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[MUSIC]
>> SO WHAT DOES HOPE MEAN TO YOU?
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT UNANCHORED HOPE
VERSUS ANCHORED HOPE? WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO MAKE
YOUR HOPE UNSHAKABLE? DO YOU THINK THAT EVEN
IN TROUBLED TIMES, HOPE CAN CAUSE YOU TO HOLD ON
AND NOT LOSE YOUR WAY?
THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME. IT MEANS A LOT TO ME,
AND I PRAY THIS MESSAGE REALLY BLESSES AND HELPS YOU.
I'M TALKING ABOUT IN TIMES WHEN WE CAN FEEL UNHINGED
OR UNANCHORED, HOW HOPE CAN BE AN ANCHOR TO YOUR SOUL.
I WANT TO SPEAK ABOUT THE HOPE THE BIBLE SPEAKS OF AND WHAT IT
CAN BRING INTO YOUR WORLD AND TO YOUR LIFE AND TO YOUR HOME.
>> WE'VE BEEN SINGING A SONG CALLED "ANCHOR."
BASED ON HEBREWS 6, VERSE 19 WHICH SAYS, "THIS HOPE WE HAVE
IS AN ANCHOR FOR OUR SOUL, BOTH SURE AND STEADFAST
AND WHICH ENTERS THE PRESENCE BEHIND THE VEIL."
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, POWERFUL, POWERFUL SONG.
"I HAVE THIS HOPE AS AN ANCHOR FOR MY SOUL, THROUGH EVERY STORM
I WILL HOLD TO YOU." IT GOES ON AND SAYS,
"WITH ENDLESS LOVE ALL MY FEAR IS SWEPT AWAY.
IN EVERYTHING, I WILL TRUST IN YOU.
THERE IS HOPE IN THE PROMISE OF THE CROSS.
YOU GAVE EVERYTHING TO SAVE THE WORLD YOU LOVE,
AND THIS HOPE IS AN ANCHOR FOR MY SOUL.
OUR GOD WILL STAND UNSHAKABLE." ANCHORED HOPE, WHICH WE'RE TOLD
IS BUILT ON TWO IMMUTABLE THINGS, THE OATH OF GOD
AND THE PROMISE OF GOD. GOD, WHEN HE GAVE A PROMISE AND
MADE AN OATH TO ABRAHAM, HE MADE AN OATH ON HIS OWN NAME BECAUSE
THERE WAS NO HIGHER NAME. WHEN YOUR TRUST IS TRULY IN
THE LORD, THEN YOU ARE SAYING HIS NAME IS HIGHER, HIS NAME
IS GREATER, HIS WORD UNFAILING, HIS PROMISE UNCHANGING
BECAUSE YOU TRUST IN THE WORD OF AN ALMIGHTY GOD.
>> SOMETIMES YOU READ THE BIBLE, AND I READ THOSE VERSES
HEBREWS 6:13-19 AND HE'S TALKING ABOUT AN OATH
AND A PROMISE AND ALL THIS. AND, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES YOU
THINK, "OH, THAT'S ALL GOOD," BUT IT DOESN'T--AND THAT'S WHY
IT'S GREAT SOMETIMES TO MEDITATE ON THE WORD OF GOD 'CAUSE YOU
GET IN THERE AND THERE'S LIFE AND THEN THERE'S POWER IN THERE.
AND OFTENTIMES, IF YOU WANT TO GET YOUR LIFE ANCHORED,
THEN I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU, GET YOURSELF INTO WHAT IS CALLED
THE PROMISE, GOD'S WORD, AND START TO CALL ON THE NAME,
THE NAME OF JESUS, THE NAME THAT'S ABOVE EVERY
NAME, THAT NAME IN WHICH WE CAN BELIEVE TO SEE EVERY
PROMISE OF AN ALMIGHTY GOD HAVE A FOUNDATION IN JESUS' NAME.
YOU KNOW, DAVID, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THE PSALMIST,
HE HAD SO MANY REASONS TO COME UNANCHORED, OPPOSITION,
PERSECUTION, BLEW IT, MADE A MISTAKE--
I MEAN, ALL SORTS OF REASONS. BUT I LOVE THIS, LISTEN TO WHAT
HE SAYS, PSALM 16, VERSE 7, VERSE 8.
