Victory Over Stress!
Help, I’m Getting Stressed Out!!!!
(Phil 4:6,7 NLT) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
For the next few weeks I am going to take a diversion from our current Proverbs series. Around this time every year I normally teach on Christmas and then on receiving a vision for the New Year. I am still praying about teaching on vision, but this year, instead of teaching on Christmas, I feel led to teach on handling stress. Christmas time can be a very stressful time, even for believers. In the military, this is the time of the year where we have to put extra effort into making sure that our Soldiers are stable, because historically our suicide rates go up during the holiday season. And to add fuel to the proverbial fire, the economic situation in the United States has caused many to dread the Christmas season, because of what they may or may not be able to purchase for their families. With that in mind, I have been praying about this for a couple of weeks and I feel led to start this series this morning. I normally start new series’ on Monday’s, but I felt strongly that I could not delay this.
We will start our journey towards understanding how to Biblically handle stress with one of our greatest stress-relieving tools: PRAYER! In Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi he teaches them about receiving and walking in the mind of Christ (2:5), about understanding the power we have in Christ (4:13), and the overwhelming joy that we can tap into by the power of the Holy Spirit (3:1 and 4:4). Sandwiched in all of this is Paul’s admonition against worry and for prayer. If we don’t control our impulses to worry, then stress (and getting ‘stressed-out’) is inevitable. Paul’s answer to worry is prayer. I remember when I first came to Christ one of the senior ladies in the church, one who I lovingly called “Mother,” used to say: “Baby, if you are going to pray, then don’t worry. But if you are going to worry, then don’t pray.” Her advice sounds simple, but it is also profound. Why? Because you can’t worry and trust at the same time. Simply put, if you worry it is because you don’t trust God. Paul’s counsel was that we should take advantage of the direct access we have to the Father, in the name of Jesus, and take our issues to the Father in prayer. After we pray, then if we truly believe the Father has heard us and that He is going to manifest His glory, then we have no other option but to trust Him and walk in His peace. If we worry, after we have prayed, then it is an indictment against our faith. We will talk more about this tomorrow.
So what does this mean to you today? It means that you should take advantage of the direct access you have to the Father, in the name of His Son Jesus, through the vehicle of prayer; and once you do you must then make a decision between trust and worry. If you believe the Father heard you in prayer and you believe He will respond to your faith, then trust is your only answer and you must resist every temptation to worry. But if you do worry, then it means you are not trusting God and if you don’t get into trust quick, you might allow that worry to overtake your mind and heart. Once that happens you will find yourself stressed!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for giving me direct access to You in prayer. I allow my prayer to order my day, instead of allowing my day to order my prayer. I pray, in Jesus’ name, in accordance with Your Word, in faith, not doubting, and You hear and respond to my prayers. I thank You for always hearing me and for manifesting Your glory in my life in mighty ways. I am a believer and not a doubter, so when I pray I leave my prayer session with the confidence that You will respond to my faith. I resist every temptation to worry and I never allow negative stress to get a hold of my mind or my heart. I walk in Your grace, peace, and favor every day of my life. I live in a STRESS-FREE zone! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
Peace WITH God & the Peace OF God
(Phil 4:6,7 NLT) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
This morning we continue our new series: “Help! I’m getting STRESSED Out” where we are looking at Biblical ways to handle and deal with negative stress. Yesterday I introduced you to this passage in Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi and I started off with emphasizing the importance of prayer. The benefit of having direct access to the King of kings and the Lord of lords cannot be overstated. Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection surely paid the penalty for sin and gave us access to eternal life, but it also restored us back to the position Adam originally had in the Garden of Eden, where He was able to literally walk with God and have direct fellowship with him. When Adam had this relationship with the Father there was no inkling of stress, struggle or strain in his world. Adam only knew peace, power, protection, provision, and purpose. Adam’s life, before the fall, was a perfect picture of everything we could ever hope for. But guess what? Jesus’ death gave us access to that type of life. The sad reality is, however, that most of us don’t understand that, so we don’t pursue that type of life – by faith.
The Father wants His children to be settled in the fact that they will make it heaven – once we are covered by the Blood of Jesus, anointed by the Holy Spirit, and called according to His purpose – but He also wants us to enjoy our life in the earth BEFORE we make it there. The Father does not want us to be saved and miserably saved. No, He wants us to have and enjoy life in Him (see John 10:10).
