Peace Under Pressure FruitFull (Part 6)

0:37 where God is really teaching me the fruits of the Spirit all over again. Like, it's something that I want to just give everybody a warning that when you follow God, you never are fully finished with anything. Like, you know what I'm saying? Oh, peace. I got that. Joy. I got... No, no. No, no, no, baby. Because in different seasons, God will teach you something brand new about that thing again. How many people have a favorite movie? How many people have a favorite movie? Like, think of it. Some of them are inappropriate. I saw you. You didn't even raise your hand in church. You're just like, ugh. But the thing about your favorite movie is you always see something new when you see it again. And even people who think they know every word and every line, if you look deeper, you'll see something that you never saw again. That's the same thing with the fruits of the Spirit. Most of us who were raised in church learned them when we were younger, love, joy, peace, and all that. But it means something totally different at 10 than it means at 25. And it means something totally different at 25 than it does even at 30. I don't know, that five-year gap between 25 and 30, it's a different world. How do I know? I'm about to turn 31. But I know that gap is different between 30 and 50. Those are all the seasons, Saints, making noise. They got some lorries on their life. So I want you to know wherever you're at in your life right now, God wants to teach you something new about the fruits of the Spirit.

2:01 So today is week six of this series we're calling Fruitful, and this is one I'm really excited about teaching. We're going to talk about peace today. How many people could use some more peace in your life in an area? Okay. So it's funny that as I started to study about peace today, I'm kind of maybe going to upset some of our idea of what we think peace is and give us a biblical perspective of what God promises peace is going to be. And I want you to look at this and I want you to listen to this because if you don't have this understanding, you may be disappointed in some things that happen in life. Because I don't know about you, but for me, before I studied the scripture and before I knew all of the fruits of the spirit that are listed in Galatians 5, 22, love, joy, peace, all the different, before I knew all of that, what I thought peace was is what the definition that they put in the dictionary is, which is freedom from disturbance, quiet, and tranquility. It's like when everybody's getting on my nerves, I say, ah, I need peace some of y'all had moms that would Okay, see some of y'all are moms Okay, um, I don't know when I got stressed out at work or at school I was like, oh no, no, no, no, woosaw woosaw I need to get to a peaceful place and peace I got a couple of pictures because this is what peace used to look like to me I want to show you this picture of peace real quick a peace for me was like a sunset it was it was like something that was that was um near water and something that was beautiful i want you to get that image in your mind right now some of you would love to be on a beach how many people would love to leave church today and head to a beach somewhere that would be peaceful to me um i also thought a picture of peace for me is a chick-fil-a sandwich on a sunday now i don't know about you i don't know what floats your boat but having a spicy chick-fil-a sandwich with swiss cheese a large fry and uh some chick-fil-a sauce

4:10 that's peaceful to me okay but then when i started walking with god i got a new image of what peace looked like and i don't know if you have this picture but if you could put that up on the screen, this is what peace looked like. And you say, Pastor Mike, why did you show me a picture of raging water, of rock and pressure and wind and storm in the background? It's because when you zoom into this picture, there's something you probably can't see out there but there's a bird that's resting in the middle of the storm and until we find this type of peace, everything that we do in life is a temporary effort to get something that only God can give.

5:14 See, this bird is not tripping. He's sleeping. This bird is not flapping its wings and like, What's happened? He flew there knowing. that in the midst of all the pressure and the rage and everything going on that it could catch a good night's sleep. so i want to talk to us today not peace from a a standpoint of tranquility and everything's quiet and everything's going good peace for some of y'all is being in a room with your favorite stuff and and and watching a movie that's not peace can i help you it's a temporary escape and everything we do in this life and that this life has to offer is just a temporary escape Can I really help you a temporary escape is a counterfeit peace My question is to you is what do you use as your temporary escape?

6:18 And you call it peace Some of us it's food. Some of us it's a relationship Some of us it's validation from other people For some of us. It's the amount of zeros that we get on our check. It's temporary Escape from what's really going on and we label it peace in our life And for many of you it's scrolling on social media for others. It's it's the clothes that you wear and a compliment But god told me he said michael with these fruits of the spirit. I want to give my people the upgrade I don't want them walking around needing to impress people I don't need them trying to figure out what the latest thing is and all this other stuff to have peace I don't need them to have a relationship to have peace. I don't need them to do anything except get into me because I am the prince of peace. And until you recognize this, you will begin to try to satisfy a real need illegitimately.

