Not Mine, but God's: Relying on God's Strength

Faith is more than a feeling or a theory. It's

a decision that moves your feet, opens your hands,

and activates God's promises. In our brand new

book, Faith Act, Jeffrey and I take you on a

powerful journey through some of Scripture's

most transforming moments, where ordinary people

dared to obey and saw heaven move on their behalf.

Order your copy of Faith Act today on Amazon.

This is week number three. Everybody say week

number three. In our series entitled, Not Mine,

But God's. Everybody say, Not Mine, Not Mine,

But God's. And we've been, what we've been talking

about, or as I could say, like the big idea here,

is a shift of focus. Because we all, our focus

in life is to always turn to ourselves, our own

resources, our own abilities. When our immediate

response should be, to turn to who God is, his

ability, his supply, his things. Because we're

very good at relying on ourselves, and we're

very good at being independent, we could say.

But God wants us to be dependent, not on ourselves,

not on the people around us, not on our jobs,

not on what the world says. He wants us to be

dependent. Everybody say dependent. He wants

us to be dependent on his word. Dependent on

his word. And we've asked this question at the

beginning of each week, is who or what is your

source? Who or what is your source for everything?

Because your source, who you draw from, who you

are filled with, determines your display, determines

what comes out of you, determines what shows

in the world around you to the people around

you, is who you are feeding on, who your attention

is on, who you draw from for every area of your

life. And we all draw, you could say, I'll keep

using that now, you know, we all draw from different

things. Right? We all draw. But who we're filled

with, I had this thought of a coffee cup this

morning. I love coffee. How many of you love

coffee? I love coffee. Yeah. A little too much.

A little too much. I'm working on it. First step

is admitting I have a problem. So here I'm here

in my group this morning saying I have a problem,

but I'm not willing to give it up. Okay. I want

to like. I can't remember how long it is ago,

so I'm not going to make it up. But I was drinking

coffee in the lobby. You know, everybody's coming

in, shaking, hugging, all that kind of stuff.

And someone bumped me, and I spilled my coffee

all over the floor. And I had this thought this

morning, like, you know, if my cup was filled

with orange juice, if my cup was filled with

orange juice, something like that, that would

have been what spills out, right? If my cup was

filled with milk. and someone bumped me, milk's

going to come out. Like, if my cup's filled with

orange juice, and I bump it, and coffee pours

out, that'd be weird, right? I would fall on

the floor and open my mouth, and let the heavenly,

pour it, no, no, no. But what you're filled with,

what you allow into your life, what you feed

on through your eyes, What you say with your

words fills your life and who your attention

is on and your source determines your display.

And so what you're filled with, if you're filled

with the word, right? When something bumps you,

when something shakes you in this world, the

word's going to come out. It's so simple. I mean,

it's not like I'm saying something revolutionary

here. This is very simple information, right?

You know, if I'm filled with irritation and someone

bumps me, anger is going to come out, right?

If I'm filled with, you know, all kinds of things.

If I'm filled with my worry and something bumps

me, I'm going to spiral out of control, right?

It's going to take me farther away. But I'm going

to mention this. We haven't talked about this.

The specific word, you know, we talk about like

the word from God is like a very general blanket

statement. But the specific word that you are

filled with, that you receive into the soil of

your heart, when you get a hold of that, when

it fills your cup, right, that word that you

honor, will pour out of you. But it's not just

all the words. Like, we don't just get everything

all at once. I wish we did. That'd be really

nice, right? If all of a sudden I just read the

Bible one time and I'm just like, I got it. You

know, I got every little thing. It's just all

here. No, but the specific things that God reveals

to you when you get a hold of them in your spirit.

That's the specific things that you can draw

on as your source. Okay? I'm going to keep moving.

We depend on, we display who or what we draw

from, right? But listen, until you draw, until

your first response, until your natural response,

quick reflection instinct is to draw from the

greater one, you're going to be the same one.

Until you draw from the greater one who is living

on the inside of you, you will only accomplish

in this world, and you will only see natural

things take place in your life. But in every

area, everybody say every area, every area of

life, we should learn to rely, to lean, to not

depend on our own understanding, as we talked

about. not depends on our own minds, our own

rational way, our own wills and what we want

to do. We should learn to rely on God's supply,

his ability, instead of our own. And verse here,

Acts 17, 28, all the verses are New Living Translation,

unless noted otherwise. But Acts 17, 28 reveals

this, for in him, in him, we live and move and

exist. Amen. I hope we do that. We say amen to

it. But I hope this is how we live our life.