So here we are, just days away from Christmas, and many believers all over the world, are living way beneath the picture I just painted for you in the Garden of Eden, because they have allowed the “cares of this world” to nullify (or choke) the power of the Word of God from operating in their lives (see Mark 4:19). Instead of casting the care over to the Father (see 1st Peter 5:7), they carry that care with them everywhere they go and the weight of the care burdens them down to the point where they can’t enjoy God, themselves, or anyone/anything else. Don’t be a care-carrier, be a care-caster and allow the Father to free you from the overwhelming weight of the cares of this world, through the vehicle of prayer. If you do, then Paul tells us in our text that there is actually a supernatural peace available to us that will baffle any psychologist, psychiatrist, or any other mental health professional.
So what does this mean to you today? It means that once you have ‘peace with God,’ which comes only through accepting Jesus as Lord, then you must subsequently pursue the ‘peace of God,’ which comes only through the vehicle of prayer. Wouldn’t it be a shame to have made peace with God decades ago, only to make it to heaven and realize that you spent most of your life without the peace of God? Without the peace of God you will invariably live your life way below the quality of life the Father desires for you to have. If you don’t have the peace of God today, take a moment to pray and ask the Father for it; and after you do, make the following declaration over your life, out loud, in faith:
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for hearing me in prayer. I have made peace with You by accepting Your Son Jesus as my Lord. And now, I have asked You for Your peace to manifest in my life, because I realize that I need it. Your peace will keep me internally stable, even when everything externally is going haywire. Your peace will enable me to sleep soundly in the midst of the storms of life. Your peace passes anything the world can study or understand. Your peace is supernatural and I declare, by faith, that it operates in my life NOW and it will continue to operate in my life every day I am in the land of the living. Your peace floods my heart and my mind and I am more than ready to face this day! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
Peace Pulling Guard Duty
(Phil 4:6,7 NLT) Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
This morning we continue our new series: “Help! I’m getting STRESSED Out” where we are looking at Biblical ways to handle and deal with negative stress. We have been dealing with this passage for a couple of days now. We have learned thus far that our Heavenly Father has given us access to directly to Him, through the vehicle of prayer, in the name of His Son Jesus, and that prayer is one of the best ways we have to deal with negative stress. We have also learned that after praying, and worshipping during our prayer time (this is where thanksgiving comes in), that we can actually receive God’s peace. This peace is not the peace that many people think of when they hear the word “peace.” Some people think quiet or silence is peace, but you can be in the quietest place in the world and still not have peace. Others think peace is being solitary in a serene place, but you can be the only person on a beautiful island and still not have peace. Simply put, the peace of God is the peace which God gives. This peace, as Paul states, far exceeds anything that we can understand. This is a peace that is imparted directly from the Father and it is the highest possible form of peace that we can ever experience. It is actually hard for me to describe this peace to those that have never experienced it. But for those that have, you can bear witness, even while you are reading this, that His peace is supernatural. When you have God’s peace flowing through your heart you are NOT moved by negative situation.
The believer, having committed his way to God, walking in according with His Word, and being led of His Spirit, has an inner confidence in the Father that he could never experience anywhere or with anyone else. This is not a confidence in his abilities, plans, or power but rather in God’s; and this confidence (a.k.a. faith) is what produces this peace. Furthermore, Paul tells us that this peace will literally “guard” our heart and our mind. The Greek word used here has a military connotation. It literally means ‘to pull garrison’ or ‘guard-duty’. So not only is this supernatural peace available to us, but when we make our requests known to God, and we cast our cares upon Him, His peace comes in, lifts the burden of the weight of the cares we were previously carrying, and then that same peace dutifully pulls guard duty around our heart and our mind so that we can be free of distressing anxiety. WOW! Isn’t that a picture of the way we should all want to live?
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. The Father wants us to bring our cares and concerns to Him in prayer.
2. Through prayer and His Word the Father gives us insight for living.
3. Once we apply that insight we can have the confidence of knowing that He is walking with us and we with Him.
4. That confidence produces a peace that will lift the weight of every burden.
5. That peace will dutifully pull guard duty around our heart and our mind so that we can live the life the Father desires for us to live – free from distressing anxiety.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me this truth through Your Word. I now see how You desire for me to deal with stress and I declare, by faith, that I will. I will bring my cares and concerns to You in prayer, I will search the scriptures to see what Your Word says about them, I will apply Your Word to my situations, and I will leave my prayer closet with a high level of confidence that Your will will be manifested in my life. That confidence produces an environment where Your peace is welcome and free. Your peace comes in, floods my heart, flushes out all worry, fear, and doubt, and then that same peace pulls guard duty around my heart and my mind as I seek to live the life that You desire for me to have! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
On the Other Side of the Challenge!
