The Church of Eleven22 - Jesus and Your Mental Health - It Doesn’t Make Sense Wk. 1

Episode Date: November 12, 2023

Our enemy, the Devil, is the Father of Lies. Do not believe the whispers, but stand on the truth of the word of God. If you are considering harming yourself or are having suicidal thougthts please call 988 right now. Help is always available. If you'd like to receive care from our team go to coe22.com/care adn someone will be in touch with you very soon.

Amen. And amen. Church, if you got your Bibles, we're going to be all over the place, about seven or eight different places. If you grew up Southern Baptist, you're going to enact your sword drills. Good luck with that. If you're not, you just go to Matthew Chapter 4 is where we're going to be for the majority of the time. And we're starting a brand new series for the next three weeks where it's called, it doesn't make sense. Like when between your ears, it just doesn't make sense. Like externally, everything should be okay, but in here it just ain't okay. and it is a 10-10-life series about mental and emotional health. As your campus pastors have already mentioned to you last week was commitment weekend,

thousands of people made commitments or re-up or increased their commitments to the 10-10 life. One of the things that we're doing in this 10-10 life is that we are fighting against the enemy when it comes to suicide, and we're fighting for the mental and emotional health of every single image-bearer of Jesus Christ. And so if you were not able to make your commitment last week, then I know many of you took this home to pray over it and pray with your spouse and make some decisions. We'd encourage you that no matter what campus you're at or if you're online, the host will give you instructions of what you should do. But drop this card off on your way out in any of the giving boxes. And all of that, that commitment, goes to this 10-10 life. You know, when we came up with the idea to do a series on mental health, I thought, wow, that's a great idea.

but it really wasn't until this afternoon that I began to sense what a big deal this is. I just have a sense that the Holy Spirit wants to do something supernatural among us in our time together this weekend. There's some change are going to be broken. There's going to be some people that are going to experience some real healing in a way they never have before. And for many, many people, man, this is not just a theological idea that we're going to talk about, but this is an existential reality that you have dealt with in a very personal, way, and I want you to know that your church is behind you and the Spirit of God is for you when he comes to this.

You see, today's sermon is called Jesus and your mental health. And the reason I called it that is because my friend Rebecca Maxwell is writing a book right now because Jesus and your mental health. It's going to come out next year. And part of the reason I'm saying that too is so she'll finish the book and do what God told her to do. So now she has to. and there is a little bit of me.

I mean, when we started into this, you know, a little bit of me, it's probably the whispers of the enemy thinking, what are you doing, man, stay in your lane. You're not a therapist, you're a pastor, which is true. So this is really the foundation for the next two weeks. And I'm not going to talk so much from a psychological standpoint as I am a theological standpoint, but those two things are not at odds with one another

that God is the one that brings healing and wholeness and health. Amen? Amen? And we have a mental health crisis on our hands in our country. For the first time in polling history, Americans are now more likely to say they're not happy than to say that they're very happy. Regardless of your background. That pre-pandemic, it was about three to one when you polled people, whether white or black, male, female, Democrat, Republican, about three times as many people would say that they're happy, they're not happy. Right now, in our current society, for the first time ever that has flipped.

Youth suicides are on the rise. The most prescribed and consumed medication are antidepressants in heartburn. They're up 30% just over the last three years. Anxiety and depression clinically are being diagnosed at higher levels than ever. Feelings of hopelessness and sadness in adolescent females are at an all-time high. drug overdoses and alcohol-induced deaths have more than doubled since the pandemic. You see, we've been talking about that there's a thief that wants to steal, kill, and destroy. We're not talking about like your cable goes out.

You understand what I'm saying? That he actually wants to kill a generation. He wants to steal people away from us that we love more than anything. He wants to destroy everything that Jesus came to make new. And so then the question is, what's the church going to do about it? Let me tell you where this was birth. We were doing a retreat at the retreat center two years ago, and I'm laying out the vision for the 10-10 life.

And I'm talking about how we have been called into this battle to fight for the life of every image bearer of God from womb to tomb. And we talked about First Coast Women's Services. We talked about senior adult ministry. We talked about all these things. And there was this precious couple in there, these grandparents, who had lost. a grandchild to suicide and after me laying out everything that I thought we were going to do, she came up and said, what are we going to do about suicide and mental health? And I thought, oh goodness, I don't even know.

I don't know what we're getting into, but we're getting all in. And so we're going to pray that the Spirit of God will do what he does. Here's what's something I need you to think about. You see, we have a God. When it comes to mental health struggles, we have a God that not only understanding, understands but empathizes where you are because he's been there. Think about that for a second. You're like, Pastor, how in the world can you say that?

Well, here's how I can say it. The book of Hebrews, chapter 2, verse 18, says this about Jesus Christ. For he, for because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Hebrews 4.15 says it this way, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness. but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. And you may be saying, Pastor, are you saying that Jesus struggled with mental health issues?

