HOW TO AVOID SPIRITUAL STRESS! | Encouraging Words with Brother Chris

A prayerful heart is a peaceful heart

but a prayerless heart is a restless heart.

Grace and peace to you all in the
wonderful name of Jesus Christ.

People of God, what a wonderful blessing

to see you connected right now
from all over the world

to hear the Living Word of God.

That is why we are gathered,
connected, watching right now -

to receive God’s Word.

Because we know that - no matter the questions life throws at you,

the answers are always in God's Word.

No matter the lies the world paints around you, the truth is always in God’s Word.

So today we're going to focus on His Word, focus on the Scriptures.

But of course, we begin
with a moment of prayer.

So people of God, let us pray right now in that mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for this amazing grace to be in Your presence.

Let the power of Your Word speak calmness to every troubled heart.

Let the power of Your Word break down every man-made barrier.

Give us the grace to understand Your holy Word and apply it into our daily lives.

Open our hearts to Your
divine revelation right now.

In the mighty name of Jesus Christ we pray.

And the people of God said, “Amen!”

Thank You, Jesus Christ.

Welcome once again, everyone.

Welcome, people of God, to today's Encouragement Service

from the God's Heart TV Studio
here in North Wales.

And as I mentioned in the little introduction - whatever the questions that life throws at you,

the answers are always in the Word of God.

And this is what we want to do right now -

we want to take some precious time to splash around in God's Word

and hear what God is saying to us today through His Word, by His Spirit.

Because take note - I want you to examine yourself, your life for a moment.

Just consider this.

The degree to which the
situations of life overwhelm you

reflects the degree to which
God's Word dominates you.

I’m not saying issues, challenges, situations of life are not part of our journey

if we are close to God,
if His Word dominates us.

But your reaction to those situations, issues, challenges

is a reflection of where you are spiritually.

If situations overwhelm us to fear, doubt, lamenting, grumbling, complaining,

anxiety or worry - check your heart.

That's a reflection that God's Word
is not dominating your heart.

So please, people of God, turn with me to the proof text for today’s message,

which is taken from Philippians 4.

This is a wonderful Scripture!
I am going to read from Philippians 4:6-9.

And when I was in a place of prayer preparing for this message today,

I recalled a very inspiring message from Prophet TB Joshua, my mentor.

He said something which I want you
to take note of because it will help us

through the course of today's message.

He said, “You can be physically stressed. You can be emotionally stressed.

But please, do not be spiritually stressed.

Because if you are, you would lose focus on God and begin to look for alternatives.”

I want to say it again, people of God.

You can be physically stressed.

Whether it's connected to health,
we've overworked ourselves, we're tired

and our body is affected -
we can be physically stressed.

We can be emotionally stressed.

Maybe there's tensions or pressure in relationships, workplace - just name it.

We can be emotionally stressed,
but please do not be spiritually stressed

because if you are, you would lose focus on God and begin to look for

human alternatives, shortcuts.

And I think you would agree with me
from experience of life that

any attempt to take a shortcut
to avoid God's processing

actually ends up as a ‘long cut’.

It doesn't make it any shorter.

In fact, you still end up coming back to where you started

because God's processing is essential.

Even if you receive something
without God’s processing,

it will not be accompanied by God’s products.

What do I mean? You can have money without God’s processing but not peace.

Only God can give peace.

Now, when I say ‘spiritual stress’...
we are coming to this Scripture.

When I say ‘spiritual stress’,
what do I mean?

What do I mean when I say
‘do not be spiritually stressed’?

When your situation robs
you of rest, inner rest,

it is a sign that you are spiritually stressed.

When your challenge, trial, trouble, whatever it may be,

robs you of inner rest, peace of heart -
your heart becomes disturbed, agitated -

it is a sign of spiritual stress.

When that battle or that burden
takes your eyes off Jesus,

disconnects your heart
from Jesus, be careful.

This is the title of today's message - ‘Beware Of Spiritual Stress’.

If you have someone next to you at home watching this, just tell them,

“Beware of spiritual stress.”

A disturbed heart is a breeding ground
for wrong decisions.

Now, let’s go the Word - Philippians 4.

I believe many of us know this passage;
it’s a very popular passage.

But I want to emphasise some important truths from this passage.

Philippians 4:6 - “Be anxious for nothing...”

