When Faith Falters and Prevails | Eugene Wilson | August 25th, 2024

he [Music] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] he [Music] well praise the Lord everybody Lord good to see all of your Smiling Faces tonight amen amen amen if you're not smiling go ahead and smile less energy they tell me so if you're in if you're into Energy savings then then smile there we go amen let's stand tonight God has been so good to us this week he's provided us with air conditioner he's provided a little bit of rain why don't you lift your voices and your hands right now and let's just let's just invite the presence of the Lord that's already here but let it just come closer to our hearts and our minds right now God we come into this place today God Lord we are so blessed we're abundantly blessed and Lord we just come into your presence tonight in the middle of a week God that every one of us have faced different circumstances but God we come into your presence in one place in one Accord just to lift you up God and to lift you up and worship you and Lord then to open up the word of God and let the spirit of the Lord speak to us tonight God we come to worship you we come to magnify you come on would you just in your own way come on in your own way just keep loving him keep praising him right now I love you Jesus come on there's there's peace in this place right now come on we're going to bless the name of the Lord blessed be the name of the Lord you are worthy oh God you are worthy oh God hallelujah we give you Praise Jesus we give you honor tonight Jesus God with no no pre conceived ideas Lord we just want to praise you right now we just want to magnify you we just want to lift you up you are so good Jesus hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah we worship you oh God hallelujah hallelujah We Worship You Jesus we give you praise hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah oh we worship you oh God oh sing it with us blessed be blessed be your name in the land that is PL where streams of abundance blessed [Music] be blessed be your name when I'm found in the desert place though I walk through the Wilderness Blessed Be Your Name Everlasting every blessing you pour out out turn back to praise when thees in still I will blessed be the of the Lord blessed be your name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your glor name Blessed Be Your Name when the sun shining down on me when the world all it should be blessed be your name Blessed Be Your Name on the road marked with supper there's pain in the offering blessed be your name every blessing you pour out out turn back to pra sing blessed the name of the Lord blessed be the name I will praise blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your [Music] glor blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your name Hallelujah blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your glor name sing it you give and take away you give and take way my heart will choose to say oh Blessed Be it oh you give and take away you give and take away oh my heart will choose to say Blessed Be Your Name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your glor oh blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your name come on praise him right now blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your glorious oh bless the Lord blessed we will bless the Lord at all times be the of the Blessed Be Your glor you give and take away you give and take away oh you give and take away my heart will choose to say oh Blessed Be again oh you give and take away oh you give and take away oh my heart will choose to stay oh Blessed Be Your Name blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your name Hallelujah blessed be the name of the Lord blessed be your glory come on would you just do that right now Lord I bless your name thank you Jesus thank you Jesus [Music] Hallelujah I will bless the name of the Lord I will praise the Lord I will Magnify Him hallelujah hallelujah blessed be the name of the Lord he's wonderful amen yes come on let's just love him for a little bit right now Hallelujah hallelujah hallelu hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah bless the name of the Lord bless the name of the Lord I never want to take the presence of the Lord for granted you know if you took certain things away from us and we weren't able to partake of those things for a while several years maybe even a decade but then all of the sudden they brought something back into production we would be so excited we would be so thrilled that they had brought something back into production you know what I I I never want to get to the place when it comes to God oh every time that we we come into this PL this place it's an opportunity for us to praise God oh circumstances are going to be what they are but when we enter into his gates with Thanksgiving and into his courts with praise I don't want to just take it for granted I don't want to take it for granted I don't want to take it for granted Hallelujah I was glad when they said unto me David said let's go into the house of the Lord hallelujah hallelujah I I'm not I'm not the one that's going to be teaching or talking tonight but I I'll just give you this Bible Lesson think about this when David said I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the the house of the Lord it was maybe every year that he was able to actually go up to the Tabernacle friend of mine we are blessed here in the United States of America that we can come on a Sunday and a Wednesday we can come together with people of like Precious faith and lift up our hands together we're blessed in this nation we're blessed in this nation we're blessed