1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:02,960 Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast. 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:05,520 We hope today's message is encouraging to you. 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:13,600 We are in a series called Weeds in My Garden and we are talking 4 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,680 about mental health in the series Our Mental Health. 5 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:23,480 And personally, I am so excited and so thankful that this topic 6 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:27,560 is being addressed in church. I don't know about you, but the 7 00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:31,400 reason is the church is the only place that people will hear the 8 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:37,280 truth of God. The truth is Jesus is the 9 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,440 answer. Jesus said these words and think 10 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:43,720 about how these words apply to our mental health. 11 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:50,560 He said He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim 12 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,840 liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners. 13 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:01,840 The truth is Jesus is the way to be truly free and to break the 14 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:05,600 chains of bondage in our lives. And the world points to 15 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:11,040 everything else except Him. The truth is He is the answer to 16 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:13,600 our health and healing. And I am not saying, please hear 17 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,080 me correctly. I am not saying go, don't go to 18 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,800 doctors, don't use hospitals, don't use medicine. 19 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,160 That's not what I'm saying. There are times that those 20 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,280 things are needed and they may be helpful to our lives. 21 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,760 So I don't want anyone to feel guilt or shame if you are taking 22 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,160 medicines. And I say Jesus is the healer 23 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:34,880 because God is not a God of shame or guilt. 24 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:39,880 But I am saying that many times if you understand medicine, 25 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:42,760 medicines are designed to treat the symptom and not the root. 26 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:49,280 And also I am saying that Jesus still heals and he heals not 27 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,400 just our physical health. He also cares about and heals 28 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:56,960 our mental health. And I'll be honest about this 29 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,080 topic. This is a topic I did 6-7 years 30 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:03,440 ago I didn't know much about. I knew very little about mental 31 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:04,960 health. But over the last seven years 32 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:09,000 that has become one of my favorite topics because of what 33 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,440 I've learned and what I've experienced in the last five or 34 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,880 six years, this topic has become very passionate to me and very 35 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:19,680 important to me because of how much my life has changed. 36 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:23,480 So today's message is a combination message and 37 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:28,520 testimony. I used to think just 6-7 years 38 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,480 ago that some people need freedom or mental health help, 39 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:36,120 but most people are fine. Some people battle things like 40 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:38,920 depression or schizophrenia. That's a fun word. 41 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:44,400 It's a fun word to say 5 syllables, bipolar issues, 42 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:46,040 anxiety attacks, things like that. 43 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,200 But most people don't. I used to think people who 44 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:54,920 struggle with addictions, bad addictions, those people need 45 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,760 help. But the lie I believed was that 46 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,800 me, I'm good. I, I, I'm not addicted to 47 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,040 anything bad. I mean, maybe coffee. 48 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,200 You could make an argument, but I think coffee is a good thing. 49 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:12,760 Amen. So I, I know Pastor, I didn't 50 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:16,640 hear you say Amen. Never had a cup of coffee in his 51 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:19,520 life. But I thought, I don't have a 52 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:23,080 problem. And what I didn't understand yet 53 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:29,520 back 6-7 years ago, back when I was just a young pup in my young 54 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:34,280 50s, like Pastor Tim, what I didn't understand is that 55 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:37,240 addictions to some people, that some people have are many times 56 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,480 just their coping mechanisms for their life and their mind. 57 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,160 I meant me. The only issue I had was stress, 58 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,440 and we have a message coming up later on this series on trust 59 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,720 stress specifically. But I had stress all the time. 60 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:57,360 I thought and I believed It was my personality. 61 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:00,840 It was the way I was, It was the way God made me. 62 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:04,120 I believed I couldn't change it. I couldn't do anything about it 63 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,160 because I had felt stress back to childhood. 64 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:09,440 As long as I can remember, I kind of was. 65 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:12,760 I don't know if you'd call it nervous or just kind of on edge, 66 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,640 but I felt stressed. And a few years ago I discovered 67 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:22,480 in my mid 50s that that wasn't correct. 68 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:27,200 That wasn't true. Stressed was not how God made 69 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:30,800 me. Stress was not part of God's 70 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,440 original design and original plan for me in my life. 71 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,520 But sometimes you can believe something for so long that you 72 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,480 are convinced it's true. But here's a fact, you could 73 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,200 100% believe something to be true about yourself yourself and 74 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:51,120 still be wrong. And I am so glad I was wrong as 75 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,600 long as I can remember. From childhood to about a year 76 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:59,440 and a half ago, I lived with constant stress that wouldn't or 77 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:04,280 I felt couldn't go away and I couldn't figure out why. 78 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:08,560 When life was good, I felt stressed at night. 