His presence is really in this place, and I know that God is doing something in the midst of us like never before that we have not yet experienced: That He is wanting to bring a spirit of wholeness, and restoration, and of healing in our lives. When I thought about this week and the Lord was giving me a message, it reminded me of working for Army Medical Command at Fort Dix. And at that place, I got to see firsthand how the Army spent millions of dollars on their soldiers for the healthcare of the soldiers, because you cannot have wounded soldiers. A soldier with a wounded shoulder is not going to be able to shoot straight no matter how many times they try, and a soldier with a broken ankle is not gonna do that ten mile march going to the next location. Or the soldier that has, you know an issue developing a disease from overseas like contracting malaria with high fevers, they’re not gonna be able to do the guarding that they’re called to do. So if the government invests in their people, and they have the best doctors and medical practices so that they have an army that's ready to move, it is literally called “Army Readiness” - you today are in the Lord's army and He’s trying to see what’s the readiness?

”...this verse is really calling the people of God to rid themselves of anxieties and of worldly things that harass man, keeping us detoured, and not able to concentrate on God's plan for your life”

We find ourselves kinda being slowed down by some of the old wounds that we saw our soldiers going through. And today we may have burdens and rucksacks that we’re carrying on our backs, with the cares of the world. The Lord wants to lighten your load, He wants to lift up the worries that you have been carrying upon your shoulders. We are in the army of the Lord, and we do have a job to do. God has called each and every one of us to be foot soldiers in His army. We are really going and trampling down every high place in this community, and even the high places found in our hearts that try to elevate themselves above God in His Kingdom. Anything that tries to be above the word of God, that tries to say that it's right over his Word, we are called to bring it down as soldiers in the army of the Lord. We know that we are called to bring the message of hope and the Good News to all corners of the world - to share the love of God with so many around us. We have work to do, and my friends we have been held back for too long. We know that sometimes, we get encouraged by coming on Sundays, and we have our sword in our hands, we wear our helmet on our head, we’ve got the breastplate on our chest, we’re ready to go. But somehow, satan is able to shoot that fiery arrow and hit us and rendering us frozen right where we stood. Not moving forward in our relationship with God - years after years of doing the same thing over and over, and not being able to break free and break through those old places. Today, my prayer for you is that you would not walk around injured, but that you would stand strong in the faith of God, taking on the call that He has for your life.

Today we’re gonna talk about being freed from the cares of the world, so that we can seek first His Kingdom, that all other things in our life would be given unto us. The Lord is gonna give His plan of attack, and today He will lead us into battle as a General leads His army to victory. So let's turn our Bibles to 1 Peter 5:7. “Cast all your anxieties on the Lord for He cares for you.” The Lord cares for you! New King James version reads, “Cast your cares on God, because He cares for you.” So we see that this verse is really calling the people of God to rid themselves of anxieties and of worldly things that harass man, keeping us detoured, and not able to concentrate on God's plan for your life - so that you would not be able to focus on the Word because these anxieties are overwhelming us and keeping us distracted. We know that today, God is aware of the havoc that these anxieties cause in the Christian's life - and His Word, as it reads, He is calling us to cast it down by the Name and the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

”So the first thing that we’re gonna come to understand today is anxiety is used as a weapon against you.”

So for some of us, let’s be real just talking about anxiety gives us anxiety, right? We know the symptoms so let’s remember: sweaty palms, knots in the stomach, tossing and turning at night, feelings of panic, fear, uneasiness, a rapid heart rate - I'm sure you could actually add more to my list. So, these are the feelings and they make us debilitated they freeze us right where we are. So the first thing that we’re gonna come to understand today is anxiety is used as a weapon against you. Out of all the ammunition that satan tries to use, anxiety has been the most effective in rendering us incapacitated in the Kingdom. When these overwhelming anxieties and the cares of the world - when they get upon us, it overwhelms us. We’re frozen right where we are and not moving forward in our relationship with God. We’re too afraid to move, too afraid to speak, too shackled to praise God, too distracted to even pray when these feelings come upon us. We feel empowered every single week when we come to church, and sometimes the cares of the world, and these worries make us miss it even though they really don't matter to God. They’re so much smaller than Him! Let me remind you, church, that He through His own body and the blood that He spilt for you, made a provision in His body, that you would not be lacking one good thing.