I hope this is how we move in life and literally

impacts every part of our existence of life.

Because it's only from that position of being

in Christ, it's only from that position that

we're supposed to move, that we're supposed to

live, that we're supposed to exist. God didn't

intend for his... to do any one of these things

outside of him, apart from him, on their own.

Amen? Amen. John 14 .10, Jesus even lived as

an example for us. Amen? Lived as an example

for us and said this, the words I speak are what?

Not my own. They're not mine. This is Jesus now.

He's fully God. He's fully man, living as an

example for each one of us. But the words I speak

are not my own, but my Father who lives in me

does what? His work through me. It's not mine,

but it's God's. Amen? Not mine, but God's. Do

you think if Jesus lived this way, we should

live this way? There should be more heads bobbing.

Yeah. If Jesus lived this way, I'm going to have

to live this way. In order to accomplish the

things that he did in the earth, in order to

be like Christ, because that's what Christian

means, is to be a little Christ. We shouldn't

keep having to share these simple things. We've

got to get a hold of it. Okay? We've got to get

a hold of it. Christians are little Christ. And

we should live like him. We should desire to

be just like him and say, not my own, but it's

his. All the words that I say, I don't rely on

what I say and what I think, right? Jesus is

turning here and he's saying, look, it's not

my own. You know, your words determine the course

of your life. And Jesus here is saying, look.

I'm not going to rely on these words that I've

learned from my parents and the way I've grown

up talking to everyone around me. I'm not going

to say what they say. I'm going to 100%, listen,

100 % say what the words of my father are going

to say in order to have what the father wants

me to have, in order to live the life like he

wants me to, to fulfill his will and plan in

my life. I'm going to have to start not speaking

from me. I've got to speak from him. but not

just occasionally, all the time. I speak are

not my own. He was talking about his entire words

that he says are not my own, but my Father who

lives in me does his work through me. Kings and

people in authority, they work with their words,

right? And we work with our words to shape our

life. And if we want the will of God to be real

in us, we have to speak his words, we have to

rely on them, and we've got to hear them. Because

God is wanting to do a work in the earth, and

he's doing it through his people. 1 Corinthians

3 .9 says, For we are God's fellow workers. 2

Corinthians 6 .1 says, We then as workers together

with him. Aren't you glad you have a limitless

worker working with you? Aren't you glad you're

working, like what you're doing, you're not alone?

He doesn't just, he didn't just drop us off in

the earth and say, all right, go have fun. No,

he's always been about his presence being with

us, his presence being on us in the Old Testament,

and then his presence being in us in the New

Testament. Amen. He's wanting as a co -worker

with God, then we have an opportunity, everybody

say opportunity, to exchange our natural. Everybody

say natural. If you're here next week, you know

why I'm holding up a rock. If not, it's okay.

Just figure it out. We have the opportunity to

exchange our natural, listen, for his supernatural.

Our human things. our humanity for his divinity,

for his supernatural things. We have that ability.

We can exchange those things. Galatians 2 .20,

I love what Paul writes. He says, I have been

crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but

Christ lives in me. I no longer live, but Christ

lives in me. What he's saying is that, there's

a part of him that has died. There's a part of

him that is no more. And he's saying the life,

the life that he lives, he characterizes it as

God's life in me and through me. That's a lot,

right? To just say, I no longer live. I give

up my will. What is this? It's a picture of being

yielded and submitted to the Holy Spirit. It's

like, I no longer live, it's Christ who lives

in me. It's Christ in me. The life I now live

in the body, he continues, I live how? By faith

in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself

for me. The greatest revelation is that God just

didn't leave us on our own. He didn't just say,

these are our, you know, he gave us, listen,

he gave us himself. To accomplish every good

thing in our lives. To be there in every situation,

in every circumstance. He gave us himself. He

says, live in me. No longer living for yourself.

Live through me. Live in me. Amen. And we spend

a lifetime learning how to live from our souls

and from our body. from our mind, will, and emotions,

and from our flesh. But as Christians, we're

called to live differently. Look to your neighbor

and say, it's time to live different. It's time

to live different. We're called to live differently,

not just out of our heads, not out of our feelings.

We're called to live by the Spirit. We're called

to be Spirit -led, Spirit -fed, Spirit -led people

of God. doing spiritual things in the earth,

beyond the natural things, operating from the

greater one on the inside of us, not just out

of our heads, not just out of what we can do

in the flesh. We are a spirit, we have a soul,

and we live in a body, and God calls us to live

as spirits in him. Today we're talking about...