I hope you are hearing this Word,
people of God.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

and the peace of God...” - uncommon peace from an uncommon God -

“...and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,

whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,

whatever things are of good report,
if there is any virtue

and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.

The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do...”

Not just ‘these say’ but “these do” -
put it into practice.

“...and the God of peace will be with you.”

Thank You, Jesus, for the
Living Word of God.

I want to just go through this Scripture step-by-step and use this Scripture

as a basis to encourage each and every one of you connected right now

from the Word of God.

To begin with, verse six says this:
“Be anxious for nothing.”

I like how direct that statement is.

The Scripture here does not grade
the level of your situation.

‘Well, if there's a situation here, you can be a little anxious about that.

Or if there's a situation in your work,
that gives room for a little bit of anxiety.’

No - there's no middle ground here.

It says, “Do not be anxious for anything.”

This Scripture is not just a suggestion;
it's an instruction. It’s very clear.

Just as our Lord Jesus Christ equally
said in Matthew 6:25-end,

‘Do not worry about your life.
Do not worry about tomorrow.’

It's a clear instruction.

“Do not be anxious about anything.”

There is no issue in life where anxiety is a justified or appropriate response. None.

I have spoken to some people before and this is something many of us do -

we look at our own situations and conclude that they should meet a different standard.

People used to say to me on the
phone when I speak to them,

‘Look, Brother Chris, I understand what you are saying but you don’t know my situation.

You don’t know how serious my situation is.

You don't know the intensity
of my challenge.’

I agree with you!

I may not know, but it does not change the truth of what God is telling you today

through His Word -
‘Do not be anxious for anything.’

“Be anxious for nothing.”

There is no grey area there;
it’s incredibly clear.

If your situation prompts you to anxiety,

it suggests you are on
the wrong road spiritually.

Keep that in your heart as we move
to the next point in this verse.

“Be anxious for nothing but in everything...”

I hope you take note of
that again - everything.

There is no standard for different circumstances.

There is no change in God's Word based on the degree of how we feel

our situation is serious - no!
The Word of God is clear.

“...but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known to God...”

The remedy for anxiety is very clear -
take your situation to God in prayer.

This is the answer, people of God.

Being healthy spiritually does not remove the reality of situations.

You can attend wonderful church services,

be part of a living church where you receive the Word of God every week

and you receive prayer in the
power of the Holy Spirit.

Maybe you've been attending Interactive Prayer Services on God's Heart TV.

Glory be to God!

Thank God for putting it in your heart to be part of this wonderful community of believers.

But that does not change
the reality of life’s situations.

Situations will come, challenges will come, issues of life will come for everyone.

But the answer is clear in the Word of God.

Be anxious for nothing but in everything - take it to God, take it for prayer

It’s so clear!

If trouble strikes your heart,
let it prompt you to pray.

If your situation prompts you to pray,

the devil cannot use it to disconnect
your heart from God

and take you to a place of spiritual stress.

This is his intention. This is his aim.

He wants to disconnect
our hearts from God,

so that our hearts can be disturbed, troubled, burdened.

And in such a state of heart,
we can easily misbehave,

easily act out of emotions,
act out of provocation,

act out of the lens of offence or act through the eyes of prejudice - just name it.

He wants your heart to be disturbed.
Look at the next verse.

Let me jump to the next verse at this point.

“...and the peace of God...”

When you take your situation to God in prayer, what's the consequence?

“...and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.”

The real battleground is not the surface.

The real battleground is the heart.

The devil wants to shift our attention,
our focus, our energy, our interest

to the surface, to the flesh -

so we end up exhausting time, focus and resources in the pursuit of a wrong battle.

The real battlefield is the heart -
to keep our hearts, to guard our hearts.

And the Scripture is very clear.

When your situation prompts you to pray, the peace of God will guard your heart.

It doesn't necessarily say the peace of God will change your situation

or remove that challenge.

Some situations, we must pass through them.

But with the peace of God, we will pass through them without them overwhelming us,

misleading us or taking us to
a place outside of our faith.

“...the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding...”

What am I saying here, people of God?

A prayerful heart is a peaceful heart

but a prayerless heart is a restless heart.

I’ll say it again - a prayerful heart
is a peaceful heart

I’ll say it again - a prayerful heart
is a peaceful heart

but a prayerless heart is a restless heart.

but a prayerless heart is a restless heart.

