Welcome to Calvary Albuquerque. We pursue the God
who is passionately pursuing a lost world. We do this with one another
through worship, by the word, to the world. I hope you had a
merry Christmas. I had a pretty good Christmas. I got to open, I got to unwrap
a lot of gifts this year. Most of them were tamales, but
hey, I'm blessed, I'm blessed. But you know what, like, I'm
excited that Christmas is done. And don't judge me for this, I'm
not like the biggest Christmas music person. Anybody with me on that? You're, like, you're
a Grinch, right. No, but like I'm kind of
like ready for it to be done. And if you're still listening to
Christmas music, shame on you. Christmas is done. You know, Christmas music,
it's kind of like sin. It's pleasurable for a season,
but it will destroy your life if you let it go that far. I'm just kidding. But it's Youth Night. We like to have a lot of fun. You guys like to
have fun in here? Hey, I want to real
quick before we get started, just give a shout
out to our leadership team with Spectrum. If you're a Spectrum
leader, stand up real quick. We want to see you. [CHEERING] There they are. They're all around over here. And this is about half of them. Thank you, guys. And they pour into our middle
school, high school students, whether you have a student in
middle school or high school or not, like these
guys sacrificially pour into the next generation
with their time, with their resources,
their discipling kids. And that's really awesome. So we love you guys. Among them is our staff, and
we have Breezy, Eli, Cody, who led worship. Wasn't that awesome? And, and Drew, and
Drew, he's not here. He's on vacation but,
but we love them. And we're so thankful for them. We wouldn't be
able to do what we do without our Spectrum staff. The other day, I had our staff
take a little personality test. Has anybody taken
one of those before, like a Myers-Briggs test or
certain things like that. We took this personality test. It was one that I
hadn't taken before. It was one on understanding
your "why," like the why, W-H-Y, the driving force
behind what you do and why you do
the things you do. And it explained a
few things, like how you operate as an
individual, the part that you contribute to a team. And so I was just
taking this test. We were taking it,
answering questions, like what would you
do in this scenario and what are your
thoughts on this. And so I took the test. And when I was done, I
wasn't sure what to expect, but I got my results back. And on the very first page of
that test were three words. It said "A Better
Way," a better way. And I was intrigued by that,
like, what does that mean. That's like my personality. That's my why, that's
why I do the things I do, like what does that mean. So they went on to
show me, my results showed me that I'm always,
I'm the personality type that's always looking
for a new way of doing things. I'm not content with
the same old, same old. I'm constantly
changing things up. I'm obsessed with
looking for a better way. I thought, OK, I guess
that's kind of true. Like when my wife and I,
she actually told me this, like when we go to
a restaurant, I'm constantly looking for the
best thing on the menu, like what's the best thing. And I get kind of frustrated
because I pick something, I'm like fish tacos. There it is, and I'm like,
but what if there's something better. What if I'm missing out, right? And I just get, it's just hard. Anybody relate to me on that? OK, coffee, that's
another thing. Now the best part of waking
up is not Folgers in my cup. Now no offense to you
if you're doing that. I'm just like, there's
probably a better way. There's probably a better
way to have coffee. And so you know, I do
like third wave coffee because I feel like, oh,
that's the best, right. And I'm not content
with just the same old. As somebody who
speaks for a living, right, I teach to our high
school and middle school students weekly, I'm
constantly looking for new ways to communicate truth and
what I'm trying to say. I get frustrated. It's funny because I get
bored with the same old. I'm always looking for
a new way to have fun. I frustrate the staff
because I'm always-- we're talking about events
like the Peak and Reboot, and I'm like that's great. But what if we did
something different. What if, is there a
better way here, you know? And they're like, stop it,
right, stop doing this, like just let us do
our thing, you know. Anybody relate with me on that? Maybe that's you, you're
a better way person? I feel like Nate Heitzig is a
better way person, you know. But Jesus shares in the greatest
sermon that was ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount,
he shows very clearly as he speaks to the
crowds, he speaks to the followers,
His disciples, He lets them know that there
is, in fact, a better way to live in this world,
a better way to live. And He tells him that. And we remember. As students of
the Bible, we know that the Sermon on the
Mount was not preached to just the masses, anybody. It was preached to
those who wanted to know more about Jesus,
who wanted to follow Him. It was taught to the disciples. And Jesus tells
them, listen, these are how My people, this is
how My people should live. There's a better way than simply
just existing, than simply just surviving in this world. There's a lot more
to it than that. See, one of the