Before I get into that, today we're going to

talk about what it means to live with God in

Christ by the Spirit of God. And this set of

verses is very familiar. If you've spent any

time in church, it's very familiar. But I want

you to hear the first, like in context of what's

being said here. Philippians 4 .12, Paul writes

this, I know how to live on almost nothing. or

with everything. Paul's saying, you know, I've

had little, I've had a lot. And I have learned

the secret of living in every situation. Ooh,

that should perk you up a little bit. What is

the secret of living this life? What is the secret

of living Monday morning? What is the secret

of living everything? What is the secret? Everybody

say, what's the secret? What's the secret to

live in every situation? I want to know it. What's

the secret? Is it hidden from me? No. Am I walking

in it? What's the secret of living in every situation?

And then it gets to this very popular verse.

Philippians 4 .13, For I can do everything through

Christ who gives me strength. Some translations,

I can do all things through Christ who gives

me strength. The direct Greek to English, as

you know, the New Testament is written in Koine

Greek. And if you just take those words and transliterate

them into English, just word for word, there

in the Greek to English language, direct would

be all things. I have strength in the one. And

it's capitalized there because it's referring

to Christ. And in parentheses, it puts Christ

strengthening me. And now that's kind of like

a different understanding that I've always held.

It's like I can do everything is a little different

than all things I have strengthened. Are you

paying attention? Are you listening? Because

don't get wrong. Like, don't freak out on me.

All things, Paul is saying, all things I have

strengthened, the one strengthening me. So Paul's

secret of living, let's back up to verse 12.

Paul's secret of living in every situation is

a confession then. He's saying something. I know

the secret when I had everything, when I've had

a little, when I've been imprisoned, when I've

been preaching and sharing to God all over the

world. You know, like, come on. He knows the

secret. He's like, I know the secret. And he

says this. It's his confession of faith. of what

he has by Christ in him, by who he is. He knows

who he is. He knows who God is. And he's saying,

I have something. He says, I have strength. But

then he doesn't just stop there. He's not just

saying, I have strength in myself and God's empowered

me with his strength. No, no, no. It's not his

strength, but it's a divine strength empowering

him in every situation. It's a divine strength

that he draws from, that he fills his cup with,

that he has access to its resources. And when

the world shook him, listen, that divine strength

poured out. The man who sang in prison after

he'd been whipped and beaten, a divine strength

came out, right? the man who also wrote the majority

of the New Testament, divine strength came out.

Not of his own, not his own strength, because

we have strength in our own, right, we have some

strength in ourselves, but God is not wanting

us to focus on what is ours. He's wanting to

empower us with what is his. Philippians, this

word strength here, It means to empower, to strengthen,

to make strong, or to impart ability. Do you

realize there's things imparted to believers

on the inside of them, right? He gives us a measure

of faith. He gives us a measure of, here is strength.

He gives us a measure of just ability and process

in the spirit. But he gives us this. measure

to walk in this impartation of an ability that

we're not always drawing from but the divine

strength that paul is talking about it's empowers

us and he's saying that it empowers him in all

things everybody say all things all things doesn't

mean just in one area but he's allowed this spiritual

thing to impact every area of his life and how

he operates he's saying It doesn't just strengthen

me in my spirit. It strengthens me in my mind.

It strengthens me in my will and my emotions.

And then it strengthens my mortal body. Because

the things of God are meant to impact every part

of you, not just the one area in which you take

hold of. It's all -encompassing, you could say.

Let's continue down this road on strength. Isaiah

40, 31. I really love this verse. But those who

trust in the Lord will find new strength. Those

who trust in the Lord will find new strength.

I love verses like this in general. Kind of been

on like a little binge, you could say. Because

what is he saying? Those who trust, find. Reminds

me of something else. Those who seek, find. Right?

The things of God are not hidden to you, but

you need to trust him in order for them to be

received, in order to partake of them by faith.

Right? Those who hunger and thirst. Taste and

see. Those who seek, find. Those who knock, the

doors are open wide. He's not talking about every

door. People want to live their life through

this like open door policy. He's not talking

about every door. Just like he's not talking

about I can go lift a semi truck when I walk

out this room. It's not true. God's not empowering

me to do that, right? What is he talking about

here? Those who turn to him, who quickly let

go and throw away the things that are theirs

and take hold and walk in and trust in, will

find. It's not hard. He's doing all the heavy

lifting. He's made it available to you. He's

not only that, He's indwelt you with His Spirit.

