Pressure Cooker Pt. 1 | Chris Gross | Radiant Life Church

Well, I am once again I'm pumped. I love

If you've been around, you know I love

preaching. I love getting into the word.

I love studying the word and then

getting to share it. And this morning,

we're going to be diving into a new

sermon series called Pressure Cooker.

Now, I don't know about anybody else,

but my question is, does anybody you

ever in your life at any point have you

just had a moment where life just seemed

a little extra? It was a little more

pressure filled than other points. So, I

want to there's going to be some

interaction here. But if you're like,

"Yeah, at some point in my life, there's

been a moment when it's been a little

extra in the pressure area." Would you

raise your hand with me today? Yes. Most

of you I see some people that aren't

listening or you're not honest. Right?

But I I It's okay. It's okay today.

Right. We all deal with times and

moments of pressure. We deal times and

moments where what seems like maybe we

could have dealt with it before and now

it is just so hard. Or maybe new

situations arise where we're like, "This

is this is beyond my pay grade. This is

beyond what I know how to deal with."

Maybe a sickness or a disease or a

financial problem. Maybe something that

happens in your family or maybe

sometimes if we're honest, we're like,

"I don't even know that I should feel

how I feel, but I do feel how I feel."

And so, what do I do in those moments,

those pressure moments of life? Now,

when I think of maybe fear or anxiety or

worry and I think some of these things,

sometimes they are pretty big and other

times I'm going to use uh which I'm

thankful my daughter Elizabeth, she's

right over here and she graduated

yesterday from SEU Ohio with her AA as a

high school student which I think is

pretty cool. Uh but she has the most

ridiculous fear ever. And I'm She's

covering her face right now. I love it.

It's going to be perfect. It's going to

be perfect. She has an absolute like

terrified inner fear of bees, of little

bees that fly around. We sit around our

fireplace outback all the time. Like uh

maybe two or three times a a week, we

grill out and we have a good time and

she will be sitting there and all of a

sudden she starts screaming and gets up

and runs away. Just like runs out

towards our our back yard and I'm like,

"What are you doing?" I don't even ask

anymore because I know it's a bee. I'm

not even sure if it's a real bee or a

perceived bee or a bee that's within

five feet of her or five inches of her.

It doesn't really matter. She is like,

"I hate these bees. I don't want any

part of them."

I I actually think back to my dad when I

was a kid and he was up on a ladder and

he was taking shutters off of our house

and these wasps all of a sudden came

flying at him and they were like on him

and he's trying to get them off of

himself but with the shutters pulling

them off. He had a hammer and so what

other thing would you do then he's like

waving his arm around and he somehow

clocked himself in the head with the

hammer trying to protect himself from

the beast. I'm I'm not sure. Uh my

brother David and his family are here.

But David, I think the bee would have

done done less damage than the hammer to

the head. I'm not sure. But right,

sometimes fear do what? The claw of the

hammer. That's even a better piece that

is important to this. It wasn't good.

Right. And if we look at life, sometimes

we have fear like bees. Now wasps, I'm

going to be real. No one wants to get

that. We don't want any part of that,

right? Of course not. Of course not. But

there's also times where maybe it's not

bees or things that maybe aren't as big

of a deal as we could make them, but

there are things that internally in our

spirit or in our soul or things that

happen around us that are hard where we

literally do not know what to do. You

add up the the pocketbook and you say,

"Uhoh, I don't have the money to pay the

bills this week. So, what do I do?"

Like, what do you do? I don't know what

to do as sickness or a disease or or

cancer or something terrible. I I don't

have the strength. I can't just get rid

of this. I can't just do something about

it. And when I think of fear or worry or

anxiety, what voices we listen to, I

think we can understand and grow in

oursel, there's tension. And all of us

have things that we deal with, whether

we are good at it or not good at it. We

have areas where we're like, Lord, I

don't know. I don't have the answer and

I need your guidance. And today we're

going to look at John chapter 17. In

John 17 · chapter mention

fact, we're going to read the whole

chapter here in a few moments together.

