Don't Lose Heart - Stand Alone

Give God a big clap offering.

He's just worthy of all our praise, all our adoration.

Can we give a big shout out to our Neely campus who's joining us today?

Hello, my dear friend Mike Cantrell.

You'd been a week saved when I laid hands on you in a service and prophesied you were called to the ministry.

I love you.

I love your family, and I love that great Neely campus.

Let's give them one more hand.

Well, you know, I'm I'm a little surprised, like, I had a six-day old message for you.

No notes.

I was gonna talk about the Lord's the Lord of our.

I mean, I was ready.

Scribbling my Bible, everything, Dan.

And I sat down in worship.

Lord said, by the way, you're not preaching on that.

I said, Well, like, what am I preaching on?

You know, last night I was meditating in the Word, and um I've been reading my Bible.

I know I look 22, it's not true I'm 70.

I'll be 72 shortly.

This is my resurrection body.

Just kidding, I don't want to scare you.

Um, so basically, um I've been reading the Bible, I don't know, 64 years.

And my parents were old school.

We didn't have any, my my home was not a democracy.

We read the Bible.

Every time I sinned, disobeyed, which was often, they'd whip me and I'd read the Bible.

If I said something bad with my mouth, they'd whip me, I'd gargle ivy soap, then I'd read the Bible.

They didn't read Dr.

Spock, didn't know about gentle parenting, didn't understand about reasoning with your strong-willed child.

I guess it worked eventually, is all I can say.

But I'm really happy to be here.

Turn your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 4.

I should have known what was happening last night.

God kept turning me to 2 Corinthians 4.

And I mean, I meditated and confessed, don't lose heart all over the Bible.

And so when I got down, the Holy Spirit said to me, I want you to speak on don't lose heart.

I thought to myself, well, you know, you could have told me maybe a bit earlier.

Like, give me some notice.

He goes, Well, you too busy with that burrito in your mouth to hear me.

Okay, so much for that.

All right.

So, Lord, I thank you for people today.

It is so easy to lose heart.

Just is.

In our work, our families, our health.

We're not in that passage, and I reminded of that one passage where you told the story of the unjust judge.

And it said, When you pray, don't lose heart no matter how long it takes.

And it gives us this parable of this unjust judge that, I mean, just never ever would help anyone.

And this widow hounded him, pounded him.

He finally said, I can't get rid of this woman.

I'm gonna answer a case.

And God said, if the faithfulness of a woman to an unjust judge will do that, what about God if you don't quit and lose heart?

I remember praying for my father-in-law 25 years.

I led him to Christ at 81.

Some of you this morning are in prayer situations for a child that's broken your heart.

At least three of you have a disease that's come back.

Two of you just found out about it this week and you're afraid.

Don't lose heart.

Don't stop praying.

One of you thought your business was turning, it flipped.

It's been really tough.

Don't lose heart.

He told us this parable, so we continue to pray and not lose heart.

I I I have things I've been praying about with my wife 47 years.

Like for her brother to be saved.

I won't stop.

Don't lose heart.

So we open this passage in the second.

Therefore, we have this ministry.

Yes, of course, that's pastor, that's being an elder, that's being a small group leader, it's also being a businessman, businesswoman, teacher, parent.

Let me tell you, how many of parents a fairly serious ministry?

So it's being a because you have this ministry by the mercy of God, with every ministry, there is a mercy.

And the mercy corresponds to the ministry.

There's a unique mercy to be a mother, to be a dad, to be a businessman, businesswoman, teacher, whatever you are, whatever you're doing in the church.

You know, the grace and work of God is not just limited to church.

So as you receive this ministry, by the mercy of God, we don't lose heart.

There is a mercy you can tap into no matter what you're facing today.

And many of you are probably kind of almost losing heart, or I wouldn't be giving this message.

There's a mercy you can tap into.

That's why the Bible says in the Book of Lamentations, the mercies of God are new every morning.

That means no matter what I'm going through, no matter what I'm facing, I can tap into the mercy of God.

I can tap into the grace of God.

So that instead of losing heart, we've renounced anything that would cut us off from the flow of God's mercy.

I'm not talking about not being saved, I'm talking about receiving his power.

Any underhanded ways, we're not going to be cunning, we're not going to mess with the word of God.

Then it says this in verse 3.

Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Let me say this to you.

Many of you, how many of you have relatives and people you love you're praying for to be saved?

All of this.

I could raise both my hands.

I got a list, I got one, I've been praying for my aunt.

I mean, she is a radical unbeliever.

She is a hundred and one, still running up and down stairs.