79 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:10,720 When I tried to sleep, or if I woke up in the middle of the 80 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,840 night, I felt stress. It was very hard to rest. 81 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:18,520 It was very hard to sleep. I slept very poorly. 82 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:21,680 Even on a Saturday, it would drive me crazy. 83 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:25,040 It's my I was trying to Sabbath and I just felt this edge, this 84 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,040 stress, and I couldn't figure out why. 85 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,080 It was frustrating, but I thought there's nothing I can do 86 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:33,480 about it. I just need to deal with it. 87 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,520 I need to make the best of it. I need to live with it and then 88 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,360 live life and enjoy life as best I can with this issue of stress 89 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,840 that I've always had and likely would have for the rest of my 90 00:05:44,840 --> 00:05:48,080 life. But what I learned was there was 91 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:53,160 a reason for the stress. It was because my mind had 92 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:57,120 become wired or hard wired with what they call neural pathways 93 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:02,880 in my brain at a very young age that caused me from then on to 94 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:07,640 be what's called hyper vigilant, always on guard. 95 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:12,760 I felt it was irresponsible, if not dangerous to ever put my 96 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:19,800 guard down to rest or relax, to turn the on switch in my mind to 97 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:24,000 off. And I learned that when you feel 98 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:26,720 stressed all the time, not just when there's a reason for stress 99 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,400 like a test or a deadline, but all the time, even when there is 100 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:34,320 no stressor or urgent reason, that's called anxiety. 101 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:37,880 And I didn't mind the word stress so much. 102 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:39,600 I mean, I've got a lot of responsibilities. 103 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:41,800 I work hard, I've got to do things right. 104 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:44,520 But I didn't, I, I did not like the word anxiety. 105 00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:48,560 But the truth is, I had what they call high functioning 106 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:52,840 anxiety, which means I didn't have outward anxiety attacks 107 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:55,120 that everyone could see what was going on in me. 108 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:58,280 I had high functioning anxiety works. 109 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:02,040 What someone sees on the outside doesn't match what's going on 110 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:06,080 the on the inside of a person. And what I didn't understand 111 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,960 then is that I had learned a survival technique at a very 112 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:15,680 young age in grade school, 3rd or 4th grade, to hide my stress 113 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:21,200 so well that everyone else thought I was fine, I'm good. 114 00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,760 I had it all under control. And I'll be honest with you, 115 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:25,520 that's what I wanted everyone to think. 116 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,920 That was my goal. I didn't even want anyone to 117 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,280 know what was going on on the inside of me, not even my best 118 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,920 friends, because there was nothing they could do about it 119 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:37,760 and there was nothing they could do about it. 120 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,920 Only I knew how I felt on the inside all the time. 121 00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:48,360 Not able to relax or I felt guilty or in danger if I chose 122 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:53,200 to rest or try to rest. And even though I battled those 123 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:56,840 issues my whole life, for years and years and years, it didn't 124 00:07:56,840 --> 00:08:02,120 have a big effect on my physical life until I turned 50, yay. 125 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:08,960 And I started to have digestive issues, yay, gut issues. 126 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,040 And the doctors would say, I went to medical doctors and they 127 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:13,960 would say things, brilliant things. 128 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,360 They had certificates on the wall which proved they were 129 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,800 qualified to say, you have stress, you have too much 130 00:08:19,800 --> 00:08:21,560 stress. And I said, you know, I'm not a 131 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:23,200 doctor. I don't play 1 on TV, but I 132 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,840 could figure that out. I mean I did. 133 00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:31,720 I pay for this appointment. My mind was always on guard, 134 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:35,240 vigilant, I knew that ready for anything 24/7 for no current 135 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:37,960 reason other than that's how my mind was wired. 136 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:41,600 But here's the good news. You want to hear some good news 137 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:45,760 today? I say this as an encouragement 138 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,240 to everyone. I do not boast, it's not me. 139 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,520 I do not boast except to say look what the Lord has done. 140 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:56,000 In the spring of 2024, I had a breakthrough about a year, not 141 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,400 even 2, not even a year and a half ago, April or May. 142 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:00,440 I wish I could tell you the date. 143 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,880 It was right before sabbatical, weeks before Pastor Tim and 144 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,560 Christine sabbatical. I had a breakthrough at age 50, 145 00:09:07,560 --> 00:09:12,040 like 58, and my life dramatically changed and I don't 146 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:16,040 live that way anymore. Period. 147 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:21,360 Exclamation point. I don't feel anxiety anymore. 148 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:25,720 I rarely feel stressed anymore, even when there is a reason to 149 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:31,280 be stressed. I'm like, I sleep better than I 150 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:32,560 ever have in my life. I am. 151 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:36,320 I love sleep. I went from 4 hours of sleep, 152 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:41,400 that sleep that was a struggle, to seven or eight, sometimes 9. 153 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:48,720 I had never done that. I rest, I relax, I don't 154 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,400 overthink anymore. And now I am living in freedom 155 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:55,480 from stress and anxiety and it is honestly better than I ever 156 00:09:55,480 --> 00:10:01,000 thought my life could be. And I confess to you publicly, I 157 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:02,680 wasn't sure it was possible for me. 158 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,840 I didn't know if it was ever going to happen. 