Online Church Service (Matthew 6:25-34) - Pastor Daniel Fusco

[Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] well yo what is going on online family hello and hello fall is here happy fall Happy fall winter twins I definitely just bought a little sign that says all my faulty oh gosh you are ready welcome everyone my name is Gabe Miranda I'm the online campus Pastor here at Crossroads Community Church joined by my wonderful partner in crime uh who loves the fall I just love decorating she loves decorating you guys miss Sunderman Lexi uh all about that but we want to know from you guys first of all where are you watching from and so what's the weather like there is it fall there yet I think in the Pacific Northwest it's kind of not really yeah isn't it gonna be 80 today I always say Alexa what's the weather today right now it's 50 degrees and it will be a high of 88 I'm like what yeah it's like what's the location set to on my Alexa app so let us know I know like in Houston Houston doesn't care that it's already officially fall on September 22nd it's like 99 degrees over there so oh my God how the weather is are you experiencing fall yet or is fall of being a little late is it fall yet yeah is it fall yet because it it is here in the morning but then it warms up and you're like okay I dressed up and it wasn't for nothing we have that tricky weather here where it's like jacket in the morning short sleeve in the afternoon yeah but it doesn't change the fact that all the fall stuff is coming that's right so I'm excited like I had somebody they were eating a pumpkin donut so what are you looking forward to this fall once it really gets to the party obviously they're being a little late to the party but what are you looking forward to Mouse as we enter this new season I mean I love when we like are able to just put a period to Summer even though I know a lot of us will miss it but that's the beauty of Seasons if it was summer all year round we would be miserable you'd never appreciate it you never appreciate it so um let us know what are you looking forward to the most I was sharing with somebody that I'm really looking forward to pecan pie pecan pie and apparently there's such thing as a pecan pie without pecans yeah just whatever the goo is just let us know in the comment section we heard a name but we want to verify so if you're watching right now in the comment section let us know what is a pecan pie without pecans just the pecans depending on what part of the country you're from no it's pecan and uh and that's not a joke we're trying to tell we're really trying to find out apparently there is a pie that you can get with just the with just the there's no other name to call it so let us know in the comment section what that is what are you most looking forward to this fall I'm looking forward to come by um Jeepers you know I this time of year I start to like just dark hot coffee with nothing in it so just drip you know you go go to a coffee shop you get there whatever basic drinks usually you get like a cold drink yeah usually I'm a cobra guy but around this time of year is that I switch over if I'm fancy I do an Americano no room you know and so if I'm being fancy yeah we're excited for what this season has to hold there's so much that's happening on the crossroads oh man and then that's just a app a teaser to Christmas season I mean it's basically Christmas no this is here's what's funny about this is we are talking we're kind of inching into what the sermon topic is today yeah we're talking about what's next like we're talking about fall no Christmas and then New Year's and then and then the new year yeah and Super Bowl yeah so yes today's topic Pastor Daniel's teaching on winning the battle against fear and worry and a lot of times for us our fear and our worry comes from this idea that we're just living in the future there's like what's next am I going to be ready for it what if and it doesn't happen and so what I like to call is future problem solving I spend a lot of my time in that you know me and then you don't and then you you fail to live in the present for the beauty beautiful things that the Lord has in front of you right and you miss out on those those moments so yeah yeah he is in Matthew chapter 6 verses 25 to 34 today so make sure you get those Bibles open and if you know somebody like I'm somebody that is dealing with this at times is somebody that's dealing with fear and worry share this message if you haven't yet let them know like hey I really think that this message will be for for you today we've got a really powerful worship status special music too special guest music yes or Miss Kate white so it's just going to be a super powerful day and again I think the beautiful thing about Pastor genuine he teaches is he gives you tools yes to battle fear and worry and again it's biblical tools that will get you through it and the Lord doesn't call us to be in fear don't worry because we know that he's a good guy come on yeah I'm reminded of the scripture he does not give us a spirit of fear yeah right but of a sound mind and be pure heart so so listen uh for a lot of the folks I know this is going to come up with our special guest music we have Kate white in the house who we love um and she's released several records here she's going to be leading two two songs from her new upcoming EP that's coming out but uh she's going to be talking a little bit about this conference now this coming Friday and Saturday yes we are having our 30th and the first yep it is a is a conference it's this is neat how the Lord kind of arranged this all on this topic you know Kate's going to talk about 10 ways to address any traumatic any trauma in your past now here's the thing we need to talk to you guys for the online family we are not able simply because and Sandra you get this like subject matter the personal testimonies that are going to be shared at the conference is this really delicate sensitive things that we can't broadcast to the world yeah when when I went on a mission trip to Hungary I went with Kate that's right um and and it was really powerful because she went to Hungary to put on her conference as well and we were able to minister to those that were there and again just also hearing Kate's story and what the Lord has brought her through and how she has kept the Lord as as just her guiding force has been so powerful and again it is very sensitive subjects but it is practical tools and biblical tools just like Pastor Daniel gives us um and and she's focusing mostly like on forgiveness okay because so often it's stirred in fear and worry right because of what has happened in your life we had Travis Parker that shared a story about how he just had all this resentment towards his mother right um and again in the conference you're able to just go up a deeper and and utilize those tools 100 so so yes we will not be able to offer the conference online because the sensitive nature of the content but you can get a lot of free Resources by following Kate white on Facebook so all you got to do is look up Kate White Ministries and that's also her website Kate why ministries.com yeah follow her on all her social she gives away a ton of free resources uh but there are also some courses yeah a lot of really cool yeah but if you're in the area or if you're close or you can make it next Friday and Saturday we would love to invite you out to come if you're just battling with forgiveness and just needing those tools if it's kind of like taking a hold on your life she's again somebody that would be so trust and we wouldn't be doing this if we yeah um so you can always go to crossroadschurch.net events if you want more information and to register because there is a small fee for the conference right so there is a fee for the conference guys so check it out on the events page all right where Miss Saunders told you so we are approaching the three minute Mark which is the kind of The Final Countdown of our time together going by super super fast but we don't want to miss out on getting into this word a little bit Yeah so again if you're just joining us welcome my name is Gabe Moreno the online campus Pastor masana malixi here as we're getting ready for an amazing amazing Sunday where we're going to be in Matthew's gospel chapter 6 verse 25-34 in a message entitled winning the battle against fear and worry yeah I have a ton I could say about that but I do want to uh have a question out there for us to discuss yeah so the first question that we have we always like to go just a little bit deeper before we go in and then do even deeper after the service so make sure you join us after but the question is what causes me the most anxiety oh my gosh okay there's like I said these are the topic I'm too familiar yeah he's like oh what do I need I need to make sure that I'm ready for this this or this situation right yeah I personally even though I know I trust in the Lord and I know that there's a good place that I'll be going I still have fear about death death yeah like how you'll die or dying period just dying period for me dying period is fine but it's like how am I gonna die it's a little I think all of the above is something that I you know I again and I've had people that say like well but I know that you you believe in God and I say yeah and that's why I can do that's why I hold on to him because like it's still I'm still working on that um well I love what you said Sandra anxiety is fear about the future depression is hurt from the past yeah and so I think it's important to separate those sometimes you can be feeling depressed and confused with anxiety yeah they're important um the Bible also has a great deal to say about anxiety one of my favorite verses is um did you know that just so many like in Philippians where the Lord says you know be anxious for nothing or or you know in the Psalms it says anxiety in the heart of a man causes depression yes and so that's another one where I think and Pastor Daniel is going to bring up a lot of yeah a lot of scripture today that just deals with it and shows us why we should not worry or have anxiety other than death I honestly don't fear about the future well because I know that he is planning good things for me and even though it might not look the way I want it like if