Hope in the Storm

well welcome thanks for joining us at Central Church online we are so thankful that you're tuned in with us that we're either in your home or on your mobile device my name's Nick this is Mike this is Chloe and we're gonna be your online host today hey we would love for you to share this experience so do as a huge favor and just hit that share button wherever it is you're watching from whatever platform you're watching on we believe that right now there is so much bad news in the world there are so many scary headlines and we want to counter that with hope with uplifting messages with encouragement and with positive community and we can do that right here with central on live and you can be a part of that as well so share this stream to wherever it is you're watching from so as many people as possible can experience that we want you out there to be able to experience hope or to share hope or to give hope and we set up a website called hope for the city and hope for the city TV is just a way that you can plug in if you need prayer or you need care there's a section for you to do that there or if you'd like to serve maybe to volunteer to make a difference in someone's life to offer hope or if you want to give hope a financial gift to help us resource all that God's doing you can go to hope for the City TV and we want to thank you for letting us know your needs and allowing us to be part of your life so I'm sure it's pretty obvious that these past two weeks now we're almost two weeks has been a little bizarre in the entire world everything looks different right now and I kind of feel like for the first time possibly ever everyone in the world is kind of experiencing the same feelings which is really bizarre but I think something positive that we can look at is just how to find the good in all of this what are we doing that's making us feel like maybe we're not stuck at home but they were just experiencing life a little differently right now Mike it was recently that you message finding the good in all of this yeah it's it's really important I think I think if we just watch the news it just seems like it's all bad but if we take a step back and we really focus on all that God may be trying to do in our life I mean think about what you don't have taken you have your family around you you can find good in that you can find good in the idea that God gave you this day to capitalize on you can find the good and the fact that God is at work in our world that his love has not changed that he has your back that he's for you we can find good if we really look for it it's all around us but it's a choice we have to look for the good yeah I know we've had a lot of fun just really trying to home-school our kids and all that that means in fact I think my kids are gonna really look forward to going back to school their mom is incredible and she has kept them structured and going throughout the day but one of the ways that we've even be able to being a been able to bring church into our home is by going to central dot family central dot family and there we have kids and youth experiences already set up for them or you just have to hit play as a parent and they get to go to church online as well so make sure to check that out if you're a parent oh that's incredible yeah um I've discovered the past two weeks that I'm actually a very good cook I didn't not know that but without going to lots of restaurants right now I've had to step it up in the kitchen and my husband loves to cook as well and actually so does our toddler so we've been having fun just seeing what is it that we can do together as a family that we don't normally have as much time doing and speaking of it's crazy to think that Easter at Central is only a few weeks away so if you're looking for something that you can do as a family if you go outside and write Easter at Central on the sidewalk and invite people you know you never know who's gonna go on a walk and get invited to Easter but we want to let you know that at the end of this experience you're gonna have an opportunity to speak with our pastors so go to central dot family and hit join the conversation right at the end of this arians we want to let you know that we're here for you and how you can take a next step so do us a favor and share this stream right now because we're about to get started but wherever it is you're watching from from all around the world let's get ready to together experience central online [Music] Station [Music] reaction yeah [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] there is [Music] you can come [Music] [Music] there's beauty part Isis [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music] [Applause] you can call [Music] [Music] that was so good in fact that was incredible I want to say hello to all of you today and thrilled that you're here my name is Mike I serve as one of the pastor's welcome to Central Online thank you for being part of the central family and we hope that you would experience hope with us today we're thrilled you're here yeah my name is Nick I'm sitting here with the awesome incredible Chloe and we are all gonna be your host today and Chloe I know that we just we wanted to do some things we got him to share this experience give him some details around well you know how when you show up to church normally you post on your story that you're watching Church you invite people that way but you can still do so by watching this online stream and sharing it to whatever platform it is you're watching from so if you're watching on social media or on YouTube on our website just share it to your own profile your own story let people know that during this time of scary headlines and bad news you're choosing to press pause on that and choose encouragement and uplifting messages today and they can do that too so go ahead and follow us on social media for more content to post more information it's at Central online or download our app central church yeah we'd also love for you to be a part of the conversation by going to central dot family you don't need a WW you don't need a comm just go to central dot family and while you're there you can actually be a part of the conversation with our pastors and our team right after this experience that will be live and available you don't want to miss it any questions any prayer requests that's the place to go central dot family hey since you're here this weekend we'd love to hear your prayer request you can give them on this stream or you can text the word prayer two five five zero zero zero that is prayer two five five zero zero we literally have hundreds of people praying 24 hours a day 7 days a week we'd love to lift up your prayer need with you you know when this all started to happen when the pandemic really hit our city we knew that we needed to hit our world we knew we needed to run to the problem not away from the problem and so we first thing we did is we created a website called hope for the city dot TV I hope for the city whether you want to experience hope because you have food needs or prayer needs or just need a church to be there for you or you want to share hope with others you want to give hope all that can take place at hope for the city dot 2d TV make sure to go and check that out absolutely and if this is a lot of information a lot of different things to text or websites to memorize I want you to remember one thing and that's central dot family so you can go right there to central dot family