Arresting Anxiousness (Dr. Dharius Daniels)

0:00:01.560 --> 0:00:02.800 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.800 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:07.760 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:10.680 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:12.880 Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:13.600 in your life. 0:00:13.880 --> 0:00:20.599 Enjoy the message. So honored to be here today. 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:23.440 I want to just first of all, pause and just 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:27.440 say what's up to everybody at every locations, to the 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:30.360 people on a location in Mars, the people on the 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:35.720 location in Jupiter. But if you are just blessed by 0:00:36.000 --> 0:00:38.760 and grateful for all that God's doing in your church, 0:00:38.920 --> 0:00:45.159 come on, thank God for that. And certainly we just 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:50.320 recognize and just express public appreciation to one of by 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:56.400 far the greatest leaders and greatest teachers of scripture in 0:00:56.520 --> 0:01:02.440 the universe, my friend and my brother, Pastor Steven Ferdieckt. 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:04.000 Come on, let's thank God for him. 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:09.880 Everybody man, so honored to be here. If it's okay, 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:12.080 I want to get right into our lesson and our 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:15.679 time together on today, and I want to share something 0:01:15.680 --> 0:01:20.000 with you that really got starred in my heart. Late summer, 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:23.839 I was attending an event. It's a father son dinner 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:26.119 that my son's school has every year that. 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:28.280 The football coach hosts just for dads. 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:35.200 And while we were there and my son's last year, 0:01:35.240 --> 0:01:38.039 he's this son's a high school senior and it was 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:39.240 a last one, and so. 0:01:40.880 --> 0:01:42.880 Shout out. He's committed to play football next year. 0:01:43.000 --> 0:01:45.360 Syracuse. They got a big win last night. Shout out 0:01:45.360 --> 0:01:49.640 to Syracuse. But there's a point in the dinner where 0:01:49.640 --> 0:01:52.520 the coach acts the son to leave, and it talks 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:55.680 to the dads, and it talks to us about trends 0:01:56.040 --> 0:02:01.000 he's seeing in our well in our and people who 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.880 are on the team, to give us some insight on 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:07.360 areas we might need to lean into as parents. 0:02:07.400 --> 0:02:09.280 And one of the things that he said. 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:13.280 To me stuck out, it leaped in my heart, if 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:17.160 you will, And he said, he is seeing this trend 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:22.440 of anxiousness. He said, they're saying it so much in 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:27.799 schools that the head of the school made. 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.919 A specific book required reading. 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:32.760 It was called the Anxiest Generation or something like that, 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:37.680 made it require reading for every faculty member of the school. 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:40.480 And I sat back and I just didn't hear it. Parentally, 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:45.080 I heard it pastorally. I said, that's not happening in 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:52.160 the schoolhouse, that's happening in our houses. And how many 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:57.680 know God's Word has an answer to address any and 0:02:57.880 --> 0:03:02.040 every issue we may find ourselves face. And so I 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:05.560 went on this journey to search the scriptures to see 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:08.040 what God's Word had to say about this issue, and 0:03:08.080 --> 0:03:12.760 have just finished walking our church through a journey found 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:14.440 right in this one passage I'm going to be sharing 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:17.400 with you today. It is a brief portion of the 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:20.880 Apostle Paul's letter to believers in Philippi the Book of Philippians, 0:03:21.240 --> 0:03:24.959 chapter four, and here's what he says. In beginning at 0:03:25.080 --> 0:03:28.519 verse four, he says, rejoice in the Lord always. 0:03:29.320 --> 0:03:29.920 I will say it. 0:03:29.919 --> 0:03:34.800 Again, Rejoice, Let your gentleness be evident to all. The 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:41.400 Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. I'm 0:03:41.400 --> 0:03:43.040 gonna read that one more time. I thought I was 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:52.960 at elevation. Do not be anxious about anything, but in 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:59.560 every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:03.920 recques us to God. Here's the promise attached to that principle, 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:09.520 and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding. 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:11.440 What will it do? 0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:16.120 It will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 0:04:16.839 --> 0:04:21.679 Now after you've done that, he says, finally, brothers and sisters, 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:28.480 whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely, 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:34.719 whatever's admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about 0:04:35.320 --> 0:04:39.320 such things. I want to stop the reading of Scripture there, 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:41.360 and I want to talk from this subject in our 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:44.080 time together. Very simply, I want to talk from the 0:04:44.120 --> 0:04:52.920 subject arresting anxiousness. Arresting anxiousness, family. I want to start 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:55.800 this teaching with a question. It's a simple question for 0:04:55.920 --> 0:05:00.520 your reflection, and the question is simply this. If you 0:05:00.560 --> 0:05:03.400 were to barricade yourself in a room with the Bible 0:05:04.400 --> 0:05:08.640 and explore and examine all the instructions that God offers 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:15.760 from Genesis to Revelation, what would you see that God 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:24.920 says more more than anything else in Scripture? In other words, 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:29.080 what is the most common command given to humans from 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:37.360 God all throughout the pages of Holy Scripture. The answer 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:43.440 to this question is revealed in two simple, yet significant words. 