Pastor Greg Laurie presents the Amazon Prime hit series The House of David, now on DVD. The House of David, which has been just a smash hit on the Amazon streaming platform, is now available in a box set format. And you can watch it when you want to. We're also including something called Beyond House of David, which is a four-part documentary series.
So order your copy right now, The House of David. Yours for a gift of any amount at harvest.org. What do we do when worry hits? What do we do when we're suddenly filled with anxiety? What do we do when we're overcome with fear?
Answer. We need to give our worries to Jesus Christ. When those crises hit, we don't have to give up, we can give over. Pastor Greg Laurie says, Give our problems over to the Lord. He wants to take your cares, He wants to take your worries, He wants to take your anxieties off of you.
This is the day when the Lord. Master Panner. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. But can you hear all the angels are singing?
This is the day, the day when I begin. In the stillness of the night, we hear things. The faucet dripping, a dog barking in the distance, a car going down the road. We also think about things. It's often when worry moves into our minds and sets up shop for the night.
What if How come, if only, Why didn't I... How can we get worried to pack it up and be on its way? Today on a new beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us put our worries to bed.
so we can get back to sleep. How many of you struggle with? Worry, fear, and anxiety, raise your hand. All right.
Well, you're a stressed-up bunch of people, aren't you?
Well, I've told you this before, but you know, I heard about one guy who was known as a worry wart. You know, I think sometimes we think worry is a virtue, and it really isn't. But this guy was a worry war, always worrying about everything, always stressed out. And one day his friend saw him, and this guy was totally chill. He was calm.
He didn't have a care in the world. And his friend said, Man, what happened to you? He said, Hey, I gave up worrying. He said, Really? How did you do that?
The guy says, I took an ad out and I hired someone to worry for me. Really? How much are you paying? The guy says, $5,000 a week. Man, that's a lot of money.
You don't make that kind of money. How are you going to pay him? He said, that's for him to worry about.
So many of us Just worry. all the time. You know, when things are going well. We worry about how long it will be until they start going badly again. You're just constantly worried.
You're worried about what other people think about you. That's a big thing for a lot of people. What do these other folks out there think about me? You know, it's been said you wouldn't worry so much about what people think of you if you realized how seldom they do. But there's a great theologian that had a very insightful thought about worry, the theologian known as Charlie Brown.
And he said, I've developed a new philosophy, I only dread one day at a time. Pretty good. Jesus said, Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. In other words, you have enough problems to face today. Don't start worrying about tomorrow and the day after and a week after and a month after.
But I'll tell you what: anxiety, fear, and worry are big issues in our nation today. Proverbs 12:25 says, Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression. Wow, how insightful is that statement?
Now all the medical experts are telling us effectively the same thing. Experts tell us the prevalence of anxiety across the country and around the world has reached a crisis level and it continues to grow, especially among young people. A recent Pew Research poll revealed that teens see depression and anxiety as their number one problem. Isn't it interesting? They see depression and anxiety.
Number one, it ranks above. Bullying, drugs, alcohol, poverty, teen pregnancy, and gangs. Number one, Anxiety and fear and depression. Maybe that's one of the reasons that the suicide rates have increased in the last two decades in 49 out of 50 states, and 25% of those states have seen an increase of 30% in suicide rates. And so we're filled with anxiety and worry.
And it's something that we need to learn how to handle. There's a story told about a man who came face to face with the dangers of worry. One day death was marching toward a city. And the man said What are you doing? And Death said, I'm going to take 100 people today.
The man said, that's horrible. Horrible.
So he ran ahead of death and warned everybody about the fact that death was coming. At the end of the day, as the sun was setting, death was leaving the city. And then when man went back to death and he said, Wait a second, you told me you were gonna take a hundred people, a thousand people died today. That said, I kept my word. I only took 100.
Worry took the rest. And that's what worry can do. Is it can just send you into a tizzy. And we live in a nation full of worriers. You could put on a lot of American tombstones today, hurried, worried, buried.
We're the only nation in the world with A mountain called Mount Rushmore. We're always on the go, always moving, always stressed out. 43% of all adults suffer mental effects due to worry and stress. And here's an interesting step: 75% to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are stress-related complaints and disorders. In other words, it's not real.