you don't need the www you don't need calm just central dot family you can find all of this information right there but Mike would you pray for everyone watching right now I really would love to let's just bow together where we are let's just pray together well father we just pause from the craziness of the world and all the things that are going on around us and we move close to you in fact you promised when we lift you up that you draw us unto yourself God I know on this family today there are many many many people that need you they need to know your love they need to know your goodness they need to know that you have their back they need to know that you care for their needs and father whatever the needs are from each person as we lift them to you I pray that you would answer them that you would pour yourself out on us as we worship you today and that we would receive the message of hope in our hearts today that we know that you're a good god and that you care for us and that you'll never leave us or forsake us god we thank you in advance for all that you're going to do in our lives today for we pray these things in Jesus name Amen amen well hey we are so excited about some numbers we want to celebrate from the past week with hope for the city so let's check out this video together [Music] everybody I'm here with Kelly Oh what do you see it on the front lines as you're serving and just give it back to her I think this is just we're blessed to be able to be out here first of all the fact that we're healthy and so being able to serve the best of humanity I mean it's some heartbreaking stories coming on in these cars being able to pray with some people and you got a massive team that shows up every single day to help out so the central family go right next to me is our second truck of the day they just showed up dropping more food so even though this is a really simple operation I mean if you were to look out you would just see a few pallets on the ground a few tables and then some volunteers that are all bagging this product putting it into cars where he usually thankful from all of our volunteers at Central and all that wouldn't be possible without our partnership with Greece where they're the ones that are delivering the food and really handling a lot of the logistics behind it so it's absolutely incredible we're able to do we're able to do it through the generosity of you guys church family and huge thank you from the bottom of my heart [Music] today he's that my kids and I are gonna be able to eat so we're really grateful for this because our community needs city needs love it means light it means bringing everything that God given and sharing it with the city this is a great opportunity for Vegas to come together and this is all we can do for each other as help each other in times of need I'm grateful for people like this people who are helping people who are just struggling and we're all trying to help each other one of the volunteers just said to me hey this is where you'll find the best of humanity and it's a little overwhelming you pull up and the cars just line I mean they're just hundreds of cars we haven't even officially opened yet we're about to open and we'll go until the food runs out for the day we're giving a hundreds of thousands of pounds of food and our partnership with three square and we're honored to serve our city we're grateful if you want to help and you want to jump in you can go to hope for the city that TV you can sign up to be a part of our prayer team or we would love to pray for you you can let us know there you can also sign up to volunteer if your if your health that your kind of environment allows that to happen most of you should stay home but these are government approved emergency response sites or if you want to give a financial gift to help us continue to do this we desperately need it vote for the City TV you can give a gift you can help us continue to serve the city I'm so proud of our central team I'm so proud of the many volunteers and people rallying together and love you all god bless you [Music] well hey central family we come now to a time where we're gonna have our offering our virtual offering as our offering is a response where we give back to God and just seeing some of the many amazing things that are going on the way the central family is serving the city just one quick story I was out serving in some of our pop-up food pantries we did 27 pop-up food pantries this week alone not only in the Las Vegas area but we were able to serve food in Arizona in Florida in Australia where we have different locations to serve those cities as well which is just amazing but I was serving out there and I got to know a guy named Michael who had come to faith that Central was baptized and had his shirt on that he was baptized in that he kept from eight years back I knew it was a vintage shirt and I'm like how old is that he's like eight years just had forgiven on the back some of you'll have that shirt and it had been through the washer let me tell ya but he goes yeah this was the shirt that I wore when I got baptized and it meant a lot to me and so we served together the whole day we handed out hundreds and hundreds of cars worth of food and in the midst of that process as the conversation went on I found out he was laid off he was unemployed and I had already been out looking for jobs but as many of you understand because you're in that situation as well but he was still serving and giving back and doing what he could and he got a text message from a grocery chain that he might be able to go forward in the interview process and we all stopped what we were doing there was a little break in the cars and we gathered around them and we prayed over him and you know friends that's the church we're here for each other we're all in this together and so when it comes to our offering this is a time where we worship God and give back to him and I know there's three different types of people there's there's one group of people that you're really hurting right now maybe you've been laid off you really have no idea how you're gonna get through next week or even next month and we want to help you we want to serve you you can go to hope for the City TV we'd love to pray for you if you need food we'd love to help get that food into your hands we want to do whatever we can for you there's another group of people that you're just hunkered down hoping you can weather the storm and hold on and if you're able I want to encourage you to continue to be faithful with your reoccurring giving continue to trust God with all that he's entrusted to you and then there's a third group of people that you you're in a position to really help and if ever there was a time in my lifetime when we needed help now is the time and I won't encourage you to step up and make a difference for the sake of others you know your central family across our locations last week alone gave out over 600,000 pounds of food 600,000 pounds of food in the last two weeks we've given out over a million pounds of food that's just mind-boggling and we could never do that without great community partners in each of our cities who partner with us and help us we could never do that without our amazing volunteers hundreds of volunteers bringing so much hope and life and love into our communities and we're not just there to give food I've been reminding our team all all the last two weeks we don't just share food we share hope we don't just