PUT GOD FIRST | Best Sermons Of 2023 - 3 Hour Powerful Christian Motivation & Inspiration

On creation's morning and all-powerful God flung the glittering Stars against the Velvet of the night he holds the seven seas in the palm of his hand he measures face with his fingertips he waves the mountains and the scale and the hills and the balance the god that we serve has total control he said let there be light and in that moment of time Darkness was shattered and conquered forever his son Jesus Christ walked upon the rage and sea of the Sea of Galilee and he held the winds in his fifths and said peace be still

that's control that God is in control of planet Earth and he can be absolutely in control of your life if you'll let him he will make a way where there seems to be no way stop worrying and start living worry proves that you don't believe God can take care of you worry is Faith In Fear worry is Faith In Fear the two words in the New Testament from the mouth of the Apostles fear not fear not fear not the past why because your past has been forgiven and forgotten fear not the present I will never

leave you nor forsake you Joshua 1 and 9 be not afraid for thy God is with you wherever you go David said yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me death has been reduced to a shadow the Lord is my light and my salvation Whom Shall I Fear the Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid psalms 27 and 1. Hebrews 13 6 the Lord is my helper I will not fear what man can do with me

free and not death the Bible says I am he who was dead and behold I Am Alive forevermore fear not sickness because this is the book of The Great physician fear not poverty for it is the Lord that gives you the power to get wealth fear not other people the Bible says I will make your enemies to be at peace with you you will climb the impossible Mountain I'll give you the ability to defeat the impossible foal one thousand shall fall at your left hand ten thousand shall fall at your right hand David said I

will fear no evil why because God Almighty is with me that's why worry is trust in the unpleasant worry is assurance that disaster is coming worry is believing in your personal defeat and despair worry is the polluted stream that flows through your brain that drowns hope and optimism that kills Faith worry is interest paid on trouble that never happens think about that one old man said and I quote most of the trouble I've had in life never happened [Music] how many of you have worried yourself silly about something you just knew was going to be

disaster and it never happened [Music] worry enters our life through thoughts but the Bible teaches us to cast all of our care on God because he cares for us life is real and we never know exactly what's going to come our way but we do know God we don't have to live in fear because he's with us and he's on our side well worry sees the problem but it doesn't see God I don't think it's wrong to see the problem matter of fact I think we should look at our problems squarely and then we need

to tell them where they stand in relationship to God worry sees the problem but Faith sees the God who can handle the problem and that's what we have to do in whatever situation you're in right now in your life whether it's something with your kids or your marriage or your finances or you think you're never going to recover from your past or you're fighting with some kind of a an addiction or some kind of a sin that just keeps trying to cling to you whatever it is you have to know that God is greater than

any problem that you have and you have to not worry because when you pray and then you worry the worry nullifies your prayer prayer is something you do instead of worry if we pray and then worry we're saying with our mouth that we're depending on God but we're saying with our actions that we don't really believe that God's going to come through so we're going to worry and have a backup plan just in case he doesn't we don't have to know what God is going to do we don't have to know when he's going to

do it all we need to know is that he is and he has a plan and at the right time not our time but at the right time God will execute that plan matter of fact I'm going to tell you something that's just bubbling up in my heart right now God is working in your life every single one of you God is working in your life right now in ways that you cannot feel don't see and don't understand and everything that we go through we need to lift up our voice and say God I believe

you're working in my life right now I'm expecting something good and God is with you in your situations some of you are in very difficult situations and yet in the midst of that you have joy and peace and you have hope and only God can give us that God is with you just because you have a problem that does not mean that God has abandoned you God is with you Jesus Christ made the profound statements about worry that the world has ever heard in Matthew the sixth chapter therefore I say to you do not worry

about your life what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body what you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air for they neither sown or reap nor Gather in Barns yet your heavenly father feeds them or you not of more value than they which of You by worrying can add one cubit to his stature so why do you worry about clothing consider the lilies of the few how they grow they neither toil nor spend and yet I

say to you that even Solomon all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these now if God so closed the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he not much more clothe you o you of literal faith therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for after all these things the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things but seek first the kingdom of God in his righteousness and all of

these things shall be added unto you therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own things sufficient for the day is its own trouble simple profound God gives you what you need and I'm sure that many of you have things looming out there in the future that you know is going to require answers and you don't have those answers but you know what the greatest way that you can show faith in God is to refuse to worry about it refuse to think about it excessively and every time it comes to your

brain just say I don't know what I'm going to do but I know the God who does know what I'm going to do [Music] and that's what that's what we where he can do it go past our time many of you have got a wonderful testimony in your life of what God has done for you and God has brought you some from some places that nobody would ever thought that you could have recovered from of course I have that same testimony myself and I'm telling you what God is no respecter of persons his promises are

not for somebody else or an elite for you they are for you he is here right now and he is taking care of your situation you don't have to worry gotta do one of two things if you have a problem he will either remove the problem which is always our first choice and usually the only thing that we think we can even be remotely satisfied with he will either remove the problem or he will give you the strength the grace the ability to go through the problem now I know we don't like the going through

part but I'm telling you if you can say God I know you'll do one of two things you're either going to remove this you're going to move it you're going to take it away or you're going to give me the grace to deal with it and if we can trust God enough to leave that choice up to him because if he lets us go through it then he's got a purpose in mind there's something we're going to get out of it that we need trusting God is wonderful it's so wonderful to just say I don't

understand this but I believe God's going to work it out I do not understand this it hurts so bad I feel like I can't stand it but I believe that God is going to work it out some way somehow I believe that God is going to work it out our journey with God is a very wonderful wonderful wonderful thing and I'm asking you today to choose boldness don't live a little bitty narrow nothing life when there's such a great big wonderful life available to you just because you won't take that chance that just maybe maybe

maybe maybe maybe what you feel really is God has not given us a spirit of fear he doesn't want us living timid weak wimpy fearful lives he wants us to be bold and courageous and strong and not afraid to try new things I think a lot of the reasons why people don't step out and try new things is they already think before they even try about all the things that might happen if they fail and I think that if you know that how much God loves you really understand how much he loves you then you

can live without that fear of failure which immediately sets you free to try things if you just do the best you can when you step out then God will promote you a little bit at a time so often I think we look at the way we think it needs to be in its Perfection and if we can't do that yet then we won't even step out and do anything and I can tell you my beginning was pitiful but I was following God I think that some of you are at a point in your life and

I just I feel this in my heart that some of you you're facing something new maybe something in your life has come to a to a close and now you're facing something new and fear always comes against us when we Face new things you're not the only one every time you try to make any kind of progress you can be assured that Satan will try to frighten you that's the way that he keeps people from going forward and courage is not the absence of fear but courage is actually Forward Motion in the presence of fear

I don't want you to forget that you're not afraid you're not a coward because you feel fear but we're cowardly when we let the fear control us rather than continuing to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit God will lead us through fear and into his perfect will for our lives if you ever really want to live your life led by the Holy Spirit you have to understand that God doesn't even usually call people that are qualified are who feel ready to do what they're being asked to do that's why it takes Faith to do

it and faith means that you step out based on what's in your heart not based on what's in your circumstances instead of being afraid of new things we should be excited about new things and I know this sounds really like kindergarten simple but honestly and truly if people would just have the courage to just follow God for their individual lives you would have an outrageously wonderful life not everybody might like what you do not everybody might approve of your choices you might not always get a lot of encouragement and hand claps when you begin but

God will prove himself to you if you'll be bold enough to follow God and not the crowd myself included we regularly come to places in our life and we haven't been there we haven't done that we have no experience with that and so we have a tendency to want to start backing off from it and just stay in our little boat of safety but God's encouraging you today to step out and be bold enough to follow the leadership of God for your life and it never ceases to amaze me what God enables a person to

do if they will just step out bold faith Christianity is viewed increasingly with not only skepticism but open hostility and it requires of us to Boulder faith and willingness to say out loud I'm for Jesus I'm for Jesus I Think Jesus is a good thing I think he'll help you he's now acceptable in our culture to if you hold that worldview it is suggested openly not hinted at not nuanced it's openly suggested that that somehow you're not quite up to speed with the 21st century that intellectual even left a little behind that your your moral

development and your philosophical awareness and your worldview is is a bit jaded a bit skewed it's it's underdeveloped and you're a diminished person in some way [Music] it takes bold Faith to be a Jesus person these days and I want to encourage you and let it be known in your circle of influence with your friends and your neighbors and your family members and your co-workers you're with Jesus it's important they need to know people like you love Jesus bold faith the faith it says on the daily basis I want to do my best to make

choices that honor Jesus of Nazareth I'm for him and I would encourage you to be for him he's made my life better Jesus doesn't diminish life he extends the quality of life he expands the contentment in life bold faith not critical not harsh not mean-spirited but a passion for Jesus that influences your life if we would go to Joshua 1 we would say that when God sent Joshua to take Moses's place to lead the Israelites across the Wilderness into the promised land he said there's only one thing that you have to do fear not and

be bold God can't work through fear he works through faith fear opens the door for the enemy to work in our life and faith opens the door for God to work in our life fear comes out of your flesh out of your circumstances out of what you think and feel but faith comes out of your heart and you have to follow your heart you have to keep your heart safe and you have to keep your heart free and if you're not following the leadership of God for you then your heart is not going to be

free it's going to be burdened and I believe that even if you step out to try something that you believe is God and you don't make it all the way God likes that Spirit of aggression and that boldness that says I'm going to step out and try it I'm not going to live in fear so we have a choice of facing the difficulties we face in life in one of two ways we can do it courageously or we can do it fearfully and God doesn't want his people living fearfully he says I have not given

you the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind God wants us to be triumphant he wants us to be courageous and bold whatever we face in life and he's made promises to make it possible for us to face anything and everything and still be standing when the battle is over in difficult times dangerous times we don't look around we look where up and so we get courage and strength and we're willing to trust God and be fearless and bold no matter what God requires of us God will change

your life God is ready to give you the best the question is are you ready to trust him Boyd well scripture is just for encouragement and your ear will hear a word behind you saying this is the way of walking it when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left God is promising us now get this this is a promise to every one of us that when we step out into what we believe is God's will that he will guide us every step of the way but he's not going to

give you a blueprint for the next 10 years before you make the first move Psalm 118 6. [Music] the Lord is on my side I will not fear what can man do unto me Isaiah 12 2. behold God is my salvation I will trust that I feel but I will trust and not be afraid for the Lord God is my strength and my song and he has become my salvation Isaiah 45 2 is another great promise and I man I pray this one all the time and I will go before you and level the mountains

to make the Crooked places straight and I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut us under the bars of iron I know that everywhere that I go there's always opposition there's always a plan that the enemy has to stop the good that we want to do but I just pray this scripture that God will go before me and send his angels before me and he'll prepare the way before me and prepare the hearts of the people before me and you know what if you will make a decision to stop letting other people

make your decisions and to step out and try some things you'll find God's Destiny for your life you'll find what's going to fulfill you and what you're meant to do and what you're meant to be but you've got to be bold you have to be bold enough to step out and find out do we dare to dream what is a dream do you dare to dream when others say it's impossible do you dare to dream when others live in doubt and despair was Christ the author and the finisher of our faith said all things say

that with me all things are possible to them who believe that God will do what he said he will do our God is able to overcome the limitations that others have placed on you whatever forecast they stated for your future God can cancel it in a second if you put your faith in him our God is able to overcome the pain of your past and heal the wounds of yesterday our God is able to give you strength for today and fill you with Hope For Tomorrow our God is able to take all things the good

the bad the pleasant the unpleasant and work them together for your good but what you have to do is believe believe that the dream that he placed in your heart is a glimpse of your destiny and then press on endure hardness God will not fail you God will give you the desires of your heart you just have to trust in him and know that he didn't bring you this far to let you down and if God has you in one hand and your destiny in the other I assure you your dream will come true breathe

consider the power of a dream our dreams are the Golden Ladder by which we climb to Heavenly places dream s are the mountain peaks of vision that we climb and look over into the promised land that God has given us dreams are the lanterns by whose light we pass safely through the darkest Valley dreams are the interflame in your soul that gives you the strength and the day of adversity to fight through the darkness until the dream comes true all great things are born in a dream art books music sermons buildings skyscrapers corporate Empires Beethoven

