Brave The Waves (Anxious For Nothing) | How To Be Brave | Out Of The Vault | Pastor Steven Furtick

what's up everybody oh okay we're building a studio right here in my house just so we can come to you anytime it's a crazy crazy moment in our world but we're gonna do everything we can to flood your feet with faith and so I'm releasing another sermon out of the vault today just for you this is from a series a few years ago so if I say anything crazy don't hold it against me there's a statute of limitations the series was called how to be brave I was wearing a suit I had less of a beard probably less gray hair but I think it really deals with some of the things that we're going through and just know that we're praying for you we're here for you hope you enjoyed this message anxious for nothing brave the waves from how to be brave so now let's read from the great book of Philippians chapter 4 I don't know if I'll follow through with this plan consistently but I want to read a little verse or two from this chapter each week of this new series because Paul is showing us how to be brave and then I'm planning to share a little story from the Bible that kind of connects with what I read you from this so be a double portion you get a little bit of Paul and then maybe another little story how many of you learn best through stories you're kind of a yeah experience you learning me too so I want to read Paul's pulse command and then I want to show you a picture of it today and I'm so excited about what has the potential to happen in your life over the next four weeks because maybe maybe you thought you weren't a courageous person but you just did not know how to access the courage that God had planted inside of you you know the scripture says God has not given us a spirit of fear but power love and a sound mind and so if you belong to God and if you're if you're his child in his creation it's not right for you to live your life intimidated by by every bad report that you hear and we're gonna talk about a lot of things in this series but this week I want to focus on kind of one word and in one sensation from Philippians chapter 4 verse 6 Paul says and I'm going to read this in the new king James version of the Bible because I originally learned it in that version and so I want to read it to you in that version because it's what I'm most familiar with he says be anxious for nothing how you doing with that be anxious for nothing and so you know we got we had to talk about that in a minute and he says here's I do it but in everything everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving now I reckon to use a good southern bird one of the reasons we're so anxious about what's coming is because we're not thankful enough for what we already have and so Paul says if all you ever pray about is what you need but you never stop and thank God for what you have you'll always be anxious [Applause] with Thanksgiving let your request be made known to God and the peace of God I want some more of that that's the stuff I'm after the peace of God a peace that the world can't take away because the world didn't give it a peace that the economy can't take away because it's not rooted in the economy listen to it you're gonna love this at University City which surpasses all understanding so means sometimes things won't even make sense in your life and people be wondering how are you holding it together with what you're going through bedroll know either it's just an unexplainable supernatural life-giving peace that comes from God will guard your hearts and minds Holly I had a thought this week Paul was writing this verse from a prison cell it's kind of hard to talk about peace and being honest said a word when all you see around you as bars and iron but I wondered if when he was just the end of the passage look I wonder if when he got to this part I wonder if he looked up and saw a guard standing outside his cell and he's like the peace of God will what will it do it will guard cool like this big dude standing out outside of this cell making sure I don't get out the peace of God will stand guard around your life and make sure that that what gets in is only what God says will guard your heart and your mind through Christ Jesus through Christ Jesus how many of you want verse 7 the peace of God [Applause] all right to get verse seven we got to go through verse six and almost leak to you on that phrase did they put it back up please be anxious for nothing be anxious for nothing turn the person next to you and you could turn to three people actually and the case the first one is unresponsive I just preached him for a moment say I wanted you to know you're anxious for nothing I wanted you to know you're anxious for nothing I wanted you to know you're and you may be seated thank you worship team thank you Brian anxious for nothing that's my little title today simple title Oh start a whoa [Music] what was that let there be light excited about this series you got a situation in your face in it that you need God to give you some boldness for I got something for you today anxious for nothing be anxious for nothing we're anxious for nothing I was thinking about this how all of my children there are three sometimes I love one more than the others fluctuates with their behavior it's a conditional love they all have at various stages in their development usually around the age of three exhibited irrational anxiety with Elijah it's always been bugs there was a Kermit the Frog video that I believe traumatized him early in life the opening screen there was a fly that buzzed around and I would make him watch it because I thought it was funny to watch him freak out and I think it's backfired because now he will not take out the trash