Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - The Best of 2021

Episode Date: December 26, 2021

This year might’ve been the best of your life or one of the toughest you’ve ever faced. In The Best of 2021, we’re looking back at the best of Life.Church messages for the year. Whether you’re searching for a fresh start, hope, freedom, or purpose, there’s something in this message for you. ABOUT THIS MESSAGEThis year might’ve been the best of your life or one of the toughest you’ve ever faced. In The Best of 2021, we’re looking back at some of our favorite messages of the year. Whether you’re searching for a fresh start, hope, freedom, or purpose, there’s something in this message for you. WE’RE OPENWe’re continuing to monitor guidelines and best practices for gathering in a safe way. Learn more about everything we're doing to keep you safe and how you can help by using hand sanitizer, washing your hands often, and more: https://www.life.church/updatesFind a time and attend a service with us: http://www.life.church/locationsNEXT STEPSHave you made a decision to follow Jesus? You may be wondering what’s next on your journey. We want to help! Let us guide you to your next steps in your walk with Christ: https://www.life.church/nextABOUT LIFE.CHURCHWherever you are in life, you have a purpose. Life.Church wants to help you find your next step. Our hope is that your journey will include joining us at a Life.Church location throughout the United States or globally online at https://www.live.life.church. Find locations, videos, and more info about us at https://www.life.church or download the Life.Church app at https://www.life.church/app. FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/life.churchInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/life.churchTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/lifechurchTikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@lifechurchCONNECT WITH PASTOR CRAIGYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIId...Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/craiggroeschelInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/craiggroeschelTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/craiggroeschelTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@craiggroeschel#lifechurch #craiggroeschel #thebestof2021 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're going to be covering Pastor Craig's favorite four messages of the year. And if you've been attending with us for a while, you may be thinking, I've already seen these. But what I want to encourage you with is that what we know about God and His Word and how he speaks to us is that he's always showing us something new. So let's lean in together today as we look at these four messages. Yeah, and here's our challenge for you. Pick one. What's your one? What's the one that God is speaking to you?

I hope you're ready for an incredible time for these messages. And all four of these messages are incredible and convicting, of course, in their own right. That's why they are the best of 2021. But as we go into this first message clip from our series, Greater Reward, we want to remind you again, pick your one. And this particular clip is when Pastor Craig is sharing with us to forget about the status quo, we'll be focused and be focused on who God calls us to be and who he says we are. And so let's go to this clip from Greater Reward. I like what scripture says in 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 7.

Whatever Paul was talking to Timothy about becoming godly. Here's what Paul didn't say. He said, Timothy, I want you to try to be godly. Wake up and try your very best. What he said was train yourself to be godly. Somebody here, you need to stop trying and start training. When people look at you, they'll see something different. What are you doing?

trying. I'm in training. I've got a different mindset. I've got a game plan. This isn't a half-hearted commitment. This is a full-on, all-in, every nerve in my body toward the goal, empowered by the spirit of God. I'm in training. So, what do we do? How do we train? What does it look like if we're in training to let God change us into who he wants us to become? What is training? Let's keep it really, really simple. We'll define it this way. Training is doing what I can do today to enable me to do even more tomorrow. That's training.

It's that clear, it's that simple, and it's that powerful. What is training? It's very simply. It's consistently doing what I can do today. To enable me to do even more tomorrow. What are you doing? You might be training for a marathon. Can you run a marathon today?

Most of you would have to say, no way. Can you walk a mile today? You can. If you can walk a mile today, you're in training. You walk a mile and a half tomorrow. One day you're running two miles and then three. What are you? You're in training.

Can you get out of debt by next month? Most people say, no, you can't. But when you're in training, you can bring your own, coffee instead of going to Starbucks and guess what? That's $6 toward your goal when you're in training. Can you become a spiritual powerhouse by noon the next day? Probably not.

