Dr. Chris Stephens

Hey Friends,

I am working on a sermon series for after Easter called, ROAD TRIP. The text will be the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land. There is so much good stuff in there we could camp there for a lifetime.

Let me give you a thought about why the first generation did not make it to their destiny or destination – they had a wilderness mentality!

I am going to share many reasons during the series, but let me give you a sneak preview. One of their problems was two little words: IF & BUT.  As long as these words are lodged in your mind you will not take responsibility for your actions. Read their stories and you will see they never took responsibility, but continually made excuses. As long as you make excuses you will never excel. As a matter of fact, you will miss the Master much of the time.

Let’s be real. Blaming others and making excuses goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. As you read through the record of Scripture you will see most everyone blamed others and never took responsibility for their circumstances or actions.

In Psalm 51:6 God desires, “Truth in our innermost being.” Truth means facing up to your sins, strongholds and mistakes. We all make them. I John 1:9 says, “If you confess….” You have to agree with God about your stuff.

Satan will continue to keep the keys to your thoughts and mind as long as you blame others for what you do. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Excuses will chain you. We all say, if, if, if… ”This is not my fault!!!” We have all said it.

The spies reported the Land was awesome, BUT…  The but caused a generation to die, wandering in the wilderness. Don’t defend your fears and strongholds, but defend your faith and your victory! Believe what the Scripture says about you. Excuses keep you locked in a prison of your past and strongholds, which gives the enemy the victory.

Word up and take responsibility and go for the gold with God!

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Have you ever heard someone say something like this: “It is too hard, I’m quitting, why does everything have to be so hard…” I hear this on a daily basis. If you allow this stinking thinking into your mind it will cause you great grief. Remember winning or losing, going on or quitting, is a war that is waged in your mind first. What you are is a result of your thinking. God says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

God will not allow you to be in a situation you cannot handle with His help. Jesus sent us the “Helper.” When the children of Israel left Egypt, God led them the long way. We all like the short way, the easy way, the fastest way. That is not always the plan of the Lord for us. When Jesus went into the wilderness and was tested or tempted by the devil, He never said, “This is too hard.”

Can you imagine the Lord complaining to the disciples that something is too hard? Take this phrase out of your vocabulary. It is stinking thinking and will make the journey harder for you. It will make it easier to quit. That is exactly where the enemy wants you.

I guess somewhere along the way we began thinking like the Israelites that entering our promised land was going to be effortless and without battles. This is not the case. You have to manage your expectations. We are at war and it will not be easy until we get to heaven. Yet in the midst of the mess, we have the power of God to walk us through.

The mindset of the Israelites was making this quick and easy. It was actually an 11-day journey that took them 40 years because of their complaining and lack of faith. Don’t be a Sunday Warrior and a Monday Whiner.

You truly can “do all things through Christ who strengthens us.” Never give up! Keep the faith and keep fighting. He who rose from the dead fights for us, so You are a winner already. Believe what the Word says about you.

Just a thought.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

I just received this email below from a great man of God. I love it when a plan comes together. Many times you pray and you work and hope it all works out. It did with my book, The Plan of Your Life. I wanted to let you know how people are receiving the book and to ask for your help getting the word out. I do not have a lot of contacts outside of Faith Promise and could use all the help you can give in spreading the word.

This is awesome and was written by a man leading an organization training literally millions of leaders for Jesus world-wide:

 Chris,

I have just read The Plan of Your Life. Wow! It is powerful. I couldn’t put the book down.

After I finished reading the book, I sat and wept for an hour as I reflected on my father’s death on Christmas Eve morning when I was only 11. I recalled the many lessons he taught me even in the short time we did life together.

I thought of my two sons and a daughter whom I have endeavored to teach by words and by example.

Chris, you have written a masterpiece! While it explains a tremendous plan for personal growth, it is much more – it is a roadmap for living a life that really matters, that makes a difference for time and eternity. Rarely have I appreciated a book so much. 