because of flies recently Holliston to brush his teeth and he came down stairs stairs running scared I can't brush my teeth there's an ant in the bathroom he's nine he's nine now not three anymore he's nine and so I'm trying to teach him boy what you need to be scared of is not the ant in the bathroom but the fact that I'm gonna knock your teeth out of your mouth and you won't be able to brush them if you don't get in that bathroom and brush your teeth because it's an ant you're not gonna get married if you're scared of ants but then he also has like an irrational bravery when it comes to Heights like I'll see him climbing on rooftops and things and he doesn't care so I'll understand Graham our middle child he's the athlete he is irrationally courageous on a ball field so he's not intimidated to dive after a ball he's not intimidated you could throw a baseball as at his head as fast as you want to and and he's not scared of that was he's scared of his robbers and I know robbers are scary but what I can't figure out is his frame of reference for this fear because he's never been robbed before now it would make a lot of sense if if he grew up kind of rough and you know I had had several windows shot out or something like that but but I can't figure out it's not like I ever made him watch Dexter or something and you know I don't I don't know why he's so scared of robbers but he is terrified of robbers to me it seems an irrational anxiety Abbie our three-year-old girl bless her heart she is anxious about everything right now everything and I'll give you two examples to prove that she's anxious about everything the first would be the Disney Princesses on Ice Show that I took her to with Holly the other day during which she screamed the entire time I want to go home because the show was called princesses and heroes Disney's princesses and heroes but I kind of want my because they didn't title it correctly as a great show but they they forgot to talk about the villains it's actually princess as heroes and villains and I know this because my daughter is terrified of every Disney villain especially Ursula from The Little Mermaid and yes I had a crush on Ariel as a boy and yes Holly knows about it and yes I've worked through it but but Ursula does something to my little girl is it's it's a kind of unexplainable the whole time through the the people skating on the ice she was grabbing at my arm and pulling my arm tied her around her which was adorable at first but after 20 or 30 minutes of not being able to you know check my phone because I'm bored to death watching people I skate to be honest with you it's kind of annoying that she can't she can't even cope without my arm being around her so I'm like holding on to her and then the Little Mermaid segment starts and I'm excited gets the Ariel you know childhood crush and and and Holly and Holly looks thing goes and I but I but I was so happy because Ursula never came and I was telling her Holly and Abby I was like see Ursula never even came and I was gonna put that in my sermon about how Ursula never even came about how sometimes you're afraid of something and it never even comes and they did the intermission and wouldn't you know when I went to go use the bathroom and came back to my seat the first thing after the intermission see I thought the Little Mermaid segment was done but no the lights go down and here comes our Celestia and also a visa daddy you lied to me commerce messed up my sermon illustrations and everything and I'm not gonna put any pictures of a be cryin on the screen we did take a few for future reference blackmail purposes you never know what you'll need in the teenagers but but we uh we also visited as a family just a couple days ago we visited the Billy Graham library that's here in Charlotte North Carolina here where our ministry is located my kids have never been before it's just a great tribute to his life you should go if you've never been it'll just help you see that God will use one life surrendered to him and maybe you won't be the next Billy Graham but it's just inspiring to see somebody who just sold out like that to Jesus and so I've been several times always get a little either emotional or inspired fired up watching it but Elijah had to do a report he's doing a report on dr. Graham for school so we took all the kids Graham who was named after dr. Graham our middle child and we also took Abbey and will you believe me if I tell you that Abbey was actually terrified of dr. Billy Graham now this takes the cake y'all it's one thing to be scared of the C queen of the the evil underworld on Disney but it's Billy Graham in fact you would have thought we were going through a haunted house with a Chainsaw Massacre every room we were going she'd look at me and go but he's not coming but if he did you would love him he's so nice and it didn't work is every room is Billy Graham my little girl is scared of Billy Graham and she'll work through it believe my faith she's gonna get through this all of my children have irrational anxiety and I can see that it's irrational you know all of God's children have some irrational anxiety - Paul says and he wants to correct that in Philippians 4 he says there are some things that you're afraid of that make no sense from Heaven's perspective there are some things that are causing you to shut down they're paralyzing you that are senseless when you put it in the context of who God is in you and what you mean to him and he says I want you to train your your heart to be anxious for nothing come on get real Paul this is preacher talk be anxious for nothing did you see the Dow Jones as we do that you do you ever watch CNN haven't you heard about what they're putting in kids Legos these days and