But can you open up your U-Version Bible app and read the Word of God every day, letting his living act of powerful word convict you, shape you, conform you, transform you to the image of Christ? you see, we're not trying, we're in training. We're doing what we can do today that will enable us to do what we can't do tomorrow

that we want to do. We're training, God's giving us his power, one step at a time. I'm doing what I can do. Tomorrow I promise I'll do even more. And that's why I love the intentionality of what the Apostle Paul says in verse 26. He says, so I run with,

purpose in every step. This isn't accidental. It's not unintentional. There's actually a plan to this. I've got a strategy. I'm in training. When I wake up, I know what I'm called to do. I know what the plan is today. Even if I fall back or I'm set back, I still step back up and I'm back in training. A temporary loss doesn't mean permanent defeat. I'm coming back because I'm in training, I'm running with purpose in every step, I'm not just shadow boxing, I discipline my body like an athlete, very important, like an athlete, training it to do what it should. I want you to notice what he said is he said, I discipline my body like an athlete, not like somebody who wants to be an athlete, not like somebody who's going to be an athlete in the future, but I discipline like

an athlete. It's identity. And we talked about this last week. It starts with identity. Not just what do you want to do, but who do you want to become. And when you know who God says you are, when you know who you are, you know what to do. Because I'm seeing myself as, here's an example, an athlete, I discipline my body. It starts with identity. You see, whenever you're trying, Whenever you're trying, you're hoping to become something that you're not. But when you're training, you're becoming more of what you already are. What a powerful shift that one word can make from trying to training. And what gives me so much freedom of thought is that I'm not training towards something

that I need to make up or someone I want to become, but I'm training towards who God has already called me to be. Yeah, it's all about that identity piece, you know. And in fact, this year, this one was a really great message for me personally because this year I've been dealing with some anxiety in my own life. And so I've been doing like breathing exercises, just trying to settle myself a little bit. And I actually picked something up that I started to train in. I started swimming. And I thought I was a good swimmer.

Like I know there's actually a good swimmer in me. But this was me the first time I actually jumped in an Olympic size pool to try to swim. Like this is what I felt like. We all have to start somewhere, Samson. That's exactly. That is where I see. started. But then after just time of continuing to train, because I'm training, I'm not trying to be a great swimmer. I'm training. And after a couple of months, like now, my form is better.

I'm focused. I know how to breathe. I'm not gassed at the end of it. And I've got a goal. Like, by the end of 2022, I'm going to swim 2,000 meters nonstop. And that's my goal because I'm continuing to train. And you know what I love about swimming is that when I'm swimming, I can't focus on anything else, but swimming and breathing. So it's not just helping with my anxiety. I'm literally retraining my mind. That's so good. Maybe this one was year one, going from trying to training, shifting that perspective of, we're not trying. We're in training. And I really feel like this message series, greater reward, set us up for a great message series again that happened later on in the year called Winning the War in Your Mind. Yeah, in this series, winning the war in your mind.

replacing some of those negative thoughts that's been in our minds and how God actually has a better truth for us. And Pastor Craig really challenged us to do some practical things to replace them with. And so in this clip, he shares some of those practical ways to replace strongholds with truth. So let's check it out now. And what I'm going to do, honestly, is give you an exercise that's not real easy. In other words, it's like, this isn't something, if you've been believing a lie for 10 years or 15 years or 30 years, Sometimes it takes a little while to deprogram that mistruth and replace it with truth. And I'm going to give you an exercise that honestly, I believe, can be a game changer in focusing on what is true.

And then I'm going to show you how I've grown in my own thoughts and how I repeat some truth over and over and over again to create new neural pathways to renew my mind with truth. And then I'm going to trust that the Holy Spirit is going to do something in you. Are you ready? If you're ready, say I'm ready. Put it in the chat right now. I'm ready. Just type it in, I'm ready. The question, the first one, is this. First question, what stronghold is holding you back? What would you say is the top wrong mindset that's holding you hostage? Identify where you have the wires crossed in your brain. For some of you, it could be just a lie. Like you grew up in a household that struggled with

finances and you think you're not any good with it. So you just believe we're never going to get out of debt. Or you might have the wires crossed and think, you know, I've tried for three years and I can't overcome this addiction. I'm just, I'm never going to be able to overcome this addiction. Or you might think of yourself, I just, I'll never be healthy. You know, people in my family aren't healthy. We're just never going to be healthy. Or I've tried to get close to God. I've been close to God for like five seconds and then my mind drifted. I'm never going to be close to God. Or I work so hard to get ahead, but I'm never going to have a meaningful job. I'm always going to do something stupid beneath me. Or I'm never going to get married. I'm never going to have a blessed marriage.

