Matt Hagee - How Do I Handle My Broken Heart?
If you would please, stand for the reading of God's word. And if you brought your Bibles, turn them to 1 Samuel, the 30th chapter, beginning at the 4th verse, as this morning we ask and answer the question, "How do I handle my broken heart"? Sooner or later, you're going to know what it feels like to have your heart broken. If you haven't already walked through a season of heartbreak in your life, I've got certain news for you. I'm not going to say it's good news, but it's true news: there's a heartbreak coming. The world we live in is a heart-breaking place. And it finds more ways to break your heart than you can imagine. Some heartaches and heartbreaks are sudden. You never saw them coming but they're here. Others come as the end result of rejection, when those that you thought you could depend upon, suddenly reverse their opinion of you.
And you find yourself abandoned and alone, when you thought you had friends. Sometimes heartbreak comes when your limits get pressed, when you tell yourself, over a period of time, I can take it, I can take it, I can take it. And then finally something just one ounce too great falls on your shoulders. And as the statement goes, "The straw breaks the camel's back" and you find yourself in heartbreak. Sometimes heartbreak comes as a season of choices. Now I'm not talking about you, but maybe somebody you know at one time or another made a choice that led to heartbreak. Sometimes heartbreaks come over time. You just willingly accept an existence that's far less than what your life should be. And rather than have the opportunity to enjoy good things, you just willingly accept "This is how it's supposed to be".
And whether you know it or not, you're walking through a heartbreak. Whenever these things happen, you have to ask yourself, "How do I handle my broken heart"? Today, I wish I could stand in this pulpit and tell you that principles like these will never be needed in your life. Today I wish I could tell you that sermons like this one never had to be preached. But we know that the life that we live in is not a life that is void of struggle. Whenever you come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, you don't get a get-out-of-jail- free card on trouble. But when you are God's child, you have an opportunity to succeed in spite of the struggle. Today we're going to look at David, who had a heartbreak. His world suddenly turned upside down. He had no way of knowing it was going to happen, but when it did, rather than allow the circumstance to define him, he defined that circumstance.
When his family was gone, when his finances were taken, when his children were seeming to be in grave danger, when his friends betrayed him, David, rather than choose the opportunity to give up and quit, decided that he was going to take this day, rejoice in the Lord, his God, and see God's victory in his life. Today, I want you to see what David did with a broken heart. And I want to give you the opportunity to do the same, so that when you leave this place, your sorrow can be turned into dancing, your doubt can be turned into joy, and you will know what it means to be more than a conqueror through Christ. Let's read together 1 Samuel 30, beginning at verse 4. If you're there, say, amen.
"Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more power to weep. And David's two wives, Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail, the widow of Nabal, the Carmelite, had been taken captive. Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God. Then David said to Abiathar, the priest, Ahimelech's son, please bring the Ephod here to me. And Abiathar brought the Ephod to David. And so David inquired of the Lord, saying, shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, pursue, for you shall surely overtake them: and without fail, recover all". Say that with me: and without fail, recover all.
Heavenly Father, help us today to know that you are too wise to be mistaken and too loving to be unkind. Father, we thank you that in all things you can do more than we could ask, think or imagine. So for every individual, who is suffering with a broken heart today, and for those who are wanting to know how to handle it, let them see in your word, hope, promise, and power from a God who can make a way that they might recover all. In Jesus' name, we pray. And all of God's children said, praise the Lord.
You may be seated. 1 Samuel 30:1 begins with these words, "And now it happened". What do you do in your life when you come to that "Now it happened" moment? How do you handle a sudden reversal? How do you handle that thing that you never saw coming? What do you do when the boss walks in and says, "I'm sorry: but tomorrow, you no longer have a job here"? What do you do whenever your wife, after years of what you thought was a great marriage, says, "I don't want to be married to you anymore"? What do you do when you sit in a doctor's office, and the doctor walks in, and says, "These test results were not what I was expecting," and he gives you a diagnosis that you never thought you'd ever have to hear? This is the kind of day and the moment that David is having. When the Bible says, "Now it happened," it wasn't a wonderful thing for David and his mighty men to walk through.
