Steven Furtick - Hold That Thought (01/29/2026)
In Philippians 4, Pastor Steven Furtick urges believers to stand firm in everyday challenges by focusing thoughts on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Linking to 2 Corinthians 10:5, he teaches taking captive every disobedient thought, demolishing arguments against God's truth, and holding onto God's promises while interrogating fearful imaginations to live courageously and experience the God of peace.
Standing Firm in Everyday Battles
Philippians chapter 4, I want to read verse 1. I'm going to skip a lot of verses because I've been preaching these long-winded sermons lately. And I'm trying to be more disciplined. Even though I know that you enjoy every minute of these sermons, and you need every minute, matter of fact. Your old messed up self. You need every minute that I'll give you. And plus, I figure, you know, they're all about making trips shorter these days, which is cool. But it's kind of like you go through all this trouble to get here. Come on, you have to fight the devil and his mother-in-law to get here. So I need to give you your money's worth, your effort's worth.
Anyway, stay standing. Philippians chapter 4, I read verse 1. He says... It's cool because he's not telling them, Stand firm in the Lord in a brave heart way. He's not telling them, Stand firm in the Lord in a Daniel in the lion's den kind of way. He's telling them, Stand firm in the Lord in the challenges of your everyday life. And sometimes you can't make much progress, and all you can do is stand in the last place that God showed you. Just standing sometimes is a sign of strength. Even if you don't feel like you're doing very much, just standing means you're stronger than you think you are.
The Atmosphere of Your Heart Controls the Storm
And he tells them how to stand. Last week, I hope you enjoyed that message about how to brave the waves. How to brave the waves. That although I can't control the conditions of my life all the time, I can always control the atmosphere of my heart. And if I can learn how to speak peace to my heart, I can have peace in the midst of any storm. He says all of that in verse 6 and verse 7. He talks about the peace of God which passes all understanding, guarding your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
And then I want to read you verse 8 and 9. He says, Finally, brothers and sisters. And you know what it means when a preacher says finally. Absolutely nothing. He's not wrapping up the letter to the Philippians, which he's writing, by the way, from a prison cell. He's wrapping up this part of the letter where he's telling them how to stand. How to be brave for our purposes.
He says, Finally, brothers and sisters. Whatever is true. Whatever is noble. Whatever is right. Whatever is pure. Whatever is lovely. Whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy. Think about such things. And whatever you have learned or received or heard from me and seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
That's kind of an inversion of verse 7. Verse 7, he said, The peace of God, which passes all understanding. And I'm pointing to the screen because I'm hopeful that somebody will throw it up the screen. On verse 7, just different than verse 9. It comes before verse 9. He says, The peace of God. Verse 9 is cool. It says, At the end, and the God of peace. Watch this. I don't just have the peace that God gives. I have the God who gives peace with me. Not just his resources, but the revelation of his very presence.
Focus Determines Faith or Fear
So, Father, we thank you for your word today. We pray that you'll apply it to our hearts in the exact way we need to hear it. Thank you for letting us worship you. We don't take it for granted. Thank you for helping our bodies and strength to be here today. I pray for my brothers and sisters that you'll show them exactly what they need to see and give them what they need to have. In Jesus' name we pray. And the whole church said, Amen. At every location. Amen. You may be seated.
I want to use as a title, thank you worship team, for this short Bible study today. I want to call this, I want to call this segment two, to have and to hold. To have and to hold. Like they say in their wedding vows, to have and to hold. And I want to spend some time connecting the scripture that I read to another scripture, and see if we can make them work together, even though they seem to be very different.
Where Paul says, finally. And then he starts listing things in Philippians 4, 8. Whatever is true. Whatever is noble. Whatever is right. He's just listing stuff. Almost in a sonnet. It's very poetic how Paul, in a rhetorical flourish that he is capable of with his brilliant mind. He sounds like one of their stoic philosophers. And he's using all of these virtues that are associated with and related to God and God's Word. And he says, think about such things. The phrase that he uses there, which is translated into English, think about, is a phrase that actually means, make it your habit of thought. Make it your habit of thought.
This passage reads like a catalog of all of the good things of God. And you'd have to be over a certain age to know what a catalog is, a physical catalog with paper from trees. But he's giving them all of these things. And we talked last week about some of the things that come against us, the things we're anxious for. And Paul is now, he said, be anxious for no thing. But now he's saying there are some things that you need to be absolutely consumed with and obsessed about. Because you cannot live a courageous life without having a concentrated mind.