if our kids touch the Legos they'll be exposed to the chemicals that could cause them to have babies that are born with hairy backs oh don't you know it's yummy gluten in the Buddha parlors would love to be anxious about pasta I'm in prison bro and I've earned the right to tell you after they beat me and flogged me and thought they were gonna kill me that is you're following after God's purpose you got no reason to ever be anxious be anxious for nothing nothing anxious enough anxious for nothing so you know I don't like to do a lot of complicated word studies in church because I think you know most of us do good just to obey the English in the Bible so we don't have to go you know Hebrew Greek but the Greek word for anxious is pretty interesting it appears 17 times in the New Testament and the word let me go back here and read it so I can make sure I don't say it wrong I didn't do too well in my Greek class in seminary I was gifted in other areas but the Greek word here that is translated anxious is merimnate a a spell at em ER IM in a te again class i see all of you furiously taking notes you want to know this greek treasure mem not a m e or i am in a - either way I kind of remembered in my mind is it sounds like marinate which is a interesting word association with anxiety because if you marinate in the wrong thoughts come on somebody come on somebody if you soak in all the wrong stuff eventually going to be full of all kinds of fear and then I like how it has its Maremma not a like I like the idea of how anxiety gets us all tied up in knots its wake up in a big bundle of nothing but dread just a big old business of knotted up like double knot triple knot can spend half your day just unknotting your emotions just wake up feeling that way sometimes and he uses the word mere I'm not a and he says B Mirim not say do not be Meryem not say stuff like that for anything so for nothing in your life just don't don't don't get all tied up in knots about stuff and so if I'm you I'm thinking okay but you know don't we need to worry about some things don't we need to be concerned about some things yes be concerned no don't worry that's what I think Paul would say because that same word Meryem not a he also uses in Philippians 2 okay Philippians was a letter that he wrote to a Church and so in Philippians 2 he's talking about how he wants to send one of his ministry associates Timothy to check on the church since he can't get out and check on him and and he describes Timothy look at this verse he says I have no one else like him who will show genuine concern guess what the greek word that is translated into english genuine concern happens to be Meryem not a but here it's translated genuine concern because you know you can have the same situation but the way you deal with it determines whether or not it's a genuine concern or a needless anxiety come on somebody is pretty preaching so part of this being brave is about learning to discern in your life between a genuine concern and a needless anxiety but I would say to you that sometimes you can interpret the same event in both of those ways so you can turn a genuine concern into a needless anxiety by the way you approach it because it's the same word and so sometimes you go through a situation and you deal with it and you handle it with strength you're brave about it that's a genuine concern sometimes you go through a situation and you're tied all up in knots about stuff you can't do much about anyway that's a needless anxiety wisdom will show you the difference the difference between needless anxiety and genuine concern and here's how you can do it here's how you can do it be anxious for no thing I was talking to a friend one time and this was many years ago he spilled orange juice on his computer while he was on the phone with me one morning but he was so calm about it he said oh hang on a second and he was gone a long time on the phone I said what happened he said I just spilled a whole glass of orange juice on my computer it's not working anymore I said and you're not using profanity he said no it's nothing but a thing this is nothing but a thing he's this guy isn't a billionaire he said it's nothing but a thing if you fix it I fix it if they can't they can't it's nothing but a thing I thought I want that do you remember that phrase we used to say it a lot when I was coming up pleased to say ain't none but a thing and I think Paul's trying to get us to see here in Philippians 4 be anxious for no thing be concerned about the state of your soul be concerned about the state of your children's soul be concerned about God's work in the world that's a genuine concern but when it comes to the things you have learned to look at some things in your life and just say I and nothing but a thing it is nothing but a thing let me show you this in Romans Paul is talking in Romans about some pretty heavy stuff and he says verse 31 Romans chapter 8 what then shall we say in response to these say that loud every location say Allah in response to these things if God is for us who can be against us that's what gives me courage sometimes when I feel opposed I just sound well with God's on my side I'm good and if he's not I'm in trouble so so it really doesn't matter what they're saying about me it just matters what God sees in me because if he's for me who can be against me take a number line up it won't matter cuz I'll still be standing and you can have that confidence as God's truck it's not cocky it's just confident that's what Paul's saying it says it's just a thing he said it's a thing look at the next verse he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things is nothing but a thing skip to verse 37 he starts listing some things he says no in all these