Our text is written from the perspective of having been there and come out. Asaph has come through a great battle and difficult waters. He has navigated some treacherous things and survived. He overcame and in overcoming he learned somethings about life's journey. Asaph was one of David's three chief musicians. He was a man who was gifted and spiritual. In spite of his gifts and spiritual understandings, he found himself struggling with things oin life that he did not understand. Life was filled with many questions and few answers. He observed that the wicked prospered, but the righteous struggled. In his mind there was no sense of justice. He came to the point in life where he ask the simple question: How can this be? Sometimes it is hard to balance the facts of life with the faith we are challenged to hold on to. It drew him into the arena of doubt. Doubt is faith that has gone sick. It is the power to believe the negative rather than the positive. Doubt is a slippery slope. It starts out as a shallow slope, but the further down we go down the path, the steeper it becomes to the point that we begin to lose our footing before we are aware of what is happening. Asaph got to the point where he realized that he couldn't talk to anyone about his doubts for fear of dragging others down with him. Even though his faith was sick and he was weakened, he did not let go and continued to fight against his decent. Asaph said he had almost slipped until he went into the sanctuary of God. The bible says he went, not he came. Went is purposeful while came is somewhat arbitrary. He went to the house of God to bring his troubles. There were three things that happens when he went to the sanctuary. Asaph regained his spiritual balance. He was slipping down the slope of doubt, but he was able to gain his footing and keep his spiritual balance. Asaph found that when he went to the sanctuary, it lifted his point of view. When we look at things from an earthly perspective, we do not see the full picture. From an Earthly perspective, problems seem insurmountable, but from a heavenly perspective, things look very different. From a heavenly perspective, many of the problems we face in life are insignificant. In the sanctuary, we become more aware of our destiny than our circumstances. Circumstances are like the seasons, they change. Life is full of hills and valleys. If we base life on circumstances, we will be pinned into a corner and block our mind from thinking that there is any hope. Circumstances are not what should drive life, but our destiny. The tide will turn. The storm will pass. It may be dark now, but morning is coming. In the house of God, circumstances fade, and we get a glimpse of our destiny. When faith get sick, we need to go to the house of God.

Our text is written from the perspective of having been there and come out. Asaph has come through a great battle and difficult waters. He has navigated some treacherous things and survived. He overcame and in overcoming he learned somethings about life's journey. Asaph was one of David's three chief musicians. He was a man who was gifted and spiritual. In spite of his gifts and spiritual understandings, he found himself struggling with things oin life that he did not understand. Life was filled with many questions and few answers. He observed that the wicked prospered, but the righteous struggled. In his mind there was no sense of justice. He came to the point in life where he ask the simple question: How can this be? Sometimes it is hard to balance the facts of life with the faith we are challenged to hold on to. It drew him into the arena of doubt. Doubt is faith that has gone sick. It is the power to believe the negative rather than the positive. Doubt is a slippery slope. It starts out as a shallow slope, but the further down we go down the path, the steeper it becomes to the point that we begin to lose our footing before we are aware of what is happening. Asaph got to the point where he realized that he couldn't talk to anyone about his doubts for fear of dragging others down with him. Even though his faith was sick and he was weakened, he did not let go and continued to fight against his decent. Asaph said he had almost slipped until he went into the sanctuary of God. The bible says he went, not he came. Went is purposeful while came is somewhat arbitrary. He went to the house of God to bring his troubles. There were three things that happens when he went to the sanctuary. Asaph regained his spiritual balance. He was slipping down the slope of doubt, but he was able to gain his footing and keep his spiritual balance. Asaph found that when he went to the sanctuary, it lifted his point of view. When we look at things from an earthly perspective, we do not see the full picture. From an Earthly perspective, problems seem insurmountable, but from a heavenly perspective, things look very different. From a heavenly perspective, many of the problems we face in life are insignificant. In the sanctuary, we become more aware of our destiny than our circumstances. Circumstances are like the seasons, they change. Life is full of hills and valleys. If we base life on circumstances, we will be pinned into a corner and block our mind from thinking that there is any hope. Circumstances are not what should drive life, but our destiny. The tide will turn. The storm will pass. It may be dark now, but morning is coming. In the house of God, circumstances fade, and we get a glimpse of our destiny. When faith get sick, we need to go to the house of God.

