December 1, 2024 • 47 mins
Has anxiety been stealing your peace? Learn how to adjust your mindset by inviting God’s presence in with your praise.
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Scripture References:
Philippians 4, verses 4-9
Psalm 16, verse 11
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast.
I wanted to thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving
in your life.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Enjoy the message. So honored to be here today.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I want to just first of all, pause and just
say what's up to everybody at every locations, to the
people on a location in Mars, the people on the
location in Jupiter. But if you are just blessed by
and grateful for all that God's doing in your church,
come on, thank God for that. And certainly we just
(00:45):
recognize and just express public appreciation to one of by
far the greatest leaders and greatest teachers of scripture in
the universe, my friend and my brother, Pastor Steven Ferdieckt.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Come on, let's thank God for him.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Everybody man, so honored to be here. If it's okay,
I want to get right into our lesson and our
time together on today, and I want to share something
with you that really got starred in my heart. Late summer,
I was attending an event. It's a father son dinner
that my son's school has every year that.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
The football coach hosts just for dads.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
And while we were there and my son's last year,
he's this son's a high school senior and it was
a last one, and so.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Shout out. He's committed to play football next year.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Syracuse. They got a big win last night. Shout out
to Syracuse. But there's a point in the dinner where
the coach acts the son to leave, and it talks
to the dads, and it talks to us about trends
he's seeing in our well in our and people who
are on the team, to give us some insight on
(02:03):
areas we might need to lean into as parents.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
And one of the things that he said.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
To me stuck out, it leaped in my heart, if
you will, And he said, he is seeing this trend
of anxiousness. He said, they're saying it so much in
schools that the head of the school made.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
A specific book required reading.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
It was called the Anxiest Generation or something like that,
made it require reading for every faculty member of the school.
And I sat back and I just didn't hear it. Parentally,
I heard it pastorally. I said, that's not happening in
the schoolhouse, that's happening in our houses. And how many
(02:52):
know God's Word has an answer to address any and
every issue we may find ourselves face. And so I
went on this journey to search the scriptures to see
what God's Word had to say about this issue, and
have just finished walking our church through a journey found
(03:12):
right in this one passage I'm going to be sharing
with you today. It is a brief portion of the
Apostle Paul's letter to believers in Philippi the Book of Philippians,
chapter four, and here's what he says. In beginning at
verse four, he says, rejoice in the Lord always.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
I will say it.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Again, Rejoice, Let your gentleness be evident to all. The
Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. I'm
gonna read that one more time. I thought I was
at elevation. Do not be anxious about anything, but in
(03:53):
every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
recques us to God. Here's the promise attached to that principle,
and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
What will it do?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
It will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Now after you've done that, he says, finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely,
whatever's admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about
(04:35):
such things. I want to stop the reading of Scripture there,
and I want to talk from this subject in our
time together. Very simply, I want to talk from the
subject arresting anxiousness. Arresting anxiousness, family. I want to start
this teaching with a question. It's a simple question for
(04:55):
your reflection, and the question is simply this. If you
were to barricade yourself in a room with the Bible
and explore and examine all the instructions that God offers
from Genesis to Revelation, what would you see that God
says more more than anything else in Scripture? In other words,
(05:24):
what is the most common command given to humans from
God all throughout the pages of Holy Scripture. The answer
to this question is revealed in two simple, yet significant words.
The thing that God says more than anything else in
(05:48):
Scripture is two words fear not. Some iteration or some
variation of this command is found over three hundred times
in Scripture over three hundred times. In some way, in
(06:09):
some iteration, God says, fear not, don't be afraid, calm down,
chill out, breathe, drink some water, drink some coffee, take
a walk. Over three hundred times, God in some way
communicates to his people to fear not. And the frequency
(06:34):
of this instruction is an indication and a revelation of something.
If God says something a lot, it's not because he
needs to say it a lot. It's because we need
to hear it a lot. And so the fact that
this command is communicated so frequently isn't necessarily saying something
(06:54):
about God. It is saying something about us. It is
an indication and a revelation of the human orientation toward anxiousness.
Anxiousness a feeling of inner unrest and worried that is
fueled by the fear of outcomes we may never experience.
(07:18):
It is an emotional thief that robs us of today's
peace in anticipation of tomorrow's problems. Can I read that
one more time? Anxiousness? It is a feeling of inner
unrest and worry that is fueled by the fear of
(07:38):
outcomes we may never experience.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
It is an emotional.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Thief that robs us of today's peace in anticipation of
tomorrow's problems. Let me reframe this. Not just rephrase this,
Let me reframe this.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
It is an.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Emotional thief that is significant to some of us because
you're familiar with the state that Jesus made in John
ten ten when he talks about the part of his
mission when he says, the thief comes to steal, kill,
and destroy, But I've come that you may.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Have life and have it to the full.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
The thief comes only to steal.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
And so the thief has instruments that he uses to
steal and to.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Rob believers of that which.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
God wants them to possess. And what is one spiritual
asset and emotional asset that God wants every believer to possess.
It is the asset of peace. And whatever God gives,
the enemy wants to steal. And one of the ways
he steals this emotional and spiritual.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Asset of peace is by using a weapon called anxiousness.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
It is a feeling of inner unrest and worry that
is fueled by the fear of outcomes. We may never experience.
It's wasted worry. It's losing sleep over something that might happen.
It's losing joy over something that might happen, and more
(09:20):
often than not, doesn't even happen. A feeling of inner
unrest and worry that's fueled by the fear of outcomes
we may never experience. It's an emotional thief that robs
us of today's peace and anticipation of tomorrow's problems. And
this family, if we're understand objective, is an emotional epidemic
(09:41):
that has become a social norm.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And although it is normal for.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Those in culture, it does not have to be normal
for those of us in the Kingdom. I'm not saying
those of us in the Kingdom won't have anxiousness. I'm
saying those of us in the Kingdom can live in
a way where anxiousness doesn't have us pastor how can
you say this? I can say this with confidence because
(10:06):
I eavedrop on a conversation. Eavedropped on a conversation that
the apostle Paul was having with a group of believers
in northern Greece in a place called Philippi. And as
I was eavesdropping on this conversation. I read something Paul
said in verse six. He tells believers be anxious for nothing.
(10:26):
In other words, don't be anxious about anything. Watch what
he's saying here, because remember, he's writing two believers. Now,
he's writing two believers. Now, he's writing two believers.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Now.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
He loves everybody, but he's writing this to believers. This
is a letter that was circulated among believers. This is
a promise he's making to believers. Watch what he says
to them. He says, don't be anxious about anything. He's
not saying that there is nothing to fear. He's saying
that you don't have to be afraid. Did you hear
(11:02):
what I just said. Okay, he's not saying that there's
nothing to be anxious about, but he's saying you, as
a believer, don't have to be anxious.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
This is an indication of the principle of exceptions.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
And the principle of exception simply.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Suggests that what happens with them does not dictate and
determine what happens with me. I'm gonna say that one
more time. What happens with them does not dictate and
determine what happens with me. This is not exceptionalism. He's
not saying you're better than This is exceptionism. He's saying
you're different from. So in other words, don't look at
(11:42):
what has happened with others and come to a conclusion
of what can happen with you, because what happened with
them does not dictate and determine what happens with me.