7:21 Everybody has the need for peace. Everybody wants peace in their life. but until we recognize that peace only comes from Jesus, we will use temporary escapes to satisfy our real need. That's why people have sex and one night stands with each other because they want to just release and get their mind off of stuff. So they have a temporary moment that produces lasting consequences. That's why many of you have moved from state to state. uh-oh I'm coming to your house some of y'all move more and go from church to church state to state job to job you're looking for peace and so when you get there everything's oh my god I love this city oh my god I love LA oh my god I love New York oh I got it until you realize that that is a temporary escape for what only can come from Jesus and until you understand that again I'm driving this point home because some of you are going to go home today and you're going to want peace. And so you're going to turn on the Kardashians. Not because the Kardashians are bad, because it makes you not think about your situation. And so you temporarily escape what's going on. Some of y'all go to the movies every week. I just got to go to the movies. It's two, $5 Tuesdays. I have to get there. I have to unwind. I have to do something. And I'm saying there's nothing wrong with that except if it's replacing the pace that God is supposed to fulfill.

8:46 So I'm not coming at you. I'm asking you to evaluate what in your life is a temporary escape for what God can actually give you peace in. And God began to challenge me with that. Mike, that's a temporary escape. Oh, God, this is my calling. No, you do that because people applaud you for that. oh can we be real people applaud you for that and so you do that over and over because you know people are gonna he said stop trying to find peace in them find peace in me and and and y'all this took me a week y'all know i can't preach nothing to you that the holy spirit is not cutting me up on all week so tuesday i'm sitting just looking like a sad baby like oh dang god like that that's for that and that's for that he's like yeah he said but what i want you to realize is that if your peace is found in me i can do something that can never be taken from you. See, see people say, oh, I'm about to lose it. No, you're about to give it away.

9:51 nobody can take your peace because it's god on the inside of you but if you choose to put it to the side to act out of your flesh you gave it away so when people say stuff like i can't i can't take it they're pushing me over the edge i'm about to lose my cool no you're about to give your cool away because the peace of god is the thing that is unmovable unshakable and it stays in you and so if you're looking for that type of peace that's a sunset or a meadow or all that, it's not going to happen. I came to tell you, and I love this because Jesus tells us, I want everybody to turn in your Bible to John 16 verse 33. And I'm going to read the second sentence because it says, it just tells us, hey, here on earth, this is Jesus talking. You will have many trials. How many trials? that's a whole bunch of them you're gonna have many trials at school with your family relationships you're gonna have many trials and you're gonna have sorrows but take heart because I've overcome the world now I don't know about you but if I was a disciple because that's who he was talking to and Jesus called us all over to have this huddle I'd be kind of frustrated at this meeting he would be like hey guys I want to tell you guys something hey in this life you're gonna have a whole bunch of troubles and sorrows. It's all good though. Take heart because your boy has already overcome the world. I got you. Take heart. Is that what you wanted to say? Is that what you caused us over here to tell us? I can't believe he always be doing his speaking in parables and then telling us to take heart. You just told us we're going to go through hell and we're supposed to take heart. I'm about to take a nap. Like I would have been that disciple. I would have been the disciple on the side, just talking crazy. And at the end of it, I'll be like, why did he even tell us that? He should have just let us go through it and figure it out. But he's trying to give us a warning. And then Jesus says, I knew you were going to say that. So go back to the top of verse 33. He said, I've told you all of this so that you may have, what's that word? Peace. I want you

12:03 to put, I told you this so you can have peace, but not just this temporary thing that the world this offering. Where's the peace found? he said so i'm telling you you're gonna have troubles i'm telling you you're gonna have relationship breakups i'm telling you your job is gonna fire you i'm telling you right now your hair is not always gonna be laid to the side do you understand you're gonna have a bald spot i'm telling you i'm telling you right now you're gonna have trials and sorrows you're gonna have a child that gets um has a kid out of wedlock you're going to have people lie on you you're going I'm telling you right now you're going to be misunderstood and you try to do something right and your intentions were going to be misinterpreted and people are going to label you. I'm telling you right now you're going to have trials and sorrows but take heart because I've already overcome the entire world and the only way you can overcome this is if you have residence in the one who's overcome all of it. So he said, I tell you this because I want you to have peace in me. Somebody say peace in Jesus. So Pastor Mike, what are you trying to say? My first point is God promises peace, not the absence of pressure.