What is the dominant stronghold where your mental wires are crossed, where the devil has trained you with a mental pathway to believe something that is not true about you? That's the first part of the assignment. The second part is to answer this question, what true? What spiritual truth from God demolishes that stronghold? What is the spiritual truth that demolishes, that obliterates that stronghold? Then what we're gonna do is we're gonna take a scriptural truth, not just a truth, but a truth that's empowered

by God's living word, his active word, powerful enough to bring transformation. We're gonna let His word renew our mind. And what I want to do our mind. you to do is to write out some truth. Very specific. Whatever it is that demolishes that stronghold in your life. And I want to encourage you to don't just write a sentence, but think about it, meditate on it, let it be born out of God's word and write a statement that creates emotional energy toward the truth of God. Then what we're going to do is we're going to write it or type it or whatever,

and then we're going to start thinking on it. And I'm going to encourage you to confess it until God starts to renew your mind. I would say it like this. We're going to write it, think it, confess it until we believe it. We're going to write it, think it, confess it until we believe it. It may take time. We're going to write it, think it, confess it until we believe it.

We're creating new neural pathways. God is renewing our mind with truth. Now let me give you some examples of what yours might look like. I'll give you several. You might be struggling to know God's will in your life. So you're going to create a statement that could be like this. My life belongs to God. Daily I seek him, and daily he directs my steps.

I know his voice and he leads me to his perfect will. You're going to write it. You're going to think it. You're going to say it until you're going to you're going to think it, you're going to say it until you're going to you can. You believe it over and over again. You're going to say that my life belongs to God. Daily I seek him, daily he directs my step.

I know his voice and he leads me to his perfect. Well, you may be lacking confidence. Every time you come in, you feel insecure, you feel inadequate, you feel like you're not enough. And so your statement is going to be this. My confidence is in Christ and Christ alone. Because his spirit lives within me, I can do everything he calls me to do it. You're going to write it, think it, confess it.

until you believe it. You might have a struggle with fighting lustful thoughts, and you're sick and tired of being hostage to images and shameful ideas. And so you're gonna let God renew your mind, you're gonna say this, over and over again, I am not a slave to lustful thoughts. Because God has purified in my mind,

I will honor him with my eyes and thoughts. My God is faithful. Even if I am tempted, he will always give me a way out. You're gonna write it, you're gonna think it, you're going to confess it until you believe it. You might find comfort in food, and you don't want to do this anymore, so you're going to declare, when I'm stressed, I turn to God not food. I come to Jesus because he is what I need. In him, I find strength and comfort. You might find yourself battling worry all the time, consume with worry, but you're going to write it, think it, confess it until you believe it.

What is it? Because of Christ, I'm not anxious about anything. I cast my cares on God because he cares for me. I have the peace of God dwelling in my heart and ruling my mind. What are you going to do? Identify it. What is the stronghold where the wires are crossed? What is the spiritual truth that will set you free? Then you're going to write it, think it, confess it until you believe it.

You're creating new neural pathways according to the truth. And God is renewing. your mind. And that is so good and it's so important for all of us to trade the lies for the truth and to practice that over time and internalize the truth that God says about us and to trust it's true. And for many of you, this is your one. This is what God is speaking to you right now and you need to begin to practice some of

these things to replace that stronghold with the truth about God and what he says about you and who you are. And I know that in my own personal life, this has spoke to me so much. specifically Pastor Craig wrote a book on this with so many more tools and resources on how we can apply this practically in our lives and start to change the way we think and win the war in our lives.