Because all throughout Scripture we see examples of God making
his people exceptions. People do not go in a fiery
(12:04):
furnace and come out of it and not smell like smoke.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
But with the Hebrew boys, God made an exception.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
People don't go in a lions then with hungry lions
and come out not chewed up and consume. But with
Daniel God made an exception. People do not walk around
a wall once a day for seven days and then
seven times on the seventh day.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Scream at a wall and a wall fall.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
But with Joshua and the walls of Jericho, God made
an exception. A shepherd boy who writes poems does not
take a slingshot with a rock and defeat a nine
foot tall Philistine giant named Goliath, But with David, God
(12:57):
made an exception, and dead men don't go in a grave,
stay there three days and early Sunday morning, get up
out of the grave. But with Jesus, God made an exception.
And if he can do it for Daniel, if he
can do it for the Hebrew boys, if he can
do it for David, if he can do it for Jesus,
(13:20):
he can do it for you. Do I have any
exceptions in the house today?
Speaker 1 (13:33):
It's the principle of exception.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
He's saying, what happens with others doesn't have to dictate
and determine what happens for you. He's not telling them
to deny their circumstances, but he is saying, as a believer,
you can deny its influence because anxiousness isn't just a
result of what you're in. Anxiousness is a result of
how we allow what we're in to influence us. And
(13:59):
so Paul I love this because Paul is practical.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
He's a practitioner. He teach. He teaches in a way
that you're familiar.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
With at a church like this, where you have a
pastor who teaches biblical truth but then builds a bridge
from biblical truth to everyday life.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Yeah, you used to this.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
You don't just get Sunday messages here, you get Monday
messages here, pastor what's a Monday message? It's a message
out here on Sunday that I can use on Monday.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Yeah. This is the kind of practitioner Paul was.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
So he doesn't just tell them they don't have to
be arrested by anxiousness. He tells them how to actually
put anxiousness under arrest. It's one thing to hear that
it's possible to arrest anxiousness. It's another thing to be
(14:55):
taught on how to arrest anxiousness. And in this letter,
Paul doesn't just tell them what's possible. Paul offers them
a pathway. And I just want to know, is it
okay if I share with you what Paul shared with them,
so that we too can have a pathway to arrest anxiousness.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I'm gonna say that.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Do you want me to share with you what Paul
shared with them on.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
How to arrest?
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Do you want me to share with you now what
Paul shared with Okay? It's it's interesting here because when
you read the letter, there seems to be four areas
in the text where Paul shows them where they have
to make adjustments if they want to put anxiousness under arrest.
(15:53):
That arresting anxiousness requires making adjustments. And I see four
areas here that Paul gives them instruction in that if
we lean into that can aid and assist us in
this as well.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Here's number one.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
If they're going to arrest their anxiousness, they have to
adjust their perception.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
What do I mean by that?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Anxiousness doesn't come from what we see, but anxiousness comes
from how we see Here? Did you hear what I
just said? It's not what we see, it's how we
see it. Anxiousness isn't necessarily tied.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
To an event or an experience.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Anxiousness is tied to our interpretation of what it means.
And I see the importance of this not just in
what Paul says, but where Paul was when he said it.
I told you who he wrote this letter to, did
(17:09):
or not? He wrote this letter to a group of
believers in northern Greece in a place called Philippi, But
I didn't tell you where he was when he wrote it.
He was actually in prison in Rome. This is a
prison epistle.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
So here is here we have a man who.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Is locked up practically, who's writing to other people helping
them get free. Emotionally, he is in prison. His future
is unclear. He is unsure yet at the same time
he's experiencing this event of imprisonment. But the fact that
(17:54):
he's writing this letter lets us know he's not interpreting
this event the way.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Others would interpret it.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Because if anxiousness had him, he would only be able
to think about him.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
He wouldn't be able to think about others.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
So even if he had some anxiousness, the anxiousness didn't
have him.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
It didn't arrest him. He arrested it.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
And we know that because he's able to think about
setting other people free when he himself was in this
prison predicament why he's not unaccustomed to being in prison,
which means he has enough experience to say, I'm in
what I'm in, but it doesn't mean what other people
(18:40):
think it means. I'm gonna say that one more time.
I'm in what I'm in, but it doesn't mean what
other people think it means. See, sometimes an anxiousness doesn't
come from what we're in.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
It comes from what we think it means.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
But I want to tell you, no matter what you're in,
it may not mean what you think it means. You
may be facing a red sea and you may think
it means it's the end. But what looks like a
breakdown is getting ready to become a breakthrough. Just because
you're in what you're in doesn't mean it means what
(19:17):
you think it means. Get In was facing an army
of thousands, and he only had an army of three hundred,
but it didn't mean what other people thought it would mean.
And I want to tell you that sometimes anxiousness isn't
the event. Anxiousness comes as a result of our interpretation
of what we think it means. So if I want
(19:42):
to arrest anxiousness, I gotta adjust my perception because it's
not just what I see, it's how I see it.
Did you hear what I just said? It's not just
what I see, it's how I see. And sometimes we're
coming to conclusions about what we think a crisis means.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
When God is a god that redeems the meaning.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
Have you ever been in a season in the present
where you were crying tears of pain and then you
live and you move into the future, and you look
back on that thing, and the thing that you were
crying tears of pain about are now things you are
crying tears of joy about. Because cure car God says
(20:35):
life is lived forward, but understood backwards, because.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
God can change the meaning.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Is this not possibly what Paul meant when he wrote
in Romans eighth, chapter number twenty eight, and God will
work all things together for our good.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
It's not just what you see, it's how you see it.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
And Charles Spurgeon says, every physical miracle can be seen
as a metaphor for a spiritual miracle. And maybe the
miracle we need spiritually to address our anxiousness is for
God to heal our blind eyes. Maybe the issue is
(21:29):
not what I'm seeing, but how I see. But that's
not the only thing I see. In the text, Paul
doesn't just share with them that if they want to
arrest their anxiousness, they need to adjust their perception.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Paul also shares.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
If they want to arrest their anxiousness, they need to
adjust their praise.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Pastor way you see.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
It's in the text, he says in verse seven, Here
watch what he excuse me, he says in verse four,
he says, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say,
or say it again, rejoice. Paul is encouraging them. Watch this,
(22:20):
rejoicing the Lord always and again I say rejoice. He
is encouraging them to engage in a spiritual discipline, the
practice of gratitude. Did you hear what I just said? There,
rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice. And
he didn't just say rejoice periodically. He didn't just say
(22:42):
rejoice sometimes. He didn't just say rejoice on Thanksgiving. He says,
rejoice in the Lord always.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Rejoice.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
He didn't say rejoice when God gives you what you are.
He didn't say rejoice when God comes through at the
timeline that you've set for God to come through. But
he says, rejoice in the Lord always. He's encouraging them
to make this a practice, a spiritual discipline, and spiritual
disciplines of what we call means of grace.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
What does that Passadarius?
Speaker 3 (23:12):
God chooses what God uses to give us what we
don't deserve.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
That's a means of grace.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Grace is unearned, unmerited right, undeserved. Favor is when God
gives us what we don't deserve. Does that make sense?
I say, does that make sense, okay. So a means
of grace is something that God chooses to use to
give us what we don't deserve, and God chooses what
(23:42):
God uses to give us what we don't deserve. What's
an example of a spiritual discipline. It means of grace, prayer.
God says, there's some things I won't do if you
don't ask. Now, whatever I do for you, it's grace.
(24:04):
You don't deserve it, but I choose what I use
to give you what you don't deserve. And some people
miss grace because they won't follow the means. And gratitude
or what the Bible calls praise is a means of grace.