We talked last week about how an anxious heart robs you of peace. But I also believe that an unfocused mind will break your faith. See, fear and faith actually have more in common than we think. We put them as opposites. In fact, they're very similar in that they are both powered by focus. What do fear and faith have in common? They are both powered by focus. Fear is a result of focus. Faith is also a result of focus. If your life is currently consumed with fear, I'm guaranteeing you that you are focusing on the wrong things.
Think About Such Things: Habit of Thought
Because Paul says, whatever things fall into this list, and it's not so much a checklist, he's just giving example after example after example after example of all the stuff you can think and all the stuff you can dwell on. A lot of us get into trouble in our walk with God because our focus is on what we can't do. What we can't have. Just like Adam and Eve in the garden. Hey, you can eat off of any tree. They're all yours except this one. Which one do we go to? The one we're not supposed to touch.
How many dieters do we have in the house? Chronic dieters, frustrated dieters, would-be dieters, was a dieter in January but now have succumbed to the temptation of a world that is surrounded by food. I consider myself now less of a dieter and more, I would say, I live a lower-carb lifestyle. I thank God for Dr. Atkins. I had no idea that I could eat all the bacon that my heart desired and still stay relatively fit. Can we just give God thanks for Dr. Atkins? Come on, give him a hand clap of praise in the sanctuary.
I don't do well with those diets. I've tried different eating plans. I think I gained and lost 55 pounds in the first two years that Holly and I were married. She was a great cook, albeit not a very healthy one. But when I found out that I didn't necessarily have to watch what I ate, but I could eat as much as I want of certain things, that changed everything for me. I don't do well if I have to put down points for what I ate. What I want you to tell me is, what am I allowed to have unlimited amounts of? Can I eat peanuts until they come out of my nose? If I can, I'm good. That's a lifestyle.
Paul is saying here, I want to give you some examples of the kinds of things you can think about in an unlimited way. Here are some examples he said. Whatever is true. Whatever is noble. Whatever is right. Whatever is pure. Whatever is lovely. This sounds like a list about Holly. Amen. Yes, sir. I'm working my bullpen. I'm trying to be happy at home. Whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy. Think about, focus on such things. Because faith is the byproduct of correct focus. Stop praying for God to give you faith. Because while we're asking God to increase our faith, he's waiting for us to improve our focus.
Eyes on Jesus: Simple Focus for Courage
My seven-year-old, Graham, seems to have some natural abilities for sports, particularly baseball. And I'm frustrated because I take him to practice. I take him to the batting cage. I throw the ball with him for hours on end. But I really don't know what to tell him to do. So I'm trying to help him, but I don't know what to tell him. And I was telling this to one of my friends who was a jock in college because I was not. And I said, I want to help Graham more. I don't know what to tell him. To which he responded, he's seven. You only really need to be telling him one thing right now. Just one thing. Watch the ball.
He said, it works for any sport when you're seven. Just watch the ball. Paul is talking to a Philippian church that is under persecution. They have a lot of philosophical questions. They have a lot of personal issues. They have a lot of political pressures. Paul says, don't make this more complicated than it needs to be. It's really all about watch the ball, or if we can spiritualize it. Eyes on Jesus. It's amazing how simple it really is when we look at the things that make us afraid and the things that get us into trouble and the things that bring us down and the things that hold us back. It's amazing how simple the solution really is. I don't mean to talk to you like you're seven, but eyes on Jesus.
It's when you take your eyes off of him, and it's when you take your mind off of his word, and it's when you let life break your concentration from what he has spoken that you start to sink beneath the wind and the waves, Peter, but it's just so simple. It's not so complicated, Paul says. Think about. Focus on. Not just once in a while, but as a habit of thought. Such things. These kinds of things. This kind of stuff. Think about such things.
Now, hold that thought, because I want to go over to 2 Corinthians and show you something else Paul wrote. Now, when I first pull this out of the drawer and put it on, you're going to say, now that doesn't match the scripture you read before. Like some of you women say to your husband, that doesn't go together. But I'm telling you, these two go together. You just got to know how to rock it. So I want to show you in 2 Corinthians chapter 10, and I'm going to put these two things together, and it's going to help you.
