Pastor Jason Anderson - Audio

Today I want to talk to you about silencing the voice of

defeat. In the book of Nehemiah is a story about an Israelite who was

cup bearer to the king of a nation that was ruling the land of Israel.

The city of Jerusalem had been taken, and the walls of the city were

fallen. When Nehemiah heard this he asked the king for permission and

money to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls of the city. The king

sent him. Nehemiah surveyed the wall privately, then gathered up the

Israelites living there and gave an inspirational speech. Everyone was

moved, but three different leaders from the area weren't so excited.

Nehemiah 2:19 (NKJV) says, "But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the

Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us

and despised us, and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Will

you rebel against the king?" These men represent the voice of defeat.

There is a voice of defeat that speaks to you. Psychologists call this

voice our inner critic. The Bible exposes this. And there are three main

areas the voice will attack; our value, our authority, and our ability.

Each of us has a voice within that reminds us of what's wrong with us.

And as we set out to rebuild the walls, we set out to grow, to win, to

climb new mountains, to repair our marriage, or to succeed in this life,

that voice of defeat is right there to try and tear us back down, to

steal our joy, and keep us where we are. Whether this voice is fueled by

Satan, or friends, or enemies, or wounds or our own insecurities, the

voice poses as a friend, as an ally of sorts, and pretends to motivate,

but hurts us, discourages us, shames us, tells us were not loved, not

funny, we are ugly, you're out of your league, you're not a winner,

you're a sinner. Today we learn how to silence the voice of defeat, we

learn to silence this inner critic.

Today is your day for a turn around. Mary Magdalene is

standing at the site where Jesus was buried, His body is missing, and

she is lost. Standing just behind her, though, is Jesus. And when she

turns around, everything is about to get better. Whether you're lost

somewhere in life, lost in purpose, lost in destiny, lost your ambition,

your drive, you may just be a turn around from being back on course. Or

maybe you have been going the wrong direction in life, and sometimes we

know it's the wrong direction, we have intentionally moved away from the

Lord's path. Other times we are trying to go the right way, but we keep

getting further from where God wants us. Maybe it's your economy, debt,

or your marriage, or your emotions, your insecurities, maybe fear has

been creeping back in, an old addiction has reared its ugly head, or

hopelessness is trying to take root. Heavy is the load you are hauling,

you've been balling, crawling, stalling and now you are free falling.

Some places in your life are going great, job is awesome, business is

booming, but still, we all have places in our lives that might seem off

the path, not working. Well, I'm here to announce to you today, for

those places in your life, today is your day for a turn

around.

Today I want to talk to you about receiving God's love.

I call it, "You gotta get it before you can give it." God has given His

love to the whole world, but many are not receiving His love. In 2013 a

car mechanic from El Monte, CA named Hung Nguyen walked into a store and

purchased a lottery ticket. His numbers were selected and he won one

million dollars. Problem was, he didn't know it. There were 300 one

million dollar winners who never collected, in 2013 alone. In fact, on

average two billion in winnings go unclaimed every single year. What God

has given us through His love is worth far more than one million dollars

- eternal salvation, his Spirit, authority, His Name, the church, power,

healing, favor, blessing, HIS LOVE, all of this "for God so Loved the

world that he GAVE.." God is giving but so many are not receiving, they

let all this love go unclaimed. Marriages struggle, the kids don't want

to be around you, tension with the in-laws. Jesus said a new commandment

I give unto you... People are all out of love, "I don't like you, I

don't like that person, I don't even like myself." Hating on yourself

people turn to addictions, to punish themselves, they sabotage any love

they actually find. I leave before you have a chance to hurt me or find

me out for the fraud I am, and I'm seeking love, starving for love, when

I don't have any love I can't give any love.

Today I want to talk to you about God's love. God's love

is when we lay down our own lives to raise up others. It starts in our

home, loving our spouse, our children, at our church, at our job. We

find ourselves not chasing what we want, but helping others get what

they want. We pursue God's love, while He pursues our desires for us. We

pursue the Kingdom, and He adds everything else. Jesus said, "A new

command I give to you, love others as I have loved you." I John 3:16

says, "By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us."

