Words are powerful. Words become the things that bind us, or that loose us in life. Words have the ability to inspire or discourage. One cord can make a difference in a person's life. A word can change everything. In our text, we find the power of a word. One word changes a story of dispare and loss to one of hope and encouragement. Jonah was in a wrenched condition that is uncompromisable to us. Jonah's situation was one of his own making. Things could not have looked any bleaker for Jonah as he sat in the belly of the great fish. It is a word than confuses the Devil and can silence the voice of our enemy. Whatever our current situation, this one word can change that situation from destruction to victory. The word that can transform our life is: YET. Jonah said I am cut off from God, YET I will look toward His holy temple." That word changes the story and moves it in a new direction. That one word salved his life and lifted him up from the bottom. As simple as it may sound, it is the answer to the problems we find in life. The things that confuse us, baffle us and leave us confounded are answered by Yet. I don't know how to respond, yet, but there IS a response and it will come in time. We may be in trouble today YET our hope is in the Lord. Over our troubles today, we speak a word: Yet. Yet is a word of expectation. it is one of anticipation. We may be down now, but we will get up again. I am not healed...Yet. I am not over it...Yet. I am not where I need to be...Yet. That one word can silence the devil's minions that tell us that we are lost forever. They will say that there is no way up, no way out, and we simply say we just have not found the way up or out...yet. Speak it over our hurts, our shortcomings, our confusion, and our fears. God has a hope for all of us. When we are in over our head, there is yet a word that can speak into our situation. That is the power of a word.

Words are powerful. Words become the things that bind us, or that loose us in life. Words have the ability to inspire or discourage. One cord can make a difference in a person's life. A word can change everything. In our text, we find the power of a word. One word changes a story of dispare and loss to one of hope and encouragement. Jonah was in a wrenched condition that is uncompromisable to us. Jonah's situation was one of his own making. Things could not have looked any bleaker for Jonah as he sat in the belly of the great fish. It is a word than confuses the Devil and can silence the voice of our enemy. Whatever our current situation, this one word can change that situation from destruction to victory. The word that can transform our life is: YET. Jonah said I am cut off from God, YET I will look toward His holy temple." That word changes the story and moves it in a new direction. That one word salved his life and lifted him up from the bottom. As simple as it may sound, it is the answer to the problems we find in life. The things that confuse us, baffle us and leave us confounded are answered by Yet. I don't know how to respond, yet, but there IS a response and it will come in time. We may be in trouble today YET our hope is in the Lord. Over our troubles today, we speak a word: Yet. Yet is a word of expectation. it is one of anticipation. We may be down now, but we will get up again. I am not healed...Yet. I am not over it...Yet. I am not where I need to be...Yet. That one word can silence the devil's minions that tell us that we are lost forever. They will say that there is no way up, no way out, and we simply say we just have not found the way up or out...yet. Speak it over our hurts, our shortcomings, our confusion, and our fears. God has a hope for all of us. When we are in over our head, there is yet a word that can speak into our situation. That is the power of a word.

