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Welcome to Gateway Church's podcast. Wherever

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you're tuning in from, we hope you're

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encouraged by today's message. Well,

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if you have your Bibles with you, you

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can turn to Exodus 14, and

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the title of today's message is

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The Power of Stillness. The

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Power of Stillness. I've

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kind of been going through a season

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of stillness myself. For those that don't

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know, about six weeks ago, I

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was put on vocal rest, because

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I had a hemorrhagic polyp, meaning

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my left vocal cord was bleeding,

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and so they told me not to talk

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for about six days, which is actually a

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little bit harder than you may think. So

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I didn't talk, and I'm grateful that the

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bleeding has stopped, but I still have

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a little polyp on my vocal cord, so you may hear

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a little bit of raspiness. But while I

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was on vocal rest, I actually learned a few

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things. The first thing I

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learned about my family, and that's my family

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is terrible at charades. We would not beat

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anyone, okay? Anytime

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I would motion for something or try to do anything,

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I just end up getting frustrated and doing it myself.

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Second thing, during vocal rest, I realized that

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as I went out in public, that people

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were very confused about what vocal rest

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is, because I'd have to type it out on my

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phone, and I'd say, hey, I'm

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on vocal rest, I can't talk. So I'd show the

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person in public, and here's what they

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would do. They immediately get out their phone and

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start typing in it. And

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I couldn't say anything, but in my head, I'm like, no,

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I can hear you, I just

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can't say anything to you. So

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we were able to clear up that confusion. And

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then the last thing I learned is that my

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wife and I went out on a date, and

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she says it was the best date ever. Because

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she got to talk, and I just simply

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had to listen. So fellas,

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just tossing that out to you. Listen to your

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wives, all right? But during

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this season of stillness, it really. really got kind of

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birthed a message out of it. And

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here's why, because maybe you're like

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me and I struggle with this sense of

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stillness. Stillness can

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be sometimes equated with

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the idea of laziness. But

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I actually want to submit to you today

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that stillness is actually a matter of obedience.

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In Psalm 23, a very

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familiar passage, the shepherd

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takes the sheep and it says he makes

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them lie down in

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green pastures. It also says

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he leaves them besides still

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waters. And this is important for

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protection and peace because here's what you need to know

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about sheep. Sheep do

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not lay down easily and here's

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why. Because they have no

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defense mechanism except to run. So

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the fact that a sheep is actually laying

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down means they feel protected. And

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they don't drink from moving water because

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if they were to fall in,

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they would drown because their wool would become too

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heavy. So they only drink water that's still. But

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there's another part in here as I was thinking

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about Psalm 23 that

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I felt like God highlighted to me. He just simply said

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this. It also says my

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cup overflows. But here's the thing, it's

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hard to fill a cup to

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overflowing that won't remain still. A

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person who's always moving, a person

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who's always busy and a person

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who's always distracted. A

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busyness is really a badge in today's culture. It's

3:28

normal for us to be busy. You

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go up to someone and say, how are you doing? First they'll say they're

3:32

doing well. Or they're doing good and then they'll

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say, you know, I'm just busy. We got

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our kids, we got some work, our business,

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all the things that are happening around us.

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And there is a busyness that is happening

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around us. But stillness

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is the opposite of restlessness.

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And I can tell whether you're

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a person who enjoys stillness by looking at

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your calendar. See, the

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calendar that you have is

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not just an... indication of the

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things that you're doing, it's

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actually a picture of who you're becoming.

4:06

It's a picture of where you're

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giving your time, your energy, and

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your effort. But you may

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think today, well Ethan, if

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I could just remove all the responsibilities that

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I had, then I could experience rest. But

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here's the problem, if you actually removed all your

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responsibilities, then you'd also lose your purpose. See,

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the scriptures never say the way to

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experience rest is

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to remove responsibilities. See, rest

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doesn't come from the removal of

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your responsibilities, it comes from removing

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anything that would hinder you from

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the person who said, come to

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me, all you are weary and

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heavy, laden and I will give

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you rest. So no

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matter where you are, no matter what you're dealing

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with, we can experience rest and we can experience

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stillness because of who God is. And

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I'm gonna look at three different passages

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today that talk about being still. And

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the first point is this, you need

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to stand still and see. Stand

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still and see. In

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Exodus 14, gonna give

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some context, God has just delivered the

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children of Israel through Moses and they

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are now on their path to the

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promised land. But in the same

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vein as they're leaving, we see Pharaoh coming

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behind them because as soon as

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they're freed, he wanted to take them back into

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bondage and it's really a picture of the life

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of every single believer. That when we

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come to God, we're set free, we're made

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whole, but you still have an enemy that

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would love to bring you back into bondage.

