December 29, 2020 9:00 am
Right now, it feels like the world is being turned upside down. Even for the most confident among us, the recent coronavirus crisis has challenged much of what we thought was certain.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
A New Beginning
Greg Laurie
Our Daily Bread Ministries
Various Hosts
Connect with Skip Heitzig
Skip Heitzig
Connect with Skip Heitzig
Skip Heitzig
Connect with Skip Heitzig
Skip Heitzig
Encouraging Word
Don Wilton
Today on Summit Life with J.D.
Greer. Do you see how safe you are in the arms of your Heavenly Father? He takes care of the grass. He'll take care of you. He died for you when you were a rebel. He sought you when you were a stranger not looking for Him. He chased you down when you were running from Him the other way.
Surely you're safe with Him now that you are His child. Welcome to Summit Life. I'm your host Molly Vidovich. Right now it feels like the world is being turned upside down. Does anyone else feel this way? Even for the most confident among us, the current coronavirus situation has challenged much of what we thought was certain. But today Pastor J.D.
Greer answers that question. What should we do when we feel anxious? Definitely a message for such a time as this.
So grab your Bible and pen and let's join Pastor J.D. What should we do when we feel anxious about the future? You see it goes without saying that this whole season has brought on for many of us a whole new set of worries. I mean how long is this going to last and what's going to happen if me or somebody I know gets sick? Or maybe you're asking are my parents going to be okay? Or maybe how long am I going to be out of work and what's going to happen to my retirement or my savings?
How long are my kids going to be in the house? You know Proverbs 12 25 says this, anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down but a good word makes him glad. My friend David Platt says that this verse depicts worry like an extra weight that you have to carry around. Imagine that you're going through life with a you know with a backpack on and into this backpack goes everything that you're you're worried about. You know when you're getting ready for college you're just you're just like oh what college am I going to get into and and how am I going to do and and I'm just going to get into the right school until you carry around that worry. Then you start to ask well what kind of job am I going to get? Am I going to be able to to keep that job?
Am I going to am I going to be stuck in this job? So you put that in there and you carry that worry around and then you start to ask questions like am I going to get married? Am I going to be able when I get married to to stay married or or am I going to get divorced like like my mom and dad did?
And so you got this wedding album and all the stuff that that represents going down in there and this thing's actually getting heavy just holding it like it is. And then as you're going through life you're you start to ask questions like are we going to have enough money to be able to make it? So I got to put my you know questions about money in there and then you start asking questions like am I going to be able to to have kids? And then when you do have kids that's becomes its own thing and so you're like well that's a something I got to carry around and worry about. And kids of course bring a whole new set of worries you know what's going to happen to my kids? Are they going to they going to do well in school?
What happens if they hang out with the wrong crowd? And what if they need braces? I mean nobody ever told me about all these things that that that kids bring all the things they need. Am I going to have enough money for braces when they come? And so you got to put an even heavier dumbbell in there to cover all those worries. And then you start thinking like well if I don't get rid of them braces does that mean that they're going to have crooked teeth for the rest of their lives?
Maybe they'll be jobless because they've got jacked up teeth and I can't afford them braces and if they're jobless does that mean they're going to live with me for the rest of of my life? And then that becomes a humongous worry that you and then on top of this already laying down backpack that you're trying to carry through life then comes a pandemic. And all of a sudden that you got this pack that's already full of worries about school and money and work and health and marriage now we've got concerns about you know are we going to have enough toilet paper and are we going to be able to make it through this?
Here's a question is this how you feel? Like you just have this burden that you're trying to carry around and it's just weighing you down. Proverbs 12 25 anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down but a good word makes him glad. Today my hope for you is that is that I can give you a good word that will make you glad.
You know the news media doesn't seem to have it whether you're watching CNN or Fox News they don't have it. I don't personally have a good word but the good news is Jesus does so I want to encourage you with a good word from him. So as I take a moment to lay this burden down I want you to focus on Matthew 11 28 where Jesus gives us a promise. He says come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.
