Letting Go Of What Doesn't Define Us

It's supposed to be a safe place to fall, Where you walk in with your shame and walk out whole, Bring in all your burdens and get help, Love God and love your neighbor as yourself, But now we hide all the brokenness we feel, Do we hurt the ones that Jesus wants to heal?

I still think about it, I say I let it go, But when those four walls fall, They can crush a faithful soul, I used to be so trusting, I hung on every word, Thought I found my family, cnd then my whole world turned, When I felt that church hurt, So hard to put into words, Feeling stranded, abandoned, Thought we would end up with heaven on earth, Instead of this church hurt, We found ourselves down in the dirt, cll of us imperfect people under a steeple, Just trying to do God's work, cnd then there was church hurt.

It's the hardest thing to give away And the last thing on your mind today, It always goes to those who don't deserve, It's the opposite of how you feel, When they pain they caused is just too real, Takes everything you have to say the word, Forgiveness, forgiveness, It flies in the face of all your pride, It moves away the mad inside, It's always anger's own worst enemy, Even when the jury and the judge, Say you've got a right to hold a grudge, It's the whisper in your ear saying set it free, Forgiveness, forgiveness, Forgiveness, forgiveness, Show me how to love the unlovable, Show me how to reach the unreachable, Help me now to do the impossible, Forgiveness, forgiveness, Help me now to do the impossible, Forgiveness, It'll clear the bitterness away, It can even set a prisoner free, There is no end to what its power can do, So let it go and be amazed by what you see through eyes of grace, The prisoner that it really frees is you, Forgiveness, forgiveness, Forgiveness, forgiveness, Show me how to love the unlovable, Show me how to reach the unreachable, Help me now to do the impossible, Forgiveness, I want finally set it free, Show me how to see what your mercy sees, Help me now to give what You gave to me, Forgiveness, forgiveness, Forgiveness, forgiveness.

In the eye of the storm, You remain in control, And in the middle of the war, You guard my soul, You alone are the anchor, When my sails are torn, Your love surrounds me, In the eye of the storm, When the solid ground is falling out from underneath my feet, Between the black skies and my red eyes, I can barely see

When I realize I've been sold out by my friends and my family, I can feel the rain reminding me, In the eye of the storm, You remain in control, In the middle of the war, You guard my soul, You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn, Your love surrounds me, In the eye of the storm, Mmm, when my hopes and dreams are far from me And I'm runnin' out of faith, I see the future I pictured slowly fade away, And when the tears of pain and heartache, Are pouring down my face, I find my peace in Jesus' name, In the eye of the storm (yeah, yeah), You remain in control (yes you do, Lord), In the middle of the war, You guard my soul, You alone are the anchor, When my sails are torn, Your love surrounds me (Your love surrounds me), In the eye of the storm (in the eye of the storm).

Lord I come, I confess, Bowing here, I find my rest, Without You, I fall apart, You're the one that guides my heart.

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You, Every hour, I need You, My one defense, my righteousness, Oh God, how I need You, So teach my song to rise to You, When temptation comes my way And when I cannot stand, I'll fall on You, Jesus, You're my hope and stay.

Proverbs 3 verse 5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

1 Peter 5 verse 6-7: Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Matthew 11 verse 28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Psalm 46 verse 10: He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

John 14 verse 1: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me.

In everything we see here, we can see how when we let go of hurt and how our past doesn't define us, we see how God gives us the strength to keep on going and become stronger.

Don't let your past define you, destroy you, or defeat you. Let it strengthen you.

My past is what I've been through, it's not who I am. It has helped mold me, but it does not define me.

Leave who you were. Love who you are. Look forward to who you will become.