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But God began taking them on a path,

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but it's a little confusing because he took

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them along a path that would confuse their

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enemy so that he would actually chase after

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them. We'll pick this up in verse three. It

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says, then Pharaoh will think the Israelites

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are confused. They

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are trapped in the wilderness. And

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once again, I will harden Pharaoh's

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heart and he will chase after

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you. I have

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planned this in order

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to display my glory through Pharaoh and

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his whole army. After

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this, the Egyptians will know that

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I am the Lord so the

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Israelites camped there as they were

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told. And then the story continues,

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and we picked this up in verse 13,

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it says, as Pharaoh approached, the people of

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Israel looked up, and that's

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relevant, and panicked when they

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saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They

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cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, why

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did you bring us out here to die

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in the wilderness? Weren't there enough grades

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for us in Egypt? What have you

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done to us? Why

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did you make us leave Egypt? Didn't we tell you this

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would happen while we were still in Egypt? We

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said, leave us alone. Look at these words, let

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us be slaves to the Egyptians.

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It is better to be a slave in Egypt than a

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corpse in the wilderness. Clearly they did not

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trust God. But Moses told

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the people, don't be afraid, just

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stand still and watch the

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Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians

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you see today will never be

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seen again. The Lord himself will

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fight for you. Just

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stay calm. See,

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here's what's interesting about this passage is

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the children of Israel are going along this

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journey to confuse Pharaoh, but when Pharaoh

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actually starts attacking, they're the ones who

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become confused. I don't know if

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you've ever been at a place where God's told you something,

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and you're stepping out, and you're walking out his plan, but

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then you begin to panic when you see that you have

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an enemy. This is what's happening

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in their life. They're panicking even

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though they knew the plan. And

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it's very easy to look at it from a distance and say, well,

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that would never be me. I

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would never panic, but we all have

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a panic meter. And it can go from

7:43

zero to 100 real fast. We

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can all face anxiety, we can all face

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stress, maybe it's about kids, maybe it's about

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work, maybe it's about our health, but we

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can all panic. But it

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got them to the place where they

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began to glamorize the past instead

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of. continuing to glorify God. See,

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we can also fall into this trap, but

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here's the truth. They were saying

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we're stuck and they weren't stuck, they just needed

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to be still. See, there's

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so many people today that feel like, hey,

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I just feel like I'm stuck. Actually, if

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you would be still and it looks the

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same from the outside, but there's an inward

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posture that you have confidence in God and

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trusting in Him that He'll bring you to the

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place that He called for you to be. See,

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many times we actually don't need more faith. What

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we need is more patience. And

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when we are patients, we'll actually gain

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the perspective that we need. In verse

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19, I want you to look at this for a second, he says

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this, then the angel of

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God who had been leading the people

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of Israel moved to the rear of

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the camp. The pillar of cloud also

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moved from the front and stood behind them.

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I want you to get this picture. As

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they're moving forward into the future, they see the

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pillar and they see the angel of God leading

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them. They have confidence and they're able to be

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still. They begin looking at the path and

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they experience fear and they

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experience panic. But God chooses

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to move from the front to the back

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because He's not just a God who can

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lead you forward into the future, He's also

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a God who can come behind you and

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cover your path so that you're able to

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move forward in confidence. And

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it's important for us to understand this and

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their perspective began to change, but it

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all came down to what they were

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looking at. What were they

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looking to when they looked at their enemies,

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they had panic. But if they were to

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look at their God, they would have had

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confidence. See, you can go through what

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God has called you to. You can

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get to the other side, but many times the

9:46

greatest enemy to our faith is this

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idea of perfection. That

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if the circumstances are perfect, if

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my family is perfect, then I'm able to step

9:55

out. But here's the truth, many

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times when God speaks to us, it's in less

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ideal condition. and we're still

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called to obey Him. Here's what

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I've learned in my own life and maybe you've learned it too,

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that if things go exactly according

10:08

to how I have planned

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it, the odds are high that

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I've actually missed out on what God had planned.