159 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:08,360 So what changed? How did it happen? 160 00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:11,720 You might be wondering that. I hope you are, and the reason I 161 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:13,840 share my story is to give everyone hope. 162 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:18,320 If it can happen for me, it can happen for anyone. 163 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:21,400 I honestly believe that. I'll explain to you today as 164 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:24,200 best I can and as honestly and transparently as I can. 165 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,480 I've never shared the I'm just going to put it out there 166 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,680 because I hope it helps you. The title of today's message is 167 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:35,000 Am I loved? Am I loved? 168 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:40,040 Isn't that a great question? But isn't that an important 169 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:43,640 question? About a year and a half ago, 170 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:53,480 Mother's Day, 2024, April, May ish, I gave a message on the top 171 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,640 five biblical parenting roles for a mother and for a father. 172 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:01,600 And when I gave that message message, I thought that was the 173 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:03,920 most important message I've ever given in my life. 174 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:10,400 What a child needs to receive from their mother and from their 175 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:14,200 father separately. And the reason I knew that was 176 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:19,200 so important is because I know, and the enemy knows that if a 177 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:27,160 child is wounded emotionally or mentally, especially by someone 178 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:33,080 they love and rely on like a parent, or by someone they like 179 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:35,600 and trust, like a friend or someone they are in a deep 180 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:39,800 relationship with. If that person causes pain for 181 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,400 them emotionally, either intentionally or 182 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:48,000 unintentionally, it many times leads to wounds or false 183 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:53,320 beliefs, real deep pain that gets stored away in our 184 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:57,800 subconscious, sometimes for the rest of a person's life. 185 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:01,880 And it affects our life. And the enemy knows this. 186 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:07,080 It's why he hates marriage and tries everything he can to break 187 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,040 it up. He hates healthy families. 188 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:13,000 He hates healthy parenting. He hates healthy relationships. 189 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:19,080 Satan hates God's design for us, and Satan knows his best 190 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:23,520 opportunity is to attack people when they're weakest, so he 191 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:25,920 attacks. This tells you something about 192 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:31,400 his character, Children. There is a war on children in 193 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:33,960 our culture and on their minds, and it is evil. 194 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,280 Satan attacks youth, students and young adults. 195 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:42,480 He attacks people like us when we're hurting, when we're 196 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:47,000 grieving, when we're emotional, when we're alone, when we're 197 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,160 broken hearted. That's when we're most 198 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:53,600 vulnerable to his tricks and his deception. 199 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:58,200 Did you know or did you ever realize that Satan's first 200 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:03,200 temptation in the garden to Adam and Eve wasn't to steal? 201 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:07,560 It wasn't to murder. His first temptation was to get 202 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:13,080 Adam and Eve to question what God said, to doubt what God 203 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:17,400 said, to question if God really had their best interest at 204 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:20,520 heart. To question God's love, his 205 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:24,560 nature and character. This is what it says in Genesis 206 00:13:24,560 --> 00:13:27,760 chapter 2 verse 16. If you have your Bibles open to 207 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:30,920 Genesis, it's first chapter, first book of the Bible. 208 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:35,200 Just start turning get past the indexes and glossary and things 209 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:36,520 like that. Chapter 2. 210 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,320 If you need a Bible, you can raise your hand and usher. 211 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:41,560 We'll bring one to you and you can keep it or leave it after 212 00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:43,800 service. It'll be on the screen behind 213 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:44,920 me. But this is what it says in 214 00:13:44,920 --> 00:13:48,480 Genesis chapter 2. And the Lord commanded the man, 215 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:52,560 you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must 216 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:56,600 not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for 217 00:13:57,280 --> 00:13:59,520 when you eat from it, you will certainly die. 218 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:02,920 That was a very clear instruction. 219 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,840 That was a warning. Do not eat from the one tree. 220 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:10,720 But Satan comes along and says in Genesis chapter 3 verse one, 221 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:17,840 it says he said to the woman, did God really say you must not 222 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:23,120 eat from any tree in the garden? Did God really say did he really 223 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:26,400 mean it? And do you know that's still the 224 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:30,280 same trick Satan use on uses on people today. 225 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:35,240 He uses on us today. The Bible tells us what God says 226 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:39,040 the word of God, it's his word and it's his instructions to us 227 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:42,640 because he loves us. And the enemy comes along and 228 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:47,400 says to to us, did God really say, did you really mean it? 229 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:52,720 Do you really believe that? Is he telling you the whole 230 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:56,760 truth or is he holding something back from you because there's 231 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:02,680 something else that's better? For example, God's word says to 232 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,480 bring your tithe to the temple. Bring your tithe and God will 233 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,480 pour out a blessing upon you. Malachi chapter 3, Read it for 234 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:12,400 yourselves. God wants you, wants us to live 235 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,160 a blessed life. But Satan says, is that really 236 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:19,480 true? That doesn't make any logical 237 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,640 sense. You need your money, you earned 238 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,080 it, it's yours. And if you give, you won't have 239 00:15:25,080 --> 00:15:28,120 enough. And we question what God said. 240 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,280 The Bible tells us if you are in Christ, you are the light of the 241 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:35,200 world, light of the world. And Satan comes along and says, 242 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:40,240 not you, though there's no way you qualify. 