Latest / #Faith4TodayPodcast / 🎧 Episode 64 – Strong Hope | Overcoming Fear, Discouragement & Overwhelm

Transcript

🎧 Episode 64 – Strong Hope | Overcoming Fear, Discouragement & Overwhelm · #Faith4TodayPodcast

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Have you ever faced something that just felt bigger than your
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own capacity? Like in Joshua chapter 1?
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Joshua steps into leadership right after Moses has died, and
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God gives him a simple command to be strong and courageous.
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In this episode, we're going to talk about how to overcome fear,
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fight discouragement, and live with a strong hope even when
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life can feel overwhelming. Let's go Welcome to episode 64
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of the Faith for Today podcast. We are talking today all about
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having strong hope and I'm really glad that you are tuning
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in. My name is Matthew and I'm
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really glad that you are watching or listening with us
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today. Our goal on the Faith for Today
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podcast is to help you be inspired on Sunday that leads to
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an integrated faith on a Thursday even.
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And so whether you're in the early part of the week, the mid
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part of your week, whenever you're listening to this, our
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hope is to help you have faith for today, developing a rich
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sense of loyalty to Jesus as King.
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So I'm going to I'm going to recap the most recent Sunday
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message at Faith Church. I'm going to share some bonus
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content and then respond to some questions.
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Now, the today's bonus content is going to be a bit longer than
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normal and going to be be as concise as I can in the question
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and responses today. But there's just some extra
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content that I feel is really necessary as we kind of talk
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about overcoming discouragement and fear, which I think so many
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people kind of deal with ongoingly.
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And we want to, we want to move beyond it and, and, and walk
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towards victory in in Christ. And so let's get into the recap
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in the message. I came right out of Joshua
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chapter 1 verses one through 9, and I talked about what it means
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to live with a a strong hope when life feels overwhelming.
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Now, so many of us know what it's like to face something that
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feels bigger than what we feel like we are capable of, whether
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it be parenting, finances, getting healthy again, or or
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just getting started on something that we've been
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avoiding doing for a long time. And often that overwhelm is
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rooted in one of two things, fear or discouragement.
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Fear sounds like, well what if I fail or mess all of this up
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while discouragement whispers to us, what's the point in going
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on? Fear shrinks our future and
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discouragement drains our present.
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Fear keeps you from starting, while discouragement keeps you
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from persevering. And that's exactly the moment I
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think Joshua could have found himself in stepping into a
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leadership role after Moses, facing a massive assignment of
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conquesting the the the promised land and leading the children of
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Israel into it. Man.
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And what does God tell him? He says man.
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Oh, over and over again he tells Joshua, be strong and
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courageous. Do not be afraid.
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Do not be discouraged. These aren't just soft
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suggestions, no, they are commands rooted in God's love,
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backed by His presence and His power.
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From from there we kind of unpacked really what fear and
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discouragement really do to us, what it sounds like and what it
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looks like in our lives. How fear creates a a mental
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paralysis of worst case thinking and how discouragement slowly
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erodes our motivation and our hope.
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In the message though, we saw that God doesn't just command
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courage, He actually provides a way into it.
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That the path forward is learning to position ourselves
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in His presence until fear lifts and courage returns.
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Practically, that means anchoring ourselves in the
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scripture so the truth reshapes our thinking.
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Engaging in worship that actually shifts our minds and
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our bodies towards joy and connection and and and where we
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begin to talk it out with others.
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Bringing our fears and struggles and sins into the light with God
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and trusted friends and people. Courage isn't something we
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manufacture, it's something that grows as we stay close to God
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and others. So, so wherever you are today,
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the invitation is really simple. Take the next step, stay rooted
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in his presence and trust that the same God who called you is
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the one who will strengthen and sustain you.
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All right, let me share some some bonus content.
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The first thing that I want to say is this, that the Bible
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writers kind of assume that the reader understands that our
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world has an unseen realm to it. The unseen influences and
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impacts the visible realm of our world and lived out experience.
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So that's kind of central to a lot of the Bible writers and
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it's something the Bible kind of just not necessarily assumes,
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but just kind of presumes that this is the reality.
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And that's kind of writing from that perspective.
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And so at the center of this book, like Joshua in particular,
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is the conquest of the land that God was giving to to Israel.
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Now, land in biblical literature isn't just about geography.
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I I really do believe land was about inhabited spiritual
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domains. So when people of a land were
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conquered, that land changed ownership and the conquering
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people were then free to impose or induce or introduce their way
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of life, their ethics, their worship, and their gods.
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I'm so so when it talks about about land and possessing it and
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driving out enemies, it's as much about spiritual dominion as
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it is anything else. Now, I mentioned in last week's
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podcast to go check out the the book Unseen Battle by Doctor
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Joel Mutomole, which kind of unpacks this even more so in
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Deuteronomy 32. It kind of recaps this land
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distribution and the the inheritances or disinheritances
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of the land where we're certain being spiritual beings and
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rulers were set up to to be having dominion and rulership
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over certain land spaces and different people groups.
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And, and God declared that Israel where, where his people
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and their land, he would be their God and be the, the ruling
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power there. And, and of course, we, we come
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to understand that there is no one like our God, that God is
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God of all, all things. And so I'm in in the the story
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of of God's people, there is them coming back to a land that
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got it given them and given the land to Israel.
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And so they're they're walking through.
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And so when he gets to this point in Joshua chapter 1 and he
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says, Hey, I've given you every place where the sole of your
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foot treads, just as I promised Moses, your territory will be
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from the wilderness and, and Lebanon to the great river, the
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Euphrates River and all the land of the Hittites West of the
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Mediterranean Sea. So, so I was setting up a, a
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domain saying, Hey, listen, this is the land that I'm going to be
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present over that you're going to be a part of.
