War & Peace | Week 5 | Pastor Micah Sutton | Five Lakes Church

Let's get ready to take some notes.

We're in the series, war and peace.

And in the series, we've been talking about spiritual warfare, which is not a phrase that is specifically in scripture, but the content content and context are absolutely there.

Uh, it talks, it's expressing the fight that we are engaged with.

Um, with forces that can't be seen on a physical plane, war is about power.

All war is about power.

Spiritual war is no different.

And Satan tried to assume God's power.

He tried to take God's power and God said, no, it wasn't even a battle.

He just was refused and it was done, but all power comes from God.

So since Satan couldn't get God's power, he's angry at God.

And now he hates God and he is doing all he can to defeat God, but he can't touch God there again, no war with God.

And so he goes after the one that God loves that's you and me, you and I are attached to our heavenly father by faith.

It's by, by it's, uh, we are saved by grace through faith.

Faith becomes the conduit through which grace is poured into our life.

And we live in this salvation that God has allowed us, that God has granted us through Jesus Christ.

And as this thing is this thing called faith, connects us with God Satan.

It was against faith.

Faith is built sustained by the word of God.

We've talked about this over the last many weeks, and I encourage you.

If you haven't been here to hear those sermons, just go back and listen to them.

And so every expression of spiritual warfare is designed to create doubt in the heart of the believer concerning what God has said.

And today I want to get practical about what it means to live in peace while fighting a war.

We're involved in a war that started long before we were born and should the Lord tarry.

It will continue after we are gone.

And we're in the middle of this war.

I've been telling you that we were, we were fighting it.

We, even if we didn't recognize it, now we recognize it.

We're still fighting it.

And there's no way to not fight the battle that we're in, but we are also living in peace and can live in peace during the war.

So how do we live in peace while consistently fighting in this battle?

And here's our big idea today?

Big idea is you live in peace when your mind is focused on spiritual things, over physical things, you live in peace.

When your mind is focused on spiritual, over physical things, we are in a spiritual battle.

The physical reality that we are in often becomes the primary focus of our attention.

We will do things that we know in our spirit is the wrong thing to do, but it makes physical sense.

So we will, we will negate spiritual reality in order to follow the spirit of the physical thing.

The thing that's physically better for us that we say, okay, this, this feels better.

This seems better.

This will be better physically.

So we follow that and knowing that it is not right spiritually, thereby we are focusing on the physical, over the spiritual.

And we do this in many different ways.

We do it in our lifestyles.

We do it in our finances.

We do it in our businesses.

We do it on our life decisions.

We do it with our dating relationships.

We do this in many different areas where we know what is right.

And we do what is wrong because doing what is wrong, seems physically better for us, even though it is spiritually detrimental.

We, we don't live in peace that way.

Most people tried to just cut off the spiritual.

How many times have I had somebody come to me and say, well, pastor, I'm not in church.

I know I haven't been to church in a long time.

I started dating this person and you know, because I was dating them and I was doing what I know God said not to do.

They didn't say these words.

This is what they meant.

I was doing what ought not be doing.

So instead of stop doing what I'm not supposed to be doing and date biblically instead, I just stopped going to church, but I broke up with them.

So now I'm back in church, physical, over spiritual, the, oh, okay.

That's not the topic of my subject today.

But here's the thing.

When it comes to the spiritual warfare, you and I are in the enviable position of fighting from a place of victory.

God has already won.

Jeez, Jesus defeated, death, hell and the grave.

He defeated the enemies of our soul.

On the cross.

We have three enemies that we fight regular, that we are in battle with two of which are absolutely defeated by Jesus all the way from the beginning.

I could take you all the way from the beginning, but death, burial, and resurrection sealed the deal.

The first is the world.

The world has already defeated.

First.

John five tells us that everyone who is saved, who calls upon the name of Jesus as Lord and savior has already overcome the world because Jesus overcame world, that that is a done deal.

Satan is defeated revelation in 20 20 10 says that the devil is thrown into the lake of fire.

Along with his allies, the, the, the beast and the false prophet.

That's already done.

The devil reads the Bible and he knows what's going to happen to him.

And he knows it better than you do.

And I do.

He doesn't have an opportunity for salvation.

He's already defeated.

Now they're defeated, but they're still effective.

Here's third enemy that we have to deal with.

The last enemy is your carnal nature.

Our carnal natures, Romans six, 10 through 11 says when he, Jesus, he died once to break the Pope.