I don't get a job or if things don't work out the way that I hope like I know that his pants for me are good and come on if he's stirring me this way even though I want it to go this way like I'm going to trust that yeah um even though it's scary sometimes but I don't mind that kind of stuff words got me he's my provider you're not gonna stress there you go yeah too blessed to be stressed is the way this uh heading should be yes so get ready again if you know anybody that's dealing with fear or worry you want to share this share this message so important but we've got about 30 seconds left in 30 seconds starts again get ready for this powerful worship yeah I would love to pray for us heavenly father thank you for the online family Lord bless these folks and even right now as we're praying before the start of the service if there's any anxiety or worry yeah that's preventing someone from focusing in on the worship experience on the opening and the reading the careful teaching of your word Lord would you relieve those worries be present Among Us in Jesus holy most precious name amen amen amen have a great service good morning so good to be with you this morning Crossroads are only stand together and if you're here in this room would you join me in welcoming our online family we're going to list our voices and Worship the Lord together this morning [Music] yeah [Music] let's sing together [Music] weary come all you thirsty come to the well that never runs dry drink of the water come and thirst no more Come All You Sinners come find come to the table he will satisfy Taste of his goodness find what you're looking for forgot so now the world that he gave us is [Music] [Music] drink all your failures bring your addictions come down at the foot of the cross Jesus is waiting there with open arms [Music] that gave us [Music] [Music] [Music] praise God from whom all blessings flow Now Praise Him Praise Him for the wonders of his son [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] all right now it is [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] you know what we're children of God so that means he gives us his name the name of Jesus listen church people do not take the counterfeit of a label that Satan has put on you or another person has put on you labels are temporary they can come and go if you've given it to yourself a name or a label you rip it off because under that is the name of Jesus if you accept him and that is more powerful than any or name that any other person or Satan has given to you they're temporal the name of Jesus is eternal and it's marked on your spirit and on your soul videos [Music] you were the word at the beginning one with God the Lord most high your hidden glory and creation and now revealed in you of Christ what a beautiful name it is what a beautiful name it is [Music] Jesus Christ my king what a beautiful name it is nothing compares to this what a beautiful name it is the name of Jesus [Music] Jesus [Music] Christ [Music] what a wonderful name it is [Music] [Music] you know as we're singing the name of Jesus there's something that's been kind of on my heart for a number of weeks now it stemmed from at the end of a couple months ago I went to the eye doctor you know and you know I'm getting older and so I'm talking to the eye doctor and he's checking everything out and he said you know Daniel you're at that age or at some point you're going to need reading glasses to be able to read and he's like but for now you're fine then sure enough two weeks ago I got into my quiet time at my coffee and my Bible was just all blurry I couldn't believe it I was like just like that like one day like took my my glasses off reading without my glasses I'm like oh I can read perfectly now and I feel like the Lord said Daniel we all need corrective lenses in this world and as we've been doing this series you're gonna make it the number of people I've talked to in our family room who said I feel like my perspective is kind of all off I Got My Eyes Off of Jesus I got my eyes onto things real things but there's nothing more real than Jesus and as we're talking about who Jesus is and as we've been preparing for the service I just got the sense that God wants to change some lenses here at Crossroads today I believe there's a number of you you're looking at the world you're looking for fault rather than fruit I believe there's a number of us you're looking at life right now and all you see is the issues and not Jesus as the solution I believe there's a number of us right now in the fear and worry and the stress and the trials and all that's going on in our world that rather than seeing God's opportunities we're seeing all the issues and I believe that what Jesus wants to do today is he wants to say let me give you a Clear Vision of who I am that you can walk in an Unstoppable resilience in this world so this is what I want to ask you to do I want to ask you if that's you if you're like man I need some upgrades to my lenses I want you to feel free I want you to just be honest and vulnerable enough just to leave your seats right now I want you to come down and meet here in the front just come on now just they say it's me I I want a fresh perspective amen just come on down here praise the Lord kind of let's give these folks a round of applause come on down here I'm gonna invite our prayer team to come fall and invite our pastors to come forward as well amen now as folks are coming down right now I want to encourage you I realize that there's always folks in these moments that are like I totally need that upgrade to my vision but I don't want anyone to have to see me go forward right there's those of us it's like that we're like I don't want people to know that I'm one of those folks but here's what I want to tell you God knows that he wants to give you Clear Vision he doesn't want you to see things blurry he wants you to see him clearly now all of you in front just come on a little closer here now I'll guess all of our folks of our prayer team there's there's uh oil here I want you to we want to have everybody here Anointed with oil and I want you just all of you here in the front of myself but you put hands on the people right in front of you just put hands on the people right in front of you there you go everyone in the congregation I want you to raise your hands right off these but if you're online right now I want you to raise your hands to your computer I want you to raise your hands to your phone right now and I just want all just I want to be able to pray out say God will you give me a Clear Vision Of You Lord help me see Jesus in the midst of this and as we're anointing people are the way we'll be laying hands on folks right now if you're still in the seats you got your hands form with your blade put your hand around the person next to you even though they didn't come forward say Lord give him a Clear Vision of you we need to we need to upgrade on that prescription right now [Music] car with you just says [Music] foreign [Music] as we are praying right now God I ask Lord your spirit is the great vision of Our Lives the finished work of Jesus is the vision of Our Lives the Apostle Paul said God forbid that I should boasted anything except the cross of my Lord Jesus and God as we are praying and anointing these folks as people in our in our Sanctuary there's people online right now God I ask Lord that your spirit would give us a Clear Vision that where there is spiritual glaucoma Lord you would heal that Lord where there is where there's just blindness where people are wearing other people's lenses Lord it happens sometimes we put on our spouse's glasses they just everything looks blurry Lord I ask that each one person here at Crossroads that you would take off the old corrective lenses that maybe helped us see at one point but isn't working now and God and we ask for your spirit to give us 20 20 Clarity on you Jesus God I ask that you would birth hope radical biblical hope in the heart of each person here today God we ask that your spirit would be poured out Lord where there's healing I ask for healing Lord where there is deep wounds God I ask that your spirit would be the balm of Gilead God I ask that you would allow us to see your hand move in the land of the living God we ask that you would do all that you want to do all that you want to do in this moment [Music] you know I get the senses we're here praying that there are many in here who need to be reminded that our God is the god of Resurrection and that God's renewal and New Life happens through the cross without the cross there is no Resurrection and if you're here today and you're like man this is hard you don't even understand this is so it's so brutal right now I want to remind you that there's always Sunday coming in the name of Jesus and I believe that right maybe maybe you're in Holy Saturday right now where it's dark and it's quiet and you just need to be reminded that Sunday's coming so what we're going to do now is as we've been praying together I love the bridge of the song that we're going into because it reminds us that death cannot hold the finished work of Jesus so this is what I'm going to ask all of us to do if you're here in the front I just want you to raise your hands up high and as we sing this this bridge that death could not hold you the vowel is torn before you I want us to sing this bridge but not as a I hope that this will happen but this is a reality for the children of God let's sing this bridge with breakthrough because Jesus has broken through can we sing this [Music] silence supposed the heavens are roaring the praise of your glory for you were raised to life again for you have no rival [Music] Ry [Applause] [Music] yours is the kingdom [Music] [Applause] okay what a powerful name it is [Music] My Name of Jesus what a powerful name it is [Music] [Applause] foreign [Applause] [Music] holy are you Lord God Almighty the Worthy is a lamb a Worthy is a lamb You Are Holy [Music] holy are you Lord God Almighty Worthy is Worthy is [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] Worthy is [Music] sing that together are you Lord God Almighty Worthy is Worthy is [Music] n't that good news today holy God so good to be in the house of the Lord and singing together isn't it well uh something that we're