Lie #7 “I Won’t Be Able Handle It.” | Jud Wilhite + Central Live | Central Church

well welcome to central online my name is nick i'm here with the fabulous chloe segum and we will be your host this morning whether you're at one of our live locations in one of our uh rooms attending live or you're online you're in your living room you're on your mobile device we're just so thankful that you are joining us this morning so welcome is it amazing how many different ways you could be watching church at this day and age i think it's incredible in fact i think it's an incredible opportunity to invite our friends and family to watch with us since we can watch online now so if you are joining us online do us a favor and share this experience to your platform so that your friends and family can join and let them know that here at central this is a place where it's okay to not be okay that means you can come as you are you belong and we're so glad that you're joining us and as always let us know where it is you're watching from in the chat box below so that we can say hello yeah that's right and hey um there's some big news this last week yes because central live has just been cranking it they've been doing an incredible job and they have a brand new ep out maybe talk about that right yeah the brand new city of grace ep is six songs it's been an incredible journey from the beginning of this pandemic till now originally it was gonna be a live album recording but it became a studio recording we want you to experience this album you can experience it by watching some youtube videos by searching you always win in city of grace by central live you can also experience this by watching our city of grace i'm sorry reading our city of grace devotional available on the youversion bible app so do yourself a favor check it out go to central.live for more um information yeah we just found out last night chloe and i both had a part in helping with those devices yes and i'm not typically a writer so it was um a shock but a privilege to be a part of writing the devotional so if anything go check them out and just tell us how we did a great job in the chat no we're totally kidding if we didn't do a good job don't don't put anything we also have another brand new centralized song you're going to be hearing today so we're excited to get started with worship so wherever you're watching from get ready for central online well good morning [Music] when faith is lost [Music] says you won't give up on me [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] says i'm not good enough [Music] [Applause] you won't give up on [Music] [Applause] [Music] is don't let go [Music] [Music] [Applause] echo [Music] anybody feel good out there today [Music] you [Music] forever i've been free [Music] will never be forced apart [Music] start up the [Music] set me free [Music] [Music] praise the music start up the party [Music] that's right start up the party buy our very own central live essential live original and speaking of parties which is a good transition is that we are all about watch parties here at central we've been hearing that some of you are having watch parties in your home and we want to know about them you might be saying what's a watch party a watch party is just when you're having more than just your family gather and it doesn't really matter how many if it's four six eight ten um we just still wanna know about it we wanna know that you're doing that that you're basically attending church together and you're having church right out of your home so all you have to do in the chat box below is just let us know that you are having a watch party and my name's nick this is chloe we'll be your host this weekend and chloe you want to talk about the giveaway winners that we have yes so to celebrate the city of grace ep being released last week we did a merge giveaway and those winners are kim german demaris gonzalez and amy lucero we will be in touch through social media thank you all for entering yeah and also everything we're talking about today um you can find on central.family we want you to know that because we're a place where it's okay to not be okay and you're gonna hear a lot of messages throughout the day and you're gonna be like where can i find that central.family you can check out the brand new central live ep there you can give there yes or they can join some community there absolutely here at central we believe in community in finding a group even though we can't be meeting in person that doesn't mean we can't find community and people need community people need other christians to go alongside with people like scott let's check out his story [Music] i was born hyperactive and when i was and i didn't have any friends when i was young like zero i had like a guy one of the boys that was two doors down was the only one who would even hang out with me and i didn't have any answers in life and i wanted friends so bad [Music] i was just lonely depressed and i had zero answers [Music] my two best friends in high school were actually i met in the youth group they and i spent tons like weekend after weekend with them and that's actually why it means so much to me because most of my friends were in the youth group and most of my best memories as a teenager came from my youth group uh you know like i went to the summer camps we did the lock-ins we did and the thing is like it was awesome god takes a lot of things from broken paths um and a lot of kind of jacked up situations and he really makes them kind of a beautiful picture and god can put things together and that's really what he did with my life is uh i just had a lot of faith in god a lot of trust in god and there was a lot of really bad stuff that happened to me i was deployed i did nine deployments for the military i was gone three years out of the united states there were multiple back-to-back years where i spent 45 days in the united states with my family and then the other time i was either on the road overseas deployed fighting the war and that's actually what brought me to vegas was i just said i can't do this anymore because if it's between my job and my family i need to pick my family and so i came to vegas and then that's where i got plugged into central uh from that and it's been it was a leap of faith because i just said i need to put my family first and it's been amazing ever since god showed himself to me in a very very real powerful way and like most people i started to kind of pray to god like hey god i need help i need help and god really came through and he like when it talks about a transformation i saw a transformation because i know what my life was before and then i asked for god for help and i saw what my life was after and so that like god in my life was the biggest life changer because he showed me he