Dr. Stanley pulls from the Word of God to strengthen and encourage us so that we can learn to trust God during these trying times.

These are troublesome
times in which we live.

These are troublesome
times in which we live.

I remember during the Second World War

the fear and uncertainty
that everyone felt.

The present events remind me of those days

and today’s message is one
of encouragement to everyone,

regardless of your
circumstances or your age.

It’ll be a different kind of message,

because my purpose is to
strengthen your faith,

remind you God is with you.

I want you to get a pen and paper

in order to write down some brief notes.

I will give you time
now to get your notepad.

Get it now.

These texts you will treasure.

You will understand why
when I begin the message.

Trust me, you will wish
you had when we begin.

The promises of God belong
to the children of God.

We have the right, the
authority to claim them.

The purpose of this message
is to encourage you,

strengthen your faith,

make you fearless,

and to comfort you.

This is God’s message to all of us

in the midst of these trying times,

sometimes fearful times.

I’m going to give you a series
of passages of Scripture.

They will encourage you, strengthen you,

and make you fearless.

Are you ready?

Jot down the reference,
not the entire text.

I just want you to know
where it came from.

And the beginning is Philippians 4:6-7

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, which
surpasses all comprehension,

will guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 16:7-8

I will bless the Lord
who has counseled me;

indeed, my mind
instructs me in the night.

I have set the Lord
continually before me;

because He is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

Psalm 4:8

In peace I will both lie down and sleep,

For You, O Lord, make
me to dwell in safety.

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the defense of my life;

Whom shall I dread?

Psalm 139:23

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

try me and know my anxious thoughts;

and see if there’s any hurtful way in me,

and lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalm 138:7

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

You will revive me;

You will stretch forth Your hand

against the wrath of my enemies,

and Your right hand will save me.

Psalm 138:8

The Lord will accomplish
what concerns me;

Your lovingkindness,
O Lord, is everlasting.”

Psalm 138:3

On the day I called, You answered me;

You made me bold with
strength in my soul.

Philippians 4:19

My God will supply all
your needs according

to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 41:10

“Do not fear for I am with you;

do not anxiously look about you,

for I am your God.

I will strengthen you,

surely I will help you with
my righteous right hand.”

And then there’s John 3:16

For God so loved the world

that He gave His only begotten Son,

that who ever believes
in Him shall not perish,

but have everlasting life.

And 1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins
He is faithful and just

to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.

And Psalm 121:1-8

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;

From where shall my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,

Who made heaven and earth.

He will not allow your foot to slip;

He will keep you and He will not slumber.

Behold, He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper,

the Lord is your shade
on your right hand.

The sun will not smite you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will protect you from all evil;

He will keep your soul.

The Lord will guard your going out

and your coming in from
this time forth and forever.

Isaiah 54:17

Watch this carefully.

“No weapon that is formed
against you will prosper;

and every tongue that accuses you

in judgment, you will condemn.

This is the heritage of
the servants of the Lord,

and their vindication is
from Me,” declares the Lord.

Psalm 32:7

You are my hiding place;

You preserve me from trouble.

You surround me with
songs of deliverance.

And Psalm 94:19

When my anxious thoughts
multiply within me,

Your consolations delights my soul.

And Psalm 23:4

Even though I walk through
the shadow of death,

I fear no evil,

for You are with me.

Your rod and Your staff they comfort me.

Psalm 139:3

You scrutinize my path

and my lying down,

and are intimately
acquainted with all my ways.

We’re in a spiritual war

and I’ve given you the
spiritual ammunition you need

for spiritual victory every day.

Read these verses daily.

They’ll become a shield to your
thinking and your emotions.

You will find yourself becoming stronger,

more bold, and courageous in
your daily walk with the Lord.

Not a normal sermon you will listen to

but it’s all the Word of God

and my primary objective is this:

soak your mind and heart
in the Word of God.

Let your life be not only
surrounded by Scripture,

but absolutely covered by it.

Because you see, the more of God’s Word

that is within you,

the stronger you’re going to be.

And many of these verses you’ve heard

and read many times,

but in these particular times

in which you and I live in,

these verses of Scripture
are extremely important.

When you’re tempted to
be afraid, pull them out.

When you hear news that’s bad,
pull them out and read them.

And how often should you read?

You should read some every day,

because they are verses
that encourage you,

strengthen you, remind you who
is in control of your life.

The circumstances that are going on

in our country right now,

they don’t control you.

What controls you is who
controls you and that’s God.

Remember that He’s always with you

and remember what He said,

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

You can always trust the promises of God.

Listen to that.

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

So when you are prone
listening to bad news

to become afraid,

you go back to the Word of God

and remember, the promise
of the omnipotent,

omniscient, omnipresent
God said, “Trust me.”

“Believe in me. Do not be afraid.”

And God will do something in
your life nothing else can do.

It’s the power of the
Word of the living God.

Now, many of your friends
don’t know these verses.

Many people that maybe you work

with don’t know these verses.

Write them down, pass them on

and explain to them if they say,

“I don’t know what that means?”

You understand what it means.

So don’t hesitate to
give a personal testimony

to your friends of how the
Word of God strengthens you,

comforts you, and protects
you from being afraid.

There are many human reasons to be afraid,

but with Christ Jesus as my Savior

and the Word of God in
which I can stand upon,

I have no reason to be afraid of anything.

“Trust me,” the Lord says in so many ways.

“Trust me, trust me, trust me.”

And as I think about those two words,

how many times I’ve been in situations

and circumstances and get on my knees

and what do I hear?

“Trust me.”

“No weapon formed against
you will harm you.”

“Trust me, trust me, trust me.”

And I think of all the times

when that’s all I’ve had to depend upon.

The simple Word of God.

You can trust Him to protect you,

encourage you, watch over you,

uplift you, uphold you
in every circumstance

and provide everything you need.

Don’t let your mind begin to wander

to think, “Oh, if this and
if that and if the other.”

Remember, you are living
by the Word of God,

not by what other people are saying

or whatever they may be doing

or what they believe.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Lean not to your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him

and He will direct your path.

God’s awesome message of protection

and joy which He intends for us to have

no matter what’s going on around us

and I pray that you will take
advantage of these messages,

take advantage of these verses

and go to them not just once,

but all during the day,

you might having written
down the Scriptures,

return to the Word of God

and begin to look over a verse
here and a verse there.

Keep feeding yourself on the Word of God

and you will soon sense this sense

of awesome courage, confidence, boldness

and assurance that God
intends for you to have.

And that’s my message
to you today of love,

message of caring and message

that I trust that you will treasure.

And I did not go from
one verse to the other,

because I want you to look

at verses all through the Scripture

and remember, a promise from God

is an awesome powerful gift from God.

Don’t forget it.

Let me pray for you.

Heavenly Father, I pray the Holy Spirit

will take Your precious Word,

drive it home to every heart
who watches, who listens

and remind them of these verses.

Even if it’s a portion of the verses.

Given them the wisdom to open their Bible,

read these verses from their Scriptures

and remember in their hearts

that the Holy Spirit is there

to enable them to understand

and maybe sometimes they
won’t understand all

of these verses, but You
will give understanding,

especially of those You know they need.

We are trusting You.

You said Your Word will not return void.

May the fruit of Scripture,

the fruit of the Word
of God surround, uphold,

overshadow every person
who has heard these verses

and we pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.