really really excited about as we're worshiping together is we actually have a lot of people that are on our volunteer team who actually write songs and are artists as well and so we want to take a few moments today as we find our seats you can stay standing but just if you're up here if you guys want to find your sheets or stay up here you can but we have an awesome privilege to hear some music this morning from one of our volunteers but high level leaders and artists Kate white so would you please give it up for Kate white this morning [Applause] you know I'm always so blessed by the Lord in the way that he dovetails things because the next two songs that I'm going to share with you you know we're doing the conference uh the Forgiveness conference coming up this coming weekend and so I love to write songs that help move us toward the freedom that God really has for us and these next two songs are really about it's an internal honest prayer I think of David and how he cried out to God and he was honest this first song is called free and it's really this prayer I'm thinking through about all the things that I struggle with you know he was talking about those lenses those lenses whether they were words spoken over you or things that you decided were true those those become lies that we end up not even knowing we believe and we live our life by those things and the Lord wants to remove those the lenses the lies and I love this song because this song is is about taking everything captive every thought captive and that's where all of the stuff starts isn't it so think of this as your song that you might cry out to the Lord as you're trying to come back to that reminder that God's Grace has set us [Music] thank you God familiar voices crying out reminding me of fear and doubt till I remember your unending Grace [Music] you set me free foreign [Music] I'm free I'm free on my sins decrease [Music] therefore if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation they are a new creation sweetheart therefore if anyone is in Christ the Avenue creation they are a new creation therefore if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation we are a new creation yes we are therefore if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation they are a new creation and free I'm free if I don't want to fight for me no longer in captivity I'm free [Music] you set me free now transport you set me free [Music] [Applause] welcome to sit or stand however you like but as you're seated there this next song is called I have been waiting and when we wrote the song we just felt this Holy Spirit hush Daniel played upright Bass with us in the studio and we recorded and um we just I can say is we just all felt the spirit of God fall so this is bigger than anything I've co-written on it's it's a message about waiting and the surprising thing is that when we say waiting is hard from waiting in line to waiting for a medical diagnosis to waiting to be free from addiction working on that some of us have been waiting for a long time my husband has had ups and downs for 20 years we've been waiting for for good solid health waiting for something too and so I would like to ask if you feel comfortable would you raise your hand if you're waiting for something and with those around you just gently lay their hands on you as I sing the song over as you're comfortable I've been waiting for so long [Music] the sky I've been longing forever answers [Music] feeding into the night as I breathe in this prayer [Music] reaching beyond what I know for Faith to be clear we are waiting I've been waiting [Music] so long [Music] I've been listening [Music] fragment of Hope in the night as I breathe in this prayer for your spirit just for a glimpse of your light [Music] when will you [Music] it is yes but it's fine it is well with My Soul you are in control [Music] I've been waiting so long I've been resting in your wrist [Music] spirit is feeling my lungs as you breathe in my prayer [Music] the peace that's beyond what I know [Music] I stay here foreign [Music] [Music] it is [Music] [Music] [Music] so long [Music] amen [Applause] Give the Lord a hand and now we're just going to take a moment uh for you to turn to your neighbor and greet them meet someone that you've never met before give them a high five give them a handshake give them an elbow bump whatever will take one minute for you to meet someone in your in your family of Faith here in this room with you [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] let's come together as we continue with today's service [Music] life isn't easy but healing and encouragement are available to us when we reach out for help if you or your family need support or spiritual guidance if you're feeling isolated and need to talk to someone or if you're suffering the effects of abuse or addiction we are here for you our pastors and trained chaplains are here to provide biblical guidance and our Care Center is now open to those needing professional counseling visit crossroadschurch.net care to set up a confidential online appointment with a member of our staff or care team are you looking for simple ways to get more involved here at Crossroads second Saturdays are the perfect service opportunity to help the community while connecting with your church family don't miss out on the sense of joy and purpose you can get from serving others in October we'll be partnering with Heritage Farm to harvest crops for those in need in our community so join us on the second Saturday of every month right here at Crossroads at 9am to register visit crossroadschurch.net love now [Music] did you know that every eight minutes someone in the U.S is in need of a blood donation donating blood is an important Act of service and a practical way we can meet the most basic needs of those in crisis we are proud to partner with the Red Cross to host a blood drive event right here on our campus we invite you to join us on Friday September 30th to register go to crossroadschurch.net events well I found myself at the Luna to worthy conference with my wife I had seen Kate white for many years her Ministry with music I just heard a blurb about what the conference was going to be about and I just knew I was going to get something out of it but I can remember spending Decades of my life just resentful at my mother for some of the things she had told me or did or did not let me do as a child and as a young adult it hurt my relationship with my mom and I wasn't able to be the loving joy-filled son I was created to be troubled with drugs and alcohol for many many years many years it's not right for me to be resentful or unforgiving of my mom in fact the way she raised me saved my life just thinking about what God did in Kate's life that it was possible for him to do the same thing in my life we've all had relationships that weren't ideal we've all done things you have to learn how to forgive you have to learn how to let go of the past and to heal and move on big things the little things it doesn't matter so and I'm not meant to be hurt I meant to walk in Freedom wounded to where to worst to Lasting forgiveness a two-day concert and conference for anyone searching for healing join Kate white as she seamlessly weaves her story from bitterness to forgiveness with teaching that is both biblical and practical register today at crossroadschurch.net events [Music] day welcome for those of you guys that don't know me my name is Ricky I have the honor of being one of the pastors here at Crossroads and uh it is just so good to see you guys a day now I want to take a second uh welcome all of you guys here hey how you guys doing and also online we have a whole online family locally the United States globally so welcome online family we're so glad that you guys are here with us today now if this is one of your first times uh coming to Crossroads or maybe you've been here for a while and you haven't filled out a connection card we would love to get to know you a little bit more and so if you can fill out a connection card there's a couple ways to do it you can go to crossroadschurch.net connect or there's QR codes right in the back of a lot of the seats here that you can just scan and you can fill out a connection card now this connection card allows us to see just a little bit more about who you guys are lets us connect with you and let you know about all the really cool things that go on here at the church and also uh we give a donation for every single connection card that you guys fill out we give a donation to charity water who provides water to those that need it all over the world that need it the most so it's a great double whammy there you get to know you more and we get to make a donation to charity water so if you guys haven't done that please do that as soon as possible uh now what you guys saw up there uh and we saw on stage as well Kate white was here right wasn't she amazing come on give it up for Kate right now we have the wounded to worthy conference that is coming up that she puts on uh and then the last one it said right it's 10 steps to Lasting forgiveness and if you're anything like me the idea of forgiveness is a hard one right and so this conference is for anyone anyone that wants to help as they're becoming an overcomer in some place in their life and learning to see what it looks like to forgive just like the Lord forgave us and so that conference is coming up it's this weekend actually Friday and Saturday September 30th October 1st uh so you can make sure if you want to check that out you can sign up on crossroadschurch.net events find out a little bit more about that and it's just a great way to get involved and I'm telling you guys there's so many ways to get involved here at the church that's just one of them there's midweek Services there's so much that we would love for you guys to get involved with us and not for just the purpose of just coming it's because we want to fill you guys up to a point where you can then go out into our communities and show that same kind of love and forgiveness the people right around you as well and so come join us wounded worthy you guys can make it all right so now we're going to pray as we're going to start our service today uh not only for the the word that's going to go out uh but also just