243 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:46,480 Satan is still tricking people today to doubt the word of God. 244 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:50,760 It's his best and it's a Ridge, his original strategy. 245 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:53,360 And here's how he attacks us regarding love. 246 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:57,440 The question, am I loved? Here are some biblical truths #1 247 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:02,200 truth number one. God is love and God loves you. 248 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,960 The Bible says God is love. It's not just something he does, 249 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:11,320 it's who he is first. John 48 says whoever does not 250 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:16,280 love does not know God, because God is love. 251 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:21,920 The Satan, the deceiver comes to us and whispers, but God doesn't 252 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:26,160 love you. You are not good enough, you are 253 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,480 broken, you have too much sin. You are not worthy of his love. 254 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:34,480 You don't deserve His love. In fact, you are unlovable. 255 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:39,840 If you ever hear or think those words. 256 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,200 You can know right away that's not true. 257 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:48,600 That is not what God says. The truth is God loves you and 258 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,200 all He does is love. He is love. 259 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:55,400 Truth number 2 is God's word is the truth. 260 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,000 What God says is true. It's a fact. 261 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,720 It's a promise from someone who cannot break a promise. 262 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:06,040 In fact, there are a few things God can't do. 263 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:08,760 Did you know that one of them is God can't lie. 264 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:13,319 He can't lie. Titus 1-2 says which God who 265 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:15,920 never lies promised before the ages began. 266 00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,480 Another translation, ESV says God who cannot lie. 267 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:25,599 If he said it, it's truth. If he speaks it, it happens. 268 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:32,160 There was no light. God said let there be light and 269 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,840 immediately there was light because he said it. 270 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:41,480 What he says is true. Satan on the other hand, exact 271 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:43,920 opposite. He can't tell the truth. 272 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:48,000 He lies and all he does is lie. It's his weapon and his nature. 273 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:50,640 Jesus called him the father of lies. 274 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:53,000 Pastor Tim. Tim read this verse last week. 275 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,040 John 844. Jesus said this about Satan. 276 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:01,880 This is not a compliment, for there is no truth in him. 277 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,640 When he lies, He speaks his native language, for he is a 278 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:10,840 liar and the Father of lies. Jesus said that all Satan does 279 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:15,840 is lie and deceive us in ways that can affect our mental 280 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,720 health, and he wants that to happen. 281 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:27,840 He wants us to live wounded and broken lives, lives that do not 282 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:34,400 glorify our Creator. I will say this, though, if 283 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:37,320 someone ever said to me, can you say something nice about Satan, 284 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:42,840 I would say he's consistent. All he does is, I mean, have you 285 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,760 ever met someone who like, they sometimes lie and they tell you 286 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,080 something and you're like, how do I know if you're telling me 287 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:50,480 the truth or if you're telling me lie? 288 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:56,320 At least with Satan, you know, if you know his voice, you can 289 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,320 right away say that's a lie. And if you hear from God, you 290 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:02,920 can immediately say that's the truth. 291 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:08,880 And God said he loves you. So it's no surprise that Satan 292 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:10,520 would tell you the exact opposite. 293 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,000 If you're wondering where does God say he loves me, the answer 294 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:17,680 is many places in the Bible over and over again. 295 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:21,800 It's the number one message of the entire Bible, His love for 296 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,400 us. The most known verse you're 297 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:26,600 probably familiar with is John 316. 298 00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:30,200 We can start there. For God so loved the world that 299 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:33,120 he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him will not 300 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:36,080 die, will not perish, but have eternal life. 301 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:39,280 Why did God do that? Why did God send his Son for for 302 00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:42,680 us? Because He loves us. 303 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:45,640 Thank you very much. It tells us the answer in that 304 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,760 one sentence. And the world doesn't mean the 305 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:51,400 planet, it means the people and that includes you. 306 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:57,120 Romans 58 says, But God clearly shows and proves his own love 307 00:19:57,120 --> 00:20:01,920 for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died 308 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:05,640 for us. So there is no question that if 309 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:09,160 you look at God, you look at his word, you look at Jesus, he 310 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,480 loves you. But Satan comes and says, but 311 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:16,560 the God really mean that about you. 312 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:21,680 Does God even know who you are? You are so insignificant. 