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And, and this is going to be the space where worship and praise
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belongs to God and, and, and I'll be the God of you and you
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as a people will come and worship him.
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And so this is a big part of the society and the things that are
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being set up. In fact, in the Bible,
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wilderness, as was described here, is often uninhabited
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spaces. It's occupied by wild beasts,
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birds, scorpions and snakes, all of which are biblical metaphors
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for, for the presence of evil spiritual activity.
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Jesus uses those metaphors all through the the gospel of Mark
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and Luke. You see those things at play.
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You see that from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden,
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there was a, an Eden place and then there was uninhabited land
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outside sight of Eden or the wilderness or, or space outside
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of where God had cultivated and, and dwelt, that there was
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uninhabitable lands or wilderness.
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And so when the people have been wandering in the wilderness, the
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dangers of that is that there's other things out there that that
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would be a threat to their way of life and living to both
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physically and in a spiritual sense.
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Those things were, were correlated together.
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And so wilderness was land that didn't belong to Yahweh yet
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needed to be cultivated in God's design, and his people were
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called to take that land. And so it wasn't about some
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governmental, geopolitical thing.
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It was more about a spiritual territory and spiritual
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prominence to set up God as Yahweh, the one of all gods to
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be worshipped, adored and and seeked.
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And so his people would have this place that's inhabited,
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that's cultivated, that is, that is Eden like that everywhere
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they go, they're bringing the, the Kingdom, the presence and
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the power of God with them. This is what the New Testament
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carries on in, in our lives, right?
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So everywhere we go as believers, as the people of God,
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we carry with us a loyalty and a love to Yahweh that everywhere
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we go, darkness has to flee the, the, the evil things have to go.
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Why? Because we carry the Spirit of
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God with us, the very fire of the Spirit in us that that
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brings out and pushes back darkness.
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This is the language of spiritual warfare in the New
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Testament. The same language used in Joshua
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is similar to the language used in places like Ephesians 6.
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Ephesians 6, starting in verse 10, it says, finally be strong
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in the Lord, and by his mighty power put on the full armor of
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God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the
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devil. For our struggle is not flesh
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and blood, but against rulers, against authorities, against the
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cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, against spiritual
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forces in the heavens. For this reason, take up the
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full armor of God so that you may be able to resist in the
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evil day, having prepared everything to take your stand.
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This is the same kind of a charge that God is giving to the
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people through Joshua. Say, hey, be strong in the Lord.
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Be strong. I've given you this land.
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I'm giving you this territory. You don't have to be afraid of
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the unseen things or the other gods and the other spiritual
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forces at play everywhere you go.
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I'm going with you and you can be strong and courageous because
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I'm with you and you can take your stand.
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You could go so, so this is so much more about like a spiritual
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dominion and domain pushing back the forces of evil as it is
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about having a place to put your tent or, or having a stake in a
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land saying this is what it is. And so it was a physical thing
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that they were doing, but it was just as much about a spiritual
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thing as we see in the New Testament.
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So when we read the New Testament in light of the old,
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we kind of begin to see this picture that there is a, a real,
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real coalition or a correlation rather of, of spiritual darkness
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and forces and the physical act of conquering and conquesting
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and moving forward in this way. And so This is why Paul uses the
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language of standing strong, being strengthened in the Lord's
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strength, right? Not walking in fear of being
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discouraged, but being strong in the Lord and getting ready to go
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and being prepared so that you can continue to stand because
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discouragement and fear and things that, that, that, that
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kind of creep in. And, and that's that's why we
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talk about fear and discouragement as spiritual
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things, not just emotional things.
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They're emotional things that are sparked by physical
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realities, but those physical realities that are sparking an
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emotional response are really undergirded or, or motivated or
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impacting the spiritual reality of our life.
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And that's an important understanding as we not just
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read the Old Testament or read through these conquests, but
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when we see what God was telling them in Joshua one in light of
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Ephesians 6, we recognize that this is a spiritual reality that
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fear and discouragement are are are are are are indicative of a
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spiritual battle that you and I face because there is an evil
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one who wants to steal, kill and destroy all of who you are and
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wants to get you unfaithful living in a in a disloyalty to
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Jesus. But rather the encouragement to
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Paul is hey, don't be tripped out by the physical things that
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you see. There are spiritual things
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behind it that you need to stand strong and and God is giving you
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the victory. So again, we we said in the
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message that that that anything that God commands, he always
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gives you the ability to do. There there's an accompany power
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of God, the power of the spirit to be strong and withstand
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whatever it is the enemy is bringing against you.
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We see that Old Testament and New Testament alike.
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Now, one of the things that we talked about was how
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overwhelmed, being overwhelmed is the fruit of the spirit of
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fear or spirit of discouragement or spiritual discouragement that
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plays out in normal daylight. I, I think those things are
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true. Now, I didn't get into a third
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time that that overwhelm can be there.
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And, and in other words, sometimes we're overwhelmed not
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because of a spiritual thing, but because of 1 practical
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thing. And here's the practical reason
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why sometimes we're overwhelmed and we don't want to talk about
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this in our day and age because we just think more is better.
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But but the problem is actually our life rhythm that causes us
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to be overwhelmed in. In other words, there are things
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that take us out of rhythm that God has set up for us to live
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in. And because we're living out of
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rhythm, we actually aren't living in alignment with the
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grace that God has for us. So when I think about overwhelm,
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I think that not over all overwhelm is a spiritual or
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emotional at its root, although most of it is sometimes
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overwhelm is simply too much input where you have information
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overload, you have constant notifications.