Here's one thing I guarantee will get you stressed out: is if you have an acre of pain and you Google your acre pain. And then you get advice online. Have you ever done that? I can illustrate this personally. I was feeling pain in my chest, and I think someone I knew had just had a heart attack.
So it was sort of in my mind, and I felt this kind of pain in my chest, sort of a pressure on it. And I thought, wow, what is this? And so I Googled it. It's symptoms of a heart attack. Pressure on your chest.
I had that. And it said nausea. I was immediately nauseated. And I'm the kind of guy who never goes to the doctor.
So I call my doctor up. I said, I think I need to get an EKG. I might be having the symptoms of a heart attack. He said, come down here immediately. They hooked me up.
And did all the tests on me. And then he said, You are perfectly fine, your heart's in great working order. And then I got the bill for it about a week later and I did have a heart attack. No.
So I'm trying to figure out what is all this pressure.
Well, I'd started playing rocketball again, and I was going to chase the ball, and I slammed up against the wall and just kind of bruised my massive chest. And. That's what it was. But I thought it was something else, and I got myself all worked up about something that wasn't even happening to me at all. Dr.
Walter Calvert reported a survey on worry that indicated only 8% of the things people worried about were legitimate matters of concern, the other 92% were imaginary or they never happen. That's why it has been said: worry is advanced interest you pay on troubles that rarely come.
So, what do we do when worry hits? What do we do when we're suddenly filled with anxiety? What do we do when we're overcome with fear? Answer, we need to give our worries to Jesus Christ. Or to put it another way, we need to take out the trash.
I took the trash out last night. I don't know why I put this off. It's not a big deal. I even have these trash cans with wheels and handle. But still I don't want to take the trash out.
I hate to take the trash out. And for some reason, this has become the job of men universally. It's like, you know, I don't know, we are the guys that are supposed to do it, so I dutifully take out the trash. It's really no big deal. But sometimes in life we start Finding ourselves filled with anxiety and worry and stress, and we need to take the trash out, so to speak.
We have a trash man that comes and picks up our trash once a week. I'm really glad he does it. And even more, you have a Savior, you have a God. Who cares about you, and the Bible says you can cast all of your care upon him. I'm not saying Jesus is a trash man.
Here's what I am saying. He wants to take your cares. He wants to take your worries. He wants to take your anxieties off of you. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 11, 28, Come unto me, all of you that are laboring.
And they are carrying the weight of your burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We're thrilled when we hear from listeners that join us from every background, every profession, every age. Hi, Pastor Greg. I'm 11 years old and I listen to your podcast almost every day.
It has helped me so much, especially with things like guilt and forgiveness. Thank you so much and bless you. Has Pastor Greg heard from you? Why not drop them an email and share your story? Send it to Greg at harvest.org.
Again, that's Greg at harvest.org.
Well, today Pastor Greg is presenting a helpful message called God's Answer to Fear, Anxiety, and Worry, Part 2. Let's dig into God's Word. 1 Peter chapter 5, starting in verse 6. By the way, I'm reading from the New Living Translation.
So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God. And at the right time, he'll lift you up in honor. Underline this phrase: casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you. Casting all your cares upon him, for he cares for you. Stay alert.
Watch out. For your great enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against them. Be strong in your faith. And remember that your family of believers all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.
We'll stop there.
So, how do we deal with our stress, our anxiety, and our worry? Point number one: remember this: you are not alone in your suffering. You're not alone in your suffering. Verse 8: Remember your family of believers all over the world, they're going through the same kind of suffering you are. I know you're going through something right now, and you think I'm the only person that's ever gone through this.
Actually, you aren't. Others have gone through it. Others are going through it. Others will go through it. You're not alone in your suffering.
Others have experienced something very similar, if not the exact same thing. The Bible even tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13: There is no temptation or testing that will come your way, it is not common to others. And God will, with that temptation or testing, make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it. Lose paraphrase, there's others that are going through the same thing. And somehow, it's comforting to know I'm not the only person going through this, right?
So, if you're suffering with something and you find somebody else that has suffered with the same thing, or maybe something even worse, it's really helpful to talk about it. This is where community comes in. This is where the church family comes in. This is why you should not try to be a solo Christian. You need Jesus.