(Gal 6:9 NIV) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
This morning we continue our new series: “Help! I’m getting STRESSED Out” where we are looking at Biblical ways to handle and deal with negative stress. I am sending this message out from Georgia. I was here to celebrate my home church’s (Faith Outreach Christian Life Center) new facility. My heart was made glad as I was finally able to physically walk around a facility that my spiritual father had been talking about for 15 years. The celebration was awesome, the facility was dedicated to the Lord, and now we trust that the Father will us that facility for His glory, where burdens will be removed, yokes destroyed, lives changed, and souls saved! The celebration service was in the afternoon. In the morning the Father had me to preach in South Carolina. The message was entitled, “On the Other Side of the Challenge!” I feel led to share a few of my notes with you this morning.
I would love to be able to tell you that after giving your life to Christ that you would NEVER face another challenge again. But if I did I would be lying. The truth is that life in Christ is not without opposition, believers do face challenges, and we also have to deal with the repercussions of our mistakes (everything is not satan’s fault). Paul is a great example of what can happen when a believer is submitted to God. Through Paul’s cooperation the Father was able to take Paul on four missionary journeys, take the gospel to the Gentiles, preach the gospel when it was unpopular, continue to preach at the risk of imprisonment and punishment, help start churches everywhere he went, and then mentor the pastors he left behind. And if that were not enough, he wrote half the New Testament, so he is still blessing us today as we read what he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. By all accounts Paul had an amazing and fulfilling life. However, what we don’t like to point out is the challenges he faced. Paul received 39 lashes, like Jesus did, but Paul received that punishment five times. Three times he was beaten with rods, three times he was shipwrecked, once he was stoned, once he was even bitten by a venomous snake. I am convinced that Paul faced so many challenges because satan was trying to get him to quit preaching, to throw in the towel, to give up on his assignment. Why? Because satan knows that he cannot stop God or what God wants to do in our lives when we are cooperating with the process. In other words, he can’t beat us when we live by faith. However, if he can get us frustrated, irritated, and stressed-out (which is what this series is about), then we will quit and we basically beat ourselves. So with that in mind, let me give you five things to do when you are at the brink of giving up:
1. Brace Yourself: Snap out of it… come to yourself and realize that challenges are part of the process. If you taking the fight to the enemy, he will fight back.
2. Face Yourself: There is a difference between persecution and reaping what you have down. We all make mistakes that cause SETBACKS! If you made a mistake, repent, as God to forgive you, FORGIVE YOURSELF, and move on!
3. Trace Yourself: The same God that saw you through YESTERDAY will see you through TODAY and TOMORROW! Think about ALL the times He has seen you through before!
4. Pace Yourself: Your destiny will not be fulfilled today, this week, this month, or this year. But you can do things today and tomorrow that will take you INCREMENTALLY closer to God’s expected end for your life!
5. Grace Yourself: With two things: (1) God’s Love, (2) God’s vision for your life!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for this reminder this morning. I realize that satan will do all that he can to get me to give up and quit. But I declare, by faith, that I will not. I refuse to allow distressing anxiety to overtake me. I deal with negative stress Biblically and I am able to walk as You would have me to walk in the earth daily. When facing challenges I realize that there is a blessing waiting for me on the other side of the challenge, and I declare that I will get there by faith. And when I do, the enemy will be sorry that he challenged me in the first place. What the enemy meant for evil, You Father will turn in around for my good! I declare this by faith, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
The Great Exchange
(Mat 11:28-30 NLT) Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
This morning we continue our new series: “Help! I’m getting STRESSED Out” where we are looking at Biblical ways to handle and deal with negative stress. Christmas is just a few days away and while many are Godly excited about celebrating Jesus’ birth with family and friends, others are weighed down by the traditional requirements society has imposed upon us. But whether you are carrying the weight of the Holiday season, or any other weight, this morning we hear from Jesus as He beckons us to come to Him to make a Great Exchange. Jesus tells us to bring our weariness and heavy burdens to Him so that He can exchange them His rest. Now that is a Great Exchange!
