Is Your Weakness a Blessing?
Give All Of Your Troubles To God And Let Him Renew You.
Jeff Taylor
Jul 31, 2022 45m
If you outwardly fall apart and as you outwardly feel weak, what do you believe God can do inwardly that will redeem all of it? This message reminds you that as you go through trials in life, you don't have to face them alone. You can give your troubles to God and let Him renew you. Video recorded at Upland, California.
Tags
perspective trials grief struggles hope joy renewed power of the holy spirit redemption eternal lifeTranscriptionmessageRegarding Grammar:
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
This is a transcription of the sermon. People speak differently than they write, and there are common colloquialisms in this transcript that sound good when spoken, and look like bad grammar when written.
Intro: [00:00:00] Hey, there. Thanks so much for checking out one of our messages here at Life Bible Fellowship Church. And we know there are two great ways you can connect with us. You can visit our website at LBF.church to learn more about all of our ministries and what we believe. And also, you can subscribe to us on YouTube to make sure that you don't miss one of our future videos.
Jeff Taylor: [00:00:00] So about six months after I graduated from high school, I moved to Jamaica, and that was an experience. Now, let me tell you about one of them. As crazy and out of control as you think California driving is, it ain't got nothing on Jamaica, right? Now, I lived up in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, which will mean something to you coffee drinkers, and which meant that in order to get to Mandeville, the closest town, I had to take a taxi any time I wanted to go to town. So this 1978 Datsun, with no working seatbelts, would pull up in front of the house. I'd walk out, I'd get in the car, and I learned really quickly to grab on to the headrest in front of you, because this guy was going down this mountain, this narrow two-lane winding road, and clearly, he saw that his job was to get me to town as quickly as possible. My safety was definitely second on the priority list. So I'm holding on, I'm just like, we're passing cars on blind corners, we're just like, Oh, he's like, Oh, no worries, man. I'm like, no, worries, worries. We'd get down to town and I'd like, get out of the car. In fact, everywhere I went in Jamaica, it was on the edge. I mean, where it was just like, oh, this is so fast and seems so reckless. In fact, I was actually in an accident in Jamaica where we tried to pass this car and our bus shaved the side of the car right off, the door handles, the mirrors, and everything. We didn't even stop, we were just like, okay. Well, I'm like...
Jeff Taylor: [00:02:04] So when it was time for me to leave Jamaica, I go to Kingston Airport, I get on a plane, we take off, and as we bank left out of the airport, I look down at this chaotic city and you know what I saw? No chaos at all. Man, all the driving seemed to have this rhythm to it, the passing, the going fast, it all seemed to make a different sort of sense in this perspective. And it really became real to me, like, that's the way that life goes sometimes, right? That when you're in it, when you're in the car, you're like, This is nuts, there's no way I'm going to make it out of this, this is crazy, right? And then if you're able to get a different perspective, you go, oh, there was some rhyme, there was some reason to it. And we have to decide then what are we going to trust?
Jeff Taylor: [00:03:09] And life stage stuff all plays a factor in terms of like what you're having to deal with, and the big stuff and the little stuff. But what are you going to trust in those moments where it feels so out of control, and we have no idea what's going on? And we go, is there any other perspective that God would want me to have? So we get to this point in Second Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16. So if you have your Bible, you can look it up there, you can look it up on your phone, or whatever you want to do.
Jeff Taylor: [00:03:43] So here's verse 16, chapter 4, Therefore, we do not lose heart. Okay, a little Bible reading pro tips, I'm sure some of you have heard this before. Whenever you're reading the Bible and it says, therefore, you should ask, what? What's that there for? Right? So it's referring back to something else, all right, so where do we go? Well, we don't have to go back very far to see some examples of this. chapter 4, verse 7, "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." Dan talked about this a couple of weeks ago, that this all-surpassing power comes from who? Come on, help me out. Comes from who? Comes from God. It's not up to us to be strong enough, thank God, right? That's something we can go, thank you, God, that it's not up to me. It's not up to us to just do our best. Move ahead a little bit to verse 14, "Because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God." We're going to be raised to life, thank God, right? And then as we're raised up, therefore God will receive all the glory for our lives. Thank you, God.
Jeff Taylor: [00:05:36] So back to verse 16, Therefore, because of, "Therefore, we do not lose heart." Now, what's a pretty common thing to do when you lose heart? You just give up. You're like when you've lost heart, you're like, that is done, I'm over it. And sometimes we can give up on hope, we can give up on joy, we can give up on relationships, we can give up on faith. When we lose heart, many times we just give up. And a question that has been with me for a long time in different periods of my life, am I living like I've lost heart? Make it personal in your life, are there things where you're living like you've lost heart? And they might be little things like, oh, I'm kind of discouraged at this. It might be big stuff where you've lost heart in your marriage, you've lost heart with your parents, you've lost heart with your kids. Are you living like you've lost heart? And I think of how easy it is for me in my life to get frustrated, to get annoyed, to look at a situation and just be like that should be different, and I end up losing heart, which can look like a whole bunch of different ways. But I know that there are people throughout my life who, where based on the way that I've lived, have looked at me and gone, man, he doesn't have any perspective of anything other than this thing that's right in front of him that's caused him to lose heart. And it doesn't mean it's not a difficult situation, but like I'm living with this right here and this is all I see, and my response is based on this.
Jeff Taylor: [00:07:32] A couple of months ago we had a house fire, and my wife calls me and she's like, hey, the house caught on fire? She texted me a picture of the fire truck in front of our house. I'm like, Oh, okay. Because I was out of town, because that's when things happen, right? When you're gone. And so we ended up, she tells me this and, in my mind, I'm like, okay, we have insurance, I didn't lose heart. I come back and we have to move into a hotel because we can't live in our house, room service every day, breakfast provided, still didn't lose heart. Like, all right, all right, you know, it's inconvenient, but we'll get through it. We move back into the house, and we've got to gut the kitchen, we have to take out all the cabinets and everything. And I'll tell you, my youngest son, Nathan, plus a sledgehammer, didn't lose heart. That was a good day, that was that was fun.
