Christine Caine - Fountain of Youth
Hey everybody, I am so fired up, I'm so glad that you're here. I'm so that you've tuned in today. I know that God has a word for you, that God's gonna speak to you today. And I'm excited about a brand new series. We're gonna talk about the fountain of youth. Now, I know, I recently turned 50, so I'm at that mid age. And so I've been really, really interested in how to stay forever young. And I'm laughing because I really, really am not that obsessed personally, but I have discovered that people really, rally are obsessed. And I was on my way here, and I stopped at a news agency, and what they had was these amazing magazines.
Do you know that there is this entire section in bookstores on how to stay forever young. On what you can do to stay young, and I got, this is like the ultimate guide on how you're gonna stay young, what kind of procedures, I mean you can nip, tuck, suck. You can do everything. It is amazing what you can do to stay young. And this was the killer for me, that they told me that if I put this cream on my face, that in two hours, I could look 20 years younger, than what I am, like two hour, I don't know if you can tell, I put it on two hours ago, and do I already look 20 years younger? It is amazing the amount of money that people will spend, trying to kind of preserve their external body, preserve their youth, looking younger. There are over 175 anti-aging medications on the Market. I mean you can pop pills, you can put on cream, you can have different procedures done. It is like this obsession with staying young. I mean we have the cult of youthfulness in our generation.
There's no doubt about it, everyone is and if you get a little bit older, kind of let's not put you up front and center, because it's almost like there's something wrong with getting older. I kinda think it's okay, 'cause it means that you're still alive. So that's always a good sign if you're still there. But there is not only a celebration of youth, almost a worship of youthful culture, and that's actually quite contrary to the scripture. Because the Bible says that God is the God of who, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So God is the God of the older generation, the middle generation, and the younger generation. He's a God of all generations, and a generation is a group of people who are alive at the same time. So basically, if you woke up this morning, and there was not a white chalk Mark around your body, in case you're wondering, that means you're alive. That means God's still go a plan for you, and you are part of this generation.
Whether you're a grandparent, whether you're a parent, whether you're single, whether you're married, whether you're divorced, whether you're widowed, or whether you just are, you know, in your 80s, in your 70s, in your 60s, in your 50s. If you're alive, you're part of this generation, and God's got a plan for you. Heaven's not ready you yet, it's not all finished. If you're watching this, someone has tuned in, and you've gotten into your 40s, and 50s, and 60s, and you thought that God was finished with you, I'm here to tell you today God's not finished with you yet. Your best days are still ahead of you, and not behind you. God's still got a plan, and a purpose, and a destiny, and I am on a mission, to see every person that is alive and a believer, activated, immobilized, to be effective and fruitful for the sake of the Gospel, until the day we die. The Bible says in the book of James that life is but a vapor. It doesn't last for very long, you just spray, and you're gone, so don't waste any one of the days that you're alive. Don't spend your midlife wishing that you were still young. Don't spend your youth wishing that you were just older.
Whatever season you're in, whatever stage you're in, you can actually stay forever young, because youthfulness is nothing to do with the amount of wrinkles on your skin. It's got to do with the condition of your heart. And this whole series is gonna show us that it doesn't matter what age you are, you actually can stay forever young. You don't have to have the latest little beauty cream. You don't have to have the latest little procedure or enhancement to stay young, because it's not about the wrinkles on your skin, it's about the condition of your heart. You can be young and old. In the work that I do, I see many, many young people in their early 20s and I'm telling you, you would think that they have lived 80 years. They are old, they are jagged, they are tired, they are weary, bitter, or angry, or just feeling insecure, and they're walking around like there is the weight of the world on their shoulders.
And then I've met some 70 year olds, that got a little glint in their eye, a little spring in their step. They're just a little bit naughty, not illegal, or immoral, or heretical, just a little bit naughty. And I look at 'em and I think that's exactly what I wanna be. I wanna be a Super Granny for Jesus. I'm not talking about mutton dressed up as lamb, but I'm talking about a spring in my step. I'm talking about a spark in my eye. I'm talking about being full of vision, full of purpose, full of passion. I tell my daughters, because you know, I'm 52 and I've got a 12 year old and a 16 year old. So I am officially the oldest mother in my daughter's class. And in fact, I am older than some of the grandmothers in my kid's class, and I think it's awesome. But nobody is more young at heart than me. And I say to my girls, oh no, no, no, you're gonna have to run to keep up, because I've known Jesus longer than you, so I am more passionate. You can't know him longer and not become more passionate, not become more full of his Holy Spirit, not become more full of wonder, and awe.
See, I'm not one of these people that thinks the older you get, the more weary you get, the more you know, I've been in the way for a long time. I'm like get outta the way then. You don't need to be in the way for a long time. If you've been around Jesus Christ, and his passion, and his kindness, and his love, and his mercy, for a long time, the older you get, the more full of kindness, the more full of love, the more full of grace, the more full of mercy, the more full of wonder, and I wanted to do this series to say come on, let's rekindle the wonder. Let's jump into that fountain of youth. Not about putting the cream on your face, but about getting your heart on fire with a passion and a zeal for God.
Christians oughta be the most sparkiest people on the earth. Christians oughta be the most purpose driven people on the earth. Christians oughta be full of the fire of God, and Christian people, if you are watching this, and you're in your 50s, and 60s, I hope that you're not feeling weary, or thinking well I've been a Christian for a long time, and you've become crusty, and old, and bitter. You know, like those people you go and visit, your grandmother, and she's just like oh, knows everything about everything, and I been there, done that, got the video, and oh yeah, they're not really saved, we'll just see if it sticks. Oh yeah, well I've seen that at the youth camps before, all those young people that just full of all life, and they're all just flippant.
Oh yeah, I've seen that before, and in my day I've seen, I don't wanna be one of those old people. I wanna be a young person that says you know, God is doing a brand new thing, and he is filling a generation with his spirit, and his life, and his fire. I don't wanna get negative, I don't wanna get critical, I don't wanna get cynical. There is a generation that died in the wilderness because all the did was murmured, grumbled and complain. They talked about the good old days. They talked about how life used to be. They looked back more than they looked forward. I wanna be a Christian that continues to look forward, that fixes my eyes on Jesus, that says I'm gonna run my race, I'm gonna finish my course. I'm gonna be full of the life of God.
See, in the natural, things decay as they get older. But in the spiritual, when you are filled with the Spirit of God, there ought not to be a decaying. There ought to be a renewal. We don't retire, we refire. We get more fired up with the passion and the zeal of God, so I'm out to change what aging is like. Because I don't think that we need to be dependent on creams and procedures to stay forever young, or to tap into the fountain of youth. And if you've just tuned in, man you are a blessed person, because I'm telling you, if we could bottle the fountain of youth, you know, people have been looking, that mythology has, and people have been looking for the fountain of youth. The secret waters that you jump in, and if you drink of this water, you're gonna stay forever young. Imagine if we could bottle that. Imagine if I turned around, and I've got it. You've tuned into the right thing, you didn't even know that you came in for an enhancement program today, and you're thinking man, I have discovered the secret of eternal youth, I have dis, I have, I have, I hope you're not gonna miss one episode of this series, because I have discovered the fountain of eternal youth.
I have discovered how you can stay forever young, and it's not gonna cost you much, just everything. Your whole life, because if you surrender your whole life to Jesus Christ, we are gonna discover in this series that the fountain of eternal youth is actually Jesus Christ. It's not the cream you put on your face. It's not the procedure you have done. I mean knock yourself out, do whatever you wanna do to look good, that's not my issue. But my issue is if you wanna stay young, it's not about getting rid of the wrinkles, it's about renewing your heart, and having the Spirit of God flow through you and the life of God flow through you, so that people look at you and go whoa, man what is she on?
