In this sermon, the speaker discusses the importance of peace and how to guard it. He shares a personal experience of feeling unhappy and seeking a new direction in his life. Through prayer and experiencing the presence of God, he stopped preaching with notes and began to rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The speaker emphasizes the need to think on things that are lovely, pure, true, noble, and praiseworthy, as dwelling on negative thoughts can rob us of God's peace. He also highlights the importance of not worrying and instead bringing our needs to God in prayer, with thanksgiving. The promise is that when we do this, the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard our hearts and minds.

I want to talk to you about something where a miracle could happen today. You know, when people met Jesus and came close to him, their lives changed that very moment, that very day, if they made contact with him and were open. And I want to see that happen to you. I don't want to see you went to church. I want to see you go home and say, I had a transaction with Jesus Christ, so God, help us right now as we look at your word and as we open our hearts to hear it. Probably a good percentage of the people in this audience are living without one of the great benefits that God provided when he sent Jesus Christ to earth. One of the blessings of salvation is not part of your everyday life like God wants it to be for all of us. When you become a Christian, you confess your sins and you put your faith in Christ. You have forgiveness of sin. You have a sense of pardon. You have the assurance of eternal life. You have a relationship with Christ. You can begin to talk to him. But in salvation, there is one phenomenal blessing that we often don't think about, and yet without it, life hardly is worth living, it seems sometimes. This one blessing is also that which the enemy goes to steal from us. For John 10, 10 says, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, but I, Jesus, have come that you might have what? Life and have it more abundantly. So Satan is into stealing, and if there's anything he would like to steal from us, it's the peace of God. Now, I'm not talking about mere human tranquility, like natural peace. When everything's going good, you feel like I have peace of mind. You go on a vacation to Puerto Rico, you're laying on the beach, you know, everything is okay, you have peace. But then that can all change. You get one phone call from home and then all that peace is gone. Someone once said recently in my hearing, you're only as happy as your unhappiest child if you're a parent. Children can take your peace. Job can go. All the things you're leaning on that give you a sense of tranquility and security and well-being can be gone in a second. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about something that you and I hardly dwell on, which is something called the peace of God, the peace that God has, not your peace or my peace, like everything is, you know, everything is fine, everything is good. Now, I'm talking about something so deep, so spiritual, so supernatural. And the Bible tells us about it in many places. In fact, God is called the God of peace. The Bible says that through Jesus Christ, we have peace with God, meaning that our sins are forgiven and God is not a looming judge before us when we die, but he becomes our father, so we have peace with God. But then there's the peace of God, that the Holy Spirit ministers to your own spirit, the peace of God, which we're gonna talk about. Peace is paramount in Scripture, for God is not only called the God of peace, but Jesus, when his birth was foretold, his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of? Prince of Peace. Prince of Peace. Jesus said, peace I leave you, my own peace I give to you. In this world, you're gonna have all kinds of aggravations, but don't worry, I've overcome. I give you something that lifts you up above the whole thing. So let's learn about it, how important it is and how we can lose it, how it can be easily not maintained. Philippians four, verse six. Do not be anxious about anything. One translation has, since it's a double negative, it's like this. Don't worry, not even about a single thing. Just think how many of us are living in disobedience today. The Bible, same God who says, don't lie, don't steal, don't kill, we'd all go amen to that. Same God says, now don't worry, not even about a single thing. But in everything, in every situation, by prayer and petition, telling God what you need as if he doesn't know it, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, here's the promise. And the peace of God, notice, it's God's peace, it's not you feeling better. The peace of God which transcends all understanding, that word in the Greek means beyond all thinking. You can't even imagine what the peace of God is like. When you experience it, you're going into a new level of something that you can't even define and explain to another person. That peace which transcends all understanding will guard not only your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever's true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things, think about them. And now whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put it into practice, do it. And the God of peace will be with you. The God of peace will be with you. So this passage in Philippians four is all about the value of peace and then how to guard that peace and how the enemy tries to attack that peace. A few years ago, I had one of those junctures in my life where I was very unhappy with myself, my preaching, my pastoring, being a