His presence is in you to accomplish the work.

All you have to do is let go of your temporary

thing and take hold of His eternal thing. Amen?

Come on. But those who trust in the Lord will

find new strength. They will soar high on wings

like eagles. They will run and not grow weary.

They will walk and not faint. Let's look at this

word trust here. It's to wait, look for, hope,

and expect. Hope is a confident expectation,

right? It's a trusting that something will happen,

that the word is true. So those who trust in

him find strength. They find his strength. How

do we have it? We trust. We wait. We look for.

We hope. We expect. Then we find. It's not like

he's keeping it. It's just he doesn't want to

give you something that you're not even wanting.

Right? He's not going to force you into his strength.

He's not going to force you into walking in his

love and good and all the fruits. He doesn't

force that on you. No, but it's available to

you. He's not forcing you to do it. Just like

righteousness. You know, he doesn't force everyone

to get saved, even though that would be great.

That would be his will. That's what he desires,

right? But it's to all those who respond to him

in faith that take hold. Amen? What will those

in divine strength do? What does that look like?

Because it shifts, right? Those who trust, they

will find new strength. And then it says this,

they will soar high on wings like eagles. They

will run and not grow weary. They will walk and

not faint. They will soar high. That word means

to go up, to ascend, to climb. You could say

climb the mountain of God to the spiritual things,

not the earthly things, but the spiritual things.

Because those who turn their attention away from

their self and what is around them and their

own abilities, guess what? They will come up

over situations. They will fly over those things.

They will ascend into a heavenly place where

they see themselves at the right hand of the

Father with Christ Jesus. And they will experience

some things others will not. But it's those who

trust. It's not all. It's those who trust. Find.

They will go up. They will ascend. They will

also run and not grow weary. Everybody say run.

Run and not grow weary. The grow weary here means

labored or toil. It means effort, work. They

quickly run the race of life that is set before

them without giving up, without getting weighed

down. They quickly move through it at God's pace,

God's work, and filled with God's presence. It's

God's pace, it's God's work, and it's God's presence.

So the pressure is off. The pressure is off.

But you got to trust him. A lot of times we want

to run our own race. I want to take down what

I, you know, I want to go. I want to do. I got

all these good plans, God. They're good things.

They're in line with your word. They're all these

things, but you see no demonstration. You see

no power in it. You know what? It's because you're

doing something and asking God to fill you. When

Jesus said, it's not my words I'm saying. It's

not my works. It's God's works flowing in and

through me. And then we expect that we can live

life differently from him. We want these things

to happen, but we don't want to trust in him.

We want to trust in ourselves and have him bless

what we want to do. Talked about your will. It's

like, you know, maybe you will to do something.

You will to bring it back. Have you ever just

stopped and taken a moment and said, God, what

do you have me to do? What do you want me to

do today? What do you want me to say? Stop and

take recollection. Acknowledge. Turn to him.

Lean to him in all things. Because guess what?

He's there. to empower you in all things, to

strengthen you in all things. He'll let you do

it on your own. If you really want to, you can

do it on your own. Have fun with that. But the

Christian life is meant to be lived through the

power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit in

the life of the believer. Not on our own ability,

our own power, our own thoughts, our own, you

know. They will walk and not faint. This word

walk is to move continually, to be conversant.

It means have knowledge and experience and be

at ease. They are constant people. When you trust

in God, you are consistent in your walk with

him because you walk with God in peace, in the

knowledge of who he is. You've seen it. You know

it. You walk in it. things become easier to you.

They don't take from you, exhaust your energy,

because you're not using your own. You walk in

His, amen? And some people take this the wrong

way, and they're just like, well, the Christian

life, what you're saying and what you're teaching

is just, you know, puppy dogs and fairy tales.

That life is just supposed to be rainbows and

butterflies. No, that's never the picture in

Scripture, and that's not what we're talking

about. Circumstances, listen, circumstances are

certain. We live in a fallen world, and we're

going to experience some fallen things. You know,

like... Your actions have consequences. All those

things happen. Sometimes it's just the fallen

nature of the world and sin in our world, right?

But listen, circumstances are certain, but your

struggle in them is optional for those who are

in Christ Jesus. He didn't say that you wouldn't

face the storm. He actually corrected the disciples.

He was asleep. They were afraid. He was asleep.

He was at peace. He could care less because he

knew something that they had not known or they

had not listened to. He was drawing from a source.

They were drawing from a source. They were drawing

from the natural. What they see, what they saw.