HE SAID, "I WILL BLESS THE LORD WHO HAS GIVEN ME COUNSEL;
MY HEART ALSO INSTRUCTS ME IN THE NIGHT SEASONS."
I'LL GO ON AND READ BUT NIGHT SEASONS WILL ALL SHOW
WHAT'S REALLY IN OUR HEART. I MEAN, YOU CAN FEEL VULNERABLE.
I MEAN, RIGHT NOW I'M HOME ALONE.
I CAN FEEL VULNERABLE. YOU KNOW, FEAR BREEDS
IN THE NIGHT. LONELINESS BREEDS IN THE NIGHT.
SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE NIGHT THAT LOSE THEIR WAY, THEY HAVE
A TOUGH TIME AND THEY LOSE THEIR WAY SPIRITUALLY AND--
BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ANCHORED. THEY DIDN'T KNOW THE POWER OF
TWO IMMUTABLE THINGS, HIS NAME AND HIS WORD.
BUT DAVID, HE SAID, "I'VE SET THE LORD
ALWAYS BEFORE ME BECAUSE HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND."
HERE IT IS, "I SHALL NOT BE MOVED."
AND IN THAT HE SAID, "MY HEART INSTRUCTS ME
IN THE NIGHT SEASONS." WHEN YOU GOT ANCHORED HOPE,
EVEN IN THE TOUGHEST TIMES, YOU GOT A GUIDE.
HIS HEART, HIS HEART INSTRUCTED HIM BECAUSE HIS HEART
WAS SET AND HE SAID, "I SHALL NOT BE MOVED."
AND YOU CAN ONLY SET YOUR HEART WHEN YOU REALLY TAKE A HOLD OF
THE FACT THAT GOD IS TRUE TO HIS WORD, HE'S TRUE TO HIS PROMISE
AND AT EVERY STORM AND EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE,
YOU CAN HOLD ON TO HIM. AND THAT'S HOW I'VE SEEN
SO MANY PEOPLE. YOU KNOW, WE SOMETIMES HEAR
JUST--WE GOT SUCH GREAT THINGS TO REJOICE ABOUT AND THEN,
YOU KNOW, A YOUNG COUPLE ARE SO EXCITED AND THEY'VE HONORED GOD,
THEY'VE PUT HIM FIRST AND THEY HAVE A MISCARRIAGE.
THEY WORSHIP LIKE THEY'VE NEVER WORSHIPED.
OUT OF IT COMES A SONG THAT WILL BRING BLESSING AND LIBERTY
TO A MULTITUDE OF PEOPLE. IN THIS DARK NIGHT SEASON,
RATHER THAN LOSE THEIR WAY, GET DISAPPOINTED,
GET DISILLUSIONED WITH GOD, THEY START TO CONFESS IT.
THEY BEGIN TO PROCLAIM IT: HIS NAME IS HIGHER, HIS WORD
UNFAILING, HIS NAME IS GREATER, HIS PROMISE UNCHANGING,
BRINGING LIBERTY AND HOPE TO MANY, MANY, MANY PEOPLE.
AND I'D ENCOURAGE YOU, IF YOU'RE IN A NIGHT SEASON TO ASK WHAT
YOUR HEART AND WHERE YOUR HEART IS SET BECAUSE BELIEVE ME,
THAT WOULD DETERMINE WHETHER YOU GET LOST IN A NIGHT SEASON
OR WHETHER OR NOT FEAR OVERRULES YOU OR LONELINESS OVERTAKES YOU
BECAUSE THERE IS A GOD. HE IS ON YOUR SIDE.
HE IS I AM THAT I AM. HE DOES WORK DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT
AS MUCH AS THE HEAVENS IS ABOVE THE EARTH SO HIS NAME IS HIGHER
AND HIS WORD IS GREATER, IN JESUS' NAME.
PSALM 1, VERSE 1, "BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO WALKS NOT IN
THE COUNSEL OF THE UNGODLY, NOR STANDS IN THE WAY OF SINNERS,
NOR SITS IN THE SEAT OF THE SCORNFUL."
TALKS ABOUT SOMEONE WHO'S WALKING SOMEWHERE WHERE THEY'RE
OUTSIDE OF GODLY COUNCIL, WHERE THEY'RE LISTENING TO ANOTHER
NAME, PERHAPS, AND ANOTHER WORD. AND WHEN THEY'RE WALKING,
THEY FIND THEMSELVES STANDING. BEFORE YOU KNOW IT,
THEY'RE SITTING IN THE SEAT OF THE SCORNFUL.