I'm saying that the Bible says that he was tempted in every way and struggled with it. Like, how can you say that? Have you ever read about Jesus in the Garden of Gassimony? In Matthew chapter 26, when Jesus out of his own mouth says, my soul is very sorrowful even into the point of death, what would you call that? You see, we have a great high priest who has been tempted in every way, and yet he was victorious and overcame every single time. In fact, the Shumah, which we studied for two years, man, Deuteronomy 6.4 says that we should love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. So mental health is a biblical idea.

So how do we have victory when it comes to that area? chapter four is all where I want to go. We're going to look at an episode that Jesus went through, Matthew chapter four, verse one, and I got a lot of notes, man. Normally, normally it's like four pages. Takes me about an hour. I got seven, so get ready, okay? We'll see. You better listen faster than normal. It's not my fault if we're late. It's on you. Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. You hear that? Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. That's then it starts with then.

You know what happens before then? You know what was right before that? There was an event that happened in Jesus' life. The event that happened was the baptism of Jesus. Here's something you better pay very close attention to. Most often, right on the heels of a high, holy moment in your life, get ready for the enemy to come swooping in and try to take your knees out. I mean, you think your baptism was awesome.

Imagine God, the Father, God, the Son, and God the Holy Spirit showing up. at the baptism and speaking out loud. It's a high holy moment for Jesus himself. And he's thinking it doesn't get much better than this. And then the very next thing that happens is one of the deepest valleys that he would ever walk through. You see anxiety and depression and sadness. They can just come out of nowhere when you least expect it right on the heels of everything

being great. Verse two and after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry, you think? But here's what you better pay attention to. When you're hungry and when you're tired and you're isolated, you are perfectly positioned to be taken out by the enemy. And by the way, man, listen, I just need to say this as clear as possible. I am pro-doctor. I am pro-medication when appropriate. I am pro-counselor.

In two weeks, we're going to have a stage full of professionals up here to talk about this professionally. But if your doctor does not ask you about exercise and sleep and diet and stress and relationships, but their first instinct to prescribe you something, you have the wrong doctor. My doctor prays for me, and you might go, well, what kind of special holy place do you go to? Brother, just works at Mayo. And I'm just telling you, man, he writes out of prayer and just pray.

So, you see, we don't have these bifurcated lives that we are just one human being that God has put together in his image, and we are to love him with all. of who we are. So Jesus is fast, 40 days and 40 nights, and he's hungry,

and the tempter, that's who the devil is. He's also called the accuser. The tempter came and said to him, look where he starts, if you are the son of God. You see, the only thing he wants to do was lie and steal and kill.

That's all he wants to do. And he's an accuser. And often where the enemy is going to start, he's going to start with identity. Because before you ever get to activity, You've got to back this thing up. The reason that you've got to believe the words of God is because this, man, is what we believe begins to shape what we think, and what we think begins to shape the way we feel,

and what we feel begins to produce actions. And so where the enemy goes, and he wants to get all the way back to the root of who you are and what you believe, if you really are the Son of God. And he's implying you really aren't. Do you ever wonder why, if you're a believer in Jesus, you ever wonder why you struggle? You ever wonder why mentally you struggle? I mean, we read it. We read in the Brook of Philippians over and over and over

that we should rejoice in the Lord always, and I say it again, rejoice. You ever have a hard time turning the rejoice button on? And a lot of churches will talk about this, right? I think this is why there's been a desert when it comes to Christian counseling for so long, because a lot of churches have treated this as if something's wrong with you,

if you just can't turn on happy. You ever wonder like you love Jesus, you got saved, you're going to heaven, and yet you can still struggle with some of the same identity issues that the enemy can come and tempt you with the same things over and over and over and over? Well, I can tell you why. In Romans chapter 12, Paul gives us the reason why we struggle with the same things over and over and over. In Romans 12, Paul says, I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, and the therefore is there for a reason, so you've got to know.

that the first eight chapters of Romans, God through Paul, is just laying out the gospel. He's letting us know that he's not ashamed of the gospel because the gospel is the only power unto salvation for anyone who would believe, first of the Jew, then the Gentile. He's going to let us know that we have all sinned and fallen short at the glory of God. He's going to let us know that God has demonstrated his love for us and this while we're yet still sinners. Christ died for us. And for whoever would believe we are no longer a son of Adam, but we are a son of Christ,

and we have been clothed in His righteousness. And even though we struggle like crazy and there's things that we don't want to do and we keep on doing and the good we want to do, we can't do. But because of Christ Jesus, he has saved us and therefore now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

That's the first eight chapters of Romans, just in case you don't want to know. Then chapters 9, 10, and 11 are about the role of Israel in God's redemptive plan for humanity. And he's not just talking about the dirt in the Middle East, but we should be praying like crazy for peace in Israel.

