Anxious for Nothing

Title: "Anxious For Nothing | Pastor Joel Mason (Sunday Service)" URL: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVF7p-lYttg" Transcript: "(00:01) All right, I'm going to interrupt your conversations. Don't want us to forget why we're here. So, I am glad that you're here. And again, happy Father's Day and kids, you can head off. Awesome day. I'm glad you're here. Um, want to just start with uh reminder, we're in a in a series uh the way less traveled by. (00:31) We are looking at um the whole idea and we started last week in Psalm 1. It's kind of a walk through the book of Psalms. We're not doing all the Psalms. We're just looking at truths relating to life in the book of Psalms. And oftentimes we will treat the book of Psalms as kind of an inspirational book. Help me feel up when I'm down and kind of look at things. (00:50) There is greater and deeper intent in the book of Psalms. And that's one of the things I want to draw out last week is that uh when the book of Psalms was put together uh as that was put together, they decided the decision was made to put Psalm 1 at the beginning because it gives insight into how to approach the rest of the book. (01:10) And what was the insight that we looked at last week? That there is a way to choose in life, a road. And oftentimes, as Jesus said, it's the narrow road and few are they that find it. It is finding the depth of life that is in relationship with God. That the giver of life walks with us to expand and understand and experience life. (01:32) But we've got to make the choices. And in that process of choosing life, Psalms then unfolds for us the wisdom of a life chosen with God and what that looks like and how we actually live out that relationship. It's not a list of dos and don'ts. It's a how do I experience life with God? And so today we're going to take the first step down that path and we're going to be looking at three and we'll be looking at this. (02:02) It said at the beginning of blessed are those who uh uh walk don't walk in the path of the ungodly and we saw that at the beginning of Psalm 1. That blessed there is the flourishing life. It could literally be translated they blessed as flourish. Flourishing are those who don't do these things but they do other things. (02:22) The one it's the choosing of the path. And so we're going to look at that flourishing life starting in Psalm three today. And so I want that to kind of be on our minds. I want us to take a minute and pray and go before God and then we're gonna dive into this. Father, it's uh good again to come and open your word. (02:44) And you have authored these uh psalms for us that you have offered your your word to us to understand what it is to find richness and to be able to flourish in life. Not a richness that's monetary. A richness that's that's bathed in beauty that immerses itself in the existence of the one who gives and supports and encourages and sets a path before us and has the best intent. (03:14) May we uh devour your word to gain a deeper understanding that we might be those who truly please you and know what it is to live. open your words to us today and we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. I uh this is exciting news. I went to the dump yesterday. Um yeah, I know it's pretty exciting. Thank you. (03:42) Uh went out there and I had some stuff I needed to get rid of in the process. We're, as you know, moved to a new place. We're in the process of remodeling that place and I had a bunch of stuff and thrown in a trailer and thought I needed to get rid of it because my brother needs his trailer back. So, got to empty the trailer. So, I drove out to the dump and I get out there. (04:00) I I usually go to the one uh some of you, this will make sense, but I go out to the one in Newberg and uh there's a the reason is because it's less expensive out there and oftentimes quicker and easier. So, went out to Newberg, but I get there and if you've ever been out there to the one out there in Newberg, you come down the road and you turn into and you form a line and they let you in, tell you where they want you to go. (04:23) I come down onto the that road that you would leads to and there's a line going all the way down. So, it's it's a very busy day at the dump and I had to sit off on the side of the road for probably at least 40 minutes or more as we slowly made our way up before I even got into the main line. And then I thought we were going to have a fight right there in the middle of because there's all these lineup of trucks waiting to get in and some guy comes around the other side and dips into the line in front of everybody else. And I saw a few people (04:53) steaming and they were a little upset, but it that we got past that. So, um, waiting in line, get all the way up to the front. Now, it's been probably at least almost an hour by the time I get to the front. And the guy comes up to my window and I could tell he just had that look like he'd been dealing with this all day long. (05:15) And I said, "A little bit of a rough day." And he's like, "Oh man, you won't believe it. This has been a rough week." And he started to explain to me how every day had its particular problems and how bad it was. And we talked for