we are more than conquerors through him who loved us what kind of things you're talking about Paul spilling orange juice on the computer big deal no I'm convinced that neither death nor life neither Angels nor demons this is heavy stuff neither the present nor the future nor any powers neither height nor depth nor any let me just put a blank here so you can fill it in nor anything else in all creation bankruptcy joblessness homelessness addiction whatever will be able to separate us nor any oil up nor any thing else nor any you see it nor any thing else nor any thing else reach everybody you can reach and tell them and number two thing and a number two thing it ain't nothing but a thing there's a thing be anxious for no thing I want you to do that this week now when you're faced with something and if it doesn't fit in Paul's list that's what the blank is for that's what the anything is for is nothing but a thing and shift over from needless anxiety to genuine concern controlling what you can and trusting God where you can't easier said than done but that's our goal in this series and I'll help you week by week if you'll come back if you don't you uh I won't be able to help you oh it's just another way to look at it another way to look at it anxious for nothing go I'll say that look I'm anxious for nothing yeah that's a good goal to have right but isn't it also a statement of reality about how many times in our lives we've been anxious for nothing and think about it it's um I'm just playing with the phrase a little bit I enjoyed doing this I was thinking how many times have the people in our church have I as a pastor have we as a family been tied up in knots Meryem not a four something that turned out to be anxious for nothing we were freaking out the other day because somebody that's close to me they rent a home and one of their neighbors told them that the home that they're renting is about to get sold out from under them and this person spent the next week freaking out losing sleep not eating very much and I know that you say well it's not a big deal get another place but this person is you know over the age of 60 it's kind of settled into this place and was just thinking why don't you know we're gonna know what to do for a week till they found out that the nosy neighbor that told them the rumor had actually misinterpreted what the owner of the home had come by and said which was if my husband died I could see myself maybe selling the home one day now you know the telephone game where I tell you something you tell her and she tells her and he does him and she turns and by the end of the row it gets from if they die then one day I might sell this house to we're gonna sell the house tomorrow you need to find another place to live you're out on the streets and it creates anxiety and I was talking to this person they said I wish I could get my sleep back that I lost for nothing I wish I could get all that that those moments that I was planning about stuff and scenarios that weren't even upon me yet that might be upon me I like what Joyce Meyer says she says worry is down payment on a problem you may never even have Thank You Joyce we appreciate the help because sometimes you're anxious for nothing I go out of town for a couple weeks every summer in June because you get tired of my preaching you need to hear other people and so I go away and I don't end but while I'm gone about the first week it feels good secondly feels good they're big feels good about the fourth week I'm freaking out because I had been to church and I don't feel I don't wonder like this the church still there they still showing up and I watch online and stuff but she's not saying and it likes everything cool has he back started his own church while I was gone and I don't ever wonder that he's awesome but understand like your mind to go to all these crazy places and it's like what's going on back home at the church and this this summer we were gone and I sent a text to one of our team members named chunks and had no his name is chunks and I sent a text to him and I said everything cool back home and ten minutes went by ten minutes and I'm thinking oh no there's there's and I have some scenarios 30 minutes went by this guy usually responds quick I pay him to an hour went by by the second hour I had so many scenarios in my mind I won't mention them to you here it's a little embarrassing let's just say there was no church left all of our campuses have simultaneously burned to the ground the fire department didn't get back in time and then two hours later I finally get a text like two hours ten minutes later I finally get a text so sorry I missed you've been in the mountains no cell signal everything's never been better I forgot it was Friday it was the day off back home for our church staff and Here I am with my family on vacation anxious weren't there funny must be something I see some real wrong it's never taken this long before I'm going back and checking the timestamp on the text did it go through it went through it says it was delivered at 12:57 p.m. maybe I should get back on the plane finish your charter flight I can't wait for the commercial I gotta get back home for nothing I told you a scripture and a story turn to the person next you say you're anxious for nothing a lot of the times most of the time you find out later all that was for nothing [Music] so one day Jesus wanted to go on a trip and he as his disciples prepare to take him where it needs to go look at mark 4:35 it says that day when evening came here's this story he said to his disciples let's go over to the other side everybody say other side okay remember that phrase it'll come back in a moment leaving the crowd behind Jesus has been teaching all