Don’t underestimate the word “rest.” Godly rest is amazing. Learning about this type of rest will be one of the major goals of this series. When we enter into God’s rest we find ourselves free of the distressing anxiety of the world, the weight of ungodly burdens, and the stress, struggle, and strain of ungodly yokes. When we enter in God’s rest we are free, light, at peace, and Godly optimistic about our present and future. God’s rest is awesome and it is available to all of us, but check the language Jesus uses. Who has to initiate the exchange? We do! Who has to bring the weariness and heavy burdens? We do! And then after we bring them, who has to be willing to give them over to God? We do! You would be amazed at how many people I pray with who, while we are praying, the Lord would instruct me to tell them to release the pain, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, and weariness they are carrying, so that He can give them His rest right then and there, but they then fail to do so. Why? I believe it is because some people are so used to worrying, murmuring, complaining, and holding on to past wrongs that they have become accustomed to negative attention and they just don’t want to let it go. In other words, some people are so used to living a frustrated life that they either: 1) don’t want to change, or 2) are afraid of the unknown and since they don’t know what life would be like without the turmoil, they simply hold on to what they know. If this is you this morning, please listen to the heart of God and initiate the exchange. He is not going to twist your arm and force you to be blessed, but He does call for you to do so. He actually led me to write this so that you could read and hear His voice in it. Make the exchange today. Believe me, your life will never be the same!
The word “yoke” in the text is a reference to a wooden beam that was used between a pair of oxen to allow them to pull a load or plow a field together. The point was that without the yoke each ox would have to work alone, but with the yoke on the oxen could work together as a team and share the load of the work.
So what does this mean to you today? It means that Jesus is inviting you to yoke up with Him this morning. He is holding out His yoke and offering you a partnership. If you let go of all the stuff you have been yoked up with in the past and exchange those yokes for His yoke, your life will never be the same. If you yoke up with Jesus He will share the load of your life, He will work right along side you, and together you will make an indelible mark in the world, every where you go. Will you take Him up on His offer? Will you make the Great Exchange?
Closing Confession: Father, I have heard from You this morning and I choose to take You up on Your offer. I release the pain, bitterness, resentment, and stress that harboring negative energy from my past has caused and I am ready to make the Great Exchange. I take off all the negatives yokes I have carried in the past and I decide to only put on one yoke, from this day forward, for the rest of my life, and that yoke is Your yoke. I yoke up with You and as I do You partner with me so that I don’t have to attempt to live my life alone. You sharing the load of my life gives me complete confidence that I will be able to maximize my purpose and potential before I die! Let’s go make a difference! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Unwavering Trust!
(Isa 26:3 NLT) You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!
This morning we continue our new series: “Help! I’m getting STRESSED Out” where we are looking at Biblical ways to handle and deal with negative stress. I hope you enjoyed Christmas and that you have found a way to take a break from the normal hustle and bustle of life. I have and the break has been awesome. I have slept in a few days, took my wife on a nice get-away without the kids, and have just enjoyed my time away from work. Between ministry, the military, and my family, if I am not careful, stress can surely find a way into my life and once it gets in, it can negatively affect every area of my life. Another Biblical way to conquer the negative effects of stress is to take control of your thought life. At the end of the day, you are who you THINK you are. If you see yourself as blessed, you will subconsciously find ways to walk in the blessing. If you see yourself as stressed, you will subconsciously find ways to get stressed out. With that in mind, let’s look at something the prophet Isaiah said about a peace that is available to those who fix and focus their minds on God, because of their underlying trust in Him!
Before we get into it I want you to read this verse from a couple of other translations as well. This will help you get a better understanding of what Isaiah is teaching us. God’s Word translation reads: “With perfect peace you will protect those whose minds cannot be changed, because they trust you.” The Bible in Basic English reads: “The man whose heart is unmoved you will keep in peace, because his hope is in you.” The Hebrew word translated “mind” in this text can refer to the mind itself or to anything that is formed by the mind – its thoughts, imaginations, plans, schemes, etc. Whether Isaiah is referring to the mind or what the mind produces, either way, the message is clear that when our mind (thoughts, plans, ideas, imaginations, etc.) is fixed and focused on God, there is an awesome peace that is made available to us. Now, let’s talk about this peace. While the English translations say “perfect peace,” in Hebrew what is written is actually ‘shalom shalom.’ Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace and Isaiah repeats it as he writes this verse. Repeating a word was a Hebrew way of emphasizing a point. This perfect peace, or peace-peace, is a complete sense of wholeness, contentment, and rest that cannot be disturbed or agitated by pressures of life. Why? Because this person completely trusts in His God.
The trust factor is truly the key to this verse and it can easily be overlooked when reading it. Most people focus on the words “mind” and “peace” but only reason why our mind can be fixed and focused on God, undisturbed by the distressing anxieties of life, is because we trust Him. Listen, if you have read Today’s Word for any length of time you know that I teach faith. The just shall live by faith and we cannot please God without it. Faith is absolutely essential to our walk with the Father. We are to express confidence (faith) in God and in His Word. But trust really takes us to another level. We stand in faith when we believe we know what God is going to do, in accordance with what He promised. But there are times when we have no clue what is going on or what God is going to do. On those occasions we better have our trust intact. Without trust we can easily cross over into doubt and once doubt grips our heart it is only a matter of time before we cross over into fear and unbelief.