gave me what i needed the most and through love and through acceptance so that's why god has been such a huge impact to me in my life is because god gave me something when i literally had nothing so and that's why i work in the youth group because the youth group was the one thing one place that gave me hope and so i want to give that hope to other students [Music] just wanted to be helping students and helping young men you know find answers find god so i said absolutely it doesn't matter where i'll take it and so then through that i was asked to be a volunteer at summerlin and i've been almost there for three years helping out every ignite every uh event and just been building a lot of relationships with the high school i have the high school boys or high school men as i like to call them and then so i just am pouring into their lives and they're pouring into my life and i get to see how my my advice and our interactions is helping both of us maybe for the first time they can be themselves and then and for the first time they're meeting people who care about them who are meeting them where they're at and who they can be themselves because that's the big thing is i mean you see on social media where everyone's trying to be what they want what they think other people want them to be and then you actually find the reality and it's sometimes much much sadder and depressed and whatnot and that's why i like central youth because i'm trying to help people know that that's who they can be because it's okay to not be okay come on now give it up for scott so great to see how god's transforming his life you know let's give it up to all of our military families here at central the difference they're making [Applause] hey i'm excited to introduce brandon to you this weekend brandon has been attending central since he was a little guy i mean man brandon you were just a small child and you grew up in our kids and youth and now you're a young adult and and i want to celebrate brandon because he serves on our legacy ministry which is a ministry for those who have the spiritual gift of generosity and they give above and beyond to make sure that that their gift is being lived out and brandon and his brand new wife liency they have decided that they are going to give 10 of their annual income what we call a tithe to further central's mission and vision so that's just awesome right and also congratulate brandon and his wife on a brand new marriage about a month old now so they're just newly married yeah so brandon i i know that you uh you have been here at central and you understood generosity and giving all throughout your your life but it especially took hold when you're 18. just like god showed you that uh the tithe is important and you need to live your life by it and then when you got your first job you you immediately exercise that and you begin to see god's provision and blessing on your life as he promises in his word but recently that went to a whole new level for you because during this pandemic being a pilot with a sky west airlines obviously the airline industry's been hit really hard and your hours have been reduced and it's been a little more challenging to to live that out but but yet you you chose to to put god first tell us more about that yeah mike like you were saying this year has been a crazy year for us because of coronavirus um i had my hours reduced like you were saying i've been on leave for the past seven months now and it's looking like it'll remain that way for the rest of the year and my wife was also for a load for a couple months but i think what's important is we still chose to be generous even in this hard season because it was by being generous with what god has blessed us with that we got to where we were before covet hit yeah so god you know what he showed you in the good times you knew that you needed to be faithful with that and and you you've seen god's blessing in this this time too even in spite of all of the the hardship that you've been through by remaining faithful to god he's blessed you in extraordinary ways tell us about that so this year he's he's blessed us with all sorts of blessings because we've chosen to put god first in our life in spite of the craziness of this year and the greatest blessing that we've received is peace of mind even in a season of so much uncertainty and um we have this peace of mind because we have a god that we know we can trust right he loves us he'll care for us he'll provide for us and that's why we choose to rely on him instead of relying on our own strength and that's beautiful and you've seen god's extra provision even in your even during this time tell us about that yeah so like i said uh my wife liancy she was furloughed for a couple months and during that period she was looking for a new job and she actually got a new job that's actually paying her more now so in some ways we're actually being blessed this season yeah it's so good yeah yeah i love that because that's what god promises to take care of his kids and you've seen that i know that you've lived your life by a verse that means a lot to you when it comes to generosity tell us about that so that verse that i've chosen to anchor my life to in the area of generosity is second corinthians 9 11 which basically says that god blesses us with all of the things that he gives us not so that we can keep it for ourselves but so we can be generous towards others and bless other people and it's by being generous to other people that they would be thankful in their hearts to god and it would bring them closer to god and you got you lived that out i mean i've seen it in your life i've been so impressed having a front row seat with you and during this season i mean you're out at our food pantries two times a week you're seeing the impact of central's ministry firsthand and we've now blessed 655 243 individuals with food with over 7.8 million pounds of food being distributed what does that mean to you to see that happening yeah yeah it's crazy to see the work that that god is doing through central in our community touching hundreds of thousands of lives like you said is truly mind-boggling right and it fills us with so much joy to know that we played a part in that impact and it also fills us with hope that all of the people that we have impacted would eventually one day choose to follow jesus like we follow jesus i love that i love that vision i love that hope and we'll join you in praying that these folks that have received the blessing of god in their darkest hour one day will know that god who loves them and proclaim him to be the leader and forgive their life thank you so much brandon for sharing your story with us this weekend church help me celebrating big i'm so thankful i get inspired when i hear stories like brandon's and i'm so thankful