What they felt, the boat was rocking, the waves,

the waters hitting their face, they were seeing

something. God's seeing something. He says, I'm

here on a mission. My God will protect me. I

have a future. I have a hope. He has great plans

for me. My Father has great plans for me on this

earth. This little storm is not going to take

me out today. Do you think he was confident in

that? He's like, I came here to do something.

To set man free, right? To set us free. He's

like, I have a mission and I have a purpose.

And guess what? He is in you. And you have that

same mission and purpose. To say what he says,

to do what he does in the earth. Come on. He

wants you to walk with him and be connected to

him. So that no matter what happens, as the world

spins and the day spins and everybody thinks,

oh, it's great and then it's terrible and these

are the last days and no, it's going to be a

while and churches, you know, whatever, and there's

all these trials, troubles, tribulations, God

says, don't worry about it. If you're worried

about it, you're drawing from it. What you set

your eyes on, what you set your mind on, fills

your body and impacts your spirit. The strength

that is available to us in Christ is all -encompassing.

It's, listen, write this down if you can. The

spiritual things impact the physical and the

mental things. Spiritual things are more real

than the natural things of this world. Spiritual

things must dawn in our hearts, must be revealed

to us. Spiritual things happen and then transform

the physical and the mental. God is what? A spirit.

Those who worship him, what? Worship him when

Jesus was talking to the woman at the well. He

says, those who worship me, worship in spirit

and in truth. Spirit and in truth. Spirit and

in truth. We receive these things, the strength,

the mind of Christ, the will of God. We receive

these things where? Do we receive them in our

minds first? No. If I receive it in my mind first,

first it's just analytical, it's just information,

there's no transformation. If I receive it in

my body first, guess what? You know, it might

bring some kind of temporary thing, but there's

no transformation in my life. If I receive it

in my spirit first, the things of God, the strength

of God, the mind of God, if I see it, if it dawns

in me first, guess what? Then, because he communicates

us through the spirit, He wants to live by the

Spirit. So when I'm connected to the Spirit,

when I trust in Him, I'm listening for Him, guess

what? Then I get a hold of something from Him,

His Word. In order to really hear the Word of

God, you have to hear it in the Spirit. Now this

is really hard for the analytical mind. You want

to think, well, I've got to just read, and then

I can just come to it. Uh -uh. Uh -uh. You want

to just read, I want to figure out who God is

and how he works, and then I want to write out

my formula, and I'm going to do everything, and

then I'm going to receive the right answer, and

I'm going to receive everything. No. That's not

how God works. He communicates to you. He is

a spirit. He communicates to your spirit. Once

it dawns on you, once you know it, you can trust

it, and then you can walk in it. Then you can

have it. Then you can experience it. The physical

things, the mental things, the emotional things,

the strength of God is all -encompassing for

those who trust. Amen? The things of God first

appear in our spirits, and then they're displayed

in our souls and in our body. That's the witness

to the world. It's the witness to the world.

The righteousness of God is a spiritual thing

that takes place within the spirit of the man,

right? And then it shows up in our minds. It

shows up in our emotions. It shows up in my physical

body. And all the things the spirit has are not

just for the area in which you're trusting him.

They're not just for that one area. It's for

every area, for your whole existence of who you

are. Spirit, soul, and body. The righteousness

of God is for your whole body, even though you're

only taking hold of it in your spirit. There's

things that God wants to do. There's a strength.

You can say, well, I can have strength for this

one area, but then you might be weak in another

area, right? But His strength. is all -encompassing.

It's for everything. Because within every believer

is a divine strength we can operate in if we

partake of it through faith. We all have access,

but not many of us partake it. Not many of us

take hold of it through faith. Amen? So the plan

of God for your life, listen, the plan of God

for your life is filled with the provision of

God. So when you step outside of His plan, and

then ask for his provision? He said, no, my provision

was already in my plan that I had you on, but

you walked out from it under it. Because what

God calls you to, he never expects you to accomplish,

you to supply. Maybe God's called you to do some

things in the past, and it's time for you to

say yes to them. Because you looked at your earthly

supply and your earthly ability and your earthly,

you know, your finances, your health, your what,

you know. No, we need to stop everything and

say, quickly say yes to God. And in that yes

will be his provision. In that yes lies his supply.

But if we're focused on what is ours, what we

can do will never fulfill what he's called us

to. Because everything that he calls you to,

he expects to fully supply. So what does God's

strength flowing through the believer look like?

