Embracing God's Process: Trust, Obedience, and Surrender

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. Romans 8:28 (NIV) - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
2. Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV) - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
3. Hebrews 6:13-15 (NIV) - "When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, 'I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.' And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised."

#### Observation Questions
1. According to Romans 8:28, what does God promise to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose?
2. In Philippians 4:6-7, what are we instructed to do instead of being anxious, and what is the result of following this instruction?
3. What does Hebrews 6:13-15 tell us about the relationship between God's promises and patience?

#### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the story of Joseph illustrate the concept that God uses trials and tribulations as part of the preparation process? ([50:59])
2. What does it mean to trust God in the midst of chaos, and how can this trust manifest as peace and rest in our lives? ([55:16])
3. Why is obedience to God's commands crucial for the fulfillment of His promises, and how can we walk in obedience even when we don't fully understand His plans? ([01:01:44])

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you faced significant trials. How did you see God working through those trials to prepare you for a future season? ([50:59])
2. What are some practical steps you can take to cultivate trust in God, especially during chaotic or uncertain times? ([55:16])
3. Think about an area in your life where you struggle with obedience to God's commands. What steps can you take to align your actions with His will, even if you don't fully understand His plans? ([01:01:44])
4. How can you practice patience in your current season of life, especially when you feel like God's promises are taking longer to manifest than you expected? ([01:04:56])
5. Identify a specific worry or anxiety you are currently facing. How can you replace that worry with prayer and thanksgiving, as instructed in Philippians 4:6-7? ([56:47])
6. In what ways can you surrender your heart to God more fully, trusting that He is not after your perfection but your surrender? ([01:14:41])
7. How can you support others in your small group or community who are struggling with worry, anxiety, and fear, helping them to trust, obey, and be patient in God's process? ([01:09:35])

Day 1: Trust in God's Process
Trusting God means finding peace and rest in Him, even when circumstances are chaotic. Trust looks like moving at the pace of peace and not going anywhere that peace won't take you. This trust is grounded in the relationship we have with God, knowing He is a good, good Father. Trusting God is not about understanding every detail of His plan but about resting in His character and promises. When we trust God, we can navigate life's storms with a sense of calm and assurance, knowing that He is in control and working all things for our good.

In the story of Joseph, despite the many trials he faced, he trusted in God's process. He was sold into slavery, falsely accused, and imprisoned, yet he remained faithful and trusted that God had a purpose for his life. This trust allowed him to rise to a position of great influence and fulfill his God-given destiny. Similarly, we are called to trust God through our own trials, believing that He is preparing us for the promises He has for us. [55:16]

Isaiah 26:3-4 (ESV): "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you struggle to find peace? How can you actively choose to trust God in that area today?


Day 2: Obedience to God's Commands
The promises of God are conditional upon our obedience. Disobedience will never lead to the fulfillment of God's promises. Understanding is not a prerequisite for obedience; we must walk in obedience even when we don't fully understand God's plans. Obedience is an act of faith, demonstrating our trust in God's wisdom and goodness. It is through obedience that we align ourselves with God's will and position ourselves to receive His blessings.

In the Bible, we see numerous examples of individuals who experienced God's promises through their obedience. Abraham obeyed God's command to leave his homeland, and as a result, he became the father of many nations. Similarly, our obedience to God's commands, even when it is difficult or doesn't make sense, opens the door for His promises to be fulfilled in our lives. [01:01:44]

Deuteronomy 5:33 (ESV): "You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess."

Reflection: Is there a specific command or instruction from God that you have been hesitant to obey? What steps can you take today to walk in obedience?


Day 3: Patience in the Process
Patience is essential because we do not control the timing or circumstances of God's process. The process is often longer and more challenging than we expect, but it is crucial for our growth and preparation to steward God's promises. Patience allows us to endure the trials and tribulations that come our way, trusting that God is using them to refine and prepare us for what He has in store.

Joseph's journey to his destiny was marked by significant trials, yet he remained patient and faithful. He understood that God's timing was perfect and that every season of his life was part of God's preparation process. Similarly, we must embrace patience, knowing that God's process is designed for our ultimate good and His glory. [01:04:56]

James 1:2-4 (ESV): "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you find it difficult to be patient? How can you shift your perspective to see these areas as part of God's preparation process?


Day 4: God Uses Trials for Preparation
Like Joseph, we may go through significant trials and tribulations, but God uses these as part of the preparation process. No season is wasted; every trial and tribulation is used by God to position us for our next season. Trials are not meant to break us but to build us, shaping our character and increasing our dependence on God.

Joseph's life is a testament to how God uses trials for preparation. Despite being betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, and unjustly imprisoned, Joseph remained faithful. These trials were not wasted; they were instrumental in preparing him for the role God had for him. In the same way, we can trust that God is using our trials to prepare us for His purposes. [50:59]

1 Peter 1:6-7 (ESV): "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Reflection: Think of a recent trial you have faced. How can you see God's hand in using that trial to prepare you for your future?