for those in the central family who put god and others first during this time to bless so many in our cities and i want to invite you to give generously your financial resources so others can experience hope in their own lives and one of the best ways to assure that we have the resources to keep offering hope to those in need is by becoming a generosity rock star you say well what's a generosity rock star a generosity rockstar is someone who moves from an occasional giver to becoming a regular giver by signing up to give a reoccurring gift online and over the past few weeks we've seen nearly 80 families say yes i'm going to become a generosity rock star and keep these efforts going hey we get asked all the time where's a grace great place to start if you start giving this reoccurring gift well we tell people all the time a great starting place is to give a twenty dollar on average per week gift see twenty dollars a week you'll be blessing two families a month but that's too much for you right now maybe you want to start with a 35 a month gift that's a little over a dollar a day and you'll be blessing a family every month but many of us can do much much more than that here's the thing it's a it's a prayer between you and god whatever god tells you to do to trust him by faith here's what i've learned over three decades of following jesus wherever god guides you he'll provide for you he'll take care of you he loves you and he has you okay so just trust him just trust him and if by signing up to become a generosity rock star right now we've got a really cool offer for you we're going to give you a free hope for the city t-shirt as well as a generosity rockstar coin just see our generosity team out in the lobby right after our experience if you're meeting at a live location or you can go online you can give a gift or sign up to be a rock star online at centralonline.tv or all you need to type in your web browser is central dot family or you can actually go to up to one of our generosity team give a gift there just hand them your credit or debit card and they'll swipe it you'll be good to go or if you've got checker cash our ushers will have offering buckets at all the exits but here's the thing church here's the thing god is using you to impact tens of thousands of people that are leaning into god the god who loves them the god who cares for them and i want to say on their behalf thank you for giving your generosity so they can survive during this time let's pray together well father we love you we're grateful for you being our god we know you're here and god i pray that you would bless every giver in their generosity bless their life bless their generosity bless their home bless their health and god for every recipient of that gift may they know how awesome and how great you are and how much love you have for them and may they one day proclaim you to be their leader and forgiver and we ask you to be at work in our lives today for we ask all these things in jesus name amen well right now i'm going to invite you to stand as our team leads us in this rich time of worship [Music] central family is it okay if we teach you a brand new song today this is a new central live original song rooted out of john 3 16 out of revelation 3 20 first john 14. it's a simple prayer where you can invite jesus in your heart but it's the most powerful prayer you could ever pray i'm going to sing it once for you and then i want to invite you to sing along with me goes like this god [Music] strength forever forgiveness [Music] god [Music] is live forever [Music] oh there is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] he's the god is [Music] is scripture tells us that if we confess with our mouth that jesus is lord and god raised him from the dead we will be saved let's pray this prayer together humble myself and pray would you forgive what i've done and wash my sins away [Music] is [Music] you are in the name of jesus [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] a man [Music] [Music] i wasn't creating [Music] to let it [Music] come on [Music] my heart is [Music] [Applause] again you saw my condition [Music] and i don't have the context for that kind of love come on i don't understand i can't comprehend but all i know is [Music] [Music] [Music] man [Music] running into [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] running into [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the reasons [Music] again and again [Music] and again and again [Music] maybe you're here today maybe you feel like you're far from god scripture tells us that god is near the brokenhearted and if you're struggling with something in your life today you're not alone you're in a room full of people who are struggling and just trying to get through it together and we want to take a moment today and pray for you as a church family if you're going through something in your own life and we can pray for you today would you just boldly slip your hand up in the air raise your hand up high online raise your hand as well if you're near somebody with their hand raised i want to encourage you just stretch a hand out towards somebody and let's just pray that god would protect them and be with them right now god we come before you lord we thank you that you're a good god that we can run to in times of trouble and i pray that we wouldn't just leave it there that every day god we would seek to know you more but in this very moment for those who are hurting god i just pray that you would meet us in this place that you would overwhelm us with the sense of your hope and your goodness god we believe that you are a good god and that whatever we're faced with right now that this too shall pass so god we surrender it to you today god we embrace your open arms lord thank you for being near to us when our hearts are broken for giving us hope for giving us the assurance that you will see this through for it's in your name we pray and everyone said amen to grace come on i'm done so i'll run to the father [Music] no reason to wait our heart [Music] again and again [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so beautiful i love that song and i love that new central live tune god is love as well i hope that you've been blessed by this time of worship and prayer together with your central family and today i'm joined by lori wilheit our senior pastor's wife because she has some news to share with the women of central that's right ladies i would love to personally invite you to a very special retreat we have coming up october 20th and 21st in partnership with leading and loving it this is really our opportunity for a fall conference for the women of the central family and whether you lead at home at the office at church your influence in the lives of your family your friends your co-workers