So the anxieties that we are held down with have nothing to do with the salvation message, His message of love His message of care for each and every one of you. God has entrusted and really delivered Himself into the intricacies of your life. He cares about what your future is, He cares what you're gonna do after church today, He cares about every single thought that is in your mind. My prayer is that we’d be able to locate this enemy of anxiety that has infiltrated the people of God, that we would take aim, and that we would eradicate the hold that it has had in our life.

So let us again see what the Word of God has to say. Open your Bibles to Matthew 13:22. “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the Word, but the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the Word and make it unfruitful.” And this is Jesus explaining the Parable of the Sower. So we know that the farmer who sows the seed, that seed is the Word in the Gospel of God, and the soil are the hearts of men and women who are receiving it. And in this passage we can see that worldly anxieties come, and when they are allowed to take root in our lives, and those anxieties grow up strong, we are unable to receive the Gospel of Truth. These anxieties we have are of this earthly kingdom, but not of a heavenly one. When we exalt these things in our life, we can see only with our eyes right in front of us, but not in the Spirit. We judge these occurrences in our life based on what we feel: ‘I’m scared, this looks overwhelming to me,’ or what we think: ‘Oh, everything’s done, it's over, there's no hope in the world.’ And so we take on these worldly ideas that really have nothing to do with the Gospel of God. And it’s of this world it is not of the heavenly world of which we claim to be citizens of! So we must rise up above these anxieties! We wanna take God and His truth His Word into account, and not be overcome with these feelings.

Anxieties steal the “good” right out of “Good News.” We’re overwhelmed with pessimism, doubt, fear, self-centeredness even. And these come in and steal the message of life. So let us see today those thorns in our life that come in and choke the Word and render us unfruitful in the Kingdom.

”And so let us begin to see, take hold of those anxieties, understand that they are not in alignment with the Word, and choose God's Word over those worries.”

So how does the scenario go? We see it time and time in church that someone comes in, and they hear with excitement the Word of God - you come in here on Sunday you’re like, ‘Wow these people are really excited - I'm excited too!’ And we hear that Gospel, it comes in, and it brings life inside of our hearts. And so we see people rejoicing in God - ‘Wow, God is elevated in this place,’ we’re fellowshipping together, but when those anxieties begin to appear and take root in our lives, they steal the joy away. And here are some of those scenarios: When we worry about careers - what our career will be - suddenly it may not feel like God is moving fast enough in our life. When we worry about the finances, and what bills are gonna be paid, suddenly, coming to church seems like a burden, ‘because I'd rather be working instead.’ Or when worry overtakes us about the future that we have we get so scared about what our future will bring, we begin to make decisions based on self-preservation, and not trust in God. We must come into a place where we are making ourselves solid in the Kingdom of which we choose to be a part of. The Gospel of God is an invitation for you to be a part of something that is above this world. And so let us begin to see, take hold of those anxieties, understand that they are not in alignment with the Word, and choose God's Word over those worries.

The Gospel message is not the issue - it is not a powerless message - it is the love, it is the power, it is the wisdom of God to save man and rescue us from every situation that you could ever find yourself in. God knew from the beginning of time how to save His people, how to send His Son so that you would be free from the things that take you captive even this day. God is in the business of saving man, and He knows exactly how to get you out of your situation.

We read so many stories of the Bible which encourage us of the daily exploits and the adventures that men and women of God had throughout their lives. And they were able to overcome the fires and the threats of great kings, and they were able to beat armies. And even in this room we can look around and see so many lives that literally have been transformed by the power of God. And for many of us that’s the reason why we’re here, because, ‘I want that kind of power also available in my life. I've seen it done, I believe that it's true, I believe that it can happen for my life,’ and God wants to do that for you this day. If you look around, and you see the transformative power of the Gospel, you know that it is true, you know that it's real - but it's time for that to be applied to our lives. I feel confident to say that anyone who has participated in our worship services can really attest to the inexpressible joy that comes from being in the Holy Spirit. And you can live your life that way. That's what God is inviting you to do: It’s wonderful, it encourages you to seek out more of God, you want more challenges from the Lord, because you want to be more and more invested in this Kingdom.

”We cannot be overwhelmed with these things, because they overshadow and diminish the joy of God coming into our heart.”

