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Just Speak - Minister Max Lucado · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

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Speaker 1: It's so easy to love this wonderful church. And one
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Speaker 1: of the many reasons that it is easy to love
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Speaker 1: Gateway is your passion for the nations. How you care
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Speaker 1: and always have cared about people around the world. As
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Speaker 1: testimony to that, if you'll allow me to give a
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Speaker 1: welcome to what is a hefty delegation of Brazilians in
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Speaker 1: this room. Could all the Brazilians please stand up? Thank
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Speaker 1: you very much. I don't know if you knew this,
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Speaker 1: but my precious wife, Dean Lynn, and I served as
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Speaker 1: a Missionaries in Rio de Janeiro from 1983 to 1988.
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Speaker 1: So we still left a part of our hearts in Brazil.
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Speaker 1: So sejam bem-vindos todos vocês. Que Deus te abençoe. Somos
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Speaker 1: fica felizes de ter vocês aqui conosco. And we send
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Speaker 1: a blessing to all the campuses, wherever you are, to
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Speaker 1: all people, wherever you are, who may be tuning in.
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Speaker 1: In just a moment, my wife... Dean Lynn is going
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Speaker 1: to offer a prayer of blessing for our message, but
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Speaker 1: I have to reflect back on an event that took
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Speaker 1: place the last time that I was here, and the
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Speaker 1: fire alarm went off. I'm trying to process it still.
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Speaker 1: Were you here? The lights flashed. The alarm went off.
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Speaker 1: And maybe I was preaching a good sermon, too. I mean,
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Speaker 1: I was about to land that plane. I was only
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Speaker 1: two or three minutes from wrapping that up. And then
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Speaker 1: all of a sudden, the lights flashed, the alarm went off,
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Speaker 1: and out of nowhere comes this voice, evacuate the building,
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Speaker 1: evacuate the building, evacuate the building. And you all got
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Speaker 1: up and left. Those of you on other campuses, consider
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Speaker 1: yourselves blessed. We were under attack. I didn't know how
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Speaker 1: to interpret. Is this Gateway's hint? You didn't like my jokes.
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Speaker 1: I preached too long. You disagreed with something I said.
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Speaker 1: Maybe you thought I was on fire. I didn't know
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Speaker 1: how to interpret it. So I'm still kind of processing it.
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Speaker 1: And the next day, the following day, I preached at
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Speaker 1: our church in San Antonio and I was still kind
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Speaker 1: of shook up because someone's cell phone went off in
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Speaker 1: the middle of my sermon and I nearly came out
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Speaker 1: of my shoes. So if you could please make sure
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Speaker 1: your devices are turned off because I have PTSD and
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Speaker 1: I'm still working it through. I'm so thankful that my wife,
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Speaker 1: Dean Lynn, could be here, and I've asked her to
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Speaker 1: offer a prayer of blessing. Poor Max.
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Speaker 2: It's good to be with you tonight, and as I
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Speaker 2: was asking the Lord for you this week, he gave
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Speaker 2: me several verses that I'll be praying over you, into you,
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Speaker 2: for you. Over me, into me, for me. Because his
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Speaker 2: word is alive and active. And we want that in us.
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Speaker 2: And we want protected by his word. But a verse
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Speaker 2: came to me that I just want to remind you.
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Speaker 2: You probably all know it. But I want to remind
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Speaker 2: you that it's true. And it seemed like worship just
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Speaker 2: like really spoke it out. But there's no condemnation for
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Speaker 2: those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of
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Speaker 2: the spirit of life has set you free from the
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Speaker 2: law of sin and death. And so that's your filter.
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Speaker 2: That's your filter in your head. When a thought comes
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Speaker 2: into your head, if it leads you to condemnation, that
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Speaker 2: is not of Jesus. That is of the enemy. So
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Speaker 2: you can tell it to go to the foot of
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Speaker 2: the cross and be judged by Jesus. So that's how
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Speaker 2: we move. That's how we think with Jesus and receive
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Speaker 2: his blessing. But can I just on just a small
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Speaker 2: note ask, I don't know if you've been asked, but
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Speaker 2: I want you to pray for your elders and their wives.
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Speaker 2: And I want you to pray for the staff. Any
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Speaker 2: staff member you know, would you just take their name
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Speaker 2: into your heart and they be your person that you
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Speaker 2: pray for every day or at least every week because
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Speaker 2: they carry a big burden right now. And they need
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Speaker 2: you to come alongside and help carry that burden, right?
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Speaker 2: That's what Jesus said we do for one another.
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Speaker 1: That's why we're in here.
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Speaker 2: So I want to encourage you to do that. And
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Speaker 2: if you don't know names, go online and find names
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Speaker 2: of staff members or ministry leaders. And I know you'll
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Speaker 2: do that. And I know the church will be blessed.
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Speaker 2: So let's talk to Jesus. And Jesus, we bow before
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Speaker 2: you in this moment. You truly are the name above
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Speaker 2: all names. And we know, Jesus, that much in this
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Speaker 2: world breaks your heart. And we know that you are
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Speaker 2: near to the brokenhearted, that you don't turn your back away,
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Speaker 2: that you draw near, that you have provision, you have
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Speaker 2: your presence, you have your word, God.