main thrusts, one of the main themes on
the Sermon on the Mount, of the Sermon on the Mount,
is that followers of Jesus ought to live differently
than the world. Followers of Jesus
should look differently. We shouldn't just blend in
with the rest of the world. We shouldn't just
go with the flow. We shouldn't just let the
world squeeze us into its mold, but we should stand out. We should make a difference. After all, Jesus says earlier
in the Sermon on the Mount, you are the light of the world. He's talking to His followers. He's talking to Christians. He's talking to us. You're the light of the world. You're the salt of the earth. Your citizenship is not
just here on planet Earth, but it's in heaven. You have dual citizenship. And so Jesus says, you
ought to stand out. You ought to be busy
telling other people that there is a better
way to live in this life. It's not just,
hey, I'm existing. I'm trying to just get
through one day at a time. There's so much more to that. And we ought to be showing
them that better way. And let me just
tell you tonight, that better way is
not found in religion. That better way is not found
in some three-step, 12-step, 50-step self-help program. It's not found in a better
community, better diet. That better way is
found in a person, and His name is Jesus Christ. And He's not just a better way. He is the way, He's
the truth and the life. Now that's the
better way that we as Christians, as the
disciples of Jesus ought to be busying ourselves
with is showing the world that. Tonight, we're going to
be in Matthew, chapter 6. If you have a Bible,
take it out, Matthew 6. Honey, I'm using your Bible. I don't even know why
I called you honey. I don't really call you honey. I call you love. But I'm using your
Bible tonight. Matthew 6, verse 25 through 34. And we're hearing a message
that I've called "A Better Way." Now to be honest, I think that
there's a better way for me to title that message. I was, like, there's a better
sermon title for this, right. But anyway, I'll stop there. In chapter 5, as Jesus starts
the Sermon on the Mount, he gives the Beatitudes, and
he talks about retaliation. And how if someone insults
you, to turn the other cheek and to love our enemies. And so mostly that chapter's
focused on our relationship with people. In chapter 6, at least the text
that we're reading tonight, is more about our relationship
with stuff, with things, with material things
of this world. So let's read together. And let's look at Jesus' words
about how we should relate and how we should hold and
carry and own the things that we have in front of us. Let's read together. Verse 25, "Therefore, I
say to you," Jesus says, "do not worry about your
life, what you will eat or what you will drink,
nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and
the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air,
for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your
Heavenly Father feeds them. And are you not more
valuable than they? Which of you by worrying can
add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry
about clothing? Consider the lilies of
the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that
even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these. Now if God so clothed the grass
of the field, which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the
oven, how he will he not much more clothe you, oh,
you of little faith. Therefore do not worry,
saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink
or what shall we wear? For after all these
things, the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows
that you need all these things. But seek first
the kingdom of God and His righteousness
and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry
about its own things, sufficient for the day
is its own trouble." Now I read that first verse,
and I think about my wife and I. It kind of makes me laugh a
little bit because we make food pretty stressful sometimes. We make food a
lot more stressful than we need it to be. I make food a lot
more stressful than it needs to be sometimes,
like, especially when we're going out to eat. I feel like I should
have learned this by now. I've been married seven years. But we get in the
car, and I don't have a plan as to where we're going. So I tell her, hey, babe,
where do you want to go to eat? And she's like, oh,
whatever, you choose. That's a lie. I know this now, OK. But I go ahead and choose. I'm like, all right,
we're going to Chili's. And she's like, uh, not Chili's. Can we go anywhere but Chili's? And I'm, like, OK. Let's go to Sadie's. Let's go to Sadie's. I love Sadie's, right. And she's like, oh, I don't
feel like Mexican food today. Can we not do that? I'm like, you told
me to choose, right. I'm like, OK, well, what do
you, what do you want, right? And then it starts to
get a little dramatic. And I start to
get kind of upset. And we're kind of like
this little argument. I'm like, but what do you want. And she's like, it's
not that simple. And I'm like, but what
do you want, right. And it's raining. It's all dramatic in
the car all of a sudden. And I'm like, you've
got to make a choice. Oh, wait, that's actually
a movie, never mind. It's just stressful. But Jesus says-- oh, on
top of that, I get hangry. Anybody get hangry in here? And so I make more
