Teach Us To Number Our Days

So tonight I want to talk to you about an important topic from Psalms, Psalm 90. I actually had Psalm 90 and 91, but I'm just going to do 90. And the title is Teach Us to Number Our Days.

I wish I heard this message in my 20s, because I wasted a lot of time. Don't look at me like that because I know you did too. And I thank God for His redemptive work because He can restore.

He can restore what the enemy meant for evil. He can restore that. What's the verse in Joel? The swarming locust, the chewing locust, these other types of locusts, what they've consumed, I will restore.

I will bring back. And often we see like in the life of Job, that God actually brought back more. And so we never want to lose hope.

Even as you get older and things start to change, there's always hope when God is on the throne and that will be forever. So, standing on the promises is kind of the theme I'll be going through as we go through Psalms. Standing on the promises.

And the promise tonight from God's Word is you can gain a heart of wisdom. You can gain a heart of wisdom. And next Wednesday, if I can get through this one, I'm hoping I can, one of my favorite topics, Psalm 91, He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I was hoping that was tonight, but I got to postpone it. And the title so far is How to Find the Secret Place. How to find that secret place.

I believe it's not like a secret like God is hiding, but that word almost means it's a mystery to many people because they don't pay the price. And often you got to get to a deserted place before you find the secret place. And that will be next Wednesday, God willing.

But as we look at this topic, teach us to number our days. A couple things stood out that were crystal clear. Number one for us, time is short.

Don't procrastinate. Time is short. And as you get older, you realize, man, summer used to seem like four years long when I was 10.

Now it's like, on to next year. And procrastinating on what God wants us to do and really making things priorities. Have them be first in your life because remember, if everything is a priority, then nothing is.

If everything is a priority, then nothing is. There's got to be some things because when all these things are priorities, we end up not really doing what we need to be doing. And I learned that years ago when we planted the church is I have to say no to a lot of things.

First, we were saying yes to every barbecue, birthday party, get together, do this, this study. We had a Monday night study after we just had a weekend service. And it was just, everything became, it just became too much.

And learning to prioritize and bad decisions have consequences. Bad decisions have consequences. However, it's never too late to get back on track.

So with that kind of as the backdrop, we open up Psalm 90 and it starts with an interesting phrase. Psalm 90, it actually says, a prayer of Moses, the man of God. I mean, it's not a real engaging psalm unless you think of Moses was praying this.

You know Moses, right? Yeah, that Moses. He was praying this. It was so powerful to the children of Israel that they actually recorded it and kept it down throughout oral history possibly, but written history as well.

And it's specific, the man of God. And so while we're on that topic and there are men here, women you can listen for a minute as well, but I might actually talk about this at the next men's breakfast on April 5th, by the way, mark that on your calendar. There are three main characteristics of a man of God.

If you look throughout the Bible, I could turn it into 10, but three that really stand out because Moses is the man of God. David was a man after God's own heart. Number one, it's not a pursuit of perfection, but an unwavering direction.

And you guys hear me say that a lot. You know, it's not about perfection, but direction, but to be that man of God or woman of God, I guess you could say, it's not about being perfect. It's about unwavering direction, unwavering perseverance is no matter how you feel and what you're going through, you get back up and you keep fighting.

And we see in 1 Samuel that it talks about David was a man after God's heart. So to be a man of God, you have to be after God's heart and notice how he had not yet caught it. Because you can be a woman after God's heart, a man after God's heart, that doesn't mean you arrived.

Okay, I caught God's heart. I'm done for the rest of my life. It's a pursuit.

It's engagement. It's getting yourself back up and continuing regardless of what is going on around you. Also, a man of God, they were very tender, but they were very tough.

They were tough and tender. David, for example, was he not? Very tough. I don't know when was the last time you killed some Philistines and circumcised them and brought back the proof of your labors to the king.

Let's get out of that picture real quick. But there was a toughness, but they were also tender. What example in Jesus? I mean, that truly should be a goal of all men is some of you need to get that toughness back, and some of you need to get that tenderness back.

And we know what that toughness is without tenderness. It's very hard. It's like a dominating, domineering, iron-fisted approach, and it really damages the family.

But then a tender, mild, meek, gentle, so all the time you can become a doormat, and your wife is forced to lead the family. And it's finding that balance. We must have the heart for ministry, but we also must have a backbone as well.

And then number three, humility marks them. Meekness defines them and brokenness positions them. They were humble.

A man of God is humble. They don't think more highly of themselves than they should. They understand that there's more going on inside their heart than people know.