Jeff Taylor: [00:08:35] So we decide we're going to order cabinets from IKEA. Some of you have had this experience, so the delivery arrives, 129 boxes of hinges and handles and flat pieces of wood. And I'm telling you, as I stared into this garage full of boxes demanding skills I do not have, heart lost. So I started to consider my options, I'm like, Babe, maybe we can just sell the house as is, we can rebuild, we can start over somewhere. Or, I was like, okay, or I acknowledge my weaknesses and realize I'm going to need help beyond myself. This is not about me, you know, bucking up and try hard and just, like, make something out of yourself, Jeff, and what? No, no, no, no, this was beyond me. And as we read the promises of God and His promises to provide and care for us, man, I'm telling you, this came in the form of my friends Larry and Steve, who showed up. And it means a lot, did things I'd never be able to do. I watched them work, I'm just like, that's what that's for, the drill goes the other way too. And man, it was such a blessing, but it was going to require me to do some things like, hey, Jeff, acknowledge that you're not going to be able to do this, and be willing to step out and go, all right, God, I need you to come and move.
Jeff Taylor: [00:10:50] And certainly, there are more serious issues in life than my kitchen cabinets, and I know that we have all had experiences at whatever age you are, where you've been in a situation that just puts knots in your stomach. Where you're just going, I don't think I'm going to make it. I don't see how I'm going to get through this. I don't see how I'm going to get through this grief. I don't see how I'm going to get through this financial issue. I don't know how I'm going to ever fix this relationship. I don't know how I'm ever going to find hope or joy again.
Jeff Taylor: [00:11:24] And the question is, are you living like you've lost heart? Are you living in a way where you've put it on yourself? You've said, I've got to be strong enough, I've got to do this on my own. And have you either decided not to, or forgotten to, acknowledge your weakness and go, man, I need help. And not just the physical help that some people around us can be, but the spiritual help that God has for us that we're going to look at right here. Back to verse 16, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." Outwardly, we're wasting away. Thanks, Paul, good talk. Right? Outwardly, we're wasting away. Can I get an amen? All right, so some of you feel this. So we can be tempted to view this as a bad thing, like, Oh, I'm wasting away. I'm so weak. I can't fix this issue. I can't fix this problem. I can't restore this relationship. I can't do all of these things. And we look at this like, oh, my gosh, this is a terrible thing. Except, when you see all over the place in here and sometimes specifically said, man, it's in our weakness that God's allowed to show up. It's in our weakness, we're going to see the supernatural power of God. Because otherwise, you're going to be like, I'm tempted to be a whole lot of the time, oh, no, no, I'm good, I'm fine. No, no, it'll be all right. You know, we say that to God, no, no, it's fine, I don't need you to intervene yet. Though outwardly, wasting away, yet inwardly we're being renewed every day.
Jeff Taylor: [00:13:30] Outwardly, we're wasting away. Does anybody here feel like you're physically wasting away? I'll tell you, man, I was good till 40. I don't know what happened at 40. Like, I turned 40 years old, and my body went, you know what? I think we're done. We're a little tired, some things started wearing out. This is not a metaphor that Paul is using, Paul was physically wasting away. Some think that he had a chronic illness. Some believe it was just the wear and tear on his body from traveling around, from being beaten and imprisoned, and all of these things. But Paul was going, look, outwardly, I'm wasting away. And am I right that there's not much more motivating of a factor to lose heart than physical pain? Man, when you're in physical pain, you're like, yeah, I just don't want to, and we give up quick. So Paul is addressing this very real issue for all of us, so if you're here today like me and you've got stuff where you're just like, I just don't feel good, right? So Paul's not overlooking that, and he's not just being like, come on, get to it. He's going, look, outwardly, we're wasting away, we need to address this issue. The only way we won't lose heart is to be renewed every day by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jeff Taylor: [00:14:57] To be renewed every single day by the power of the Holy Spirit, and this renewal, this constant renewal of the inward person, of what's going on inside and that constant renewal is the way that we are transformed into the image of Christ. A lot of times I get in my head, that I want to be transformed into someone who has this ability, I want to be transformed into someone who's idolized like this, I want to be transformed into somebody who can put a stinkin' cabinet together. Right? And we go like, that would be great, that would be good enough. God, that's all I want to do is to be able to look at these IKEA instructions with all pictures and no words, this is why I didn't do Legos, and just be able to do it, good enough. Here, Paul's going, no, no, no, no, no, no, this is how we get transformed into the image of Christ. Outwardly, you're wasting away, but inwardly, oh, man, game on, let's go.
Jeff Taylor: [00:16:02] Back a chapter, in Second Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." So what does this look like to be transformed into the image of Christ? Like, how do we know if we're being transformed? Is there anything other than, oh, I'm sure I'm being transformed? There's absolutely evidence of it, It's called the Fruit of the Spirit. It's right in here in Galatians 5, "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." And not just like the regular old love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, like we're talking superpowered, supernatural, miraculous, life-changing, life directing, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Who doesn't need that? Who is like, you're going to play it like, I've got this? I love you, you don't got this, you don't got it, it's not within you, you cannot do this enough. And you're like, I'm glad I came this morning. You cannot do this, and we try, right? We do our best. And we look at each other and we look at somebody doing their best, and we're like, good job, way to do your best. There were some things in my kitchen, I did my best. My wife is trying to be supportive of me and she's like, that's good. A friend comes over and goes, the door's on upside down. I tried my best. God wants to transform us in this, not to just be like, hey, so you can get to the next thing, but supernaturally healing, supernaturally motivating.
Jeff Taylor: [00:18:17] And I know that we have all been in a place where we've lost heart. Like I said whether it's with the hope of a relationship, peace, joy, or contentment. And you've just kind of gone, well, you know, I guess I'll just keep, I'll keep doing my best. And we end up letting our present circumstances dictate our destiny. How are you doing today? Well, that's the way your life's going to go, yeah? Pass. How are you doing today? I'm not good, but I'm believing that there is something beyond me, that my creator, my Savior has life for me that I can't see yet. So I have hope, I have joy, and, I have peace, and I'm able to go, thank you, God. Some of you, you've got to grab on to this. And I'm not lecturing you, I'm not being like, come on, just like I have. I'm just talking out loud at you, we've got to grab on to this. We got to go, all right, God, I'm not recognizing my weakness, I'm trying to put it all together, I'm doing my best. But we're letting our present circumstances dictate our destiny, because, in that car, you're just holding on to that headrest in front of you going, I hope I survive this. And my only desire is to get to the bottom of the hill, nothing else. What about life at the bottom of the hill? Don't worry about it. God's worried about it because he designed you for that, and he has a purpose and a plan for something after high school, after junior high, after college, after this job that you're in right now, in your marriage, in your singledom, he has life for you. And a lot of times we act surprised that life gets hard, that relationships break down, that our bodies break down, that we're having trouble with our kids, or we're having trouble with friends, or whatever it is.