problems and more problems, and that's for a whole
other sermon, I guess. So I shouldn't have
even said that. But Jesus says, don't
worry about your life, what you're going to eat, or
what you're going to drink, or what you're going to put on. For isn't life more than that? Don't worry about your life. Why? Well, because Jesus
has a better way for us to live than just simply
surviving, than simply just getting by. Jesus has a better
way for us to live. Let me ask you a question. What kind of things
cause you to worry? Probably a lot of things, and
probably some serious things for some of you in
this room, especially with maybe this
year and the events and the circumstances that
have arisen in your year. What kind of stuff causes
you to have anxiety and get stressed out? I just wrote down a few basic
things, friendships, family, finances. That's at the top of the list
right there for some people. Fashion, I don't
understand that. I don't worry about
fashion but maybe you do. Food, the future,
right, that's just a big one, just the uncertainty
of, hey, what's next. What's tomorrow going to hold? What will my life look
like in five years? I wrote down finals on here
because I shared this message in part to some of our middle
school and high school students a few weeks ago, and
they needed to hear that when they were
all freaking out, stressed out about their finals. There's so many
things and much more that can give you
in your mind reason, reason to worry and to stress. You say, Kelly, the holidays
have been stressful. Like, there's so much to
worry about after Christmas, financially, relationally. There's a lot of stuff. How can I not worry about these
things that are in front of me? I've got to pay my bills. The kids are running
out of socks. There are holes in them, right. I've got to put food on
the table for my family. How can I not worry? Now before we talk
about that, I want to stop and consider something. Now I started, I started
this text, this verse purposely on verse 25. Can anybody tell me
the very first word of that verse of that section? What's that word? "Therefore." "Therefore." You're like, it's
about time he started explaining why you started
your message with a therefore. You know, we're Bible students. Yes, I know, I'm a
Bible student, too. "Therefore," now that's
a very important word. And that should
show us something as we look at this
text. "Therefore, Jesus says, don't worry
about your life." So let's get some context. Pastor Skip has
taught me well, right. Let's get some context. Let's rewind a little bit. What was Jesus talking about
that led him to say "therefore, don't worry about your life." Well earlier in chapter
6, Jesus has been saying to the disciples, remember,
to His followers, he's saying, "don't store up for
yourselves treasures on Earth where thieves can
break in and steal, and where moth and rust
can destroy, but rather," a better way, is to "store
for yourselves treasures in heaven," where nothing
can get in the way of that. Now I've heard of like so
many different car break-ins around this holiday season. It kind of just broke
my heart to hear about our city or our country,
but that happens sometimes. And if you put all your
stock in material things, then you're going to lose
hope when it's taken away. And so Jesus says,
there's a better way to live your life than
just investing everything you have into the here and now. He says there's a better way. Don't just live for this
world, invest in eternity. That's what Jesus is saying. Don't just live in
the here and now. Don't get stuck here,
just building everything, your kingdom here on Earth. Live for the next
life because there's a better return
for your investment if you pay it forward
into eternity, right. There's a better
investment there, and that's what Jesus is
telling His disciples. And then Jesus says
this, He says, listen, you can't serve two masters. You're going to love
one and hate the other. You're going to be devoted
to one, loyal to one, and despise the other. You can't serve God
and mammon, Jesus says. And then He says,
"Therefore, don't worry about your
life, what you'll eat, what you'll drink,
what you'll wear, for isn't life more than that?" And this shows me something. As we put that together,
it shows me this that our attitude is
oftentimes determined by who we're serving. Our outlook in life is
determined oftentimes by who our master is. Is our master mammon? "Mammon" refers to materialism,
the pursuit of riches, the pursuit of money and wealth. It's not a bad
thing to have money. It's just a bad thing
to be ruled by it. And so Jesus says, which
one is your master? Because that's going to
determine your attitude. And that's going to
determine if you're going to have a worthy worry
or a worldly worry in life. It's going to
determine those things. "Therefore, do not worry
about your life," Jesus says. And here's the
first thing that I want to say with that is
there's a better master. You have a better master
that's available to you. If you serve
mammon, materialism, you're going to get everything
that comes with that. If you serve God,
you're going to get everything that comes with
that, the good, everything, the blessing. I don't know about you, maybe
you've never known this, but some bosses can
be pretty stressful. Anybody know that? I honestly did not mean to