days he he taught the parable of the sower and the soils and how the farmer goes out and scatters seed and some of it produces good fruit and some of it doesn't produce good fruit and and it just depends on you know whether or not the soil is good or whether it's thorny or whether it's rocky or whether the birds come and eat it and he shared about the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed this is all in mark 4 and then Jesus after teaching all day he gets tired and he whispers to Peters I gotta get out of here let's sneak out now these crowds not gonna let me go but get the boat run and I'll be there in a second and so they left the crowd behind and they took him along just as he was cuz he didn't have time to go back and change and so he gets in the boat and there were also other boats with him now you never hear anything else about the other boats but it lets us know by putting that detail in that what mark is giving us is as as an eyewitness account because mark would the way he wrote his gospel there's four accounts of Jesus life Matthew Mark Luke and John and Mark would write down what Peter said and that's why Mark's Gospel tends to read a little faster than all the other ones because Peter gets right to the point you know Peters the guy who's just all about the action and so he's given the details to let us know this isn't just something I heard about this is something from someone who was there this is an eyewitness account because sometimes you don't need to hear about how to have bravery from people who have never been through anything that was difficult sometimes you don't want to hear advice from somebody who's never been through a broken season in their life about God's healing or who has never faced down a giant about how to stand in strength so this is an eyewitness account now of a time when the disciples of Jesus were anxious for nothing now check this out a furious squall came up just out of nowhere I've been studying a lot about the Sea of Galilee this week where this event happened and it was notorious for unexpected storms because the Sea of Galilee is in a basin surrounded by mountains and when the cold air pushes through it creates furious squalls okay and the waves broke over the boat so that it was nearly swamped you ever felt nearly swamped in your life like I'm still showing up but barely I'm making it and I'm smiling but nobody knows what's really behind this smile the things I think about somedays I just want to run away from it all it's just me Jesus was in the stern listen what Jesus was doing all-powerful all-loving compassionate and gracious Jesus who if you call on him they'll answer Jesus was in the stern sleeping on a cushion I love the Bible's sense of humor and the disciples woke him and said teacher don't you care if we drown don't you want to live don't you want us to live harkens back to the Book of Jonah doesn't it where Jonah the Prophet was running away from God in Jonah chapter 1 verses five and six and a great storm came upon the ship because Jonah was running away from God and sometimes God will send a storm to get you back to the place and reroute you to get you back on your assignment you ought to thank God for some of the storms he said because if you had the sent the storm you two ended up in the wrong place you were headed the wrong way and he used the storm to turn you around and but in Jonah's case that says all the sailors verse five were afraid and each cried out to his own god and they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship but Jonah had gone below Dec where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep and the captain went to him and said man how can you sleep get up and call on your God maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not Paris and I'm thinking men Jonah was sleeping because he was complacent and didn't want to pursue God's purpose Jesus was sleeping because he was confident and he knew I'm right where God wants me to be so it stands to reason that there's no reason for me to get anxious now so I might as well get some beauty sleep and it's just a comparison here at our Blakeney campus isn't it kind of cool that the rain started falling while I'm preaching about a storm I don't know if you can hear it at the other campuses but I just think it's kind of clean like a sound effect that God wanted to give us an audible analogy for what's going on in some of our lives today that some winds are blowing and some waves are breaking and some things are happening and some uncertainties popping up and some difficulties are facing and you don't know what to do and Jesus watch seems to be asleep in the stern and you wonder don't you care aren't you supposed to be the one who keeps my life out of trouble but you told me to get in the book to see I have this theory okay Jesus in this situation he tells the disciples get in the boat we're going to the other side and the next thing that happens as a storm hits now for anybody else you wouldn't think anything but Jesus is the one who created the world and he probably knows the weather patterns so kind of bothered me that he sent them into a storm sometimes we create our own storms though don't we [Applause] [Music] write these down five ways we create our own storms sometimes we see some waves are our God ordained in our lives but some waves or waves we make and sometimes we create our own anxiety and then we ask God for peace but how can he give you peace in a situation that you're currently creating and so I got five things for you just real quick I won't take long on them but number one often we create anxiety and waves in our lives with the words that we speak just write that down words words have you ever made unnecessary