Jeff Taylor: [00:20:39] You should read this, it's really good, it says that's going to happen. Not just here, in John 16, Jesus said it. I'm going to listen to Jesus, and Jesus said, "In this world, you're going to have..." What? I don't want it to say that. In this world, you're going to have kind of bummer days. In this world, you're going to have like a little frustration. "In this world, you're going to have trouble." But then what does he say? Take what? "Take heart." Jesus is telling you, to pick your heart back up, not under your own strength, let me pick it up and let me handle this. Take heart, because it's not about you and your power, it's not about you and all your success, it's not about you and all that you think you can do. "Take heart! I have overcome the world.” I've overcome whatever this thing is, I've overcome this. You can have victory, you can have life, where you have only seen death, where you've only experienced death, you've even come to expect death. Jesus is saying, no, no, no, I have overcome this, will you believe it? Will you believe it? And even right now, some of you are sitting here and you're just like, you don't know my situation. You're right, I don't. And if I did, it would probably scare me to death. If I knew how hard something was in your life right now, it would be like, oh, my gosh, I don't know. Thank God Jesus knows, the Holy Spirit knows, and there is nothing you're facing where you could be like, Oh, but he doesn't understand. He gets it, and he loves you, and he has a purpose for you. And every time he sees me try and handle it, every time he sees me try and do my best, he's not going, oh, good, well at least you're trying your hardest. He's going, I will never leave you or forsake you. I am not like up here wringing my hands going, oh, gosh, I don't know how he's going to make it out of this one. I don't know what she's going to do. He's not rooting for you to do your best, he is saying, oh, that you would choose life, because that's what he has for us. And when we end up going, oh, I'm going to act like I'm not having any trouble and I'm just going to manage it, I'm just going to do my best, that's what we end up doing. We end up trying harder, working harder, making more sense of it in our heads, and we end up losing heart because it's not going to work. It might work for a moment, it might look like it's working, but oh, man, compared to the life that he has for us. So in the face of breaking down, what do you believe about what God's doing? As you outwardly fall apart, as you are outwardly weak, what do you believe God is able to do inwardly that will redeem all of it?
Jeff Taylor: [00:24:17] So here's the perspective shift that Paul wants us to understand, verse 17, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Is Paul making fun of us? Is he making light of our troubles? Because you could read it like this, for our light and momentary troubles, sometimes I read it like that. Paul, this is not a light and momentary trouble, this is like when a teenage couple breaks up and the helpful adults around them go, oh, it was just puppy love. Guess what? It's awfully real to the puppy. And may I encourage you as a person who cares for and pastors’ young people, please stop saying that, it's not helpful. It would be like if we read this verse the way I just mockingly did, oh, your light and momentary trouble. Man, in that cab, that fear was pretty real. When you're going through things in your life that are too big for you, that you don't understand or that you're not sure what the end of the road is going to end up looking like. Paul is not going oh, for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an...Just because when I got up in that airplane, I was able to see it from a different perspective and be like, oh, look, it's really not. If I went back today, being in that cab would be scary.
Jeff Taylor: [00:26:04] Paul is not telling you to stop being a baby. He's not saying that, oh, your marriage issues aren't that bad. Oh, your financials, or losing your job isn't that big a deal, you're going to provide for your family, and if you don't...He's not saying that, he's recognizing that we so easily fall into this perspective of going, oh, no, no, no, no, this is the end, I must try harder, I must do more, I must save myself. And we get into these this mindset of like, no, no, no, no, no, I, I, I, and when we realize that, I fail, we lose heart.
Jeff Taylor: [00:26:49] I don't know about you, but when I get the flu, I am absolutely convinced I am never going to feel better again. Anybody else? You're puking your guts out, or you've got like a cold for the third straight week, you're like, I'm going to feel like this forever. I'm never going to get better. It's like, right, and in that, we lose heart and we're just like, oh, this is the end, I'm never going to...Now, is that true? No, you're going to feel better. And we know that some of you, you might even, like, tell people that. You're going to feel better, it's going to be fine. It sure doesn't feel like it. And Paul is recognizing that going, man, you, you are going to feel a certain way, and your tendency is going to be to try to fix it. you're not going to be able to fix it, and that is going to lead you to believe that losing heart is the only option. Just giving up, losing heart, because you can't try anymore.
Jeff Taylor: [00:27:56] But here Paul is going all the way, he's not just saying there are brighter days ahead. Get that. Standing up here as I talk about this, and this is not just like, oh, I'm just trying to convince you that, hey, tomorrow's a new day, you're going to...Man, many of us have stopped falling for that, right? Like, not just, like, chin up, buckaroo. Here, Paul is going, look, there is absolute redemption and restoration of life for those who will put their faith in Jesus and make themselves available to the power of the Holy Spirit in their life. And I'm going to throw it out there to those of you as you're sitting here today and you're like, yeah, I don't think I've ever done that, that's where you start. That's where you start, it doesn't start with come to church more. It doesn't start with, well, you don't try giving yourself a different perspective. It starts with surrendering your life, acknowledging your weakness, and going, you know, I can't save myself. Acknowledge your weakness, accept the gift of life that Jesus has for you as you put your faith in Him, and you are filled with the Holy Spirit who is able to bring life out of death. Some of you, you've got to do this, you got to start there. Some of you, you're here today and you're like, man, I've been a Christian for 46 years, and I come to church every Sunday and... Awesome. How are you making yourself available to the supernatural power of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Because this is what he has for us, and it can be really hard to get into a perspective. You know, and here is Paul goes, your momentary troubles and the things...There is a perspective issue, me standing on my leg on one foot for an hour, okay, I'm tired. but that would feel like forever. One hour out of a semester in school is nothing, it doesn't mean that that hour is not important, it doesn't mean that hour can't contain lots of learning and important things. But Paul is addressing this issue that I think all of us come face to face with at times, where ur perspective is, oh, and now I have to lose heart because what else can I do? So how do we get there?
Jeff Taylor: [00:30:49] Verse 18, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Let me read that again, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Are you guys ready for battle? Because here we go, are you ready? The enemy, Satan, is obsessed with keeping what you can't handle, what you've screwed up, and what you don't know how to do, right in your face. That is one of his main strategies, at every stage of life, that is one of his main strategies to keep the things that are too much for us, the things that we don't know how to handle, or the things we've tried to handle, and we've failed. He wants to keep that stuff right here, so that when we try and look for hope, he's like, no, no, no, no, no, remember the last time? Remember when you tried to do this before? Remember how embarrassing that was? Remember how you hurt somebody that way? He wants to keep it right here, and he wants to convince us that it's too late, it's too big, it's too painful, it's too complex, it's too whatever. And in our flesh, we can be convinced, you're right, and we lose heart. When we allow that to stay here, the end result is going to be losing heart. Because it's going to be the only thing that we can see. And when that becomes the case and with Satan's encouragement, hey, you know what'll make you feel better? Money. Possessions. Popularity. Making varsity. Having a girlfriend. Having a boyfriend. Getting married. Have a kid. Get a new job. Find a new church. Whatever. And there are probably all of us in this room in some way we've gone, oh, okay, I'll try that. And I know that there are some here this morning, you're exhausted, all this trying is exhausting. But you are being invited into a relationship, you are being invited by the Almighty God to go, look, you don't have to carry this, this isn't about you getting it together, let me move in your life in power.