PEOPLE FIND THEMSELVES SITTING IN IT, SITTING WHERE THEY NEVER
EXPECTED TO SIT BECAUSE THEIR HEART IS NOT SET
IN THE NIGHT SEASON. SO HE GOES ON SAYS,
"SHALL NOT WALK AND STAND AND SIT IN THE SEAT OF THE SCORNFUL;
BUT HIS DELIGHT IS IN," WHAT? THE WORD OF GOD.
AND IN THE WORD-- THE NEW TESTAMENT, "THE LAW."
IN THE WORD HE SHALL MEDITATE DAY AND NIGHT."
MY GOOD FRIEND THERE IN NEW CASTLE WHO'S FACING
A TERMINAL DISEASE, YOU KNOW, I GET SO INSPIRED
AND BLESSED WHEN I WATCH HIS COMMUNICATION AND
I SEE SOMEONE WHO, IN A NIGHT SEASON, IS DETERMINED WHERE HIS
HEART IS SET, WHO'S GONNA TRUST AND HOLD ON TO THE WORD OF GOD,
WHO SINGS SONGS, BELIEVE ME. NOT LIKE OFTENTIMES WE ALL SING
THEM WHEN WE COME INTO CHURCH, YOU KNOW, AND "OH,
THIS IS A NICE SONG, I LIKE IT." BUT ALL OF A SUDDEN, BELIEVE ME,
YOU WANT TO ENTER BEYOND THE VEIL INTO THE PRESENCE
WHERE JESUS ALREADY IS MAKING INTERCESSION FOR YOU.
YOU WANT TO GET IN THERE. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE
TO MOVE YOUR HEART? "HIS DELIGHT IS IN THE LAW OF
THE LORD," PSALM 1, VERSE 1, 2 AND 3, "AND IN THAT WORD
DOES HE MEDITATE DAY AND NIGHT. HE SHALL BE LIKE A TREE PLANTED
BY THE RIVERS OF LIVING WATER, AND WHATSOEVER HE DOES
SHALL PROSPER." WOULDN'T THAT BE AWESOME IN LIFE
IF EVERYTHING WE DID PROSPERED? I MEAN, THAT WOULD BE
PRETTY AWESOME, WHEN EVERYTHING YOU DID PROSPERED.
EVERYTHING YOU DO DOES PROSPER, BUT EXACTLY WHAT PROSPERS
IS DETERMINED BY WHAT YOU DO. EVERYTHING I DO DOES PROSPER.
THE ETERNAL PRINCIPLE, THE BIBLE, DESCRIBES IT AS IS
REAPING WHAT YOU SOW, BUT I WANT THE RIGHT THINGS TO PROSPER
IN MY LIFE SO I WANT TO GET MY HEART SET ON THE UNCHANGEABLE
PURPOSE AND PROMISE OF GOD. I WANT TO BELIEVE GOD, AND
I WANT TO TAKE HIM AT HIS WORD, NO MATTER WHAT LIFE DEALS ME,
AND I WANT TO BE AN OVERCOMER AND THAT'S ONLY GONNA HAPPEN IF
LIKE A TREE PLANTED BY RIVERS OF LIVING WATER, I DECIDE MY HEART
IS SET, I SHALL NOT BE MOVED, IN JESUS' NAME.
I SHALL NOT BE MOVED. PSALM 112, VERSE 6
TALKS ABOUT A RIGHTEOUS MAN. IT'S A SIMILAR VERSE.
IT SAYS ABOUT A RIGHTEOUS MAN, "SURELY HE WILL
NEVER BE SHAKEN." DOESN'T MEAN HE WON'T FEEL
SHAKING FROM TIME TO TIME. DURING THE TSUNAMI,
I REMEMBER WATCHING ON TV WHEN THE EARTHQUAKE COME AND
WATCHING BUILDINGS IN TOKYO THAT ARE BUILT, YOU KNOW,
EARTHQUAKE PROOF, AS IT WERE. AND SOME OF YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN
PEOPLE IN OFFICES PANICKING BECAUSE THE BUILDING
WAS SHAKING. THEY'RE ACTUALLY BUILT TO SHAKE.
THEY'RE JUST BUILT NOT TO COLLAPSE.
