Prayer.com I, Y2K Worry or Pray

Not sure why that happened, but we do apologize for that and trust that you'll Forgive us and we'll make more next time Well, I want to begin today and this is a new series on prayer I'm calling it prayer.com Everything's a dot-com. So I figured I already checked out the website by the way, someone does control it and it's not the Lord but It has to do with communicating and it has to do with Interactiveness and so I thought it was an appropriate title and I'm not going to begin today in some profound level of you know the mystery of Intimacy and intercession or something like that, you know, I we may get there at some point but friends I wanted to start today on a practical note. I Want to talk today about how prayer and worry Are interconnected. Let's let's begin with just a little bit of a Well, how about sharing time a little inventory here help me out with this How many of you in the back in the front all around how many of you today? If you took all the areas of your life, I mean the important broad general areas You know your career your health your finances your family your relationships How many have at least one problem that you're a little bit worried about in this new year? Okay. Now what I'd like you to do Most of you are honest enough to put up your hand Some of you are not sure that you had any problems But those of you who shared I'd like you to do this I'd like you to share with your neighbor if you'd like to you don't have to take a pass if you want but share with Your neighbor what your problem is and why it's more significant than theirs Go ahead just share with them take a minute say this is what I'm facing and you need to know about it Go ahead. Just take a moment. I'm gonna allow you to interact a little bit now as I think we've heard testified to today and these Spontaneous testimonies if you're a visitor today, by the way, I didn't prompt any of those people that came up. They just simply came up unannounced Unexpected unplanned, but interestingly many of their words will coincide with what I said today Because you see if we're really honest dear ones Every one of us has at least one area of worry One area of concern and if there's one thing I'm committed to out of the box today in the year 2000 is I want our church to start to shed Some of the worries that we carry around, you know, what worry is such an insidious enemy Worry robs us of the joy that God the Jesus said I want my people to have joy worry takes from us the faith that we need to Go on the kind of exploits and adventures that God has planned for us when we're worrying about the the stuff of life We can't hear God for the things that we need to do. I Need to get the peace of God from us so that life is always on the edge and we're overly medicated trying to deal with it and probably most heinous of all worry takes from us the fulfillment of living in the moment of the now and you know what all we really have is now we don't have tomorrow and Unfortunately, many people ruin tomorrow because they worry so much today I want to talk about that as a people as a church and I want to talk about how prayer relates to it because I think it's very Much related. How do I know? Well you're looking at someone that had his own fair share of worrying in the past several weeks and I'm not embarrassed to confess that to you. You know in a large church like this I don't know what the general thinking is, but I have enough conversations people think you know what everything's just fine I mean, it's just life's great and hey, you know that Christmas Eve thing was wonderful and New Year's Eve was we had it We had almost 600 and some people here on New Year's Eve to share prior to the coming of the millennium and all this But you know what? There was a lot of stuff going on Many people had personal problems that needed attention Those those ministries that I just mentioned it Those were big undertakings that took a lot of effort on a lot of people's part and then there was the y2k thing You know what was really gonna have no one really knew about that and the faith budget that we're believing God to fulfill And all these other things and I found myself about a week and a half ago Starting to see my joy melt away like soft ice cream on an August day I mean it just wasn't happening and I remember stopping in the middle of my preparations and I say Lord this isn't right I'm not supposed to be thinking this and feeling this and That's when the Lord quickened the verse that's on the top of your outline there. Let's look at it. I Turned to Philippians 4. Here's what it says. Do not be anxious about say it Anything but in everything by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving present your requests to God and the peace of God which transcends all Understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus now look at that verse. Don't worry about anything right, I Mean I can understand, you know, the little things don't be no don't make a big deal about You know getting in the return line going in the department store Don't make it a big deal about the fact that you know, well got a couple little extra bills to pay I mean, that's not a big deal But how many of you have big deals? How many of you have job transitions that you're looking you're right in the face and you don't know What's about to happen and you're a little worried about how many of you have? Relational problems that are crushing you down right now and the sad part about the