He's also talking about anybody that's the son of Abraham who has faith in the one true God. And because of that, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. In other words, the logical response to seeing God for who he is is that you would love him with all, including your mind. Then he says this, how am I going to do that, Paul? How am I going to present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable? He says, here's Al. do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Well, here's what happened.

The moment you surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you've got a brand new heart. Ezekiel says that God rips out your heart of stone and gives you a new heart, a heart of flesh, which is his heart. He changes your eternal trajectory. However, even though you have a new heart and a redeemed soul, guess what? You still got the same crappy mind. You still got the same birth order. you're still the same eneagram number if you're into that kind of stuff. Like he didn't rip your brain out and give you a new brain.

You still have grown up the way you grow up, and we, if we're not paying attention, we can be conformed to the pattern of this world. And that word of conform is a building term. If you've ever poured concrete. And I know you haven't, okay? I know you haven't. If you're from Palacca, explain to the PV crowd how you pour concrete, okay? So, but what you do,

If you ever watch somebody pour you some concrete, what they do is you build a form and then you pour the concrete into it and it takes the form of whatever you built. And he's saying, be very, very careful because this world has a form to it. And if you're not careful, your mind will just conform to the patterns of this world. But instead of that, what you've got to do is be transformed. Metamorphi is the Greek word. How? By the renewing of your mind. So you've got to bust up that form and you've got to create a new form and you've got to quit believing the lives of the enemy, the lies of this world, and you've got to renew your mind by believing the truth of the word of God. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Well, why are you talking about the mind? The reason I'm talking about the mind is that we're at war. We're in a battle. And the Christian battle to walk with Jesus is primarily a battle of the mind.

We have an enemy. We've been talking about this all year that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But here's the thing, man. He can't just take you on face to face. There are times where the devil himself or one of his demons manifest himself in such a way where head spin and there's pea soup, but that's not the normal. and the reason that's not the normative is because the victory has already been won. The preeminent text on spiritual warfare is Ephesians chapter 6, verse 10. All you Pentecostals, you probably have it tattooed on your back already, okay?

And I'm not going to go as far as you want me to, sorry, but here's how the Bible talks about spiritual warfare. He says, finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. First and foremost, this isn't about you pulling you. up by your bootstraps. This is why, by the way, if and when you go see a counselor, if they don't understand the supernatural, man, you're just playing a game and ain't going to work. Because your might will never be enough to walk in the kind of abundant life that Christ has for you.

It's his might. So how do we do that? Here's how we do that. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand. That word stand means like take a stand or stand your ground or stand up. It means fight. Four times it's going to use the word stand. or fight, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

The word is methodias, where we get the word method, that the enemy has a set of schemes that he's trying to kill, seal, and destroy you with. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. You see, you think your problem is your boss. You think your problem is your family. You think your problem is your wife. And the reason you can't be happy is because she's crazy, and if she'd be uncrazy, then you'd be fine.

That ain't true. Your battle is not against her. Your battle is not against your husband. Your battle is not against flesh and blood, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. You see, but against rulers and against authorities, against cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

And you say, well, what does this have to do with the mind? Because the enemy's primary tactic is a battle of the mind. You know why? Because he's already been defeated. When we hear battle, when we hear warfare, we think like World War II. Good guys be bad guys, line up, see who the biggest is, the best is. That's not how it works in the kingdom because the battle's already over. The enemy's already been defeated. Colossians 213 says, and you who were dead in your trespasses and uncircumcision of your flesh, God made a lie together with him having forgiven all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against him with its legal demands.

This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by Trump triumphing over them in him. The book of Revelation says that the devil is like a dragon with a head wound, and he's just flailing around until eventually God plucks him into the lake of fire forever and ever and ever, amen. This is like at the end of Georgia games where they get in victory formation and they're just kneeling it out until the clock goes down because it's a lot.

already the game's over. So, I mean, think about this. If somebody, if somebody wanted to attack America right now, they can't just line up and go. I mean, Mexico and Canada could team up together. And them goofy guys and their little coats and horses up north and whatever they got down south, we're going to get you. We'd be like, that's so funny. Boom, boom, boom.

America. We win. There's no chance. So what do you do? But we're being attacked all the time, all the time. and it's a dirty war. It's a misinformation campaign. The enemy was the originator of fake news

to try to get you to believe something that's not true. Why? Because if you believe stuff, you'll start thinking stuff. And if you think stuff, you'll start feeling stuff. And your feelings will drive your activities. I mean, we know this to be true. We know that our enemies use algorithms to drop things into our social media so that we will hate each other

and we'll be tribalized instead of being unified around the cross, and they're winning, by the way. You see, that's what the enemy does. I mean, you can see it over and over and over. You can see how he is using ideologies in our current culture to tear people apart. You see, everything God creates, the enemy tries to corrupt. My friend Josh Howardton, who's a pastor in Texas, he wrote a little bit of this on this week and I was looking at it. It was brilliant some of the things he said.