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See, God's ways are higher than our ways. His

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thoughts are higher than our thoughts. So if we

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haven't gone and talked to Him and heard His

10:23

voice on the matter, the odds are high that

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we've actually missed out on what He would love

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for us to do. So

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I have on my board in

10:31

my office, I have what can God

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do in this place? Because

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I just don't want what I can do. I

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want what God can do. And we should all

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be asking the question, what can God do in

10:42

my marriage? What can God do in my family?

10:44

What can God do in my business? What can

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God do with my life if I'm

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willing to give it to Him? Because

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we can walk in the promise

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and the situation doesn't have to

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be perfect. We can simply

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trust in the one who perfects our

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faith, who's 12 to seven this way,

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fixing our eyes on Jesus, the

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pioneer and perfecter of our

11:08

faith. See a pioneer

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is someone who goes into uncharted territory

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and calls you to that place. They're

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the ones that go ahead of you and chart out the path.

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But I wanna encourage you today as we end 2023 to

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go into this next year without

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saying no to God for Him.

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God wants you to step out,

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encourage and be bold and be

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still before Him. And we serve

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a God who specializes in the

11:36

impossible. A couple of

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summers ago with the whole entire family,

11:40

cousins and all, we went to the

11:43

lake. And the lake where we were at had a two

11:46

layer dock. So you can go up and jump off

11:48

or you can go below. And

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I very quickly learned that all

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of my kids have different personalities.

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They have a different risk quotient

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or factor. how they assess things.

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I have two daughters and then two

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sons, for those that don't know. My

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youngest son, Jack, he

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does not actually wave or count the cost

12:10

at all. He just goes and

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he just jumps off. And I'm like, I actually need you

12:14

to be a little bit more careful because the edge is

12:17

right there. So just calm down a little bit. But

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my oldest daughter is sometimes

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a little bit more risk averse. And

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she would get up there and she wouldn't jump

12:26

off. So I tried to go up there and

12:28

encourage her and say, hey, it's gonna be fun.

12:30

You can do it. All the encouraging words that

12:32

you wanna come on side, your children

12:35

and do as a father, hey, you can do this. I'm

12:37

with you. She still wasn't gonna go. I

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was like, you can go look, your brother Jack is

12:42

jumping for the 15th time. Now, believe me, you can

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go. And she

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still wouldn't go. So I'm like, you know what? I

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will go and I will do this

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with you. We'll do it together, which was really a

12:54

step for me. Cause I did not wanna get in

12:56

the water. The water was too cold one. And

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I didn't wanna mess up my hair too. So that was the

13:01

second thing. You understand

13:03

how that is. But

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she still said, hey, I don't wanna do it even if

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we do it together. So I did

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in that moment what any loving father would do and

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I pushed her off the dock. I'm

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kidding, I'm kidding. Don't

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judge me. I did not do that to my daughters, but

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I 100% will do it with my sons any day of

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the week. But

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I have a question for you. As a

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father, do you think

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I wanted her to jump off the

13:34

dock to hurt her and harm

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her? Or do you think

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I wanted her to experience the thrill

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that every other person was having by

13:43

jumping off the dock? In

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the same way, we all have a heavenly

13:48

father that when he calls you to something, he's

13:51

not doing it to harm you. He's

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doing it because he wants you to

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experience the thrill of a life of

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faith when you're willing to walk in

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him. and be still in your

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relationship. Because we

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have a God who loves us. So

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we can stand still and see. The second thing

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is this. We can be still and know.

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Be still and know. Psalm 46, verse 10 and 11 says,

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be still and know that I am God.

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I will be exalted among the nations. I

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will be exalted in the earth. The

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Lord of hosts is with us.

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The God of Jacob is our

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refuge, Selah. And we're gonna come

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back to that phrase here in one second. But

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I have a question for us today. Is

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it possible we don't know or

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have a greater revelation of who God is

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because we won't take the time to be still? See,

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there's power and stillness. It said be

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still and know. See,

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stillness is when we get in his word, is

14:52

when we take the time to pray, is when

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we take the time to worship and just be

14:56

in his presence. But I want you to know

14:58

this. This is why stillness is powerful. Because

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stillness is actually the pathway to

15:03

knowing God. It says

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once you're still, then you're able to know. This

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is why the enemy fights you so much. This

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is why the enemy comes against you because

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he knows when there's a potential for a

15:15

greater revelation of who God is, then that's

15:17

when you're actually gonna face the greatest resistance.