The key to life is not praying the loudest, but relying on God when things are tough. Life has a way of bringing things that challenge us. Bro. Hughes refers to these problems or painful situations as the givens of life. We can pray for things to be different, but they won't. It does not matter how much we pray, there are some things that will just not move. Learning how to live when things are not ideal is essential because life is seldom ideal. When we were young, we all had an idea of how life would work out, but few of us expected the twists and turns in life that would come along. If we were to write the script of our life, most of our lives would be quite different, but we don’t get to write the script, God does. We pray to let God use us, but sometimes, letting God use is can cause us to go through an uncomfortable time. God has a way of giving us things that we do not want, but that we desperately need. We just do not see that at the time we are going through it. Often times what God gives, we do not want. He gives burdens that bless. He gives pain that empowers and produces in our life. He gives adversity that will advance our life. Often we confuse these troubling times as the work of the devil. Some times we can lose faith in prayer because we do not recognize God's answer to us. We ask for strength and God gives us something to strengthen us. We pray for wisdom, and God gives us a challenge to that produces wisdom. We pray for courage, and God presents us an opportunity to be brave. So it was with Paul that God gave him an unwanted gift: A thorn in his side. It was painful. So deep was the hurt that it send him to his knees. He pled for God to relieve him of it, but God chose to let it remain. Dealing with God's given is not always easy. Paul learned something from this given from which we can learn also. First, he regarded it as a challenge given to him by God, not the devil. Even if it is from the devil, it can only enter our life without the consent of God. Paul allowed his pain to bring him nearer to God rather than drive him away from God. We have a choice; We can chose to be bitter, or get better. Whatever is going on in our life, God has a reason for it, and if God has a reason for it, we need to see I through so that His purpose is served. Paul admitted that he needed it. He needed correction. He needed discipline. Paul learned what it was in him that needed to be disciplined. We all have blind spots about things in our selves. So God gives things that will reveal those blind spots. This makes us more dependent upon Him and less dependent upon ourselves. What Paul learned tempered him. Could it be that we are experiencing some of the givens in our life are there to teach us to be more graceful and kind to others? The reason we have to go through some of the things in our life, is because there are still edges in our life that God needs to knock off in order to make us what He wants us to be. We do not read in the bible or in history that God ever removed that thorn, but we never hear Paul mention it again. Rather, Paul says that he glories in his infirmities. He accepted it as God's work in his life. God's givens are not always what we want, but they are what we need.

The key to life is not praying the loudest, but relying on God when things are tough. Life has a way of bringing things that challenge us. Bro. Hughes refers to these problems or painful situations as the givens of life. We can pray for things to be different, but they won't. It does not matter how much we pray, there are some things that will just not move. Learning how to live when things are not ideal is essential because life is seldom ideal. When we were young, we all had an idea of how life would work out, but few of us expected the twists and turns in life that would come along. If we were to write the script of our life, most of our lives would be quite different, but we don’t get to write the script, God does. We pray to let God use us, but sometimes, letting God use is can cause us to go through an uncomfortable time. God has a way of giving us things that we do not want, but that we desperately need. We just do not see that at the time we are going through it. Often times what God gives, we do not want. He gives burdens that bless. He gives pain that empowers and produces in our life. He gives adversity that will advance our life. Often we confuse these troubling times as the work of the devil. Some times we can lose faith in prayer because we do not recognize God's answer to us. We ask for strength and God gives us something to strengthen us. We pray for wisdom, and God gives us a challenge to that produces wisdom. We pray for courage, and God presents us an opportunity to be brave. So it was with Paul that God gave him an unwanted gift: A thorn in his side. It was painful. So deep was the hurt that it send him to his knees. He pled for God to relieve him of it, but God chose to let it remain. Dealing with God's given is not always easy. Paul learned something from this given from which we can learn also. First, he regarded it as a challenge given to him by God, not the devil. Even if it is from the devil, it can only enter our life without the consent of God. Paul allowed his pain to bring him nearer to God rather than drive him away from God. We have a choice; We can chose to be bitter, or get better. Whatever is going on in our life, God has a reason for it, and if God has a reason for it, we need to see I through so that His purpose is served. Paul admitted that he needed it. He needed correction. He needed discipline. Paul learned what it was in him that needed to be disciplined. We all have blind spots about things in our selves. So God gives things that will reveal those blind spots. This makes us more dependent upon Him and less dependent upon ourselves. What Paul learned tempered him. Could it be that we are experiencing some of the givens in our life are there to teach us to be more graceful and kind to others? The reason we have to go through some of the things in our life, is because there are still edges in our life that God needs to knock off in order to make us what He wants us to be. We do not read in the bible or in history that God ever removed that thorn, but we never hear Paul mention it again. Rather, Paul says that he glories in his infirmities. He accepted it as God's work in his life. God's givens are not always what we want, but they are what we need.