You see, the Bible says that God would turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and children to their fathers. That's what God wants to do. And the enemy wants to get in there and corrupt that and tear families apart. And so how does he do it? Artillery? Sometimes it's happening around the world right now. But it's not just artillery.

He also uses ideology. Like, think about this. Critical theory teaches that all in the world. institutions are racist, your parents are a part of that institution, whether they know it or not. Therefore, kids, you should distance yourself from your parents for the sake of justice. See how the enemy could be at work? Queer theory. I'm sure you didn't think you'd hear about that at church tonight.

It teaches that previous generations are bigoted, including my parents. Therefore, I must rebel against them in order to be my true self. Humanistic therapeutic ideology teaches my parents are the origin of all of my problems. I must distance myself from them in order that I could be happy. You see how it's a war of the mind? Now, the reality is, is there racism and is there bigotry? And is there traumatic events? For sure.

But the gospel is the answer and the power to change that and bring unity. Not division. So we're not battling against flesh and blood. Like, if you think the politicians are the answer, oh, help you. Jesus did not come and run for office. Uh-uh. He came and died on a cross in our place. Amen?

So we're not fighting against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and against the authorities and against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. See, I call these the whispers. You ever get the whispers? You ever get these ideas? You think, oh man, I should probably quit coming in this church.

People knew the things I struggled with. I can't be a disciple group leader. I'm like the worst disciple I know. If these people, well, we just did commitments. I didn't really commit that much. What am I doing here? When you begin to hear the whispers that lead you to a place of despair and condemnation, That's the dirty war campaign of the enemy.

When you begin to hear voices like, you know what, this world would be better off without you. That is not the voice of the good shepherd. Because the good shepherd only speaks life. And whenever we hear and recognize the voice of the good shepherd, it leads to abundant life. The voice of the enemy is always going to lead to death and despair. This is the kind of thing I'm talking about here. lies of the enemy. Again, the Bible says, therefore now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ

Jesus. So if something in your brain is condemning you, it is not the voice of the good shepherd. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm, stand therefore four times. That means fight. Having fastened the belt of truth. Jesus says he is the truth. You know how we know about him?

By reading his word. And having put on the breastplate of righteousness, that's about identity. Do you know who you are? You are who God says you are in His Word. And as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace, the gospel is about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus recorded in His Word. In all circumstances, take up the shield of faith. The Bible says faith comes by hearing His Word, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one

and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. That this is how we fight back, even in regards to mental health, against the enemy. Now, this is a sword of the spirit. This is not a sledgehammer to beat up Kathy in the next cubicle next to you, because she's dumb. It is the sword of the spirit to fight against the enemy. And God has given us his word not to defeat the enemy. God has given us his word to constantly remind him he's already defeated and we're more than conquerors,

therefore we should act that way and believe we are who he says we are. They're like, well, how does that work? Here's how it works. John chapter 8, verse 31. So Jesus said to the Jews, this doesn't mean like the whole people group, it means like to the religious people in power. So Jesus said to the Jewish leaders who had believed him, if you abide in my word, you were truly my disciples,

and you know the truth and the truth will set you free. You hear politicians use that one, right? What they want you to believe is their political campaign. If somebody quotes that verse and does not tie it to and the truth will set you free and the truth is the word of God, I'd be a little suspect of what they're selling. And then they talk back to Jesus and like, what do you mean free? We're sons of Abraham. We've always been free. Well, apparently they didn't do good in Sunday school because for 400 years they went free, but don't worry about that part.

And then here's what Jesus says. Like, sons of Abraham. him. Verse 44, he goes, you were of your father the devil, and your will is to do the father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. That every time the enemy talks to you, he only spits lies, and it always leads to death. Now, listen, man, for everybody that thinks Jesus' teaching ministry was all meek and mild. You would have not liked his teaching ministry. I mean, these days, this whole group would

have needed a safe space, and Jesus would have been canceled, all right? But he's telling the truth. And listen, man, I'm trying to tell you the truth. I know this is a sensitive topic, and I'm not a super sensitive person. That's a very dangerous combination. But what I want you to do is stand firm on the truth because the enemy is lying to you and me. The good news is that Bible has already outed the enemy and we know the lies that he tells. 1 John 2, 15 and 16 says this, do not love the world or the things in this world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. And you might think, well, hold on, I thought the Bible says in John 316, for God so loves the world. Right, God loves the people of this world, so he sent Jesus. But we are not to love the values and

systems of this world. And what most believers do is adopt the values and systems of this world and hate the people of this world, instead of loving the people of this world, and rejecting the values and systems of this world. It says, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world are the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. The King James calls it lust. I like to use word lust there.