Day 5: God Wants Our Hearts
Jesus is not after our perfection but our surrender. He wants our hearts, and when He has our hearts, everything else will fall into place. This relationship with God is the foundation for overcoming worry, anxiety, and fear. When we give God our hearts, we allow Him to work through us, transforming us from the inside out.

In "The Chosen," Jesus tells Mary Magdalene that He just wants her heart. This powerful illustration encapsulates the essence of our relationship with God. He desires our love and devotion, not our perfection. When we surrender our hearts to Him, we experience His peace and rest, even in the midst of life's challenges. [01:14:41]

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV): "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you find yourself holding back from surrendering to Jesus? What would surrendering this area to Him actually look like in terms of daily habits?

The stage today. Well, all right. I feel like those intros are a setup for something, but it's always a great thrill to be with the family here at the Father's House. I've known your pastor for many years. He's such an amazing leader, and y'all are blessed to have Pastor Terry and Anita leading, along with the other leadership team that has been developed here at Father's House. This is an amazing place. You can just sense it in the atmosphere, so we're going to have a good time today.

Pastor Terry texted me, and I said, "Don't worry about anything. I'll try not to mess up their theology too badly when I get up here." But we get to travel around and be with people and just enjoy the family of God wherever we go. And so, I believe God's got a word for the house today, and I'm excited to share that with you.

I heard this cute little story about these three ladies that died and went to heaven, and they met Peter at the gate. Peter says, "We just have one rule here. Don't step on any ducks." The ladies looked at him, "Don't step on a duck? What are you talking about?"

So they go on in, and sure enough, in heaven, there are ducks everywhere. Everywhere they look, there's a duck. So the anxiety level just went up because Peter told them not to step on a duck. They go for about a month, and one lady accidentally steps on a duck. Well, here comes Peter, and he's dragging along the ugliest man she's ever seen.

And Peter chains this ugly man to her and says, "This is your punishment for stepping on a duck." The other two ladies are like, "Oh my gosh!" The anxiety level went up another level, you know. They're like, "Well, don't step on a duck. You'll be chained to an ugly guy."

So they manage to go about six months, and sure enough, one lady steps on a duck. Here comes St. Peter dragging along a guy that's even uglier than the last guy. He chains him to her and says, "This is your penalty for stepping on a duck."

And so you can imagine the last lady, she's just in fear and trepidation. She manages to be extremely careful. She goes about a year, but finally one day, she steps on a duck. Well, here comes St. Peter, but this time he's dragging along the most gorgeous man she's ever seen in her life. He chains him to her, and she looks at this gorgeous guy and says, "Wow, what did I do to deserve you?" He looks at her and says, "Lady, I don't know about you, but I stepped on a duck."

So today we're going to talk about worry, anxiety, and fear, but I didn't see any ducks on the property, so I think we'll be okay. Seriously, I want to share with you today something that God dropped in my spirit concerning the day and the hour that we live, and especially this whole idea of anxiety and worry and fear, because we're living in such a fear-based culture, right?

According to the latest statistics, whatever you're looking at, worry and anxiety and fear are just overwhelming people. We've got the highest levels of mental illness and just all kinds of crazy stuff going on that we've never experienced before. I could understand if that was the way it was for people who don't know God, but even amongst the body of Christ, we are seeing people struggling with this whole area of anxiety and worry and fear.

I thought about this, and I said, "You know, I could preach a really short sermon, How to Crush Worry, Anxiety, and Your Fear." I'll give you about a 30-second version. How many want to get out of here really quick today? All right. Here's my short version. Ready? How to Crush Worry, Anxiety, and Fear.

Number one, stop watching stupid stuff. Number two, stop listening to stupid people. And number three, stop hanging out with stupid people. Boom. Mic drop right there. How many know that probably about 95 percent of all that we're dealing with would go away if we just listened to the right people?

So this message really is very practical and is really strategic to how you and I personally, and the Father's House as an entity, what God's called this house to do specifically. Everything God wants to do through our lives is going to be determined a lot on how we deal with anxiety and worry and fear in our life.

Because, you see, the enemies always... They're like the three amigos. They're like the three big hitters. And they all work seamlessly. I don't know which comes first. Does worry come first, and then you get anxious? Or does anxiety worry, and fear come? I don't know. All I know is that these are like the three amigos in Satan's arsenal, and he always uses them to try and stop you from fulfilling your God-given purpose and your destiny.

Now listen, how many of you like promises? Anybody like promises? A Canadian scholar did an exhaustive research and came up with, there are 8,810 promises in the Bible. I mean, you know, that's a lot of promises, right?