The longer I've walked with Jesus, over the last three decades, the younger I look. The healthier I feel, the more vibrant and dynamic I feel. It doesn't mean I wake up everyday, just all sparky. Some people go, well Christine, that's just your personality talking. That's actually not my personality talking. I'm quite introspective, and by nature, I'm a little bit a strained, so I can be a little bit cynical. I can be a little bit down, like I have to fight against my nature, because I want the nature of God. I don't want my own nature. I don't want someone that's just been tarnished, because I was tarnished so much growing up. I can tend to be on the negative side. I can tend to be on the cynical side. People wouldn't know that about me, because I've allowed God to change me so much, that I want the character of God.
I wanna life full of faith, I wanna life full of hope. I wanna believe the best and not the worst. I wanna hope for the best, and not the worst. I don't want to be dictated to by fear, and doubt, and insecurity. I want to walk in faith, hope and love. I want to finish stronger than I ever started. That should be the byproduct of walking with Jesus Christ in our generation, that's what should happen. So what are we gonna do in this series? We're gonna learn that we are not going to try to just preserve things on the outside and hold on, but we're gonna allow God to renew us from the inside, and that's the only way we're gonna soar into the purpose that God has for us. You know, the fountain of eternal youth, it is a myth, but it's amazing how many people are trying to look for it. It's amazing, and I think women struggle with this more than anything else, because there's the cult of youthfulness in our world.
And so a lot of women end up looking like mutton dressed up as lamb, in a desperate attempt to try to stay young. In a desperate, and if you are not healthy on the inside, and as you get older, you're gonna constantly try to compete with younger people. The fact is, listen, it all goes south eventually. That's a look I just, whichever way you wanna slice it up, it is all going to go south, no matter what you get done. At some point, some of you have tuned in and thought wow, is this Christian TV? Yes, sweetheart, this is not your grandmother's program. I'm just letting you know, we go there. So if you are totally obsessed with what's happening externally, then you are gonna get to the place where you are gonna be discouraged, you are gonna be disappointed, you are gonna feel like a failure. Someone younger than you is going to turn up, because there's always gonna be someone younger than you. Someone more beautiful, someone with firmer skin, someone with less wrinkles.
There's always going to be someone. You don't have to be as good as anyone else. You just have to be the best you that God created you to be, and God knows exactly how old you are. And it's not like you're in heaven, go oh, I had no idea she was 60. Oh wow, I guess it's all over. I guess it's all over, there's nothing for her to do anymore because she's 60. Or you know, she was effective in her 20s and 30s, but oh, I really can't use her in her 50s. I'm far more effective and fruitful in my 50s than I ever was in 20s, or my 30s, or my 40s, and by the grace of God, I lived a highly effective and fruitful life, in my 20s, and 30s, and 40s. But my 50s, I've gone to a whole new level, and I'm believing God, by the grace of God, my 60s will go to an even better level. And my 70s will go to an even better level than that. Right now that's all I've got faith for, but you know, at that point, at that point, but I really, really do believe that you could go from increase to increase, from grace to grace, from faith to faith, from glory to glory.
That's how it works. Doesn't mean I run at the same pace. But it does mean that I can be more fruitful. Just because you're not as fast as you were when you were younger, doesn't mean you're not more fruitful. A lot of us, in our younger years, were running fast, going nowhere. It is amazing how many young people are running hard on a treadmill, going nowhere. But the older you get, the wiser you can get, the more fruitful you can get. You can go slower and do more. You can be a whole lot more effective. If I tried to keep the same pace as I did in my 20s, then I would be really disappointed of where I am in my 50s. But what I have to do is just manage where I am, and watch the fruitfulness actually come out of my life, like never before.
So I've discovered, I've discovered the fountain of eternal youth, and that is tapping in to who we are in Christ, and being filled continually, daily with the Spirit of God. More important than any cream that I put on my face, and this is really gonna shatter a whole lotta people, but pretty much, for my entire life, I used soap and water to wash my face, and I know by the, I went and had a facial the other day, and she was just mortified, like just I can't believe you have the skin you have, so I think here's the deal. 99% is genetics, to do with everything, so that would just actually save you, someone just got set free right now, as you flip through the channel. You went see, it's not my fault, as we all get obsessed, but a lot of it is genetics. You know, I don't have any special beauty, Christine, what's your beauty plan? Like none, soap and water, and that's about it. That's about it, and often actually you know, I'm a bit like, you know, because my eyesight's gone a little bit, it is amazing to me, even when it comes to my hair, how many times, in the little hotel, they've got those little soaps and shampoos, and the amount of body lotion I've put in my hair as a conditioner, is amazing.
And then if anybody knows me, I can't be bothered changing, I'm like oh well, there ya go, and off I go. So it's just gene, I don't even know why I just told you that on television or around the world, but there you go. How does Christine Caine condition her hair? With body lotion, okay, so let's get back to the scripture. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 16, therefore we do not lose heart. I want you to hear this. Because the foundation of all this series will be speaking to our hearts. A lot of us are so obsessed with the wrinkles around our eyes, but I wanna speak to your heart in this series. Because you can tap into the fountain of youth by allowing God to renew your heart. Christianity is not an external behavior modification program. It's an internal heart transformation program, and we go from glory to glory, which means you can be in your 20s, and maybe you have had just a horrific life.
I run the A21 campaign, where we help to rescue the victims of human trafficking. I have 14, 15, 16, 17 year old young women and men that have been so violated, so abused, that they've lived like an 80 year old because they've been through so much pain and suffering. So this series is not about your actual biological age, it's got to do with the condition of your heart. Because you can be very young, and feel very old. And you can be very old, and feel very young. I wanna show you from the word of God that you and I were designed to be forever young. But if you look at that as an external thing, then you're gonna be very, very disappointed. But if you understand it's an internal condition of the heart, and perhaps your heart has been hurt, perhaps your heart's been broken, but you can allow Jesus Christ to come in, and bring strength, and repair, and restoration into your heart, you can become 20 years younger overnight, not by any change externally, but by a massive change internally.
And that's what I'm believing is gonna happen. It says therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, there it is, in scripture. Yet inwardly, we are being renewed day by day. We are talking in this series about the fact that look, you can put as much cream as you want on your body, but outwardly, we are wasting away. It's just the way that it is. Man, I am working out more than ever, but there's nothing I can do. You wonder why I cover this? Because this just flaps, that's all that happens. It's just like one big flap, no matter how many weights I pump. Outwardly, we are wasting away. But inwardly, I'm being renewed day by day. And so, you know what, here is the deal, that you and I are going to make a commitment that we're not gonna just spend our life trying to preserve what actually, ultimately is going to decay. We are gonna allow the Spirit of God to renew what is gonna remain eternal. It's our spirit man that remains eternal.
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 11 that God has placed eternity in men's hearts, and that means a divinely implanted sense of a purpose that is working through the ages, which nothing but God himself can satisfy. That's your purpose, that's your destiny. Your purpose will keep you alive a lot longer than anything else ever will. Your purpose will put a spark in your step more than any cream you put on your face. Your purpose, some of you are feeling old, some of you are feeling decayed. Some of you are feeling weary and worn out, because you've lost your sense of purpose. You've lost your sense of destiny. You have become consumed with the temporal, with the here and the now, what's going on, what you look like, what you have, what you don't have, where you shoulda been at this stage of your life where you shouldn't have been, and I'm here to awaken you to your eternal purpose.
God is placed eternity in men's hearts. He has placed a divinely implanted sense of a purpose. It's been working before you ever got here on the planet. It's been working through the ages, and here is the deal. Nothing but God himself can satisfy it. No amount of money, no career, no position, no title, no person, no relationship, nothing can satisfy it but God himself. You can put as much cream on your face as you want. You can have as many procedures as you want, but nothing is gonna satisfy you. Nothing is gonna satisfy you like the Spirit of God on the inside of you. You were created by God, for a relationship with God. It is Jesus that connects you to God. It's Jesus that connects you to the grace of God. And we're gonna see in this series Jesus himself is the living water. And if you fill yourself with the living water that will never run dry, which is the Spirit of God himself, then I'm telling you, challenges will come, trials will come, disappointments will come, failure will come, but they will not take you out. 'Cause greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
The strength of God, the fire of God, the life of God, is gonna keep you going. And we need to be a generation that says we are not gonna be obsessed with our external condition. Look, do the best with what you have. Look after yourself for the sake of your health. Do whatever you need to do, but don't be so obsessed, thinking that your external condition is gonna determine your destiny. It's the condition of your heart, the condition of your spirit, and Jesus Christ, he makes all things new. He can take broken hearts, he can take wounded souls, he can take tormented minds, and he can bring the peace of God into that situation, the love of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, and you can look to the future with confidence and strength.