313 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:25,880 Does God really even care at all about you? 314 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:31,000 And the easy, short, simple answer is yes, He absolutely 315 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:35,240 does. Let's look more, learn more 316 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,480 about what's God's word says, who God is, what he does about 317 00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:40,720 love. Let's start with the most famous 318 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:42,880 chapter about love, First Corinthians 13. 319 00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,160 Some people call it the love chapter. 320 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,440 Have you ever been to a wedding? Have you ever been to a wedding 321 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,520 that didn't read First Corinthians 13? 322 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:56,800 I don't think that I, I don't ever remember being to a wedding 323 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,440 that didn't read at least part of First Corinthians 13. 324 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:03,320 My own wedding, my kids weddings, I've been to many 325 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:04,920 weddings. Pastor Tim has done First 326 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:09,120 Corinthians 13 right because it talks about love and a wedding 327 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:13,240 is the perfect time. Love is in the air. 328 00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:19,400 It's a day of love, so a wedding is the perfect time. 329 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:24,120 But listen, Paul didn't write that chapter of his letter to 330 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:26,800 the church in Corinth just so we could read it at weddings. 331 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:33,360 He wrote it to describe God to us and to tell us who God is. 332 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,840 So you've most likely heard this chapter before. 333 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:38,440 Love is patient. Love is kind. 334 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:40,080 It does not envy, it does not boast. 335 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:42,080 It is not proud. Y'all y'all have heard at least 336 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,960 parts of that before right? But we can replace the word love 337 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:49,040 with God because Paul was describing who God is. 338 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:53,960 God is love and that's the point Paul was making when he wrote 339 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:56,240 the letter. So listen to it this way and 340 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,800 learn about God, his nature and character and his heart towards 341 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:01,640 you. Because if you don't believe 342 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,440 this, nothing in your life will change. 343 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,080 It starts the foundation is God loves me. 344 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:13,160 Tell me if you've ever heard Satan speak these lies to you 345 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:14,600 before. Here's some examples. 346 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:19,200 Satan says the liar says things like God is tired of you 347 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:23,800 frustrated with you. You keep not changing, you keep 348 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:28,280 sinning, you keep failing. But God says, which means the 349 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:35,200 truth is God is patient. Satan says the deceiver says you 350 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,040 messed up, so God is punishing you. 351 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:40,680 He's angry with you and you deserve anger. 352 00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:43,840 I'm sure you've never felt that way, that God is angry with me. 353 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:49,360 But the truth is, God says God is kind. 354 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:53,080 Satan says you deserve what you get. 355 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,080 It's your own fault. You deserve to be miserable, sad 356 00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:59,240 and depressed. But God says God does not 357 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:02,680 dishonor others. Satan says too much of your life 358 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,120 is bad, Too much of your past is full of sin. 359 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,360 Forgiveness is for people much better than you are. 360 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,000 But God says God keeps no record of wrongs. 361 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:16,200 Satan says there's no hope for you. 362 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,080 God hasn't done it yet, He never will. 363 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:20,600 You can't change, you never will. 364 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,720 It's too late. You've been this way for too 365 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,320 long. It's the way you are and always 366 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:29,280 will be. But God says the truth, says God 367 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:34,960 always hopes, always means always. 368 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:37,800 Satan says God has given up on you. 369 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,240 But God says God always perseveres. 370 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:43,680 He never gives up. He never quits on you. 371 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:48,360 And the last one, Satan says the liar says maybe God does it for 372 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:52,800 other people, but not for you. God has failed you. 373 00:23:53,840 --> 00:24:00,360 But God says God never fails. That's who God is. 374 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:03,840 That's the truth, and don't allow anyone, including the 375 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,280 devil, to deceive you or convince you otherwise. 376 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,640 Here's a video. We're going to show a clip of a 377 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:15,120 video of a person's story who believed the lies of the enemy 378 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:20,040 for so long and so strongly that she was tempted to end her own 379 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:23,800 life. But God and godly people showed 380 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:25,560 her the truth. Here's her story. 381 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:34,040 We all have our brokenness and our issues and our things, and 382 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:38,520 the more we can be open and honest and real with people, the 383 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,560 more they can feel like they can be open and real and honest. 384 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,960 The biggest lie for me was that that I wouldn't be missed, that 385 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:51,840 I wasn't important anymore, that it didn't I didn't matter. 