Jeff Taylor: [00:34:06] A good example in the before Jesus’ part of the Bible, the Old Testament, will be David, King David, what a screw-up, right? He was disobedient, he was unfaithful, he had an affair with a married woman, and he wanted to get out of the trouble of that, so he had the woman's husband killed. What a wreck. Do you know how David is also referred to in this same book? A man, what? A man after God's own heart. That's nuts. That's silly. But do you know why? Because in his darkest moment, in his pain, in his hurt, in his failure, he kept going, oh, I'm a wreck, God, I need you, I need you to search my heart, know my anxious thoughts, and if there's anything about me that is not of you, get rid of it. He cried out to God and said, my flesh, my bones are like dust. I mean, he talks about physical pain, I mean, he consistently recognized that he needed an intervention by the almighty God. Are you there yet? Some of you are. Some of you will be.
Jeff Taylor: [00:35:46] When our eyes are fixed on what's right in front of us without the Holy Spirit revealing his purpose and his plan, losing heart is the only option, that's the way it's going to feel. The devil even tried that with Jesus himself. The Holy Spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness, which, by the way, let's not skip over that, the Holy Spirit led Jesus to a place of pain, hurt, frustration, lack, all of these things. But guess what? He didn't leave him there, right? So Jesus is out there, and what did the devil try and do? He tried to get his circumstance right in front of him. Oh, Jesus, aren't you hungry? You know, you have the power to turn that rock into a piece of bread. Jesus, your current position, you've got no power, you have very little influence. I mean, if you acknowledge me, man, I'll give you power over everything that you see. Jesus, if you were to jump off that building, do think your Heavenly Father would really be there. Well, I don't know, I've been suffering for quite a while now. But instead, he comes back at him with the truth of the Almighty God who had already spoken, who had already declared who Jesus was, who had already empowered Him, who had already spoken, truth. And Jesus went, get away from me. and he spoke truth into a situation. How do you need to speak truth into your situation? Rather than like trying to come up with the next best solution, how do you need to just speak truth into the situation? Acknowledge your weakness and go, this is the temptation I'm feeling, and I come against it in the name of Jesus. In what ways do you need to take these thoughts captive to the authority of Christ and go, I'm not believing the lie anymore, I'm not believing that this is hopeless anymore, I'm not believing that I have to live without peace anymore. In the name of Jesus, I'm telling hell no. Come on, right, we need to get there.
Jeff Taylor: [00:38:10] So, I want to ask you this, what is the circumstance? So this is really personal, this is just for you and doesn't matter what the person next to you is thinking or saying or doing or whatever. What is the circumstance in your life right now that the enemy is trying to kill, steal and destroy your life? What is it? It might be a job thing, a parenting thing, a financial, a marriage, or whatever it may be. What is the thing that the enemy is trying to keep this circumstance right in your face and going, you can't fix it, you might as well just give up. Or you can't fix it, you might as well chase these other things. What is the circumstance that he's trying to use to steal, kill, and destroy your life? It might be, I'm never going to get into that school, I'm never going to get married, I'm never going to be happy at my job, I'm never going to be happy in my marriage, I'm never going to have kids that will do this. What is it? And will you call it out and will you take it captive to the authority of Christ, say, in the name of Jesus, I speak the truth of God into this situation. I'm accepting what God says about this circumstance, not what the enemy says about it, not what I say about it, not what my culture says about it, I'm going to receive what God says about my situation. I'm going to stand up, I'm going to tell Hell no. I'm going to receive this life that God promises He has for us.
Jeff Taylor: [00:39:48] But man, it's certainly easier to just give in. But when we do that, we forget that God shows his glory, we've been saying this every week, right? God shows His glory through the frailty of his servants. If you want God to show up, quit trying to be everything that you need. God shows his glory through the frailty of his servants. And here's the promise, Paul talks about it later in this letter to the Corinthians in Chapter 12, that his power is made perfect in our what? In our weakness. Get it, Jeff, get it, come on. His power is made full, made perfect in our weakness, and that his grace will be sufficient.
Jeff Taylor: [00:40:44] In the back of the chair in front of you, or if you're in the front row, on the ground, there's a card. And I didn't grab one because, you know. Will you take that card out? It's a three-by-five card, and it says this, what is the situation in your life that you need to allow the Holy Spirit to change your perspective and invite Him to renew your heart every day? And I'm going to give you a moment to quietly consider this, and I want to encourage you, there are pens in the chairs, I want to encourage you to physically write it out. Because there is something that is encouraging and happens when we put action to our intentions. I know that I've sat through all kinds of sermons and messages where I go, yeah, yeah, I should change that. And my intentions are good, but man, let's put action to our intention. So right now, write out. What is the situation in your life that you need to allow the Holy Spirit to change your perspective and invite Him to renew your heart every day? I'm not going to, at any point, ask you to share it with anybody. It's going to be private, so you don't have to worry about what what you write. Write this out as an action to surrender to God.
Jeff Taylor: [00:42:58] Some of you have written some really big stuff on that card, things that are significant to you and have been for a long time. Others, you've written something that maybe even right now you're talking to yourself out of it, you're like, oh, this is no big deal, I can get through this. Here's the thank God part of it, he wants all of it, he's not looking at your card going, come on, and he's not looking at your card going, I don't know what I'm supposed to do about that.
Jeff Taylor: [00:43:35] I want to ask you to do something else, immediately or over the next few songs, up under the cross there are some baskets. Now, symbols don't have any power, it's not like it doesn't conjure anything up. But there are definitely actions that get us moving some momentum in the right direction for our heart to step out and go, you know what? I'm going to start here, and I did this physical thing, not that it has any power, but it's a demonstration of the intention of my heart. And I want to encourage you, as we are encouraged in God's word to us, to take this thing that you've written and lay at the feet of Jesus, to offer it to him and surrender and say, I'm no longer going to be held by this, I'm no longer going to live disheartened, I'm going to trust in the power of the Almighty God. And the prayer team is going to come up here, and I want to ask if the prayer team and any elders or staff that are here can line up right here in the front area of the stage, and if on your way up you want to stop and be prayed for, let somebody partner with what God is already doing, they'll be up here. So prayer people and elders and pastors come on up, and as we worship, as we sing, let's make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit, and let's respond to the work that He is already doing. And if you want to put your card in the baskets at the cross, you're welcome to do that at any point.