13:17 and until I figured this out, I was disappointed in God many times. God, I thought you were faithful. I don't know if y'all have relationships like this with God, but me and him, we go, I thought you were faithful, so why would I go through this crappy situation if you're faithful? He said, you read the contract won't.

13:43 You thought when you got saved, it puts you in the world standard of peace where you have no pressure. Everything is fine. It's lilies and dandies. It's everything. And he said, no, no, no, no. I promised peace. That was my promise, but not the absence of pressure. And if you don't hear anything else I say today Pressure does not mean that you can't have peace Can I take it a step further? Pressure is the only way you can identify if you truly have peace If everything's good How do you know that you have peace? It's when stuff starts moving I remember a story in the bible when the disciples were on the boat with jesus and they are professional fishermen. I want everybody to understand they are professional fishermen.

14:36 So the wind patterns, the waves, they know this stuff. Now me, you get me out there and you hear just a little rock about, I'm done. I'm jumping off and I'm swimming back to shore. But these are professional fishermen. But the waves and the wind were so heavy that they got scared for their life. And they said, where's Jesus? Is he not? Is he not? tripping? He's asleep. Go wake him up. Go wake him. We about to die, bro. And Jesus woke up with such peace. Why are y'all tripping? Y'all know I'm on the boat. I can't leave until it's time. Y'all are going to be fine. And he confronted their faith in the storm. Because it's the only way you can know if you truly have peace If they were unsure they wouldn't even been tripping I came to tell somebody that the storm that you're in is not to take you out. It's to identify where you are No, you missed it The storm that you're going through some of the things and the people you've been dealing with It is just there to help you identify the health issue, the children issue, the money issue.

15:56 It's there to help you identify if you really have these fruits working in your life. And so I want you to realize that God promises peace for you if you stay in him, but he doesn't promise the absence of pressure. So today's message, if you're going to title it, I want you to title it peace under pressure.

16:22 Because I'm done with somebody coming up here and telling me you need the fruit of the spirit, peace. You just need peace. And what does that mean? Because when I'm good, I don't need peace because I got it. But it's when my wife starts tripping or the money is funny. And when they deny me access to something that I thought I was going to, that's when they cut me off. in traffic. I'll see some of y'all, y'all too safe for this one, but we see you.

16:52 We see how you act coming to transformation church. Do you understand what I'm saying? It's when they overcharge you on your bill. Some of y'all are so ugly. When you call people you can't see and you start talking to them, ma'am, you like get an accent and all kinds of stuff. But see what god is saying is that as a believer You're not supposed to have moments of peace. You're supposed to live in peace It's not supposed to be a place where you go or a place that you run to it's supposed to be a place you abide And so I look at this when we talk about peace under pressure I brought this weight set out here because this is a perfect analogy Is that this bar represents our life? Many times in our life If we just could live our life if we could just do us Not bother anybody nobody bother us It'd be simple I look at my life and it's just me.

17:58 It's easy. I can press this. I can go through this. I could do this all day and talk to you. But it's when the weights of life. it's when the pressure that comes to bring me down and and and this is the thing i want everybody to see because today's message is not extravagant and and and long and and um um elaborate it's very simple but i never want you to forget that you can't control what happens around you And many of us are praying to god asking him why it happened and he's saying let me help you lift it Your focus is wrong Because who is going to ask to be laid off of their job?

18:58 Nobody but it happens And weights of life come on who's going to ask to have people talking about them at their church nobody's gonna ask for that but it happens who's going to ask that their investment go belly up and they lose all of their money that they had in life savings nobody but it's gonna happen can i tell you something life happens The pressure that comes from like you're walking through stuff right now and life has happened You put all of your eggs in one basket and life has happened You thought it was gonna happen like can we be honest? How many people has life happened to you this year? Like in some way life has happened to you. You thought you was gonna be a size six all your life Welcome to 12 life Happens.

19:57 Can we be honest? And what happens when the pressure comes onto our life and we have to wake up every day and lift what we didn't put on? And so I sit here every day. Oh, I got to go to work again and deal with these crazy people. Lord, just give me strength as I just try to lift the Lord. And what happens is many people start to lift and they start shaking.

20:35 And they get it up in church. Enough to let people think it's okay. but when they have to deal with it they're shaking and many of us are buckling under the pressure but God says if you would allow me to come into your life I would give you peace under pressure Now watch this. This is the crazy thing. Because everybody knows about the big things that are pressures in our life. The big things. You know what? I can handle a little debt. I can handle that one relationship problem we have. I can handle having one bad kid. At least I got one good one. And I can handle it taking me six years to finish this degree and my family's talking about me. But I can handle that pressure.

