Cast Your Cares (Father's Day) 6-21-2026

If this is your first time listening you can check us out at lifefamily.church or on Facebook and Instagram at @lfcbeardstown

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the Life Family Church Sermon Podcast. If this is your first time listening, you can check us out on our website at lifefamily.church or on Facebook at LFC Bears. Now let's get right to the message.

SPEAKER_02 0:18

Are we not blessed to have such a wonderful group of guys leading us in worship? Amen. What a blessing. The Lord is good. Amen. The Lord is good all the time. Yes, yes, yes. That's right. That's right. You called on. Good job. Happy Father's Day. Y'all give it up for these men. Amen. Amen. A couple things before I get started today. We have a picture prop back there in the back. You guys can see that. Hats off to fathers or to dad. Anyways, if you guys will, after service, all you men get with your family and go back there and take some pictures. We worked really hard. Some of these ladies worked really hard on putting that together. And some of you guys brought your hats in. And please take advantage of that. Take some pictures with the family. Enjoy that. We're just so thankful that we have a group of people who are always willing to serve and put on something very nice. We also have gifts for the fathers. Those are not gifts for kids, those are gifts for the dads. So you dads, make sure you grab yourself a gift before you leave. And then after service, barring a big rainstorm, we have planned uh some axe throwing and some knife throwing. So we do we we do have it ready out here in case the weather um, you know, if the weather goes crazy, obviously we'll have to hold off on throwing axes. It's probably not a good idea to throw in the rain. Just saying, especially uh when I'm throwing. Amen. If I throw any better than I hit golf balls, um it's a dangerous situation. But um want to congratulate those guys who won the golf tournament yesterday. Um, Chuck. Chuck was the winner. Everybody look back there. Chuck, come on. Oh gosh. I know Chris Anderson and and Jared Sower and Chuck, they won yesterday, I guess, fair and square. At least Mark Mark has some questions about that, but hey, you know. I lost square and fair. Yeah, square and fair. Yeah. Good job. Oh gosh. Uh, we're gonna have a good time today, amen. Uh the Lord is good, but um, let me uh let me grab my Bible real fast. The Lord's doing some great things at the church. I don't know if you guys recognized it. Some of you guys coming from Virginia probably recognized it. We got our new sign uh finally installed. It's on the other side. So we have the uh matching pair over here uh facing that direction as well. And also on the back side of it, we have um the logo. It's it's it's a different look on the back side. It's got our logo, and then John 13, 38 that says they'll know you um as a disciple because of your love one for another. So as you're leaving, you'll see they'll know you through your fruit, and that is that you love one another. Amen. So uh, and we we do have another uh something really fun to do here right now. So um before before I sit down, uh I want you to know this is an all fun. Uh nobody's supposed to get offended. I'm just saying, nobody be offended. This is supposed to be fun. So if you're offended, take a gate. You're gonna want out one day. So um, all right. So we do have a funny video. I want you guys to see it. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

Cows wear bells. Because their horns don't work.

SPEAKER_03 4:42

What is a lawnmower's favorite kind of music? Bluegrass.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

Someone asked me one day why is it important to be quiet in church? I said.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Oh, hey there. You know why beekeepers have such pretty eyes? It's because beauty's in the eye of the bee holder.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

Uh is it okay to laugh out loud in Hawaii? Or is it just an aloha?

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Dad jokes. The jokes nobody asked for, the punchlines we saw coming, and the jokes that somehow get funnier and even more embarrassing every year. But dads are more than the jokes that they tell. Behind every corny joke is a man who spends years showing up, showing up for practices, showing up for school programs, showing up when life gets hard, and showing up when nobody else notices. Dads are often the steady voice in the background, teaching us how to ride a bike, how to change a tire, how to work hard, how to keep going when things don't go our way. Sometimes their greatest lessons aren't spoken at all. They're found in early mornings, long work days, sacrifices that no one sees. Sure, they'll tell a joke that makes us groan. Hey guys, what kind of car does Jesus drive?

SPEAKER_02 6:34

A Chrysler. Come on now. Come on, you know that's good.