In these quotes we see how God loves us for who we were called and made to be and who we will become as His Children because of His plan for us and once we leave who we were thought we were supposed to be because of the Enemy trying to tell us that lie, we really realize that what you or I have been through is not who I or you, yourself is because it's only helped mold us but it doesn't define myself or you as God's Child. If we let our past hurts or current hurts, hurt us, destroy us, define and defeat us, then it will never strengthen us, it will only give us hurt and we will keep blaming sometimes what we wish we could change but cannot change, not on our own, because this is where we see the strength come in, the strength to let God take over and fight that battle for us, so that God can achieve the victory.

Let us go this week in realizing that we are a Warrior in Faith, Warrior in Christ and Not Alone.

Finally, let us remember in how God is always going to be our refuge and our strength in it all.

The Prayers We Wait On

 Garth Brooks- Some Of God's Greatest Gifts Are Unanswered Prayers.

I have unanswered prayers, I have trouble I wish wasn't there And I have asked a thousand ways
That you would take my pain away, You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand, How to walk this weary land, Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine, Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking, heaven stands, When my heart is breaking, I never leave your hands

When you walked upon the earth, You healed the broken, lost and hurt, I know you hate to see me cry
One day you will set all things right, Yeah, one day you will set all things right

When my world is shaking, heaven stands, When my heart is breaking, I never leave your hands

Your hands that shaped the world, Are holding me, They hold me still, Your hands that shaped the world

Are holding me, They hold me still, When my world is shaking, heaven stands, When my heart is breaking

I never leave you, When my world is shaking, heaven stands, When my heart is breaking, I never leave, I never leave your hands

Yeah, I don't always feel it, Yeah, but that's when I need it the most, So, I'ma keep on singing, 'Til my soul catches up with my song, There's times when my hands go up freely And times that it costs, oh-oh

Even if (even if) my daylight never dawns, Even if (even if) my breakthrough never comes, Even if (even if) I'll fight to bring You praise, Even if (even if) my dreams fall to the ground, Even if (even if) I'm lost, I know I'm found, Even if (even if) my heart will somehow say, Hallelujah anyway (Hallelujah anyway), Yeah, I hear a hymn of triumph, In the wilderness of my lament, In the lowlands or the mountain tops, I won't forget, All that goodness that You have shown me, The promises that You have kept, There's better days on the horizon up ahead

You give me purpose, You make it all worth it, When I give up, You lift me up, It's always enough, You are the reason, That I'm still breathing, No matter the season, Burnt or I'm bleeding, I'm always enough, So I wanna change, Change in Your name, Oh, I wanna change, Through all my mistakes, You love me the same way, No, I don't deserve You, I'll never desert You, You are the one, To You, I surrender, I'll be Your defender, 'Cause You gave me life, So I give You mine It's Yours to define, So I wanna change, Change in Your name.

James 5 verse 7-8 says: Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

Isaiah 30 verse 18 says: Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Lamentations 3 verse 25: The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;

Mark 11 verse 24: Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Philippians 4 verse 6-7:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Luke 18 verse 1: Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

1 John 15 verse 15: I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Matthew 7 verse 7: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

1 Thessalonians 5 verse 17-18: pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Jeremiah 29 verse 12: Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

We see in each scripture that as we wait on God for a prayer that is an unanswered prayer that in the season of waiting for our prayers to be answered prayers, that it's all in the waiting and in God's perfect will and timing that our prayers are answered by Him.

Do you ever feel like you have a million prayers that are just waiting to be answered? Have you ever felt like why isn't my prayer being answered? Well, you see that sometimes even an unanswered prayer and in the waiting of what we feel has been so long of a wait that sometimes what we think is unanswered is the answer that we then see in God's timing of being answered that the prayer that we may have prayed about whether it is a prayer of wanting the part we hoped for in a school play or something like that, that the plan God has for us and the part we thought we were going to get in a play or something different wasn't the one God wanted for us because just like in Jeremiah 29 verse 11 it says: For I Know The Plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you but to give you a hope and a future. You see the prayers we wait on, whether it's for a part in a school play or something different, that God's plan for our life and the answer He has for us can be different and sometimes we may not get a yes or no, but wait patiently answer from Him or sometimes in that moment of waiting we may just get that answer to where it's not what we think it should be but rather it is what God wants for our lives and what He wants for us is to strive, to excel, do our best, walk humbly with Him, act Justly, love with Mercy and just serve.