21:33 But many times as we focus on the big pressures, those aren't the thing that make us buckle under the weight. It's these little pressures. See, if these little pressures come into my life, I was late for work again. I literally just spilled Chick-fil-A sauce all over my car seat. You think that's funny, but that's the thing that'll take you over the edge. Oh, you know, you were on your way to a job interview and something spilled on your blouse. See, I'm not talking about things that are catastrophic. I'm talking about that one hair won't go down. Y'all know what I'm talking about the little things that are pressures Pressures of what our family thinks pressure of being able to make more money The pressures that come from life and the thing that you don't realize is a bunch of little pressures compounded It's the thing that may not look as big, but I can't lift it.

22:41 what I came to let you know is that this is your life. There's nothing we can do about it. You can't pray it away. You can't shout it away. You can't in this. Jesus said it. So I just need everybody to be okay with this. This is Jesus talking in this life. You will have trials, sorrows, pressure in this life. This is your bar. This is your life. You will have this, but take heart now. why am I taking heart? Because I can't lift this by myself. And he said, I never meant for you to, but you keep trying to. You keep trying to lift what I have given you help for.

23:28 Sometimes I'm like, I don't know about that because when I'm walking through my life every day, I feel like I'm lifting this stuff on my own. It feels like I'm going through this pressure on my own. It feels like I'm being overpowered by things that I can't control. You were late on the rent payment or one of your children had a bad report from school and these pressures are coming and the enemy is sitting back like, there they are. It says that he waits around. seeking who he may devour. So what would be the most easy time to come and hurt me? I want you to see this. What would be the most vulnerable moment for you to come and cause me pain? It's when I am buckling under the pressure of life and I sit here And I try to hold this you could come steal whatever you wanted to You could come punch me in the gut You could come take whatever you wanted to because even if I tried to defend myself the weight of life would fall on me And many believers are living like this.

24:40 Hard to breathe. Praying for a miracle. They want to believe God, but the pressure of life is weighing on them. And they're not using their help. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. That almost took me out. But God, come on somebody. Now, why did I get up here and put myself in the ability to be vulnerable and all this? Because that's what you look like every day.

25:20 Waking up every day, you just struggling to get it up. And you can't control if there's another pressure coming today. And so that's why many people settle for counterfeit peace. So I'll just go drink. I'll just go smoke. I'll just have sex with these people. I'll just go on vacation. So many people going on vacation. They just so, you just always on vacation. You might as well live on vacation and then come back and have life as your vacation because you just always, but what they're doing is they're searching for peace to escape the pressure of life. But the disciples knew what this was like. I need everybody to hear me. I'm trying to paint a picture for you. The disciples knew what this was like because in John chapter 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, they're experiencing some of the worst pressure they've ever experienced up until this point. Because Jesus started having these weird conversations with them. He's like, hey, guys, man, it's been a great run, hasn't it, guys? This has been good. Great run. Where you going?

26:22 I got some other stuff to do. I got to be about my father's business. And so I'm about to be leaving you. Hold up. You're not going anywhere. He said, get behind me, Satan. I got some stuff to do, and I need you to understand I'm trying to tell you these things so you can have peace. And it's like, oh, hey, y'all sit down, chapter 13. I'm going to wash your feet, and I'm going to tell you more about it. And he gets down, and he serves them. And he starts washing their feet, and he's like, yeah, I'm about to leave. I told y'all that yesterday, didn't I? I'm about to, man, I'm going to go through some crazy stuff. They're going to beat me. and actually it's going to affect y'all too.

27:03 Like some of y'all are going to die because of this. But I'm about to leave and I'm about to go and make it right for all of y'all and everybody who's going to come after y'all. And there's one of y'all in here who's going to betray me. And they're sitting at the table now. And it's like, who? Who's going to betray? Who's going to betray? The one that's dipping their bread in ranch right now?