SPEAKER_01 6:40

But they're also the ones who make us feel safe. The ones who cheer the loudest, the ones who believe in us when we're not sure we can believe in ourselves. So today we celebrate more than the jokes. We celebrate the guidance, the sacrifice, the strength, and the love. We celebrate the men who have shaped our lives, not just by what they said, but by how they lived. Happy Father's Day. Thank you for being more than the jokes that you tell.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

I didn't understand what you said, but if I can have my ushers real fast come and get this guy out of here. Oh man. Um I I want to say, you know, every man in this room understands responsibility. You've worked hard and you've provided for your family. You've done so many things. And uh I know that these ladies appreciate it, these your wives appreciate it, your children appreciate all that you do. Um, and I want to, you know, offer you a definitely a happy Father's Day, but I want you to recognize these men. So, all you ladies, can you stand up and give them a round of applause? Come on, give it up for these men. I have um yeah. Now stand up and give me a round of applause. No, no, that's that was cheap. That was cheap. No, don't do that. Um one of the things they they were thinking about hats off to dads. Um, you know, I was thinking dads wear a lot of hats. They really do. They're they're they're they go around their providers, um, their protectors, uh they're a husband, they're leaders, they're workers, uh, they're decision makers, and they're problem solvers. There's a lot that men do. Um I've been to church all my life. I really have. I've I mean, from the time I was born, I was at church the next week. You know, I was sitting probably in a little rock or something up on a stage while my mom was leading worship. I was always in church. And most of the time when you come to church on a Father's Day, all you hear is how dirty, rotten, scoundrel men you all get your act together. Well, I'm gonna tell you a whole different story today. You guys have your act together. You're at church, you brought your family to church and you love Jesus. How much more can you all ask for in a man? Amen. Thank God for strong men. We have strong men leading us in worship. We're, you know, we have a um, you know, we have a we have a lady that comes up here and does it too. But I I we're we're majority men up here leading worship. That doesn't mean we can't have women up here. We would like some more women up here. So if you're able to play music, that's just a little plug. Let Jimmy know. Uh honestly, we would like to have, you know, two, three worship teams so that we can fill this place up with worship and uh never have if somebody has to go on vacation or something, don't miss a beat. We'll just keep on rolling. Amen. But we're so thankful for you men and what you provide. So today I'm gonna teach just a little bit on a subject that that just really ministered to me this week, and I I just feel like it was for for the men this week and also for you ladies as well. But today I'm gonna be talking a little bit about casting your care. Casting your care. There's one thing you cannot say about a man who loves their family, they do care, they care a lot, and it means something to them to take care of their family and provide for their family and their children. It means a lot, but sometimes that care becomes an overload, and we have to learn how to roll over our care on the Lord. That is so important today. We're gonna talk a little bit about that. So if you have your Bibles, 1 Peter 5, we'll go there and I'll get into this scripture in just a moment, but before then, I'm gonna say a few things. Sometimes it can be overwhelming being all those things, wearing all those different hats. Sometimes it can just overwhelm a person. And one of the things I've learned in life, uh, especially in Christianity, is the devil wants to get people pulled in all kinds of different directions and get their mind off of the main thing. I know it's probably the devil's attempt all the time is to get your mind off of God, get your mind off of spiritual things and get your mind on carnal things. And today I'm hoping to draw us all back to a single mind. Because that's literally what the devil tries to do is to get us double-minded. Because if he can get you double-minded, what does the Bible say? You'll be unstable in all your ways. So the devil wants to keep us off our balance, off our game. And it's it's no difference for all of all of these men in here today have gone through the same battle. If you're a man in here, you have fought the same temptations that that man sitting right beside you has gone through. Don't ever think you're alone. Don't under, don't ever think you're the only one that's experienced the turmoil of thinking that you're not gonna make it, that you don't have what it takes, or maybe, you know, I don't know what we're gonna do about the next paycheck coming in. Don't think that you're the only one that's going through that. All these men in here have gone through times like that. One of the devil's tricks is to get you singled out thinking that you are the only one going through problems in life. You're not the only one going through issues. There's men sitting in here right now that are going through some of the same trials that you're going through, but thanks be unto God through Jesus Christ who always causes us to triumph. Amen. So don't think for a moment that you're defeated. You're not defeated if you don't quit. Don't give up. Don't quit. If you're a man in here and you're going through some trials, you're going through some hardship, maybe you're having issues in