husband, being a father, grandfather. I just was like God, you gotta do something new in my life. And I was up alone in a room praying and I was there beat down by life, beat down by pressures, beat down by a lot of stuff with a Bible on my lap and I just hours with the Lord and suddenly at some point there, the presence of God came into that little room and flooded my soul and I began to experience something on some level that I had never encountered in my life. It was oddly that day, that few years ago that I stopped preaching with notes and among other things, the Lord just directed me to try to go another route. And it was so deep that it almost hurt. I feel strange saying that but I have to tell you that it was so wonderful and glorious that I didn't know if I could handle it and then a serenity came over my soul and something was happening on some level that I didn't even know existed, something from God reaching something in me that I had never encountered before. And I said, Lord, you know, I have some experiences with you, I don't purport to be some spiritual giant but God, I know you somewhat. What is this? And the only thing I could hear the Holy Spirit saying in my heart was, I'm baptizing you afresh in my peace. But nothing, I mean, there was a sense there of being lifted like that song says, when the oceans rise and thunders roar. I was in another place, there was something going on where everything on the earth looks so minuscule, things and problems and challenges. It was like, what, that's nothing, there's just God. It's the peace that passes all understanding. You see, I'm fumbling now to tell you because I can't explain it. Now, the first thing that fights against that peace is many times the thing that brings us to the peace. And that is troubles and problems. The apostle under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says, don't worry about anything. But in everything, go to God and tell him what's hurting you. Now, you have to make up your mind today. I'm speaking now in the name of Jesus Christ to you. We have to make up our minds. Are we gonna worry or are we gonna enjoy God's peace? If we give in to worry, we will never experience God's peace. And if we ask God for his peace, we won't be able to worry. But you and I have to begin to develop a distaste for worry and see it for the horrible thing that it is in the Father's eyes. I found some old report cards from my middle daughter, Susan, the other day when she was in her third and fourth grade. And I showed it to her and her children were looking at her marks that she got in the third and fourth grade so they could review their mother's report card. That's a good thing. You know how horrible it would feel if the teacher ever told me when I went to pick up my Susan or my Chrissy or my James or any of my grandkids? Oh, they're very agitated, they can't learn, they can't focus because they're worried about this and that. They have anxiety, they have inner turmoil, what's going on in your house? That they can't rest in school and learn. You might as well put your hand in my chest and rip my heart out. That's how I would feel if one of my children were going through that. How do you think God feels when he sees us worry? You know, he's got everything under his control, but you and I are biting our nails worrying about money and who'll take care of us and what if this and the economy and God says, I gave you my son and I saved you and now you don't think I'm gonna see you rest of the way through? Just think what worry does to God. Forget the negative effects it has on us. So I wanna challenge everybody here today, what are you gonna do now? You're gonna continue to worry? You know, I had a roommate in college sometimes, he would just, he would major in worry. You know, some people, he was just a worry wart. He would lay down in the bed and in this position, hands behind his head, laying on the bed opposite side of the room from me, my roommate, and he would just lay there and worry. And I knew what he was because I got to know him and love him, he's my buddy and I would say, well, you doing it again? He's leave me alone, let me worry by myself. I don't want any help from you. That's all he would do is worry. Yeah, some of us are laughing and we're guilty of the same thing. Isn't this a disobedience that's in a lot of our lives? We worry, worry about our children, worry about money, worry about this, worry about health, worry about layoff, worry about the economy, worry, worry, and for what? What is the change? Changes you, changes me. Worry has a negative effect, you know, in our entire system, even warding off germs and disease. When people are filled with anxiety and worry, worry, worry, worry, and even blessings bring worry. I was remembering today earlier about the young lady I knew who was afraid she would maybe never get a husband and wanted a husband so bad and would worry, worry, worry, and I'd encourage her, let God have his way and just, you know, just trust the Lord and serve him. Worry, worry, worry. Well, then a guy meets her, falls in love and begins to get serious and then wants to marry her and she comes to me, I'm so worried, I don't know what to do. I'm gonna get married, how will I be a wife? How will I cook? How will I do all of those things? I said, wait a minute, you were worried you wouldn't get married, now you're gonna get married and you're worried more? Even the blessings of God can turn into worry, amen? You're blessed and you get some money, you're worried you'll lose it. If you don't have the money, you're worried you don't have any money. Now you got it, you're worried I could lose this. And God is watching