27:26 Judas! Thank you. I'm just running four chapters of the Bible together for you real quick. And then he's like, yeah, but I know you guys are tripping because I'm about to leave, but I'm going to promise you the Holy Spirit who's going to be your advocate. And he's going to be better than me being here with you. It's going to be better that he's here with you. And for me, I don't care who he said was coming. I would be mad still because Jesus, I left my business to follow you. Like I left, these dudes were professionals. They had businesses. They left their families. They left everything. And now the hookup is telling us he's leaving. Y'all know what it's like to go somewhere and you're not really supposed to be there, But you with somebody who has the hookup and so you can go into places and walk into places and do different things when your hookup tells you he's leaving what I'm what I'm supposed to do are they gonna know that I'm with you are they gonna know and he's telling them no no I'm gonna send another hookup that's better than me I'm gonna send the advocate and his name is the Holy Spirit now I want you to put yourself because maybe you've never thought about it like this but Jesus as they've been walking along they didn't have a business plan to what this was going to be like they just followed Jesus and he made stuff happen When they were hungry, he took two fish and five loaves and made a fish fry.

29:04 He's leaving. That guy's leaving. Oh, you mean the dude that when tax season came around, he went to the water and said, pick up that fish. The tax money's in his mouth. He's leaving. You mean the guy who is our official Airbnb card holder? Whenever we go anywhere, somebody just opens a barn, a house or something for us to stay Where are we going to stay? They were worried about who was going to take care of them when Jesus left. So they had pressure in life. And look what happens to them in John chapter 16 verse 7. It says, it's best for you that I go away. Because if I don't, the advocate won't come. But if I go away, then I will send him to you. See, this is the point I want to make to everybody is that how do we be able to have peace under pressure? We have to accept the advocate and use his help We have to accept the advocate and use his help now, you know, i'm using bible scripture But I want to help you understand this the disciples wanted the person of jesus, but they really needed the the promise of jesus They needed the Holy Spirit in their lives.

30:23 Some of you are saying, Pastor Mike, that's a lot. Why are you telling us we need the Holy Spirit? We know we need the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is what I want to let you know, that the pressure of life cannot be picked up by anybody but the Holy Spirit. And you can say, that sounds deep and ethereal, and I'm okay. Thanks for that, Pastor Mike. Listen to me, what I'm saying to you is you'll never find it in money. You'll never find it in fame. You'll never find it in a person. You'll never find it in anything that you will go. Life will always weigh you down. I was watching a documentary on Whitney Houston this past week, and this woman had sold over 300 million records. And one of the first people that came on to talk, they said, Whitney Houston did not die of a drug overdose. She died of a broken heart in life. The pressure that was on her and then it goes on for an hour and a half To describe how the pressure of life came to take her very breath but as believers we don't have to settle for that we have an advocate and we have to use him his name is the holy spirit i want everybody to say holy spirit i want you to say it like a name just say holy spirit see some of y'all i i really believe the holy spirit has had a bad branding problem because he's called the holy ghost and you know when you're you're introduced as kids to ghosts. It's like, that's scary. And so I would have just called him Greg or something.

31:54 Like if it was me, I would have just been like, I'm going to send you Greg and Greg's going to help you because when people say the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost, they get all spooky, but I want you to know he's a person. He's a person that walks with you. When we sing to Jesus, when we praise God and say he's a good, good father, the Holy Spirit actually is our greatest advocate. He's the one fighting for us. He's the one talking for us. He's the one that will direct you in which way to go. And you cannot live this life with peace without the Holy Spirit.

32:26 Try it and tell me how that works out for you. And this is why Jesus is telling his disciples, it's best for you that I go because right here, when I came down to earth, I took on humanity. Divinity took on humanity. So that means I get everything that you get. That means I am only present. I'm not omnipresent. I only can be right here with you. I can't be everywhere I need to be, but if I leave, I'll send somebody who can be with you everywhere that can walk and talk with you, that can stand with you. When you're at the point of decision and you have unrest, I can bring the one who will be your advocate. Look at this word advocate because I want you to see this because this is something that Jesus knew that the disciples didn't know, that true peace is knowing you never have to go through anything alone. And I came to tell somebody here who feels like they're walking through a situation alone. If you're a believer, you're not walking through that situation alone. The Holy Spirit is just waiting for you to ask him to come and intervene in your situation. Pastor Mike, that doesn't make sense. All you have to do is just say, Holy Spirit, I need your help in this moment. An advocate is one who pleads the case of another, an intercessor, one who supports or promotes. The Greek word for the Holy Spirit is parakletos or paraclete. It's one who is called alongside to help, especially to come to one's aid.