share food we share hope what people need is hope as much as they need anything else right now and so the best thing that we can give people is a non anxious presence and a calm and we provide this food for them and the number one emotional response we see from people is thankfulness and gratitude it's been a beautiful thing to see we're seeing the best of humanity in our cities as we serve and give back and we see the best of humanity in our church family as people continue to be generous even though there's a lot of unknowns in the future and I want to thank you for that if you'd like to support what we're doing you get more information to hope for the city dot TV you can also give a financial gift and hope for the city TV if you would like to give at our website you can go to central online TV slash give central online TV slash give or you can just type in your browser central dot family just central dot family and it's a whole links page with all the different things that I'm talking about and you can get connected and hopefully we can either meet your need or you can help meet somebody else's need and I want you to know any gifts that God would lead you to give as an act of worship matters maybe you're only able to give a dollar but I want to encourage you to sign up and begin to give a dollar back to the community to support others to make a difference you'll feel better you'll feel good and it'll help other people who are in need and if all of us do that it'll make a huge impact so thank you from the bottom of my heart I'm in it with you and I believe in this season we have an opportunity as the church community to be at our very best to bring hope and help to people god bless you [Music] yeah [Music] with melody [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] yeah [Music] yeah [Music] for saying [Music] so I do [Music] he creams Oh beaver be the story you right beside [Music] no you're fine [Music] [Music] [Music] see [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] you may [Music] [Music] [Music] every battle [Music] you [Music] you [Music] [Music] Oh you boy son [Music] there's a story in the Bible the book of Genesis which is the very first book of the Bible about a man named Joseph and God had given Joseph this incredible ability to interpret dreams in fact he was the youngest of many brothers and his brothers were so jealous about his gift that eventually they they threw him into a pit they sold him into slavery he gets transferred to Egypt and there in Egypt he became the lead servant over a household eventually accused of doing wrong in that household even though he was innocent he was thrown into prison and they're in prison he just began to interpret Therese in fact one of the dreams he interpreted was for an individual who worked for the king of Egypt and that inmate eventually gets released from prison and and he goes back to work for the Pharaoh and he forgets about Joseph for two years until one day the Pharaoh says I've I've had this dream I can't interpret what it is can you help me out and he pulls in all these people to try to interpret and nobody's giving him the right answers but the cupbearer for the key remembers Joseph and so they go get him out of prison the Pharaoh looks at Joseph in system do you have the answer to this this vision that I'm having they said I do not have the answers but I know the one and listen I know in this season we may not have all the answers but we lean into God we know that God does have the answers he already knows the future he has the outcome for the sickness and I believe that he will use it for good even though you might be in fear right now you might be scared I want to take a moment and just ask God to move and work wherever you're at right now whether you're watching with your family in your living room if you're watching on your mobile device just take a moment stretch your hand out let's just ask God to do what only you can do God we come before you right now many of us full of fear many of us who are just stuck because we don't have the answers and lord I just pray that right now God we would just let go that we would put our trust in our hope in you god I just pray for those who are sick right now I ask God that you would heal them Lord I pray for family members and friends who have lost loved ones this week God that you would just comfort them in this season or for those who have a family member a friend who said God that you would just allow them to have some peace in the season to put their trust in you god I pray for the doctors and and the nurses and our EMTs and those who are truly on the front line helping people right now god I ask Lord that you would just watch over them watch over their families protect them god I pray for our our federal state local government officials that you would just give them wisdom that you would give them answers in this season how to best lead us god I just pray Lord that you would just move in a way that would ultimately wipe the sickness out from the earth God we're putting our trust and our hope in you we believe that you will come through or thank you for this amazing time of worship that we can meet in all these promises on these truths about your work god it's because you live we have a hope and we have a future for it's in your name we pray and everyone [Music] God Santa's they called him Jesus he came [Music] for you to buy my empty grave is there to prove my seed [Music] to my beakers do Oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] because he [Music] well that song is what it's all about is why we gather every weekend to celebrate because he lives and it actually is why we gather one big weekend out of the year thousands and millions of Christians all over the world and that's for Easter to celebrate that he lives and Easter is right around the corner it is April eleventh and twelfth just a few weeks away and we are gonna have some incredible online experiences for Easter and we also have a special opportunity just a few days before Easter you want to tell them about that Mike yeah fact on the Friday before Easter we call that Good Friday April the 10th we're gonna share in a special time of communion together remembering the death and the sacrifice that Jesus made on all our behalf and we'll invite you to mark your calendars for Friday April 10th we'd love to have you come and experience a very moving and meaningful experience with us well I'm excited because pastor Judd is coming to share a message of hope with us today in fact I want to share who pastor Judd is quickly yeah pastor Judd has been Central's pastor for the last 17 years he is an incredible leader he always points us to what's really important what we need to put our minds are and how we need to protect our hearts and that is focusing on Jesus and I'm sure today will be no different he's got an incredible message in store absolutely we're so excited and hey if you are watching on Instagram I do want to warn you that Instagram requires us to restart the feed after watching for one hour so we're gonna do that right now but I want to encourage you the best way to watch is by going to Central online TV and joining our live stream there but wherever it is you're watching from let's welcome pastor Jed to the stage now to share a message of hope all right well man it is so good to be here with you online and together virtually and in community digitally if you will I do have a few people less than 10 in the room