Redirect & Reflect | Jason Martin

You're listening to a message to go from axt church.

We hope this message will light up your tea.

I've been speaking in Clang. There was a couple of messages.

It was just about stuff that I'm going through. Okay,

stuff that I'm going through. Y'all may not be going

through it. Okay, maybe not relevant, Okay, but it's anxiety.

It's anxiety. Or how it even started was I've been

going through I think a month back or something. I

was going through a phase where I just felt like,

or lack of better word, yuck. Have you felt like

that before? Like you don't know what's wrong, But it's

just like, man, I'm like frustrated things are not going

my way. I'm like I need to get out of

this rut, you know. And then I was like, Hey,

this is not the way to be feeling. How do

I get out of this? And then of course, first

of all, I asked why am I feeling this way?

Because if you do not understand why we are feeling

that way, then we cannot address it and then we

cannot get out of it. Right. So when I thought

about it, and I realized that it was because I

was going through different seasons in my life, I had

no control of the outcome. Okay, things at work, things

at home. I can only do so much. But the

rest it's up to God to take control, you know.

So I had no control, and because of that, that

cost anxiety, you know. But most of us you say, hey,

are you an anxious person? No, I'm not anxious person.

But we it will somehow manifest in our life on

whether we know it or not, you know, and we

have to take stock of it. Because once I identified it,

then when I realized that, hey, okay, then I know

the route. I can know how to tackle it. So

one of the first smons that I was speeching was

about Daniel. So Daniel was a marketplace guy in the Bible.

He faced mission impossible. So he's one of his He

faced multiple mission impossible. Right, So I was thinking, hey,

that's a good place to start, right, because I'm facing

mission impossible at work, at home and stuff like. So

Daniel good place start. And when I started reading, I'm like, man,

I got nothing to complain because his mission impossible was impossible.

When King nebuok Nasa had a dream, you had to

tell King Nebu what his dream was. And then what

does the meaning of it? You know, if not, you

will be killed. So I was like, wow, would you

be ancient in that situation? Would you be how would

you feel in that situation? No? But fast forward, we

know that God appeared to Daniel because Daniel was faithful.

Daniel went to him and God revealed and because of that,

Daniel was able to answer the king and he was

then promoted and rewarded. So there was the first part.

So that message maybe one day I'll share it. That okay,

But there's not a message. So subsequently I was like, okay, wow, Daniel,

quite a good I mean, go to God and God

w solve your problems. Kept on thinking there has to

be what should I go to God for to fix

my anxiety? No, how come Daniel was not feeling anxiety?

Maybe he was. The Bible didn't say maybe he was,

Maybe he wasn't. So that's where I wanted to start today.

So the first slide, I think very familiar verse. We

have read about it multiple times and we're quite familiar

with it. If you've been in church, don't worry about anything. Instead,

pray about everything, tell God what you need, thank him

for what he has done. Then you will experience God's peace,

which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will God

your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

How many of you we all have read this verse before. Okay,

So when I read this verse, right, I was like

a lot of times when I read the Bible. I'll

be like, the Bible is quite funny in a way.

When you are scared, they say fear not. I'm like, dude,

that's not helping. I'm scared. You tell me fear not?

Is it? I'm anxious? Don't be anxious. You know, it's

like how or how do I do this? You know?

So don't be anxious. Instead, pray about everything and tell

God what you need and thank Him for all. Yes done? So,

like okay, fine, right, but when you're anxious, is it

easy to pray? Is it easy to pray? For me?

It isn't not, because right I start praying, then my

mind will go back to the thing that is causing

me anxiety. And for some people, great you are able

to tune in to God and when you pray and

then God lifts your anxiety. Or for me, right, it

was very difficult to pray. It takes effort. It doesn't

come by chancelle. It takes effort. So praying is one thing, right.