a little bit and he's like, "Man, just I'm all I'm trying to do is keep that line from getting out on the road, but I can't get ahead of it. (05:32) " And it's, you know, he's explaining all this stuff. So, we talked for a few minutes and uh then he finally said, "Oh, I guess I I better charge you. It looks like we're So, anyway, he goes take he goes, "And thanks for listening. You know what? Minimum charge for you today." It's like, "Yes." Um, [laughter] so the moral of the story is we'll pray, be nice to people. Okay. (05:55) Um, but, uh, I was thinking about this because of what we're going to talk about today. How many of you have ever had a bad day? Okay. Or could you relate to this? He said to me, it's been a bad week. You had a bad week. I think some of us could sit down and probably go and a week would be nice. (06:14) I've had months that have felt bad. I've had, you know, and everything that seems to kind of build up and what can go wrong does go wrong. And what shouldn't go wrong, it goes wrong, too. And all the pieces. We try to keep things from happening in that direction. But you know what? It still does go wrong. And life can be hard. And so I want you to have that in mind just a little bit as I maybe I'll ask you this question. (06:39) What do you do and when life is going wrong when you're having the bad day? But in a lot of sense, what we're going to look at today was not just a bad day. It was a a super bad situation, disappointing, sad. Um I mean it was the depths. And so the bad day would seem good in light of what we're going to look at today, but there's a reason why it's here. (07:05) Because every person in this world will go through difficulty and challenges. What do you do with that? And so we're on this path the way less traveled by that narrow road that Jesus talks about. And on this path now our first stop is how do you deal with the bad day, bad week, the bad year. What do you do with it? So if we are wise, we will listen because we can try to come up with a way that we're going to we're going to get out of this. (07:39) We're going to do this and this and we've got this plan. We got this process. I want you to catch what happens in this setting because this is on the path that leads to life and it's lesson number one. I want to start in 2 Samuel 15:30. I'm just going to read you this verse, then I'm going to give you the context and you'll understand what it means. (08:05) It says this, "But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. Okay, it doesn't sound like too great of a of a day. This was written 2 Samuel, if you go back and read 2 Samuel 15 was happening uh we're talking Father's Day today. (08:30) David was having a bad Father's Day. his son Abselum had had and made a decision that he, you know, hey dad, love you and all, but I've decided I should be king and so I'm going to kill you. Anybody had that bad of a day? I don't think we've we're sitting here, we probably haven't had quite that bad of a day. (08:54) But sometimes we read of someone like David in the Bible and we think, "Oh yeah, well it's that's not really quite real and it's not what I have to deal with." that's real. And he's walking a It's the walk of shame. He's trying to get out of Jerusalem without being caught by his son and killed. And as you know, as it unfolds from there, 15-18 of 2 Samuel, Abselum's desire and he tries to get he's persuading people to come to his side. (09:24) He does several things to disgrace his father. He's he's uh goes and claims himself to be king. He does all these things, drives his father out, but he also not just wants to get him out of Jerusalem, wants to kill him. That's what I call a bad day. But it was several, not just one bad day, it was a whole thing, a bunch of things that led up to it. (09:46) Um, I've known and had friends and and have uh people that I admire have gone through situations where those who are closest to them have desired to harm them. Maybe not kill them, but do them harm. They want to disgrace them. They want to they they say everything that uh in has been bad that they've done. (10:10) They make them they put them down. They they throw away what has been. It's actually a I've mentioned this before. It's a cultural phenomenon that's really starting to take place or has been taking place for a while that parents or kids that grow up that are determined that everything that their parents did was was wrong. (10:29) It was not just wrong, it was awful. And it wasn't just awful, it was harmful. And they see themselves as victims and so they're right to try to harm their parents. It's disgraceful and it's sad. And that's I call a bad day. Maybe you and I if we sat down, maybe you would define what a bad day looks like maybe differently. (10:52) Maybe you haven't had the relational element. Maybe it's been a financial loss. I've had friends, I've had family members that have gone through tremendous financial loss and they've had to deal with that pain and the hardship. Not that they had to have things back, but that life became so difficult. Maybe you've had physical ailments that have made your bad day. (11:19) The health issue that just won't go away. The bad report that comes that you weren't expecting. You see, we live in