so you might hear some clapping that's just to give me a little energy it's also to just communicate to some of you that you may want to join in and do some clapping and show me some love as we're going through talk but man I'm so glad that you're here with us today I don't know what kind of week you've had but most of us have had a moment over the last few weeks where the stress just started to show up in big ways in our lives I mean I had a moment this this last week where I was running on like no sleep and lots of caffeine and I was pacing around and all of a sudden it was like it just started spilling out of me I was short with my family I was short with my kids it was stress kind of all over the place I was flinging it around anybody feel me and it was real and so my son Ethan just did something that touched me so deeply he got up and walked over to me and he gave me a hug y'all my son Ethan my 16 year old son gave me a hug that has never happened not since he was like 5 years old I'm telling you he hasn't hugged me except for when I make him hug me since he was 5 years old and Ethan of his own volition walked up my 16 year old who's taller than me who looks down on me and he gave me the first hug of his adult life because he said he look like I look like I needed it and I did it only took a global pandemic to draw it out of him but it made a difference it impacted me he gave me a hug because he could see the stress was getting to me and I was so grateful and after that experience it just gave me strength the rest of the week to push through and to be strong and to keep going and to serve others and we all need hugs in this time not literal hugs from for many of us for with social distancing it's just like gum you know these kind of hugs right here right but but with family hugs are important and letting people know we're with them and a lot of grace towards one another it's huge it makes a difference because we're all going through different highs and lows fact uh the next day I was feeling pretty good and I actually found myself in a situation where I was working on my message and that night it kind of all hit Laurie and she came out and and to my office area and sat down with me and just began to talk about anxiety and fear and and what was going on there and how you know how in our hearts and lives we were we were doing carrying all that stuff and we talked together and we prayed together we asked for God's help and then in the end I sent her to take a hot bath and to kind of just relax for a minute we both felt better after prayer but the learning there is you can't carry what only God can carry don't carry what only God can carry you're gonna feel a lot of things and that's okay go through a lot of motions and that's okay in fact I went through my own emojis because that's a big way we communicate emotion and I just began to look at and all the different emojis and and which ones I was sending and what that was saying about my own emotional state and so check out some of these different emojis my fourth most popular emoji that I've sent in the last two weeks is this emoji right here this is the mind blown emoji right and I think we all can understand this feeling like wow I can't believe these things are happening I never thought these things would happen I never thought we'd be going through this in our hearts and in our lives the mind-blown emoji the other third most popular emoji I'm sending is this one anybody relate to this right here anybody can I mean this is like um you know the tongue out crazy eyes I mean it's just like running around like you're losing your mind trying to manage crisis mode and leadership crisis and business crisis and and navigate all of that and so these have been the two emojis that sort of captured maybe what we would say is the negative situation over the last few days but I want to talk to you also about the positive because the two most emojis that I'm sending the most often are actually positive emojis this one is the flexing arm and it's a reminder in our lives that that no matter how hard things get no matter how difficult things get no matter how tough things are that were not alone that God works in weakness that as hard as it is in this season listen this is the church's finest hour this is followers of Jesus finest hour this is when we show the strength that God works through us even when we're weak this is when we show that we're not alone listen we're all carrying something in our life some are carrying fear some are carrying panic some are carrying anxiety but God is calling us to carry love and hope and peace and calm in this season were carriers right we're carriers not just of the coronavirus but of a whole lot of negative things in our heart and life but will we be carriers of God's strength and goodness and wisdom will we be people who bring strength to others in this time and in this season that's what God desires for us so I've been sending the strong-armed a lot to people say and now is when we're strong now is when we stand strong now here's my most popular emoji that I've been sending and that's praying hands praying hands because we need a miracle right now we don't know how to get out of this situation on our own we need God to show up and do what only God can do and so we are praying for a miracle we're asking God to move we are asking God to work but we're all gonna go through our own emotional ups and downs I mean this week I've talked to medical practitioners and professionals who are navigating all kinds of difficult situations and they're trying to hold themselves together for the people that they serve I've talked to those who are first responders just trying to keep it together so that they can continue to serve and make a difference in our community I mean I've talked to business leaders and business leaders are just facing an unprecedented amount of difficulty and turmoil right now and the financial and business aspects of their companies and trying to manage that I've talked to pastors and just had lots of conversations with religious leaders around the country who are facing things in their churches they never thought they would be facing I've talked to some homeschool parents who are out there and they're trying to figure out the new math so that they can teach their kids the new math but at this point I already gave up and they went back to the old math can I get a carry the one if you know what I'm saying right now man we're just gonna carry that one and that's how we're gonna roll better yet the way I teach math is here son here's a calculator let me just we'll just make this fast we're all facing a lot of emotions and a lot of things and it's okay to feel those feelings it's okay to have those moments to have those stressful moments those moments when you need a hug those moments when you need to sit down and just kind of vent all that you're feeling to weight that you're carrying that is normal let those feelings come but don't stop there also let your faith speak to your feelings don't just let your feelings tell the whole story don't just let your feelings define everything going on in your heart and life right now sometimes we've got to speak faith to our feelings sometimes we've got to remind our feelings that God is still in charge and God is still on the throne so friends here's what I want to do with you today listen I've had a heck of a week you've had a heck of a week we've all been through it for a couple weeks here's