Her goal is to beat my aunt who was driving to 101 and lived to 103.

We pray for her every night, like she's a professional pagan unbeliever.

Now, we feel like, man, so let me stop right here.

There's certain things you're praying, they're just a block.

No matter what, they can't see.

Maybe you have a child who's just broken your heart.

Darkness seems to be consuming them.

Maybe it's your brother, brother.

I mean, his marriage is falling apart and you're bleeding, and no matter what you do, and no matter what you say.

Why?

Because the God of this world blinds people's eyes.

This isn't just a social issue, beloved.

And right now you find interesting as we're an American and we know among Generation Z, God is moving.

The Lord says in Isaiah, I'm gonna drive my sword into the heavenly host, and they're going to roll up like a scroll.

Why?

He's gonna break that which is blinding people.

He's gonna break things.

It's not just natural, it's not just political, it's not just sociological, it's not just circumstantial.

Now listen to his promise all the time.

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ is Lord, with ourselves as your servants, for Jesus' sake.

For God who said, listen to this, let there be light.

How many have read the book of Genesis?

I mean, you know, I do I do I do believe that, yes, everything we know and see was initiated by God.

He said, Let there be light.

Pow! Why is this important?

The same God that said, Let there be light, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.

What is he saying here?

The same God that said, Let there be light in the earth can say, Let there be light to the people you're praying for.

The same God, no matter where they live, no matter how hurt they are, no matter how they're cast down today, no matter how long it's been since you've seen their face, I know what it is to have a child just like break my heart and wander off from Christianity.

But I don't lose heart.

Why is it?

Because the same God, no matter how bound they are, that said, let there be light, can shine light in any human heart.

Beloved, don't lose heart.

Don't lose heart over the people you want to see saved, touched, people and don't lose heart.

Why?

This God's powerful.

I'll just tell you one story.

I was in I was in South Africa and the Communist Party was taking over the country.

They called it the Communistic Party.

And the Holy Spirit said, Well, I want you to go and ask to meet with the heads of the Communist Party.

That was an interesting request, wasn't it?

So I got there, and sure enough, they'd never been asked by a church to meet with them.

So here they come to see me.

And it was one of their biggest leaders.

They came in like green fatigues, big power fists.

It was like a grade B military movie.

They all walked in, and one of their planks is, we are atheists.

I didn't much believe it.

So I got in there and I began to pray, and by the word of knowledge, the Holy Spirit revealed the communist leader's heart problem.

He began to cry like a baby.

I prayed for him to be healed.

I said, How many of you want to?

They all began to scream, Jesus, Jesus, touch me.

So much for their atheism and their communist ways.

What happened?

This powerful God, if he can shine into the heart of committed communists, if he can shine into the heart in that dark moment that had never been reached out to by a church, there's no one his light cannot shine into.

Let me tell you something else.

You have a treasure, verse 7, in a jar of clay.

I know it's hard.

I know what it is to lay dying beyond hope.

I know what it is to have an incurable autoimmune disease.

I don't know what that like.

Here's what I've never forgotten.

Though this clay vessel may be hurting, though I may have trials all around me, I've got the treasure of the Holy Spirit of God living inside of me, and so do you.

No matter what's affecting you, no matter what's hitting you today, no matter how cast down you are today, there is an untouchable treasure.

That is, the Holy Spirit of God lives inside of you, filled with power, filled with wisdom, filled with might.

He says this.

I'm afflicted in every way, but not crushed.

I know it is here, every bad thing in the world.

Holding a dying son, wife's cancer spread to her brain been there.

No matter how afflicted I get, it can't crush me.

You know why?

That Holy Ghost living inside of me is like big springs on a heavy four-wheel truck.

No matter how it hits me, there's a bounce back.

There's something in me that springs up.

That's that Holy Spirit.

I am perplexed, but I won't be driven to despair.

How many of you have ever been in despair?

Raise your hand.

I have.

You've just despaired.

You see, when perplexity comes, it will drive you.

That type of perplexity in your business, in your life, beloved, it'll drive you.

You can determine what it drives you to.

Drive you at will, you can still steer.

I got so many situations I don't have an answer for right now, I can't tell you.

I don't know what to do.

Some of them affect thousands and thousands of lives.

Like, what do I do?

Here's what I do.

I do not let my perplexity drive me to despair.

I let my perplexity drive me to my treasure and I worship and I speak and I confess and I call out to God.

He said this.

I'm persecuted, but not forsaken.

I don't think I've ever really been persecuted compared to people I know that were burned with cattle prods and stoned and all.

We've all had maybe some persecution at work or people don't like us because we're Christians.