It just seems more appropriate. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh is the desire to feel. The lust of the eyes is comparison, lack of contentment. The pride of life is worshiping or obsessing. over yourself. He says that's not from the Father. This is all the enemy has been doing

from the very beginning. What I'm trying to get you to give you here is handles by which to see the whole scripture and how the enemy comes against us with a misinformation campaign, a war in our brains, in our minds, all the way back in the beginning, Genesis chapter 3. Now the serpent

was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. And he says to the woman, Adam and Eve are chilling, man. Naked and unashamed. The older I get, the more miraculous that verse is in my life. All the 20-year-olds, like, I don't understand. I'll bless you.

You will. They're just hanging out in an unadulterated, perfect relationship with the Heavenly Father, having everything they need. And does the enemy come in and try to cut their head off of the flaming sword? No. He comes in with like a minute. mental health issue. That's what he does, man. Gets between their ears, start spitting lies. Did God actually say, see, everything God creates, the enemy tries to corrupt. He's still doing the same

thing. You know how many churches look down on this book now and be like, God didn't know what he's talking about. I mean, come on, male and female, God, we know a lot more about this than you do. marriage dating God you don't even know about there are apps for this now money are you crazy

tithing on cumin we don't even know what that is we do what we want did God actually say the moment you begin to do that you're on a team but it ain't team Jesus team Jesus was always submitted to the authority

of the word of God he said the only thing I do is what the father tells me to do. And so this is where he goes. You see, the enemy always wants you to doubt at least three things. The word of God, the work of God, and the worthiness of God. And so the enemy says,

Did God actually say you should not eat of any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the servant, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden. But God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden. And then she made some stuff up. Classic legalism. She's going to say, add rules to what God had. Neither shall you

touch it lest you die. He didn't say that. Now, I want you to think about this here. At this point, the rules of God, the law of God was, there was all do's and one don't. Why? Because God's not in a rules. He's in a relationship. But when she began to not believe that God was good and for her, she began to think some things because the enemy placed that in her mind. And she begins to think, this is like the ultimate fomo.

God is holding out on me, which made her feel some things. and then she and he act. But the servant said to the woman, you will not surely die. That's a lie. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

In other words, you got this. You know better than God. He's withholding from you. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, this is the lust of the flesh. I deserve to eat this. It's going to make me feel good. And that it was a delight to the eyes.

This is the lust of the eyes. Like, I didn't even know I wanted that until I put my eyes on it. And that the tree was to be desired to make one wise. This is the pride of life. Who were you to tell me what to do, God? And she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was, what's that, fellas? Cool, you were just as silent as Adam.

That's been the problem since creation. Sorry to wake you up. You can go back to bed now. Your wife will give you the notes later. Way to be a man. So, it's a dirty war campaign to the mind. there's only three things the enemy comes at us with, right? Lust of the flesh, lust of the odds, pride of life.

From the beginning, Genesis 3, until today when you were driving here, he is throwing fiery darts at you in the mine. Fiery dart was a javelin filled up with flammable fuel so that when it hit and the fuel went everywhere, not only did it start a fire on you, but started a fire all over the place. That sounds like some of my thoughts sometimes. times. Now, none of that was the sermon. All of that was set up so that we can understand what's happening with Jesus in Matthew chapter 4. So you can start my timer now. So then Jesus was led up by

the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, if you are the son of God. These are the whispers. These are the whispers. It's crazy, man. I've been a pastor for 30 years. I know the gospel. I preach it all the time. And you know who I have to preach it to more than anybody else? Me. Me. This Monday, I'm in the tree stand. I open up my phone. It gets light enough. I pray for you for the first, like, hour I'm there because it's dark and it's partly for you. It's partly because the deer I can see my phone, so it's a little bit of a double win. But anyway, and I'm like, normally I go straight to my Bible app and I get to work, okay?

I'm talking about Jesus and your mental health. And I saw an email. And I was like, oh, don't open it, don't open it, don't open it, I opened it. And criticism from last week just robbed my mental capacity to just dig in, to preach on mental health. And I'm the pastor. Do you understand what I'm saying here? It is a constant war, a dirty war of the mind. I literally had to close it on down and out loud in a hush tone whisper,

just tell me who the Bible says I am because of the redemption of Jesus Christ again. You understand? So, Jesus is getting the whispers, except it's actually the devil. And if you say to me, you actually believe in a devil. And if you don't, bro, you're toast. That's why you're getting your butt handed to you. You know why? You see, it's kind of like hunting.

I think it's kind of funny. They call it a sport. Because while I'm hunting, only half the teams know we're playing. You understand what I'm saying? That's why I win all the time. I mean, we laugh, but some of you, like that deer, it just thinks it's going to breakfast. It doesn't know it's going to the freezer.