Here's the story. David has 600 men of war. These men of war are considered the elite commandos of Israel. David is not yet king. David is staying in a city called Ziklag. Ziklag is not where David knows he is supposed to be. David has been anointed to be king since he was a child. But king Saul sits on the throne. David is not yet at God's perfect place. But David is doing everything that he knows God wants him to do. How many of you in this place today can say that you know you're not right in God's perfect place, but you're doing everything you know God wants you to do? We tell ourselves, "My best is yet to be". That's because you're not right where God wants you to be. But on your way, do everything that God wants you to do. David is in Ziklag with his mighty men. And David is defending Israel, a nation that he does not yet rule. But regardless of whether or not he sits on the throne, he still loves his country.
David and his mighty men are returning from a trip. And when they walk back to town, instead of seeing their families walk out to meet them, they see smoke on the horizon. All of a sudden they're joy turns to tension. And tension turns to terror. When they run into the city of Ziklag and they see that their wives and their children have been kidnapped, they see that their material possessions have been taken, they see that their homes have been destroyed, now it happened. David's heart and the heart of every man that was with him was broken. And they didn't know what to do. The Bible says that the first thing that they did, according to verse 4, was that they fell on their faces, and they lifted up their voices, and they wept until they had no more power to weep. When your heart breaks, you need to know it's okay to cry. There is nothing strong about stoicism.
People say, "Well, I'm just tough. I don't have to deal with emotion". No, you're a bomb that's about to go off. David was brave enough to fight a lion and a bear, and face a giant. David's men were so mighty that their stories are still being told thousands of years later. And when their heart broke, they fell on their face, and they wept until they had no more power to weep. What do you do when your heart's breaking? How do you handle that moment in time? What do you do when the enemy has taken everything that you treasured away, and suddenly you're sitting there with nothing left? David and his mighty men fell on their faces and they wept. I advise you to take a moment whenever your heart breaks, and go ahead and have a good cry. That's what tissue boxes are made for. But then there comes a moment when you have to make up your mind.
After that moment of grief, you have to make a decision. For your own sake, you have got to decide all by yourself. No one can choose this decision for you. It's one that you've got to reason within your own heart, soul, and mind. It's a moment in time that everyone, who's ever had a broken heart, has to decide: is God's word true or is it not? Because if his promise is true, then it will endure. If his word is real, then it will come to pass. And if it is true, then I have no choice, but including my broken heart, to endure and hold to God's unchanging hand. You see David and his mighty men faced the same circumstance. And they all began in the same place. All of them fell on their face and they wept until they had no more power to weep. But then suddenly things changed. David's men made one decision and David made another. David's men began to look for someone to blame.
Have ever found somebody in an emotional moment and all they want to do is blame somebody? This is why lawyers buy commercials. And they say, "Call me: there's only one number". If you're only smart enough to remember one number, you need a better lawyer. Why? Because we love the blame game. Everything has got to be somebody's fault. And David and his mighty men in their emotional moment with their broken hearts, they begin to talk to each other. How many of you know that sometimes talking to people doesn't help the problem? You know I told David that we should have stayed home. I agree. I didn't think we should have made that trip either. I told David that somebody should have stayed behind to protect our homes.
I told David that I didn't think this was God's will. I don't think David's God's man anymore. You know at one time he was anointed, but things have changed. Have you noticed that music he's listening to lately? They begin, in their emotion, to begin to discuss the decision. And suddenly they decide that everything they're feeling right now is somebody else's fault. And they make a decision that seems perfectly rational in the moment. But it might not play out well in the long run. Here's their rational decision: let's stone him. Doesn't that make sense? I mean isn't that going to make things better? My heart's broken. Let me kill somebody and it'll heal me. The Bible says that David was greatly distressed: for his 600 men spoke of stoning him. These trained killers now have a new target and it's David.
David is in a moment when his heart is breaking. He's sobbing face down in the dirt like everyone else. And all of a sudden, they want to take everything that they're feeling and they want to place it on him. Many of you know what it's like to have a broken heart. And then there's sometimes when your broken heart even gets made worse because of the things other people are saying and doing to you. Sometimes you hope for the best and you get the worst. Sometimes something happens that you never saw coming. You need to know that that's not always somebody's fault. Sometimes it's just life. Job said: as sure as sparks fly upward, so is a man born to trouble. When you walk into a season of trouble, don't look for somebody to blame. Just know that it means you're alive.
Joseph had a broken heart. Joseph's heart broke the day his brothers threw in a pit and decided to plan his death. And instead of killing, they decided to sell him. Job had a broken heart, covered in the boils, sitting by ten graves that he had just dug with his own hands for his children. All of his wealth and material possessions, gone! Jesus had a broken heart, kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane, asking God the Father if there was any way that this cup could be taken away from him. Knowing that it was God's will from the beginning of time, he said, if there's another chance, let's take it. And then he held his breath and said: nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.