The real trouble is the trouble within,
not the one you are facing around you,

not the situation on the outside.

The real trouble is within - in the heart.

That's why we must see whatever
we face as a reason to pray.

If your situation prompts you to pray, you are more than a conqueror through Christ.

But if your situation prompts you to fear,

or your situation prompts you to worry, compare yourself with others,

begin to fall into self-pity, measure yourself by your own human standards,

or your situation prompts you to desperation,

searching for alternatives, searching for a way out by all means possible in the natural -

it shows our hearts are not in
the right place with God.

Where your trouble prompts you is a reflection of where you are spiritually.

The direction your trouble takes you -

does it take you back to God,
take you to your knees?

Or does it take you to other
options outside God?

I don't know if you've noticed that so many times when a situation happens in our life,

we try first to solve it on our own
before we come to God.

It’s after we have exhausted
our own human efforts -

‘Hey! This one is beyond me!
Let me go to God.’

That is not the approach
the Scriptures tell us here.

In every situation - take it to God in prayer.

Now, I want you to take note of this.

Many of us jump straight to petition
and skip thanksgiving. No!

What does the Scripture say?

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving...”

Why am I stressing that, people of God?

Because this is a weapon
Jesus Christ has given us,

a weapon God has given us that
many of us are not using.

Sometimes a challenge comes
and we get so overwhelmed

because we are focusing on
the size of that challenge.

No matter how big your challenge is,
it is not bigger than God.

Sometimes you need to take a step back and just think of this.

Think of what God has done for you.

Think of what God has done in you.

Think of what God has done through you.

And your doubts will fly.

Reflect on God's goodness in your life.

Everyone here, everyone connected
to this service right now,

even at this moment as I'm talking,
just take a moment to think back

on God's goodness in your life.

We all have testimonies of how God saved us, how He rescued us,

how He intervened miraculously in that situation, how He preserved us.

We are all walking, living,
breathing testimonies.

And recalling God's track record is a weapon to conquer the lies of anxiety.

Because anxiety focuses only on what is seen - the size of the situation,

what people are saying about the situation, the opinions of others about that situation.

These are the things that build anxiety.

Take a step back.

Think about God’s goodness.

Appreciate God's goodness.

Acknowledge God's goodness.

This is the best antidote to the deception of anxiety and the paralysis of fear.

Thanksgiving, appreciation - what an incredible weapon that many of us are not utilising.

Because in the heat of the moment,
when the situation emerges,

when the problem comes,
we get easily overwhelmed.

Why is that?

This is where I'm going in
the next verse, people of God.

I want to link these two
sections very clearly.

That Scripture in Philippians 4:8 - if you are brought up in a Christian home,

you are taught that verse right from
Sunday school; we know it very well.

‘Whatever things are just, pure, noble, excellent, admirable, praiseworthy -

think about these things.’

But look at the verses that precede that powerful statement that we have just read.

If we are sincere, what we are feeding our spirits with is the cause of our spiritual stress.

I will say it again.

If we are sincere, people of God,
what we are feeding our spirits with,

what we are giving our attention to
is the very thing that robs us of rest.

Stop complaining about the consequences of the poison you are feeding yourself with.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,

whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely,

whatever things are of good report,
if there is any virtue and

if there is anything praiseworthy -
meditate on these things.”

Many of us today are giving our attention,

feeding our spirits with things that are impure, things that are unjust,

things that are not lovely,
things that are of bad report,

things where there is no virtue.

And we wonder why we fall into spiritual stress in the face of our giants.

Because we’re giving our attention, feeding our heart with the wrong things.

As Christians, we must be careful.

Remember the title of this message: ‘Beware Of Spiritual Stress’.

If your situation prompts you to worry, check what you are feeding your spirit with.

If your challenge prompts you to anxiety, check what you are giving your attention to.

If you issue, whatever it may be -

being a Christian does not remove the reality of these challenges -

whatever it may be, if that situation prompts you to discouragement or despair,

check what you are giving your heart to.

You are what you give your attention to.

Christians, we must be careful.

Be careful of what you watch.

Be careful of what you hear, listen to.

Be careful of what you read.

Because these influence your thoughts.

And as a man thinks in his heart,
so is he. (Proverbs 23:7)

If we are feeding our hearts with things inconsistent with the Word of God,

don’t be surprised that your reaction to life's trials is inconsistent with the Word of God.