Yeah, I know for me I'm going to have to remind myself every couple years to reread this book so that I remember that I need to make sure that I am winning the war in my mind. And if you haven't gotten the book yet, we believe that this could be a game changer for you and your thought life. And so you can go to the link on this screen

and get your very own book. today. Well, guys, the theme that I'm hearing as we've gone through the first two messages is that the theme of training and our thoughts and something that Pastor Craig says that inspires me is that our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. But on the flip side of that, we know that our enemy wants to get a hold of our thoughts as well. And sometimes it's not even obvious how that happens. It can happen through busyness and distraction and the things throughout the day that just seem normal, all the appointments and the schedules, and the schedules, and and going from here to there, notifications all day long,

that distracts us from what truly matters most. Yeah, in fact, Pastor Craig did a message series specifically on this subject. And if you guys remember, this was like one of the most vulnerable moments from our pastor. I remember him preparing us for this message series where he shared his own busyness and his life

and how he leads through his life and the challenges he was facing. Absolutely. And as he was processing through, that, I think it all gave us the freedom to ask the question, is there a better way? And the answer to that was, yes, there is a better way. And it's found in the life of Jesus. And the scripture that really sets up the clip we're about to watch is this one right here where he asks us, are you tired, worn out, burned out on religion, come to me, get away with me

and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me, watch how I do that. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or elfitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. You can hear it right there. Come to me and find a better way. So that's the clip we're going into right now when busyness overtakes our lives and how to fight against that. What if the greatest enemy to the life that you want is the life that you're living. So what do I do now, Pastor Craig? And the answer is, I don't know I'm struggling too.

Oh, no. I'm like working on this too. I'm like the guy who says, by my hair, I used to be bald too. I'm the owner of the hair club, whatever it is. I'm a fellow struggling. What do I do? I don't know.

What I'm not gonna do is I'm not gonna give you a lot to do. But what I am going to do is tell you this, that if you don't slow down, God may make you slow down. And that's what he did for me. And I had to face my ongoing addiction to work and adrenaline and call it what it is. And I've said that before, and I've gone on before, and now I'm getting serious about it. I went to the basics. Who is God? and the answer at its core, the best answer is God is love. It's not just what he does, but is who he is. What is the greatest command?

Jesus said to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to do what else, and to love your neighbor as yourself. At the core of all that God calls us is to love, to be loved by him, to love him, and to love people on behalf of his love. The challenge is, and John Mark Comer writes about this in his book, love is incompatible with hurry, and I'm always in a hurry. Love, the Bible says, Paul's first definitions, love is patient. Love takes time.

Hurry doesn't have time. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to share with you a prayer that I've been praying. Just one prayer. and I'm going to invite you and challenge you and maybe dare you, maybe double dog dare you, to pray this prayer. Just first thing in the day, whatever that kind of looks like for you, you can even have your cup of coffee and pray it with your cup of coffee. And I'm going to challenge you to do it for seven days.

Every day. Just pray this, mean it, sit in it, and then see what God does as you ask him. to do this. And the prayer is very simple. The prayer is this. God, help me walk slowly enough to experience Jesus fully and love people deeply. God help me to walk slowly enough to experience Jesus fully and love people deeply. Would you mind just kind of saying that quietly, wherever you're watching this today, say, God, help me walk slowly enough to experience Jesus fully and to love people deeply. One more time, just say it, just say it out loud. God, help me walk slowly enough to experience Jesus fully and to love people deeply. What's going to happen if you pray

that prayer? Answer's, I don't know for sure, but I will tell you what God's been doing in me. And it's a deep work, it's a real work, and it's a healing work. The first thing that God has been doing in me is he's been teaching me to be present in the moment. I'm starting to recognize that I'm often there physically, but not there mentally. And as I'm praying this prayer, I'm engaging with my children and leaving my phone to the side.

I am listening to people when oftentimes my mind would be spinning away. I am seeing needs in the lives of people that I often was too busy to see. And I'm actually entering into the joy of hurting with people. And there's a sense of fulfillment in celebrating with those who celebrate and grieving with those who grieve. There's something rich about that.

