Francis Chan Sermons - How To Solve Your Anxiety Everyday

I left I left before service even over just after I introduced mark because I honestly I just don't even feel like being here it was a it was a pretty pretty rough week this whole week has been for me last Friday leading up to the weekend my my brother gives me a call and to let me know that my uncle died and that's pretty heavy because you may think all big deal it's an uncle but you know with everything I've been through it would seem like it's not that big a deal because you know my parents died my stepmom even died and you know aunts uncles all four sets of grandparents are all dead you know oh by the time I was college everyone's pretty much dead and and so you think okay what's another uncle you know and yet I guess it just it absolutely killed me because because he didn't believe I didn't believe in Jesus at all by any stretch of the imagination and and so when he called me and he said that on the phone honestly I can say that's one of the saddest days in my life and and I were just coming to church on you know because I flew right out there last Friday and this bit my hand and kind of processed through with her and threw back on Saturday for church and and just wasn't in the mood for anything and all week was kind of feeling that way and and I saw myself at church like I shake in people's hands like usual saying hey how are you doing with the smile on my face when last thing I felt like doing was smiling nothing I felt like doing was talking about my baby and you know as you ask questions and this and that and I just I just left there going you know I'm being so fake right now and this is everything I used to hate about church growing up you know get to church and the pastor like who the Lord shut up you know you don't mean that you know it was it was the insincerity and I'm like well that it's totally me that's that weekend it was just a total fake oh I know things are good oh yeah baby's fat you know whatever and and I was like I didn't really care I I wasn't into it and and just you know so I just said you know what I rather be fake I just want to leave because there's just something I never wanted to be and and honestly you know that this week it's been a pretty miserable week because you know when someone dies and doesn't know the Lord and you actually stop and think about it it's probably the most miserable thing you could do on this planet it's probably the most painful thing you can do on this planet it's been a miserable week for me I don't feel like laughing don't feel like smiling it's just sad I think a passages in Scripture you know like Lazarus and the rich man that we looked at not too long ago and you think wow that's my uncle right now the same with someone just please just dip their finger and a little bit of water and stick it on my tongue just just do anything just just go back would you just at least warn them what would you do you know and and and you don't have another chance the finality of it's what kills me you know just walking up and seeing the body and just going that's it that's it there's there's not there's not a chance there's nothing I can say and you know you start thinking man I really would I really thought this through I'd give everything I owned right now if I could just have an hour with them and just to talk to him and just just to man if I could go back just for an hour and and the thing is is I I haven't spoken to my uncle in about eight years not not by my own desire but because he forbade me didn't want me over his house and when we talked into him nothing didn't want anything to do with me disagreed with some things in my life early on and and I even thought I even thought three weeks ago I thought you know what it doesn't matter it's been eight years I mean just go to his house I was in the Bay Area speaking at something I thought you know I could just swing by the house and just let him ream me let me just just let them blame me for everything everything I've ever done wrong what whatever just this let them go for it and just just suck it up and take it you know and you know because because there's no point in getting angry at him you know because there's a side that was like man how could you do this you know I don't have that my relatives and my kids they that you don't even let them see you you know I even build a relationship and but but you know as chuck Colson said once he goes you know getting mad and unbelievers like getting mad at a blind man who stepped on your foot you know it's just it's just stupid you just don't do that and and just realizing gosh you know why ever blame people for things because as I look back if I if I were the man that I should have been and if I had the humility that I ought to have then things would be different and these relationships that are broken that we always think are the other person's fault you know we don't look deeply enough at ourselves and go you know what if I was the guy is supposed to be that relation should be okay I could make up for the other stuff and and and I don't know it's just I was reading this week I was reading uh I was reading the book of ecclesiastes it's read through a couple of times and I felt like for the first time in my life I get it I finally got it I mean yeah you know you I studied in school you know didn't did my work in school and Seminary and you read through and you understand what it means but you don't get it you know a lot of passes you don't really get until you get to a certain point in your life and you read and go oh now I'm tracking because you can understand the historical context and you can understand you know the cultural you know setting in which everything was put in your learning you learn to do that and that's important you can figure out grammatically how everything fits and how the sentences are structured but but one of the things that that you we never talked about is the emotional context with which this book is written because this wasn't written by a computer he's written by people and when you stop and you think through what was that person going through when he wrote that and when he said that I'm into something