used to wander in the woods to get his music in the theater of his mind he heard great Symphonies of sound that blessed the world James Watt invented the steam engine and he cranked it up he shouted to his friends you see it today with your natural eye but years ago I saw it in my mind's eye dreams are the stuff that life is made of Walt Disney said if you can dream it you can do it and I hope and pray that you have a dream for your life not having any kind of goals

or any kind of dreams for your life is kind of a boring dull way to live don't ever stop dreaming no matter how old you are don't stop dreaming you're not too young to dream you're not too old to dream and even if you've got some Shattered Dreams in your life I want to encourage you to dream again I don't care if you don't have the money you don't have the help and you don't have the family for it and you don't have the background for it and you don't have any friends for it don't

you give up on your dream don't you do it don't you do it don't you do it it may take you twice as long you may have to take courses and classes you may not read as fast you might not move as quick you might not have as much but don't you quit sometimes it's best that you just keep your dreams to yourself because your dream is about you it is God's Divine Way of giving you a glimpse of your destiny it was God's way of saying to Joseph one day I'm going to exalt you

and you're going to rule and all of the nations are going to Bow before you that was Joseph's destiny that was the dream that God planted in his heart in order for that dream to become a reality Joseph had to endure he endured misery and pain and a season of Hell on Earth that would be difficult to describe but all that he went through he was able to walk through because before it ever began God gave him a glimpse of what was to come and he walked down that long road believing that if God before

him who can be against him child of God I believe that he is no respecter of persons if God had a dream for Jacob and God had a dream for Joseph then God has a dream for you the devil's job he got one mission is to make you think you ain't gonna make it the devil wants to keep you from your destiny that's his one job Satan got one job to keep you from your destiny the devil don't ever want you to be what God created you to be if you've been dreaming opening that business

start the process don't try to figure out how to make the business make a million dollars just start the process see if you make one step he'll make two but he can't make his two unless you make your one and don't worry about where you're going with it just get started he'll show you the way to go because he wants you to get to your destiny but he got to make sure that you want to get to your destiny first if you tell him you want to get to your destiny that God you serve he

gonna show you how to do it you can believe that don't forget to pray don't be ashamed to pray and don't ever be too proud to pray because prayer prayer changes things why is it that sometimes people's dreams don't come true you know the devil's always trying to dig some kind of a pit for us and trying to pitch Us in it whether it's a pit of depression a pit of discouragement pit of poverty a pit of sickness and disease he always wants us to be somewhere between before besides on top where God wants us

to be it's kind of hard you know when you're having to wait longer than you thought you would things are a lot harder than you thought they would be and it seems to be costing you more in your life than what you ever think that you can bear and it just keeps going on and on and on and on and on but the people who refuse to quit the people who won't give up I can tell you I promise you if you won't quit and you won't give up you will make it to the finish

line you will make it to the finish line but it goes without saying that life can push you through Seasons where it becomes difficult to dream is it right to hope for a better tomorrow is it fair to believe that there's a brighter day ahead this mindset is something that is contrary to what the word of God tells us we are to believe for and believe in we may indeed be in a world that is spinning in absolute Financial cultural and Global chaos but the Bible tells us that we are not in this we are

in this world we are not of it we have been told that greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world we are told that even though we may see the hardest of times we can expect the best of things because it is our God who said who sit upon the throne in a world of hardship he has promised to be the Divine provider he has said I have a plan for you it is a plan not to harm you it is a plan to give you a hope and a

future in a world of need he has said I am still the god that shall supply all of your needs according to my riches in glory in a world of chaos and confusion he said I am the prince of peace and my peace not only do I give it unto thee but it surpasses all understanding you may be in a dry season today but our God has said he would be a spring of Living Water for your thirsting soul you may be walking through a dark Valley but the light of the world has promised that

he'll be right beside you and he'll lead you every step of the way to the other side you may be in a world of trouble but he is a strong tower he is a shield and he is a defense in your day of adversity he said I'll be the rock of your salvation I'll be the glory the lifter of your head my goodness and my Mercy they shall follow you all the days of my life for even David himself declared since the Lord is on my side what can man do to me child of God

if you have a dream today don't give up on the dream that God gave you businessman don't quit pursuing the dream that he planted in you mother and father continue to believe for the dream that he has in store for you young person don't abandon the dream that he planted down deep in your soul because God did not bring you this far to pale he brought you this far to Crown you dream a new dream and believe in a God who can never fail everyone wants a miracle but no one wants to be put in

the crisis that requires a miracle the only way you really need a miracle is that you have a problem and the bigger the problem the bigger the miracle you need we like Miracles but not the problems that go with them but sooner or later is going to happen to you the phone is going to ring and your calm tranquil well-ordered life is instantly going to be in a raging Storm or later you're going to face a crisis beyond your power to control our God is a God who wants to perform the miraculous in your life

there are times in our lives where we Face something that it just seems like there's no way out we could do all the math in our mind and our mind will tell us there's nothing that can be done here maybe you're in a job and and you know God wants to bless you but you look at your situation you think well God can't move here my boss doesn't like me I can't get along with the other people at work there's there's such a ceiling in my environment it's impossible for God to move in this situation

other times we might say well my marriage Pastor is just so bad it's been so many years that it's been sliding in the wrong direction I I don't know that God could ever move our marriage into the position that he keeps talking about how is God going to change these things in my life Pastor I've been acting my body for so long and the diagnosis is that it's incurable nothing can be done here I'm not sure that God could even move I don't know what he would do and our brain starts to opt us out

of God's best in our lives it says well the impossible things I don't know that God still does that anymore we begin to forget the things in our past where God did perform the miraculous can you think back to a time when God did something miraculous in your life that no one could explain something happened and you got a breakthrough when there seemed to be no way there was a miracle that happened in your life that could not be explained with the mind the Mind wants to get in your way it wants to say well

that's impossible a lot of people believe in the Bible they believe in the Miracles in the Bible what they don't believe is that God will do it for them and do it now that's what faith is believing that God can do it for you and do it right now um there we we live in a world where everyone's telling you you can't pull this off um we live in a time when when people even in the church don't believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and what he can do sometimes we just look at

the scriptures and go well yeah that was back then and you guys it's it's not about back then it's it's about always it's about ever since the beginning of this book and all the way to the end the followers of God were filled with courage there was a fearlessness in them there was a confidence of my God will come through we grew up with these stories we really did and don't you remember as a kid just having this Faith like God can do anything God loves to work best and shine his glory when things seem

the darkest when the Israelites were in a situation where the hemmed in by the mountains they couldn't escape the mountains they had the sea in front of them they couldn't swim across that and the Egyptians were coming in and God had positioned them there what is going on this is impossible you know what even when it looks impossible God can either blow up the mountains or he can part the sea he's going to figure it out we just have to keep believing that no matter how impossible it looks God can still do it I don't

know how he's going to come through in this financial situation but here's what I do know I know that my God will meet all of my needs according to those riches and Glory I don't serve a god of the practicals I serve a god of the Miracles the god of the Bible is a miracle working God in the Genesis of time he breathed into a handful of dirt and Adam became a living soul that was a miracle he separated the day from the night he flung the glittering Stars against the Velvet of the night to

glisten like diamonds as an eternal reminder to mankind that he is the infinite creator he sets the son Ablaze and placed it in the heavens as his version of the Eternal Flame the infinite power of God to create is far beyond our imagination to grasp the God of this Bible is a god of Might and miracles he's the god of Grace and Glory he's a god of power and patience Moses parted the Red Sea and walked across on dry ground with almost 2 million people he healed the lane he healed the death he healed the

blind that my friend is Miracle working power we serve a Jesus who walked around making the uncommon events and the power of God look like they were common every day he was performing a miracle you have that same Spirit on the inside of you and it's so rare that someone even in church Gatherings it's so rare for someone to put their arm around you and remind you of how powerful you are how powerful your God is who dwells inside of you and what you can do you know we we kind of we become more and

more cowardly he's never been pleased with cowardice he's never been pleased with people who don't believe that he can come through and that he can do anything but have we lost the Wonder of God do we see his might and Majesty so often we're blind to its presence have you ever watched the sunset or the sun rise that ball of fire that's glowing on the horizon it's a staggering miracle that really you can't wrap your mind around why should you know this because on creation mourning a Divine spark of Glory escaped from the fingertip of

almighty God it blazes in the heavens on a daily basis as God's billboard to the nations of the earth he's saying this is my Miracle working power of the god that created heaven and earth that you can serve he is awesome he is full of wonder he is the light of the world sometimes we think of all the busyness we're going to do to help God try and do what he's doing listen take a step back and let God do what God's trying to do just put your faith that when things get impossible he's going

to unlock the impossible he's going to show up in his glory so that we could say all these years later that was God that did that and not us people get the idea it's easy for God to heal a head cold and he can't touch cancer let me tell you cancer is not a challenge for God when you have the faith for it I mean you can move mountains here God's just waiting for you to uncross your fingers and start believing he wants you to see that Miracle he wants to wow you and when we

stop expecting and we negotiate we say well how God's gonna do that I don't know but you know what God I'm fine our brain tends to look at what the devil's bring in and say well that might be working you know it's not what I thought it was going to be it's not a wow but it'll do I'll settle in this situation I'm just gonna take what this compromise is remember this if you remember anything on it today God is not a god of compromise he's going to bring a miracle into your life don't accept

second best we get knocked down here and there and then people start telling you you can't pull it off and and our faith and that risk and that courage just seems to subside and and it's not right it's it's not good that's not that's not how we want to live why don't I believe like I used to with children of God is still God not just when he was when we were little kids but when we're 40 when we're 80 . just go man I'm gonna go for it God's done some amazing things throughout time

and as I grow in my knowledge I want my courage and my boldness to grow with it not not the opposite Our Father which art in Heaven is still Jehovah roofie the Lord that heals all disease his son Jesus Christ is still the great physician he is the bomb of Gilead he's the Conqueror of death Hell In The Grave this is the word of the Living God it is a two-edged sword this is the bread of life this is Living Water this word spoken under the anointing of the holy spirit is a Divine Proclamation that

can move mountains and Conquer diseases you are what this book says you are you can do what this book says you can do you can have what this book says you can have you can know what this book says you can know you can go where this book says you can go nothing is impossible unto you if you go in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ This Book says whatsoever you ask in my name I will do it and if that was the only verse in the Bible it would make Christianity the greatest faith

on the planet ask and you shall receive that will turn your life around the only way you're ever going to know your purpose for your life why you're here on this planet what on Earth you're here for is a talk to your creator God who made you and be read the owner's manual God has never created anything without a purpose every plant has a purpose every Star has a purpose every animal has a purpose God does not create things without a reason without a purpose and if your heart is beating and you're breathing there's a

purpose for your life because God never makes anything without a purpose and the Very fact that you're alive makes your life meaningful that God had a reason for creating you it is in Christ we find out who we are what we're living for part of the overall purpose that he God is working out in everything and everyone the next verse Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 says this everything at absolutely everything got started in Christ and finds its purpose in him it is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we're living for

so he said I really got to find myself you're going to find yourself in Christ you were made by God you were made for God until you understand that your life is never going to make sense you're going to go through life wonder what on Earth am I here for you got to start with God God wants you to know him and love him back here's what he says in the book of Hosea in the Bible chapter 6 verse 6. God says I don't want your sacrifices I Want Your Love this is God talking to

you I don't want your offerings I want you to know me the most important thing you can know in life is that God loves you and the most important thing you can do in life is love him back First Timothy chapter 6 The Bible says this some people have missed the most important thing in life they don't know God they don't know God now how do you know when you don't know God how do you know when you're disconnected from God how do you know when in that moment you're not knowing and loving God God

has given us a warning sign and it goes off like a bright yellow light in your life every time you get disconnected from God and that warning sign is this [Music] worry when you worry you're acting like God doesn't exist you're acting like if it's to be it's up to me no it's not up to you it's up to God and you when you when you worry you're acting like it's all your responsibility that you don't have a heavenly father who loves you that there aren't seven thousand promises in the Bible that God hasn't already

