You can resist and run from truth, but you can never escape it. When we have a wrong view of success we will develop a wrong method to achieve it. We are not called to live the Christian life with a wrong focus of what we can get for ourselves. There are no big or small players in the church. We are all moving as one body and we are a small part to a large picture. If we serve God for personal gain and reputation, we will end up pretending to be fully with the program, but in reality we have our own agenda. Pretending to be led of the Holy Spirit and to obey God is a very dangerous thing. God calls us to walk before Him with an honest and humble heart.

The Bible says submit to God and resist the devil. Sometimes we can be an enemy to ourselves. This message speaks about what happens when we embrace the values of a fallen world and have thoughts and plans that do not line up with God. We must resist the temptation to be other than what God has called us to be. The question is, “how do we humble ourselves”? Humility says not my plans, not my strength or wisdom. We finally acknowledge that we cannot live this Christian life on our own. True humility comes when all self effort dies! His life must become our life, His plan becomes our plan. That's when the power of God comes upon us! Humble yourself and He will lift you up.

Seasons of hardship in our lives often leave us wondering. The children of Israel were familiar with hardships through numerous seasons of exile, but God had a purpose in these exiles. God allows these times to strip away things that have taken His place in our lives. When we understand God's purpose, we will look at our times of exile differently.

Fear and dismay is a common condition to all of us from time to time. We must recognize them for what they truly are and know that God has given us a remedy to defeat them so they will not take us down. Fear comes when we are opposed by something of superior strength to our own strength. Dismay comes when we look inside ourselves and come to the conclusion that we are not strong enough to fight the battle. God is faithful and He will not allow us to be tried above what we are able to bear. He will make a way of escape. We need a divine deliverance not human strength or human effort. We are delivered by the power of God! It will always be all of Him and none of us.

Often we live our lives defeated because of a label someone has placed on us or an image of failure that we have placed upon ourselves. In ourselves there is no way to remove this image, but God has spoken an overcoming word to us — chosen. He believes in us and with this knowledge wants us to walk in confidence and power.

This message is for those who wage a secret and hidden battle with despair. There are times and seasons when we can experience a wave of hopelessness and apathy and we are not able to point to a reason for this. There is a faint-heartedness that can come to the heart of a believer and there can be barely a heartbeat of faith or joy as we sink under this oppression. There are three aspects that open the door to despair: unbelief, pain and an incorrect understanding of the Father's love when we are being chastened by Him. For the Christian despair will not be our permanent condition. For God gave us a remedy and that remedy is the Cross of Christ! We were created for better things and Christ resides in us to break the power of despair. Despair will not have the last say in your life!

God uses fasting to align ourselves to His purposes. Many times we fast out of want, which leads to desperation, but lasting results come from a desperation which leads to a desire for God. Through scripture we will learn about three types of fasts — for people who are looking to be called in to the ministry God has for them, for those who know their calling but are in the place of waiting for God's direction, and for those who are in their ministry but wanting advancement in effectiveness of ministry.

God has appointed us for a specific work to glorify His name. Wisdom and knowledge can become corrupt without the heart of God. Solomon prayed for the tools to do the job but never asked God for His heart. He set the stage and was responsible for a spiritual decline. If we don't have the heart and mind for truth we will lose focus of the plans and purposes of God. If you are bored with the things of God there is something terribly wrong. Get back to the prayer closet and ask God to help you. A perfect heart and a willing mind has a simple focus on the work of God to glorify His name, strengthen the church and save souls.