“Overcoming When You Feel Overwhelmed” Jentezen Franklin AlongTheWay Special Edition

Pastor and Author Jentezen Franklin discusses discouragement, depression, and fear as his latest book “Overcoming When You Feel Overwhelmed” will help you learn how to guard your heart, mind, and family by focusing on what God is saying in these end times.

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John Matarazzo: 0:05

Welcome to along the way. I'm John Matarazzo. Your host and fellow traveler, thank you for joining me along my way is I try to become more like Jesus every day. The goal of along the way is to identify the moments in life that Jesus really is walking with us and trying to get our attention. But just like the disciples along the way to a madness, we are missing those moments that our hearts are burning within us. I want us to identify these moments, learn from others and apply those lessons to our lives so that we don't miss the blessings God has for us along the way in our life's journey. Since I started working at charisma media, I've had the opportunity to do podcast interviews that I wouldn't normally consider an along the way episode, because I was doing the interview for charisma news or some other format. And I've also been interviewed on other people's podcast too. Those have been great opportunities as well as interesting conversations, and I want to make sure that I share them with you as well. For this particular episode, I'm sharing my interview with Pastor and author Jensen Franklin as we discuss discouragement, depression and fear. His latest book, overcoming when you feel overwhelmed will help you learn how to guard your heart, mind and family by focusing on what God is saying in these End Times. You can get pastor Jensen's book overcoming when you feel overwhelmed at overcoming book.com. I'll make sure that that info is in the shownotes. I'll get to our conversation in just a moment. But I want to thank you for listening to along the way. All of my episodes and social links are available at my website. Along the way dot media. You can also join my email list to get updates right in your inbox. All the links from this episode will be in the show notes. And now here's my conversation with Pastor Jensen Franklin. Well, I am here with Pastor Jensen Franklin, the senior pastor of free chapel in Gainesville, Georgia, and he has written 10 books, and many of them have been bestsellers including his books on fasting it but today he's got a very powerful message that we're going to be talking about overcoming when you feel overwhelmed. The five steps to surviving the chaos of life faster, Jensen, it's a pleasure to have you on charisma news.

Jentezen Franklin: 2:25

Well, thank you, Joan. I'm so glad to be here with you.

John Matarazzo: 2:28

So pastor Jensen, tell us about this book. And really, what is the impetus that led you to write this book?