386 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:57,040 At the same time, I just, I had a serious boyfriend and he broke 387 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:01,320 up with me for another girl at the time and so that kind of 388 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:05,800 spun my world out. I had a really, really close 389 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:10,040 best friend at the time. She started dating a guy who was 390 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,720 they were really serious, so she kind of dropped out of my life. 391 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:18,320 So I felt really alone. No one would miss me, but they 392 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,000 would be able to be fine without me. 393 00:25:21,520 --> 00:25:24,600 I just didn't want to live anymore then I I just didn't 394 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:29,200 want to go on anymore. I chose to take my life when I 395 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,080 was in high school. When I was going through those 396 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,840 hard times, I was really struggling the most just because 397 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,280 I wasn't being real with myself and with others. 398 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:44,000 I was trying to hide I had a pretty shallow relationship with 399 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,160 with Jesus. It wasn't till much later that I 400 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:51,040 grew my relationship with Jesus that I started to kind of figure 401 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,600 out how the church's role helped me in my life. 402 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,640 The church's role is to create an environment where people can 403 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:03,240 build relationships. And through your relationships 404 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:06,840 is when you can be real and open and honest with people so that 405 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:10,800 you can bring the heavy, hard things out when things come. 406 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:15,960 Lies don't go away. Satan attacks you with your 407 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,320 weaknesses. He tries to come after me all 408 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:24,680 the time with that same lie. And now I know where it comes 409 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:27,400 from. And I can battle it through 410 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,440 prayer and talking about it with other people. 411 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:32,920 And they can battle it with me through prayer. 412 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:37,880 Write out your lies and work through it with someone, whether 413 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:42,240 it be a counselor or a friend or a pastor. 414 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,600 People don't judge you like I thought they would. 415 00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:51,240 I might think about me being able to have a family, my kids, 416 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:56,360 my grandkids, being in ministry, and God using my story. 417 00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,960 But it's been the hardest thing about talking about this moving 418 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:06,200 forward is I am valuable and I am important and my life 419 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:11,800 matters. God gave me a second chance and 420 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:15,800 so I'm thankful for second chances and everybody gets to 421 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:23,800 have that I. Want to go back to my story, my 422 00:27:23,800 --> 00:27:25,520 journey to healing and how it happened? 423 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:30,160 Just so you know, about six years ago, I started to see a 424 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:32,000 Christian biblical mental health counselor. 425 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:34,720 Now, some people would be ashamed to say that I'm not 426 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,160 because it's true. I wanted to see that person 427 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:38,880 about my stress. Pastor Tim was the one who 428 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:43,840 recommended it to me, so I did it #1 he's my boss #2 is my 429 00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:45,680 friend. I know he cares about me. 430 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:48,960 And I thought maybe they can teach me some stress techniques 431 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,280 to help me cope. But what I didn't know then is 432 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:55,720 they weren't interested in giving me techniques to help me 433 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,600 cope. They wanted to get to the root 434 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:03,120 issue and heal the root, the cause, but I didn't know what 435 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:05,480 the cause was. I didn't know. 436 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:06,640 I didn't know what the route was. 437 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,320 And over the next few months and even years, the sessions took me 438 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,280 back to a place when I was very young, 910, eleven years old. 439 00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:19,440 And I remember thinking what is wrong with me back then? 440 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:23,120 At that age, not so much anymore, but at that age I used 441 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:27,680 to think, what is it that is wrong with me? 442 00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:31,160 Trying to figure it out because I thought something is wrong 443 00:28:31,160 --> 00:28:33,800 with me, but I didn't know what it was. 444 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,280 And maybe if I knew what it was I could fix it or change it. 445 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:38,440 But I couldn't put my finger on it. 446 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:41,000 I couldn't figure out out. I did, but I didn't feel normal 447 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:43,880 like the other kids in my class. The other kids in my school, 448 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,400 they seemed so normal. They seemed so confident. 449 00:28:47,680 --> 00:28:49,640 I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. 450 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,560 So I finally concluded that it was me. 451 00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:58,240 I concluded that the thing that was wrong with me at age 9 or 10 452 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:00,880 was me. I was what was wrong. 453 00:29:02,280 --> 00:29:06,280 So I somehow created a coping technique, a survival strategy 454 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:10,440 at that age, 10 years old, so I could hopefully have a good life 455 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,960 and possibly have a good future. It was. 456 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:15,760 I just won't let anyone else know about it. 457 00:29:16,920 --> 00:29:20,320 What I feel and believe about myself on the inside is my 458 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:22,800 secret. I'll act confident. 459 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,240 I'll pretend to be normal and confident just like everyone 460 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:26,760 else. Only I will know. 461 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,080 It was my plan, it was my strategy, and I made that 462 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:35,280 decision in 3rd or 4th grade and over the next years. 463 00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:37,280 I did well at school, I did well at sports. 464 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:39,840 I started dating my wife when we were in high school, when I was 465 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,320 16. She's a year younger than me, 466 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:47,320 much too young, if anyone's. We got married after my 467 00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:49,480 sophomore year of college, 39 years. 468 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,760 A week ago we celebrated our anniversary. 