When God is in it, it is worthwhile. God is faithful. The strength of a church rests in the faithfulness of God. In our text, God was wanting to reinforce to His people that He was the one true God. What does it mean to be faithful. It means to be steadfast and true to his word. Unfaithful doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. An unfaithful person will be there for many things, but will fail you when you need it the most. The people of our world serve other gods. It is not service to Baal, but there are things that have taken God’s place: Money, Social Status, the pleasures of life. These things are not necessary sinful, but they take the place of the word of God as priority in life. Many of these pursuits seem to be a blessing: Money in the bank, fun times. But these things can fail over time. These things do not have the answer when the troubled times come. There is only one god who is faithful in times of the trials and storms of life. We can put our trust in God and He will not let us down. How is God faithful? Hebrews 11:6 tells us that we are saved and receive blessings from God through faith. We are not saved by our works, but by grace extended to us by a faithful God. There is a statement implied in this verse that He will reward those who diligently seek Him. God is faithful to save. If we want to be saved, we can be saved by seeking after Him. God does not reject anyone based on the criteria and categories that the world recognizes. God is faithful to save regardless of gender, color, background, or the nature of their past sin. In 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive them. This letter was written to the church, not unbelievers. Sometimes christians sin. We are supposed to live a holy life, but sometimes we fail. It may not be an obvious act. Perhaps it is in our speech or our attitude. IN these times, the devil will play on those to try to discourage us. But the text in 1st John tells us that if we ask for forgiveness, God is faithful to grant it. If we will open our heart to God, he is faithful to restore.

1 Corinthians 10:13 Is the familiar verse that declares the God will not tempt us with more than we can bear. Many people believe that people who are living for God do not face trials. That is in the case. God did not promise to block all our trials, but He did promise that He would not let too much be placed on us. If we are facing a trial, God’s faithful to provide a way to make a way through that trial. Sometimes God delivers instantly. Other times, God lets us go through the trial at His pace. This passage tells us that God is faithful to sustain and deliver through any trial.

When God is in it, it is worthwhile. God is faithful. The strength of a church rests in the faithfulness of God. In our text, God was wanting to reinforce to His people that He was the one true God. What does it mean to be faithful. It means to be steadfast and true to his word. Unfaithful doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work. An unfaithful person will be there for many things, but will fail you when you need it the most. The people of our world serve other gods. It is not service to Baal, but there are things that have taken God’s place: Money, Social Status, the pleasures of life. These things are not necessary sinful, but they take the place of the word of God as priority in life. Many of these pursuits seem to be a blessing: Money in the bank, fun times. But these things can fail over time. These things do not have the answer when the troubled times come. There is only one god who is faithful in times of the trials and storms of life. We can put our trust in God and He will not let us down. How is God faithful? Hebrews 11:6 tells us that we are saved and receive blessings from God through faith. We are not saved by our works, but by grace extended to us by a faithful God. There is a statement implied in this verse that He will reward those who diligently seek Him. God is faithful to save. If we want to be saved, we can be saved by seeking after Him. God does not reject anyone based on the criteria and categories that the world recognizes. God is faithful to save regardless of gender, color, background, or the nature of their past sin. In 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive them. This letter was written to the church, not unbelievers. Sometimes christians sin. We are supposed to live a holy life, but sometimes we fail. It may not be an obvious act. Perhaps it is in our speech or our attitude. IN these times, the devil will play on those to try to discourage us. But the text in 1st John tells us that if we ask for forgiveness, God is faithful to grant it. If we will open our heart to God, he is faithful to restore.

1 Corinthians 10:13 Is the familiar verse that declares the God will not tempt us with more than we can bear. Many people believe that people who are living for God do not face trials. That is in the case. God did not promise to block all our trials, but He did promise that He would not let too much be placed on us. If we are facing a trial, God’s faithful to provide a way to make a way through that trial. Sometimes God delivers instantly. Other times, God lets us go through the trial at His pace. This passage tells us that God is faithful to sustain and deliver through any trial.

The human mind is an amazing thing. It gives us the ability to think, reason, and even speak. It also controls bodily functions. It interprets inputs from the five senses and directs the physical movements so that we can walk, talk, stand and sit. Science has evolved to the point where it is now possible to manipulate physical objects by using brain power. By simply thinking, someone can move a wheelchair, or direct the flight of a remote control drone. The brain has enormous power. What we think affects us both physically and emotionally. Science tells us that 75-90% of illnesses that plague our life are a product of our thoughts. Toxic thought can cause cancer, diabetes, asthma, allergies and many more. We suffer from an epidemic of toxic thoughts that bring on illness and sickness in our body. Research shows that fear can trigger up to 1400 physiological reactions in our bodies. Conscious control of our thought life is the best way to control our brain. We control our thoughts, not the other way around. Too many people are tormented by their thoughts. Changing our way of thinking is essential if we want to cleanse our minds. Science has discovered all of this, but long before we even had a study of the human mind, the Bible laid all these concepts out for us. God is concerned about our thoughts, that is why He said “as a man thinketh, so is he.” It has been said, you are what you eat. The same can be said about thought. As we allow our thoughts to go along, that is what we will become. God stated this long before motivational speakers began talking about the power of positive thinking. The toxic thoughts that come can load us down with trouble. Toxic thoughts can be deadly. Our mind is a battle ground and we must learn to win the battle of our mind if we can hope to win the war of life. Toxic thoughts affect more than just us. Toxic thoughts depress us, disable us, and keep us from becoming what God wants. Those things often affect loved ones around us. The list of negative things we say about ourselves are endless: I’m a loser, I’m fat, I’m no good..... None of these things will bring us closer to people or to God. Toxic thinking can keep us from walking in what God has ALREADY given us. God promised a blessing to Jacob, but he did not walk in that until he wrestled with the Angel some 22 years after God had given it to him. Toxic thoughts cost us much. When we allow ourselves to be consumed with toxic thoughts, we can get into the habit of being in that rut. We must break out of that line of thinking by washing our mind with the word of God. When we read, when we hear the preached word of God, it reminds us what HE has said, not what the world says. He says we are worthy, we are accepted, we are redeemed. We must guard our minds and get rid of toxic thoughts.