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:47.600 The thing that God says more than anything else in 0:05:48.040 --> 0:05:56.240 Scripture is two words fear not. Some iteration or some 0:05:56.520 --> 0:06:02.839 variation of this command is found over three hundred times 0:06:02.880 --> 0:06:09.520 in Scripture over three hundred times. In some way, in 0:06:09.560 --> 0:06:15.559 some iteration, God says, fear not, don't be afraid, calm down, 0:06:16.160 --> 0:06:21.560 chill out, breathe, drink some water, drink some coffee, take 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:26.960 a walk. Over three hundred times, God in some way 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:34.120 communicates to his people to fear not. And the frequency 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:37.760 of this instruction is an indication and a revelation of something. 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:40.800 If God says something a lot, it's not because he 0:06:40.880 --> 0:06:43.039 needs to say it a lot. It's because we need 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:49.080 to hear it a lot. And so the fact that 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:54.599 this command is communicated so frequently isn't necessarily saying something 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:58.080 about God. It is saying something about us. It is 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:04.000 an indication and a revelation of the human orientation toward anxiousness. 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:12.960 Anxiousness a feeling of inner unrest and worried that is 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:16.720 fueled by the fear of outcomes we may never experience. 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:22.480 It is an emotional thief that robs us of today's 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:28.120 peace in anticipation of tomorrow's problems. Can I read that 0:07:28.160 --> 0:07:33.320 one more time? Anxiousness? It is a feeling of inner 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:38.480 unrest and worry that is fueled by the fear of 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:40.960 outcomes we may never experience. 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:43.840 It is an emotional. 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:48.760 Thief that robs us of today's peace in anticipation of 0:07:48.800 --> 0:07:52.920 tomorrow's problems. Let me reframe this. Not just rephrase this, 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:54.240 Let me reframe this. 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:55.160 It is an. 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:58.600 Emotional thief that is significant to some of us because 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:01.960 you're familiar with the state that Jesus made in John 0:08:02.040 --> 0:08:04.600 ten ten when he talks about the part of his 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:08.480 mission when he says, the thief comes to steal, kill, 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:11.520 and destroy, But I've come that you may. 0:08:11.400 --> 0:08:13.239 Have life and have it to the full. 0:08:13.440 --> 0:08:17.760 The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:20.640 The thief comes only to steal. 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:24.720 And so the thief has instruments that he uses to 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:25.760 steal and to. 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:28.600 Rob believers of that which. 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:32.320 God wants them to possess. And what is one spiritual 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:36.760 asset and emotional asset that God wants every believer to possess. 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:40.880 It is the asset of peace. And whatever God gives, 0:08:40.920 --> 0:08:44.000 the enemy wants to steal. And one of the ways 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:47.480 he steals this emotional and spiritual. 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:52.160 Asset of peace is by using a weapon called anxiousness. 0:08:55.800 --> 0:09:00.440 It is a feeling of inner unrest and worry that 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:04.640 is fueled by the fear of outcomes. We may never experience. 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:13.640 It's wasted worry. It's losing sleep over something that might happen. 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:20.200 It's losing joy over something that might happen, and more 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:27.040 often than not, doesn't even happen. A feeling of inner 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:30.000 unrest and worry that's fueled by the fear of outcomes 0:09:30.080 --> 0:09:33.240 we may never experience. It's an emotional thief that robs 0:09:33.320 --> 0:09:36.880 us of today's peace and anticipation of tomorrow's problems. And 0:09:37.000 --> 0:09:41.000 this family, if we're understand objective, is an emotional epidemic 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:43.520 that has become a social norm. 0:09:44.000 --> 0:09:45.719 And although it is normal for. 0:09:45.720 --> 0:09:48.520 Those in culture, it does not have to be normal 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:53.760 for those of us in the Kingdom. I'm not saying 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:57.240 those of us in the Kingdom won't have anxiousness. I'm 0:09:57.280 --> 0:09:59.600 saying those of us in the Kingdom can live in 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:03.680 a way where anxiousness doesn't have us pastor how can 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:06.439 you say this? I can say this with confidence because 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:10.320 I eavedrop on a conversation. Eavedropped on a conversation that 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:13.120 the apostle Paul was having with a group of believers 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:16.160 in northern Greece in a place called Philippi. And as 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:19.880 I was eavesdropping on this conversation. I read something Paul 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:26.000 said in verse six. He tells believers be anxious for nothing. 0:10:26.679 --> 0:10:30.000 In other words, don't be anxious about anything. Watch what 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:34.079 he's saying here, because remember, he's writing two believers. Now, 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:38.719 he's writing two believers. Now, he's writing two believers. 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:39.040 Now. 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:43.560 He loves everybody, but he's writing this to believers. This 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:47.720 is a letter that was circulated among believers. This is 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:51.520 a promise he's making to believers. Watch what he says 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:54.880 to them. He says, don't be anxious about anything. He's 0:10:54.960 --> 0:10:58.400 not saying that there is nothing to fear. He's saying 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:02.280 that you don't have to be afraid. Did you hear 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:06.040 what I just said. Okay, he's not saying that there's 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:10.320 nothing to be anxious about, but he's saying you, as 0:11:10.320 --> 0:11:12.800 a believer, don't have to be anxious. 0:11:13.200 --> 0:11:13.520 Yes. 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:18.239 This is an indication of the principle of exceptions. 0:11:18.480 --> 0:11:20.959 And the principle of exception simply. 0:11:20.600 --> 0:11:23.960 Suggests that what happens with them does not dictate and 0:11:24.000 --> 0:11:26.800 determine what happens with me. I'm gonna say that one 0:11:26.800 --> 0:11:30.400 more time. What happens with them does not dictate and 0:11:30.480 --> 0:11:35.160 determine what happens with me. This is not exceptionalism. He's 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:38.880 not saying you're better than This is exceptionism. He's saying 0:11:39.000 --> 0:11:42.679 you're different from. So in other words, don't look at 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.800 what has happened with others and come to a conclusion 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:49.480 of what can happen with you, because what happened with 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:53.840 them does not dictate and determine what happens with me. 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:58.720 Because all throughout Scripture we see examples of God making 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:04.200 his people exceptions. People do not go in a fiery 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:08.360 furnace and come out of it and not smell like smoke. 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:13.920 But with the Hebrew boys, God made an exception. 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:18.440 People don't go in a lions then with hungry lions 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:22.480 and come out not chewed up and consume. But with 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:28.520 Daniel God made an exception. People do not walk around 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:31.680 a wall once a day for seven days and then 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:33.920 seven times on the seventh day. 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:36.679 Scream at a wall and a wall fall. 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:41.080 But with Joshua and the walls of Jericho, God made 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:45.800 an exception. A shepherd boy who writes poems does not 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:50.160 take a slingshot with a rock and defeat a nine 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:57.280 foot tall Philistine giant named Goliath, But with David, God 0:12:57.760 --> 0:13:02.200 made an exception, and dead men don't go in a grave, 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:07.920 stay there three days and early Sunday morning, get up 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:12.560 out of the grave. But with Jesus, God made an exception. 0:13:13.160 --> 0:13:15.200 And if he can do it for Daniel, if he 0:13:15.240 --> 0:13:17.360 can do it for the Hebrew boys, if he can 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:20.120 do it for David, if he can do it for Jesus, 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.240 he can do it for you. Do I have any 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:29.360 exceptions in the house today? 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:34.640 It's the principle of exception. 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:38.760 He's saying, what happens with others doesn't have to dictate 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:43.199 and determine what happens for you. He's not telling them 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.600 to deny their circumstances, but he is saying, as a believer, 0:13:46.800 --> 0:13:51.400 you can deny its influence because anxiousness isn't just a 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:54.800 result of what you're in. Anxiousness is a result of 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:59.360 how we allow what we're in to influence us. And 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:03.400 so Paul I love this because Paul is practical. 0:14:03.480 --> 0:14:08.200 He's a practitioner. He teach. He teaches in a way 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:09.839 that you're familiar. 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:11.640 With at a church like this, where you have a 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:15.280 pastor who teaches biblical truth but then builds a bridge 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:17.640 from biblical truth to everyday life. 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:19.240 Yeah, you used to this. 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:22.920 You don't just get Sunday messages here, you get Monday 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:26.520 messages here, pastor what's a Monday message? It's a message 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:29.280 out here on Sunday that I can use on Monday. 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:32.840 Yeah. This is the kind of practitioner Paul was. 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:36.560 So he doesn't just tell them they don't have to 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:43.280 be arrested by anxiousness. He tells them how to actually 0:14:43.320 --> 0:14:51.520 put anxiousness under arrest. It's one thing to hear that 0:14:51.680 --> 0:14:55.720 it's possible to arrest anxiousness. It's another thing to be 0:14:55.880 --> 0:15:01.040 taught on how to arrest anxiousness. And in this letter, 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:06.200 Paul doesn't just tell them what's possible. Paul offers them 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:10.320 a pathway. And I just want to know, is it 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:15.360 okay if I share with you what Paul shared with them, 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:20.880 so that we too can have a pathway to arrest anxiousness. 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:22.840 I'm gonna say that. 0:15:23.880 --> 0:15:26.840 Do you want me to share with you what Paul 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:29.560 shared with them on. 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:30.280 How to arrest? 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.000 Do you want me to share with you now what 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:38.280 Paul shared with Okay? It's it's interesting here because when 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:42.400 you read the letter, there seems to be four areas 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:47.600 in the text where Paul shows them where they have 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:52.760 to make adjustments if they want to put anxiousness under arrest. 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:59.400 That arresting anxiousness requires making adjustments. And I see four 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:04.200 areas here that Paul gives them instruction in that if 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:07.120 we lean into that can aid and assist us in 0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:07.880 this as well. 0:16:08.120 --> 0:16:09.240 Here's number one. 0:16:09.920 --> 0:16:13.960 If they're going to arrest their anxiousness, they have to 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:16.200 adjust their perception. 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:21.800 What do I mean by that? 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:27.520 Anxiousness doesn't come from what we see, but anxiousness comes 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:32.760 from how we see Here? Did you hear what I 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:37.560 just said? It's not what we see, it's how we 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:42.480 see it. Anxiousness isn't necessarily tied. 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:45.560 To an event or an experience. 0:16:46.400 --> 0:16:51.600 Anxiousness is tied to our interpretation of what it means. 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:58.480 And I see the importance of this not just in 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:02.920 what Paul says, but where Paul was when he said it. 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:09.840 I told you who he wrote this letter to, did 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:12.480 or not? He wrote this letter to a group of 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:15.280 believers in northern Greece in a place called Philippi, But 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:18.000 I didn't tell you where he was when he wrote it. 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:28.000 He was actually in prison in Rome. This is a 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:29.280 prison epistle. 0:17:30.520 --> 0:17:33.640 So here is here we have a man who. 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:38.479 Is locked up practically, who's writing to other people helping 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:44.000 them get free. Emotionally, he is in prison. His future 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:48.960 is unclear. He is unsure yet at the same time 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:54.159 he's experiencing this event of imprisonment. But the fact that 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:57.960 he's writing this letter lets us know he's not interpreting 0:17:58.000 --> 0:17:59.720 this event the way. 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:00.720 Others would interpret it. 0:18:01.119 --> 0:18:05.600 Because if anxiousness had him, he would only be able 0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:07.119 to think about him. 0:18:07.560 --> 0:18:09.919 He wouldn't be able to think about others. 0:18:10.240 --> 0:18:14.200 So even if he had some anxiousness, the anxiousness didn't 0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:14.920 have him. 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:18.560 It didn't arrest him. He arrested it. 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:21.679 And we know that because he's able to think about 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:26.280 setting other people free when he himself was in this 0:18:26.400 --> 0:18:30.479 prison predicament why he's not unaccustomed to being in prison, 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:37.320 which means he has enough experience to say, I'm in 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:40.560 what I'm in, but it doesn't mean what other people 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:44.040 think it means. I'm gonna say that one more time. 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:47.439 I'm in what I'm in, but it doesn't mean what 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:51.359 other people think it means. See, sometimes an anxiousness doesn't 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:52.400 come from what we're in. 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:54.919 It comes from what we think it means. 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:57.760 But I want to tell you, no matter what you're in, 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:02.280 it may not mean what you think it means. You 0:19:02.359 --> 0:19:05.960 may be facing a red sea and you may think 0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:09.000 it means it's the end. But what looks like a 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:14.320 breakdown is getting ready to become a breakthrough. Just because 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:17.639 you're in what you're in doesn't mean it means what 0:19:17.720 --> 0:19:20.840 you think it means. Get In was facing an army 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:24.360 of thousands, and he only had an army of three hundred, 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:28.320 but it didn't mean what other people thought it would mean. 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:31.400 And I want to tell you that sometimes anxiousness isn't 0:19:31.440 --> 0:19:36.600 the event. Anxiousness comes as a result of our interpretation 0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:42.280 of what we think it means. So if I want 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:49.159 to arrest anxiousness, I gotta adjust my perception because it's 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:53.120 not just what I see, it's how I see it. 0:19:55.280 --> 0:19:58.119 Did you hear what I just said? It's not just 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:01.600 what I see, it's how I see. And sometimes we're 0:20:01.640 --> 0:20:06.720 coming to conclusions about what we think a crisis means. 0:20:07.400 --> 0:20:11.320 When God is a god that redeems the meaning. 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:15.880 Have you ever been in a season in the present 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:19.400 where you were crying tears of pain and then you 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:22.400 live and you move into the future, and you look 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:26.000 back on that thing, and the thing that you were 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:30.400 crying tears of pain about are now things you are 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:34.960 crying tears of joy about. Because cure car God says 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:39.760 life is lived forward, but understood backwards, because. 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:41.000 God can change the meaning. 0:20:41.440 --> 0:20:44.160 Is this not possibly what Paul meant when he wrote 0:20:44.160 --> 0:20:47.840 in Romans eighth, chapter number twenty eight, and God will 0:20:47.880 --> 0:20:52.000 work all things together for our good. 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:58.920 It's not just what you see, it's how you see it. 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:07.119 And Charles Spurgeon says, every physical miracle can be seen 0:21:07.160 --> 0:21:12.639 as a metaphor for a spiritual miracle. And maybe the 0:21:12.760 --> 0:21:18.080 miracle we need spiritually to address our anxiousness is for 0:21:18.200 --> 0:21:29.199 God to heal our blind eyes. Maybe the issue is 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:35.400 not what I'm seeing, but how I see. But that's 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:38.840 not the only thing I see. In the text, Paul 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:42.359 doesn't just share with them that if they want to 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:46.520 arrest their anxiousness, they need to adjust their perception. 0:21:47.520 --> 0:21:49.000 Paul also shares. 0:21:50.359 --> 0:21:54.720 If they want to arrest their anxiousness, they need to 0:21:54.760 --> 0:21:56.680 adjust their praise. 0:21:58.240 --> 0:21:59.040 Pastor way you see. 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:04.880 It's in the text, he says in verse seven, Here 0:22:05.400 --> 0:22:07.240 watch what he excuse me, he says in verse four, 0:22:07.560 --> 0:22:15.640 he says, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, 0:22:15.800 --> 0:22:20.040 or say it again, rejoice. Paul is encouraging them. Watch this, 0:22:20.600 --> 0:22:23.560 rejoicing the Lord always and again I say rejoice. He 0:22:23.680 --> 0:22:29.239 is encouraging them to engage in a spiritual discipline, the 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:35.959 practice of gratitude. Did you hear what I just said? There, 0:22:36.440 --> 0:22:39.520 rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice. And 0:22:39.520 --> 0:22:42.400 he didn't just say rejoice periodically. He didn't just say 0:22:42.400 --> 0:22:46.240 rejoice sometimes. He didn't just say rejoice on Thanksgiving. He says, 0:22:46.280 --> 0:22:48.240 rejoice in the Lord always. 0:22:48.800 --> 0:22:49.159 Rejoice. 0:22:49.200 --> 0:22:51.240 He didn't say rejoice when God gives you what you are. 0:22:51.520 --> 0:22:53.840 He didn't say rejoice when God comes through at the 0:22:53.840 --> 0:22:56.480 timeline that you've set for God to come through. But 0:22:56.560 --> 0:23:00.280 he says, rejoice in the Lord always. He's encouraging them 0:23:00.320 --> 0:23:05.760 to make this a practice, a spiritual discipline, and spiritual 0:23:05.760 --> 0:23:08.320 disciplines of what we call means of grace. 0:23:10.240 --> 0:23:11.560 What does that Passadarius? 0:23:12.560 --> 0:23:16.639 God chooses what God uses to give us what we 0:23:16.720 --> 0:23:17.400 don't deserve. 0:23:20.080 --> 0:23:21.320 That's a means of grace. 0:23:22.160 --> 0:23:26.800 Grace is unearned, unmerited right, undeserved. Favor is when God 0:23:27.160 --> 0:23:30.320 gives us what we don't deserve. Does that make sense? 0:23:30.920 --> 0:23:33.439 I say, does that make sense, okay. So a means 0:23:33.440 --> 0:23:37.199 of grace is something that God chooses to use to 0:23:37.359 --> 0:23:42.439 give us what we don't deserve, and God chooses what 0:23:42.640 --> 0:23:50.399 God uses to give us what we don't deserve. What's 0:23:50.440 --> 0:23:53.440 an example of a spiritual discipline. It means of grace, prayer. 0:23:58.119 --> 0:24:00.600 God says, there's some things I won't do if you 0:24:00.640 --> 0:24:04.639 don't ask. Now, whatever I do for you, it's grace. 0:24:04.720 --> 0:24:07.600 You don't deserve it, but I choose what I use 0:24:07.960 --> 0:24:13.200 to give you what you don't deserve. And some people 0:24:13.280 --> 0:24:22.640 miss grace because they won't follow the means. And gratitude 0:24:22.960 --> 0:24:29.320 or what the Bible calls praise is a means of grace. 0:24:31.640 --> 0:24:36.360 I'm gonna say that one more time. Gratitude or what 0:24:36.440 --> 0:24:40.720 the Bible calls praise is a means of grace. 0:24:41.600 --> 0:24:44.400 So when we see books of the Bible, like. 0:24:44.480 --> 0:24:49.960 Songs dedicated to saying praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, 0:24:50.640 --> 0:24:53.440 and then we see contained in the book we see 0:24:53.520 --> 0:24:58.560 instruction that addresses internal objections. What's an internal objection? It's 0:24:58.600 --> 0:25:03.080 an objection you have internally in church that you don't vocalize. 0:25:03.840 --> 0:25:07.200 So some people say things like it's not my personality. 0:25:08.040 --> 0:25:10.399 So David says, okay, since some people are going to 0:25:10.440 --> 0:25:12.119 say it's not my personality, let. 0:25:11.960 --> 0:25:13.399 Me give you all these ways to do it. 0:25:15.240 --> 0:25:17.359 Clap your hands, I'm not a clapper. Lift your hands, 0:25:17.359 --> 0:25:19.720 I'm not a lifter. Lay prostrate, I'm not a layer. 0:25:19.800 --> 0:25:21.639 Praise them in a dance. I'm not a dancer. And 0:25:21.680 --> 0:25:23.680 then the bid believer says, the Lord's in this holy tipo, 0:25:23.760 --> 0:25:26.439 let all the earth keeps silent before him. Everybody's not 0:25:26.480 --> 0:25:29.080 gonna do the same thing, but everybody should do something, 0:25:29.359 --> 0:25:33.280 because there's something for everybody to do in the scriptures. 0:25:36.280 --> 0:25:38.800 So this is not it is not like a warm 0:25:38.920 --> 0:25:40.560 up in church for the sermon. 0:25:41.080 --> 0:25:44.000 Is It is not some some this. 0:25:44.040 --> 0:25:48.120 Spiritual discipline reserve for a specific stream of Christianity. 0:25:48.440 --> 0:25:51.400 It is something that God has mandated. 0:25:51.440 --> 0:25:55.159 It is actually the only spiritual discipline that will exist 0:25:55.160 --> 0:25:59.400 in eternity, the only oh mynd that you won't need 0:25:59.440 --> 0:26:01.960 to pray in heaven. Come on, you don't need to 0:26:02.040 --> 0:26:05.080 study the scripture in heaven, but there will be worshiped 0:26:05.280 --> 0:26:12.400 in heaven. There will be praise in heaven. So it's 0:26:12.440 --> 0:26:18.560 not some emotional exercise. It's not some anti intellectual exercise. 0:26:19.119 --> 0:26:22.840 It's a means of grace. God says, this is something 0:26:22.920 --> 0:26:26.240 I choose to use to give you what you don't deserve. 0:26:27.080 --> 0:26:30.600 What does praise give me? Praise doesn't get me things 0:26:30.600 --> 0:26:40.720 from him. Praise gets me him. Praise doesn't just get 0:26:40.720 --> 0:26:46.359 me gifts from God. Praise gets me God the gift. 0:26:49.000 --> 0:26:52.000 It gets me him. I said, it gets me him. 0:26:52.800 --> 0:26:56.600 David says he dwells some twenty two three, he dwells, 0:26:57.040 --> 0:26:59.960 or he tabernacles in the midst of my prayer. 