Jentezen Franklin: 2:36

Well, several things have happened in my life and in our family and through the pandemic. You know, it just felt like everything that was normal got Rick. Job talked about in in 29 chapter he said, I thought I would die and by nets will invest. It's a cozy, comfortable, secure, wonderful little home. And then alone comes that mother eagle that Deuteronomy 32 talks about it says that as the Mother God told Israel, He said, As the mother Eagle stirs up her nest, so where the Lord dude, Israel, and there comes times when it's not necessarily God doing it, but he's allowing Satan to do it. The story of Job verifies that or God allows our nest to just get busted up. And we go through things. And we find ourselves scratching our head saying how did I get here? How could this happen to me, to my family, to my life, to my children or my grandchildren? And when you find yourself in that moment of, you know, just everything that you thought was permanent and secure. Suddenly you your face with a busted life. I think the church had nesting syndrome, I think the body of Christ. You know, before the pandemic, we were all just doing our thing. How many campuses have you got how many? And then all of a sudden, God just comes along and wrecks the whole model and says, are Laos it? I mean, we've got it we either believe that he he's gone or he's not right. And he allowed that pandemic and it certainly affected our numbers and it certainly affected the body of Christ. And it certainly affected our our priorities. And so when that busted, Nest happens you you find yourself in that place where the reason God's stirring it is because you're pregnant with promises. You have wings that are going to fly higher than they've ever been before. We get so discouraged because it's not just one thing. But it's when multiple battles are breaking out in your life and you just feel overwhelmed. I actually John, my wife, when I told her I almost called it, just just overcoming. But my wife, we were talking one day, and she said, I don't feel like an overcomer all the time. It's a lot of times, you know, especially a mother and our children, and we've got five kids and four grandkids. And if one of them is sick, or one of them is dealing with something major, it, I felt it got easier. I'll turn 60 years old this year. I felt like easier, but actually the bird and the the, I don't know how to describe it. But even if you allow it, the worry will overtake you. The fear of what could happen will absolutely overwhelm you and I, I'm learning in this season of my life, truly, either gonna be a prisoner of hope, or a prisoner of fear. And Zachariah nine, he said, returned to your stronghold Do you prisoners of hope, for this day, I will, I will give you double. Yeah. And there's a power in that prisoners of Hope is what he said, you know, prisoners is somebody who's bound to something and they can't shake it, they can't get free from it. And you're either going to be bound to fear and worry and anxiety, and discouragement and depression, or you're going to be chained to faith, hope and love. And I choose pay over fear every time and I've had, I've had to learn that. And I've put a lot of the things in the book that that we've walked through, not you know, the the family matters or family matters, but the spirit of it. We, we've seen that division hit our lives, we've seen tears, we've seen tragic news, we've seen the darkest of nights. And people are listening to me right now. And even people in ministry and people, you're we're not exempt from low times. Jeremiah got so low that he won't believe the ministry and star hotel out in the wilderness. I mean, you know, Elijah, I think it'd be larger. You talk about being overwhelmed, and I talk about Him in the Bible. I mean, I talk about him in the book, and talk about his story, particularly how that Jesus prophesied in Revelation chapter two, that the predominant in time spirit that would come against the entire church, would be a spirit of Jezebel. And instantly people get this mindset of a woman, you know, it's not doesn't really have anything to do with the gender as much as it's a spirit. And it's a spirit that sending out signals in the force signals that that Spirit sent out to Elijah to defeat him and discourage him, was lost. And then there was discouragement, depression and fear, discouragement, depression, and fear. Certainly, we've heard a lot about less than the Jezebel spirit. And I can prove that scripturally. But I won't take I think, I think the signal is like a, like a broadcast signal that the enemy, the end time, spirits of our age are sending out or not only love, certainly modern technology, and porn and all of that stuff. It's pandemic, in its effect on our young people, and even people in ministry, and regardless of age, it's very real, it's a very real signal that is going out that we have to put on the whole armor of God. And then but the thing that I think is overlooked about that spirit of Jezebel and how it affected Elijah, was he cuts a man who had done amazing things a man who was supernaturally anointed and empowered to defeat the enemies and false religion and, and cast down the priest of idolatry. He finds himself in one day, under such persecution attack mentally Yeah, that discouragement depression sits under a juniper tree, and prays to die suicide, thoughts, and fear what was driving it all fear, incredible fear. And you have to you have to make up your mind. I love John Allah, I love the response that God had to His servant, who had done so many good things, you know, we will we will, we can see a man or a woman of God do 1000 great things, and then do one wrong thing. And all we'll do is focus and define that person on that one wrong thing and forget the 1000 things right? They

John Matarazzo: 9:56

do poorly we do that. Yeah.

Jentezen Franklin: 9:58

But God doesn't do like that God's not like most churches and most Christians. God never will define you. By your worst mistake, price guy, man, he'll never define you by your weakest moment. And I love you know, he could have come on that mountain. And the Bible said, you know the story in First Kings a thing I believe it is, and 19 Somewhere in there. He said, You know, the fire came, and God was not in the fire, fire fail, and the wind blew, and God was not in the wind. And, and, and the earth shook. And God was not that he had never used those things. He came as a mighty Russian when in the upper room, and he used an earthquake to get Paul and Silas free. And he sent fire when Elijah prayed. But he didn't need that. He was hurting, he was overwhelmed. He was fearful and discouraged and depressed just like people, even in ministry today feel and here comes a still small voice. And that voice didn't say what are you doing in here? I can't believe how you lost your faith at all. After all the great things I've done for you, how could you mess up like this? But he said, The angel said, Eat and drink and Reyes. And then anoint, go and anoint. I'm still gonna use you. I'm not through with you. You are not disqualified. Because you feel overwhelmed you are and overcome or even when you feel overwhelmed.

John Matarazzo: 11:30

Amen, amen. You know, Pastor Jensen made mention about the that fear and how that makes us feel like we can't overcome. You know, you talk about in your book about Job's three questions, and it really boils down to can God be trusted? And which is a direct contradiction of this fear that is coming up against us? Can you just address this whole concept of can God be trusted?