Hallelujah you know we we might have had to drive maybe 15 20 minutes some of y'all maybe a little bit further but my wife and I we were with one of our missionaries just yesterday that we support brother and sister ier from Namibia we were able to take them out and be with them for a little while and this church blessed them with a with a a project offering and he was telling me how that that a one one Pastor will get on a motorcycle and he'll ride all day just to be in service for a couple of hours only to take a a nap get back on a motorcycle and go across the desert because he has a love for God and a love for Souls friend of mine it's dusty in Namibia yeah and we've got air conditioner we've got we've been blessed and we come to church and we can lift up our hands I was glad when they said unto me let's go to the house of the Lord life may not be perfect in your world but I'm glad that we could come to church that we don't have we don't have the problems like we think we've got blessed be the name of the Lord every blessing i everything that he's poured out on me I will return it back to him in praise tonight I just want to worship him I just want to praise him tonight come on can we just take just a little bit longer to give God praise prise we're blessed in the United States of America Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah God has been good to us amen amen amen I want us to go to the Lord in prayer tonight brother Mike Elder has been discharged from the hospital he's home checked on them this afternoon let's pray not only for brother Mike Elder but let's also pray for sister Lynette as she is tending to him and taking care of him very patiently and so let's pray that God would strengthen them both and I know that he will amen there was also another one that I missed yes sister Leah thank you sister Leah gamble is needing a touch from the Lord left service Sunday and went to to the emergency room they kept her in the hospital for a night or two let's pray for God to strengthen her body and heal her amen amen yes my thank God for my wonderful wife keeps me in line my wife and I and our girls have a very very close friend from our home Church in Willis and several weeks ago he was diagnosed with saroma cancer and they have started chemother therapy treatment I want this church to pray this is a giving man he is a man that has blessed this church and he has blessed many other endeavors around the world literally and I want us to pray for brother Jared Harold tonight that the Lord would strengthen him he is right now going through chemotherapy and I know that this is nothing more than the enemy trying to distract and prevent the this man of God from doing the work of the Kingdom I want us to pray for the for brother Jared Harold tonight and that God would touch and minister to him do you have a need would you just let it be known by the uplifting of the hand the Lord knows all about it and I invite you to step out of your Pew and if you need prayer tonight I want you to come around the front we never want to embarrass somebody but we want to pray the prayer of faith right now let's go to the Lord right now call name know [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah right now in the name of Jesus Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah I feel the presence of the Lord in this place right now come on if you're on this side of the church would you turn toward the other side and just pray for the others and likewise I want us just to I want to pray over this congregation right now Hallelujah right now God we pray over this whole body we pray God that there would be a move of your spirit God Lord let there be healing virtue flow through the body right now heal the body of Christ right now Lord Heal us in our minds in our bodies in our Spirits right now God we lift up one another right now we pray for emotional strength we pray for Spiritual strength Hallelujah God that the power of the Holy Ghost God would work in this place Lord hallelujah hallelujah come on love him right now come on love him right now Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah I love you Jesus hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah you hold my every every moment you come my raing SE somebody needs to sing this with declaration you walk with me through fire you hear all my disase I trust in you believe it tonight I trust in sing it unto the Lord I believe I believe You're My Healer I believe you you are all I need [Music] oh I believe you're my portion I believe you're more than enough for me Jesus You're All I Need you hold my every moment you come my raining SE sing this now you walk with me through fire you heal all my declare it I trust in you I trust in you sing it now oh I Believe You're My [Music] Healer I believe you are all all I need You're All I Need [Music] Hallelujah I believe you're my for I believe you're more than enough for me Jesus You're All I Need I Believe You're My Healer I believe you are all I need you're all I need oh [Music] God I believe you're my portion I believe you're more than enough for me Jesus you're all life [Music] Nothing is impos for you nothing is [Music] impossible nothing is impossible for you You Hold My World in your hand s you with us now nothing is impossible for you nothing is [Music] impossible Nothing is imposs for you You Hold My World in your hand I believe your my healer I believe you are all I need you're all I need oh God I believe you're my portion I believe you're more than enough for me Jesus You're All I Need come on would you just kind of praise him right now and give him praise for healing your body come on give him praise right now come on you're