And what I want to share with you is that, and this is the underlying, the foundational thing you need to get in your life today. There is a process connected to your promise. Say that with me today. There's a process connected to your promise. In other words, we have to learn to lean into the process that leads to our promise.

And if you stop to think about it, in one way or another, we all pretty much live our lives with the expectation of some type of promise or some kind of reward. You know, you go to work with the promise of a paycheck. You do certain things with an expectation or a promise of an outcome, correct?

So this is pretty much a factor of the way life works. And so this trio of anxiety and worry and fear tends to enter our minds. And so we have to learn to lean into the process when we don't feel like the promises of God are being realized in our life. And even people in church, we just go through the motions a lot of times.

And underneath that outer shell of ours is a lot of worry and anxiety and fear over what we don't feel like is happening in our life, or it's not happening the way we thought it would happen. But the pathway to promise is called process. And so that's the underlying truth that there's a process that leads to our promise.

And so that's connected to your promise. And we become so fixated and we get so emotional and we jump up and down and shout about the promise, but we don't get very excited about the process. And so I want to say that the process, listen very carefully, the process is just as important as the promise.

Because you see, it's what God does in the process of your life that determines how you will steward the promise when it comes. And if you skip the process that leads to the promise, there's a good chance that you'll screw up the promise when you get it. You won't steward it appropriately. You won't steward it the way you're supposed to.

So that space between the promise and the manifestation of the promise, that's where the warfare takes place. That's where the growing actually takes place. And so many people have locked on to the promises of God, but when it doesn't happen soon enough, or things take a detour, they get fearful and worried and discouraged and distracted, you know, and tempted to give up.

Now, here's our theology. I'll just, this beautiful woman over here, I've been married to her for 43 years, and our theology is this: God is a good, good father. Okay? This message won't make a lot of sense to you if that's not your theology. He's a good, good father.

And you and I can trust him in the process. Even when Satan tries to throw things at your life and to discourage or distract you, and that is his assignment, he does come to steal, kill, and destroy. So we shouldn't be surprised, right, by it. But when he throws things at you, then we can be grounded in the promise of God.

And we can trust him. And we can be grounded in the fact that I don't understand what's going on right now, but I know that my God is a good, good father. Amen? And I can trust him.

I didn't serve in the military, but I consider myself a veteran of spiritual wars. And the last, I don't know, number of months, weeks, I've met with a lot of pastors and church leaders, and I keep coming back to Romans 8:28. They'll put it up here for you.

But Paul said this, he said, "And we know." Now, the Amplified Bible adds a phrase there, "with great confidence," puts it in parentheses. So I'm going to say it like that. "And we know with great confidence that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purposes for them."

Now, here's my interpretation of that scripture. Clearly, all things are not good, but God is so good that he can cause whatever Satan meant for not good or for destruction. God is so good that he can even use those things and turn them around and use them for your good. Amen.

You see, these past, I don't know, we're, I even hate to say the C word, COVID, because it seems like we're past a lot of that, but it threw our lives into chaos for many, many of us. You know, even our organization, Christian Life School of Theology Global, we had to learn to, we had to figure new things out.

And sometimes God uses the, what we would call the troubling or the challenging or even the trauma to cause us to change the way we're doing something. And the outcome of that can be better than what we had before, if we'll lean into the goodness of God.

And so God helped us. And during COVID, we shifted to some digital platforms and did some things that really opened the world up to us. And so we actually grew during COVID. Instead of contracted, we expanded. And that was because of the goodness of God.

We, Lori and I were living over in Pensacola at the time. Now we live in Atlanta, and Hurricane Sally hit us over there. And I tell you what, man, it was traumatic. And it was doing one of these windshield wiper things, and nobody knew which way it was going to go.

And, uh, we, you know, we just always just watched our neighbors and whatever, because our neighbors had lived there a long time. We'd say, "Well, whatever they do, we're going to do. If they shut her up, we shut her up. If they leave town, we leave town." They stayed home, and it just looked like it was going to go the other direction. It turned and hit us at the last minute.

And the flooding was horrific. Uh, our neighbors actually lived with us for about a month, and they were not believers, and it was an opportunity to sow into their lives. And so God used it in a special way.

Uh, what many of you may not know is that, uh, this woman who's over here jumping up and down in praise and worship, in November of 2020, she went out for a motorcycle ride on her Harley Davidson and rode into a telephone pole and wound up in the hospital, broke her pelvis in several places, hit her face.

So she takes off on a motorcycle ride and comes home about 15 days later in an ambulance. And our living room becomes a hospital room. And, uh, she can't walk, she can't move. And so, uh, the trauma of that was brutal.

And, uh, the doctors, you know, we had the most pessimistic, I love doctors, don't get me wrong, but this dude went to the school. He was a graduate from the school of pessimism, and he had absolutely nothing. "You're probably not going to walk again. And if you do walk, you know, you're probably going to be, you know, crippled and all this stuff."