469 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,560 I got a college degree, we had children, I started a family, I 470 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,000 got a job at ACPA from in Minneapolis, MN. 471 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,160 I started in financial sales and did really well. 472 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:03,880 At age 32 I accepted Jesus and it was amazing. 473 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:09,760 Life was so good, better than I ever could have imagined, but I 474 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:14,000 still felt stressed. Our kids grew up and they were 475 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,400 beautiful, smart and healthy. I took the position at this 476 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,960 church that I love. My kids graduated from colleges, 477 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,160 they got married and started having babies, grandchildren. 478 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:28,600 I love them like crazy. Life was so good, amazing, so 479 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:31,200 blessed, and I knew that and I was grateful. 480 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,160 But despite all the good, wonderful, incredible things God 481 00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:41,080 had done, I still felt stress. It wasn't until I chose to go 482 00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:45,360 through biblical mental health counseling that I needed and 483 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:48,120 going back through the painful memories of my past, things I 484 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:52,840 didn't want to think about, of what caused me to believe 485 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:54,840 something was wrong with me, that I had a breakthrough. 486 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:00,080 Last year, spring 2024 was when I finally realized what was 487 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:03,960 wrong with me as a child. I finally discovered what I 488 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,120 could never figure out, what was wrong with me. 489 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:09,760 And this happened after years of counseling. 490 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:13,360 We got to this point, and I know this might sound strange to you, 491 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,640 this is hard. This part is hard for me to talk 492 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:22,080 about because it's so personal and I know it's it would have 493 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,320 sounded strange to me 5 or 6 years ago. 494 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:27,040 But one day this is what happened. 495 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,720 One day my counselor said in a session, she said, I want you to 496 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:35,600 close your eyes and visualize and I want you now, a 58 year 497 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:41,600 old adult to go back to your childhood home and see you then 498 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:46,800 a 10 year old boy and visit him yourself. 499 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:51,520 Now visualize going back inside your home 50 years ago. 500 00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:54,360 I can still see it and visit yourself. 501 00:31:54,360 --> 00:32:01,720 Then see him myself, sit by him. It's just the two of you there. 502 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:07,080 Give him a hug. And what do you want to say to 503 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:11,120 him? And all I'll say is this, it was 504 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:16,280 extremely emotional. That's all I'll say about it now 505 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:20,760 or I won't get through this. But the things I said from 506 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:27,280 myself now to myself then changed my core beliefs, my deep 507 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:30,160 down beliefs of who I was and who I am. 508 00:32:31,320 --> 00:32:34,280 And I discovered the answer to what was wrong with me as a 509 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:39,000 child was nothing. Nothing was what was wrong with 510 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,840 me then or now. My belief changed from 511 00:32:43,840 --> 00:32:46,960 embarrassed of that kid to proud of that kid. 512 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:50,600 I changed from hiding that kid, not wanting anyone to see the 513 00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:54,560 real me, to loving that kid. And I know that sounds weird if 514 00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:57,480 it's down, if it sounds strange hearing it, it sounds strange 515 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:01,480 saying it. But I realized and finally truly 516 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:03,960 believed that what I believed about myself, something was 517 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:09,240 wrong with me, was not true. The truth is that nothing was 518 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:11,880 wrong with me all along. And when I realized that, when 519 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:15,600 my belief changed, when I truly believe that to be true, my life 520 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:22,320 changed. The stress was gone immediately. 521 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:27,840 The anxiety was gone. The peace came like a flood 522 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:38,080 immediately, like a dam broke. DAM didn't swear what I had 523 00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,920 prayed for and waited for and hoped for for years. 524 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:53,240 Praise God finally came at age 58 and I'm 59 now and I can 525 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:55,360 honestly tell you I have never felt this good. 526 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:58,320 I have never felt like this. I have never felt this much 527 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:00,680 peace. Living with anxiety and stress 528 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,280 is amazing. My life was great before and I'm 529 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:06,560 so thankful, but it is better now. 530 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:10,000 And yes, I want to thank my counselor personally. 531 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:13,400 I needed that help to get through the process To the deep, 532 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,360 painful, buried feelings and emotions I didn't want to think 533 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:19,800 about. But I give all the glory and 534 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:24,080 praise to God because He is the healer and He wanted me to be 535 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:27,480 healed and I know He loves me and He loves you the same. 536 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:32,800 That's the good news. So as we close, what about you? 537 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:37,239 This message is not about me. I don't want anyone to leave 538 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:40,280 here saying, oh that's so great for you. 539 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:46,440 I want you to leave here saying that's so encouraging for me. 540 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:50,600 This message is about hope for you. 541 00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:55,440 Here are some hopes and truths for you personally #1 as we 542 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:57,760 close. God's love for you is personal. 543 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:02,800 God loves you, not just humanity, not just the world, 544 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:05,680 not just other people. You are His child. 545 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,800 He adopted you into his family through Jesus. 546 00:35:08,960 --> 00:35:10,920 He doesn't love some people and not you. 547 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:14,080 He is a good father and he loves his children. 