year 2000 is when you turned the clock You carried the pain right into the new year with you How many of you have health problems that just have not resolved and maybe you don't know what's even wrong with you But it's causing you a lot of internal Anxiety and Paul sits here and says don't worry about anything. Now. This would be just you know, just so much Running at the mouth except for the fact that Paul is writing these words from a prison Outside of Rome where he had already been condemned to die Imagine being in death row knowing you're just waiting for the executioner to show up and you're right there with a don't worry about anything That's not an exaggeration that's what the Apostle Paul did and so he can say to us in our stress-filled world Don't worry about it. Don't worry about anything, but in everything We need to do something and that something is to pray So I want us to look very carefully at three questions. First question is this on your outline who wrestles with worry? There's the baby looking out from underneath the blanket you see she's peeking out in the new millennium who wrestles with worry answer Everyone that's right. Everyone wrestles with worry Now some of us express our feelings with different levels of intensity some dump all over the place and you know Some are just you know We keep Kleenex in business and some of us worry about everything that comes along some of us worry about how much we worry Others of us are in sort of a denial, you know, it's we're sort of that. Well, hey, I don't know what me worry You know in my reading about this researchers link worry with intelligence and They have found that the more intelligent people are the more prone to worry Must be some kind of a control thing but an interesting in it more prone to anxiety The more intelligent they are Now some of you may have been sitting here so far thinking, you know, I'm not worried about much of anything Thinking you're real spiritual, but actually you're just sort of a dim bulb and that's just the way it is Another way people handle this is by control and Self-reliance, you know, I don't need any help. I'm gonna get through these deals. I'll deal with my problems I'll handle it You know, I've had the privilege of doing lots of weddings in my ministry the one person who really struggles with control during a wedding is The mother of the bride. Thank you for the honest answer. That's correct. The mother of the bride I've had the mother of the bride in my face several different times. I Remember one wedding where the mother Didn't like much of anything the colors the food the place where the wedding was going to be She even told me she replaced me if I didn't shape up. That was my own wedding. That was my mother-in-law's No exaggerating. I told this with Carol right there. She said that was true You can control things for a while friends, but not forever Why because you're not God and you can't always control everything that's going to happen to you Eventually as the next verse says worry weighs you down and wears you out So who worries everyone number two, where does worry come from? Where does worry come from? well interestingly people believe you know that if I just deal with this problem if I if I have this operation and get the Surgery done. My worries are going to be over or Whatever it is. And here's what I've discovered life is just a series of problems making their way into your life and As soon as you solve one problem, you're gonna have another one jump up the list to get right in your life So problems will come and go but unless you deal with it worries will always be there Worries come letter a from confused ideas about God and ourselves Confused ideas about God or so some of us see God not as someone not as a being Intensely interested in the intimate details of your life We don't see God as an Abba daddy a father who's concerned about us We see him as a deity that well, you know, he started the world in motion I'm sure he cares, but you know what? He doesn't really seem to respond when I called him and the way I need him And so I'm not sure he's there and then we all go down that line and and suddenly we have created a God He's not like the God of the Bible He's Abba daddy Now I remember growing up When I really needed something, you know something for sports or something for school or something something I really just needed for Fitting in or whatever and with my classmates and I went to my dad. I said dad Do you think I could get that new ball club? I Mean, you know, I'm one of the best shortstops in this part of the block And I never really thought about where my dad would go to get the money I'm ever saying to dad. He said, you know, so I don't have money to buy a new glove right now one time I said that was just write a check You know, that's not real money. Just write a check. I Never worried about where dad would get the resources to take care of my need. He was dad I mean, that's what dads do dads take care of things, right? and in fact That's how Abba God is Philippians 419 says my God shall supply all your needs according to his glorious resources in Christ Jesus and I'm here to tell you his Resources are ample for whatever need you and I have if we choose to live for God and commit to follow his plan he takes responsibility for All of our needs not some of them all of them. You mean you mean all of my bills and financial headaches? If you commit your way to him today and and live financially responsibly according his