The second part is you have to give thanksgiving. Is

it easy to be grateful when you're anxious? So it's like, okay,

I will force myself thank God for this, Thank God,

You're a good God, and stuff like that, you know,

and it kept on. I mean, I did what this

verse said when I say, okay, God, But there must

be a way that I can pray, or there must

be a way that enables me to give thanks easily.

So I started studying even further, okay, into that, and

so today it will be addressing before before I go

into the title, right, it's addressing anxiety. But do you

all know what is anxiety? What is anxiety? Worry? Stress? Okay,

next light, this is a anxiety. I'm sure you all

didn't expect that this is anxiety. How many of you

all have watched this show Inside Out too? I think

it's a brilliant movie. It's I tell you, a brilliant

movie where they take complex theories and they make it

so simple that even kids can understand. But when you

watch it, if you haven't watched it, I encourage you

to go watch it because it will help you discover

your emotions, why you're feeling such ways, and help you

then maneuver your way. So this is anxiety. So the

first inside out right, anxiety wasn't there. So the I

give you all a bit. It's a bit of a spoiler. Okay,

it's a bit of a spoiler. So inside Out is

about this girl called Riley. Right, So Riley, the first

inside out was when she was a kid. So when

she has a kid, you only got four emotions, happy, sadness, anger,

and what's the last one? Uh? Hey, was it fear

or disgussa no? Discuss was? Yeah? I think there was

only four emotions, right, And then when she grew up

to become a teenager, suddenly anxiety came in. Anxiety came in.

And then when anxiety introduced itself to the rest of

the emotions, you know, how did she introduce She said

that I'm here to protect Riley from dangers she can't see.

And that's what anxiety is, you know, it is anxiety

in itself. It's not bad. It is an emotion. Emotions

are not good or bad. They are just emotions. It's

whether we allow emotions to control us then and it

becomes into the driving seat. That's when we have a problem. Okay,

So I wanted to give us a definition of anxiety.

So anxiety is an emotion caused by the brain's reactions

to situations, not the situations themselves. Okay, reactions to situations.

That means something is about to happen. Your brain is triggered,

but you're not in the situation yet. You know it's

about maybe about to happen or something you fear, You worry,

you're concerned, and that's what triggers anxiety. So if you

don't have anxiety, it's also a problem because you'll be

a tiger coming up to you. You'll be like, chill man, No,

I'm not. I don't anxiety. You know, it casts all

my anxiety. We you know, it's it's it's not that

anxiety is. It's when anxiety is in the driving seat,

that's when it's a problem. Okay. So I wanted to Yeah. So,

and most of us, or some of us, are wired

this way. Some of y'all are really positive people, and

so you don't have a you always look at a

positive side of things. But for me, sometimes I'm I

will always look at what if, what if? And my

mind sometimes works like this next light. Okay, some people,

y'all are like the heart. You always can see the good,

you know. But for me, sometimes I will look at

the bad and I will take a magnifying glass and

blow it up. I'll blow it up like bigger. And

you know that one bad thing can outweigh all the

good things, you know. That's why the Bible says be

anxious for nothing, but in all things, pray and give thanks.

When you give thanks, you are magnifying God's goodness in

your life instead of magnifying the problem. So that is

how sometimes our minds are wired. But we need to

rewire them. Okay, we need to rewire and if not right,

you know what will happen when we focus on them

when we magnify the problem. Do you think we are

able to solve it? Because sometimes it's like, Okay, I

have a problem. I will just keep on thinking about it.

I'll magnify it until I find a solution. So what

happens next night? You roominate and you catastrophice. So I

know it's a lot of big words for after after

large service, but funnily room ironically ruminate you know the

way the word ruminate comes from from a cow? So

how many stomachs there's a cow? Have four? All right? Awesome?

So you know your biology right. So when a cow

eats grass, it swallows it. It goes into stomach one okay,

and then he regurgitates, comes out to the mouth, choose

it again, goes into stomach too, and then after a

while he read gurgitates again. You again go into stomach tree.

