Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
August 6, 2017 - W1732

Sometimes we wish we had courage until it's tested and then everything comes out.

Every day we have opportunities to get fearful and upset. There are opportunities to lose

our peace and worry. For instance, you get an unexpected new bill, a pink slip has shown

up at work and you dream that you ate a giant marshmallow and you get up and your pillow

is missing.

Fear is a robber. It robs of you of joy, confidence and peace. You start making bad

decisions and then fear gives into worry and then you go into a downward spiral.

Matthew 6:27 (King James Version): "Worry can't add one inch to your stature. It

doesn't matter how much you worry."

Some of us worry so much that if it did add stature, we would be about 25 feet tall by now!

We are so good at worrying, we multitask. We can eat and worry at the same time. We can

drive our car and worry at the same time. We shower and worry at the same time. We are

just professional worriers. How long will I live? I wish I was taller, smarter and

better-looking.

What do you fear? I remember some time ago, I had a problem with pain in my chest. I

thought it was cancer or a tumor. It robbed my sleep and rest. All I thought about was

what was going to happen to me. About three days later, the pain disappeared. I realized

this had stolen three days of my life worrying about the pain.

We can worry about so many things and when we do, we start making bad decisions. Did you

know the very thing you fear becomes your Lord? See who is Lord in your life. Whoever is

controlling your life becomes your Lord. You are giving control of your life to that

thing.

If someone honks at you on the freeway and is mad at you and gives you the one-way sign

to heaven as they go by, all of a sudden you have allowed him to be your Lord. That's

because all of sudden your whole day is messed up and you're mad at the world. Why? That

person controlled you and you're letting him do that.

When you give into fear and that steals your sleep, your mind and everything, and you let

it do that for days or weeks, that has become your Lord. You see, Jesus never promised

that we'd never face problems. Jesus never promised that we wouldn't ever experience

storms. But He did promise that we could find peace in the midst of storms. You and I

cannot wait for the circumstances of our life to line up, everything be right, and then

we can have peace. We can't let that happen. Peace will not happen by accident and

courage will not come accidentally.

Today, I want you to understand how to be peaceful on purpose. Let's start with Joshua

1:9: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not

be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Courage is not the absence of fear. It's pressing on in spite of it. Courage is not the

absence of problems. It's moving forward in spite of them because it's a choice. Peace

isn't something we produce, it's something we receive.

1 Thessalonians[LL1]  5:18 says, "In every thing, give thanks: for this is the will of God

for you.”

God doesn't always say to give thanks for every thing. He says to give thanks in every thing because that's a matter of our faith that we are not going to let the circumstances be our Lord.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and

supplication, with, thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known to God; and the peace

of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ

Jesus."

Because that's where the real battle is anyways. The real battle is in our hearts and

minds. Your life and mind will follow your thoughts. So if we have bad thinking, we will

have a bad life. If we have worrisome thinking, we will have a worrisome life. Your life

is going to follow your thoughts. It shapes you and that's why God is saying if you give

thanks, it will guide your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, because that's where the

real battle is.

Just think of all of the time and focus that we could have used in trusting God. Do you understand it would have changed our lives but instead we have spent all of that time in worry and fear? All those things that we feared have become our Lord. How do we get free from that? In everything, give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus.

In the Book of Chronicles, three armies make an alliance to battle King Jehoshaphat and his army. These were Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir which were from the land that became Arabia today. The King does not know what to do. He looks at the armies coming against them, and realizes the odds are vastly against them.

He prays to God, "For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You." (2 Chronicles 20:12)

Our eyes should not be on the problem, they should be on the Lord and then the problems will shrink back down to normal size. God says to King Jehoshaphat that because the King put his eyes on God, the battle will be God’s and that He’s going to transfer the battle to God’s court.

What's the key to making this transfer? We will all have fears and giants. King

Jehoshaphat had his praisers and singers give thanks to the Lord, and sends them out on

the front lines. King Jehoshaphat told his men to do that. As they began to sing and

praise, the Lord sent ambushes against the men of Ammon, Mount Seir and Moab and they

were defeated. You have this huge army waiting to do battle and the praisers and singers

approach the enemy. Can you imagine that? Amazing.

God says that you and I will face giants. We can't face them alone. Put your trust in God and

give it to Him. That transfers the problem to God. When you give thanks and not give in

to fear, that's the key.

In the midst of a problem, when it is a giant and you choose to worship instead of worry,

it will cause the enemy to be confused. When you thank God in the midst of a giant

circumstance, it confuses the enemy. If you don’t give thanks, it confuses you! The key to that transfer is thanksgiving.

We serve a God who neither slumbers nor sleeps. If God doesn't sleep, you can go to

sleep. God is working on your behalf and if you thank Him, the battle will no longer be

yours.

Why does God let us go through trials and tribulations? Well, God sometimes can only get

His point across to you through these tough and challenging times.

Courage doesn't happen by accident. It happens on purpose. Peace happens on purpose. When

you learn to transfer that battle from your lap to God’s you will learn so much and all

that God wanted you to become you will.

Rest in him and watch what God can do.

Questions:

-What does courage mean to you?

-What are some of your greatest fears?

-What's keeping you from giving your fears and tough times to God?

-How can you be courageous during challenging times?

-In what ways do you give thanks to God?

-What's an example of a recent fear/challenge you've overcome because you gave it to God?

-Why do you think God puts us through tough times?

-Challenge yourself to give thanks to God this week during a challenging time. When you

do this, share with others and give each other tips and suggestions.

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