what I want to do I'm gonna preach to you today but I want you to know I'm preaching to myself and I'm preaching to my family and I'm preaching to you and to your family because what we do in these seasons is we stand on the promises of God and we're here for each other to remind each other that yeah it's scary but we're not alone yeah it's hard but we know one who's stronger than any difficulty we're up against yeah it feels overwhelming but God is not overwhelmed in this moment and he can fill us with strength so let's look at mark chapter 4 today mark chapter 4 mark 4 is this amazing story in the Bible about Jesus being out in a storm and I think we can all relate to this check this out it says but soon a fierce storm came up and high waves were breaking into the boat and it began to fill with water now let's just stop right there so it's an amazing storm and it's almost that the original Greek language gives the implication it's like a sort of a hurricane came down on the Sea of Galilee not a literal hurricane but it was intense it was fierce and there in a small boat so water's coming up over the edges and it's of overwhelming this this boat which is probably beginning to sink and these are like seasoned fishermen they know what it was to be out on the Sea of Galilee and a navigate this situation and so here's what we see in the text help me out on the read word when we get here in the very next sentence when I come across it wherever you're watching online just say this out loud it says Jesus was help me sleeping we just need to stop right there cuz that's a crazy thought here's Jesus in this moment of tremendous need in this moment when the whole situation is overwhelming in this moment when they don't know if they're gonna live or die and Jesus was asleep anybody wondered recently if God is asleep at the wheel is he still moving is he still working does he still care let's go back to our story mark chapter four he's sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion and the disciples woke him up and this is what they shouted teacher don't you care that we're going to drown could be translated this way teacher don't you care that we die it's a question that I think is very real for us today God do you care that we're suffering do you care that we're struggling do you care that people are dying do you care that hospitals are being overrun do you care that that our whole world feels like it's shutting down God where are you in this mess that's where the disciples were they were in a storm it was overwhelming and they wondered where Jesus was and he's sleeping but maybe Jesus is sleeping because he knows something that we need to be reminded of see I don't think Jesus is sleeping because God doesn't care about his people I think Jesus is resting because ultimately God is still in charge of his people and ultimately God's plan and purpose will still prevail and ultimately Jesus knew who was in control and he could rest in the midst of a storm do you know it is possible to have in the midst of a storm in your life it's possible to have peace whether you live or die it's possible to have peace whether the future brings all that you hoped it would or the exact opposite it's possible to have peace when everybody around you is panicking and that peace comes from God and His goodness and His Word and his promises Jesus models peace in the storm not because he doesn't care but because he knows who's ultimately in control and so it brings me to this thought how do we find peace in the midst of a storm first thought is simply this that we have to remember the bigger picture we have to remember the bigger picture in our lives got to remember that that God is still in control I remember when my kids were little they remember the first time my kids saw cartoons and you remember like Saturday morning cartoons Saturday morning I'm talking like for me it was like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and you know it was scooby-doo Richie Rich you know Saturday morning cartoons and that's old school right now some of you may remember coming home from school and you turn on like the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon and you'd watch those cartoons and that programming and commercials were still around back then nowadays I mean I guess kids know commercials from YouTube right it's reintroduced commercials but for my kids when they were little everything that they watched from a cartoon standpoint was on a DVR and you could just like fast-forward and go through the commercials and so they weren't really familiar with commercials and what they are I remember the first time II thin and I were watching Dora the Explorer we're watching Dora the Explorer he's totally engaged which means I got two minutes of freedom anybody feel me out there you know what I'm talking about I'm like oh yes just you know like just zoom in bro just watch that and he's watching it and he's in the moment and then all of a sudden they cut to a commercial and he looks over at me because he thinks I'm gonna just be able to fast-forward through the commercial to get to the episode again and when I can't do that I'm like I can't do that buddy it's his live programming and he looks back at the TV and he looks back at me back at the TV back and then here come the tears full-scale Full Tilt meltdown flopping on the floor I mean into the world the show's over Dora never comes back I'm we're never gonna find you know where we were going the whole thing and I member I'm just sitting there and I'm like I'm like Youth then it's okay it's gonna be all right like like this isn't a commercial it's just a minute it's just a break just just hold on and and you know he didn't understand finally the shell comes back on I'm like see I told you I told you the show would eventually come back on and he was good when the show is on but would you believe every set of commercials every time it went the commercials total full-scale meltdown all over again and I'm just like oh my goodness never again do we watch live programming but I was thinking about that story this week because I think it's easy right now to look on the news and read articles and hear certain pundits and start thinking the show's over so I'm thinking this is it man the world as we knew it is over it's never coming back and here's what people of faith can take hope in this show is not over until God Himself says it's over right until Christ comes back and God moved the show is not over God knows if this is just a commercial that leads to a re re starting of the original episode or if we're gonna go to a whole new level of programming God knows that but I gotta trust him just like my son had to trust me it's not worth it to flop around and let fear steal all of your joy in the moment for something you can't do anything about anyway you got to trust God and serve others and do what you can to help people in this time and so we got to get a bigger perspective got to get a bigger perspective back when it comes to a bigger picture I've got an image here it's just an image of you you see on this Polaroid and of the clouds and the storms that really represent the problems that we face in our lives and we all have different problems that we face and we struggle with and right now because with the coronavirus and work fears and family fears and stress I mean a friend of mine is in the dental business and many of their dental facilities have been closed because they have to be but he was