all I need oh God everything I need is in you Jesus everything I need is in you oh God hallelujah I trust you I trust you almighty God I trust you you almighty God hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah amen amen how many of you know he's a Healer amen he is a Healer amen amen amen amen amen praise God you may be seated tonight I'm so glad that we are here together to Worship the Lord together and magnify his wonderful name amen are you glad to be in church amen amen beats the best hospital in town amen you've been there recently whether as a patient or as a visitor uh I don't like hospitals amen I'm glad to be in the presence of the Lord tonight amen praise God we are going to Worship the Lord in giving so they will begin to dis play the text to give and the online giving options and in just a moment we will give you the opportunity to give we'll have the offering basket down here in just a moment but as you are preparing your tithe and offering I'm going to ask sister be to make sure we're updated on the announcements we are updated on the announcements Sister Kim has taken care of us once again we have September announcement sheets that are ready make sure you grab one of these uh before you head out stick it on your fridge or take a picture of it and have it in your phone so that you'll have it um all of the normal things that we have every week are up here at the top corner and then everything special that's going to happen this month is down here in the middle section so it's easy for you to find this coming Sunday because it's the first Sunday of the month it's Family Worship so we will not have Sunday school um or Nursery everybody will be in the sanctuary we can all worship together as a family and then this coming Wednesday night not tonight but next Wednesday night will be Youth and hyphen class so you guys have a week to find somebody that you can bring with you to Youth and hyen class and then we have lots of things going on our small groups are listed on here our um our two big events for this month are going to be September 28th our youth service our Saturday night supercharge youth service we are so excited to have brother Williams with us uh preaching that supercharged service um this is going to be be the third or fourth time we've done the quarterly Youth Event and um our kids always have a great time on that we invite other churches to come and bring their youth groups so it's always a fun time and then brother Williams is going to stay over to the next day September 29th which is going to be our fifth Sunday we love fifth Sunday um fifth Sunday is 2 o'clock church it's casual dress this time we're going fiesta theme so I want you to start thinking in your mind what is something that you can cook that is fiesta theme Mexican food something you're good at if you don't know how to cook Mexican food burritos T if you don't know how to cook Mexican food Iguana Joe's and El Toro both sell their red sauce and their green sauce and we'd be happy to have some of that they sell their queso you can pick up some of that if you don't like to cook um so we're going to have a sign up sheet going out this month so that everybody can sign up for what they would like to bring We'll have church at 2 p.m. and when church is over we'll have a fiesta all right eat lunch together as a family and then we'll have games and music and stuff afterwards amen amen I can just imagine that day getting here and all of the sudden I brought my salsa I brought my queso where are the chips we'll have a sign up sheet oh okay we'll have a sign up sheet okay all right so not everybody can bring salsa so you better sign up quick amen amen praise God let's Worship the Lord in giv him brother Caine come brother Curtis Elder is going to be teaching tonight I'm looking forward to that he walked in with a prop that's all I'm going to say and I got scared but I trust this man I love his teaching and I know we're going to be fed from the word of the Lord tonight and I want to receive what the word of the Lord has for us tonight amen let's all stand and as we always do after we pray we're going to step out of our Pew for a moment and then we're going to greet those around around us as we bring our tithe and offering and we're going to get into the word of the Lord let's all pray right now dear Lord we are so very blessed and God it is our privilege and our honor God to return our tithe and our offering to you tonight we pray that you bless the gift and The Giver Lord we pray that you bless it and multiply it Lord as it's not only used just here in Baytown but God as it is propagated and sent around the world I pray that you bless it as it reaches its end destination Lord and we give you the praise for it in Jesus name and everybody say Amen step out of your Pew for a moment greet somebody around you let them know you're glad to see them [Music] all right there Shar and prayer requests no signal all right I think we're good now there we go it's a little hot up here all right we'll get there uh if you guys don't mind I'm just going to read a quick scripture if yall stand with me and then we will get into the word we're going do a little bible study tonight all right and I'm hoping that somebody leaves here inspired and encouraged I'm G to find page one of my tablet here all right so the first uh set of scriptures I'm going to read and then you guys can be seated it's Ephesians 610 through2 finally my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the Ws of the devil for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against Powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places you can be seated Lord have your will in this place tonight ask