0:27:00.760 --> 0:27:01.680 What is he saying here? 0:27:01.960 --> 0:27:06.000 He's not coming against or he's not contradicting this idea 0:27:06.280 --> 0:27:08.159 of God being everywhere. 0:27:07.680 --> 0:27:08.480 At the same time. 0:27:08.560 --> 0:27:11.640 Yes, God is omnipresent, He's everywhere at the same time. 0:27:11.960 --> 0:27:17.200 But praise takes God from omnipresent to manifest presence. Okay, 0:27:17.400 --> 0:27:22.359 what does that mean you? We just had Thanksgiving, right, 0:27:22.880 --> 0:27:27.679 and it was great for all of y'all extroverts, but 0:27:27.800 --> 0:27:31.000 for some of us ambi averts and introverts. After a 0:27:31.000 --> 0:27:34.400 while it got a lot, so we had to duck 0:27:34.440 --> 0:27:38.440 off for a minute. Right, We had to go upstairs 0:27:38.440 --> 0:27:41.760 for a minute, get some a long time to recharge 0:27:41.800 --> 0:27:47.360 so we could go back out and engage. Come on, now, if. 0:27:47.160 --> 0:27:50.000 I did that. I didn't. Yeah, I did. But I 0:27:51.960 --> 0:27:53.359 was in my house the whole time. 0:27:58.400 --> 0:28:00.600 So if everybody was in the living and I was 0:28:00.600 --> 0:28:03.080 in the living room, right and then I leave and 0:28:03.119 --> 0:28:05.280 I go to my bedroom, I'm still in the house. 0:28:06.800 --> 0:28:11.800 I'm just not manifest. And there are certain things you 0:28:11.840 --> 0:28:16.280 don't get unless I'm manifest. If you want to know 0:28:16.280 --> 0:28:18.720 where something in the house is, and I'm the only 0:28:18.720 --> 0:28:21.320 one that has the answer, you don't get that answer 0:28:21.760 --> 0:28:25.000 just by me being in the house. You only get 0:28:25.000 --> 0:28:29.480 that answer when I'm manifest, when I show up, when 0:28:29.520 --> 0:28:33.240 I come in the room. And what praise does is 0:28:33.359 --> 0:28:37.600 praise He causes God. It's an invitation for God to 0:28:37.720 --> 0:28:41.800 show up, to come in the room to manifest. And 0:28:41.840 --> 0:28:44.520 I want to know, am I talking to anybody that 0:28:44.600 --> 0:28:48.520 needs God to show up to come in the room 0:28:48.920 --> 0:28:59.959 to manifest. Praise praise is an invitation for the manifest. 0:29:00.000 --> 0:29:03.440 Presence of God. What does this have to do with anxiousness? 0:29:04.440 --> 0:29:04.880 A lot? 0:29:05.960 --> 0:29:11.680 Because God's presence is an automatic eviction of anything that's 0:29:11.760 --> 0:29:16.320 not like him. 0:29:16.400 --> 0:29:17.240 When he come in. 0:29:17.200 --> 0:29:21.880 The room, whatever is not like him has to automatically 0:29:21.880 --> 0:29:22.320 go out. 0:29:23.280 --> 0:29:28.440 The presence pushes it out. I said, the presence pushes 0:29:28.480 --> 0:29:30.200 it out. I said, the. 0:29:30.080 --> 0:29:34.960 Presence will push anxiousness out, the presence will push fear out, 0:29:35.320 --> 0:29:39.320 the presence will push despair out. The presence of God 0:29:39.560 --> 0:29:42.560 is an automatic eviction of anything that's not like him. 0:29:42.800 --> 0:29:46.040 David put it this way. David said in Psalms sixteen eleven, 0:29:46.200 --> 0:29:48.480 you make known to me the path of life, you 0:29:48.560 --> 0:29:55.440 will fill me with joy. Where in your presence it 0:29:55.560 --> 0:30:00.760 is a temporary eviction of whatever it is not liking. 0:30:01.720 --> 0:30:05.000 Have you noticed, when you're in the presence, you're not 0:30:05.280 --> 0:30:12.480 in worry. Have you noticed when you're in the presence, 0:30:12.840 --> 0:30:14.520 you're not in anxiousness? 0:30:16.280 --> 0:30:17.640 So now it makes sense. 0:30:17.720 --> 0:30:20.400 While Paul told believers in PHILIPPI, don't just do this 0:30:20.400 --> 0:30:24.640 on Sunday, because if you only do this on Sunday, 0:30:24.880 --> 0:30:27.680 the only relief you'll have is Sunday. 0:30:29.320 --> 0:30:32.160 And God won't just show up. Watch this. 0:30:32.480 --> 0:30:35.320 God shows up not to spaces. He shows up in 0:30:35.320 --> 0:30:39.960 response to sounds. So wherever you release the sound, he'll 0:30:39.960 --> 0:30:43.720 show up. If you release it in the kitchen, he'll 0:30:43.720 --> 0:30:47.480 come in there. If you release it in your car, 0:30:47.520 --> 0:30:50.360 he'll come in there. If you release it in the closet, 0:30:50.400 --> 0:30:53.160 he'll come in there. If you release it in the bedroom, 0:30:53.200 --> 0:30:55.600 he'll come in there. If you walk in the breakroom 0:30:55.600 --> 0:30:57.120 at the office, he'll come in there. 0:30:57.400 --> 0:30:59.480 If you go to the restroom, he'll come in there, 0:31:00.080 --> 0:31:00.880 he'll show up. 0:31:00.920 --> 0:31:04.160 Whatever the sound of praise is released. 0:31:04.760 --> 0:31:11.600 It's a spiritual discipline. Am I making sense? 0:31:13.120 --> 0:31:15.200 See people who are wired like me, who are not 0:31:15.240 --> 0:31:17.160 necessarily expressive or emotive. 0:31:18.560 --> 0:31:19.760 I had to see this this. 0:31:19.760 --> 0:31:24.080 Way because if not, it just felt like people who 0:31:24.160 --> 0:31:27.440 had certain personalities, where people who practice the spiritual discipline. 0:31:27.480 --> 0:31:30.920 When everybody's supposed to practice this spiritual discipline, regardless of 0:31:30.960 --> 0:31:34.680 your personality, and there are ways in scripture that give 0:31:34.840 --> 0:31:38.120 everybody a way to practice this, everybody won't do it 0:31:38.160 --> 0:31:40.400 the same way. So all of those ways in scripture 0:31:40.400 --> 0:31:43.360 that cause spiritual temperaments, all of these ways to worship 0:31:43.360 --> 0:31:46.200 in scripture are not because everybody's supposed to do everything 0:31:46.360 --> 0:31:50.560 is because there's something for everybody. 0:31:51.280 --> 0:31:54.120 Because what I need is the presence. 0:31:59.480 --> 0:32:03.160 And Paul's just saying this like conceptually, he's saying this 0:32:03.240 --> 0:32:07.920 experientially because in the Book of Acts he's on a 0:32:07.920 --> 0:32:10.000 missionary journey and one of the places he ends up 0:32:10.080 --> 0:32:13.000 is in Philippi. He takes a partner in ministry with 0:32:13.080 --> 0:32:16.480 him named Silas, and they began to engage in ministry, 0:32:16.920 --> 0:32:19.920 and as a result of engaging in ministry, they free 0:32:19.960 --> 0:32:23.160 They performed this exercise of spiritual liberation, and they free 0:32:23.480 --> 0:32:26.520 this young lady from this evil spirit. And as a 0:32:26.520 --> 0:32:30.640 result of that, him and Silas end up in prison. Now, 0:32:30.640 --> 0:32:35.000 I grew up in Kill Michael, Mississippi, the Mount Alive 0:32:35.120 --> 0:32:39.920 Missionary Baptist Church. We had Sunday school vacation. Some of 0:32:39.960 --> 0:32:43.400 you're too young for that vacation. Bible school is just 0:32:43.480 --> 0:32:46.160 Bible store's Bible Store. And I remember this one because 0:32:46.200 --> 0:32:49.800 the Sunday school teacher would always start with this phrase. 0:32:50.200 --> 0:32:54.520 And at midnight, Paul and Silas. 0:32:56.600 --> 0:33:01.000 Prayed and saying praise this unto God and the Bible says, 0:33:01.200 --> 0:33:04.520 And suddenly when they were praising, that was a great 0:33:04.560 --> 0:33:10.040 earthquake and the prison doors were opened, and immediately everyone's 0:33:10.120 --> 0:33:11.040 bands were loose. 0:33:11.640 --> 0:33:13.440 So they got free physically. 