agreed to take care of all your needs we're always worried about what does God want me to do God what job should I have where should I go to work where should I go to school what should I do we're always worried about what we should do God is much more interested not in what you do but in what you become and the reason why is you're not taking your career to heaven you're not taking your car to heaven you're not taking your cash to Heaven how much money you're making you're not taking your China

debt you're taking your character the only thing that's going to heaven after you're 80 years or so here on Earth is you you're not taking any of your accomplishments you're not taking any of your achievements you're not taking any of your Acquisitions you're not taking any of your things you've piled up stockpiled money materialism stuff like that none of that's going to heaven the only thing that's going to heaven is the person you became the man you became the woman you became the only thing you're taking to Heaven is your character and God put you

on this planet to develop your character to grow up spiritually and to become like Jesus Christ when things happen to you the normal question you ask is the word why why is this happening why is this happening to me why is this happening now and the answer to all the why questions of life is this [Music] to make you like Jesus to make you like Jesus if God's going to make you like Jesus he's going to take you through everything Jesus went through and Jesus wasn't spared from difficulty was there were times when Jesus was

lonely yes time when he was misunderstood yes were the times when Jesus was disappointed by people yes were the times when he was tempted to be discouraged and give up yes were there times when he was just tempted yes and if God let his own son go through all that don't you think he's going to let you go through it too yes why because he's more interested in your character than your comfort this is not the Comfort side of life the comfort's going to come in eternity Comfort is going to come in heaven this is

the classroom side of life where you were to learn and some things you only learn through difficulty if you got everything you want everything went your way you had no problems you would be a spoiled brat self-centered brat and the whole goal of life is learning unselfishness it's not about you it's about learning to love God and learning to love other people and that's where fulfillment and joy and purpose comes from you know those problems you don't like in your life every problem has a purpose and that purpose is to make you like Jesus there

is no situation in your life you cannot grow from if you'll just trust Jesus and if you'll just learn to respond in the right way God knows that you've been frustrated with your life he knows you're hurts he knows your sadnesses he knows your fears he knows the turmoil that goes inside of you he knows the loneliness you feel when you put your head down on the pillow at night he knows the the insecurities that you feel that you don't want to admit to anybody else he knows all of that he knows every part of

you you're not going to surprise him by by the hidden part of your life or the life that you're leading he knows you he is a loving father he is the father that cares for you more than for you can ever imagine and a father wants to guide his children [Music] before you were born the Bible says I knew you before you in your mother's wombs I know the hairs on your head your names are written on the palms of my hand I have plans for you plans for welfare and not for evil sometimes you

may feel just too insignificant when God Called Moses to free the Israelites Moses protested that he could not speak publicly when Sarah was promised a son she protested that she was too old when Jeremiah was told to prophesy he protested that he was too young when God sent Gideon to fight the midianites Gideon protested that the family was insignificant when Samuel anointed Saul with oil Saul protested that his tribe was too small and when Samuel anointed David Jesse protested that David was the youngest of his eight sons and even Mary when she was promised that

she would carry the Messiah protested that she was a virgin he sees us not as we are but as we will become no man will ever love you no woman will ever love you like your creator does on Jesus Christ does and to go entirely through your entire life disconnected from your creator who loves you that much makes no sense at all if somebody was willing to die for you wouldn't you want to know about it if somebody loved you so much they died for you wouldn't you want to know them somebody did die for

you his name is Jesus Christ and he died for you to pay for all the things you've done wrong so you could live a life of purpose and my plea to you as your pastors do not waste your life decide right now that for the rest of your life you're going to give the best of your life not to your girlfriend not to your boyfriend not to your job not to something else but to God in his kingdom become what God made you to be the man God paid you to be the woman God made

you to be Jesus Christ commanded the church fear is mentioned in the bible over 600 times it's no small subject in the word of God from Genesis to Revelation Abraham to John on the Isle of Patmos we hear that commandment given over and over fear not that command was given to Abraham that command was given to Israel that command was given to Moses it was given to David who ran from Saul for years who lived in caves before he became a king that command was given to Daniel who was going into the lion's den that

command was given to the city of Jerusalem the angel Gabriel gave that message to Mary to Peter who was sinking in the swirling tide of the Sea of Galilee to Paul who had been on a ship for 14 days and it looked like all would be lost the angel of the Lord appeared and said fear not fear not fear not every time you see in the Bible fear not which is all over the Bible fear not for I am with you fear not for I am with you fear not for I Am With You fear

not for I will never leave you nor forsake you that's the main reason that the Bible gives for us not fearing is to know that God is with us and that if he's with us he loves us and he will take care of us that God says over and over fear not for I Am with You Remember we're not talking about not having the feeling of fear we're talking about not letting it stop you we can't live our lives in fear and Dread of what's going on and what's going to happen Satan wants us to

shrink back in fear and live little tiny useless lives but God wants us to be Brave and Bold do not be afraid it is said in different ways different variations but it's basically the same thing fear not do not be afraid be Fearless fear ye not over and over and over again in different ways God wants to say to us the exact same thing in fact it is so critical and so important to him that he gets to the New Testament and Paul writes a letter to a young man named Timothy and he says Tim

this is what you need to know that he has not given us a spirit of fear he says of all the important things Timothy that you need to know in your life and in this ministry that God is sending you through two as you go through things in this journey of life that you will inevitably go through he says would you remember that what our God does not give is fear he gives power and love and a sound mind fear is a real Thief in our lives Isaiah 41 10 says fear not there's nothing to

fear well isn't that interesting for I am with you that's the only answer he gives because I'm with you and so if we really know who the Lord is I'm not talking about just going to church but I mean if you really know who the Lord is then we don't have to know what he's going to do we don't have to know when he's going to do it we don't have to know what the way is going to be we just say Lord I know you're with me and therefore I can do what I need

to do because when fear causes you to stop and to do nothing it's the master spirit I believe that the enemy uses to try to keep us from fulfilling our destiny and so he he tells us there's no way he says you you got to be afraid of this you know if you failed before then you got to be afraid that you're going to fail again but God says fear not for I Am With You I love that there's nothing to fear do not look around you in Terror and be dismayed you know it's one

of our problems we look around us too much instead of looking up the more you stare at your problems the more you rehearse your problems the bigger they're gonna get every time you go through something difficult it makes you a Little Bit Stronger Just a Little Bit Stronger fear of the future fear of danger fear of the past others fear the loss of their job the loss of your health there's a sudden and unexplainable pain and it brings fear to your mind some of you fear the loss of position the loss of self-esteem you fear

failure you fear the criticism of other people you fear exposure you fear being disliked there's a fear of death there's the fear of the unknown the era of human history is the era of anxiety and fear when the fear knocks at your door send Faith to answer and no one will be there Isaiah wrote I will trust and I will not be afraid we have to understand that fear first of all is a demonic spirit it's not from God I think it's the enemy's favorite tool in his toolbox [Music] the sole purpose of which is

to keep us from making progress and going forward fears whole design is to stop you in your traction to drive you back where you came from instead of you going forward and becoming all that God wants you to be if we believe that our God does not give a spirit of fear but you find or I find in my life that there is a spirit of fear attached to something specific in your life or in your journey an opportunity that you're intimidated by a relationship an Endeavor a Ministry a um an interest of yours that

just seems to cause you to feel a little bit paralyzed and insecurity of feet or fear it you and I know what we know now based on the scriptures that God does not give fear but you sense that there is a spirit of fear attached to something in your life and you know God didn't give it that means you know who did and if the inner enemy has placed a spirit of fear on something in your life it must mean that he is trying his best to keep you away from something that's if he's trying

to keep you away from it that must mean there's something in it that he does not want you to have he wants you and I to be so paralyzed so crippled so disarmed so disinterested from the very thing that he knows is exactly what God wants to take you through so that he can bring you to a new place in him do not be afraid a believer in Jesus Christ can only have one attitude toward fear and this must be their attitude I will not fear I will not fear fear prevents forward progress is there

anyone here who ever feels like that you have let fear keep you from doing what you know you were supposed to be doing I beg you not to give up but to press through and to be all that God wants you to be do all that he wants you to do so you can have all that he wants you to have the reason why you have no reason to be afraid my friend as God calls you to go hear or do that or go through this particular thing in your life it's not because you're so

capable it's not because you're so prepared it is because you have a Daddy who loves you he has already gone behind the scenes he has already orchestrated and uh manipulated events and people and circumstances so that all he needs is a woman that's willing to say yes Lord and stand there at the plate of his grace and His glory and his a calling on your life and to do what he's called you to do and if you and I will just do it we will realize we've been set up to hit a home run every

single time [Music] so if right now there is something crippling you the enemy is working overtime to cause you to be afraid in your life will you hear this message from the Holy Spirit today step up to the plate do not be afraid your God has got your back if God is for us then what difference does it make really who's against us because God is certainly greater than anything or anybody that could come against us and you know I think that where we get into trouble is we believe that God is for other people

but are we sure that he's for us can I tell you something you having a problem is not a sign that God doesn't care it does not mean that God doesn't see you it does not mean that he does not care about you he wants to help you in your time of need and trouble we give the enemy access to our life through fear and we give God Access to our life through faith we don't have to be afraid of things God will take care of us first whatever's coming up in your future even the

stuff that you don't know about God will take care of you come on I said God will take care of you get it in your head God will take care of you amen and that's really all we need to know God's going to take care of us God has not given us a spirit of fear never has uncertainty than any greater than it is today in uncertain times because as uncertain as things are of this I am certain that God Almighty is still on his throne I am certain that the word of God is true

from page to page and cover to cover I am certain that every promise locked in these pages is good for a thousand Generations I am certain that even though men on this Earth May plan and they may plot and they may have devised schemes and try to control the things of this Earth it is God who exalts one and it is God who uses men here on this Earth I am certain that God Is A Healer I am certain that God is faithful I am certain that God is all sufficient I know that he has

given his angels charge over me I know that he will protect me I know that he is a help to the helpless and hope to the Hopeless I know that his goodness and his Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever I know in whom I have believed and I believe that he is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that I can ask think or imagine I know who he is his name is Jesus Christ and he is a resurrected savior

the son of the Living God the bright and The Morning Star the fairest of ten thousand the lion of Judah and he is a soon coming King of this I am certain and the reason I know is because his word has told me his holy spirit has confirmed in me and I hear his voice saying lift up your heads and rejoice your Redemption draweth nigh our God is a refuge and our God is a strength and he is an ever-present help in a time of trouble Jesus Christ loves you and I know you may have

issues in you but you're doing better than you think you are somebody needs to know today you're going to make it somebody needs to know today you're doing all right you may not be what you ought to be but you're not what you used to be and you're going to get there by God's grace don't you give up don't you quit and don't you keep putting yourself down you're doing better than you think you are here's the assurance that we have not that we would go through life without difficulty not that we would go through

life without struggle not that we would go through life without some storm of some kind or some need arising but that when we go through life we go through life with the promise that in our struggle he is our strength in our struggle he is our provider in our struggle he is our healer in our struggle we have a firm foundation and Jesus is his name Ecclesiastes chapter 3 gives 28 times and seasons in life it says there's a time to be born there's a time to die there's a time to laugh there's a time

to cry there's a time to dance there's a time to mourn there's a time to gather there's a time to to to to to let go all it's 28 different times in life the one time I can't find in there is the time to quit there is no time to quit in your life in this if you'll keep going that's how you get to heaven tell somebody this is no time to quit you may have bars you may have chains but you're still blessed God loved you so much that he gave his only begotten son

to die for you what shall we say of these things if God before us who can be against us seeing that he has given us his only begotten son how will he not give us all things there is not one ounce of defeat in these words so don't you let the attitude of defeat come into you because God created you to be more than a conqueror you will go through a season of lack but God created you to conquer lack you will go through a season of weakness but God will bring you through that season

of weakness stronger than you've ever been before you need to understand what David said when he said it was good that I had been afflicted why because it was in his Affliction that he learned God's faithfulness it was in his Affliction that he learned how to run into the secret place of the most high and dwell in the shadow of the almighty it was in his Affliction that he learned the words God as a refuge and God is a strength the name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run into it and