Jesus laid down His life to raise us up, and then God raised Him up. You

see, when you lay down your life, God raises you up. Jesus said in John

12 if we love our life, we lose it. And the problem is, everyone is busy

loving their own life, or chasing their own wants, medicating their

emotions... me, me, me, and this gets on us. But the more you chase

after fulfilling yourself, the emptier you are. Why? Because Jesus is in

you, and He wants to abide in you. He wants to love. And when you align

with the Christ in you, life works. I John 4:11 (NKJV) says, "Beloved,

if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen

God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love

has been perfected in us."

Today I want to start a new series on God's love. God's

love is different than carnal love. God's love is when we lay down our

own life to raise up someone else. Love - there is a great deal of

confusion around the word love. What is it? What it isn't? It is the

most powerful and sought after force on the planet, and so Satan works

overtime to make a mess of love. There is a very fine line between hate

and love. Two fall in love, and if it doesn't work out, there is often

hate. There's a lot of hate in the world right now. Not just in America

either. Hate isn't new, all generations have seen hate, from the Vietnam

War to the Civil War, or the hate they felt for Christ as they crucified

him on the hill they call the Skull. God's answer for hate is always the

same... the Cross, the gates to His love. And the world is going to be

searching soon for something that works, and we are that answer. We are

the mouthpiece of God to the world, we are the loving hands of Christ,

and we must be armed and ready to embrace the world with unfailing and

everlasting love of God.

Today I want to give you the prescription for success.

I'm not going to prescribe Jesus, since you already got Him. I'm going

to instead prescribe a template that He created for us to imitate His

routine. You see, if we do stuff the way He did, we will get His kind of

results in our lives. We can try our template for living, or His. His

works. When you visit a doctor with a health issue, he may prescribe

something. He may take your blood pressure, "Oops, this is a bit high,

no more milkshakes or fries, doctor's orders. I'm writing you a

prescription, take this pill three times a day, always after you have

eaten something… doctor's orders." And so we do the doctor's orders.

Authority trusted empowers our will; our choices for self- control are

strengthened in our sense of duty. Doctor's orders. Jesus has a

prescription for your life, and He doesn't do it because He wants to

annoy you or make your life harder. His prescription is a step towards a

greater success. His prescription comes with wisdom and power. We would

follow the doctor's orders, cuz, well, He knows. Will we follow our

doctor's orders, since the Bible calls Him the chief

physician?

Today I want to talk to you about the fresh oil of God.

There is an offshore oil well about 80 miles south of Louisiana called

Eugene Island Block 130. It isn't a real island, but 700 ft below the

ocean surface, digging began in 1972 in search of natural gas. They were

surprised to strike oil. Pumping of oil began and as most oil wells, the

oil reserves in this well were depleting, the well was running dry. But

in 1989 something amazing happened, something scientists are having

difficulty explaining. Oil production began a steep climb. They

speculate that 30,000 feet down a massive oil reserve from deep within

the earth's crust was supplying the well with new oil. They increased

production, and now 45 years later, this well is still producing,

seemingly bottomless. When they started drilling in 1972 the estimated

oil was 60 million barrels. After 45 years of emptying this well, the

oil has not gone down, but increased, from 60 million barrels to 400

million barrels of oil. It's a bottomless well, and it seems the more

they pump out, it is multiplying back from deep within. I believe that

this is a picture for you and me, and how our Christianity is designed.