Demolish Arguments: Take Thoughts Captive
Where Paul is talking about the battle that we face in our faith, and he's talking about how our weapons are not like the world's weapons, and we have weapons that are not visible but invisible, and they're not carnal or fleshly, but they're mighty through God for the pulling down or demolishing of strongholds. And he says how we do it in verse 5. Now, if you have thoughts that torment you, thoughts of insecurity, thoughts of shame, thoughts of ridicule, thoughts of your past, thoughts of regret… If you have thoughts that torment you, this is the verse I'll tell you to memorize right here, because it will obliterate some of the opponents that you've been losing to all your life if you activate this verse and act on it.
Because in 2 Corinthians 10.5, Paul says something about thoughts. He says we demolish arguments. What's that? Anything that contradicts what God says. That's the kind of argument he's talking about here. When God says you're one thing but you feel like another, demolish that argument. When God has promised you one thing but another thing is happening in your circumstance or your situation or your peripheral vision, demolish that argument. But not just the arguments, he says. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Back to Philippians. Cool if we jump around? Just back and forth real quick. You don't even have to flip. They're doing all the work for you. This is like somebody cracking the crab legs for you and dipping it in butter and putting it in your mouth. Look at this. Philippians, chapter 4, verse 8. Finally, brothers and sisters, this is going to be very important. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about, reckon, calculate, and evaluate such things.
It's Not the Thing, It's How You Think About It
If I were to ask you a question today, what is holding you back from being what God has called you to be, from accomplishing the dreams he has given you, from changing the parts about you that you don't like and he does it either? If I were to ask you what's holding you back, no doubt about it, you would begin to list things. People, events, financial situations, health conditions, things. Here's what I learned. It's really not the things that are holding you back. Because somebody on your same row is dealing with the same thing you're dealing with, only they're doing it with courage, and they're doing it with faith, and they're doing it with victory, and they're doing it with an overcoming spirit, and you're doing it in fear, and you're doing it in weakness, and it's not the thing that makes a difference.
You could list the same things to different people. It's not the thing that holds you back. Quit making excuses for your apathy. Quit making excuses for the broken places in your life. It's never the thing that holds you back. It's how you think about the thing that holds you back. Now I'm getting there. Paul says, if you will think about the right things, you can go through some hard stuff, but you'll still be standing. Here it is. Most of us never stop to think about what we're thinking about. We never stop to think about the things we're thinking about.
And Paul says, if you want to live a life that is characterized by faith and courage and steadfastness, and if you want your children to see something in you that makes them want to love God, and if you want to make some kind of difference in the world, if you want to stand firm, you have to think about such things. What things? Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely. You have to pick the things that bring God praise, and pick the things that empower your spirit, and pick the things that give you a perspective of gratitude, and think about such things.
I need you to touch everybody around you and tell them, hold that thought. That's what we need to learn to do, is hold that thought. That's what Paul is saying. He's saying, hey, if you look up around you, there are all kinds of things to praise God for. There are all kinds of reasons for you to remember the faithfulness of God. There are all kinds of things God has put in your path to speak to your potential. I want you to learn when you get a thought of the goodness of God to hold that thought. Hold that thought. I mean hold that thought. When you get a thought that gives life, when you get a thought, I can do it. When you get a thought, I can make it. When you get a thought, I'm going to be all right. When you get a thought, God isn't done with me, you need to learn how to hold that. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. That thought. What thought? The true thought.
Hold the Good, Captive the Bad
He said whatever is true. Notice he didn't say whatever is fact, because everything that is a fact is not true. I'll tell you how I know. It was a fact that they killed Jesus. It was a fact that his body was in the grave. But it was the truth that he was the resurrection and the life. If you destroy this temple, I'll build it back in three days. That's the truth. Hold that thought. Hold that thought when you're hanging on the cross on Friday. Hold that thought when they're silent on Saturday. Hold that thought. You're about to burst forth with resurrection power. That's the truth, and the truth will set you free. The truth will set you free. The truth will set you free.