is vital and we just want to come alongside you and encourage you and empower you in your life and in your leadership and this year you can join us live at the henderson campus with restrictions or for the first time ever you can enjoy join women from around the world by watching retreat from your couch you can come in person or watch on the live stream but since we're all navigating crazy work schedules and distance learning and so much more retreat will also be available on demand with unlimited access for all of the main sessions and more than 30 breakout sessions full of powerful practical content for an entire year and as part of the central family you get to attend retreat at the discounted rate of just 79 with the code vegas 79 but we don't want anyone to miss out on this incredible opportunity so if you need a scholarship all you need to do is reach out to us through the email on the website we would love to help you out with that just go to central.family so that you can grab your ticket today with the code of vegas79 i'll really be excited to see you at retreat and now we're going to be continuing on in our series out of my mind just open your ears and open your hearts and let's see what god has for us this weekend right well welcome everybody great to see you i want to welcome you not only to our henderson location but want to welcome those who are watching online as well and i wonder if any of you uh recently have tried to diy something in your life um you know youtube is really helpful for this there's all kinds of diy videos right you can watch them you kind of you know learn things and and youtube can give you like a false sense of confidence you watch enough youtube diy videos you're like i can do that whatever it is i can do it i'm your guy and so i decided my radiator was having issues i was going to replace my radiator i'm not going to take it to a mechanic because i watched the youtube video y'all i got this all right so i got the same radiator i saw in the video i got the same car you know that i saw in the video i'm like i'm gonna i'm gonna watch this thing i'm gonna put the radiator in it took the guy in the video like 14 minutes and 39 seconds to do the whole job i'm like it's going to be a 15 minute thing so i get started and i'm working on it and i get the old radiator out it took me a lot longer than 15 minutes and a few choice words and then i set the radiator down and i've got to take the old fans off the old radiator and i get the fans to start trying to install them on the new radiator and would you believe in the midst of that i break a bolt off clean off those of you that have broken bolts know what i'm talking about everybody else like i don't know what that means it means not good that's what that means not good so now i'm like what am i going to do well i go back to the youtube right more diy videos okay how do i remove a bolt you know that i broke off right and so there's an extractor tool you got to have it okay great where do i get that you got to get it at the hardware store okay great so i get back in the car my 15 minute thing is like two and a half hours now i go to the hardware store i look around we can't find it and it got random guy the the the uh the person that worked at this hardware store couldn't find it but this random guy next to me is like oh yeah it's just right there mike thank you so i got the extractor tool i go back i watch the video again right here's how i'm supposed to do i supposed to put this in i'm supposed to it's going to just drill down in it's going to bring that broken bolt up out and then i can put a new bolt in no problem right except i drill it in and it doesn't do anything so you know me i'm like well i'll just get a bigger thing you know so i get the bigger one and i stick it in and i drill it in and it doesn't do anything i'm like all right dude so i get the big one you know and then i just drill the whole hole out threads bolt all everything gone and i'm sitting there and it's the simplest thing y'all it's just a radiator replacement but i'm sitting on the ground i'm about five six hours into this project and i'm holding the head of that bolt that broke off and i've lost all self-respect i'm just at the end of myself and i remember like i almost started crying i just sat there and i'm like you're not even a human being judd you can't even replace a radiator i just felt overwhelmed anybody felt overwhelmed recently even by the stupidest things you know like just and i think this is i blame corona we blame corona for everything right now right i blame corona when i'm overwhelmed over the simplest things that don't even really matter you know it's just like the coronavirus is like the song that that will not end it just goes on and on my friend right and so you know it just wears us down and all these little things can feel like they're overwhelming by the way i finally did go to sleep that night and i got up the next morning and i felt a little better and eventually a few days later i got you know busy again and i got it fixed and i got that radiator in the car and i saved that hundred bucks that i would have spent to have somebody install it oh youtube thank you thank you but it's easy to get overwhelmed and when we get overwhelmed we start to kind of lean into the lie that says i'm not going to be able to handle it i can't handle all the things that are coming at me i can't handle all the challenges that are coming toward me i don't know how i'm going to be able to move forward right now in my life and here's the funny thing about the lie i won't be able to handle it i actually think god agrees with you see he's not calling you to handle it on your own the point of life may very well be for us to get to a point of saying hey if i'm going to make it i need greater help i need greater guidance i need a greater plan i need somebody greater than me to help me handle the things that are too much for me and when we hit this point and humble ourselves that's when we find not a god who's distant but a god who is present and more importantly a god who is present to help in fact that anxiety that we often feel when we're overwhelmed is actually an invitation to give god the things that you cannot handle to trust him with the things that threaten you because listen god never promised you a life that you could handle in your own strength that's not his promise he promises to be with you no matter what you need to handle he promises to send his strength within the struggle he promises to send you what you need in the moment that you need it so i know you're facing some things and maybe they feel like they're too much for you but they are not too much for the god who is for you and that's the good news today so the last several weeks we've been talking about just things that we need