The Promise Keeper Part 2 | Side Effects of Worry with Chris Schlotterbeck

Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd

like to connect with HTV, go to htv .church forward

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to htv .church forward slash give. And if at

any time you feel called to make a change in

your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the

message. Well, good morning, everyone. How are

we doing today? How are we doing today? Good.

If you're joining us from home, thank you for

joining us and welcoming us into your space.

I want to begin today with a testimony I received

two weeks ago. You may have noticed that we added

our... crosses back to the front of our auditorium.

We now have four crosses in our auditorium that

we established roughly 18 months ago when God

put it on my heart that we need to be praying

more. There's posts that said each cross and

we encourage you if you have a prayer request

or a need to write it down, put it on the cross.

But then if you see one on the cross, grab it

off, take it home and begin to pray for it. Now,

sure enough, just like all of you, the staff

here was like, oh, people have kind of, they're

not putting prayer requests out anymore. So we

actually put two away. And maybe that time's

passed. Maybe that season is gone. And then suddenly,

I get an email. Let me share it with you real

quick. Several months ago, my son was suffering

physically significant digestive issues because

of worry. He was working a job that he knew was

going to end soon, and he had no prospects. He

started attending college but was years away

from earning his degree in a new field. I saw

the toll this was having on him. He applied for

a job that he wasn't yet qualified for, and he

said, what do I have to lose? Over 100 applicants

applied, and I began to pray, God, this is a

long shot, but what do I have to lose? I'm going

to begin to pray. Over 100 applicants. God, you

can do it. You're a God of long shots. Then the

next Sunday, I decided to put a yellow sticky

prayer request on the cross at HCV. I simply

said, I'm exhausted from worry and feel too tired

to pray for my son and his job. I see the toll

on his health. Please take the reins for me and

pray for the God of miracles to open the door

for an interview for him and let someone see

his potential. A week later. My son texted me.

Mom, you won't believe this. I have an interview.

Not yet. I felt a wave of chills come over me.

I felt peace. Then the enemy began to whisper

in my ear, come on, it's an interview. It's not

going to turn into a job. There's over 100 applicants.

A week later, my son texted me. I am a finalist.

I can't believe it. He went on to say, I have

an interview tomorrow. Please pray for me. Then

a call came from him just two days later. Mom,

you aren't going to believe this. I got the job.

They told him, we see your potential, and we

are giving you this job because we see that potential.

He was up against a large pool of competitive

candidates, but the panel of interviewers kept

coming back, wanting to hire you to take a chance

on you. The point? Prayer works. So if you have

a need, I want to encourage you, don't leave

here without getting... Someone to pray for you,

the prayer team to pray for you, or putting a

post -it on the cross. At the same time, I want

to challenge you, Jesus follower. If you see

a post -it on the cross, God is highlighting

that to you. Don't walk away from it. Don't leave

here. Don't say someone else will take it because

they might not. And then we may not get another

answered prayer request because you chose not

to take a post -it. So these four crosses will

stay in this auditorium out of obedience to what

God wants to do through you in our community

of faith. Amen? So it's interesting that I got

that email because a recent study found that

one of the greatest sources of worry in the United

States today isn't health, relationships, or

even work. It's our finances. For many people,

our financial stability, our financial future,

our 401ks, our money market accounts, our investments,

how much money will I have when retirement comes,

will Social Security end, or even last past 2030,

follows you everywhere. It sits in the passenger

seat as you drive to work. It shows up when the

bills arrive in the mailbox. It keeps people

awake at night wondering. How am I going to make

enough money to save for the future, to handle

all these unexpected expenses? Most of us know

what it's like to look at our bank account, calculate

the bills, consider the rising cost of living,

and ask ourselves, will there be enough? Because

if we're honest, sometimes the numbers don't

even add up, and anxiety begins to take over.

And what's interesting is that financial worry

isn't limited to people who have little. See,

according to that study, nearly eight out of

10 Americans, that's 78 % of you are worried

about money as their number one reason for stress

and anxiety with millennials being at the top

of the list of everyone surveyed. So if these

statistics are true, that means that 80 % of

you gathered in this room watching online are

worried about your financial situation. So for

the other 20 % of you, pray for me and us as

we navigate this time together. Some worry because

they don't have enough. Other worry because they're

afraid of losing what they have. See, worry doesn't

seem to care whether your account is large or

small. It always whispers the same question.