I don't dread getting older, I love getting older, because I've got the Spirit of God on the inside of me. I've got the Spirit of God on the inside of me. So can you stay forever young? Absolutely, absolutely. And in this series, we're gonna worry a whole lot less about the wrinkles on our skin, and we're gonna allow the Spirit of God to transform our hearts, and as change happens, from the inside out, you watch how your life changes on the outside, in Jesus name, in Jesus name. Amen.
Part 2
Hey, everybody, I am so fired up. Thank you so much for being with us. I am so glad that you tuned in today. I know that God has a word for your life, and if you're feeling weary, and if you're feeling heavy-laden, you have tuned in to the right program today, because Jesus Christ is gonna restore, renew, and strengthen your heart today. And we're in a series where we're talking about the fountain of eternal youth. I mean, I've discovered the fountain of eternal youth. I've bottled this deal, and I'm telling you that you, too, can drink of this water, it's living water, and it is gonna make you so much younger than you are right now. And I'm not talking, of course, about your external condition. I'm not talkin' about the wrinkles on your skin. I'm not talking about, you know, what, kind of, is happening under all of this floaty, I don't know, that's not what I'm talking about.
What I am talkin' about is the condition of your heart. You can be young in age and have a really old and tired and weary heart. And you can be older in age and be young. You ever met some of those old people, and you're thinking, I wanna be like you when I get old, and you're like super granny for Jesus. That's what I want, I wanna have that spunk. There's nothing like meeting an older person that's not cynical, that's not jaded, that, you know, that isn't just like slow and tired and just cannot wait to get out of here. I love people that are older, and they're just like, man, they're just still full of life, they're just still full of spark. They got a little glint in their eye, a little spring in their step. You're thinkin', like, what are you smoking? I want some of that. It's, like, so awesome, I love that.
That's the kind of Christian I wanna be, someone where young people gather round and go, I don't know what she, who she's discovered, but obviously, she knows someone that's making her still in love with life. And that's how we ought to be as believers. And I think a lot of us, we're on a quest for that eternal youth. And, obviously, look at our world. Magazines are full of being youth, I mean, you know, you go to the grocery store, every magazine has got some 12 year old dressed up looking like a 18 or 20 year old, and you just go, it is just so sad. I mean, you know, part of what I do with a21 is we help to rescue the victims of human trafficking, and the porn industry is just disgusting with what it's done with young women and just destroying the lives of children, so many children, because there's this obsession with youthfulness.
There's an idolatry to youthfulness, and our society's not healthy. Our society's not healthy, and oftentimes, we actually disrespect people that are getting older, and we dismiss them, and a lot of that is because, obviously, the television and the acting industry, it's like, you know, we just don't want old people, we don't wanna admit people are getting old or they're getting wrinkled, and they're out to pasture. Who's the next hottest, who's the next youngest, who's the next, and this world is obsessed with who's the next? So you've got everyone lookin' over their shoulder, thinkin', oh no, I've only got a limited time frame because someone next. But you see, when you're in Christ, there is no one next because you're the only you that there'll ever be. And everyone is created in the image of God, and we don't need the next of anybody else. We just need the you that God has created us to be.
And so we've got a generation lookin' over their shoulder for the next, and the Lord says in the book of Isaiah, behold, I do a new thing, not the next thing. Our world wants the next thing, which is the same old thing in a younger body. And God's saying, no, no, I'm doing a new thing, do you not perceive it? I wanna be part of the new thing that God's doing. All of us can be part of the new thing, it doesn't matter what age you are. But if you're obsessed with the next thing, then you're just lookin' back, what's next, who's the, and that's just a, that's just kind of an industry thing. Who's the next hottest, who's the next artist, who's the next this, who's the next that. God doesn't work like that. God says, I made one of you. And for however long you're on the earth, I've got a plan and I've got a purpose and I've got a destiny for you. Nobody can do what I've put you on the earth to do. No one could do it as good as you because you're the only you that I created. You've got a unique fingerprint, you've got a unique DNA, I didn't make you on accident, I didn't get you just to fill some space until the next young thing came along.
While you are on earth, if you have still got breath in your lungs, if your heart is still beating, if you woke up this morning and you were not in a sealed room, in a very cold room, in a bag, that means you are still alive. That means heaven is not ready for you yet. That means God's still got a plan, God's still got a purpose, God still has a destiny for you. And our text for this whole series is out of the book of John chapter four, and I love this, it's a beautiful story. And I wanna introduce you to the living water. Maybe you're watching this today, and you know, you have never, ever, you don't even know how you've actually flipped into this channel. You're like, I keep tryin' to change the remote, but it won't change, and that's because God, God has had you stop on this program right now because I wanna introduce you to his son, Jesus Christ. And he is the source of the eternal youth, the source of the significance that you're seeking, for the security that you're seeking, for the love that you so desperately desire. It can only be found in Jesus.
You were created by God for a relationship with God, and it's Jesus that connects us to God. It's Jesus that connects us to the grace of God. In fact, the scripture tells us that God has placed eternity in men's heart. And that's a divinely-implanted sense of a purpose which nothing under the sun but God himself can satisfy. You can have all the money in the world, you can have all the accolades in the world, you can have the biggest house, you can have the best friends, you can have a glamorous lifestyle, but let me tell you, if you have not made your peace with God, if you have not encountered a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, there's gonna be a void in your heart no matter how much stuff you've got. Because no other person and no amount of things will ever satisfy that God-shaped hole that's in your heart. Only God will satisfy you.
Some of you have been on a treadmill. You haven't even known what you're looking for. Jesus is who you are looking for 'cause you were created by him for a relationship with him. And I'm gonna introduce you to him from the book of John, chapter four, verses one to 14. It says, now when Jesus learned that the pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples, he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. Now, Samaria's a place, Jesus, a Jewish man, the Jewish people never went through Samaria. And, you know, these were kinda the despised people. They were, like, the marginalized, the oppressed, and if you were part of this class, you never mixed with that class. And the world all over has got people that never wanna mix with any other people, and people that think I'm better than you, I'm greater than you, and anyway, in this culture, a Jew and a Samarian never would have crossed paths.
So Jesus deliberately went out of his way to a place where Jews never went to see somebody that he should never have been talking to. Not only was she a Samarian, but she was a chick. And for a Jewish rabbi to talk to a woman, I mean, in the prayers in those days, if you were in the Jewish prayers, you thanked God that you were not a dog or a woman. 'cause a woman was so low. In many cultures of the world, it's still like that. Women are very marginalized, women are very oppressed. A lot of the work we do through the a21 campaign is to help dignify women around the world and children around the world. And the fact is that women are still so oppressed and marginalized in so many places of the world. And so Jesus went to a people group the Jewish people would never have talked to, and to a woman. And in this case, it's beautiful.
It says, and he had to pass through Samaria, so he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar near the field that Jacob had given to his son, Joseph. Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, I love that. Jesus got tired, too. Maybe you're feeling tired, and this is, I'm figuring if God himself can get tired, we can get tired. And Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. So we're talkin' in the hottest part of the day, no one else was there because this woman would have went at a time when no other women was there, because she would have been just so marginalized, because she would have been considered a loose woman. Nobody would have wanted to hang around with her. She was that kind of woman.
You might be watching this, and you know exactly what I'm talkin' about. She was the kind of woman that, you know, you're gonna find out she kind of obviously slept around a bit, had a lot of different husbands. She was the one that everyone was talking about. She was the one that nobody wanted to be seen with. She was the one that, it seemed like she'd made so many mistakes, why would anyone wanna risk their reputation by being around her? The thing that I love about Jesus Christ is he risked his reputation by being around the ones that nobody else would have ever been around. He loved and valued and dignified people so much. And says, a woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink". The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria"?