telling me that one of the issues that they're facing is with people who are grinding their teeth from so much stress that they're cracking and even exploding their teeth and so people are under unbelievable amounts of stress and pressure and it's easy to just think this is the picture the problems are overwhelming and you're in the middle of them but people of faith remember today that there is a bigger picture people of faith remember today that there is another Polaroid and we got to hang on to that Polaroid and it looks like this yeah there's still you and yes there's still all your problems but don't miss this God is still large and in charge God is still bigger than your problem God is still bigger than the coronavirus God is still bigger than the world shut down guard is still bigger than hospitals being overrun God is still bigger than our own fears about our future and our finances God is still large and in charge and this is the bigger picture and peace peace isn't found in the absence of storms peace is found in the presence of God and it's the presence of God we need more than anything else right now in fact Jesus disciples they're about to get a bigger picture they're about to get a god-sized picture so here they are they're terrified they go they wake Jesus up mark chapter 4 verse 39 here's what it says when we get to the highlighted word read that out loud here with me but it says and he awoke and so Jesus woke and then it says he rebuked the wind and said to the sea what peace be still and the wind ceased and there was a great calm so Jesus he goes to the front of the vote he steps out and he speaks those words peace be still listen I believe today Jesus wants to speak those words peace into your heart and into your life I believe once again he will let him he'll walk into the storm of our hearts and our lives he'll remind us that we're not alone and he will speak those words powerfully into our storm peace be still and so I think the challenge for us is to lean into his word and to let him silence some of the other voices that we're hearing around us a lot of voices telling us that that we're not going to be okay telling us that it's the end sometimes those are the voices in our own hearts and minds we got to silence those voices and listen to the voice of Jesus and to the promises of God pieces are found in the absence of storms but in the presence of God and so today maybe you're here and maybe you're fearing the future and I just want to speak these words over your fear the words of Jesus peace be still maybe you're worried about catching kovat 19 peace be still maybe you just read an article and said the world is over peace be still maybe you aren't sure where you're gonna find work peace be still just close your eyes listen maybe your plans are on hold indefinitely peace be still maybe your family is driving you crazy peace be still maybe you're facing all kinds of stress in your marriage peace be still maybe you walk through the grocery store and the paper products aisle is completely bare peace be still maybe you just went online or read some conspiracy theories shouldn't do that peace be still maybe you work in emergency services and you're around people all the time peace be still maybe you're stuck at home right now and you aren't sure how you're gonna get basic supplies peace be still maybe you're watching people around your life at in your home who are overreacting or who are under-reacting peace be still maybe you're starting to see the coronavirus crisis become more political peace be still maybe you want to get back to just I 5 s and hugs I do to peace be still maybe you want to go back to school or back to work or just back to normal peace be still Psalm 46:10 God says be still and know that I am God peace be still let Jesus step out into your heart and into your mind and into your life and speak those words over you today yeah it's a storm and we don't know when it's ending yeah it's scary and we're not sure what to think of what's coming in the future but here's what I can promise you no matter what article you read no matter what a news story you see nobody knows what's coming in the future only God and we can trust him and the truth is our situation is actually no different today than it was two months ago only God knows what's coming in the future and we trust him just like we did then and we ask him to move in our heart and in our life and what I think so many of us are doing is we're caving to the temptation to worry about tomorrow and we're allow allowing an unknown tomorrow to rob us of the potential known joy we can have in our lives today we don't know what's coming but we could trust God even in the midst of it fact Laurie and I'm a few days ago we just we just went out for a walk it's the first time we'd sort of stopped together and we went outside and you know what the Sun was still shining and the birds were chirping and usually it was kind of an exercise walking so usually we'd just be like sort of hustling beside each other and talking the whole way and and we did we walked fast we did the whole thing but but what I noticed and I didn't notice it till we were 45 minutes into like an hour walk is that we actually held hands the whole time it was just a like an impulsive action in this time and it was meaningful and it was powerful I mean don't let the fear of tomorrow rob you of the chance today to spend time with people you love don't let the fear of tomorrow rob you of the opportunity you have today the gift that is the present to be thankful and to be grateful and to show kindness to people around you so in mark what you see is Jesus steps out in the boat and he speaks peace peace be still and it says suddenly there was calm calm on the water Jesus can bring calm to the storm and then look at mark chapter 4 beginning in verse 40 first the disciples come to Jesus with a question the same question that we might ask God today and that question is often like do you still care do you care if we die but then Jesus has a question for his disciples maybe a question for us today here's what he says help me on the read word he said he said to them why are you so afraid have you still know what faith do you have no faith I mean it hit me reading this someday the storm that we're currently in will be over and when it's over will the Lord be able to look at my actions and my life and say judge you had faith in the midst of the storm you stayed calm in the midst of the crazy you continued to trust and believe well done well Jesus look to me like he did to his own disciples and say why are you so afraid do you have no faith what good is my faith if it doesn't sustain me in the storm what good is my faith if it doesn't anchor me when everything else is out of control Jesus says why you so afraid and I fear is something that we read about often in the Bible in fact I went through the entire Bible and just looked at all the different times it challenges us do not be afraid I dozens and dozens and dozens of times and I just went through the Old Testament in the New Testament and just wrote down again and again all the times the Bible says don't be afraid Jesus says why are you so afraid and the Bible gives us all kinds of reasons that we can take confidence today even in scary situations and so let me show you what I learned just flying over the Bible we're just gonna fly over the Bible at 50,000 feet and I'm gonna I'm gonna repeat to you again and again what the Bible says about