Same it goes to the stomach for So that's why

when you look at a cow, right, they're walking around now,

they're always chewing. You're like, why did cowgo chewing gum

or what? It's like? You know, But what the cow

is doing is ruminating on the grass. You are trying

to extract as much nutrients from the grass as possible.

When you ruminate on the negative, what are you doing?

You're trying to extract as much negativity as possible from

that worry. It is not helping you. It will cause

your blood pressure to go up, it will cause your stress

levels to go up, will cause your hat to drop.

You will cause everything adverse adverse effect, and then finally

you will get testrofice. You know what a catastrifices. Okay,

how many of y'all, y'all had an ache of pain

in your body and you google? Okay, when you google, okay,

majority of the time it catastrophiced. Right, You're like straight

away like, oh, I have to write my wheel now,

I won't be tomorrow, I won't be around really, you know,

and stuff like that, because that's what happens when we

ruminate on the negative, and we focus on the negative,

and we keep on causing that to feed us our

outlook will be on worst case possible. We're always living

on the worst case possible, and that's how we get tastrophiced. Okay,

So that was why I was feeling yuck in a nutshell,

that was why I was feeling youck, because hey, I

keep on ruminating on things that were negative subconsciously. It's

always happening day after day after day. And although that

day nothing happened to me, but because I kept on

ruminating from things from past, I've kept on feeling feeling

worse and worse. And that is not how we were

called to live. We are called to live as overcomers, right,

we shouldn't be living under the situation, but we should

be living over and beyond because Christ is with us man.

So the title for today's summon, okay, is this next,

we have to redirect and we have to reflect. When

we ruminate, when we catastrophize, when we focus on the negative,

when our eyes are only looking at the negative, that's

where we are focusing on. But the Word of God

says that we need to redirect our thoughts and reflect act. Okay,

So the key text for today next is this. So

this time was Philippians for six to seven. I'll tell

you right, Philippians four. There is so much of nuggets

of truth there, and a lot of times even myself

included when I read the verses from Philippians. You read

all these verses, I will always take it as piecemeal.

I'll just take it. Wow, this worse. I proclaimed this

verse and that's about it, and then stally, I proclaim

another verse from Philippians for you know, but when I

read it together, it's all connected. So this is verse eight.

You've finished reading six and seven. Six and seven is

be anxious for nothing, but in all things, by prayer

and supplication, make your requests known to God. Right, So

verse eight, he says, and now, dear brothers and sisters,

one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true

and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable.

Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Keep putting into practice all you have learned and received

from me, everything you heard from me and saw me doing.

Then the God of Peace will be with you. Okay,

so you can see. First all tells us be anxious

for nothing, tells us to pray and give thanks. And

then he says, you have to fix your thoughts on

what is true. It is connected, it is connected. You

cannot give thanks if you're focusing on the negative. So

he says, to fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable,

right and pure, lovely and admirable. Okay, So there will

be three points. So the first point is this, we

need to focus. Okay, it's like your camera, your camera,

or if those of us who are above forty we

have our eyes now have to focus like now I'm

like uh, or you see right? All these it's like

severe case of like having to focus. But but there's

the thing. We have to focus because you focus right

takes effort. You have to concentrate, you have to zoom in.

It doesn't happen by chance. One you know, when if

you went to the optometrice recently, you know they will

I don't have a hot air balloon at the end,

they will asked you to try and focus until you

see that hot air balloon as clear as possible. It

takes effort on you know, it will take effort. So focus.

We have to give attention effort to put one particular

subject or situation or person at the center instead of another.

So if we are focusing on the negative, we cannot

be focusing on God because we are like one track.

That's why they say don't use your phone and drive,

you know, I mean, although I was caught also doing that,

But there is a reason for it, because one thing

will get more of your focus than another. And ultimately,

if we focus on the negative, and we say that's

why for me, it was difficult to when I was

going through a difficult situation, the verse just said pray

and give thanks, But I didn't change my focus. I

had to first fix my thoughts on what is true.

