
he gave us himself. To accomplish every good
thing in our lives. To be there in every situation,
in every circumstance. He gave us himself. He
says, live in me. No longer living for yourself.
Live through me. Live in me. Amen. And we spend
a lifetime learning how to live from our souls
and from our body. from our mind, will, and emotions,
and from our flesh. But as Christians, we're
called to live differently. Look to your neighbor
and say, it's time to live different. It's time
to live different. We're called to live differently,
not just out of our heads, not out of our feelings.
We're called to live by the Spirit. We're called
to be Spirit -led, Spirit -fed, Spirit -led people
of God. doing spiritual things in the earth,
beyond the natural things, operating from the
greater one on the inside of us, not just out
of our heads, not just out of what we can do
in the flesh. We are a spirit, we have a soul,
and we live in a body, and God calls us to live
as spirits in him. Today we're talking about...
Before I get into that, today we're going to
talk about what it means to live with God in
Christ by the Spirit of God. And this set of
verses is very familiar. If you've spent any
time in church, it's very familiar. But I want
you to hear the first, like in context of what's
being said here. Philippians 4 .12, Paul writes
this, I know how to live on almost nothing. or
with everything. Paul's saying, you know, I've
had little, I've had a lot. And I have learned
the secret of living in every situation. Ooh,
that should perk you up a little bit. What is
the secret of living this life? What is the secret
of living Monday morning? What is the secret
of living everything? What is the secret? Everybody
say, what's the secret? What's the secret to
live in every situation? I want to know it. What's
the secret? Is it hidden from me? No. Am I walking
in it? What's the secret of living in every situation?
And then it gets to this very popular verse.
Philippians 4 .13, For I can do everything through
Christ who gives me strength. Some translations,
I can do all things through Christ who gives
me strength. The direct Greek to English, as
you know, the New Testament is written in Koine
Greek. And if you just take those words and transliterate
them into English, just word for word, there
in the Greek to English language, direct would
be all things. I have strength in the one. And
it's capitalized there because it's referring
to Christ. And in parentheses, it puts Christ
strengthening me. And now that's kind of like
a different understanding that I've always held.
It's like I can do everything is a little different
than all things I have strengthened. Are you
paying attention? Are you listening? Because
don't get wrong. Like, don't freak out on me.
All things, Paul is saying, all things I have
strengthened, the one strengthening me. So Paul's
secret of living, let's back up to verse 12.
Paul's secret of living in every situation is
a confession then. He's saying something. I know
the secret when I had everything, when I've had
a little, when I've been imprisoned, when I've
been preaching and sharing to God all over the
world. You know, like, come on. He knows the
secret. He's like, I know the secret. And he
says this. It's his confession of faith. of what
he has by Christ in him, by who he is. He knows
who he is. He knows who God is. And he's saying,
I have something. He says, I have strength. But
then he doesn't just stop there. He's not just
saying, I have strength in myself and God's empowered
me with his strength. No, no, no. It's not his
strength, but it's a divine strength empowering
him in every situation. It's a divine strength
that he draws from, that he fills his cup with,
that he has access to its resources. And when
the world shook him, listen, that divine strength
poured out. The man who sang in prison after
he'd been whipped and beaten, a divine strength
came out, right? the man who also wrote the majority
of the New Testament, divine strength came out.
Not of his own, not his own strength, because
we have strength in our own, right, we have some
strength in ourselves, but God is not wanting
us to focus on what is ours. He's wanting to
empower us with what is his. Philippians, this
word strength here, It means to empower, to strengthen,
to make strong, or to impart ability. Do you
realize there's things imparted to believers
on the inside of them, right? He gives us a measure
of faith. He gives us a measure of, here is strength.
He gives us a measure of just ability and process
in the spirit. But he gives us this. measure
to walk in this impartation of an ability that
we're not always drawing from but the divine
strength that paul is talking about it's empowers
us and he's saying that it empowers him in all
things everybody say all things all things doesn't
mean just in one area but he's allowed this spiritual
thing to impact every area of his life and how
he operates he's saying It doesn't just strengthen
me in my spirit. It strengthens me in my mind.