We all think we know that we have an answer to prayer in our own waiting, it's just not true.

I want to share this song by Matthew West called Waitin' On A Miracle.

I'm down to my last drop of faith, My last ounce of strength, My knees are worn, From waiting on a miracle
I've prayed, God, I've prayed, I've stormed the gates in Jesus' name, Crying out night and day, Just waiting on a miracle, But I don't know how much longer, I can hold out hope tonight And I wish my will was stronger

But instead I'm just a weary heart, Waiting on a miracle, Waiting on a miracle, I've heard Your hand can calm a raging sea, But can You calm the storm in me, 'Cause that's how it feels When you're waiting on a miracle And I don't know how much longer, I can hold out hope tonight And I wish my will was stronger

But instead I'm just a weary heart, Waiting on a miracle, Waiting on a miracle, But I don't know how much longer, I can hold out hope tonight, And I wish my will was stronger, But instead I'm just a weary heart

Waiting on a miracle, Waiting on a miracle And my soul longs for the day, When I see the answer to the prayer I've prayed And it'll all be worth the wait Waiting on a miracle.

There is one more song I want to share with all of you that I hope you'll take time to not only search all the song lyrics I've shared but also listen to the songs as well as the message of those prayers we wait on are prayers that we wait on in waiting on God's Timing to answer them and as we do that, we know that He is in control and that He will give us the strength we need to carry through and give us Wisdom to overcome.

Pray- Sanctus Real

A Heart Of Multitude

 Charles Spurgeon says: ''It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.''

There's a sign on the door, says, "Come as you are" but I doubt it, 'Cause if we lived like it was true, every Sunday morning pew would be crowded, But didn't you say the church should look more like a hospital, A safe place for the sick, the sinner and the scarred and the prodigals, Like me, Well truth be told, The truth is rarely told, Oh am I the only one who says, I'm fine, yeah I'm fine oh I'm fine, hey I'm fine but I'm not, I'm broken And when it's out of control I say it's under control but it's not And you know it, I don't know why it's so hard to admit it, When being honest is the only way to fix it, There's no failure, no fall, There's no sin you don't already know, So let the truth be told, Can I really stand here unashamed, Knowin' that you love for me won't change?, Oh God if that's really true, Then let the truth be told.

Will You be my light, when I cannot see? And when I can't take another step, Lord, would You carry me? And when I've lost my fight, will You be my strength? Will You set me a table in the presence of my enemies? I shall not want, I shall not want, Oh, my soul's got a shepherd in the valley and I shall not want, I shall not want, I shall not want, 'Cause my cup's running over, running over and I shall not want, And I will lift my eyes to where my help comes from And I won't be afraid of the shadow, 'Cause I've seen the sun, No, I will not stop, when the way gets hard, 'Cause the green only grows in the valley And that's where You are (say).

I know you're tired, I know you're weak And all of that fighting's got you, Down on your knees, You're desperate for change, Desperate to know, There's a light, Still a light, Child lift up your eyes, For your help draws nigh, Child lift up your eyes, It'll be alright, Every tear you've cried, Let the sunlight dry, Every tear you've cried, It'll be alright, If you still have breath in your lungs, If you still have breath in your lungs, You're not done, I'll be your strength And I'll be your song, I'll be the solid rock, You can stand on, I'm with you always, You're never alone, 'Cause I'm right by your side.

The most beautiful way to start and end the day is with a Grateful Heart.

1 Thessalonians 5 verse 16-18: Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 4 verse 6: Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

John 16 verse 24:  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

1 Peter 2 verse 9:  But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Matthew 13 verse 32: Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

John 14 verse 1: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me.