waves with your words words that you speak out of anger that you then have to go back and then fix takes a week two weeks three weeks words of doubt words of some of you just you framed your day with the wrong words and then you're disappointed with the world that you've built but your world is created by your words and sometimes we make waves you know we create choppy conditions in the morning just by the way we get up talking within one thing is another my grandmother used to say this phrase all the time she say y'all bout to worry me to death and she'd say it about anything you know the TV's too loud turn that TV down you're about to worry me to death not to worry me to death and she was a wonderful lady but you know what as a result of her saying all the time you about to worry me to death she was worried a lot because she said she wanted to be worried we read a teaching one time in a book it said after anything you say in your life don't say it if you can't follow it with this phrase and that's just the way I want it and that's just the way I want it so so try it out on the things you say you're about to worry me to death and that's just the way I want it now I'm just running around like chicken with my head cut off I'm so stressed out and that's just the way I want it you got your own phrases but the words we speak create waves of anxiety check your words number two your approach sometimes it's not what we're going through it's the way we're going through what we're going through some of us live with no margin and so we're always nervous it's our approach anxious about money because we spend too much and don't make enough no margin it's your approach you start your morning frustrated with people in traffic you know there's going to be traffic you've never adjusted the time that you get up and leave your house now you're wondering why your job is so stressful your job is not stressful the way you got to your job was stressful because of your approach i'ma help a student your class is not stressful the fact that you knew about the assignment for three weeks before you thought to look it up is the approach that made it stress he just so means she's not mean you're just a procrastinator you're making your own waves can I get a parrot back me up in [Applause] that's that's the second one the wrong voices the wrong voices can create unnecessary and needless waves and anxiety in our lives can't they man if you checked the news or your your Twitter feed on your phone before you've been getting up to use the bathroom in the morning and you wonder why the outlook on life that you have is so dark I'm gonna just tell you and I'm gonna preach more about this week three we don't have time to talk about today I think 24/7 news stations and and and news is one of the worst things that ever happened to our peace of mind as people no offense to the media no offense to a journalist but I mean I was reading through just some headlines the other day do you really need to understand the dynamics of every disease like every disease do you really need to understand the dynamics of every conflict in all these countries that you can't pronounce need to meditate no wonder your Meryem not aid you're marinating in in the wrong reports the wrong voices they'll come in and tell me from time to time about a problem in the church and when they get to a certain point I'll say thanks that's all I need to know what am i doing I need good information to make a good decision but I don't need so much information that it clouds my outlook so I can't let the wrong voices just keep on playing keep on going and then they said this I really did and they might do that and it could be that you know some point you just got to say I'm creating waves by all the voices I'm listening to I listen to depression i watch depression the people I hang around are depressing I'm making my own waves hello hello hello our expectations can create waves I love how least the Turkish taught us over the last two weeks wasn't that good about not over-committing about making sure we make decisions with wisdom look at this sometimes you go out in your life and the the anxiety that you feel is the result of the expectations of others that you created by not being willing to manage your own energy sometimes the anxiety we feel is because we get up in the morning and we don't expect any battles that day and so we feel like it's a surprise attack when something hits us from why are you surprised he said put on the full armor of God that suggests you're gonna be in a fight he said take up the helm and he said take up the shield he said take up the sword he said you got to get dressed for battle when you get up in the morning don't be surprised you you need to learn to expect some storms I think the fact that it's unexpected is often the reason it's so difficult and then there's the master wave maker in our souls is called shame shame shame you walk around anxious because you're hiding stuff and you wonder when are they gonna find out about my secret or maybe because you're tormented by something that God already forgave see there's a difference between conviction and shame conviction is good it shows you what to fix and it gives you God's power to help fix it shame tells you that because of what you did who you are is now fundamentally changed and it makes you walk around paranoid and it makes you walk around feeling helpless and it makes you walk around feeling like people don't love you who do love you and people are judging you that aren't judging you and you got to learn where to take your shame or it'll just rock you waves and they wake Jesus up and they say don't you see the waves don't you care if we die I'm so verse 39 Jesus got up rebuked