It strengthens me in my will and my emotions.
And then it strengthens my mortal body. Because
the things of God are meant to impact every part
of you, not just the one area in which you take
hold of. It's all -encompassing, you could say.
Let's continue down this road on strength. Isaiah
40, 31. I really love this verse. But those who
trust in the Lord will find new strength. Those
who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
I love verses like this in general. Kind of been
on like a little binge, you could say. Because
what is he saying? Those who trust, find. Reminds
me of something else. Those who seek, find. Right?
The things of God are not hidden to you, but
you need to trust him in order for them to be
received, in order to partake of them by faith.
Right? Those who hunger and thirst. Taste and
see. Those who seek, find. Those who knock, the
doors are open wide. He's not talking about every
door. People want to live their life through
this like open door policy. He's not talking
about every door. Just like he's not talking
about I can go lift a semi truck when I walk
out this room. It's not true. God's not empowering
me to do that, right? What is he talking about
here? Those who turn to him, who quickly let
go and throw away the things that are theirs
and take hold and walk in and trust in, will
find. It's not hard. He's doing all the heavy
lifting. He's made it available to you. He's
not only that, He's indwelt you with His Spirit.
His presence is in you to accomplish the work.
All you have to do is let go of your temporary
thing and take hold of His eternal thing. Amen?
Come on. But those who trust in the Lord will
find new strength. They will soar high on wings
like eagles. They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint. Let's look at this
word trust here. It's to wait, look for, hope,
and expect. Hope is a confident expectation,
right? It's a trusting that something will happen,
that the word is true. So those who trust in
him find strength. They find his strength. How
do we have it? We trust. We wait. We look for.
We hope. We expect. Then we find. It's not like
he's keeping it. It's just he doesn't want to
give you something that you're not even wanting.
Right? He's not going to force you into his strength.
He's not going to force you into walking in his
love and good and all the fruits. He doesn't
force that on you. No, but it's available to
you. He's not forcing you to do it. Just like
righteousness. You know, he doesn't force everyone
to get saved, even though that would be great.
That would be his will. That's what he desires,
right? But it's to all those who respond to him
in faith that take hold. Amen? What will those
in divine strength do? What does that look like?
Because it shifts, right? Those who trust, they
will find new strength. And then it says this,
they will soar high on wings like eagles. They
will run and not grow weary. They will walk and
not faint. They will soar high. That word means
to go up, to ascend, to climb. You could say
climb the mountain of God to the spiritual things,
not the earthly things, but the spiritual things.
Because those who turn their attention away from
their self and what is around them and their
own abilities, guess what? They will come up
over situations. They will fly over those things.
They will ascend into a heavenly place where
they see themselves at the right hand of the
Father with Christ Jesus. And they will experience
some things others will not. But it's those who
trust. It's not all. It's those who trust. Find.
They will go up. They will ascend. They will
also run and not grow weary. Everybody say run.
Run and not grow weary. The grow weary here means
labored or toil. It means effort, work. They
quickly run the race of life that is set before
them without giving up, without getting weighed
down. They quickly move through it at God's pace,
God's work, and filled with God's presence. It's
God's pace, it's God's work, and it's God's presence.
So the pressure is off. The pressure is off.
But you got to trust him. A lot of times we want
to run our own race. I want to take down what
I, you know, I want to go. I want to do. I got
all these good plans, God. They're good things.
They're in line with your word. They're all these
things, but you see no demonstration. You see
no power in it. You know what? It's because you're
doing something and asking God to fill you. When
Jesus said, it's not my words I'm saying. It's
not my works. It's God's works flowing in and
through me. And then we expect that we can live
life differently from him. We want these things
to happen, but we don't want to trust in him.
We want to trust in ourselves and have him bless
what we want to do. Talked about your will. It's
like, you know, maybe you will to do something.