your mind or marital issues or whatever it may be. Know this that you have a God that loves you and is not angry at you, and is not looking down at you and saying you're worthless. He's looking at you and said, I made you worthy. So you're a worthy vessel carrying the glory of Almighty God on the inside of you. Don't think for a minute that you're defeated because you're not. 1 Peter 5, verse 6, it says this, therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. That word humble is similar to submitting yourself to something. So when you're humbling yourself, you are submitting yourself to someone. That word submission is not a bad word. That word submission is a very good word. It means to get under a mission. When we're humbling ourselves, we're getting under the mission of Almighty God. We're doing it his way. You see, many people try to do things their way, and it always causes them to get deeper and deeper and deeper into trouble. The quicker that we can humble ourselves before God and submit ourselves before God, the quicker we can get out of situations. Doing it God's way is what matters. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. And then the famous word today is casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you. That word casting, um, I'm not going to try to give you the Greek word for it, but I will give you the definition that is in the Greek. That word casting means to throw, to hurl, or to transfer a heavy burden completely onto another. So when you are overloaded and you feel like life is just pressing on you, that is the time that the Bible says to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, and to cast your burdens on the Lord. What does that mean? That means in Bible times, what would happen is if someone had a load that they were unable to carry, what they would do is they would find a camel or a donkey or a mule, and they would go and they would roll over the back of that mule the load that they were carrying, that they were unable to carry because men could not carry that load alone. So they needed something to carry it, so they would cast it on that what uh one Greek term said, that beast of burden. So you would cast that burden on that beast, and then you would walk beside it as you went to where you were going to deliver that load. So casting your care simply is just rolling over everything on the Lord. That does not mean that you don't care. That literally means you're putting care in its rightful place. I was working one day and we were uh discussing with a man whose brother was having some issues. And I was young then, I didn't know what I knew now or know now, but I I was I was still I still knew enough to be dangerous. And I said, brother, just cast your care on the Lord. Just just give it to God. He said, Don't you think for a moment, I don't care about my brother? And I mean, he got very offensive at me. And I said, I don't, I don't mean you don't care. I just mean cast the care on the Lord. Because we can't carry it. You understand what I'm saying? You don't have the ability to carry the load that this world will place on you. You need a helper. That's why, whenever Jesus died and then rose again and ascended on high, what did he give us? He gave us the helper, the one who comes alongside, the one that we can unload our burdens on, we can roll it over on the Holy Spirit and say, here you go. You carry it, and I'm gonna walk with you. Amen. So casting your care is very, very important, not just for men, but also for all of us to know anytime you feel burdened to throw it on the Lord, to hurl it to the Lord, to transfer that heavy load on to another. And it also means don't do it gently. It gives you the connotation that means do it violently, quickly, get it off of you. Don't allow burdens to sit on your shoulders because that will become oppression. You can't carry it. Just humble yourself, do it God's way, submit to Him, and give it to Him. You still care, it still matters, but you're not carrying it. He's carrying it. Amen. Now, that means to fully transfer it as well. We can't carry a little bit. Well, I'll carry just a little and give him the heavy, but I'll carry some. No, he says, give it all. Give it all. Take your burdens to the Lord, take the load to the Lord, give it to him because he cares. Now, that word care, which is very interesting. So I'm gonna read this again, and I want to bring that word care. So it says, casting all your care upon him. That word care, it means this anxiety, worry, mental distraction, and a mind pulled in multiple directions. That is what that word care means. So when you're casting your care, you're casting your anxiety, you're casting your worry, you're casting your mental distractions, you're casting your mind that's been pulled in all kinds of directions. You're getting those things and you're bundling them up and you're casting them on the Lord. Am I the only one? Has anybody ever felt that way? Where you have some burdens that's a little too heavy for you to carry? Amen. Amen. That's all of us. We've all been there. We've all felt overloaded. You ever drove behind a vehicle that slows down traffic because they're overloaded? Yeah. You wait for an opportunity to go around them, and they just putting along, putting along, and you're just like, oh my gosh, come on. Well, when you're overloaded, you're weighing yourself down, and you're keeping others from going around you in traffic. Come on, guys. That's exactly what happens when we're under pressure, when men are under pressure, when women are under pressure, when you have work problems, you have financial problems, you have family concerns or health challenges. What happens is the enemy's attack is straight