in heaven saying, que pasa? What is happening here? This is serious. The word of the Lord to us today is don't worry about a single thing. Not a single thing, it's in the double negative to make it emphatic. Don't worry about a single thing, but listen, in everything, by prayer and supplication, tell God as if he doesn't know. Well, wait a minute, God knows everything, I know, but the Bible says, tell God as if he doesn't know. What is it that's aching your heart today? What is it that's pulling you down? What is it that tears you in a knot inside? Look at me, get to God. You know the miracle that could happen in some of your lives if you just got here today and opened up your heart and don't even use religious church verbiage and just tell God, this is what's killing me. This son is killing me, this daughter worrying about her. On my job, family situation, I can't take it anymore. God, you see what it's doing to me, help me, God. Please help me. And God says that when we petition him sincerely from our heart, here, here's his promise. You do that and I will give you the peace of God which passes all understanding. Can we put our hands together and say amen? So now I gotta make up my mind, you have to make up your mind. Who's gonna carry those problems? You're gonna carry it or God? Make up your mind. Don't dilly-dally about it today. I'm challenging you. You wanna carry it, it'll kill you and nothing will change. Or do you wanna give it to God and he'll work on your behalf? And then he'll transfer, here's his deal. It's the best deal you can have. Give me your burdens, give me your heartache, give me your problems that are weighing you down. And here, I'm gonna give you the peace of God that passes all understanding. It'll guard your heart and your mind. That word in the Greek is, it acts as a sentry. It's actually a word with a guy, let's say with a sword back in that day or with a weapon in the Civil War time or further, more modern than that, a guy walking his post. The peace of God. See, that's your mind, that's your heart. He just walks around it, he patrols it. Nobody's gonna get in there because that's the peace of God guarding you. Here comes some attempt by the enemy. Get outta here, I'm guarding this. The peace of God marches as a sentry. Can we thank the Lord for that and say amen? So your problem now, your mess can become a blessing. Right now, today, it can, it can. Very simple. But think of the robbery going on right now, Satan, using problems and suggesting all kinds of things to us. And now you're living without the peace of God. And without the peace of God, even the best meal you can't enjoy it. The word peace in the Old Testament was the word shalom. That was the greeting that Jews would use back then and to this day. And the word shalom is a very deep word that means more than mental, emotional tranquility. It means harmony, wellbeing, a kind of spiritual, emotional health and connection with God and other people. So when someone wishes someone shalom, they're not just saying, I hope you don't have a nervous breakdown today. They're saying something more. They're saying the blessing of God be upon you. Now the word in the Greek, in the New Testament, is a word that has a rich meaning too. And I'm focusing on the meaning today that speaks of this tranquility, this calmness, this rest of the soul. That's supernatural, that only God can give you. It's not you psyching yourself into anything. It's something totally from God. It's called the peace of God. It's not something you and I contrive sitting with a therapist and then they talk us into the peace of God. No, it's something you receive from God. And without it, the best meal becomes yucky. You can't even enjoy your children. And what's a shame is we live in a society now where we should be standing out as men and women of peace because there's no peace in the world. Forget even wars and rumors of wars. I'm not even talking about that. I have noticed in my lifetime there is less tranquility and sense of mental, emotional rest and contentment than at any time that I've observed in my life. Everyone's agitated. Everyone has some kind of inner chaos edge and that's why people act so ugly. And you run into them and they got like an attitude and you don't even know why. And now they have to warn kids as the school year begins what to do with internet bullying and school bullying because nine, 10, 11, 12 year olds are committing suicide because they can't take what their classmates are doing to them. Because there's no peace and when you're agitated and you're at unrest in yourself, you usually spill over to people close to you and you take it out on them. It's like the woman in that diner a couple years ago that I walked in, it was so New Yorkish. It was so, it just, it was so, so, exactly. And I just was there, no one had handed me a menu and I was just sitting there and she walked over there with a pad and she went, what do you want? Not good morning, not what would you like to eat, would you like a menu, what do you want? Obviously, something was going on in her life. And that's the way a lot of us are. We act nasty to other people and we accuse and we attack. When you have peace, you're not attacking anybody. You're just so happy that the God of peace is dwelling in your heart. So, we learn here now what an unrestful, agitated world we live in. The political dialogue is the worst, angriest, nastiest that you could ever get. Republicans and Democrats, both of them. Nobody has any rest or even respect. Remember now, God gives money to people who don't serve him. Money's not a sign of anything. God gives fame, earthly fame, to people who curse