Recorded in Upland, California.
Jeff Taylor: [00:00:00] So about six months after I graduated from high school, I moved to Jamaica, and that was an experience. Now, let me tell you about one of them. As crazy and out of control as you think California driving is, it ain't got nothing on Jamaica, right? Now, I lived up in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, which will mean something to you coffee drinkers, and which meant that in order to get to Mandeville, the closest town, I had to take a taxi any time I wanted to go to town. So this 1978 Datsun, with no working seatbelts, would pull up in front of the house. I'd walk out, I'd get in the car, and I learned really quickly to grab on to the headrest in front of you, because this guy was going down this mountain, this narrow two-lane winding road, and clearly, he saw that his job was to get me to town as quickly as possible. My safety was definitely second on the priority list. So I'm holding on, I'm just like, we're passing cars on blind corners, we're just like, Oh, he's like, Oh, no worries, man. I'm like, no, worries, worries. We'd get down to town and I'd like, get out of the car. In fact, everywhere I went in Jamaica, it was on the edge. I mean, where it was just like, oh, this is so fast and seems so reckless. In fact, I was actually in an accident in Jamaica where we tried to pass this car and our bus shaved the side of the car right off, the door handles, the mirrors, and everything. We didn't even stop, we were just like, okay. Well, I'm like...
Jeff Taylor: [00:02:04] So when it was time for me to leave Jamaica, I go to Kingston Airport, I get on a plane, we take off, and as we bank left out of the airport, I look down at this chaotic city and you know what I saw? No chaos at all. Man, all the driving seemed to have this rhythm to it, the passing, the going fast, it all seemed to make a different sort of sense in this perspective. And it really became real to me, like, that's the way that life goes sometimes, right? That when you're in it, when you're in the car, you're like, This is nuts, there's no way I'm going to make it out of this, this is crazy, right? And then if you're able to get a different perspective, you go, oh, there was some rhyme, there was some reason to it. And we have to decide then what are we going to trust?
Jeff Taylor: [00:03:09] And life stage stuff all plays a factor in terms of like what you're having to deal with, and the big stuff and the little stuff. But what are you going to trust in those moments where it feels so out of control, and we have no idea what's going on? And we go, is there any other perspective that God would want me to have? So we get to this point in Second Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16. So if you have your Bible, you can look it up there, you can look it up on your phone, or whatever you want to do.
Jeff Taylor: [00:03:43] So here's verse 16, chapter 4, Therefore, we do not lose heart. Okay, a little Bible reading pro tips, I'm sure some of you have heard this before. Whenever you're reading the Bible and it says, therefore, you should ask, what? What's that there for? Right? So it's referring back to something else, all right, so where do we go? Well, we don't have to go back very far to see some examples of this. chapter 4, verse 7, "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." Dan talked about this a couple of weeks ago, that this all-surpassing power comes from who? Come on, help me out. Comes from who? Comes from God. It's not up to us to be strong enough, thank God, right? That's something we can go, thank you, God, that it's not up to me. It's not up to us to just do our best. Move ahead a little bit to verse 14, "Because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God." We're going to be raised to life, thank God, right? And then as we're raised up, therefore God will receive all the glory for our lives. Thank you, God.
Jeff Taylor: [00:05:36] So back to verse 16, Therefore, because of, "Therefore, we do not lose heart." Now, what's a pretty common thing to do when you lose heart? You just give up. You're like when you've lost heart, you're like, that is done, I'm over it. And sometimes we can give up on hope, we can give up on joy, we can give up on relationships, we can give up on faith. When we lose heart, many times we just give up. And a question that has been with me for a long time in different periods of my life, am I living like I've lost heart? Make it personal in your life, are there things where you're living like you've lost heart? And they might be little things like, oh, I'm kind of discouraged at this. It might be big stuff where you've lost heart in your marriage, you've lost heart with your parents, you've lost heart with your kids. Are you living like you've lost heart? And I think of how easy it is for me in my life to get frustrated, to get annoyed, to look at a situation and just be like that should be different, and I end up losing heart, which can look like a whole bunch of different ways. But I know that there are people throughout my life who, where based on the way that I've lived, have looked at me and gone, man, he doesn't have any perspective of anything other than this thing that's right in front of him that's caused him to lose heart. And it doesn't mean it's not a difficult situation, but like I'm living with this right here and this is all I see, and my response is based on this.
Jeff Taylor: [00:07:32] A couple of months ago we had a house fire, and my wife calls me and she's like, hey, the house caught on fire? She texted me a picture of the fire truck in front of our house. I'm like, Oh, okay. Because I was out of town, because that's when things happen, right? When you're gone. And so we ended up, she tells me this and, in my mind, I'm like, okay, we have insurance, I didn't lose heart. I come back and we have to move into a hotel because we can't live in our house, room service every day, breakfast provided, still didn't lose heart. Like, all right, all right, you know, it's inconvenient, but we'll get through it. We move back into the house, and we've got to gut the kitchen, we have to take out all the cabinets and everything. And I'll tell you, my youngest son, Nathan, plus a sledgehammer, didn't lose heart. That was a good day, that was that was fun.
Jeff Taylor: [00:08:35] So we decide we're going to order cabinets from IKEA. Some of you have had this experience, so the delivery arrives, 129 boxes of hinges and handles and flat pieces of wood. And I'm telling you, as I stared into this garage full of boxes demanding skills I do not have, heart lost. So I started to consider my options, I'm like, Babe, maybe we can just sell the house as is, we can rebuild, we can start over somewhere. Or, I was like, okay, or I acknowledge my weaknesses and realize I'm going to need help beyond myself. This is not about me, you know, bucking up and try hard and just, like, make something out of yourself, Jeff, and what? No, no, no, no, this was beyond me. And as we read the promises of God and His promises to provide and care for us, man, I'm telling you, this came in the form of my friends Larry and Steve, who showed up. And it means a lot, did things I'd never be able to do. I watched them work, I'm just like, that's what that's for, the drill goes the other way too. And man, it was such a blessing, but it was going to require me to do some things like, hey, Jeff, acknowledge that you're not going to be able to do this, and be willing to step out and go, all right, God, I need you to come and move.