That sounds good doesn't it? Peter who knew Jesus well he says it like this 1 Peter 5 7 cast all your anxiety onto him because he cares for you. You may not be strong enough to carry all these burdens that you have but but the good news is he is. You cast them onto him in prayer because he cares for you. So before we do anything else let's just spend a few minutes reflecting on how much Jesus cares for us. Isaiah 49 15 can a woman forget her nursing child or could she lack compassion for the child the newborn child of her womb even if these forget which is of course very unlikely but even if they forget I would never forget you. God says to us look I've actually inscribed you on the palms of my hands and the nails in Jesus's hands are the reminder that he never forgets about us.
He cares for you and thinks about you more than a than a new mother thinks about her her newborn baby. Psalm 139 verse 17 King David said this about God he said how precious are your thoughts about me oh God how precious to me are your thoughts about me they cannot be numbered I can't even count them they outnumber the grains of the sand how much does God think about you his thoughts about you number more than the sands of the seashore how many sands you think there are on the seashore they can't even be numbered I can't even count them they outnumber your thoughts about me how often you think it's about me outnumbers the grains of sand. What's more David said in verse 8 even if I made my bed in hell you would come after me. God loved us so much that even when we'd wandered away from him when he we had rejected him and scorned him insulted him made ourselves his enemies that was when he gave his life for us Romans 5 8 God demonstrates his love for us and that while we were still sinners in a posture of rebellion toward God that's when he came for us that's how much he cares. Now with that as a backdrop let me take you to the place in Matthew 6 where Jesus most clearly instructs us about how to handle worry.
I've actually taught out of this passage to you before because it really is one of my favorites but I feel like many of us are going to hear it differently today and when I heard my friend David Platt share some of these things a couple of weeks ago I knew there was stuff some stuff in it for the summit church as well. Here's what Jesus says to this group Matthew 6 25 therefore I tell you don't worry about your life there are three times in this passage Jesus is going to command us don't worry don't be anxious I need you to hear everything that I'm going to say from this point on as a direct command from God because when it's a direct command from God you you know that he's going to give you the resources to obey it. So first let's just ask this question what what is anxiety? When I use that word the American Psychological Association defines anxiety as an emotion that's characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, physical changes like increased blood pressure. Enough anxiety they say can produce disorders characterized by states of excessive uneasiness and apprehension oftentimes with compulsive behavior or panic attacks. We're talking about here more than just a concern about the future there's a certain level of concern that is normal even healthy in uncertain circumstances. Paul at one point talks about feeling anxious about the churches that he planted that wasn't sinful it was a natural concern it's very natural that we be concerned about our kids or our neighbor getting the virus we should be concerned about what's happening around us. The problem is when that anxiety becomes so weighty that it displaces your trust in God and removes the peace and the the joy that you have in him. In fact maybe that's a great definition sinful anxiety is worry that becomes so weighty that it displaces your peaceful trust in God. Now let me give one quick caveat here I know there can be a lot more going on when you experience anxiety and panic attacks besides just you know concerns about the future for some of us past traumatic experiences sometimes even current physiological challenges they contribute to that sense of anxiety and I'm not trying to reduce all anxiety problems to just spiritual issues but having said that let me give you the pegs of Jesus's counsel about anxiety that has a spiritual root in Matthew chapter 6 here's what he says don't worry about your life what you will eat or what you'll drink or about your body what you will wear isn't life more than food and isn't the body more than clothing that's verse 25 here's our first peg number one your life is about more than anything the world can supply for you your life is more than food is more than clothing you could add to that list your life is more than your car your house your phone don't worry about your health he says don't worry about what school you'll get into don't worry about who you'll marry don't worry about how long you live your life is more than those things take anything that you're worried about and put it in that blank your life is about more than don't just think food or clothes your life is about more than what others think about you your life is about more than what school you get into what kind of job you get whether you marry or have kids whether or not you get a virus what your bank account is going to be after this all right your life is not about those things well what is life about then well Jesus says life is about pleasing God and knowing him when you strip everything else away what matters most in life all that matters ultimately is is knowing him and doing his will as we