(24:31):
I'm gonna say that one more time. Gratitude or what
the Bible calls praise is a means of grace.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
So when we see books of the Bible, like.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Songs dedicated to saying praise the Lord, Praise the Lord,
and then we see contained in the book we see
instruction that addresses internal objections. What's an internal objection? It's
an objection you have internally in church that you don't vocalize.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
So some people say things like it's not my personality.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
So David says, okay, since some people are going to
say it's not my personality, let.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Me give you all these ways to do it.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Clap your hands, I'm not a clapper. Lift your hands,
I'm not a lifter. Lay prostrate, I'm not a layer.
Praise them in a dance. I'm not a dancer. And
then the bid believer says, the Lord's in this holy tipo,
let all the earth keeps silent before him. Everybody's not
gonna do the same thing, but everybody should do something,
because there's something for everybody to do in the scriptures.
(25:36):
So this is not it is not like a warm
up in church for the sermon.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Is It is not some some this.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Spiritual discipline reserve for a specific stream of Christianity.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
It is something that God has mandated.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
It is actually the only spiritual discipline that will exist
in eternity, the only oh mynd that you won't need
to pray in heaven. Come on, you don't need to
study the scripture in heaven, but there will be worshiped
in heaven. There will be praise in heaven. So it's
(26:12):
not some emotional exercise. It's not some anti intellectual exercise.
It's a means of grace. God says, this is something
I choose to use to give you what you don't deserve.
What does praise give me? Praise doesn't get me things
from him. Praise gets me him. Praise doesn't just get
(26:40):
me gifts from God. Praise gets me God the gift.
It gets me him. I said, it gets me him.
David says he dwells some twenty two three, he dwells,
or he tabernacles in the midst of my prayer.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
What is he saying here?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
He's not coming against or he's not contradicting this idea
of God being everywhere.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
At the same time.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
Yes, God is omnipresent, He's everywhere at the same time.
But praise takes God from omnipresent to manifest presence. Okay,
what does that mean you? We just had Thanksgiving, right,
and it was great for all of y'all extroverts, but
for some of us ambi averts and introverts. After a
(27:31):
while it got a lot, so we had to duck
off for a minute. Right, We had to go upstairs
for a minute, get some a long time to recharge
so we could go back out and engage. Come on, now, if.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I did that. I didn't. Yeah, I did. But I
was in my house the whole time.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
So if everybody was in the living and I was
in the living room, right and then I leave and
I go to my bedroom, I'm still in the house.
I'm just not manifest. And there are certain things you
don't get unless I'm manifest. If you want to know
where something in the house is, and I'm the only
(28:18):
one that has the answer, you don't get that answer
just by me being in the house. You only get
that answer when I'm manifest, when I show up, when
I come in the room. And what praise does is
praise He causes God. It's an invitation for God to
show up, to come in the room to manifest. And
(28:41):
I want to know, am I talking to anybody that
needs God to show up to come in the room
to manifest. Praise praise is an invitation for the manifest.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Presence of God. What does this have to do with anxiousness?
A lot?
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Because God's presence is an automatic eviction of anything that's
not like him.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
When he come in.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
The room, whatever is not like him has to automatically
go out.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
The presence pushes it out. I said, the presence pushes
it out. I said, the.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Presence will push anxiousness out, the presence will push fear out,
the presence will push despair out. The presence of God
is an automatic eviction of anything that's not like him.
David put it this way. David said in Psalms sixteen eleven,
you make known to me the path of life, you
will fill me with joy. Where in your presence it
(29:55):
is a temporary eviction of whatever it is not liking.
Have you noticed, when you're in the presence, you're not
in worry. Have you noticed when you're in the presence,
you're not in anxiousness?
Speaker 1 (30:16):
So now it makes sense.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
While Paul told believers in PHILIPPI, don't just do this
on Sunday, because if you only do this on Sunday,
the only relief you'll have is Sunday.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
And God won't just show up. Watch this.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
God shows up not to spaces. He shows up in
response to sounds. So wherever you release the sound, he'll
show up. If you release it in the kitchen, he'll
come in there. If you release it in your car,
he'll come in there. If you release it in the closet,
he'll come in there. If you release it in the bedroom,
(30:53):
he'll come in there. If you walk in the breakroom
at the office, he'll come in there.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
If you go to the restroom, he'll come in there,
he'll show up.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
Whatever the sound of praise is released.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
It's a spiritual discipline. Am I making sense?
Speaker 3 (31:13):
See people who are wired like me, who are not
necessarily expressive or emotive.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
I had to see this this.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
Way because if not, it just felt like people who
had certain personalities, where people who practice the spiritual discipline.
When everybody's supposed to practice this spiritual discipline, regardless of
your personality, and there are ways in scripture that give
everybody a way to practice this, everybody won't do it
the same way. So all of those ways in scripture
(31:40):
that cause spiritual temperaments, all of these ways to worship
in scripture are not because everybody's supposed to do everything
is because there's something for everybody.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Because what I need is the presence.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
And Paul's just saying this like conceptually, he's saying this
experientially because in the Book of Acts he's on a
missionary journey and one of the places he ends up
is in Philippi. He takes a partner in ministry with
him named Silas, and they began to engage in ministry,
and as a result of engaging in ministry, they free
(32:19):
They performed this exercise of spiritual liberation, and they free
this young lady from this evil spirit. And as a
result of that, him and Silas end up in prison. Now,
I grew up in Kill Michael, Mississippi, the Mount Alive
Missionary Baptist Church. We had Sunday school vacation. Some of
you're too young for that vacation. Bible school is just
(32:43):
Bible store's Bible Store. And I remember this one because
the Sunday school teacher would always start with this phrase.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
And at midnight, Paul and Silas.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Prayed and saying praise this unto God and the Bible says,
And suddenly when they were praising, that was a great
earthquake and the prison doors were opened, and immediately everyone's
bands were loose.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
So they got free physically.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
But the metaphor applies to us spiritually and emotionally. Just
like their chains fell off because of the presence, there
are some chains on us that will fall off because
of the presence.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
And I want to know, is there anybody in the
room today.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
That's got some things you need to fall off. You
need fear to fall off, you need anxiousness to fall off.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Well, let's just take thirteen.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
Seconds and in your own way, let's offer up the
spiritual exercise of praise.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Yes, where the spirit of the Lord is there's.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
So it brings his presence, But praise also shifts our perspective.
There's this phrase in songs, what David says, magnify the
Lord with me magnifying something. If you use a magnifying glass,
it doesn't make the thing larger, does it not? In reality,
it doesn't make it larger. It makes it larger to you,
(34:28):
did you hear what I just said? If you put
an ant under a magnifying glass, the ant is the
ant right, so it doesn't necessarily make it large.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
So I can't make God larger. He's already as large
as large can be.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
But when I magnify him, it right sizes God in
my perspective. And sometimes we're struggling with anxiousness, not because
the problem is too big, your God's too small. Praise
reminds me of his largeness, of his faithfulness, of his power.
(35:08):
It requires mindfulness, It requires filling.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
My mind with the goodness of God.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
It requires me going back into my history and reminding
my soul of his faithfulness. Of how he's never lost
a battle.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
I thought y'all would be familiar with that one.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
I said, And he's never lost a battle. I want
you to think about every battle you've been in, and
every time your back was against the wall, and every
time you couldn't see your way through and you were
worried and stressed and anxious.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
But somehow, some way.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Every single time, God came through and he didn't bring.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
You this far to leave you.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Now, he never lost the battle, and he never will.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
I said that he never will.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
I said, and he never will.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
I got two more points. But I'm done here. They are.