Jeff Taylor: [00:10:50] And certainly, there are more serious issues in life than my kitchen cabinets, and I know that we have all had experiences at whatever age you are, where you've been in a situation that just puts knots in your stomach. Where you're just going, I don't think I'm going to make it. I don't see how I'm going to get through this. I don't see how I'm going to get through this grief. I don't see how I'm going to get through this financial issue. I don't know how I'm going to ever fix this relationship. I don't know how I'm ever going to find hope or joy again.
Jeff Taylor: [00:11:24] And the question is, are you living like you've lost heart? Are you living in a way where you've put it on yourself? You've said, I've got to be strong enough, I've got to do this on my own. And have you either decided not to, or forgotten to, acknowledge your weakness and go, man, I need help. And not just the physical help that some people around us can be, but the spiritual help that God has for us that we're going to look at right here. Back to verse 16, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." Outwardly, we're wasting away. Thanks, Paul, good talk. Right? Outwardly, we're wasting away. Can I get an amen? All right, so some of you feel this. So we can be tempted to view this as a bad thing, like, Oh, I'm wasting away. I'm so weak. I can't fix this issue. I can't fix this problem. I can't restore this relationship. I can't do all of these things. And we look at this like, oh, my gosh, this is a terrible thing. Except, when you see all over the place in here and sometimes specifically said, man, it's in our weakness that God's allowed to show up. It's in our weakness, we're going to see the supernatural power of God. Because otherwise, you're going to be like, I'm tempted to be a whole lot of the time, oh, no, no, I'm good, I'm fine. No, no, it'll be all right. You know, we say that to God, no, no, it's fine, I don't need you to intervene yet. Though outwardly, wasting away, yet inwardly we're being renewed every day.
Jeff Taylor: [00:13:30] Outwardly, we're wasting away. Does anybody here feel like you're physically wasting away? I'll tell you, man, I was good till 40. I don't know what happened at 40. Like, I turned 40 years old, and my body went, you know what? I think we're done. We're a little tired, some things started wearing out. This is not a metaphor that Paul is using, Paul was physically wasting away. Some think that he had a chronic illness. Some believe it was just the wear and tear on his body from traveling around, from being beaten and imprisoned, and all of these things. But Paul was going, look, outwardly, I'm wasting away. And am I right that there's not much more motivating of a factor to lose heart than physical pain? Man, when you're in physical pain, you're like, yeah, I just don't want to, and we give up quick. So Paul is addressing this very real issue for all of us, so if you're here today like me and you've got stuff where you're just like, I just don't feel good, right? So Paul's not overlooking that, and he's not just being like, come on, get to it. He's going, look, outwardly, we're wasting away, we need to address this issue. The only way we won't lose heart is to be renewed every day by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jeff Taylor: [00:14:57] To be renewed every single day by the power of the Holy Spirit, and this renewal, this constant renewal of the inward person, of what's going on inside and that constant renewal is the way that we are transformed into the image of Christ. A lot of times I get in my head, that I want to be transformed into someone who has this ability, I want to be transformed into someone who's idolized like this, I want to be transformed into somebody who can put a stinkin' cabinet together. Right? And we go like, that would be great, that would be good enough. God, that's all I want to do is to be able to look at these IKEA instructions with all pictures and no words, this is why I didn't do Legos, and just be able to do it, good enough. Here, Paul's going, no, no, no, no, no, no, this is how we get transformed into the image of Christ. Outwardly, you're wasting away, but inwardly, oh, man, game on, let's go.
Jeff Taylor: [00:16:02] Back a chapter, in Second Corinthians 3:18, "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." So what does this look like to be transformed into the image of Christ? Like, how do we know if we're being transformed? Is there anything other than, oh, I'm sure I'm being transformed? There's absolutely evidence of it, It's called the Fruit of the Spirit. It's right in here in Galatians 5, "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." And not just like the regular old love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, like we're talking superpowered, supernatural, miraculous, life-changing, life directing, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Who doesn't need that? Who is like, you're going to play it like, I've got this? I love you, you don't got this, you don't got it, it's not within you, you cannot do this enough. And you're like, I'm glad I came this morning. You cannot do this, and we try, right? We do our best. And we look at each other and we look at somebody doing their best, and we're like, good job, way to do your best. There were some things in my kitchen, I did my best. My wife is trying to be supportive of me and she's like, that's good. A friend comes over and goes, the door's on upside down. I tried my best. God wants to transform us in this, not to just be like, hey, so you can get to the next thing, but supernaturally healing, supernaturally motivating.
Jeff Taylor: [00:18:17] And I know that we have all been in a place where we've lost heart. Like I said whether it's with the hope of a relationship, peace, joy, or contentment. And you've just kind of gone, well, you know, I guess I'll just keep, I'll keep doing my best. And we end up letting our present circumstances dictate our destiny. How are you doing today? Well, that's the way your life's going to go, yeah? Pass. How are you doing today? I'm not good, but I'm believing that there is something beyond me, that my creator, my Savior has life for me that I can't see yet. So I have hope, I have joy, and, I have peace, and I'm able to go, thank you, God. Some of you, you've got to grab on to this. And I'm not lecturing you, I'm not being like, come on, just like I have. I'm just talking out loud at you, we've got to grab on to this. We got to go, all right, God, I'm not recognizing my weakness, I'm trying to put it all together, I'm doing my best. But we're letting our present circumstances dictate our destiny, because, in that car, you're just holding on to that headrest in front of you going, I hope I survive this. And my only desire is to get to the bottom of the hill, nothing else. What about life at the bottom of the hill? Don't worry about it. God's worried about it because he designed you for that, and he has a purpose and a plan for something after high school, after junior high, after college, after this job that you're in right now, in your marriage, in your singledom, he has life for you. And a lot of times we act surprised that life gets hard, that relationships break down, that our bodies break down, that we're having trouble with our kids, or we're having trouble with friends, or whatever it is.