33:52 Synonyms are a helper, a savior, an aider, an assistant. See, the crazy thing about it is life is still happening. and I developed a sickness that they don't have a cure for. and the ministry I gave my life to just told me I was fired. So now I got to wake up tomorrow and lift this. Now y'all saw how much I struggled with that last one. How many people think I can lift this one? Stop lying. but I have to because this is the only life I got and I got to wake up and this is how people get to the place of suicide because they can't lift the pressure of life I'm trying to help you understand why many times we go to the things that we go to I'd rather drink than try to lift this again. I'd rather be on drugs than try to lift this again. I'd rather be in a career that I don't like than experience this pressure. But Jesus says, as believers, it's better that I go because I'm going to send an advocate. Can my advocate, the Holy Spirit, come out here real quick? Holy Spirit I need you Holy Spirit I'm calling on you Holy Spirit I need you in this moment and see what happens when we get the Holy Spirit working on our side is that he stands over the situation he has a different perspective and that when I have to sit here and I say oh God I don't think I can take it anymore Oh God, I think they're going to come. I try to lift and I feel the weight, but I'm not holding it up by myself.

36:05 And when I come down, I feel the weight, but I have peace because somebody that is stronger than me, who's been here before, who has carried much more weight is helping me push it up. Oh, y'all better help me preach this right now. I do not have to fear because the Holy Spirit, the advocate, the helper is working with me. And I can say, I need you to take a little more pressure than this because I can't hold it. Oh, y'all better help me. I can't hold this by myself. and it says he never leaves and he never forsakes she better never leave come back here so watch the reason that God allows pressure is because even though the weight was too heavy for me to carry, the part of it that I am feeling is making me stronger.

37:05 so so you prayers you pray prayers like this lord let me be everything you want me to be you know how he does that he sends pressure and he promises that he will give peace under pressure so what i'm telling everybody out there right now is you need to accept the holy spirit being the one who walks with you every day. This is not a spooky thing. This is not a scary thing. This is something that will literally save your life. Because some of us have messed up. Anybody messed up before? So like when I cheated on my wife before we got married, and it just put some, you know, not some 10-pounder communication issues.

38:04 It just puts some weight on it. And then, you know, I got in trouble with the law one time. I'm telling real testimonies right now. I got in trouble with the law one time for car insurance fraud. And, you know, it just makes me always look at cops differently and just I got a little pressure when I'm driving and I flirt with the notion of lying or manipulating situations. Like I still got pressure that's always fighting me all the time. Like I'm always, I'm a pastor, I'm standing here, but I have to always every day get on my knees and be like, God, can you help me not be like how I was? Because you know how I was and I don't have it. And pressure keeps coming. And then I have to wake up tomorrow and I look at the account and there's not enough money in there to make, get me a happy meal, let alone be happy.

39:02 but I still got to get under that pressure. And this is what real relationship with God looks like. Holy spirit. this is what prayer looks like holy spirit i really don't have the strength today i really don't know if i can bear this and the holy spirit says i'm your helper i won't let this break you i won't let you fold under this pressure well i got a test i don't know if i'm gonna get it to wish you next year holy spirit says i got you all right god i'ma lift one, two, three.

39:47 Whoa. Because you're carrying this Holy Spirit, this feels lighter than the bar by itself. I got help. This actually, with all of this weight on me, it feels lighter. now watch it feels lighter than me just having the bar by myself because the peace that god wants to give you will pass all the understanding of all of these weights in life that has come he said i'll give you peace that makes me start having confidence when I look at life. Good morning.

40:46 Got to go lift this weight this morning. What you mean? You ready, Holy Spirit? One, two, three. That was fun. see there's a different way you approach life when you have peace that passes all understanding there's a different approach that you have to life when you know you have the advocate on your side oh y'all better help me in this place this morning some of you are dealing with stuff but the holy spirit is working on your behalf So my encouragement to you is don't push the Holy Spirit away when you need him. Don't push him away because you need him. When the pressure's on, when the weight is heavy, that's why 1 Peter 5, 7 says, give all your worries. Give all your cares to God, for he cares about you.

41:46 Somebody is like, man, I don't know about this Holy Spirit thing. This is Jesus talking. Look at John 14, 26. It says, but when the Father sends the advocate as my representative, that is, just for everybody who's remedial, that is the Holy Spirit. So our advocate is the Holy Spirit. This is the most beautiful passage for me. He says he will teach you everything. And he will remind you of everything I've told you. Do you know how I'm a pastor? I didn't go to seminary. I don't have a college degree. I have so many strikes. I don't have a business degree. I run a multi-million dollar company. I don't have none of that. Guess who teaches me every day? the Holy Spirit. I'm not saying that you don't need an education and you don't need, I want you to get every resource that you can get. But Paul went from killing Christians.

