Life Apps #4

This is the 4 message in our current series, "life Apps". Here is the 3rd life app. Enjoy. Life Apps, part 4 “Rest” Sunday, March 18th, 2012- MRWC We’re in week 4 of our Life Apps series. This series is based on the true-to-life principle that says: “application makes all the difference” You see, it isn’t enough just to hear, know or acknowledge something, to get the most out of any application, we must apply it, because “application makes all the difference” This is the truth that James was telling the followers of Jesus. In James 1:22 he says: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22, NIV) The application is in the doing. Hearing isn’t enough—application makes all the difference. Followers of Jesus are to do more than just show up to church once in a while; followers of Jesus are to do more than just hear the Word of God— followers of Jesus are to apply the word of God, because “application makes all the difference.” We’ve looked at two specific life apps that God wants us to apply because the application is in the doing, not in the hearing. For today’s Life App, I’m going to need a couple of things: my treadmill, and a volunteer. I’ve pulled a few strings this morning, and Joshua Bradley is going to help me out today. ILLUSTRATION- Joshua, have you ever heard the line “time flies?” Well, you’re about to experience it. I’d like for you to get on the treadmill called life and begin walking. (Start off with a nice slow pace) I’d like to say, that life will always remain at this nice leisurely pace. But the reality is it doesn’t. Often times, though, life speeds up to a pace of 5.0, with an incline of 6.0. To make life more interesting: Eventually, you’ll get a job. (Briefcase) Then, you get married, and have a baby…boy. (doll) When the baby comes, your wife will want to stay in touch with you, so smart phone. This summer, you are building a home. (Hammer) Eventually, you’re going to need something to eat. (Cracker-jack box) How are you holding up, my friend? You’ve got your hands full there. Unfortunately, life doesn’t clip along at this pace, unfortunately, (for you) life speeds up—to 9.0. The trouble is, life eventually catches up with us, and we will eventually, fall off the treadmill and come crashing down. Is this the life God intended for his people? Does God actually expect us to work ourselves to death? The Question that I'm wondering this morning is: What are we to do when life moves at such a fast pace? Fortunately, God has an app for that. But, to be honest, this life app gets overlooked, and under-utilized. So many times, especially amongst the followers of Jesus, we reason that we have to be working “right out straight”, as if it were a sign of spiritual maturity. “Blessed are those who work 24/7/365, for they shall die.” The life app that we are going to be looking at this morning addresses what to do when you’re on the treadmill of life. This Life App is taken from the life of Elijah. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah had just demonstrated to the people of his day who the real God was. He was on a spiritual high, for God had just showed up in an awesome way. Then, in 1 Kings 19, Elijah finds out that there is a bounty on his head. “When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. 2 So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” 3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. 4 Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” (1 Kings 19:1-4, NLT2) Elijah’s statement: “I have had enough, LORD,” (I Kings 19:4, NLT2) has been felt, or expressed by most, if not all, of us. Elijah was running such a fast paced life, and he did not have time to slow down, so when he logged on to his Facebook account and received this notice from Jezebel, he went ballistic. We’ve all been there. You’re grumpy and in such a foul mood, that no one wants to be around you, let alone carry on a conversation with you. This was Elijah, running from one God thing to the next God thing, until finally, he felt like dying. This is what will happen to those of us who go all of the time. We will eventually hit the wall, and fell like throwing in the towel. Elijah was at such a point. He was literally running for his life. When he finally stopped running, he found a quiet place to rest, and poured out his heart to God. At this moment, we expect God to say “Don’t you remember what just happened? Didn’t you just see what I did? Didn’t the fire fall from the sky and burn up the wet-burnt offerings? We expect God to give Elijah an inspiriting speech. He will. Just not right then. What God does is way more important than anything He could have said at that moment. God meets Elijah right where he’s at, and gives him what he needs the most: today’s life app: “Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” 6 He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 9 There he came to a cave, where he spent the night.” (1 Kings 19:5-9, NLT2) The Bible tells us that God dispatched a food Network angel to care for Elijah. The angel told him to eat and rest. Then the same angel comes to him again and asked Elijah to eat some more, then get up and make a 40 day journey and go to the mountain of God, where Elijah once again lies down to sleep. Don’t miss the pattern, it’s very important: Elijah slept. Elijah ate. Elijah Slept some more. Elijah goes on a journey and Elijah sleeps again. After