Jeff Taylor: [00:20:39] You should read this, it's really good, it says that's going to happen. Not just here, in John 16, Jesus said it. I'm going to listen to Jesus, and Jesus said, "In this world, you're going to have..." What? I don't want it to say that. In this world, you're going to have kind of bummer days. In this world, you're going to have like a little frustration. "In this world, you're going to have trouble." But then what does he say? Take what? "Take heart." Jesus is telling you, to pick your heart back up, not under your own strength, let me pick it up and let me handle this. Take heart, because it's not about you and your power, it's not about you and all your success, it's not about you and all that you think you can do. "Take heart! I have overcome the world.” I've overcome whatever this thing is, I've overcome this. You can have victory, you can have life, where you have only seen death, where you've only experienced death, you've even come to expect death. Jesus is saying, no, no, no, I have overcome this, will you believe it? Will you believe it? And even right now, some of you are sitting here and you're just like, you don't know my situation. You're right, I don't. And if I did, it would probably scare me to death. If I knew how hard something was in your life right now, it would be like, oh, my gosh, I don't know. Thank God Jesus knows, the Holy Spirit knows, and there is nothing you're facing where you could be like, Oh, but he doesn't understand. He gets it, and he loves you, and he has a purpose for you. And every time he sees me try and handle it, every time he sees me try and do my best, he's not going, oh, good, well at least you're trying your hardest. He's going, I will never leave you or forsake you. I am not like up here wringing my hands going, oh, gosh, I don't know how he's going to make it out of this one. I don't know what she's going to do. He's not rooting for you to do your best, he is saying, oh, that you would choose life, because that's what he has for us. And when we end up going, oh, I'm going to act like I'm not having any trouble and I'm just going to manage it, I'm just going to do my best, that's what we end up doing. We end up trying harder, working harder, making more sense of it in our heads, and we end up losing heart because it's not going to work. It might work for a moment, it might look like it's working, but oh, man, compared to the life that he has for us. So in the face of breaking down, what do you believe about what God's doing? As you outwardly fall apart, as you are outwardly weak, what do you believe God is able to do inwardly that will redeem all of it?
Jeff Taylor: [00:24:17] So here's the perspective shift that Paul wants us to understand, verse 17, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Is Paul making fun of us? Is he making light of our troubles? Because you could read it like this, for our light and momentary troubles, sometimes I read it like that. Paul, this is not a light and momentary trouble, this is like when a teenage couple breaks up and the helpful adults around them go, oh, it was just puppy love. Guess what? It's awfully real to the puppy. And may I encourage you as a person who cares for and pastors’ young people, please stop saying that, it's not helpful. It would be like if we read this verse the way I just mockingly did, oh, your light and momentary trouble. Man, in that cab, that fear was pretty real. When you're going through things in your life that are too big for you, that you don't understand or that you're not sure what the end of the road is going to end up looking like. Paul is not going oh, for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an...Just because when I got up in that airplane, I was able to see it from a different perspective and be like, oh, look, it's really not. If I went back today, being in that cab would be scary.
Jeff Taylor: [00:26:04] Paul is not telling you to stop being a baby. He's not saying that, oh, your marriage issues aren't that bad. Oh, your financials, or losing your job isn't that big a deal, you're going to provide for your family, and if you don't...He's not saying that, he's recognizing that we so easily fall into this perspective of going, oh, no, no, no, no, this is the end, I must try harder, I must do more, I must save myself. And we get into these this mindset of like, no, no, no, no, no, I, I, I, and when we realize that, I fail, we lose heart.
Jeff Taylor: [00:26:49] I don't know about you, but when I get the flu, I am absolutely convinced I am never going to feel better again. Anybody else? You're puking your guts out, or you've got like a cold for the third straight week, you're like, I'm going to feel like this forever. I'm never going to get better. It's like, right, and in that, we lose heart and we're just like, oh, this is the end, I'm never going to...Now, is that true? No, you're going to feel better. And we know that some of you, you might even, like, tell people that. You're going to feel better, it's going to be fine. It sure doesn't feel like it. And Paul is recognizing that going, man, you, you are going to feel a certain way, and your tendency is going to be to try to fix it. you're not going to be able to fix it, and that is going to lead you to believe that losing heart is the only option. Just giving up, losing heart, because you can't try anymore.
Jeff Taylor: [00:27:56] But here Paul is going all the way, he's not just saying there are brighter days ahead. Get that. Standing up here as I talk about this, and this is not just like, oh, I'm just trying to convince you that, hey, tomorrow's a new day, you're going to...Man, many of us have stopped falling for that, right? Like, not just, like, chin up, buckaroo. Here, Paul is going, look, there is absolute redemption and restoration of life for those who will put their faith in Jesus and make themselves available to the power of the Holy Spirit in their life. And I'm going to throw it out there to those of you as you're sitting here today and you're like, yeah, I don't think I've ever done that, that's where you start. That's where you start, it doesn't start with come to church more. It doesn't start with, well, you don't try giving yourself a different perspective. It starts with surrendering your life, acknowledging your weakness, and going, you know, I can't save myself. Acknowledge your weakness, accept the gift of life that Jesus has for you as you put your faith in Him, and you are filled with the Holy Spirit who is able to bring life out of death. Some of you, you've got to do this, you got to start there. Some of you, you're here today and you're like, man, I've been a Christian for 46 years, and I come to church every Sunday and... Awesome. How are you making yourself available to the supernatural power of the work of the Holy Spirit in your life? Because this is what he has for us, and it can be really hard to get into a perspective. You know, and here is Paul goes, your momentary troubles and the things...There is a perspective issue, me standing on my leg on one foot for an hour, okay, I'm tired. but that would feel like forever. One hour out of a semester in school is nothing, it doesn't mean that that hour is not important, it doesn't mean that hour can't contain lots of learning and important things. But Paul is addressing this issue that I think all of us come face to face with at times, where ur perspective is, oh, and now I have to lose heart because what else can I do? So how do we get there?
Jeff Taylor: [00:30:49] Verse 18, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Let me read that again, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Are you guys ready for battle? Because here we go, are you ready? The enemy, Satan, is obsessed with keeping what you can't handle, what you've screwed up, and what you don't know how to do, right in your face. That is one of his main strategies, at every stage of life, that is one of his main strategies to keep the things that are too much for us, the things that we don't know how to handle, or the things we've tried to handle, and we've failed. He wants to keep that stuff right here, so that when we try and look for hope, he's like, no, no, no, no, no, remember the last time? Remember when you tried to do this before? Remember how embarrassing that was? Remember how you hurt somebody that way? He wants to keep it right here, and he wants to convince us that it's too late, it's too big, it's too painful, it's too complex, it's too whatever. And in our flesh, we can be convinced, you're right, and we lose heart. When we allow that to stay here, the end result is going to be losing heart. Because it's going to be the only thing that we can see. And when that becomes the case and with Satan's encouragement, hey, you know what'll make you feel better? Money. Possessions. Popularity. Making varsity. Having a girlfriend. Having a boyfriend. Getting married. Have a kid. Get a new job. Find a new church. Whatever. And there are probably all of us in this room in some way we've gone, oh, okay, I'll try that. And I know that there are some here this morning, you're exhausted, all this trying is exhausting. But you are being invited into a relationship, you are being invited by the Almighty God to go, look, you don't have to carry this, this isn't about you getting it together, let me move in your life in power.