Paul said, I'm in a prison cell, but I'm not a prisoner to the Roman government. I'm a prisoner of hope because I've learned how to hold out hope in hopeless situations. I know how to hold that thought. That thought. You cannot always choose what thoughts you have. I don't know if it's just me, but sometimes even when I'm praying, I will have the craziest thoughts. Just crazy thoughts. No, no, no. Not like, oh, I need to go to the grocery store, some more protein bars. No. Crazy thoughts. Thoughts where you would find another church if they came up on the screen. Crazy thoughts.
Look at me wholly if you want to. I will go into a prophetic zone, look in your eyes, and call out your craziest thoughts. In fact, I even asked Holly because I thought it was just me. I said, Holly, do you ever have crazy thoughts? And she went through a little list, but it sounded kind of mild. I said, no, baby, something you never even told me about. That crazy. And she said, sometimes I imagine what it would be like to hit certain people with my SUV. And I was like, yes, that's that, that, that thought. Watch it.
He said, 2 Corinthians 10, 5. I'm going to put them together now. He said, we demolish arguments and every pretension, whatever contradicts what God has said. He said, we're well-spoken. And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. I was always told about my crazy thoughts, you know, just let it go. And I'm a hyperactive kind of individual. And everybody around me is always trying to help me relax, get me a hobby. They bought me a gun one time. And I took it to the gun range one time. And I found that even to be stressful. You got to clean it and load it. Always trying to find a hobby to relax.
I think that's good. I think we should all have hobbies. I don't currently have one, but I'm still looking. I mean, I'll go get massages. I'll go get them. I mean, I don't know if that's not that manly, but I'll go get massages, just trying to, just trying to relax, just trying to, because I got a lot on my mind and I've tried to let stuff go, you know, maybe putting all kinds of oils on me and everything, playing all this music and, you know, just let it go. That's what I was always taught about the, those thoughts, those thoughts in second Corinthians 10, five, the tormenting thoughts, the terrorist thoughts, the, the thoughts that have been in my mind since when I can remember, you know, it's one thing to hold a thought. It's another thing when a thought holds you and what's really holding you back in your life today is some thoughts that you're thinking, thoughts that have a hold on you.
For some of you, the fear of failure has a hold on you because you failed before. And you think, because the world teaches this, that the opposite of success is failure. It's not. I wanted to do a whole week on the fear of failure. I'm not going to have time in this series. I wanted to do a whole week on it because it's plaguing people. It's plaguing people. Always has, always will. But I got set free from the fear of failure just by realizing one thing. I can give it to you. I don't even need a whole sermon. I just give it to you right here. The opposite of success is not failure. The opposite of success is unfaithfulness. So if you are faithful to God and what he called you to do, even your failure will work for your good.
I hate to keep talking about Jesus in church, but didn't he kind of fail when they hung him on a cross? Didn't he kind of fail when everybody who was supposed to be following him on his staff, on his Deacon board, abandoned him and all denied that they knew him? But wasn't he kind of converting the worst failure in human history into the greatest victory that the world has ever known? And for everybody who the fear of failure has a hold on you, I wanted to let you know that the thing for you to be afraid of in your life is not to look stupid for trying and failing, but to be stupid and let what people think about what you do or didn't do and how it turned out keep you from pleasing the one who you'll give an account to one day.
Interrogate Your Imagination: Where From, Where Going
We're so afraid. Stuff has to hold on me, thoughts that hold me down. They're literally holding me under. I feel them when they come. They have to hold on me. Fear. Fear of commitment, because the last time I committed to somebody, they weren't committed to me. If I never really have seen commitment, or if commitment hasn't worked out the way I anticipated it would, now the fear of commitment has a hold on me. Every time I get into an opportunity, I back off and I start to pull away, because there's a fear that has a hold on me. It's a habit of thought. What Philippians 4.8 describes for good, 2 Corinthians 10.5 describes in reverse. He says there are thoughts that come from God. You have to look for those things. You have to look for what's true and look for what's right and listen for it and get your antennas up and get tuned into the frequency and hold that thought and hold on to it for dear life and ride it into your future.
But there are some other thoughts now. There are some other thoughts that will get a hold on you, arguments, pretensions, fears, anxieties. Here's what Paul says. He says, every argument, every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, look what we do, and we let it go. Let it go. That's what they've been telling me. Let it go. It's a funny thing about letting the bad thoughts go, because I don't know about you, but mine boomerang. I let them go. Now I'm ducking, because here it comes back. I let it go, and it goes and gets five of its other friends and comes back. I let it go, I let it go, and all my life, I let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go, let it go.