powerful about that in the book of ecclesiastes it's it's this guy who lives life okay and he was the wisest man who ever lived he's written by Solomon the wisest man who ever lived he was the richest man he's the most powerful man because he was the king he had injured oh yeah he had more pleasure more fun than anyone in this room will ever have he just let it go you know whether it was you know getting wasted being with you know over a thousand women I mean just it was just you know as much fun as I can have in a lifetime let me go for it as many possessions as I can acquire and he did it as much power as I can have and as much wisdom and at the end of it you know he writes this book Ecclesiastes and talks about life and and teaches us now now that he's wise now that he's lived it all and he's done it all he writes this book and the first thing he says the first words out of this guy's mouth you read it in chapter one and he says meaningless that's the first word out of his house and then his second word is even better he says meaningless and then the next sentence is utterly meaningless then the next sentence is everything is meaningless and you go that's the wisest man on the earth but it's like this week I got it I totally get it because when you read through the book he starts talking about death all through the whole thing and his point is is at the end of life he's looking at everything he ever pursued everything he ever did he goes man that was so empty is everything everything on this earth is so empty and so stupid it's pointless it's empty it's vain it's meaningless and and I get it now because the point is is when someone dies you realize what really matters and you start looking at everything and go why does that matter why does that matter why does that matter why does that matter and you start reading this book and Solomon goes okay I'm the wisest man on the earth so what I'm gonna die you're stupid I'm smart we both die so what is my death better because I was smart when I died because I'm rich you're poor we both die No then what where's my stuff go where's your stuff go it doesn't matter we're both dead he goes so I had a lot of fun you didn't we're both dead so what and he starts looking at everything in light of death and the whole finality of it all gone what what in life really matters how much of what we do is just absolutely meaningless and so when someone passes away it gets you in this mindset of okay what matters now does it matter that I kept my pride and I didn't stand there and let him yell at me does that matter no it doesn't they start realizing all the things you do in life that are absolutely meaningless meaningless meaningless everything meaningless pointless why did I do that why did I spend my money on that I could have given it that I could have done this I could have done that I can use my time for that and now I look back and go wow what a waste these are the words that he has for us and he talks about death and and in Chapter 7 he he gives us these words he gives us these phrases which at first you look at and they sound paradoxical they sound like okay he's telling him but he's making a bunch of false statements but he's not these are true statements they just appear Falls to us because we never hear them no one talks like him no one says these things we don't hear these types of phrases and and the first time you hear you go what no no no but then the deeper you you look into it the thinker thinks it through and goes wow he really gets it there is a lot of meaningless stuff he says in Chapter seven he says he says a good name is better than fine perfume and the day of death is better than the day of death of birth is it's better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting for death is the destiny of every man and the living should take this to heart he's a sorrow is better then laughter you hear that all the time on because a sad face is good for the heart he says the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the how the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure this is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools like the crackling of thorns under the pot so is a laughter of fools this too is meaningless so so he starts off and okay the first thing he says he's okay a good name is better than fine perfume okay and I understand that being named Francis okay but that's not really why he's talking about okay what are you talking about is a good name in the sense of you know who you are that's what a name was okay that's not what we think of today but you know when you talked about someone's name is his character his very being and he says you know what what's what's more important is who you are more important than what you have even if you have all this stuff if you don't amount anything you at the core of who you are it's pointless and yet most of people today we're willing to compromise for money we're willing to stretch the truth a little bit so that we can save a little money you know why because we're concerned about this stuff and not losing this stuff and getting more stuff rather than I mean how much time do you spend in a day thinking about your name your character and who you are as a person and you know how much time do you spend in a given day thinking about what you can acquire and stuff and you know what Solomon is saying that you want to know it's it's your it's who you are at the end of your life your carry that's more important I mean understand as emotion is here's a guy at the end of his life going it's like a parent you know sync run down that road you don't want to do it and that's what Solomon that's why he's using the strongest words you can say because it's meaningless it needs as the phrase because it's like chasing after the wind because we can do that once you go run after the one see if you can catch it go because this is so dumb trust me I've been there everything was meaningless and if you're gonna try to acquire a bunch of stuff that's pointless what's more important is your name and who you are and then he says the day of death is better than the day you were born when's the last time you heard that