They struggle with things that people aren't aware of, and because of that, it keeps them humble, and they exhibit a lot less pride. Sometimes when people like to criticize me on social media, I like to post this on the page if we have it up there. I think it's a picture.

Thank you, sir, for your criticism. If you knew about me what I know about me, you would have written a longer letter. George Whitefield, 1700s.

Famous preacher. But it's keeping that humility close to heart. And then so now with Moses' prayer, what exactly did he pray? Well, we can look at the exact words, Psalm 90.

If you have your Bibles, follow along. And we want to encourage you on Wednesday nights, of course, to bring your Bible. And on Sundays, bring your Bible open to Acts on Sundays, Psalm, and go through and highlight if God is speaking to you about a certain text or something really ministers to your heart, write it down.

Date it. It's incredible to come across those over the years. I'm in a hard spot right now.

I've got so many things written down, I tend to read those instead of the Scripture. So I'm trying to just, okay, Lord, I don't want these things to throw me off from years ago. So Moses said, and you can almost hear his heart, Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

What he meant by that is like what Paul said, in Him I move and breathe and have my being. Who we really are as believers is in God. We dwell in the covering of the Most High.

He is our safety. He is our security in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth or even You had formed the earth from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

So what a great encouragement to remind ourselves who God is when you go into prayer. God, You created. I don't know if you're here Sunday, watch the video, but I showed you the spreading out and just coming together from the earth to the Milky Way galaxy.

And there are so many more galaxies and just how awesome God is and reminding yourself of His awesomeness. You turn man to destruction, but basically means God allows destruction to come upon man because of a sin. And you say, return, O children of men.

So God, because of destruction, He doesn't leave them there. He actually calls people and tells people Moses would know more than anybody throughout the wilderness years. God says, return, O children of men, return to Me for a thousand years and your sight is nothing.

It's like yesterday when it's passed and like a watch in the night. You carry them away like a flood. They are like sleep.

In the morning, they are like grass which grows up. In the morning, it flourishes and grows up. In the evening, it is cut down and withers away.

Basically, our life is but a vapor. Have you ever thought about that? I mean, it literally is. Next.

Next. The brevity of life. For we have been consumed by your anger.

So He could be, I'm only speculating, but probably writing this at a time in Israel's history when they were in rebellion. Some of the children of Israel had just rebelled. And He is reflecting on God's punishment.

He said, you've consumed them in your anger by your wrath. We were terrified. You have set our iniquities before you.

In other words, their sin is before Him. Our secret sins in the light of your continence. For all our days have passed away in your wrath.

We finish our year like a sigh. Have you ever felt that? Maybe some of you feel that tonight. That sigh of just, maybe, you know, Moses took them through the wilderness.

And I will tell you as believers that wilderness is some of the hardest terrain we ever walk through. Isn't it? The wilderness. It's hot, it's barren.

There's not much to do. You don't know where your destination is at. And it's a time of testing.

But God is faithful. And He says, we don't live to be over 70 years old, maybe 80, yet they boast in their labor. Their boast is only in their labor and in their sorrow for it is soon cut off and we fly away.

Basically, we perish. But isn't that so true? How many people boast in their labor? Boast in what they've accomplished. And one of the saddest things for me to see is, especially you see it in Hollywood or actors and actresses, or what about sports figures? You know, some of my famous, the guys I used to watch, and you know, they're in 70s now, and you can tell a lot of these, they're no longer happy.

I mean, what would Michael Jordan give to play basketball again? Or famous quarterbacks and football, and they boast, but there's tremendous sorrow if they don't know the Lord. Because it's empty. Actually, the higher you go up, the more empty you become.

Listen to what Jim Carrey has said. Or Robin Williams, the famous comedians. Chris Farley, John Candy.

I've heard some of their interviews. They're miserable, many of them. Why? Because you are never created to be like God and to be glorified and no flesh or glory in His presence.

Who knows the power of your anger, God? For as the fear of you, so is your wrath. Wow, that's a heavy Psalms. But it goes right in to our key verse.

So teach us to number our days. Teach us to number our days. So we see, we just read some pretty powerful words.

The context, if you look at this, look at commentators also, Moses is laying it out for the people and for us and saying, if you want to avoid these consequences, you need to order your days correctly. In other words, order your choices correctly. Or as another example, return to God immediately if you've drifted off course.

So all of these words are to remind the children of Israel to make good decisions and get back on track. And that's why he goes right in. So teach us, because of all the stuff I just said that's kind of negative and hard.