I have been struck down, but not destroyed.

You ever been struck down?

I remember preaching one time, my whole arm got paralyzed and I couldn't move it.

I was having a stroke.

Another time I was trying to go to my office door, I collapsed on the floor.

I woke up, my body on fire, burning with hepatitis.

You ever been struck down by bad news?

Struck down by something you have.

You just found out someone you love has been struck with cancer.

I saw it late.

I've had so many of those calls I can't count them now.

But I've never been destroyed.

You know why?

I may be clay.

But there is a powerful, mighty, awesome treasure inside of me.

And I want to teach you here in a moment how to tap into that treasure.

What do you do when you're perplexed?

What do you do when you're struck down?

What do you do when you're inflicted?

What do you do, beloved?

Where everything in you wants to lose heart.

And I have some disheartening news sometimes.

I've got some I'm processing right now.

It just wanted to make me lose heart bad, like I can't believe it hit me really close and personal.

I can't believe this.

That was about ten days ago.

What keeps me from losing heart?

It is not lack of bad news.

I may be filled with the good news, but I deal with all kinds of bad news.

Why?

I mean that thing hit me like a sledgehammer.

Why didn't I lose heart?

Look, watch this.

I always carry in my body the death of Jesus.

The life of Jesus may be manifested in our bodies.

For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal body.

Death may be at work, but life in you.

Here's what I've learned.

The weaker I get, the better he becomes.

In my most perplexing moments, I am forced to depend on him.

His power, his grace, his strength shines out.

In these moments where I just want to break down and weep, break down and cry over some bad report.

I had a terrible report one time.

I started crying, the Lord said, Stop it now.

I said, Well, I'm sad.

He goes, Don't waste your tears.

Don't act like it's not going to get changed.

It is.

See, inside of me, there's a treasure.

When you were born again, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, the triune spirit, God the Father, came to live you.

Jesus says, My dad and I will make our home in you.

Do you realize that?

No one in the Old Testament had it.

No one in the Old Testament, you have the very power of the triune God.

No matter how you're afflicted, no matter what you're going through, no matter what bad news you've just heard.

Well, some of you just heard news and God, I think we're gonna end up divorced.

One of you, you have the thoughts of killing yourself walking in there today.

Make sure you see a pastor afterwards.

And listen to me now, beloved.

What keeps me from just crumbling?

What keeps me from like just I can't take anymore?

Like I can't face this anymore.

I just want to give up.

It's because there's this treasure of the Godhead bodily dwelleth in me.

I have the triune God living in me, the Holy Spirit, the wisdom of God, the power of God lives in me.

How?

When you want to lose heart.

You see, in your mind, beloved, like we all have a limitation on God.

You realize that, right?

We all, based on our experience, feel like, well, I know God can get this, but we get to a certain place, we want to quit.

Like it can't be.

It's longer than I thought, more complex than I thought, more costly than I thought.

I love that story where the temple ruler had, you know, lost, his little girl was really sick.

He knew if Jesus can just get to her alive, she'll be fine.

He ran, come see her, come see her.

He had faith for a healing.

She said, I'm on the way, but some old woman with an issue of blood got his attention.

God was going, Oh no, not that old woman.

She's been here.

Took a long while and got healed, and a guy ran up and said, Hey, don't bother the teacher anymore.

She's dead.

You realize, might as well not bother God, it hadn't happened.

Might as well not bother God, but job's not gonna change.

Let me tell you something, I'll bother God till it's buried or I'm dead.

I'm gonna bother God.

Now watch this.

Since, I'm in verse 13 now in this well-organized thought out with slides message.

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what's been written, I live my life by what's written in this book, no matter what I see, no matter what I feel.

My faith is this what this book says, I believe.

Now, since I have the same spirit of faith according to what's written in the Bible, I believe, and so I speak.

We also believe, and so we speak.

Beloved, I don't just believe, I speak.

May I tell you, the battle's not in your mind, it's in your mouth.

It's one thing to have thoughts of what God's gonna do.

Hold on the matter and say, it just ain't gonna happen.

He's failed me.

Pastor Dan and I were talking yesterday about the power of confessing the word.

And before I before this morning, I was just confessing the word.

I should have known I was gonna preach it.

I will not lose heart.

And I said, I mentioned seven situations.

I'll not lose heart over this, I'll not lose heart over that, I'll not lose heart over her, over him, over this situation.

Let me tell you now, whatever you're losing heart over today, go home and speak with God.

He says, I'm afraid.

God says, fear not, I'm with you.

I'm anxious.

God says, don't be anxious.

There's a piece that'll touch you.