we just we just had it we just had a baby and it's like oh no way what a great day in fact before the baby's born let's have a shower let's have a few showers for you you know let's just throw a bunch of gifts at you because we can't wait till his baby's born then once the baby's born let's give you more presents because the baby's born how big was she you know you know how fat was she how long was she you know everything's about the birth and what a great day what a wonderful day what day was she born let's celebrate that day every day every year every year of her life let's celebrate the day she was born and then what we do when someone dies just keep this short let's just do the funeral let's just move on we need to move on in life and yet Solomon says none of the day of death is better that's an exciting time for the person who has a good name I understand if a person just has a bunch of possessions and just dies with a bunch of stuff yeah that's miserable but a person who dies maybe haven't given it all away during his lifetime and-and-and-and has a good name actually lived for something believed in something he says the day of that person's death is way better than the day he was born I mean if we as believers can't celebrate our deaths what can we celebrate you know I mean think I think about the day that I died you know for a lot of people you they're gonna think it's a sad day and and I just think man that should be the day you celebrate now my birthday throw a shower when I die you know I mean serious buy each other gifts and go man he always wanted to be up there and there he is you know I mean what a what a what a celebration and and Solomon says you know the day of death is better than the day of birth but he says a really interesting thing and this is the the verse I can't get over is verse two when he says it is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting it's better it's better to go to a house of mourning a house of mourning was when someone died within that household what would happen is they would have like a week they would have seven days of the severe lamenting and then after the seven days they would have another 23 days of grieving it's not as intense as the first seven days but it's still equally you know sad and and so you've got this thirty days you know taking place in this house where they're just bawling their eyes out the first week then after it's just dealing with the grappling with it and Solomon says you know that's a good house to visit he says it's better for you to stay in there and to think about that for a while then it is for you it is to go on to the next party and and you know we just don't think this way at all I mean how often do you think that it would be a good idea to just go spend some time with people that are just fallen their eyes out and mourning and he says that's better he doesn't say it's more fun okay the word there is the word good it's more good it's better you see a lot of times we think well if it's not fun how can it be good because we think those two are synonymous we go to wherever it's most fun because they well that's a good place because it's fun and Solomon says know what's what's the greater good is if you would spend time in a place of mourning rather than a place of feasting and he explains why he says because death is the destiny of every man and the living should take this to heart he says you know why it'd be good for you to go to a house of mourning where everyone's weeping and they're thinking about this death he says because you need to think about death he says because that's your destiny it was so good for me to walk up to a casket and see a dead body in there not saying was fun not saying was enjoyable but it was good it was good for me because you look at a pile of bones and flesh and go man that that's my destiny you just go that's that's how it ends and he says you know why it's good for you go that he says because that's your destiny and the living should take this to heart and the phrase there take this to heart and the Hebrew literally means put this in your heart stick it in your heart this thought this thought of death and your heart wasn't just this emotional thing you know pumps blood whatever you think of it in their minds that the heart was the idea of the core of your being where you make your decisions it's like the control center for your body where you determine what you're going to do he goes stick this knowledge of your death being your destiny and stick that into place where you make your decisions so every time you make a decision you run it through the grid of death and you think to yourself well I'm gonna die so what when I die which decision will I care about more he says that should be in your heart when you make decisions you make them in light of death and saying when I die will I care about this what decision will be more important when I die because that's my destiny see and he reminds us of this and we're not we don't like to talk about the stuff this is uncomfortable for us how many people just you know if you pass by in during the day want to talk about death it's something we gloss over something we just want to move on you know let's talk about the birth let's talk about a baby being born let's talk about how awesome it wasn't isn't that no no Solomon says if you are wise you would spend time thinking about debt because that's your destiny and honestly there's not a whole lot of people that will remind you of that but you are going to die and you need to start making decisions based upon the fact that you're gonna die any day any second he says sorrow is better than laughter does anyone ever heard that from anyone else so Solomon other than Solomon sorrow is better than laughter you see we don't believe this I'm at the funeral right on on Friday this Friday and in my hands falling our eyes out and one of my relatives comes up hugs her and I just hear her whispering to my aunt oh don't cry everything's fine oh yeah everything's fine yeah don't cry we immediately feel like we got to fix it if someone's crying like something's wrong if you're sad you know here's some here's some medication maybe need the