So what does this mean to you today? It means that you must be able to trust God even when you cannot trace Him (know what He is going to do). Unwavering trust is what opens the door to peace-peace, this perfect peace that cannot be shaken, stirred, or disturbed! Do you trust God today?
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for this Word. I want that peace-peace that is available to me and I declare that I will receive it today, because I trust You. I live by faith and I stand on every promise You give me. But when I don’t have a promise to stand on, and I am not at the faith stage, I still trust You. I trust You with my whole heart and my unwavering trust in You is what helps me keep my mind fixed and focused on Your goodness. I close the door to fear, doubt, and unbelief, I walk in faith and trust every day of my life, and I experience the life You desire for me to have! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
Get Sweet Sleep!
(Psalm 127:2 KJV) It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
This morning we continue our new series: “Help! I’m getting STRESSED Out” where we are looking at Biblical ways to handle and deal with negative stress. I believe that one of the greatest things you can do to combat negative stress is to get a good night’s rest. The negative effects of sleeplessness are so detrimental that sleep depravation is recognized as one of the worst torture mechanisms that can be levied on a captive. Going without sleep can adversely affect you physically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually; and the sad reality is that most Americans don’t get enough sleep because of their busy schedules and when they finally lay down their sleep is not ‘sweet’. With that in mind, let’s look at five things that can help us, as believers, get better sleep:
1. Establish the Trust Factor and resist worry: We talked about trust yesterday and trust is a key factor in getting good sleep. Why? Because what keeps most people up at night is worry, but you can’t worry and trust at the same time. Either you are going to trust God or you are going to worry, but you can’t do both. Solomon said, “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2). Don’t allow worry to feed you a steady diet of sorrowful bread. Trust God and allow Him to give you, as His beloved, sweet sleep. Before you go to sleep, remind the Father of this scripture, tell Him that you trust Him, and ask Him to GIVE you sweet sleep.
2. Get rooted and grounded in Love: When we are completely convinced that the Father loves us, it truly helps us to trust Him, to resist the incapacitating power of fear, and to enter into God’s rest. John said, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1st John 4:18). When you are rooted and grounded in God’s love fear has no power over you. Allow the Father’s love to flood your heart and your mind, and as you do fear will be flushed out.
3. Rest in the fact that God is your protector: If God is IN you, ON you, WITH you, and FOR you, what do you have to be afraid of? David said, “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:8). David’s son Solomon said, “When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet” (Prov 3:24)
Trust that God will protect you and sleep in peace and your sleep with be SWEET.
4. Remember that God is still up: The psalmist said, “Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps” (Psalm 121:4). We know that God never goes to sleep. Now this might sound funny, but there have been times when I, just before going to sleep, would say this to God, “Father, you are up, so there is no need in both of us being up. I am going to sleep.” He is up so that you don’t have to be. GO TO SLEEP!
5. Have fun: If you are miserable all day, then you will more-than-likely be the same at night. Don’t live a miserable life. Enjoy your life in Christ and have FUN! Solomon said, “A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones” (Prov 17:22). If you have fun during the day, you will also have fun while you sleep and your sleep will be sweet!
Closing Confession: Father, I establish the trust factor in my life. My unwavering trust in You enables me to resist worry at all costs. I refuse to stay up worrying. I am also rooted and grounded in Your love. Your love enables me to resist every inkling to fear. Your love floods my heart and my mind and as it does, it flushes out all fear. Fear has no power over me and I am convinced that You Father are my protector. You are on me, in me, with me, and for me; I have nothing to be afraid of. You are always up; therefore I don’t need to be. I have fun in You all day and then I go to sleep with a smile on my face, a song in my heart, and Your rest in my spirit. When I sleep my sleep is sweet. I get sleep and rest daily! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
Vision for 2011
This will be the last message I send out this year. I pray that you have enjoyed 2010 and that the messages you have received via Today’s Word have been a blessing to you. I also pray that the Father would continue to give me fresh revelation and insight concerning what to write every day, so that both you and I could have a fresh Word every morning to help get our day started off right.
Last Sunday the Father had me to preach a message entitled, “The Why and the Where of Your Life!” The point of the message was basically this: if you can look back and understand why you were born (that’s your God-given purpose) and also be able to look forward and see, through your spiritual eyes, where you are going (that’s your God-given vision), then your why and your where will inform the what of 2011. The following is a portion of my notes, I hope this blesses you as you prepare for 2011: