Pastor Paul Hohman teaches that when stress, weakness and pressure come without warning, believers don’t lose heart because they hope in the Lord, and those who hope in Him renew their strength. Building on Isaiah 40:28–31, he gives three daily practices from 1 Thessalonians 5, shows from Romans 8 that nothing can separate us from God’s love, and ends in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, where a fourth man walked with them in the fire.
Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps for when you feel like giving up.
Sermon at a Glance
This message was preached at NTC Ministries on April 21, 2024, a date Pastor Paul mentions from the pulpit, and posted on April 23. It runs about 53 minutes and closes with prayer. It is the first of two messages on the theme; at the end he tells the church to come back the next week to continue.
He opens by saying God had been sharing this with him because everyone goes through stresses they did not ask for. Church can feel full of God’s presence, he says, but then we have to leave the building, and staying strong outside depends on continuing to pursue Him.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Pastor Paul Hohman |
| Series | Don’t Lose Heart, part 1 of 2 |
| Main text | Isaiah 40:28–31 and Daniel 3 |
| Key theme | Hope in the Lord renews strength in seasons of stress and pressure |
| Length | About 53 minutes, ending in prayer |
Who God Is When the Pressure Comes
Pastor Paul Hohman starts by asking the church what they know about God that they can run to. He is our peace, the Prince of Peace, when there is no peace at home, at work or in relationships. He is our strength on the days you feel too weak to get out of bed, because it is in our weakness that God is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9–10).
He is also our healer. When Satan tries to attach ugliness to the body or the mind, we answer that Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). He recommends the church’s Introduction to God series, which teaches names like Jehovah Rapha and Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord who leads us into battle. There will be battles, he says, but we have the victory through Jesus.
God’s Word works. Heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not (Matthew 24:35). In His presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). And God is not peace on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with weekends off. He is the I AM, all of it, all the time.
To show how pressure feels, he tells of a New York City transit bus and driver that went missing for about a week and a half. They were found on the beach in Miami. The driver was so stressed by family, work and passengers that he just kept driving. Sometimes, Pastor Paul Hohman says, we feel exactly like that and do not know where we will stop.
Jesus’ answer is in John 16:33: in Him we have peace; in the world we will have trouble, but take heart, He has overcome the world. Jesus died for our sins, mistakes and “goofiness,” as Pastor Paul puts it, and overcame the world so we do not have to. Our part is to pursue Him and live in His strength.
Those Who Hope in the Lord Renew Their Strength
The foundation of the message is Isaiah 40:28–31, which he reads from the NIV. The everlasting God does not grow tired or weary. He gives strength to the weary, and even youths stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Everyone needs renewing from time to time, he says, and those who renew their strength do it by hoping in God rather than in their own ability.
That means staying faithful because God is faithful. Read the Word every day; it is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Psalm 119:105), and as you hide it in your heart, sin becomes harder. Come out from the world and be separate, he says, not better than others, because God loves them as much as He loves us.
Pastor Paul Hohman urges the church to be real with God. God already knows every thought, yet He wants us to come to Him in a step of vulnerability. In the prayer closet it is fine to say you are stressed and do not know what to do. God says to cast your care on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).
Then stand on the Word. Declare that greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4), and that God has not given you a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Those who hope in Him will renew their strength and soar on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not faint.
He compares pressure to the way diamonds come out of coal, and to fire that refines. God does not make mistakes; you are where you are for a reason. Even Jesus felt the pressure in Gethsemane, praying that the cup pass from Him, “nevertheless not my will but yours be done” (Matthew 26:36–41). We are the army of the living God, and soldiers train so they are ready in season and out.
God has given us weapons: His Word and the name of Jesus. Referring to the song the church sang that morning, he encourages them to say “I speak Jesus” over sickness, worry, doubt, anxiety, fear and lack, even shouting it on the way to work if that is what it takes to get it into your spirit.