You will to bring it back. Have you ever just
stopped and taken a moment and said, God, what
do you have me to do? What do you want me to
do today? What do you want me to say? Stop and
take recollection. Acknowledge. Turn to him.
Lean to him in all things. Because guess what?
He's there. to empower you in all things, to
strengthen you in all things. He'll let you do
it on your own. If you really want to, you can
do it on your own. Have fun with that. But the
Christian life is meant to be lived through the
power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit in
the life of the believer. Not on our own ability,
our own power, our own thoughts, our own, you
know. They will walk and not faint. This word
walk is to move continually, to be conversant.
It means have knowledge and experience and be
at ease. They are constant people. When you trust
in God, you are consistent in your walk with
him because you walk with God in peace, in the
knowledge of who he is. You've seen it. You know
it. You walk in it. things become easier to you.
They don't take from you, exhaust your energy,
because you're not using your own. You walk in
His, amen? And some people take this the wrong
way, and they're just like, well, the Christian
life, what you're saying and what you're teaching
is just, you know, puppy dogs and fairy tales.
That life is just supposed to be rainbows and
butterflies. No, that's never the picture in
Scripture, and that's not what we're talking
about. Circumstances, listen, circumstances are
certain. We live in a fallen world, and we're
going to experience some fallen things. You know,
like... Your actions have consequences. All those
things happen. Sometimes it's just the fallen
nature of the world and sin in our world, right?
But listen, circumstances are certain, but your
struggle in them is optional for those who are
in Christ Jesus. He didn't say that you wouldn't
face the storm. He actually corrected the disciples.
He was asleep. They were afraid. He was asleep.
He was at peace. He could care less because he
knew something that they had not known or they
had not listened to. He was drawing from a source.
They were drawing from a source. They were drawing
from the natural. What they see, what they saw.
What they felt, the boat was rocking, the waves,
the waters hitting their face, they were seeing
something. God's seeing something. He says, I'm
here on a mission. My God will protect me. I
have a future. I have a hope. He has great plans
for me. My Father has great plans for me on this
earth. This little storm is not going to take
me out today. Do you think he was confident in
that? He's like, I came here to do something.
To set man free, right? To set us free. He's
like, I have a mission and I have a purpose.
And guess what? He is in you. And you have that
same mission and purpose. To say what he says,
to do what he does in the earth. Come on. He
wants you to walk with him and be connected to
him. So that no matter what happens, as the world
spins and the day spins and everybody thinks,
oh, it's great and then it's terrible and these
are the last days and no, it's going to be a
while and churches, you know, whatever, and there's
all these trials, troubles, tribulations, God
says, don't worry about it. If you're worried
about it, you're drawing from it. What you set
your eyes on, what you set your mind on, fills
your body and impacts your spirit. The strength
that is available to us in Christ is all -encompassing.
It's, listen, write this down if you can. The
spiritual things impact the physical and the
mental things. Spiritual things are more real
than the natural things of this world. Spiritual
things must dawn in our hearts, must be revealed
to us. Spiritual things happen and then transform
the physical and the mental. God is what? A spirit.
Those who worship him, what? Worship him when
Jesus was talking to the woman at the well. He
says, those who worship me, worship in spirit
and in truth. Spirit and in truth. Spirit and
in truth. We receive these things, the strength,
the mind of Christ, the will of God. We receive
these things where? Do we receive them in our
minds first? No. If I receive it in my mind first,
first it's just analytical, it's just information,
there's no transformation. If I receive it in
my body first, guess what? You know, it might
bring some kind of temporary thing, but there's
no transformation in my life. If I receive it
in my spirit first, the things of God, the strength
of God, the mind of God, if I see it, if it dawns
in me first, guess what? Then, because he communicates
us through the spirit, He wants to live by the
Spirit. So when I'm connected to the Spirit,
when I trust in Him, I'm listening for Him, guess
what? Then I get a hold of something from Him,
His Word. In order to really hear the Word of
God, you have to hear it in the Spirit. Now this
is really hard for the analytical mind. You want
to think, well, I've got to just read, and then
I can just come to it. Uh -uh. Uh -uh. You want
to just read, I want to figure out who God is
and how he works, and then I want to write out
my formula, and I'm going to do everything, and
then I'm going to receive the right answer, and
I'm going to receive everything. No. That's not
how God works. He communicates to you. He is
a spirit. He communicates to your spirit. Once
it dawns on you, once you know it, you can trust
it, and then you can walk in it. Then you can
have it. Then you can experience it. The physical
things, the mental things, the emotional things,
the strength of God is all -encompassing for
those who trust. Amen? The things of God first
appear in our spirits, and then they're displayed
in our souls and in our body. That's the witness
to the world. It's the witness to the world.