But really see how Jesus looks and what

he does in the most difficult moment of

his life. Between John 14 and 15 and 16,

we see there that Jesus is telling his

disciples, "Hey, I'm going to go." We've

just been talking about the Holy Spirit

who he left and said, "It's going to be

better for you." But his disciples are

like, "No, it's not. We need you,

Jesus." Like, "We need Jesus. You can't

go anywhere." You see, Jesus, he knows

he's going to be going to the cross. I

don't know about anybody else, but if I

was going to be crucified, I don't want

to know beforehand. I just want it to be

like it happens. That it would be

horrible. But he knew. And he says, and

he starts to pray in this chapter, Lord,

do your work. I know it's time. He knows

the the biggest moments, the worst

moments of his life, but also the

calling of what he was for and why he

came to earth. This was the moment.

And chapter 17, I think, can help us

grow to say, what do we do when fear is

so loud? What do we do when our thoughts

won't stop? What do we what do we do?

And who holds us when we feel alone?

What should our response be when the

most difficult moments of our life come

before us?

I think there's something that the Lord

wants to speak. And so, we're going to

dive in today to John chapter 17 and see

John 17 · chapter mention

what Jesus did, what Jesus prayed. And

then over the next few weeks, we're

going to be looking at John 18 and

specific moments where out of this

prayer, things happened and took place

and where Jesus and his disciples had to

make the response. Are they going to

respond out of fear or anxiety? Or are

they going to respond out of who they

are in Jesus? But this sets it up. So,

we're going to read this. It's a little

lengthy, 26 verses. And uh so, if you

would lock in, see what the Lord might

speak. Even as we read John 17, says,

"When Jesus had spoken these words, he

lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,

"Father, the hour has come. glorify your

son that the son may glorify you since

you have given him authority over all

flesh to give eternal life to all whom

you have given him and this is eternal

life that they know you the only true

God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

I glorified you on earth having

accomplished the work that you gave me

to do. And now father glorify me in your

own presence with the glory that I had

with you before the world existed. I

have manifested your name to the people

whom you gave me out of the world. Yours

they were and you gave them to me and

they have kept your word.

Now they know that everything that you

have given me is from you. For I have

given them the words that you gave me

and they have received them and have

come to know in truth that I came from

you and they believe that you sent me. I

am praying for them. I am not praying

for the world but for those whom you

have given me for they are yours. All

mine are yours and yours are mine and I

am glorified in them and I am no longer

in the world but they are in the world

and I am coming to you. Holy father keep

them in your name which you have given

me that they may be one even as we are

one. While I was with you are with them

I kept them in your name which you have

given me. I have guarded them and not

one of them has been lost except the son

of destruction that the scripture might

be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you

and these things I speak in the world

that they may have my joy fulfilled in

themselves. I have given them your word

and the world has hated them because

they are not of the world just as I am

not of the world. I do not ask that you

take them out of the world but that you

keep them from the evil one. They are

not of the world. Just as I am not of

the world. Sanctify them in the truth.

Your word is truth. As you sent me into

the world, so I have sent them into the

world. And for their sake, I consecrate

myself that they also may be sanctified

in truth. I do not ask for these only,

but also for those who will believe in

me through their word, that they may all

be one, just as you, Father, are in me

and I in you. that they also may be in

us so that the world may believe that

you have sent me. The glory that you

have given me, I have given to them that

they may be one even as we are one. I in

them and you in me that they may become

perfectly one so that the world may know

that you sent me and loved them even as

you loved me. Father, I desire that they

also whom you have given me may be with

me where I am to see my glory that you

have given me because you loved me

before the foundation of the world. Oh

righteous father, even though the world

does not know you, I know you and these

know that you have sent me. I made known

to them your name and I will continue to

make it known that the love with which

you have loved me may be in them and I

in them.

When we read this chapter, this prayer,

there's themes that I think just keep

popping up over and over and over again.

Unity, the togetherness of God and

Jesus, the togetherness of what he wants

his church to be with him and the

father, the unity of the body of Christ.