often say around here only one life to live will soon be passed only what's done for Christ will last you know eternity is going to reveal that the vast majority of of the things that many of us spent so much time anxious about had no eternal significance at all in fact for some of us maybe that's been a big takeaway from from this season the shake-up of our foundation shows us that the core of our lives have been built around around things that just don't last like food and clothing or march madness maybe it's time to ask whether you're living for the things that actually matter only one life to live will soon be passed only what's done for Christ is going to last your life is about more than anything the world can supply for you whether that's food or clothes or health or a job or anything your life is about knowing God and doing his will here's the second peg of Jesus's council he says you can trust the God who eternally values you look at verse 26 consider the birds of the sky which is kind of odd advice like if you're worried to go bird watching some of you may have more time to do that now than you you usually did but his point is these birds they don't sow or reap or gather into barns yet your heavenly father feeds them his point is the birds aren't sitting around watching cnn or collating you know facebook post or watching fox news about possible worst case scenarios and yet somehow they seem to be taken care of then Jesus asked a rather obvious question aren't you worth more to God than than birds are and why do you worry about clothes verse 28 observe how the wildflowers of the field grow they don't labor or spend thread yet i tell you that not even Solomon the richest man who lived in the old testament and all this splendor was adorned in beauty like one of these that's how God closed the grass of the field again Jesus's logical question if that's how God closed the grass of the field which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow won't he do much more for you you of of little faith here's the logic the the wild grass in a field is is super temporary right it's literally here today and gone tomorrow and yet and yet God takes care that even grass in the field looks beautiful by putting pretty little flowers into it you you Jesus says by contrast you aren't temporary in fact you last forever so if God takes care of temporary grass like that won't he take even better care of the eternal you i mean after all didn't God give his life for you so of course he's going to take care of you the point he's making here is that God is a God of abundance even in a time of scarcity God is a God of abundance he's the same gracious fully attentive heavenly father he always was he doesn't change with the circumstances think about the value your heavenly father placed on you when you and I were rebels we were his enemies when we were in a posture of rejection to him it was then that he died for us that puts another huge exclamation point on on this whole point if God rescued you when you were his enemy isn't he going to take care of you now that you are his child he's the same gracious heavenly father um today that he was yesterday and he'll be that same gracious heavenly father tomorrow and you can fully trust him which leads me to number three the third peg of Jesus's council he says worry is useless anyway look at verse 27 can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying I mean think about it think about it can you change anything for the positive by worrying no I mean your worrying is not going to affect one bit whether something happens or not worrying doesn't help you get better prep for it either it doesn't add anything to your life in fact if anything worry just takes away from your life I saw a study at the Mayo Clinic where it showed that 75 of all doctor visits in the United States are somehow stress or anxiety related it doesn't add to your life it takes away from your life furthermore the vast majority of things that we worry about never happen I mean think about it be honest you're worried about a thousand things 999 of which are never going to happen which means that you spend emotional capital on a bunch of things that that didn't happen and the one or two that did happen it's not like you're worrying got you better prep for those anyway I've heard worry described as paying interest on a debt you may not even owe so Jesus says instead of living your life in a constant state of worry about what ifs you should build your life on the promises that whatever happens God is one of our staff members who suffers um herself from chronic anxiety she said that the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Old Testament really helped her in this Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego or we call them Rakshak and Beni they found themselves in Daniel 3 in a genuinely anxiety producing situation King Nebuchadnezzar had threatened to throw them into a fiery furnace I mean that's stressful by anybody's definition right and they knew that God had not promised them that that they would never get hurt or that they wouldn't get thrown in so so how do they deal with that anxiety well they tell King Nebuchadnezzar they say our God is able to deliver us which means Nebuchadnezzar there's nothing that you can do to us that is outside of his control and everything we go through is is under his care so even if they say you throw us into that fiery furnace we know that ultimately we'll be taken care of in other words they met their worry about what if with the promise that God is and even if the worst happens he'll be