AND OFTENTIMES WE'LL FEEL THE SHAKING,
SURELY HE WILL NEVER BE SHAKEN. THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE
AN EVERLASTING REMEMBRANCE, THE BIBLE SAYS.
HE'S NOT AFRAID OF BAD NEWS. EVIL TIDINGS, BAD NEWS,
NO ONE LIKES BAD NEWS. BUT, YOU KNOW, I CAN REMEMBER
A TIME IN MY LIFE WHEN I WAS A PASTOR,
WHEN I DREADED THE PHONE RINGING BECAUSE OF
ANTICIPATION OF BAD NEWS. AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE LIVING
LIKE THAT, YOU'RE REALLY SAYING, "I'M NOT ANCHORED.
I'M UNHINGED." WHAT YOU'RE REALLY SAYING IS,
"I'M NOT BELIEVING IN," WHAT THE BIBLE DESCRIBES AS TWO
IMMUTABLE THINGS, "AN OATH WHICH IS BUILT ON HIS NAME AND PROMISE
WHICH IS BUILT INTO GOD'S WORD." YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU BUILD
BELIEVING GOD IS IN CHARGE, WELL, YOU DON'T WELCOME
BAD NEWS. WE DON'T WANT TO LIVE FOR THAT.
I'M A GOOD NEWS PERSON, PERSONALLY.
I WANT TO LIVE FOR THE GOOD NEWS, BUT YOU'RE NOT GONNA
BE SHAKEN LOOSE BY BAD NEWS. HE WILL NOT BE AFRAID
OF BAD NEWS. HIS HEART IS STEADFAST,
TRUSTING IN THE LORD. PRAISE GOD FOR IT.
AMEN. HIS HEART IS STEADFAST.
IF YOU WANT TO ANCHOR YOUR SOUL, FILL YOUR SOUL WITH HOPE.
FILL IT WITH HOPE AND IT'S A HOPE THAT'S NOT UNANCHORED,
NOT BASED ON FAIRY LAND, DESTINY, AS IN YOU MIGHT
GO OUTSIDE AND YOU HOPE A BUS DOESN'T RUN OVER YOU.
THAT'S UNANCHORED HOPE, BELIEVE ME.
"WHY ARE YOU CAST DOWN, O MY SOUL?"
PSALM 42, VERSE 5. "WHY ARE YOU CAST DOWN,
O MY SOUL? AND WHY ARE YOU DISQUIETED
WITHIN ME?" THIS IS THE WAY
TO TALK TO YOUR SOUL. "HOPE IN GOD, FOR I SHALL
YET PRAISE HIM FOR THE HELP OF HIS COUNTENANCE."
I'LL PRAISE HIM FOR HIS SMILE, FOR HIS FAVOR.
HOPE IN GOD, THAT'S THE WAY TO BUILD YOUR INNER PERSON.
SO MANY PEOPLE ARE UNHINGED AND DO YOU KNOW THE THINGS
THAT WILL SHOW WHETHER A PERSON'S UNHINGED IS USUALLY
IS THE WAY WE HANDLE SUCCESS AND THE WAY WE HANDLE DEFEAT.
THAT'S WHERE YOU FIND OUT WHERE A PERSON'S HOPE IS.
SOME PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED BY SUCCESS AND SEDUCED BY IT.
OTHER PEOPLE, THEY'RE DESTROYED BY CRITICISM AND DEFEAT.
THINGS LIKE ACCOLADE AND CRITICISM, THAT'LL
SHOW YOU HOW HINGED YOU ARE. YOU KNOW, I--ALL MY PASTORAL
LIFE, I'VE WORKED WITH WORSHIP PASTORS, WORSHIPERS AND
SONGWRITERS AND WORSHIP LEADERS. AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE SUCH
A BLESSING AND THEY STILL CONTRIBUTE IN SUCH A POWERFUL
WAY INTO OUR CHURCH. AND I CAN TELL HOW ANCHORED THEY
ARE BY THE WAY THEY HANDLE ACCOLADE AND BY THE WAY
THEY HANDLE CRITICISM. AND THE SMALL MINORITY OF THEM,
THEY DON'T HANDLE ACCOLADE WELL. THEY BECOME UNANCHORED BECAUSE
THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY BUILDING ON TWO IMMUTABLE THINGS,
THAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT HIS NAME AND IT'S ALL ABOUT HIS WORD.