God's strength is hope. Everybody say hope. Strength

of God is hope. 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through

14 says this. Do not grieve like people who what?

Have no hope. Do not grieve like people who have

no hope. Why? For we believe something. We believe

something, right? That those who died in Christ

will be raised with Christ one day and we'll

meet them again in glory. That's our hope. That's

the word. That's what we confidently know, trust,

expect, and understand and believe. We do not

grieve like the people who have no hope, for

we believe. And that's a strength of the Lord.

So in the face of terrible loss, we're not saying

that the loss is any less soft, we should downplay

it, anything like that. God never says that.

He's saying in the face of terrible loss, in

the circumstance, what? In Christ, we have strength

to do something that the world does not. We have

something on the inside of us, not just the hope

so hope that we operate in all the time. If it's

going to rain, if it's going to, you know, I

hope it doesn't rain. I hope it does. You know,

we have our hope and then God imparts his hope.

Those are two different things. It's not like

the world gives something others do not have.

So when we see them, we don't justify our experience

and how we're supposed to act based on the way

others experience life and how they act. Why?

Because we know something. We're confident in

it. We hope and we expect something to happen.

God's strength is peace. Everybody say peace.

You can say it louder. Say peace. God's strength

is peace. Amen. God's strength is peace. John

14, 27, we share these verses, like talk about

them a lot, but I want to just put them on the

screen. I want us to read them. Jesus said, peace

I leave with you. My peace, everybody say my

peace. God's peace I give to you. Not as the

world gives do I give to you. Let not, everybody

say let not. That means you cannot be in peace

if you let it. He's not forcing his peace on

you as a Christian. You have a choice to walk

in it or not. He doesn't say, oh, you're a Christian,

so now you just have magical peace. And it just

happens. No. He says, my peace I give to you,

not as the world gives do I give to you. Let

not your heart be troubled, neither let it be

afraid. This word troubled means to things that

are separate. They are kept separate. Neither

let them be afraid. It's talking specifically

about fear. And how do we experience the peace

of God? Well, let's read. Don't worry about anything.

Sometimes the word of God is so simple, we miss

it. Sometimes it's so simple, we don't like it.

Because we want something spectacular. I want

to push these spiritual buttons. I want to pray

five times a day, and I want my life to be a

certain way, look a certain thing, and then I

want to receive the peace of God because I prayed,

I did my devotions, I read my Bible. You know,

I did all these things, and so God, give me peace.

But how ignorant, church, are we going to live

when God says, I have given you something. I've

given you the peace. Not like the world has because,

listen, there's a counterfeit for every spiritual

thing. All the fruits of the Spirit are divine

forces for the believer to walk in, but inside

you, you have natural forces that you try to

walk in to accomplish spiritual things. And a

part of discernment for the believer is to recognize

the difference between the peace of the world

and the peace that God gives. Because if you're

trying to manufacture the world's peace and then

you're calling it God's peace, you are basically

doing what the devil does. Leading people astray,

acting like it's okay. But it's time to grow

up. It's time to take hold and partake of the

peace of God. Maybe you say, well, I don't have

it. Is God holding out on you? He's already given

it to you. But maybe you've tried to get it in

your flesh, your body, in your soul. You're trying

to find it in the world. But those things only

happen in the Spirit. Because you have to spiritually

see that God is your peace. You have to spiritually

see you having it before it takes place in your

body. For you experience it as your hope. For

you to experience it in your mind, in your will,

in your emotions, you have to first experience

it in your spirit. Turning to him, trusting him,

and it's that simple. Don't worry about anything.

He says, instead, pray about everything. Tell

God what you need and thank him for all he's

done. If you don't have peace today, these are

the three things you need to go home and do and

do and do. You need to pray about it. Not mindless,

meaningless repetition, but really pray about

it. Get into the presence of God and expect real

transaction to take place. You tell God what

you need, even though he knows everything that

you need, before you even ask it. I'm seeking

you as peace. I hunger and thirst for your peace

that you give me. I knock on the door of your

peace. And I expect to find. I expect to find.

Tell God what you need and then you thank him

for all he has done. This takes place in your

spirit before your... Body receives the peace.

Before your mind receives the peace, you need

to go ahead and get happy about it. Those in

faith have celebration before the thing actually

takes place. Before the finale takes place, they

celebrate in the moment. Because they've laid

a hold of something in the spirit. They've got

a hold of it. It can't be taken away from them.

