“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”

“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”

“their hand and you always go, hey, how are you? And then the answer that I feel like I get from people, like nine out of 10 times, is usually I'm busy, busy, busy, exhausted, overwhelmed, anxious, over and over and over again. And I don't know if that's like a reality. I don't know if that is like actually what's going on that you're busy, or if it's something that we project onto someone else to kind of make ourselves feel valuable because we're doing a lot of things. I don't”

“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”

“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”

“what you will drink nor about your body what you will put on is not life more than food in the body more than clothing so this is the second question I want to ask today why shouldn't we be anxious as we invest in the kingdom of God why are we able to give leverage and sacrifice and not do it with fear stress or anxiety well I'm glad you asked because he's”

“power of the promise. You see, fear says what if. Faith says even if. Fear says I can't. Faith says God can. Fear says I'm surrounded. Faith says, "But those who are with us are far more than those who are against us." Let's pray. And so, Lord Jesus,”

“That same promise is our promise. You see fear, fear says what if. But faith says even if. Fear says I can't. But faith says God can. Fear says I'm surrounded. But faith says but those who are with us are far more than those who are against”

“a sudden I felt fear in a way that I had never experienced it in my life. I've done a lot of things. I I'm certified to scuba dive. I've even bungee jumped before. I I love a good double black diamond. But for whatever reason on this day at that height, fear overtook my body. And I remember my breath shallowed. I just sort of had to to back up. My knees were getting weak. I thought they were going to give out on”

“is ours also in Christ. You see, fear says, "What if?" But faith says, "Even if." Fear says, "I can't." But faith says, "God can." Fear says, "I'm surrounded." But faith says, "But those who are with us are far more than those who come against us." Let's pray. And so, Lord”

“you're turning there, let me ask you this question for you to begin to think about this morning. And it's this. When was the last time that you experienced fear? When's the last time that you experienced fear? I'm not talking about like a little jump scare. I'm talking about like that gripping, suffocating fear. When's the last time that you felt something like that? When I was preparing for this message, I I kind of asked myself the same question. And and”

“turning there, I just want to ask you a question for us to think about together today as we kick off. And that question is this. When was the last time that you experienced fear? When's the last time that you felt fear? I'm not talking about like a little jump scare. Ah, you scared me. I'm talking about gripping, crippling fear. When's the last time that you felt that? Well,”

“Well, as we open our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 66, we're going to see fear in action. And I I pray today that we're going to learn what we're to do with our fear so that it doesn't rule our hearts and our minds. Verse 8 is where I'm going to pick up. I'll read it and then we'll begin to break it down and see what the Lord wants to say this morning. It says this, "Once when the king of Syria was waring against Israel, he took counsel with his”