The more God's oil flows out of us into the world, the more it is

multiplied into us from deep reservoirs within. We should be a well that

never runs dry. I desire that oil from the deep reservoirs of God would

flood your life today... new oil, fresh oil. David said in Psalms 92:10

(KJV), "I have been anointed with fresh oil." How many of us need some

fresh oil today? Maybe your marriage needs some fresh oil? Maybe your

passions need some fresh oil of God's anointing. Maybe a dream that was

once alive in you has grown cold, fallen asleep, it just needs to be

anointed with fresh oil. Or maybe even your Christianity, your passion

for the lost, your expressive worship and hunger for God, maybe

something got routine and you lost the drive. Does your Christianity

need to be anointed with fresh oil? You just haven't been happy in a

long time, you need some oil of gladness. Whatever maybe needs renewal,

today you are here, today as I speak it, you are being anointed with

fresh oil.

Today I want to talk to you about operating in your new

identity. We received a new identification when we received Christ, "for

it is not I who live but Christ that lives in me." Most Christians have

no idea what Jesus was like, how He responded, and it is Him in you that

is the new you. When something new comes along we say, "What is it, and

what does it do?" You are new. You are Christ in you. You gotta let the

new you do. A new identity means a new way of operating. And where do we

get this info? From the Creator! 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) says, "But we

all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,

are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory." James

says it this way, "Anyone who hears the word and then does not do what

it says is like a man looking into a mirror and then after he leaves

forgets what he looks like." In other words this word of God is who you

really are, the new creation God created, and it reveals how you

operate, how the new you will work. The new you has the authority. The

new you is perfectly obedient, uninjurable, invincible, supernatural,

incorruptible. People are reading this wrong, and so they are completely

missing the purpose of this. This is here to tell you who you are, what

you can do, and how to do it. How do I do marriage? How do I do

business? What should I look for in a spouse? I need more money! The

greatest producer of your future will be your actions.

Today I want to talk to you about who you have become.

We wonder, well, what will I become in 2017? Maybe I will just become

the same, or maybe I will become a parent, married, or single. Maybe I

will become a graduate, or maybe I will become a student. Maybe I will

become more loyal, more forgiving, more successful, more skillful.

Athletes are becoming faster, stronger; entrepreneurs are becoming more

innovative, singers honing their craft to fine precision. We identify

what I want out of this year, or this life, then we become what is

necessary to get there. But there is a deeper more important "become" I

want to talk with you about today. It is the hidden unseen "become" that

you are that will change how you traverse the bridges on your way, and

will give you the invisible power of God to walk into things you would

have formerly abandoned. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) says, "Therefore, if

anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;

behold, all things have become new." The problem is too many Christians

are trying to "become" something, when instead they need to discover who

they already have become. How many want to see Christ manifest in your

2017? How many want to see Christ and the authority and procreative

power that He has armed us with manifest in our 2017? Whatever you are

trying to do in 2017 is going to become far easier if you first realize

who you are, that is, who you have already become. We cannot have

Christ's destination for our lives without Christ's manifestation in our

lives.

For the next three weeks I'm going to talk to you about

who we are becoming. We are all always becoming something. We can be

purposeful about this, or just let it happen. We are becoming more

faithful or less faithful. We are becoming loyal or disloyal. We are

becoming angry or happy. We are becoming givers or greedy. We are

becoming better or worse. We are becoming successful or we are becoming

defeated. I asked Logan what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said,

"A scientist." And I believe he can become that. So why do we stop

believing that we can become something? God is becoming in us. So for

the next three weeks I want to ready us for the journey into 2017. I've

broken it into three distinct pieces. This week we start with, "My soul,

why art thou downcast." David wrote this in Psalm 42. He was in a funk,

down in this moment. Down times come. You had down times in 2016. My Dad

told me when I was young to never make a decision when I was emotional.

Emotions are a loud voice that can overpower what God is saying. "Ugh, I

can't stand this anymore, I quit my job." "You just make me so mad, I

want a divorce." "Ugh, all these crazy people. I say we move away,

relationships are just impossible." In 2017 you want to make good

decisions, go in the right direction, become who God is calling you to

be, and Jesus said being a disciple isn't going to always feel good.

Doing what feels good is the world's method. God shows us in the Psalm

of David a different way of looking at our down times.