I've got good news for you today. If you've got a broken heart, the same God who was in that pit with Joseph, the same God who sat by those graves with Job, the same God who was there in the garden with Jesus Christ is the same God who is sitting in this sanctuary with you. He is here for you in your hour of sorrow. He is here to let you know that this trial didn't come to stay: it only came to pass. It might be here longer than you want it, but the Word of God clearly promises that weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. When you walk through this season of heartbreak, don't look for somebody to blame. Turn and look for Jesus Christ, because he will make a way where there seems to be no way! He said: I'll never leave you, nor will I forsake you. He was there in the pit with Joseph. He was there whenever Job wept for his children. He was there with Abraham on the top of the mountain. He was there with Daniel in the lion's den. He was there when David when his heart broke. And child of God, he is here, and he is here for you!
So what do you do when your heart breaks? Everybody gets to weep. But it's what you do when the weeping is over that determines whether or not you are going to be a victor or a victim. Whether or not the heartbreak will define you or you will define it. How many people do you know have been defined by tragedy? Oh, there's the man that lost his business. Oh, there's the lady that lost her family. That's what happens when heartbreak comes to stay, not when it comes to pass. David's men looked for somebody to blame. But the Bible says, in 1 Samuel 30:6: but David strengthened himself. Say that with me, but David strengthened himself. Little things make a great deal of difference when your heart is breaking. Other people may give you advice, but it's the decision that you make that's going to determine whether or not you come out triumphant or tragic.
And the Bible says that while everyone else was looking for someone to blame, David made a different decision. David decided, I'm not going to act like them. I'm going to strengthen myself. And he did it in the best way you can. He strengthened himself in the Lord. He didn't strengthen himself by considering what others had done. He strengthened himself in the only true source of strength. You notice that sometimes the most powerful motivational speeches you'll ever hear or the greatest ones you'll ever give are the ones you give to yourself. There comes a time in your life when you have to look in the mirror, and you have got to decide, you and I are going to get some things straight today. And you say, that's sounds crazy, preacher. I don't know why it sounds crazy.
I know a lot of people that take the time to point their finger at everyone else, and say, you know what you need to do, you know what you need to do, you know what you need to do. Just go find you a mirror, look at yourself, and say, you know what you need to do. It's biblical. The Bible says: let a man examine himself. That doesn't mean that he goes down to the gym and stands in front of the mirror, and goes, wow. That's delusional: that's not examination. When you examine yourself, you consider where you are spiritually, where you are physically, where you are emotionally, where you are in your relationships. You take every aspect of your life and you break it down. And everything that's not like it should be, the first thing you are is honest about it. And the second thing you do is change it.
Sometimes the greatest motivational speech you'll ever hear is the one you give to yourself. The Bible says, David encouraged himself. There wasn't anyone else to encourage him. So he made up his mind, I'm going to have to encourage myself. He rises to his best when everyone thinks he should be at his worst. He says, self, we might be knocked down, but I know we're not going to stay down. Self, we might be surrounded by bitterness, but we're not going to let the bitterness get inside of us: we're going to stay hopeful. Self, we may be pressed but we're not crushed. We may be persecuted but we are not abandoned. We maybe struck down, but self, I know that we are not destroyed. And people say, David, how do you know you're not destroyed? And David says, self, we're still breathing. And as long as we're still breathing, we're still living.
And the Bible says: let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. So self, we're not going to give into fear, we're not going to give into worry. We're not going to let this get the best of us. We are not going to become angry. We're not going to get mad at God and see who we can blame. We're not going to live six months in a dark depression. We're not going to quit the church and go start our own. We're not going to whine. We're going to shine, because this did not come to stay: it came to pass! Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice! You say, well, how do you know David said all of that? Because that's what I'd say to me if I was in this situation. And if you could preach to yourself like that every morning before you went to work, I'd dismiss church right now. You say, I just don't think I can do that: I'm not that kind of a person. Here's how you can be.