this, God would come to Elijah and give him a glimpse of Who He is, but before doing so, God had Elijah step off the treadmill of life and rest. The Life app that God gave Elijah that day is the same life app that God wants to give us this day: it’s the app of rest. Rest is so underappreciated. We think- and I’m probably more guilty of this that all of you—but we think that we’re super-Christians if we work all of the time, but this simply isn’t true. If you look back at the creation of the world, God worked for 6 days and then He rested on the 7th day. Keith Drury says that “God simply rests. Ceases work. Does nothing.” (Drury, 2005, 53) ILLUSTRATION- Scientists have found that a lack of rest is affecting society in a negative way. In a recent study they found that the average person lost 364 hours of sleep last year. If you take those 364 lost hours of sleep and divide them by 24—representing one day—you end up with 30. Scientists have deduced that the average person was awake the equivalent of 30 straight days last year. (Jeff Henderson, life app sermon on rest) I don’t know about you, but if I stayed up for 30 straight days, it would severely impact my job performance. If I stated up for 30 straight days my relationships would be affected, and 30 straight days of no sleep would affect my ability to make informed decisions and would stress me out to no end. A lack of rest does strange things with our minds, to our bodies and to our emotions. ILLUSTRATION- Most, if not all, of the arguments that I get in with my wife,occur when one, or both of us, are tired. It never fails, when I am so baked that I can’t think straight, that we will end up arguing over something that wouldn’t even be an issue if we were both properly rested. So the question isn’t how do we get off the treadmill of life, because that will only happen when we die, but the question is how do we incorporate the life app of rest while we are on the treadmill of life? Thankfully, God not only tells us about this Life app, He actually shows us how to apply this app. We are going to look at the example of Jesus, and see how slowing down—even for a few moments—will greatly help us deal with the treadmill of life. Why use Jesus as an example? If the Savior of the world can slow down and take a rest, it’s probably okay if we slow down and rest. As you study the life of Jesus, you’ll notice that He had a pattern- He would endure an intense period of ministry—healing, feeding, teaching-- and then, He would stop, rest, pray. Then He would continue on again. Let me show you what I mean. In Matthew 14, we read that Jesus had just finished feeding upwards of 15000 people and in verse 22 we read: “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone….” (Matthew 14:22-23, NIV) Are you ready for this life changing truth: Jesus took time off!!! Jesus took time to rest. He stepped off the treadmill of life, and spent time in alone, resting and praying. ILLUSTRATION- One of the best things that I have ever done was taking a nap. I like taking naps so much that I take one just about every day. It’s amazing how good I feel when I wake up from my nap… Jesus took time away, so, why shouldn’t His people take time away? Someone once said: “Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is sleep” (Ortberg, I think,) Some of us could benefit greatly from taking—or getting a full nights rest… I wonder how many of us need to follow the pattern of Jesus and slow Down? I wonder how many of us could benefit from following the pattern of Jesus? I know I could. I bet you could as well. ILLUSTRATION- According to a much travelled analogy, if we put a frog in a pot of boiling hot water, it will immediately jump out. But put the frog in water that’s at room temperature and heat it slowly, the creature will stay there until it boils to death. If the frog enters a lethal environment he will escape safely, but introduce the danger gradually, and he will never notice.” (Ibid) Many of us are in a pot of room temperature water. Eventually the water will get too hot and we will die, so how do we prevent this from happening? How do we make the treadmill of life slow down just a little? Well, I want to give you two or three very practical things to try this week: Take a break. You’ll be surprised at how much you can get done if you take a break every once in a while. “But preacher man, you don’t KKKNNNNOOOWW what I’ve got to do in the run of a day!!” You’re right, I don’t. But I do, and I want you to repeat after me: “I’m not God. I can take a break.” The second thing is “practice solitude”. Follow the example of Jesus and unplug for a while. Don’t check your email, don’t log on to Facebook. (Don’t worry, you won’t die. You might actually like it.) Take a day off. Don’t do very much, just take time to rest. Keith Drury reminds us that: “God can work in us while we are sleeping and while we are resting on a day off. Refusing to receive this means of grace cuts us off from God’s work.” (Drury, 2005, 55) (BAND TO COME) James reminds us that the application is not in the hearing, but in the doing. So I ask you, which of these very practical steps will you apply to your life this week? James says that if we’re only hearing about rest and not actually applying it to our lives, we’re deceiving ourselves, but if we apply this life app to our lives, we will be blessed, because application makes all the difference.