with us all the way here's my challenge what if you take your what ifs and replace them with even ifs that are built on the promises that God is stop living in a world of what if and say even if I know that God is and and that's going to be enough for me which sets us up for number four number four Jesus says worry is in fact only logically consistent for atheists verse 31 so don't worry saying what do we eat or what do we drink or what do we wear for the gentiles who who don't know God at all eagerly anxiously seek all these things yet your heavenly father knows that you need them anxiety about the future he says just doesn't make sense for those who who know a sovereign faithful father Jesus is saying that if you don't know God as a as a faithful sovereign father then it's logical for you to worry in fact how could you not worry but if you have a God who is all loving all powerful ever watchful who demonstrated his commitment to you when he died on the cross and he revealed his power to to save you in the resurrection it is patently illogical for you to worry if you've got that kind of father and that kind of demonstration my friend David Platt again he says it this way anxiety of this kind is a sign of unbelief in God what you really believe about God is is demonstrated in a time of anxiety let me just ask you to consider right now what would change in your heart if suddenly let's say tonight Jesus himself appears to you and he says hey I want you to know I've got this I love you right I see everything I could even tell you right now how many hairs are on your head I've got this and I never stop thinking about you and I my thoughts about you outnumber the sands of the seashore and I'm going to take care of you eternally and even this even this uncertain chapter I'm gonna I promise I'm going to use it for good in your life and your family's life wouldn't that be a great source of comfort to you because that is exactly what Jesus is saying to you so verse 33 you should seek first the kingdom of God you should do what he wants seek his righteousness and then all the rest of these things will be provided for you number five fifth peg if you focus on pleasing God he'll worry about all the rest you believer you you focus he says on doing what God wants from you and if you do he attaches this crazy promise to it he says I'll take charge of supplying all this other stuff that you need and friend God who makes that promise is not susceptible to any uncertainty or any vicissitude of life he's not susceptible to the coronavirus his stores never close he never runs out of stuff his shelves are always full he never price gouges his angels never get sick he always has enough hope and strength and love and purpose to spare you focus on what you're supposed to do I saw something like this recently and I thought it might help you a realm that you can control and things that you can't control and maybe you ought to make your own little list like this I put the things I can control I can control my positive attitude I can control what I do with the CDC recommendations I can can control whether or not I am leading myself and as best I can my family to grow spiritually during this time I can focus on making my home safe and enjoyable I can focus on fulfilling God's mission for my neighbors I can focus on kindness and grace those are things that God has put within my control that's what it means to seek God first in this time what I can't control can't control what other people do I can't control how long this will last I can't control how long schools are going to be out I can't control the impact on the stock market I can't control how much toilet paper and when they're going to have more and sometimes just by helping myself see this is what what what I'm supposed to focus on this is what it means for me to seek God first and then I can just trust him to to worry about all the rest hey let me let me tell you some of my my greatest moments of personal growth have come in in times of uncertainty and anxiety it's like it was like when my foundations were shaken that it forced me to ask to consider what actually mattered those times of of uncertainty drove me and fear even drove me back into that only one life to live will soon be passed only what's done for Christ will last to ask myself you know when it's all said and done all that really matters is whether I pleased God and did his will and whether I'm going to hear well done good and faithful servant from from him from him let me just ask you is that happening to you right now I mean if you were to die today and I know that's a morbid thought none of us want to think about but if you did would you hear from him right now well done good and faithful servant you were living out my will isn't that what you would want to hear if you died only one life to live will soon be passed only what's done for Christ will last what is his verdict on your life going to be and are you are you ready to stand before him because maybe this time of uncertainty is supposed to shake you to make you ask what actually matters and are you living for the only things that matter Jesus concludes verse 34 he says don't worry about tomorrow because tomorrow is going to worry about itself each day is enough trouble of its own number six the last kind of peg of Jesus's council new troubles are met with new mercies I think I've told you before how much I love this verse because I read don't worry about tomorrow because tomorrow has enough troubles of its own and I think well that's exactly what I was worried about with tomorrow is that it was going to