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You're you're, you're always, always taking in taking in T and
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there's not an outflow. And so it's just too much input.
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Two, there's too many commitments.
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You have an over packed schedule.
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Like one of the things that we're doing in the formation
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course right now is helping people do a formation audit.
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All of the things in your life that are, whether you realize it
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or not, are impacting who you are, that are shaping you to
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become who you are. And a lot of times we think of
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like, man, I don't have time to do XY and Z.
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And the reality is, is you may not have time to do something
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new. You actually need to replace
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something that is not as formative with something that is
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more spiritually formative. And we don't like to do, we
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don't like to cut out things from our lives because we live
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in America and more is better and the accumulation.
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And so just more busy and more things and more this and more
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that. And, and and soon our, our
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schedule is over packed and we glorify deify even a busy
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schedule more than we value a simplified rhythm that that has
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margin in it. And so we have too many
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commitments. And then that's the last thing
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is too little margins. So we don't have any rest, we
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don't have any recovery. We're always on to the next
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thing and we're always on. And so we don't rest well.
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We, we, we don't have boundaries around our commitments and we
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just are constantly having things input and we never turn
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any of it off. And that stimulation and that
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ongoing, that life rhythm will easily open you up to
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discouragement and fear. And so it's kind of part of the
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physical, this physicality, the practicality of how we can find
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ourselves overwhelmed by fear and discouragement simply
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because of practical things. It's not so much like there's a,
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a demon in part of it. It's more that we have practiced
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our life and formed our life to be normal or to think overwhelm
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is normal and it doesn't have to be there.
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Sometimes very practical things. So I think if there's too much
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input, cut some of it out. If there's too many commitments,
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say no and cut some things out. If there's too little margin,
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add more margin in by getting rid of other other things.
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The reality is that you have a box.
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There are a lot of times we like to say I think outside the box.
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I don't think so. I think you think inside the box
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you have a box of time, You have a box of energy and a box of
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money. In other words, you don't have
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more money than what you have, you don't have more time than
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what you have, and you don't have more energy than what
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you've cultivated and invested in.
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So you've got to cut some things out and live within your means
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of time, energy and resources to help you live faithfully and
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fruitfully in those ways. And anytime we constantly are
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breaking the the rules or breaking out of our time, energy
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and and resources to try to do more than what our actual
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capacity is without either increasing our capacity or
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cutting out things to make room within our capacity, we will
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find ourselves overwhelmed. Sometimes overwhelm isn't just a
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spiritual thing. It's a lazy, practical,
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undisciplined, non diligent, non boundary centered, priority
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driven, value, Kingdom of heaven, value driven life that
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we live in our world. And in those cases, I think
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overwhelm really isn't a fruit of discouragement or fear.
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It just opens us to discouragement and fear and it's
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a signal that your life is out of rhythm and you need more
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boundaries. Overwhelm is a warning light on
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the dashboard of your soul. Sometimes it's pointing to fear
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in your heart, sometimes it's pointing to discouragement in
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your soul, and sometimes it's telling you you need to get your
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life back in rhythm because you are overfilled and under rested
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in that regard. It's overcrowded and you're
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under rested and so you're burning through your time, your
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energy and your resources in a way that is not sustainable.
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And I think it's really important to acknowledge that
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practical component of what opens the door often times to
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spiritual attacks. We talked about how worship is
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important in getting in the presence of God.
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It's one of the ways that we can encounter and be in the presence
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of of God. Worship in a way let's the light
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in and it lifts the heaviness. There's a verse in Isaiah that
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says he's he's given us a garment of praise that we can
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put on for a spirit of heaviness.
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In other words, praise is like a the garment you put on and in
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order to put it on, it helps you to take off the heaviness, the,
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the, the discouragement, the, the down the downer that you're
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in. And I think when you look at
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biblical worship and and I think that without going into all of
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the, the biblical nerdiness of this, that the New Testament
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understanding of worship is shaped by the Old Testament
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practice and pattern of worship. And so anything that would say
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we don't need to look at the Psalms when it tells you to clap
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your hands, to dance, to sing, to shout, to lift your hands,
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like we don't need to do those things, I would say, or we don't
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need to use instruments because that was only in the Old
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Testament. We don't see that explicitly
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commanded in the New Testament. I actually think that we're
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arguing from a. An absent of something rather
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than the presence of something. And I think that the people in
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the New Testament were well acquainted with what it looks
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like to worship God based on Old Testament patterns, pictures
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and, and, and, and the the instructions.
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And so when you get to the New Testament, they're not doing
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away with those things. Those things are continuing on
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and on and on into their life into their culture as music has
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always been a part of life and culture because I think music is
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a gift from God for us as an expression of all that he has
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done. And I think within us, our
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instruments and we've been given the wisdom to create and
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cultivate instruments that helps bring the presence of God
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abound. And it just go go to the story
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of David playing the harp for Saul.
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And you understand that the spiritual things that occur when
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when David played his instrument and was anointed to do so, the
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spirit, the demonic spirits that were oppressing King Saul lifted
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and were were held at Bay because of the worship that
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occurred. So biblical worship pushes back
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the forces of of of the enemy. It lifts and lifts the heaviness
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and it lets the light in. I was talking to a friend about
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how worship, I often think of worship as when you lift your
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hands and you sing, it's like lifting the shades of your soul
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so that light can come in that you're kind of drawing up the
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shades, pushing up the shades to let the light of Christ, the
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light of his presence into your into your soul.