you Lord you would speak to our hearts let our hearts and Minds receive what you have for us in Jesus name so we've talked a little bit about wrestling didn't we yeah did anybody follow any of the Olympics this year yeah some some things that are interesting some things that are not there's hundreds of events and many of them I'm not really interested in but what's really cool is the worldwide not just competition but the fact that everybody was kind of working together as as a as a community of competitors but still competing in what we would call a friendly competition um one of the things I don't know if many of you have seen or heard this commentary um but I've thought this way for years I think one of the greatest things that you could possibly do is to have some random person called out of the stands to participate in whatever event was going on at the time you know just um you know these athletes have trained for it their their whole life and we want Bob to come down and just go ahead and get in the pool with these guys uh it it' kind of give you a uh a little bit of a comparison right for for what the uh actual results that practice time can can produce I would have enjoyed that for the pure entertainment value if not for the object lesson so let me ask you this how many of you have ever been involved at any level in some sort of let's just call it a competitive activity or maybe an event that required some preparation beforehand got a a lot of hands got a lot of hands so a lot of you guys know then that even if it's let's say a sport or a music competition or maybe an art uh where you you submit something for uh judging where you know you want to get like first place or some sort of recognition for your talent um or even tryouts tryouts for something like a uh an event or a position uh sometimes going to get a job can feel like a competition so I guarantee that none of us would want to show up unprepared right if there's five people in the waiting room for that position that they're only hiring one I think all of us would want to have some sort of an edge right you research the company find out what they're all about and and figure out what's important to them so that you can at least have something to share when they talk to you about those things preparation because you want to have that information before you get into that interview you want to do the practice before you get into the match right you want to sharpen your skills before you put them to use so I think everybody here can agree that preparation is a key part of winning all right I think we could probably real easily relate that to our spiritual life we can all say amen and go home good job pastor Pastor said amen he's ready to go but I'm going to talk about several things tonight regarding our spiritual Readiness for battle all right our our our text said it very very well we don't wrestle against flesh and blood all right so when we think about worldly competition you know we have a really good any of those things that any of y'all have ever dealt with or entered into you kind of have an idea of what you're going up against right right and so that's what you train for and I think we can all agree that we're seeing things today that look like the world is closer to Jesus's return than it's ever been I think I think we're going to be on the same page with a lot of things that I say today um but that's the way I read it is that we're closer every day that we wake up on this side of Eternity we're closer than we've ever been before and if we can agree on that which I think we can I also think that we should agree that we should be preparing purposefully for what's to come am with that in mind I'd like to talk to you guys about training camp right does anybody know what training camp is or or what it means yeah yeah it's it's hard right so so while it's commonly used as a term in athletic competitions um it's simply a place where people that have a common goal can work together and become better at whatever it is they're attempting you we have Team uh sports team training camps we have uh different music t team training camps uh individual training camps but training camp means that you are there on purpose you have a purpose for what you're doing there and you're going to get better when you leave than you were when you showed up that's the whole purpose of training camp and the whole purpose is not to shy away from a conflict but to enter a conflict purposefully knowing that you have prepared yourself with the best chance to win so we look back at our opening text again with this mindset okay that there's a purpose to what we're preparing for my brethren be be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might put on the whole armor of God what are we doing we're preparing so that we can stand against the Ws of the devil for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against Powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness and high places I don't know about your Bible but when I read my Bible I feel unprepared for some of that I don't know if I'm ready to wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this world that's a that can be a little intimidating right we can feel underprepared we're in a spiritual Olympics okay we're in a war we're in the blocks ready to run we we've got a race that's set in front of us and we're on the front line and if any of these terms don't mean anything to you or they don't do something inside your heart then that's something that you need to talk to God about because if if if you're not understanding that your spiritual man is the one fighting then I've got a Bible study for you we're training to be our best and