way. Yes all of your bills You mean all of my health problems? Yes, if you commit yourself to walk his way and trust him He'll take care of your body. You mean all of my relational pain and heartache? Yes You see nothing is outside of the realm of that when he says all of your needs He means everything about you. The question is will we call God a liar? Or we trust him Worry should send a signal to us that somehow we've we've lost sight of who God is when we start feeling the anxiety and the Worry listen God is looking out for you Jesus said this so powerfully in the Sermon on the Mount Look at the next verse people who don't know God and the way he works Worry over these things the whole that whole section of the Sermon on the Mount is about worry. Jesus said don't worry I'm gonna take care of the birds of the air I'll take care of you. In fact, the Lord had said this way I Met your greatest need. What was your greatest need? To have your sins forgiven right and to be made right with God I met that need on the cross of Christ as a couple of people said here this morning and once I met that need Romans 8 32 says He who spared not his only son, but gave him up for us all will he not also give us freely with him all things folks listen If you've received Christ as the one who's covered your sin the propitiation for your sin Then any other need you have is small potatoes Bank on that Get a hold of that Nothing's too difficult. God is interested and able to meet every other need that you and I have the problem is, you know We tend to feel vulnerable and powerless Dr. Edward Hallowell in his book on worry. He says those two emotions vulnerability and powerlessness Those create worry in us Think about it when you're vulnerable when you're powerless you get worried when we went to Israel not long ago a couple years ago I remember we had a wonderful trip and we were heading back into the airport in Tel Aviv and We're a little bit late for a plane So we were just kind of anxious about getting on the plane on time and and then the security came along and in Israel security is very tight and our group of about 30 people were getting in line for our airline and The Israeli security people came along and were eyeing up and down our group of about 30 people looking for you know someone to question about where they'd been and what they had and and They picked my wife. I Mean, she's the most sinister looking one in the group. I suppose They pulled Carol out and and you know, and I of course, you know being the husband I stepped right up and and I'm just gonna walk with her because these soldiers were eyes. They said no. No, just just your wife well You talk about vulnerability and powerlessness Carol got flushed, you know in the face and she's smiling And I'm not really knowing what to do because you know, it's I'm pretty sure there's no drugs or anything in her Suitcases, I'm not real worried about explosives or anything like that. But on the other hand, you know, no, so I mean With how long it's gonna take whatever and our guide came over And I said, hey, they just took my wife back into one of those rooms and they're like, I don't know and he said relax It's just standard procedure. She'll be back in a couple minutes and everything will be fine and When he said shared that with me my my own powerlessness and vulnerability my own anxiety Disappeared and I realized everything's under control And I you see the level of my power increased my sense of being covered increased and my worry Dissipated. Well, that's how it is with God when you know, he's there on the scene You can trust his power and his covering to see you through whatever it is You have to face and friends. That's the key To not letting worry consume you turn your outline over and let's look at this. What's God's antidote to worry? Well What's God's antidote to worry listen one thing it isn't it's not someone telling you worry less You know, you can say I'm not gonna worry anymore. I mean you can make a resolution in the new year I'm gonna worry less you can say right now I'm gonna walk out of this service and I'm not gonna worry anymore and head out by the time you lift the handle on your car door You can't help it You can't should your way into wearing this I should worry less I should do that now listen Here's what you've got to do. You've got the letter a change your mental focus from your problems To his presence. That's what you need to do Change your mental focus from your problems to his presence and he said I will be with you always even to the end of the age Matthew 28 20 Peter said it this way give all your worries and cares to God for he cares about what happens to you first Peter 5 7 Now notice this consciously give all your worries and cares to God for he cares about you and Friends, this is where I want to get very specific as I conclude this morning In order for this to make any difference this year Letter B. You've got to learn to pray about Everything Pray about everything It's curious to me when I say to somebody, you know, have you really prayed about it? I say, you know what? I'm I'm sure God has bigger things to be concerned about than my prayer concerns And it's funny to me how many people would rather carry around their own worries than to tell God about Honestly, just think about it. Just just back up a minute and think about yourself. How much time do you do in self-talk? How much self-talk you can do, you know, you look in the mirror and you say Look at this. Where's that coming