The righteousness of God is a spiritual thing
that takes place within the spirit of the man,
right? And then it shows up in our minds. It
shows up in our emotions. It shows up in my physical
body. And all the things the spirit has are not
just for the area in which you're trusting him.
They're not just for that one area. It's for
every area, for your whole existence of who you
are. Spirit, soul, and body. The righteousness
of God is for your whole body, even though you're
only taking hold of it in your spirit. There's
things that God wants to do. There's a strength.
You can say, well, I can have strength for this
one area, but then you might be weak in another
area, right? But His strength. is all -encompassing.
It's for everything. Because within every believer
is a divine strength we can operate in if we
partake of it through faith. We all have access,
but not many of us partake it. Not many of us
take hold of it through faith. Amen? So the plan
of God for your life, listen, the plan of God
for your life is filled with the provision of
God. So when you step outside of His plan, and
then ask for his provision? He said, no, my provision
was already in my plan that I had you on, but
you walked out from it under it. Because what
God calls you to, he never expects you to accomplish,
you to supply. Maybe God's called you to do some
things in the past, and it's time for you to
say yes to them. Because you looked at your earthly
supply and your earthly ability and your earthly,
you know, your finances, your health, your what,
you know. No, we need to stop everything and
say, quickly say yes to God. And in that yes
will be his provision. In that yes lies his supply.
But if we're focused on what is ours, what we
can do will never fulfill what he's called us
to. Because everything that he calls you to,
he expects to fully supply. So what does God's
strength flowing through the believer look like?
God's strength is hope. Everybody say hope. Strength
of God is hope. 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through
14 says this. Do not grieve like people who what?
Have no hope. Do not grieve like people who have
no hope. Why? For we believe something. We believe
something, right? That those who died in Christ
will be raised with Christ one day and we'll
meet them again in glory. That's our hope. That's
the word. That's what we confidently know, trust,
expect, and understand and believe. We do not
grieve like the people who have no hope, for
we believe. And that's a strength of the Lord.
So in the face of terrible loss, we're not saying
that the loss is any less soft, we should downplay
it, anything like that. God never says that.
He's saying in the face of terrible loss, in
the circumstance, what? In Christ, we have strength
to do something that the world does not. We have
something on the inside of us, not just the hope
so hope that we operate in all the time. If it's
going to rain, if it's going to, you know, I
hope it doesn't rain. I hope it does. You know,
we have our hope and then God imparts his hope.
Those are two different things. It's not like
the world gives something others do not have.
So when we see them, we don't justify our experience
and how we're supposed to act based on the way
others experience life and how they act. Why?
Because we know something. We're confident in
it. We hope and we expect something to happen.
God's strength is peace. Everybody say peace.
You can say it louder. Say peace. God's strength
is peace. Amen. God's strength is peace. John
14, 27, we share these verses, like talk about
them a lot, but I want to just put them on the
screen. I want us to read them. Jesus said, peace
I leave with you. My peace, everybody say my
peace. God's peace I give to you. Not as the
world gives do I give to you. Let not, everybody
say let not. That means you cannot be in peace
if you let it. He's not forcing his peace on
you as a Christian. You have a choice to walk
in it or not. He doesn't say, oh, you're a Christian,
so now you just have magical peace. And it just
happens. No. He says, my peace I give to you,
not as the world gives do I give to you. Let
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid. This word troubled means to things that
are separate. They are kept separate. Neither
let them be afraid. It's talking specifically
about fear. And how do we experience the peace
of God? Well, let's read. Don't worry about anything.