0:33:14.040 --> 0:33:18.600 But the metaphor applies to us spiritually and emotionally. Just 0:33:18.680 --> 0:33:21.880 like their chains fell off because of the presence, there 0:33:21.880 --> 0:33:25.080 are some chains on us that will fall off because 0:33:25.080 --> 0:33:25.880 of the presence. 0:33:26.320 --> 0:33:28.760 And I want to know, is there anybody in the 0:33:28.920 --> 0:33:30.360 room today. 0:33:30.360 --> 0:33:34.080 That's got some things you need to fall off. You 0:33:34.200 --> 0:33:37.840 need fear to fall off, you need anxiousness to fall off. 0:33:37.960 --> 0:33:40.200 Well, let's just take thirteen. 0:33:39.720 --> 0:33:43.600 Seconds and in your own way, let's offer up the 0:33:43.800 --> 0:33:46.880 spiritual exercise of praise. 0:33:56.680 --> 0:34:00.520 Yes, where the spirit of the Lord is there's. 0:34:02.040 --> 0:34:07.560 So it brings his presence, But praise also shifts our perspective. 0:34:09.680 --> 0:34:12.319 There's this phrase in songs, what David says, magnify the 0:34:12.360 --> 0:34:16.920 Lord with me magnifying something. If you use a magnifying glass, 0:34:17.000 --> 0:34:20.160 it doesn't make the thing larger, does it not? In reality, 0:34:20.200 --> 0:34:22.600 it doesn't make it larger. It makes it larger to you, 0:34:28.120 --> 0:34:29.759 did you hear what I just said? If you put 0:34:29.800 --> 0:34:32.200 an ant under a magnifying glass, the ant is the 0:34:32.239 --> 0:34:35.279 ant right, so it doesn't necessarily make it large. 0:34:35.280 --> 0:34:40.520 So I can't make God larger. He's already as large 0:34:40.520 --> 0:34:41.279 as large can be. 0:34:42.000 --> 0:34:45.960 But when I magnify him, it right sizes God in 0:34:46.040 --> 0:34:51.400 my perspective. And sometimes we're struggling with anxiousness, not because 0:34:51.560 --> 0:35:01.280 the problem is too big, your God's too small. Praise 0:35:01.400 --> 0:35:07.680 reminds me of his largeness, of his faithfulness, of his power. 0:35:08.400 --> 0:35:12.160 It requires mindfulness, It requires filling. 0:35:11.920 --> 0:35:15.120 My mind with the goodness of God. 0:35:15.840 --> 0:35:20.399 It requires me going back into my history and reminding 0:35:20.480 --> 0:35:26.920 my soul of his faithfulness. Of how he's never lost 0:35:27.640 --> 0:35:28.240 a battle. 0:35:29.080 --> 0:35:31.000 I thought y'all would be familiar with that one. 0:35:31.520 --> 0:35:36.000 I said, And he's never lost a battle. I want 0:35:36.000 --> 0:35:39.239 you to think about every battle you've been in, and 0:35:39.320 --> 0:35:42.840 every time your back was against the wall, and every 0:35:42.880 --> 0:35:46.160 time you couldn't see your way through and you were 0:35:46.239 --> 0:35:48.920 worried and stressed and anxious. 0:35:49.040 --> 0:35:51.040 But somehow, some way. 0:35:51.280 --> 0:35:56.120 Every single time, God came through and he didn't bring. 0:35:55.840 --> 0:35:57.920 You this far to leave you. 0:35:58.320 --> 0:36:02.320 Now, he never lost the battle, and he never will. 0:36:04.000 --> 0:36:05.840 I said that he never will. 0:36:07.040 --> 0:36:09.160 I said, and he never will. 0:36:19.000 --> 0:36:21.040 I got two more points. But I'm done here. They are. 0:36:23.280 --> 0:36:29.600 I'm done here. They are adjust my prayers, my perception. 0:36:30.320 --> 0:36:37.080 I'm done, adjust my praise, and then three adjust my prayers. 0:36:38.640 --> 0:36:40.800 Where's that at. It's verse six and seven. 0:36:40.880 --> 0:36:43.200 Do not be anxious for anything, but in every situation 0:36:43.719 --> 0:36:44.920 by prayer and petition. 0:36:45.400 --> 0:36:51.000 The word prayer here is a word supplication. That's what 0:36:51.040 --> 0:36:51.480 it means. 0:36:51.920 --> 0:36:54.360 So different types of prayers, right this, prayers of intercession 0:36:54.760 --> 0:36:56.440 where I'm standing in the gap for someone else, Their 0:36:56.440 --> 0:36:59.160 prayers of thanksgiving, I'm not requesting anything. 0:36:59.200 --> 0:37:00.800 I'm just thinking God for what he's done. 0:37:01.080 --> 0:37:07.279 Right, then the prayers of supplication while making a specific request. Now, 0:37:07.320 --> 0:37:12.279 I want you to hear me. It's so important because 0:37:12.320 --> 0:37:16.080 this is an area where for many of us there's 0:37:16.120 --> 0:37:20.359 an unconscious struggle. It's a struggle and we don't even 0:37:20.360 --> 0:37:21.080 know it's a struggle. 0:37:22.200 --> 0:37:22.719 Listen to me. 0:37:23.480 --> 0:37:25.640 The purpose of prayer is not to notify God of 0:37:25.640 --> 0:37:32.520 a need. God's not like I didn't know that. Bible 0:37:32.560 --> 0:37:38.440 says He knows what we need before we ask. So 0:37:38.480 --> 0:37:40.440 why then does the text tell us to make a 0:37:40.480 --> 0:37:45.440 request known to God. The purpose of prayers not to 0:37:45.480 --> 0:37:48.240 notif I God of a need. The purpose of prayer 0:37:48.600 --> 0:37:53.719 is to express our dependency and to remind you that 0:37:53.800 --> 0:38:05.920 you don't have control. I'm done every time I pray. 0:38:06.560 --> 0:38:12.400 Every time I pray, I'm not reminding God of anything. 0:38:13.360 --> 0:38:18.240 I'm reminding me I'm actually not in control. 0:38:19.680 --> 0:38:21.759 And even when I think I'm in control and I 0:38:21.800 --> 0:38:24.719 get comfort from being in control, I'm comforted by an 0:38:24.760 --> 0:38:28.359 illusion because even when I think I'm in. 0:38:28.320 --> 0:38:35.320 Control, I'm not. So prayer frees me from the illusion 0:38:36.920 --> 0:38:44.800 that I can control what I can't do. It's God 0:38:45.480 --> 0:38:46.040 you're God. 0:38:46.360 --> 0:38:51.480 I'm not, and some of my anxiousness it's because I'm 0:38:51.480 --> 0:39:02.480 trying to play your role. I want to control. I 0:39:02.520 --> 0:39:05.720 want to control my destiny. I want to control my family. 0:39:06.560 --> 0:39:09.400 I want to control my kids. I want to control 0:39:09.440 --> 0:39:15.400 the economy. I want to control business and prayers away. 0:39:15.080 --> 0:39:15.840 Of reminding me. 0:39:19.200 --> 0:39:23.600 I have controlled of my actions, but you control outcomes. 0:39:30.120 --> 0:39:33.360 I can till the garden, I can plant the seed, 0:39:34.400 --> 0:39:37.719 but only you can make it ray. 0:39:39.200 --> 0:39:43.360 So why am I anxious about the weather when I 0:39:43.400 --> 0:39:44.160 can't control it. 0:39:46.480 --> 0:39:50.279 Some of the weight we're caring is not weight God 0:39:50.360 --> 0:39:56.520 gave us. It's weight we assumed, and your shoulders aren't 0:39:56.520 --> 0:40:07.239 broad enough to handle God's weight. But the question I 0:40:07.320 --> 0:40:13.399 think the Father wants to ask us today is do 0:40:13.520 --> 0:40:23.480 you and I have any logical reason to believe that 0:40:23.680 --> 0:40:33.480 He will not act in our best interest when you 0:40:33.560 --> 0:40:37.319 really think about it. Well, let me talk about me. 0:40:38.840 --> 0:40:41.640 I've lived long enough not to trust my decision making 0:40:41.760 --> 0:40:42.160 that much. 0:40:45.360 --> 0:40:46.719 I'm just being logical, right. 0:40:47.600 --> 0:40:49.680 No, I'm not talking about what people have said about 0:40:49.719 --> 0:40:50.480 some of my decisions. 0:40:50.480 --> 0:40:52.160 I'm talking about what I have said about some of 0:40:52.200 --> 0:40:53.520 my decisions. 0:40:53.040 --> 0:40:55.440 When I have stepped back outside of me looked at 0:40:55.480 --> 0:40:58.040 me and said, Daris, what were you thinking? 