I'm done here. They are adjust my prayers, my perception.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
I'm done, adjust my praise, and then three adjust my prayers.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Where's that at. It's verse six and seven.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Do not be anxious for anything, but in every situation
by prayer and petition.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
The word prayer here is a word supplication. That's what
it means.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
So different types of prayers, right this, prayers of intercession
where I'm standing in the gap for someone else, Their
prayers of thanksgiving, I'm not requesting anything.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
I'm just thinking God for what he's done.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Right, then the prayers of supplication while making a specific request. Now,
I want you to hear me. It's so important because
this is an area where for many of us there's
an unconscious struggle. It's a struggle and we don't even
know it's a struggle.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
Listen to me.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
The purpose of prayer is not to notify God of
a need. God's not like I didn't know that. Bible
says He knows what we need before we ask. So
why then does the text tell us to make a
request known to God. The purpose of prayers not to
(37:45):
notif I God of a need. The purpose of prayer
is to express our dependency and to remind you that
you don't have control. I'm done every time I pray.
(38:06):
Every time I pray, I'm not reminding God of anything.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
I'm reminding me I'm actually not in control.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
And even when I think I'm in control and I
get comfort from being in control, I'm comforted by an
illusion because even when I think I'm in.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Control, I'm not. So prayer frees me from the illusion
that I can control what I can't do. It's God
you're God.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
I'm not, and some of my anxiousness it's because I'm
trying to play your role. I want to control. I
want to control my destiny. I want to control my family.
(39:06):
I want to control my kids. I want to control
the economy. I want to control business and prayers away.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Of reminding me.
Speaker 3 (39:19):
I have controlled of my actions, but you control outcomes.
I can till the garden, I can plant the seed,
but only you can make it ray.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
So why am I anxious about the weather when I
can't control it.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
Some of the weight we're caring is not weight God
gave us. It's weight we assumed, and your shoulders aren't
broad enough to handle God's weight. But the question I
(40:07):
think the Father wants to ask us today is do
you and I have any logical reason to believe that
He will not act in our best interest when you
(40:33):
really think about it. Well, let me talk about me.
I've lived long enough not to trust my decision making
that much.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
I'm just being logical, right.
Speaker 3 (40:47):
No, I'm not talking about what people have said about
some of my decisions.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
I'm talking about what I have said about some of
my decisions.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
When I have stepped back outside of me looked at
me and said, Daris, what were you thinking?
Speaker 1 (40:58):
It's one thing when somebody you ask yourself.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
That you know you just what were you thinking? So
why do I want control? I don't know enough to
have it. I'm not strong enough to have it. Time
is not in my hands, it is in his, which
(41:28):
leads me to my fourth and final point.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
We not only have.
Speaker 3 (41:33):
To adjust our prayer where we are really specific. We're
offering supplication very specifically, not about anxiousness itself, but the
things that we're actually anxious about, doing enough digging to say,
I actually want control, Lord, I need to bring this
before you. I'm actually trying to control the way I'm perceived.
(41:57):
I'm anxious about that. Let me bring that before you.
I'm actually trying to control my children. I don't want
them to make some of the mistakes that I made,
but you helped me survive mine, and why do I
not believe that you will help them survive theirs? I
(42:23):
need to bring this before you. And then finally it's
for I've got to adjust my practices and Paul like
he talks to them about their perception that praise their prayer,
and then in verse eight he says finally like, hey,
(42:44):
this is the final ingredient in the recipe that you
can do all the other things that I just told
you to do, but if you don't do what I'm
about to say, you won't get this result of arresting anxiousness.
You have to include this after you get through praising
and praying. You have to adjust your practice when you're done,
when you're saying Amen, talking to God. When you're done
(43:04):
praying and saying Amen, what are you thinking about? He's
warning them against an undisciplined imagination where my thoughts are
just going wild. Oh my god. The company say they
(43:24):
laying off. They're probably gonna come to my department. My
supervisor don't like me. They probably gonna lay me off.
If I get laid off, we're not gonna be able
to keep the house. If we can't keep the house,
I gotta go live with my parents, my in laws.
I don't know if I want to live with my
in laws. We're gonna be on the street, my kids
gonna be.
Speaker 1 (43:39):
In the car.
Speaker 3 (43:40):
Spirally, it's an undisciplined imagination. So Paul says, Hey, here's
what you gotta think about, and he literally has a
conversation with believers in Corinth. Literally, and this is kind
of the essence. It's not the only part, but it's
the essence of what we would call spiritual warfare. He
tells him in second Crincis, Chapter teen. He was like,
(44:00):
you have to take every thought captive and make it
obedient to Christ. Like, don't allow those thoughts to accumulate,
because the accumulation of those thoughts actually becomes strongholds.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
So he says, throw it away.
Speaker 3 (44:17):
When it's a brick instead of trying to knock it
down when it becomes a wall. So he says, Hey,
whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely,
whatever's admirable, if anything is excellent, or find something praiseworthy,
what's worthy of praise.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
He says, think on these things and watch what he says.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
I know this is in my notes, but I want
you to see this in verse nine, because early in
the text he says the peace of God. But in
verse nine he says this and the God of Peace,
the peace of God. And then he says, if you
do these things, and the God of Peace.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
Will be with.
Speaker 3 (44:58):
You whenever you get anxious. I want you to connect
point four to point three. I want you to think.
Speaker 4 (45:10):
About, has God ever not come through even if you cried?
Was he faithful to his promise that those who's so
(45:33):
in tears.
Speaker 1 (45:35):
Will we've been joy?
Speaker 3 (45:37):
Even if you walk through grief the valley of the
shadow of death?
Speaker 1 (45:44):
Has He been with you? Has that ever been a
time not that God didn't give you what you wanted?
Speaker 3 (45:53):
Because it doesn't always give us a war, but this
has there ever been a time where He didn't give
you what you needed? He's never lost the battle, and
he never will.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
We're human.
Speaker 3 (46:14):
We will have anxiousness, but anxiousness does not have to
have us. We can put anxiousness.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
Under arrest. Father, Today, as we prepare to celebrate.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
The coming of the Prince of Peace in this advent season,
I pray for your people everywhere that we would have
unprecedented experiences with the.
Speaker 1 (46:51):
Peace of God. Father, Would you assist us in arresting anxiousness? Yes?
Speaker 3 (47:02):
And may peace enjoy be our portion both now and forever.
We ask it all in Jesus' name, Amen.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
Special thanks to those of you who give generously to
this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.
You can click the link in the description to give
now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more
information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
You can share it with your friends.
Speaker 2 (47:41):
You can click the share button, take a screenshot and
share it on your social stories and tag us at
Elevation Church.
Speaker 1 (47:46):
Thanks again for listening.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
God bless you.
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast.