Sometimes the word of God is so simple, we miss
it. Sometimes it's so simple, we don't like it.
Because we want something spectacular. I want
to push these spiritual buttons. I want to pray
five times a day, and I want my life to be a
certain way, look a certain thing, and then I
want to receive the peace of God because I prayed,
I did my devotions, I read my Bible. You know,
I did all these things, and so God, give me peace.
But how ignorant, church, are we going to live
when God says, I have given you something. I've
given you the peace. Not like the world has because,
listen, there's a counterfeit for every spiritual
thing. All the fruits of the Spirit are divine
forces for the believer to walk in, but inside
you, you have natural forces that you try to
walk in to accomplish spiritual things. And a
part of discernment for the believer is to recognize
the difference between the peace of the world
and the peace that God gives. Because if you're
trying to manufacture the world's peace and then
you're calling it God's peace, you are basically
doing what the devil does. Leading people astray,
acting like it's okay. But it's time to grow
up. It's time to take hold and partake of the
peace of God. Maybe you say, well, I don't have
it. Is God holding out on you? He's already given
it to you. But maybe you've tried to get it in
your flesh, your body, in your soul. You're trying
to find it in the world. But those things only
happen in the Spirit. Because you have to spiritually
see that God is your peace. You have to spiritually
see you having it before it takes place in your
body. For you experience it as your hope. For
you to experience it in your mind, in your will,
in your emotions, you have to first experience
it in your spirit. Turning to him, trusting him,
and it's that simple. Don't worry about anything.
He says, instead, pray about everything. Tell
God what you need and thank him for all he's
done. If you don't have peace today, these are
the three things you need to go home and do and
do and do. You need to pray about it. Not mindless,
meaningless repetition, but really pray about
it. Get into the presence of God and expect real
transaction to take place. You tell God what
you need, even though he knows everything that
you need, before you even ask it. I'm seeking
you as peace. I hunger and thirst for your peace
that you give me. I knock on the door of your
peace. And I expect to find. I expect to find.
Tell God what you need and then you thank him
for all he has done. This takes place in your
spirit before your... Body receives the peace.
Before your mind receives the peace, you need
to go ahead and get happy about it. Those in
faith have celebration before the thing actually
takes place. Before the finale takes place, they
celebrate in the moment. Because they've laid
a hold of something in the spirit. They've got
a hold of it. It can't be taken away from them.
It's dawned on their spirit. They got it. And
they understand. So they say, thank you, God,
for your peace. Thank you, God, that it exceeds
the world's peace. It's not like the world. Thank
you, God, is so much better. Your presence is
so much better because he didn't just tell you
to walk in something. He gave you himself and
he is the peace. He is the author and the finisher.
Amen. What he authors in you, it's his ability
to finish it. Stop trying to finish something
that he's authored. Take hold of it. Say, it's
finished in me. It was finished on the cross,
so therefore it's finished today in me. He said
it is finished because all those things are done
and available to us in Christ Jesus. But we have
to take hold of them. We have to reach out. We
have to trust. Amen. Because when we do these
things, what does verse 7 say? Then... you will
experience God's peace. Don't just take my word
for it. Read the scripture. Then you will experience
God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand
because it's not dependent on what you understand.