And we had to just go through such trauma. It got so bad when we had to go to the doctor's office, you know, we just gird ourselves up. "What's he going to say this time?" One time I had to take Lori's hands in my face and my hands, I looked into her precious little eyes and I said, "Baby, this doctor does not prophesy our future. We know who the healer is."

And we had to lean into that, and it didn't look like it, but we knew who, because he's a good, good father. Turn to your neighbor and just say, "He's a good, good father."

And so we had to go through all this thing. And here we are in 2024. And I got to tell you, I am just so thankful. I am so grateful for the goodness of God. How can you say that, Dr. Langley? You've been through all that stuff. Well, because like Paul said, I know with great confidence that he's a good, good father.

And it's like the song, you probably sing it here: "Even when it don't feel like it, even when you don't see it, he's working. Even when you don't feel it, he's working. He never stops. He never stops working. He never stops working. He never stops working. He's a good, good father."

Don't give up. Don't allow worry and anxiety and fear to overwhelm you. Be grounded in the goodness of God. So in the same way, on your way toward your promise, your dream, you got to remind yourself that you're a son, you're a daughter, and you belong to a good, good father.

Now here, I'm going to have them put up this graphic, and you'll see if this relates to you. But see, this is what I planned was on the left. This is what... Can anybody relate to this graphic? Is that the story of anybody else's life?

Now, what I want you to understand is that, see, what I planned is just, this is where it's going to go. We're just going to grow. It's going to be a straight line. That would not have resulted in the development and the growth and the process of what God wanted to do in our life.

And so even though on the right is what happened, that was actually the plan of God. Now, to me, that doesn't feel like much of a plan, but God... Somebody say, "But God," right?

And so I've been thinking of like the story of Joseph. There are so many men and women in the Bible that we could point towards, but in Genesis 37 through 50 is the story of Joseph. And I would encourage you to go back and read that because that's the story of a teenager with a dream, the story of a young man with a promise, right?

And God comes to him and tells him he's going to be this ruler. And of course, he doesn't know how to steward the promise. He's young; he's been through that process of development. He just has a promise, but he doesn't know that God's fixing to take him through a process.

And so it starts with this youthful, you know, zeal and dreams of greatness, and it leads to despair and disappointment and betrayal. It's a great story. It starts with a 17-year-old boy with a dream, and it ends with a man who's sitting on the throne and ruler over all of the known world of his day.

Here's something you might want to write down: God doesn't waste anything in your life. God, there's no season that you're in now or ever will be going through that is wasted as a man or a woman of God. God uses every trial and every tribulation, just like he did for Joseph, as part of the preparation process to position you to rule and to reign in the next season of your life.

Here's a scripture that just, this will just blow your mind. Look, it's in Psalm 119, verse 71-72. This is what it says: "The punishment you brought me through was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me your ways. The words you speak to me are worth more than all the riches and wealth in the whole world."

You think I can provide more than all of your purposes on top of that? But don't point your breath at this. Not all what you black... What you black represents just the examples of what Jesus had to do to protect his nation.

I'm someone who killed a person, but I don't know if that really helped me right now, but if not, I really want to thank the Christ in this book for supporting my church, giving me an idea. We talk about everything, but it was the answer to that question because you did everything right in those first five years of your life and only you know that you're still here now.

So because I did the work for Moses, even though I haven't done that work for my church, well, that was actually not good enough to teach me the lessons of facilities, the lessons of humility, humility lessons of wisdom, lessons of servanthood, lessons of love, how to really love people who are broken and hurting and lost.

That's a great idea, isn't it? So God used the prison cell as a crucible to form in Joseph's heart what he needed to be able to rule and reign as that kind of a leader right there in the midst of fear, in the midst of fear, anxiety, and worry.

Unbeknownst to Joseph, I mean, we've got the benefit of reading it; he didn't have that benefit. But all of that was part of God's plan for what he wanted to do in his life. And so I know this is mind-blowing, but God's favor was in allowing him to face confinement in the prison to prepare him for the promise.

God's favor might be on you in what you think is the worst season of your life to prepare you for what he's getting ready to do in the next season of your life. Come on, say amen, somebody.

I know that that's, you know, that's one of those things it's easy to say amen to but really tough to live, right? So really quick, how do we crush anxiety and worry and fear? I'm going to use an acronym: T.O.P. Your Promise Plus a Process is what will take you through to victory in your life.

So let me just share three factors to the process, the three factors you've got to filter worry and anxiety and fear through.

Number one, the T stands for trust. I call this the trust factor. Somebody say trust. You know, Lori and I are so grounded in this. This is not about religion. I love the Father's House because the Spirit of God is in this place. This is not about just, "Well, I went to church and I checked that off. I did my religious thing and I checked that off." This is about relationship, friends.