I wanted to thank you for joining us today.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hope it gives your perspective to see God is moving
in your life.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Enjoy the message. So honored to be here today.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
I want to just first of all, pause and just
say what's up to everybody at every locations, to the
people on a location in Mars, the people on the
location in Jupiter. But if you are just blessed by
and grateful for all that God's doing in your church,
come on, thank God for that. And certainly we just
(00:45):
recognize and just express public appreciation to one of by
far the greatest leaders and greatest teachers of scripture in
the universe, my friend and my brother, Pastor Steven Ferdieckt.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Come on, let's thank God for him.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Everybody man, so honored to be here. If it's okay,
I want to get right into our lesson and our
time together on today, and I want to share something
with you that really got starred in my heart. Late summer,
I was attending an event. It's a father son dinner
that my son's school has every year that.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
The football coach hosts just for dads.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
And while we were there and my son's last year,
he's this son's a high school senior and it was
a last one, and so.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Shout out. He's committed to play football next year.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
Syracuse. They got a big win last night. Shout out
to Syracuse. But there's a point in the dinner where
the coach acts the son to leave, and it talks
to the dads, and it talks to us about trends
he's seeing in our well in our and people who
are on the team, to give us some insight on
(02:03):
areas we might need to lean into as parents.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
And one of the things that he said.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
To me stuck out, it leaped in my heart, if
you will, And he said, he is seeing this trend
of anxiousness. He said, they're saying it so much in
schools that the head of the school made.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
A specific book required reading.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
It was called the Anxiest Generation or something like that,
made it require reading for every faculty member of the school.
And I sat back and I just didn't hear it. Parentally,
I heard it pastorally. I said, that's not happening in
the schoolhouse, that's happening in our houses. And how many
(02:52):
know God's Word has an answer to address any and
every issue we may find ourselves face. And so I
went on this journey to search the scriptures to see
what God's Word had to say about this issue, and
have just finished walking our church through a journey found
(03:12):
right in this one passage I'm going to be sharing
with you today. It is a brief portion of the
Apostle Paul's letter to believers in Philippi the Book of Philippians,
chapter four, and here's what he says. In beginning at
verse four, he says, rejoice in the Lord always.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
I will say it.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
Again, Rejoice, Let your gentleness be evident to all. The
Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything. I'm
gonna read that one more time. I thought I was
at elevation. Do not be anxious about anything, but in
(03:53):
every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
recques us to God. Here's the promise attached to that principle,
and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
What will it do?
Speaker 3 (04:11):
It will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Now after you've done that, he says, finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely,
whatever's admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about
(04:35):
such things. I want to stop the reading of Scripture there,
and I want to talk from this subject in our
time together. Very simply, I want to talk from the
subject arresting anxiousness. Arresting anxiousness, family. I want to start
this teaching with a question. It's a simple question for
(04:55):
your reflection, and the question is simply this. If you
were to barricade yourself in a room with the Bible
and explore and examine all the instructions that God offers
from Genesis to Revelation, what would you see that God
says more more than anything else in Scripture? In other words,
(05:24):
what is the most common command given to humans from
God all throughout the pages of Holy Scripture. The answer
to this question is revealed in two simple, yet significant words.
The thing that God says more than anything else in
(05:48):
Scripture is two words fear not. Some iteration or some
variation of this command is found over three hundred times
in Scripture over three hundred times. In some way, in
(06:09):
some iteration, God says, fear not, don't be afraid, calm down,
chill out, breathe, drink some water, drink some coffee, take
a walk. Over three hundred times, God in some way
communicates to his people to fear not. And the frequency
(06:34):
of this instruction is an indication and a revelation of something.
If God says something a lot, it's not because he
needs to say it a lot. It's because we need
to hear it a lot. And so the fact that
this command is communicated so frequently isn't necessarily saying something
(06:54):
about God. It is saying something about us. It is
an indication and a revelation of the human orientation toward anxiousness.
Anxiousness a feeling of inner unrest and worried that is
fueled by the fear of outcomes we may never experience.
(07:18):
It is an emotional thief that robs us of today's
peace in anticipation of tomorrow's problems. Can I read that
one more time? Anxiousness? It is a feeling of inner
unrest and worry that is fueled by the fear of
(07:38):
outcomes we may never experience.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
It is an emotional.
Speaker 3 (07:43):
Thief that robs us of today's peace in anticipation of
tomorrow's problems. Let me reframe this. Not just rephrase this,
Let me reframe this.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
It is an.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Emotional thief that is significant to some of us because
you're familiar with the state that Jesus made in John
ten ten when he talks about the part of his
mission when he says, the thief comes to steal, kill,
and destroy, But I've come that you may.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Have life and have it to the full.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
The thief comes only to steal.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
And so the thief has instruments that he uses to
steal and to.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Rob believers of that which.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
God wants them to possess. And what is one spiritual
asset and emotional asset that God wants every believer to possess.
It is the asset of peace. And whatever God gives,
the enemy wants to steal. And one of the ways
he steals this emotional and spiritual.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
Asset of peace is by using a weapon called anxiousness.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
It is a feeling of inner unrest and worry that
is fueled by the fear of outcomes. We may never experience.
It's wasted worry. It's losing sleep over something that might happen.
It's losing joy over something that might happen, and more
(09:20):
often than not, doesn't even happen. A feeling of inner
unrest and worry that's fueled by the fear of outcomes
we may never experience. It's an emotional thief that robs
us of today's peace and anticipation of tomorrow's problems. And
this family, if we're understand objective, is an emotional epidemic
(09:41):
that has become a social norm.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
And although it is normal for.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Those in culture, it does not have to be normal
for those of us in the Kingdom. I'm not saying
those of us in the Kingdom won't have anxiousness. I'm
saying those of us in the Kingdom can live in
a way where anxiousness doesn't have us pastor how can
you say this? I can say this with confidence because
(10:06):
I eavedrop on a conversation. Eavedropped on a conversation that
the apostle Paul was having with a group of believers
in northern Greece in a place called Philippi. And as
I was eavesdropping on this conversation. I read something Paul
said in verse six. He tells believers be anxious for nothing.
(10:26):
In other words, don't be anxious about anything. Watch what
he's saying here, because remember, he's writing two believers. Now,
he's writing two believers. Now, he's writing two believers.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Now.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
He loves everybody, but he's writing this to believers. This
is a letter that was circulated among believers. This is
a promise he's making to believers. Watch what he says
to them. He says, don't be anxious about anything. He's
not saying that there is nothing to fear. He's saying
that you don't have to be afraid. Did you hear
(11:02):
what I just said. Okay, he's not saying that there's
nothing to be anxious about, but he's saying you, as
a believer, don't have to be anxious.
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
This is an indication of the principle of exceptions.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
And the principle of exception simply.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
Suggests that what happens with them does not dictate and
determine what happens with me. I'm gonna say that one
more time. What happens with them does not dictate and
determine what happens with me. This is not exceptionalism. He's
not saying you're better than This is exceptionism. He's saying
you're different from. So in other words, don't look at
(11:42):
what has happened with others and come to a conclusion
of what can happen with you, because what happened with
them does not dictate and determine what happens with me.
Because all throughout Scripture we see examples of God making
his people exceptions. People do not go in a fiery
(12:04):
furnace and come out of it and not smell like smoke.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
But with the Hebrew boys, God made an exception.
Speaker 3 (12:14):
People don't go in a lions then with hungry lions
and come out not chewed up and consume. But with
Daniel God made an exception. People do not walk around
a wall once a day for seven days and then
seven times on the seventh day.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Scream at a wall and a wall fall.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
But with Joshua and the walls of Jericho, God made
an exception. A shepherd boy who writes poems does not
take a slingshot with a rock and defeat a nine
foot tall Philistine giant named Goliath, But with David, God
(12:57):
made an exception, and dead men don't go in a grave,
stay there three days and early Sunday morning, get up
out of the grave. But with Jesus, God made an exception.
And if he can do it for Daniel, if he
can do it for the Hebrew boys, if he can
do it for David, if he can do it for Jesus,
(13:20):
he can do it for you. Do I have any
exceptions in the house today?