The Costa Concordia had made her voyage in the Mediterranean Sea many times, but on this particular occasion, she ran aground due to an unauthorized course change made in the navigational system. She ran aground in familiar waters, because she deviated from the approved coarse. All indications were that the captain changed the ship’s course to bring it closer into the coast in order to show of his skill, or to provide a better view to the passengers. When she hit the reef, the passengers were assured that it was nothing but a minor electrical problem. It was a full hour before measures were taken to safeguard the passengers. Too often we live in troubled waters, and we do not take measures to assure our safety. This morning, Bro. Hughes comes as a messenger to someone who may not be in trouble but the course they are navigating is treacherous. In our text the ship Paul was in ran aground and began to break apart. They lost all their cargo. Like the captain of the Concordia, the captain of Paul's boat ignored good advice. Paul's boat ran into trouble at the coming together of two different seas. Two different currents pushing in different directions caused it to wreck. The storm added to the danger, but the real problem was the opposing forces that caused the chaos. What brought them to that place? Not only were they dealing with the storm on the surface, they also had to deal with the currents under the surface that had even a greater affect on their journey. What brought them into troubled waters in the first place? Bro. Hughes identifies three things that led Paul’s ill fated voyage into troubled waters. Before they even left port, Paul advised the captain of the dangers ahead, but the captain did not heed the warning. The captain chose to ignore the advise of the preacher in favor of his desire to explore. This discontented spirit put the ship and all aboard into danger. The captain's eyes were not on the situation, but on where he wanted to be. He risk his life, his ship and the lives of all aboard because of a discontented spirit. It is extremely important to be content with what we have. This discontented spirit led them into troubled waters. Not only were they in discontent, but they also misjudged their circumstances. They made the decision to leave port because it was not suited to them. They misjudged the winds. When they started out they were headed in one direction, but by the time we find them in our text, they were 500 miles off course. The misjudgments in life can cause people to miss the signs of a journey going off course and into danger. When we only hear what we want to hear, we are certainly headed into troubled waters. If we get to the point where the man of God or God Himself speaks a word of warning to us and we ignore it, we are surely headed for troubled waters. Finally, when the storm began to increase, the captain surely tried to outrun it. The real problem for those headed into troubled waters, is that they think they can outrun their problems. There are some things that we cannot out run. We cannot outrun poor decisions. Why try to outrun it? Why not go back to a safe place? We all meet with cross currents in life. When those cross currents are the result of our own poor decisions, it is time to take a step back and change coarse. It is time to look inside to find the source of the problem. It is time to exercise the spirit of discontent, to not misjudge the signs of trouble and to listen to the warnings from the man of God.