He he says, "Bring them together." And

we're we're going to get to it, but I

love in verse 20 when he goes on, it

says, "Not only them, but also those

they are going to bring in. bring them

together as in as one. Bring them, unite

them together. And I want to remind us

before we dive in. This is right after

Jesus is telling his disciples, "I'm

about to go." It's right before he

literally gave his life for us and he

knew where he was going. He knew what

was going to take place. It's right

before he prayed, "Lord, take this cup

from me. I I don't want this. It's too

hard." It's right before he is walking

this road of the most difficult moments

of his life and he begins to pray and he

prays for his church. He prays for

unity. He prays for togetherness. He

prays for all of us. He prays that those

that will come to know him in the future

would be united. And I think we can

learn some big things that can help us

when fear or our thoughts or we just

don't know what to do come our way. He

gives us a road map. So as we look here

today, we're going to look at three

questions. And the first is, who am I

when fear is loud? We see some things

right from the first five verses here uh

that Jesus would point out. What he does

when fear was loud. Right from the

beginning, he turns to the father. In

verse one, he lays it out there and

begins to cry out to God. It says he

actually lifted up his eyes to heaven.

And I think there's something even about

the actual act that so often we want to

be internal and we want to be low. But

he would show us that in those moments

we need to literally lift our eyes our

heart but our eyes to heaven to say

Jesus in our case God what do you want

to do as he looked to the father

you're everything. He reoriented the re

relationship. He he didn't just take

what was coming but he said father you

are everything. my suffering that's

about to come, the pain that's about to

come, the the the hurt that's about to

come, I lay it all down before you.

You're everything. I reorient my life

before the Lord. And when fear comes our

way, it's vital that we look to the one

that has the answer.

But he doesn't only look to the one, he

also names the moment and hits it head

on. He says in verse one, "The hour has

come. glorify your son. The hour has

come. And I think sometimes we want to

kind of just say, "Yeah, it's not that

big a deal." We'll gloss over the

difficult things. We'll gloss over what

is bringing anxiety or worry. I think

Jesus shows us it's important. We can't

just gloss over the things of life, but

we need to come to him and like him, the

hour is come. This is the moment. You

know, it's okay to come to the Lord and

say, "God, this is really hard. Lord,

this is difficult. I'm right in the

middle of it. It's okay to come before

him and ask him to move in those moments

as we look to him as we lift our eyes to

him.

We can speak the truth of what is

happening. We don't have to hide it

because he is the one that can bring

freedom in our life. And when fear

comes, we can give it to him. I

mentioned before my daughter and bees

and all the time. I think one of these

days I'm it's going to stick in her

mind, right? But the bee is not going to

hurt you. Maybe if you go running across

the yard with your arms filling and

acting crazy, maybe it will. But if you

just sit there, it's going to be okay.

Like it's not going to sting you. It it

I've never been stung just sitting in a

chair like it's normally because I've

done something,

right? And when we understand and we

name the moment or maybe it's we name

the fear that is before us and we can

say Lord this fear is a little silly.

This fear would you help me? We can be

real with it or we can say Lord this

fear is huge and it's huge because I've

dealt with I've experienced I've had

problems in my life and Lord I need your

help. It's big. It's hard. And you know

what the Lord I think he's there for the

little fear that maybe is more perceived

than real. And he's there for the fear

because you've seen things or you've

experienced things or things have

happened to you. He loves you. And he

doesn't only stop with with saying,

"Lord, what do I do?" And turning to the

father and naming the fear, but then he

reminds himself of who he is. He comes

and lays it all out there. Father, the

hour has come. glorify your son that the

son may glorify you since you have given

him authority over all flesh to give

eternal life to all whom you have given

him. What's he saying? I'm your son.

I've got power. I'm who you've called me

to be. And in our life, there's

something about realizing that when fear

comes before us, if we give it all to

him and we lay our life down before him

and we say, "I'm so thankful that I'm a

son or a daughter of the most high God.

I'm thankful that you've spoken your

truth and your protection and your love

and your grace into my life. I'm so

grateful that you are everything. That

who I am is something strong and

powerful, but not because of me, but

it's because of you and your goodness.

Woo! Something changes with how we deal

with fear. Something changes with how we

deal with the situations of our life.

Something changes as we look to the

father.

I was talking to somebody this week and

when we were youth students, uh, we had

a girl and she was always worried that

someone was going to abduct her or that

people were looking in her window and

stuff that we were pretty sure family

that it was perceived. It wasn't real.

And started to look at just some natural

practices of life. And this girl loved

all of the crime and murder and mystery

like movies and shows and all of this

stuff. Like that's all that she watched

pretty much. And I was like, I've got an

idea. Why don't we stop watching that

and stop putting that in our mind and

instead put the truth of the word of God

in our mind and watch as our our mind is

changed because we turn our eyes to

Jesus and we realize who he is and we

realize who we are in him and we can be

real. These things we've seen or

experienced, whether it's been done or

maybe it's just what we watch or what

we've read or what we've put in us, we

can name it and give it to the father.