have trouble but what Jesus is saying and saying it that way is he's saying guess what also will be there tomorrow in addition to the trouble or better who will be there tomorrow and the answer is God and the God who gave you strength yesterday will supply you with strength for tomorrow God promises to give enough manna for the day manna was the the daily provision of bread that God gave the children of Israel when they were wandering literally foodless and homeless and without access to clothing even in the wilderness he gave them gave them give some enough every day just enough for the day the way that most of us want to deal with worry and uncertainty is to stockpile enough that we feel invulnerable for the future but that that's just not how God works whatever challenges tomorrow holds you can be confident that God will give you what you need in that moment tomorrow may have plenty of trouble but a God greater than the trouble is going to be there also so for God's people so you don't have to feel anxious about this about this situation or any other you can trust him and you can turn those anxieties into prayer prayers to a heavenly father who said he knows what you need before you even ask who always watches you and is ready to supply for you whatever you need this is the good word that proverbs 12 25 talks about you can cast your cares upon him he can sustain that backpack in fact when my friend david platt when he was teaching on this he actually brought up a navy seal on stage and david platt handed in the backpack and said actually it's not just the backpack that i'm going to give but then david hopped up in this navy seal's arms and said this is what jesus wants he doesn't just want you to give him your troubles he wants you to cause those troubles to for you to give him you come unto me jesus says all you who labor all you who labor and are heavy laden and i will give you rest give him yourself rest in him so let me just ask you to consider as these foundations are shaken are you trusting in jesus maybe this despair should drive you to jesus you know for those of you that are not yet a christian you haven't crossed that line of faith and and received jesus a savior are you ready to acknowledge how futile life is without jesus you see life will demonstrate to you that that you and i have two problems one we're incapable of sustaining life right and for ourselves and those we love more importantly number two we're separated from god by a problem we can't overcome and that problem is sin and the curse of death that goes with it jesus overcame those things for us but we have to to receive him he died on a cross to suffer our penalty in our in our place and he wants to give us that as a gift but we have to choose to receive it by receiving him you can receive the gift of salvation just by through a simple prayer jesus i receive your offer to save me and then by surrendering your life to him as lord for the one who is a christian right for those of you who are christians do you see how safe you are in the arms of your heavenly father he takes care of the grass he'll take care of you he died for you when you were a rebel he sought you when you were a stranger not looking for him he chased you down when you were running from him the other way surely you're safe with him now that you are his child surely you are safe as a child of god he is faithful to protect us the lord is the everlasting god the creator of the whole earth and he never becomes faint or weary with a message titled what should we do when we feel anxious you're listening to summit life with pastor jd greer as pastor jd often says the gospel changes everything so as we head into a new year i'd encourage you to be intentional about serving god by loving and serving your neighbors whether that's with your time or your money and the most important gift you can give someone is the gospel be intentional about having those conversations and see what god can do one way that you can help share the gospel in the new year and beyond is by supporting this ministry this time of year is critical as we close the books on 2020 and plan for the future so if you've never given to support summit life we'd encourage you to take that step today when you do we'll say thanks by sending you the summit life 2021 day planner this resource is so much more than just a day planner there's space for you to record all of your notes and to-do items of course but as you use it you're gonna find bible verses that remind you of the truth that god does indeed make all things new we've also included a bible reading plan that will take you through key passages from every book of the bible in 2021 it's just one of the ways that we can help you manage the resources that god has given you including the resource of time plus it's a great reminder to keep you in god's word while you tune into the broadcast ask for a copy of the summit life 2021 day planner when you make that important year-end donation today call 866-335-5220 that's 866-335-5220 or you can give and request the planner online at jdgrier.com you can also mail in your donation if that's easier for you our address is jdgrier ministries p.o box 122 93 durham north carolina 27709 i'm molly vinovich i'm so glad you joined us today listen again tomorrow when pastor jd answers what seems to be an impossible question what good news do we have in covid19 that's coming up wednesday on summit life with jd greer so today's program was produced and sponsored by jd greer ministries
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-08-16 03:45:58 / 2023-08-16 03:56:54 / 11