The human mind is an amazing thing. It gives us the ability to think, reason, and even speak. It also controls bodily functions. It interprets inputs from the five senses and directs the physical movements so that we can walk, talk, stand and sit. Science has evolved to the point where it is now possible to manipulate physical objects by using brain power. By simply thinking, someone can move a wheelchair, or direct the flight of a remote control drone. The brain has enormous power. What we think affects us both physically and emotionally. Science tells us that 75-90% of illnesses that plague our life are a product of our thoughts. Toxic thought can cause cancer, diabetes, asthma, allergies and many more. We suffer from an epidemic of toxic thoughts that bring on illness and sickness in our body. Research shows that fear can trigger up to 1400 physiological reactions in our bodies. Conscious control of our thought life is the best way to control our brain. We control our thoughts, not the other way around. Too many people are tormented by their thoughts. Changing our way of thinking is essential if we want to cleanse our minds. Science has discovered all of this, but long before we even had a study of the human mind, the Bible laid all these concepts out for us. God is concerned about our thoughts, that is why He said “as a man thinketh, so is he.” It has been said, you are what you eat. The same can be said about thought. As we allow our thoughts to go along, that is what we will become. God stated this long before motivational speakers began talking about the power of positive thinking. The toxic thoughts that come can load us down with trouble. Toxic thoughts can be deadly. Our mind is a battle ground and we must learn to win the battle of our mind if we can hope to win the war of life. Toxic thoughts affect more than just us. Toxic thoughts depress us, disable us, and keep us from becoming what God wants. Those things often affect loved ones around us. The list of negative things we say about ourselves are endless: I’m a loser, I’m fat, I’m no good..... None of these things will bring us closer to people or to God. Toxic thinking can keep us from walking in what God has ALREADY given us. God promised a blessing to Jacob, but he did not walk in that until he wrestled with the Angel some 22 years after God had given it to him. Toxic thoughts cost us much. When we allow ourselves to be consumed with toxic thoughts, we can get into the habit of being in that rut. We must break out of that line of thinking by washing our mind with the word of God. When we read, when we hear the preached word of God, it reminds us what HE has said, not what the world says. He says we are worthy, we are accepted, we are redeemed. We must guard our minds and get rid of toxic thoughts.

When playing sports, we play to win. Too many teams play not to lose. When teams play not to lose, they lose. When we begin to play not to lose we become extra careful. It has been said that the prevent defense only prevents winning. Too often we play church that way. As long as we have a good service every once and awhile, that is okay. There is only one option; we have to win. We need a breakthrough. It is not time to operate out of a spirit of fear. It is time to throw the doors open and worship. The devil would like to convince us that we are past our prime. The devil would like to convince us that things have changed. We are not and they are not. We have to play to win and reach out for what God has for us. We have to quit playing not to lose.

When playing sports, we play to win. Too many teams play not to lose. When teams play not to lose, they lose. When we begin to play not to lose we become extra careful. It has been said that the prevent defense only prevents winning. Too often we play church that way. As long as we have a good service every once and awhile, that is okay. There is only one option; we have to win. We need a breakthrough. It is not time to operate out of a spirit of fear. It is time to throw the doors open and worship. The devil would like to convince us that we are past our prime. The devil would like to convince us that things have changed. We are not and they are not. We have to play to win and reach out for what God has for us. We have to quit playing not to lose.

It is not the amount of water that surrounds a vessel that will sink it. It is only the water that comes within that will cause a ship to sink. No matter how deep the ocean or how violent the storm, if they can keep the water out, the boat will not sink. The author of our text was a king. This man who had all the resources that can be imagined to bring to bear to a situation, had a heart that was so troubled. Even the best people go through hard times. No matter how David tried to look at himself, it could not change what he felt in his heart. There was a hole in David’s heart that was allowing the waters of life to come in and sink him. He had done all the things that were required. He was in church and had said and done all the things that were required, but still had a heavy heart. The bible does not tell us why, but David was in deep water and he could not stop the flow of water pouring in. But instead of letting his heart affect his head, he let his head affect his heart. He remembered who he was: He was a child of God! He remembered that God had put that crown on his head. David did not let his problem or what he had gone trough define him. He did not let it make him forget what God had done for him. There comes a time when we have to remember some things.