Speaker 1 (13:33):
It's the principle of exception.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
He's saying, what happens with others doesn't have to dictate
and determine what happens for you. He's not telling them
to deny their circumstances, but he is saying, as a believer,
you can deny its influence because anxiousness isn't just a
result of what you're in. Anxiousness is a result of
how we allow what we're in to influence us. And
(13:59):
so Paul I love this because Paul is practical.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
He's a practitioner. He teach. He teaches in a way
that you're familiar.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
With at a church like this, where you have a
pastor who teaches biblical truth but then builds a bridge
from biblical truth to everyday life.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Yeah, you used to this.
Speaker 3 (14:19):
You don't just get Sunday messages here, you get Monday
messages here, pastor what's a Monday message? It's a message
out here on Sunday that I can use on Monday.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Yeah. This is the kind of practitioner Paul was.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
So he doesn't just tell them they don't have to
be arrested by anxiousness. He tells them how to actually
put anxiousness under arrest. It's one thing to hear that
it's possible to arrest anxiousness. It's another thing to be
(14:55):
taught on how to arrest anxiousness. And in this letter,
Paul doesn't just tell them what's possible. Paul offers them
a pathway. And I just want to know, is it
okay if I share with you what Paul shared with them,
so that we too can have a pathway to arrest anxiousness.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
I'm gonna say that.
Speaker 3 (15:23):
Do you want me to share with you what Paul
shared with them on.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
How to arrest?
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Do you want me to share with you now what
Paul shared with Okay? It's it's interesting here because when
you read the letter, there seems to be four areas
in the text where Paul shows them where they have
to make adjustments if they want to put anxiousness under arrest.
(15:53):
That arresting anxiousness requires making adjustments. And I see four
areas here that Paul gives them instruction in that if
we lean into that can aid and assist us in
this as well.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
Here's number one.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
If they're going to arrest their anxiousness, they have to
adjust their perception.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
What do I mean by that?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
Anxiousness doesn't come from what we see, but anxiousness comes
from how we see Here? Did you hear what I
just said? It's not what we see, it's how we
see it. Anxiousness isn't necessarily tied.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
To an event or an experience.
Speaker 3 (16:46):
Anxiousness is tied to our interpretation of what it means.
And I see the importance of this not just in
what Paul says, but where Paul was when he said it.
I told you who he wrote this letter to, did
(17:09):
or not? He wrote this letter to a group of
believers in northern Greece in a place called Philippi, But
I didn't tell you where he was when he wrote it.
He was actually in prison in Rome. This is a
prison epistle.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
So here is here we have a man who.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Is locked up practically, who's writing to other people helping
them get free. Emotionally, he is in prison. His future
is unclear. He is unsure yet at the same time
he's experiencing this event of imprisonment. But the fact that
(17:54):
he's writing this letter lets us know he's not interpreting
this event the way.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Others would interpret it.
Speaker 3 (18:01):
Because if anxiousness had him, he would only be able
to think about him.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
He wouldn't be able to think about others.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
So even if he had some anxiousness, the anxiousness didn't
have him.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
It didn't arrest him. He arrested it.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
And we know that because he's able to think about
setting other people free when he himself was in this
prison predicament why he's not unaccustomed to being in prison,
which means he has enough experience to say, I'm in
what I'm in, but it doesn't mean what other people
(18:40):
think it means. I'm gonna say that one more time.
I'm in what I'm in, but it doesn't mean what
other people think it means. See, sometimes an anxiousness doesn't
come from what we're in.
Speaker 1 (18:53):
It comes from what we think it means.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
But I want to tell you, no matter what you're in,
it may not mean what you think it means. You
may be facing a red sea and you may think
it means it's the end. But what looks like a
breakdown is getting ready to become a breakthrough. Just because
you're in what you're in doesn't mean it means what
(19:17):
you think it means. Get In was facing an army
of thousands, and he only had an army of three hundred,
but it didn't mean what other people thought it would mean.
And I want to tell you that sometimes anxiousness isn't
the event. Anxiousness comes as a result of our interpretation
of what we think it means. So if I want
(19:42):
to arrest anxiousness, I gotta adjust my perception because it's
not just what I see, it's how I see it.
Did you hear what I just said? It's not just
what I see, it's how I see. And sometimes we're
coming to conclusions about what we think a crisis means.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
When God is a god that redeems the meaning.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
Have you ever been in a season in the present
where you were crying tears of pain and then you
live and you move into the future, and you look
back on that thing, and the thing that you were
crying tears of pain about are now things you are
crying tears of joy about. Because cure car God says
(20:35):
life is lived forward, but understood backwards, because.
Speaker 1 (20:39):
God can change the meaning.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Is this not possibly what Paul meant when he wrote
in Romans eighth, chapter number twenty eight, and God will
work all things together for our good.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
It's not just what you see, it's how you see it.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
And Charles Spurgeon says, every physical miracle can be seen
as a metaphor for a spiritual miracle. And maybe the
miracle we need spiritually to address our anxiousness is for
God to heal our blind eyes. Maybe the issue is
(21:29):
not what I'm seeing, but how I see. But that's
not the only thing I see. In the text, Paul
doesn't just share with them that if they want to
arrest their anxiousness, they need to adjust their perception.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Paul also shares.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
If they want to arrest their anxiousness, they need to
adjust their praise.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Pastor way you see.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
It's in the text, he says in verse seven, Here
watch what he excuse me, he says in verse four,
he says, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say,
or say it again, rejoice. Paul is encouraging them. Watch this,
(22:20):
rejoicing the Lord always and again I say rejoice. He
is encouraging them to engage in a spiritual discipline, the
practice of gratitude. Did you hear what I just said? There,
rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice. And
he didn't just say rejoice periodically. He didn't just say
(22:42):
rejoice sometimes. He didn't just say rejoice on Thanksgiving. He says,
rejoice in the Lord always.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Rejoice.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
He didn't say rejoice when God gives you what you are.
He didn't say rejoice when God comes through at the
timeline that you've set for God to come through. But
he says, rejoice in the Lord always. He's encouraging them
to make this a practice, a spiritual discipline, and spiritual
disciplines of what we call means of grace.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
What does that Passadarius?
Speaker 3 (23:12):
God chooses what God uses to give us what we
don't deserve.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
That's a means of grace.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Grace is unearned, unmerited right, undeserved. Favor is when God
gives us what we don't deserve. Does that make sense?
I say, does that make sense, okay. So a means
of grace is something that God chooses to use to
give us what we don't deserve, and God chooses what
(23:42):
God uses to give us what we don't deserve. What's
an example of a spiritual discipline. It means of grace, prayer.
God says, there's some things I won't do if you
don't ask. Now, whatever I do for you, it's grace.
(24:04):
You don't deserve it, but I choose what I use
to give you what you don't deserve. And some people
miss grace because they won't follow the means. And gratitude
or what the Bible calls praise is a means of grace.
(24:31):
I'm gonna say that one more time. Gratitude or what
the Bible calls praise is a means of grace.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
So when we see books of the Bible, like.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Songs dedicated to saying praise the Lord, Praise the Lord,
and then we see contained in the book we see
instruction that addresses internal objections. What's an internal objection? It's
an objection you have internally in church that you don't vocalize.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
So some people say things like it's not my personality.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
So David says, okay, since some people are going to
say it's not my personality, let.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
Me give you all these ways to do it.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Clap your hands, I'm not a clapper. Lift your hands,
I'm not a lifter. Lay prostrate, I'm not a layer.