So she was freaking out, if you're wondering what that means. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water". This is what we're talking about in this series today. The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep". She didn't even know what he was talking about. She's like, ah, um, okay, let's get back to the natural. "Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock". And I love Jesus, he's so gracious. Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water". The stuff in the well, the natural stuff, I don't know what it might be. That pay packet, that stock option, the size of that house, the partner that you have, the procedures that you do to kinda make your body look better.
I don't know what the water is that you're drinkin' from. Everyone's drinkin' from some water on this earth thinking this thing's gonna satisfy me, this relationship's gonna be the answer, this job's gonna be the answer, this opportunity's gonna be the answer, this house is gonna be the, we're all lookin' for the answer in stuff on earth and in people on earth, and Jesus says, you know what? If you drink of that water, you're gonna be thirsty again. "But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life". I mean, there it is. The water that i, here's the fountain of eternal youth. This is what you've tapped into this series for. He's saying, the water that I give you, it's gonna well up on the inside of you, and it's never, ever gonna run dry.
And we try and entertain ourselves in binge-watching the latest netflix thing, and we're just, like, wasting hours of our life. Somehow this series is gonna give me all the satisfaction. And if it's not this series, it's gonna be this next series, and I'm, like, wow. Or just runnin' from club to club to club to club, the more exclusive the better, because it means that I'm somebody. I'm like, wow, how sad. How sad that your only value to yourself, the thing that's gonna satisfy you, is that you get into some little exclusive, I don't even know what, when you could think that I'm a child of the king? That God looks at me and says, I made you in my image. I mean, it doesn't get much more exclusive than that. He's like God! God's better than an exclusive nightclub. No joke! It's like, this is God, God, like, got up one day, and he's like, I'm God, I'm God, I'm God.
And when discover that you're a son or a daughter of God, like, God's pretty cool. God, like, woke up one day, went, earth, look what I did. That's just, like, God, he just makes stuff, he just makes stuff. And he made you in his image, and he says, I know what's gonna satisfy you. I know every angst you have, I know every desire you have, I know what you're hungry for, I know your need for significance, I know your need for security. I created you with all of those needs, but I need you to know there's only one thing that's gonna satisfy that, it's me, it's me, it's Jesus. He says, I am that river of living water, and if you drink of me, you will never, ever run dry.
In Ephesians 4:30, scripture says that we have been saved and sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. That means if you are a born-again believer, you have the Spirit of God living on the inside of you, and so do i. Every one of us, if you have been born again, you've got God's Holy Spirit living on the inside of you. Jesus says, I'm that living water, and I'm gonna put my spirit on the inside of you so that you never need to run dry. Do you actually realize what that means? The same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives on the inside of you and me. I wish more believers would get a little bit pumped up about that. If you understood the power of having the Holy Ghost on the inside of you. You are filled with the spirit of Almighty God. I mean, this is God's Holy Spirit, what else do we need? We are Holy Ghost people, and let me tell you, we are full of the Spirit of God, full of the power of God, and we can manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit on this earth.
If we just understood what was on the inside of us, we'd spend a whole lot less time worrying about the wrinkles on the outside, if we understood the power that's on the inside. The power of God himself resides on the inside. Don't tell me you're filled with the power of God, and you're just kind of like, oh, it's just so hard, and it's just so hard being a Christian. And it's just like, really depressing. And tell me what use we would be to a generation. Imagine that, like, it's just so bad, and it's so hard being a believer, and it's so hard being a Christian, and it's just so, just really, and look, everyone bow your head and close your eyes, and if you wanna be depressed like me, you, too, can be a Christian, you, too. I'm like, what is that? What is that? Yes, there is pain, yes, there is struggles, yes, there's heartache. What use would I be to a generation, oh, I'm just, like, I was just a victim, and I was just hurt, and I was just marginalized because of my ethnicity, and I was abused for all of those years, so I just hate life, and I just hate men, and I just hate everything right now.
What use would I be? How much better is it to stand before a generation and go, you know what, I've got some scars. No doubt about it. The blood of Jesus does not give you amnesia. My past did happen. I was abused, I was abandoned in a hospital and rejected. Yes, I was marginalized because of my ethnicity, yes, I grew up in the poorest zip code in my state, yes, I did have a lot of, kind of, oppression because of my gender. Yes, it's real, there's scars, it's real. But let me talk to you about the one that came in, and he was the healer of my wounds, and the healer of my scars, and brought life and hope and liberty on the inside of me, and the same Jesus that filled me with his spirit is able to bring healing and redemption to you. I am not gonna live my life on this earth as a victim. Yes, I was abused for 12 years, but you know what? I'm 52 years old, I have not been being abused for 40 years. The devil took 12 years, I'm not giving him any more. I'm not giving him any more. I'm gonna walk in victory, I'm gonna walk with an overcoming spirit, I'm gonna show people that greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.
It is no badge of honor to walk around with a victim mentality. The Bible says that we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. I mean, we are a Jesus people. We believe in the power of transformation. We believe that Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross and rose again from the dead, so that every one of us can have forgiveness and healing from our past, a brand new start today, and a hope for the future, that's the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that you can't change your past, but you can move past your past. The power of the Gospel, it's not that the blood of Jesus gives us amnesia, but it gives us a life beyond our past. Your history does not need to define your destiny. You don't have to be a victim of your past circumstances. In Christ, you can be more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus who strengthens you.
That's the power of the Gospel, that's what keeps you young. Out of him will flow rivers of living water, the Spirit of God on the inside of you causes rivers of living water to flow from you. So the evidence that I'm in Christ is that rivers of living water are coming out of me. People are encountering me, and hope is being put into them, life is being put into them. There's kindness being expressed, there's goodness being expressed. People are being saved out of sex trafficking, people are being rescued, people are being delivered. People are being healed. If I was still a victim and full of anger and full of unforgiveness and full of bitterness and had no living water on the inside of me because I lived as a victim of all the pain and all the toxic stuff that was put on the inside of me, then I would be wasting my 50s. I would be just a crusty, grumpy old woman talking about what they did to me 40 years ago. But because Jesus Christ came into my life, out of me is flowing rivers of living water, and people's lives are being changed and transformed all around the world. Because you do not run dry.
You do not run dry when you drink of him. So it's not that I'm anything awesome, he is, Jesus is. And the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives on the inside of you and me, if you are in Christ. So out of you ought to be flowing those rivers of living water. We need some victorious Christians standing up. Stop making excuses, and start filling yourself with the living water so that living water can flow into you and from you into a lost and a broken world around you. You know, the Bible says in John chapter 7:37-39, I love this, if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from him. By this, he means the spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time, the spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Well, we now are the church that is on the earth after the spirit has been given. So Jesus says, anyone that believes in me, out of him will flow rivers of living water. The spirit will be given. Well then, when Jesus ascended and sits at the right hand of the father, the Holy Spirit, remember in the book of acts, the Bible says, they were all in one accord, and the Holy Spirit came, and they saw something they'd never seen as if tongues of fire. They heard something they'd never heard. It was a wind, it was like a sound of a mighty, rushing wind. And then the Bible says they spoke things they'd never spoken. They spoke in other tongues, see, that's what happen when the Holy Ghost comes.
You see things you've never seen, you hear things you've never heard, you say things you've never said. Out of you will flow rivers of living water, so in a world that's full of oppression, in a world that is full of chaos, in a world that is full of anger, in a world that is full of divisiveness, in a world that is full of bitterness, in a world that is full of hatred, in a world that is full of injustice, in a world that is full of pain and suffering, we need the church of Jesus Christ to rise up, full of the living water that is in us, and we need to be streams in the desert. And out of us needs to flow the love, the kindness, the goodness, the gentleness, the long suffering, the patience of God. We need to walk in the power of God. We need to see signs and wonders and miracles and bring hope and healing into our world in Jesus's name, in Jesus's name, amen, amen, amen.