AND COULD I JUST SAY THIS? IT'S NOT SOMETHING
I PREMEDITATED, BUT THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IS FILLED
WITH WORSHIPER WORSHIPERS. WORSHIPER WORSHIPERS
ARE PEOPLE WHO THEY DON'T JUST GET THE POWER OF GOD
OUT OF THE WORSHIP, BUT THEY WORSHIP THE WORSHIPER,
YOU KNOW? AND I MEAN, IT'S THE SAME
FOR PASTORS AND PREACHERS, SAME TYPE OF THING.
YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY, WE'RE JUST ANOINTED AS SERVANTS BUT AS
ANYONE WHO GETS CLOSE KNOWS JUST VERY NORMAL ORDINARY PEOPLE
WHO, BY GOD'S GRACE, GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS.
AND IF I KNOW WHERE I'M ANCHORED,
THEN ACCOLADE OR CRITICISM IS NOT GONNA DESTROY ME.
AND I'VE HAD MY FAIR SHARE OF BOTH, AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW.
BUT I KNOW THAT MY LIFE'S BUILT ON TWO IMMUTABLE THINGS,
AND THAT IS THAT HIS NAME IS HIGHER.
HIS NAME IS GREATER AND ALL MY HOPE IS IN HIM,
THAT HIS WORD IS UNFAILING AND HIS PROMISES UNCHANGING,
THAT ALL MY HOPE IS IN HIM. WHERE'S YOUR HOPE BASED?
HOPE IN GOD FROM WHICH COMES MY HELP.
YOU WANT YOUR SOUL TO BE ANCHORED?
EDUCATE IT. YOU KNOW WHAT DAVID SAID,
PSALM 139, VERSE 14, "I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE."
THAT PART'S GOOD. MY WIFE AND I HAVE HAD THAT
VERSE COVERED FOR YEARS. WE'RE FEARFULLY
AND WONDERFULLY MADE. SHE'S WONDERFULLY MADE.
I'M FEARFULLY MADE. HERE'S THE PART THOUGH,
"MARVELOUS ARE YOUR WORKS, O LORD, AND THAT MY SOUL KNOWS."
THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A SHAKING TO FIND OUT WHAT YOUR SOUL
REALLY KNOWS. "THAT MY SOUL KNOWS VERY WELL."
YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU EDUCATE YOUR SOUL, YOU VERSE IT
IN THE PROMISE OF GOD, YOU VERSE IT IN THE NAME OF JESUS,
YOU GET IT SO MEDITATED INTO WHAT GOD'S WORD SAYS OVER
YOUR LIFE THAT AT THAT POINT, YOU KNOW THAT YOU KNOW
THAT YOU KNOW. AND THAT'S WHAT
THE PSALMIST SAYS. THE PSALMIST BEGAN TO SEE
THAT ANY SECURITY, ANY ESTEEM, ANY CONFIDENCE HE HAD
WAS BECAUSE HE WAS FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE.
IN OTHER WORDS, GOD, WITH GREAT AWE, YOU KNOW, CREATED AND
WITH GREAT WONDER, DESIGNED YOU FOR HIS PROMISE AND HIS PURPOSE.
AND WHEN YOU BELIEVE THAT AND YOU KNOW IT, YOU'RE LIKE
THE PSALMIST WHO SAYS, "THAT MY SOUL KNOWS VERY WELL."
WELL, LET'S BASE OUR LIVES SO OUR SOUL ACTUALLY HAS SOMETHING
TO STAND ON WHEN THE CHALLENGE COMES, WHEN THE TOUGH TIME
COMES, WHEN THE UNEXPECTED OR UNEXPLAINED HITS YOUR LIFE.
I WISH I COULD TELL YOU AS A PASTOR THAT, YOU KNOW,
BE A GOOD CHRISTIAN, THESE THINGS DON'T COME, BUT EVERYONE
HERE KNOWS THAT I'D BE LYING. BUT KNOWING AND TRUSTING GOD,
TRUST GOD IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE, IN EVERY SITUATION AND YOU WON'T
FIND ANYONE WHO STOOD FIRM IN THE FAITH FOR 10 YEARS,
20 YEARS, 30 YEARS, 40 YEARS, 50 YEARS, 60 YEARS, 70 YEARS
OR ON, WHO HASN'T HAD TO MAKE A DECISION AND THAT HASN'T HAD
TO WELL VERSE AND EDUCATE THEIR SOUL THAT THEY ARE
CREATED BY GOD AND FOR GOD. AND WHETHER GOD ANSWERS THIS WAY
OR THAT WAY, THIS WAY NATURALLY OR THAT WAY ETERNALLY,
THAT'S GOD'S CHOICE AND WE JUST TRUST HIM AND
BELIEVE HIM AND PUT OUR HOPE IN HIM.