So focus. I was mentioned right to give attention effort

to one particular subject, situation, or person rather than another

right and next slide, So one Peter five was eight

be alert and of sober mind your enemy. The devil

prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

The moment you lose focus is when you can be distracted.

And when you are distracted, the devil is waiting to pounds.

He will sow seeds of doubt, so seeds of fear.

Because we have moved our focus from the truth to

what if. And when we focus on what if, suddenly

a problem becomes bigger than God. And most of the

time when we are thinking about the problem, right, we

are not thinking about God. Have you realized it? Yay?

So we have to be aware of that next life.

Second Corinthians ten. We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every

exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the

true knowledge of God. And we are taking every thought

and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ. So thoughts

need to be taken captive. It needs to be taken captive.

It means you have to be responsible for your thoughts.

Have you seen your thought snowball right? All the time?

All the time? You will snowball. Suddenly it's the end

of the world, you know, But that's how it is,

Like why do some kids commit suicide when they fail

an exam? Because for them that is the worst case scenario.

And that thought then says that I'm useless on my

parents will love me or whatever it is, I will

never amount to anything. And ultimate the comments was like,

but if you took captive and say that, hey, I fail,

it's like, all right, I fail? What do I need

to do to get pick myself up and move on?

There is always a choice in our thoughts. We have

to always choose our thoughts, and then our life always

follows the direction of our thoughts. If you have positive thoughts,

you'll be hating in the direction which God wants you

do it. If you have negative thoughts and then you

keep on asking that, hey, how come I how come

my life always this? Whoe is me? I'll just sit

down here and eat worms, you know, But you keep

on thinking stuff like that, you know. So we have

to fix our eyes, fix our mind or what is true?

Next life? Focus on the truth? What are the facts?

What is what is fake? What are the facts? And

what is fake? Because things that have not happened are

not facts, but most of the time we look at

them as facts. And it's not wrong to plan. It's

not wrong to plan. I'm not saying don't plan. I'm

a I will plan or so. And I'm also catastrophizing

because I'm telling you I'm sharing all this because this

is what I'm going through. So if it applies to you,

then great. If you are a positive, if all of

you all here are positive, always focusing in your eyes,

your thoughts are the true, then it's a reminder. Okay,

But but this is my journey, so I have to

focus my eyes on the truth, you know. Like, for example,

when I was going through a stuff at work, right, yeah,

I'm like, oh, man, I think you know, what's the

worst can happen? You know, I'm sidelined or people don't

appreciate what I'm doing or stuff like that. You know,

I do it so much of things. But then now

because there's a new boss, there's a change of direction.

You know, things are beyond my control, you know, and

then my thoughts starts spiraling. But the fact is, what

is the fact. I'm in my job and I shed

a testimony that God gave me this job. That is

the fact, that fact that's not changed, and it means

that God wants me here, you know. Sometimes right the facts,

we want new facts. But our facts are our testimonies

that has been there. That's why it is always good

for us to keep track of our testimonies. Do we

keep track of our testimonies? You know? It's like, I'm

not a journaling person. La, Okay, how many are y'all

love to journal? All right? I remember last time when

Exchange was like big into journaling. I'm like, I don't

know what to write, La, what to write? You know,

and stuff like that. But then I knew the heart

behind journaling is to keep track, is to remember of

God's goodness, as to remember that, hey, God, you have

brought me through the seasons. So what I've done if

y'all don't like generaling, A simple hack that I did

was I every time I get a testimony, I will

open my notepad. I'll just put down a date and

I'll just put down, oh, this happened to me, So

it's under my testimony tab. So it's like three words forwards.

That's all is needed. One And when I read it back,

all the memories come back. Then, so I don't need

word by word what happened, you know, but that helps me.

And when I look back now I have testimonies all

the way back from twenty fifteen, which I have never

you asked me to recall what happened now, I don't.