towards your mind, and he wants to get your mind divided. Keep your mind divided. That word humility or humbling yourself, it means to release control. Humility says, God, I cannot carry this alone. But pride says, it all depends on me. And I want everyone in here to know something. It does not all depend on you. It all depends on God. It's Him. He is our dependent. Our dependency. He's the one that we trust in. Humility says this, God, I cannot carry this alone. Pride says it all depends on me. So if you feel like you're burdened because you have too many things that are resting on your shoulders, that's a prime indicator that you need to cast your care on the Lord. Now, worry or care are spiritual distractions. Philippians 4, let's go there real fast. Philippians chapter 4. Philippians 4 says this in verse 6. It says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. There's a couple important words there I want you to underline. It is this, for nothing. Be anxious, underline for nothing. Paul's not saying that problems will not come. He's saying don't let worry or care control your thinking. Don't let those things control your mind. A divided mind is a double-mind. We said that just a moment ago. But the double-minded man can't receive anything of the Lord because it takes faith in God, and that's single-minded. Faith in God is single-minded. Not double-minded. It's not, well, maybe God will or maybe God won't. It's God has. Amen. So we have to be people who are single-minded, and we don't want to allow worry to set in. Not that worry won't try to attack you because it will. But we don't allow it to set up home in our minds and start to create a stronghold in our minds. Because that's exactly what the enemy wants to do, is he wants to take it from worry and anxiety and fear and turn it into a stronghold in your mind where he can sit on the throne of mine and rule from that place. That's what a stronghold is putting something else as the on the throne of your mind. So the result of being anxious for nothing, it says the peace of God. Verse 7, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. So when we turn it over to the Lord and we cast all our care on Him and we don't allow anxiety or anything to take residence in our minds, we're not double-minded. What happens is the peace of God will rule in our hearts and our minds. That's a peace that surpasses all understanding, that guards your hearts and your mind. Now, 1 Peter 5.8, let's go back over to 1 Peter 5.8. It says this be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I'm gonna break this down just a little bit because I think this is important. All right, I got people throwing stuff at me already. Be sober. That means this. Clear-headed. Calm in thought, self-controlled. And get this. To be sober means to not be mentally intoxicated. How many of y'all ever been around a drunk person? I don't need no amens around. I don't need nobody hitting somebody. I just I just ask some questions now. Drunk people do things that are irrational. Am I correct? Drunk people make decisions that don't make much sense, right? Yes, they do. They're unpredictable. Is that right? You don't know what to expect from a drunk person. One minute minute they're dancing and laughing, and the next minute they're wanting to fight. I'm sure, Mandy, you've had to deal with a lot of people that have been intoxicated. You've probably seen all the spectrum of different emotions. But being intoxicated is the same thing he's talking about about being sober. If you're sober-minded, that means you're not intoxicated with other things. When worry sets in on the inside of you, it intoxicates your mind. It causes you to make decisions that are not rational. It causes you to do things that you normally would not do. Amen. So, worry is mental intoxication. It clouds your judgment, weakens discernment, and distracts spiritual focus. The enemy will do everything in his power to distract you from spiritual focus. Because he knows if your mind is stayed on the Lord, if your mind is glued to this book, if your mind is in worship and prayer and supplication and thanksgiving unto God, then he knows that you can whip him every time. But the moment he can get you off your game, he can get you worried about something, he can get you overloaded, he can get you over here double-minded and distracted in all your ways, he can get you intoxicated and you'll start making decisions not based on truth, but based on emotions. And he can whoop you every time. These are some good things that we can apply to our life today. So we'll never worry or fear and have care that's overloading us ever again. Because that's exactly what the devil wants is to control your mind and set up a stronghold inside of you. Because if he can do that, he can whip you every single time. And I refuse to let the devil whip me anymore. Amen. He says this. I wrote this down. A watchful man sees what others miss. 1 Peter 5.8 says to be vigilant. That word vigilant in the Greek is where we get the word, well, the name I keep cutting off for some reason, but Grego is the name in the Greek. And it means, well, it's where we get the name Greg. Anybody in here named Greg? Do you know a Greg? Any Gregs in here? Your name means vigilant. So in the Greek, anyways, I don't know what it means in other languages, probably something else, but vigilant. That word vigilant means this awake, alert, and watchful. To be vigilant means to be awake. Everybody say, wake up, Kendall. Awake, alert, and watchful. It gives you the picture of a soldier during a night watch. Where's Chuck at? You in here, Chuck? Where are you at? Did you ever have to do night watch? What would happen if you fell asleep, sir?