When he died talking about Jesus.

Now he died once to break the power of sin, but now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.

So you should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

He said, you've, you've already, he's already defeated the devil.

He's already defeated the world.

He's already broken the power of sin on your life and mind.

So now we, we should consider ourselves dead to sin.

The beautiful thing about a dead person is that they are not tempted by anything.

They're not they're temptation is done.

So it doesn't matter how beautiful the thing is or how attractive the thing is in one way or another, they cannot be tempted because they've already passed from time to return it to you.

They are dead to that thing.

And what Paul is saying is you and I should be dead to sin.

We should be so dead to sin that when sin, when an opportunity to sin, temptation pops up in our life, we just like, don't even respond.

Don't even react.

It's like, it's not a thing in salvation.

Jesus did that for you and I.

We were dead in sin.

Now he says, consider yourself dead to sin.

You were dead in sin, but he made you alive again through Christ Jesus.

Now he said, consider yourself dead to sin, to where it can affect you.

Sin has no power over you, but it's still attractive to you and to me.

And so he's telling us, make the choice, make the choice to remain dead to sin.

Romans six 12, do not let sin control the way you live.

Do not give in the sinful desires.

The Lord said that with every temptation, he would give us a way of escape.

So that means that if there's a temptation in front of you or me, that God is going to give me a way of escape.

I have a choice whether to take that escape or stay in the place of temptation.

And usually ultimately fall to that temptation.

If I stayed there too long, but he said, you you've got a way to get out.

Do not let sin control you.

Take the escape, do not give in to sinful desires.

It doesn't mean stand there and say, well, I could handle this.

I can handle this.

I can handle this.

I can, until you can't handle it no more.

He said, take the way of escape.

Do not give in.

And that's where the battle is.

That's where the battle is.

In fact, Paul explains it clearly this way in Romans eight, he says those who are dominated by the sinful nature.

Think, everybody say, think, think sinful things.

It's in your head.

It's on your mind because it's in your heart.

He says, but those who are controlled by the spirit.

Thank everybody.

Say, think, think about things that please the spirit it's in your mind, because it's in your heart, the things of the spirit, thinking about the things spirit.

So let your sinful nature control your mind.

Everybody say mind, mind letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death, but letting the spirit control your mind while y'all catch on fast leads to life and peace he's telling us the battle is in our mind, it's where the seat of our decisions, where we say yes to some things and no to other things, every negative thing in one way or another is a lack of faith.

Faith.

That God has enough faith.

That God, that you are enough, that God's created you enough, that he's given you enough, whether it's drinking or drugs or promiscuity or, or, or self-harm, or anger or abuse or, or uncontrolled life in some way, it all comes back down to.

I do not believe that God has is enough and God has made me enough to do what needs to be done.

And so I subsidize what God has done spiritually with carnal or natural things.

The war is not between God and Satan.

That's done.

The war is not even between you and Satan, because God has already defeated Satan.

In many respects.

The war is between you and you.

I do this exercise thing called[inaudible] and I work out with a bunch of guys, faith, fellowship, and fitness almost forgot the third F

And, and it's great

Because these guys get together and we push one another in these areas of life.

And, and

I work out by myself and working out by myself is great.

I love it.

And in some ways I even prefer it.

But the reason I prefer it is because when I get too tired, I can say, cool, that's enough for today.

But whenever I'm working out with other people, when I'm linked up with brothers in Christ, walking forward, exercising together, suddenly when I say I'm done, they're like, come on, man, you can do this.

And I'm like, oh, I liked you before.

But it pushes me beyond where I would naturally go myself.

But they constantly say, it's you against you?

Because at the end of the day, nobody's going to judge you.

If you stop, nobody's going to judge you.

If you pull back in the walk of the spirit, it's you against you, it's you say I'm going to do what the Lord has called me to do, or I'm not.

And it's getting control of your mind.

Satan tries to war after your tries to control your mind, you have to control your mind.

And the question is, will you allow the spirit to control your mind?

That's the choice that you and I get to make.

The Bible has over a thousand references to mind thoughts, understandings.

He said, if you let the spirit control your mind, it leads to life.

That word life there is Zoe or God's kind of life.

And this thing called peace, peace, or serenity prosperity quietness anybody in the world.

You don't even have to raise your hand right now, but just think about it.

Which would you like to have a little bit of peace in your life?