Part 3
Hey! How y'all doing? I am so glad that you're here today. I'm so glad that you've tuned in. I believe that God's got a word for you today. You know, we're in the middle of a series where we're talking about the fountain of eternal youth. I mean, who does not want to stay young forever? And in this series, we're discovering that the secret to staying forever young has actually got nothing to do with the wrinkles on our skin, but it's got everything to do with the condition of our heart. And we've seen from the book of John that Jesus said that, you know what, if we drink of him, that out of us will flow rivers of living water, that we will never run dry, and I am on a quest at the moment of keeping us forever young, because everywhere I go, all over the earth, people are so weary, and it's almost like a badge of honor. Oh, man, I'm tired. I'm just so tired, I'm just so exhausted. Everyone is exhausted, nobody's got any time. Everyone is just burnt out, everyone is just weary, and it's almost like we wear it like a badge.
And I'm like, hang on a minute. As Christians, are we really meant to burn out? If we've got the eternal Spirit of God living on the inside of us, if you and I are gonna live forever, then surely we don't have to burn out, and in fact, Galatians chapter six verse nine says do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, you will reap if you faint not. So, why would Galatians tell us, why would the apostle Paul write and say do not grow weary, if you couldn't not grow weary? I've been thinking about that for a long time. I'm thinking, why would God say don't grow weary when it was impossible? Well surely, it's not impossible. Surely, it is possible to not grow weary while doing good. It is amazing to me. I'm involved in obviously the social justice world through the A21 campaign, helping to rescue the victims of human trafficking, and the thing that is startling is the high turnover rate in aftercare workers and people that are involved in that kind of work, and a lot of it is like, man, I've just burnt out. I've just burnt out from doing all of this work. I've just burnt out from doing good, and yet, scripture says do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, you will reap if you faint not.
So my deal here is not putting a guilt trip on anyone. It's saying, what is it that we're not doing? If it is possible to not grow weary, and so many people are growing weary, then maybe we're missing something in the way that we're doing it, and I wanna help you. I don't want you to grow weary in doing good. I don't want you to burn out. I don't want you to become negative and critical and pull back from the purposes of God. I wanna help propel you into the purposes of God. So I'm here to tell you, there is a way not to grow weary, and that way is by fixing your eyes on Jesus, being consistently filled and renewed by the Spirit of God, and we can then sustain our good works and keep going forward in the kingdom without ending up burnt out, exhausted, on the trash heap going, you know what, this didn't work. It does work. It does work.
I'm 30 years on in this, and I've discovered it's not generally how much you do for God that will make you burn out. It's normally what you don't do. It's normally what you stop doing. It's when you stop paying attention to your spiritual disciplines. It's when you stop being in the word of God. It's when you stop being in the house of God. It's when you stop being in the midst of worship and around great fellowship. It's amazing, 'cause when you're tired, normally the first things to go, I'm too tired to read my Bible. I'm too tired to go to small group. I don't need to go to church. Where two or three are gathered, so me and my friends, we're just at the cafe, that's awesome. And the only one that wins is the enemy, because what happens is he's removing you from the places that actually refresh you and replenish you. The presence of God is the thing that replenishes us. The presence of God is the thing that holds us.
I always say to people, I'm more passionate in my 50s because I've stayed firmly planted, and I'm gonna show you this from scripture. It's what I'm attached to, as I abide in the vine and through the body of Christ here on earth, it's that I need other believers. I need to be in a worship environment where other people are ministering to me and my spirit is being filled in. I need to be in a word, not out of some boring religious obligation. I need it. I love what my spiritual mother Joyce Meyer says. She goes, look, if you were told that you needed kidney dialysis, you would get on that machine every day. You would rearrange your whole life to make sure that you were on that machine. She goes, we need to consider our relationship with the word of God like that, where you go, you know what, this is not optional, because if I don't get into this today, I'm gonna die. I don't do it out of a boring religious obligation. I do it because it's my lifeline. I love worship because it's my lifeline.
Fellowship with other believers, commitment to church is the thing that sustains me and the thing that keeps me going. So it's often what you stop doing that causes you to burn out, not what you are doing. So scripture says do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season. And you know, I think that the world wants us to think that when you hit a certain age, you're done. You may as well go out to pasture. In fact, they've got a whole retirement industry. They wanna teach us, you know, I just want you to golf your way to heaven. Now, I don't mind if you like golf, knock yourself out. Or tennis your way to heaven, that's awesome. I like it all. You know, I don't really get that excited about chasing a little white ball around a green thing, but you know, a lot of people do. And so the issue is, God's got a bit more for you. Do that: I'm not saying don't. I'm not saying that maybe as you go into different seasons of life you adjust the pace of life, absolutely. But you don't stop. You don't stop, and we don't retire. I'm determined, I am not gonna retire.
People go, what's your retirement plan? I go, when I die, I guess, I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. Like, nick, do we have a retirement plan? What's our retirement plan? I don't know. Because I wanna refire. I don't wanna retire, because I think you can go from strength to strength, from glory to glory, from grace to grace, from faith to faith. That's what I wanna be. I'm intending to refire. I am not gonna chase a little white ball to heaven. I'm not gonna go running around with a little stick and a little golf ball. I'm like, super granny for Jesus! Come on, while there's still breath in my lungs, I'm gonna keep going for it. Now, I'm gonna enjoy myself on the way. I believe that Jesus came that we might have life, and not just normal life, but life more abundant. And so I believe he's given us a beautiful world. I love this world, I love creation. I love the ocean, I love the trees, and I love to travel, and I love vacation. I work hard, and I play hard.
There is no issue about that. But it's all very, very focused and purpose-driven, and I do that to replenish and to restore so that I can keep doing it. There's a problem when we forget the so that, and we think that recreation is just the goal unto itself, and really, we have a whole industry. Get rich really young so you can retire and do nothing. Wow, that's an awesome life. What do you mean, do nothing? Do you know how many people end it all because there's no purpose, there's no hope? They might have a whole lot of things, and people go, they had everything. But if you don't have purpose, and that purpose ultimately only comes from God. Ecclesiastes chapter three verse 11, that God has placed eternity in men's hearts, a divinely implanted sense of a purpose, that nothing under the sun but God himself is going to satisfy.
And so, yes, enjoy life. Take time for you. Yes, restore and refresh and recuperate, with the so that contingent, so that I can be more effective when it comes to doing what God has called me to do, not that so that I can retire, and I either play golf or watch netflix until Jesus returns. I mean, really, really? That's the best I can do? This is what I always say. People go, man, Chris, you're going for it, and I think, yes. What is gonna happen? At worst, worst case scenario. I'm gonna get to heaven on judgment day, 'cause you know that there is two judgments. There's of course the judgment in terms of, you know, if you're born again, there's heaven and there's hell. There's that judgment, first and foremost. But there is a judgment for believers, the Bible says. For every man, it has been destined to die once, and then the judgment.
There is a judgment where we will be given eternal rewards for what we've done and haven't done here on earth. And I hope you're gonna get a reward for something. I hope you're actually doing something to get some rewards, and my deal is, I always say, look, at most, I might get up there and Jesus might go, oh, sweetheart, you tried too hard. Chris, you could have slept a bit more. Chris, you could have had a little bit more time off. Chris, you could have taken a chill pill. It was okay. I mean, at most, he can say that, okay? So what? I'm gonna live, what am I gonna live 80, 90 years, whatever it's gonna be, if the Lord doesn't return before that? Vapor. At most, it might be you could have had a few more sleeps, big deal, in my vapor. That is a whole lot better than me hearing, you know what, Chris, I had so much for you to do, and you wasted your whole life. You're never gonna have life on earth like that again. What did you do with it, Christine?