a world that seems to be desiring at a regular basis to produce bad days. Now, I want to separate that from God. And that's what happens when we're on this road less traveled is we distinguish the difference between a world that desires to harm and the God who loves as a loving father. (11:51) Well, why can't he just take care of remove all those things? Because we made a choice to rebel. And we deal with the consequences. And sometimes those consequences are real painful and real harmful. And sometimes we're dealing with the consequences of a broken world of things that we didn't even do ourselves. (12:11) bad days. Now, I'll ask you again. Any of you had a bad day before? I have. There's been those days, those weeks and months. I'm going to guess you've probably had them, too. When somebody has determined they want to cause you discredit or harm, ruin your reputation, steal from you, anything as long as it hurts you. (12:47) That's the challenge. So, how do we deal with it? Psalm 3 gives us insight on how to deal with the bad days on the road less traveled. Let's read Psalm three together. Would you stand with me as we read this? Why do I ask you to stand? I I think it's good and and I like to do this as just a reminder from time to time that we are reading God's word. (13:16) It's not man's words. It's God's word. So it's important for us to show the respect that it is due. Oh Lord, I have so many enemies, so many against me. So many are saying, "God will never rescue him. But you, oh Lord, are a shield around me. You are my glory, the one who holds my head high." I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. (13:47) I laid down and slept, yet I woke up in safety. For the Lord was watching over me. I am not afraid of 10,000 enemies who surround me on every side. Arise, O Lord, rescue me, my God. Slap all my enemies in the face. Shatter the teeth of the wicked. Victory comes from you, oh Lord. May you bless your people. Have a seat. (14:11) I want to just together walk through Psalm three and how we deal with a bad day on the way less traveled. If we uh start out with verses one and two, let's look at that. He says there, "Oh Lord, I have so many enemies. So many are against me. So many are saying God will never rescue him." Now, if you were looking in your Bible, encourage you to go do this. (14:39) you would read that this was a psalm written by David, the guy we just read about in 2 Samuel. It is told to us that it was written while he was going through what we read about in 2 Samuel. So we have a little insight into all the enemies that he is saying or gathered around him. His son for one has turned many against him. (15:01) Many people who had once stood with David and bid some of his closest supporters had turned against him at this point. It is told to us there in 2 Samuel that Abselum was a a great persuader. He was a he was able to convince a lot of people. He was a was a handsome man. He was a man who uh people liked to be around. (15:25) His words were flowing with honey and people liked to spend time with him. And he slowly was turning the hearts of people who had once been close to David turned them against him. And so in the midst of all of this as people turn against David, he makes this statement. I have so many enemies. So many are against me. Now you may be sitting here and go at least I don't have so many enemies. (15:48) I don't have that so many who want to harm me. And you think of it from a people perspective. But do you realize just to live in this world there is much against us? We struggle against uh addictions that are presented constantly as a good thing within our culture. Alcohol, gambling. (16:12) I mean, we could walk through all this thing. They want to destroy you. The movie and entertainment industry desires to manipulate your mind and wants to pull you off the road less traveled. It wants to destroy you. We've got depression and anxiety knocking constantly. We have I mean if we sat down to really truly think about the enemies that surround us, they are there. (16:43) Think about the things that have created bad days for you. And it isn't always people. Many cases it might be, but it's many things that we will struggle with in our minds, in our with our attention, things that drive and come at us constantly that can turn our day from one that is good to suddenly being awful and can stretch on in time. (17:11) So, I want us to see that what David is talking about. You may go, I'm not a king and I don't have a son who's rebelling against me. But you may have a family member who treats you poorly, who speaks ill against you. A friend who has done nothing friend. A friend who does nothing but cause you harm. And maybe it took a long time to figure out that wasn't really a friend. (17:33) Maybe it has been pain that has come from the most unexpected place. But my guess is we all could sit here and say, in fact, I know for a fact that I have so many enemies. So many are against me. But I want you to see what he says before he makes that statement. Two words, oh Lord. So the first step we learn in this process is we turn to God. And I'll put it this way. (18:06) We recognize the reality of a crisis. Sometimes I think that there's been a message that's