What if God doesn't provide? And as a result,

worry and anxiety over finances make it hard

to find the joy of living a life of simplicity.

See, we can't find the gratitude in the little

things like clothing, food, shelter, because

we're so worried about more. More money, more

problems, more worries. As I said in my email

this past Thursday, worry literally means to

tear our minds to pieces. The English word worry

comes from the old German word worgen, which

means to strangle or tear. So when we worry,

it is a case of us literally choking ourselves,

strangling ourselves, tearing our mind into pieces,

causing mental damage to our brains when we fixate

on our worry over financial resources. And listen,

if you're in a relationship with Jesus, It doesn't

matter if you're gathered here or watching online.

It's not God's will for you to be worried or

stressed out over your current financial situation.

And that's why Jesus' words in Matthew 6 are

so powerful. Please understand he was speaking

to ordinary people who were worried about ordinary

things, food, clothing, and the daily necessities.

In that day, they weren't luxuries. They were

basic needs. Yet Jesus repeatedly says over and

over and over and over again, do not worry. And

what you will notice as we go through the text,

Jesus doesn't say these things aren't important.

He doesn't tell us to ignore our responsibilities.

Instead, he invites us to shift our focus from

the amount of resources that he provides so that

we can trust him. and grow our relationship with

him. In Matthew chapter six, verses 25 to 34,

that we'll be diving into today, Jesus teaches

us that while worry focuses on what we don't

have, faith focuses on the God that promised

us as his children to provide. But before we

jump into that text, I need to read the previous

verses so we have the context for our discussion.

Remember, we can't just remove verses out of

context. We have to read the whole passage. So

I'm going to read for you Matthew chapter 6,

Matthew 6:19–21

verses 19 to 21 and 24 to set the tone. Do not

store up for yourselves treasures on earth where

moths and vermin destroy and where thieves break

in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures

in heaven where moths and vermin do not destroy

and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, church, there your

heart will also be. In other words, invest in

the kingdom of God. Where our resources impact

the lives of others for eternity. Invest in something

beyond yourself, Jesus continues. No one can

serve two masters. Either you'll hate the one

and love the other, or you'll be devoted to one

and despise the other. You cannot serve both

God and money. And it's interesting, God gives

us a choice here. Will we be ruled and worried

by the pursuit of money? Or will we be ruled

by the God of peace? And please hear me. God

is not against wealth. David was wealthy. Solomon

and Abraham both were financially set. God isn't

against money. However, he is against money controlling

us. See, he doesn't want us to worry. And that

is why he says to choose who is in control of

your life. Choose money or God. One brings worry

and anxiety while the other releases peace. See,

the love of money is God -like. The pursuit of

money commands worship. It influences the heart,

causing us to bow down and compromise our relationship

with Jesus. See, Jesus did not say we cannot

serve God and Satan. He said we cannot serve

God and money. So Jesus here was exalting money

to the status of a God. The love affair, if you

will, humanity has with materialism. See, the

one thing that is in competition with our hearts

is not Satan. Yes, he is the enemy. He is our

enemy. But the one thing that is in competition

with God, with Jesus, for control of our hearts,

is materialism. How do I know that? I don't know

about you, but I'm not lying in bed at night,

struggling to sleep, trying to choose if I'm

gonna serve God or serve Satan. I mean, let's

be honest. We're not daily wrestling with whether

we're gonna serve God or we're gonna serve Satan.

Our daily wrestle is between God and money, right?

Our wrestle, if you will, is with Jesus and Jordans.

Our wrestle is between serving the kingdom of

God, or keeping it for ourselves. That's the

real wrestle. We're not running after Satan.

We love Jesus. Many of you do. I know you do.

You want to serve him. You want to worship him.

I heard it in your worship this morning. As you're

crying out to God, I'm in the back crying, weeping,

saying, Jesus, look at your church. But if we're

honest, we also know there's a battle within.