You cannot skip the relationship. If you don't have a relationship with God, all this stuff just seems weird and wacky to you. It doesn't make sense. But when you know him and you know he's a good, good father, and you have a relationship with him, then you can trust him.

And when worry and anxiety and fear try to rise up within you, you can remind yourself, "Wait a minute, I belong to you, Father. I'm your son, I'm your daughter, and I know that I don't see it right now, but I know that you're working on my behalf."

I was thinking about what does trust look like? We often say, "Trust God, trust God." You ever stop to ask yourself, "What does that look like? What does that really mean?"

Well, it looks a lot like peace. Lori and I have this phrase: "Learn to move at the pace of peace in your life. Don't go anywhere that peace won't take you. And if you lose your peace on the way, go back to where you lost it and pick it up there and start again."

Learn to move at the pace of peace. Trust feels very much like peace. And the funny thing is, because you can be in a situation that is not in any way, shape, or form peaceful, but the peace of God can still rule and reign in your life when you're trusting God.

And then it looks a lot like rest. Somebody say rest. Now, as believers, we need to stop running around and trying to impress God, trying to prove ourselves to God. If you're worn out and weary, then you might need to revisit this whole idea of trust.

See, because we can rest in him in the midst of our circumstances. It looks like peace; it looks like rest. Well, you don't understand, Dr. Langley, I'm just so worried. I'm just so, you know... When we say, "Well, I'm just so worried," we can't say that because that's not very scriptural.

So we use a different word. We say, "I'm just so concerned." Right? What is concerned? That's just code word for "I'm freaked out," right? Let's just be honest about it. But if you think about it, that's such a defensive posture, and it's spiritually kind of a lazy posture. It's like I'm helpless to do anything about the situation.

In Philippians chapter 4, verse 6 and 7, the Apostle Paul wrote this. He said, "Don't worry about anything." Do you know this scripture? "Don't worry about anything." Now just stop there a second. Have you ever told somebody, "Don't worry"?

How many men are married in here? Let me see your hand. If you're a married man, guys, have you ever told your wife, "Honey, don't worry"? And what happened? The anxiety level just went up three or four notches, right?

Just telling somebody not to worry has never helped anything. He says, "Don't worry about anything." If you have your Bible open, if you're taking notes, write that word down. Instead, encircle it because see, that's the million-dollar word: instead.

Pray about everything. So it's not good enough to say, "Don't worry." You have to replace that worry with something. Don't worry; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he's done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. So see, it's not that worry comes; it's what you do with your worry. That's where the battle lies. You know, the peace of God, my friends, is not accidental. The peace of God is intentional.

It's intentional for you to lean in, and you replace your worry with something instead of leaning into the worry. Amen? So the T stands for the trust factor. Everybody say trust.

The O stands for the obedience factor. The obedience factor. You see, anxiety and worry and fear will steal your miracle. Think about the story of Peter and the guys in the boat. Jesus is walking on the water, and Jesus, they're out there in the midst of the storm. There's anxiety and worry and fear where they think they're gonna drown; they think they're gonna die.

And Jesus even calls Peter out of the boat, "Come walk." And so Peter gets out of the boat, right, and starts walking on water. That's a miracle! People don't walk on water. I hit my golf ball in the water yesterday, and I wish I could have walked on the water. Jesus didn't appear at the golf course for me, so it didn't happen.

But we want to walk on the water. But here's what I want you to get: in the midst of his miracle, he turned his eyes off of Jesus and began to look at the wind and the waves and the storm, right? Anxiety and worry and fear will try to show up in the middle of your miracle when you're near to Jesus.

And he took his eyes off of Jesus, and it tried to steal his miracle, and Peter began to sink. Anxiety, worry, and fear will steal your potential. Think about the parable of the soils in Luke chapter 18. It talks about the thorny ground, and it says those who hear and accept the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares, the worries, and the anxieties of this life.

And so it says they never grow into maturity. Anxiety and worry and fear will try to kill you. And then they will try to kill you, and then they will try to kill you. Fear will steal your potential. You never grow into maturity.

So our part to play is obedience. Say obedience. I choose anxiety and worry and fear; I'm acting in disobedience. Now listen, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I do know this: you will never succeed. You will never inherit your promise through disobedience. It's not going to happen.

And just another thing here, just a side note: just because you have a promise from God, just because you have a genuine God dream, we would say, doesn't mean it's automatic. You see, here's the way I like to say it: when we talk about God, the love of God is unconditional. In other words, there is nothing you and I could do to get God to stop loving us.

You know why? Because there's nothing that you or I did to get him to start loving us. So the love of God is unconditional. No matter who you are, where you've been, what you've done, God loves you.