are saved [Music] when you come into a season of struggle like you're in right now do not be defeated because if you're breathing and the sun is shining then God has a purpose for you [Music] I'm speaking to families right now that don't know what to do they're overwhelmed turned to Jesus he's for you I'm speaking to businessmen who are looking at the future forecast and they're uncertain about where the provision is going to come from turn to Jesus he's a business partner that will provide for you but don't let defeatism enter your heart your

mind or your spirit because we are more than conquerors through Christ it's awfully hard when I don't understand what God is doing it takes real Faith to trust in God when I don't understand why God has allowed certain things to happen but I am convinced that God's ways are better than my ways and I'm convinced that his ways are far wiser than my ways it's one thing to worship God because you've got a nice house because you've got a nice car because everything's good because all your people are blessed that's wonderful but it's another thing

to worship God in spite of Trials and bars and chains and tribulations and heartbreaks and tears when you can do it then when you can praise in pain when you can lift your voice and say the Lord gives the Lord takes away I don't praise you because of I Praise You In Spite of my hardships you're worthy of the praise it's not about you it's about him do not be afraid we know all things work together for good when you have that attitude it takes the adversity that you're in and it shapes you and it

molds you when you have that attitude you look at struggle as a season for you to gain strength and for it to pour the rock ribbed confidence into your soul that God is on his throne and everything is going to be all right when you have that attitude that we know all things work together you can say this is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be made glad in it because the man of faith has the promise of God that God is going to take care of him that God is

going to supply and the man of Faith realizes that God has means that he isn't aware of God has resources that I don't know anything about and thus though things look to be hopeless and dark yet I don't look at the circumstances the man of Faith looks at the Lord who is above all of our circumstances and he doesn't look to his own abilities but he looks to God's ability to take care of and and to supply for him and thus he rejoices because God is on the throne and God has promised to take care

of me today I want you to make the decision wherever you are to rejoice Rejoice that you're saved Rejoice that the blood of Jesus is strong enough to conquer every sin and every shackle of shame in your past it is strong enough to conquer every disease and every sickness in your body it is strong enough to protect you you rejoice that God has a plan for you he has a plan to prosper you and not to harm you he has a plan that is far better than you could ask think or imagine Rejoice that in

the darkest of midnights the name of the Lord is a light and it is a Salvation Rejoice that in the midst of the storm you are worshiping the master of the wind Rejoice that in an hour of need he is still El Shaddai the all-sufficient one Rejoice that in a day of trouble many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them out of them all child of God you have a reason to Rejoice today because we know all things they work together for good all things aren't good but we have a god

who's greater and he said I'll use it for good all things work together it's an Outlook that says if God is for me who can be against me if God loves me if God cares for me if he has a purpose for me then no adversary seen or unseen shall come near my dwelling God is on the throne you have the promises of God the Lord will take care of you God has Provisions that you don't even know about and so rejoice be lifted up that is the position that Faith takes above the circumstances not

looking at the circumstances but looking to God who is in control so I want you to ask yourself what is your outlook today are you determined are you in denial are you walking around in defeat don't deny the problem because the problem is real but the god that you serve is greater don't deny that the world needs Jesus now more than ever you see when you're called according to God's purpose you call upon his name and I assure you of this in his name you find provision you find peace you find protection you find direction

you find Health you find satisfaction you find sufficiency you find righteousness you find Comfort when you call upon the name of the Lord that means that there's not one hour of one day that you will face one situation when Jehovah God your God The Great I Am does not have the strength and the power to sustain you call upon his name and he said I'll answer you and show you Great and Mighty things that you know not no matter what you face in this life as long as you can call Upon Jesus you can overcome

anything I don't know what you may be going through today it could be that you have that feeling that God is adhering you when you pray or it may be that you even feel worse than that that God doesn't care that God isn't concerned but I can assure you from the word of God that He does care and he is concerned and he tells you to just cast all your cares on him because he does care for you [Music] and so I would encourage you to look up quit looking at the problem quit looking at

the circumstances quit being overwhelmed by your weakness and ineptness to take care of the situation and look to God who is promised to take care of you and to provide all of your needs but I don't see where you don't have to he has resources you don't know anything about when You Face a problem that you can't answer call upon Jehovah because Jehovah Jireh means he's the God who can see there are men sitting in office buildings that are empty trying to see their way to a solution call upon Jehovah Jireh he sees your provision

before you ask for the need when the weight of the world has pulled you to your knees and you're about to break under the pressure of fear call upon Jehovah Shalom he is the Prince of Peace and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will rule your heart and mind in Christ Jesus when you feel abandoned and alone call upon Jehovah shama he's the god who's there when your soul is Barren and dry and you're searching for some form of satisfaction call upon Jehovah mckettesh because he is the Living Water who will satisfy if

you're needing healing call upon Jehovah Rufe he's the Healer but whatever you do not be defeated do not live in denial live in determination God is for you and therefore no one can be against you when I look through the scriptures every famine that happened every economic downturn every plague every disease the people of God were sustained through every season that the world went through because they put their trust in him because when your trust is in the Lord you are secure you know it's easy to say that we trust God when everything's good and

everything's happy and all is going according to plan we say oh yeah I'm just trusting the Lord and look how good everything is but it's a whole other deal to trust God when things are not so good you see to trust God means you have to allow him to do what he wants to do even if he fails and you say well he can't fail he's God and that's the point he can't fail therefore we must trust him enough to let him succeed but to let him succeed on his terms and in his way and

in his time not on my terms or in my way or in my timing to trust God is to say I'm going to let God do what he wants to do Lord I'm not going to argue with you I'm not going to fight I'm not going to resist I'm going to let you do what you know is best and I am not going to fear the outcome the Lord the Lord is my shepherd and I shall not be in want. in other words God says I will take care of all your needs if you'll just

trust me the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want and even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me the Bible says it like this in First Peter 4 verse 12. dear friends don't be surprised or shocked when you go through painful trials and fiery tests in life the Bible says in the world you will have tribulation second Corinthians Chapter 4 verses 17 and 18 says this for our temporary listen it's not going to last our temporary and momentary troubles will not

last but they are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all so we focus not on what is seen the problems around us but on what is unseen for what is seen is temporary it's not going to last but what is unseen is eternal sometimes when you're following Jesus he leads you right into a storm remember in the New Testament there are two times when the disciples found themselves in a storm in a boat they thought they were going to die both times but they were in the storm they were in their

trouble not because they were doing things wrong they were in trouble because they were doing things right they were following Jesus they were obeying what he told them to do they were following his directions and his directions LED them right into a storm but if they had not been in those storms they would never have discovered truths about Jesus there were things that they saw about him they had never seen before and they never could have learned them any other way except by going through the storms that they experienced my tendency when it comes to

storms is I want to go around the storm if I see it coming up on the horizon I want to find a way around the trouble but sometimes God wants to lead you straight into the middle of it all because the Lord has his way in the Whirlwind and in the storm and so you follow him into the middle of it he says trust me because the Lord has his way in that when you are in the middle of the storm that's when you look for God always look for God in the way things are

not in the way that you hope they will be but look for God in the way things are because he is not waiting for you on the other side of the trouble waiting for you to figure it out and find your way through he is in the middle of it walking with you working his way and his will but you've got to trust him in it so when God says do you trust me well then you have a decision to make will you allow him to do what he wants to do and not fear the

outcome because to fear the outcome says Lord I don't really quite trust you will you allow him to do what he wants to do and not fear the outcome focus on what never changes in the days ahead that'll give you stability don't focus on what's Ever Changing because we don't know where it's all going to end up you say well what are the unchangeable truths that uh that aren't I should focus on well God sees everything I'm going through focus on that God cares about everything I'm going through that's unchangeable God sees and he cares

God has the power to change what I'm going through he has the power to answer prayers that's unchangeable God always acts out of his goodness to me that's never going to change no matter what happens God is always going to act good to me God's plan is always better than my plan I may not see it but it's better because he's a good God God will never stop loving me that's never going to change in your life these are things you need to focus on the things that never change God's love for me God's grace

for me God's goodness for me remember this remember that no matter what I go through God will go through it with me every stage every phase every crisis no matter what I go through God is going to go through it with me you will never really ever be alone God is with you he's with you right now God has never been closer to you than he is right now he'll never be any further away than he is right now and remember the great promise of Isaiah 43 Verse 2. when you go through deep Waters I

will be with you when you pass through the rivers of difficulty you will not drown when you walk through the fire you will not be burned up it will not consume you that's what you want to focus on maybe a little less listening to the internet and a little bit more listening to God that will give you confidence that will give you stability that will replace your Panic with prayer it will replace your worry with worship it will replace your anxiety with adoration you have to believe that God knows what is best that he will

not abandon you he will not let go of you that you will not be destroyed by this trouble you have to take him in his word when he says I will never leave you or abandon you you have to take him at his word when he says I take all things and work them together for your good the seed of faith the seed of faith planted in the soil of adversity under the watchful eye of the gardener will bring forth life and beauty in its season the Bible says that God makes all things beautiful in

their time the trouble that you are in will not last the trouble will not last it is light and momentary compared to the eternal glory that awaits you it is all about your perspective how you see the trouble is how you will face the trouble if you see it in fear you'll face it in fear if you see it in doubt you'll face it in doubt if you see it in faith you will face it in faith so don't see it as the end see it as the beginning you have to look through eyes of

Faith through a lens of Hope a lens of expectation remember this is not the end of the story because we don't know what the future holds but we do know who holds the future we don't know all it's going to go ahead but we're not frightened by it because we know the end of the story we've read the last chapter of the book we know that God is in control we know that God is not surprised by this that God Is Bigger Than This and Romans 8 28 is still true all things work together for

the good of those who love God with a called according to his purpose if the truth be told and we were being totally honest most of us don't like waiting particularly if we're waiting for something to change or something to get better waiting can be a very frustrating experience but the worst kind of waiting of all is waiting on God when God forces you to wait for things to get better in your life the things to improve to change to reverse and nothing is happening and yet over and over and over and over and over

again in the Bible we're told to wait on the Lord the most difficult place for you to be in life is in God's waiting room in God's waiting room some of you are in God's waiting room right now what is God's waiting room when you're in a hurry for something to happen and God isn't that's God's waiting room some of you are in a hurry to graduate some of you are in a hurry to get married some of you are in a hurry to start a family some of you are in a hurry to launch

a new business to to close a big deal some of you in a hurry for a big goal a big dream a big accomplishment some of you are in a hurry for all kinds of different things and God isn't we as human beings hate to wait and we especially struggle with waiting on God have you ever been in a hurry when God wasn't and your God I know you're going to come through and I'm praying this really Godly prayer I know it's your will so where are you why aren't you coming through and you're in

the waiting room of life and we get so impatient we want to hurry God up and we want things right now and some of you been waiting for God to come through and you're about to give up and you're getting discouraged and you realize that God's Standard Time is not always running on my time and it's in the waiting rooms of life we learn to trust God the most in those difficult waiting rooms of life that's where God grows us and builds our character the most through the pain of waiting we learn to trust God

and without faith it's impossible to please God that's when he builds our character you see while you're working on your project your goal your dream your vision God's working on you and God's much more interested in you than in what you're trying to accomplish because you're not taking your accomplishments to heaven but you are taking your character and sometimes God says yeah I intend to give you what I've promised you I intend to answer that prayer I intend to fulfill the vision but you're not ready yet I want you to grow and when you're ready

then it's going to happen a lot of times we think we're waiting on God for something to happen like a prayer to be answered God says you're not waiting on me I'm waiting on you I'm trying to prepare you I'm testing your faith will you trust me but I'm also trying to grow you up because the blessing I want to give you so much bigger than you can handle right now you're not ready for it you can't handle it yet another thing you have to learn in life is that a delay is not a denial

there's a big difference between no and not yet now immature children don't know the difference you tell a kid not yet they start crying and having a hissy fit because they think it means no they don't understand a delay is not a denial God is saying I I intend to do these things in your life that I've given you the vision the dream to do but you're just not ready yet and at the right time I will answer your prayer God's often waiting on us now why is this important because when you're in God's waiting

room you fall temptation to all kinds of negative emotions you start worrying you start stressing out you get anxious you get irritable you get spiritual add you can get envious you can get jealous hey he got a promotion I didn't get the promotion that she's having a baby I'm not having a baby she got engaged I didn't get engaged he's starting a new business it's taken off what about mine and and all these kind of negative emotions can come into your life and then you get frustrated and then you start having a pity party so

what does God want you to do when you're in the waiting room of life and because you're going to go through it many many times God is not a vending machine where you put in the prayer and then you pull the thing and you instantly get it there's always a delay the delays are by Design the delays are by Design to teach you to trust him and to grow up in your character hey a delay is not a denial there's a big difference between no and not yet for those of your parents you understand this

there's a big difference between telling your kids no and not yet it's just not time yet and a delay is not a denial we see it all through scriptures God told Noah to build a boat that would save his family from a great flood but it didn't rain for 120 years God told Abraham he'd be the father of a great nation but he didn't have his first child until he was 99 years old God told Moses that he would lead the people out of slavery from Egypt they'd been in for over 450 years but then