So because of this, teach us to number our days. What's interesting is you look up words like this. Back then, it would be the Hebrew language.

New Testament is Greek and the Old Testament is Hebrew. And what it is, numbering our days, it's basically, Lord, show us how to make our days count. Show us how each day should count.

Monday, Tuesday, teach us that, Lord, show us how they should count. And then, not only will it produce wisdom, but give us wisdom now so we can order our days correctly. So it's a very, very important prayer.

And then he goes on to say, return, oh Lord, how long? How long? How long? Has anybody said that recently? Well, now everybody's being honest in this room. That's right, Madeline, when you said that, that was so spot on, wasn't it? About promises. She said, that helped me a lot.

She said, promises you've been waiting on and waiting on and waiting on. Just keep your eyes focused on God and the thoughts pure and right. But a lot of Bible writers would ask, how long? Especially the prophets.

Habakkuk, how long, Lord? How long? Don't worry, Habakkuk, write the vision down and make it plain so people will run who read it. And in the end, it will speak and not lie, though it tarries. Wait on it.

My vision, what I've given you to do, wait on it. But that's the position of the Christian often. How long? Here's why we go through this.

Have you been praying for people? You say, how long? Anybody have relatives? Prayer requests? How long, Lord? The reason is, and it's natural, so don't beat yourself up, but we want to get out of the pain. We want to get out of this situation and move into victory. So we don't like being in pain, so it's like having that trainer work you out.

How many more sets? How long? How am I done yet? No, no. And that's why many Christians have lived in that spot. I've been there.

I'm currently still there. How long? Anybody have a how long prayer? I mean, it can fit so many. How long am I going to continue to be single? How long am I going to continue to deal with this physical problem? How long am I going to deal with this health issue and not see the end of the tunnel here? How long am I going to go through this depression and melancholy and difficult season? How long, oh Lord? And the reason is we want to get out of the pain.

And so that's good. But never ever forget this. The wilderness time is a testing time.

Solid believers come out of the furnace of affliction. If you avoid it, if you avoid it, you will never grow spiritually. Because we grow through pain.

And when we don't use something, we lose it. That has to do with spiritual things too. Lord, have compassion on us.

Satisfy us early with Your mercy that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days. Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil. Let Your work appear to Your servants and Your glory to their children.

And let the beauty of the Lord, our God, be upon us and establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands. So it wasn't really a prayer of petition, it was a prayer of getting his own heart right.

Do you ever feel better when you get it all out to God? I don't know why that is so, but it helps. Lord, here's what I'm dealing with today, help me. And we kind of work through it ourselves.

God is like our therapist who doesn't talk back. He will though gently, won't He, through His Word and through waiting on Him. So while we're on this topic of teaching us to number our days, time drainers and destiny destroyers you need to be aware of as you're praying for God to basically help you prioritize your life.

And as we see time going by so quickly, the need to prioritize has never been greater in the lives of many of us. Number one, what will sidetrack you? What will destroy your destiny or zap your time? Misguided plans. We want everything for ourself.

So when our plans are about me, myself, and I, it actually isolates you from God. And you will get off track because now your priorities become to be, now they become self-focused. So in order to prioritize your days, Lord, let me get everything away from me and what I want.

Of course, there's some exceptions. I mean, you've got, but Lord, what do You want to do? And then when you do what God wants you to do, your day is ordered much better. And then the next, I would consider a landmine, which I spoke to the men about, unforeseen circumstances which lead to discouragement.

Anybody been there? That will disorder your days big time. And that's why I mentioned earlier, why do they call things the wilderness years? Sometimes they are prolonged, but sometimes they are for growth. The wilderness years, and I know sometimes we think this is too long, but God knows the right time.

And as it takes time, He's building in us certain things that we will need later. And you can't rush the process. Other things take time because of disobedience, let's be honest.

I mean, it just amazes me that the 11-day journey to the promised land took them 40 years. I'd say that's a delay. And so if you're delayed, you want to get back on track.

Here's the thing with discouragement, it derails frustration, fatigues us, and depression defeats us. And so the enemy loves to discourage believers. Isn't that true? I mean, we're of course, just like a gym, we're glad that not everybody who calls their church comes, or we wouldn't have enough seats.

Just like a gym, right? Only a certain amount. But most people, the majority of people who don't come to church very often, or regularly, or haven't seen for a while, it's because they're discouraged. Correct? If you're encouraged, you're setting the alarm, you can't wait to get there, you are encouraged.