However, the promises of God are very much conditional. God says, "If you do this, you will walk in the blessing of this. If you obey me in this, you'll experience the peace here." You see, the promises of God depend on our obedience.

And God is unchangeably committed to his word. He will not violate his word. But if you obey him, that's why the goodness of God is so wonderful. God's not out to make your life miserable. God's out to bring you wholeness and deliverance and freedom and to enable you to walk in the blessings that he's provided for you.

That's why religious people get all goofed up because they think, "Well, you know, there's just this list. Don't do this. And don't do that. And don't do that. Don't do this. And don't do that." That's how people think about God.

If he says, "Don't do something," it's not because he's trying to make your life miserable. It's because he wants to bring you into such abundant blessings and promises your mind couldn't even imagine. So it's not about don't do this; it's about do this because of the blessings and the goodness of God that you'll experience in and through your life.

The promises of God are mostly conditional. The love of God is unconditional. Can you say amen to that?

All right. Now, just a little side note: understanding is not a prerequisite for obedience. Don't wait till you just understand everything. God's so big, you won't understand it sometimes. Just learn to walk in obedience.

"I'm just going to keep walking in obedience. I'm just going to keep walking. I don't understand it. I'm just going to keep walking in obedience." All right. That's extra credit. I won't even make you pay for that one right there.

All right. Trust, obedience. I can hardly choke this one out. I hate to drop this one on you. The P is for patience. Look with me at Hebrews 6, verses 13 through 15.

Now, when God made a promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater than himself, he swore an oath on his own integrity to keep the promise as sure as God exists. So he said, "Have no doubt. I promise to bless you over and over and give you in son and multiply you without measure."

So verse 15 says, "Abraham waited patiently in faith and succeeded in seeing the promise fulfilled." See, here's something that we have to understand. You and I don't control the circumstances or the timing of the process.

People say, "Well, you don't understand. God's doing a quick work in me." It just makes me want to laugh. A quick work, huh? Okay, well, we'll see how your quick work turns out. God's not a microwave God. Get me in there, heat me up, and get me out of there.

God will take you through a process, amen, because he's got something better in mind. Hebrews 6:12 says, "Don't become lazy, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."

You just, as hard as it is, you just can't get away from the patience factor. I mean, I don't know what... I've determined I'm not going to pray for patience because God just takes me through the school of patience anyhow.

If I'm at the grocery store, and there's two lines, there's like 12 people in this line, there's two in this line. I'll go, "Praise God, it's my blessing. I'm going to pray for patience. I'm going to pray for... I'm going to get in this line behind two people. I'm going to be out of here."

And sure enough, that guy in front of me, well, there won't be a sticker on what he's buying, right? Price check on lane two, and I'll be standing there behind this guy waiting for... They got to send a clerk to the back of this door to check on the... And this line over here is going, there's like 50 people have gone through there, and I'm like, "I could have been out the door by now."

But I don't know. I had to get in the line that had two people in it, and I'm still there, right? Does that happen? Is that just me? No? Okay, all right. Your patience probably got tested on the way to church this morning. Come on, move it. I'm on my way to church.

Dr. Cottle, who founded CLST, he said this to me years and years ago as a young pastor. He said, "Randall, timing is 90% of the will of God." That's always stuck with me. It's been so true.

A lot of times, you do have an idea. We're spirit-led people. We're prophetic people. We understand what God is saying. We're in his word. We know, we can hear the voice of God, but you know what we often don't get is the timing of the process.

And again, we get a word from God. We get a promise from God, and we're all excited about that, but hold up a second. There's a timing, and there's a process that he's going to take you through on the way to your promise. Amen?

So you've got trust. You've got obedience, and you've got patience. There's a process connected to your promise. You know, just like Joseph, I don't know, you know, everybody in here has a story today, and I'm sure you've had setbacks. I'm sure there's disappointments. You might be extremely discouraged or depressed here today. I don't know, but maybe you just need a different perspective on anxiety and worry and fear.

I know this seems crazy. This is kind of mind-blowing, but your problems may actually be the source of your promotion. That's the way it was for Joseph. He didn't know it, but God's just saying, "Hang in there. I'm taking you through. There's an outcome here. There's a promise at work here. Lean into my goodness. Trust me. Obey me. Be patient," right?

Maybe that's the key to James when it says, "Count it all joy." Yeah, does anybody else really wrestle with that scripture? When James says, "Count it all joy," he's saying, "Count it all joy."

And James 1, it says, "Count it all joy when you fall into various trials and temptations." And like, how do you count that as joy? Well, if you understand that God's a good, good father and that he can use the trials of your life and the temptations of your life and the problems of your life, he's working something in you because he's got a plan at work.

Satan has a plan, but remember, God is so good that he can take what the enemy does, and he can take what the enemy meant for destruction and turn it around and use it for your good. Amen?