And in our discussion today, Jesus is trying

to show us that our unhealthy fixational materialism

will cause us always to be worried about our

finances and that money can become our master,

which leads us to our first and most challenging

thought. Church, worry is a sin. Yes, I said

it. Worry is a sin, Matthew 6, 25. Therefore,

and let me teach you something here. Anytime

you read therefore, In the Bible, it means check

back on what was previously said. And that's

why I opened by reading the earlier verses. Therefore

is a conjunction word that joins two thoughts

together. So Jesus was previously talking about

storing up treasures in heaven, money not being

our master. And because of that, Jesus says,

I tell you, do not worry about your life. Now

notice there. This isn't a suggestion from Jesus,

right? This is a commandment. Do not worry. What

you will eat or drink or about your body, what

you will wear is not life more than food and

your body more than clothes. I mean, when we

look in the mirror, we all realize that we all

have sin in our life. Every day we make a bad

choice. We say the wrong words. We're tempted

to look. And Jesus is challenging us here. Do

not worry. Why? So we can experience more of

his peace as we discussed last Sunday. It's interesting,

as I was writing my outline, my daughter Trinity,

who was up here sharing the announcements with

you, said, Dad, isn't that the same issue as

last week? And I said, no. See, this worry specifically

is focusing on our finances, our stuff. And Jesus

is reminding us, hey, church, worry's a sin.

He challenges us that when worries arise over

our finances and our everyday needs, we are to

declare, I will not worry. See, those two words,

do not, aren't merely a suggestion from Jesus.

They're actually an imperative command. When

those two words are looked up in the Greek, the

Greek tense indicates stop worrying or quit continually

worrying. And you must remember, Jesus isn't

speaking to people who've never worried. He's

literally speaking to a group of people who were

trapped in anxiety, and he lovingly commands

them, don't let worry dominate your lives. So

that command, do not worry, it isn't harsh. It's

an invitation to leave the burden that you were

never created to carry, to get rid of it. And

we also must remember Jesus was not teaching

people living in the United States in 2026. He

was speaking to a group of people in ancient

Palestine on a hill where people were living

hand to mouth. Remember feeding the 5 ,000? These

people did not know where their next meal would

come from. Water was scarce. And the only thing

that many people owned were the clothes on their

backs that they were wearing. See, they did not

have closets full of clothes to choose from so

they could look good on Sunday. They did not

have racks of shoes to worry about matching their

pair to their fit like I was doing this morning

so you look good. I didn't really worry about

it. I was just trying to match. Remember, I'm

colorblind. See, back then, these people were

working hard to provide for bread and water.

Right? This was a society where owning a jacket

or a cloak To remain warm at night meant you

were wealthy. And Jesus is telling this group

of people that literally don't know where their

next meal is going to come from, hey, don't worry.

So our situations aren't that bad. He's saying,

don't worry about your clothes, your water, your

shelter. Trust me. He says, isn't your life more

important than living in constant worry over

what you eat or drink or what your body looks

like, what you wear? Life is so much more than

food or the clothes you're wearing. See, isn't

your calling and purpose more important than

being constantly worried over these material

things? This morning, church, Jesus is saying

to us, do you trust me? Which leads us to discuss,

because the genius of Jesus here, he doesn't

just tell us not to worry, he tells us why we

shouldn't worry, which leads us to answer that

question, why not worry? Number one, because

we are valuable. You are valuable. Notice what

he says in Matthew 6, 26. Look at the birds of

the air. They do not sow or reap or store away

in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds

them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

See, Jesus is telling us to stop worrying about

our everyday needs. Church, look up at those

birds. They don't have their saving account.

Yet God takes care of them. Think about the birds.

A bird can't pray. A bird doesn't have a relationship

with Jesus. A bird can't read the Bible. A bird's

not filled with the Holy Spirit, was not created

in God's image like you. Did you know you were?

Genesis 127, so God created human beings in his

own image. In the image of God, he created you,

male and female, he created them. See, a bird

doesn't have the worth and value that you have.

And what is your value? You're a son and daughter

of God. 1 John 3, 1 tells us, see how very much

our father loves us, for he calls us his children,

and that's what you are. You are a child of God.

See, God cares for the birds, provides for the

birds. How much more will he provide for us?

Now, if you were to pause for a second and focus

on a bird, you will quickly realize birds aren't

lazy. They work hard. They build their shelter.

They supply themselves and their families with

food. They fly out of the nest every single day

to search for worms for themselves and for others.

Yet the amazing thing is, think about it, they're

completely dependent on nature. They're completely

dependent on God to find food. God provides for

the animals he created. And I don't know about

you, but I've never seen a bird die from hunger.