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When when the Bible talks about rejoicing, it has in mind things
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like shouting, clapping, and dancing.
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Those are all expressions of rejoice in the Lord of rejoicing
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when the Bible talks about worshiping in spirit and in
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truth in the New Testament, I think it's talking about the
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things that you sing being true about God and what he's done for
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you. I think it requires A sacrifice
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because he's always worthy. In other words, I don't always
22:26
feel like coming, but my, my feelings are left aside and I'm
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going to sing and speak the truth about God even if I don't
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feel it. And that is a sacrifice of
22:37
praise. And I think praise comes because
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we praise the work of God's hands.
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That is true of what God has done and what we are believing
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God to do. Again, that's how we worship in
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truth, in honesty, and in true vulnerability and singing and
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thinking and speaking correctly about God, who he is and what
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he's done and how he's done it for us.
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And then I think humility is required in biblical worship.
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And so you see humility in the commands and the instructions
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and the demonstration of kneeling, of bowing of and I
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think kneeling and bowing are different.
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You, you have examples of lifting your hands.
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I think that's a, a sign of humility and surrender.
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And I think it requires, he says, to tremble in his in his
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presence. So, so when we come to the Lord,
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we come with this trembling, if you will not like just always
23:37
shaking, shaking, shaking, but but in a sense of like man, this
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is a holy God, a holy moment. And I don't want to come into
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this moment inappropriate with inappropriate ways.
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And I think the inappropriate ways are with pride in our
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heart, with arrogance on our lips and thinking that we're
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beyond the command to worship God, That somehow we don't need
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to sing, we don't need to clap, we don't need to lift our hands,
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we don't need to kneel. We don't need to shout and dance
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and rejoice. No, no, no.
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You actually need to do those things.
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There's a proper way to come into the presence of God, and
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there is an improper way to come into the presence of God and and
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we need to tremble at the sheer power and holiness of God and
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come appropriately into his presence.
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How do you come into his presence?
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With Thanksgiving and praise. That's how you get into the
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presence of God. So Thanksgiving, we need to be
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articulate of that praise. Those were the expressions of
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celebration and rejoicing in truth and in action with
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humility in our heart. And I think that does something
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to us now. When you sing and dance and
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you're not just expressing yourself in general, you're
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actually triggering what neuroscience and it tells us is
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a full body neurochemical shift. In other words, when you sing in
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and dance, you release more dopamine into your your body,
25:12
which produces joy and motivation.
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So so where you are apathetic and discouraged before, now you
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have joy and motivation. When you sing and dance, you're
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releasing serotonin in your body, which then produces
25:25
emotional stability. So you're not always tripping in
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fear. You have an emotional stability
25:31
to correctly analyze and respond to the situations at hand.
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When you sing and you dance, it's been proven to release
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endorphins in your body that creates a decrease in your
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stress and an increase in your energy.
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When you sing and you dance, it's been proven that there is
25:52
oxytocin that is released in your body and oxytocin helps
25:57
foster connection and belonging and it reduces cortisol, which
26:05
reduces your anxiety. So when I say worship, singing,
26:09
dancing, celebrating and, and we need to like get out of the, the
26:13
mode of complaining, criticizing and and being frustrated in our
26:18
kitchens and we need to have more praise dance parties.
26:21
That's why I'm saying it, because there is something that
26:24
will chemically shift in your body that helps you overcome
26:27
fear and lift the heaviness of discouragement simply because
26:32
you just let it loose. You sang with all of your heart,
26:36
soul, mind, and strength, and you danced before the Lord in in
26:39
silliness and joy and childlike delight.
26:44
Listen, God designed your body so that when you lift your voice
26:47
and move with rhythm, your chemistry in your body actually
26:51
shifts, your brain rewards you, your stress decreases, and your
26:56
sense of connection to the Lord and to others increases.
27:00
Singing and dancing doesn't just express joy, it actually helps
27:05
you create the chemical that brings joy in your own body.
27:11
That's how God designed it. So you were literally designed
27:16
to worship, to worship, got to sing, to shout, to clap, to
27:20
dance, to move about, to be rhythmic and to find a light in
27:25
God Himself. I talked about, you know, how we
27:30
get into the presence of God and develop courage and strength.
27:35
And I want to talk about two elements that maybe I didn't
27:38
really hit. One is we talked about
27:41
meditating on Scripture. And I think when you meditate on
27:44
Scripture, you're actually renewing your mind, you're
27:47
strengthening. And I think one of the things
27:49
that helps us overcome fear and and and keep fear at Bay is
27:54
being strong. Please hear me in our minds
27:58
being strong in the truth of who God is because we have renewed
28:02
our thoughts and our imagination to God.
28:04
I didn't explicitly say that, but I think there's something
28:08
that happens when we are when we are strong in the Lord.
28:12
It it comes from one having a strong mind and a fortified mind
28:17
that is anchored to the truth of God.
28:19
That leads us to obedience to the standard of God.
28:23
I said that we want to meditate on God's word until the
28:26
standards of God become muscle memory for our life.
28:30
And I think that when we continually live out the
28:34
standards of God, we find the strength of God.
28:38
The strength of God comes from hitting the standards of God.
28:43
I think about Samson, if you're familiar with his story in the
28:47
book of Judges, Samson comes and God gives him a standard to hold
28:52
to a way of living that as long as he held and abided by the
28:57
standard of that lifestyle, then he would always experience a
29:02
supernatural strength of God in his life.