It's helping me to be present in the moment. Second thing is, it's helping me to choose what's important and to eliminate what's not. As I'm asking God to live, lead my steps and to help me to walk slowly. Suddenly, I'm just more aware that picking up my phone to look at something is not nearly as important as a person who's in front of me. It's helping me say no to what doesn't matter and yes to what does. And there's a lot of things that I end up drifting toward that really don't matter much. Here's what you might find, and let me just say this clearly.

You may say no to some good things right now to say yes to some better. things. But just because you say no right now doesn't mean you have to say no forever. It may be no for now, but not for you, you may like love, I don't know, hot yoga or gardening or playing on the softball team or whatever, but you've got three babies and diapers. And so you may have a no for now, but it's not a no forever. It's just in this season there's something more important. You have time for what you choose to have time for. The solution is not more time. The solution is more of what matters.

Man, this was my message of the year. This was my one. I think this was my favorite message that Pastor Greg preached in 2021. And it was so convicting and so powerful and moving in my life. And this prayer that he shares with us, God help me walk slowly enough

to experience Jesus fully and love people deeply. I'm still praying this over my life, Jess. Yeah. I know for me when I think about the legacy that I want to leave behind, I don't want to be remembered as somebody who's busy who was just trying to get through a conversation because I was thinking,

you know when you are in a conversation with somebody and you're thinking, oh, but I have like five other things that I need to do. Here's what I'm going to say back to them. Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just want to be remembered as somebody who's super intentional, really exemplifying the love of Jesus

in every conversation that I have no matter who I have it with. Yeah, that verse that, or that statement that he shared earlier that Ryan shared, there was a screenshot that came out with that. and it is still on my phone because it was such a powerful series for me too. But we've covered three really great clips and you've maybe already found your one,

but we've got one more for those of you that are still waiting for God to speak to you in a specific way. Yeah, absolutely. You know, this next one is from a message series called Deep Clean. And quite frankly, this was the most powerful message series that I experienced this year. And when we think about it,

all of us struggle with this sense of being buried, under the sin of the world and our guilt and our shame and our sin. And yet Jesus came to wipe our lives clean. And so we're going to go to a clip from a message called healing from your shame. And I believe that many of you, you're going to experience this in a new way where you're going to feel and find the healing from your shame. Well, in Hebrews chapter 12, the author to the Hebrews shows us a very special gift.

It's something that I've read dozens or hundreds of times, but God really brought this to my mind. And I landed on these words, and I felt the beauty and the power from three little words. It speaks of Jesus on the cross, preparing to give his life. And scripture says this, for the joy set before him. Jesus endured the cross. He endured the cross because of what was called. coming because of what would happen in your life.

For the joy set before him, he endured the cross. Then here's the three little words, scorning its shame, despising it, loathing it, hating it. And he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. This is so powerful to be. Jesus endured the cross. He hated. He despised, he scorned the shame.

Every fiber of righteousness, every part of heaven in the flesh, loathed, hated, scorned, and despised the shame that robs people from intimacy with God and the joy of heaven. From the beginning of time, God scorned the shame in the Garden of Eden. He hated the shame of David's adultery and Peter's denial and Judas' betrayal. And in the very same way, God scorns the shame that crushes your soul.

and kills your joy. He despises the shame that you feel from your lies or your hidden eating habits or your secret sexual sin. He loaves the shame you feel from financial failure, from your deepest secrets or your darkest hurts.

He scorns the shame of how you feel When you look at the wrong thing, think the wrong thought, say the wrong thing. He hates the shame that you endure because of what you said, what you did, or what you didn't do. He despises, he despises the shame of your self-doubt and your self-hatred. He scorns the shame of what you felt like back then. and how you don't like yourself now. And for me, he scorns the shame I feel when I can't fix the problems

or when I always believe I will never be enough. And the Son of God, God in the flesh, stripped down naked on an instrument of torture called the cross as to creation those he came to love, mocked him, cursed him, spit on him. Jesus looked at the shame and he said, I despise you. You're nothing to me. My father sent me to seek and save the lost.