look at my boss over there. You're like, you're
a great boss, Neil. I've had bosses that make life--
like I'm really stressed out right now. I've had bosses that
make life stressful. A previous company that
I worked for years ago, I had a boss who would give
me so much worry and anxiety, it was a company
that I worked for. And I felt like I was walking
on eggshells around him. Because he would give me a job,
he would give me an assignment, and I would ask him
questions because I didn't know how to do it,
and he would just leave, not answer my questions. And then he'd come back
and get angry at me when I didn't do the job
exactly as he asked me to do it. I thought, man, I'm
just, I'm so worried. I feel like I'm going to get
let go any minute in this job. But on the flip side,
you ever had a boss, you ever had a boss that made
you feel safe and secure? Ah, that's a boss you
want on your team, right. That's the boss,
you want somebody who makes you feel like, hey,
you belong, you're included. The boss that's there
and you feel like, hey, I feel safe with this
guy or this girl on my team. This is my boss. Materialism is a bad boss. Mammon is a horrible master
because it promises fulfillment but oftentimes and
more often than not, it delivers worry and anxiety. Mo money, mo problems,
did I say that right? I shouldn't talk like the
Notorious BIG, right, mo money, mo problems. But here's the opposite. Jesus offers rest and peace. He says, come to me
all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest. And what does He deliver? Exactly that. His promises are good. They don't expire. And so when He gives us those
things, we can trust that. Mammon, money, materialism, the
pursuit of it brings problems, brings worry, brings anxiety
if we make it our master. But Jesus promises fulfillment. Now, now don't get me wrong. Jesus isn't just saying
like, hey, here's a carefree life, no
responsibilities, "hakuna matata," which
means "no worries" for the rest of your
days, did you know that? Jesus isn't saying, hey, you
don't have to do anything. He's not promising a life that's
just free of responsibility with laziness. He's not saying that. Jesus says, look at the birds. Oh, they don't sow or reap or
gather their food into barns. Look at the lilies of the field,
and how beautiful they are. They don't spin or toil. Now what Jesus is not
saying is He's not saying don't sow and
don't reap and don't toil, because the birds don't do
it and which they do work. He's not saying, so don't do it. Don't worry about work. No, Jesus is not
that kind of boss. Jesus wants you to work. But after you work, trust
Him with the results. That's what Jesus
is all about when He's sharing this message is
God wants us to work hard. But trust the results up
to Him, is to know, hey, you know, God's got my back. I'm going to pour everything
that I can into this work, and I'm not going to worry
because God is a better master. He's a better boss to
me than anything else. Toil and trust, say
that with me, everybody. Toil and trust. Come on, toil and trust, right. Those things are
inseparable, toil and trust. See, toiling without trusting,
well, that's atheism. And trusting without
toiling, that's disobedience. Just trusting and
just saying, hey, God is going to come through. I don't have to do any work. That's not what
God's called you to. But just working
and not trusting in God, that is
practical atheism by living as if, hey, I'm
doing it all on my own. I'm my own person. God wants us to do both because
hard work is important to God. And He says, leave
the results up to Me. What does this mean practically? Well, I tell my students, I
tell them around finals time, it means do your homework. It means study. Study for those tests, stay
up late if you have to, sacrifice that time. And then when the test comes,
know that, hey, God's with you, and that God is not
going to leave you. What does it mean for me? Well, I've learned a
lot from Pastor Skip in how to teach the Bible. And I've learned that the Holy
Spirit is just as involved in my study time as
He is in my preaching. And so I got to, I can't just
show up and be, like, well, today, we're going to read
out of, uh, Job, right? Hey, hey, right, and
the Holy Spirit's going to speak through me. No, God knows that He's
given me an assignment to do. He's given me something to say. So I've got to
study and then show up and know God is with me. And He's going to
speak through me. What does this mean for you? This maybe means be intentional
in your relationships. Fight for those friendships. Relationships are hard. They're hard work so
fight for those things. Be intentional in
your relationships. And then don't stress out
about your social life. It's in God's hands. Do your part. Fight for your marriage. Fight for those friendships. Fight for those relationships
with your family and in other relationships
that cause you stress. And then trust, hey,
God has got this. He's with me in this. Work hard at your job. Be the best employee that
you could possibly be. Have your work ethic
just go up five notches. And do your work, sweat, blood,
tears, go into those things. And then know God
is my provider. He's my provider. Plan for the future, but
trust the results to God. How's that? [CHEERING] That's good, that's
a better way to live, I think, than just
stressing out and saying, well, man, I don't know