And you need your Christian friends, your Christian brothers and sisters. You should never isolate yourself and disconnect yourself from other believers. You need to talk with them, you need to pray with them. And as Galatians 6:2 says, you need to share each other's burdens.
So, just say to someone, Man, I'm going through something hard right now, and I want to share it with you. And then you talk about it, and sometimes just talking about it alone helps a great deal. And then you find yourself praying about it as well.
So, this is what we're all called to do. Let's say you find out that you have cancer. And that's a very frightening thing to hear from a doctor. And then you say, well, I don't know what to do. And then you find out that there's someone in the church that is a cancer survivor.
So they're going to tell you their story. How they've been able to cope with that, how the Lord has been strong for them during that time of difficulty, and that's very helpful to you. And then one day you become that survivor, or you become that person, and you can now, as the Bible says, comfort with the comfort that you've been comforted with.
So, you meet somebody else that thinks our world has just ended, and you can say, I've come through this, and here's what I've learned, and here's what the Lord has done for me. And let me share this now with you.
So, remember, you're not alone in your suffering. Point number two, you need to give your burdens to God. You need to give your burdens to God. Verse 7: Cast all your care upon him, for he cares for you. As the New Living Translation puts it, give all your worries and cares to God.
Because he cares about you. And by the way, The word used here for caste is not the normal word for throwing something. And rather, it is a word that signifies a definite act of the will. By which we choose to stop worrying about something and let God assume the responsibility for our welfare.
So I'm saying, I am going to deliberately not worry about this, and I'm going to intentionally throw this on God. I'm going to put it in his hands, and I'm going to leave it in his hands. And the word that is used here for care, as in he cares for you, means he is mindful of you. He's thinking about you.
Now just let that sink in for a moment. God Almighty. The creator of the universe. right now is thinking about you and he's so amazing. He's also thinking about me.
He's thinking about all of us right now. Remember in our last message on fear, anxiety, and worry, I quoted from Luke 12:32, where Jesus said, Fear not, little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give to you the kingdom. And we learn three things about God from that simple little verse: that God is our shepherd. God is our Father and God is our King.
First of all, he's our shepherd. We're sheep. He watches over his flock. And it's interesting, Jesus says, Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. We're a little flock.
But we have a big God. And our big God is watching over his little flock. But he's not just our shepherd, he's also our father who cares. And notice Jesus said, It is your father's good pleasure to give to you the kingdom. God loves to bless his children.
Let me put it another way. God likes to spoil his children. Dare I use that phrase? He likes to indulge you, give you things you don't deserve. The Bible says he's able to do exceedingly above and beyond that which we could ask or think.
He loves to bless you. And thirdly, he's your king. Which really speaks of the sovereignty. of God.
So he is looking over you. He's caring for you. He is your father. You know, the other day one of my grandkids asked me, Papa, Are there more stars in the sky than sands on the shore? How would I know?
I said, you know, I really don't know. Scientists and astronomers tell us that there are billions of stars out there. A hundred billion galaxies in the universe, so billions and billions of stars. And but here's what I do know: God says, My thoughts toward you are greater than the sand of the sea. Hmm.
Wow, so go down to the beach and pick up a handful of sand. And let it just pour through your hand for a moment. Look at all of that sand and think about this: God's thoughts for you, about you. Are greater than all those grains of sand. That's an incredible thing.
He thinks about us, he cares about us, and finally, he is our king. It's his pleasure to give us the kingdom, but when we say he's our king, it speaks of the sovereignty of God. And the sovereignty of God simply means that God's in control. God is in control of your life, and nothing catches him by surprise. It may catch you by surprise.
But it doesn't catch him by surprise. He knew it was coming. And if it's a concern to you, it's also a concern to him. And here's another thing you need to remember. There are no accidents in the life of the Christian, only Providence.
Let me say that again. There are no accidents in the life of the Christian, only providence. We as believers do not believe in fate, we believe in faith. And we believe that God is in control, right? This is very important stuff to remember.
Because when it seems like your world's coming apart, you're like, God, hello. Are you aware of this, Godsina? I'm totally aware of it. I knew it was coming, and I've got this. I'm in control of this.