29:05
But the minute he he didn't follow the standard, the minute
29:10
he cut the corners and cut his hair, he no longer hit the
29:15
standard. He lowered his standard of
29:18
living. He, he lost his strength.
29:21
I think for us, when we walk in the strength of God because we
29:25
have a strong mind of the truth of God and we're obeying God
29:29
there, there is a attention that we hold there that develops the
29:32
strength of God. And I think I'm talking about
29:36
the word of God with others, sharing with each other the
29:40
Scriptures, having communion together and and having
29:43
fellowship like at the table. There's something of the real
29:47
presence of God that comes when 2 when three are gathered and
29:50
you're either sharing a meal and talking about the Lord and
29:53
you're you're meditating on him and you're feasting on the word
29:56
of God together. There is something that happens
29:59
that builds strength and the real presence of Jesus is there
30:02
with us. I feel like the real presence of
30:05
Jesus there, when we we just do the simple act of communion with
30:08
one another, that there's something about the presence of
30:13
God that is very much there with us.
30:16
And being in that place is one way that we experience the
30:20
presence of God that brings strength and encouragement.
30:25
And then the last, last kind of component that I didn't mention,
30:30
but one of the ways that I think we can experience the strength
30:34
of God and grow in strength and courage in the Lord is through
30:39
praying in tongues. Jude says that he who prays in
30:43
an unknown tongue edifies or strengthens himself.
30:46
In first Corinthians 14, Paul tells us that when you pray in
30:50
an unknown tongue, you edify yourself and your spirit is
30:54
strengthened. Your mind isn't strengthened
30:56
because you don't really know what you're praying, but your
30:58
spirit is strong and strengthened because you're
31:02
praying in the Spirit. You're praying in a heavenly
31:05
prayer language. And I do believe in praying in
31:08
tongues. I believe it's not just a public
31:10
demonstration gift, but there's also a personal grace of a
31:15
prayer language that God will unleash and make available to
31:20
those who ask and seek Him for it.
31:22
I do believe that, man. I think there's some practices
31:25
around that. There's some discipleship that
31:27
needs to occur with that, some some training and learning and
31:29
practicing and courage that can be experienced in that and
31:32
laying on of hands that can accompany that and can help
31:35
accelerate that. But when you pray in tongues,
31:38
when you pray in the Spirit, you build up strength.
31:41
And so when I am discouraged, my go to thing is to pray in the
31:46
spirit and to worship that. That's me personally.
31:49
Those are the things that I do. One of the things that I'm
31:51
learning to do is to talk to my friends about it, talk to other
31:55
people about. I'm just discouraged.
31:57
Here's why I feel discouraged. Here's why.
31:59
When I feel afraid, when I pray in the Spirit, I build up my
32:03
faith. So praying in the Spirit
32:04
strengthens your faith. If God tells you to be strong
32:09
and courageous, and it's a command that he gives you the
32:13
tools and the things that you need to accomplish that.
32:17
Meaning if He's given us the gift of praying in tongues and
32:22
He's given us that and it's made it available to us, it's because
32:26
it helps us to be strong in the Lord and be courageous in our
32:31
obedience to Him that that we don't.
32:34
We can be strong in the Lord to take a step of trust in Him
32:38
instead of being crippled by fear.
32:40
And we can be courageous in our loyalty to Him and not grow
32:45
discouraged. And we can persevere until the
32:49
end because He wants us to endure in our faith in Him.
32:52
And so we can be strong and courageous.
32:54
And then that occurs. It's like a resilience.
32:57
Every time I pray in the Spirit, I am strengthened to obey God,
33:02
to follow Him, to trust Him, and to keep fear at Bay.
33:06
And so I encourage you to get into it.
33:09
We've done a lot of teaching on it.
33:11
If you want to talk more about it, hit me up on social media,
33:14
send me a message, and we can talk more about praying in the
33:17
Spirit. But I'm just telling you, for me
33:19
personally, it is one of the key ways that I get into the
33:23
presence of God. I get fear out and I get strong
33:27
in the Lord because that's what the Scripture tells us that we
33:30
do. First Corinthians 14, Romans
33:33
chapter 8 talks about it and and, and, and, and Jude verse 20
33:38
tells us about it as as well. All right, let's get into a few
33:43
questions and and responses today.
33:46
All right, so here's the first question.
33:48
If we do things God didn't anoint us to do, we will
33:53
struggle, be fruitless, and exhaust ourselves.
33:56
But what if we do what God has asked us to do, but we struggle,
34:00
become discouraged and dislike what we're doing?
34:03
How do you determine the difference between the two
34:06
opposite situations? Yeah, pair, definitely.
34:10
I think I've been, I've personally experienced both of
34:12
these where maybe I was stepping into something that God didn't
34:16
ask me to step into and I kind of did it on my own and it kind
34:19
of was left to my own devices, my own strength to accomplish
34:23
it. And then there are times where
34:25
I've stepped into something and man, God's God was there.
34:27
I know he was with me. I know he was there, but it
34:29
wasn't easy. It was a struggle.
34:31
I discouragement came and I got to the point where at times I
34:35
was like, man, I hate this. I don't even want to do this
34:37
anymore. Like Get Me Out of here.
34:38
Like I've been there. I think it's important to know
34:43
one of those situations requires repentance and the other
34:47
requires perseverance. So if you were stepping into
34:50
something that God didn't give you, but you're owning, then
34:53
then you need to repent. And if you're in something that
34:57
you know God has assigned you to do, but it doesn't feel easy,
35:00
It's a struggle, it's discouraging.
35:02
You might not even like doing it anymore.
35:04
Well, you need to find some perseverance.