It's dawned on their spirit. They got it. And

they understand. So they say, thank you, God,

for your peace. Thank you, God, that it exceeds

the world's peace. It's not like the world. Thank

you, God, is so much better. Your presence is

so much better because he didn't just tell you

to walk in something. He gave you himself and

he is the peace. He is the author and the finisher.

Amen. What he authors in you, it's his ability

to finish it. Stop trying to finish something

that he's authored. Take hold of it. Say, it's

finished in me. It was finished on the cross,

so therefore it's finished today in me. He said

it is finished because all those things are done

and available to us in Christ Jesus. But we have

to take hold of them. We have to reach out. We

have to trust. Amen. Because when we do these

things, what does verse 7 say? Then... you will

experience God's peace. Don't just take my word

for it. Read the scripture. Then you will experience

God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand

because it's not dependent on what you understand.

You can know something in the spirit that your

mind can't understand. Your mind can't fully

wrap your head around. What the righteousness

of God means, what salvation means in the full

scope of that. You don't know that, but your

spirit was made alive by it. Your experience

is that. Sometimes it takes our souls and our

bodies to catch up with what the spirit has to

say. But in Christ, everybody say in Christ,

we have a divine peace that is different from

the world's. Peace, then. as the world calls

it, is not enough. The world's ideas, what people

say, peace is not enough. Only God's peace. Only

God's peace is enough. Only God's peace is enough

for you. Peace alone is not enough because it's

dependent on your circumstance. But we're called

to have peace in the circumstance. So you can't

have peace in yourself. You know, try to get

a hold of that and find that in yourself. You're

just going to be chasing around in circles, spinning

your wheels. You have to lay hold of the peace

of God. And then that peace strengthens you in

time of anxiety, trouble, chaos, or fear. Don't

worry. This word worry is the direct word for

anxiety. People don't like to talk about it,

but it's there. Go look at the word. This word

worry is about anxiety. And he's saying the cure

for anxiety. Don't take hold of some truths and

not take hold of all of them. Because only the

truth that you are filled with, that you allow

to sink into your soul, will impact your life.

It has the power to change your body and your

mind. your will, your emotions. You can experience

if you don't worry. And if you pray, tell God,

thank him. If you do that, the next time you

experience anxiety, guess what? You can draw

from a source that's greater than your own. You

might say, well, Jeffrey, I can't do it. I'm

unable to do it. That's the point. It's for you

to realize that it's not I who live, it's Christ

in me. Who does His work through me. And so I'm

going to stand here and I'm going to confess

like Paul that I have strength to walk in the

peace of God because He's given it to me. And

I'm going to take hold of it. And I'm going to

have it. Because it's there. It's available.

And I'm going to see it. Because all those who

hunger and thirst, taste and see. All those who

seek, find. And those who knock, doors are open

wide. In Christ, we have a divine peace that

is different from the world's, because peace

is not enough. God's strength, listen, God's

strength also displays itself in our life as

joy. After Jesus teaches that those who abide

in him will produce much fruit, If you abide

in him, he says this, I have told you these things

so that you will be filled. Everybody say filled

with my joy. Filled with my joy. That word my

is there when you look at it. Filled with my

joy. And then he turns around and says this,

your joy will overflow. How about that? Our joy

is an emotion we occasionally experience, right?

But God's joy is a constant to his character

and his being of who he is. And it's available

for us to abide in, but typically we only visit.

How do you know the difference between hearing,

you know... Celine Dion singing in Vegas and

getting goose bumps and being like, whoa, are

your favorite football team all of a sudden scoring

and winning, whatever. And that's joy, right?

And then the joy of God. They're two different

joys. They're not the same thing. They will display

in the same ways, but they're not the same thing.

They come from a different source. God's joy

is a constant. In Christ, then, we have access

to divine joy. It's a force or a flow because

God's joy is continually overflowing well that

we can draw from that strengthens not just our

inner man, but it strengthens everything. Every

area of living and moving in existence should

be impacted by the joy of the Lord. It doesn't

mean that we get happy about the trouble, but

it means that we can experience his joy in it.