15:20

Every time there is a revelation that someone

15:22

had or who God was all throughout the

15:25

scriptures, Satan came on the other side of

15:27

it. David was anointed to

15:29

be king and Goliath showed up. Elijah

15:33

called down fire from heaven. And then the next thing

15:35

you know, he was on the run. Even

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Peter in the New Testament had

15:40

a revelation of who Jesus was

15:42

saying, you're the Messiah, to which

15:44

Jesus was actually shocked by it.

15:47

But then just a few verses

15:49

later, you actually see him being

15:51

rebuked by Jesus saying, you're

15:54

not mindful of the things of God, but the things

15:56

of man. Wherever there's revelation

15:58

in your life, you should explain. You

16:02

should expect, excuse me, expect the enemy

16:04

to come against you. But in

16:06

Psalm 46, it's very interesting. There's

16:08

only 11 verses, but this word,

16:10

Selah, or depending on your translation,

16:12

interlude, is there three times. And

16:15

here's what it means. It

16:17

means to pause and reflect.

16:20

Don't just read past this, because there's something here

16:22

that if you would meditate on it, you would

16:24

actually get a revelation of who I am. Don't

16:26

just hurry, don't just move on. You

16:29

will miss it if you don't reflect. If

16:32

you're not, still long enough to receive

16:34

what I have for you. Whenever

16:36

I was younger, about seven or eight years old, I

16:39

lived in the Philippines, my parents in the military,

16:41

so I was walking and hanging out with some

16:43

friends and we were gonna play a game. And

16:45

we're walking, he's walking on this side

16:48

of me, and all of a sudden

16:50

as we're walking, we see our

16:52

neighbor's dog. I didn't know

16:54

the owner, I didn't know this dog. But

16:57

the dog, all of a sudden starts

16:59

making a beeline full speed for us.

17:02

And a lot of things start going through my

17:04

eight year old mind, apparently I thought I

17:07

was really fast. And

17:10

I could outrun this dog, but here's what my friend

17:12

said because he knew the owner and he knew the

17:15

dog. He said, Ethan, be

17:17

still, don't run.

17:20

And the dog came this way,

17:22

ran around us. And apparently the

17:25

only thing I heard was run.

17:28

Run as fast as you can. And

17:30

I take off as fast as I can, trying to

17:32

run towards the tree. The dog, obviously

17:34

I wasn't able to outrun the dog. The dog actually

17:36

jumped on top of me, bit me. I still have

17:38

the scars from that traumatic experience. I'm just sharing this

17:41

with everyone here for the very first time, all of

17:43

my friends. But they took me to the hospital, got

17:45

me, stitched up and I was good to go. They

17:47

probably gave me a popsicle of some sort. And then

17:49

I came back and then played a game. But

17:53

here's the thing, why didn't my

17:55

friend run when he saw the danger

17:57

coming? Why was he able to be

17:59

still? It's because

18:01

he knew the owner and

18:04

was able to just simply relax knowing the

18:06

dog would not come and attack. See,

18:09

we can still have confidence in who

18:11

God is because he is the owner.

18:13

He is in control of everything and

18:15

we can put our trust in him

18:17

so that we don't have to succumb

18:19

to the enemy whenever he attacks. Ephesians

18:23

6, 10 through 11 says this, A

18:25

final word, be strong in the Lord

18:28

and in his mighty power. Put

18:30

on all of God's armor so

18:33

that you will be able to stand firm. There's

18:36

that word again, stand firm against

18:38

all strategies of the devil. See,

18:41

here's what we need to understand that if you're a follower

18:43

of Christ, the Christian life is not

18:45

a playground but a battleground. That

18:47

you have an enemy that will love

18:50

to come against you. They

18:52

will love for you to dwell on the past.