The higher your calling, somebody said, the greater your preparation. Lean into the preparation. I believe that a breakthrough can come in your life. So your promise is connected to a process. The process may be just as much or more significant than the promise, the realization of the promise, so commit to the process.

Turn to your neighbor and say, "Commit to the process." Just tell the person on the other side, "Don't quit, commit to the process." Just keeping it real here. Sometimes that process involves some pain, right?

But God causes all things to work together for our good. And don't be afraid to fail. You know, Joshua 1:9 says, "Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Listen, if one of the goals here at the Father's House is to impact this community and literally the world, then it's going to require raising up leaders who are fully equipped and committed to fulfilling their God-given destiny. People who refuse to be stopped or limited by anxiety and worry and fear.

So don't be afraid of failure. Trust God. Obey God. Let him do his work in you. God isn't... Here, God isn't after your perfection. God's after your surrender. Just surrender to him.

And for those of you that think you've done a lot of, "How could God use me? You don't understand where I've been, Dr. Langley. You don't understand how bad I've messed up."

Listen, I was, I don't know, it was a while back, and I was feeling, I was in a place where I felt like I'd done some stupid stuff. Anybody in here done stupid stuff? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

And a prophet, Michael Maiden, said this. He said, "Don't worry about your past and the stupid stuff you did. God's already made provision for your stupidity." I don't know about you, that made me feel pretty good.

God's already made... He knew how bad you would mess up. He knew where you would come from. He knew what you would go through. He knew all those things. He's already made provision for our stupidity. That's a pretty good father right there. Can you say amen?

So don't consider yourself a failure. What did you learn? You know, what have you... How have you grown? Sometimes, God, you have to deconstruct wrong things so you can reconstruct right things in your life.

Be committed to the process. As the band comes and we wrap this up, I want to share one illustration with you that I hope really helps.

You know, in season two of The Chosen that has been on TV and streaming and so forth, there's a... Jesus has delivered Mary Magdalene. Remember, she's just come out demonized, prostitution. She's just... Her life is broken and a mess.

And Jesus comes into her life and transforms her life. Isn't it great when you see Jesus transform people's lives? But in the process, she's wrestling with shame. She's wrestling with guilt. She doesn't even feel like she's worthy to be with us.

She's wrestling with Jesus, right? And so, if you understand the story there, she actually goes back to the city. She leaves the community of the followers of Jesus, and she goes back into the city.

And Jesus sends Peter and Andrew, or Peter and Matthew, to go get her. He says, "Go get Mary." He doesn't just forget about her. He says, "Go get her." So they go back, and they convince her. They have to wrestle around a little bit to keep the story short.

But they convince her to come back. And she comes back, and she's just... You can just see, she does such a great job of acting this out. But the shame and the brokenness is just pouring out of her. And she's just so unworthy.

She's walking with her head down, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, runs out and grabs her and just hugs her. "Oh, Mary, we've missed you. We love you." Just love and honor, right?

And they said, "Jesus is waiting for you in the tent." And so Mary, the mother of Jesus, brings Mary Magdalene to the tent door, and then she leaves her.

And she steps inside the tent, and Jesus is facing this way, away from her. And she comes in, and her head's hung down, and she can't even look up. She feels so ashamed. She deserted the family. She left them, went back into her old life.

And how could Jesus forgive her? And Jesus turns around and he looks at her, but she's not looking at him. She's just looking down, and she's just kind of... And he says, "Mary, look at me."

She can barely lift her eyes. "Mary, look at me." Now, when I saw this, I just got such a picture of the church because there's so many people who are broken and hurting, and they fumbled the ball and messed up, and they feel so unworthy.

There's people all around this church, all around this church, all around this region today that should be right here, but they're so ashamed and broken, and they don't feel worthy to come to the Father's House. How messed up is that?

When all we would do is love on them. And Jesus says, "Look at me, Mary." She finally looks at him, and you know what he says to her? "How could you have left us? How could you have done that? How could you, you know, we give you our all. I saved your life."

You know what Jesus says to Mary? He says, "Mary, I just want your heart." That's what he said. "I just want your heart."

We've made this thing so difficult sometimes. We've made it so complicated for people. "Well, if you just get this right or get that right or do this or get, you know, get that out of your life or do this."

And all Jesus is saying, "I just want your heart." Because if he has your heart, he's got everything. Everything else will be cleaned up when it needs to be cleaned up. He'll deal with every issue of your life, but it's gotta be just... He just wants our heart. Amen?

He just wants our heart. Jesus is not hard to please, friends. He's easy to please. He just wants your heart.

For some of you, this can be like a reset moment in your life. This can be the moment where, you know what? I've gotten this thing so complicated and so distracted and so frustrated and, you know, anxiety and worry.

And Jesus said, "Look, let's just start here. Let me just have your heart. And everything else is gonna be okay."