why we shouldn't be afraid first it says do not be afraid for God is with you do not be afraid for God hears you listen do not be afraid for the battle belongs to the Lord do not be afraid for God is coming to save you do not be afraid for he is here to help you do not be afraid for God will strengthen you don't be afraid for God will hold you up don't be afraid he'll do it with this victorious right hand don't be afraid for the Lord will personally go ahead of you don't be afraid for God will not fail you don't be afraid for God will never abandon you don't be afraid for God will protect you don't be afraid God knows your name don't be afraid God knows the number of hairs on your head don't be afraid for God is out to bless you don't be afraid for God will help you don't be afraid for God will heal you don't be afraid for God will give you a great reward don't be afraid of insults don't be afraid of the future don't be afraid of the powers of people or the powers of hell because nothing can separate you from his love his value his greater future don't be afraid because he gives the victory don't be afraid because it's his pleasure to give you the kingdom don't be afraid because he's the first and the last listen he's the Alpha and he's the Omega he's the king of all rulers and death couldn't hold him the grave couldn't hold him and the world cannot overcome him listen don't be afraid because Jesus is alive today and forever and he is coming soon that's the message of the Bible the storm is scary the unknowns are scary we're gonna feel the fields we're gonna have those emotions but don't just feel the feelings without speaking faith into your feelings remember what the Bible says in these moments and then stand on God's promises stand on God's promises you know my best friend of 20 years sent me pictures this last week that he started putting Christmas decorations up all on his house and you see a lot of people doing this around the country putting Christmas decorations up trying to bring some light and some hope to neighborhoods we see this happening I thought it was pretty cool and it reminded me of the one time only one time that I have put Christmas lights up on the outside of my house only once my wife met Emma or my daughter Emma had begged me to do this again and again and again and I just didn't want to have anything to do with it I wasn't going there but finally I broke down in in this moment of weakness and I said alright it was her senior year I said okay I'll do Christmas lights on the outside of the house I made a promise and so when the day finally came that we came to do the lights we we went we got the lights we came back we started to put them up on the house and then we had to go back and get me how to make like four trips to the hardware store to get more lights and get all the stuff and get the extension cords and I was angry and and I was frustrated my wife was you know her perfect self and so we eventually got to a place where in the midst of it we had one of the worst fights of our entire 23-year marriage total meltdown now you need to understand like because we all have different thoughts when we think total meltdown Lori and I we don't yell we don't scream we don't throw things way that's just you know everybody deals with anger differently right for Lori and I when it comes to a fight it just means that we get incredibly quiet I feel like I'm not nuclear when it comes to a fight I'm just um I'm the cold war y'all I'm the cold war and so I get to I didn't look this was long before social distancing and I'm telling you it was a lot more than six feet if you know what I'm saying I just got quiet and pulled back and she got quiet and pulled back and we went our what a different way and we didn't talk we didn't communicate and when I walked through the kitchen and was in the kitchen not bang things around so she had no I was frustrated come on somebody don't don't don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about you know like I was having a moment I wanted her to know it she'd do the same and it was all because I made a promise I promise I didn't want to keep a promise that I felt like I had to keep and I eventually caved and got it done and finished it with a terrible attitude my daughter had her lights and she's already like Oh dad look you know what people are doing in response to coronavirus they're putting christmas lights up on the outside of their house I'm like don't even think about it not happening no promises a lot of people think that's how God makes promises a lot of people think God you know he maybe promises to love us maybe promises to take care of us but you know it's progressing it's half-hearted he's grumpy about it he doesn't really want to do it he doesn't really want to step in he doesn't really want to help what's interesting is when you look to the Bible you see a totally different picture of God you see a God who not only promises but who is it's impossible for God to lie the Bible says he's faithful and he makes these promises to us which he will keep he will not violate himself even when we're unfaithful the Bible says God is faithful God is gonna move and work and it fought fulfill his promises and we can hang on to every single one back to mark chapter four verse 41 this is what we read it says the disciples were absolutely terrified so at first they're terrified of the storm you see this now they're terrified of Jesus it's like whoa what just happened they say who is this man they asked each other even the wind and waves help me obey even the wind and the waves obey Him see they become terrified because they realize that Jesus is in control who is this man God incarnate a reminder of all of us that God sees a bigger picture a reminder that no matter what we're going through look it's not just our problems that we're facing look your future is not simply determined by the size of your problem your future is determined by the size of your what picture are you gonna anchor into what picture are you gonna look at are you gonna hold onto God's promises right now are you gonna believe his promises and this season in your life are you gonna trust that he will fulfill his word to you right now in this season I want to share with you some promises that I'm holding on to I just went through the Bible and wrote down many of the prom not gonna quote chapter and verse of scriptures but these are all promises from the Bible and they're helping me find strength we've got to stand on God's promises in the midst of a storm because listen God's promises still stand even when a storm knocks you off your feet so when you feel like life is coming apart God says I hold all things together when you feel like we can't come back from this God says is anything too hard for me when you feel small and insignificant God says I delight in the details of your life when you feel powerless God says you can do all things through Christ when you feel overwhelmed God says the spirit within you is greater than the forces around you when you feel like you aren't gonna make it God says those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength and they will rise up on wings like eagles listen when you feel like the ground has shifted beneath your feet God says I'm the same today at the same yesterday and the same forever when you feel like you don't know what steps to take God says I direct the steps of the godly when you feel like no one knows the plan God says I know the plans I