35:07
There's something that is being developed in you of perseverance
35:11
that is necessary for your spiritual growth.
35:15
Remember, obedience to God is our job.
35:19
That's it. Results aren't really our
35:21
responsibility. They're they're gods.
35:24
And I think a lot of times we think if I obey God and I'm in
35:30
God's doing what God's asked me to do, then it's going to be
35:32
easy, delightful, financially beneficial.
35:36
Everything's going to go well and perfect and wonderful.
35:38
I mean, there might be a few things here and there, but by
35:40
and large, I'm not going to be attacked.
35:42
I'm not going to be overrun. It's not going to be
35:44
challenging. It's going to be pretty smooth
35:46
and easy. Just always grace.
35:48
It's going to be there. It's going to be also wonderful.
35:51
And we kind of have like this over romanticized idea of what
35:55
it looks like. And I don't think that's true.
35:57
I think we need to have a sober mind of knowing that sometimes
36:01
we're walking in the ways of God and seasons are dark.
36:05
They are hard that we feel discouraged.
36:08
The enemy is absolutely trying to to Buffett us and and keep us
36:13
from progressing and distractions are everywhere.
36:16
I think it's, it's such a challenge to, to walk in all of
36:23
all of of that. And so we have to remember that
36:26
that obedience is our job and fruit isn't always the outcome
36:30
of, of outward benefit or, or beautified things or, or what we
36:34
would call prosperity in, in our lives.
36:37
But every time we walk in obedience, Christ's character is
36:44
being formed in US and the fruit of the Spirit is the fruit we
36:50
ought to be seeing. Lovejoy, peace, patience,
36:55
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
36:57
self-control. We we we are becoming more of a
37:02
person who is loving and like Christ.
37:05
So the fruit to obedience should not be measured by external
37:10
situations, Comfort, successes, benefits.
37:15
We ought to measure it based on the character of Christ being
37:19
shaped and formed in us, the fruit of the Spirit growing.
37:23
That's the fruit we need to be looking for, not the external
37:27
things being easy, smooth, more convenient up into the right
37:31
success. I think we need to know what
37:34
God's voice is. And so when you find yourself in
37:36
the season that is challenging and hard, you need to know, man,
37:39
God has called me here. And if God's called me here,
37:42
he's sustained me. If he's sustaining me, he's
37:44
going to shape something in me. I need to develop strength.
37:47
The only way you grow strong is spend time under tension, spend
37:52
time under that pressure. There's something that is
37:55
refined and grown and rarely, I mean rarely, does God release
38:00
you or remove an assignment in the moment when it's the
38:03
toughest. That's rarely when God does it.
38:08
In fact, I I have found that it's not until I've endured some
38:12
of the hard, hard seasons in my obedience in the assignments
38:17
that that it's only when it's the most beautiful and wonderful
38:20
and most fruitful and enjoyable. That's sometimes that's when God
38:24
moves the assignment on when everything is healthy and
38:27
flourishing. That's often when he has this
38:30
move move on. I've just found that to be true
38:34
in in in my life. I remember one time in my, I was
38:39
working at A at another church and in my pastor, I was really
38:42
frustrated with some things in my job.
38:45
I was frustrated with my work. I was frustrated with just,
38:49
just, I was just frustrated. I was really discouraged and I
38:52
wanted to blame everything and everyone.
38:54
And, and I just began to unpack this with my pastor and we were
38:57
talking about it and he simply said this.
38:58
He said, listen, you're carrying the weight of responsibility
39:02
that I never asked you to carry. In other words, somewhere along
39:06
the way, I presumed responsibility for something it
39:10
wasn't mine to carry or hold or steward.
39:14
And and it was producing this anxious anxiety, stress, worry
39:19
and frustration. And so you and I, we've got to
39:24
be careful that like we're not putting our hands on something
39:27
that God hasn't asked us to put our hands on.
39:30
In fact, let me say it this way, don't put your hands on
39:33
anything. Allow God to put in your hands
39:37
what He's asking you to hold. I think that's the best way to
39:41
do it. And you got to learn His voice,
39:43
got to know His discernment. And before you step into
39:45
something, you need wise counsel around you to help you discern
39:49
the will and desire of God in your life.
39:52
And when the going gets tough, don't bail out.
39:56
God is shaping something good in you, and He will strengthen you
40:01
to persevere. And and that's why you need
40:04
other people to help be an encouragement in your life.
40:07
Here's the next question. When is it applicable to bring
40:11
in prayer support to overcome fear and discouragement?
40:14
Like when is deliverance warranted?
40:18
I think this is a really helpful question.
40:22
But first, let me kind of add some back story.
40:24
In the message, I talked about how basically you can encourage
40:28
yourself. You can speak the truth you
40:30
there's a lot of individual things you can do to participate
40:35
in the overcoming and getting beyond fear and discouragement,
40:39
speaking to the storms, rebuking the enemy, some of those you
40:43
know, meditating on Scripture, worshipping these, these are
40:45
important things. And there, and there was one
40:47
where I said, and one of the, the last ways you experience the
40:51
presence is by telling other people you, you confess what's
40:54
going on. And, and Jesus is uniquely
40:56
present in that moment of communion together.
40:59
And confession, that confession and communion often go hand in
41:02
hand. And we're making confession of
41:04
what God says, making confession of our sin where we failed and a
41:07
confession of honesty about where we are.
41:10
And that allows a rich communion to be experienced between two
41:13
people, three people even, and God himself, like there is
41:17
something unique and real presence of God that takes place
41:20
in that moment. And so the question is, when do
41:23
you bring in support of prayer? Here's what I'll say.