Paul says, let's try something different, because that doesn't really work. He said, instead of letting it go, take it captive. Now, the imagery he's using here, do you care? He's talking about a prisoner of war. He says, treat the thoughts in your mind that do not come from God like a prisoner of war. Take them captive. In other words, you've got to learn how to interrogate your imagination. Let me give you a little lesson on interrogating your imagination. I've never been in a formal interrogation. I have watched several seasons of 24, so I feel qualified to speak on the subject. I only watched the first 87 seasons, and after that I got tired of it, but I watched them take the terrorist into the room.
Did you know there is such a thing as a terrorist thought? Did you know there is such a thing as a thought that is dispatched to destroy you, to kill, to steal, to destroy? That's what the devil does. Listen. He doesn't do it with a pitchfork. He does it on the battlefield of your brain. If you're going to be brave, you have to be brave in the brain first. What was I talking about? Jack Bauer. On 24, they would find the terrorist, and they would take the terrorist into the interrogation room. They'd sit the terrorist down, and they want to know two things. One, where did you come from? You need to sit some of the thoughts you're having down and some of the imaginations you're indulging in and ask the question, where did you come from?
I almost called this sermon, What in Hell Are You Thinking? Because some of the stuff you're thinking… I'm going to tell you where it came from. It came straight from the pit of hell. It's a plot. It's a ploy. It's a trick. It's a scam. It's a terrorist threat sent to destroy your purpose. You better sit some stuff down and say, Wait a minute. Man, I have a list in Philippians 8 of such things, and you don't seem to fit the description. Huh? You look kind of suspicious, thought. You look kind of suspicious, imagination. Oh, God told me to tell you. You need to set up TSA in your mind. You need to start making the thoughts you think walk through some detectors and take off their shoes and take off their belt and empty their pockets before they get on the plane and leave your life into your future.
Tell somebody, Hold that thought. See, it's not just the good thoughts that we hold. We hold the good thoughts, and we let them lead us into our future. Philippians 4a. But what do you do with those other thoughts? Paul says, You hold those too. Hold those too. But you hold them. See, because they've been holding you, and now it's time for you to take hold of what has been holding on to you. So fear comes. Panic comes. Anxiety comes. I'm letting it go. I'm letting it go. I'm letting it go. I'm letting it go. It ain't going. Fine. Guess what? I have authority over this thought. I have authority over this thought. How do you know? He said, Take it captive. You can't put something in jail if you don't have a badge. So God gave me a badge.
I'm getting so happy. I don't care what anybody else thinks about this sermon. I'm downloading the podcast. I got a badge. I got a badge. I got a badge. Touch three people. Tell them, Flash your badge. Flash your badge. Flash your badge. When you flash the badge, you're not saying, I'm stronger than you. You're saying, I represent something that's stronger than you, and I have authority over every evil imagination. Sit down, thought. Sit down. I got to find out where you came from. Shout it out. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. All right? And then you find out where it came from, and then you find out where is it going. See, because if you catch a terrorist, you can get clues as to the mission. And so what I like to do is I like to figure out, why am I so afraid of whatever it is that I'm fearing?
You can let your thoughts lead you into destruction, or they can lead you into destiny. It says, come here, Elijah. Come here. It says, take it captive and make it obedient to Christ. Watch, y'all. This is not how this thing is supposed to work. Just walk. Just walk. Why is he leading me around? I'm bigger than him. I have authority in this relationship. The way this is supposed to work, I'm supposed to grab him and say, come on, here's where we're going. Come on, now we have to go here. Come on, now we're going there. Come on, let's go back this way. Come on, come on. God said, today is the day that you are about to take hold of something that's been holding you for far too long.
He's getting happy about it, but I wanted to let you know that if you'll grab hold by faith of every promise God has made, it's not supposed to be leading you. You're supposed to be leading you. Take control of your mind. I'm mind control. I got mind control. I got mind control. I got mind control. I got mind control. I got mind control. I got mind control. I got mind control. So here comes the fear. Here comes the fear. And I want to know, where did you come from? Not from God. Now I got to find out who sent you and why were you sent?