But today, are the joy and the hope of that wonderful Gospel being choked out by the worry of your own kingdoms and the day to day cares of life? We know that that is not what it’s meant to be - walking around in nervousness, with anxiety, so many ‘what ifs,’ worrying about what we will do. We cannot be overwhelmed with these things, because they overshadow and diminish the joy of God coming into our heart. We know that there is no comparison for the Gospel of God and the relationship that can be built between you and Him. There is no greater joy, and believe me, even if you were on the beach right now with your family in the nice beautiful weather if it was hot and sunny outside - that would not satisfy your soul more than coming to know the One who has created you, the One who loved you, the One made you from the beginning of time, and had every single day of your life planned ahead and written down in His Book of Life.

Cast your cares upon the Lord

God has a plan for you today. He’s gonna bring it forth, so let your faith be opened up today, believe the message that is being brought forth because God is gonna do something wonderful in our midst. In our church, we declare that Christ alone can save man, that if you put your trust and your hope in the work of Jesus Christ, that He spilt His blood as a sacrifice to cleanse you from all of your sin and your unrighteousness, you can be saved today...that your past can be forgiven, that your present can be transformed, and that your future can be established in something greater than yourself. That is the Gospel message. What worry, what anxiety, what care is gonna overpower the love of God?

So we have to begin to understand satan’s tactics. His tactic is to undermine the message, the Gospel, to pollute it to water it down, but the Gospel remains the same and he has no effect on its true power. You see the problem is that we’re walking around not with the knowledge and the understanding, as though there are two kingdoms in this world that are at war with one another. We have to walk in knowing that when we submit ourselves to the worries anxieties of life, that you are elevating one kingdom over another, as though that were the one that you serve, as though that was the one that is over you. God purchased you with a price, He won you to overcome and to have victory, and we must proclaim on a daily basis, ‘No Lord, these worries and the cares of this life may not overpower the blood that was shed and purchased me for Your Kingdom.’

”God purchased you with a price, He won you to overcome and to have victory, and we must proclaim on a daily basis, ‘No Lord, these worries and the cares of this life may not overpower the blood that was shed and purchased me for Your Kingdom.’”

Christ has called us to be victorious and deal with these matters from above it where Christ rules and reigns over all things because He has been placed in authority over all things. We have to get out of dealing things face-to-face and rise above as Jesus rose from the dead, we also have been called to rise up from our position, and from our circumstance, and look down upon it, so that we can look at it through the right eyes that God can give us. When we leave here on Sunday full of faith and hope in our hearts - let's say you get a troublesome phone call as soon as you walk out those doors, and immediately when you hear the news that may be troubling to you, you have to understand what's happening. You have to understand satan for who he is. He always tries to disrupt the peace of God, he always tries to undermine the work of God, he always tries to undo what God had created in you, which was to have faith that would take you all the way to heaven. But we must put a stop to what satan tries to do in our mind today, and say, ‘No, I know what your tactics are, and I will trust in the Lord my God.’Satan is a master illusionist - he makes things seem bigger than they are, and he makes them seem like they're bigger than God. I tell the youth group kids all the time, I say, ‘Satan’s never gonna come to you with a pitchfork in his hand and with horns on his head. It's always instead by introducing new worries and by conveniently reminding us of these issues, that his plan is to divert us from the power of God that would deliver you from these things.’ And so we've got his number today, and we know how he's working.

So who are we talking to, right? Who goes through these feelings? Studies show that 40% of the adult population deals with some kind of anxiety disorder, and that does not count what is considered normal anxieties and concerns that we may live with. But even more important than knowing who deals with it, we know that God has not called us to live this way. These worries are in direct opposition, contrary to what God has for your life. Plans to prosper you to give you hope and a future. Plans to elevate you with Him. Plans that He would glorify Himself through your life - that He would transform you and that He would change you. That not even your neighbors would recognize you, that your mother will look at you and be like, ‘That’s not you that’s not how you act.’ But you would say, ‘No I have been changed, I have been transformed by the power of God.’

If we make our care to please the Lord, meaning seek first His Kingdom, then all other things will be given unto you, meaning that He will make your cares His cares. And everything that you found yourself worrying about now, God will just grant you. He gives it - He knows you gotta eat, He knows you have to live, He knows you need a roof over your head! So you concern yourself with the Kingdom cares, God is gonna make it His personal business to deal with the things that you need taking care of. So we know that we’ve been held back for too long. We know that we’ve been entrapped by something that we had no business being tethered to - we had no business being tied on the ground and being held back in the Kingdom for all that God had planned for you to do - by these worries. You cannot as the Bible says, fly on the wings of eagles, you cannot leap out of a stall like a calf jumping for joy, or run like a trained athlete in the kingdom of God, unless we throw off everything that hinders us this day, amen?