unknown 30:41

You'd be in big trouble.

SPEAKER_02 30:42

How much trouble, sir? In trouble, huh? Yeah. That's pretty good trouble. What happens if you're intoxicated in your own watch?

unknown 30:55

I'll be worse than that.

SPEAKER_02 30:58

The Bible says to be watchful and to stand guard at all times, to be vigilant, to always have a sober mind, to always keep your mind stayed on the Lord and spiritual things, to not be ever which way and divided in your thinking. Like a soldier on a night watch, the eyes are open, fully aware, and not distracted by anything going on around you. Keeping your eyes focused. Why does vigilance matter? Because your adversary, the devil, he roams around like a roaring lion, seeking what? That gives us a clue that he can't just devour anyone. He's looking for a whom he may devour. Who are those he can devour? Those whose minds are intoxicated with the cares of this world. Hallelujah. You don't have to be a whom, and you don't have to be devoured by him. That word adversary means this. The first half of that word means anti, which is where we get the word against. And then the last part of that word is decos. It means literally anti-justice or anti-right or anti-righteous. Your adversary is anti-righteous. Who are we? We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Amen? Who is our adversary? He is the devil, right? And he's seeking whom he may devour. That word devil in the Greek is the word we get the word diablos or diablos. D dia means this. It means to throw through or to um through. Sorry, I'm getting myself all twisted up. Dia means through, across, or apart. The word balos means to throw or to cast. So when you put it together, it literally means to throw through. The devil's attempt in your life is to throw things at you, throw things at you constantly. How many of you have ever been in a constant battle for a long time? The devil's attempt is to continue to throw at you and throw at you and throw at you until he penetrates your mind. And he'll continue on until you give up and give up right to your mind. And allow him to set up camp on the inside. He'll set up a stronghold. And there he can defeat you and he can use you to defeat others. We have to be on guard. We have to be vigilant. We have to be people who are alert, awake, and not intoxicated with the things of this world. Ephesians chapter 6. I need someone to help me. Can someone come up here that that wants to wrestle? Any, preferably a teenage boy. Let's see here. Garrett, come here, buddy. I'm not wrestling, Seth. You crazy. I'm not that intoxicated. This is Garrett. He is awesome. You guys give it up for Garrett. Come on now. I want to read something here in Ephesians chapter 6. It says, This finally, my brethren, be strong. I'm sorry. Yes, be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. In whose might? His might. You notice it did not say, be strong in the Lord in the power of your might. It said, be strong in the Lord in the power of his might. So give him, give him one of these. Come on now. Come on. Right here. I've seen this guy grabbing the stairs and pulling himself up and back down. Don't act like you're just weak. You're not weak. You're strong. I know who you're akin to. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Now, put on the whole armor of God. I want to, y'all, y'all remember the old cartoon of Bugs Bunny? There was a cartoon years ago that Bugs Bunny, I'm not, this is not what I have you up here for, by the way. But Bugs Bunny was, I don't know what they were doing, but anyways, Bugs Bunny put on this armor, and the armor was so big it didn't fit him, and it's just fallen off of him. But when he put on the armor, everybody was scared of him because they were afraid of that armor. When you put on the Lord's armor, the devil's scared of you. But when you try to do it your way and you do it your own strength, the devil could care less. You're weak in his eyes. He can defeat you every time. But when we put on the whole armor of God, we're able to defeat him. And we're able to defeat him. Why? Because he will try to use trickery and mind games to defeat us. That word wiles right there, to stand against the wiles of the devil, is where we get mind games or schemes. So the devil will do everything in his power to get your mind off of God, to get your mind off of who you are in Christ, and get your mind intoxicated with everything in this world. And then it goes on to say this for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. Come here, buddy. All right. Stand right here. Have your arms up. Y'all know what wrestling looks like. I'm not talking about the WWE. I'm not talking about all that stuff. I'm talking about the real wrestling where you're in high school. And yeah. So what they do is they put their head here. And what they're doing is they're looking for an opening. How many of you guys ever wrestled in high school? Okay. So maybe you would do better at this than me. But is it true that you're looking for an opening? You're looking for an opportunity to find a location where you can attack and you'll do it. So you're doing this and you're looking for an opening, and you'll jump down and you'll grab the leg or whatever it might be, but you're looking for an opportunity. All right, you can go sit down. I don't