Hold the Promise, Release the Fear
Here is an example. I have a fear of silence. Can you tell when I preach? If you are not saying anything, that scares me. And you should talk back to the preacher, by the way. You can pull stuff out of the preacher by saying amen that you can't pull out by looking cross-eyed. No, really, my father-in-law used to… He would come visit when me and Holly were first married when I was gaining all that weight. And he'd say, man, you're messing this up. I said, what are you talking about? He said, she's cooking for you, but I watch you eat. You don't ever say nothing about the food she cooks. He said, I'm going to tell you, if you do that for long, if you just eat and don't say anything, she'll close the kitchen down on you, and you don't want that. He said, so you need to make some noises while you chew. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm. And so I do. And she keeps cooking. And you know, you ought to help your preacher in the kitchen, too. If I'm saying something that's feeding your soul and giving you strength, you ought to say something. Mmm. Mmm. You don't even have to open your mouth to mmm.
Now, I'm scared of silence. And all my life I've been scared of silence. And it's nothing for me to just have noise. Always, I will have a song on Spotify, I will have a preacher on my computer, and a game on TV, all playing all three at the same time. There's noise. Isn't it interesting that what God called me to do, for me to do it, I have to spend significant amounts of time alone, in silence. And the thing that I'm scared of is the place where I get the stuff that I was born to give to you. When I used to sit down to study a sermon and I would feel that thought taking hold of me, it would almost send me into a panic. And I would do anything to avoid being alone and being quiet.
But once I learned how to hold that thought, once I learned how to say, wait a minute, if the devil is fighting me sitting still this hard while I'm looking at this text and preparing this sermon, there must be something so powerful that God wants to speak to these people when I stand in that pulpit this weekend. So it's never been more important that I sit down. Thank you, devil. You just tipped me off to your assignment. You're trying to stop me from the most important thing that I could ever do. There must be somebody who's suicidal coming to church this weekend, and God wants to give me the word that'll put a little bit of hope and throw out a lifeline to their soul and tell them, you can make it another day. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. Where did you come from and where are you going? You can use your greatest fear to show you what your future is if you hold that thought. Hold that thought.
I can't get to everybody. You can't touch everybody in your section and say, You've got to hold that thought. You've got to hold that thought. Joshua is standing on the edge of the Promised Land. Again, Moses is dead. Three million Israelites are looking to you for leadership, and God meets with you in the locker room for a pep talk before you fight your first battle. He starts talking about courage in the face of enemies and opposition, but he says, Have I not commanded you? I have orders from headquarters. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Watch this. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. How do you do that? Go back to verse 8. Keep this book of the law always on your lips. Meditate on it. Meditate on it. She says, Stay in there. That's right. Hold that thought. Meditate on it. Don't think about it once a week. No wonder you're getting your butt kicked spiritually. Meditate on it day and night. Hold that thought. Day and night. Hold that thought. Crying yourself to sleep, but hold that thought of joy. Feel like a failure, but hold that thought so that you may be careful and do everything written in it.
Now, I need to point out one more thing. Paul said, Think about such things in verse 8. But he also said in verse 9, And whatever you saw or heard from me… Look at it. Look at it. Look at it. Verse 9. Put it into practice, and the God of peace will be with you. And the God of peace will be with you. I wonder, is it a coincidence that that's verse 9 and Joshua 1 is verse 9? Where he said in Joshua 1-9, And the Lord your God will be with you. Paul said, It's good to have God with you. I've got one better. God said in his spirit, He's not with me. He's in me. Whom shall I fear? If God be for me, who can be against me? He's in me. Come on. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. He's in me. He's with me. He's for me. I am the righteousness of God in Christ. Hold that thought. I am free. Hold that thought. I am healed. Hold that thought. I am delivered. Hold that thought. He has crowned me with love and compassion. Hold that thought. God says, Joshua, Joshua, Joshua, Joshua, Joshua. You can have the promise if you can hold that thought.
Hold the Thought: Promises Over Regrets
You see this land I've promised to you? You see everything God has given you? God says today, You can have it if you can hold it. You need peace? You can have it if you can hold it. You need restoration? You can have it if you can hold it. If you can just hold that thought. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. The true thought. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. Y'all are married, right? I see y'all every week. I always love seeing you. You look like another guy that sits there every week, too. Are you related? You have a beard he doesn't. In fact, why don't y'all come up here? I want to show this guy's beard, because this is what I'm trying to get to. Come on, both of y'all. Give me a hand. Hey, help her on stage, please. I love these two. They're always here to hear me preach. You're in the intro on the TV program. Have you ever seen it? It's got you shouting on the intro. It's like a little 15-second thing, and it's got you going. You're so famous. I want your autograph.