My God sent me to give my life as a ransom for many. And that's why shame, you have no power. Compared to the joy set before me, you are nothing. Shame, Jesus looked on and said, you can't distract me. You can't discourage me. You can't defeat me. And you are almost finished. And Jesus looked up to heaven.

And he said, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. And the Lamb of God gave his life for the forgiveness of our sins. And when he breathed his last, the earth shook and went dark. In day one, people waited. In day two, they lost hope. In day three, they said, I guess he wasn't who he said he was. But one day when a couple ladies went out to look and just check on the grave, the stone was rolled away. And the tomb was empty.

And Christ was not there. And because of his death and his resurrection, we can be made new. We can be forgiven. and we can be healed of shame. But the only way to heal from shame is to move the focus from who you are to who Christ is. So good, and it's just like Pastor Craig said,

the only way we can heal from shame is to move from focusing on who we aren't to focusing on who Christ is. What a powerful, powerful truth. You know, this is the moment where now it's time to ask, which one's your one? We've seen four different messages, and it's time to identify what's the one that God is speaking directly to you.

Maybe you need to stop trying, and you just need to start training. You need to step into the identity of who God has called you to be. Perhaps you're here and you're recognizing that you are busy. And you need to declutter some stuff in your life to focus on the things and the people that matter the most. Maybe you need to retrain your mind. Maybe you need to start to take those thoughts captive and actually step into the truth of God's word over your life. Or perhaps you just need to heal from shame. Which one's your one?

You see, this is that moment to just come to terms and say, this is my one. And we want to know, whatever your one is, put it in the chat. Put it in the comments right now. We'd love to pray for you as you identify the one message that God is speaking to you. Right now, as we take a moment to just pray. I'm going to pray over you as you step into this new season of identifying what God is speaking to you. God, I thank you for every person that has joined us online today. God, I thank you that you are speaking directly to their hearts.

Your word speaks to us, Lord. And we trust you. We walk in your word, Father God, knowing that you use it to transform our lives. As we continue in the spirit of prayer, I want to ask you, you know, how are you with God? Every single message, our pastor gives people an opportunity to answer this question. Where do you stand with God? And if you and I were to sit down and just have time together and have coffee together and have a conversation, and I ask you that. You might kind of him and hall and I'm not quite sure, or you might even think, you know what, I've done so many bad things, I've committed so many sins.

I don't even know if God could ever love someone like me. Maybe you're dealing with the shame of your sins. What I want you to know is that there's good news. The good news is that God loves you. He loves you just as you are, but he loves you so much. He doesn't want you to stay that way. He wants to change you and transform you. So how does that happen?

It happens through an act of surrender. Here's what I mean by that. When you and I sin, our sin separates us from a holy God. And yet God loved you so much that he sent his son Jesus, who lived a sinless life and died on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins. But he didn't stay dead after three days. He rose again so that you and I could have a new life in Christ. We could be forgiven.

We could be made new. And for many of you, you came here today looking for hope, looking for an answer, looking to be made brand new. I'm telling you, this is your moment. In 2021, this is your opportunity to surrender your life to God. The Bible says that anyone who calls on the Lord, anyone, this includes you, that they will be saved, they will be made. new. So right now, if you're here and you say, you know what, that's me. I need Jesus. I need to

surrender my life to him. I want forgiveness of my sins. I'm ready to turn away and I'm ready to turn towards Christ. If that's you, I just want you to put it in the chat right now. Just put that in there. Say, that's me. I'm surrendering my life to Christ. Type that in the comments right now as people all over the world are making this decision to follow Jesus when we are celebrating with you today. So I'm going to lead you in a prayer. It's a simple prayer. The prayer doesn't save you, but it's the posture of your heart surrendering your life to Jesus. So just repeat this prayer with me. Say, Heavenly Father, I give you my life. I surrender my heart. Forgive me of my sins and make me new.

Fill me with your spirit so I can follow you and serve you every day of my life. No more guilt, no more shame. My life belongs to you. Thank you for, for forgiveness. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Hey, we are celebrating with you, those of you that made that decision. Welcome to the family of God. Come on, man. It's so great.