Bow your heads with me and close your eyes. You know, I'm just a guest here today. But I believe that God wanted you to hear this. He divinely brought you here.

For some of you, this can be a moment of transformation. He just wants your heart, friends. Doesn't want religion. Just wants to start right there.

Maybe your heart has wandered away, and you've gotten discouraged, or maybe you even come to church. But you feel like your heart has been separated from a relationship with him.

God has so much he wants to do in and through your life. But he just wants your heart. If that's you here today and you'd say, "Dr. Langley, I just want to give Jesus my heart. Nothing else. I just want to give him my heart."

Would you slip your hand up? I'm gonna pray for you. I don't want to embarrass anybody. Yes, yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Thank you.

Father, you see every man and woman in this building today. You know us. You love us. I thank you, Father. You want us to crush anxiety and worry and fear. But it's not going to be through what we do. Not going to be about religion.

It's not going to... You just want our heart. You want us to trust you, obey you, be patient in the process, and give you our heart.

So I pray over these men and women that have raised their hands here today. And even those that maybe aren't bold enough to raise their hand. I don't know. But that we would give you our heart.

Pray this with me, everybody here today.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me. I know you are a good, good Father. I know you sent Jesus to die, shed his blood, to be buried, and you raised him victoriously to pay for all my brokenness, to pay the penalty for my life, my sin.

Today, oh God, I give you my heart completely and fully. Take charge of my life. Lead me, guide me, and direct me forward. I commit to the process because you're a good, good Father.

In Jesus' name. And everybody said amen. Give the Lord a praise offering. And on your way out today, don't step on a duck. All right.

### Quotes for Outreach

1. "How to Crush Worry, Anxiety, and Fear. Number one, stop watching stupid stuff. Number two, stop listening to stupid people. And number three, stop hanging out with stupid people. Boom. Mic drop right there. How many know that probably about 95 percent of all that we're dealing with would go away if we just listened to the right people?" [38:54] (21 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "There is a process connected to your promise. Say that with me today. There's a process connected to your promise. In other words, we have to learn to lean into the process that leads to our promise." [40:27] (17 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "God is a good, good father. Okay? This message won't make a lot of sense to you if that's not your theology. He's a good, good father. And you and I can trust him in the process. Even when Satan tries to throw things at your life and to discourage or distract you, and that is his assignment, he does come to steal, kill, and destroy." [43:33] (22 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "God doesn't waste anything in your life. God, there's no season that you're in now or ever will be going through that is wasted as a man or a woman of God. God uses every trial and every tribulation, just like he did for Joseph, as part of the preparation process to position you. To rule and to reign in the next season of your life." [50:59] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "Jesus is not hard to please, friends. He's easy to please. He just wants your heart. For some of you, this can be like a reset moment in your life. This can be the moment where, you know what? I've gotten this thing so complicated and so distracted and so frustrated and, you know, anxiety and worry. And Jesus said, look, let's just start here. Let me just have your heart. And everything else is gonna be okay." [01:15:17] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




### Quotes for Members

1. "Everything God wants to do through our lives is going to be determined a lot on how we deal with anxiety and worry and fear in our life. Because, you see, the enemies always... They're like the three amigos. They're like the three big hitters. And they all work seamlessly. I don't know which comes first. Does worry come first, and then you get anxious? Or does anxiety worry, and fear come? I don't know. All I know is that these are like the three amigos in Satan's arsenal, and he always uses them to try and stop you from fulfilling your God-given purpose and your destiny." [39:54] (38 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




2. "The process is just as important as the promise. Because you see, it's what God does in the process of your life that determines how you will steward the promise when it comes. And if you skip the process that leads to the promise, there's a good chance that you'll screw up the promise when you get it. You won't steward it appropriately. You won't steward it the way you're supposed to." [42:02] (30 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




3. "The peace of God, my friends, is not accidental. The peace of God is intentional. It's intentional for you to lean in and you replace your worry with something instead of leaning into the worry. Amen? So the T stands for the trust factor. Everybody say trust. The O stands for the obedience factor. The obedience factor you see anxiety and worry and fear will steal your miracle." [56:47] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




4. "Your problems may actually be the source of your promotion. That's the way it was for Joseph. He didn't know it, but God's just saying, hang in there. I'm taking you through. There's an outcome here. There's a promise at work here. Lean into my goodness. Trust me. Obey me. Be patient, right? Maybe that's the key to James when it says, count it all joy." [01:07:52] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)




5. "If one of the goals here at the Father's house is to impact this community and literally the world, then it's going to require raising up leaders who are fully equipped and committed to fulfilling their God-given destiny. People who refuse to be stopped or limited by anxiety and worry and fear. So don't be afraid of failure. Trust God. Obey God. Let him do his work in you." [01:09:35] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)