During the time that our text was written there were some 60,000 slaves in the Roman empire. Our text is a letter written by Paul to his friend Philemon about one of his slaves who had escaped and was captured. Paul met the runaway slave while in prision, and his letter to Philemon is one that asks that Onisimus be accepted back not as a slave, but as a converted child of God. Paul could have, because of who he was, ordered Philemon, but rather the letter uses language that was closer to begging. Paul offered Philemon an option. Many times we find our self in situations where we do not seem to have any options. The truth is that we always have options. When we can only see our problems, it can be difficult to see what those options are. None of us are locked into doing what seems to be the only course of action. While we may be blocked, we are not completely blocked. No matter what we face, God has provided a way out. Sometimes our problems are really God's doorway to get us to where He needs us to be. No matter what may be going on in our life, there is a love of God that is there to see us through. Often what God wants to do in our life is less than what He gets to do in our life because of the choices we make. If we will give God the option, he will bless us beyond our wildest dreams. If we would simply give Him the chance, He will bless us.

During the time that our text was written there were some 60,000 slaves in the Roman empire. Our text is a letter written by Paul to his friend Philemon about one of his slaves who had escaped and was captured. Paul met the runaway slave while in prision, and his letter to Philemon is one that asks that Onisimus be accepted back not as a slave, but as a converted child of God. Paul could have, because of who he was, ordered Philemon, but rather the letter uses language that was closer to begging. Paul offered Philemon an option. Many times we find our self in situations where we do not seem to have any options. The truth is that we always have options. When we can only see our problems, it can be difficult to see what those options are. None of us are locked into doing what seems to be the only course of action. While we may be blocked, we are not completely blocked. No matter what we face, God has provided a way out. Sometimes our problems are really God's doorway to get us to where He needs us to be. No matter what may be going on in our life, there is a love of God that is there to see us through. Often what God wants to do in our life is less than what He gets to do in our life because of the choices we make. If we will give God the option, he will bless us beyond our wildest dreams. If we would simply give Him the chance, He will bless us.

What God have us does not protect us from battle, but serves to protect us IN battle. Living for God does not exempt us from battles, but He has given us the tools that are sufficient to bear every attack that the enemy may bring. When we equip our selves in the whole armor of God we are unbeatable. Over the past several Wednesdays, we have talked about the various pieces of armor that God has provided. Tonight we take up the final element of God's armor: Praying Always. Prayer is essential. Without prayer, we cannot move forward in life. Prayer is often done on the knees. We can equate the protection of prayer to protecting the knees. The knee is one of the most complex joints in the body and carry the weight of the body. The knees carry a lot of weight an are integral to our moving about. The knees carry a lot of weight in the physical world, and prayer is the only thing that will sustain us in the spiritual life. When burdens begin to pile on spiritually, prayer is essential to carry that load. The knees provide stable support for the body. So does prayer provide stability in the spiritual realm. Paul concludes his list of armor with the spirit of prayer. The devil fears the weakest person who still has the power to pray.

Paul gives a dissected example of prayer. He begins with always. Prayer should be a regular occurrence in life. There is no season of life that should be with out the protection of prayer: Rich or poor, adversity or prosperity, storm or calm, up or down; every circumstance in life needs to be covers by prayer. When we least want to pray, is when we should be praying the most. Prayer is not an escape route, it is something that must be done always. Paul says to pray always with ALL prayer: silent prayer, long prayers, short prayers, thought out prayers, and quick prayers. There are many different kinds of prayer, and all are important. Paul tell us that we must pray in the Spirit. He says watching. Many pray with their eyes closed. We must keep our spiritual eyes open when we pray and open ourselves honestly to the Lord. Eyes that are open in prayer

What God have us does not protect us from battle, but serves to protect us IN battle. Living for God does not exempt us from battles, but He has given us the tools that are sufficient to bear every attack that the enemy may bring. When we equip our selves in the whole armor of God we are unbeatable. Over the past several Wednesdays, we have talked about the various pieces of armor that God has provided. Tonight we take up the final element of God's armor: Praying Always. Prayer is essential. Without prayer, we cannot move forward in life. Prayer is often done on the knees. We can equate the protection of prayer to protecting the knees. The knee is one of the most complex joints in the body and carry the weight of the body. The knees carry a lot of weight an are integral to our moving about. The knees carry a lot of weight in the physical world, and prayer is the only thing that will sustain us in the spiritual life. When burdens begin to pile on spiritually, prayer is essential to carry that load. The knees provide stable support for the body. So does prayer provide stability in the spiritual realm. Paul concludes his list of armor with the spirit of prayer. The devil fears the weakest person who still has the power to pray.