the wind and said to the waves quiet be still now if it was cool that the rain started falling when I started preaching about the storms in it even cooler that by the time I got to verse 39 we can't hear the rain anymore now this is just that Blakeney I don't know it might be raining in another part nice things who we got up any said quiet be still three words then the wind died down and it was completely calm and he said to his disciples why are you so afraid don't you know that when I tell you we're going to the other side we're gonna get to the other side no you know that I command the wind and the waves and see they they didn't yet they hadn't seen enough yet then experienced enough yet but after you've been through a few storms it's interesting what you learn do you still look at it have no faith and then verse 41 and says they were terrified and asked each other who is this even the wind in the way of somebody how if you thought they were scared of the storm they really freaked out when they found out that with three words he could shut it off like a shower head whoa so come on I want to suggest something to you today about the storms of anxiety in your life and the waves and the winds that are blowing in your life because man the winds will blow they will blow absolutely and the waves will break and they will crash no doubt about it and in those times when Jesus is sleeping in the stern and he doesn't take action and he doesn't fix your situation it can be easy to deduce what the disciples to do is we're gonna die and God doesn't even care start playing it out all the way to the end man this is how I'm gonna die right here this is I was going in right here I'm never gonna get another job never navin about them and they're gonna and anxious for nothing because they eventually got to the other side yeah and see I wondered all week why would Jesus send them into a storm just like we wonder in our lives why doesn't God do more about the chaos in our world why does any fix situations before they get that bad we celebrate when God heals somebody of cancer but silently we wonder why did they have to have cancer to begin with we celebrate when somebody's kid comes back to God but we wonder then why did God let the kid wander away to begin with we celebrate this somebody went to heaven but we wonder why did God have to make it so that people die and we feel pain and sorrow don't you care and Jesus was was upset about that you know what I don't think he was upset that they woke him up I think they were supposed to wake him up I think he wanted them to go wake him up I do I think it's the way they woke him up that bothered him see because they they woke him up thinking you must not care you don't care he said in Philippians 4:6 dittany in everything make your requests known to God you're supposed to ask God you're supposed to go down to the stern and say Lord I leave need a little help right now Lord this doesn't feel good God is pushing against me God is getting cloudy and I don't know what to think and the sky is grown black would you help me Lord would you come Lord but don't assume he doesn't care don't don't assume that see because I believe you don't have to take this view if you don't want to I believe that Jesus put him in the storm not the testam but to teach him I can explain see Jesus wasn't gonna be with them forever we don't have Jesus in physical form we have the Spirit of God inside of us as believers but we don't have Jesus in our boat what a cool picture just like Jesus was in the stern the Spirit is inside of you but but we don't have Jesus anymore in in physical form in our boat and so I think Jesus when he when he stood up and he said quiet be still and the wind and the waves died down you know what I think he was doing I think he was using the wind and the waves like a whiteboard to draw a lesson plan for the disciples follow me follow me follow me because the real waves that take you down in your life are not the ones out there they're the ones in here and see you think it's the circumstances making you anxious it's not you think it's the other person's reactions but it's it's how do I know this James chapter one verse six James chapter 1 verse 6 he says when you ask God you must believe and not doubt now what's what doubt does watch what that does because the one who doubts is like a you see it like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind that's why God lets me experience winds and waves in my life so he can teach me to calm the wind and the waves within see the real waves are within and you'll never have peace until you learn how to speak peace to the waves within so Jesus said watch this he said be still and the waves shut up and he said now it's your turn what I just did to the sea I want you to do to your anxious heart and the next time the winds of what-ifs start blowing and the winds of imaginary scenarios and negative emotions start blowing I want you to get up and wake up your faith from the start of the ship and get out and hold up your hand and say quiet be still the waves within come on I'm preaching about the waves within Gus if you learn how to calm the waves within you can ride the waves without oh I found out that if you learn how to calm the waves within is about the atmosphere of your heart everyone's standing no one leaving we're gonna go deeper into this teaching next week how many of you are coming back or will at least lie you have good intentions the waves within the waves within you think the problem is that God won't calm the waves without the real problem is you haven't learned to calm the waves within and we learn how to be peace speakers to our own souls so I thought it was random when the order of this stuff cuz cuz Jesus