Those birds are pretty fat. And if God provides

for those birds that can't pray, can't read,

don't have a relationship with him, can't worship

like you worship, don't understand the grace

that we find in Jesus on the cross, isn't surrendered

to him, is not made in his image. Why wouldn't

he provide for you? So the next time we begin

to worry, I want to encourage you. Look out your

window. Drive to the park. And focus on a bird.

Why? Because God loves and cares for us much

more than he does those flying animals in the

air. And when we prioritize the kingdom of God,

provision follows. See, the amazing thing is

birds are simply busy fulfilling their purpose

here on earth. And as they fulfill their purpose,

what happens? Provision follows. Provision follows

people who are busy walking in their purpose

in God's kingdom. So maybe your struggle with

worry is the fact you're not walking in your

purpose, which leads us to our next truth that

Jesus gives to us. Worry accomplishes nothing.

Matthew 6, 27, get all your worries at a single

moment to your life. Why did Jesus tell us not

to worry? Because worry never changed anything

for good. I mean, think about it. It's actually

quite the opposite. What does worry do to you?

When you worry, when you're anxious, worry is

literally poisoning your peace. It's killing

your joy. And it's stunting your spiritual growth.

And it's not only spiritual, it's physical. See,

worry doesn't just affect our minds, it affects

our entire bodies. Chronic worry and anxiety

activate the body's stress response. And when

the response stays on for too long, it can take

a physical toll. It's kind of like, have you

ever watched a commercial from a pharmaceutical

company that's promising you life change if you

take their pill? And you're all excited about

it. You're like, wow, this is amazing. And then

all of a sudden there's like two minutes of this

pill could cause. And you begin to listen. And

then you continue to listen. And your mouth just

kind of continues to get closer to the floor

like, why would I put this in my body? Like basically

it says, yeah, you're going to die 20 years younger,

but you're going to feel good today. Laugh, right?

Oh, yeah, that's true. Chris worries the same

way. It causes, are you ready? Fatigue, exhaustion,

muscle tension, headaches, digestive problems,

sleeplessness, high blood pressure, weakened

immune system, shortness of breath, and changes

to the appetite. But I promise you'll feel better.

And when you think about it, Not only does it

cause harm to our bodies, but it has no purpose.

You know what worry's like? Worry's like this

rocking chair. Right? It gives you something

to do, right? Ah, it's very relaxing. But you

go nowhere. Yeah, you're doing something, but

really you're doing nothing. You're not rocking

a baby to sleep. You're not trying to take a

nap. You're just overwhelming your body with

stress that causes your body to go into paralysis.

When we're sitting there worrying over our finances,

our needs, you're not going anywhere. And if

you're worried about your money, worry never

paid a bill. If you're worried about your health,

worry doesn't make you healthier, it makes you

worse. Worry never protected your child from

harm. Worry never helped you pass a test. Won't

you study a little? Worry never healed a broken

relationship. It only increases anxiety and decreases

peace. And that's why Jesus doesn't simply tell

us to think differently. He invites us to trust

differently. He points us away from the burden

of carrying tomorrow to the faithfulness of God

who promised us goodness today. And that's why

Paul challenges us with these words in Philippians

4, 6. Don't worry about anything. Paul says,

it's not just your finances. It's not worth it

to worry. It's useless. Which leads us to our

final truth. See, God provides. Matthew 6, 28

to 31. Let's continue with Jesus' words. And

why worry about your clothing? Church, look at

the lilies of the field and how they grow. They

don't work or make their clothing, yet solemn

and in all his glory, what's not dressed as beautifully

as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully

for wildflowers that are here today and thrown

into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care

for you. Why do you have so little faith? So

don't worry about these things saying what we

eat, what we drink, what we wear. A few weeks

ago, I challenged many of you in one of my talks

that if you want to question whether ever God

provided for our family, talk to my kids. They've

never gone without. And see, that discussion

was prompted by us reflecting over the last 20

years since we planted this church. This is our

20 -year anniversary. And back then, in 2006,

when we planted this church, we only had three

children. And you wonder what Justin and I did

for the five years of stress and anxiety we were

living for the first plant. Now we have six.

See, back then when we planted this church, because

many of you are new to our community of faith,

you don't realize that we bought a fire -damaged

house for a little bit of nothing in Syracuse,

New York, while we were serving at a church in

Syracuse, fixed the whole thing up, and then

sold it for a nice profit. We took that profit

and invested it in what you're sitting in today.