I remember a very old song that we were taught as children in Sunday school.

I'm not going to sing it for you, don't worry! I'm just going to give you the lyrics.

One line of this song says,

‘When your output exceeds your input, then your upkeep will be your downfall.’

Now, this is a children’s song
but it’s a very deep message.

‘When your output exceeds your input, then your upkeep will be your downfall.’

If you are feeding your flesh more
than you are feeding your spirit,

don't be surprised when
spiritual stress strikes.

If you are feeding your senses
more than your heart,

don’t be surprised when spiritual stress strikes - a troubled, agitated, disturbed heart.

And as I said to you, people of God - our own lives are a mirror, an example of this.

All of us watching right now, if a situation emerges and you react out of emotion

at that moment, check yourself -
95% of the time you regret that reaction.

Afterwards you say, ‘Oh, why did I say that?

Why did I go so far?
Why did I react like this?’

You have to start piecing together the pieces of the mess that has been caused

by your overreaction because
of emotion, feelings.

That is a reflection of what
you're feeding your heart with.

If you are feeding your hearts with things inconsistent with the Word of God,

there’s a consequence - it can easily lead to spiritual stress, shifting your attention.

Your battle, your burden takes
you away from Jesus.

This is why I said, people of God,
beware of spiritual stress.

I was speaking to a couple on the phone recently, giving them a word of advice.

I am just giving you this little example to illustrate what I'm talking about.

I was speaking to a couple and the husband was complaining about his wife.

He said, ‘She’s so dramatic! Any little thing that happens in the home -

it becomes this big problem.’

And they begin to narrate
all the issues of the past.

Everything seems to become like a drama.

And I listened to them and said,
‘Can I ask your wife?

Tell me, madam - what are your hobbies or habits, the kind of things you are paying attention to?’

And she said she's addicted to watching soap operas, dramas on television.

And I said, ‘Well, sir, don’t be surprised if your wife has turned her trouble to drama

when she's feeding her heart with drama.’

You may look and say it’s a small point but I'm just giving a practical example.

You are giving your attention
to things that are fantasy.

Drama is not real; it’s not reality.

And because you're giving so much attention to drama,

when challenges happen in your life,

you see it as an opportunity to create that drama in your own home.

And this is dangerous because our standard is God's Word.

We must be careful of what we expose our hearts to, what we pay attention to,

what we are feeding our spirits with.

That was just a little example.

I know some of us may or may not relate in different ways - but you can all check yourself.

No one knows your heart better than you.

If you give your attention to the wrong things, tell me the state of your heart.

Your heart can easily become troubled.

You watch something you know as a Christian you're not supposed to watch.

No one may see you watch it but your heart knows you watched it. Why?

Your heart becomes troubled,
agitated, disturbed.

And there is no remedy for a troubled heart outside of Christ.

If your heart is troubled, reconnect with your Creator. That is the only way.

No amount of money can
buy peace of heart.

No amount of merit can
earn peace of heart.

There are some things only God can give.

Hebrews 4:3 says that when your heart truly believes, you enter rest.

That’s the promise of God
for us as believers -

to have peace within no matter
the storms without.

If you put your problems into God's hands,

He will put His peace into your hearts.

In Mark 4, we know the story when Jesus was in the storm in the boat.

Jesus was calm in the storm
before He calmed the storm.

That's the promise of God
for our lives as Christians -

not the removal of the storm or the absence of the storm, but calmness within the storm.

It's calmness on the inside, in the heart. This is what God has promised us.

I repeat again, people of God.

If your situation prompts you to worry, check what you're feeding your spirit with.

Check what you're giving attention to.

Check what is influencing your thoughts because no one is above influence.

Check what is influencing your thoughts because no one is above influence.

A word of advice - don't get carried away

by the opinions of people
who don’t hold your future.

Don't get distracted by the opinions of people who don’t define your destiny.

Everyone has opinions.
Not everyone has wisdom.

Let me read Philippians 4:9 for you.

“The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me,

these do...” - I like this, people of God!
I like this statement!

We are what we do,
not merely what we say.

Our fruits are the best introduction to our faith and the best explanation of our faith.

Your fruits - love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control,

“By their fruits, we shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20)

Why am I emphasising this?
Because Apostle Paul is saying here,

‘Look, the things you have heard,
what you just read there now - do it.’

Action speaks louder than words.