Jeff Taylor: [00:34:06] A good example in the before Jesus’ part of the Bible, the Old Testament, will be David, King David, what a screw-up, right? He was disobedient, he was unfaithful, he had an affair with a married woman, and he wanted to get out of the trouble of that, so he had the woman's husband killed. What a wreck. Do you know how David is also referred to in this same book? A man, what? A man after God's own heart. That's nuts. That's silly. But do you know why? Because in his darkest moment, in his pain, in his hurt, in his failure, he kept going, oh, I'm a wreck, God, I need you, I need you to search my heart, know my anxious thoughts, and if there's anything about me that is not of you, get rid of it. He cried out to God and said, my flesh, my bones are like dust. I mean, he talks about physical pain, I mean, he consistently recognized that he needed an intervention by the almighty God. Are you there yet? Some of you are. Some of you will be.
Jeff Taylor: [00:35:46] When our eyes are fixed on what's right in front of us without the Holy Spirit revealing his purpose and his plan, losing heart is the only option, that's the way it's going to feel. The devil even tried that with Jesus himself. The Holy Spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness, which, by the way, let's not skip over that, the Holy Spirit led Jesus to a place of pain, hurt, frustration, lack, all of these things. But guess what? He didn't leave him there, right? So Jesus is out there, and what did the devil try and do? He tried to get his circumstance right in front of him. Oh, Jesus, aren't you hungry? You know, you have the power to turn that rock into a piece of bread. Jesus, your current position, you've got no power, you have very little influence. I mean, if you acknowledge me, man, I'll give you power over everything that you see. Jesus, if you were to jump off that building, do think your Heavenly Father would really be there. Well, I don't know, I've been suffering for quite a while now. But instead, he comes back at him with the truth of the Almighty God who had already spoken, who had already declared who Jesus was, who had already empowered Him, who had already spoken, truth. And Jesus went, get away from me. and he spoke truth into a situation. How do you need to speak truth into your situation? Rather than like trying to come up with the next best solution, how do you need to just speak truth into the situation? Acknowledge your weakness and go, this is the temptation I'm feeling, and I come against it in the name of Jesus. In what ways do you need to take these thoughts captive to the authority of Christ and go, I'm not believing the lie anymore, I'm not believing that this is hopeless anymore, I'm not believing that I have to live without peace anymore. In the name of Jesus, I'm telling hell no. Come on, right, we need to get there.
Jeff Taylor: [00:38:10] So, I want to ask you this, what is the circumstance? So this is really personal, this is just for you and doesn't matter what the person next to you is thinking or saying or doing or whatever. What is the circumstance in your life right now that the enemy is trying to kill, steal and destroy your life? What is it? It might be a job thing, a parenting thing, a financial, a marriage, or whatever it may be. What is the thing that the enemy is trying to keep this circumstance right in your face and going, you can't fix it, you might as well just give up. Or you can't fix it, you might as well chase these other things. What is the circumstance that he's trying to use to steal, kill, and destroy your life? It might be, I'm never going to get into that school, I'm never going to get married, I'm never going to be happy at my job, I'm never going to be happy in my marriage, I'm never going to have kids that will do this. What is it? And will you call it out and will you take it captive to the authority of Christ, say, in the name of Jesus, I speak the truth of God into this situation. I'm accepting what God says about this circumstance, not what the enemy says about it, not what I say about it, not what my culture says about it, I'm going to receive what God says about my situation. I'm going to stand up, I'm going to tell Hell no. I'm going to receive this life that God promises He has for us.
Jeff Taylor: [00:39:48] But man, it's certainly easier to just give in. But when we do that, we forget that God shows his glory, we've been saying this every week, right? God shows His glory through the frailty of his servants. If you want God to show up, quit trying to be everything that you need. God shows his glory through the frailty of his servants. And here's the promise, Paul talks about it later in this letter to the Corinthians in Chapter 12, that his power is made perfect in our what? In our weakness. Get it, Jeff, get it, come on. His power is made full, made perfect in our weakness, and that his grace will be sufficient.
Jeff Taylor: [00:40:44] In the back of the chair in front of you, or if you're in the front row, on the ground, there's a card. And I didn't grab one because, you know. Will you take that card out? It's a three-by-five card, and it says this, what is the situation in your life that you need to allow the Holy Spirit to change your perspective and invite Him to renew your heart every day? And I'm going to give you a moment to quietly consider this, and I want to encourage you, there are pens in the chairs, I want to encourage you to physically write it out. Because there is something that is encouraging and happens when we put action to our intentions. I know that I've sat through all kinds of sermons and messages where I go, yeah, yeah, I should change that. And my intentions are good, but man, let's put action to our intention. So right now, write out. What is the situation in your life that you need to allow the Holy Spirit to change your perspective and invite Him to renew your heart every day? I'm not going to, at any point, ask you to share it with anybody. It's going to be private, so you don't have to worry about what what you write. Write this out as an action to surrender to God.
Jeff Taylor: [00:42:58] Some of you have written some really big stuff on that card, things that are significant to you and have been for a long time. Others, you've written something that maybe even right now you're talking to yourself out of it, you're like, oh, this is no big deal, I can get through this. Here's the thank God part of it, he wants all of it, he's not looking at your card going, come on, and he's not looking at your card going, I don't know what I'm supposed to do about that.
Jeff Taylor: [00:43:35] I want to ask you to do something else, immediately or over the next few songs, up under the cross there are some baskets. Now, symbols don't have any power, it's not like it doesn't conjure anything up. But there are definitely actions that get us moving some momentum in the right direction for our heart to step out and go, you know what? I'm going to start here, and I did this physical thing, not that it has any power, but it's a demonstration of the intention of my heart. And I want to encourage you, as we are encouraged in God's word to us, to take this thing that you've written and lay at the feet of Jesus, to offer it to him and surrender and say, I'm no longer going to be held by this, I'm no longer going to live disheartened, I'm going to trust in the power of the Almighty God. And the prayer team is going to come up here, and I want to ask if the prayer team and any elders or staff that are here can line up right here in the front area of the stage, and if on your way up you want to stop and be prayed for, let somebody partner with what God is already doing, they'll be up here. So prayer people and elders and pastors come on up, and as we worship, as we sing, let's make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit, and let's respond to the work that He is already doing. And if you want to put your card in the baskets at the cross, you're welcome to do that at any point.
Recorded in Upland, California.
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