I HAVE A SENSE THAT GOD IS GOD. WHEN WE TRUST HIM WITH OUR
VERY LIVES, NO MATTER HOW GOD DECIDES TO ANSWER,
IT'S ALWAYS TO HIS GLORY AND FOR HIS PURPOSE.
WHEN WE ALL FILE IN THROUGH THAT VEIL INTO THE PRESENCE OF
THE ALMIGHTY GOD, THERE'LL BE A WHOLE LOT OF ANSWERS FOR US
THAT MAYBE WE DON'T ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND NOW, BUT WE WILL.
JUST EDUCATE YOUR SOUL. MAKE SURE YOU SOUL KNOWS VERY
WELL WHERE IT'S ANCHORED SO THAT WHEN CHALLENGE COMES, WHEN
THE GOOD TIMES COMES, YOU'RE NOT MOVED BY THE GREAT JOYS AND
GREAT WINS AND SUCCESSES, YOU'RE NOT MOVED BY THE BIG DEFEATS.
IT'S TRAGIC WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE, THEY SUDDENLY ALLOW
PRIDE TO GET IN THEIR SPIRIT BECAUSE THEY LISTEN TO
THE ACCOLADE, LISTEN TOO MUCH TO THE LITTLE THINGS, THE LITTLE
NAGGING VOICES THAT MAYBE GET THEM OFF CENTER AND GET THEM
UNHINGED OR GET THEM SOMEWHERE JUST OUT OF THE CENTER
OF WHAT GOD'S GOT FOR THEM. YOU WANT TO FILL YOUR SOUL
WITH HOPE. YOU WANT TO EDUCATE YOUR SOUL
IN THE WORD OF GOD. YOU WANT TO TELL YOUR SOUL
WHEN TO SHUT UP. LISTEN TO WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
AND USE THOSE WORDS AS WELL. LISTEN TO IT.
IT'S PSALM 103, VERSE 1 AND 2 WHERE THE PSALMIST SAYS,
"BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL; EVERYTHING THAT IS IN ME,
BLESS HIS HOLY NAME!" YOU WANT TO ANCHOR YOUR SOUL,
SOMETIMES YOU'VE GOTTA TELL WHATEVER SCREAMING ON
THE INSIDE TO SHUT UP AND START BLESSING THE LORD.
"SOUL, YOU'RE GONNA BLESS GOD. EVERYTHING THAT'S IN ME
IS GONNA BLESS HIS HOLY NAME. SOUL, YOU ARE GONNA BLESS GOD.
EMOTIONS, YOU'RE GONNA BLESS GOD.
THINKING, YOU'RE GONNA BLESS GOD.
CHOICES, I'M GONNA BUILD THEM AROUND BLESSING GOD."
EVERY SINGLE THING THAT'S TAKING AUTHORITY OVER YOUR SOUL
AND TELLING IT WHEN TO SHUT UP. YOU CAN GO TO SEE A DOCTOR,
A PSYCHOLOGIST AND YOU'RE HAVING A PANIC ATTACK AND THEY'LL GO,
"BREATHE, BREATHE, JUST BREATHE."
AND BREATHING MAY WORK, BUT I'LL TELL YOU WHAT WILL WORK BETTER
EVERY TIME, JUST START PRAISING, JUST START TELLING THE LORD YOUR
FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE. JUST START TO TELL THE LORD
YOUR SOUL'S GONNA BLESS GOD AND EVERYTHING'S THAT'S IN YOU
IS GONNA BLESS HIS HOLY NAME. START TAKING AUTHORITY OVER IT
AND SEE WHAT GOD CAN DO BECAUSE HIS NAME IS HIGHER.
YOUR NAME IS GREATER. ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU.
YOUR WORD UNFAILING, YOUR PROMISE UNCHANGING.
ALL OUR HOPE IS IN YOU.