been communicated from the church and I don't think directly or not always intentionally, but this idea that if we have problems or things that we struggle with, the battles that go on that turn from a battle to a really bad day, we don't talk about those things. (18:31) We kind of keep them secret and hidden. [clears throat] Nobody can know about that. That's another enemy, by the way. just letting you know. And that's what we learn on this road of life is you're honest about what you're facing, but not just go out to everybody and complain, but you're honest with God. God desires. (18:59) He sometimes I I in fact have had conversations around this goes back to what I said just a second ago is that people will say have a mentality that I don't even know how to pray or talk to God because they think they have to do it a particular way with certain words and that that God only understands certain language that comes out of a churched culture. (19:19) I want to break that for you. on the road that leads to life. God wants honesty and he wants clarity. It's not that he doesn't know. He wants you to know him by being honest about what you face. You see, if you won't be honest about what you face, you're never going to fully be honestly before God because you're still hanging on and trying to figure out how you're going to manipulate it, what you can do, how you can control it, how you can get revenge, how you can seek justice. (19:52) Give it to God and be honest about it. Be honest about the crisis as he says there. So many are saying God will never rescue him. Do you hear kind of in that he's talking about his reputation but in that he's saying God in my reputation what they say about me they're going to say this time God's not with him. (20:17) Do you know why they're saying he's maybe brings it up? Because David was known to be a man with a heart after God. David was known by his people that God was with him. And so they're saying now, this is the time. This is the downfall. This is the weak part. This is where David's weakness is exposed through his son. He's now a disgrace. (20:43) And many were mocking him and saying God God will never rescue him. Now John Ortberg stated in reference to this particular passage said it this way. How many uh how many are my enemies? They are anxiety, hurry, my appetites, envy, comparison to other people, money desires, aging and death, loss of friends, deceit, desires that are off track, and then even particular people. (21:12) But am I ever honest with God about my enemies? You will not find victory and deliverance from God until you are honest with him about the enemies that you face. We can stop right there today. Maybe that's what we should do is break this down into real bite-sized pieces. But until you're honest with God, you're never going to find his victory over your enemies. (21:41) Psalm 46:1-3 it says, "God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge." Get what the psalmist is saying? It's when I learn to be honest with God, I suddenly find that firm foundation and nothing can shake it. (22:10) But until I am honest, I will never see God for the foundation that he is. I will never see him as my deliverer. I will never see him as the one who will rescue me. God isn't your little helper that suddenly shows up when you need somebody to deliver you. He is the God you walk with in the midst of your enemies. What does Psalm 23 say? You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. (22:42) You see, some of us are trying to make friends with our enemies rather than turning to God and being honest. It's time to be delivered from our enemies by being honest with God. And that requires me to be honest with myself as well in the midst of my pain. That's exactly what David does for us. But there's a second thing that we pick up on and that second thing is relying on protection. (23:11) You see, I've got to turn to God, be honest with him, and then allow him to protect me, not try to protect myself. We'll often see that in the area of our reputation. Somebody's saying something about us and and it's not true. And we've got to prove that it's not true. And so what do we do? We talk to other people and we create these. (23:28) We'll gather our army as you gather your army and we're going to prove that I'm right. No, gather with God. You don't need an army. You don't need others to protect you. You don't need others to tell you that you're right and they're wrong. You see, that's what we like to hear when we're having a really bad day. You're right. They're wrong. Blame them. (23:53) It's their fault. And so we love to tell the story over and over again of how wrong we have wronged we have been rather than tell the story of the God that others say won't deliver me. But I'll tell you, I'll show you God will deliver. So I'm honest with him and then I turn to him for my protection. (24:19) Verses three and four. But you, oh Lord, are a shield around me, and you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain. Again, context. This was written with when David is leaving the city in in uh in shame. Notice it said if what we read in 2 Samuel, he had his head covered, his head was down, he was weeping, he was barefoot. (24:48) It's the picture