You can know something in the spirit that your
mind can't understand. Your mind can't fully
wrap your head around. What the righteousness
of God means, what salvation means in the full
scope of that. You don't know that, but your
spirit was made alive by it. Your experience
is that. Sometimes it takes our souls and our
bodies to catch up with what the spirit has to
say. But in Christ, everybody say in Christ,
we have a divine peace that is different from
the world's. Peace, then. as the world calls
it, is not enough. The world's ideas, what people
say, peace is not enough. Only God's peace. Only
God's peace is enough. Only God's peace is enough
for you. Peace alone is not enough because it's
dependent on your circumstance. But we're called
to have peace in the circumstance. So you can't
have peace in yourself. You know, try to get
a hold of that and find that in yourself. You're
just going to be chasing around in circles, spinning
your wheels. You have to lay hold of the peace
of God. And then that peace strengthens you in
time of anxiety, trouble, chaos, or fear. Don't
worry. This word worry is the direct word for
anxiety. People don't like to talk about it,
but it's there. Go look at the word. This word
worry is about anxiety. And he's saying the cure
for anxiety. Don't take hold of some truths and
not take hold of all of them. Because only the
truth that you are filled with, that you allow
to sink into your soul, will impact your life.
It has the power to change your body and your
mind. your will, your emotions. You can experience
if you don't worry. And if you pray, tell God,
thank him. If you do that, the next time you
experience anxiety, guess what? You can draw
from a source that's greater than your own. You
might say, well, Jeffrey, I can't do it. I'm
unable to do it. That's the point. It's for you
to realize that it's not I who live, it's Christ
in me. Who does His work through me. And so I'm
going to stand here and I'm going to confess
like Paul that I have strength to walk in the
peace of God because He's given it to me. And
I'm going to take hold of it. And I'm going to
have it. Because it's there. It's available.
And I'm going to see it. Because all those who
hunger and thirst, taste and see. All those who
seek, find. And those who knock, doors are open
wide. In Christ, we have a divine peace that
is different from the world's, because peace
is not enough. God's strength, listen, God's
strength also displays itself in our life as
joy. After Jesus teaches that those who abide
in him will produce much fruit, If you abide
in him, he says this, I have told you these things
so that you will be filled. Everybody say filled
with my joy. Filled with my joy. That word my
is there when you look at it. Filled with my
joy. And then he turns around and says this,
your joy will overflow. How about that? Our joy
is an emotion we occasionally experience, right?
But God's joy is a constant to his character
and his being of who he is. And it's available
for us to abide in, but typically we only visit.
How do you know the difference between hearing,
you know... Celine Dion singing in Vegas and
getting goose bumps and being like, whoa, are
your favorite football team all of a sudden scoring
and winning, whatever. And that's joy, right?
And then the joy of God. They're two different
joys. They're not the same thing. They will display
in the same ways, but they're not the same thing.
They come from a different source. God's joy
is a constant. In Christ, then, we have access
to divine joy. It's a force or a flow because
God's joy is continually overflowing well that
we can draw from that strengthens not just our
inner man, but it strengthens everything. Every
area of living and moving in existence should
be impacted by the joy of the Lord. It doesn't
mean that we get happy about the trouble, but
it means that we can experience his joy in it.
If we turn to him in it, in those times, if we
trust him, that joy can well up, not from our
minds, not from just what we're thinking about,
not from just what we've, you know, I get my
world and everything in line. No, no, no. That
joy, if we just take the time to stop and turn
and acknowledge Him, we'll experience the joy
of the Lord. You will find it in your life. You
can have it. God's strength is ours, but we must
turn to Him as our source. We must stop chasing
after the peace of the world that is only found
in circumstances. are searching for joy in things,
in others, or our experiences. If the only time
you have joy is when you're experiencing, you
know, something great, a celebration, if the
only time you have joy, you're not walking in
the joy of the Lord. If that's the only thing
that brings you joy in life, sorry, but you're
walking in a counterfeit of... what God really
wants and what really has for you. We shouldn't
get joy from those things. That shouldn't be
our source of joy. We should recognize that all
good things and all things are from Him. And
that's the way we experience it. Because guess
what? His joy, listen, His joy flows through
us and is displayed in our joy. What did the
verse say? Let's go back. So that you will be,
I've told you these things to abide in me so
that you will be filled with my joy. And then
it impacts our joy. Our joy will overflow. Our
joy, our cup, our joy will overflow. It's not
by working to be the best person we can be. As
dad shared last week, I thought it was like.