to get out of our mind before they drive us out of our mind and one of the things we need to get out of our mind is this lie hey i'm not going to be able to handle whatever is coming at me and we get out of we need to get that out of our mind and get god's promise in our mind and to do that i want to look with you at a famous story in the bible it's a story of moses and how he deals with this overwhelming anxiety and sense that he won't be able to handle what's coming in his life now moses is a guy that has an interesting history when he was 40 years old he was a prince of egypt but he sees this individual egyptian who's abusing an israelite slave and he loses his cool and he kills this slave driver and basically he's on the run after that and he's he's fleeing for his life and he goes out into the wilderness the desert area where he lives for 40 years and now as an 80 year old man who's you might say kind of on the back end of his glory days kind of an old shepherd if you will he sees this bush that's burning in the wilderness and that's not a big deal bushes burn in the desert you know things catch on fire but this bush doesn't burn up it just keeps burning and so it's odd it's strange so he goes over to the bush and basically god speaks to him in the bush and says you know moses you're going to go to the pharaoh the leader of the egyptian people and you're going to tell him to let my people the israelites go the israelites one to three million of them are serving as slaves in the egyptian kingdom moses is supposed to go and confront the pharaoh and do this and moses is like what you know so here's what we read exodus chapter three beginning in verse 11. we get to the red word same out loud here with me it says but moses protested to god help me who am i anybody had that moment who am i you know who am i to homeschool my kids i barely got through high school who am i right you know like like like who am i to handle this new leadership challenge i mean you know who am i to lead this family who am i to to rescue this relationship i mean who who am i you know like this is who am i to appear before pharaoh who am i to lead the people of israel out of egypt hello and god answered listen i will be with you now this is good god's saying look moe you got to stop focusing on yourself because it's not about you and it's never been about you it's about me and the fact that i will be with you now i'm speaking to somebody today somebody needs to hear this because you're feeling like who am i who am i to handle these challenges who am i to face what's coming against me and god's saying it's not about you this whole thing is about me i will be with you that's all you need to know right after that you're good because my presence is gonna go with you so what do we do when we start to feel overwhelmed one challenge is this to shift your focus to shift your focus focus is huge in fact i i know there's a lot of different ways that people sleep at night some of you your stomach sleepers side sleepers back sleepers i saw this little thing on social media i thought it was funny different ways that people sleep especially if you have a kid or if you have a pet right you know this is the capital h how many of you've ever had the capital h kind of moment right with a kid or a pet in bed right and then here's uh here's the next one this is the scarf look at this i i've experienced that right here's my favorite this is called the round house right here listen uh this is real this is no joke ethan this is what he did all the time and i'm just gonna all i'll say is this man they don't always kick you in the face it gets worse than the face if you know what i'm saying the roundhouse now i'm a restless sleeper so when i sleep i just go like back side stomach side you know back stomach side back side it's just kind of i make laps all night long i swirl swirl swirl sorrow swirl it's crazy town but my wife lori sleeps i i say she sleeps like a vampire and what i mean is mirror those vampire movies when they like lay back at night and they close the coffin and they put their hands sort of right over their heart and they just lay on their back my wife sleeps all night long like that she never moves and then in the morning it's like no lie man it's the craziest thing and i you know in here our sheets are like off the bed because i'm like you know i'm on the hamster wheel over here going around you know back side back side stomach back side you know like crazy she never moves in fact she recently had started to have have to wear glasses which i secretly love and i love this because i wore glasses since i was in high school right finally she's getting old and blind like me i'm like you're oh this is awesome you know so she's got to wear glasses but she reads and then she falls asleep and she's just decided lately that she's just gonna sleep with her glasses on have you ever heard of anybody doing this like like who can actually pull that off but no no she lays down glasses on reads and then and then you know when she wakes up she's like boom and she says i like to wear my glasses because when i wake up if it's in the middle of the night or in the morning everything's in focus i can see clearly and since she sleeps like a vampire there you go no problem they don't come off focus is very important and i guess if i could sleep with my glasses and not destroy them and everything around them then i would probably do that too awesome right but god is going to teach moses the importance of sort of waking up in focus in our life and having our focus on god you want to ramp up anxiety in your life listen focus on yourself and your inadequacies and your strengths and your abilities you want to ramp up courage focus on god you got to shift that focus and so if we were to put it in a chart it would basically look like this the recipe for anxiety is self-focused but the recipe for courage is god focus it's god focus and so moses is going to face this kind of situation as he's journeying and navigating with god in fact let's go a little further to uh let's go back to exodus and uh let's kind of look at what god says to him because in the midst of this conversation moses basically says god whom okay if i'm supposed to go interact with pharaoh that feels overwhelming feels like i can't handle that i'm not the guy but listen if i'm supposed to do that like who do i say sent me like what's your you know who are you you know like what am i supposed to say and god replied to moses i am who i am which i kind of love because i'm not sure that clears anything up you're like what's your name i am who i am okay say this to the people of israel what i am you see that i am has sent me to you now i kind of love this hebrew scholars will tell you that this phrase i am who i am is actually like challenging to