from? I know it or you know, you start you go you head into the family and you start thinking to yourself, you know I'm it's we're gonna have a good dinner tonight. I'm not gonna lose it You know and you you just start talking to yourself or whatever it is. I mean, I'm just making things up, you know and we talk to ourselves about the things that cause us to worry instead of specifically talking to God about them and leaving them with God because He cares about you and we'll deal with it. I don't know about you I find myself it's it seems more spiritual to me to pray about the big things you know to pray about the spiritual warfare's over the kingdoms that are warring for Pittsburgh and it does to pray about the fact that I got ticked off at dinner last night because You know, how many of you kind of feel like, you know, when you pray you should be really heavy-duty Let's pray for the missionaries Charlie and the missionary teams But really in the meantime you're worried about the fact that your kids fight every time they sit down at the table together Are you worried about the fact that your boss is on your case night and day about your quotas? friends listen listen Be honest with God Your prayer life should be your heart just saying God These are the things that are really and here's what I want to recommend very strongly to you this morning Start in the year 2000 keeping a prayer journal and it doesn't have to be some fancy-bound little, you know book It can be this 79 cent legal pad I've got them in the bookstore and you can write down as I do. I've got dozens of these up in my My library upstairs. I just write down the day and then I write my burdens And I just put them on this piece of paper and sometimes I'll go back and when I hear the Lord You know, I see the Lord answer that for I'll just cross it off One of the greatest joys of this last year was looking back over all the things I was able to cross off I want to I want to recommend write it down. Would you say that write it down because when you do You're taking it out of your in basket and putting it into God's and that can make a huge difference in Your walk and you know what? I also find when I write it down. It keeps me focused How many find that when you start to pray your mind wanders just a little bit But how long does it take for your mind to wander? What's the average? Concentration span for prayer. Well a little more than 10 seconds The average concentration span for prayer is four minutes After four minutes studies have shown my mind starts thinking. I gotta wash the car. Oh, I gotta take this I gotta go to the grocery. How many you find that's the truth as soon as you but three or four minutes into it I mean you're trying it's so and then guilt sits in like man. Am I a failure as a Christian? I mean someone said that today didn't they I mean Well, here's what you need to know If you write things down and you begin to get a bit of a flow going you can pray for 15 or 30 minutes and and Follow this through and it begins to be life-giving to you and the word begins to come alive to you as well And you realize that God's gonna begin you see some folks like well, you know what that's awful selfie sounding I mean telling God everything I need. Hey, guess what? God knows your nature. You are selfish How do I know that? Well, hey, how many of you travel for business? Let me see. I mean travel, you know, we somewhat for business quite a few Question for you dads, especially and some of you moms that even travel now When you come back from a business trip What's the first thing your little five-year-old comes up and says to you? Oh dad how'd it go with the clients? You know, how is the business trip dad? How'd it go? I mean, how are you feeling? What's the first thing a kid says when you come in the door? Uh-huh that happened to you too Dad would you bring me? Would you bring me it isn't that they don't love you. It's just that that's human nature and So friends let's bring God since he already knows what's on hearts Just bring it to him and get it out of the burden that we've been carrying around and let him Help you to carry the second thing we need to do is and this is letter C To listen and respond to his leading in prayer Listen and respond to his leading in prayer, you know Just want to recommend this to you. One of the great journals of prayer requests is the book of Psalms King David Wrote in detail to God about what he was going through doesn't the Psalm 38 Oh God My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful father I am bowed down and brought very low all day long I go and he goes down the list My back is filled with searing pain. There's no health in my body and on and on he goes but then the Lord tells him what to do and He goes and he says and I will come to the house of the Lord and gather in the place of the Saints and I will Lift up your name in the great assembly You see he prayed and then God told him what to do and he went and did that now friends Here's what you and I need to do. We need to listen to God and Do what he tells do what? Because you see as soon as you respond as soon as you hear from God, you've got to do something with that If you don't nothing's gonna change you see We're just so prone to want to hang back. I remember just not it maybe a year ago or so I was right before the holidays of last year in the middle of the night Carol woke me up. Very unusual. We usually Sleep right through the night. She woke up. She said honey. Do you hear