Maybe like I'm in unbelief.

God says, faith is the evidence that things not that you may not see, but it's coming.

And as you unleash that powerful, living word, it will slash through unbelief.

It'll take your heart and lift it.

Now, watch this.

What gives me ability to faith this?

Because I know something.

I know that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise me up with him.

I know the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me.

Just lives in me.

I knew when my apostate doctor was real, real cheery, and he says, Well, I've tested you and I'll see you next week.

I knew he thought I had prostate cancer.

I could tell.

He's a young guy, didn't know the Lord.

I'd already almost died before.

So I went about my business and and I one night I laid.

I go, what if I got a prostate cancer?

I don't know.

I just felt like God's got this.

Didn't bother my friends all got mad, I didn't tell him.

So I came in to see him next week.

He goes, He goes, I got such good news for you.

I go, what, Doc?

He said, You don't have prostate cancer.

I said, I know.

He goes, Man, you're supposed to be like sad, thankful, grateful.

I said, Well, I am grateful.

But I knew what you thought.

And I got this peace that lives in me, Doc.

So I got this peace you can't catch.

Because the same spirit that raised my Jesus from the dead lives inside of me.

And with the Holy Spirit, there's all the that's why I'm peaceful when I face anxiety.

That's why I'm joyful.

That's why when I'm in a horrifying circumstance, I've got a flooring called the joy of the Lord that keeps me from despair.

I've got this flooring called the peace of God.

I've got that.

That's yours.

But you've got to confess that word.

Speak that word.

Speak what God is saying.

Man, I love that.

Now, so we don't lose heart.

Now watch this.

Paul said, I started out by saying, don't lose heart.

I said, don't lose heart.

Same God that brought light to there can bring light to any situation.

No matter what you're going through, the same power that's in Christ came to live in you.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, they're in you.

You won't be crushed, but you've got to tie into it.

How do you tie into it?

By speaking that living word, not just reading it.

Every morning I speak the word.

Every night I speak the word.

That's Daniel who'll tell you why.

Because when I speak the word, it comes out of the sheath, and I'm slashing my unbelief.

He says, now, don't lose heart, and he's going to give you a few other things.

Don't lose heart though your outer self is wasting away.

Let me let's let's let me let me take a look farther.

Don't lose heart though your outer world seems to be wasting away.

Though someone in your family seems to be.

Don't lose heart.

Wasting away.

One of my dear friends just found that his cancer is metastasized, it's back.

One of my dearest friends, I had it the first time.

I knew it was going away, and the Holy Spirit whispered to me, it will be back.

But I'll kill it the second time.

I looked at him and I said, Don't lose heart.

Don't lose heart.

Feel like you're wasting away.

Your business wasting.

Why?

Because even when I seem like I'm wasting away, that treasure in me is renewing me, strengthening me.

My inner man, my inner woman, that treasure, that treasure.

In my weakest moment, I have got an overdrive like you can't imagine.

I got gym drive and I got God drive.

And when gym drive can't get me out of the dish, I just downshift to God drive.

You've got the strength of God, the strength.

Listen, I you're out of strength, it's about time.

You just you've never had enough strength, you just finally realized it.

I'm out of strength, what do I do?

It's about time.

His strength's made perfect in your weakness.

It's just reality.

Now watch this.

I love it.

For this light and momentary affliction, how many of you feel like some of your afflictions, God's definition of light and yours are two different things?

Wave at me.

It's light and it's been years and ain't too momentary.

Now, if God tells me it's light, that scares me.

I'll tell you what is even worse.

I'll do this soon.

I go, really?

Soon?

You were coming back 2,000 years ago and called that soon, too.

One of my friends said he was 22.

He goes, Man, God just told me I'll be married soon.

I go, uh-oh.

He goes, that's good news.

At 39, he married.

He said, I told you.

Thank God it wasn't 49.

Now, but what you're going through is preparing you for something.

Like, there's an end game, beloved, to this pain.

There's an end game to this hurt.

This light and momentary affliction is preparing me for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

You know what's so neat?

Through Christ, we don't just get to go to heaven.

Through Christ.

We taste heaven down here.

That's what's so powerful.

Like one of my dear friends, 30-year-old son, just dropped dead.

In Houston, Texas, in the Papacitos, eating fajitas.

I guess if you're gonna go thank God for fajitas is the way I look at it, you're going with a good meal.

His dad just called me crying.

They're trying to revive my son.

Like trying to revive my son, Jim.

I mean, I'm the last living son.

My parents buried three.

You know, I begin to pray, I begin to cry out.