18:54

As I mentioned before, the past is

18:56

not a great place to dwell. The past

18:58

is simply a point of reference, but it's

19:00

a terrible place to live. He's

19:03

calling us to move forward, but

19:06

you will always lose the battle that you don't

19:08

know you're in. And you

19:10

can't fight a spiritual battle with natural means.

19:13

We have to understand this. In our own

19:15

strength, we're no match for Satan. That's the

19:17

bad news. The good news is

19:19

that Satan is no match for God. And

19:22

that when we have his strength, we're

19:25

already in a place of victory. So

19:28

the question for every single one of

19:30

us is, who or where is our

19:32

strength? Ephesians actually tells us

19:34

be strong in the Lord. This is where it

19:36

begins. Psalm 46, just a

19:38

little bit earlier in the chapter, verse 1, it

19:41

says, God is our refuge

19:43

and strength. A

19:45

very pleasant, present help in times of

19:47

trouble. Psalm 18, 1, I love you,

19:50

Lord. You

19:52

are my strength. That's David writing

19:54

that. David, the one

19:57

who killed Goliath. who

20:00

was a man of war, he knew how

20:02

to win fights. The one

20:04

who killed lions and tigers

20:06

and bears, oh my, minus

20:09

the tiger. It

20:12

would kill them with his bare hands. I doubt that's

20:14

happened for any one of us here at the campus's

20:16

gatherings or anywhere else. And

20:18

here's what he's saying. And you can look

20:20

at his life, and even in the worst

20:22

moments, here's the phrase that you hear. And

20:25

David strengthened himself in the

20:27

Lord. He knew not

20:29

to rely on his own strength. See,

20:32

there was a prayer that I prayed for a very

20:34

long time, and I want to say it's a good

20:36

prayer to pray. Am

20:38

I saying stop it, but I actually believe there's a better prayer. A

20:41

good prayer is this. Hey God, will you give me

20:43

strength? Give me strength to face the

20:46

things that I'm going against. Give me strength to make

20:48

it through the other side, and that's a very good

20:50

prayer. But the prayer that I'm

20:52

praying today, and the prayer that I'm teaching

20:54

my children to pray, is God be my

20:56

strength. Be my strength, because if

20:58

you are my strength, I know that I will

21:00

have victory and make it through to the other

21:02

side. See,

21:09

I realize that I am

21:11

at my strongest whenever

21:15

I'm submitted. The

21:17

place of our greatest strength

21:20

is actually at the place of our

21:22

greatest submission. It

21:25

says submit to God, then

21:27

resist the devil, and he will flee. So

21:30

when we are able to get underneath

21:32

him, we actually get the power needed

21:34

to continue to move forward to do

21:36

all that God has called us to

21:38

do. So be still and know, and

21:40

here's the third and final point. Peace,

21:44

be still. Peace,

21:46

be still. Mark four, verse

21:49

35, we're picked this up. Jesus is having a

21:51

conversation with his disciples, and he tells them to

21:53

go to the other side, and it says, on

21:55

the same day when evening had come, he said

21:57

to them, let us cross over to the

21:59

other side. side. Now when

22:01

they had left the multitude, they

22:03

took him along in the boat as he was. The

22:06

other little boats were also with him.

22:08

Remember that they weren't by themselves.

22:11

And a great windstorm arose and the waves beat

22:13

into the boat so that

22:15

it was already filling. But

22:18

he was in the stern as Jesus

22:20

asleep on a pillow. That's

22:22

the essence of rest and

22:25

stillness in the way

22:27

that Jesus lived his life. And they

22:29

walked to him and said to him,

22:31

teacher, do you not care that we

22:33

are perishing? How many of you have

22:35

ever asked God that question when you're going through something hard?

22:38

God, do you care? Because someone's

22:41

got to care about this. And if you

22:43

don't care, then I'm going to care. So I love it if you care,

22:45

but if you don't care, I will. Then

22:49

he arose and rebuked the

22:51

wind and said to the sea,

22:53

peace be still. And the

22:56

wind ceased and there was a great calm. But

22:58

he said to them,

23:01

why are you so fearful? How

23:04

is it that you have no faith?