The first thing that you have to do when you encourage yourself is you have got to stop counting your burdens and start claiming your blessings. You've got to look back at all of the obvious good things that God did in your life. And you've got to rehearse them, knowing that if God did that for you once before, he can do it all over again. When David had no one to encourage him, he encouraged himself. And he said, self, it was God that chose us to be king. It was God that sent Samuel to my father's house with a horn of oil. And when my brothers walked in and Samuel said, they look like kings, God said, there's not kings. It's not what's on the outside: it's what's on the inside. Self, you remember it's down here that makes the difference. You might be sitting here today, and people don't see what God sees in you. But God looks at you and he sees a king. He calls you an heir and a joint heir. He says, you're my son, you're my daughter. He considers you to be the most priceless of all his possessions.
When the world has given up on you, listen to what God has to say about you, and know that God calls those things that are not as though they were. He sent his son that he might die for you: and that the blood of his only begotten would set you free. He gave you to power of his name: that when you mention it, every demon in hell trembles. And when you worship, his presence invades the place. He gave you the power of his blood that has set you free. And whom the son sets free is free indeed! Church, you are not a victim. You're more than a conqueror! Nothing is impossible with you. So if you need to encourage yourself, declare it a day that the lion of the tribe of Judah is on my side. And if God be for me, who can be against me? David encouraged himself, because sometimes you've got to remove yourself from the circumstances before you can think straight. When your heart breaks, don't make big decisions, staring your problem in the face. Either get above it or get away from it, because that's where you'll have the opportunity to think.
The Bible says the next thing David did, 1 Samuel 30:8, is he got a word from the Lord. It says: so David inquired of the Lord. He encourages himself, and then he calls Abiathar. And he says: bring me the Ephod. Now for women, they say, oh, he changed his wardrobe. Everybody feels better in new clothes. But the truth is this is a very real spiritual, symbolic change. You see the Ephod was the garment of a priest. And when the priest wore the Ephod and he went into the holy place, he stood before the menorah, which is the candles of light. And when the priest would wear the Ephod that had Jewels in the garment, the light from the candles would light up the Jewels and reflect on the seven candle sticks that were in the menorah. Now you can check all of this out in the book of Leviticus. It's in there: I promise. And whenever the priest would go into the holy place, and he would talk to the Lord, the Lord would light up the Jewels on his chest, and then light up the letters on those candle sticks, and spell out letter for letter, word for word, what God wanted his people to do.
And so when the Bible says that David inquired of the Lord, he put on the Ephod. He was saying to God, I don't want you to give me some general instructions: I want to know. What do you want me to do, because I'm out of clues. And you need to know that sometimes it's okay to be clueless, because his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. When you've run out of answers, ask the answer. Before you react, knee act. So David inquired of the Lord. And the Bible gives us a very strange question that David asks. He says: shall I pursue? Now just think about this, if you were Abigail, David's wife. You've been kidnapped. Your house has been burned. You're in the possession of terrorists. And your husband is talking to God: do I go get her?
Now I don't know about you, but that wouldn't go real far over at my house. And when you understand why David is asking the question, it suddenly makes more sense. It's not that David didn't know. David knew what he wanted to do. David was a warrior. David had killed things. He'd killed giants. He'd killed other men. He'd fought in battles. He knew. His blood was running hot. Just get out of the way and I'll get them all. But before he did what he wanted to do, he wanted to know what God thought about it. There is no problem in life with using your instincts, your intuition, and the natural mind that God gave you to make decisions. But make sure that you submit your carnal mind to his spiritual one before you take your life in your own hands. David said: shall I pursue this troop? That's what I want to do, God. Shall I overtake them? That's what I'm trained to do, God. But I don't want to do it unless you give me permission.
You know there are times in life when we say to ourselves, we're looking for a word from God. And the truth is we're simply deceiving ourselves, because God has given us his word right here. There are times when we need to find out what to do. And God's already written the answer down. And all we've got to do is open the book and obey it. And then there are other times when we know what the book says. We just say, we're praying about what the book has already told us. You need to know that's not spiritual: that's rebellion. That's disobedience. The Bible says: to him who knoweth to do right and doeth it not, to him it is sin. The Bible says: give and it shall be given unto you. That's a very specific word. Oh, but I'm praying about giving. No, you're not: you're disobeying. And people say, well I don't want God to give me just any word: I want him to give me specific word.
Well let me tell you something. God will never whisper something in your ear that he has not clearly written in his word. He's not the author of confusion. He's the shepherd of the sheep, not a submarine. So if you think you're so deep that no one understands you, you need to know you're not in his word. When you get a word from God, the Bible says: out of the mouths of two or three witnesses, let all things be confirmed. Sometimes God will, through his Holy Spirit, give you direction. When that happens, check it in his written word, because his written word will confirm the direction the spirit gave you.