Doug Carter

Senior Vice President

EQUIP LEADERSHIP, Inc

John C Maxwell, Founder

As you help me get the book out God will use it in helping others connect with Him and grow to their full potential. We have a discount for churches that get a box of 36 books. Together we can make a huge difference in people.

Thanks in advance and I love and appreciate you.

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

February has been a blur. I have been on the road so much that I have not written many blogs. Sorry! I can tell you it has been an amazing month. I have been to two conferences and my cup is truly running over.

I write these blogs by faith because sometimes I wonder if anyone reads them. I was in Dallas last week and a pastor told me my blog kept him going in a horrible time in his ministry. I was blown out of the water. God is good! Let me ask you a strange question:

ARE YOU WALKING IN THE WILDERNESS?

As I talk and minister to people it seems many are just “wilderness living.” Read the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. They never seemed to walk in continual victory. You are an overcomer and you have the victory, so what is the problem? I can tell you, for many it is DOUBT and UNBELIEF.

Peter could walk on water as long as his focus was on Jesus but when he focused on the storm and the waves, he sank. The war that rages is in our minds. We are taught in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to: “Take every thought captive.” In the war of our thinking we need to cinch up our belt of TRUTH!

James tells us not to be “double-minded.” Double-minded is a person stuck between two thoughts or opinions. Elijah asked the nation of Israel “how long they would be stuck between two opinions?” In Hebrews 4 we are taught of our place of rest. God has a place of rest here for us. It is found in our minds.

The question is, who will you believe? God or the Devil, the Word or the world? The demonic twins of doubt and unbelief will steal all your power and joy. The choice is yours!

By faith stand in and on the Word and walk in the victory purchased for you on the cross! You are an overcomer so believe it and receive it!

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

P.S.  Please pray for  me this week as I preach a revival for The River Community Church in Cookeville.  Over 60 salvations on Sunday already!  Praise God for Pastor Steve Tiebout and a church that is making it hard to go to hell from Middle Tennessee!

Hey Friends,

I had a very cool thought while I was praying the other day. I was asking the Lord to let my living room have the atmosphere of heaven. I wanted to smell, see, taste, and watch the worship in heaven. I meditated on that thought for a while and then the Lord seemed to whisper to me that atmosphere was the Leader’s job. This was a new concept and I am always listening for the voice of God.

As the Senior Pastor of Faith Promise it is my job to help the atmosphere of the church to be awesome. We can do this by our attitude. The leaders need an A+ attitude. Our attitude needs to be one of great expectancy. Our faith should ooze out of us. We should set the tone of believing God to move, to do miracles, to change lives, to show up, and a whole host of other things. Preach it, share it, tell it, believe it and the atmosphere will become charged with expectancy.

I have been asked many times, “What is the key to church growth?” Without hesitation I say it is excitement. If the church attenders are not excited they will never bring visitors. If they are excited you can’t make them stop bringing people who need Jesus. Set the atmosphere so high that every service has guests that need Jesus. It turns the worship events into a pediatric ward - happy families just waiting for new births.

Don’t be afraid to speak life, faith, belief, and all you believe God will do. If you have no faith that the Lord is going to do anything, well, are you a leader? I look for Ephesians 3:20 every time we meet.

Winning coaches push their players to reach higher and to believe. You are the coach and you need to push the players to new heights. People rise to the level to expectation. You set the level as the leader.

The atmosphere of heaven is a celestial celebration! As the leader, set the tone of heaven and believe God to show up and make it happen!

Party today!

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

Do you ever think about your thoughts? The Scriptures are slammed full of teaching about how you and I think! Most people blame their misery or depression on circumstances or on someone else. The truth be told, the problem is not the circumstances but your thinking about them. Circumstances don’t control your joy or victory, your thoughts do. You are your thoughts!