translate it could be translated i will be who i will be you know again it's like i think what god's saying is look moses you want to define me you want to put me in a box you want to give me a name and understand me but i'm bigger than all your boxes and i'm bigger than all your frameworks i am from the beginning to the end i am who i am and all you really need to know is that i am sent you and that i am with you and that's what you need to sit with right now in your life and somebody needs this message today because you feel overwhelmed you may be overwhelmed by something as small as a bolt as something as big as just kind of your job situation and trying to pay the bills and all that and it may be totally overwhelming in your life but hear me today the issue that you're facing is not greater than the god than the god that you serve the great i am is still with you and he says i am who i am you can't box me up you can't define me over here i'm bigger from the beginning and to the end i am who i am and i am is sending you you got to shift your focus you got to shift your focus to god who is the great i am here's another thought and that is to then listen to what god says listen to what god says because a lot of times we get really concerned about what other people think and what other people say um i had a this last week was laurie's birthday she looks amazing for 21. and uh so on her birthday morning i got up and i had to run some errands early and she had done a post on social media so i knew she was awake you know so i'm like okay great you know so i i i reached out to her and i said hey uh i'm close to a star because you know we look big in the wilhite household i'm close to a starbucks and a mcdonald's would you like a starbucks breakfast sandwich or a mcdonald's breakfast sandwich because you know it's your birthday some of you are like you need to raise the game judd this is low bar right but i'm just i felt pretty good about myself actually she said ah i don't know she goes maybe starbucks i said okay great so i go over to starbucks i'm in the drive-through i'm in line and then she calls me she's like are you already at starbucks i said yeah she said okay never mind which i knew meant ah she's reneging she wants the mcdonald's she's been thinking like it's my birthday i'll have mcdonald's so i go on through the starbucks i get her a breakfast sandwich i get her drink all that and then i go the extra mile y'all i go to the mcdonald's and i get a sausage breakfast sandwich for laurie and i had this moment no joke i'm sitting in my car and i'm looking at the starbucks sandwich and the mcdonald's sandwich and i thought i'm pretty good i mean i'm killing the birthday husband game it's not even eight in the morning yet and i've already gone to two places for breakfast i should post this on social media i should take a picture right now and just be like you know kind of a humble brag you know like you know i'm just out here trying to serve my wife it's not even 8 a.m and i've already made two stops because that's what i would love for people to think right i would love for people to see me a certain way because i'm way too influenced by how other people see me right how other people perceive me than i am by even who god says that i am see what i didn't want to post is the fact that the whole reason i was out to begin with wasn't to get her breakfast it was to go and get wrapping supplies because i haven't wrapped her gift yet and the fact is that i was not only getting wrapping supplies but i ordered her gift too late and so i was having to do a print off of her gift that was still coming in the mail corona y'all it's corona no it wasn't corona it's just didn't get around to it you know and so i'm wrapping a non-sort of but i didn't want to post any of that anybody feel me here you know i'm like no no we don't forget all that stuff i'm killing the birthday game i resisted that temptation to post that in the moment but i think it gets to something that's deep in all of us we're very influenced by how other people feel about us and we can be very sort of caught up in managing our sort of public perception right and i know perceptions are important but you can't let that dictate your life moses is going to argue with god first on the basis of who am i and then he's going to argue with god on the basis of what about them what will they think what will they say what will their perception be check this out exodus chapter 4 beginning in verse 1 it says but moses protested again what if what they won't believe me or listen to me what if they say the lord never appeared to you and then the lord asked him what is that in your hand this is like a redirect moment you're like what what is that in your hand a shepherd's staff moses replied throw it down on the ground and so moses takes this shepherd's staff and he throws it down on the ground it becomes a snake and then he takes and then god says to take it up again which i've always thought that's pretty courageous man if i throw something down it becomes a snake and god says take it up again i'm like you got you got the wrong guy i just can't do it yeah you know like like that's a snake man i'm out but he picks it back up become becomes a rod again from then on in the bible it's called the staff of the lord and i think it was it was a defining moment because every time moses looked at that staff he remembered it wasn't about who he was he had to throw down who he was that staff represented his identity his income as a shepherd like who he was he had to throw that down and let and then take it back up again and live in the identity of who god called him to be and friends so the focus it shifts in moses kind of journey here it shifts from who am i to what if they what if they don't believe me what if they don't listen to me what if they think i'm crazy what if they shoot me down you know what if they run me out of town because that's what happened the last time that moses sort of stepped up and tried to be a rescuer he was rejected he was vilified he was exiled he lost everything so it's normal to care about what other people think but often the people who are leading most effectively are also really good at listening and sympathizing with other people and the temptation comes when you start to care more about others what others think than what than who god says you are then you kind of slide into people-pleasing people-pleasing is when you let the wishes of others override the will of god in your life when you let the complaints of others cancel out the calling of god in your life it's when the approval of those around you overrides the will of god in your life another kind of recipe here for anxiety is not only do we focus on ourselves but we get too focused on pleasing other people and this will lead you to