The privilege of speaking to our students on Thursday night and after I, after I did a Q and a with pastor Chris on the stage, and then I did a Q and a, he said, I didn't know he was going to do this, but he said, Hey, if any of you still have questions, we're going to go out and play Olympic games out in the parking lot in the field.

But if you want to stay and ask questions of pastor Micah, why don't you stay right here and from about, well, I don't know how long it was, but about, until about nine 15 at night, I had young people waiting to ask me questions about different things.

High school students, college students, junior high students, and your kids are brilliant.

They're asking great questions, but many of them are asking questions about how do I have peace in certain areas of my life.

It's interesting that their parents may deal with the same question.

How do I have peace?

I have five thoughts.

And I know that that there's doubt in the hearts of men and women right now that I'll get through them.

But I rebuke that spirit in Jesus' name and we're doing some warfare right now.

Thought number one is this respect your position as an heir of salvation, respect your position.

As an heir of salvation, Jesus came and overcome.

He Jesus overcame the world.

And in salvation, we, we inherit the victory that he achieved and how that works on a practical level is this, I know a man who he, his father started and built a great successful company.

And one day when he got a little older, the guy I know, said I want to start work.

And so he started working for the company while his dad started at the same place.

Everybody else starts at the bottom.

And so he got the worst positions.

He got the worst hours, it was a towing truck company.

So they were up at all hours of the night and, and all kinds of stuff.

They had, they, they did a lot of businesses, a very large company, not a small mom and pop type thing.

It ended up being very large.

And so he's doing this, um, he's but he's doing the worst stuff.

He, he lives in the home of the owner and, but he does the grunt labor.

He's there at four o'clock in the morning, uh, you know, cleaning grease off of stuff.

And he's, he's, he's working hard all the time.

And, and he's, he's not getting to do the stuff that he wants to do.

He's having to do the stuff that no one else wants to do all the time.

And he started getting a bad attitude.

In fact, he said, he's telling the story.

He said, I just want him to quit.

I just said, I'll be treated better at somebody else's company, rather than this one, he was angry, but that's changed completely.

When he recognized that he enjoyed something that none of the other employees did out of the hundreds of employees there, he enjoyed the single reality of being the air.

And one day in the middle of all of what he was working on and being angry and frustrated, he realized that at the end of the day, I'm going to inherit this company.

And I w no matter what role I'm filling in that moment, I will suddenly sit in the CEO seat, or I will inherit the wealth that comes from the selling of the company.

Either way.

I am victorious, even as I'm in the middle of some muck and mire.

And I would just encourage you to recognize, yes, you might be in the middle of the muck and mire right now, but you are already victorious.

At the end of the day.

You are the inheritor of salvation.

You are the inheritor of the kingdom of God.

You have a certainty of that victory.

So don't take your inheritance for granted.

The world is tough, but it's not home.

Eventually you're leaving, leaving this place, and you're going to a better future.

You're going to a better home, but I encourage you to know that if you apply what the Lord has given you, if you apply your inheritance today, your inheritance of salvation, your inheritance of the word of God being placed into your life.

Then you're going to find that you have a better existence in this earth and an eternity in heaven.

You're an air and air.

And don't take that for granted.

And air has a job to do.

As a believer, your job is to preach is to baptize it's to teach it's to it's, to disciple it's, to bring people to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

There doesn't just sit around and do nothing.

The air has a job to do, even if you know that your victory is assured back of the day, Mike Tyson was the world's best fighter in boxing.

And many people went into the ring with him, knowing that they would lose, they were going to give it their best, but they were 90% sure they were, they were going to lose, and they still had to get into the ring, Mike Tyson on the other hand, and went into ring with an entirely different perspective.

He went into the ring with the perspective that he was going to win, and he still had to get into the ring.

He could not just declare where I'm going to win anyway.

So I'm checking out.

Y'all have fun up in there.

I'm going to go out here and do whatever else I want to do, because I've already won this battle.

Nope.

He had to get in the ring and fight the battle.

Don't take your inheritance for granted and dig in and do the work of the air.

Romans eight says this.

And since we are his children, we are as heirs.

In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God's glory, but if we are to share his glory, we all must also share his[inaudible].

We must also share.

We must also pay a price in the process.

We must also be willing to fight in the war that Christ has given us.

We must also share in his suffering.

Sharon is suffering.

Here's the reality, ladies and gentlemen, the inheritance is greater far greater than the suffering, right?