God sends Moses out into the desert for 40 years to wait God gives Joseph this great dream that he'll save his family and his people from famine and he'll be a great leader but then Joseph gets sold into slavery he gets falsely accused and imprisoned and he's waiting there in prison until finally God takes him from prison and positions in a second in command in all of Egypt and the promise comes true King David God had King David anointed as king but he didn't really get to beat king until years later even Jesus Christ spent

his first 30 years waiting in a carpentry shop before he started his Earthly Ministry see a delay is not a denial when God delays sometimes we feel forgotten Psalm 13 1 says how long O Lord will you forget me forever you come to a point sometimes of believing that God has forgotten you don't worry it's a common experience we all go through it one time or another feeling that God isn't there or at the very least he's forgotten us perhaps our problems aren't important to him we imagine the psalmist encounters those very doubts in Psalm

chapter 10 and verse 1. here's what he says there why do you stand afar off O Lord why do you hide in times of trouble what you believe is that he has given up on you you may even be feeling that way right now if so please allow me to remind you that what you're contemplating is a simple impossibility God never gives up on you he never ceases to care about you and he will not abandon his work on you of which your trial is apart he even says that your name is written on the

palms of his hands your very name is tattooed on the palms of God's hands it is engraved there it cannot be removed and such is God's concern for you he cannot forget you no matter what storm you're weathering now you have never left God's mind or his heart yes sometimes when God delays we feel forgotten but God never delays without a purpose he knows you he knows your heart he knows everything you're asking him for if he's not doing what you think he should do just be patient because God loves you don't forget it's got

your name tattooed on his palm he knows who you are he hasn't forgotten and he never will the often God's timing disappoints us you know there's something maybe something you've been praying about for a long time and you really you need an answer you know maybe you've been praying for something really specific and you needed God to show up within a particular time frame you know it's an urgent need and he doesn't when God doesn't answer when you need him to I wonder what conclusions do you come to do you think to yourself you know

did I do something wrong did I ask the wrong way do you find yourself asking does God even hear my prayers so often we think when God doesn't answer in our way or in our time that it's because he doesn't love us God loves you he doesn't love anybody else one grain of sand more than he loves you you know in those darkest moments of life I want you to hear Jesus looking right through your fear and saying to you trust me I am right here God's timing might not have been everything you hoped for

in your life but I hope you understand that you can trust the one who keeps the time clock we don't like to trust somebody else's timing why because if we lose control and so we'd rather than trust God because trusting God means my goodness I actually have to Trust God we'd rather go listen I like the plan and purpose you have for my life but can we do it my way and here's the funny thing now that I'm a parent I recognize in my children that they don't like it to wait on my timing they

don't like to wait they don't like to chill and be patient but the thing is if they would just trust my timing they would recognize it's for their good it's for them to be blessed and prosperous and so you can live life frustrated anxious stressed out angry or you can rest and go God I have to trust in your timing just trust his timing why because it'll give you peace it'll give you rest and it will help you to remove all disappointment and hurt and bitterness from your heart because you'll know actually God's in control

of my life why didn't God just tell you everything that's going to happen in your life right up front I think there are two or three reasons first it would overwhelm you probably scare you to death but the real reason God doesn't announce his timetable to you is he wants you to trust him he says just live one day at a time trust me I I'm a good God I'm a loving God everything I do in your life is fruit for love but you just gotta trust me in Acts chapter 1 in the Bible the

Bible says this Jesus said in verse 7 you don't get to know the time timing is the father's business so you're just not ever going to know stuff in advance you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow in your life much less the rest of your life God does not tell us the details in advance he has a timetable for your life but he doesn't tell you the details in advance if you could understand why God does everything God does you'd be God 's timing isn't good it's perfect because he knows all the details he

knows past present future he knows what we need what we want what's the wisest thing to do you can never go wrong waiting upon God's timing if I'm going to wait upon God I'm going to trust him because my waiting is saying I'm trusting you God that your timing is better than mine you know what I do not know your time is always right and so I'm going to trust you and I'm going to wait till you give me permission to go there or do this I have that of Bobby Ella it isn't that God's

trying to deprive us of anything he only wants what is best for us so it takes faith and what I mean by that simple is am I willing to trust God for his timing before I make a decision just imagine how amazing life would be if we could trust God all the time in every thing all the time in every thing and trusting God means that we stop trying to make things happen ourselves and we wait on God how many love waiting we wait on God it's a painful word even to say it and God

doesn't do it when we'd like him to or the way we'd like him to but I can promise you today if you will keep your eyes on God and trust him to be your recompense and to be your reward and to be your Vindicator you will get double blessings for your farmer trouble trusting him doesn't mean I'm going to get what I want when I want it trusting him says I believe that when the timing is right God will provide what I'm asking him for you know broken hearts do mend bodies do healed this appointment

turns into new dreams and the end of one thing can open the door for something new if we will just put our trust in God you know what if you're still here on the planet God's got a plan for you it seems to you like God's forgotten all about you well he hasn't he hears you and he sees you can I tell you today that you're not invisible God knows exactly where you're at and he knows exactly what's going on in your life and he knows exactly how much you can take and how much you

can't take and he may not be early but he won't be late God's timing is always perfect do I believe that he has our best interest at heart if I believe that I'm going to wait but watch this if somebody says I don't have any time to waste you never waste time waiting on God never you'll always find out that his timing is always the right time let's start in Matthew 6 Jesus is speaking he said I tell you do not worry about your life what you'll eat or drink or about your body what you'll

wear who of You by worrying can add a single hour to his life and why do you worry about clothes oh you have little faith so do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself each day has enough trouble of its own and then in Philippians 4 do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer

and petition with Thanksgiving presents your request to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus Jesus said very plainly very repetitively do not worry I'm of the opinion that if Jesus says not to do something he has our best interest at heart he's not being meddlesome he's not trying to limit us he's concerned about our well-being and we've missed something something has eluded us we have tolerated something in our lives in our thoughts in our emotions we've tolerated something allowed it to flourish that

in reality is destructive that Jesus has said don't do that that we are so twisted and tied up and and melting down in our own worries and problems and we forget that we have a heavenly father right there saying do you want my help and we just got to say I want your help and trust that he can do what he needs to do let him do the work that needs to be done look if you're counting on yourself to solve all of your problems then of course you're worried and stressed out it doesn't matter

how strong or wise or capable how charismatic you are it doesn't matter how much wealth or influence you have you are not designed to be able to take on everything and handle everything you will have more problems come at you than what you are capable of handling when you carry the responsibility of everything then you have to do everything you have to find the solutions you have to choose the right direction you have to power through problems you have to plan for the future make adjustments you have to do all of it at the speed

of Life yeah you're stressed out you're worried of course but God does not want you to do it on your own he wants you to recognize that he is there to lead you to walk you through to guide you through every step of the way and and here's the deal he doesn't want to just give you every resource that you need to get through your problems he wants to be what you need in every situation it's amazing the problems that are solved the moment that you decide to trust God in everything because when you trust

God you don't have to try to figure anything out anymore as you lean on him then you take the pressure off of yourself because you don't have to try to figure stuff out you don't have to try to change things that you've already tried a million times to change and the more you try to change them the more frustrated it makes you because you can just finally say well God I'm trusting you with this and if you can't change it then I guess it don't need to be changed [Music] the only way you can learn

to stop worrying and stop trying to figure things out stop being jealous of what other people have and is I just honestly think that in addition to studying the word I think that we just have to try it our way long enough to find they just get worn out enough to just say Okay God I Surrender do you know that beginning you know the end and everything in between you know every flaw that I have every fault that I have you know every weakness that I have as well as my strengths I Surrender so many

times I've just said God I don't know what to do God I'm overwhelmed or God I'm in over my head and you know I've said this many times God help please it doesn't have to be long it doesn't have to be eloquent I don't have to have the answers or the solutions I just need to go to the one who does have the answers have you ever been on an emotional roller coaster I mean you're just up you're down you're this and you know what God says I'll take care of that you ever go to

bed thinking about it wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it in the morning you get up you're thinking about it man it has captured your thinking God says I'll take your emotion and your thinking through Christ Jesus first Peter 5 7 says cast all your cares on him because he cares for you and what that means is that we take all of our problems and our worries and we choose to place it in God's hands and say I trust that you will handle the outcome are you confident that you can take

your problems and your worries and place it in God's hands and that he can handle everything worry is the anticipation of the negative in fact there's a relationship between faith and worry it's in verse Faith diminishes as worry flourishes or as your faith flourishes your worry will diminish worry is the negative expression of what faith in God is one of them would be I don't want Jesus to ever look at me and use my name and person of little faith in the same sentence do you I want to be a man of faith where are

you saying I don't think God can handle this so I'm going to pick it up and I'm going to invest emotional energy in my thoughts and my anxiety I'm not going to change the outcome a bit Jesus said you can't add one hour to your life God can add yours God has the best solution for all of our problems he sees and knows everything he sees the future he understands every angle of what is going on in your life right now he understands how people are viewing it and perceiving it he sees the best solution

to your problems he's incredibly wise when I worry I am basically saying I am afraid that my life is not going to be that I the way that I wanted to but when I trust that God has the best solution I am saying God I I believe that you have the best way for me even if it's not the path that I chose or that I came up with and we can trust that if we follow God and if we trust him he will give us every resource that we need every step of the way

and that at the end he can turn that into something wonderful and beautiful and let me tell you if you have someone who loves you enough and who is strong enough and who has the best solution what do you have to worry about see the reason that worry exists so often is because we just think it's normal it's not normal it's common but it's not normal it doesn't have to be in our life and it's robbing us of God it's robbing us of our family it distracts me from God and people it robs me of

my joy and it exists because I allow it to exist listen to what I'm saying worry exists and anxiety exists because we'll out we are in complete control of Our Lives God would never command us to do something that we don't have the ability to do worry is a choice and trust is a choice you can't do both at the same time you have to choose to put your trust in God put the full weight of your problems and your life and your future into his hands and let him carry it worry and anxiety means

the devil has implanted something in your life that's just sitting there intimidating you and because of that you can't focus on God and the people that you love and that's the greatest problem with wearing anxiety it robs you of your ability to worship to love the people that you love so it's an enemy the root of all fear worry and anxiety is an orphan spirit because orphans are on their own and they have to take care of their own problems and the devil wants you to feel as though that you're on your own and you

have to solve your own problems you have the best father in the universe stop grieving over the father you didn't have and start rejoicing that you have the best father in the universe and he loves helping you process anything in your life nothing is too small nothing is too large he just enjoys the ride he just enjoys the relationship and as we're sitting here obsessing about something what it means is we're wasting the relationship [Music] he does see your problems and he wants to help you God's love if for you is so immense and that

means that you can come to him with anything and everything we don't have to lead lives that are defined by worry and anxiety and fear doesn't mean those things won't come and they may even come with justification but Jesus said we don't have to worry about them he is my provider he is my protector he is my promoter he is the person that I long for in every relationship he is the place that I look to to find home he is my professor to reveal beautiful new things to me he is everything that I need

and everything that I long for when I go to him the key to peace is not being able to solve every problem the key to peace is resting in who God is when we give God control there's a beautiful promise that he will never leave or forsake you man we can walk in that path in that promise towards peace he doesn't want you to be overwhelmed with worry and problems he wants you to be overwhelmed with his love for you and you may be saying look you don't understand how many problems I have how many