Paul gives a dissected example of prayer. He begins with always. Prayer should be a regular occurrence in life. There is no season of life that should be with out the protection of prayer: Rich or poor, adversity or prosperity, storm or calm, up or down; every circumstance in life needs to be covers by prayer. When we least want to pray, is when we should be praying the most. Prayer is not an escape route, it is something that must be done always. Paul says to pray always with ALL prayer: silent prayer, long prayers, short prayers, thought out prayers, and quick prayers. There are many different kinds of prayer, and all are important. Paul tell us that we must pray in the Spirit. He says watching. Many pray with their eyes closed. We must keep our spiritual eyes open when we pray and open ourselves honestly to the Lord. Eyes that are open in prayer

Storms come into every life. You do not have to be a bad person to endure storms. The level of stress reises and the sense of worry and fear in a storm can be shattering. The winds of the storm rock us in ways that we do not like. On the gulf coast, we liive with the threat of hurricanes. These hurricanes often churn up things from the past that were thought to be long gone. Unlike storms in the natural life, storms in the spiritual life often come without warning. Hurricanes are loud and the wind is deafening. The whistling of the wind produces an incessant roar. In any storm, we have to guard against the mental noise. When going through a storm, Bro. Hughes has a good word. We are not the only one in the storm. Everyone has a storm of some kind. What we need to remember is that God controls everything. If God brought you to this he can bring you through it. There are many kinds of storms in life; physical, family, or financial. Every stage of life has it's own set of issues. These are just part of the season, and they will pass. There are a lot of people fighting life storms that are simply the season of life that they are in. We can go through life fighting all that, or we can simply learn to live with the issues that the seasons of life bring. Some of the storms of life are there to distract us from our relationship with God and to try to get us to focus on the wrong things. We need to realize who we are and what stage of life we are in, we need to be happy with where we are and what we have and stop worrying about the 'issues' that our season in life bring. Do something with where we are right now, and quit worrying about what we were and what we cannot do any longer. Seasons change and the way we did it in our twenties does not work when we are in our forties. If we were not meant to be here, we would already been gone. If God did not intend for us to make it through, He would not have brought us to it. If God has given us a promise, He will keep that promise no matter how long it takes. If God have us a problem, hold on to it because He is a promise keeper. Most storms in life come to us with no explanation. There are hidden things along life's journey that we have to learn how to accept. God does not show us everything along the path, because He knows that we would not have the courage to go on the path. Storms may cause us to panic. The disciples were panicked in our text, but Jesus was in control. We must guard against letting the panic of others impact our faith. Panic will trick our brain into believing that we will lose all, but with God in control , we will only lose what we do not need. If it leaves us we do not need it. Quit worrying about what we do not have any more, and start thanking God for what we have and how He will use what we have to bless us. Storms often bring darkness. In the dark, things appear to be bigger and more scary than they really are. In our text, the disciples were in the boat with Jesus when the storm came up. They were in the best place they could be, but they were afraid. Jesus had commanded them to go intot he boat. The word from God today is simple; If God brought us to it, He will bring us through it. A storm in life is not the end. Hold on and God will bring us through.

Storms come into every life. You do not have to be a bad person to endure storms. The level of stress reises and the sense of worry and fear in a storm can be shattering. The winds of the storm rock us in ways that we do not like. On the gulf coast, we liive with the threat of hurricanes. These hurricanes often churn up things from the past that were thought to be long gone. Unlike storms in the natural life, storms in the spiritual life often come without warning. Hurricanes are loud and the wind is deafening. The whistling of the wind produces an incessant roar. In any storm, we have to guard against the mental noise. When going through a storm, Bro. Hughes has a good word. We are not the only one in the storm. Everyone has a storm of some kind. What we need to remember is that God controls everything. If God brought you to this he can bring you through it. There are many kinds of storms in life; physical, family, or financial. Every stage of life has it's own set of issues. These are just part of the season, and they will pass. There are a lot of people fighting life storms that are simply the season of life that they are in. We can go through life fighting all that, or we can simply learn to live with the issues that the seasons of life bring. Some of the storms of life are there to distract us from our relationship with God and to try to get us to focus on the wrong things. We need to realize who we are and what stage of life we are in, we need to be happy with where we are and what we have and stop worrying about the 'issues' that our season in life bring. Do something with where we are right now, and quit worrying about what we were and what we cannot do any longer. Seasons change and the way we did it in our twenties does not work when we are in our forties. If we were not meant to be here, we would already been gone. If God did not intend for us to make it through, He would not have brought us to it. If God has given us a promise, He will keep that promise no matter how long it takes. If God have us a problem, hold on to it because He is a promise keeper. Most storms in life come to us with no explanation. There are hidden things along life's journey that we have to learn how to accept. God does not show us everything along the path, because He knows that we would not have the courage to go on the path. Storms may cause us to panic. The disciples were panicked in our text, but Jesus was in control. We must guard against letting the panic of others impact our faith. Panic will trick our brain into believing that we will lose all, but with God in control , we will only lose what we do not need. If it leaves us we do not need it. Quit worrying about what we do not have any more, and start thanking God for what we have and how He will use what we have to bless us. Storms often bring darkness. In the dark, things appear to be bigger and more scary than they really are. In our text, the disciples were in the boat with Jesus when the storm came up. They were in the best place they could be, but they were afraid. Jesus had commanded them to go intot he boat. The word from God today is simple; If God brought us to it, He will bring us through it. A storm in life is not the end. Hold on and God will bring us through.