So right now you might be cleaning grease off stuff.

You might be in the middle of the muck and the mire and so on.

You might be saying, well, why, if I'm an heir, why am I doing this?

Because we must also share in his suffering, but we win in the end.

And that is an absolute guarantee.

And that brings the thought number two, get some distance being too close to anything, makes it overwhelming.

My hand is not the largest thing in the world.

It's fairly large for a hand, but in comparison to this, building's not very large at all.

But if I do this

Suddenly, everything is my hand.

I can't see anything else, but get a little bit of distance.

I realize really how different this is in comparison to the whole.

Jesus gives us great example all through his life and ministry of separating himself, to communicate with the father.

And if you want peace in your life, separating yourself to get a little bit of distance from a thing and emotional thing, a financial thing, a relational thing, whatever it may be getting a little bit of distance is not a bad thing to do.

In fact, it's a very good thing to do with Jesus was facing the cross.

And I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say that Jesus facing the cross was a difficult, uh, more difficult trial than in trial.

I will ever face.

He didn't deserve it.

It wasn't his to bear and it was going to kill him.

His life would be over and yet he went to that willingly.

And so here, Jesus facing the cross, he he's feeling stressed and he's feeling drawn.

In fact, he took some people, him aside to pray.

And even though they were trusted men in his life, they let him down.

They didn't pray.

Like he asked them to pray that they fell asleep because they were tired.

And in our world today, the fact is even trusted.

People will let you down.

Sometimes it doesn't mean you cancel them.

It means you recognize that they are also human, but the father met him there.

In fact, the book of John tells us an angel minister to him.

It's interesting that are angels ministering to him and, and the father's communing with him.

And yet the, the weight of the cross doesn't go away.

The cost of the sacrifice doesn't abate, that all remains the same, but the renewal of perspective strengthened Jesus.

And he walked through it.

When you're too close today, take a minute, take a beat, a little distance from something can, can result in a much better decision, a much stronger decision in your life.

But notice that when Jesus separated himself, he didn't separate himself to party many times today, when somebody says, I need to get away from a while, I just need to get away for a little bit.

I just need to get a little distance from this.

What they really mean Christian or not.

What they're saying really is I want to separate myself and indulge my carnal appetites.

Um, I'm, I'm gonna, I'm not gonna, I'm going to do, I wouldn't do that at home, but I'm going to go to Cabo and there I'm really gonna have a good time.

I'm gonna go to you, pick your spot and it's it.

We're really gonna let it go there, man.

Wound boy.

And, and what I'm, what I do is is I, in essence, I elevate this physical over the spiritual.

I say, I say, I'm going to get away and separate.

And I do, but it doesn't allow me to grow physically, spiritually.

It actually causes my carnal man to become stronger than my spiritual man.

So I encourage you.

If you're, if you're really tight with something and you need to get a little perspective, then I encourage you.

Go take a walk.

I encourage you to get outside in the sun.

I courage you to go on vacation.

I encourage you to exercise.

I encourage you to take a media break.

My attitude gets distinctly better.

The less I watch the news, you say, well, I need to be informed.

I promise you what's going on.

And you know, some area of the world today, you not knowing about it for another 24 hours is not going to make a difference.

I know you're all that.

And then some, but I'm promise is going to be all right.

I may not be winning friends and influencing people today, but I am telling you the few decisions.

Can't wait 24 to 48 hours.

Very few help somebody else, but don't do it.

Don't take a break and feed your carnal nature.

How about this?

Take them, take a break from media and either listen to nothing or commune with your father.

Spend some time in worship.

How about taking alcohol free vacation?

That's about what I expected to receive on that.

[inaudible]

Very

Few things got better with alcohol.

Okay.

How about take a complaint free

Walk, go walk with your friend.

And there's no complaining on the walk.

Well, what am I going to talk about?

Yeah.

That's the problem.

How about having a negativity free conversation?

Well, I've just got to tell it like it is it probably be, do you and your friend good for you just to keep it to yourself for a while, you might discover that it is a little different than you thought it was.

I'm just suggesting a time when you have fun without feeding your carnal nature.

I think about that.

I, I really encourage you in that today.

Number three, establish a primary voice in your life.

When Jesus faced the cross, the scripture tells us very clearly in Matthew, that that grief and distress became the primary emotions in his life.

When you think about Jesus, you're not thinking grief and distress, but Matthew tells us that grief and distress really dominated him in that moment, but he didn't sin.