of shame. But I want you to see what God does when he when he gives his protection. When David figured out and came honestly to God, what does God he say God does? First of all, he says God uh the Lord is a shield around me. You can fire your arrows because God has my back, my front, and my sides. (25:13) Fire your arrows. God is my reputation. God speaks his truth. Let him shut your mouth and let God be your protection. So it's a picture of a shield around me. Picture David walking out of there in disgrace in that city. And yet he can come back to say it's God who is my protection. And if you know the whole story, it is God who was his protection. (25:41) The second thing he says, you are my glory. This is a great this is a fantastic statement that we read and go. So what you see you and I fight oftentimes spend we spend a lot of time trying to develop and protect an image of what people think of us. We may not always be conscious that we're doing it but we act according to things that we think have we have discovered get us attention and get us what we want. (26:09) It that allows people to like us. We develop a persona of who we are and we act according to it. And in that process, it becomes my glory. If I'm going to be honest with God about my enemies, I got to be honest with God about who I am. And my glory will be found. If I can come to God honestly, then my glory will be found in him. (26:39) And his glory is far beyond anything in me. I will ever do, say, or be. Let God be my glory. Here's what's so amazing about that is that God, it says in the Bible, doesn't share his glory, but he will allow his glory to be seen in those who seek him. What do you think is more beautiful? your glory on a temporal basis that's fading when things go wrong or the glory of a God who is unfathomable. (27:14) And David is saying, "God is my glory on this road where life is found. Allow God to be your glory. He's your reputation. He is what people say about you. He is what is seen in what you do and how you respond." I hope in the back of your mind you're thinking about what Brian took us through in the book of Job here a couple of weeks ago when his friends were sitting with him and how they want to tell him, "Surely you've done something wrong. (27:41) You have you've messed up somewhere, Job. Just confess it. Just just be real with it." And Job's just saying, "No." And God comes to his protection to be his glory over time. Yeah, there were things that that Job need to learn, but God addresses his friends and holds him accountable. You see, God, his glory will shine through those who are honest with him about their enemies, who turn to him for protection, he will protect and he will be their glory. (28:16) And then there's a third thing he says and it says, "The one who holds my head high." Go back to that picture of David slinking out of the city. It even stated there that his head was down and he was weeping. And this is a picture he's saying. When I turn to God honestly about my enemies, God lifted my head. You walk in my glory for who I am and I will be seen in you. (28:45) You do not need to have your head down in shame. Walk honestly before me and I will lift your head. God loves to honor those who honor him. He lifts my head high. I cried to the Lord and he answered me from his holy mountain. Isaiah 41:10 it says, "Don't be afraid for I am with you. Don't be discouraged for I am your God. (29:16) I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." That's what we receive when we turn honestly to God. A God who surrounds us, who radiates his glory in our circumstance. You see, God's glory is clearest and brightest and most delineated in the midst of our worst days. Seek God. Be honest with him. (29:44) Let him his glory shine through you. And he will lift your head high. Not for you to be proud, but for him to be seen. You see, I I hope you're catching something here. Every one of us are going to experience bad days. Every one of us will experience bad weeks, bad months. We could go through all the things that can cause the pain on the road less traveled by. (30:16) We can come to God and he surrounds us. He protects us. He lets his glory be seen in our circumstance. He lifts our head up as a child of God. You are mine. This is the life of the road and the way less traveled. There's a third thing. We can then stand with confidence when the storms rage. You see, it doesn't mean that, and sometimes we have this idea, but here's one thing we learn on the road of life that we're walking toward life, not toward destruction. (30:54) The life that flourishes doesn't mean that God suddenly swoops in and all my problems are gone. Anyone discovered that one yet? We want them to be gone. We think if God is going to deliver us, he needs to remove all the problems. Doesn't always work that way. But what he does allow for us is he has now surrounded us. He is indwelling us. (31:18) He is expressing himself through us and he is lifting us up as belonging to him. Then he allows us to stand strong in the storms. Verses seven and 8. Arise O Lord rescue me. I love that word arise right there. It carries within. Maybe this will help you give you a sense of the power in that word. (31:41) That word arise is the same