him, but Isaiah 48, 28 says this, but there will be no peace for the wicked. No, no, no, that blessing, no, God's not handing that out to anyone except his own children. There's no peace for the wicked. No, no, no, no. People are talking prosperity and measuring things like that. I'll tell you how you measure someone deep in God. They're enjoying the peace that passes all understanding. No matter what happens around them, they're just serene, they've got a, they're rooted in God. Now, maintaining it, let me close. There's two main attacks of it when we secure it, see? Now, bring your problem, oh, today, God, please, just speak to the people that come and tell you what's killing them and making them worry, and you can have a miracle today. Now, once you have it, notice what Paul then goes into. He says, now, whatsoever's lovely, whatever's pure, whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatsoever of a good report, whatever's respectable, if there's anything praiseworthy and lovely about it, think on these things. Here's the second lesson I wanna give you today. I wanna deliver it in the name of the Lord to you. You can think away the peace of God by dwelling on thoughts that God does not want you to have. There are some people, they don't need anyone to agitate them. They don't need a mother-in-law, a boss, a nasty coworker. Just leave them alone and let their mind go to certain things, and the peace of God is gone in 20 minutes. Now, I'm not expecting, as this morning, I didn't get many amens from this part of the message, but you know what? I am strong in the Lord today and in the power of his might. You know what the problem is with a lot of us? We think because Christ lives in our heart, you can let your mind be a sewer, and you take in every kind of negative thought and wrong thought and what people said about you 10 years ago, and impure thoughts, and ugly thoughts, and racist thoughts, white racist, black racist thoughts, thoughts that are unworthy of God, and you dwell on them, and then you wonder why you feel so uncomfortable inside, and you wonder why the peace of God has drifted away from you somehow. Paul says, you gotta think on these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Think on these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Whatever's lovely, whatever's true, let's just take a couple of them. Whatever is true, think on true things. We live in a world where everything is fake. TV is fake, don't you get it? They're acting, don't you get it? The movie stars, that's fake. They're acting. The athletes, when they're interviewed, that's not them, that's who they want you to think they are. You don't really know them, nobody knows them but God. How in the world would the peace of God ever settle in you if you're thinking about nonsense? Come on, somebody say amen. You're thinking about nonsense, it's not true. This is why when we come to church, sometimes there's a revival of peace in our heart from one service, why? Because the minister is speaking from the word of God. Your mind then goes, and you start thinking about what I'm saying, and those very thoughts about God's word is ministering peace to you. But unfortunately, by the time some hit the 41 bus and are two stops down, they lost their peace because they're agitated, come on. Somebody say amen. Listen, you can control by God's grace what you think about, and what you think about is who you will be. Do you get it? As a man or a woman thinketh, so is he, so is she. You can't be more and different than what you think about. When people lie awake at night, and can't sleep, and get agitated, or when someone's alone, and they were just in a happy frame, and now they're agitated, no one talked to them, no one sent them a letter, they didn't get an email, how in the world could you change? Don't you get it? They've been thinking about ugly thoughts, which makes them feel ugly. They act cheap because they're thinking cheap thoughts. And as somebody here, you're not to think about what people say you are, and some mean things someone said to you. You don't even think about that. You think what God said about you. He loves you and has a plan for your life. Come on, let's say amen to that. The Bible says there's certain things that people practice in the dark that are not to be spoken about. You don't even discuss it, you don't say it. There are things that happen in life, you're not to think about them. Because if you think about them, and it's gonna drag you down, you're gonna lose the peace of God. Whatsoever's pure. Gentlemen, ladies, if you think impure thoughts that are against the holiness of Christ and God, you don't think that's gonna have an effect on the peace of God living in you? Think on these things. The way to overcome negative thoughts is not to pray against them, it's to put your mind on positive thoughts. You don't fight negative thoughts by saying I rebuke you, I rebuke you. Rebuke it, but then put your mind on something else because listen, listen, the mind is made, it's always gonna be thinking of something. Nobody in the world can for 10 seconds not think. The way the mind is is like a shark, they can't stop swimming. It's always moving. Sharks don't say let's chill and just lay down for a while. They never do that. And that's the way the mind is. The mind is always moving. So if you wanna overcome negative thoughts, you don't go oh God, this is so wrong. Put your mind on surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I'm gonna dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What does goodness mean? What is mercy? Think about those things. Think back five years ago, 10 years ago when God brought you through. Think about his love. Think about his patience. Think about somebody. Think about the Apostle Paul. Think, think holy thoughts, pure thoughts. A lot of people are willing to give God their souls but and they wanna go to heaven but the hardest surrender is to, everybody put your hands right now on your heads, right on your minds, right now on your mind. Oh God, in the name of Jesus, we give you our minds today. Change the way we think, Lord. Put a guard around when negative thoughts come, ugly thoughts, impure thoughts. God, give us a warning so we can divert our minds and think about you and your goodness. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. A lot of people, we don't give our minds to God. We think, I was like that when I grew up in church. You love Jesus with your heart. Your mind can go anywhere. It can't go anywhere. God says, think about these things, lovely, pure. The Bible talks about we're transformed by the renewing of our mind. The renewing of our mind is what keeps us focused on those things that are gonna minister life to our soul. Brothers and sisters, please, give God your mind today. Let him have your thoughts. If you keep, look, if you don't change the way you think, you're not gonna get anything different. You gotta ask God now, God, watch over and help me think differently. I'm not gonna think negative, worrisome, impure, or wrong, angry, if I think angry thoughts of what people did to me 10 years ago, 20 years ago, how do you think that's gonna agitate me? Oh, I counsel people sometimes. I feel so, I feel so bad, and I feel so insufficient as a pastor. I met someone in my office, and when they told me the shambles that their life is in, I said, oh, you must have a horrible pastor, knowing they came here. I said, what kind of pastor you got? He can't get through to you any better than he has gotten through to you. How in the world can you dwell all day long on that and say, Jesus, where are you? Where are you? You thought him away. You thought about junk that scared the Holy Spirit, grieved him. So today, we're gonna give our minds to God. How many say amen? One last one now. I wanna be confrontational and love with you today, because, you know, when a surgeon does surgery, sometimes, you know, you gotta cut, open up the body. Paul says, now look, whatever you heard from me and saw in me, do it now, put it into practice. When Paul was ministering in Philippi and founded that church and got thrown in prison, you remember the story. Midnight, he and Silas were singing. There was no written New Testament, so all the teaching in the early church was verbal. It was the teachings of Jesus passed down through verbal traditions, the apostles being keys, and then the teaching of the apostles as they applied the teachings of Christ under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to these problems which we find in the letters. After Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and Acts, then there's the letters. But this is why meditating on the word of God is so important, because it changes the focus of your thoughts. As you read this, your mind obviously has to think of Samuel's story. Ah, Samuel, ah, that's how he was born. Now you're thinking godly thoughts, you're thinking truth, and then suddenly that ministers to your spirit. Well, Paul didn't have that, so he said, now, remember what I told you verbally and what you saw in me, and what a challenge to ministers that a minister like Paul could say, whatever you heard from me and saw, do it, put it into practice. So, carrying worries and burdens will lose you the peace of God. Giving it to God in prayer will secure the peace of God. Watching your mind by the grace of God and dwelling on positive things. That's why you gotta be careful who you talk to. Some people are peace thieves. I just made that up, it's pretty good, right? Peace thieves. They're, you just talk to them, you need prayer, like, for an hour, or just being with them 10 minutes. How many know what I'm talking about? Just, like, whoa. How did I get that mode? See, they're negative words, make you think. See, when someone talks to you, you think of what they're saying, and if it's negative, you have negative thoughts now in your mind. So, bad company corrupts morals. So, Paul says, put it into practice. I gotta tell you today, not only your thoughts, not only these burdens, but you can't practice disobedience and have the peace of God. He will send off an alarm. You dabble in some pornography, you say some gossip and slander about someone who's not present, there'll be a warning, if you're a real Christian, there'll be a warning in your spirit. And the peace will begin to lift, why? God's not gonna give you peace at the same time you're sinning against him. He'll take away his peace as an alarm. For whom the Lord loves, he also, what? He chastens, and one of the ways he chastens, he just withdraws his peace. He doesn't have to spank you, doesn't have to take off his belt and spank you, he just withdraws his peace, and you will feel it quickly. How many know exactly what I'm talking about? Lift your hand. God has ways of getting our attention, and one of those ways is just withdrawing his peace. You can't have disobedience in God. I don't care what the televangelist says. I don't care what anyone told you. Don't believe the filth, that filthy lie that you justify everything because God is love and everything will just work out. You can lose your soul over sin. You can lose your peace real quick, and we all know that. How many here have ever backslid or walked into disobedience, and you lost your peace? Listen, better people