42:43 He literally went from slaying people to being one of the greatest orators and writers. He didn't have a seminary to go to at that moment. He was studied in the world system, but the Holy Spirit taught him. What I'm telling you is there is nothing you can't do without the power of the Holy Spirit. You can be a CEO. You can be a business owner. You can start a company. And every day you need to have a chief officer meeting. Good morning, chief Holy Spirit officer. I need you to teach me today how to run this race, how to be in grace, how to deal with these finances, how to talk to this crazy woman who keeps trying to make me lose my cool, but I won't because you are in me and you are the prince of. It says he'll teach you everything. And it says he'll remind you of everything that God's saying you.

43:42 That's why. Y'all be like, Pastor Mike is so proficient in the word. He knows what. No, no, no. When I'm up here preaching to you, the Holy Spirit is reminding me of what I've put in. I don't got all these scriptures written down and everything. But when I put it in, he says, oh, remember that one thing I told you? Oh, remember that video you saw? Oh, you remember? He's reminding me, y'all, I have an advantage on everybody who does not walk with the Holy Spirit. Because I can walk into a room and the Holy Spirit says to me, go talk to that guy. Well, that guy doesn't look like nobody. Go talk to that guy.

44:18 And when I go talk to that guy, I begin to find out that that guy was the guy I really needed to know to get to what God wanted me to have. I got an advantage. Somebody say, I have an advantage. And if you're not using your advantage, don't cry when you lose. See, people are like, why is that believer so blessed? Why is it? Because they're using their advantage. I don't know any game I've ever played. If they give me advantage, I'm taking it. What you mean? If you're going to give me 10 points to start off with, thank you. Do you understand? And God has given every believer an advantage. And his name is the Holy Spirit. He's the one that's going to bring peace to your life. John 14, 17 says he's the Holy Spirit. This is the confidence you can have who leads you into all truth. The Holy Spirit to me is like Siri or Google, whoever you trust more.

45:16 But when you put directions into a map, even if you go the wrong way, they're always trying to lead you to the place that you were supposed to go. That's the Holy Spirit. You messed up. Re-calculating. But what if you turn off the sound? What if you're just looking at direction? I know I done pulled up on a couple turns. It's like turn left now. And I was like, oh, oh. Because I almost missed it because I was distracted. But the Holy Spirit says if we can talk every day, I'll tell you. Go to work 10 minutes early.

45:52 I don't go to work 10 minutes early. Why I got to go? I got to be there. Because you don't know who you're going to see there and what God's going to connect. and when good stuff happens and we say stuff like this, something told me. Can I tell you who that something is? He has a name, and his name is Advocate, the Pericleet, the one who walks alongside us to help us. He is our helper, and he is the Holy Spirit. You want peace? Get with the Holy Spirit, because he leads you into all truth. Now, this breaks it down for you. Look at it. It says the world can't receive him. I need you to realize that when you are focused on worldly things, you cannot receive this peace That's why you'll spend a hundred million dollars on chains and a bugatti and all what are you what? What are you doing? You're trying to find something that you'll never find and it says Because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him But you know him Because he lives with you And watch this next part and later he will live in you.

46:59 He was talking to the disciples before he resurrected. So he said, the Holy Spirit's with you in me right now. I'm with you. But when I leave and I go away, he's going to be in you. So every person that receives salvation, the Holy Spirit, you get a three for one transaction. Y'all know those infomercials that be like, And if you buy now, you can get three for the price of one. You just don't get eternity. When you ask the Holy Spirit to come take up residence, you get God, you get salvation, and you get the Holy Spirit. So, Pastor Mike, what do you want to tell us? My last point, pursue peace. Pursue it. How do you have peace under pressure? You pursue it. you you you go towards it i'm gonna give you this little analogy and i want you to write this down because it really changed the way that i begin to think about peace salvation gives us peace with god every man is born into sin and he's fighting something he needs peace that's why some people go to allah buddha they go to all these other things because they're trying to find peace with god it's innate in you. So when you come to know Jesus Christ through faith, Philippians 1, 2 says, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. Those are the two things we need. Romans 5, 1 says, therefore, since we have been made right with God in the sight by faith, now we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