Jentezen Franklin: 11:53

Yeah, because you know that that's what the book is about. When you feel overwhelmed, it usually comes because you're suffering in some either emotionally, mentally, physically, financially, just the stress and the strain. And Job, the book of Job was written, to teach us that you can trust God when you feel submerged in suffering. When you you know, we all pray for miracles, we all want miracles, instant and quick miracles. But many times you get in situations that in this life, you will have tribulation. And sometimes you won't get a miracle, God gave you the grace to just walk through it, He will deliver you out of some lions mouths, and they will never lay a finger on you or scratch on you. But But there are some fiery furnaces that will be heated up seven times hotter. And you're going to have to walk through and you literally have to say, you know, if he's God, My God is evil, but if not, if not, he steal god. Yeah. And that's what Joe finally came to the conclusion of. He said, I can trust him. When I'm submerged in suffering. I can trust Him when I'm grieving over my children, I can trust him. When things seem out of control, and I'm walking in absolute darkness, and I can't see where I'm going. You've never been so confused. You know, I've never had a problem of having vision and knowing in, in hearing God, tell me where he's taken me. Sometimes you know where you're going, but you don't understand where you are. Very true. And that's the most confusing moment is when you know, God's promised you something. It's out there. And you know where you're going, but you don't understand where you are. That is that moment where your faith will either crumble because you're focusing on the storm and the circumstances and the emotions of the moment. Or you will fix your eyes on the promise more than the problem. And you will keep walking by faith.

John Matarazzo: 14:15

Amen. Amen. I know I, you're preaching to me right now, brother. This is this is really good. You make mention of the this concept of being an overcomer rather than just being a survivor. What is the difference between those two terms?

Jentezen Franklin: 14:30

Well, I just don't I just don't think that God wants us to just get by and hold on and hang on until Jesus comes. I don't. We are not to be over. Overcome by the challenges of life. We're not exempt from them. Number one, we will face and deal with the same things the world deals with, but everything is better with Jesus including trouble and when you get Jesus with you in your storm. And I talk about this one of the one of the things that we do in the in the book is we lay out five, five essentials really that you need to hold on to, from Matthew 24 of all chapters, the big in time prophecy chapter when Jesus on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came and said, privately, they came to him and said, well, we want to know what are the signs of the times? And when will you come again? I mean, what are the signs and they were so focused, we want what tell us about the mark of the bees tell us about this, that we want the sons and we want the time. And Jesus shifted, and his first answer was, take heed to yourself that you not be dizzy. The first thing he says is look within. Look inside. Don't worry about what's coming out there. Yeah, it's real. There'll be wars and rumors of wars, and there'll be racial animosity. You'll see it he predicts all of these things. But he says, When you see this happen, number one, look within do an inventory. Check yourself how am I doing? Am I leaving pure Am I leaving claim because what really matters is not what's going on out there because the Kingdom of God is within us. And his righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost the scripture say. So if I am if I as the temple of the Holy Spirit, I need to look within prophecy is not about speculation. It's it's about motivation. When you see the prophecies being fulfilled, it's not just to get us to hold that. And let me guess when he's come. And let me guess what the Bible clearly tells you. There's no timeline to His coming of the day in the hour. No man knows. But but you can see the signs and he gave us some of the signs. But it's not for speculation about, you know, just focusing on in time hysteria. It's about it's about motivating you to get on your knees. I mean, look within how am I doing? How's my how's my purity? How's my passion? How's my Am I guarding my mind? Am I guarding my heart and my guarding my family? Jesus said, When you see these things begin to happen. He talks about you know, in Mark 13, he says, Watch, he says, The day in the hour, no man knows. But listen to how many times he says Take heed watching pray that you that you're not called unaware when this time comes. I say the one I say to you all, watch, watch, watch. In other words, guard yourself. Go internal. And say Lord God, Don, love you like I used to love you do I pray? Do I read your word, because there will be there will be those who the scripture say it will be a great falling away, and a gradual growing cold in their soul. So look within. And then look to Him is the next thing. Jesus says four, four, he said when you see all of these things in Matthew 24 See that you are not troubled? Wow, what a promise. In other words, I don't want you dismayed. I don't want you freaking out. I don't want you overwhelmed. I don't want you giving. And boy, the one thing that I wanted to make sure in the book was the overcoming part that that we are to, when I say look to him. It's what the disciples did in the storm when they got out in the boat and they were rowing. And those oars that they held on to somebody said that when you when you row a boat, your back is to the future and you don't know what's coming. But you grab hold of the two oars and and in the book I mentioned the order of worship and the order of faith will get you through anything we walk by faith, not by sight. And you know, keep on rolling. You may have never noticed this John, but the Bible said And when Jesus looked at them and saw them, he saw them rolling. That's what got mounted. He he saw them trying. He saw them straining and struggling, but they had not given up. They had not let go of the oars. They had not thrown in the towel. They had not said I give up this is impossible but they were doing what they could do. They were holding on to faith in one hand and on to worship in the other and boy they got through the storm because Jesus is attracted to people who look ahead. The Bible said that look to him when they when Peter got his eyes off of Jesus. That's when he began to sink. And when you get your eyes on him, you can make it through anything.