So the enemy brings in discouragement, or plants, I believe the enemy plants thoughts of doubt, discouragement, frustration, failure. And that's why it's always good to talk to people if there's an issue, because if you don't, the enemy's gonna... Those fiery darts. Have you ever done that before? Welcome to my life.

Because there's an offense, right? Or there's something you're not sure about. Well, whatever you're not sure about, the enemy's gonna come in and fill in the gaps for you. And it's not gonna be good.

It's usually way over exaggerated, complete lies, and you think the reason he's so powerful in that is because you think they're your thoughts, and that you're right about them. I bet that person did that all along. And I bet they were sneaky.

I bet they planned that. And here comes those thoughts. And the offense grows.

And that can work in all areas of life when we become very discouraged. So as a believer, expect challenges. Expect challenges and strengthen yourself.

The spirit-filled life is never carefree or pain-free. Never. Strengthen yourself.

And I don't wanna overemphasize this, but it's so important because the Bible says it. This is not my opinion. You can actually take your thoughts captive.

That tells me when I have a thought that's going in a negative direction, I can reel it back in. Say, no, we're not going there. I know you want to.

I know you want to go, but we are not going. You're coming back, come on. And you take those thoughts captive.

And we've all been in those situations where a hard day, difficult things are going on. As we get older, me and my wife have been talking lately, hormones change. It's like, why do you just want to cry all day? I don't want to come to church.

I don't want to talk to people. What is going on? Well, I have a choice. Do I stay at home? Or take those thoughts captive and say, you're coming with me.

And we're gonna strengthen ourself in the Lord. And truly, you can make a big difference in your life. I just lived that.

What I told you, I've just lived that. Absolutely lived that. 2 Corinthians 4, 8 reminds us we're hard-pressed on every side.

But we're not crushed. Perplexed, but not despair. Persecuted, but we are not forsaken.

And we are struck down, but we are not destroyed. Praise God. And this verse has been so helpful because, okay, Lord, I'm being hard-pressed, but I know I'm not gonna be crushed.

Crushed means obliterated, done with. Certificate of non-operation for Pastor Shane. Hang it around his neck and you go live out the rest of your life in a cave somewhere.

I am not crushed, hard-pressed. And then the next thing that distracts you from numbering your days correctly is impulsive decisions. Like reacting in impulse driven by anger and impatience.

Anybody relate? Man, anger will knock you off course any opportunity it gets. So if it's talking about teaching us to number our days, right, numbering our days, prioritizing, and then something happens and we react and we respond and you know, you send a text or an email and now you gotta clean up all this mess and now you got all this drama going on and now it's delayed everything and discouragement. Now you gotta clean up this mess, which leads to this mess.

And because of the messes, now you're more angry and you react and it's just, the devil loves impatience and causing us to react in impulse and it's best just to wait on the Lord. Calm those senses. Also, I came across some scriptures and just thought I'd be in here, thought I'd put this up for fun, but it's kind of serious.

Talkers have more drama. Is that, those scriptures don't lie. In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking, but he restrains his lips is wise.

In other words, don't go on talking and talking and talking and talking if you don't have to. Haven't you noticed that? The more somebody talks, the more they'll tick you off too. Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.

Might be wise to say less and love more. Man, isn't that true? Talkers have more drama. It just hit, a lot of the drama we see at the church is because of this.

It's not because of this. We always say, Pastor Shane, I have an issue with this person. They don't say much.

They just sit there and to themselves. That rarely happens. It's the, and it's because of our flesh, correct? We want to lash out.

We want to say things. So get that mouth in control. Now here's, then it moves right into this next thing that kills our time, zaps our days.

And really, I'm talking, I've lost countless amounts of time over this. Dwelling on an offense. Have you ever dwelled on an offense? I don't think I told you guys, but I told the men.

Some of you weren't here, but I'm still trying not to dwell on it. But an older man, he was, Dave knows, I told the elders about it. He was kind of a mentor of mine, 12, 13, 14 years ago.

And helped me get ordained. And we kind of lost, well, what happened? Let me tell you what happened. Is apparently he's from a different country.

And I've seen this a lot. If you're not from America, you really don't care about the political system and things like that. So I've always had a heart for just our nation.

And I think politics isn't a bad word. It depends on who the people are. Remember, right? Politics isn't good or bad, it's a reflection of the people's character.

And by the way, it's actually biblical. God's Word is very political. Because all it means is governing or leading a group of people by a set of laws.