Life Apps, #3

This post is a sermon I spoke at MRWC on March 11th.  Enjoy!

We are in the third week of our Life Apps series.  Again, the basic premise behind this series is that there is an application for every aspect of our life; especially our Spiritual Life.

God never intended for us to be lone ranger Christians. When we give our lives to Jesus, we need specific tools, or applications, to help us along the way.

So, God gives us the tools, or applications that we need to help us live for Him.

The universal application that God has given to every one of us is, well, watch this clip and find out…  

Show “there’s an app for that” clip (http://www.sermonspice.com/product/30332/theres-an-app-for-that)

Every application that we will ever need to make it through this journey called life is given to us in the Word of God.

But here’s the deal: simply knowing that God has a specific application for your life won’t do you any good.  

It isn’t enough just to know about the various applications that God has,  to get the most out of life, we must apply God’s word to our lives, because “application makes all the difference”

Our main scripture verse for this series is taken from James chapter 1:22

James is talking to Christians when he is writing this verse. He says: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22, NIV)

It’s not enough for you, and me, to just hear the word of God. We must apply the word of God.

This is the same truth that Paul expressed to the Roman Church: “For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight.” (Romans 2:13, NLT2)

It isn’t enough just to hear about something. To get the most out of anything, we must apply it, because application makes all the difference.

Last week, I told you that I am a professional worrier. I worry about anything and everything.

Pastor Craig Groeschel reminds us that worry is “the sin of distrusting the promises and the power of God.” (Groeschel, 2010, 149-150)

To help us overcome worry, the Bible has a specific application. It’s called Trust. We must do the best that we can do, and we must place our trust in God.

Jesus said: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1, NIV)

Jesus knew that we would suffer from worry, which is why He asked us to place our trust in Him.

I hope that most of us worried a little less and trusted a little more this week, but if the truth be told, the app of trust isn’t enough.

Applying the app of trust isn’t enough to help me, to help you, overcome the sin of worry.

We need another application. That other application is also one of my specialities.

It helps with so much more than worry, It’s called: Prayer.

Evangelist D.L. Moody once said: “I’d rather be able to pray than to be a great preacher; Jesus Christ never taught His disciples how to preach, but only how to pray.” (Taken from my files)

This is an interesting statement. Jesus didn’t teach us how to preach, but He did teach us to pray.

In His most famous sermon, Jesus said: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.” (Matthew 6:5, NLT2)

Jesus was teaching His disciples that they don’t pray in order to be seen by everyone. Prayer is supposed to be a private two-way conversation, between you and God.

Jesus then goes on to say: “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. ⁸ Don’t be like them….” (Matthew 6:7-8a, NLT2)

            When we pray, we are to be specific; we don’t have to use big words that even we don’t understand, we are to talk to God just as we might talk to our friend or spouse.

        God is personal and He wants to know what’s on our mind.

Now that Jesus has set parameters on what we’re not to do in prayer-- be showy and wordy-- He tells us what we should do:

“This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9-13, NIV)

Commenting on this verse, Keith Drury says that: “Christ taught us to praise God, pray about His kingdom, our necessities, forgiveness, temptation, and deliverance from evil.”

(Drury, 2005, 130)

It’s interesting that Jesus didn’t teach His followers how to preach; Jesus simply taught His followers how to pray.

            Does your praying look like the model prayer? Does my praying look like the model payer?

        If we’re praying the way Jesus taught us to pray, our prayers will involve all of the aspects of the Lord’s Prayer.

Because application makes all the difference, Jesus not only taught us to pray, Jesus showed us how to pray.

The Bible tells us that Jesus prayed. Not once, but several times.

Jesus prayed when His life was crowded and draining. The Bible tells us that “The news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:15-16, NIV)

Jesus prayed when He faced important decisions. The Bible tells us that one day “…Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.