You've gotta understand that God is the God of Abraham, God is the God of Isaac, and God is the God of Jacob. So we need the wisdom of the older generation, we need the resources of the middle generation, and we need the zeal of the young generation, and we need all of us working together, not just one or the other, but all of us working together, and the devil has always tried to separate the generations. The devil has always tried to make the older generation feel like they're finished and there's nothing good for them. He's always tried to make the younger generation kind of feel frustrated that they're never being given an opportunity, but can you imagine if we can get the older and the middle and the younger all working together. We might just checkmate the devil in our generation. We might just do that, and be effective for the kingdom of God.
And so, here is the deal. This is important, why? Because most people watching this, most of us around the world, we are gonna live longer than our grandparents did. Now, of course, I'm not talking about natural disasters or just injustices that are happening around the world, but particularly in the western world, if you're watching this, most of us are going to life longer than our grandparents did. A child that was born a thousand years ago was expected to live, max, 24 years. A child that was born 100 years ago was expected to live, if she was female, 51 years, and if he was male, 49 years. A child born 50 years ago, if he was male, 66 years old, and if it was female, 72 years old. A child born today, if they're male, is gonna live to 78 on average, and female, 79, on average.
Now, of course, a lot of that is due to the advancement in medical technology and medical scientific advancements and just the way we are more aware about germs. Less women are dying in childbirth, and a whole lot of other things are happening, but you go, wow, in the last thousand years, we're living at least 55 years longer. In the last hundred years, we're living at least 25 years, 50% longer than we were before that. And so, there's gotta be a reason why God made a choice, that during our generation, because God picks the times and seasons and places that he puts us, there's gotta be a reason we're all gonna live longer, and it's gotta be more than just putting anti-wrinkle cream on our face. It's gotta be more than just having the latest procedure. It's gotta be more than just honing our golf game. You're gonna have a lot of time to hone your golf game in heaven. It's okay, there's got to be a bigger reason than that, and that is because God is not finished with us. And that means those of us in the second half of life, there's still fruitfulness, and there's still effectiveness to come out of us, and what we need to do is ensure that the Spirit of God is renewing us from the inside out.
You know what I was thinking? I was in South Africa recently and had gone to Robber Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and then released out of there. He was 72 after he was released from prison after 27 years and then became the president of South Africa, 72. Mother Teresa was 87 and she was heading up the movement the sisters of charity with 4500 sisters in 133 countries. I don't know what you're doing at 87, but that's not bad. Joyce Meyer, my spiritual mother, she just turned 75, and I'm talking to her the other day, she's hilarious. Like, what are you doing, momma j? Oh, I just wrote my third book for the year, and I just did my 18th conference, and I'm like. She's like, what are you doing? I go, nothing. When I grow up, I wanna be like you. But any time I think that I'm doing anything great, I just call her. 25 years older than me and still running rings around me when it comes to fruitfulness and effectiveness.
What does that show me? That it can be done. It shows me that God still has a plan, that God still has a purpose, that there's still more on the inside of you. And I love that scripture clearly shows us that every single one of us should still be bearing fruit in old age, every single one of us. I want you to turn with me to the book of Psalm 92. The Bible says that the righteous will flourish like a palm tree. I live in southern California, and so, if you check out my Instagram, you will constantly see palm trees. My staff is obsessed with taking photographs of palm trees. It's all of our Instagrams. It says, the righteous will flourish like a palm tree. They will grow like a cedar of Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, check this out, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit when, in old age.
That's scripture across my mirror, they will still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green, proclaiming the Lord is upright. He is my rock, and there is no wickedness in him. Do you realize that? It says that you can stay fresh and green, not old and withered and barren, that you can be moving into old age and still fresh and green and still vital and still young and still sparky and still full of joy and still full of peace and still full of love, not just full of bitterness and anger and unforgiveness and oh, no, I've been around, and cynical. You don't have to become like that the older that you get. You can become full of the life of God. I love this in the amplified Bible. I want you to hear it. It says the uncompromisingly righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, be long lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful. Isn't that cool? It says they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon, majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible. Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God, growing in grace.
You know, the older you get in Christ, the more in grace you ought to be growing? They shall still bring forth fruit in old age. I love that part. They shall be full of sap. I think, oh, do I wanna be full of sap? Well, being full of sap means of spiritual vitality. I wanna be spiritual. I don't think you should decrease in spiritual vitality the older that you get. The more you should increase in spiritual vitality, and rich in the verdure, isn't that cool word? I don't know what it means, but it's awesome. Oh, there it is. Okay, it says, thank God for the amplified. It explains everything, that's awesome, of trust, love, and contentment, that's what it means. It's a sad thing when older people decrease in trust, love, and contentment. We ought to be increasing in trust, love, and contentment. They are living memorials. I think that is so cool, 'cause I'd rather be a living memorial than a dead one, just letting you know.
So, some of you are like, oh, man, what does that mean? They are living memorials to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to his promises. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Listen, if we hide our living memorials, what hope is there for the next generation? I love getting older in the Lord. I love walking with Jesus, 'cause I can say, hey, I was on fire at 22, but man, that gets more powerful at 32, and at 42, and now at 52, I'm saying to you, my God is still faithful. Jesus is still on the throne. Jesus will never let you down. He will never leave you, he will never forsake you. I'm a living memorial, a living memorial. I love that, and I hope that you're watching this and your desire is to be a living memorial.
So think about it as you're about to put those corn chips back in your mouth on that couch as you're watching this. Go, am I truly a living memorial? If people looked at me, can they see the life of Christ? Can they see the vitality of Christ? Am I still green and fruitful? Is there still a spark in my step? And if not, I want you to make sure that you tune into every episode, 'cause we're gonna talk about how to renew your heart. You might be 20 years old and watching this, and you feel like you're old and stale and weary and heavy laden, and I'm here to tell you that the Spirit of God can bring strength and wholeness and a spiritual vitality into you. I'm blessing that God is gonna do miracles in this series. I'm blessing that rivers of living water are gonna flow in you and through you and transform the world around you. I am blessing God for signs and wonders and miracles.
I love this. We should, and what does it mean? The longer we walk with Jesus, we should be flourishing in all stages and at all ages and in all conditions. You know, a palm tree, and the scripture here refers specifically to a palm tree. I live in southern California. It's a desert. Do you know what thrives? A palm tree. Palm trees are everywhere, because they and they grow, and they're flourishing. And the Bible says that's what we should look like. You could be in a desert season in your life. Did you know you can be in a desert season and still flourishing? You might be in a trial, and you're still flourishing. You can have hurricane winds come through southern California, and guess what's still standing? The palm tree. It's like, it just freaks you out. It's still standing.
So I wonder, yes, things are being shaken. Yes, we live in chaotic times. Yes, we live in turbulent time. Yes, there are struggles, yes, there are challenges, but you could still be standing, and you can still be flourishing because you are planted in the house of God. The world is all about retiring and consuming when you get older, but the scripture is all about refiring and producing. I want us to be producing more the older we get. I want us to continually be refiring, 'cause the fire of God lives on the inside of us. It's not just about retiring and how much am I gonna consume. It's about how much am I gonna produce? How fruitful am I going to be? And I want to keep refiring.
So what is the premise of this? This is a spiritual anti-aging series, in case you're wondering what we're doing. This is gonna be cheaper than any wrinkle cream that you can put on your skin. It's a spiritual anti-aging series. It shows you that whether you're 15, 25, or 85, you can stay forever young, that the Spirit of God on the inside of you can keep you forever young, can keep you producing, can keep you fruitful. The Bible says you will still be bearing fruit in old age. We are going contrary to the Spirit of God. See, the world wants to keep you young externally, and it doesn't work. You can't preserve what's ultimately going to decay. The Spirit of God says I'm gonna renew you internally, and if you allow me continually, daily, to renew you internally, when you're old, you're gonna continue to bear fruit. You're gonna continue to be spiritually vital. You are gonna continue to be fruitful in your generation for the glory of God, in Jesus's name, in Jesus's name, amen.