Even in grief and distress, he went to connect with the primary voice of his life.

That is his father.

He said, I only do what my father tells me to do for in John chapter five.

He said, I only say what the father tells me to say in John 12, the father was the primary voice in his life.

That, that, that voice has just a little louder than everyone else.

That when that voice speaks, it, it kind of begins to direct your path a little bit more than others who who's the primary voice in your life today.

Many, many w are looking for a voice to tell them exactly what they want to hear.

We have people who doctor shop.

Uh, I want to, I'm going to go to one doctor after another, until I get a doctor that gives me the diagnosis that I'm looking for.

Now, we also have people who voice shop about your television at night, and you're flipping through the channels on the news.

You go to that news station where the voices on that news station agree with your opinion.

This is the most that's voice shopping.

So I want to surround myself with people who agree with my opinion.

I want to surround myself with people who agree with what I'm saying.

My friends, if you tell me what I want to hear, your will still pals.

But if you tell me what I don't want to hear, we're not friends anymore.

That's what cancer culture has done in our world.

But that was happening long before.

Cancel culture.

Who's the primary voice in your world.

Some people revoice refuse any voice at all.

And maybe this is the saddest of them all because the primary voice in their life is their own.

And if you knew all things could do all things and you were perfect in all your ways.

Then that would be fantastic.

But ask anyone who knows you, literally anyone who knows you and you will discover quickly that that is not true.

So who's the primary voice in your life.

Most people in our world today listen to far too many voices where they listened to everything on Twitter, everything on Instagram, everything on YouTube, everything on Facebook, they read every newspaper.

They're getting more and more information.

It's not making them any, any wiser.

It's not allowing them any more freedom.

And they're certainly not in any peace, because as soon as you agree with this person, you disagree with that person.

And there's no peace there.

But if you have a primary voice, then that primary voice begins to speak into your world.

You listening to the father, I pray that the primary voice in your life can always be the father, but most of us need a physical voice as well.

Now you might be saying, well, listen, I know the Bible.

And the Bible says in the, in the counsel of many, there is wisdom.

And I agree with you.

But if you, if you read that proverb, in fact, you read all the Proverbs.

You will find over and over and over that he's telling us repeatedly that the counsel that we're seeking is godly counsel.

So many must be godly voices, one ungodly, counselor, or many ungodly counselors will lead you away from God.

Not to him.

They will not bring peace in your life.

That will bring destruction in your life.

And you might say, well, that's a little bit of a overstatement.

No, at the end of it all, there is a way that seems right to a man, but they end there of

His death.

It's what he says.

So godly counsel at times, my father has been the primary voice in my life.

He's still one of the first calls I make today.

I've had pastors in my life that have, that are the primary voices.

I've got four men that speak into my life regularly.

Today.

Who's the primary voice in your world.

When you establish that and helps you come to a place of peace, thought, number four, establish your vision.

Then stick to it, establish your vision, then stick to it.

And in your world, you may have a plan of action.

But let me, let me say it very clearly.

A vision is greater than a plan.

A plan may have to shift change alter in order to better fit the vision as circumstances change.

But a vision should not be lost or a vision should not be shifted.

If it's a God designed vision for your life, it should not be shifted simply based on circumstances, based on circumstances, Jesus prioritize the vision of the father.

That's why he said not my will, but thine be done.

The vision of the father was for you and I to be saved.

Jesus said they can't be.

I know that they can't be saved unless I go to the cross.

So not my will, but your will be done on prioritizing your vision over my desire.

Right now, he came to the earth as a lamb slain from the foundation of a world.

He knew he knew what the cost was.

He knew the plan before the crisis began and the crisis did not change the vision that he was after.

I referenced a few moments ago, Mike Tyson, Mike Tyson, a great boxer, and many people knew they were going to lose to him before they got into the ring with him.

But they still had to get in the ring.

And Mike Tyson was being interviewed one time.

In fact, I read an article recently about this inner about this, the statement that he made, because he, he was being interviewed about his next opponent, who was going to be a good opponent, who was a good boxer, very skilled.

And so Tyson was being asked, you know, he he's got this plan and he's got that plan.

And he works like this.

And he works like that.

And, and Mike Tyson made the famous statement that everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Yeah.

And when I read the article where he explained that statement, he said, every boxer has got a plan going in, but the reality is I just stay focused on the vision.

I'm going to win this fight.