13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them….” (Luke 6:12-13, NIV)

Jesus prayed when He was sad or frightened.

When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded, “…he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.” (Matthew 14:13, NIV)

Jesus prayed when He needed strength for His work.

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, NIV)

When Simon came to Him, Jesus said: "Let us go somewhere else-- to the nearby villages-- so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." (Mark 1:38, NIV)

Jesus prayed when He faced an insurmountable problem. “Jesus went out …to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him.

40 On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."

41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."

43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.” (Luke 22:39-43, NIV) (Ortberg, 2010, 174-176)

The Bible is clear about this one thing: Jesus prayed. He prayed about everything. He didn’t pray because He had to, He prayed because He wanted to.

Jesus needed the strength to carry on, so He prayed.

You and I need the strength to carry on, so we need to pray.

ILLUSTRATION- Researchers once surveyed people about their favorite room in the house. The top answer was the kitchen. People love that one.

            Most Husbands’ top answer was the bedroom.

        Want to guess what the top answer was for mothers of young children?

            The bathroom.

            Why? You (can) lock the door. You keep those little rug rats out of there for at least a couple of minutes.

        You keep your husband out there for at least a couple minutes.

            The idea is that you find someplace where you know you are alone. You are free of stress. You find a sanctuary—a holy place.” (Ortberg, 2010.171)

            If we are going do more than just hear about prayer; if we are going to apply the application of prayer, we must find our sanctuary, our holy place.

            We’ve got to turn off the radio, turn off the television, turn off the iPad, and pray.

            Jesus said: “When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6, NLT2)

            When you apply the application called Prayer—not if—but when you pray, get away to a quiet place, a place that is free from distractions, and spend time taking to God, and tell Him what’s on your mind.

            Don’t worry so much as to the words you are using, as long as they are coming from a sincere heart.

            The Bible says: “pray without ceasing.” (1Thess. 5:17 NKJV)- this means, don’t stop praying! You can pray as you drive, (But keep your eyes open!)

You can pray as you do laundry; you can pray when you are in a meeting; you can pray before you go to bed; and you can pray when you wake up.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (Philippians 4:6, NLT2)

Someone once said: “Prayer is not an argument with God to persuade Him to move things our way; but an exercise by which we are enabled by His Spirit to move ourselves His way.” (unknown)

Prayer draws us closer to God, and this is the benefit, and idea behind this application.

When we pray, we focus more on God and less on ourselves.

Friends, there’s much I know about prayer, and much more I don’t know about prayer.

What I do know is that there are several “prayer blockers”— several reasons our prayers do not get answered.

One of them is unbelief. We ask for something, but don’t really expect God to do what we are asking. Unbelief is a prayer blocker.

The second, and probably the biggest “prayer blocker” is sin.

The Bible says in Psalm 66: “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened…” (66:18 NIV)

If you are asking God to answer your prayers, but nothing seems to be happening, it could be that you don’t believe that God can answer your prayers, or you have un-confessed sin in your life.

Both of these issues need to be addressed, and you address them as you get alone with God in your prayer closet.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Cor. 7:14, NIV)

God wants His people to be a praying people. God does awesome things when His people pray.

But taking about praying and actually paying are two different things. In order to get the most use out of this application, we must start praying.

Simply acknowledging that we need to be a praying people is as useless as having a gym membership. Unless it’s put to use, it will not do you any good. 

James reminds us that the reward is in the doing, so how are you praying?  A little? All the time? Not at all?

Jesus assumed that His followers would be a praying people, and I think we would get out of a world of problems if we actually were a praying people, so if you pray little, or not at all, the good news is you can begin right now!

There is no better day that today to begin praying. If you are struggling with what to say, pray the prayer that Jesus gave to His disciples.

That prayer has been prayed by countless people, all over the world for years. It’s an excellent prayer to pray and it reminds us who’s really in control.

As you are praying you can take comfort in this simple truth: “The power of prayer does not depend on the one who makes the prayer, but on the one who hears the prayer” (Lucado, 2006, 61)

Jesus said:  “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8, NLT2)

Jesus wants His people to be a praying People. He doesn’t want us to give up on prayer, He wants us to be faithful in prayer, and trust that He hears us when we pray.