So if you don't think God's Word has anything to say about that, then I don't know what to tell you. Bottom line is, I guess he didn't know that I've always been this way. Nothing's ever changed.

And Morgan can tell you, I was preaching more on this stuff 25 years ago when I first started. But he emailed me just a couple weeks ago. He said, Shane, one of the most painful things I've seen in all of ministry is how you've become an apostate.

Can you define apostate? Because political? They get into all this thing about the seven mountains of influence and part of the end times delusion and Elon Musk could be part of the Antichrist. I'm like, he might be, I don't know. But for now, it's not too bad, right? Those who are filled with the Spirit are gonna have discernment.

And so that really ticked me off because that's just a lie. Apostate is somebody who walks away from the truth and rejects Jesus. I'm like, hello, have you listened to any sermons? But of course, as we delve deeper, there's a lot of jealousy and bitterness and things like that.

The church never got above 40 people. You know, I'm the guy they gotta attack. And of course he adds, and others feel this way.

Well, I don't know who others are because we don't know anybody other than a few people. And so that offense though, man, I'm glad you didn't live too close. Tell me that in my face.

Because that's a dishonest charge. And he's actually spoke here back in Lancaster. And if I dwell on that, but you have to take your thoughts cap.

Like, well, obviously that's not true. I mean, I'm not stupid. And so I'm not using this opportunity to vent.

I'm just telling you that I struggle with those things as well. Proverbs 19.1, good sense makes one slow to anger and it is His glory to overlook an offense. So actually my response back was very nice and cordial.

My wife even said, I'm surprised you're that nice. Like, let me at him. But what I'm not gonna argue them.

He's like, well, whatever. I mean, God's got to show you that. So overlook the offense.

And I know why. I know why when they're bitter and they're hurt, you lash out. I've done it.

Colossians, bearing with one another. And if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you. So also you must forgive.

Proverbs 17, whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends. You know what? You've offended me. I'm gonna cover it.

And that's why sometimes later we'll go to people, maybe a year later. And by this time, a lot of stuff has built up. You know, it's like, why didn't you bring that up a year ago? This verse? Because we cover it.

We err on the side of grace. We don't keep track. And we just move on.

But if you've got a consistent pattern, time and time again, we might have to bring something up to show there's a pattern. That's not what this is about though. This is, you know, because we all get offended, don't we? Man, weekly.

People hurt people. People hurt people. Remember I just shared Sunday, I got offended at the men's thing on Tuesday.

I'm not going back again now for a while. And you guys never hear that story? You wanna hear it again? I bet you do. So I don't go to Tuesdays very often.

A lot of other things going on. So my things are Wednesdays, Sundays. We've got things on Fridays.

We've got different things. But so I walk in and one of the guys goes, oh, what are you doing here? I don't see you here on Tuesdays. I said, why don't I see you here on Sundays? See, you know, and no matter where you go, people are popping off, saying things, offending you, the right tone, the right language.

It's like, we live in an offense culture where we're just offended. Just walk outside your door. Who are you gonna run into? Neighbors are offended.

The mailman's offended because I blocked the mailbox again. But the best thing to do is just remove that offense. Let it go.

And if you realize you offend others and you realize how much the Lord has forgiven you, it makes it a lot easier. Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First, go and be reconciled to them.

Then come and offer your gift. Jesus said, hey, listen, don't come and worship together. If there's an offense, go to your brother, sister, and be reconciled.

And that doesn't mean you have to be friends again, but it means you deal with the pain and the hurt. And don't you agree that talking it through helps? Nine times out of 10. Anytime you can hear their heart, see where they're coming from.

They apologize. I mean, that's why I don't think the enemy wants us talking much. And don't take the easy route like a text or email like me.

Try to... My wife said, no, you better call him. I'm like, oh. You know, hunty, yeah, you know.

Well, I tell her the same thing too. No, you better call this one, don't. Don't text him.

So another, finally, last thing here. Really, we're trying to number our days which knocks us off track every time is wrong advice and wrong influence. Wrong advice and wrong influence.

The Bible says if sinners entice you, if they entice you, don't go after them. I shared this with you before. Three hours a day of any activity can add up to nine years of your life at age 70.

So a person who's on social media that much can lose so many years of their life. Isn't that true though? You go on the settings, like, you spent 1,400 hours on YouTube this year. I don't think that's true, but I'm just giving you an example.