So secondly we know that we have been called to cast our cares upon the Lord. You see we have been called, not to carry, but to cast. And ‘cast’ meaning to throw down. You know, is this fancy writing in the Bible, or can you really cast down a thought? So let’s see what the Word of God says open your Bibles to 2 Corinthians, chapter 10 verses 4 through 5. “The weapons that we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient unto Christ.” So not only can you take a thought captive, but what does it say? In 4 that you can demolish these strongholds! So what we have to realize is that individual worries that we go through in our life are not just a building block in your way. ‘Okay, I just gotta move past this one circumstance’ - no! It is a mindset that we have picked up over the course of our life, where each one of these worries, each one of these anxieties and cares of the world, have been brought together as building blocks to a wall of a stronghold of which satan and his army are able to exist in our souls. You see, all of these worries together have elevated themselves above God in their place right here, where God can't move. And every time we’re moving in the Lord and we’re being successful in the church, they've got this cozy little spot that we've created, of which they can throw their fiery arrows at us. Each one of these lies that have been brought up to overcome God, the knowledge of God!

And so satan tries to protect himself inside the lofty walls that we ourselves have created. It’s a mindset that has been built over the time of years. I want you to picture an Old Testament stronghold - to me it sorta looks like a castle. It’s got these high walls inside of it, and that's where satan is able to hide because he's protected by lies that come against the Lord. And so what are those lies that we picked up along the way? ‘His Word doesn't apply to this situation. This situation is too big for God. I've tried it before and it didn't work. It's too big of a risk to take. Nothing can change what I've done’ What kind of havoc can satan wreak in our lives with that kind of foothold? What kind of damage can he do in the heart of the Christian with those kinds of things? They are lies and they are completely contradictory to what God had done in your life - He who has proven to you that you are the apple of His eye, that He holds you in the palm of His hands, that He has plans to prosper you, to give you hope and a future. He will never strike your foot on the stone, the children will never be begging for bread. You will live and you will not die, He has plans to prosper you. He has given you long life, you will have peace in the land. We can go on and on and on, for the Word of God had plans just to make you live, and have not just any kind of life, but have life abundant.

And so we've got to start breaking down this stronghold and this mentality of worries that are in opposition to God. Do you receive the message this day that worry is a mindset that is against God? It is a stronghold and it’s a castle that satan is just comfortably sitting in. And when we wanna grow in the Lord, that’s gotta be knocked down. Remember we have been called to take down every high place that exalts itself before God. Now this verse is one of my favorite verses, because it's saying that we're gonna demolish every lie, we’re gonna take it captive, and we’re gonna bring it to our general Jesus, and He is gonna punish it.

How does the Lord punish these lies, right? So they can't just be, ‘Okay Lord, I don't believe that anymore.’ That's not true. No, God wants it punished for what it tried to do in your life. And you guys today are gonna be hitting those things right out of this church, because the reality of the situation is that He says that He’s gonna make it obedient to Christ - that's how He punishes it. So we take these twisted lies, and we apply it to the Word of God and we rend it straight. We make it right. In Spanish, I love the word that they use, ‘recto’ - straight! And we make those lies straight in our life.

So the Lord can see that we have taken on these worries, but it's a mindset that sets itself up against God - so let's have an example. How many of us have ever gone through a financial crisis of which you were worried and had anxiety that God came through for, and showed you His provision? Right? Many of us. But how many of us had gone through a second financial crisis which caused you the same amount if not more worry, than it did the first time? And what's the point in all of this? That God wants us to begin to get to know His character. God wants us to not run around this world as if we are like everyone else in the world with no hope. That when these situations arise in our life we shouldn’t be acting like doom gloom punishment - ‘Oh God, I can't believe it’s me’ - no! Because you have Jesus Christ and He has made His provision for you known. He has told you that He has these plans. That your life is actually planned out already! And so we know we must come to know the Lord...and to prove with our actions, and to prove with our responses to these things that happen in our life that we know God. That we love God, and that He loves us - demonstrating to the world that He is in our life.