something down there? I Said no because I didn't want to go up. I know one of us gonna have to check it out I'm wasn't gonna be me. I didn't hear anything. Nope going back to sleep. She said I think I heard something I said no, we didn't hear anything No, we didn't hear anything. No, it's correct sleep so she went down to check it out and I Knew as soon as we acknowledged that something was there one of us would have to check it out We'd have to take action. Well, that's the way it is with prayer as soon as you acknowledge it listen To what God tells you to do look at this next verse because action is a key Look at the next verse this comes out of Luke chapter 17 if I had more time, I'd do the whole story But I just want to mention it to you. It's a powerful story the healing of the ten lepers as Jesus entered the village Ten men who had leprosy met him they stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice Jesus master have pity on us Not even an indication they were Jews doesn't even tell us just says this and He saw them and he said go show yourselves to the priests. So they must have been Jews And look at that next part of the verse. It's on your outline and as they went once you circle that as they went They were cleansed now just think about this for one second. I don't want you to miss this listen What if they had just stood there? What if they had prayed and then just stood there? We don't have any indication, but apparently they would not have been healed Jesus heard their prayer request and then the Bible said as they went the healing fell upon I Don't know about you But I have found in my life that many of the answers to prayer that I yearn for happen along the way Want you to write that down? They happen along the way They happen when you respond to what God tells you to do in prayer and you begin to step out and God meets you along The way in each repair. Let me illustration. Someone says to me. Well, you know, I've prayed about my financial situation. I'm waiting for God to plop down a huge windfall on me so I can get out of debt and start giving to the kingdom and I often think you know Have you ever thought about reading what the scriptures say about just giving? Faithfully from what you have and as you trust God along the way, he'll open up blessing I've seen it over and over and over again or marriages people say when I've prayed about my marriage and it's just as bad Like this year as it was last year Have you but have you listened to what God's told you along the way? Have you gone to a seminar? Have you sought counseling? Have you sat down with some other couples and tried to have you listen to what God's told you to do? Because then along the way God can intervene and bring about what it is. You so deeply desire People who don't do anything usually don't see anything It happens along the way. I'll never forget about 11 years ago I went with a number of the leaders of our church some of our elders and our pastors we went down to Dallas, Texas to visit at Church in the rock that pastor Larry Lee had established back then and a man by the name of pastor Paul young each. Oh Pastor of the largest church in the world that the church in Seoul, Korea At that time the church had about 700,000 members it's close to a million members. I imagine having a million members imagine stuffing a million bulletins pastor Scott Okay And I'll never forget Larry Lee asked Paul young each. Oh this question. He says dr Cho, how did you build a church in 30 years of almost a million members? And little Paul young each. Oh, he's maybe five foot two and very short Relatively speaking, you know Asian big toothy grin. He turned and he said I pray I obey I pray I obey And he said it just like that. I pray and I obey Would you try that I pray I obey let's say it again. I pray I obey I want to submit to you If you pray Sincerely from your heart Telling God what your need is if this church if we pray we're starting this lighthouse ministry now today kicks it off If we begin to pray all around our city in small groups and cell groups for for common goals and visions from God I want to submit to you if we pray and then we obey God is gonna rock our lives God is gonna rock our church. God is gonna rock our city with his presence He's waiting for people who will pray and then I Will and I will obey I pray I obey It's so important that you can see the connection My heart is this as we go into this new year. Let's leave our worries in the past Let's receive fresh grace from God. Let's pray. Let's trust God. Let's believe him Look at the last verse in your outline. I love this verse out of the message translation because it captures the power of God Are you tired worn out burned out on religion? Come to me get away with me and you'll recover your life I'll show you how to take a real rest walk with me and work with me watch how I do it Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't let anything heavy or ill-fitting on you Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly Let's stand together Lord Jesus right now. I know there are a number of us We have many heavy burdens that Lord we've come into this place with worries Worries about the new year worries about our lives, but right now we choose Lord to lay them at your feet we ask you to come Lord in power and meet us right now God and Begin to release in us Lord a fresh grace to pray and then to obey. And so we commit ourselves to you Lord we ask you to take us now and to use us fill us I pray.