A great point, you know, if I try to take this
rock, I sand it down, I cut little edges and
those kind of things, it'll never look like this
diamond. It'll never be this. No matter what
I do, I can work at it, I can try my best, but
it's not even a comparison, it's not even a bad
substitute for what God has for me. But I got
to let go of this. Got to let go of this to walk
in this. This has to be more precious to me.
I have to honor this. I have to respect this.
I have to turn to this more than turning to what
I have. And trust me on this, the more you do,
the more you turn, the more you let go, and the
more you turn to the things of God, each time
you do that, it'll be easier. That's what maturing
in God and spiritual life, it's like... That
first time might be really hard. It might be
hard. Because you're like, I've got to let go.
I've got to submit. I've got to yield. I've got
to let go. And I've learned this. I've grown
up my whole life like this. I understand. It
makes so much more sense. It feels comfortable.
Because what's comfortable is what you do most
often. But this can be comfortable. This can
be your every day. This is what God wants for
us. And God wants for his children. This is why
he died and to live anything less than this is
his name in vain. Two verses and I'm done. Romans
15, 13. I pray that God, the source of hope,
will fill you completely with joy and... Peace.
Because why? Because you trust in him. Then you
will overflow with confident hope through what?
The power of the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of
God is about righteousness, peace, and joy in
the Holy Spirit. And if God, maybe you say, well,
God is my source of righteousness, but I don't
yet quite experience him as my peace. God is
my source of salvation, but I don't experience
him as my joy. God wants to, guess what? All
those things are tied together in the same point,
in the same message, that in Christ lives the
fullness of God in a human body. And now Christ
has been, Colossians says, now Christ is on the
inside. of the believer the fullness of God is
now on the inside of the believer so if I'm living
in anything less than God in the fullness of
who he is it's not his fault it's because I've
learned to rely on this and I should have taken
hold of this not mine but God's Only when your
trust shifts away from yourself to the source
of hope will you be completely filled and display
the strength, the joy and peace and power of
the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 6, 19, and I'm done.
This hope, which what he was talking about in
context was Christ's promise and his oath. He
gives his promise. He fulfills his word. He carries
out his word in the earth, right? So he gives
us promises, and he's faithful to complete them.
And this hope that we have in his word and in
his promise, listen, it is a strong and trustworthy
anchor. It's an anchor. We talked about last
week hope tying us off to something, a source,
a foundation. Hope is that anchor. If you don't
trust, you don't experience. If you don't seek,
you don't find. If you don't hunger and thirst,
you don't taste and see. If you don't knock,
it will not be opened. It leads us through the
curtain. Listen, hope is a trustworthy anchor
for our souls. Get a hold of that. And it leads
us through the curtain. That means there was
a curtain there at one point. But the hope, listen,
the hope removes it, pulls it back, allows us
to see, trust, hope, waiting, expecting, believing,
right? It pulls it back to a reality of the presence
of God. God's inner sanctuary. And we have access.
How? By the Spirit. Amen? So let's turn our focus
away from what is ours, but God's. And the next
time you come up short, next time you're like,
I'm trying to, you know. I know that there's
a promise in Scripture, and I'm not walking in
it, I'm not experiencing it. Next time that happens,
don't say that the Word's not right. Don't say,
no, you need to start confessing who you are
and what you have in Christ. You need to start
trusting it, and then you need to listen for
the Spirit to show you what that means and how
you're supposed to walk in it. And when you do
that, you'll experience the peace. You'll experience
the joy. When you realize that righteousness,
is it packed in with joy and peace? You can walk
in it. If you received righteousness, church,
receive peace. Receive joy to experience the
kingdom. Because it's only then we're going to
see change in the world. It's in us. It's through
us. This online worship experience was brought
to you by the friends and partners of Eulation
Church.