Three Keys From 1 Thessalonians 5
Pastor Paul Hohman reads 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 from the English Standard Version: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. He has the church tell their neighbors it is for them too. These three practices are how we don’t lose heart.
| Key | What it means as taught | What it sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Rejoice always | Rejoice in the middle of stress, because God is setting you up for something big | “I know I feel like this, but I thank You that Your Word says this” |
| Pray without ceasing | Keep talking to God through the whole day, honestly | “Good morning Heavenly Father, good morning Holy Spirit, good morning King Jesus” |
| Give thanks in all circumstances | Thank God in the situation, not for the disease or the stress | Thanking Him that He is still faithful and still on the throne |
On rejoicing, he quotes the promises he stands on: by my God I can run against a troop and leap over a wall (Psalm 18:29), and no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalm 84:11). The church must be doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22). What we are going through now, he says, is meant to strengthen us for what God has on the other side.
On praying without ceasing, he describes thanking God through the morning, on the way to work and when things go sideways in the middle of the day. God never takes a day off, not even a second. Prayer is just talking to God, and you do not have to use King James English. You can tell Him plainly that life right now feels like trash and that you choose to stand on His Word anyway.
On giving thanks, he is careful: “I ain’t thanking God for the disease.” He thanks God that in the middle of the mess He is still going to bless. Victory is already his, so he is not fighting for victory but from victory, and he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him (Philippians 4:13).
Ask, Seek, Knock: Nothing Can Separate Us
Next he reads Luke 11:9–13: ask, seek and knock. Asking is a good step of faith, he says, but God is not McDonald’s, where you place an order and drive around to pick it up. A good father does not give a stone for bread, and how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? The Holy Spirit is our helper, a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).
Then comes Romans 8:31–39. If God is for us, who can be against us? Who condemns? No one, because Christ died, was raised and now intercedes for us. Pastor Paul Hohman loves that Jesus is praying for us. He had the same flesh, felt the same stress, pressure and weakness, and so He understands.
When Satan tries to condemn and take the wind out of our sails by reminding us of what we did, the answer is the same: no one condemns, because Christ intercedes. Nothing can separate us from His love, not trouble, hardship, persecution, famine or sword. In all these things we are more than conquerors, which he describes as blessed abundantly, highly favored and able to step on the head of the devil.
Neither death nor life, angels nor demons, present nor future can separate us from the love of God in Christ. If He lives in us, then power, strength and peace live in us too. We should wake up like a kid on Christmas morning, he says, eager to see what God has for today, because yesterday is gone.
He tells of a college football game on October 7, 1916, when Georgia Tech beat Cumberland 222 to nothing. Midway through the first half, a Cumberland back fumbled and yelled at a teammate to pick it up. The teammate shouted back, “You dropped it, you pick it up.” Sometimes we feel that defeated and do not even want the ball. Don’t lose heart, he says. But we will reap a harvest in due season if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).
Pastor Paul Hohman on the Fourth Man in the Fire
The closing story is Daniel 3, which Pastor Paul Hohman reads in full. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Daniel’s friends, served on King Nebuchadnezzar’s leadership team. The king set up a gold image about ninety feet tall and commanded all his officials to bow when the music played, or be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. Everyone bowed except these three.
Other officials, jealous of the favor they had, accused them. Nebuchadnezzar got right in their faces: who is the god who will deliver you from my hands? As Christians, Pastor Paul says, we cannot let fear intimidate us. He quotes Dr. Hohman: what we compromise to gain, we ultimately lose in the end.
The three men answered, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.” And if not, they still would not serve his gods. Pastor Paul loves that “but if not”: if this is the end, they would rather be with God than compromise. That, he says, has to be our mentality if we are going to not lose heart.
The furnace was heated seven times hotter, and the flames killed the soldiers who threw them in. Then the astonished king asked whether they had not cast three men bound into the fire. He said, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” God is with us, Pastor Paul says, even when we do not see or feel Him. If you are going to doubt, doubt your doubts.