I don't know how it's going to work.

And I don't know everything that my opponent is going to do.

And I've got some strategy and structure of my own.

But at the end of the day, I'll put all of those things aside for the purpose of winning the fight, you and I know we're going to win the fight.

If we don't quit, whatever happens, you're going to win the fight.

But we often change the vision when things get hard or don't go, like we fought, the plan has to change the timing shifts, the involvement shifts, or we give up a vision all together.

And we say, well, it must not be God's will that, that happens in my life because these things didn't work the way I thought it would.

And how can you live at peace?

If your vision is constantly shifting and changing, he said, well, how can I, how can I be at peace though?

If I don't get what I'm looking for, if I don't get what I want, here's my, here's my statement to you.

A vision that shifts with the circumstance is too small of a vision.

It's too small of a vision.

If you have to live in that house to be happy, have to have that relationship to be happy, have to go to that school, to be happy, have to have that job, have to receive that income, have to live in that location.

If those things are the visions of your life in order to bring happiness and peace to your life, it's too small because all of those things can be to control by other people.

And they could take you down the purpose for your life.

The vision for your life must be greater than that.

Jesus had the priority of saving souls and it was a vision worth giving his very life for it.

Did not lead him into comfort.

It led him to a cross.

What's your vision is your vision to serve Christ is your vision to win souls?

Is that the share of the gospel is that to build the kingdom, you might be saying, well, yeah, that's a great, you know, kind of church, vision and Christian vision, but I've got some real visions in my life.

Okay?

Number one, I could preach a whole sermon about that.

But number two, number two, is it to have a strong marriage?

Is it to build good friendships in your life?

Is it to raise godly children?

Is it to be good stewards of what God brings into your world?

See, all of those visions can be achieved no matter where you live.

If you live in a, in a mud hut, somewhere on the continent of Africa or you live in the greatest palace, the world has ever seen, you can achieve every single one of those visions, the circumstance of your life, whether you had much and then lost it all, or you had nothing in gained at all, regardless of the circumstance of your life, you can achieve those visions because those visions go outside the circumstance.

They're greater than the circumstance, good economy, a bad economy, a good job, a bad job, a big house, a small house.

You can have a good fulfilling, peaceful God honoring life in all of that.

If your vision is established, it's a big enough vision.

A God designed vision will not change based on your circumstance, but it's not easy.

And that brings us thought number five.

And it's only four o'clock I see you checking your watch.

Yeah.

Thought number five, maintain right perspective through worshiping God facing the cross was stressful and Jesus knew he had to do it.

He knew what was the right thing was the necessary thing.

But knowing something's right and necessary does not make it easy.

So it goes to the garden to talk to the father.

He's getting perspective on the situation.

I know what's right, Lord, but help me.

This is probably the most important but least used.

And when you usually think that worship means sitting in this room right here, and, you know, singing the three, the two songs, then doing communion, then think of the third song.

And then Micah yells at us for a little while.

Then we sing the last song and then, and then we go home, but that's not worship.

Worship is making him big in our life.

And we can do that regardless of driving down the street, sitting in this room, in our basement, in our attic, on our roof, in our yard, walking down a trail somewhere, we can do that anywhere.

Worship Jesus is saying, I don't want to do this father, but not my will then be done.

And John again tells us that an angel a minute and ministers to him.

But as the father's communing with him and the angel is ministering to him.

And, and, and so on, the scripture does not ever say that the cross is removed from him.

It never says that suddenly, suddenly there was no, no need for the sacrifice, but he has strengthened to go through the sacrifice.

Jesus stands before pilot.

The only words he says is you have said it.

He goes to the whipping post, these tied there, and they whip him with a cat of nine tails, ripping his, his flesh to the point where, where they can't even hardly recognize who he is.

Then in mockery, they shove a crown of thorns upon his head and blood flows down his face.

Then they take him from there and they, they put a cross upon his shoulder and he begins to walk down the street and people are lined up, mocking him.

And to the point he's so weak that, that he falls down.

And finally, Simon of Cyrene has to take his cross and, and, and carry it the rest of the way with him, the nail, him to a tree.

And they, they, they hang him high.

And then the middle of it, amazing torment.

He's got the kind of perspective that allows him to say, father, forgive them for, they know not what they do in the middle of his own personal hell.

He is.

He is speaking salvation over other people.

I don't know what you're going through right now.