issues and how much I've gone through well you know what God says no matter what you have I want to take all of your problems all of your worries all of your failures all of your sin all of your Brokenness give it to me because I can handle it and the truth is only I can handle it 365 times the Bible says fear not that's a fear not for every day of the year fear paralyzes it makes you spiritually immobile fear produces pain when there is no hurt fear binds without cords fear hinders what hell

can't halt fear binds your friend and loses your enemy what faith does to God feared us to the devil fear sees obstacles not opportunities fear is a magnet to call in everything opposite of what God wants to do in your life that's why job said the thing that I feared the most has come upon me when you enter into a life of fear you attract the thing that you hate we do not have to fear because when God is near we don't have to live a life tormented with fear to Zachariah the message was fear

not your prayers have been heard to marry the message was fear not Mary don't be afraid because you have found Divine favor with God to the Shepherds the message was fear not exceeding great joy is coming in your future and to the message to Joseph was fear not what is happening in your life is being birthed by the Holy Spirit himself fear not because your prayers have been heard fear not because you have obtained the Divine favor of God upon your life fear not because exceeding Joy is coming in your future and fear not because

what God is doing is supernaturally birthing something in and through you by the power of the Holy Spirit great joy is coming don't Rejoice about just what you've got Rejoice about what you got rid of and I'm here today to tell you you don't have to be afraid because your past is pardoned fear not because your present is powerful but don't stop there fear not because your future is Promised have you forgotten that we're headed to a city where the lamb is the light and there is no sorrow there is no tears there is no

sickness death or dying fear not death fear not Devils fear not disease fear not calamity why because he is Emmanuel Emmanuel means three things he's God in us he's God With Us but many of you have forgotten the third thing he's God who is for us God is not just with you and in you but somebody needs to hear this today God is for you he knows what you've done he knows who you are and he still wants you to know I'm not against you I'm with you I'm in you and I am for you

stop thinking I'm trying to get you back I'm for you I'm for you the realization of the presence of the Lord with us what a great comfort to have the Lord say don't be afraid I am with you Paul writing to the Romans said if God be for us who can be against us David said I'm not going to fear because the Lord is with me the prophet Isaiah said fear not for I Am With You be not dismayed for I am your God I will strengthen you I will help you yes I will uphold

you by the right hand of my righteousness are you going through uncertain times right now are you troubled about the future as you seek the Lord and as you commit your ways to him he's promised to be with you he said I will never leave you or forsake you lo I Am With You Always even to the end of the world David said I will not be afraid of what man can do to me for the Lord is on my side you with David can confidently face the Giants of this world who may come against

you with the Sword and the shield but you come against them in the name of the Living God the Lord is with me the Lord is with me to help me the Lord is with me to guide me he's with me to strengthen me he's with me to deliver me from the enemy God said my ways are not your ways my ways are beyond your finding out and in those places where we don't know we just have to trust ourselves to the wisdom of God you're wise and I'm just trusting you Lord and I find

Comfort I find rest the fear and the apprehension leaves as I put it back in his hand and say well Lord I am yours I know you're in control of these situations and though I don't know why yet Lord I trust you and I'm confident that you have a plan and a purpose far beyond anything that I can see God is for you and if God is for you who cares who's against you if you're under the Divine favor of God how can man stop you God can do more than I can say God can

do more than I can believe God can do more than I can imagine but it has to to come in my life there has to come something where the spirit of fear gets broken off fear not that you're going to go back to what God brought you out of fear not that you're going to get cancer or the cancer is coming back fear not that bad things are going to happen to you that's not the voice of the Holy Spirit fear not that your children are going to be harmed in some horrible accident here's what

I feel like saying today you will have that baby you will live and not die you you are going to get married if you will wait on the Lord in the timing of the Lord and it will be blessed don't let fear dominate your life I rebuke fear fear not it's going to be all right he has not given you the spirit of fear that attacks your mind and your body and you live wondering what's going to happen today he's not giving you a spirit of fear but as a power and of love and of

a sound mind [Music] I guess what I'm saying is don't go to the funeral till something's dead we're bearing stuff that's not dead some of you buried your vision and your dreams and your call and it's not even dead quit trying to bury things that are still alive I said fear not man enjoy your life while you're here and I I tell you I think that it's time to celebrate what didn't happen a lot of things could have happened and a lot of things should have happened but here you sit by the goodness of God

and I know you're thankful for all that God has done but I think when we get to heaven we're going to shout over more what what didn't happen than what did happen when we get to see the full picture of how God held back the enemy and protected and didn't let us get things that we thought we had to have but God said I won't let it happen because that's not my best for you you say thank you for what didn't happen God wants us to become so grateful for what he has done and what

he didn't let happen because the real antidote to panic is praise the antidote to to worry is worship and that's why every one of those people that had a fear and the angel came and said fear not because your prayers have been answered fear not because there's great joy coming in your life fear not because you're under the divine favor of God fear not because the holy spirit is moving in your life to bring to pass the thing God wants to birth through you fear not because Emmanuel is in you with you and for you

the way to defeat fear is to begin to magnify God magnify means you make him bigger than your fear I don't want you afraid of tomorrow I want you to lift up your head and I want you to walk in confidence knowing that your prayers have been heard knowing fear not the Divine favor of God is on you we can trust God in any circumstance we encounter with the Assurance found in these three words God's got this we can we can overcome we can have Victory we can believe in Deliverance we can believe in healing

we can believe that we can overcome in any situation as long as we know God's got this is there anything that I ever go through that God don't know about the answers are resounding no is there any situation I ever find myself in that God's not aware of the answers are resounding no is there any sickness that God can't heal me of the answers are resounding no is there any situation that my marriage or my family or my finances can find ourselves in that God can't fix and the answer is a resounding no is anything

too hard for God no as believers as children of God we know it's going to be okay as long as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ now if you're looking to the world right now for help you're depressed and there is nothing too hard for thee and there is nothing that's too hard for thee is there anything too hard for me what's the answer to that question that God's asking us knew nothing too hard for him say it again God's got this we all have things that come against us it's easy to live

up tight wondering how it's going to work out what if the medical report isn't good what if my finances don't get better what if my child doesn't get accepted in that school we tried to figure it out we've done our best but we don't see anything changing if we're not careful we'll live worried discouraged not expecting it to get better but there's a simple phrase you have to keep down in your spirit God's got this he's on the throne he sees what's happening he already has the solution you don't have to figure it out there

may not be a logical answer in the natural you don't see a way that's okay we serve a supernatural God he has ways to do it we've never thought of instead of trying to force it to happen living up tight you have to let go and let God when you turn it over to him and say God I know you've got this I know you're in control not only will you feel the heaviness the weight lift off of you but God will make things happen that you couldn't make happen you have many problems you have

many challenges you have many questions you have many struggles you need to know that you have a mighty God because when you face Mighty problems you need to know that God who will help you face them is up to the task and he is up to the task right now my friend for God so loved the world he has never messed up he has never struggled and he is not messing up now and he is not struggling now he will help us he will help us really what we need to do during these seasons is

focus Less on the muscle of mankind and more on the muscle of God reach up and you'll see that our God has got this in Psalm chapter 46 and verse number 1 that psalmist David wrote God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble I've told you this before but it Bears repeating the only time and place in your entire Bible that God promises to be a present help is when we're in trouble he said I'm going to be a very present help I'm not going to be a casually present help I'm

not going to be a spotty present help I'm not going to be here and there here a little there a little present help he said I'm going to be a very present help in the time of trouble God is not just with you on the mountaintops he's with you in The Valleys when you're going through things he knows what you're up against the scripture says God is concerned about what concerns you a sparrow doesn't fall to the ground without God knowing about it how much more is God concerned about what's happening in your life trust

him live from a place of Peace this is a decision we have to make on a daily basis because every day there's something to worry about there's some reason to get upset all through the day keep this phrase close to your heart God's got this he's concerned about me he's working in my life he's bigger than my enemies he's lining up the right people he's arranging things in my favor that attitude of faith is what allows God to do amazing things do you know why and how the shepherd boy David was able to Prevail over

the warrior Giant Goliath very simple David didn't compare himself to the Giant he compared the Giant to God [Music] we need to quit comparing ourselves to our troubles quick comparing ourselves to our pain and our pressure and the things we think we can't do anything about their Giants in our lives and instead of trying to figure out what can I do about it do I have enough money do I have enough clout do I have enough friends is there any way I can solve this and when you look at it through that eye you're comparing

David to Goliath but David was smart enough to say you come to me with sword and spear but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts and the Bible said David ran right toward him and let the rock go and the giant come down he compared the giant to his God what you're facing may be bigger stronger more powerful but when you refuse to worry when you refuse to live stressed out instead you stay in peace thanking God that he's fighting your battles knowing that he's in control you are showing God

by your actions that you're trusting him we worry too much we worry about all sorts of things don't we we worry about things we can't even change we worry until we're a nervous wreck we worry ourselves into high blood pressure [Music] we worry ourselves into a stroke or a heart attack we worry ourselves into ulcers [Music] we worry until we become absolutely miserable people the kind of people nobody wants to be around we worry when it would be easier to trust God is something weighing you down today are you worried about a situation frustrated by

what didn't work out or maybe down on yourself because you're not where you thought you would be God is saying to you I've got this it's not a surprise to me I have New Beginnings I have healing I have breakthroughs I'm asking you to change your perspective switch over into faith that situation at work that you're worried about God's got it I'm asking you to quit worrying about what you're facing quit losing sleep over that child that's not doing right quit being upset because somebody Did You Wrong your dream hasn't come to pass yet can

I tell you God's got this I like what Corey ten Boom the famous Jewish Holocaust Survivor said she said worry does not empty tomorrow of its troubles it empties today of its strength your worry don't change tomorrow your worry doesn't change next week your worry isn't going to change your situation your worry isn't going to help you make more money on the job it's not going to fix your car it's not going to fix the house it's not going to keep it from raining tomorrow all the time you're worrying about whether or not it'll rain

tomorrow you're missing today's Sun life is too short for you to live your life every day worrying about something that might happen worrying about what somebody has said or what somebody has done life is too short to spend it worrying life is too short for you to allow yourself to constantly all be all worked up about something life is too short to go around miserable life is too short for you to make everybody around you miserable life is too short to Harbor grudges life is too short to hate quit worrying about stuff that hadn't happened

yet it's a proven fact that 99 of the things we worry about never happen quit worrying about what can go wrong and get excited about what can go right it doesn't take any more effort to believe something bad is going to happen than it does to believe something good is going to happen no more effort and by the way they're really both faith you can either have faith that something good is going to happen or you can have faith something bad is going to happen either one is you got faith I choose to have faith