eventually feeling like you can't handle it it's gonna feel overwhelming we got instead the recipe for courage is to focus not only on god but on pleasing god in our life and on living as he says in our life and focusing on that in fact this whole thing is an age-old problem even when you look at the greek philosophers they were very wary of like public opinion and the approval of other people socrates said that having popularity and approval basically is like having a big monster as a pet in your home now imagine if he would have lived today in the realm of social media where we all like take our pictures and then filter them and then make them look awesome and then you know like live a whole boring day but the one shot we take looks like it was amazing we're out hiking on mount charleston like we do all the time or whatever and we throw that out there socrates says man if you start living for the approval of other people you are like living with a monster in your house and you got to feed that monster he says and pretty soon he says if you don't feed that monster that muster will turn and start to feed on you so you got to keep feeding the beast right you got to keep he goes pretty soon your values will shift everything that keeps the monster from meeting you is good that's really all you care about and so you care less about what's right and wrong you care less about what's good and bad what's purposeful or purposeless you put all your effort on feeding the beast that monster of approval and the pleasing of other people in your life and eventually you have to compromise every conviction you have i mean you leave your values in the dust you leave your self-respect in the dust you can even abandon your core identity just to keep others from rejecting you and keep your approval up and moses is literally willing to reject god's call check this out he is willing to reject god's call a call that will literally make him a hero of the old testament because he's worried about what others will think he's concerned about what they will think but it is better to be disliked for who you are in god than to be loved for who you are not and so some of us today we we've carried a lot of names unworthy unloved unwanted we've carried a lot of identity issues in our lives and now is an opportunity for like that staff to throw that stuff down and to take up who god says you are you got to lean into who god says you are i look through the bible did a little fly over listen to what god says about you he says is the follower of jesus you are my follower you are my friend you are a child of god you're a child of light you're a member of god's family you're holy and blameless standing before him without a single fault you are the salt of the earth you're the light of the world you are the branch that bears fruit you're a living stone and as temple you're a holy priest you're a holy a member of a holy nation created to show the goodness of god listen you're a chosen one you're god's worker you're christ's ambassador you're a true minister of god united with christ you are a part of his body you are made alive by his spirit you are god's masterpiece you are a faithful one who is made for better things you are destined to receive a kingdom that is unshakable you are an inheritor of the new heavens and the new earth you are one who is made right with god a citizen of heaven no longer a part of this world equal as brothers and sisters and heirs to god's glory you are set free from the slavery to sin you are truly free that's who god says you are but are you gonna live based on what other people think are you gonna live based on what god said one perspective ramps up your anxiety and it's like living with a monster in your own home but the other perspective ramps up your courage and that's like realizing god's got this i can shift my focus i may not be able to handle it on my own but god can handle it and he is with me third idea is simply this to believe that help is on the way believe help is on the way four different times moses this amazing man of god is going to argue with god come on y'all four different times in exodus three and four and finally he just cuts to it he's like all right i've tried everything here he says look at this exodus chapter 4 verse 13. this is this is good because it makes me realize like moses is just a real dude look what he says but moses again pleaded lord please send anyone else i love this because it's like anyone bro anyone i don't care who just not me you ever been there in your life god i don't care who it is or where they are just not me anyone else and then the lord became angry with moses okay exodus is the second book in the bible we've already for you theologians out there we've already had sort of the fall sin has entered into the world uh we've had noah we've had the great flood all these things god has judged god has been upset but you know this is the first time in the bible says god is angry the very first time and he's actually angry with moses and i think he's angry with moses because moses is acting as if the presence of god makes no difference now let me get up in somebody's world because right now there's a temptation for us to read the headlines and look at the news and look at all the things going on in the world and start borrowing trouble from tomorrow and all the things that we don't know if they're going to happen or not happen and living with all that fear and all that anxiety and come on our temptation is then to look at our situation right now to look at what we're going through right now and to act as if the presence of god doesn't matter friends listen if you're a follower of jesus today if your faith is worth anything then your faith has to show up in moments like this and you have to start living like the presence of god matters in your life today because if you because when you look at moses this is what incites the anger of god moses you're acting as if my presence means nothing moses i've told you i will be with you susan i've told you i will be with you john i've told you i will be with you judd i've told you i will be with you don't offend me by acting as if my presence means nothing that's where moses is at all right let's go back to the scripture so god becomes angry with moses but look at but god doesn't judge moses in this moment too harshly first time his anger is mentioned but he actually says all right i kind of love this english god's like all right fine what about your brother aaron the levite because what's moses saying send anyone else right okay what about your brother aaron the levite i know he speaks well and look he is what on his way it's possible moses hadn't seen his brother in 40 years it's been a long time however long it's been and in the midst of this whole conversation what i love is