When fear is loud, Jesus says, "Turn to

the father." So, who am I when fear is

loud? I'm a child of God. He's

everything. He's got it. Second

question, what do I do when my thoughts

won't stop? Now, I'm just going to ask

another interactive question today. How

many of you would say that when you go

to sleep, at least periodically,

sometimes it is just the mind is going

and going and going and you're like,

"Stop it." And it's frustrating. You're

like, I can't get my mind to stop. How

many of you have been there? That's a

relatively normal. Yeah, that's what I

thought. A lot. Right. Sometimes maybe

you'll be like uh my wife or myself and

you're exhausted and you put your head

on the pillow and then it's like and all

of the things, all of the thoughts, all

of the memories, all of the whatever are

just racing through your mind. Now, I'm

going to be honest. I have a a gift. I

think it's a supernatural gift. It

should have been right there in 1

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Corinthians chapter 12, I think. But

when I put my head on the pillow, pretty

much I'm out. And I am I'm very thankful

to the Lord. But every once in a while,

I can experience what my wife or maybe

others in the room at at times

experiences where it's like the mind

will not just shut off. Like we just

need a little switch like just power

that thing down. And what do we do in

those moments? Maybe it's fear, but it

could be anything. It could be good

things. It could be difficult things.

And we see Jesus in the next portion of

scripture here.

We see that he does some things that I

think are valuable.

He grounds his mind in truth. Number

one, he tethers his thoughts to what is

true and what is true about him. Verse

six, it says, "I have manifested your

name to the people who you gave me out

of the world. Yours they were and you

gave them to me and they have kept your

word." Verse eight, for I have I have

given them the words that you gave me

and they have the words that you gave me

and they have received them and have

come to know in truth that I came from

you. What's he saying? He's grounding

himself in truth. He's grounding himself

in what matters. He's grounding himself.

And when our mind is running and we

don't know how to get out of it, there's

something about continually grounding

ourselves in the word of God. And I want

to be real clear today. I'm not saying

you just need to tell yourself to turn

your mind off because if you could do

that, we would all do that, right? That

would be easy. That's not how it works.

But it's a continual daily process of

putting our eyes on Jesus, of giving him

control, of giving our anxieties and our

cares and casting them upon him, letting

him be God in our life. It's a continual

habit forming thing of Lord, I give you

everything. Lord, I give you this

difficult relationship. Lord, I give you

my finances. Lord, I give you my

parenting. I give you my marriage. I

give it to you. I lay it down. And then

we come to the word and we see what the

word speaks and what the word says about

us as we ground ourselves in the truth.

I think Romans 12:2 says it well. Do not

Romans 12:2

be conformed to this world, but be

transformed by the renewal of your mind,

that by testing you may discern what is

the good or will of God, what is good

and acceptable and perfect. It's

stopping the the transformation to the

world and instead being transformed to

God, giving him all that we are.

And it is always easier to say than to

do. It's a consistent process of Lord,

let your truth be what I know. Let your

truth be what I stand on.

Jesus in fact entrusts his mind to the

father's keeping. Not only saying, I

know your truth, but literally giving

him every part of our mind. Jesus prayed

here, holy father, keep them. He he

prayed, Lord, would you do this work?

Keep them together. Keep them united.

Keep them one. He wasn't carrying the

control and the the burden and the

protection and the outcomes alone, but

he entrusted them to the father. Keep

them. And if Jesus is entrusting to the

father, how much more do we need to give

control to our God? Give him the

protection. Give him the outcomes.

Give him even what we feel like when

we're alone and we say, "Lord, I give

this to you. When my thoughts are

swirling, Lord, I don't have to know. I

don't have to have the pieces in place.

I don't have to understand everything.

Lord, I give you the outcomes. I give

you my future. I give you every part of

me. And we continually in a process of

Lord, I give. And when anxiety comes

upon us and fear and we don't know what

to do, I go back to the word. Lord, you

have spoken. Lord, you are God. Lord,

you are the one in control. Lord, you

are the one that gives protection.

something happens, but it is a

consistent

consistent daily, maybe hourly, maybe

minuteby minute where you continue to go

back to the Lord and let him renew and

transform even how your mind thinks.

Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your burden on

Psalms 55:22

the Lord and he will sustain you." He

will never permit the righteous to be

moved. It's not your strength and power

and authority that gets it done, but

it's us casting those things upon him.

It's letting him sustain us. He's the

one that holds us where we will not be

moved. 1 Peter 5:6 says, "Humble

1 Peter 5:6

yourselves, therefore, under the mighty

hand of God so at the proper time he may

exalt you,

casting all your anxieties on him

because he cares for you." But he's

saying, you don't have to have it. You

don't have to carry it. You don't have

to put it on your back like a backpack

and hope that you can get across the

line. No, we cast it all on God because

he is our sustainer

and we continually go to him. Jesus here

right before in the middle of talking to

his disciples, in the middle of going to

take our sin and our pain and our shame

upon himself, he casts it on the Lord.

He shows and calls out who he is, who he

is and says, "Lord, you move. You move

in our life and my life."

And you know, I think something that

sometimes we stop short of is we have

reality or we have what we think is

reality. What experiences have said or

what the TV has said or what's dangerous

or what's not dangerous.

But there's something when we realize

Jesus, he allowed truth to define

reality rather than the other way

around. a few weeks ago and maybe it's

still going. I I don't actually know.

But there was all of this stuff on news

about all of the huge lines at all of

the airports. And when you do a little

bit of research, there were some huge

lines at a few airports, but in general,

if you weren't in Chicago and some big

ones, go to Columbus, it was great.

There were no lines. Just like there's

never lines. And the fear that can be

spoken about something which may be in

certain moments true is not true

overall. And in our life sometimes it's

easy to take the fear that is spoken

that it's everywhere and it's in our

neighborhood. It's in our airport. It's

us. It's right here. And so often when

we actually study and look and see what

the Lord has, we realize that doesn't

actually affect me. That doesn't

actually it's not even near me. It's not

something around me. And in our lives,

if we take what the world would say or

what the news would say or what people

would say instead of what God says, then

all of a sudden, truth of his word no

longer defines us, but now what the

person that has the loudest voice in

your life defines you, defines what

safety is, defines what hurt is, defines

what forgiveness is, defines what love

is. all of these things instead of

letting the truth of the word of God

change us and mold us and make us.

Fear-based thinking shrinks reality to

the size of the threat while truthbased

thinking expands reality to includes

God's presence, his promise, and his

power. church. I don't want to live life

just on what I see and what's before me

and what I what I can understand just

because of what people would say. But I

need the power and the promise and the

goodness and the presence of Jesus to go

before me. And I hope you're like me

that we need him. We have to have him.

And we can't do this on our own. And

let's not try. Let's not try. But

instead, Lord, we come. We need you.

When fear is loud, when my mind won't

stop, Lord, I give it all to you for you

to make the difference. Psalm 34:4 says,

Psalms 34:4

"I sought the Lord and he answered me

and delivered me from all fears." And I

want to encourage you, that's where we

find freedom is in the Lord. That's

where we find hope. That's where we find

truth. Everything we need, it comes from

the word of God. And as Jesus spoke

about over and over and over here, when

the church is united and we're together

and we're moving forward, then we are so

much stronger. And we have to be there

for one another to lift each other up,

to carry each other's burdens, to help

when it's difficult, to help when life

was going one way. And at the word of a

doctor or a situation or a boss,

whatever, it goes the other way. We're

here to lift one another up and to focus

back on truth and what's right.

Jesus submitted his thinking to God's

shaping work. And how much more do we

need that? Isaiah 26:3 says, "You keep

Isaiah 26:3

him in perfect peace whose mind is

stayed on you because he trusts you."

We need to repeatedly and continually

turn our hearts and our mind and our

anxieties and our cares to the Lord.

continually giving those things to him,

continually casting our cares upon him.

And I want you to hear today that when

thoughts won't stop, Jesus says, "Return

to truth." It's what he prayed. It's how

he lived. And when your stop, your when

your thoughts won't stop, they just keep

running. Return to his word. Return to

his truth. Give him control. Cast your

cares upon Jesus.

worship team, if you want to come on

back up here. The third question today

is, who holds me when I feel alone?