I won't make you uncomfortable, but would you mind just in front of a couple thousand people and online for as long as there's an Internet, would you mind just holding your wife real briefly? And it doesn't have to be nothing sexy. It can just be kind of simple. I did this at 9.30, and it got a little PG-13. I turned my back to preach, and they started catching up on their date night. Hold her. Hold her a little bit where you got to hold her kind of both with both arms. Just hold her. Hold her like that. That's perfect. That's perfect. Just stay right there. Stay right there. You cool with that? Anything for the Lord, Pastor. All right. I need Rick. Come here, Rick. Come here, Rick. Rick Parker. Now, you be... What is going on over here? This is... I don't want to have to censor this, okay? So just hold her. Just hold her. Just hold her. And you be Philippians 4.8. Whatever is true. Whatever is lovely. Whatever is admirable. Whatever is praiseworthy. Whatever is excellent. Rick, you get to be 2 Corinthians 10.5. Arguments. Pretensions. Whatever sets itself up against the knowledge of God.
Watch this. I wanted to ask you, why would you let go of that? Come on. Just for the illustration. Just for the illustration. To hold on to this. Come on. I wanted to know, why would you let go of that? Come on. Hold that thought. Say it. Hold that thought. Go away. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. Hold that. Get up on your feet. Hold that thought. Hook seven people around you. Tell them, hold that thought. Hold that thought. Come on, man. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. What promise do you need to remember today? What perspective do you need to hold on to today? What potential and what power do you need to get down deep on the inside of you today? And hold that thought. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. Hold that thought.
Father, I thank you today for every promise that you have spoken over every believer. In Jesus' name, I declare that the promises of God are worth holding on to. It's worth holding on to. The promises that you've made, plans you've made to give us a hope and a future. We're going to hold that thought. Hold that thought. Hold that thought. And, Lord, as we're holding on to your promises, we're letting go of fear. We're letting go of anxiety. We're letting go of all the things and all the regrets. Hey, can I tell you something with your head bowed and your eyes closed? Some of you are holding on so hard to your regrets that you are missing this moment. Some of you are so busy thinking about people who left you that you're not even able to receive the love of the ones who stayed. It's time for you to hold some new thoughts. You can't control every thought you have, but you can control, child of God, which thoughts you hold.
Come on, it doesn't matter what I feel. It doesn't matter what I see. My hope is in his promises. It doesn't matter what the enemy says. It doesn't matter where I've been. It doesn't matter what I've done. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. My hope is in His promise. It doesn't matter what I feel. It doesn't matter what I see. I'm holding on. My eyes are on you, Jesus. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. Every location we're praying, I ask you if you're moving, please be still. I'm about to invite somebody to receive Christ. If you're moving, I ask you to be still for a moment. Heads bowed, eyes closed.
Somebody here in the Enemy has been terrorizing you with thoughts that you could never be loved by God. There are some things about you that are so bad and so ugly and so dark, and you're ashamed. He's kept you stuck in some things because he's kept you stuck in some thoughts. I wanted to invite you today, if that's you, and today you need a new beginning in your relationship with God, to pray with me. You know, the power of this prayer is not in the words that you say, but in the faith that you express when you say the words. The scripture says that if you will believe in your heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead and confess with your mouth that he is Lord, you will be saved.
We're praying now as a church family at all of our locations. Let's pray out loud for those who need a new beginning, who need to be saved by the power of God. We never like to close without giving you an opportunity to receive Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. I ask you, Jesus, to save me. I repent of my sin. I believe you died on a cross, Rose from the dead, to give me life. I will follow you all the days of my life. If you just prayed that prayer, keep your head bowed and your eyes closed. But on the count of three, I want you to shoot your hand in the air. On the count of three, we're going to witness together the miracle of new birth, of new beginnings. On the count of three. Raise them up. One, two, three. Shoot them up. Hands everywhere. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Come on, church. Come on, church. Come on, church. Come on, church. Come on, church. Come on, church. Somebody just got changed. Somebody's just got a new start. Hold that thought! Hold that thought!