what's going to happen. Jesus is a better master. It's a better way
to live your life. Here's a second thing. We have a better Father. We have a better Father. I have a two-year-old, my
wife and I. Her name's DJ. She's the cutest thing ever,
if you've ever seen her. She's in Bible Island. She's crazy. And she goes to the
nanny's three days a week. And I pack her lunch. And you know what, I try to
make it like as enjoyable, fun. I try to make it
fun for my daughter, try to put like fruit
snacks and little candy and make her sandwiches
look real nice. And I try really hard to make
sure that she enjoys her lunch. You see, when I was
a kid growing up, my dad packed my lunch for me. And I'm so grateful. He's watching live now. And hey, Dad, love you,
kept me alive, right, packing me my lunches. But let me tell you, they
were a little embarrassing to eat in front of
my friends sometimes. OK, my dad, one time, he
gave me a hot dog wrapped in a tortilla with
a whole tomato just in there and saltine
crackers just in a bag. And I was, like, this
is fun, you know. It's going to get
me through the day. But it was weird eating
it in front of my friends. They're like, are you eating
a tomato like an apple? I'm like, yeah,
I'm a freak, right. This is what we do, you know. And it's like, OK. So I try really hard for DJ, OK. I try real hard,
like, oh, man, I've got to go get her like the best
Lunchables with the Capri Sun and the little
candy and all that. But let me, here's a
little dad confession time. This is hard for me. No, I'm just kidding. No, really, and you're like, oh,
there's been a couple of times, maybe three times, that
I've actually forgotten to pack my daughter's lunch. Yeah, I never forget
to pack my lunch. I don't think I've ever
forgotten a meal in my life. I'm like, I've got to, I've
got to plan all my meals every few hours. But oh, I forgot to feed
my daughter, you know. I sent her to the babysitter. I'm like, oh, she's got to eat? Like I forgot about that. Whoops, that's a dad feel. Like it doesn't get
sadder than that. It's like, oh, Kelly, come on. Let me tell you something. You have a better
Heavenly Father. You have a better Heavenly
Father than any earthly father, whether that's good or bad
experiences that you've had. You have a better
Father who is in Heaven. He doesn't forget your needs. He doesn't show up late, right. He's completely trustworthy,
100% of the time. He's got your back. He knows your desires. He knows your needs before you
even have them in front of you. He knows what you need. And He's going to
take care of you. Jesus says, look at the birds. They don't reap,
sow, gather, right. But your Heavenly
Father feeds them. Like, birds don't have
a Heavenly Father. They have a Creator. He's the Creator that sustains
them, that cares for them. They don't have a
worry in the world. And yet He's your
Heavenly Father. He creates everything
that there is. He upholds it. He sustains creation. But His priority is you. And if He can care for
some birds and some grass and flowers that
fade away, well, how much more is
He going to care for you, His children, those
that He created, that He loves. You're far more valuable than
any other creation, any birds, any grass, any
lilies of the field. You're far more
important to God. Now think about this. The God who created
you, sustains you. When you had your first breath,
when it was given to you, you had nothing to do
with it, you gave a breath into this world,
every single breath since then has been from God. He's given it to you. When you were in your mother's
womb, the first heartbeat that you had, God
gave it to you. And He's continued to
let your heart beat every single day after. Now if God can care for your
breathing and your heart beating, then
obviously He's going to care for your
eating and everything else that's lesser than that. Now it gets even
better than that. God not only cares for
you and sustains you in a physical sense, but He's
met your greatest need already. Then all you got to do
is put your trust in Him. Many of us have tonight
received salvation because God so loved the
world that He sent His son to come down to this
earth and die on the cross and forgive you of your sin and
resurrect your soul so that you don't have to be a stranger
to God but a child. He's adopted you. He's adopted you as His
son, as His daughter. And listen, if He's
able to do that, if He's able to
meet your greatest need by saving your soul from
death and bringing it to life, then what makes
us think that He's going to just drop the ball
and leave us high and dry in something else physical
with our provision? He's got you. He's given you everything
in Jesus Christ. He's demonstrated His love. There's, there's
no greater love. And He's not going to
leave you high and dry, I can promise you that. See, Jesus says in
the next chapter, He asked the people,
He says, look, if your son asks
for a loaf of bread, are you going to
give him a stone? If your kid wants a fish stick,
are you going to be like, well, here's a snake, right. Who's your dad,
Voldemort, I don't know. No, of course not,
of course not. You being earthly,
you being fleshly, you know how to give good
gifts to your children. Well, how much more will
your Heavenly Father give good things to those
who ask Him His children? Let me tell you
something tonight. Instead of worrying like an