And he gives us this wonderful promise that we all know well. Romans 8:28, we know that all things are working together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Notice that does not say some things. Notice it does not even say we know that the good things are working together for good. It says all things.
David, speaking of this in Psalm 119, wrote, Everything serves your plan.
So with this in mind, we need to cast our cares on God. This is something we need to do daily. And quite honestly, it's something we need to sometimes do hourly. Because sometimes we give something to God and we take it right back, don't we? Oh Lord, I trust you in this.
I know you're in control. Hallelujah. Book. comes back again. And you brought it back again.
You started worrying about it again.
So, maybe you have to do it over and over and over again. That's all right. You just empty your trash. You know, you don't empty your trash once a year, at least, I hope not. You don't empty your trash once a month.
You do it weekly, sometimes even daily. Constantly cleaning, constantly emptying it, and sometimes we have to keep coming back to the Lord again and again.
Some days we have to bring it to Him more often than other days, depending on what we're facing in the given moment. Yeah. Pastor Greg Laurie, with important insights today on how to reorient our thoughts to break free from the trap of fear, anxiety, and worry. And there's more to come from this presentation here on a new beginning. Yeah.
Do you come to the Lord for help? Is he on your your speed dial list, so to speak? Maybe you haven't yet entered into a relationship with him and you don't feel the freedom to call on him. Pastor Gregg, someone can enter into that kind of relationship today, can't they? They can, and it's so simple.
And I think because it's so simple, people think, oh, it can't be that easy.
Well, look, Jesus did all the heavy lifting. He carried the cross for you. He died on that cross that he carried. This isn't about what you do, it's about what he's done. But here's what the Bible says: Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
So let's just say that you're caught in a riptide out in the ocean and you need help and there's a lifeguard at the stand and they see you. You've got to call out to them and let them know you need saving. And the same is true when it comes to eternal life. Jesus is ready to save you. Will you call out to Him?
You say, Well, okay, how do I do that? You do it through prayer. And prayer is just talking to God.
So, listen, I'd like to lead you in a simple prayer. And if you pray this prayer after me, I believe God will hear it and answer it, and Christ will come to live inside of you. Thousands of people have prayed a prayer like this over the years that we've been doing this radio broadcast and have seen their life change. There's no power or magic in a prayer, it's all about your commitment to Christ. But this is a way to call on the name of the Lord in this prayer.
So, if you want Jesus to come into your life and forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that you'll go to heaven when you die, if you want to fill that big hole in your heart, Just pray this prayer. After me, you could pray it out loud if you like. Pray it in the quietness of your heart, but pray these words if you would. Lord Jesus I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Saviour.
who died on the cross for my sin, I am sorry for my sin, and I turn from it now. and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Be my Saviour and my Lord. Be my God and my friend. Thanks for hearing this prayer.
in answering this prayer In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Listen, if you just prayed that prayer. I want you to know that God has heard you and has answered it. The Bible says, These things we write to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, that you may know.
It's yours now. God has given it to you because it's the gift of eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, congratulations And welcome to the family of God. Yeah, that's right. And listen, we want to help you get started in this new relationship with the Lord.
Would you let us send you something? It's free of charge. It's Pastor Gregg's New Believer's Bible. Scores of people have read this edition of God's Word. New Believers love the study helps written just for them, and they appreciate that it's in an easy-to-understand translation.
We'll send it to you today. Just ask for the New Believer's Bible. when you call 1-800-821-3300. You can call any time, 1-800-821-3300. or write a new beginning box 4000 Riverside, California, nine two five one four.
or go online to harvest.org and click Know God. And then let us say a word of thanks to those who support us financially. Those who make it possible for us to bring you these studies each day. We are definitely a listener-supported ministry. It's the generosity of listeners that help us be here with these programs.
So if you've partnered with us, thank you. And if you have yet to partner with us, well, I hope you'll get in touch today, and let us know that you're standing with us. Even a small investment would help. It's actually an investment in changing lives. Thank you for partnering with us.
You can donate securely online at harvest.org. Or write a new beginning box 4000. Riverside, California, 92514. or call us at 1-800-821-3300. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300.
Well, next time, Pastor Greg brings us more freeing perspective about fear, anxiety, and worry. Good encouragement for the stresses you're facing right now. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins.