23:06

And they feared exceedingly and said to one another,

23:08

who can this be that even the wind

23:11

and the sea obey him? See

23:13

this to me was a say

23:15

a lot moment for them. This was

23:17

a moment not just to see if

23:20

God cares, but how he cares. Because

23:22

so many people we hear, God loves us, we hear God

23:25

cares for us and we apply that to other people,

23:27

but many times it's hard for us to apply that to

23:29

our own life. See, we

23:31

have to make this personal. But

23:33

he says, let's go over to the other

23:36

side. Once again, God actually placed

23:38

them in the place where the storm was

23:40

going to be. See, many

23:42

times we think if there's a storm, a hardship or

23:44

whatever it is, they were actually out of the will

23:46

of God. But the truth is when you're actually facing

23:48

opposition from the enemy, it could actually be a sign

23:50

that you're exactly where God wants you to be. Here's

23:54

why, because when you're a threat to

23:56

the enemy, you also become a target.

24:00

I'd actually be more concerned if I'm walking

24:02

out a life of faith and the enemy

24:04

is never coming against me. Because

24:06

the odds are I'm walking in the wrong way. But

24:08

I just want to say this. Because

24:11

it doesn't say Jesus rebuked the disciples. It

24:15

said Jesus rebuked the wind and

24:17

he spoke to the disciples. I

24:20

actually don't feel like he was mad or angry. This was more

24:22

a sign of a savior who

24:24

is caring for the people that he was

24:26

called to lead and saying hey you can

24:28

be still. You can

24:31

be at peace. See so

24:33

many times as a pastor I talk to people

24:35

and it's when they go through hardships. This is

24:37

sometimes what they say to me. They say I

24:39

feel like during this time of

24:41

hardship I can hear God clearer than I

24:43

ever have before. And

24:45

I believe that during hardship God definitely

24:48

speaks, absolutely. But the

24:50

question should never be is God

24:52

speaking. The question

24:54

should be are we listening? Because

24:57

whether you're on the mountain top or things are going

24:59

well and whether you're in the

25:01

valley and things aren't going well God is

25:03

still speaking. The hard part is does it

25:05

take a hardship or pain or a problem

25:07

for you to finally be still long enough

25:09

to listen to what he says. And

25:13

we have to get to the place where stillness

25:16

becomes a part of our everyday habit. That we're

25:18

willing to listen to him, that we're willing to

25:20

trust him. That we

25:22

are at peace with what he's called us to

25:24

be at peace with. See here's

25:26

what we need to understand. Peace should actually be the

25:28

default position of every believer. Here's

25:32

why, because true peace comes from

25:34

making peace with God. Let

25:36

me say it this way, probably heard it before Pastor

25:39

Robert, true peace comes from making peace with the Prince

25:41

of Peace. That's

25:44

where true peace comes from. So it

25:47

should be our default position. But

25:49

there's times where we're going through things and

25:52

we begin to drift away from what God had us. As

25:54

a matter of fact, Hebrews 2.1 tells us. So

25:56

we must listen very carefully to

25:59

the truth. we have heard, or

26:01

we may drift away from

26:04

it. It's very easy to drift. It's

26:07

very natural. This past

26:09

summer, once again, the whole family got

26:11

together and we actually went to Florida and we went

26:13

to the beach. Something you

26:15

should know about me, the beach for me,

26:17

it's one of my favorite places to

26:19

go sit in the shade. It's one of my favorite

26:21

places to go do that. The

26:25

rest of the family, they're of

26:27

a little lighter complexion than I am. And

26:30

they go to lay out, get a tan,

26:32

and I'm like, I came with one already,

26:35

so you're gonna see me in the shade

26:38

while y'all go and enjoy the sun.

26:42

And yes, it's okay to laugh at that if you're struggling

26:44

with it, you should laugh. But

26:48

here's what I realized. We set up camp, we kinda

26:50

had our home base, and then we'd go out into

26:52

the water, and then very easily as the waves would

26:55

come, the kids, as they were

26:57

out there having a lot of fun, next thing you

26:59

know, they would drift and be 20 yards down and

27:01

one of the adults would call them back. They'd come

27:03

back to home base, go back in the water, and

27:05

once again begin to drift. Here's

27:08

why. Because it's very

27:10

easy to drift whenever you aren't

27:12

paying attention. But here's the

27:14

one thing I love. They always knew where

27:16

to come back to. And here's the truth.