medication because you're sad and sadness isn't right and so let me let me dampen your emotions a little bit put you in a fog so you won't hurt so much and then other people take it to the extreme of oh you're sad well then there must not be a god I'm sad how can there be a god right look at all these sad people how could there be a god well according to that God he says sorrow is actually better than laughter it's better for you while it may not be more fun there's a good that it does in you James explains how those trials in those difficult times actually give you the character and the perseverance in life it's actually a good thing and he says a good he says a sad face is good for the heart and you guys sometimes we just we have all this pressure like we've got to be you know these smiley people all the time and absolutely there's a time to rejoice seriously and I think the general flow of our lives is one where we're filled with absolute joy and peace and not saying that I don't have that I'm just saying that there are times when you you're still sad and and and and to fake it that's what's wrong that's deception and and that you you shouldn't feel like you need to come to church and and put on a face you know and pretend you're happy if your life's falling apart a lot of people when when life's difficult they go I don't want to go to church I don't want to go to church and then just put on a fake smile I didn't say go to church and put on a fake smile I just said go to church but they don't want to come because they feel like they have to fake it and honestly that's why I left it's like I just got to go around and fake it it's like oh no no no there's nothing wrong with being sad over the things we ought to be sad over this is wrong to be sad over stupid things but but Jesus it says when he saw the multitudes and how they were like sheep without a shepherd it says he felt compassion and the word compassion is really a horrible translation in my mind because the the greek word is is is the word bowels it's it's it's not like he looked at the people when you think compassion you think you go oh a little girl kids oh you know all right that's compassion but the word that's used there is is is a gut-wrenching it's like someone just got hit by a train you don't go home you know your stomach turns you just get sick to your stomach and that's the emotion that Jesus felt when he saw these people wandering around like sheep without a shepherd it killed him it was gut-wrenching it's like ah this is awful this is this is this is awful and and that's the idea you know a sad face is good for the heart and then he says the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure but the fool is the person that always wants to keep laughing and joking about everything and not deal with the issues because that's the fool but the heart of the wise so the wise person actually will spend time mourning the wise person will actually grieve over the things that he ought to be Grievous over it's actually dwell over death and think about gosh that is an awful thing for some people and it's a wonderful thing for some people but to take it to heart and to think about it and think of now death that's what the wise person does and he says this in verse five he says it's better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools because it's so much better to heed you know when a wise man speaks that Solomon here okay he's wiser than you or I'm not saying I am I'm saying Solomon is he's wiser than you are and so it would be good for you if you'd listened to him listen to what he says and maybe avoid some of the things that he's done rather than going down into the same dead-end roads it's wise it's not more fun I mean who wants to go from here and dwell on death and think wow that'd be fun you know Friday night what do you want to do let's get a bunch of people together and talk about death oh yeah put out flyers you know it's just it's just dumb you know but he says it's better for you than to do that than to listen to the song of fools and he says and that's like like the crackling of thorns under the pot he says so is the laughter of fools this too is meaningless and and you guys I struggle with this because because if I'm honest with myself I have to say I like stupid is that good grammar I like I like the songs of fools I do I'd like to just laugh I like I like finding the stupidest movie at the video store like just the one that you know has no plot you know you know the comedy that you know just makes no sense and I just like to just turn it on and then just laugh I go mad you know it's going what a great night you know just yeah just so I thought that's fun to me I love getting together with a bunch of guys that just know how to talk about stupid things you know while the other girls are in the room sharing their feelings we just talk about stupid you know and and just you know what what can we talk about and that's I like that because it's escape from real elodie is what we enjoy i just let's not deal with the real snow not talk about the fact we're going to die they just go laughs i mean this this whole thing the songs of fools the song of fools we love every generation has loved the song of fools for those who are back with the beatles remember remember the song imagine what a great song huh what does it say imagine there's no heaven it's easy if you try no hell below us above us only sky imagine all the people living for the day you may say that I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one and I hope someday you'll join us and the world can be as one would not be beautiful if we just pretended there was no heaven just do it where there's no heaven there's no hell and it's just all about today and we just all have a good time and everyone joins in this whole make-believe dream think about how fun it could be imagine that's the message that's the song of fools and we love it and we'll sing it be one of our favorite songs and it doesn't change throughout time you know more modern it's it's just you okay now all I want to do is have some fun I had the feeling I'm not the only one see see and and it's like wow you know I like