If you can't find his direction in his word that's in your spirit, you've eaten bad pizza: that's not the Holy Ghost. But once your spirit and his word are confirmed, you have two witnesses. Then go to somebody that you have spiritual authority with. Go to a pastor. Go to a church leader. Say, this is what I believe God is wanting me to do. And let them speak into your life. But don't just run off and do your will and claim it was God's plan. How many people do you know run around saying, well God told me, and God told me, and God told me, and God's always telling them something different every day? God told me to do this, and God told me to do that, and God told me to start this, and God told me to stop that, and God told me to be a vegetarian, and God told me to eat meat. God's a picky eater. You don't have a word from the Lord: you've got a wish. But when you get a word from the Lord, know that it will not return void. It is sharper than any two-edged sword.
People say, I'm sitting here with a broken heart, pastor. I need a word from the Lord. If the enemy has attacked your family, the word from the Lord is that no weapon formed against you would prosper. If he's attacked you with sickness, the word from the Lord is: by his stripes, you are healed. If he's attacked your finances, then the word from the Lord is that he, God, will supply all of your needs according to his riches in glory. For it is the Lord who gives you the power to get wealth. Whenever you're looking for a word from the Lord, start by finding one here. Stand upon it and know that you'll be like a tree that is planted by rivers of living water. Your leaf will not wither. Your fruit will come in its season. And whatever you do, it will prosper. That is the word of the Lord! Give the Lord a handclap of praise!
You encourage yourself. You get a word from the Lord. And the third thing you do is do not let your imagination take over. How many people do you know make bad things worse when their imagination kicks in? Oh, it's killing me. You are the loudest, whiniest, dead person I've ever met. It's destroying me. It just couldn't get any worse. Let me give you a good word: it can get worse. You want to make things worse, just let your imagination run off the edge of the envelope. I promise you: it won't solve the problem. I'll give you a biblical example of that. In the book of numbers, the children of Israel, they walk out of Egypt. God makes a way where there seems to be no way. They go across the Red Sea. They go right up to the Promised Land that for 400 years he told them he would give them. And Moses sends in twelve spies. Two of those spies came out, and they said, it's a good land and it is the land that God promised us. We should take it.
Ten of those spies went in and they agreed. They saw the same thing. They said, it's a good land and it's the land that God promised us. But then their imagination took over. And they said, we'll never take it. They said, there's being people in there and they're like giants, and we're like grasshoppers. Now that's where their imagination got too big. I'm a native-born Texan, been here all my life. I know Texas tall tales when I hear them. And just do the math. If a cricket is one-inch tall, and a man is five-foot tall, if you were a five-foot man and you looked like a one-inch cricket, that man would have to be 300-feet high.
Now how many of you know that's a big exaggeration? Those might have been some big ole boys, but they weren't that big. And they may have indeed been bigger and better soldiers than the children of Israel, who had just served as Pharaoh's slaves. But I promise you this: while they were bigger than Israel could handle: they were not bigger than the God that Israel served could handle. When your imagination takes over, you make the problem too big for even God to solve. But when you keep your imagination submitted to God's word, suddenly there isn't a problem that's too big for God to solve. Suddenly all things are possible to them that believe. Suddenly he can make a way where there seems to be no way.
You might not know where your answer is coming from, but he'll show you great and mighty things that you know not. You might not know how the water will part, but he can still part the Red Sea. You might not know how two million people will drink, but he'll still make water run from the rock. You might not know where your provision is coming from. But if he's got to open the windows of heaven and rain down manna, that's the kind of God that I serve, and he'll do it for you!
The fourth thing that David did to handling his broken heart is once he asked the question, he took action. Do I pursue? Do I overtake them? And God says, pursue, for you will overtake them and you will recover all. Now it's one thing to get a good word from the Lord. But that word is good for nothing unless you're willing to act upon it. We celebrate all of God's promises, the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath. Oh, thank you, Jesus. But there's action that must be taken before you qualify for that blessing. In Deuteronomy, that specific blessing is connected to your willingness to obey God's word. "Pressed down, shaken together, and running over" is connected to your willingness to take action upon God's word.