Praise them in a dance. I'm not a dancer. And
then the bid believer says, the Lord's in this holy tipo,
let all the earth keeps silent before him. Everybody's not
gonna do the same thing, but everybody should do something,
because there's something for everybody to do in the scriptures.
(25:36):
So this is not it is not like a warm
up in church for the sermon.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
Is It is not some some this.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Spiritual discipline reserve for a specific stream of Christianity.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
It is something that God has mandated.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
It is actually the only spiritual discipline that will exist
in eternity, the only oh mynd that you won't need
to pray in heaven. Come on, you don't need to
study the scripture in heaven, but there will be worshiped
in heaven. There will be praise in heaven. So it's
(26:12):
not some emotional exercise. It's not some anti intellectual exercise.
It's a means of grace. God says, this is something
I choose to use to give you what you don't deserve.
What does praise give me? Praise doesn't get me things
from him. Praise gets me him. Praise doesn't just get
(26:40):
me gifts from God. Praise gets me God the gift.
It gets me him. I said, it gets me him.
David says he dwells some twenty two three, he dwells,
or he tabernacles in the midst of my prayer.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
What is he saying here?
Speaker 3 (27:01):
He's not coming against or he's not contradicting this idea
of God being everywhere.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
At the same time.
Speaker 3 (27:08):
Yes, God is omnipresent, He's everywhere at the same time.
But praise takes God from omnipresent to manifest presence. Okay,
what does that mean you? We just had Thanksgiving, right,
and it was great for all of y'all extroverts, but
for some of us ambi averts and introverts. After a
(27:31):
while it got a lot, so we had to duck
off for a minute. Right, We had to go upstairs
for a minute, get some a long time to recharge
so we could go back out and engage. Come on, now, if.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
I did that. I didn't. Yeah, I did. But I
was in my house the whole time.
Speaker 3 (27:58):
So if everybody was in the living and I was
in the living room, right and then I leave and
I go to my bedroom, I'm still in the house.
I'm just not manifest. And there are certain things you
don't get unless I'm manifest. If you want to know
where something in the house is, and I'm the only
(28:18):
one that has the answer, you don't get that answer
just by me being in the house. You only get
that answer when I'm manifest, when I show up, when
I come in the room. And what praise does is
praise He causes God. It's an invitation for God to
show up, to come in the room to manifest. And
(28:41):
I want to know, am I talking to anybody that
needs God to show up to come in the room
to manifest. Praise praise is an invitation for the manifest.
Speaker 1 (29:00):
Presence of God. What does this have to do with anxiousness?
A lot?
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Because God's presence is an automatic eviction of anything that's
not like him.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
When he come in.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
The room, whatever is not like him has to automatically
go out.
Speaker 1 (29:23):
The presence pushes it out. I said, the presence pushes
it out. I said, the.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Presence will push anxiousness out, the presence will push fear out,
the presence will push despair out. The presence of God
is an automatic eviction of anything that's not like him.
David put it this way. David said in Psalms sixteen eleven,
you make known to me the path of life, you
will fill me with joy. Where in your presence it
(29:55):
is a temporary eviction of whatever it is not liking.
Have you noticed, when you're in the presence, you're not
in worry. Have you noticed when you're in the presence,
you're not in anxiousness?
Speaker 1 (30:16):
So now it makes sense.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
While Paul told believers in PHILIPPI, don't just do this
on Sunday, because if you only do this on Sunday,
the only relief you'll have is Sunday.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
And God won't just show up. Watch this.
Speaker 3 (30:32):
God shows up not to spaces. He shows up in
response to sounds. So wherever you release the sound, he'll
show up. If you release it in the kitchen, he'll
come in there. If you release it in your car,
he'll come in there. If you release it in the closet,
he'll come in there. If you release it in the bedroom,
(30:53):
he'll come in there. If you walk in the breakroom
at the office, he'll come in there.
Speaker 1 (30:57):
If you go to the restroom, he'll come in there,
he'll show up.
Speaker 3 (31:00):
Whatever the sound of praise is released.
Speaker 1 (31:04):
It's a spiritual discipline. Am I making sense?
Speaker 3 (31:13):
See people who are wired like me, who are not
necessarily expressive or emotive.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
I had to see this this.
Speaker 3 (31:19):
Way because if not, it just felt like people who
had certain personalities, where people who practice the spiritual discipline.
When everybody's supposed to practice this spiritual discipline, regardless of
your personality, and there are ways in scripture that give
everybody a way to practice this, everybody won't do it
the same way. So all of those ways in scripture
(31:40):
that cause spiritual temperaments, all of these ways to worship
in scripture are not because everybody's supposed to do everything
is because there's something for everybody.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Because what I need is the presence.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
And Paul's just saying this like conceptually, he's saying this
experientially because in the Book of Acts he's on a
missionary journey and one of the places he ends up
is in Philippi. He takes a partner in ministry with
him named Silas, and they began to engage in ministry,
and as a result of engaging in ministry, they free
(32:19):
They performed this exercise of spiritual liberation, and they free
this young lady from this evil spirit. And as a
result of that, him and Silas end up in prison. Now,
I grew up in Kill Michael, Mississippi, the Mount Alive
Missionary Baptist Church. We had Sunday school vacation. Some of
you're too young for that vacation. Bible school is just
(32:43):
Bible store's Bible Store. And I remember this one because
the Sunday school teacher would always start with this phrase.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
And at midnight, Paul and Silas.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
Prayed and saying praise this unto God and the Bible says,
And suddenly when they were praising, that was a great
earthquake and the prison doors were opened, and immediately everyone's
bands were loose.
Speaker 1 (33:11):
So they got free physically.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
But the metaphor applies to us spiritually and emotionally. Just
like their chains fell off because of the presence, there
are some chains on us that will fall off because
of the presence.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
And I want to know, is there anybody in the
room today.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
That's got some things you need to fall off. You
need fear to fall off, you need anxiousness to fall off.
Speaker 1 (33:37):
Well, let's just take thirteen.
Speaker 3 (33:39):
Seconds and in your own way, let's offer up the
spiritual exercise of praise.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Yes, where the spirit of the Lord is there's.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
So it brings his presence, But praise also shifts our perspective.
There's this phrase in songs, what David says, magnify the
Lord with me magnifying something. If you use a magnifying glass,
it doesn't make the thing larger, does it not? In reality,
it doesn't make it larger. It makes it larger to you,
(34:28):
did you hear what I just said? If you put
an ant under a magnifying glass, the ant is the
ant right, so it doesn't necessarily make it large.
Speaker 1 (34:35):
So I can't make God larger. He's already as large
as large can be.
Speaker 3 (34:42):
But when I magnify him, it right sizes God in
my perspective. And sometimes we're struggling with anxiousness, not because
the problem is too big, your God's too small. Praise
reminds me of his largeness, of his faithfulness, of his power.
(35:08):
It requires mindfulness, It requires filling.
Speaker 1 (35:11):
My mind with the goodness of God.
Speaker 3 (35:15):
It requires me going back into my history and reminding
my soul of his faithfulness. Of how he's never lost
a battle.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
I thought y'all would be familiar with that one.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
I said, And he's never lost a battle. I want
you to think about every battle you've been in, and
every time your back was against the wall, and every
time you couldn't see your way through and you were
worried and stressed and anxious.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
But somehow, some way.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
Every single time, God came through and he didn't bring.
Speaker 1 (35:55):
You this far to leave you.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
Now, he never lost the battle, and he never will.