41:26
Always, always bring in prayer support when you are overcome
41:31
with fear and discourage. Always always, always it's
41:36
always good to do that. It's always good to do that.
41:41
Let me give you 2 scriptures why it's always good number 1.
41:45
He says the weapons of our warfare and 2nd Corinthians 10
41:49
are not Colonel. They're mighty and God to
41:51
pulling down strongholds. The strength of the enemy comes
41:55
when we allow fear and discouragement to linger and
41:57
where sin perpetuates and allows that to stay open even longer.
42:02
I think one of the primary ways we have strongholds in our lives
42:05
is because of incorrect thinking, where we have
42:08
incorrect truths about God that we have allowed lingered to
42:11
cement in who we are and what we think about God.
42:14
And we have to pull down those strong Howards by the truth of
42:17
God's Word and by the spiritual power at play.
42:21
And so I think spiritual things like prayer are always good when
42:26
it comes to praying through praying the Scripture, praying
42:31
against spiritual things that are coming at us like fear and
42:35
discouragement. The second thing I'll say is so
42:37
prayer helps pull down strongholds in the activity of
42:41
the enemy. Again, Ephesians 6 talks about
42:43
putting on the armor of God and the very last thing it says to
42:45
do is pray always in the Spirit. So prayer is always a part of
42:51
and needs to be a part of overcoming fear and
42:54
discouragement. And then in the the New
42:56
Testament, it says if one could put 1000 to flight, 2 can put
42:59
10,000 to flight. In other words, there's
43:01
something that happens in agreement that is a multiplied
43:04
effect in our prayers and intercession and spiritual kind
43:08
of warfare. If you were that, that battle
43:10
that that goes. So we always need to pray.
43:13
I think it's always right to lament and confess when we have
43:17
fear and discouragement and receive prayer when we need it.
43:19
It's always necessary. And when I say lament, I mean
43:23
sometimes we're discouraged because we're carrying the
43:26
weight of something that we need to give the care to the Lord
43:30
and, and sometimes we need to confess it, tell somebody else
43:33
about it, tell somebody else about it and let them tell us
43:37
what God's word says. We need that in others.
43:40
I would say this, if fear persists, if habits remain, if
43:48
things continue to cause you to feel stuck, I think deliverance
43:52
is appropriate. Not everything that we
43:55
experience in our life is demonic.
43:57
Sometimes it's practical and practice related.
44:01
We talked about earlier about life rhythms and if your life
44:04
rhythm is out of bounds, you are setting yourself up to feel
44:08
nothing but fear and and and discouragement.
44:12
And he really, you just need to change the practical things in
44:15
your life and, and get there. Like if you're always tired,
44:18
you're not getting enough sleep, you're not letting your body
44:21
recover, you are working against yourself.
44:23
So you need to do some practical things to help allow the
44:26
emotional experience to be reset in your, in your body.
44:30
Sometimes it's just practical and, and a practice, like a
44:34
physical practice related. So not everything is, is demonic
44:38
in that, in that way in terms of overtly or explicitly.
44:43
And I think sometimes it is a demonic oppression and assault
44:46
from the enemy where fear just keeps coming and discouragement
44:49
just keeps coming. And you need the, the, the
44:53
support of others. And at times you need others who
44:56
can lovingly spiritually discern the spirits at play.
45:00
One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in First
45:04
Corinthians 12 and 14 is the the spirit of discernment.
45:09
And it's not discernment in terms of deciding in a decision,
45:14
it's actually the gift of discerning of spirits.
45:18
And there are people in the body of Christ who have been, who
45:21
operate well and have stewarded well this gift to where they can
45:25
help you discern if it's the Spirit of God, the spirit of the
45:30
enemy at work, or just the spirit of our age and our and
45:33
our practical life that's impacting us.
45:35
And so deliverance can be warranted in moments of ongoing
45:40
persistent fear, habits that you can't break, strongholds that
45:44
just you just keep getting stuck.
45:46
You, you kind of grow and you practice, but there's just
45:48
something that keeps holding you back.
45:50
It's likely some bondage things that that man God has the power
45:54
to help you overcome all of those, all of those things.
46:00
Here's the next question. What are some practical ways to
46:03
position myself in God's presence when I feel overwhelmed
46:08
or spiritually numb? I'm going to go back to 2nd
46:13
Corinthians 10 here. And he tells us to take every
46:17
thought captive. So first, if you continually
46:21
feel overwhelmed and spiritually, you need to grab
46:24
the thoughts that are there, express them and submit them to
46:29
Jesus. You just Jesus today I'm feeling
46:33
very much overwhelmed. Jesus today I'm feeling very
46:37
inadequate. Jesus today I'm, I'm just
46:39
feeling really afraid and I've been thinking these things.
46:43
So grab the thought. Don't let them just stay in your
46:46
mind. Say them aloud to Jesus.
46:49
Then I think you need to choose to speak God's word, to worship
46:53
and call a friend who can encourage you.
46:56
If you're feeling numb, overwhelmed, if you want to
46:58
position yourself in God's presence, confess the word,
47:03
worship out loud and expressively, and call a friend
47:07
who you know can encourage you. I think another great thing to
47:14
do is disconnect from needed media, needed entertainment.
47:21
I mean, sometimes we're, we're constantly thinking and feeling
47:25
because we are exposing our hearts, our minds and our souls,
47:29
our spirits to so many other messages, so many other
47:34
storylines, so much other music and and theology.
47:38
It's just not helpful. So disconnect.