27:18

No matter where you are or where you

27:21

find yourself today, even if you drift far

27:23

away, there's always a path back to come

27:25

home because of what Jesus did on the

27:27

cross. He

27:31

says, draw near to me and

27:33

I will draw near to you.

27:36

But there can be this gap that happens

27:39

whenever what we're believing for isn't

27:41

what we're actually experiencing. And

27:44

what we choose to fill that gap with will

27:46

actually determine the course of our life. Whenever

27:49

we're in that place of frustration, whenever things

27:51

are tough, whenever we're facing hardship, what

27:54

do we put in the gap? Do we put fear? Do

27:56

we put bitterness? Do we put anger? Do we

27:58

put offense? Because we have

28:01

a choice also to put faith there. We

28:03

also have a choice to put hope there.

28:05

And here's why. See, we can be still

28:07

because God is faithful. We can be still

28:10

because he's still a God who saves us.

28:12

We can be still because he's still a

28:14

God who loves us and nothing can remove

28:16

us from his love. We can be still

28:18

because he's a God who is in charge

28:21

today. He's the same yesterday, today and forever.

28:23

So no matter who you are, no matter

28:25

what you're facing today, you can be still

28:27

in his presence and

28:30

experience the peace that passes

28:32

all understanding. First Thessalonians 3.10, Paul

28:34

writes this, he says, night and

28:37

day, we pray earnestly for

28:39

you asking God to let us see

28:41

you again, to fill the

28:43

gaps in your faith. See,

28:45

that's one of the things that I love when I sit

28:47

down with people and talk with them. I wanna fill the

28:49

gap of their faith. This is why

28:51

there are groups for you to be a part of

28:54

and get involved in. Because there's

28:56

people around you that can fill the gaps in

28:58

your faith. This is why we serve, this is

29:00

why we're a part of the body of Christ.

29:02

We come and we hear messages that encourage and

29:04

edify us to continue walking down the path to

29:07

the gaps of our faith are filled. But

29:10

here's what you need to understand is

29:12

that faith is a muscle. It

29:15

either declines or develops. And

29:17

this may be a stretching year for you and that's

29:19

a great thing because here's what you need to know

29:21

and be confident in. That God

29:23

doesn't stretch us to break us, he

29:25

actually stretches us to build us. He

29:29

wants us to become the people that he's

29:31

called and destined for us to be, but

29:33

it will come with trust. So

29:35

Jesus spoke peace, be still to the sea, but

29:37

I actually believe he was speaking it to his

29:40

disciples as well. We read

29:42

a second ago about the armor of God and one

29:44

of the pieces of the armor is

29:46

the shoes of the gospel of peace. Here's

29:49

what I believe he's saying that no matter where you

29:51

go, no matter where you step, because for you to

29:54

go anywhere, you typically move your feet, you

29:57

can experience peace. You can

29:59

have... Peace, but here's what you

30:01

need to understand about shoes. I know some people here.

30:03

They love shoes They have a closet full of them.