If we turn to him in it, in those times, if we

trust him, that joy can well up, not from our

minds, not from just what we're thinking about,

not from just what we've, you know, I get my

world and everything in line. No, no, no. That

joy, if we just take the time to stop and turn

and acknowledge Him, we'll experience the joy

of the Lord. You will find it in your life. You

can have it. God's strength is ours, but we must

turn to Him as our source. We must stop chasing

after the peace of the world that is only found

in circumstances. are searching for joy in things,

in others, or our experiences. If the only time

you have joy is when you're experiencing, you

know, something great, a celebration, if the

only time you have joy, you're not walking in

the joy of the Lord. If that's the only thing

that brings you joy in life, sorry, but you're

walking in a counterfeit of... what God really

wants and what really has for you. We shouldn't

get joy from those things. That shouldn't be

our source of joy. We should recognize that all

good things and all things are from Him. And

that's the way we experience it. Because guess

what? His joy, listen, His joy flows through

us and is displayed in our joy. What did the

verse say? Let's go back. So that you will be,

I've told you these things to abide in me so

that you will be filled with my joy. And then

it impacts our joy. Our joy will overflow. Our

joy, our cup, our joy will overflow. It's not

by working to be the best person we can be. As

dad shared last week, I thought it was like.

A great point, you know, if I try to take this

rock, I sand it down, I cut little edges and

those kind of things, it'll never look like this

diamond. It'll never be this. No matter what

I do, I can work at it, I can try my best, but

it's not even a comparison, it's not even a bad

substitute for what God has for me. But I got

to let go of this. Got to let go of this to walk

in this. This has to be more precious to me.

I have to honor this. I have to respect this.

I have to turn to this more than turning to what

I have. And trust me on this, the more you do,

the more you turn, the more you let go, and the

more you turn to the things of God, each time

you do that, it'll be easier. That's what maturing

in God and spiritual life, it's like... That

first time might be really hard. It might be

hard. Because you're like, I've got to let go.

I've got to submit. I've got to yield. I've got

to let go. And I've learned this. I've grown

up my whole life like this. I understand. It

makes so much more sense. It feels comfortable.

Because what's comfortable is what you do most

often. But this can be comfortable. This can

be your every day. This is what God wants for

us. And God wants for his children. This is why

he died and to live anything less than this is

his name in vain. Two verses and I'm done. Romans

15, 13. I pray that God, the source of hope,

will fill you completely with joy and... Peace.

Because why? Because you trust in him. Then you

will overflow with confident hope through what?

The power of the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of

God is about righteousness, peace, and joy in

the Holy Spirit. And if God, maybe you say, well,

God is my source of righteousness, but I don't

yet quite experience him as my peace. God is

my source of salvation, but I don't experience

him as my joy. God wants to, guess what? All

those things are tied together in the same point,

in the same message, that in Christ lives the

fullness of God in a human body. And now Christ

has been, Colossians says, now Christ is on the

inside. of the believer the fullness of God is

now on the inside of the believer so if I'm living

in anything less than God in the fullness of

who he is it's not his fault it's because I've

learned to rely on this and I should have taken

hold of this not mine but God's Only when your

trust shifts away from yourself to the source

of hope will you be completely filled and display

the strength, the joy and peace and power of

the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 6, 19, and I'm done.

This hope, which what he was talking about in

context was Christ's promise and his oath. He

gives his promise. He fulfills his word. He carries

out his word in the earth, right? So he gives

us promises, and he's faithful to complete them.

And this hope that we have in his word and in

his promise, listen, it is a strong and trustworthy

anchor. It's an anchor. We talked about last

week hope tying us off to something, a source,

a foundation. Hope is that anchor. If you don't

trust, you don't experience. If you don't seek,

you don't find. If you don't hunger and thirst,

you don't taste and see. If you don't knock,

it will not be opened. It leads us through the

curtain. Listen, hope is a trustworthy anchor

for our souls. Get a hold of that. And it leads

us through the curtain. That means there was

a curtain there at one point. But the hope, listen,

the hope removes it, pulls it back, allows us

to see, trust, hope, waiting, expecting, believing,

right? It pulls it back to a reality of the presence

of God. God's inner sanctuary. And we have access.

How? By the Spirit. Amen? So let's turn our focus

away from what is ours, but God's. And the next

time you come up short, next time you're like,

I'm trying to, you know. I know that there's

a promise in Scripture, and I'm not walking in

it, I'm not experiencing it. Next time that happens,

don't say that the Word's not right. Don't say,

no, you need to start confessing who you are

and what you have in Christ. You need to start

trusting it, and then you need to listen for

the Spirit to show you what that means and how

you're supposed to walk in it. And when you do

that, you'll experience the peace. You'll experience

the joy. When you realize that righteousness,

is it packed in with joy and peace? You can walk

in it. If you received righteousness, church,

receive peace. Receive joy to experience the

kingdom. Because it's only then we're going to

see change in the world. It's in us. It's through

us. This online worship experience was brought

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