God's going to do something good I said I choose to have faith God's going to do something good [Applause] quit worrying about the future as children of God we don't know what the future holds but we know who holds the future quit worrying about the future put it in the hands of God that's where it belongs anyway sometimes we're trying to play God we're trying to make our boss promote us make ourselves get well and make the contract go through but when you take your hands off and say God I know you've got this I'm

not going to worry about my finances I'm not going to live uptight because of the medical report I'm not going to be frustrated because I haven't met the right person God I trust your timing and I trust your ways my life is in your hands God never promised that we wouldn't have difficulties but he did promise he would give us strength for every battle he would take what was meant for harm and use to our advantage you may have a good reason to worry about something in your health your finances a dream you've done everything

you can doesn't look like it's going to work out stay in faith God is saying I've got this I'm working behind the scenes I'm in the process of turning it around it's just a matter of time before you see things change in your favor now live out of a place of Peace a place of trust it may not happen the way you thought but God's ways are better than our ways God knows what's best for you he's got this and if you're in the middle of a storm right now instead of going home tonight and

worry yourself Sleepless go to work tomorrow feeling bad cause you're worried all night and didn't sleep you know once you realize in the morning after you've worried all night [Music] is that the problem's still there worrying didn't fix it so I'm worried about my child I'm worried about our money I'm worried about jobs I'm worried about a car I'm worried about a place to live I'm worried about my spouse I'm worried you can worry worry worry worry and you're not going to change no kids no spouse no family no bank balance because worrying how you

fix the stuff the way you get a miracle is lay the worry aside and have faith in God don't worry God's got it all in control God makes a way where there seems to be no way when you're stuck when you confuse when your backs against the wall when your marriage is struggling when your finances aren't doing well when your children aren't doing well when you have a health issue God makes a way where there seems to be no way where there's nowhere to turn there's nothing to do there's everything is lost God makes a

way where there seems to be no way father God is the Waymaker Isaiah 43 verse 16 the New Living Translation reads I am the Lord who opened a way through the waters making a dry path through the sea the Red Sea for his people one more Isaiah 43 Verse 1 Message Bible when you're in over your head I'll be there with you when you're in Rough Waters you will not go down when you're between a rock and a hard place it won't be a dead end seems to me that there are a lot of people

finding themselves between a rock and a hard place now these powerful verses State very clearly that God can make a way that he is the Waymaker he is the path opener he is the Trail Blazer he is the road Builder he makes a way when there is no way so there is no way there is no way but but he makes one or there seems to be no way and he reveals one that we couldn't see or haven't seen he makes a way when it is impossible to us have you ever been between a rock

and a hard place ever feel like you can't make it ever ever feel like you you can't it's impossible you you can't make it yeah I've been there a few times ever feel like you're in over your head I mean the situation is just too deep you're you're treading water [Music] throughout scripture one principle is always constant God Can Make A Way when there seems to be no way there are times when life hands us situations and many are in them now with the atmosphere in our world situations in which our faith must rise and

push us to keep right on going trusting that God will make a way for us to pass through the difficult times to pass through the the trying time pass through the unknown places to pass through the unknown destinations times you can't when you can't see like Abel sacrificial times like Noah like Noah stormy times like Abraham times when there's destinations before you that you can't you can't know you can't see like Sarah Barren times like Elijah lonely times like job painful times homesick times testing times death bed times just plain old times when it takes

Faith to handle what we don't know or see or feel or hear or understand times when we have to put our faith in the Waymaker [Music] if you will trust him you can find him to be the Waymaker just like everyone that I just mentioned in the scripture it's been my experience that God doesn't mind getting between a rock and a hard place and creating ways for his people listen to me today when I tell you that God Can Make A Way where there is no way hold on when you are in one of those

places where you say there's no way out of this there's no way through this there's nobody that can help me with this that this is the one that's going to destroy me this is the situation that is the end of me that's when God steps up says you can put your trust in me because I can do anything the things that we think are blocking us God is going to use to bring us victory when we feel lost and we can't find our way we're going to find out that God will always make away unseen

hands are working you may not see it but unseen hands are working unseen plans are are forming and unfolding you may not see it but that doesn't mean that it isn't happening he's working behind the scenes to turn things for your good to turn things around for your families to turn things around for prodigals to turn things around he's he's working behind the scenes on ways to bless you he's working behind the scenes on ways to to provide for you to open Paths of connection for you he's leading others into your life you don't even

know about couldn't possibly know about he's leaning others into your life that will become the answers to your heart cry answers to your prayers he's blazing a path beyond the dead ends he doesn't stop when it looks like it's over never has he makes a way that's why Hebrews 11 teaches so emphatically keep going keep trusting keep believing don't quit well for you as a dead end to him as an entryway to a place you haven't seen yet to a place of awesome Victory his love will make a way for you to get there the

Waymaker he has a plan that we haven't seen yet oh I'm confident of that there's no dead end to him and I came today to tell you he's the Waymaker you may not see it but he's the Waymaker you may came in today or you may be watching today and you say I cannot see this okay he's behind the scene he's working and he's the Waymaker he's going to anoint you to see beyond the dead end and he's going to anoint you to move into an area you didn't even know anything about God will make

a way where there seems to be no way and I want to add this to it God will make a way where there seems to be no way just don't forget him when you get there when things feel hopeless they feel helpless you just need to know that God promises to make a way when you feel like every door has been shut you can't see how something is going to happen in front of you he will make a way because our God is a Waymaker and he will make a way through providing a miracle he'll

make a way through keeping a promise or he'll just shine light into the darkness of your situation God makes a way in the middle of no way Israel found himself at the Red Sea and God separates the waters and in the midst of impossibility Israel walks through on dry ground sea separated on each side and they walk through that's a God that makes a way in the middle of no way you know when we talk about God being a miracle worker there are a lot of Skeptics in the world today even within the Christian Community

that that would say that the Miracles of the Bible just either never actually took place or they're not for today but the question for all of us is is really is he's still working miracles that's the question is he still The Miracle Worker today is God still in the miracle business can can blind eyes that have never seen miraculously still be opened can God still take just a small amount of food and still multiply that food to to feed thousands can people still be miraculously healed when everything else says that there's just no way does

God still intervene into human Affairs in an extraordinary way and based on what I read in scripture and what I've seen with my own two eyes and what I've experienced God I want to tell you that God is still in the business of doing miracles I want you to know that today I believe that with all of my heart he is still a miracle worker over the past few years I've watched God heal relationships at seem Beyond repair I've watched him heal people of cancer when doctor said it couldn't be done I've watched him provide

financially for people when all hope seem to be lost watch God provide for my family when we said there's just no way that this can happen I've watched him heal both of my boys from back injuries when the doctors looked at both of them and said it's never going to happen then I watched God do it God is still in the business of doing miracles I want you to know that I want you to believe it because I believe it with everything inside of me most of us I would say we have no problem believing

that God does Miracles today but we're not quite sure he'll do them for us in order to experience a miracle sometimes you have to take a step of faith Miracles are God's business obedience is mine Miracles are God's business obedience is yours I'm still The Miracle Worker but you've got to take a step of faith I like what Mark Batterson says he says you can't expect God to do the supernatural if you aren't willing to do the natural and here's the point if you want to see the miraculous sometimes you have to take a step

of obedience you have to trust God you have to have faith and you have to ask you have to do what he's asking you to do even if you don't want to even if everything inside of you is screaming no that doesn't make sense some of you are believing God for a desired outcome but quite honestly what you are asking God to do for you requires a miracle to get it done [Music] you need a miracle and Jesus is the miracle worker he is the miracle worker nothing is impossible for Jesus to do for you

Luke chapter 1 verse 37 says for nothing will be impossible with God Matthew Chapter 19 Verse 26 says but Jesus looked at them and said with with man this is impossible let's say it together but With God all things are possible I love Ephesians 3 20 Paul writes now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is in work with that doesn't work with inside of us what does that mean it just means simply God is able God is able Eugene Peterson says most

Miracles are the byproduct of a long obedience in the same direction for some of you guys are saying to you get up get up trust me move forward take a step of obedience here's another thing Jesus does a miracle miracle in your life there's always a bigger purpose involved what's the purpose it will always always be about bringing God glory and drawing you closer to him to deepen your faith to put Jesus on display listen every one of the Miracles in the Book of John every one of the Miracles in the Bible is about bringing

glory to God and deepening the faith of the people involved in the miracle but here's what you need to know God will never waste your pain he will never waste your hurt he will never waste your suffering and he will never waste a miracle and here's the other thing regardless of how long you've been waiting on a miracle Jesus has not forgotten about you there are no promises in God's word that says that God's going to heal every person that is suffering or every person that's paralyzed or every person that that's in pain while we're

here on this Earth could he heal everyone in the world right now that's suffering absolutely but for whatever reason he chooses not to even though Romans 8 23 says we groan to be released from pain and suffering in this lifetime it won't be until we get to heaven that will be healed and be given new bodies and listen that's a tough reality to accept about God's sovereignty especially tough if maybe you're a child or you have a child that is suffering or it's someone that you love deeply and you just watch them suffer all day

long however even though I don't understand why God may choose to do a miracle here but he chooses not to do a miracle over here I do know this he is compassionate he is loving he is good and he's not forgotten about anyone he is with you just as much as he's with the person that he does the miracle for just as much and listen some of you are waiting on God to do a miracle in your life listen our savior is still a miracle worker he is still a promise keeper he's not forgotten about

you Isaiah chapter 40 verse 28 says have you heard have you never heard have you never understood the Lord as the Everlasting God the creator of all the Earth he never grows weak or weary no one can measure the depths of his understanding he gives power to the weak and strength of the powerless even youths will become weak and tired and young men will fall in exhaustion but those who trust in the Lord who put their faith in The Miracle Worker will find new strength they will soar high-end wings like eagles they will run and

not grow weary they will walk and not faint that means that regardless of what you have been through today Jesus is still a miracle worker and the question for you today is do you need a miracle God's timing is rarely our timing which is why one of the most frequent cries in the Psalms is how long how long why not now God what possible reason could you have for making this protracted suffering even longer faith is at least in part the ability to trust that if you knew everything God knew and if you understood everything

God understood and if you could see everything God sees you'd say that's right takes faith to believe that because our vision is so limited and our pain can seem so long but if we knew what God knew and could see what God sees we would say of course of course I see why that had to happen to him and to them and to her into that country and that people and that decision and that thing God knew what he was doing I love what the commentator Victor Hamilton says God's delays are not necessarily God's denials

and as some of you endure what seems like a long period of God's delay delay delay know that it is not necessarily his denial when thoughts tell you it's too late it's never going to happen now let that go in one ear and out the other God is faithful what he promised you is still in route you may not see any sign of it every circumstance says there's no way things are happening that you can't see in the Unseen realm God is moving the wrong people out of the way lining up the healing the favor

the good breaks they're already on your schedule here's the key if you could see how it was going to happen that wouldn't take any faith God can use anything and anybody to get you where he wants to take you and so I just came to tell somebody who came in here feeling for your sorry for yourself and came in here just feeling woe is me never nothing good ever happens to me I'm never I'm always the last one higher than the first one fired I'm always and you and you got your little sad song that

you've loved uh uh to sing I came to tell you pick up the needle put on a new song I am who God said I am time for you to quit disqualifying yourself some of us disqualify ourselves for we ever show up I serve a God who can give me a job I'm not technically qualified for but because I'm in his bloodline if he Wills me to work there he's going to put me there no matter how he gets me there but sometimes your plan and God's plan are two different things oh I came to

tell you you don't worry about your plan when yours falls apart that just means it wasn't God that's all it means somebody needs to take that with you when it doesn't work out the way you thought it would work out that just means that wasn't God's way that's all it means don't get desperate don't get frustrated don't certainly don't get mad at God he didn't give you the plan you had to plan sometimes we give God our deadlines and get mad when he doesn't meet him oh but God does things in his own way his

ways are not our ways his thoughts are not our thoughts and so you got to learn to walk by faith and promises that you've given up on dreams you've let go of you've accepted it's too late to accomplish that goal too late to break the addiction too late to have a baby that may be true looking at a normal schedule you don't see it on there but God is saying it's still on my schedule I still have a way to bring it to pass I wouldn't have promised it if I wasn't going to do it

now all through the day father thank you that what you started in my life you're going to finish it may seem too late for me but I know it's not too late for you thank you for these unscheduled blessings blessings out of season I came to tell you your timeline is in the hand of your God he knows where he's taken you and you gotta walk by faith and not by sight and stop getting mad at all the people around you it's not their job to elevate your life God is the one who will exalt

you in good time humble yourself under the mighty hand of God In Due season when the time is right he will exalt you don't ever mistake your feeling of urgency don't ever mistake your feeling of urgency for purpose from God your urgency your sense of having to do something should can deceive you into thinking that's your purpose from God I've got to do this right now but here's the thing you feel urgency and I feel urgency but God does not it doesn't mean that your urgency is felt by God may put something urgent in your

life but here's the reality your urgency doesn't mean that God also feels it when we handle things ourselves and don't trust in God's timing we always make things worse right isn't that what we do we help things along we try to find a way to get the ball rolling I you know I know God spoke this but you know it seems like God needs a little help so you know lean in and get the ball rolling come up with some solutions we don't understand how God could do something but remember he's God he works in