John Matarazzo: 19:57

Amen. Wow. I'm really being ministered to by you right now and what you're saying, you know, this part of this, this fear that we're dealing with in this world is because, yeah, the we don't have a we don't have a knowledge, a true biblical knowledge of the Second Coming of Jesus, like we know in theory, and we believe because the Bible says it that he's coming again. But we know like there's so many things that have to happen first and things that we're going to go through or somebody will say that we're not going to go through that, you know, there's just a lot of uncertainty. Tell us about the just understanding the second coming and what really what we really need to hold on to with that.

Jentezen Franklin: 20:42

Well, I love I love the question. I mean, you nailed it with with an important discussion that needs to take place. One of the reasons I wrote this book is I have several chapters where I go into specifically the Second Coming of Jesus, and how it's been neglected. It's a major, major part of the scriptures. And yet, and I want to challenge I'm not somebody who beats up on preachers and pastors, my God, I mean, there's enough going on. It's the hardest job in the world. But but one of my one of my let me put it like this, and I'm not a person that lives. I'll turn 60 This year, but I don't live in the past. I'm not one of those guys, I believe. And I love I think the brightest sharp I believe in this generation, I believe in this generation of pastors. But one thing that I wish they could have experienced that I experienced in the previous generation as I was a young person coming up in the church, is I'd say, one out of every three or four messages that they preached that old preachers that they preached was on the second coming of Jesus Christ. And there was something missing in our theology today. The Hybl teaches clearly the coming of the Lord, the catching away of the saints, the rapture is what we call it. It clearly does. Paul taught it, Jesus Himself taught it, the Bible teaches it, and I'm afraid that we are we feel like our unknown, unknown as a pastor, sometimes I don't want to deal with things like the rapture, because I feel like people are so overwhelmed that I don't want to teach them about prophecy and, and the, the Great Tribulation that's coming, what's going to happen after the rapture. I don't even want to go there. Because I feel like they're so overwhelmed just dealing in this life. And yet we are, we're kind of taking the place of God in His word, because one of the things he said that would purify and one of the things that he said, Actually, would comfort us in the last days, he said, comfort one another with these words, the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and he ends that whole layout of His coming. The trumpets gonna sound the dead in Christ are going to be raised. And then he says, comfort one another with these words. And I'm afraid that we were so earthbound when Jesus warned he said, you know, just like the days of Noah, well, what does that talk about? It'll be an ordinary day, people would be so caught up in entertainment and, and work and success and money and distractions, distractions, distractions, that Jesus will come instantly, and people will not be ready. And I just think there's a there's a yearning, I think it's insane to be in the end times and never mentioned it from the pulpit. I think it's crazy to get up and teach. You know, some of the messages that we teach when we have in our nation of crisis, I've learned to pivot a lot of times, Yes, speak to where people are living right now. And speak to prophetic moments when prophecies are being fulfilled in our times. Get up and speak it and proclaim Jesus is coming again. It brings conviction, it brings the anointing. People are longing to hear the truth right now, they don't want just nicey nicey little, you know, seven ways to have a better vacation this summer kind of sermon series, they, they want to hear what is God saying and doing in times like these? Yeah,

John Matarazzo: 24:29

I believe that everybody feels this urgency. And you can either interpret it and receive it as this urgency to react or respond, or you can can receive this urgency and just let yourself become overwhelmed. You made mention of some of the things that you were talking about just made me think about Jesus's parable, which is also prophetic with the 10 virgins. were five of them were ready and they had their lamps ready with oil and their wicks were trimmed and they were ready for whenever the bridegroom came. And then five of them weren't ready. You know, how do we what are some steps that we can do to make sure that we're one of the five that were that are ready?