When it comes to prayer, application really does make all the difference.

Life Apps #2

This message is one I preached on March 4 at MRWC. Enjoy!

Begin by showing “An App for that” clip (http://www.sermonspice.com/product/36259/app-for-that)

 

            Two weeks ago, we launched a brand new series called: “Life Apps”.

The basic premise behind this series is that there is an application, a program, or tool for every part of our life.

            If you want to know how to install that new Jacuzzi in your house, you will have to look at the specifications to make sure it will fit in your house.

            Just about everything in life has an application. When we say, “there’s an app for that”, it’s because there is an app for that.

            So it is with our walk with God. God has several applications for our life.

But to get the most out of God’s applications—or any other application for that matter—we’ve got to do what we are being asked to do, because “application makes all the difference”

            You see, it isn’t enough just to know about something;

·        It isn’t enough just to own that diet book;

·        It isn’t enough just to have a gym membership;

·        It isn’t enough just to come to church each and every Sunday.

            To get the most out of life—physical and spiritual life—we must put it to use, because application makes all the difference."

            James, the brother of Jesus, says: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.” (James 1:22a, NIV)

            James is telling the followers of Jesus, the people who call themselves Christians, that listening isn’t enough.

Listening to a sermon isn’t good enough. Coming to church isn’t good enough. Believing that you’ve got some things to change isn’t good enough.

            Don’t deceive yourselves into thinking that you’re ok just because you hear the word of God.

            James is telling those of us who are followers of Jesus, to not just hear the word of God, but: “Do what it says.” (James 1:22b, NIV)

            We are to do what the Word says, because “application makes all the difference.”

            If the truth be told, it’s at this point that the wheels fall off the cart completely.

            Most of us have no problem hearing about something we ought to do.

            Most of us have no problem bringing to mind other people who need to change what they do.

            But most of us fail to understand that we are the ones who need to change; we are the ones who need to apply God’s truth to our lives.

            James is telling the followers of Jesus that if we are only listening to the word of God, and not doing what it tells us to do, we are deceiving ourselves.

We’ve got to do more than just hear the word of God; we must apply the word of God, because “application makes all the difference.”

            “If you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” (James 1:25, NLT2)

            The prize is found, not in the listening, but in the doing.

          Followers of Jesus Christ are to do more than hear the word of God; followers of Jesus Christ are to apply the word of God.

            For the next few weeks, we are going to be looking at specific applications that God wants us to apply to our lives.

         But we need to do more than just hear about these applications. God wants us to apply these applications to our everyday life, because “application makes all the difference.”

            Andy Stanley recently said: “Speak from your weaknesses and you’ll never run out of material” (twitter)

            So, I would like to talk to you about a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. It seems that I have a PhD in this subject.

I admit to you that I have a problem: I suffer from worry. (Hi! I’m Pastor Nick, and I’m a worry-a-holic)

ILLUSTRATION- Worry is one of the things that I do well. Sometimes I do it very well.

            I worry about anything and everything. I worry about my job—am I doing it well enough?

I worry about some, many, most… ok, all of you. And some of you give me good reasons to worry…

            I worry about my kids. I worry about what they do in public. I worry about what I do in public. I worry about the clothes I wear.

            I worry about my messages: are they clear enough? Will people see their need for Jesus as I’m speaking?

            I’m worried about my upcoming test at the Moncton hospital.

          (You would worry too, if you knew that you would enter a room that’s as cold as a meat locker, lie down on what feels like a cement slab, and have a camera shoved in places that camera’s aren’t supposed to go…)

            I do not discriminate about what I worry about… I worry about everything.

            But I don’t think I’m alone.

Some of you worry a lot more than I do. (Is that possible?)

Some of you are worried about your kids; others of you are worried about the stock market; still others are worried that the end of the world will happen at the end of this year…

            Some of us worry about anything and everything, but here’s the question to ponder today: “does our worrying do us any good?”

Does my worrying, does your worrying, does it get us anywhere?

            The obvious answer is YES!!! Our worry gets us: upset, frustrated, dazed and confused, and it most certainly adds to our problems.