The Costa Concordia had made her voyage in the Mediterranean Sea many times, but on this particular occasion, she ran aground due to an unauthorized course change made in the navigational system. She ran aground in familiar waters, because she deviated from the approved coarse. All indications were that the captain changed the ship’s course to bring it closer into the coast in order to show of his skill, or to provide a better view to the passengers. When she hit the reef, the passengers were assured that it was nothing but a minor electrical problem. It was a full hour before measures were taken to safeguard the passengers. Too often we live in troubled waters, and we do not take measures to assure our safety. This morning, Bro. Hughes comes as a messenger to someone who may not be in trouble but the course they are navigating is treacherous. In our text the ship Paul was in ran aground and began to break apart. They lost all their cargo. Like the captain of the Concordia, the captain of Paul's boat ignored good advice. Paul's boat ran into trouble at the coming together of two different seas. Two different currents pushing in different directions caused it to wreck. The storm added to the danger, but the real problem was the opposing forces that caused the chaos. What brought them to that place? Not only were they dealing with the storm on the surface, they also had to deal with the currents under the surface that had even a greater affect on their journey. What brought them into troubled waters in the first place? Bro. Hughes identifies three things that led Paul’s ill fated voyage into troubled waters. Before they even left port, Paul advised the captain of the dangers ahead, but the captain did not heed the warning. The captain chose to ignore the advise of the preacher in favor of his desire to explore. This discontented spirit put the ship and all aboard into danger. The captain's eyes were not on the situation, but on where he wanted to be. He risk his life, his ship and the lives of all aboard because of a discontented spirit. It is extremely important to be content with what we have. This discontented spirit led them into troubled waters. Not only were they in discontent, but they also misjudged their circumstances. They made the decision to leave port because it was not suited to them. They misjudged the winds. When they started out they were headed in one direction, but by the time we find them in our text, they were 500 miles off course. The misjudgments in life can cause people to miss the signs of a journey going off course and into danger. When we only hear what we want to hear, we are certainly headed into troubled waters. If we get to the point where the man of God or God Himself speaks a word of warning to us and we ignore it, we are surely headed for troubled waters. Finally, when the storm began to increase, the captain surely tried to outrun it. The real problem for those headed into troubled waters, is that they think they can outrun their problems. There are some things that we cannot out run. We cannot outrun poor decisions. Why try to outrun it? Why not go back to a safe place? We all meet with cross currents in life. When those cross currents are the result of our own poor decisions, it is time to take a step back and change coarse. It is time to look inside to find the source of the problem. It is time to exercise the spirit of discontent, to not misjudge the signs of trouble and to listen to the warnings from the man of God.

The book of Ephesians is a continual flow of wisdom. Paul alludes in his writing that life is a journey. Life requires a certain carefulness in navigating this journey. In our text, he admonishes us to walk circumspectly. That means that we must be careful where and how we step. There are dangers that can soil life. Paul writing to the first century church reveals that the problems that we face today are not new, but have been around for a long time. One of the spirits he had to deal with was: Since God's grace covers all, there is little need to be careful about failure. Paul begins to address this attitude in our text. If we are going to avoid the land mines of life, there must be a certain cautiousness

about life. In the journey of life there are currents, and winds that blow, and storms that come up that must be accounted for. Life is either ruled by the rudder, or ruined by the rocks. The rudder directs the course of the boat. Either there is a directing force in life, or life is at the mercy of the storm and risk being ruined on the rocks.

Paul uses the word walk to describe how we are to conduct ourselves. It refers to the regulation of one's life; to live in a certain way. Paul suggests that we do not simply wander through life, but move with purpose. The world is full of people who want the blessings of God, but they do not want to live the way that will produce the blessings of God. We cannot truly enjoy the promises of God without embracing the precepts that facilitate those promises. There are many people who love talk about the word, but they do not live it. Paul points to a principle; the journey of life is treacherous, and it requires navigating in a certain way. Paul throughout all his writing in the new testament, uses the word WALK to living a life in a particular way. There ware four things that Paul was trying to communicate to us. First: To safely navigate life, we will need a lot of wisdom. WE need to walk wisely, talk wisely, think wisely and act wisely. If we do not employ wisdom, we will find problems. Wisdom is not craftiness and cunning. It is not shrewdness. Many people who exhibit these traits, often find their life a wreck. The kind of wisdom that Paul means is getting ahold of something divine. It is an acquaintance with a divine plan. It is knowledge which makes possible the skillful performance of life. Wisdom is dependent upon knowing Christ; Not knowing about Christ, but knowing Him. Wisdom has to do with the corresponding of our behavior and temper with eternal plans. We need wisdom. The only way to get this wisdom is to sped time with Jesus. Secondly safely navigating life requires limits. Paul said walk according to the rule. The Greek word rule is from the same word that gives us standards. We must have some kind of rules in our life. The word standard is not a graceless word. The world says that it doesn't matter how we life, that God's grace covers all. Paul specifically tells us to walk by a particular rule. There is something to the principle of limits and boundaries. We must all have limits in life. A life without standards is a ruined life. There must be things in our lives that are off limits. Boundaries are set by God's principles for our life. We need boundaries that are not determined by the situations we find our selves. We must live and walk within the lines. The third thing that is required is balance. Paul says to walk worthy. It is that balancing of life that is not too far to one side or the other. It speaks to a live of living consistantly. Finally living life requires vision. Driving teachers tell their students to fix their gaze on a point well ahead of the front of the car. If all we do is look just a few feet ahead, it will be too easy to run into something. Living life successfully requires looking ahead and anticipating hazards that appear on the horizon.