idea as as carries with it that of of the resurrection. Was there any power in the resurrection? Oh yes. Did it victory found in the resurrection? David is asking for a resurrection and he is stating what he knows to be true about God. And he says, "Now God, I know who you are. Arise. Let's resurrect this situation. (32:07) I surrender to you. I need you now. May you bring life. May you bring your power into this situation. God brings deliverance. And then he goes on to say, "Slap all of my enemies in the face." Now, we like this part. [laughter] Slap all my enemies in the face. Now, here's what I appreciate. You still hearing the honesty in what's being done? And what's being said, David's not, "Well, Lord, forgive them. (32:41) They didn't really mean to do this." Well, I'm not Jesus. I'll tell you that. And one of the things that I know is that the people that harm me, it's hard not to want God to address them. But I want you to catch the addressing that he's saying here. When he says, "Slap them in the face." NIV, you know, hit them in the face, knock their teeth out. (33:05) As it as it goes on to say, shatter the teeth of the wicked. I want you to see a picture that's actually being presented here. He is seeing those who have gathered around him as those who are ravenous like wolves want to devour him. He's saying, "Hit them in the face, God. Knock their teeth out so their bite has no harm to it. (33:26) Take away the harm that they want to do. Smack them hard, God, and take away the ferocity of their desire to attack. It's okay to be honest with God. Be honest about your enemies and be honest about what you need. This is I I have always liked this particular psalm and this particular verse because oftentimes I think and I stated this earlier. (33:57) We have this idea that you have to do uh Christian things Christian way. You got to say certain words. You got to do it. God wants honesty and he wants because what comes with honesty? It comes transparency. And I'm not trying to make myself look good to God to convince him to do something. I'm seeing him for who he is. And so I can say, God, this is who you are. I know you protect me. (34:26) You surround me. Your glory is with me. You are a God who has raised my head up. But God, they're still right here all around me wanting to harm me. So knowing who you are and the power that you bring in the situation, knock their teeth out. God, take away their ability to harm me. I am asking you, stop the harm. An honest prayer will allow you to humbly come before God. (34:56) You don't have to impress him. You don't have to come with words that tell him, you know, you're not trying to convince God. You're just being honest with God. So, it's okay. Just giving you permission. You can tell God to knock the teeth out of your enemy's mouth. And I'm going to be honest with you. I have prayed that prayer on a number of occasions and I need to talk to you. (35:23) Some of you need some. No, I'm kidding. [laughter] Totally kidding. But I have prayed that prayer before because I want the enemies that are coming against me to encounter God, not me. And I want them to encounter him in a hard way. Romans 8:31 tells us um that there is nothing that can separate us or nothing that can come against us that will prevail because God is with us on the way less traveled by. (36:05) We need to learn that truth. I hope I hope you're getting this because what we're going to be looking at in the coming weeks as we look uh at other psalms is this reality that life is hard. Nobody's trying to tell you that because you're a Christian, life's going to be easy. Life is hard, but God is so good. But are you walking with him? Do you allow him to be your protection? Are you honest enough with him about the enemies you face? Are you trying to defeat your enemies so that you can show yourself worthy to God? (36:45) God is not looking for a superhero. God wants those who will humble themselves before him. And what does the Bible say? He will lift them up. So, we're all going to face those days that are difficult and challenging and hard. Hopefully not in the sense even in the way and my prayer is that you will not face what David faced. (37:09) You will not feel I don't I don't wish that on anyone. But I do want you to see that on the road to life, God doesn't say, "Oh, it's just a a rose a road with rose petals and everything is beautiful and it's it's fantastic." The beauty is there because God is there. But he's walking you through this life. And here's the good news. (37:29) When things get hard, you can go to God. He's willing to hear your honesty. You can pour yourself out to him. He will surround you and be your shield. He will put his glory in your circumstance. He is the one who will lift your head high. He is the one that you can turn to now instead of trying to in your strength accomplish say to your God, "Father, that person's words, they they hurt. (37:57) Thank you for deflecting them, but I'm asking now that you'll just smack them in the face so the words no longer take flesh. Silence them. Show your power. Arise, my God. Let them see you for who you are. The road less traveled by is a road in the presence of the living God. I hope you're encouraged today. (38:32)