>> WELL, SOMETIMES WE HAVE TO HAVE THE SPIRIT OF
MESHACH, SHADRACH AND ABEDNEGO WHO, IN A FIERY FURNACE
IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL IN THE OLD TESTAMENT SAID, "WE KNOW
THAT GOD CAN DELIVER US." THEY WERE THERE BECAUSE THEY
REFUSED TO BOW DOWN TO ANY OTHER GOD OR ANY OTHER FORCE.
THEY WERE GONNA HOLD ON TO THEIR GOD.
SO THE EVIL KING AT THE TIME NEBUCHADNEZZAR SAYS,
"WELL, IF YOU WON'T BOW DOWN AND WORSHIP ME,
I'M GONNA BURN YOU IN A FIRE." AND HE DRESSED THEM UP
FOR THE OCCASION. THEY SAID, "WE KNOW
THAT GOD CAN DELIVER US." BUT YOU KNOW HERE'S THE POWER.
THEY SAID, "EVEN IF HE DOESN'T, WE STILL WILL NOT BOW DOWN."
AND WHEN YOU BELIEVE THAT GOD'S NAME IS HIGHER, THAT GOD'S NAME
IS GREATER, IT MEANS THAT EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE YOU TRUST GOD.
I'VE SEEN GOD USE MEDICINE AND NATURAL THINGS TO HEAL PEOPLE.
I'VE SEEN PEOPLE SEE A SPEEDING UP OF TIME WHERE
THERE'S NO DOUBT THERE WAS A DIVINE POWER IN THE HEALING.
I'VE SEEN MIRACLES WHERE THINGS HAVE HAPPENED THAT ARE
UNEXPLAINABLE, AND I'VE SEEN PEOPLE WHOSE HOPE HAS COME AS
THEY'VE ENTERED INTO ETERNITY. AND PERHAPS THOSE AROUND
COULDN'T UNDERSTAND, BUT THE TRUTH IS WHEN WE TRUST GOD
IN HIS WORD AND IN HIS NAME, WE BELIEVE IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE
HE IS GREATER, HE IS HIGHER, HIS WORD IS UNFAILING, HIS PROMISE
IS UNCHANGING AND THAT HOPE, THE BIBLE SAYS, IS AN ANCHOR
FOR OUR SOUL, BOTH SURE AND STEADFAST BECAUSE IT TAPS INTO
THE ETERNAL, RIGHT INTO THE PRESENCE OF GOD HIMSELF.
AND THAT'S AVAILABLE FOR YOU IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE, GOING ABOUT
YOUR DAY IN A HOUSEHOLD, DON'T KNOW WHERE TO TURN, JUST CRYING,
FULL OF PAIN, PERHAPS, BUT THERE IS A HOPE.
HIS NAME IS JESUS. IT IS UNCHANGEABLE.
HIS WORD IS TRUTH.
>> I'D JUST GIVEN BIRTH TO MY THIRD CHILD, BEN,
WHICH WAS WONDERFUL AND SOMETHING THAT WE'D BEEN REALLY
PRAYING FOR AND HOPING FOR. AND THEN I WASN'T BOUNCING BACK
THE WAY THAT YOU WOULD NORMALLY AFTER GIVING BIRTH.
SO AFTER A FEW TESTS EVENTUALLY FOUND,
THROUGH A SERIES OF THINGS, THAT I HAD A CANCEROUS TUMOR.
I REMEMBER SITTING IN THE DOCTOR'S SURGERY
AND JUST LOOKING DOWN AT BEN AND LISTENING TO THOSE WORDS OF
"YOU HAVE CANCER." THE DOCTOR EXPLAINED THAT WE
DIDN'T KNOW WHAT STAGE IT WAS AT AND HOW BAD IT WAS, BUT THERE
WOULD NEED TO BE AN OPERATION. I JUST REMEMBER LOOKING AT THIS
LITTLE BABY AND THINKING, YOU KNOW, "GOD, YOU'VE JUST GIVEN
THIS LITTLE GUY TO US AND WE'VE GOT EMILY AND TIM AT HOME
AS WELL, SO YOU HAVE TO COME THROUGH FOR THIS.