It is not the amount of water that surrounds a vessel that will sink it. It is only the water that comes within that will cause a ship to sink. No matter how deep the ocean or how violent the storm, if they can keep the water out, the boat will not sink. The author of our text was a king. This man who had all the resources that can be imagined to bring to bear to a situation, had a heart that was so troubled. Even the best people go through hard times. No matter how David tried to look at himself, it could not change what he felt in his heart. There was a hole in David’s heart that was allowing the waters of life to come in and sink him. He had done all the things that were required. He was in church and had said and done all the things that were required, but still had a heavy heart. The bible does not tell us why, but David was in deep water and he could not stop the flow of water pouring in. But instead of letting his heart affect his head, he let his head affect his heart. He remembered who he was: He was a child of God! He remembered that God had put that crown on his head. David did not let his problem or what he had gone trough define him. He did not let it make him forget what God had done for him. There comes a time when we have to remember some things.

Each day that we live there are things that seep in that are toxic to our souls. Scientists tell us that our physical bodies also encounter toxins daily. Fortunately God made us in a way that our bodies can cleanse itself of many of these things. Spiritually, these things creep in slowly: Attitudes, ideas, thoughts and philosophies that are counter to the things that we have been taught. These things that creep in over time are more dangerous than the big things that come against us. No one backslides suddenly. The temperature of the soul turns cold slowly and incrementally over time. Just as we monitor our physical bodies for exposure to things that are bad, we must also guard our soul against such attacks. In order to do this, we have to recognize what it is that is attacking us. We cannot change what we do not identify. Too often we live in a state of denial. We can see things in other’s lives, but are myopic about things that are present in our own lives. If we are going to detox, we have to find where the toxins are coming from in our own lives. We know something is wrong. We may even be have a clue about the source, but too often we deny it’s existence. Because of this, many people resign themselves to a level of struggle in an area of our lives. It could be anger, lust, discontent, but we explain it away as just the way we are. In reality those things are what is polluting our spiritual self. All of us have some area of life in which we struggle, but we often refuse to admit it. The word detox does not appear in the bible, but words like cleanse, purge, and wash appear often. The first toxin that affects us is sin. None of us are free from the temptation of sin. The culture in which we live, is trying desperately to define away sin. Our culture had evolved to the point where we no longer define what God called sin as sin. Over time, we have been conditioned to accept the sin of the world as normal. Compromising our live to conform with the standards of the world is not a wise thing to do. We have somehow categorized sin to minimize it’s effect on our life. God has not changed the categories. The only remedy for sin is repentance. Every one of us need to take a look around our homes, our families and our lives and see what has seeped in. The number one culprit to a spiritual cleansing is self deception. Pride is what keeps us from admitting that which we know to be true. Pride in itself is not bad, but it can take turn that takes. When these things creep in over time, we learn to live with it. We see the problem through a distorted lens. We adjust the way we see things to compensate

Each day that we live there are things that seep in that are toxic to our souls. Scientists tell us that our physical bodies also encounter toxins daily. Fortunately God made us in a way that our bodies can cleanse itself of many of these things. Spiritually, these things creep in slowly: Attitudes, ideas, thoughts and philosophies that are counter to the things that we have been taught. These things that creep in over time are more dangerous than the big things that come against us. No one backslides suddenly. The temperature of the soul turns cold slowly and incrementally over time. Just as we monitor our physical bodies for exposure to things that are bad, we must also guard our soul against such attacks. In order to do this, we have to recognize what it is that is attacking us. We cannot change what we do not identify. Too often we live in a state of denial. We can see things in other’s lives, but are myopic about things that are present in our own lives. If we are going to detox, we have to find where the toxins are coming from in our own lives. We know something is wrong. We may even be have a clue about the source, but too often we deny it’s existence. Because of this, many people resign themselves to a level of struggle in an area of our lives. It could be anger, lust, discontent, but we explain it away as just the way we are. In reality those things are what is polluting our spiritual self. All of us have some area of life in which we struggle, but we often refuse to admit it. The word detox does not appear in the bible, but words like cleanse, purge, and wash appear often. The first toxin that affects us is sin. None of us are free from the temptation of sin. The culture in which we live, is trying desperately to define away sin. Our culture had evolved to the point where we no longer define what God called sin as sin. Over time, we have been conditioned to accept the sin of the world as normal. Compromising our live to conform with the standards of the world is not a wise thing to do. We have somehow categorized sin to minimize it’s effect on our life. God has not changed the categories. The only remedy for sin is repentance. Every one of us need to take a look around our homes, our families and our lives and see what has seeped in. The number one culprit to a spiritual cleansing is self deception. Pride is what keeps us from admitting that which we know to be true. Pride in itself is not bad, but it can take turn that takes. When these things creep in over time, we learn to live with it. We see the problem through a distorted lens. We adjust the way we see things to compensate