for you guys as you guys are coming here of your time and really just wanting to hear from the Lord and so let's list that up together right now Lord uh thank you thank you so much for who you are and what you do for us Lord I pray that as the word goes out today that your people hear your word Lord they hear from you what you want to speak to them be with Pastor Daniel as he is uh just leading us Lord in this place today we love you Lord and thank you and in Jesus name amen [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] whether we like it or not worry and fear are just a real part of all of our lives you know I'll tell you just a personal story I'm pretty much just like uh everything's fine kind of a person but a number of years ago this was now about 15 years ago as it relates to teaching the Bible and preaching I found myself really struggling I remember that what would happen is you know because I'm teaching God's word and I'm also just a person like you always feel like who is sufficient for these things like like who can do this and then you add on top of the the reality that one you want to glorify God and then you realize that everyone's life is happening and it's and it's real and and you're like I know God wants to do something and so what started to happen was I would prepare a Bible study and now I'm one of those you know everyone works differently uh in college I realize that I just don't really like kind of being under the gun so there are some people like you know you have a college paper that's due on Friday and so you do an all-nighter on Thursday I try and get the paper done on Monday so I can Goof Off for the rest of the week I was that's my my nature and so I don't like being under the gun and so with preaching I would do the same thing where it's like I would get the message prepared I'd have it all dialed in and I'm like okay I'm good to go but then every time we hit to about Friday and Saturday leading up to Sunday all of a sudden I found myself being like maybe I don't understand this or maybe I don't know what I'm supposed to say and maybe I prepped this all wrong I need to redo it and I would find myself going back into my notes and literally like redesigning the whole sermon taking out huge chunks and uh and putting in all new chunks and then sure enough I get to show up on Sunday and I wanted to preach the original message and all the chunks that I put in were useless not that they were bad it was just like really what God had for everybody was what I prepared originally and what I had what I realized over time because this happened a number of times in pretty quick sequence and what I realized was that I was just worrying a lot because I wasn't at Sunday I didn't know what God was going to do I was worrying about it and what I realized was that my worry was real and my fear was real but it was creating issues for me so you know I had to find a tool so the tool that I use is that on Thursday night I I take my notes and I make a PDF out of them and I'm not allowed to change them I can pray about it all I can think about it I can seek the Lord but like the notes that are that are done on Thursday end up being the notes that I preach off of now I bring this up because you might say well listen oh I'm you know like you know like yeah okay so you were preaching but like worry and fear are just part of our Lives if you think about what they are it is our mental and sometimes physical response to uncertainty and if we're being honest and we don't like having to be honest this way uncertainty eats our lunch pretty much every day and the thing is is almost all of life is uncertain you know well it was the old saying there's only two certain things in life what are they death and taxes isn't that such a joyful idea it's just like wow just like get me out of bed in the morning it's going to be a glorious day but really it's part of the human condition it's part of the human condition that there is life and we only control little piece of now I I feel like if we're being honest about it though fear and worry is on the rise because in some ways we have a lot of control over a bunch of other things that we that almost feel right like you have control over what temperature you have your house set at the speed of your internet which uh whether you know which cell phone you buy which kind of car you drive see we have we have all of these decisions that we get to make you go out to eat and you're like yeah I actually I want the carbs today or I actually want the appetizer I want three desserts like you can choose all these things and because we have all of these choices that we make what happens is we get used to there's a lot of things that we can control but then in light of the things that we have no control over we really don't know what to do with them and so in my book you're going to make it I take a whole section to talk about fear and worry and I want to try and unpack it for you off in about 30 minutes just some big Ideas now can I just start by saying this anytime a pastor starts talking about fear and worry ultimately you realize that you're you're walking on thin ice as a pastor because for people who struggle with fear and worry and anxiety almost always no matter what you say feels like you're diminishing what they're they're either their faith or their belief and you ultimately feel like there's always someone like well you don't know what I'm going through so how dare you talk that way and so you end up getting in trouble just for teaching the Bible so let me start off by saying this what I want to talk with you about today is the kind of universal feelings of generalized worry and fear that we all experience I am not here talking about clinical diagnoses of these things I studied psychology in college so I know that there is a difference between the generalized feelings of uncertainty that we have and then where we need qualified medical professionals as well as our faith does that make sense so if you know I realize that we start talking about this it becomes very very problematic because you know I heard it said recently that one of the struggles Our Generation has is that like in the Bible Jesus only has healed the one guy at the pool of Bethesda but in our day and age everyone who he didn't heal would get mad that they weren't the one that got healed by Jesus and so you we live in a day and age where there's always like what about this and what about this so I'm talking about this in the more Universal sense and I realize that in each one of our lives these things may play out specifically in different ways and I don't want to diminish in any way the different uniquenesses of situations that people find themselves in does that make sense but the Bible does have a lot to say about fear and worry like a ton to say about it now let me start by saying this you have to realize that fear and worry begins in our minds in our thought life right it's how we think about what we're experiencing now what the Bible does teach is that the greatest commandment Jesus said we should love the Lord Our God with all of our minds right and then the Apostle Paul also said we should be putting on the mind of Christ so what that means is for all of us no matter where you are on the spectrum of struggling with worry or fear anxiety or all these different things is that you have to realize that for all of us there is a call from God and I believe the spirit of God empowers us to think differently than the way that we would think naturally right that that we need to love God with all of our our thoughts all of our mind and we need to learn how to put on the mind of Christ which means we're putting off our own way of thinking and we're putting on the mind of Christ right we're thinking with the thoughts that Jesus thinks or thunk that's bad English I just say that for fun so so part of this journey for all of us is I call this message winning the battle against fear and worry and if I'm going to be really honest with you really winning the battle against fear and worry comes down to fighting it as a battle that's what it boils down to you have to fight it as a battle and what I will say no matter where you find yourself today that if you are not fighting the battle against the ways of thinking that generate fear and worry then you're definitely losing the battle we have a responsibility as we simply respond to Jesus to to do battle against these things if you think about worry and fear there is an uncertainty that we experience and there's a gap between like I don't know how this is going to work out there's a space there and all of us fill in that Gap with either trust we trust God or we doubt God's goodness and right there that's how that's like the first thing in the battle right there what you put in the Gap and for the followers of Jesus the most important thing to realize is that when faced with uncertainty we have to try and identify when we lead with God I trust in you and your purposes or when we start with this is all going to go down in a smoldering heap of mess and I can say it that way because I know like I'm walking through this life too right whether it's like my kids my family Crossroads my own walk with G I mean you just go down the road like you just go and all of it is fear and worry inducing so really worrying is the ways that we respond mentally to uncertainty what's interesting is that fear is looking down the corridor of time and assuming that bad things are going to be are going to happen what's the old definition fear f-e-a-r false expectations appearing real so you look down and you say this is all going to go bad it's possible that it could go bad but we're taking a false expectation and we're rolling it out there is that that's exactly what's going to happen so us needing to short-circuit that process now there's no probably clearer place to go for Jesus is teaching on fear and worry then Matthew chapter 6. so everyone turn your Bibles Matthew chapter six we're going to take verses 25 to 34 together first book in your new testament sixth chapter right there in The Sermon on the Mount if you brought your Bibles with you open them up you're I hope that all of your bibles if you just drop them down they open to The Sermon on the Mount this great place just like