You understand? But that's how you treat the devil. The demonic. You don't believe in the demonic? Have you not watched the news since October 7th? What do you think? All these dead people around our world are because people make bad decisions and have a thyroid imbalance? Are you crazy?

No, no, no. There are evil forces. And so, he says, if you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. This is the less of the flesh. You hungry, Jesus? You deserve to feel better. The most important thing about you is how you feel. And you should do whatever it takes by your own hand to change the way you feel.

This is self-medicating with things like, here's what's crazy. It could be drinking, it could be drugs, it could be Netflix, it could be ice cream. Do you realize that? You realize it's all the same? Now, they could have very different consequences. There's a pretty big gap between cookies and crack, okay? But if you don't understand that the tactic of the enemy is the same thing, to try to get you to think that your feelings are the Lord of your life and you are responsible for changing them

by changing your external circumstances or putting something in you instead of trusting the one that said, hey, you want peace, you worn out, you're tired, come to me. And I will give you rest for your soul. That's the difference, man. It's deeper than you think. And you know what Jesus does? He says the three most important words on earth. The three most important words in eternity are it is finished.

The three most important words between now and heaven is it is written. He says, I'm not going to allow my feelings to be the Lord of me. I'm going to allow the truth of the Word of God to tell me what the truth is. Jesus is saying, listen, you can't trust your feelings. Your feelings make a terrible Lord. They change all the time, do they not? The Word of God never changes because God never changes. And listen, man, I don't know, I've told you this before, I don't know how to get you to love a thing I love.

If you come to this church for any amount of time, the thing I want you to do is surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to love, love, love the Word of God. I don't mean memorize a couple of verses when it's convenient. I don't mean come in here and let me entertain you and tell you a couple cute stories and every once in a while gets real heavy like right now. It'll never be enough to sustain you. Jesus said, you want to be close to me? You better be in a love relationship with my word. You better abide in my word. And I'm telling you, man, it's different.

It's sharper than a double-edged sword. It's supernatural. It's God's word. It's Theos Nustos. It's God breathed. And he wants to put some stuff in you because of his word. And I'm telling you, there are levels of freedom and abundant life that God has for you when you begin to submit and surrender to what God says is true.

and of course there's going to be things you disagree with. He's the sovereign king of the universe. You can't lick your own elbow. I mean, it's true. I wouldn't have made it up this way. You've got to be crucified to Christ and no longer live. No way. Salvation wouldn't be chicken wings and cold beer if I get to make it up.

So of course it rubs you the wrong way. Because we're conformed to the pattern of this world, man. Notice what Jesus does. It is written. He didn't have to look it up. He did write it so he's a little bit. He's a cheater a little bit, but he's memorized the whole thing, man. And regardless of your feelings, God's word is true.

For the Word of God is living and active sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of the soul and spirit of joints and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Don't trust your thoughts and intentions. Don't trust your heart. It is deceitful. Trust the Word of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple,

and he said to him, if you are the son of God, he's just going to wear him out with this one. Throw yourself down, for it is written. Now check this out. The devil's going to quote Bible. So be careful. Just because somebody's got a Bible verse, don't have to believe him. You understand? He's quoting Psalm 91, which is crazy.

The whole context of Psalm 91 is how God takes care of his children. And he twisted it around, and he quote, The devil, quote, you're going to talk about, listen, man, the devil, he makes some bad decisions. This is one. How are you going to try to out Jesus juke Jesus with the Bible? You understand? But that's what he does. And he quotes Psalm 91, he will command his angels concerning you and their hands, and on their hands, they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against the stone.

This is the pride of life. He said, make much of yourself. And we all know, Jesus said, he did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ram. for many. And so again, Jesus said, again, it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. You see, Jesus rejects the lie of the enemy between his ears, and he stands on the truth of the word of God. You see, when we try to make the entire world about us at the end of the day, all will have is us. And it leads to a narcissistic idolatry where we worship at the throne of our own esteem.

And no one has let you down more than you. No one has lied to you more than you. Nobody has broken more promises to you than you. So you were not your solution. But Jesus, even knowing all of that, while we were yet still sinners came on a rescue mission for you. So quit putting your trust in you and trying to make it all about you and testing God in that respect.

but receive the free gift of salvation that comes from God who loved you enough that he would pay full price for you. That's what the Bible says. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, all these I will give you. This is lust of the eyes. If you'll just fall down and worship me.

That's it. You see, Jesus knew the will of the Father is that he would get a crown, but it was preceded by a cross. And the devil is saying, why don't we just skip a step and put you in charge? You see, this is lust of the eyes. This is when we fix our eyes on some temporary things of this world, and we think those things are going to finally satisfy us.

Listen, all the science is in, okay? The more time you spend on these things scrolling social media, the less content you will be, period, end dot. because the enemy has taken you up on a high hill. And he's not offering all these things to you. He's telling you you're not worthy because you don't have them and everybody else does. Here's the sad thing.