47:41
I, I'd encourage people to do a 30 day worship music only kind
47:47
of thing. So only listen to worship music
47:49
for 30 days and and maybe not do any TV or show, only do worship
47:55
in your home for 30 days. Just do it for 30 days and see
48:00
what happens. Another thing if you're
48:02
constantly feeling spiritually numb is to go on a prayer walk
48:05
daily and find someone else to encourage daily.
48:10
So go on a prayer walk, like outside you and the Lord.
48:13
Just walk outside and #2 find someone else to encourage.
48:18
You're sitting there thinking, yeah, but I want to.
48:20
I don't want to feel overwhelmed.
48:22
I don't want to feel spiritually numb.
48:23
I know best thing to do to finally be found in God's
48:27
presence is to join with another brother or sister talking about
48:31
the Word of God, encouraging one another and finding that where
48:34
two or three are gathered in his name, there Jesus is too.
48:38
So find a friend, find someone else, and encourage them.
48:43
If you have a need, sow the seed.
48:46
And a proverb says he who refreshes the souls of others
48:50
will himself be refreshed. In other words, whatever it is
48:53
that you need to be refreshed in, start refreshing, giving,
48:56
serving someone else in that in that way, and you'll begin to
49:00
overcome those things. Now, if God commands courage,
49:04
what do I do when I don't feel courageous at all?
49:08
Is obedience still possible in that state?
49:12
Yeah, I think obedience is still possible even when you don't
49:16
feel courageous. Remember God's past faithfulness
49:20
and the ways He's come through before and you'll find yourself
49:24
walking in in victory. I think he the the the psalmist
49:30
thing. He was David who says I, I just
49:34
I, I look to myself and said, why are you so downcast soul?
49:37
Put your hope in God like David talked to himself.
49:41
David encouraged himself in the Lord.
49:43
I think sometimes when you're feeling down, you're not feeling
49:47
courageous. You just need to talk to
49:48
yourself. Give yourself a spiritual pep
49:50
talk, man. God is faithful.
49:52
No, he was with me here. He, he, he led me here.
49:54
He's not going to lead me here and then abandoned me.
49:57
No, he's with me everywhere I go.
49:59
The same spare of the race, Christ from the dead lives on
50:01
the man. You just need to talk to
50:03
yourself. Stir yourself up and then you
50:05
need to call a friend again. Get support from others.
50:08
Quit trying to do this by yourself.
50:10
I honestly think that one of the reasons we are so discouraged is
50:12
because we keep isolating ourselves and thinking it's just
50:16
individual or we listen to the lie that says nobody else ever
50:19
feels this way or it's not a possible to do this way.
50:22
Like no you got to get get others around you.
50:24
The other day I was kind of stuck, actually just two weeks
50:29
ago, I was stuck trying to prepare a message and I was
50:34
incredibly overwhelmed and discouraged.
50:36
Like just inundated with like, man, I can't do this.
50:40
How do I do this? Again, another Sunday, another
50:42
message, another good one. Like how do I, I just, I was
50:46
overwhelmed. I was definitely trying to do
50:47
some things in my own strength, but I was just inundated.
50:51
So you know what? I didn't just told my staff, I
50:53
just told them, yeah, I'm really struggling with this today.
50:56
This is, this is a real deal for me.
50:57
I, I don't know what to do here other than just to communicate
51:01
it, confess it, bring it in into the light.
51:04
And man, they prayed, they were encouraging, they, they, man
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and, and, and, and the next day, like it was like the floodgates
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opened and like it was so easy and, and, and then the Lord was
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there. Not always is it a quick turn
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around, but man, a lot of times it is.
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And so you need support from others.
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Be willing to call on others. And I think you need to do, if
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you find yourself in a place where you don't feel courageous
51:30
and you want to be obedient, stir up your faith, Ask God to
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unleash your prayer language, be filled with the Spirit.
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Have someone pray for you in that, in that direction too.
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And stir up your faith, Encourage yourself in the faith,
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Be encouraged in that way. And men, don't just, but don't
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sit back idly and just accept it like you have to be discouraged.
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You have to be a frightening, you don't have to.
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And God wants to have you overcome that and get beyond it.
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Now I want to say one thing because I feel like it's really
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important to say. I do think again, very spiritual
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things, Spirit, fear, spirit of heaviness and discouragement
52:09
that tries to come and thwart what God wants to do.
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There are sometimes where the chemical makeup in your physical
52:19
body is continually anxious and anxiety riddled.
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It's not unwise and it is not a lack of faith to talk to a
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doctor and to get where necessary, perhaps some
52:33
medication to help chemically reset some things in your in
52:37
your body and in your brain. Like that can be a very
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appropriate thing. And you need to walk with the
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care and the wisdom of the doctors around you to talk that
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out. I'm not saying forgo that
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practicality. I'm saying recognize the
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practicality and engage spiritually.
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Do both. Embody it in both ways and walk
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in the wholeness of God because God wants you to be courageous.
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God wants you to not be afraid. God wants you to be strong in
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the Lord and in his mighty power.
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And he does it because he's giving you the Holy Spirit and
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he's giving you the people of God to help you encounter the
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presence of God. And he wants to be with you
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wherever you, wherever you go. Hey, that's it for this week's
53:25
episode of the Faith for Today podcast.
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I hope it's been encouraging life giving.
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I'd love to hear from you, answer your questions, hear how
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God has been blessing you. Would you send me a message?
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Would you share this on social media?
53:38
I'll let others know about it. Text the episode to a friend.
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I'm really believing that God is helping you to overcome
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discouragement and fear and have some strong hope.
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Hey, I love you. We'll see you next week.