If we are going to make it in life, it will take wisdom, limits, balance and vision.

The book of Ephesians is a continual flow of wisdom. Paul alludes in his writing that life is a journey. Life requires a certain carefulness in navigating this journey. In our text, he admonishes us to walk circumspectly. That means that we must be careful where and how we step. There are dangers that can soil life. Paul writing to the first century church reveals that the problems that we face today are not new, but have been around for a long time. One of the spirits he had to deal with was: Since God's grace covers all, there is little need to be careful about failure. Paul begins to address this attitude in our text. If we are going to avoid the land mines of life, there must be a certain cautiousness

about life. In the journey of life there are currents, and winds that blow, and storms that come up that must be accounted for. Life is either ruled by the rudder, or ruined by the rocks. The rudder directs the course of the boat. Either there is a directing force in life, or life is at the mercy of the storm and risk being ruined on the rocks.

Paul uses the word walk to describe how we are to conduct ourselves. It refers to the regulation of one's life; to live in a certain way. Paul suggests that we do not simply wander through life, but move with purpose. The world is full of people who want the blessings of God, but they do not want to live the way that will produce the blessings of God. We cannot truly enjoy the promises of God without embracing the precepts that facilitate those promises. There are many people who love talk about the word, but they do not live it. Paul points to a principle; the journey of life is treacherous, and it requires navigating in a certain way. Paul throughout all his writing in the new testament, uses the word WALK to living a life in a particular way. There ware four things that Paul was trying to communicate to us. First: To safely navigate life, we will need a lot of wisdom. WE need to walk wisely, talk wisely, think wisely and act wisely. If we do not employ wisdom, we will find problems. Wisdom is not craftiness and cunning. It is not shrewdness. Many people who exhibit these traits, often find their life a wreck. The kind of wisdom that Paul means is getting ahold of something divine. It is an acquaintance with a divine plan. It is knowledge which makes possible the skillful performance of life. Wisdom is dependent upon knowing Christ; Not knowing about Christ, but knowing Him. Wisdom has to do with the corresponding of our behavior and temper with eternal plans. We need wisdom. The only way to get this wisdom is to sped time with Jesus. Secondly safely navigating life requires limits. Paul said walk according to the rule. The Greek word rule is from the same word that gives us standards. We must have some kind of rules in our life. The word standard is not a graceless word. The world says that it doesn't matter how we life, that God's grace covers all. Paul specifically tells us to walk by a particular rule. There is something to the principle of limits and boundaries. We must all have limits in life. A life without standards is a ruined life. There must be things in our lives that are off limits. Boundaries are set by God's principles for our life. We need boundaries that are not determined by the situations we find our selves. We must live and walk within the lines. The third thing that is required is balance. Paul says to walk worthy. It is that balancing of life that is not too far to one side or the other. It speaks to a live of living consistantly. Finally living life requires vision. Driving teachers tell their students to fix their gaze on a point well ahead of the front of the car. If all we do is look just a few feet ahead, it will be too easy to run into something. Living life successfully requires looking ahead and anticipating hazards that appear on the horizon.

If we are going to make it in life, it will take wisdom, limits, balance and vision.