like that's where your binding is cracked to and if it's not crack the bidening right now and so it'll start tomorrow if you didn't bring a Bible with you those Bibles on the seats in front of you and of course if you're only a phone or a digital reader pull out your phone your device type it in Matthew chapter six picking up in verse 25. this is what Jesus says he says therefore I say to you do not worry about your life about what you will eat or what you will drink nor about your body what you will put on is not life more than food and the body more than clothing look at the birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly father feeds them are you not of more value than they which of You by worrying can add one cubit to your to a stature so why do you worry about clothing consider the lilies of the field they neither grow they neither toil or spin and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all of his glory was not a raid like one of these verse 30. now if God so closed the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown into the oven will he not much more clothe you o you of little faith therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear for after all of these things the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all of these things will be added to you therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow we'll worry about its own things sufficient for the day is its own trouble now to give you the principle I've always said it this way that when the Bible says something once it wants us to take it seriously when the Bible says something twice it's because the Holy Spirit knows that we're a little thick-headed or maybe we were distracted or ADD ADHD in the moment and so we've missed it but when the Bible says something three times in a row God ain't messing around and three times in the nine verses that I read it says the exact same thing it says what do not worry he says don't worry look what it says I get it in verse 25. right he says do not worry about your life verse 31 therefore do not worry then you go down to verse 34 therefore do not worry I can just end the sermon it's the perfect sermon right there delete the intro say do not worry in Jesus name amen right it's like because Jesus says it three times now it's really easy because and if you notice all of the do not worries or preceded by one word what's the word therefore and what do I always say what's it there for thank you very much I don't have to say it anymore I'm like there's therefore everyone knows what it means right so in each do not worry there is a therefore which points this is a conclusion of what's preceded now what's interesting if we were to go back to verse pretty much 19 of Matthew chapter 6 everything that Jesus is talking about from Matt from 19 to 24 is all about being generous it's about living a life of biblical generosity right first it talks about don't lay up Treasures on Earth but lay them up in heaven anything that someone can steal from you or the natural elements like moth and Russ can destroy that's an Earthly thing not a Heavenly thing you say Hey listen you're living on Earth but make sure you lay off Treasures in Heaven then you get to verse 22 and 23 which talks about the the the good eye and the bad eye and no he's not talking about your corneas the if you look in the Old Testament the the evil eye or the bad eye is always a picture of being not generous being more miserly or stingy as it relates to helping other people it's numerous times in the Proverbs where it says that an evil eye is someone who is not generous with other people right so it says listen the idea and the idea of the evil eye it literally speaks about because the issue is covetousness the reason we're not generous because we look at other people they have more than us they have better than us we want to keep up with them we're like I'm not going to have enough and so instead of being open-handed like God is we're closed-handed and we're hoarding and we can help but we choose not to and then we make the reasons why that's called The Evil Eye and Jesus talks about it and then Jesus lands in verse 24 by being so honest and saying you can't serve two masters you're gonna You're Gonna Love One You're Gonna Hate the other you have to choose are you going to serve God or Mammon which is the Aramaic personification of finances or money and and if this is in the certain amount so Jesus can be more clear and guess what even though it was 2000 years ago our world has different variables but human beings are primarily the same right and so Jesus puts the same thing he throws the gauntlet down and it's one of those situations where when she and then he starts because he knows Jesus knows people he knows what's in our hearts oh man be generous oh yes you can't serve God in money and then someone's bound to say but then how am I going to survive God and Jesus therefore do not worry and this boy says do not worry about your life what you will eat or what you will drink so you say Jesus just kind of cuts that he knows what the what the issue is going to be for people like if I'm generous if I if I have a good eye and I see people in you and I try and help them and I'm generous how am I gonna put food in my belly how am I gonna put clothes on my body and she says don't worry about your life and then he starts unpacking it for us now it's easy to think right now well it's easy for Jesus to say that he doesn't understand what I'm going through and you got to realize that 2 000 years ago life looked a lot different than it looks today like right now you go home I'm pretty sure you have some sort of a contraption that you plug into a wall that keeps things cold and there's stuff in there like even you young folks man Obadiah was like Hey Dad I'm like what's up buddy he's like can I get me a mini fridge from my room I'm like no because I was a dude in college with a mini fridge you know what you call that a science experiment you know how that works like there's like 87 day old Pizza in there it's like this I'm like no it's like there's a fridge downstairs buddy I'm like why would you want to make I just I'm always thirsty I'm like I know you just walked down the hall to your faucet where water comes out so you go home there's something to eat now eat now even I remember when I was a professional musician right before I'm the Regal person you see before you today and I remember like I lived in a house with two other buddies we all played music together and even on our worst week there was you could at least make a condiment sandwich right it's like it's like there was some bread there's some ketchup some mustard some mayo and you could survive on that stuff I did for a long time right you go on in there just like you know there's like like because you don't always happen like you know one of your family members would show up and they see like these three dudes living in squalor you know and they'd be like oh man they go buy some canned food you know what I mean you come back there's like a thing a tuna fish or something or some beans or something you know and you're gonna you can always just put that thing together now but two thousand years ago they didn't have an ice box they couldn't just go home and be like oh man I you know I ordered a foot long from Subway but I should only really ate in six inches of it so I'm just gonna stick in there I'll save it for later no and that culture was hot it was dry there was no electricity there's no microwave right there's you know it's like you you ate what you got I mean earlier in Matthew chapter six Jesus is like give us this day our daily bread because literally they were praying in the food for the day when the fishermen would go out they couldn't catch fish nobody ate in times of famine it wasn't like I mean today it's we live it's it's extraordinary the day and age in which we lived that like right now it's like when it's winter time here you can still get like fresh fruit like it was in a tropical climate or you can get like coconuts from Hawaii and they freeze them and then they bring them over and you can get like like you're living in Hawaii with some Hawaiian coconuts but there if it wasn't grown there it wouldn't survive to make it there there's no Planes Trains and Automobiles oh and then not only is that about just the food side of things I mean today you're like oh listen you know I always joke you ever see the meme where it's like you know Jesus is like turning you know giving out the free bread and be like hey I'm gluten free I can't eat that Five Loaves I'm a vegetarian I can't eat that you know like people didn't and I'm not knocking those of you with dietary restrictions or preferences you're allowed to have them but back in the day if you had dietary restrictions or preferences you died because you couldn't say I got the gluten-free bread here it's so good you know it's like it's like the culture was so different and then as it relates to clothing they didn't have wardrobes right they didn't have like oh man I like I I was looking and for the fall you know my color palette for the fall these earth tones I don't have enough Earth Tones so I'm going out and I'm going there's a special at my favorite store and I get me I get me the yellows or I don't I mean as you can tell I have no fashion sense at all but if you had fashion sense like there's different styles you know I was talking like I have a daughter who's 14. now I'm learning all sorts about how the fashion has changed she's like oh no those jeans are out I'm like man jeans are jeans like but I realize there's all different cuts and styles and the whole thing how many of you made it through the skinny jeans phase don't raise your hand it's embarrassing now and I was supposed to be wearing skinny jeans even if you're skinny don't wear skinny jeans I have no clue why I'm talking about this again I have no fashion sets but we Jesus is talking at a time where people didn't have any clothes and if you like and people would give their outer garments as a down payment if they borrowed something and by law they had to give it back because they'd freeze in the middle of the night without it the whole culture was different and so you you we read this like oh but it was so much easier two