Paul concludes his letter to the Epheisnas with a warning: Satin is working against us. Many of the things that we experience in life are a direct result of the Devil's efforts. he will attach and oppose us at every turn. God has equpied us with an armor that is sufficient: truth, righteousness, peace, faith the spirit, salvation and prayer. The most overlooked and most important part of our reading is that Paul describes all this armor to allow us to stand. He knew that it would take a lot of endurance and perseverance to stand and succeed. His armor is sufficient against any kind of attack. What divine resources we have been given. There is no excuse for failure because God has given us what we need.

In verse 17, Paul tells us to Take the helmet of salvation. Take is a different word in this verse than the one where he said to take the armor of God. In verse 17, take means to receive (as in a gift). The helmet is one of the few pieces of a soldier's equipment that exists to this day. All fighting men have known that protecting the head is critical. Many things about warfare have changed, but the helmet is as important today as it was then. Our heads need protection. The head commands the whole body. An unprotected head (and mind) is open to the attack of the enemy. The devil will attack our minds. He will try to make us forget the goodness of God. He will plant the seeds of discontent. He will work to cloud or judgment of right and wrong. The devil will fight our will to progress and grow.

The devil attacks our mind because he recognizes the potential of our minds. If we have a mind to work, we will work. If we have a mind to pray, we will pray. if we have a mind to praise, we will praise. If the devil can obstruct our mind, he can obstruct our relationship with God. If the devil can tie up our mind, he does not have to tie up our bodies. The only ting that can protect our mind is the salvation that God has provided.

Everyone needs to receive the protection that salvation provides. When God protects the mind, it is not what we have done, but what God has done for us. Salvation is not dependent upon what I have done, but what HE has done. The devil will try to convince us that we are not saved; that salvation may work for other people, but not us. The helmet of salvation will protect our minds from these lies.

Paul concludes his letter to the Epheisnas with a warning: Satin is working against us. Many of the things that we experience in life are a direct result of the Devil's efforts. he will attach and oppose us at every turn. God has equpied us with an armor that is sufficient: truth, righteousness, peace, faith the spirit, salvation and prayer. The most overlooked and most important part of our reading is that Paul describes all this armor to allow us to stand. He knew that it would take a lot of endurance and perseverance to stand and succeed. His armor is sufficient against any kind of attack. What divine resources we have been given. There is no excuse for failure because God has given us what we need.

In verse 17, Paul tells us to Take the helmet of salvation. Take is a different word in this verse than the one where he said to take the armor of God. In verse 17, take means to receive (as in a gift). The helmet is one of the few pieces of a soldier's equipment that exists to this day. All fighting men have known that protecting the head is critical. Many things about warfare have changed, but the helmet is as important today as it was then. Our heads need protection. The head commands the whole body. An unprotected head (and mind) is open to the attack of the enemy. The devil will attack our minds. He will try to make us forget the goodness of God. He will plant the seeds of discontent. He will work to cloud or judgment of right and wrong. The devil will fight our will to progress and grow.

The devil attacks our mind because he recognizes the potential of our minds. If we have a mind to work, we will work. If we have a mind to pray, we will pray. if we have a mind to praise, we will praise. If the devil can obstruct our mind, he can obstruct our relationship with God. If the devil can tie up our mind, he does not have to tie up our bodies. The only ting that can protect our mind is the salvation that God has provided.

Everyone needs to receive the protection that salvation provides. When God protects the mind, it is not what we have done, but what God has done for us. Salvation is not dependent upon what I have done, but what HE has done. The devil will try to convince us that we are not saved; that salvation may work for other people, but not us. The helmet of salvation will protect our minds from these lies.