0:40:58.880 --> 0:41:01.320 It's one thing when somebody you ask yourself. 0:41:00.960 --> 0:41:07.279 That you know you just what were you thinking? So 0:41:07.320 --> 0:41:11.680 why do I want control? I don't know enough to 0:41:11.760 --> 0:41:19.440 have it. I'm not strong enough to have it. Time 0:41:19.640 --> 0:41:28.560 is not in my hands, it is in his, which 0:41:28.600 --> 0:41:30.040 leads me to my fourth and final point. 0:41:32.760 --> 0:41:33.560 We not only have. 0:41:33.560 --> 0:41:40.120 To adjust our prayer where we are really specific. We're 0:41:40.160 --> 0:41:44.400 offering supplication very specifically, not about anxiousness itself, but the 0:41:44.480 --> 0:41:48.600 things that we're actually anxious about, doing enough digging to say, 0:41:48.640 --> 0:41:51.279 I actually want control, Lord, I need to bring this 0:41:51.320 --> 0:41:55.320 before you. I'm actually trying to control the way I'm perceived. 0:41:57.440 --> 0:42:00.000 I'm anxious about that. Let me bring that before you. 0:42:01.960 --> 0:42:04.680 I'm actually trying to control my children. I don't want 0:42:04.680 --> 0:42:08.560 them to make some of the mistakes that I made, 0:42:10.960 --> 0:42:17.360 but you helped me survive mine, and why do I 0:42:17.400 --> 0:42:22.960 not believe that you will help them survive theirs? I 0:42:23.000 --> 0:42:27.799 need to bring this before you. And then finally it's 0:42:28.760 --> 0:42:34.920 for I've got to adjust my practices and Paul like 0:42:35.000 --> 0:42:41.160 he talks to them about their perception that praise their prayer, 0:42:41.239 --> 0:42:44.439 and then in verse eight he says finally like, hey, 0:42:44.520 --> 0:42:47.080 this is the final ingredient in the recipe that you 0:42:47.080 --> 0:42:48.799 can do all the other things that I just told 0:42:48.800 --> 0:42:50.200 you to do, but if you don't do what I'm 0:42:50.200 --> 0:42:52.759 about to say, you won't get this result of arresting anxiousness. 0:42:52.840 --> 0:42:55.320 You have to include this after you get through praising 0:42:55.360 --> 0:43:01.719 and praying. You have to adjust your practice when you're done, 0:43:01.719 --> 0:43:04.600 when you're saying Amen, talking to God. When you're done 0:43:04.800 --> 0:43:10.359 praying and saying Amen, what are you thinking about? He's 0:43:10.440 --> 0:43:18.759 warning them against an undisciplined imagination where my thoughts are 0:43:18.920 --> 0:43:24.719 just going wild. Oh my god. The company say they 0:43:24.840 --> 0:43:27.239 laying off. They're probably gonna come to my department. My 0:43:27.280 --> 0:43:30.120 supervisor don't like me. They probably gonna lay me off. 0:43:30.320 --> 0:43:31.839 If I get laid off, we're not gonna be able 0:43:31.840 --> 0:43:33.480 to keep the house. If we can't keep the house, 0:43:33.520 --> 0:43:35.320 I gotta go live with my parents, my in laws. 0:43:35.360 --> 0:43:36.440 I don't know if I want to live with my 0:43:36.480 --> 0:43:38.640 in laws. We're gonna be on the street, my kids 0:43:38.680 --> 0:43:39.080 gonna be. 0:43:39.040 --> 0:43:39.439 In the car. 0:43:40.000 --> 0:43:48.719 Spirally, it's an undisciplined imagination. So Paul says, Hey, here's 0:43:48.760 --> 0:43:51.319 what you gotta think about, and he literally has a 0:43:51.320 --> 0:43:54.440 conversation with believers in Corinth. Literally, and this is kind 0:43:54.480 --> 0:43:56.200 of the essence. It's not the only part, but it's 0:43:56.200 --> 0:43:58.080 the essence of what we would call spiritual warfare. He 0:43:58.080 --> 0:43:59.880 tells him in second Crincis, Chapter teen. He was like, 0:44:00.719 --> 0:44:06.200 you have to take every thought captive and make it 0:44:06.239 --> 0:44:11.000 obedient to Christ. Like, don't allow those thoughts to accumulate, 0:44:11.440 --> 0:44:14.719 because the accumulation of those thoughts actually becomes strongholds. 0:44:16.280 --> 0:44:17.719 So he says, throw it away. 0:44:17.520 --> 0:44:19.920 When it's a brick instead of trying to knock it 0:44:19.960 --> 0:44:26.040 down when it becomes a wall. So he says, Hey, 0:44:26.239 --> 0:44:31.399 whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely, 0:44:31.440 --> 0:44:35.919 whatever's admirable, if anything is excellent, or find something praiseworthy, 0:44:36.520 --> 0:44:37.480 what's worthy of praise. 0:44:37.480 --> 0:44:41.759 He says, think on these things and watch what he says. 0:44:41.800 --> 0:44:43.000 I know this is in my notes, but I want 0:44:43.000 --> 0:44:45.520 you to see this in verse nine, because early in 0:44:45.560 --> 0:44:47.440 the text he says the peace of God. But in 0:44:47.520 --> 0:44:49.640 verse nine he says this and the God of Peace, 0:44:52.880 --> 0:44:54.440 the peace of God. And then he says, if you 0:44:54.480 --> 0:44:56.200 do these things, and the God of Peace. 0:44:57.440 --> 0:44:58.080 Will be with. 0:44:58.040 --> 0:45:06.040 You whenever you get anxious. I want you to connect 0:45:06.080 --> 0:45:10.120 point four to point three. I want you to think. 0:45:10.000 --> 0:45:25.800 About, has God ever not come through even if you cried? 0:45:27.600 --> 0:45:32.799 Was he faithful to his promise that those who's so 0:45:33.000 --> 0:45:34.000 in tears. 0:45:35.000 --> 0:45:36.839 Will we've been joy? 0:45:37.719 --> 0:45:41.239 Even if you walk through grief the valley of the 0:45:41.280 --> 0:45:42.120 shadow of death? 0:45:44.160 --> 0:45:50.319 Has He been with you? Has that ever been a 0:45:50.360 --> 0:45:53.480 time not that God didn't give you what you wanted? 0:45:53.560 --> 0:45:55.080 Because it doesn't always give us a war, but this 0:45:55.120 --> 0:45:57.879 has there ever been a time where He didn't give 0:45:57.920 --> 0:46:09.239 you what you needed? He's never lost the battle, and 0:46:09.320 --> 0:46:09.959 he never will. 0:46:12.800 --> 0:46:13.400 We're human. 0:46:14.719 --> 0:46:18.759 We will have anxiousness, but anxiousness does not have to 0:46:18.800 --> 0:46:22.800 have us. We can put anxiousness. 0:46:23.719 --> 0:46:36.719 Under arrest. Father, Today, as we prepare to celebrate. 0:46:38.440 --> 0:46:42.480 The coming of the Prince of Peace in this advent season, 0:46:45.080 --> 0:46:49.440 I pray for your people everywhere that we would have 0:46:49.600 --> 0:46:51.440 unprecedented experiences with the. 0:46:51.360 --> 0:47:00.239 Peace of God. Father, Would you assist us in arresting anxiousness? Yes? 0:47:02.400 --> 0:47:10.640 And may peace enjoy be our portion both now and forever. 0:47:11.880 --> 0:47:16.840 We ask it all in Jesus' name, Amen. 0:47:21.200 --> 0:47:22.319 Thank you for joining us. 0:47:22.640 --> 0:47:25.080 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:47:25.160 --> 0:47:28.640 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:47:29.080 --> 0:47:31.279 You can click the link in the description to give 0:47:31.360 --> 0:47:35.520 now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more 0:47:35.520 --> 0:47:39.360 information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. 0:47:39.640 --> 0:47:40.960 You can share it with your friends. 0:47:41.239 --> 0:47:43.520 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:47:43.560 --> 0:47:45.680 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:47:45.719 --> 0:47:46.560 Elevation Church. 0:47:46.640 --> 0:47:47.640 Thanks again for listening. 0:47:47.680 --> 0:47:53.239 God bless you.