have for you plans to give you a hope and a future when you feel totally confined and limited God says for freedom you have been set free when you feel lonely God says nothing can separate you from my love when you feel frustrated God says cast your cares on me for I care for you when you feel like you don't know who to believe God says no one who believes in Me will ever be put to shame when you feel hopeless God says all things are possible when you feel like it's the beginning of the end God says I am the beginning and the end I'm the Creator I'm the sustainer I'm the Lord of lords and the king of kings I was in charge before the storm I'm in charge during the storm I'll be in charge after the storm my promises still stand they still stand and you better be putting your hands together at home you better be clapping right now in the living room right here in the auditorium come on people God's promises stand it's okay to feel the feels I feel it it's okay to have freaked out moments I have them but then we come back to what we know we know that God is still large and in charge we got to remember there's a bigger picture and then we got to stand on those promises of God this week I made it into a grocery store I felt like it was quite the accomplishment honestly it was like my fourth try we kept driving past grocery stores and there were lines of people out and they were letting them in like one by one and I think you know I'm very impatient so I'm like no I don't need groceries that bad we're good so you know I kept driving and kept waiting and finally I got in some of you had this experience this last week it's like score right for the five items that were left I was there but I'm so glad I got in this grocery store because I saw a friend of mine it goes to central name's Tina and love her and her whole family I've known him for 17 years since I first came to Central and I didn't realize she was working at this particular grocery store but she was working there part-time and we talked across a display keeping appropriate social distancing I said Tina how you doing first I think tur like I think everybody working in the grocery stores for the awesome job that they're doing right now but I said how are you you know how you doing in this season how you doing with everything going on and she said John I just walk around and quietly in my mind I sing the same song all day every day I said what's the song she said he's got the whole world in his hands and I just remind myself again and again he's got the whole world in his hands he's got the whole world in his hands and now I've been thinking about that song every day since he's got you and me brother in his hands he's got you and me sister in his hands he's got the whole world in his hands see the bigger picture stand on his promises feel the feels but speak your faith to your feelings and remember that God is with you in the middle of the storm let him step out into your heart and say peace be still peace be still maybe you're watching and maybe you've never really crossed the line of faith and I'd love to give you an opportunity just to reach out to God and to ask him to move and work in your heart and in your life if you'd like to become a follower of Jesus the Bible says we can do that by simply believing that Christ came and lived and and was crucified for our sins and rose again for us so that we could live a new life the Bible says you'll receive forgiveness the gift of God's Spirit I mean I want you to think about this we're in a time where everybody's talking about social distancing everybody's having conversations about social distancing but God does not want to be socially distant from you in fact one of the names of God in the Bible is Immanuel which means God with us God came to be with us in the person of Jesus he's left his whole revelation to us to give us inspiration and peace he loves you and he wants to be near you in your life and it'd be my honor and privilege to lead you in a simple prayer to just open your heart to him and ask him to move and work and do a work that only he can do with all of you bow your heads and close your eyes and if you'd like to become a follower of Jesus today you can begin that journey by just repeating a simple prayer after me to say dear God I thank you for loving me thank you for sending Jesus into the war I believe you died on the cross for my sins I believe he rose again forgive me for my sins give me the gift of eternal life help me face the challenges that I'm up against God I surrender my life to you in Christ's name friends with every head bowed and every eye closed if that's your prayer today if it's your commitment wherever you're at I want to ask you to just slip your hand in the air just to acknowledge you're gonna trust God in your life today you're gonna reach out to him you're gonna receive his forgiveness and his work in your life just slip your hand in the air god I thank you for each person reaching out to you I pray you'll do a miracle and their life and in all of our lives I pray you will step out and speak peace to our storm and bring the calm that only you can bring we give you praise in Christ's name Amen well if you just prayed that prayer and you just made a decision we want to say congratulations this is the greatest and biggest decision you will have ever made in your life and we just find that when you tell somebody when you let somebody know that you made that decision it just makes it all the more real to you it also provides us a way that we can be there for you so if you go to central dot family and you click the button I raise my hand we have team members standing by ready to walk with you to congratulate you and to send you a free copy of our how to follow Jesus guide make sure and go to central dot family you don't need a wwe.com we've said that before just go to central dot family and someone's ready to talk to you or if you just want to be a part of the conversation you can also go to central dot family you want to if you have questions if you want to have pastors pray for you just get involved through a zoom chat make sure to go to central dot family as well many of you might want to give a gift to offer hope to people right now fact if you heard pastor Judd he mentioned the fact that one dollar feeds a person three mils just a dollar the way that you can be a part of our hope for the city efforts just go to hope for the city TV there's a section called give you can click there or if you want to give a gift to central to help with our overall ministry just go to central online TV every gift you give matters and it will go to rescue people and give them hope during this time and please don't forget to share this experience and follow us on social media at Central online is our Instagram handle and make sure you stay connected as well by downloading our app Central Church I want you to remember that during this time we are here for you and we would love for you to stay as plugged in as possible we still have more experiences go to Central online TV to see all the different experience times but we end our service the same way every single week and that's with this verse Romans 8 we need up now more than ever if God is for us who can be against us we'll see you Wednesday night thanks for watching God bless

Channel: Central Church

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Id: m6bcRjg3kFI

Length: 85min 36sec (5136 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 29 2020