”We must take captive every thought that undermines His character, and we must go forth and take a hold of ourselves and say, ‘No, Lord, I know You to be better than this…’”

We really need to take a look at how we react to these situations because I think that's the first point at which we kinda go the wrong way. We know that every single action that we take in life is either out of fear, or it’s out of love. And so fear is gonna cower, it’s gonna limit, it’s gonna hide - but love will encourage us to grow, to be courageous, to rescue. It’s gonna want us to move. We really have to see how we react in our life, because when we let these anxieties take over, it's really only showing one thing: That there’s a lack of trust of God in our life. We must take captive every thought that undermines His character, and we must go forth and take a hold of ourselves and say, ‘No, Lord, I know You to be better than this. I know that You have good things in store for me. I know that I may not be able to see it right now, but I know You're gonna bring me through, because you have a plan for my life.’

So here's an example of what a prayer may begin to sound like and this is how we wanna be transformed. ‘Lord, things may look bleak, and I cannot even understand how You would be able to intervene on my behalf. But I know that You are not limited by man, that everything works as You purpose it, even satan himself is a pawn. Tell me what You want me to do, take away the cloudiness of this situation, so that I can see it as You do. Forgive me that my racing heart defies You, forgive me that my palms are sweating, because I entrust myself to You.’ We’re about to overcome even our bodily reactions of anxiety and give it to the Lord, because He is above it, amen.

”So how do we cast our cares upon the Lord? It’s really about putting our trust in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ…’”

So how do we cast our cares upon the Lord? It’s really about putting our trust in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and putting our trust in Him for our past, our present, and our future. For our past, we know that if you've ever had an old injury, you know that if it didn't heal properly, as soon as you go and you get re-injured, that’s always the place that it comes back to. And so this is a tender spot and you're always really weak in that area. And satan knows those weak spots in our life, why? Because of the way that we’ve reacted, and believe me, if there's any button that he’s gonna push in our life? Right there, that's how he is. So we can't walk around with these old wounds. Everything in our life when we come to church, and we’re doing well - we’re fellowshipping, we’re going to Bible study we’re worshipping the Lord - that we can see instances that that worrisome topic will suddenly be brought back up, it brings us to our knees and suddenly, we’re at the feet, at the service of our slave driver. Why? Because we never dealt with those areas of tenderness in our life. God, you can trust. You can give Him and open your heart to the Lord in these areas that you've never wanted to be spoken about. That they’ve caused you so much pain in the past, that you winced even if there was just one little finger pressed in the area, but today those are the areas that God wants to get inside! That’s the area that you felt so sensitive by that satan is gonna use, and so the Lord today, wants us to go through those places. Christ died so that satan would not have anything to dangle over our heads. And even those sources of worry that were a direct result of our failures, we have been called to acknowledge the wrong before Christ, with the full knowledge of the consequences there may be, and give it to the Lord and not fear Him. Believe me, you would rather the Lord who loves you, who wants to wash you clean, who wants to present you to His Father - be the one to deal with these situations, than satan, who is the accuser of the brethren, and who is there only to punish. So let us put our trust in the Lord for our past.

Now, putting our trust in the Lord for our present, we must deal with the day-to-day cares in our life, through the Word in the light of the Word of God. We must understand that our responses to these occurrences in our life are a direct reflection of our relationship with God. So as soon as I am going through something, and I'm stopped in my tracks and something, you know, maybe bad news is given to me - I can’t panic. I can’t drop all the hope I have. I can’t stop and throw away the relationship that I’ve created with the Lord over a period of maybe ten years. No, I stand back, I seek the Lord, I go into prayer and petition, thanking God for what He's done in my life, and I am able to trust in the Lord. If we are not daily meeting with God, meditating on His Scriptures, these things will knock us down and out every single time.

Now trusting in the Lord for our future, we have to be really deliberate about because there's so many ‘ifs’ right? We don't know what the future may hold. As a child, I used to tell my parents that I would be going to Harvard. And, you know I said to my mom, ‘You know this is where I’m going - how are you gonna pay for it?’ And she said, ‘Oh, I don’t know, I’ll figure it out.’ And it's funny because, you know in my eight-year-old mind, I was thinking, you know, I believed her. I did not go to Harvard, but the point is is that at that very moment in my life, I knew that I had every opportunity to do whatever I needed to do - that every opportunity for my future was open in the Name of Jesus Christ. Not because we’re rich, not because we’re super smart, not because we’re tall or beautiful or anything else that qualifies us for these things, but God has a plan for your future - if you seek first the Kingdom of God, all things will be given unto you. So we cast down this mindset of worry so that we can flourish in the freedom that Christ has given to us. Let Him redeem your past, let Him redeem your present, let him direct your future. Amen.