Jentezen Franklin: 25:10

Yeah, the 50%. I mean, it's, and they all had to be awakened. That's the other thing. All of them were asleep. Even the ones that had the oil in their lamps and had light, they had to be awakened. And I think that's where we are, is there needs to come an awakening by the Spirit of God. And and what do we need is pretty obvious in that story. We need all in the end times, we need the all represents the Holy Spirit, we need to be full of His Spirit in the entire because there when the Lord comes, you know, there's going to be two groups of people, those who started out with it. But somehow they fell asleep and and they've lost it. And then there's those who have decided, if ever, there was a time to pray, if ever, there was a time to be in God's house, if ever there was a time to give myself to the word, if ever, there was a time to be close in God's presence, it's in this hour. And I just, I just want to encourage people one of the one of the main themes too, that we carry out in the book is the last instructions that Jesus gave His Church, the last message he wanted his church to hear from him. He said, When you see all of these things begin to happen. Listen to it. Here's these are important words, look up, lift up your head, I don't want a down, cast discouraged, depressed, defeated people. We are overcomers the book of Revelation is not a horror story. Amen. It is a book of victory. It's a book where Jesus conquers hail, death and the grave. It's a book where Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. It's a book where the trumpet sounds and the church is taken to heaven. And they have the marriage supper of the lamb and the award ceremony called the judgments believer or the believers judgment where we are rewarded. It's Jesus coming back on a white horse, defeating the powers of hail, and setting up a new heaven and new earth. It's the story of a of a home and heaven. My goodness, we are, even though we will feel overwhelmed at times. On our worst day, we're overcomers through the blood of the lamb revelation toil said, and the word of our testimony.

John Matarazzo: 27:54

Amen. Amen. Pastor Jensen, before we wrap up here, I just want to let everybody know that they can get the they can get information about the book, they can sign up to maybe be on their presale team or whatever at overcoming book.com. And you can get more information, you can make sure that you order that so that as soon as it comes out, you are ready. You're at the top of the line. Master Jensen, would you just pray for our listeners, before we wrap up here, that they will just feel that that they can trust God that they don't have to be overcome and overwhelmed by the things of this world, but they can truly be an overcomer?

Jentezen Franklin: 28:29

Absolutely. Father, we come before you today and I pray for every listener. I pray that today your hand would be on them heavy. I pray today you would comfort those who just feel absolutely overwhelmed having anxiety attacks, panic, worry, stress, just even those who are addicted now and they can't seem to break free. Lord, let them let them return to the stronghold and become prisoners of hope today, chaining themselves to the hope of your promises in your word, and you're coming and the hope of the Holy Spirit who empowers us to overcome today. Lord, I pray for every family represented every marriage represented I pray for the sons and daughters who who are going through attacks Lord on their mind, on their future on their heart. I pray for the grandchildren. I pray, Lord for the new generation of pastors and ministers and leaders and preachers. Lord, I pray you would undergird them today that they would feel your power and your anointing poured. I know you've helped my family. I know you've seen us through the darkest days of our life, even in the last few years. Times when we didn't know what to do and we had to be totally vulnerable and say help. Maybe somebody The miracle is if they'll just say help. If they will just say I can't deal with it. I need some somebody to help me. A marriage needs help a family needs help. Lord, may they find that connection with the right people in the right place at the right time. And the right purpose. God, I thank You today that you hear on cry. And we refuse to rehash and really have over and over and over our guilt, our grief and our pain. When we rehearse it, and we relive it and we keep revisiting it. We resurrect it. So we make a choice today to be an overcomer not undergo war. In the name of Jesus, I speak victory into your spirit, you will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the testimony that Jesus is Lord overall. In Jesus name I pray,

John Matarazzo: 30:53

amen. Amen. Amen. Pastor Jensen, Franklin, thank you so much for sharing and letting us know more about your book overcoming when you feel overwhelmed. Five Steps to surviving the chaos of life. If you want to get a hold of this book, overcoming book.com is your place to get all the information about that to get on the pre order list. And if you are interested in finding out more about pastor Jensen, Franklin, go to Jensen franklin.org je e n t e ZENFRANKLI n dot o RG Jensen franklin.org. For more information about pastor Jensen, Pastor, it's been a pleasure to have you and I appreciate your time. And I look forward to hearing how God is going to use your book to help people overcome when they feel overwhelmed.

Jentezen Franklin: 31:46

Thank you. It's been a great honor John and God bless you. I appreciate you very much.

John Matarazzo: 31:50

Amen. This has been John Matarazzo with Pastor Jensen Franklin for charisma news. God bless you. Thank you for listening to this episode of along the way. If you've enjoyed joining me along my way, please share this with a friend who you think will be encouraged by this podcast. Also, please rate and review along the way on iTunes that helps more people discover along the way. And please subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and through my website along the way dot media. On my website, you can sign up to receive newsletter updates whenever I put out a new episode, so you don't miss one. If you want to help support me in this podcast, I have a Patreon page. The link to become a supporter is also in my show notes. I hope that you've enjoyed this part of my journey and may you realize when Jesus is walking with you along your way. A lot along the way is honored to be part of the charisma Podcast Network. You can find tons of spirit filled content from our vast catalogue of podcast including my Monday through Friday news stories for the charisma news podcast. Go to CPN shows.com To see the full list and latest episodes