Who holds you

when isolation might be what seems

natural? When life is difficult, when

you don't even want people to know, when

it's like, ah, I'm embarrassed or I

don't like it or whatever reason. We

just sometimes feel it's easier if I

just do this myself.

And Jesus, he refused isolation.

In verse 20, he refused I isolation.

I ask also for those who will believe in

me through their word. He said, not only

those who are mine, my my friends, my my

group, my church, but Lord, those who

are going to be apart. He refuses

isolation. And even in his most

difficult time, he's praying for the

world. He's praying for the lost. He's

speaking love and peace. He's anchored

in in a shared life and shared community

and being together. He's anchored in

love, loving one another, lifting up one

another, caring for one another. When

we're love and and when we're in love

and we care for one another, it guards

our mind as people can push us in the

right direction towards the things of

God.

Jesus, he pushes and he he speaks, he

prays here to trust the father.

He gives those things to God. What he

can't hold, he gives them to the Lord.

And church, I know in my life, there are

seasons where it just seems easy and

it's great. And there's seasons when

it's like, this is more than I can

handle. This is more than I have the

strength for. It's more I don't know.

I've got the big backpack and it seems

heavier and heavier. And church, that's

not how we're made. It's not how we're

designed. But we're designed to give

control to the Lord, to give certainty

to the Lord. We're designed even

protection, not to hold and have to be,

but to give it to the Lord and to offer

him our life where we can just take the

step that he gives us and we can walk in

him. And when we do that, all of a

sudden, we can find freedom. Our mind

can be clear of the things of the earth

and be focused on God. Our mind doesn't

have to own every single thing. and know

every detail because we can learn day by

day, week by week, year by year to trust

the Lord, to cast our cares upon him, to

be obedient, to walk in his way.

Something about being kept in his love.

There's something about stability that

happens in the last few verses of of

this chapter that we see Jesus speaking

of. There's stability in in walking in

the Lord and walking as a family united

together.

Church, if we want freedom in our mind,

if we want freedom in every part of who

we are, if we want fear and worry,

anxiety to be a thing that, yeah, of

course, there's things of life, but no,

it's not going to rule me. Yeah, maybe

we're anxious. Maybe we have things

sometimes, but no, it's not going to

rule us. We're going to stand on the

things of God. My mind, yeah, sure, it

might run sometimes, but no, it's not

going to rule me.

I'm going to find rest.

Rest at night, rest during the day. It's

about coming to the God of the universe

and casting our cares and our worries

upon him. It's about bringing people

into our life. It's about when I want to

do it alone and be isolated. No, I'm

going to do the hard work of bringing

others in. I'm going to do the hard work

of making the phone call or texting

someone. Hey, you want to go get lunch?

Hey, how you doing? Or maybe, hey, I'm

struggling. You think we just get

together? It might be finding a

Christian counselor and saying, "This is

more than I can bear or maybe a friend

can bear, and I need some help." Find a

Christian counselor, someone that can

push you into the things of God and help

you walk and navigate the way and the

thing and the word of God in your life.

When isolation feels safest, Jesus says

stay connected. Jesus says expand the

tent. Jesus says, "Bring more into the

family."

And today, my prayer is that as a church

family, we don't just try a little

harder. And we don't hope for a little

bit better. And we don't hope that we

get better sleep than last night, but we

cast our cares and our anxieties on the

Lord consistently, day in and day out.

We lay them down before him. And we ask

him, "Lord, let your truth,

let your truth be so real in my life.

Let your the words of who you are and

what you say I am. Lord, I'm your son.

I'm your daughter. You who you call me,

Lord. That's who I am. That you'll find

freedom and hope and peace. You'll find

rest in the God of the universe

who loves you so much that he created

you, but then that he died for you so

you could have life and hope and peace.

Church, our God is so good.

I want you to know that fear will at

times be loud. We're on this earth. That

truth will be tested at times. Things

are difficult.

Isolation will tempt us at times. But

these things we cannot hold on to.

Instead, we need to choose now who will

hold you. We need to choose now. Are we

a part of what God is doing? And if we

are when those things come up, we can

speak no to those things and we can lift

our eyes to heaven. We can cast our car

cares and our worries and our anxieties.

We can say, "Lord, I don't know. I don't

have the wisdom, but you do." So Lord, I

look to you. I look to your truth.

We lay down and maybe on our pillow.