30:05

I have like 10 that I wear until I wear

30:08

them out But

30:11

shoes are actually an

30:13

indication of where you're going They

30:16

indicate where you're going or what

30:18

you are going to do as a matter of fact I

30:21

have a couple of pictures with me today And I want

30:23

you to participate and tell me where I would be going

30:25

and you could show the first pair of shoes You could

30:27

talk to me. Where would I be going? Golfing

30:30

okay, I believe the spikes there on the

30:32

bottom of that and that's where people like

30:34

me who always hit it into the forest

30:36

And have to step over all the branches

30:38

and all the rough parts, okay Golf

30:42

shoes if we have another pair of shoes, okay,

30:44

bring them all okay the official shoe of Texas

30:46

I was in Houston. They're like this you can

30:48

wear for anything You can make it

30:51

formal you can wear it to the rodeo you can wear

30:53

it to the ranch You can wear it to the gym

30:55

no matter where you are you can always Wear

31:01

boots and I have one final

31:03

picture here to show everybody You

31:09

know what I don't know where this person is going

31:11

in life The

31:15

only thing I know for sure is this person

31:17

is going to be single that's just what I

31:19

want to talk that out Just

31:21

talking it out there. Love you

31:23

if you're wearing them today I just want

31:25

to let you know that we love you

31:27

you are accepted here at Gateway Church If

31:37

you're young at all get married first then go to the

31:39

Crocs just throwing that out there just

31:41

here to help you out But

31:45

God has called us to have

31:47

peace no matter where we go We

31:50

can experience his peace in a world full

31:52

of anxiety See

31:54

one of the things that is important He says

31:56

that he will give you peace to guard that

31:58

guards your mind See,

32:01

if you are full of the peace

32:03

of God, then you won't be consumed

32:05

with the pettiness of the world. When

32:11

you're full of God's peace, you aren't concerned about every

32:13

single issue. You don't have to give your opinion on

32:15

every single issue. So

32:17

that you can experience peace of mind. I

32:21

realize in my own life, this truth, that

32:24

I can experience peace of mind as long as I

32:26

don't have to give everyone a piece of my mind.

32:31

That I can simply love them. I

32:34

can simply pray for them. But

32:36

we're called to be peacemakers. And Matthew,

32:39

it says, bless other peacemakers for they

32:41

shall be called children of God. And

32:43

here's why, because whenever we are peacemakers,

32:45

we reflect our Father who is in

32:47

heaven because He is the ultimate peacemaker

32:49

in the truth that He sent His

32:51

Son so that all of us can

32:54

be back in relationship with God. But

32:57

it takes us believing in Him. And

33:00

we are called to carry His peace throughout the world.

33:02

But I want you to think about this. Remember, there

33:04

were other little boats there. See,

33:07

peace isn't just about us. See,

33:10

once we experience peace, we're called to take

33:12

peace wherever we go. Whenever

33:15

the storm, whenever Jesus spoke peace be

33:18

still, the storm was still for other people as

33:20

well. We're called

33:22

to bring peace everywhere

33:24

we go because we

33:27

made peace with a God who loves us.

33:30

I want you to bow your heads and close your eyes with me. Across

33:34

all the campuses, all the gatherings, those

33:38

watching online. When

33:42

I asked this question, we asked all the time here

33:45

at Gateway, what is the Holy Spirit saying

33:47

to me through this message? We

33:52

have a chance to respond throughout this

33:54

week. I

33:57

would encourage you to be still. Take the time to reflect.

34:01

Take the time to get in his presence,

34:04

because that's where you receive the power that he wants

34:06

every single one of us to have. Some

34:09

of us are going through something hard and we simply need

34:11

to stand still and see

34:14

God's move because the Lord will fight the

34:16

battles for you. Others

34:18

of us, we need to be still and know

34:20

and have a greater revelation of who God is.

34:24

But some of us are at that

34:26

place of restlessness and we need God

34:28

to say peace be still. No matter

34:31

who you are, no matter what you

34:33

may be facing, God loves you. And

34:38

he has an answer for you. He

34:41

wants to lead you and guide you into

34:44

all truth by his spirit.

34:47

In a moment here, we have a chance to

34:49

respond. On all of the

34:51

campuses, all the gatherings, there'll be someone down front that

34:55

would love to have the opportunity to pray for you, to

34:57

pray with you. I encourage you today, don't

35:00

leave with the same burdens you came in

35:02

with without taking the step to come down

35:04

and pray with someone. That

35:06

may be your initial step of faith, but

35:10

there's some of us that don't have true peace because

35:12

we don't know God. We

35:15

don't have a relationship with him. We have not come

35:17

to the place where we submitted our lives to him

35:19

and today is the day that you need to do

35:21

that. The best decision

35:23

that you can ever make and

35:26

the people in the

35:28

front of the prayer line would love to

35:30

pray with you. But no matter

35:32

what you're going through, know that God is

35:34

with you. So heavenly Father, we thank you. We

35:37

thank you that we can be still because we

35:39

have a God who loves us, a

35:41

God who is faithful and a God who cares. That

35:44

you desire to know us and

35:47

for us to know you. And

35:50

I pray that every single person

35:52

would experience your peace and

35:54

that you would continue to draw

35:57

us closer to you. It's

35:59

a mighty honor. In the mighty name of Jesus, I

36:01

pray. And everyone said, Amen

36:05

and Amen. Thank you for allowing me to be here today. I

36:07

love y'all. Thanks for joining us today. If

36:10

you'd like to connect

36:12

with us, text connect to 71010 or

36:15

visit gatewaypeople.com. We hope you have

36:17

a great week.