And I don't know what the battle looks like in your life, but I can tell you that hanging up on that cross and agony, there was a sense of peace upon Jesus that allowed him to walk through it.

You can walk through anything.

If you know, it's the right thing to walk through.

We've all been in it at one point or another.

And I could tell you just from my own life,

That when God

We had poured everything we had into the church in Kona, lived in Kona, Hawaii for nine years.

And we planted a great church.

There is still a great church

Today and I'm standing there.

I knew that the holy spirit was talking to me about us transitioning out of Kona, and I'm looking out of the window.

And on my left-hand side, I can see, can see the mountain rising up.

And the sun's coming up over

The mountain.

And I looked down

To my left and there's the Pacific ocean over here.

That's not a bad site.

And I'm knowing we need to leave here for various reasons.

But

Ultimately because the gods that was the will of God for us in that moment.

So I standing there and I'm thinking it's just turmoil in me

Turmoil, because I'm going to have to talk to Christie about this.

And that is not going to be a fun conversation.

And then I'm going to have to talk to the church.

People that I love

And care for our leadership teams first,

But then the church body at large.

And that's going to be a hard conversation

After we've built lives with them.

What, uh, what about if they hate me personal rejection fears and what about my boys?

And they've grown up here and what does this look like?

And

I had no idea how many times I was going to be asked,

Are you stupid?

You left Hawaii to come here.

I am not stupid.

And I'm standing there and all of that's happening.

And I could tell you, ladies and gentlemen, with total honesty and openness, that I was freaked

Out.

I'd been freaked out for several weeks, standing at that door.

That day, tears running down my face.

I said, Lord, I don't know how you're going to do this.

I don't understand

It all.

And I do not know what is next.

I'd had no idea where we were going,

But at the end of the day, not my will, your will be done.

And I began to worship him.

And a peace came into my spirit that I cannot explain.

I can't explain it.

But what I do know is as I worshiped peace came and everything around

Me was turmoil.

It was like, I thought it was going to be, I talked to Christie and that was not a great conversation.

And for six months we kept talking about it.

And then we started talking to our leadership team and that was not a fun conversation.

Then we started talking to the church at large, and that wasn't a fun conversation.

One after another, it rolled out and it was hard.

But from the moment standing there at those doors to the moment standing right here, here's what I know.

It has not always, always been easy, but I have been at peace.

Why was that peace?

Because I knew I was fighting the right battle.

I'm going to encourage you today, whatever you're dealing with, make sure you've answered those

Five things.

The five thoughts, make sure you have, you have your own understanding of those five thoughts.

But at the end of the day, if you're doing what God's called

You to do, let peace

Rise.

Anything that is not a piece is not of God.

And let that peace.

That passes all understanding, guard your heart and mind

Live in it.

Worship till you feel it feed your spirit, not your flesh until that peace comes.

And when that happens,

Whatever the difficult decision is before you you'll make the decision, you might even cry over it, but you'll have peace knowing that it's right.

You might have to have a car hard conversation and you'll know what's right.

They may let you go from your job and you will have peace because you know, something bigger has got you.

Then that job, you might have to let someone go and you know, it's okay, you'll have peace.

It will be hard.

You'll care, but you'll have peace because you know, God's got it.

Would you bow your heads with me right now?

My encouragement to you is, as long as you don't quit, you will win.

Holy spirit.

What are you saying to us in this service right now?

You've given us the ability to walk in peace, even in the middle of a war.

So I pray right now that you give us the courage to step into that.

Give us the courage to, to worship you until you're the biggest thing in our world.

Give us the courage to

Define that primary voice in our lives.

Lord God,

Whoever you've

Placed in our life for that purpose, let us walk in the vision that you've given

Us and stick to the vision, regardless of the circumstance, help us get some, get distance from the situation, not, not to, not to feed our carnal nature, but to allow your spirit to arise within us to get right perspective, and then help us to respect our position as the heir of salvation.

Lord, I thank you for who you are and for what you're doing in this, this room right now.

And from this moment forward, father, we're stepping into peace in the middle of a war.

We'll live in it.

As you give us the wisdom, the strength, the ability to in Jesus' name.

And if that is your prayer today, why don't you just say, Hey man, Hey man, let's stand on our feet.

Prayer partners come forward.

As we close this song, this service in worship.

If you need prayer, if you're dealing with a battle right now and you need somebody to agree

With, come forward, let us pray with you and let's see what God will do today in Jesus.