            In his book “how to win over worry” John Edmund Haggai says that: “Worry has been cited for a swarm of sicknesses: heart-trouble, high blood pressure, rheumatism, ulcers, colds, thyroid malfunction, arthritis, migraine headaches, blindness and a host of other stomach disorders.” (Lucado, 2007, 50)

            Max Lucado says that: “Worry is to joy what a Hoover vacuum cleaner is to dirt: might as well attach your heart to a happiness-sucker and flip the switch” (ibid)

            Worrying isn’t helping me--worrying isn’t helping you-- at all. It’s actually taking away from our lives.

            Jesus once asked this question: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27, NIV)

            I’ve thought about and recited this verse over and over again. Each time, it reminds me that my worrying—your worrying—is subtracting from our lives.

            Our worrying focuses more on us and on our problems and focuses less on God and on His answers.

            You see—this is what worry does to a person, it focus on the problem, more than on the answer.

ILLUSTRATION- you know this to be true, don’t you?

        This week, I was having a hard time scheduling something; I was so focused on one particular event, that I was focusing more on the problem than I was focusing on the result.

            When I walked away from the problem, the answer arrived not too long afterwards.

            Worry focuses way too much on things that might never happen!

        Author and Pastor Craig Groeschel reminds us that: “Worry, in essence, is the sin of distrusting the promises and the power of God.”

“It’s choosing to dwell on, to think about the worst case scenario. It’s faith in the bad things rather than faith in God.” (Groeschel, 2010, 149-150)

When I worry, I focus less and less on God and more and more on my situations, many of which are simply out of my control.

The same is true for you. When you worry, you focus on the problems, rather than on the Answer, God Himself.

In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (NIV)

“The Greek word Jesus uses for life is psuche (SUE-kay). It doesn’t just mean your breathing life… it actually means every aspect of your life….mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.

It means yesterday, today and future life. Jesus is simply saying don’t worry about anything.” (Ibid)

So, if Jesus is saying don’t worry about anything, He must have an application to help us with our worrying, right?

Yes, He does. In fact, there’s more than one app for that. There’s actually two.

We’ll look at the second application next week, but in order for us to defeat the sin of worry, we need an app today, and the app for today, is TRUST.

If we are going to win the battle against worry, we are going to have to place our trust in what we have done, and we’re going to have to place our trust in God.

I’m not going all new age on you, all I’m simply saying is that if we have done all that we can physically do in any situation--if we’ve done our best--we will trust that our best is good enough, but we’re also going to have to place our trust in something—Someone---Higher than us.

The Bible says: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV)

Trust is the antithesis of worry. If we are worried about something, about anything, we are admitting that we don’t trust God.

We can only do our best, and then we must leave the rest to God.

The Bible says: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray—we’ll look at this app next week-- about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (Ph. 4:6, NLT2)

If we pray and trust God, He’ll do something inside of us, something that is unexplainable:

If you trust and pray, rather than worry: “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (PH. 4:7, NLT2)

ILLUSTRATION- I don’t know about you, but peace is what I need when I’m worried. I need God to do something about my heart when I’m worried.

       I need God to work inside of me, and as I pray more, I’ll worry less.

God doesn’t want His children to worry. So how are you doing in the worry department? (Some of us are doing quite well…) Do you need to worry less and trust more?

Is worry robbing you of your joy, of your life? Is worry subtracting from your life? Is worry messing with your mind?

God has an application for worry and it's called trust.

A trust that He’s in control of all things, a trust that He’s God of all things.

God doesn’t want us to worry, He wants us to trust.

Jesus said: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

³⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:33-34, NLT2)  

Max Lucado reminds us that: “You don’t have wisdom for tomorrow’s problems. But you will tomorrow.”

“You don’t have resources for tomorrow’s needs. But you will tomorrow.”

“You don’t have courage for tomorrow’s challenges. But you will when tomorrow comes.” (Lucado. 2007, 57)

God doesn’t want His children to worry. God wants His children to trust Him.

Do you need this application? Do you need to do more than just hear that it’s not good to worry?

Do you need to apply the Trust app to your life?

James advises us to not just acknowledge that we need to change, James advises us to change, because “application makes all the difference.”