We're like, "Woo, there's a lot going on

upstairs and we say, Lord Jesus, I focus

on you. Lord Jesus, would you speak?"

the things we're thinking of, we begin

to speak scripture over. You're my

protection. You're my strength. You're

my provider. You're the one that brings

us back together. You're everything we

need. Let the word breathe life to you.

And when we do, we focus on him.

And he gives us strength for the next

day.

You know, we're going to be talking out

of 18 and ahead as Jesus goes to the

cross. We looked at a few weeks ago

around Easter.

He prayed this and then he didn't exit

the situation. Everything didn't just

become easy. No, he had to walk through

it. He had to walk through the the plan

of God that he was here on earth. And

sometimes we have to walk through those

situations.

But my prayer is Lord, would you help us

walk through them with your power and

your strength and your presence?

And the word that May gave a little

earlier, we need to remember what he's

done. When it's difficult, remember what

he's done. Remember his salvation.

Remember his truth. Remember his grace

that he's poured upon you in the past.

And he's going to do it again. You're

going to make it to the other side.

If you ever say it's too big, remember

what Jesus did for you, church. He loves

you so much. He's got you. Before we

come to the altar and close with the

time, just of asking the Lord, what do

you want to do? How do you want to move?

And maybe Lord, would you help me with

pressure in my life? We just want to

give an opportunity. And if you say,

"I'm here, but I do not have a

relationship with Jesus." You're not

currently serving him. You haven't made

him the Lord of your life. This is the

most important decision and moment.

Every Sunday that we have out front

says, "One more for Jesus." First thing

when you come in, big letters. Why?

Because that's what we're all about.

That's what we're called to do. And if

you say, "I've never made Jesus Lord in

my life." We would invite you to be a

part to say, "Hey, I want to be a part

of Jesus. It's not a part of Radiant

Life Church. It's not a part of it's

him, a relationship with him." And if

today you'd say, "I want to make Jesus

Lord of my life." I would invite you to

invi to join one lady in the first

service who said, "I want to know

Jesus." If that's you today, I'm just

going to look across the room and would

you just raise your hand high? We want

to pray with you. We want to cheer you

on. If say that's you, maybe you're on

this side. All right, if you hear that's

you, would you just raise your hand? I

would love to see you so I can pray with

you. Say, "I need Jesus. I want

relationship with him, the Lord of my

life. Let him be for the rest of my

life." Scan across anybody. The most

important thing, it's why we're here.

We'll take a a minute just to let him

speak. If you need to say yes to him

today,

go back across. Come on. If you say,

"Hey, you know what? I lifted my hand."

Or you didn't. Pastor Nate, he's right

over here. And when we come to the

altar, he would love to talk with you.

He has information he would love to give

you. And we would love to encourage you.

He'll pray with you. He'll lead you uh

in a prayer just to say, "Lord, you take

my life. Forgive me of my sins." You can

do that at home. Just ask him, "Lord,

forgive me. I make you Lord of my life."

And he does. Just like that, he welcomes

you as sons or daughter. There's nothing

like it. But if you're able today, could

we stand on our feet this morning? We're

going to take a few moments and we're

going to come to the altar and we're

going to just offer him. Lord, move in

us. change us. If today something was

spoken that you say there's fear in my

life or my thoughts or anxieties or

worries or these things, I would invite

you today. Be real with the Lord. Do

what he what we talked about in that

first part. Turn to him. Be real. Get

name the moment. Name that situation and

remind yourself who he is. Let's let

freedom come in our life. And so, prayer

team, if you would make your way to the

front right now, I'm going to pray a

prayer blessing. Then we're going to

pray. If you have fear, anxiety, or

worry, or you need healing in your body,

you need strength. You need the power of

God to move in whatever way today. Let's

believe and let's watch God do

something. Maybe you're staying in your

seats today. Let's turn this into a pray

a place of prayer. Maybe you come at an

altar. You kneel before the Lord.

Whatever it is today, let's offer our

lives to him. So Lord, right now, we

give you all. We praise you. You are

everything. And we're thankful, Lord,

that you take the pressure of our life,

the anxieties or the worries, the fears.