We took everything we had and we put it into

this community of faith. And for the first five

years, I worked two or three different jobs,

painting, construction, substituting, long -term

substituting. Jess opened a daycare in our house

that brought in more kids that our family had

to take care of. But it's interesting that daycare

is now our Grow Learning Center. All the while,

during those first five years, we were living

on WIC, donated food. We never ate out. God always

provided the food we needed. We were the poorest

of the poorest. How do I know that? Because all

of my kids were on state health insurance because

we were the poorest of the poorest. The cars

we drove were donated. They were never new. They

always had thousands of miles on every one. Yet

they always lasted and took us where we needed

to be. And all the while, over that initial five,

six, seven years, our focus was on the kingdom

of God. We served, we gave, we taught, we preached,

we proclaimed the good news. We welcomed the

stranger. We brought in the outcast. We found

the forgotten. And we built a community of faith

through God changing lives. Was it hard work?

Yes, it was the hardest work I've ever done.

But we were called and we were walking in our

purpose. And here's what I want you to hear.

God always provided. And the amazing thing is,

fast forward to today, I'm in a different income

bracket. I'm making money, but yet God still

provides. Many of you high -fived me over a new

Jeep that was given to me a few months ago. Beautiful

Jeep. Actually, the nicest car I've ever driven,

and I'm 53 years old. Nicest car I've ever driven.

And it's funny, last week, Jess and I decided

to name our Jeep. And don't get me wrong, my

kids made fun of me. They said, yeah, it's okay

to name your car, but you don't put it on the

car. I hear you, Lily. Well, guess what Chris

did? He put it on the car. And you want to know

what his name is? Holy Ghost. And you say, Chris,

I agree with Lily. What are you doing? I said,

because when I drive around in that Jeep, I want

everyone to know where it came from. When I'm

driving down that... that road and driving that

Jeep, I want people to know God is with me. I

want to point people to Jesus, and I'll do whatever

means is necessary. Now listen, I'm not telling

you that story for you to high -five me, hug

me, or cry with me on your way out of here. That's

my story. I'm telling you that story to remind

you of how God provides for the people he loves.

See, our focus was not on our needs. It was on

God. So I want to ask you, what is your focus

on? Is your focus on the kingdom? Or is your

focus on you? Is your focus on Jesus and seeing

other people meet him? Or is your focus on your

finances, your investments, your house, and your

stuff that provides for your entertainment and

joy? Remember my statement at the beginning of

this talk. An unhealthy fixation of materialism

will cause you to always be worried about our

finances and money becomes our master. And that's

why Jesus challenges us. Do not worry. Peter

reminds us in 1 Peter 5, 7, give all your worries

and cares to God because he cares about you.

And not only does he care about us, church, he

provides for us. And that's why I always challenge

people with the importance of tithing. And yes,

I went there. See, God did not give us this principle

of tithing to place another burden on our shoulders,

another worry on us. He gave us an invitation

to trust him. Because every time we give, we're

literally declaring that God, not money, is our

provider. And tithing is one of the most practical

ways to loosen, that's right, you let go of the

grip of worry. Because it shifts your focus from

what you might lose to who is faithfully supplying

your needs. It is an act of worship. Do you realize

that? Worship's not just lifting your hand saying,

praise God, I raise a hallelujah. Yeah, I do.

Worship also says, God, you are first with my

finances. And when we prioritize God with our

resources, you're going to learn to trust him

with your future. See, tithing isn't about losing

10 % of your income. That's right, 10 % off the

top before it's given. It goes to God. It's about

giving 100 % of our hearts back to God. That's

why Jesus says, seek first his kingdom before

he tells us not to worry. So is that a priority

for your life? See, when God is first in our

finances, our hearts are reminded that our security

is in him, not in your bank account. And that's

why it's so important to walk this out. So let

me give you four simple steps in replacing worry

with faith. Four simple steps in replacing worry

with faith this morning. The first is this, focus

on the kingdom of God. Make it a priority in

your life. Notice what Jesus says in Matthew

6, continuing 31 to 34. Don't worry about these

things saying, what will we eat? What will we

drink? What will we wear? These things dominate

the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly

father already knows all your needs. Seek the

kingdom of God above all else. Live righteously,

and he will give you everything you need. You're

looking for your Jesus promise. Right there it

is. That's your promise keeper. Seek the kingdom

of God above all else. And he will give you everything

you need. So don't worry about tomorrow for tomorrow

will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is

enough for today. I believe Jesus is literally

yelling at us from heaven this morning through

the Holy Spirit saying, I got you church. Jesus

is saying to us, do you realize worry is ridiculous?

