Title: God Kept Me: Moving Forward with the Right Perspective

Sermon Summary:

This sermon addresses the challenge many believers face of remaining mentally stuck in past pain and disappointments even as they enter a new year. Using 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 as the foundation, the pastor emphasizes that while we cannot deny what we've been through, we must be intentional about our perspective. Like Paul, we should acknowledge our struggles but refuse to let them become our destination. The message centers on the truth that God keeps us not because of our strength, but because of what we carry within us—His treasure in earthen vessels. The sermon calls believers to shift from giving credit to the storms they've survived to praising God for keeping them through those storms. Through the concept of "pivoting," the pastor teaches that our situations don't have to change for our perspective to change, and that 2026 is about redirecting all attention back to God rather than the enemy's attacks.

Key Points:

- Many believers are mentally stuck in last year, rehearsing pain rather than recognizing God's preservation

- We must acknowledge our situations without allowing them to become our destination

- Perspective matters: we should testify about surviving the storm, not the strength of the storm

- God keeps the treasure (what's inside us) even when the vessel (our flesh) is fragile

- We are kept not because of our own strength but because of God's grace and what He's placed within us

- God limits the outcome of attacks but doesn't always prevent the attack itself

- Learning to "pivot" changes our perspective without changing our circumstances

- We must balance faith with honesty—not denying what we've been through while maintaining faith in God's keeping power

- Every testimony should acknowledge the hit but deny the defeat

- The just shall live by faith, not denial

Scripture Reference:

- 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 (Primary text): "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed"

- Isaiah 54:17 (referenced): "No weapon formed against thee shall prosper"

- Romans 8:38-39 (referenced): Nothing shall separate us from the love of God

- Job 1 (alluded to): God's limitation on what the enemy can do

Stories:

- The illustration of the bent tree that didn't break, representing resilience through storms

- The ocean and shoreline boundary illustration, showing how God sets limits on the enemy's reach despite the vastness of attacks

- The basketball pivot illustration using Kobe Bryant's technique, demonstrating how to change perspective when the enemy blocks your path without losing your position

- Personal testimony about his wife's pregnancy and how carrying something changes behavior, cravings, and sensitivity—applied to carrying God's purpose

- The boxing analogy about everyone having a game plan until they get punched in the mouth, illustrating how trials test our resolve

- Reference to Mary being told she would carry the Messiah, illustrating how God places solutions to generational problems within His people

- The story of Solomon's wisdom about the vanity of earthly pursuits without God