Supernatural ways often using natural systems but he does things above creation is anything too hard for the Lord is there anything too hard for the Lord just because it seems like God is too late doesn't mean that he's not going to come through don't be fooled by the circumstances you may not see anything the odds are against you the experts say it's not going to work out God controls the universe don't be impatient for him to act keep believing keep praying and every blessing that belongs to you will show up you won't have to go

after it it's going to come to you it's going to happen at the time God has planned have you given up hope have you given up hope did God speak something to you and you look at it and say there is no physical real way that this could happen scientifically emotionally whatever there's no way this could happen this word of God that was given to me there's no way it could happen you're in the perfect place for God to show up and speak into your desolation the word that he has which is hope that his

word never returns void then his purposes and his plans for you will not be thwarted he is God and when he speaks it it is so just check out the first Narrative of scripture in the creation of all things he spoke it when God speaks it comes to be but we are limited by time and we look at it and we know that time matters to us it matters we are looking at time linearly I do not believe that God does God looks in for maternity time is something God created he's not subservient to it

he uses it he gave us all the numerology that's in the Bible the seven days being so significant six days in a rest and the whole like Rhythm of the Earth in its Seasons God of course uses time but God is Not subservient to it God is eternal he is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning in the end he was he is and he will be he is outside of time he is God so remind yourself that when God speaks it will come to be but it doesn't mean that it will happen tomorrow God

doesn't do things on a normal schedule a normal time frame he has some unscheduled blessings for you things that are out of season out of the ordinary that shouldn't happen now the medical report says it's too late the financial experts say things should be down that's when God steps in and says let me show you who I am I'm not limited by time I'm not affected by the economy I'm not restricted by your age your background the opposition by how long it's been I control the universe when I speak wombs come back to life when

I speak Red Seas part when I speak sickness is leave when I speak addictions are broken marriages are restored opportunities show up remember every calling every pull into something is a journey of faith based on his timing not yours we cannot engineer a life of Faith hear that church you cannot engineer a life of faithful obedience you can only live into it trust him when you don't see anything happening believe when Heaven is silent he's working behind the scenes every blessing that has your name on it if you will be patient it's not only going

to find you it's going to be much better than you think friends know this your life is purposeful but we have to wait on his perfect timing we may not understand God's timing but we can trust his character will we be courageously obedient even when we have to wait and here's the thing if you won't say yes to it you'll never get to see the Fulfillment of God you will have to wait in courageous obedience for the word of the Lord to come to pass he works out his plans and purposes in US nothing I

want I want this to be the final words you hear nothing is wasted when we trust in God's timing he is The God Who says I will give you Beauty for Ashes I will give you the oil of joy in your time of mourning and grief only God can do that only God can redeem time spent waiting time spent hopeless God is The God Who invites us to believe in his character above and beyond our circumstances nothing is wasted when we wait on our faithful God's timing to reach its fulfillment if the truth be told

we were being totally honest most of us don't like waiting particularly if we're waiting for something to change or something to get better waiting can be a very frustrating experience but the worst kind of waiting of all is waiting on God when God forces you to wait for things to get better in your life the things to improve to change to reverse and nothing is happening and yet over and over and over and over and over again in the Bible we're told to wait on the Lord the most difficult place for you to be in

life is in God's waiting room in God's waiting room some of you are in God's waiting room right now what is God's waiting room when you're in a hurry for something to happen and God isn't that's God's waiting room some of you are in a hurry to graduate some of you are in a hurry to get married some of you are in a hurry to start a family some of you are in a hurry to launch a new business to to close a big deal some of you in a hurry for a big goal a

big dream a big accomplishment some of you are in a hurry for all kinds of different things and God isn't we as human beings hate to wait and we especially struggle with waiting on God have you ever been in a hurry when God wasn't and you're God I know you're going to come through and I'm praying this really Godly prayer I know it's your will so where are you why aren't you coming through and you're in the waiting room of life and we get so impatient we want to hurry God up and we want things

right now and some of you been waiting for God to come through and you're about to give up and you're getting discouraged and you realize that God's Standard Time is not always running on my time and it's in the waiting rooms of life we learn to trust God the most in those difficult waiting rooms of life that's where God grows us and builds our character the most through the pain of waiting we learn to trust God and without faith it's impossible to please God that's when he builds our character you see while you're working on

your project your goal your dream your vision God's working on you and God's much more interested in you than in what you're trying to accomplish because you're not taking your accomplishments to heaven but you are taking your character and sometimes God says yeah I intend to give you what I've promised you I intend to answer that prayer I intend to fulfill the vision but you're not ready yet I want you to grow and when you're ready then it's going to happen a lot of times we think we're waiting on God for something to happen like

a prayer to be answered God says you're not waiting on me I'm waiting on you I'm trying to prepare you I'm testing your faith will you trust me but I'm also trying to grow you up because the blessing I want to give you is so much bigger than you can handle right now you're not ready for it you can't handle it yet another thing you have to learn in life is that a delay is not a denial there's a big difference between no and not yet now immature children don't know the difference you tell a

kid not yet they start crying and having a hissy fit because they think it means no they don't understand a delay is not a denial God is saying I I intend to do these things in your life that I've given you the vision the dream to do but you're just not ready yet and at the right time I will answer your prayer God's often waiting on us now why is this important because when you're in God's waiting room you fault temptation to all kinds of negative emotions you start worrying you start stressing out you get

anxious you get irritable you get spiritual add you can get envious you can get jealous hey he got a promotion I didn't get the promotion she's having a baby I'm not having a baby she got engaged I didn't get engaged he's starting a new business it's taken off what about mine and and all these kind of negative emotions can come into your life and then you get frustrated and then you start having a pity party so what does God want you to do when you're in the waiting room of life and because you're going to

go through it many many times God is not a vending machine where you put in the prayer and then you pull the thing and you instantly get it there's always a delay the delays are by Design the delays are by Design to teach you to trust him and to grow up in your character hey a delay is not a denial there's a big difference between no and not yet for those of your parents you understand this there's a big difference between telling your kids no and not yet it's just not time yet and a delay

is not a denial we see it all through scriptures God told Noah to build a boat that would save his family from a great flood but it didn't rain for 120 years God told Abraham he'd be the father of a great nation but he didn't have his first child until he was 99 years old God told Moses that he would lead the people out of slavery from Egypt they'd been in for over 450 years but then God sends Moses out into the desert for 40 years to wait God gives Joseph this great dream that he'll

save his family and his people from famine and he'll be a great leader but then Joseph gets sold into slavery he gets falsely accused and imprisoned and he's waiting there in prison until finally God takes him from prison and positions him second in command in all of Egypt and the promise comes true King David God had King David anointed as king but he didn't really get to beat king until years later even Jesus Christ spent his first 30 years waiting in a carpentry shop before he started his Earthly Ministry see a delay is not a

denial when God delays sometimes we feel forgotten Psalm 13 1 says how long O Lord will you forget me forever you come to a point sometimes of believing that God has forgotten you don't worry it's a common experience we all go through it one time or another feeling that God isn't there or at the very least he's forgotten us perhaps our problems aren't important to him we imagine the psalmist encounters those very doubts in Psalm chapter 10 and verse 1. here's what he says there why do you stand afar off O Lord why do you

hide in times of trouble what you believe is that he has given up on you you may even be feeling that way right now if so please allow me to remind you that what you're contemplating is a simple impossibility God never gives up on you he never ceases to care about you and he will not abandon his work on you of which your trial is apart he even says that your name is written on the palms of his hands your very name is tattooed on the palms of God's hands it is engraved there it cannot

be removed and such is God's concern for you he cannot forget you no matter what storm you're weathering now you have never left God's mind or his heart yes sometimes when God delays we feel forgotten but God never delays without a purpose he knows you he knows your heart he knows everything you're asking him for if he's not doing what you think he should do just be patient because God loves you don't forget it's got your name tattooed on his palm he knows who you are he hasn't forgotten any never will the often God's timing

disappoints us you know there's something maybe something you've been praying about for a long time and you really you need an answer you know maybe you've been praying for something really specific and you needed God to show up within a particular time frame you know it's an urgent need and he doesn't when God doesn't answer when you need him to I wonder what conclusions do you come to do you think to yourself you know did I do something wrong did I ask the wrong way do you find yourself asking does God even hear my prayers

so often we think when God doesn't answer in our way or in our time that it's because he doesn't love us God loves you he doesn't love anybody else one grain of sand more than he loves you you know in those darkest moments of life I want you to hear Jesus looking right through your fear and saying to you trust me I am right here God's timing might not have been everything you hoped for in your life but I hope you understand that you can trust the one who keeps the time clock we don't like

to trust somebody else's timing why because if we lose control and so we'd rather than trust God because trusting God means my goodness I actually have to Trust God we'd rather go listen I like the plan and purpose you have for my life but can we do it my way and here's the funny thing now that I'm a parent I recognize in my children that they don't like it to wait on my timing they don't like to wait they don't like to chill and be patient but the thing is if they would just trust my

timing they would recognize it's for their good it's for them to be blessed and prosperous and so you can live life frustrated anxious stressed out angry or you can rest and go God I have to trust in your timing just trust his timing why because it'll give you peace it'll give you rest and it will help you to remove all disappointment and hurt and bitterness from your heart because you'll know actually God's in control of my life why didn't God just tell you everything that's going to happen in your life right up front I think

there are two or three reasons first it would overwhelm you probably scare you to death but the real reason God doesn't announce his timetable to you is he wants you to trust him he says just live one day at a time trust me I I'm a good God I'm a loving God everything I do in your life is for love but you just gotta trust me in Acts chapter 1 in the Bible the Bible says this Jesus said in verse 7 you don't get to know the time timing is the father's business so you're just

not ever going to know stuff in advance you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow in your life much less the rest of your life God does not tell us the details in advance he has a timetable for your life but he doesn't tell you the details in advance if you could understand why God does everything God does you'd be God 's timing isn't good it's perfect because he knows all the details he knows past present future he knows what we need what we want what's the wisest thing to do you can never go wrong

waiting upon God's timing if I'm going to wait upon God I'm going to trust him because my waiting is saying I'm trusting you God that your timing is better than mine you know what I do not know your time is always right and so I'm going to trust you and I'm going to wait till you give me permission to go there or do this I have that of Bobby Ella it isn't that God's trying to deprive us of anything he only wants what is best for us so it takes faith and what I mean by

that is simple is am I willing to trust God for his timing before I make a decision just imagine how amazing life would be if we could trust God all the time in every thing all the time in every thing and trust in God means that we stop trying to make things happen ourselves and we wait on God how many love waiting we wait on God it's a painful word even to say it and God doesn't do it when we'd like him to or the way we'd like him to but I can promise you today

if you will keep your eyes on God and trust him to be your recompense and to be your reward and to be your Vindicator you will get double blessings for your farmer trouble trusting him doesn't mean I'm going to get what I want when I want it trusting him says I believe that when the timing is right God will provide what I'm asking him for you know broken hearts do mend bodies do healed disappointment turns into new dreams and the end of one thing can open the door for something new if we will just put

our trust in God you know what if you're still here on the planet God's got a plan for you it seems to you like God's forgotten all about you well he hasn't he hears you and he sees you can I tell you today that you're not invisible God knows exactly where you're at and he knows exactly what's going on in your life and he knows exactly how much you can take and how much you can't take and he may not be early but he won't be late God's timing is always perfect do I believe that

he has our best interest at heart if I believe that I'm going to wait but watch this if somebody says I don't have any time to waste you never waste time waiting on God never you'll always find out that his timing is always the right time sometimes you need to get knocked down before you can really figure out what your what your fight is and how you need to fight it sometimes you need to feel the pain and sting of defeat to activate the real passion and purpose that God predestined inside of you God says

in Jeremiah I know the plans I have for you plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future hear me well on this day this day when you have reached the hilltop and you are deciding on on Nick's jobs next steps careers further education you would rather find purpose than a job or a career purpose crosses disciplines purpose is an essential element of you it is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history your very existence is wrapped up in the things you

are here to fulfill whatever you choose for a career path remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose when God has something for you it doesn't matter who stands against it if it's meant for you God will move someone that's holding you back away from a door and put someone there who will open it for you I don't know what your future is but if you're willing to take the heart away the more complicated one the one with more failures at first their successes the one that has ultimately

proven to have more meaning more Victory more Glory that you will not regret it press on with pride and press on with purpose and appreciate what God has brought you through