Part 4
Hey everybody, I am so glad, so glad you're here. I'm glad you tuned in today. I'm so grateful that you joined us, and I know that God has a word for you. You know, I am so enjoying being in this series with you. It's called forever young, that we have discovered the fountain of eternal youth, which is pretty awesome, we've got it in a bottle, we're not telling anyone, we're just telling the whole world on television, that the source and the secret to eternal youth is Jesus Christ. He says that if we drink of him, that we're gonna drink of water that will never run dry. And then out of us will forever flow rivers of living water. So many of us try to get satisfied through things or through people, or through circumstances. But the only thing that's ever gonna satisfy us ultimately is a relationship with Jesus Christ, and that we are continually being renewed, and filled with his spirit.
You know, the Bible teaches us that we're to be filled with the spirit, and that's like an ongoing thing. It's a thing that's gonna happen every day. And we stir up that gift of faith on the inside of us, and the older we get, the more passionate we oughta get about Jesus. The older we get, the more on fire we oughta get about our faith. So we've been looking at the fact that Jesus is our living water, and that we're never gonna run dry. We've been looking at the fact that, you know, staying forever young has got very little to do with the cream that's on our face, and it's got everything to do with the condition of our heart. We're not gonna try to preserve this body. We're gonna do what we can to keep it as good as we can, but we're not gonna try to preserve something that ultimately is decaying. We're gonna allow the Spirit of God to renew us from the inside out, and bring change.
So the scripture, we're going today to the book of Isaiah. Chapter 40, verse 28 to 31, the scripture says have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted. But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings like eagles. They shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint. What a promise from God. You know, I pray this scripture over my life most days of my life, because I'm believing God, and I keep saying and the older I get, I'm gonna run and not grow weary. I'm gonna walk and not faint, because I'm gonna wait upon the Lord, because that's what the promise says. It says you can be young, and you might be watching this, and it says even the young grow weary and faint.
And it is amazing to me, I speak at a lot of youth conferences, I've got a 16 year old daughter and a 12 year old daughter, so I have a lot of young people that are in my world, and it is amazing to me how many young people are walking around so weary, so hopeless, so despondent, so exhausted, and you go wow, you haven't even started to live yet. And it's almost like you're at the end before you've even gotten out of the gate. And so the scripture tells us, hey this is something that can happen. And I think our world and in our hyper-connected world, and it's just exhausting to be a young person, just keeping up alive, and now with the advent of social media, and everyone's connected all the time, and you feel like you're comparing and you're competing, and you know, you've got 24/7 access, and you've got Netflix, and you've got your entertainment, and your education, and your information, all on one device, it's like you are never off. You are never unplugged, you are never disconnected. And so you could see the pressure on young people, like never before. And it's just like they're caving under the pressure.
So this message is important for everyone, that we have to understand the comparison and competition, it is going to drain you. That trying to keep up with your friends, and trying to be as good as everybody, it's going to drain you. You are never gonna feel like you're enough. Everything in our world is geared to tell you that you're not enough. You're not pretty enough, you're not smart enough, you're not thin enough, you're not connected enough, you're not rich enough, and everything is like man, if you just had a bit more, then you'd be happier. But that is a world that will just run dry. That's going to kill you if you get on that treadmill. What we have to understand is that Jesus, Jesus is our source. It's only in him, he is the well that never runs dry. And he is the water that we need to drink from, night and day, and that will ensure that out of us will continue to flow rivers of living water.
Our world is weary. Our world is burnt out. Our world is exhausted. People young and old are just like man, this is too hard. There's something wrong with the way that we're doing things. When so many people just think life and living is too hard. There's something wrong, because that's, Jesus said I came to give you life, and life more abundant. It's the enemy that is come to steal, kill and destroy, and there's something wrong when I have a house full of 16 year olds, and they're weary, and they're tired, and there's no zest for life, and no passion for life, and no dreaming, and no destiny, and fear has gripped a generation. And terror has gripped a generation, and they're weary.
So what are we gonna do, we're gonna get back to what the scripture says. Those that wait upon the Lord. What's gonna happen? They will renew their strength. They will mount up on wings like eagles. We will run and not grow weary. We will walk and not faint. The only way we're gonna make it in the earth in which we live, an earth that is full of chaos, that is full of natural disasters, that is full of political instability, that is full of injustice, that is full of pain, that is full of abuse, that is full of heartache, that is making people weary. The fact that we are getting that news on our phone every second through our notifications, we're not designed to be able to cope with so much pain and suffering, 24 seven.
So the only way that we are going to make it, and we're gonna soar above it, is that we gotta learn how to get our strength from Jesus. We've gotta learn that Jesus is our source. We've gotta drink from his well. We've gotta understand when we drink of his water, that out of us will flow rivers of living water. And we don't have it in our own strength. We don't have it in our own ability. None of us are good enough, none of us are righteous enough, none of us in our own strength are kind enough, are patient enough, are long suffering enough. But it's the Spirit of God on the inside of us, producing his fruit through us, that will transform the world around us. That's how it works, so we've gotta allow the Spirit of God to be able to bring change and transformation in our lives. So it says but those who wait upon the Lord, I love this, that means to expect, to put our trust and our hope, and our confidence on God.
See, sometime we think when we say those that wait upon the Lord, you're kind of like at a bus stop, I'm waiting, I'm waiting. That's not the kind of waiting that I'm talking about. I'm not talking about like waiting, I'm just like... Auhmmmm. Auhmmm... Auhmmm... I'm not talking about that kind of waiting. I'm talking about he's my, you know, you're a waiter in a restaurant, you come up and you go, how can I serve you? What would you like? It's like Lord, what's your order for today. What's your order for today. What do you want me to do today? Who do you want me to talk to today? Who do you want me to serve today? I'm waiting on God. I'm not trying to live up to other people's expectations. I'm not trying to be a man pleaser. I'm not trying to operate out of selfish ambition. I'm waiting on God, and you know what, if I wait on him, he's gonna renew my strength. I'm gonna mount up on wings like eagles, I'm gonna run and not grow weary, I'm gonna walk and not faint. I'm waiting on God.
And so that word means to put your hope in. Where's your hope? 'cause if your hope's in that job, it's gonna let you down. If your hope is in that person, he's likely, or she's likely to let you down at some point. People are human, people are flawed. People are broken. You know, if your hope is in that pay packet, you know what, we can't guarantee it's always gonna be there, or in the stock Market, or you know, it's gonna crash at some point. Our hope ultimately must be in Jesus. If we're gonna keep going, I've we're gonna, so do we hope on God? I wonder today where your hope is. I wonder today where your trust is. I wonder today where your confidence, and your quiet expectation is, because the thing that you hope in is going to be your source for continuing to go on, and to be fruitful in life. So our hope ultimately must be in Christ. Only Jesus will never leave us. Only Jesus will never forsake us. Only Jesus will never betray us. Only Jesus can never hurt us. Only Jesus will give us the love that we need ultimately, and be good to us in the way that we need it. Sometimes we elevate people to a place that only Jesus should be.
And then, when those idols disappoint us, we end up crumbling, and we end up falling apart. And I'm telling you I don't know, I don't know how many idols you need to put up there to keep falling, but they will keep disappointing you. The idol of money will disappoint you. The idol of things will disappoint you. The idol of people will disappoint you. The idol of your own ambition will disappoint you. You will disappoint yourself. The only person that needs to be exalted in your life is the person of Jesus Christ, he is the only one. He is the only one that will never hurt you, that will never leave you, and that will never forsake you. It says that he will renew your strength, that means to change, to alter, to cause, to flourish again, to restore, to revive. Do you realize that this is why we've gotta wait upon God? Only he can do the supernatural exchange.
You know, you can only pump yourself up for so long. They call me, you know, in our church circles, Chris is the pump queen. She brings the pump factor. But listen, even I get deflated every now and again. Even I can't pump people in in my own strength, but I'm telling, you're full of the Spirit of God, I wanna be able to lift a room. I wanna be able to elevate an environment. I wanna be able to walk into a place and people know faith has walked into this place. I want them to know that I'm gonna speak to their purpose, I'm gonna speak to their passion, I'm gonna speak to their potential. I wanna equip and empower you not to grow weary. I want you to run your race, and I want you to finish your course. I want you to still be flourishing, even in old age. I want you to be fruitful. I want you to be multiplying. I want you to be all God's created you to be, and do all God's created you to do.