Like, don't go chasing after fame and riches

like those who are living for themselves and

living for this world. Don't go that way. That

is what their minds are focused on, not us. We're

different. For those in a relationship with Jesus,

I want to remind you, it's not worth worrying.

Why? We win. We've already won. We're living

here in this life today. God has given us his

Holy Spirit, the very breath of God, to empower

us, to guide us through life today. And when

we move on from this world, it doesn't matter

if it's tomorrow or 40 years later. We win. We

spend eternity with Jesus. There is nothing to

worry about. We win. Jesus said, seek the kingdom

of God above all else, and he will provide for

you. Notice the order. God first. Give to him.

Trust him with everything else. You know what

worry says? I have the control. Faith says, God

knows what I need. Let go of the control and

the fear and trust God. So I want to challenge

you. later today, tomorrow, what does your financial

life say about your relationship with Jesus?

Go ahead, look at your bank accounts. Where's

your money go? Are you prioritizing the kingdom

of God? Are you making God first? Are you prioritizing

yourself and your stuff? Then take a step. Take

a step to put God first. If you're not tithing,

start tithing. Well, Chris, I'm not ready to

go there yet. Fine, give 6%. And then get to

8, and then get to 10. And then get to 14. Because

that's where I want to be. Give generously to

someone in need. You're saying, I already tied,

okay. Give to someone in need. Go buy some McDonald's

gift cards and give it to the homeless guy on

the corner. Serve someone. Why do all that, Chris?

Then practice gratitude. Every single day, everywhere

you go. And tell others how God provides for

you. How he meets every need because they're

going to be gravitated towards you. Every act

of generosity is an opportunity to replace worry

with worship. And worship is where it's at, which

leads us to the next step. Focus on the kingdom.

Number two, you pray. You lift up worry. Light

some incense. Let it burn. You're not going to

see it in here, but at home you can. Lift up

those prayers to God. Turn every worry into a

prayer. Paul, writing to a poor and generous

church, said this. Don't worry about anything.

I already quoted that, but notice how he continues.

Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what

you need. Thank him for what he's done. Notice.

Tell God what you need and already thank him.

Thank you, God. Then you will experience what?

God's peace, which if there's anything we can

understand, his peace will guard your hearts

and minds that you live in Christ Jesus. Turn

every worry into a prayer. It keeps us from being

depressed, overwhelmed, and obsessed with worry.

Because when we pray, we trust that God will

provide. We lift it up. We give it to God. And

then I want to challenge you. When you give it

to God, when you let go and you give it to God,

don't grab it back. Don't be like, I don't want

that back. It makes me feel better. No, it doesn't.

It's destroying you. Let it in God's hands. Which

leads us to our third step. Now you've got to

focus on the mind. You've got to take negative

thoughts captive. You have to tear down that

worry. You have to capture those negative thoughts.

As Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10, 5, we demolish

arguments and every partition that sets itself

up against the knowledge of God. We take captive

every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

See, worry is born in our minds. And you need

to capture the negative thoughts and make them

obedient to Jesus. How do we do that? Don't worry.

Being obedient to Jesus means you don't worry.

Worry is a sin. It's rebellion against God. That's

what Jesus said. He said, hey, gas prices are

going up. Don't worry. You're wondering how you're

going to support your kids, how you're going

to get them to college. Don't worry. But Chris,

my car is breaking down. Don't worry. I'm overwhelmed.

I need a vacation. I'm not sure I can. Don't

worry. We are children of God. And one of the

greatest blessings that we could ever walk in

is the reality that we're formed in God's image.

And when we're formed in God's image, he gave

us a brain so that we can choose different thoughts.

We can capture those thoughts and get rid of

them. We can make those negative thoughts obey

Jesus. After all, the Bible tells us every knee

will bow. So if every knee will eventually bow,

guess what? Every thought can come under your

control when you take it captive. Which leads

us to our final step. You then replace it with

truth. We move on from worry. Yes, we may be

concerned, but don't worry. Worry does what?

You're going nowhere. Concern leads to action.