Psalm 51 verse 10: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Matthew 17 verse 20: He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Romans 10 verse 17:  Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

In everything we see how God gives us a heart of multitude, gratitude, happiness, joy, love, peace, faith, we see how God turns the small things into greater blessings so that we may be able to have an abundance of hope that gives us understanding to know we can receive a message meant for us to hear and so that we may walk by Faith and not by Sight. In each scripture we see how this heart of multitude can develop into a better understanding of how we live in the heart of Christ and not in the heart of the Enemy. The Enemy would not want us to have a heart of multitude by a heart of despair. God doesn't want us to live in despair.

God wants us to live our lives to the fullest and we know this, we can seek out His unfailing and unwavering love that is so unconditional that God gives us an open mind, an open heart and eyes to see in how we can give thanks for all that He continues to do and how we can see in the heart of God, God loves us daily.

'Cause there's only love in the heart of God, No room for shame in His open arms, There's beauty from ashes, so come as you are And there's only love in the heart of God, Come, prodigal children, it's never too late, Run home to the Father, let Him clothe you with grace And bury your burdens, break free from your fear, Step out of the shadows, there's no judgment here, There's only love in the heart of God, No room for shame in His open arms, There's beauty from ashes, so come as you are And there's only love in the heart of God.

We see in this song that we can take everything in a heart of gratitude and turn it into a multitude in the things that give us the abundance of small blessings that turn into bigger blessings when we seek Him.

God calls us to be still, to listen, and to be in the waiting sometimes so that a Heart of multitude that may be small because we want what we think the plan should be to come quick but God has us wait and that Heart of Multitude can grow bigger and deeper into something that God shows and shines a light in, in our Faith.

What are you thankful in this heart of multitude in your season of life? Think of this reflection question as I share two final quotes and end on these two quotes tonight.

Dwight L. Moody: ''Faith makes all things possible. Love makes all things easy.''

Roy T. Bennett: ''When one has a grateful heart, life is so beautiful.''

New Year, New Season

 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17 says: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!

When you close your eyes, do you go back there, To a bended knee and a "Lord, I need you" whispered prayer? Remember the moment you let Jesus in Would you give anything to go back there again? You feel like a million mistakes and a million miles Away from the first time faith of a child, But oh, I want you to know

He's making you new, He's making you new, He's healing your heart right where you are If only you knew
He's lifting your shame, He's changing your name And when you look back, The only thing that you'll see is His grace, Has been making you brand new, He is making you brand new, When it just doesn't feel like the old you is gone, The shame keeps telling your heart that you should be further along, You can fix your eyes now on the truth you know That you are held by the hands of a savior that won't let go.

Ezekiel 34 verse 26 says: I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.

We pray for blessings, We pray for peace, Comfort for family, protection while we sleep, We pray for healing, for prosperity, We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering And all the while, You hear each spoken need, Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things, 'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops?, What if Your healing comes through tears?, What if a thousand sleepless nights, Are what it takes to know You're near? And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?, We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near, We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love, As if every promise from Your Word is not enough And all the while, You hear each desperate plea And long that we'd have faith to believe.

It's like it was yesterday, I was a praying for a miracle, Scared to have a little hope And now looking back today, Seeing all the things You've done, I can't even add them up, One, two, three up to infinity, I'd run out of numbers, Before I could thank You for everything, God, I'm still counting my blessings, For all that You've done in my life, The more that I look in the details, The more of Your goodness I find, Father on this side of heaven, I know that I'll run out of time, But I will keep counting my blessings, Knowing I can't count that high. 