But when I look back, I'm like, oh, thank God,

praise God for this, you know. And this is because

sometimes we forget the facts. We forget what God has

done in our lives. We forget that we have gone

through the value of the shadow of death, and the

Lord was our shepherd then and he will be our

shape but tomorrow. But instead we focus on what is fake,

and we focus on what is fake. That's when you

listen to the news, or you go for lunch with

your colleagues, and what I was you all discussed during

lunchtime suddenly becomes facts. I have encountered these few times,

you know, because I was talking to one of my colleagues,

so so he was supposed to be one of my

new project leads. So I was talking. He said he

want to go lunch with me because he just took

over the project. So I'm reporting to him. So I said,

you want to go for lunches to catch up. So

when I went to college, uh met up with him.

Right before I met up with him, when when he

was supposed to take care take up the project, right,

all my colleagues and other friends and all that, allan

should dive. And you know, because this guy, he's a

lot of politics. You know, he would like the backstep,

you know, those kinds of things. So I was like, okay,

I mean for me, it's like I will just go

and work on you. It's just just do what I

need to do. When I sat down and I had

lunch with him, right, he actually said right, because he

wanted to catch up on work and stuff like Jason,

actually right, I have no problem with you at all.

It's like, oh okay, good. I'm like, why how do

you read the experts say good? Yeah, no problem. You

know your work is good, ideas are good. Everything good.

But you know, before I work with you, people were

saying different things. So what was saying as fairt fake

became facts. And the same thing applied with me to

him as well, because I told him the same thing.

I mean I didn't. I don't want to tell him

the exact same thing. Not very wise. Your exercise wisdom.

But I just say that honestly, it's great working with you.

I feel you give clear direction and you are able

to champion for us. So what both of us took

as facts will actually fake. It was hearsay planted by

different people around us, and then we took it as facts.

And that cost unnecessary anxiety, you see, it costs unnecessary anxiety.

But when we focus on the facts, then God will

deliver us no matter what. You see, the fact was

Daniel was a prisoner of war. The fact was he

was in one of the most evil empire at that time, right,

But the fact is he was still God. For Daniel,

the fact to him was he is still God. That's

no matter what, whether I'm a prisoner or a prince,

whether I'm in prison or the palace, God is still God.

And because of that, he overcame the impossible. So don't

allow our situations to form our facts. Our facts come

from the word of God. Don't let the circumstances or

the situations that we have taint our truth. Right next,

like Jesus said to the people who believed in him,

you are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to

my teachings, and you will know the truth, and the

truth will set you free. When you know the truth,

the truth will set you free. You see, when I

knew the truth that God has placed me in this

company no matter what, that truth set me free. It

doesn't matter who my boss is. The same way as Daniel.

It doesn't matter whether he was a prisoner or he

was a prince. The truth will set you free and

will allow you God to use you for his glory. Right, Okay, next,

So first one was focused on the truth, right and focus.

The next one is focused on what is honorable, right,

and pure. So the truth we know is the word

of God. Honorable, right, and pure are all characteristics of God. Right,

it's characteristics of God. And when we focus on God,

we will do what is honorable. So the truth is

maybe by law he is wrong, But what's the honorable

thing to do? Somebody has wronged you? Okay, for example,

that is the truth. Somebody wrong me. What's the honorable

thing to do? What is the right thing to do?

What is the pure thing to do? You know? Sometimes right,

we take the truth and use the truth to whack people.

And you use the truth to whack people, but you

see God was honorable, He's a true God, that he's honorable,

right and pure right. And when we do that, right

we God. Well, God's characteristics will shape the way we think. Okay,

So the verse Psalm one hundred and thirty nine, search me,

O God, and know my heart, Test me and know

my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life. When

I read this versa, I was like, Wow, anxious thoughts

are actually offending to God? Are actually offensive to God.