If you go to church,
you're attending church,

and then after church
you go back to gossip,

don’t expect peace to reign in your heart.

From church to greed - don’t expect peace.

From church to lust - don’t expect peace.

Going to church does not
make us a Christian -

no more than if I wear a football shirt
of Manchester United,

it does not mean I play
for Manchester United.

It's our action, our behaviour that testifies to the genuineness of our confession.

‘These things do, and the
God of peace shall be with you.’

This is God's promise.
He promised to be with us.

He promised never to
leave us or forsake us.

He promised to be with us through whatever life brings and give us His peace.

If you lack peace, the issue is
not God's absence from you.

Perhaps it's your absence from Him.

He is with you. Are we with Him?

Are we connected to Him, committed to Him, constant in our relationship with Him?

“...the God of peace will be with you.”

He promised to be with us.

He's with us through His Word, by His Spirit.

But if your situation robs you of rest,
it's a sign that you are spiritually stressed.

And the cause of our spiritual stress,
I suggest to you people of God,

is not too far from what we
are permitting in our hearts,

what we are feeding our spirits with.

This is my encouragement to all of you today - beware of spiritual stress.

If something troubles you,
let it prompt you to pray.

Whatever issue - take it to God.
Whatever issue - take it for prayer.

That's the answer. That's the
remedy for anxiety, for worry,

for the tools of the devil intended to disconnect our hearts from God.

The answer - take it back to Him.

Take it to prayer - you will find peace that surpasses all understanding

that will sustain you through that situation.

Not necessarily remove it,
but sustain you through it.

I want to conclude this message by re-emphasising and reminding you

about the advice I gave to
usher us into the New Year 2024.

At the end of that message,
I gave a practical piece of advice.

Because we hear the Word and
the Word strikes our hearts.

For many of us, as we
hear this message now,

our consciences confirm
the truth of this message.

‘It’s true! I need to be more prayerful.

I need to be more serious in my relationship with God.

I need to be careful of what
I am giving my attention to.’

Good. Now, the emotions of this message at this moment will soon fade

and the issues of life come rushing back.

What matters now is the creation of godly habits that will help you

because the spirit is willing
but the flesh is weak.

So, here’s advice that
I want to re-emphasise.

I advise everyone - in your home,
set aside a place for prayer.

I want to emphasise again -
prayer can be anywhere.

I am not saying that is the
only place you can pray

and you should not pray anywhere else. No! Our heart is the prayer room.

Even as I am giving this message right now,
we should be praying, in an attitude of prayer.

Prayer is not based on a physical location, but having a place set aside in your home

for prayer can be a great
source of encouragement

to remind us of these principles -
because the flesh is weak.

Sometimes an issue has happened.

Maybe our children have misbehaved.

We are provoked or agitated.

Perhaps there’s been a challenge at work or some bad news has come.

You can know when your heart is disturbed.

Sometimes you need somewhere
on the outside that you can go

to reconnect with God,
reconnect with your Creator,

retune your heart to the things of the Spirit.

And then you go and face whatever it is you need to face.

You don't defer or delay it; you face it.

But you face it with a steady state of heart.

The greatest challenge
so many of us face today

is because we handle issues
from a place of disturbance.

A disturbed heart is a breeding ground
for wrong decisions.

If your heart is disturbed,
your heart is not at peace,

you can very easily take a wrong step

because you are overwhelmed by emotion, the situation, provocation - just name it.

And we take a wrong step.

Sometimes, you need to take a step back and go to your place of prayer.

Have a place in your house
set aside for prayer.

Go and pray there.
Go and worship God.

Put on worship music and worship.
Go and give thanks to God!

Remember what I said about thanksgiving.
Don't just jump straight to petition.

Sometimes after thanksgiving, you will not even need to pray for that issue again

because thanksgiving has reset your focus, reset your heart.

And you know - God who has done it before will do it again. He is faithful!

This is my advice to you, people of God,
to strengthen you spiritually.

The enemy will never stop
attacking our hearts.

The real battleground is within.

So take care of your heart.
Guard your heart.

Whatever issue, challenge, trouble -
take it to God, take it for prayer.

This is my encouragement to all of you today, and we thank God for His Word.

We thank God for this opportunity to receive His Word.

And I believe the Word has
landed on open hearts,

hearts that are ready to act on the Word and make it work as God makes it good.