YOU HAVE TO BE THERE FOR US." FACING DEATH, IT WOULD
DEFINITELY PLAY OUT IN MY MIND, AND I WOULD SEE PICTURES
OF THINGS WITHOUT ME IN IT AND BE--I JUST KNOW THAT THOSE
THOUGHTS WEREN'T THE ONES TO PONDER ON SO I'D VERY QUICKLY
GET RID OF THOSE AND THEN VERY QUICKLY HAVE PICTURES OF FAITH,
PICTURES OF SEEING US PLAYING TOGETHER, PICTURES OF STRENGTH,
YOU KNOW? REACHING BEN'S FIRST
BIRTHDAY PARTY WAS DEFINITELY ONE OF THOSE.
THERE'S THOSE DAYS WHEN YOU FEEL TOTALLY, "I'M NEVER GONNA GET
THROUGH THIS" AND THEN THERE'S THOSE DAYS WHEN YOU'RE LIKE,
"I WILL GET THROUGH THIS," AND THAT'S ALL PART OF IT.
I'D HAD 6 MONTHS OF CHEMO AND THEN HAD SOME MORE TESTING,
AND I REMEMBER GOING TO THE SEE THE DOCTOR AND HIM SAYING,
"WE'RE ALL CLEAR. WE'RE ALL GOOD.
WE'RE A YEAR PAST." I ACTUALLY SKIPPED DOWN TO
THE CAR AND CRIED, AND I THINK I'M GONNA BE LIKE THIS
EVERY TIME I HAVE A TEST AND IT'S CLEARED,
JUST THANKING GOD THAT HE WAS MIGHTY AND HE DID COME THROUGH.
I HEARD A STORY ONCE, THE SHIPS WOULD PUT THE ANCHOR INTO
THE HARBOR AND THEY WOULD STILL BE OUT IN THE STORM BUT BECAUSE
THEY ANCHORED IN THE HARBOR, THAT WOULD KEEP THEM, YOU KNOW?
AND I REMEMBER THINKING ABOUT THAT WHEN I HEARD THAT STORY
'CAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE DID.
WE ANCHORED DOWN IN THE STORM AND WE SURVIVED.
WE STILL WENT THROUGH THE STORM, WE STILL HAD TO GO THROUGH IT,
BUT WE ANCHORED OURSELVES DOWN IN GOD BECAUSE ULTIMATELY, HE'S
IN CONTROL AND HE'S WHO I TRUST.
[MUSIC]
>>UNCHANGING ONE YOU WHO WAS AND IS TO COME
YOUR PROMISE SURE YOU WILL NOT LET GO
THERE IS HOPE IN THE PROMISE OF THE CROSS
YOU GAVE EVERYTHING TO SAVE THE WORLD YOU LOVE
AND THIS HOPE IS AN ANCHOR FOR MY SOUL
OUR GOD WILL STAND UNSHAKEABLE
THERE IS HOPE IN THE PROMISE OF THE CROSS
YOU GAVE EVERYTHING TO SAVE THE WORLD YOU LOVE
AND THIS HOPE IS AN ANCHOR FOR MY SOUL
OUR GOD WILL STAND UNSHAKEABLE
[MUSIC]
YOUR NAME IS HIGHER YOUR NAME IS GREATER
ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU YOUR WORD UNFAILING
YOUR PROMISE UNSHAKEN ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU
YOUR NAME IS HIGHER YOUR NAME IS GREATER
ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU YOUR WORD UNFAILING
YOUR PROMISE UNSHAKEN ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU
[MUSIC] ALL MY HOPE IN YOU ALONE
WE SING YOUR NAME YOUR NAME IS HIGHER
YOUR NAME IS GREATER ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU
YOUR WORD UNFAILING YOUR PROMISE UNSHAKEN
ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU YOUR NAME IS HIGHER
YOUR NAME IS GREATER ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU
YOUR WORD UNFAILING YOUR PROMISE UNSHAKEN
ALL MY HOPE IS IN YOU
>> I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BEING WITH ME, AND I PRAY
THE MESSAGE IS BUILDING YOU UP AND STRENGTHENING YOU.
THERE'S SO MUCH HOPE THAT IS UNANCHORED.
WE CAN HOPE IN ALL SORTS OF THINGS WHERE REALLY, THERE IS NO
GUARANTEE, BUT THE HOPE THAT'S IN THE SCRIPTURES THAT I WANT
TO TALK ABOUT, IT IS FILLED WITH WHAT IS CALLED IMMUTABLE
OR UNCHANGEABLE TRUTH. THAT'S THE WAY
TO BUILD YOUR LIFE. GOD BLESS YA.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK. SEE YA NEXT TIME.