want to mess. He's probably embarrassed. Give it up. But what the devil's doing is he's looking for an opportunity. He's looking for an opening. The trick is we don't give him an opening. The Bible says, don't give place to the devil. What is that? It's when your mind starts getting on everything else and gets off of God, gets off of the word, and you start being intoxicated with this world. What happens? The devil comes in, he sees an opening, he'll come in, set up a homestead on the inside of your in your mind, and then he'll rule from your mind and he'll get you to do whatever he wants you to do. And you'll start to have a defeated mindset. Why do I always have problems in my life? Because maybe just so happened, there's something set up on the inside of your mind that's controlling your thought life. Because as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. The Bible says, guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life. So is it important to guard, to be vigilant? Yes, it is. It is life or death. And the devil is our adversary. He's anti-righteous. He's looking for an opportunity to destroy your life and not only destroy yours, but those around you. He hates you. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and to destroy. But Jesus said, I have come, that they have they may have life and they may have it to the fullest. So when we keep our mind on him and our minds stayed on him, we can have life to the fullest. Even when you're going through the hardest moments of your life, if your mind is stayed on him, you can still have joy. You can still have peace. Why? Because my mind's on him and I'm not intoxicated with the thought life of this world. Amen. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts and of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, everybody say, Therefore. Whenever you see therefore, there's a reason it's therefore. Take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand. Withstand in the evil day. And having done all, stand. When all you can do, and you've done everything, you've turned it over to the Lord, you've cast your care on the Lord, what do you do now? You just stand. Stand. What are you standing on? I'm standing on the word of God. I'm standing on what thus saith God. I'm standing on faith. I'm believing that I've put my trust in him and nothing shall defeat me. My trust is in him. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness. That girding your waist with truth literally is like putting on a belt. And that belt literally holds everything together. And if that belt comes off in battle, you know what happens? Your armor just falls right off. Because that belt is holding everything together. It's the belt of truth. Why is it so important to put the word of God in when you don't need it? Because when you're in a battle, it holds everything together. It keeps your mind stayed on him. It keeps you in position to be in authority over the enemy when he comes. And guess what, guys? He's coming. The enemy's looking. He's roaming to and fro, looking, and he's searching. He's looking for an opportune moment to latch onto you and just to throw himself at you and defeat you. But we don't have to be a whom anymore. Because we have the belt of truth. We have the belt of truth that holds everything together. And that belt is holding on the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness. Being right in his eyes. He sees you as right. We're no longer old sinners saved by grace, but we are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We've got to hold that position when you're in the middle of a spiritual warfare in your life. When you're in the middle of it, you've got to know who you are in Christ Jesus. Don't ever go into a battle without knowing who you are in Christ Jesus. The first thing you declare when you step on the scene and there's a battle is, I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Amen. That's our position. Seated with Him in heavenly places, far above all principalities and powers, might and dominion, and every name that's named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. We are seated in heavenly places with him, meaning we have authority in the name of Jesus, and we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, and we can walk bold as a lion. Amen. Now, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, now the interesting thing about that, I was reading up on that, the soldiers, the Roman soldiers used to have these three-inch spikes on their boots. So as they were walking through mud, as they were walking through terrain that was hard to walk up, they had these spikes on their feet and they could walk with confidence and stability. When they were in the middle of a fight, they could be in a position and not be thrown back and forth in this way and that way, but they had stability on their feet, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. That's your stability. But there was also another thing they use those feet for. Is when they have the enemy on the ground, what do you do to an enemy whose head is on the ground? You stump on it. You dance on the head of the enemy. That's exactly what Jesus did to the serpent. He stepped on his head. Defeated him once and for all. So we have that as our feet. And then