that you know it's fun and I just start thinking about you know my childhood and all this song as I grew up with and I loved I loved all different types of music and and it was like the Dumber the song the more I liked it the name the more meaningless the name Owen go bingo yeah no Chumbawamba yeah that's an even better name let's just come up with names that just didn't just try to come up with it you know these these songs so good I can dance if I want to I can leave my friends behind my friends don't dance and if they don't answer no friends of mine and it's like oh yeah what a great song so you don't let it just whip it whip it good in the shade you know shape it up get straight go forward move ahead try to detect it it's not too late you know it's like yeah you know that's a great song you know and we sing again and you know and and we're just like wow this is the best you know and even now it's like don't you want to sing some of those songs together come on shout shout let it you know and it's like oh let's just do that you know because those were those were the best those were so fun and we just love we love singing them we love to stay in this mode right now where we could just sit it wouldn't be fun is just sit right now for like half an hour and just think about the old songs and just start singing them together right that's fun well that's right happy gilmore next Sunday you know let's uh let's just let's just do that let's just get our mind in this total fog and this make-believe you know and just just to find the stupidest things let's get together you know and the following week will be three amigos and we'll just let's just let's just laugh you know that's fun and and I look at this past deco man that show me I so love to just escape reality we love to be plastic we love to be in a fog and it's like you never see this more clearly and until you go to another country and people actually talk about death and they actually weep and wail and and there are no answers for some of them you know then you realize wow we're so fake over there we're in such a fog and we talk about the stupidest things on earth and and we like it we love it and we surround ourselves with it and then you read these words and you go oh man it's the fool it's the fool that keeps his heart in the house of pleasure and yeah there's a time to laugh he says it in the same book there's a time to laugh there's a time to cry but it's like we don't want that other side we want to stay in this house of pleasure and he says you know what you're a fool and when you read this book isn't it true but gods biggest problem not saying that God has problems when you read this book isn't it true that God's biggest problem is keeping his covenant people focused it's not the world the world's been wicked from the start the biggest problem is keeping his covenant people focused every time he gets in at one point they just run off and do their thing again and so what makes it and what makes us think that it's different now I mean if they wrote about the church here and Simi Valley and everything else what would they say in this book it'd be like all you there's this group that just so sought after comfort pleasure and everything else they forgot all about the fact that people die and spend eternity apart from him and they lost their vision they lost their focus just like everyone else did in history but everyone's know it somehow there's a person that stands out in Scripture that stays focused all the way through you know and it's rare it's so rare you can't expect to have everyone there you know one of those guys is a is a is what's a Caleb I love the story of Caleb Caleb Caleb and Joshua remember they're the two good spies you remember when they sent the 12 spies over you know hey check out this area see if we can win and they all oh no it's too hard it's too hard but Caleb and Joshua are going to know we can do it and but everyone else was against them and so God makes him wander around in the day for 40 years and then I I love what Caleb says at the end of his life after that whole worn wandering because God keeps him alive because it was faithful and listen to these words in Joshua 14 verse 10 he says now then just as a lord promised he has kept me alive for 45 years since the time he said this to Moses while Israel moved moved about in the desert so here I am today 85 years old I'm still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day I just love that this guy goes don't remember 45 years ago what did I say I said we could take it because I'm 85 years old now and that hill country belongs to me and I can fight like I fought 45 years ago so let's go and let's take it you think yeah I just love that passage this guy that just says you know what I can do it I'm still focused I still know what I'm on is earth to do I'm still here to fight for the Lord I've been waiting 45 years for a whole new generation to die pass away so another one would come but I kept my focus the whole time man he's still fired up you know one of the cool things about this last trip this last weekend was I got to go and see my wife's grandma grandma Clara and said a lot of guys know her there that we're here when the church was it was there you know early on she just the sweetest lady just loves the Lord and just has such a unique relationship with him she's been through everything in life gone through so much in in life and and when we take her out to dinner and I'm sitting across from this 92 year old lady just sharp as a tack still it's got just just just an awesome awesome woman and she looks at me and she goes honey I need some advice from you that's just a humbling statement

Channel: GOD IS SAVIOR

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Keywords: solve your anxiety, solve, anxiety, everyday, Francis Chan Sermons - How To Solve Your Anxiety Everyday, How To Solve Your Anxiety Everyday, francis, chan, Francis Chan, Francis Chan 2018, Francis Chan Sermons, Pastor Francis Chan, preaching, pastor francis, pastor chan, Francis Chan Illustration, Francis Chan Live

Id: 0UOvw3FydFU

Length: 34min 27sec (2067 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 21 2018