orphan that's been abandoned, run to your Father. I wonder if somebody in here
needs to hear that tonight. Maybe you've been
living like that. You've been living like,
all I got is myself, and all I got is what
I have around me, but you're a Christian. Remember this, if you've given
your life to Jesus, if you've trusted in His
work on the cross, that He rose from the dead, that
you're in the family of God, then live like it. Isn't that what John said
in his epistle when he said, hey, beloved, consider how great
a love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called
children of God now, not later, now. And so we can live
like that today. Don't worry like an abandoned
orphan that has no one. Run to your Heavenly Father who
will scoop you up into His arms and protect you as His own. You're His priority. That's a better way
to live, I think. That's a better way to live than
feeling, hey, I'm abandoned. You're a child of
the King of Kings. Ask Him. His promises are good for you. They don't expire. They're good for today. They're good for tomorrow. Trust in that, run to Him. Whatever you're
worrying about tonight, whatever difficulty you
have, whether that's something like food and
clothing and finances, or it's something
even more relationally or whatever it may be, trust
that to your Heavenly Father. Do you believe that He can
take care of your needs? That's a better way to live. Here's the third thing. And I've just called it
"A Better Way to Live," a better way to live. And I think I would
also title it, "A Worthy Worry,"
a worthy worry. See Jesus asks, which
of you by worrying can add one cubit
to his stature. Gosh, I wish it worked like
that because I'm 5' 7", OK. I'm not very tall. Hey, but if anxiety
can make me taller, I'd be like playing
professional basketball. I'd be seven feet tall. Pastor Skip would look
just real short to me. I'd be, like, hey,
what's up, you know. But it doesn't work that way. Now Jesus could be saying in
the Greek, this is actually not so much adding to height
but adding to life, and Jesus is saying, well,
hey, which of you by worrying can add even a single
moment to your life. Which of you by worrying
can extend your life just a little bit, maybe by a
day, by two days, by a week? Can that happen? Now, we know that the answer
to that is that's not true. We wish, right, but it
doesn't work like that. In fact, studies have
shown us that, you know, anxiety and worry
don't extend our life, but they've been shown
to shorten our life. When it's unchecked
and when it's unhelped, it's directed in
a wrong way, then it can contribute some
health problems in our lives, like high blood pressure and
heart disease, skin conditions, in some cases, depression,
the list goes on and on. And many other health issues
can come from worrying. Now, obviously, those aren't
like stemmed from worry but they can
definitely contribute to some of those health
issues if they're unchecked in that physical way. I was reading an
article on health.com because I go to
health.com all the time. And it said, it was an
interesting article, it says "12 Ways to Fight
Stress and Help Your Heart," "12 Ways to Fight Stress
and Help Your Heart." I thought it was interesting. There were a few
things on there, like get plenty of
sleep, eat right. And then one of them was
like cut off caffeine. And I laughed at that one. I thought, ha, no, right,
that will never happen. And I'm just kidding. One of them was limit
emotional involvement. I thought this
was kind of funny. It said in parentheses,
avoid getting too emotionally
invested in things that don't matter that much. And then it gave an
example, football. And I thought,
like, well, somebody who doesn't like
sports, like some lady, she's just like, well,
don't watch football because it raises
your blood pressure and you get sick, right. OK, I guess. Focus, relaxation was
one of them, right, yoga, Tai Chi, meditation. I thought some of those
things on the list were pretty helpful. Some are more
helpful than others. But here's something else. Let me give you a better
way to fight stress and help your heart in
the best way possible, spiritually to fight
stress and help your heart. And it's found in Philippians,
chapter 4, verse 6 through 7. It says this, "Do not be
anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer
and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." And here's the
promise, "the peace of God, which transcends
all understanding will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus." That's the promise
that God has given you. That is a better way of living. But let me ask you this. Like, where do you turn
when you're worried? Where do you go when
you're stressed out? Some people go shopping. For me, that makes
the problem way worse. I don't want to go shopping. That just raises my
anxiety way higher. I don't want to go
shopping, right. Some people go and they eat. I'm a worry eater sometimes. Some people get on social media. Some people just take naps. They go to sleep, right. Some people go to the gym. The list goes on and on. And I don't think, like,
any of those things are bad. I do all of those things. But let me tell you, it's not
going to solve the problem. It's not a long-term solution. It doesn't provide any
lasting relief to your worry. If anything, some