So now that we have identified our worldly cares, that we have secondly cast them upon the Lord, thirdly let us see how trials can produce salvation. We are used to going through trials that produce anxiety, and today we’re gonna look at trials that produce salvation. Our main verse of the day, 1 Peter, chapter 5 verse 7. And when looking at these things, I always like to go back to the author and to the book it was being written, so that we can understand the intent of the verse. So turn with me to 1 Peter 1:6-9. So Peter is one of the disciples of the Lord and he is now leader of the Christian Roman churches, and this book that he writes to the churches is really pressing upon the people a need for Godliness in their life despite the suffering, the persecution, and the slanderous accusations that the membership was experiencing. “In all of this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief of all kinds of trials. These things have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by the fire - may result in the praise, the glory and the honor when Jesus is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

In the Bible, Peter is not out of touch with the realities that we face in our day to day life. He knows that the church of God is going through intense sufferings, and in this case, they’re suffering for the Kingdom of God. They are really aligning themselves with the life and the message of Jesus Christ, and they’re being punished for it. But here Peter says, even despite the things that we go through in our life, there is a need for Godliness, there is a need for holiness, there is a need for standing firm in the Lord before you make a move, before even in your mind you say, ‘Oh no, what’s gonna happen to me?’ No, we are called to Godliness and steadfastness in the Lord in the light of what He has done in our life. So take a look for what purpose with God allowing these things to happen in our life. Verse seven says that it's for the genuineness of your faith, and to refine it - because that faith has to be enough to transfer you from this life into heaven. And so god is doing this on purpose, He is very intelligent about the way He saves man, and so He is really readying you to have a faith that will be pure enough to bring us to heaven.

And look at verse eight. This is really the most interesting verse in this passage, because it says, and I'm paraphrasing, even though you don't see Him now, you love Him, and you are filled with an inexpressible joy. Joy in the midst of suffering, joy and thanksgiving reigning from our heart, knowing that it's all happening for our purpose. So today if you're going through something, you know and you can't even see God in it, they rejoice! And they thank God, why? Because it was for the purpose of growing your faith to bring you to heaven, and that you would have salvation for your soul!

”So today if you're going through something, you know … it was for the purpose of growing your faith to bring you to heaven, and that you would have salvation for your soul!”

When we face the troubles of this world, there are two scenarios that we could kinda go through it. And the first one is really when we let ourselves get overwhelmed by the worries and not rely on God. So when we let these cares of the world take root and not cast them down by the power of truth, we sit there. When we don't turn to God, we turn to our own ability to conjure up a solution to a problem - using our own wisdom and the wisdom of the world. And we really make a wake of problems in the midst by not seeking God. We get desperate to be released from the feeling of anxiety, and in the end we may get what we wanted, but in the end what was the result? Losing communion with God, losing His Holy Spirit, and not coming closer to God in that experience. There is a humanistic philosopher, many of you may have heard of his name -Machiavelli - and he’s famous for saying, ‘The ends justify the means.’ Meaning that you can justify just about any actions that you take to get a reasonable outcome in the end. But we know that this is not the way of the Lord. For the Lord the second scenario would be that you're faced with a challenge that God is calling us to seek Him out. To go to the Word, to seek out leaders of the church, to be encouraged, relying on prayer and petition and thanksgiving unto God. And no matter what the worldly outcome will be, the spiritual outcome is that you will know God. Why is that so special? It says to know God is really to have eternal life. When you know the Lord you will have salvation. So bless the Lord in your hearts this day those of you who are going through anything, who have those feelings of anxiety - ‘God, You are saving my soul! I turn to You and not my own understanding I turn to You instead of conjuring up some kind of remedy to this situation!’

”Is it relief, or is it release that you're looking for? This world is gonna be able to give us a quick relief, but only release can be done from the power of the blood of Jesus Christ...”