Speaker 1 (36:04):
I said that he never will.
Speaker 3 (36:07):
I said, and he never will.
Speaker 1 (36:19):
I got two more points. But I'm done here. They are.
I'm done here. They are adjust my prayers, my perception.
Speaker 3 (36:30):
I'm done, adjust my praise, and then three adjust my prayers.
Speaker 1 (36:38):
Where's that at. It's verse six and seven.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Do not be anxious for anything, but in every situation
by prayer and petition.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
The word prayer here is a word supplication. That's what
it means.
Speaker 3 (36:51):
So different types of prayers, right this, prayers of intercession
where I'm standing in the gap for someone else, Their
prayers of thanksgiving, I'm not requesting anything.
Speaker 1 (36:59):
I'm just thinking God for what he's done.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Right, then the prayers of supplication while making a specific request. Now,
I want you to hear me. It's so important because
this is an area where for many of us there's
an unconscious struggle. It's a struggle and we don't even
know it's a struggle.
Speaker 1 (37:22):
Listen to me.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
The purpose of prayer is not to notify God of
a need. God's not like I didn't know that. Bible
says He knows what we need before we ask. So
why then does the text tell us to make a
request known to God. The purpose of prayers not to
(37:45):
notif I God of a need. The purpose of prayer
is to express our dependency and to remind you that
you don't have control. I'm done every time I pray.
(38:06):
Every time I pray, I'm not reminding God of anything.
Speaker 1 (38:13):
I'm reminding me I'm actually not in control.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
And even when I think I'm in control and I
get comfort from being in control, I'm comforted by an
illusion because even when I think I'm in.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Control, I'm not. So prayer frees me from the illusion
that I can control what I can't do. It's God
you're God.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
I'm not, and some of my anxiousness it's because I'm
trying to play your role. I want to control. I
want to control my destiny. I want to control my family.
(39:06):
I want to control my kids. I want to control
the economy. I want to control business and prayers away.
Speaker 1 (39:15):
Of reminding me.
Speaker 3 (39:19):
I have controlled of my actions, but you control outcomes.
I can till the garden, I can plant the seed,
but only you can make it ray.
Speaker 1 (39:39):
So why am I anxious about the weather when I
can't control it.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
Some of the weight we're caring is not weight God
gave us. It's weight we assumed, and your shoulders aren't
broad enough to handle God's weight. But the question I
(40:07):
think the Father wants to ask us today is do
you and I have any logical reason to believe that
He will not act in our best interest when you
(40:33):
really think about it. Well, let me talk about me.
I've lived long enough not to trust my decision making
that much.
Speaker 1 (40:45):
I'm just being logical, right.
Speaker 3 (40:47):
No, I'm not talking about what people have said about
some of my decisions.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
I'm talking about what I have said about some of
my decisions.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
When I have stepped back outside of me looked at
me and said, Daris, what were you thinking?
Speaker 1 (40:58):
It's one thing when somebody you ask yourself.
Speaker 3 (41:00):
That you know you just what were you thinking? So
why do I want control? I don't know enough to
have it. I'm not strong enough to have it. Time
is not in my hands, it is in his, which
(41:28):
leads me to my fourth and final point.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
We not only have.
Speaker 3 (41:33):
To adjust our prayer where we are really specific. We're
offering supplication very specifically, not about anxiousness itself, but the
things that we're actually anxious about, doing enough digging to say,
I actually want control, Lord, I need to bring this
before you. I'm actually trying to control the way I'm perceived.
(41:57):
I'm anxious about that. Let me bring that before you.
I'm actually trying to control my children. I don't want
them to make some of the mistakes that I made,
but you helped me survive mine, and why do I
not believe that you will help them survive theirs? I
(42:23):
need to bring this before you. And then finally it's
for I've got to adjust my practices and Paul like
he talks to them about their perception that praise their prayer,
and then in verse eight he says finally like, hey,
(42:44):
this is the final ingredient in the recipe that you
can do all the other things that I just told
you to do, but if you don't do what I'm
about to say, you won't get this result of arresting anxiousness.
You have to include this after you get through praising
and praying. You have to adjust your practice when you're done,
when you're saying Amen, talking to God. When you're done
(43:04):
praying and saying Amen, what are you thinking about? He's
warning them against an undisciplined imagination where my thoughts are
just going wild. Oh my god. The company say they
(43:24):
laying off. They're probably gonna come to my department. My
supervisor don't like me. They probably gonna lay me off.
If I get laid off, we're not gonna be able
to keep the house. If we can't keep the house,
I gotta go live with my parents, my in laws.
I don't know if I want to live with my
in laws. We're gonna be on the street, my kids
gonna be.
Speaker 1 (43:39):
In the car.
Speaker 3 (43:40):
Spirally, it's an undisciplined imagination. So Paul says, Hey, here's
what you gotta think about, and he literally has a
conversation with believers in Corinth. Literally, and this is kind
of the essence. It's not the only part, but it's
the essence of what we would call spiritual warfare. He
tells him in second Crincis, Chapter teen. He was like,
(44:00):
you have to take every thought captive and make it
obedient to Christ. Like, don't allow those thoughts to accumulate,
because the accumulation of those thoughts actually becomes strongholds.
Speaker 1 (44:16):
So he says, throw it away.
Speaker 3 (44:17):
When it's a brick instead of trying to knock it
down when it becomes a wall. So he says, Hey,
whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely,
whatever's admirable, if anything is excellent, or find something praiseworthy,
what's worthy of praise.
Speaker 1 (44:37):
He says, think on these things and watch what he says.
Speaker 3 (44:41):
I know this is in my notes, but I want
you to see this in verse nine, because early in
the text he says the peace of God. But in
verse nine he says this and the God of Peace,
the peace of God. And then he says, if you
do these things, and the God of Peace.
Speaker 1 (44:57):
Will be with.
Speaker 3 (44:58):
You whenever you get anxious. I want you to connect
point four to point three. I want you to think.
Speaker 4 (45:10):
About, has God ever not come through even if you cried?
Was he faithful to his promise that those who's so
(45:33):
in tears.
Speaker 1 (45:35):
Will we've been joy?
Speaker 3 (45:37):
Even if you walk through grief the valley of the
shadow of death?
Speaker 1 (45:44):
Has He been with you? Has that ever been a
time not that God didn't give you what you wanted?
Speaker 3 (45:53):
Because it doesn't always give us a war, but this
has there ever been a time where He didn't give
you what you needed? He's never lost the battle, and
he never will.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
We're human.
Speaker 3 (46:14):
We will have anxiousness, but anxiousness does not have to
have us. We can put anxiousness.
Speaker 1 (46:23):
Under arrest. Father, Today, as we prepare to celebrate.
Speaker 3 (46:38):
The coming of the Prince of Peace in this advent season,
I pray for your people everywhere that we would have
unprecedented experiences with the.
Speaker 1 (46:51):
Peace of God. Father, Would you assist us in arresting anxiousness? Yes?
Speaker 3 (47:02):
And may peace enjoy be our portion both now and forever.
We ask it all in Jesus' name, Amen.
Speaker 1 (47:21):
Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
Special thanks to those of you who give generously to
this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.
You can click the link in the description to give
now or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more
information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1 (47:39):
You can share it with your friends.
Speaker 2 (47:41):
You can click the share button, take a screenshot and
share it on your social stories and tag us at
Elevation Church.
Speaker 1 (47:46):
Thanks again for listening.
Speaker 2 (47:47):
God bless you.
Host
Steven Furtick
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