moving along, it says this. Verse 16, and above all, taking the shield of faith with which you were able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. That literally means the devil's throwing things at you nonstop. And those are thoughts. Thoughts. Don't think for a moment you can walk through life and not have thoughts thrown at you. And let me just go ahead and say this, guys. Thoughts are not sins. There's going to be thoughts that go through your mind that I mean, Garrett's probably having some bad thoughts right now about me. But there's some thoughts going through your mind sometimes. You'll be in church and all of a sudden you'll have a thought go through your mind. You're like, whoa, where did that come from? And then you might feel guilty. Don't feel guilty over thoughts. Thoughts will come, but don't allow thoughts to set up a home in your head. Because the next time you're thinking about it and you start meditating it, then it comes alive on the inside and becomes sin. So that is where we need to be. The moment that thought comes, it says, capture those thoughts and take them and put them to the obedience of Christ. Capture your thoughts, capture your thought life. And the thing is, the reason why we shouldn't be consuming things that are constantly pumping junk into our lives is because it wants to put thoughts in your mind, because the devil wants to set up his home in your mind and destroy you and defeat you. So we have to protect our mind. What goes in our mind is very important. And we're going to wind it up here. Above all, taking the shield of faith, and then this one the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We have the Word, and we got to use it. We have to begin to speak the Word of God over our lives daily. When the enemy comes in and tries to talk to you, you talk right back. I don't mean have a conversation with the devil, but don't allow him to put thoughts in your mind without you talking back. When he says you're defeated, you say, no, no, I'm victorious in Christ Jesus. When he says, Oh, you can't make it, you say, No, no, no. The Bible says I'm more than a conqueror. Oh, you can't make I'm an overcomer in Christ Jesus. You you have the word of God in your mouth at all times, and you use it to your advantage. That's what it's there for. Now, it says he roams around and he roars. What happens, and I was reading, I was, I was actually studying on what happens when a lion roars. You can hear it for up to five miles. When a lion roars, you you feel it everywhere. It's just, it's it's wild. It's literally, it could shake you. The prey, when they hear a lion roar, the first thing they do is they freeze. They freeze. And then their mind is captured by the fear of this lion. And the first thing they do is they start to do what? They start scattering. They start running. And what does the lions they don't even do the hunting? You know what the lions do? They roar. And the the female lions are out there waiting for you to run right into their trap. So when the enemy's roaring in your life, don't scatter, don't run, don't freeze. Just declare the word of the Lord of the Lord. And to stand and put on the armor of God. And don't allow the enemy to cause you to scatter, to run, to get out of church, to get out of all these things. Like stay put right where you are. Don't run. Don't be in fear. Because what he does as a roaring line, he seeks whom he may devour. That word devour literally means he slurps up the remains. That's kind of gross, but it's what it means. He will consume you to the point where he's slurping everything left on the ground. If we will allow him, he will defeat you every time. But we cannot allow him to do that any longer. If you're in here today and you've seen battle after battle and you fought things in your mind constantly, it's time to be free. And the way to be free is to keep your mind stayed on the Lord. I was listening to Brother Keith Moore one time, and he was talking about a lady that came in with stage four cancer. She was at death, she was at death, she was at death's door, literally days away from dying. She had a little bit of energy to get to church. She wanted to meet because he was doing the prayer and healing center there at Rama. And he was teaching on healing, and she wanted to sit there and be a part of that. But she comes to him right before the service starts and she says, Brother Moore, um how long do these services last? He said, Excuse me? Yeah, how long does how how long before you start you know healing people and stuff? He goes, What do you mean? She said, Well, I'm my daughter, she's taking me shopping. We got to be out of here in 30 minutes. Can you go ahead and heal me? It's like, what? See, that's that's a mind that's not stayed on the Lord. Look, when you're going through the biggest trial of your life, that is not the time to be worried about uh, you know, shopping or going and doing other stuff, going to boot barn or wherever you go to shop. That's not the time to do it. That's time to get your mind on the Lord, put on the whole armor of God, and let's fight. Let's be vigilant, let's fight. And there's some people in here today that need to fight. You're going through battles, you're going through struggle, you're going through trials, and the enemy's trying to intoxicate your mind with all those problems. Today is the day to turn it over to the Lord. Amen. Let's all stand to our feet. So, four things I want to bring to your attention. Number one, cast all your care. Number two, be sober. Number three, be vigilant. And number four, resist the devil. Resist him. How do we resist the devil? We resist him steadfast in the faith. When the devil comes out at you and he wants to destroy you, you stand in faith. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Faith doesn't come any other way. God determined before the foundation of the world that the word of faith would only come one way. It doesn't come through prayer, it doesn't come through worship. Although we need prayer and we need worship. But faith only comes one way, and that's through the word of God. There is no other way to get faith. And the only way to stand in trials and tribulation and trouble is to stand in faith. So if you're not a person of faith, you're going to go through trials and tribulation and trouble by yourself. But if you're a person who can stand in faith and you have the word of God on your tongue at all times, then you can walk boldly. You can walk with joy. You can walk with peace, and you can know in whom you believe. Say this with me. Say, I've got confidence in Him and His Word. Let's all bow our heads. Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, we love you. We thank you for this day. We thank you so much that you're a God who didn't leave us unprepared, but you're preparing us. You prepared us for the battle. You prepared us for trials before they ever happen. And Lord, we're not going to just sit back and allow the devil to run over us anymore. You're not going to run over us anymore, devil. But we're standing our ground in faith, knowing that Jesus, He is victorious. And we have the victory in him. In Jesus' name. So if you're in here today and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you want to know him as your Savior today, you've never made that confession that Jesus is your Lord, if that's you and you would like to do that right now, come on up here to the front. I want to pray with you. So if you want to make a commitment to Jesus, He made a commitment to you, He went to the cross for you, He died for you, and then He rose from the dead for you and He ascended on high. Now it's up to you to make the decision will I receive what He provided for me? So if you're in here today and you want to make that commitment to Jesus, come on up here. Amen. Amen. Alright. Now, everybody look at me. Um, if you're in here and you're going through some battles in your mind, and the devil's trying to keep you oppressed, keep you down, and defeat you. We have a church in here that I believe loves you. And we're not going to look down at you because we've all been there, guys. Come on, everybody raise your hand if you've ever been there before. Felt defeated, felt like there was no hope. Yeah, I think we've all been there. We've all been intoxicated with the worry of this world. Every one of us. I'm double guilty. But I want you to know that if there's some things going on to you and you need some extra help, you need someone to agree with you, and you need someone to pray with you. I want you to step out from where you are. You're free to come up here, and I want to pray with you, and I want to encourage you, and we're going to stand with each other here. Amen. So if you if it's if that's you, come on up here. Amen. Amen. All right. I don't believe in prolonging things just to do it. But I want you to know. All right, we got somebody. So if I can have a few ladies, if you all don't mind, Miss Terry, Miss Terry, the the daughters of thunder, come on up here. Sharon, if you want to come up here, pray with them as well. You want to come up here and pray? Miss Janie, you can pray as well if you if you want to. Alright. I'm going to let these ladies pray. So any of you guys, you want to pray, I'll pray for you. I can pray too. So sometimes women just need to pray with ladies, so it's alright. So if you guys, can y'all just raise your hand towards these ladies over here and begin to pray, Lord, we love you. Lord, we love you, Jesus. Lord, thank you. That we're free from this. In Jesus' name, we're free from this. Thank you, Jesus. I want to read something I wrote down. A strong man is not a man who carries everything. A strong man is a man who knows what to release and who to release it to. That is a strong man. A man of faith. A man who puts his trust in Jesus. Amen. Amen. Alright. I don't want to leave, but I mean, I don't know what to do. Um, is it it's raining like crazy, so the axe throwing's probably out the door. So, I mean, if you want to throw axes in here, um we're not gonna do that. We're not gonna do that. So, all right. Um, oh my goodness, I don't know what to do. Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you so much, and I just thank you so much for these wonderful men in this church and what they mean to this body. And Lord, I thank you that we have your peace in us and we go in peace in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you. Have a great day.

SPEAKER_01 57:53

Thanks for listening. We hope that this message helps you draw closer to God as you walk out your faith. We'll see you next week.