thousand years ago no it wasn't it was way harder it's way easier today and I'm not diminishing life but Jesus overall says listen don't worry about your life you don't have to worry about what you're going to eat you don't have to worry about what you're going to put on as why he says because your life is more than food and your body is more than clothing he's like there's more going on here than what you're thinking about and so of course listen to Psalm 37 verses 1 to 8 on this simple idea just don't worry it says do not fret because of evildoers nor be envious of the workers of iniquity do not fret it only causes harm or if I like to say that if if that was in in the King James Bible it would be freakish thou not don't freak out right now but if you think about all the worry one of the main drivers of fear and worry right now is politically driven now you realize what a gift we have in America because every four years you have even the potential option of getting new people there and even if the person you don't want to be there gets in again it's only like eight years and then you're on to new people you realize that for the children of Israel they had no say I mean they had been under Babylonian Rule and they've been under medo-persian rule then they were under Greek Rule and now they've they've been at the time of Jesus they've been under Roman rule for about 70 years at that point they had no say in what went on zero there was no elections they got who they got because that's what it was so it's amazing that you realize that like have the potential of change for some reason it ends up playing out as even more fear and worry were these they didn't just say Hey listen but don't worry in the psalm don't fret because of evildoers how many of us are overcome with worry because of all the evil we see in the world I mean you got this you got to just grab Psalm 37 verses 1 and 8 you got to do battle with it God is saying don't worry about this it only causes harm not to the evil doers to us listen to Isaiah chapter 41 verse 10. fear not for I Am With You be not dismayed for I am your God I will strengthen you yes I will help you I will uphold you with my righteous right hand see in the prophet Isaiah God is grounding Our Hope in the future with the fact that God is with us he is our God that he will help he will strengthen and he's going to hold us with his righteous right hand so you see how in the face of fear and worry we have to learn how to grab these scriptures and pray through them how do I stand on those scriptures maybe you need to start taking these scriptures and putting them on your phone as an alert that they pop up every 10 minutes writing them on an index card put it on your bathroom mirror I was hanging out with someone recently they got in their car and there was a scripture like on their dashboard and I was like right on because what it means is someone's doing some battle someone's like I I need to stand on this see we win the battle against fear and worry when we start fighting the battle how many of us need to write down do not worry about your life put down is Matthew chapter 6 verse 25. now what's funny about all this is Jesus is talking about worry and fear what's interesting is I was doing some research about this and you know people like to you know it's interesting when you look at the the research on this from the scientific community and I'm not a a doctor or a scientist at all I'm just really curious about things a lot of people like to say that worry is the mental component stress is when the mental component becomes physical right like we feel we have the the effects of worry become stress on the body that's why if like you know heart disease is linked to stress right because it's like it's your body's responding to the worry so it's releasing cortisol and all these things and adrenaline and you go on that long enough and that becomes detrimental to your health and then anxiety is actually like almost like a complex of the worry the mental and the physical that goes on for a long long time and then you create what we call kind of clinical anxiety and so you realize that it's like it starts in our heads but then it becomes a full-scale bodily Human Experience I was reading at the World Health Organization said that uh in the last three years with all that's been going on uh you know uh worry and anxiety is up about 30 percent globally so it's like that's a that's a so we're seeing an acceleration in this and so for us we need to make sure okay so Lord teach me how not to worry and what Jesus does in this text here is he teaches us where how we know that we don't have to worry if we're going to fight the battle and it's simply because we need to learn from nature you need to learn from nature Jesus talking about the two two of the main things what am I going to eat and what am I going to wear you know like and and not because the people in Jesus day were fashion conscious it was just like you know back in the day clothes wasn't for fashion it was for protection does that make sense like like your clothes were there to protect you from the elements right and so so it's kind of why we all people are hairy too it's fascinating it's like God knew we need and that's why God knows I'm supposed to be in the Arctic or something you know what I mean just put a bunch of fur on there keep you warm it's good to go but there's so much that we can learn from nature and so as it relates to these things really what we see for food he's like I want you to look at the at the birds and for clothing I want you to look at the flowers the lilies right because if anybody says he's like okay you're going to worry about food he's like I want you to look at the birds of the air he says and what does he say about him he's like it's beautiful they don't sow nor reap right nor do they gather into barns so the idea is you've never seen a like how many of you have birds around your around your house could everyone raise your hands to the Northwest y'all got birds around how many of you have like ever had like all of a sudden their stakes in the ground and the birds were like sowing worms and they got scared they got they got a scare bird there to keep you away you know what I mean and they're just like man I I am like I'm doing I'm killing some worms and and so I can make sure that I pay I I can I can feed all my peoples you know what I mean so it says they don't sew a reef so they're not they're not trying to create food and they don't have a storehouse of like old worms that they gave so every day for the birds it's like I have to go find food plain and simple they don't have any of all of the technology we have all of the ways to get at it and but what he says here is so it's so simply profound because he says yet your heavenly father feeds them are you not of more value than they he's like look the birds get fed every single day because my heavenly father feeds them do you think God cares about you less than the birds so he's saying you can look at the birds the birds are an example of God's provision for sustenance and then he moves on and he moves into the this idea of clothing and it's and again it's so simple he's like he's like verse 28. consider the lilies of the field how they grow they neither toil nor spin you know they say to you even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these so he's saying when you look at the lilies the lilies don't have like a you know a lily seamstress or a you know a phenomenal you know fashion designer where the lilies like they show up and like I've been saving for a month I want me pink you know and it's like no they don't toil nor spin they're not creating this stuff but yet even Solomon who is the great king in the history of Israel in all of his glory was not nearly as beautiful as one of these flowers and isn't it true I mean it was just a Fashion Week in New York don't look at the pictures trust me you know I'm looking at it's like a man like no one's like man this is just so beautiful like there was a whole like like uh electrical tape thing that went on so I don't look it up I'm a New York Sports Fan so I got to see what's going on I'm like man so this is Fashion Week someone with electrical tape I'm like man they could have been here in Washington we've been doing that for years but it's like it's like it's the world that we in where you're like no when you see how many have you ever seen a field of flowers and it's so beautiful it's like and I'm not knocking if you're a fashion designer God bless you just don't use electrical tape please we'll leave that for the electrical okay you put clothes on but anyway in all in all of our Ingenuity God just naturally closed the Lilies of the Field and so really what we learn here is that nature teaches us a simple truth that God will take care that God will take care and of course when you think of the lilies or you think of the birds it reminds me of Psalm 150 verse 6 which says let everything that has breath praise the Lord praise the Lord I pray that when you see the birds you stop and you remember they're not sowing or reaping they don't have like a second freezer in the garage like all many of us do but God feeds them they're an example and a testimony of God's provision when you see a flower I pray that we are the type of people who stop and smell the flowers and admire their beauty because we realize they didn't have to go to the the mall or their favorite online outlet to look like that God made them that way and of course Joshua says this way Joshua chapter 1 verse 9 have I not commanded you if he's strong and of good courage do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go so as it relates to the most essential things we he says don't worry and you can learn from nature now in the middle of all this it's so beautiful because you just thought look verse 27 which of You by worrying can add one cubit to a stature such a fascinating idea he's saying the idea of adding one Cube into a statue like which one of you by worrying can change something like how tall am I I mean listen if it came down to to you could gain inches by worrying we'd all be in the NBA at this point right like because it's like if you look back on your life all the what ifs all that could happen all the things that