All the people that you're comparing yourself to, they're just as miserable as you are because they're playing the same game. Dude, this ain't new. It's only been happening for all of human history. And so Jesus says, be gone. Man, how great would that be? Like, honest of goodness, the same power that brought Christ out of the grave lives in us.

You realize that. And so I'm telling you, when you get those whispers, when you get those lies of the enemy about comparison and depression and anxiety and all those things, that should you go see a doctor, for sure, man, God heals through people, prayers, pills. No doubt. But you have the authority based on the word of God to be. like, Satan, get out. You ain't got no room in here. I belong to Jesus. Now, sometimes that'll happen immediately and supernaturally, and sometimes it's through a process. But he says,

be gone, Satan, for it is written. You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve. Listen, worship is war against suicide. Worship is war against depression. Worship is war against anxiety. You know why? Because every time we worship the one true God, you know what got Satan kicked out of heaven, he wanted to sit on the seat of being worshipped. And every time we claim Jesus in worship, we're reminding the devil that he's done. Every single time, worship is war. And so the devil left him. And behold, the angels came and we're ministering to him.

You see, God has given us his word, not to defeat the devil, but to remind him and us that he's already been defeated. You see, he doesn't get to tell you who you are or how to feel. that that is already finished. Here's the point. Our enemy, the devil, the father of lies, do not believe the whispers, but stand on the truth of the word of God.

So do you need to go to counseling? Probably. But you should go to a person that believes this word. You should go to a person that can understand that you're not fighting against flesh and blood. Could there be some people?

physical and physiological things that need to be addressed? Yeah, man, you've got to love the Lord of God with all your hearts, whole, mind, and strength. It's holistic. But if you leave out the spiritual, then you're toast, man. You're toast. But if you have a foundation of the Word of God telling us the truth about who you are,

then the enemy is going to be in trouble. And you know who you are? If you are in Christ, remember the whole sermon started out of God. that was word then? And what happened there was the baptism of Christ? That Jesus, kind of laying low from 12 to 30, all he did is growing wisdom and stature

and in favor with God and man, which, by the way, means he lived out the Shama. He loved the Lord, His God with all their hearts, all, mind, and strength. And then, at 30 years old, shows up on the scene, and John, the baptizer, points to his cousin Jesus and says, behold, the Lamb of God who's come to take away the sin of the world.

And then they had this little conversation about who's going to baptize who, And then John the baptizer baptizes Jesus. And when he does, he baptizes Jesus. And as he comes out of the water, the spirit of God like a dove descends on the son of God. And God the Father speaks out loud. You see what's happening in there? The Trinity shows up to the baptism.

And God says this out loud. How good do you feel when your daddy brags on you? I mean, think about that. I don't care who you are or how jacked up your family situation is. man, if your dad has a word for you, I'm just, we live for it, don't we? Now imagine the perfect eternal father of whom the second person of the Trinity, God, the son has been separated from physically for 30 years. And he's not used to this.

And now God the father out loud says this, behold, my son and whom I am well pleased. Now, pop quiz. How much ministry has Jesus done up to that point? How many healings? He ain't walked on water. I can come out the grave and brought nobody back from the dead. Has it preached one sermon. In fact, the only thing that he has done

has been an aggravation to his mom because he got lost in Sunday school one time. So if anything, it ain't good, man. It ain't good. But what happens? His identity, even Jesus' identity precedes his activity. And the reason that he can every single time overcome temptation and struggle, the reason that he could fulfill the law and every promise of prophecy is yes and amen in him is traced all the way back to he knows who he is. And because he believes that he is his father's beloved son, that he has the right thoughts because he's rooted in the word of God, which means he feels the right feels.

which means he does the right thing. See, here's what I'm here to tell you, man. Your worst day in your life does not define you. I'm not saying it wasn't terrible, man. But your trauma, your divorce, your abortion, your addiction, your failed career, your bankruptcy, your eating disorder, your affair, whatever the thing is, the loss of a loved one, it doesn't get to tell you who you are.

I'm going to tell you, I know it's painful. But the Bible says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has passed away. And behold, the new has come. You get this? That Jesus gets to tell you who you are. And he is the king.

He is the king of taking the world's biggest mess and using it to proclaim the gospel message to the very ends of the earth. He just is. He does it over and over and over. So, again, man, on the third week, we're going to have counselors up here talking psychologically about these things and tools that we can put in your hands.

but if you don't have the firm foundation of what the Bible says you are, then you're just going to be blowing around in the wind. And if you're in Christ Jesus, you know what my Bible says about you? The greatest chapter in the whole Bible, man, Romans 8. And if you disagree with him, it's because you're wrong. Paul, after he's laid out the gospel now for eight chapters, seven and a half, he asked this question in Romans 831. He says, what then shall we say to these things?