I am counting every blessing, counting every blessing, Letting go and trusting when I cannot see, I am counting every blessing, counting every blessing, Surely every season You are good to me.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;, Count your blessings, see what God hath done;, Count your blessings, name them one by one;, Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

Galatians 6 verse 9 says:  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Well, you got a smile that could light up all New York City, When life comes at you hard, you make it look so easy, No matter what you're facing, You are my inspiration, yeah, That's what you are, You're the fighter that doesn't know how to back down. You-u-u-u-u, Never ever give up, You-u-u-u-u Hold on no matter what, You show the world your face of brave, You-u-u-u-u, Never ever give up, Oh-oh-oh-oh (never ever give up), Oh-oh-oh-oh (never ever give up), You've had your share of life ain't fair, but you won't tap out, My money says you'll still be swinging 'til the last round, When they odds say you should quit, well, you do the opposite, yeah, That's what you are.

Ecclesiastes 3 verse 1:  There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

I will bring praise, I will bring praise, No weapon formed against me shall remain, I will rejoice, I will declare

God is my victory and He is here And this is my prayer in my battle, When triumph is still on its way, I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ, So firm on His promise I'll stand, I will bring praise, I will bring praise

No weapon formed against me shall remain, I will rejoice, I will declare, God is my victory and He is here

All of my life, In every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship.

Genesis 8 verse 22: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness, To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

What's your impossible? Your "I need a miracle", What's got you barely hanging by a single thread?
What looks so hopeless now? What weighs down your heart with doubt? You beg for a breakthrough, but no sign of breakthrough yet, When you've cried, and you've cried 'til your tears run dry, The answer won't come, and you don't know why And you wonder if you can bow your head even one more time, Don't stop praying, Don't stop calling on Jesus' name, Keep on pounding on Heaven's door And let your knees wear out the floor, Don't stop believing, 'Cause mountains move with just a little faith And your Father's heard every single word you're saying, So, don't stop praying.

Jeremiah 29 verse 11:  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

… Scared, oh, I thought I knew scared, But I'm so filled with fear, I can barely move … Doubt, I've had my share of doubt, But never more than right now, I'm wondering, where are You? … Here on the edge of fall apart, Somehow Your promises, Find my troubled heart … This is the truth I'm standing on, Even when all my strength is gone, You are faithful forever And I know You'll never Let me fall … Right now, I'm choosing to believe, Someday soon, I'll look back and see, All the pain had a purpose, Your plan was perfect all along, This is the truth I'm standing on … Good, I believe You're still good, Even when life's not good, I will not lose this hope, … That the God who parts the sea, Promises He's gonna Make a way for me.

Romans 8 verse 28 says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

We see in a lot of these scriptures and song lyrics that in this new year that we are in, that there will always be a season that sometimes God can leave us in to just be with Him, we could be having a season of Hope, Joy, a season of Peace that leaves us to know God is in control.

We may have a season where it's a new direction to try new things like food, or an adventure that might be zip lining or learning to ride a bike or drive a car.

Whatever it is, we know who holds tomorrow, our future, and we know who is in control.

If we were to give up, where would we be right now? What would we do if we just gave up?

I want you to think of those reflection questions for a moment, while I share something.

We Look Back And Thank God. We Look Forward And Trust God.

The Lord bless you and keep you, Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, The Lord turn His face toward you And give you peace, The Lord bless you and keep you, Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, The Lord turn His face toward you And give you peace.

We see here that no matter what the New Year brings or what New Season we are in, that God will continue to bless us and as we look back at past years, we thank Him and as we look forward, we trust Him. Why do we trust Him? Well, we trust Him because He is ruler of all the Earth and we know we are Christians by His Love and because of that, sure we may not always get it right, but in this New Year and New Season of trying things that take us away from our comfort zone a little, we realize to take a leap of Faith, a leap of Gratitude, a leap of Joy, and first and foremost, we take a leap of Courage to do His Will.

May This New Year be a time of fresh beginnings and renewed spirit.

Our Hope is not in the new year... but in the One who makes all things new.

Let us remember these things as we go about our week, and let us remember all of this as I end on these three scriptures with all of you as I feel it is important to end on this scripture to help motivate us to do well.

2 Timothy 4 verse 2 says:   Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Acts 1 verse 7: He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.

Genesis 1 verse 14: And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,