than us have done it. David not only sinned with Bathsheba, he then had her husband killed, and the Bible indicates he went seven, nine months or so, more than that, didn't write any psalms, and was hiding the thing until the prophet rebuked him, and then he wrote those psalms. My bones were waxing old, and everything was hot like a desert inside of me, and then I said to myself, I will confess my sin to the Lord, and when I confessed it, you forgave me. First John, for if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us. The way to get your peace back when you've fallen into disobedience is, listen, confess the thing. Stop justifying it, don't blame anybody. Make yourself the culprit. It's me, oh God, in the need of prayer. It's not my brother, not my sister, not my mother-in-law, not how I grew up, not my color. All that other nonsense where everybody's a victim. This is why so few people have peace. Everyone's a victim. Don't be a victim. Say, God, it's me, I did it wrong, but praise God, the blood of Jesus is gonna cleanse me. Come on, everybody, and I'm gonna have the peace of God. I'm gonna have the peace of God. When Satan whispers to you justification and excuses, it sounds like he's the Holy Spirit. He's imitating the Holy Spirit. He comes like an angel of light, and he tries to placate you and lessen the blow, and you're not so bad, you're better than most people. Everyone has something wrong. Don't you understand, he's playing you. He's robbing us of our peace because he knows if we confront the thing and confess it, then he's out of the box. We overcome him by the blood of the Lamb. As long as I'm justifying and I got some story, oh, you don't know, pastor, what I've been through. That minute I hear people say that, I go, oh my goodness, here we go. But when the person says, I'm the one, I've sinned against God, that's wrong. That attitude is wrong. That unforgiveness in your heart, it's gonna keep the peace of God from you. I know that person hurt you, but by you not forgiving them, guess what, they beat you twice. They not only hurt you once, now you don't have the peace of God because you don't forgive them. Now they doubled you. No, no, I want the peace of God. I wanna live with that blessing that I felt in a new way in that little room in my house. We gotta sing about the peace of God. How many want it? Come on, lift both your hands if you want a new, just think, it'll lift you up everything else. When people are going, they're panicking, they're screaming, they're biting their nails, and you'll just be like this. Praise God. Nothing moves me. The peace of God. Close your eyes with me. If you're here today and something is pulling you down with worry, something has broken your heart, it's robbed you of the peace of God, and you haven't given it to God like you need to, just come, I can't take this anymore. I'm living without the peace of God, for what? This worry's gonna kill me. If you're here today and you're troubled in your mind, your mind goes places it shouldn't go, your thought life needs a supernatural touch from the Holy Spirit, just come. If you're here today and there's some disobedience that you're living in, and you know while I was speaking, the Holy Spirit convicted you, and said, how long will you fight against God? How long? How long are you gonna fight against God? Don't you know he'll win in the end? He wants to give you peace. God, I'm turning to you today. I'm turning my back on that stuff. It's wrong, it's wrong, that attitude is wrong. That relationship is wrong. It's wrong. None of this God understands, it's wrong, it's wrong. Satan, you're a liar. God is gonna grant me his special peace today. Father God, we come to you, and we thank you for your promise, Father. You said that if we would talk to you and tell you what's killing us inside, that you would take it off of our back, lift it off of our shoulders, take away the pressure inside, and that you would carry it on your strong shoulders, and not only would we feel so much lighter, on top of that, you would give us the peace of God. Supernatural peace, not feel-better peace. Supernatural peace. We give you our worries, our heartaches, secret concerns. We give you our minds today again. By your grace, we are gonna think on things that are good, true, pure, noble, respectful. We belong to you. We're not gonna have cheap thoughts, ugly thoughts, angry thoughts, resentful thoughts, vengeance thoughts. You're gonna guard our minds and teach us how to transfer, when the enemy comes, transfer our thoughts to the word of God and your faithfulness to us. And now, God, I ask you to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Every wrong relationship is broken right now in the name of Jesus Christ. And we forgive those who trespass against us. Drugs, alcohol, lying, stealing, immorality, suggestiveness, lewdness, partying, we turn away from it because it's gonna rob us of your peace. Lord, I pray that by your spirit, you will speak to my brothers and sisters up here and show them the friends and acquaintances that they need to make separation from. We can witness to them. We can show them mercy and be kind, but we're not gonna let them feed our minds with the junk that's in their spirit, Lord, because we belong to you. I'd rather talk to you than anyone in the world, Lord. And teach us to listen when we talk to you. Let this day be a day like a line in the sand. September the 4th, first Sunday in September, 2011. I began to treasure the peace of God like never before. I learned its operation. I learned how the enemy tries to steal it. And I surrendered my life to Christ so I could live with that peace surrounding me.