You get busy doing the work you need to do. Matthew

6, 33. Seek the kingdom of God above all else.

Live righteously. And he will give you everything

you need. See, I want to challenge you. Don't

be distracted. Jesus is in the house. And he

desires to inspire you, challenge you, and remove

your worry. But we have to realize that Jesus

promises everything we need. It doesn't say everything

we want. And that's where Americans get it wrong.

We want more and need more. We want more. We

desire more. We got to keep up. We got to keep

up. We got to play the part. We got to have the

vehicle. We got to have the big backyard, the

pool, you name it. More, more, more. And that's

not Jesus. Jesus says, trust me. Learn to live

simply. I will meet your needs. Realize that

the little things in life, what you're wearing,

your shoes that are on your feet, your house,

your cars, they're an incredible blessing. And

you focus on those gifts and you stand on that

truth. And the one thing that I can tell you

about our community of faith is that for 20 years,

we've always been generous. We give it away.

We serve the homeless. We build kitchens in Africa.

We give away thousands and thousands of shoes

to children in Africa in schools. And we see

God changing lives. Why? Because we want to further

the kingdom of God. Because we don't want to

worry about what God brings. He just says, live

like this, open hand. Just give it away, give

it away, give it away. No, I'm not singing the

Red Hot Chili Peppers. Maybe I could though.

Here's the reality. Many of you right now, you

walked in here with a lot of worry. And if we're

honest and you look in the mirror, that worry

is focused on finances. And I believe God wants

to change some lives today. Would you agree with

that? So listen, my prayer team, I need you up

here. Prayer team, our prayer team, sorry. If

you're a praying person, get up here. Seriously.

You don't even need to. Get up here. Wow, I got

two people. I got a lot of faith in this church

today. Listen. Can you all stand? You may notice

the song in the background. It's called Jireh.

And it goes like this. If he dresses the lilies

with beauty and splendor. how much more does

he love us? How much more does he love us? If

he watches over every sparrow, how much more

does he love us? How much more does he love us?

So listen, if you have a worry in your life,

I want you to take a step of faith and get up

here and get some prayer. This place is going

to be open. And I have... A sermon full of words

of knowledge that I need to share with you. You're

worried over breast cancer. You're worried about

your depression and your anxiety that never stops.

You're worried about those migraines that won't

quit. You have a vertebrae in the base of your

neck that's causing you pain and worry. You're

losing your memory and struggling with forgetfulness

and you're worried. You have numbness in the

lower part of your left leg and you're worried.

You have a bone fracture in your left shin and

you're worried. You have an ACL meniscus tear

in your left knee and you're struggling. You

have sinus issues that doesn't allow you to breathe

and you're worried. You have a hip that may need

replaced that's causing you pain and you're worried.

You have painful muscles in your lower back and

you're stressed out. There's people up here to

pray for you. And I can't make you come up, but

I want to challenge you to come up. Because when

you take a step of faith, God moves and changes

your life. And there's not, 80 % of you are struggling

with worry. I know it because I read the statistics.

So don't leave here without getting a touch from

the Spirit, without experiencing a little bit

of God's peace. It may change your life forever.

But before we go, before I open this up, I want

to pray a simple prayer because you know I never

leave here without praying that prayer. Because

I believe there's people in this place that are

distant and far from God. Heck, I saw some of

you staring at your phones the whole way through

worship. I'm like, man, you're missing out on

an opportunity to meet with Jesus. And don't

let you, don't be looking at a phone and I walk

by because I'm going to tell you. Put it away.

Jesus is here. And that's the most important

thing. So if you're distant, you're far from

God, pray this prayer with us. Welcome home.

Come into the family because angels are going

to celebrate when you do. Let's pray. Jesus,

I'm broken. I'm full of doubt, shame, regret,

sin. Change me. Forgive me. I believe you're

God's son. I believe you died for me. I believe

you're alive today. Make me new. Set me free.

Fill me with your spirit. Help me, God, to serve

others. In Jesus' name, amen. So if you prayed

that prayer, see me, stop by the Welcome Hub,

do something. We're not done yet. I'll get you

signed up to be baptized. It's coming up in August.

I'm going to that door. Brian's not going to

open it until I get there. I love you guys, but

sit tight because many of you need to be coming

up and getting some prayer. Amen? The prayer

team's here. Prayer people are here. Get some

prayer before you leave. God bless you guys.

Have a great week.