548 00:35:14,280 --> 00:35:19,040 That includes you #2 God loves you just as you are. 549 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:24,280 That's true just as you are. You don't have to change first 550 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:26,800 or be better first and then He'll love you. 551 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,160 The enemy tells us we have to change first and then we deserve 552 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:33,200 God's love. The truth is, even though we 553 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,440 don't deserve it, God loves us anyway. 554 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:43,120 It's unconditional #3 God loves you too much to keep you the way 555 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,560 you are. God loves us so much that He's 556 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:49,440 unwilling to settle for good enough. 557 00:35:50,760 --> 00:35:53,600 He doesn't want us to just survive this life till the next 558 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:56,360 one. He doesn't want us living from 559 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,160 woundedness. He wants to heal all our wounds. 560 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:05,000 Jesus said it. Abundant life in Jesus doesn't 561 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,400 mean pretty good. It means better than we ever 562 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:11,840 thought it could be. And one of the things I love 563 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:15,480 about being a Christian, I love, I truly believe this and I truly 564 00:36:15,480 --> 00:36:18,720 love it is our future is always better than our past. 565 00:36:18,920 --> 00:36:22,680 And yes, primarily that means eternity, but also in this life, 566 00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:29,040 our physical lives may hit a peak and then go downhill. 567 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:35,800 Can I get an Amen? But our spirit, our spirit can 568 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,840 go up and better and greater as long as we live. 569 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,760 My life now is closer to God, hears God more clearly, has more 570 00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,280 joy, more peace than I did 1020 years ago. 571 00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:50,240 I have more freedom in my life now than I did five years ago, 572 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:55,240 and as a disciple of Jesus, I know I'll be closer to God, have 573 00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:58,760 more joy, fearless love and presence even greater, more 574 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,720 peace, more freedom 10 years from now than I do today. 575 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:07,920 I can't wait. Our lives get better and better 576 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:12,520 and better, and that is called abundant life because we keep 577 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,840 meeting with God, we keep discovering the truth, our 578 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:19,240 identity in Christ. We keep becoming more like Jesus 579 00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:22,120 and we keep leading others to do the same. 580 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:26,640 And I pray to God I never stop doing that and neither do we. 581 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:30,880 I don't know about you. Have you ever been to a class 582 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:34,120 reunion? I feel sorry for people whose 583 00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:37,320 best days are behind them. They talk about the good old 584 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:40,320 days, the glory days, and they wish they were there. 585 00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:45,640 I'm like, I don't. My life's better now than it was 586 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:46,800 then. It's going to be better in the 587 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:51,240 future than it is now. Disciples of Jesus, our best 588 00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:54,760 days is always ahead, not just in eternity, but in this life. 589 00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:58,720 To somebody, say Amen #4 last point. 590 00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:02,440 God's love can get you through and eventually heal your pain. 591 00:38:03,960 --> 00:38:08,280 Pain is real. Wounds are not made-up or 592 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:11,520 imagined. They are real things that really 593 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:15,920 happened to us. And God created us to store pain 594 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:18,600 in our brain, in a part of our brain called the amygdala. 595 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:22,600 Amygdala, it's where we subconsciously automatically 596 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:28,560 store pain memories, all pain memories, so that the next time 597 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:30,880 we don't have to think, we react. 598 00:38:31,920 --> 00:38:34,320 If you touch a hot stove, you don't have to leave your hand on 599 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:40,280 the stove and think, stove hot, I should move my hand. 600 00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:44,040 You touch it and you know, you react, you don't think. 601 00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:49,400 But because we live in a broken, fallen world with other broken 602 00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:54,120 people, we experience pain that was never intended for people to 603 00:38:54,120 --> 00:38:58,080 experience in the garden. In the garden, God never 604 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:02,880 intended people to experience rejection, abandonment, 605 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:10,600 betrayal, grief or loneliness, cruel or mean words spoken to 606 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:16,560 you or about you, shame, humiliation, or trauma. 607 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:20,920 But we do experience some, if not all of those things in this 608 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:24,520 world because of sin. And when we experience those 609 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:29,600 things, it's painful. It hurts, and we store those 610 00:39:29,600 --> 00:39:31,840 painful memories away in our subconscious mind. 611 00:39:33,240 --> 00:39:36,400 But God can not only help us get us through that pain, He can 612 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:39,600 also heal our pain. Is it easy? 613 00:39:40,600 --> 00:39:43,760 No. Is it usually fast? 614 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:48,240 Usually not. But with Jesus, is it possible? 615 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:51,800 Absolutely. And does that give you hope? 616 00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:56,280 It should, because He is the one who said, not me. 617 00:39:56,280 --> 00:39:58,440 Who the sun sets free is free indeed. 618 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:02,200 And when we stop believing the lies, even if we believe them 619 00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:05,760 for a long time, and replace the lies with the truth of God and 620 00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:09,240 truly believe them, you will not only know, but you will 621 00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:12,400 experience what Jesus meant when He said, and you shall know the 622 00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:17,280 truth, and the truth shall what? Set you free. 623 00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:22,120 Thanks for joining us today. We hope God is speaking to your 624 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:24,720 heart through this message. If you'd like to connect with 625 00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:31,920 us, you can text connect the 407-588-0115 or visit Illuminate 626 00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:34,560 dot church. Have a great week.