if we're not we will not come out on top amen our training should not be unintentional and random and it should apply to the things that we face and we come against in our daily lives so how do we train ourselves to be ready for the spiritual battles that we face every day I'm glad you asked we're going to talk about it so we you know you guys know obviously by now David's one of my favorite characters in The Bible he was a stubborn knucklehead but he had the ear in the heart of God and he bought he fought his early battles with a sling and a stone you guys know about that David and Goliath fought the bear in the line with his bare hands graduated to a sling took out Goliath do you think David would have been king of Israel with a sling and a stone do you think anybody would have respected a skill on the battlefield if he showed up with a sling and a stone yeah David didn't stop his training he never did this was made for me when I was about 10 years old a friend of mine made it in a metal shop at his job and he gave it to me and I have kept it for nearly 40 years it's not sharp it's a prop but I love it and Visually it tells me a lot of things tells me one I would not have wanted to go to battle with these but it also tells me too that When God says his word is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword that it's real and we need to be using it the way it was intended to be used so I've enjoyed some really great visuals on this lesson over the last few months and the last few weeks especially um mostly because of my older boys I know some of you may not know but both of them are interested and involved in medieval um armed and uh armored combat so Dylan uh is in an armored Combat League Kane is in a uh medieval long sword school it's just some pretty cool stuff that I'm I'm picking up from watching I spent time as a competitor in my team and it's really kind of cool for me to be on the sidelines watching them learn and do some things that don't come easy and aren't aren't simple to pick up but one of the cool things I've noticed is that it's not always the fun showy flashy stuff that they do when they get into their schooling it's the simple stuff it's the footwork it's the positioning it's knowing where to put your hands it's where to have your feet it's where to rely on that person beside you it's the simple things that sometimes we think man that's that's that's not even I don't even need to do that I don't need to do that just give me the sword I'll start whing away and what happens is if you go unprepared into battle with somebody that's equally matched you are not going to come out on top if they have done their footwork practice if they've done their positioning practice if they've done what it takes to know how to get their best balance you know all those things that that come along with being skilled at something if they've done the work they're going to win it's the same way in our spiritual lives if we we've not done the work we can't expect to win you can't expect to win something that you're not you didn't prepare for I'm not going to harp on that a lot but that's the truth of it so when we talk about training camp some group activities right so we're talking about working together as a group in this Camp some of our group activities could be what Tuesday ladies prayer amen right how about men's prayer every third Saturday amen you want to talk about sharpen iron sharpening Iron Men you need to be there every third Saturday thank you brother Greg and brother buddy for heading that up it's it's critical it's good training how about Youth and hyphen class youth events hyphen events how about these things where like-minded Faith we're gathering together and we're building a bond of unity and strengthening each other how about small groups right we've got small groups we've got people that like to do crafts we've got people that like to sing together we've got I know some of us like to eat we've got eating groups we've got multiple things that that have planned and haven't even been cut loose yet but what's the purpose they're not events of convenience or just entertainment they are times of actively building the kingdom that's what they are they are times of building the Kingdom so now let's look at maybe some individual training opportunities it's time for some sword drills all right anybody remember those all right all right so you're where you would be given a scripture right so these would be a little bit different but you were given a scripture reference and the first person to find it in their Bible would stand up and read it so I would say acts 238 and somebody would find it you couldn't you couldn't quote them it couldn't be something you memorized you had to stand up that's right you had to stand up and have it and read it out of the Bible so those are those were what we called drills anybody ever do those I I used to do those a lot man we got a lot of a lot of warriors in here you guys should be really really good with your Bibles so the word hasn't changed though has it doesn't matter how long it's been that's right so when we think about the way our world is right now we're set on every side with constant pressure constant pressure from images from conversations from song lyrics and even things we read and when we're feeling at our lowest because it's really easy to to start to Cave under some of that pressure when we feeling at at our lowest what do we do you unfortunately some of these questions are rhetorical you don't have to answer them all but sometimes unfortunately we take it out on those that are closest to us right when we're feeling all that pressure we got to have a release somewhere and a lot of