You realize that when we are anxious, it means that God,

you are not enough. I need to take matters into

my own hands, and I don't have control, and that's

why I have anxiety. That's why this verse search me,

Oh God, and know my heart, test me, and know

my anxious thoughts. And when we do that, when we

see God, who is honorable, right and pure, and He

reveals and says that, hey, anxiety, you are having anxiety.

That's why he did to me, because I was like,

why am I feeling this way? But God said, reveal it,

You're having anxiousness. And then for me, right, I masked

anxiety or anxiousness as critical thinking. How many of your life?

I think I used to take pride like I'm a

critical thinker. No, I'm a critical thinker. I can see

for see what what needs to do, what might go wrong,

what could go wrong, and stuff like that. You know,

how do we respond react? And stuff like that? Again

is not wrong. But if then if that is our

source of truth, if our critical thinking is our source

of truth instead of the word of God is our

source of truth, that is what will lead to anxiety.

Because when I say, oh, I'm a good critical thinker,

I'm like, okay, so I don't have to refer to this,

you know. I was like, I will just ruminate in

my mind, ruminate into my mind. But once I reach

a day end, then I will get that strificed, like

woe is me that? But then when we have anxiety, say, God,

search me and know my heart, reveal what is it

that is offensive? Are we putting our trust in God? No?

And only then he will lead us along the path

of everlasting life. Anxiety always leads to death. Your anxiety

leads to life, and not because you're like all these

worst case scenario know, it's like very negatively, You're like, uh,

was there, but what we want is peace. What we

want is peace. We know that God is in control.

His plans are yes and amen, and I will stand

on his truth right. And finally, the last one focused

on what is lovely and admirable? So our thoughts are

they building us up or tearing us down? Are they

building other people up or tearing other people down? Because

when we are anxious, right, we are usually in fight

or flight. Moon, you will try to protect yourself at

all costs, and when you do that, everyone else is

collateral damage. But when we focus on the truth, focus

on what is honorable, right, just pure, lovely and admirable,

we are looking We are treating people the way God

wants us to treat people. Love God and love men.

It's very easy to love people when times are good.

I'm not sure about you, but when you're anxious, especially

people closest to you, how often do you snap at them? Like? Hey,

what are you thinking about? Nothing? Don't listen to me?

You know everything? Okay, okay, you know? How are you

feeling good? It's like you feel I mean, is that

lovely and admirable? Lovely and admirable is benchmark by other people?

If other people evaluate your actions. Are your actions lovely

and admirable because that is how you are treating them,

all right? And the worse is thanks. So don't use

abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful,

so your words will be an encouragement to those who

hear them. When you are anxious, it is very difficult

to be encouraging. Right next verse, May God give you

more and more grace and peace as you grow in

your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. So when

you have more and more grace and peace, your anxiety

goes down. When your anxiety goes down, your gods are down.

That's when you will open. You won't put up walls

against people. You will be peaceable right towards other people.

And even as I draw to as a close right now,

When I was preparing this message to share in ex clang,

I think it was somewhere last month. So I was

preparing this message on to share on Sunday. Then on Saturday, right,

I felt God was testing me somehow, So tell you

a story. So it was a Saturday, so went out

with uh, yeah, So my wife is Jessica different Jessica

of course, and my two kids, so we went to

Sunday Pyramid and check out the new wing. You know,

have you all check out a new wing? Quite happening.

So when there was shopping the whole day because uh,

somebody's buy clothes and stuff like that for my wife's

sister's wedding. So when we were there for many many

hours after okay, so twursd they end trying to buy shoes.

So we went to the USC in the US to

buy shoes, so for my young going. So the young one,

he was testing the shoes. Finally we got the size.

I got it great. So I told the guy, Okay,

I'll take the shoes, uh, and then can pack it

for me. I'm gonna pay for it. Okay. Then Sally,

the guy he was collecting the other shoes that we're trying,

he's like Sally, like Alama, what happened? That shoe was

full of water. Part of the shoe was full of water.

So my kid, okay, yes, which one if y'all know.