48:35 so salvation gives peace with God, but then listen, abiding, there that word is again, staying connected to the vine, staying a long time, not jumping from church to church, not going, like staying planted, it gives you the peace of God, see, see, don't miss it, you get peace with God, so now my eternity is taken care of, but now he wants to give you his peace, this type of peace that could sleep in the boat while the waves are going. He wants to give you that peace. How do I get that? I stay connected to God. Isaiah 26.3 says, you will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you and all whose thoughts are fixed on you. That's why he said in John 14.27, he said, I'm leaving you with the gift of peace. He said, the peace of mind and of heart. That's where all the battles are happening in our mind and our heart. He said, and the peace I give, it's a gift and the world can't give it. So don't be troubled or don't be afraid. That trips me out because in the one verse he tells us in this life, you will have trouble. But when you get peace, he said, don't worry about the trouble or don't be afraid. That's why we have to use the Holy spirit. And the last part of that's pursuit. Pursuit. Pursuing produces peace like God.

50:05 Salvation produces peace with God. And then us abiding produces the peace of God. But pursuing peace produces peace like God. What do you mean? That means I can have peace with other people. That means I can have peace that I don't even know why I'm calm in this situation, but I'm okay. Psalms 34, 14, turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace. What does that look like in your life? that in a situation where it's much easier to take anger or frustration, it says search for peace and work to maintain it.

50:55 I'm trying to give you some keys right now. Pursue peace, Romans 12.1. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. No, some people, Pastor Mike, because you know her. Everyone. What are you doing to live at peace with that person who gets on your last nerve? Matthew 5 9 God blesses those who work for peace for they will be called the children of God let me give you a practice practical step if you want peace in your life you may have to go first you may have to forgive and they didn't even say nothing you may have you may have to do something that nobody even asked you to do you may have to go first but that's what peace looks like by using the Holy Spirit to do the impossible. See, peace is not the absence of something. It's a godly life inside of you coming out empowered by the Holy Spirit. God wants you to have peace under pressure. Don't ever look at the pressure of life as something you can't handle because God's already given you peace. His name is the Holy Spirit.

52:00 So tomorrow when they try to stress you out, don't talk to them. talk to the holy spirit when your kids start tripping don't oh my god life is trying to take me out don't go to facebook y'all know what i'm saying y'all be putting them little mad emojis and doing all stop believe in ambiguous comments today's not the day what Talk to the holy spirit If you can fix your mind on one scripture if you need peace in your life Which all of us raise our hand and said we do it would be philippians chapter 4 verse 6. I want you to look at this It says don't worry about anything How many have some things that they came in here that if you started thinking about it long enough you would worry about it Come on, just be honest like you start worrying about it. Okay I have a message from god for you don't worry about anything instead that means we have to trade our actions pray about everything tell god what you need and thank him for all he has done thank him for lifting it every other time thank you father god for making me be able to still be here and see another day to lift in this life that he said look once you do that this is the most awesome verse about peace then you will experience God's peace like God, which exceeds anything we can understand. That's why you can lose a child and be smiling because the peace of God will exceed what we can understand and his peace. Now watch, it doesn't just exceed it. It gives us ADT. It gives us a security system.

53:49 it says his peace will guard our heart and guard our minds as you live in Christ Jesus. So what happens when you use the Holy Spirit is that we get guards. It's these little bolts right here that are holding this weight up. When we start using the Holy Spirit, if I didn't have those things, the only place I could rest that weight was on my own chest. but when we start using the Holy Spirit we get him and we get something to lay our burdens on telling you today if the enemy has been trying to rack you with life and you don't know if you can sit down another day under this pressure i'm asking you say holy spirit i need you to help me and give me peace in the middle of this storm and today i'm going to be stronger holy spirit i can't lift this by myself i need your help and he did it before thank you and he's gonna do it again and as long as I call on him and invite him in he will never let the pressures of life take me under father i pray for every person if you need peace lift your hands right now father i pray for every person under the sound of my voice that today we realize that you promised peace but not the absence of pressure today i thank you that you're making us stronger and that we will be able to have peace under pressure because we have invited the holy spirit to help us lift this life i come against doubt and fear. I come against hurt. I come against pain. I come against stress, Father.

55:51 I thank you that you have given us the Holy Spirit and that people will be introduced to the Prince of Peace. In Jesus' name, we agree. Amen. Can we give God some praise in this place?