times we do that with the ones closest to us because we we feel that they're safe but what might be a better alternative what might we I don't know what might be a better way for us to handle the things that we're feeling we don't know how to deal with maybe what David said in Psalm 1 is blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly nor standeth in the way of Sinners nor nor sth in the seat of the scornful but his Delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law do he meditate day and night and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season his Leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper that's a pressure release right there and the NLT says it a little more clearly it says oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or stand around with Sinners or join in with mockers but they Delight in the law of the Lord meditating on it day and night they are like trees planted by the riverbank bearing fruit each season their leaves never wither and they prosper in all they do now this isn't a Prosperity Gospel okay but what it is is when you put the word of God in your heart he will bless the things that you Endeavor to do for him that's prospering that's right because we're not building our own little duchies down here we're working for the Kingdom so why do we rely on the word of God now and and again I've I've quoted David a couple of times tonight but why do we rely on the word of God all right let's set the tone let's set the tone for our training tonight and let's look at scripture for the answers that we need Ephesians 6 And1 17 put on salvation as your helmet and take the sword of the spirit which is the word of God word of God it's the word of God so I'm going to be giving you guys quite a few of these scriptures we're just going to knock them out this is going to be fairly short fairly quick but I want you guys to understand that we're not playing games anymore okay we can't padic Cate church we can't show up and expect everyone else to usher in the presence of God when we've not been in our Bible for a week when the only Bible we get is on the screen on Sundays and Wednesdays you got guys aren't training I'm not training pastor's not training if he only read scripture for service he would be underprepared for life so I want to help us tonight and encourage us good the Bible says in Hebrews 4 and12 in the NLT for the word of God I'm sorry you have it in the uh go go back to the King James I'm going to read it off the screen so the King James says for the word of God is quick and Powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing even to the dividing aund of Soul and Spirit and of the joints and Marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart now our modern vernacular has changed and when we read that word quick we think it's fast because that's what we associate that with that's not what it means it actually means the word of God is alive it's alive and Powerful it is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword cutting between Soul and Spirit between joint and Marrow it exposes our innermost thoughts and desires yes that's what the word of God will do if you're honest with yourself while you're reading it you allow God to speak to your heart the Bible tells us that God puts his word even above his name so when we are carrying the word of God it is the most powerful thing that we can have in in what we confront on a day-to-day basis in our lives when I face something that makes me mad what do I do I give in to anger let the enemy win a battle do I get out my sword do I get out my sword and let the words of God fight for me what would be the right thing to do here take the carnal path or take God's recommended path Ephesians 4 verse 26 be ye angry be ye angry and sin not doesn't say don't be angry says there's a way to be angry and do it without being a sinner there's a way to be angry and not let it take over your life there's a way to be angry and not let it be the only thing that people know about you there's a way to be angry and treat it correctly you guys know God created anger right he created anger and he used it constructively and effect itively in the form of Jesus Christ and if you haven't read the Old Testament you've not read about an Angry God the Bible anger anger in and of itself is not the problem it's what we decide to use it for and how we react to it be angry and sin not do not let the sun go down upon your wrath and then if we go down to verse 31 it says let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and E evil speaking be put away from you with all malice what if I'm afraid we talked about anger and there's an answer for that in the scripture what if I'm afraid you know I had read somewhere that most teenagers in public school in this this decade are dealing with higher levels of anxiety than most 50y olds 40 years ago you tell me anxiety is just a phase or it's just a catchphrase or it's just a word no it's real and it's real because we're wrestling with powers and principalities and the rulers of the darkness of this world and they're getting better at what they're doing we need to be doing the same thing so if I'm if I'm I've handled my anger but what if I'm carrying high anxiety for something I can't control let's open up Isaiah 41 and we're going to give the word of God a swing because this is great right this is a cool visual image what we're really doing is we're we're swinging the word of God and we're fighting with his words not with our feelings not with our emotions we're fighting with the word of God so Isaiah 41:10 fear thou not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yay I will help thee y