If y'all know, so, so I have shared different experiences, right,

So one of my kids, uh, out of some frustration

with the brady or whatever, he went emptied his water

bottle into one of the shoes. Woul do you feel anxious?

I'm like so normal to all these radio like so

I was like, man, okay, so what did you. Then

found out that when checked my son, true enough he

did it. So we had to pay for that shoe.

We had to pay for that shoe because he's damage.

But the people were kind enough to say that I'll

give you all this counter for despair. Okay, So paid

for the shoe, went out. I told Jess, I say,

can you take them? I really need to take a walk.

You're not like, give them some Indian loving or something.

It's like I was like, I was like, up here, really,

it's like and then there wasn't something viral or I

needn't take a walk okay. And this is the same

time I'm preparing this someone, you know. So when he

says be anxious for nothing, prayer and give time something

like easy to say, an you know it, he's easy

to say, easy to say. Then it says, okay, fix

your thoughts on what is true, Like in the world

is true, the shoe is wet, that's the truth, you know,

that's the truth. So I took a walk in the

whole mall just to I needed to clear my mind,

And yeah, I was this verse was playing because how

can I preach something on a Sunday and not leave

it on a Saturday. So that's why I say, I

felt like I was testing me, you know. So I

was like, so, what is the truth in this scenario?

What's the truth? The truth is that my kid is

a child of God, has a great brand for him,

and God will use him. Because that's the truth. What

is the honorable thing for me to do? What is

the right thing for me to do? What's the just

thing to do for me to do? You know, there

will be consequences, but how do I do it in

an honorable way? How do I do it in a

lovely and admirable way where instead of disciplining not actually

it won't be disciplined. Really, if you take it out

in anger, it is revenge, you know, It's like revenge

And is that admirable? No? You know, it will just

distance him away from me. So all these thoughts are

going through this mind, my mind, you know, in terms

of it. And this was prepared for me. I was

preparing for this message is like stuff that I'm going

through outside work and other stuff. Now in this scenario.

So when I focus on that and I say, hey, God,

you are a good God. You know, we prayed for

a son. You gave us a son. He's healthy. You

have a plan for him, you know. And right now

we do not know why this is happening, but we

put out trusting you, and I had to continue holding

on to the promises of God instead of magnifying the bad.

If I continued magnifying the bad, nothing good would come

out of it. Right, So cut the long story shot. Yeah,

I had to discipline him, but we took the shoe home.

The other shoe and then that one was a It

was a pink colored Nike shoes. Yeah, I was like

to get home. And then after writing instantly just try

to try it on. You actually can feel like, yeah, okay,

your Christmas present, you see, right, when you focus on

what it's good, right, you can just laugh about this.

It's not the end of the world at that point.

When you when I saw the shoe full of water,

I felt like the end of the world. You know,

you will feel like, oh man, this you cannot think

beyond that ready. You're fixated on that thing, are you?

Sometimes you have to take a step back to fix

our thoughts. Why it's true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable,

and then the God of Peace will be with after

I came back from a walk on peace, right, Okay,

you know, and which comes to the the That's why

this one's like back. That's why the verse. May God

give you more and more grace and peace as you

grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus a lot.

We have to grow in our knowledge of God, and

then He will give us more peace. You have to

focus on the truth and grow more and more, and

then you will have peace. And that's why my last

line when as I get extreme up, if you know God,

you know peace. If you have no God, then you

will have no peace. So this afternoon, I don't know

what your circumstance is. I don't know what your situation is.

It might be really bad, or it might be something

that is beyond your control. But the truth does not

change that God is still God and God is in control.

So this afternoon, even as we just worship him, let's

focus our thoughts or what is true, what is honorable, right, pure, lovely,

and admirable, and let not magnify the problem. Let's say, God,

you are more than in me. Right, let's stand, let's worship.

We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more

information on our church, please visit aschurch dot org. We

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this week is going to be a good week.

I hit for you. God bless