freaked us out right that's what I learned about about all of the worrying and and fearing that I've done is that almost none of it has ever happened like I I built and no somebody like well no but Fusco some of my stuff happened and that is true but the bulk of it has not come to pass right some yeah sure some things have but the bulk of it hasn't there's a matrix that I learned many years ago and I talk about this in the book because I thought it was so profound that it's like as it relates to whatever makes me fearful or worrying the first question is is can I change it right now if I look at it it says I can change it then guess what I have a responsibility to change it I am getting control of what is freaking me out right I have to change it because it's in my it's like I have the responsibility to say this is what's Mooring me so let me give you an example as God is working in my life I was such a wild kid right like like and and you're an adult I was a wild adult until I got saved so I've always been like a thrill seeker right but then when you get saved what I learned is that so much of my thrill seeking was just sinful right I'm not allowed to do that stuff anymore so now I have to find like holy thrill-seeking opportunities so like I catch my I'm just confessing pray for me pray for my wife really my poor bride you know so I I find myself wanting my gas light to come on in my car just because it adds like a little spice to the Driving Experience like it's like because you're driving and you're like and like sometimes I'm like I wonder how far I can go on the thing and I have one of those cars now where it actually kind of tells you how many miles you have left to go and I'm like I wonder if it really shuts off at zero right I thought it's wrong maybe a little bit strange but it's like these are the things that I have to do for fun at this point in my life you know and so and so like I like I want them like what's gonna happen but then what I realized is that when it gets down to about five or four miles then I start thinking what's going to happen if I break down you know and then I just know how it is I'll be broken down all of a sudden like one of you guys will roll up oh now if I even told the story now people be like oh Fusco we're gonna leave you here for a while you know what I mean like if you're broken down you deserve you just let that thing run down to zero good on you enjoy your day Fusco we're praying for you you know and then all of a sudden I get anxious you know I'm like oh I better find a gas station right and hopefully I know where the gas stations are and there's enough of them around that's not normally too bad but every once in a while I'll catch myself in a spot like I don't know where the next gas station is and I'm getting it's getting tight that's something that I can control right now some people say Fusco what is wrong with you you know what I mean but I have control I can go stop at the gas station I can get gas way before I don't have to worry about so if I can control it then I have responsibility to change it and I make the change and then I trust God In the Journey but if I can't control it what should I do trust God because I have no control over it see either way you land at if you can make a change you make it and then you trust God and if you can't then you just trust God and you can't change anything but the key is is either way you're still trusting God In the Journey and that's part of what this is which one of you by worrying can add one cubit to your stature none of us can what I always like to tell people is that worry and fear does not change my situation it changes me and my situation it changes my ability to see what God may be doing in the midst of it all so you got to learn from nature but then what's powerful about this and I'm going to bring this to a close and obviously like how can you talk about this extensively in 35 minutes right what he says in verse 31 is very very powerful he says therefore do not worry saying what shall we eat what shall we drink or what shall we wear for after all of these things the Gentiles seek speak of the non-believers all the non-believers want the same thing right for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things but seek first the kingdom of God in his righteousness and all these things will be added to you therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow we'll worry about its own things sufficient for the day is its own trouble see really what Jesus says is instead of worrying you and I we need to invest that energy in the right place instead of worrying about all these things God knows what we need so instead what do we do we should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness so he's saying listen the energy that we invest in fear and worry has actually misplaced activity that what God wants to do is instead of worrying he wants us to seek first the kingdom of God and the character of God and really what this speaks about it speaks about Desiring above all to enter into to submit and to participate in God's world to enter into it to submit to it and to participate within that now if you think about the kingdom of God and his righteousness in your mind it should go all the way back to the beginning towards the beginning of Matthew chapter 6 in the model prayer that we call the Our Father prayer really what he's saying is that instead of worrying we should be investing our energy in the first three petitions in that prayer Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name that's the first one that God's kingdom would come and his will would be done on Earth as it is heaven those are the first three petitions right first that God's name would be hallowed would be set apart declared as holy that God's name would be revered and respected and honored in the totality of our life second that God's kingdom would come seek first the kingdom of God the kingdom of God is wherever god reigns in not only in reality but in experience and as a follower of Jesus the kingdom of God should be in your heart in your life that God's Reign his kingdom should be taking place right where we are and not only God's kingdom but also his will being done now think about that for a second because I think this is so important because God's will is this is what God desires to take place this is God's plan now here's what I want to tell you you have a will and so do I and it is not a given that our will and God's will is the same thing it's why you say if you want to be my disciple you need to deny yourself take up your cross and follow me it's why we need to say God not my will but yours be done because we have a will and then God has a will and if God's kingdom is rain is happening in our lives then we say God this is what I want but God what do you want we see Jesus praying that right the garnet Gethsemane he's like Lord if there's any other way to save Humanity let this cup pass me but not my will but yours be done and for the Sisters instead of worrying we need to say God you hold everything in your hands you have my future you have my past I can trust that you're going to provide for me that you're going to give me the essentials Lord you're not going to give me all of my greeds but you will take care of my needs and Lord in the in the lean times though you slay me yet I'll trust in you God and we walk through this but as this is all happening we start saying Lord I want to walk in your will not my own I don't know about you when I got the king to know Jesus I was so tired of seeing Daniel's will be done because it was never fulfilling it never involved the most beautiful things it always involved what I wanted how I wanted it what I think and what I noticed is that even in the people of God we know it should be God's will but deep down all we really want is our own like oh like what we're so used to getting at our way that we never ask God maybe you're doing something different right now Lord I want Comfort but you're giving me challenges God I want ease and you're asking me to get up and get into this thing God I want to slow down and you're saying yes the time for rest is not yet and I just want to encourage you when we become the people who value God's will above our own will that's when we step on into the kingdom of God because Kingdom that God's kingdom involves righteousness peace and joy in the spirit involves US changing and then Jesus reminds us at the end he says listen invest your energy in the right place seek God's kingdom and his righteousness and as he's going to take care of all these things and then hey don't forget don't worry about tomorrow you got enough trouble today and that's one of those places where Jesus is from Jersey you know what I mean because I've been tomorrow you're gonna have tomorrow's gonna have its own troubles what is going on and now what I love is that what Jesus invites us into and I'm going to land the plane right here what Jesus invites us into is living in the present with God he said don't you don't have to worry about what's going to happen tomorrow there's enough going on today can you seek my father's Kingdom and righteousness now and what I will tell you brothers and sisters is that a life lived in the spirit is actually lived one day at a time it's a bunch of one days with Jesus Pearl string together that makes a beautiful life I get that right out of the Book of Genesis it's amazing Abraham Isaac and Jacob are all asked by other leaders how old they are and Abraham Isaac and Jacob they always answer it the same way the beginning is the days of the years of my life are our Bibles just say I am this old but in the Hebrew it's the days of the years of my life is and for Abraham and Isaac it was blessed and Jacob is real negative about his life and if you read the writings of the rabbis about the Book of Genesis they all make the point that the Bible teaches that a life well lived in the presence of God has lived one day at a time and you put together enough good one days and then you see my life has been a God thing so here's what I tell you my friends listen if you haven't been having good days God days you can't trust God with yesterday can you say Lord I'm going to seek after your kingdom and your righteousness today I'm not gonna worry about