Mark chapter 4 he's talking about the sower in the soils and then we go straight into the storm and I couldn't figure out why Mark edited those two together but I realized that both are about atmosphere every heart has an atmosphere I wonder today what is the atmosphere of your heart can I tell you that nothing good develops in an atmosphere of anxiety nothing and Jesus said whether you're thinking about a farmer and a soil that's the atmosphere of the earth or a storm in the sky you got to learn how to take command of the atmosphere of your heart cuz here's what's happening you're creating an atmosphere of anxiety all around you because there's an atmosphere of anxiety within you you taking it out on people and you're frustrated with people and you're short with people and you're withdrawn from people and you're blaming people but you've gotta get up and wake up your faith Peter Jesus said you see what I did now you do it speak speak awaken your brave within so here's what I do you know what I do you wanna know what I do check this out when the wave start in my life first thing I do I breathe physically something other like yes the breath of God no no just I physically breathed do it now you feel it do it again do it again they've suggested that the reason the Hebrew name of God is Yahweh is because the very name sounds like a breath Yahweh so that when you breathe every breath is a prayer reminding you that he's inside of you sustained just here comes the waves but I know how to breathe let everything that has breath praise the Lord so I breathe in His grace and then I can breathe out breathe breathe breathe breathe and then I I remember yeah I remember that he told me we're going to the other side I remember that like he started this I talked about all the time that you started Biff's and so I remember oh like David did when he was standing before Goliath wait a minute just like the lion and the bear gods about to take this joker down to breathe I remember trigger something in your mind that reminds you of the faithfulness of God watch the waves die down yeah and then I um I asked he said make your requests known to God Lord will you help me here I'm up on a choppy sea I just got a report about my mother's health Lord they just did that thing again that you know sends me off in that direction help Lord you don't have to say a lot sometimes just help Lord you hear you with Thanksgiving though thank you lord now help please thank you please thank you please get in that rhythm of asking ask and it'll be given to you seek and you'll find knocking the door will be open I asked and I visualized because the storms can wreck your visibility can't they it causes you to lose sight of everything God's put around you and you can't see anything but what's flashing right in front of you so I ask and then I open the eyes of my heart and I try to get an awareness of hey look God is here hey look there is strength Hey look I am standing hey look there is help hey I see you now Lord I have opened the eyes of my heart and then you gotta elevate you gotta elevate I found out that you're gonna love this if you're a nerd atmospheric pressure gets less as elevation increases think about that spiritually speaking think about that spiritually speaking some hangs heavy over your life and you can't make what's hanging over you less heavy but you can get up higher in your perspective if you will elevate and worship God and lift your hands and begin to praise Him in the storm so so when the waves come are gonna what's that I got a cheat sheet did y'all see this I got oh the words and the approach and the voices where we talked about these it just play 25 minutes ago and the expectations and the shame that's the weights when the waves come you didn't know our spelling anything I snuck it in I'm tricky when the waves come home I need to check this wave and see if I made it or if God made it okay okay here comes the way but watch this just as soon as the wave comes breathe [Music] remember ask visualize elevate oh that's the brave also come here come here Joey hold my mind so so so here it is in the series when the waves come cuz they will get your brave stirred up in your spirit and wake up your faith in the stern of the ship and when the waves come because they will hear comes fear here comes manic here comes thread here comes embarrassment here come words here come actions here come voices here come expectations go save you but here comes brave and my God has given me the breath of life and his spirit is stronger than any storm I'll push it back way come on lift your hands let your hair more soup back let the wind blow Gerwin elevates your praise thank you for watching the Elevation Church YouTube channel don't stop here join the EFM our online extended family and join us live every Sunday subscribe to this channel so you don't miss a single video or live stream and share this with a friend you can also support the ministry by clicking the give Now button to help us continue to reach people around the world for Jesus Christ thank you again for watching god bless you

Channel: Elevation Church

Views: 335,173

Rating: 4.9254041 out of 5

Keywords: elevation church, pastor steven furtick, furtick steven, steven furtick, steven furtick sermons, elevation church sermons, sermons, steven furtick sermon, elevation church sermon 2014, throwback thursday, steven furtick beard, steven furtick how to be brave, how to be brave, steven furtick throwback, out of the vault, anxious for nothing, sermons about bravery, encouragement, overcoming anxiety, sermons about anxiety, sermons about fear, fear not, brave the waves

Id: _NzBmo8SSBE

Length: 54min 41sec (3281 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 19 2020