You take those things and Lord, we can

lay them before you. And you bring

freedom. You bring life and you give us

strength. Lord, let us love you and walk

in you. And let us love one another in

your might and in your power. Holy

Spirit, we need you today. Lord, conform

our minds to yours, to your word. Lord,

let us be acceptable before you as we

seek you with all of our heart. We love

you today, Lord. As we turn this into a

place of prayer, Lord, I pray you would

heal. You would restore. You'd make new.

You'd make our hearts and our minds new.

Lord, would you do something in your

people today, Lord, here heal bodies,

fix relationships, fix thinking today.

Lord, we need you. We love you. Let us

worship you with all we have today. In

your name we pray. Amen. Come on,

church. Let's worship. Let's come to the

front. If you need prayer today, let's

go after the Lord.

I'm

all

further from you. I think you could not

be enough.

It's not me.

I'm running

something I know, but I'm coming

to give you this offering. My worship

I'll never withhold.

Broken but you call it beautiful.

Where the tears of the desperate

reach the feet of the Savior,

nothing I wouldn't offer.

There's no waste at the altar

where the heart of surrender

meets the hands of the maker.

Nothing I wouldn't offer.

There's no waste at the altar.

Things I've ted

couldn't come close to your presence.

Grace upon grace for good measure.

No, nothing could measure.

I'm returning

back to the one I am running

to give him my love. Cuz he took a

sinner like me.

He washed me with grace and set me free.

Oh,

the tears of the test.

Reach the feet of the Savior.

Nothing I wouldn't offer.

No waste at the altar.

With a heart of surrender

meets the hands of the maker.

Nothing I would offer.

No waste at the altar.

Just bring it all to the father.

No waste at the altar.

Hay your broken dreams at the altar and

every victory at the altar. Fear and

anxiety cannot live here. There's no

waste at the altar. Let your heart sing

out and tell him you love him. Don't

make it perfect. Just let it be honest.

He can't use anything. Sit back and

watch him.

There's no waste at the altar. Comey

your broken dreams at the altar and

every victory at the altar. Fear and

anxiety cannot live here.

There's no waste at the altar. Let your

heart sing out telling you.

Don't make it perfect. Just let it be

hest. He can't use anything. Sit back

and watch him. There's no waste at the

altar.

There's always at the altar.

There's no way at the altar.

No at the altar.

>> Snow is at the altar.

Snow is at the altar.

Snow at the altar.

Jesus, we're thankful today, Lord, that

when we come before you, there's nothing

wasted, Lord. You even use the

situations of life, God, Lord, to grow

us.

And Lord, I pray that your people this

week would walk out of here, Lord, with

our eyes lifted to heaven, lifted to our

father, Lord. that we would be able to

name the things that are before us, but

Lord Jesus, we'd walk as your son and as

your daughter. So Lord, we can

accomplish anything and it doesn't have

to do with our strength, but it just has

to do with our obedience to take a step

forward in you. So Lord, guide your

people today. Grow us. Let us experience

you. And Lord, I pray for those that

come in with fear or anxiety or worry or

depression just at a high level. Lord, I

pray you would give freedom. you'd give

wholeness, Lord Jesus, that even as they

walk, they would feel lighter in you,

Lord, that have taken that off and laid

that down before you. And then, Lord,

help us be consistent every moment,

every day, when we start to look at

those things. God, we continue to look

at you. We give it to you. We lift our

eyes to the King of Kings and the Lord

of Lords. Lord, you're so good.

You're so good, Jesus.

Come on, church. Our God is good. He's

good and he loves you and he holds you.

He's got you. I'm so thankful and I just

encourage let's go after Jesus, after

his goodness, after his grace. Cast

those cares upon him and we just keep

walking forward in him one step at a

time. He's your God. He's your savior.

He's your lord. I want to encourage

before we leave today, I want to remind

you about open house. Be sure to sign

up. Let us know you're coming on

Wednesday night, 7 o'clock. We would

love to uh just be able to join with

you, connect with you, get to know you.

7 o'clock Wednesday night and we're so

blessed. But pray that you just feel the

presence of Jesus as you go. Take him

with you. Share what he's doing with

somebody in your life. There's nothing

like the presence and the power of

Jesus. Love you all. Have a great week

in the Lord. Walk in him. And I pray

great rest upon all of you as you lay

your heads on your pillows tonight. But

this week, be careful what you watch. Be

careful what you listen to. Be careful

what you talk about. Savor the presence

of Jesus. Have a great week.