Having your soul prosper and be in good health is connected to your ability to take action upon God's word. David inquired of the Lord, what do I do? And God said, overtake them. It wouldn't have happened if David would have gone back to his lawn chair, and said, I'm just waiting on the Lord. You see, there's a moment when you wait that you might receive strength. And then there's a moment that you wait because you're too afraid to pursue. Sometimes your broken heart is still there because you have not taken action. And God has designed us that we should take an active role in our healing. Sure, he has the ability to do it all by himself. But he said: faith without works is what? Dead. As powerful as he is, he wants you involved in the equation. David needs to take action. David needs to show his 600 men that he still hears from God. David needs to be re-established in their eyes as a leader.
And God tells David, if you'll take action, you will recover. And when you recover, you will be back on the throne. When it comes to results, God wants to make sure that you know the outcome before the fight begins. You see David was an anointed king. And 2,000 years after he sat on the throne, his son, Jesus Christ, came to earth, and he was called "The son of David". Why? Because he was an anointed king. David had an enemy. He had a thief. The Amalekites came and they took everything that David had. You and I have an enemy. The Bible says: he comes to rob, to kill, and to destroy. But just like these men followed David, who led them in recovery, Jesus Christ said: I have come that you might have life more abundantly.
Our anointed king went to a place called Calvary. And there, the Bible says that he took our enemy and he made a public spectacle of them. He shamed them in his triumph over them at Calvary. And when he rose victorious over death, hell, and the grave, he said: I have given you the keys to the kingdom. When you want to know what to do with your broken heart, because of what Christ has done at Calvary, you have a word that gives you the opportunity to recover all. If the devil has taken your family into the far country, you have a word that says that prodigal son is coming home soon.
If the enemy has taken your finances, you have a word that says that you will be blessed and highly favored: that he'll give you houses you didn't build, and wells you didn't dig, and vineyards you didn't plant. If the enemy has taken your physical strength, you have a word that he is God, our healer: and that by his stripes, you have been set free. If the enemy has tried to destroy your marriage, you have a word that says, what God has brought together, let no man put asunder. If the enemy has tried to destroy your peace, you have peace that surpasses all understanding, because he will keep his perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.
Child of God, because of what Jesus has done, you can recover all! Don't let the enemy steal your joy! Don't let him steal your hope! Don't let him break your heart! In Jesus' name, take action today, and declare, I am more than a conqueror through Christ! There's simply not enough time in a day to remind you of all that Jesus has done on your behalf. But I promise you this: the half has not entered into the minds of men what he has done for his own. Don't let this world break your heart. Remember how good he's been to you. Rejoice in what he has planned for you. Take his word, don't let your imaginations run off, but take action, and recover what the enemy has taken. It's not the enemy's to begin with. It belongs to you. Give the Lord a handclap of praise.
Would you stand to your feet in the presence of the Lord with every head bowed and every eye closed. You're here today, and you say, pastor, I know what it's like to have a broken heart. I know what it's like for my heart to break and my joy to be gone, my hope, my peace to be replaced by fear and doubt. It really doesn't matter what broke your heart. If it was a circumstance, if it was a decision you made, if it's just a season your life is walking through, but today if you want to know how to handle that broken heart, and you want to receive the word of comfort from the Lord, I want you to lift your hand right where you are. And now I want everyone in this room to repeat this prayer with me, because there's more hands raised than we have room in these altars or these aisles. So we're going to convert this entire sanctuary to a place of healing today and let broken hearts all over this room be healed. If you're watching by television and your heart is broken, I want you to join us in this prayer today. Say these words with me.
Lord Jesus Christ, today I thank you that you have not left me: that you haven't forsaken me: that even in this hour where my heart is breaking, you're here with me. I receive your word today: that the joy of the Lord is my strength. I receive hope today. I receive peace today. I receive healing today. And I thank you for it. Lord, I'm asking you to help me recover (now I want you to tell the Lord exactly what you need). Lord, I'm asking you to help me recover the finances that have been taken. Lord, I'm asking you to help me recover the joy that I once knew. Lord, I'm asking you to help me recover the peace of mind. Lord, I'm asking you to help me recover confidence. Whatever it is that the enemy has stolen from you, Jesus Christ has given you the keys to the kingdom. And because of the cross, you have the authority of his name to go and recover it all. Therefore, say, in Jesus' name, I'm here to recover (and tell the Lord exactly what you're looking for). Father, I thank you for your word today. I thank you for your promise. And I thank you that we can receive it because we've asked for it in faith believing. And all of God's children said, praise the Lord.