The enemy's the one that wants you to be wearied, emptied out, exhausted, he wants you to stop. He doesn't want you to run your race, but I know that greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. I want you to rise up and be who God's called you to be, and to do what God has called you to do, in every aspect of your life. God says the people of God who trust him should become strong in faith, they should be able to contend with their spiritual enemies. I'm paraphrasing this verse. They should be able to gain victory over their sins, and advance the kingdom, victorious, overcoming, resurrection life. Let me tell you, you cannot preserve your youth externally, but you can be renewed internally. The Spirit of God can renew you from the inside out, so that you can run and not grow weary, you can walk and not faint.
I want you to grow up, but to stay young. That's the whole point of this series. That a lot of us, we're still immature. We haven't grown up in our faith, and we're still weary or exhausted. And I'm saying it's time to grow up and mature. That's my job, by the way, Ephesians chapter 4 says my job is to train and equip the saints, as an evangelist for the work of the ministry. To bring them to maturity. That's the whole point, that's why I write books, that's why I teach, that's why we have the equip &: empower television program. It's about maturing the saint, now we hear that word maturing, we think I don't wanna be mature. Mature sounds like boring, like no one wants to be like mature, 'cause it's like boring, it sounds like old, it sounds like who wants to be mature? I like, you know, like I don't wanna do that. But I wanna make mature cool, because I think God says being mature is cool.
Biblical maturity is very important. And I think we make biblical maturity kind of like rigid, and stiff. Oh I'm a mature believer. I've been in the way for a long time. I've had a lobotomy and I wear beige. I don't have any fun, and I have no personality, because I'm a Christian. I don't do anything, because I'm a Christian. I'm just waiting for the rapture, because I'm a Christian. I'm not allowed to have any fun, because I'm a Christian. And I don't want you to have any fun, because if I can't have any fun, you're not gonna have any fun. Because I'm a Christian, and my job is to make sure life is miserable, because like, what, I don't know what Bible you're reading, but you are not reading my Bible that says Jesus came that we might have life and life more abundant. We need to grow up, we need to be mature, we need to be full of the faith of God. We need to be full of the life of God. We need to be full of the love of God. But we gotta grow up. But we gotta grow up and stay young.
You know, I've got my two daughters, they're so fun, I love that I had kids later in life. I had my first at 35, and my second at almost 40, and it was so awesome, 'cause they keep me young. I haven't got a choice. And so I love their wide eyed wonder. And you know that anything can become fun. Especially when they were little. Like it would take us an hour to walk two blocks, because every blade of grass was really interesting. You know, my little one, they, you notice, you know, you go come here, and they would just go over here, and everything looked fun, and they'd pull all the little stuff off the shelves in the superMarket, and that all be fun, and everything was a game. Everything's fun, wide eyed wonder. They love looking at everything, it's all so cool. Well I think God wants us to have that when it comes to our faith. There oughta be this wide eyed innocence, and simplicity, I'm not talking about ignorance. Ignorance and innocence are two different things.
I'm talking about a wide eyed wonder, that says you know what, I've still got the life of God working on the inside of me. I've still got the faith of God working on the inside of me. The scripture says in Mark chapter 10, verse 15, Jesus said I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God, like a little child, will never enter it. Isn't that wild? He says you need to have this simplicity of faith. Sometimes people say to me, you know, Christine, your faith's really simple. I think I'm glad, I'm good, 'cause that's biblical. Anyone, if you, 'cause it takes faith to stay wide eyed, all the way through. It takes faith not to get cynical, not to get jaded, not to get discouraged.
Some of you, there's some people you need to cut out of your life, because they're making you cynical. They're making you angry. They're making you discouraged. Every time you get around them, you kinda deflate a bit because you know, well I'm just gonna tell you the truth. I'm just gonna tell you what it's really like. You know, somehow you get somber, you get a deeper voice, and you're very mystical because you know something the rest of us don't. Because you're deep, and you know it in the Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, so do do do do do do do, that's makes it awesome. Well I mean I'm flat out trying to understand the English, leave me alone, like really, seriously. If I could do what I know to do in English, then I'll get to the Greek, and then the Hebrew, and the Aramaic. I mean seriously?
And some of those people are the most joyless people. And they're like so deep, I'm like you're so deep you drown. I don't know where you are, but I'm like seriously. Gimme some shallow people that are full of joy. I want some people that are full of joy, that are full of the life and the spirit. Seriously. Seriously. I want, I wanna be in a faith adventure. I wanna stay childlike. I'm not talking about being childish. I'm not talking about like, you know, mutton dressed up as lamb. I'm not saying not being age appropriate or any, you know, there's certain things if I say them, my kids roll their eyes, they're like mum, really? Like really, you're not 16. I'm like okay, okay. They'll go into, you know, it's interesting having a social media accounts with teenage daughters, 'cause they're like mom, I'm deleting that, you are not posting that, that is not going to happen.
So they kinda like hey mom, mom you are such a dork, I'm like yeah I know, that's it. But here is the deal, that I wanna stay childlike. I wanna stay wide eyed, like a kid that walks into Disneyland. Wow, wow, that's how it oughta be. And you can still, you know, I help to rescue the victims of human trafficking, I'm not ignorant about reality. I'm not ignorant about the pain and the injustice on the earth. I'm not ignorant about the suffering of people. I'm not ignorant about the own pain in my past. But I am in awe of Jesus. I am in awe of this wonder of being saved, of being born again, of operating according to an eternal perspective, not a temporal perspective. That might be simplistic for some folk, they might just think you know what, I started grad school, and I'm doing a masters in evangelism and leadership, and you know, I'm around some people and like they are like really, really smart, and really, really deep, and that's like awesome, and I know they're like wow, Chris, you're a bit simple.
I know I'm sort of a, almost disappointing to them, I know. It's just like we thought maybe you'd be something more. And I'm like but you know what, I still got joy, joy, joy down deep in my heart. Where, deep in my heart, where, deep in my heart. I've got joy, joy, joy down deep in my heart. I'm still full of the joy of the Lord. I've still got this wide eyed wonder, and I'm telling you, I'm gonna keep it. I'm gonna keep it, and you can swim in the depths with Jesus, and still be full of the awe of God. And the joy of your salvation. Some of you, your prayer needs to be create in me a clean heart. Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, oh Lord. Take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of my salvation.
I know for me, all of last year, really that was my prayer. I had gone through a season, just a deep betrayal, a deep pain in my heart, and I really thought for a couple of months that I lost the joy of my salvation. And I would, I'm telling you, I got so serious before God. I would just like not, like i, God I'm not letting you go, until I get, I don't know how anyone could live without the joy of their salvation. It was just miserable on every front, and I'm sure I was miserable to be around, but internally, I felt like I was dying and decaying, and I'm like God, I want the joy of my, more than anything else, more than stuff, more than anything, I want the joy of my salvation, I want the life of God.
And some of you, that could be the greatest thing that you pray for, as a result of this series, maybe you're feeling weary. Maybe you're feeling heavy laden. Maybe you've lost that childlike wonder. My prayer for you is that you are restored, or restored unto you is the joy of your salvation. That sense of Jesus that you had. You don't have to get cynical as you get older. The joy that says Jesus Christ, you are in control. You are in control. You know Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:11 when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things.
So here we are on the one hand, I'm saying we want the joy of our salvation, and we want a childlike faith, but I need you to understand, a childlike faith is very different to acting in a childish way. And we're gonna come back in the next part of this series, and we're gonna talk about the difference between what it is to have a childlike faith, and being childish, because if you and I are gonna step into the purpose of God, if we are gonna have restored unto us the joy of our salvation, then we're gonna have to learn what it is to put off childish things, so that we can sustain a childlike faith. And I'm telling you, it is totally possible to finish stronger than you started, if you allow the Spirit of God to well up on the inside of you, day by day by day by day. In Jesus name, in Jesus name.