Church today I ask you: Is it relief, or is it release that you're looking for? This world is gonna be able to give us a quick relief, but only release can be done from the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, who gave His life for each and every one of us! The outcome is only victory when we remain faithful to God's promise and His character. Knowing who God is and relying on it every single time. When you don't have the strength to be able to move forward past these circumstances in your life? Call on God’s character. God is faithful, God is strong, God will be there, God is truthful to His Word. And so we remain faithful to God’s promise to rescue us, not any strength of my own, ‘Ah, I gotta stand here, I gotta do this, I gotta do this’ - no! I'm not asking that we would be strong - I'm asking that you would be strong in knowing the faithfulness of our God.

We look at situations in the Bible great victories that were won by men and women. Don't tell me that Daniel, the whole time he was in the lion’s den, was thinking, ‘Oh, these lions are gonna eat me!’ No way! And if we look at David young, teenager David who was running full speed against the giant warrior, was he thinking, ‘This guy’s gonna kill me?’ And no way when we see Elijah who was challenging the prophets of Baal, think that, ‘These guys are gonna show me up.’ And so we know that Jesus Himself said, ‘In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world.’

Christ we know through His life was subjected to situations that arguably would have given every reason for Him to carry anxiety with Him. But what does the Word of God say? That He was made perfect through what He suffered in Hebrews, amen? God intends us to look very different from the world when we have these challenges. Instead of being riddled with anxiety feeling like our faith is about to topple over every time we go through a situation in our life, instead we make our way to the cross. We go to the God who gave His life for you. And we put our faith in the Word and the truth that we have read that He will do for us. We begin to live through those truths, and we apply them to our life as if they were life itself! When you have gone through something and you feel like you barely can walk. You feel you can’t even get your head off of the pillow sometimes - but if you come, and bring yourself to the cross only God can give freedom from those things. We’d begin to live above those things, and not because they're not real circumstances in our life, but we connect to Christ, who is Lord over all. God has given Him the position of authority He is seated at the right hand of the Father in the heavenly realms. He is above all things. He has rulership over everything. He reigns, and whatever He decrees upon this earth will be done because it belongs to Him.

These struggles are gonna develop something great inside of you, you are not like the rest of the world. For the rest of the world it knocks them down and out, for you it’s gonna develop the Godly character inside of you that is necessary for going to heaven. It is necessary that your strength would be grown, and that you would endure all things. Your character will be elevated because you waited on God, and not what you could conjure to deliver you. Your hope will be established and you will be able to wait till He comes. Even if the Lord tarries, your hope will be so strong in the Lord, that you could wait for the Lord because you know that He will do what He has promised. There will be freedom developed in your life because God will deliver us, and encourage us with His truth.

We gotta come to a realization today, and we know that we have been held too long. We've been stopped, we've been frozen, we've been held up for too long in the church because - look at what God is doing in this place, look at what God's about to do in this community - He needs workers, army workers! I wanna know today are we gonna be in the readiness that God has called us to? We don't wanna be the mindset that dwells on worry instead of God. We don't wanna be those that only can look at the situation that's right in front of us. But we want the freedom to speak of the goodness and grace of what God is doing in our midst. Those of you who are going through something, today let God allow you to change your mindset into the one that He looks at it through. ‘Oh this is just creating something strong in me. God is preparing me now for what He's about to do in me in the future. He’s gotta give me thicker skin. The Lord is establishing my feet in His Kingdom, and so I’m being challenged in this area, and God is gonna be the One to see me through.

”Today we realize that the sufferings are for a purpose - that Christ Jesus would be birthed inside of you.”

Today we realize that the sufferings are for a purpose - that Christ Jesus would be birthed inside of you. Tell the Lord today that, ‘Your Word is true. I know my situation, but Your Word is true.’ Because for the baby Christians God usually deals with the sin on the outside, and today He’s not dealing with what you think, He’s dealing with how you think. He's looking at us going through these situations in life, and He’s looking at our reaction. He's looking at how we have not held His Word up higher than the world. Would you elevate the Word of God over your circumstance today? Would you give yourself to a Kingdom that is greater than the ones that we have created? Would you serve God and allow Him to grow up higher in your life? God wants us to deal with these things today because He's about to release some of the greatest blessings that you have ever seen in your life upon this church. We gotta get right with the Lord. Will you be the one reminding everybody in this church, telling everyone, ‘I knew God was gonna come through.’ Can you turn to your neighbor and say, ‘I knew God! I read about Him! I remember that verse that said He loved you! That He cares for you! That you could cast all your anxieties upon the Lord this day! He will be the one to lift you up!’ Will you take on the call to be the herald in this community that God is good?