You know, God will give you visions sometimes.

I saw him begin to go up to heaven.

I reached out to grab his father.

I tried to pull him back down.

Don't leave your dad, don't leave your dad, don't leave your dad.

But he went.

That's so hard.

The difference is we don't sorrow like those who have no hope.

I looked up and saw him in heaven, just smiling.

Now watch this.

I can taste heaven now.

It's joy.

It's life, it's peace.

I know it's hard down here.

Even if you've got a great income, that cushions it a bit.

But life's hard.

It's not easy.

But here's the thing.

Here's I'm going to close down with this perspective now.

For as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.

I don't deny what I see, but I don't live by what I see.

I live by what he says.

And here's why I do.

For the things you see are transient.

You're going to live for eternity, one way or the other, in heaven or hell, depending how you respond to Christ.

It's transient.

My worst trials are going to go away in a blink.

I don't live for the transient.

I live for the eternal.

I long to make eternal impact.

My dad was a great man of God.

I was a young teenager.

Look at me and goes, Boy, let me tell you something.

I said, Yes, dad.

He's an old southern blood feuder, got saved, thank God.

Still packed, but that's okay.

And he goes, Boy, said, I know you think growing up's hard.

That's a joke.

Wait till you grow old.

Take it from me, it's probably true.

Okay, now, but I don't live in transient.

I know America's politically very divided right now.

There's a lot of things to be concerned about in the world and in the country.

And I pray over maps and speak to leaders and do all kinds of things.

But because I know it's transient, I don't let it determine my emotions.

My emotions are not determined by what's transient.

They're determined by what's eternal.

It lives in you.

It lives in me.

Let me summarize this well-prepared message.

I didn't have about 30 seconds to prepare it down there.

It's so easy to lose heart.

It is.

I've lost heart before.

Let me explain to you why the spiritual disciplines are so important.

And why setting aside a certain time to seek God.

I'm an empty nester now, so I have four times to seek God.

You better have at least one morning, and I recommend a bedtime shot.

A lot of you are favored to look at your phone every night, have a snack every night.

I do believe in snacking.

I know you can't tell by looking.

I believe in a nightly snack, morning snack, afternoon snack, mid-morning snack, mid-afternoon snack.

Don't you agree, Brother Daniel?

Now.

Here's why a regulated time is.

Because if you develop a discipline that becomes reflex, even when you lose heart, you'll still do it.

You'll still do it.

And when you have a regulated discipline, you don't have as long to keep losing heart because you're going to fight it.

How many of you say, the enemy's been trying to make me lose heart?

I need prayer.

Wave at me.

All over the church, wave so I can see you.

Okay, there you are.

All right, stand to your feet right now.

I'm going to pray for you.

If you've been fighting not to lose heart, stand to your feet.

Dang, I'm feeling better about myself.

Now I ain't all alone.

Those of you who aren't losing heart this week, thank God.

If you lost heart last week, you stand up too.

Don't trick us now.

Okay.

Okay, there's almost no one left now.

That's bad.

If you think you're gonna lose heart next week, better stand up too.

We'll get you okay.

Now we got everybody now.

Dan or Pastor Dan, are you coming up here with me?

Pastor Andrew's coming up here with me.

Come here, Pastor Andrew.

Out loud.

Lord Jesus, by your mercy, I will not lose heart.

There is a treasure in me.

It's uninfected by my circumstances.

Even if I'm perplexed, struck down, afflicted, persecuted.

The life of God is in me.

And today I draw from the life of your spirit.

Today I confess I'm a new creation.

Today I confess the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in me.

Today I confess I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.

Today I confess nothing is impossible for those who believe.

Today I confess that you tell me, don't be afraid.

Let me pray.

I thank you for this great congregation, Lord.

You precious people.

Take a deep breath and raise your hands one more second.

Lord, let him live out of that treasure.

I pray your spirit touch him.

I pray your spirit help him.

I thank you for him.

Take a deep breath.

Just breathe in that power of the Holy Ghost.

For those of you with physical needs in your body, wave at me right now.

If you see someone with their hand waving around, reach your hand out toward them.

Holy Spirit, we lose healing for physical bodies.

We lose healing for that back that's just chronically messed up.

That eye they're losing vision in right now.

That inflamed throat.

Their tonsils have been removed, but it's still inflaming.

Come.

Come by your spirit.

Family members, Lord, children, brothers, sister spouse.

You just can't reach them right now.

Remember, the same God that said, Let there be light.

I call down light into those we're praying for, light into our children, light into friends, light into business associates, lights into spouses, light into parents.

I thank you, Lord.

Amen.