tomorrow I'm not gonna worry about all the things that are gonna come later today is enough I'm gonna Trust You Lord I want to know you today I want your will to be done I want your kingdom to come I want your name to be hollowed in my life just start today I know at the end of the day say Lord this is what it was you saw it all and tomorrow you wake up what do you do you start again tomorrow and I'm here to tell you you put enough good God days together not days of worry and fear but days are seeking God and his righteousness and his kingdom I guarantee you we get to the end of life and you'll be like what God has done we'll have that testimony that we read about the great cloud of witnesses having let's fire our heads and our hearts as we pray together father I want to thank you for this simple command exhortation to not worry and God we just admit we're warriors God I'm a worrier and father I want to thank you that you tell me that you will provide that you know what we have need of that if you clothe the Lilies of the Field you feed the birds of the air that we're of more value that we can't change our circumstances through worry we just change us and our ability to see you working in our circumstances and that we you just want us to focus on you today and God we ask that you would help us to not just hear your word but to put feet on it Lord help us to change the things that we can change that will help us deal with the things that make us worried and father I ask Lord that the things that we can't change we know you got it and help us to be here today with the Troubles of the day and we want you to do your work Lord teach us how to seek you your kingdom your righteousness now with our heads bowing our eyes closed if you're here today and you're not yet a follower of Jesus [Music] God is inviting you into his family into his kingdom into his presence God is inviting you to not only know his will but to walk in his spirit God is saying you may be weighed down with worry you're freaking out you're fretting he's saying if you put your faith and trust in my son I'll always be with you and my presence will change everything so if that's you if you're here today maybe you're saying I've never put my faith and trust in Jesus but I want to today or maybe you're here today and you're hearing this and you're saying I believe in Jesus but I've been I've been fighting the battle against fear and worry I've been kind of just rolling over just living with it and today's a day I want to say Jesus I want to recommit to walking with you and fighting that battle if that's you any of those two categories we just take a simple Faith a few steps of Faith at the year today it's actually I just want you to raise your hand right here and say it's me I'm saying yes to Jesus today just raise your hand if I saying I'm receiving God's Grace today or today's the day I'm recommitting my life did you accomplish I see you right there in the center of the sanctuary praise God right on my right there praise God keep that hand up high other people saying yes to Jesus here today oh I see you right here in just the third row right in the front praise God keep those hands up high other people saying it's me I'm saying yes today I'm asking God to do just a glorious work in my life here today I see you just right up on the side of there praise God about three quarters of the way up the sanctuary there up on that side praise God now if you're joining us and you're online right now maybe you have your hand up in front of your TV in front of your computer right now if you're saying yes it is for the first time or today's the day you're recommitting your life to Jesus I just want to ask you if you're online we want to follow up with you just pull out your mobile phone and text the word ready to 51400 that info's on your screen right now when you do that our pastors and hosts online they're going to follow up with you just as we would if you're right here in The Crossroads sanctuary anybody else here in the sanctuaries there's a number of hands that are up those of you with your hands raised in just a moment some folks from our new Believers Ministry they're going to come and they're going to just come sit next to you we have resources we want to help you we want to welcome you to God's family we want to be able to pray with you and encourage you so just keep those hands up for a few a few more moments as our new Believers mean they're going to just come and they're gonna and they're gonna they're from our team we just want to be able to get you those resources to help you on the journey and father we ask today for these brothers and sisters who are saying yes to you either as a recommitment or a first time God we ask that you would do what only you can do which is be our God be our savior that you would be our ever-present help in time of need Lord as whether they're coming to you for the first time God we ask that you would steal them in the finished work of the Cross and the work of your spirit where there is just struggles with fear and worry I ask that you would do the most glorious work in each one of their lives we place them in your hands and God we want to be a people who value your will and your kingdom Above All Else so raise our eyes Lord above our circumstances and raise them into your reality and we ask it all in Jesus name and all the crossroads family agreed together as we said amen amen let's get these folks a round of applause let's all stand together let's respond and worship Jesus [Music] Christ [Music] [Music] the name the name of Jesus Christ [Music] nothing can stand against [Music] [Music] [Music] ah I love that we get these moments together right especially as we're hearing uh just this place where we do we we come sometimes we come to church and we have these anxieties and this stress and sometimes it feels like it's overwhelming uh yeah we could come here and lay it at the feet of Jesus right I'm going to let you guys know that we have a prayer team that's right up here and so if you guys want to come up right after service please come down we would love to pray for you we would love to chat with you uh get to know you a little bit more and just uh lift up whatever you have to Jesus together so come join us right afterwards with these wonderful people right here uh also uh just so you guys know a great way to get involved here it's an announcement we have from our love now blood drive so we're going to be partnering with the Red Cross that's happening on Friday Also the wounded Worthy is on Friday we just we just stack on things right we want to do it all but if you want to get involved with the blood drive come help out there is a need in our community to give blood and so please come out uh it's on between 10 and 3 and if you want to sign up for that go to crossroadschurch.net love now and you can find out more about that as well so as we close out our time together we're going to go ahead and pray so if everybody can lift their hands up with me please and let's say this together and now may the Lord bless you and keep you may the Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you and may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace and now May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all both now and forevermore and all across Road said amen and amen thank you guys wonderful what an amazing way to end our time together it's literally yeah it's really cool exactly yeah that's exactly what we need shout out to Jen her sister just said asking for something and it was just exactly what she needed so super super cool um but again Pastor Daniel had some great nuggets it was some really great nuggets more than chicken in these nuggets there was some wisdom and and really practical truths and that's something that I hope you come to find here time and time again at Crossroads is is we love to say we want to put everything on the bottom shelf like the cookies so that everyone can reach them and so I love that Pastor Daniel does that gives you very practical things to do and we want to recap some of these pointers for you if you're taking notes yeah so again he went over the ways to battle against fear and worry and was in Matthew 6 verses 25 to 34 and his points for number one do not worry come on easier said the number easier said than done you can do it with Christ um number two learn from nature and then lastly invest that energy in the right place amen you know worry I mean it is it is something you're instructed not to do yeah Philippians it says be anxious for nothing uh and so yeah it is a commandment from God and worry at the end of the day one of my one of my mentors told me this worry is what happens when people have serious doubts about the character of God and I'm like I don't want to doubt God's character yeah he's good he's all-knowing but it is hard yeah we have a question for everyone yeah so the question that we have is how does Jesus want to change what I fear oh man how does Jesus want to change that he wants to transform it right you talked about earlier I have a fear of dying yeah and that's real and I wish I could jump into your brain and take it away we can't but what we've specifically with death Jesus conquered death and one of the certainties that we have in this life is that one out of one people die yeah right that's just that I hate that ratio it's just true 100 of people die uh and so if that is our great enemy Jesus defeated that when he left the cave we left that grave and he rose again what can we do with the life that he's given us oh man so much the time that we have so if you give your life to Jesus we want to know about it or if you're interested in doing so get out your mobile device maybe you're on it right now so as soon as the service is over uh text the word ready r-e-a-d-wide the number five one four zero zero and when you do we'll be able to follow up with you it's an important decision we want to come alongside of you as you make it so we love you guys so much always praying for you online family we'll see you next time we're online God bless [Music]

Channel: Crossroads Community Church

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Id: _gPtoR-lEkA

Length: 109min 50sec (6590 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 25 2022