What things, Paul? The things that lie to us. The things in this world that try to get us to believe that our feelings are the most important. The things in this world that lie to us and try to condemn us and say that we are unfit for use. That when our past or some feelings, when they creep up their ugly head and they try to command our life, those things, what shall we say to these things? Paul says, here's what you should say to these things. If God is for us, then who could be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all,

how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Like mental and emotional health? That falls into the all things categories, folks. Who shall bearing any charge against God's elect? And the enemy's like, me? Be like, yeah, fool, but you've got a moral head wound. You're about to die. It's over.

You have already been defanged and declawed. so enemy you got no power in my life so shut up and be gone who shall bring any charge against god's elect it is god who justifies who is to condemn christ jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised who is at the right hand of god who indeed is interceding for us like right now in this moment you know what jesus is doing as he's awaiting us to sing to him and pray to him he's praying for you right now and who shall separate us from the love of christ shall tribute or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword and might i add the lies of the enemy trauma in your past jacked up family systems there's a resounding no all these things in all

these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us for i am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate you and me from the love of God in Christ, Jesus, our Lord. And listen, man, if you're struggling, one sermon ain't going to do it. Sometimes God healed right in the moment. I mean, I've seen him do it so many times. It's a supernatural word and touch from him and boom, chains fall off.

And sometimes it's a long process of really hard work, of not conforming to the lives of this world, but being transformed by the renewing of your mind. over time. But when we begin to believe who God says we are, man, in 1 John chapter 4, the primary title that God gives his people is beloved. That's who you are. If you're in Christ Jesus, that's who you are. God looks at you.

He doesn't define you by your scars and your past and your struggles and your mental and emotional issue. He does it. He looks at you. And he says, hey, hey, kids, be loved. That's who you are. Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God.

And anyone that loves knows God. Whoever doesn't love doesn't know God because God is love. And then he says, and you want to know what love is? I'm about to tell you what love is. This is love. Not that we love God. God is not waiting to reflect your love towards him back on you. No, no, no, no.

That's not how it works. Let me tell you what love is. This is love. Not that we love God, but God loved us and sent his son to die on a cross as the propitiation for our sin, as the payment once and for all to declare to you and demonstrate his love, pay the sin debt because he loves you. The first step towards mental and emotional health is knowing that you, because of Christ, not because of anything that you have done, but because of Christ that you are God's beloved. You were not primarily a tool in his hand to get work done.

You were not primarily a soldier in his army to take on the enemy. He's already defeated. You are primarily a son or daughter in the family of God. May you hear the voice of your Heavenly Father right now in a supernatural way. Imagine the heavens open up and all of eternity looks towards you. That the angels lean in to hear what God the Father is going to say. And if you're in Christ, you are wrapped in His righteousness. God the Father would look at you and say,

behold, my son, my daughter, in whom? That's my hope and prayer for you. And that's what Jesus accomplished for you at the cross when he said it is finished. Would you please stand? Let me pray for us. For good and gracious, Heavenly Father. Lord, I know that we've just scratched the surface and the details of everybody's life are so complicated. But Lord, I pray that you would just lay a gospel foundation that we would believe the truth of your word, that we are your beloved. Lord, we pray against the enemy. May he be gone.

He's got no room in the head or the heart of the believer. God, every single child of yours bought and paid for it is the possession of yours. So we pray against the oppression of the enemy. And God, for any room that we have given him access to in our life, we say, be gone. Satan. Get out of here. Get out of my head. Get out of my heart.

Get out of my relationships. Get out. And Lord, I pray that you would send angels to minister us. messengers to minister us Holy Spirit I ask that you would do what Jesus promised that you would do that you would comfort us in a supernatural way that brings the kind of peace that you can't explain

the kind of peace that transcends all understanding and that you would guard our hearts and you would guard our minds our mental and emotional health in Christ Jesus God we ask for miracles we ask for demons to be gone We ask for lies to be refuted.

We ask that you would give us the courage and the faith to stand strong on the firm foundation of the inspired word of God. Lord, we would pray that we would know we are beloved and so we would act like it. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. So church, we're going to bring, first and best, we're going to sing unto the Lord. And we're going to pray. In Mark chapter 9, there's a church. a boy and a demon's trying to kill him.

And on behalf of the boy, the dad comes to Jesus. Maybe you know somebody. Maybe you are somebody. Maybe there's somebody that you love, a family member, a friend, you're one more. And they are being tormented by the enemy. I would invite you to come and bring it to Jesus. In fact, when that dad brought his boy to Jesus, the disciples couldn't cast out the demon. And later, they asked Jesus, why couldn't we cast it out?

And Jesus says, this one, this one only comes out through prayer. Prayer. You want to go to war against the enemy in your own life and in the lives of the people that you love? Let's sing, let's bring, and let's go to war. Let's pray. Let's respond.