There exists in the power of the mind to either receive and recognize or fail to recognize the many things that God provides for us on a daily basis. Attitude is everything. We can never affect a positive outcome, with a negative attitude. The way in which we choose to think determines the outcome in any situation. If we take the time to consider and observe; we will find that over and over God has surrounded us with things to encourage, help and strengthen us. If we give into the feeling that the world is against us, we will be on the slippery slope to defeat. Thinking in the right frame of mind is essential to dealing with situations. The state of mind (heart) will have a powerful influence in our life. It can enlighten or blind us. In our text, we see that they had eyes and ears, but they could not see and hear. Even though God was speaking to them, they could not hear it. Israel had failed in an elementary way. God sent a prophet to speak to them about their transgression. This rebuke was not about their forgetfulness (which was their normal fault), but it was about their disconnection to the everyday things that God was doing for their benefit. They failed to give Him reverence and recognize Him for who He was. A person who fails to be thankful is a dangerous person to be around. Their unthankfulness makes them blind. It makes them insensitive to the daily things that God does. Jeremiah reminds Israel and us, that God is still in place and all powerful. Evidence is all around us that God cares, and cares very much for all of us. He reminds isareal of three things . The first is the boundary of the sea. Sand is unstable and will fall through our hands, but God uses this unstable material to form a boundary for the sea that it cannot go past. It reminds us that God not only puts a limit on the sea, but limits on our trials and troubles. God knows how much we can bear, and will give us no more than that. He keeps in check the destructive forces in life. Secondly, Jeremiah considers the falling rain. It cleanses, it replenishes what the sun had dried up. How do the clouds hold up all this moisture? Water weighs so much, yet God is able to elevate it into the sky and hold it there until it can fall where He decides it should. Finally Jeremiah points out the return of the harvest every year. Consistently the seed produces a crop every year. The miracle of life takes place every year from the humble seed. From something so small, such a great yield of crop to sustain God's people. God takes a little, and produces a lot. A little bit of praise, placed in God's hand can yield a great harvest. What an amazing thing to observe the everyday gifts of God.

There exists in the power of the mind to either receive and recognize or fail to recognize the many things that God provides for us on a daily basis. Attitude is everything. We can never affect a positive outcome, with a negative attitude. The way in which we choose to think determines the outcome in any situation. If we take the time to consider and observe; we will find that over and over God has surrounded us with things to encourage, help and strengthen us. If we give into the feeling that the world is against us, we will be on the slippery slope to defeat. Thinking in the right frame of mind is essential to dealing with situations. The state of mind (heart) will have a powerful influence in our life. It can enlighten or blind us. In our text, we see that they had eyes and ears, but they could not see and hear. Even though God was speaking to them, they could not hear it. Israel had failed in an elementary way. God sent a prophet to speak to them about their transgression. This rebuke was not about their forgetfulness (which was their normal fault), but it was about their disconnection to the everyday things that God was doing for their benefit. They failed to give Him reverence and recognize Him for who He was. A person who fails to be thankful is a dangerous person to be around. Their unthankfulness makes them blind. It makes them insensitive to the daily things that God does. Jeremiah reminds Israel and us, that God is still in place and all powerful. Evidence is all around us that God cares, and cares very much for all of us. He reminds isareal of three things . The first is the boundary of the sea. Sand is unstable and will fall through our hands, but God uses this unstable material to form a boundary for the sea that it cannot go past. It reminds us that God not only puts a limit on the sea, but limits on our trials and troubles. God knows how much we can bear, and will give us no more than that. He keeps in check the destructive forces in life. Secondly, Jeremiah considers the falling rain. It cleanses, it replenishes what the sun had dried up. How do the clouds hold up all this moisture? Water weighs so much, yet God is able to elevate it into the sky and hold it there until it can fall where He decides it should. Finally Jeremiah points out the return of the harvest every year. Consistently the seed produces a crop every year. The miracle of life takes place every year from the humble seed. From something so small, such a great yield of crop to sustain God's people. God takes a little, and produces a lot. A little bit of praise, placed in God's hand can yield a great harvest. What an amazing thing to observe the everyday gifts of God.