of those things will actually make it worse. I think like when I'm
anxious, getting on Facebook is probably the
worst thing for me. It makes it so much worse. But a better way is to run
to our Heavenly Father, to run to Jesus, to go to Him. That's a better alternative. Jesus says, "Come
to me, all you who are weary and carry
heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." And let me tell you
something tonight, the world hasn't
experience that. The world hasn't experienced
that better way of living. You see, because they're
doing what they know. And before we were saved, we
were doing that same thing, doing what we knew best,
just going to the stuff that we have, to
the material things, to this world to find some
sort of solution to our worry. And Jesus says,
there's a better way. He finishes this part of
the message by saying, so don't worry about these
things, saying what will we eat or what will we drink
or what will we wear. He says these things dominate
the thoughts of unbelievers. But your Heavenly Father
knows your needs already. So seek the Kingdom of God above
all else and live righteously. And He'll give you
everything you need. The world is dominated by worry. We see it all around us. We see it. You watch the news. It brings worry and
anxiety and stress. The more material things, the
more we have, the more worried the world becomes. And let me tell you something. They're watching you. The world is watching you. Maybe you don't
know that, or they are because you're
a Christian, right. They're watching
you at the office. They're watching you at
school, in the neighborhood. Your family's watching at home. They want to see
how you're reacting to that worry in your life. They want to see because,
hey, Christians obviously, we're not exempt
from worry, right. We're not exempt from anxiety. I know that that's
not true in my life. It happens. And what Paul is saying here
is, in Philippians, he's saying, listen, it's not that
you're, like, never going to get anxious as a Christian. But you don't have to stay
anxious as a Christian because there's a better
way to live your life. And that way is to
run to Jesus, run to Him, the author and finisher
of your faith, go to him. See the world is watching. So show them, show
them a better way. Show them Jesus. [CLAPPING] That's what they need to hear. That's what they need to see
above everything else is Jesus. Seek first the Kingdom
of God, let me tell you and your priority will
become to get more people in. If you're seeking first
the Kingdom of God, your priority will be to
get more people, more people into the Kingdom of God. When you're seeking
first the Kingdom of God, you're going to think
less about yourself. You're going to think
more about others. Because isn't that the
mindset that Jesus had? He humbled himself. He didn't regard, you
know, anything on His own. He set Himself aside. He humbled Himself. He took the form of a servant. That when we seek first
the Kingdom of God will be our priority. We'll start saying how can I
get more people in the kingdom. That's a worthy
worry, if you ask me. That's a worthy worry. That's something good
that's worthwhile to be concerned about is saying,
hey, I want to just, I don't want to stress
out about these things that I know my Heavenly
Father will provide. I'm going to get busy about
seeing more people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I want to see more people repent
of their sin and be forgiven. That's a worthy worry. That's a worthy worry. [CLAPPING] You see, when we seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, when we
seek first His righteousness, we're going to be less
concerned about material things and we're going to
be more concerned about spiritual things. When we seek first
God's righteousness, we're going to be less
concerned about our clothing. And we're going to be more
concerned about our character before God and before
other people in this world. Because we want them
to see, after all, you're the light of the world. You're the salt of the earth. Show them that. Listen, I end with this. Life is so much more
than just surviving. Life is so much more
than just existing. It's about investing
into eternity. It's about investing
into the next life. That's a worthy worry. That's a better way to live. So remember that as you
go through this week, as bills pile up and
just life happens. And by the way, I don't want to
make little of anybody's worry. I don't want to make it
seem like it's trivial. I'm just making
much of Jesus here. I'm making much of God because
he is, He is so worthy, and He's so capable
of dealing with even your biggest problems. Take them to Him. Remember, you have a better
master, and that's Jesus. Run to Him. Remember, you have
a better Father. Run to God. Remember, you have
more than just worry about the physical things. You have a worthy
worry in this life. You have a better
thing to live for, a better way so that
the world can see Jesus. Father, help us to see that. Lord, give us the strength. Apart from You,
we can do nothing. But with You, all
things are possible. So Lord, help us. In Jesus' name. What binds us
together is devotion to worshipping our Heavenly
Father, dedication to studying His word, and determination
to proclaim our eternal hope in Jesus Christ. For more teachings from Calvary
Albuquerque and Skip Heitzig, visit calvaryabq.org.
