“I’m anxious”

“the church needs to also consider looking at in our times and one is the confidence of looking up to that occupied throne throne knowing god is still in control even as Believers sometimes we can get tricked into thinking man I'm I'm I'm anxious I'm worrying the world's unstable how what do my kids future going to be like what are my grandkids future going to be like so when we know there's an occupied throne in all this fits into God's plan that gives us confidence and we have an amazing future to look forward to every leadership book I've ever read every”

“sense of anything as the Ecclesiastes writer Solomon would say, 'under the sun.' And I'm just looking out and I'm going like, 'Where is there any good in all of this?'" In the same way, that's what David's looking and saying and reflecting. It's like, "How can we fix this? What do we need to do about this? I'm overwhelmed and I'm stressed and I'm anxious." And then he very quickly, in just a half a verse, turns his attention and he goes, "Lord, shine the face of”

“I'm running through my waves straight to you. You are all faithful. I believe. I believe. And on that [singing] day when”

“refreshed by the words of other people in my life. Sometimes I need people in my life when I'm I'm freaking out or I'm discouraged or I am anxious. I need people to remind me of what is true. And and I'm willing to bet that that's true for you and the people in your life. And so I want to say tonight that encouraging words change lives. That's something I think we can hold on to and”

“Why? Because when we live how God has intended us to live I'm not saying it's not without hardship I'm not saying it's not difficult There won't be moments of anxiousness, but I'm just saying, when we walk in obedience to the law of God and the word of God, it leads towards flourishing, it leads towards fruitfulness, it leads towards a life of peace and joy and rest. And so he calls him, he says, be with me, follow me, our pursuit to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and to do as Jesus did.”

“down and ignoring that they are there, but it's taking a moment to take a deep breath and really tell yourself, I see that all this is going on within me, but it's going to be okay. You're not ignoring it. You are acknowledging it. And then as a believer, I think we can take a step further. As a believer, we we pray about that. I'd say that's kind of how I think this plays out in my own life is maybe as I'm anxious and there are things that are going on in my mind, in my heart, I take this and I surrender it, Lord. I say, I'm I'm frustrated. All”

“like lean back against the wall. And I'm thinking, there is absolutely no way that I can do this. Well, that pontoon boat captain must have known exactly what was going through our head. I look back and all the other guys were doing the same thing. And he said, he said, "Hey, I forgot to tell you. Two weeks ago, my seven-year-old sister jumped just from this same place." I was like, "Okay, all right. Here we go. I got to go." So, I I weled myself up, threw”

“For this is the way that the ungodly, the Gentiles, think. For the Gentiles seek after all these things and your heavenly Father knows what you need. In contrast, Jesus draws attention away from the anxious one, the anxious soul, and directs attention towards what I'm calling the attentive soul.”

“When's the last time that you experienced fear? Now, I'm not just talking about a little bit of fear. I'm talking about that gripping fear. That that fear that can paralyze and sort of shut you down. I I was thinking back over my my life. I don't experience fear like that very often. There's only, you know, a few instances in my lifetime that I can think about that I'm a little bit of a thrill seeker. I bungee jumped. I've done some stuff. But I remember as soon as I asked my question my that question to myself”

“what are you all uptight about? They barely have anybody." And I'm sure the servant in that moment is thinking, "You have lost your ever loving mind. We are completely surrounded. That's the Syrian army. They're going to torture and kill us. And there's nothing but nanny goats in this town to help protect us. Elisha, Elisha, I need you to wake up.”

“I'm also not talking about this sense of lethargy and laziness where people use sleep as an excuse to deflect responsibility, where sleep becomes sort of an idol in their life. That's not the kind of resting that I'm talking about. What I'm talking about here is that lack of sleep that comes from anxious thought. That lack of sleep that comes when we worry or when we anxiously toil and we don't know how to let it go and to lay it down. It's that lingering feeling that things are spiraling and”

“when I walk in, what what do I do if they think I'm a first- time guest?" And I said, "Baby, they probably going to think I'm a first- time guest. We're just going to go through this together and and it'll be good." Well, I I want to invite you this morning to open your Bibles uh to the book of Second Kings. 2 Kings, chapter 6. We're going to be in verses 8-19 this morning. probably one of my top three favorite Bible stories in all of scripture. And so I'm excited uh to be in this passage today. But as you're”

“I believe you've already made a way. [music and singing] So I'm running through parted ways straight to you. You're always faithful. [singing] Jesus, you're for me, holding me steady.”

“like what are you freaking out about, man? They they barely have anybody." A and I'm I'm sure the servant in that moment was like, "Man, this old man has absolutely lost his mind." And I can hear him saying to Elisha, "Elisha, this is no time for some super spiritual mumbo jumbo. That's the whole Syrian army. We're in Dothan. There's no soldiers here.”

“as our western culture over the last half century has in so many ways abandoned faith, I'm thankful that there's a new generation taking it up again. As we've abandoned faith, fear has quickly stepped into its place. Sociologists have increasingly begun to describe our western society as a culture of fear. Institutions and media and politics more than at any other time in history leveraged consistently risk”

“ledge, we make our way down a path to the area where we're supposed to jump. And I'm telling you, as I made my way out on that ledge, fear gripped me like I had never felt it before. And all of a sudden, my knees just started to give way. And I also I was like looking around, I was like, man, I hope these guys don't see it, but it's like I could barely stand up. My my my heart rate increased. I I was trying to catch my breath, and my knees were weak. I don't know what it was. I mean, I'd”