god already knew what moses was gonna say and god had already provided a solution and his brother aaron who was already on the way before the conversation even started come on somebody he's on his way to meet you now he will be delighted to see you listen somebody needs to hang on to some of this today they need to realize that that in their life right now in their situation right now that god is moving and working that god is doing what what he ultimately wants to do in their life that he's already sending help on the way his help's already on the way he's already doing it and you got to lean back some of you say you know what i'm anxious about the mental health of someone that i love well god's help is already on the way i'm anxious about the future of my kids well god's help is already on the way i'm anxious about making ends meet well god's help's already on the way i'm anxious about the divisiveness in our country or in my family god's help is already on the way i'm anxious about the things that i need to do for work for school god's help is already on the way i'm anxious about being able to handle a health issue in my life or in the life of somebody i love god's help is already on the way god's help's on the way if it makes you anxious it invites god's action and his help is already on the way he's already working on the thing that has you worried so what do you do with that sense of being overwhelmed you shift your focus from god from yourself to god and then secondly you begin to lean into who god says you are you walk in that identity and then you believe that his help is on the way and his name says it all i am you say i'm just not strong enough god says i am your strength you say i just don't see how it's all going to work out god says i am preparing your future you say i can't seem to get any traction or any progress god says i'm moving and i'm working you say i cannot control the outcomes god says i'm working all things together for your good you say i have no idea how it's all going to work out god says i am making all things new you say i don't know if i'll be able to handle what's coming god says i am with you always you say i can't see a way that gets any better god says i am your guide you say i can't guarantee that we'll have what we need in the future god says i am your security you say i'm so scared for my health or for my life god says i am the resurrection and the life you say i'm just so unsettled by all the stuff that i see around me god's saying look i'm the king of kings and the lord of lords i am sovereign i'm in control i am still saving people come on somebody i am still blessing people i am still seeing my plans through i am still moving and working because my name is i am i'm bigger than the democrats i'm bigger than the republicans i'm bigger than the politics i'm bigger than the division i'm bigger than your fears are bigger than your worries and bigger than all the things you carry around i am who i am and i am is with you believe it claim it and stand in it today friends he is the great i am [Applause] and if his name is i am then my name is i am not i'm not in control i i don't have all the answers i i i can't handle it all in my own strength but i lean into the one who is the great i am maybe you're here today in your life and maybe you've never crossed that line of faith and i'd love to just give you an opportunity to reach out to christ and allow him to move and work in your life in fact i'd love to lead you in a simple prayer to open your heart to god and place your faith in your trust in jesus would all be bow your heads and close your eyes you can begin that journey by just repeating this prayer after me just say dear god i thank you for loving me thank you for sending jesus into the world i believe he 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 it's your commitment i'm gonna ask you to just slip your hand in the air just to say before god and to say to me you're gonna follow him today just slip your hand in the air make eye contact with me god bless you guys hands going up around the room thank you guys bless you thank you just reach out to him today thank you thank you god we love you i thank you for just each person reaching out to you and i pray you'll bless their life give them your hope your joy your love your forgiveness god walk with all of us as we follow you we give you thanks and praise in christ's name amen let's give it up for those who made spiritual commitments in their life today if you made a spiritual commitment i'm thrilled for you and i'd love to provide a resource to you that i think could be super helpful to you i want to encourage you just to either use the um the little barcode on the seat back in front of you or you can go to central.family and just click the link i've decided to follow jesus and we'll send you a free resource that's just called how to follow jesus that'll be super helpful to you in the coming days and weeks a simple guide to help you grow in your faith so make sure to click that link and download that resource well thank you guys so much for being here i'm going to ask you to please remain seated for a moment and i'm going to throw it to pastor nick who's got a few final thoughts god bless you guys awesome thank you so much pastor judd that was fire i don't know about you but man i really needed that in my life today i want to say congratulations to all of you who said yes to jesus this weekend we are thrilled for you because you made the most important decision you'll ever make in your life and we want to get that free resource that pastor judd talked about into your hands just go to central.family type that in your web browser central dot family click the link i decided to follow jesus and we'll give you that guide how to follow him so so excited for you congratulations we're thrilled hey we would love to have you back next weekend as we go live on saturdays at 5 00 p.m sundays at 8 00 a.m 10 a.m and 12 p.m pacific standard time we love having you this weekend please let us know how you enjoyed the experience and as always how god is working and moving in your lives we continue to walk alongside you pray for you and praise on your behalf but we're so happy to have you this weekend and we always close out the experience saying hey if god is for us who can be against us thanks for watching and keep showing up see you next week

Channel: Central Church

Views: 1,479

Rating: 4.5555553 out of 5

Keywords: central church, central online, central live, drew bodine, it's okay to not be okay, pastor jud wilhite, jud wilhite, Sermons, online church, Outta my mind, Out of my mind, series, i won't be able handle it, teaching, church, god, covid-19, election

Id: HxklEDZ_0a8

Length: 73min 3sec (4383 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 11 2020