Let me ask the question again: DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT YOUR THOUGHTS? It is becoming more important right now, is it not? Your thoughts affect your attitude, mood, your victory and everyone around you. Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things…”

We all think or meditate on different things. The problem is, most are not disciplined on what they think about! This is one of the key reasons most believers are not living in victory! They spend little time in the Word and even less time thinking about the Word. This is called meditation!

Mk. 4:24: “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given to you beside.” What do you listen to???

Ps. 1:2: “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night…”

Josh. 1:8: “This book of the law shall not depart from our mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night…”

The Word is full of admonishments, commands and encouragements to think on the Word! God knows this is the key to your victory. Most of us have unguarded thought lives. This gives Lucifer the Liar open access to defeat us. We win or lose in our thoughts! Think about your thinking.

If you want to walk in victory and live a life that honors the Lord you must win the war in your head and heart. Romans 12:2 reminds us to “renew our minds.” This happens in the Word. Let’s all be Word walkers and warriors. You cannot help what thought enters your mind but you can control what thought stays there. “Think on these things…”

It is impossible to walk in victory if your mind is a mess. Renew it daily and you will rejoice in victory.

Just a thought! A good one!

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

It is early Tuesday morning and I am in West Palm Beach. I am at the Global 20/20 missions conference with our Missions Pastor, Brad Ervin. It is truly amazing what the Lord is doing all around the world. He is Lord!!!

A verse keeps popping into my mind. Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks within himself so is he.” This is a foundational and pivotal verse for me because of its power to set us free or to chain us down. Your thinking is the fertile ground for your faith to work. If your thinking is not fertile but is barren of good thoughts, then your faith will not take you very far.

So many refuse to believe good things will happen because so many bad things have happened in the past. If they think or hope for the future they might get hurt again. They think it is better not to expect anything good to happen and then if it does, they will be pleasantly surprised. Sounds like a great protection from getting hurt. The only problem is that as you think, so are you.

Positive people think positively and negative people think negatively. Which are you? BEWARE – Lucifer the liar loves to keep you negative. If he can keep you negative then he can keep you down. Jesus said he was a “liar!” Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

Today, forget the past and start to think right! Think good thoughts. Start today being positive. Our God has it all together. In Philippians we are told to fix our thinking on good things. In Hebrews we are taught how to fix the fight by fixing our focus on Jesus. I could do this all day. Are your thoughts positive or negative? What do you think and what do you expect? That is probably what you will get. “As you think so are you.” God said it, not me!

Stinking thinking will keep you down worse than almost anything else. Are you ready to have your mind renewed? (Romans 12:1-2)

Today, really focus on these things and see how much better your day will be!

Just a thought…

Love ya,

Pastor Chris

Hey Friends,

My heart is a little heavy as I write this blog. I watch people every day miss their potential. I see gifts and talents in them they refuse to see. So many sit on the sidelines because they don’t think they have what it takes to get in the game. It is a lie from Lucifer. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

This weekend I am completing a series called GAME OVER. It is a series on the five building blocks we use for core members at Faith Promise: Saved, Baptized, Giving, Growing (in a group), and Serving. This weekend the topic is serving. Pastor Josh did some digging for me. The result is that on any given week at Faith Promise less than 1 in 4 serve in any way in the Body of God, the Church. Wow, it was like a gut punch. I guess ignorance really is bliss.

Why do so many not serve? Why do so many settle for the sidelines? Where is the heart of a champion that should be predominant in the Church of the living God? We are all only as strong as what it takes to stop us. What would stop you from serving and growing into all God placed in you? Where is the desire to press on to all we can be? The Scripture sure calls us to it.

Where are you today in your journey with Jesus? Are you pressing on to maturity, to the high call? Are you in the game making a difference for Jesus? If not why not?

When you got saved you received a new heart, the heart of a champion. All you need right now is in you. God put it there. Don’t sit on the sideline when you can be a champion for His Kingdom. You are a winner and you must, by faith, press forward. What an exciting journey!

Just a thought.

Love ya,

Pastor Chris