Don't want to build up any offenses. An undisciplined thought life leads to an undisciplined life. So I'm going to tell you three ways, best way I know, and we'll end it with this, recapturing that lost time, or getting that joy back, getting out of that funk.

Number one, find joy in Joel. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten. And I don't think that's a Scripture out of context.

I mean, I know what the context is, but also that can apply to us as believers as well. That we've lost in certain areas, we've backtracked in certain areas, but God can restore. God can restore in a moment what took a lifetime to break down.

So find joy in Joel. God will restore. Now He might not restore you lost a million, He's going to restore two million.

He might not, that might not be what's going to happen. You get joy. Isn't there joy when you focus on God's sovereignty and He knows what's best? Rest in Romans.

Oh, how many of us have been helped by this verse? We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Even what I'm going through, how is this going to help? And I've noticed, although I don't like it, I'm glad later, but when I go through difficult times, like what I just shared with you this week, when I go through these things, it's going to work together because then I can learn from it and I can pour out my heart to others. They can hear it.

And it helps them in their journey of being offense or dealing with depression or midlife crisis or things like that. Because God uses what you go through and it works out together. And I don't know about you, but I can just rest in that.

Thank God there's not a God that doesn't know how the day's going to go. Can you imagine the Bible reading like, I don't know what happens after Revelation. Like, for some reason, we lose.

Meet me at the base of Mount Whitney, God says, and we'll go hide in the mountains there. And I don't know, it's going to be hard. And we already know God sits sovereign.

God sits on the throne. No, He cannot be defeated. He cannot be conquered.

And He says, we know that all things work together for you. That doesn't mean it will be fun and full of enjoyment all the time, but you can rest in Romans. You find joy in Joel and you repivot in Peter.

Repivot in Peter. I beg you, sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. What I mean by repivot is I can say, okay, there's fleshly lusts that have been warring against my soul.

I have the ability and the option to abstain from them and to get back on track. You can fight these battles with God's help. A few words I want to close with, Pastor Dale Mast said these in a podcast I shared I think on social media with some of our staff on this topic.

If you can see the light in the darkness, you can handle the sunlight of destiny. Isn't that true? If you can just see a light, a little light in the darkness, you can handle the sunlight of destiny. When we let the love of God in us help others, then it becomes life giving.

When you minister from your spirit, you can encourage their spirit. You don't know this until tonight, but many times when I have to come up and preach when I don't feel like it, I prefer to sit at home like some of you choose to do sometimes. Doesn't mean I automatically want to come here with tons of joy.

Madeline, you know probably, it's like I have to drive 30 minutes, I want to just stay home. But once you fight that and you get here, when you let the love of God in your own heart and you minister to others, it encourages their spirit. So I'm encouraged as well.

You're encouraged. Once we take those thoughts captive, once we discipline ourselves and we do the right thing, what follows is abundant fruit. And it's hard, isn't it? Because we want the fruit now.

I want to feel like it's rain in the heavens, I can't wait to get to church, I'm excited. I can't wait. Sometimes it's like, oh, it's a Wednesday night.

Oh, man, maybe I shouldn't be too transparent. But you've been there, haven't you? We've all been there. I mean, come on, who are we fooling? Can you honor people who don't honor you? Can you keep focusing on the dream in the middle of the nightmare? Looking for acceptance from people who will always discourage you.

If you don't care who gets the credit, God will give you more influence and more joy. So I don't know where you're at tonight. I know there's lots of different people here, but don't become frustrated, become fervent.

We have a choice to make. And I know it's hard. I've talked to people in hard situations before.

We've all been there. It's hard because when you get frustrated, it's easy to stay there. It's hard to break out of that.

Frustrated, discouragement, it's like it fuels itself, doesn't it? It feeds itself. Give me more discouragement. Give me more frustration.

And you break out of that by being fervent towards the Lord, by reigniting the passion for Him. And it's as simple as taking those thoughts captive. I guarantee many people hearing this, whether now or later, could change their mood, could get that joy back, could get that focus back, could realign their life with God again if they would just say, you know what, I am taking these thoughts captive.

No more negative Nancy. No more critical Kathy. I don't know if you're here tonight.

I didn't do that on purpose. I'm not doing this anymore, Lord. This is not healthy.

It's not good. I'm taking my thoughts captive. And I'm fervently seeking You.

I've blown it. I blew it last week. I fell into sin.

But I'm not gonna let that keep me there. I'm not gonna stay captivated by sin. I'm gonna stay captivated by Your love.

Lord, see me through.