I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness praise God can you read that and hear it from the mouth of God and be afraid about anything I can't and here I am with all my carnal nature can God forgive me for the way I am promise of forgiveness again is there in your hand in Ephesians 4 again verse 32 says be ye kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you and we fret about that we fret about that forgiveness man God God could do it for anybody else but he can't do it for me I know what I'm like I know what I've done first John one tells us in verse 9 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness so God I'm I'm feeling weak in this area we've talked about anger we've talked about anxiety we've talked about our feelings of inadequacy as Sinners and not being worthy of forgiveness now God I am struggling in this area I'm faced with things that I can't overcome on my own can you help me we get out our swords we get out our swords because we're fighting we're fighting that right we're fighting that feeling of weakness we're F fighting that oppression God I can't do this on my own what does 2 Samuel 22 say in verse 33 God is my strength and power and he maketh my way perfect and First Corinth 2 Corinthians 12:9 says and he said unto me my grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness that's our weakness that's our weakness that his strength is made perfect in not our strength but it's our weakness most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ May rest upon me you guys getting this we've got some things we're training for now because you're all going to face anger you're all going to face that feeling of of anxiety of feeling like you can't be forgiven you're all all going to feel overwhelmed we all are and what about when you or somebody you know are lonely you know we we do this a lot yeah we do this a lot I do this a lot I'm I'm I don't want to say guilty but I do it a lot but we look at the top of people's heads a lot don't we we see this and it can create a sense of being separated of being lonely of not feeling like you're making a connection that's real and genuine so how do we deal with that again let's go to the word psalms 27 the entire chapter of Psalms 27 by the way if you are ever feeling anything that is dragging you down read psalms 27 but I want to particularly look at verses 9 and 10 and it says hide not thy face far from me put not thy servant away in Anger thou Hast been my help leave me not neither forsake me oh god of my salvation when my mother and my father forsake me then the Lord will take me up even when those that you feel like are closest to you you can't connect with them you can't make that that uh communication that contact that sense of belonging even when those that are closest to you feel like they can't be reached it says the Lord will take me up and last but not least one of my absolute favorite swings of the sword and I'm going to swing this one because this we know is what's actually making the difference in our in our spirit in our life right so while I enjoy the visual I could swing that sword all day and it would never change my heart if I don't pick up and read the word of God and I hear what he has to say to me for me and about me I'm not helping myself out by by walking around with the physical representation of what I really should be exercising Deuteronomy 31-6 be strong and of a good courage fear not nor be afraid of them for the Lord thy God he it is that doth go with thee he will not fail thee nor forsake thee he will not fail thee nor forsake thee hope you guys have found some encouragement tonight I hope you guys have been challenged I hope you guys feel a little bit of that competitive Spirit coming because how cool would it be to challenge yourself to read more scriptures today than you did yesterday how great would it be to say God I am struggling with X Y and Z show me what you have to say about that if we could get away from blasting it on social media if we could get away from gossiping about it behind people's backs and we could immediately go to God and say hey I'm struggling with this please tell me what you have to say about it The Battle Belongs to the Lord doesn't it but so do we amen and we need to be ready when we're put in contact with people that are hungry for God but have no knowledge or relationship with him that's why we drill with the word of God it's then and only then that we'll be able to be comfortable getting out the word of God and sharing it sharpen your swords battles are just beginning let's stand I appreciate your time and your attention tonight I hope the word of God will rest in your hearts and that you will take something from what I said tonight and apply it to you because I believe every person in here every person in here from from top to bottom front to back young to old every person in here would love to have a better relationship and a better understanding of the word of God and that's all we really need right let's pray Lord we love you tonight thank you Jesus for meeting us here thank you Lord for speaking to our hearts and our and our minds ask you Lord that you would God put that desire in our hearts to to to grow close to to develop that relationship Lord that we could spend time in your word that we could find enjoyment and peace and satisfaction and comfort in the word that you've left for us ask you God that you would just build us up as a group as individuals Lord strengthen us prepare us prepare our hearts and then go before us God set the table before us in the presence of our enemies God that we could just Feast on your word in Jesus name I pray thank you praise the Lord y'all yall are dismissed amen am