The men came out with no singed hair, unharmed garments and no smell of smoke. Their bonds were gone; whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36). The king blessed their God and promoted them. Pastor Paul then shares his family’s story: in 1980 it was prophesied that Merrill would be saved, and in 1986 Dr. Hohman came, pioneered the church and was publicly opposed. Pastor Paul says he grew up with it: rocks through the car windows and doors broken in, yet Dr. Hohman would not stop. He reports that Dr. Hohman has seen three people raised from the dead.
What Satan means for harm, he says, God turns for good. You were put on this planet with purpose: to lay hands on the sick, to be fishers of men and to know the God of the universe. He closes with Isaiah 41:10: fear not, for I am with you; I will strengthen you and uphold you with My righteous right hand.
When You Feel Like Quitting
In his closing prayer, Pastor Paul asks God to breathe His breath of life into anyone whose fire has been turned up, and to help them not lose heart. Here are practical steps from this message by Pastor Paul Hohman:
- Name who God is. When stress hits, declare Him as your peace, strength and healer instead of rehearsing the problem.
- Be honest in prayer. Tell God exactly how you feel, then choose to stand on His Word.
- Practice the three keys. Rejoice, keep talking to God through the day, and thank Him in every circumstance.
- Refuse condemnation. When the enemy reminds you of failures, remember that Christ is interceding for you right now.
- Do not compromise under pressure. Like the three Hebrew men, decide in advance that you will not bow, whatever happens.
- Pick the ball back up. Keep doing good and don’t lose heart; the harvest comes to those who do not give up.
Timestamped Outline
- 0:00 Don’t lose heart: God is our peace and strength
- 0:54 In our weakness God is strong; He is our healer
- 2:53 The bus driver who drove to Miami
- 3:43 John 16:33: I have overcome the world
- 4:42 Isaiah 40:28–31
- 6:46 Be real with God
- 8:36 Wings like eagles; diamonds from pressure
- 10:32 Gethsemane and the army of the living God
- 12:42 1 Thessalonians 5: rejoice always
- 15:54 Pray without ceasing
- 18:59 Give thanks in all circumstances
- 20:54 Romans 8: nothing can separate us
- 25:14 More than conquerors
- 29:38 The 222 to nothing football game
- 31:58 Daniel 3: the golden image
- 36:38 Do not let fear intimidate you
- 38:39 But if not
- 41:43 Four men loose in the fire
- 44:39 The fire had no power: the Merrill story
- 49:05 Isaiah 41:10 and closing prayer
Don’t Lose Heart Series
This is the first of two messages on not losing heart. Continue with the next teaching:
- You are here: Don’t Lose Heart, Part 1: Hope That Renews Your Strength — Pastor Paul Hohman
- Next: Don’t Lose Heart, Part 2: The Ministry of Reconciliation Every Believer Carries
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it a lack of faith to tell God I’m struggling?
No. Pastor Paul says it is okay to be real with God. He already knows every thought before you think it, and He wants you to come to Him anyway. You do not need formal language. You can tell Him life feels like one thing after another, ask for help and strength to endure, and then choose to stand on His Word. That honesty is a step of faith, not a failure of it.
Why would Jesus need to intercede for us?
Pastor Paul Hohman explains that Jesus lived in the same flesh we do. He was stressed, pressured and felt weak, so He knows what we are going through. Romans 8 says He is at the right hand of God interceding for us, which means He is believing with us and for us before the Father. When we feel weak, we can stand in agreement with what He is already praying.
What if God doesn’t deliver me the way I hope?
Pastor Paul points to the answer of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: our God is able to deliver us, but if not, we still will not bow. He calls that the right mentality. We trust God’s faithfulness either way, refuse to compromise, and stay excited about what He will do, because He is with us in the fire even when we cannot see Him.
Scripture References
All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:
- Isaiah 40:28–31 — those who wait on the Lord renew their strength
- John 16:33 — I have overcome the world
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 — rejoice, pray, give thanks
- Luke 11:9–13 — ask, seek, knock
- Romans 8:31–39 — nothing can separate us
- Galatians 6:9 — do not grow weary
- Daniel 3 — the fiery furnace
- Isaiah 41:10 — fear not, for I am with you
How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.
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