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Speaker 1: So we just ask that you.
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Speaker 2: Fill us with your mercy and grace and understanding as
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Speaker 2: our hearts prepare to hear your alive word today. We
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Speaker 2: want to walk in your authority and not our own.
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Speaker 2: We want to have your understanding and not our own.
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Speaker 2: We want your will to be done on earth as
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Speaker 2: it is in heaven in our lives, in our relationships,
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Speaker 2: in our neighborhoods, and in our thinking. that we would
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Speaker 2: keep our thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic
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Speaker 2: and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy,
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Speaker 2: merciful and kind, that we would fasten our thoughts on
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Speaker 2: every glorious work of God, praising Him always. And as
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Speaker 2: we praise you, King Jesus, all the lies we have believed,
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Speaker 2: all the offenses we have taken on, all the fear
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Speaker 2: we have absorbed will lose power over our hearts in
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Speaker 2: your mighty name, Jesus. Let us say his name together, church. Jesus, Jesus,
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Speaker 2: you are king of kings and lord of lords, almighty God,
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Speaker 2: wonderful counselor, everlasting father, prince of peace. Lord, we recommit
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Speaker 2: our affections to you and confess that we have leaned
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Speaker 2: on our own understanding. But we thank you for your
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Speaker 2: blood that cleanses us 24-7 so that we walk in
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Speaker 2: total and complete forgiveness. And the God of peace will
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Speaker 2: swiftly crush Satan under your feet. And the wonderful favor
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Speaker 2: of our Lord Jesus Christ will surround you, Church at Gateway.
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Speaker 2: Thank you, Lord. In your name, Jesus, we pray.
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Speaker 1: Amen. So the title of this weekend's message, When Your
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Speaker 1: Heart Needs Peace. Sometimes God calms the storm. He did
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Speaker 1: for Moses. You'll remember that Pharaoh fumed behind him and
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Speaker 1: the waves of the Red Sea foamed in front of
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Speaker 1: him and two million ex-slaves surrounded him. And we do
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Speaker 1: not know if Moses raised his staff out of frustration
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Speaker 1: with the moment or inspiration at the moment, but he
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Speaker 1: did raise his staff. And when he did, the Red
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Speaker 1: Sea opened and the Israelites crossed over on dry land
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Speaker 1: and put Egypt in the rear view mirror. Sometimes God
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Speaker 1: calms the storm. He did for Daniel. The prophet was
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Speaker 1: invited to the lion's den for dinner. Except in this case,
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Speaker 1: he was the ET, not the eater. But he prayed
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Speaker 1: before his meal. And God answered the prayer in the
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Speaker 1: form of lion lockjaw. Sometimes God calms the storm. He
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Speaker 1: did for Paul and Samuel. Silas. How were they to
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Speaker 1: know that it was against the law to preach in
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Speaker 1: the region of Philippi? Officials took them into a dungeon.
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Speaker 1: The execution was scheduled. And as far as they knew,
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Speaker 1: it was just a matter of moments before they would
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Speaker 1: go from singing to God and Prison to singing to God.
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Speaker 1: In person. But God had other plans. And he opened
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Speaker 1: the cell door. And he opened the jailer's heart. And
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Speaker 1: the duo walked out. And the jailer was. Baptized. And
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Speaker 1: the storm passed. Sometimes. God calms. The storm. Sometimes he excises.
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Speaker 1: The malignant. Cancer. Sometimes he. Transfers the. cranky boss. Sometimes
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Speaker 1: he replenishes the diminishing funds. Sometimes the breath of heaven
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Speaker 1: blows and the clouds scatter and the dark sky becomes
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Speaker 1: in an instant a radiant blue. Sometimes he calms the storm.
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Speaker 1: But other times he chooses to calm the child And
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Speaker 1: rather than quiet the tempest, he stills the sailor. And
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Speaker 1: rather than remove the disease, he removes the fear. And
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Speaker 1: rather than lift the debt, he lifts the doubt. The
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Speaker 1: storm still brews, but the child no longer fears. The
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Speaker 1: child trusts. He may even snooze. That's what Jesus did, remember?
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Speaker 1: Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the
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Speaker 1: lake with his disciples. And suddenly a fierce storm struck
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Speaker 1: the lake with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus
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Speaker 1: was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up shouting, Lord,
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Speaker 1: save us. We're going to drown. And Jesus responded, why
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Speaker 1: are you afraid? You have so little faith. And he
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Speaker 1: got up and rebuked the wind and the waves and
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Speaker 1: suddenly died. There was a great calm. What you find
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Speaker 1: more amazing that Jesus calmed the storm or that he
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Speaker 1: slept through it. How does one sleep through a storm?
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Speaker 1: The boat bounced like a ping pong ball and waves
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Speaker 1: washed across the fishing boat. The disciples screamed and thunder
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Speaker 1: roared and Jesus snored. The boat became his bassinet. Could
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Speaker 1: you use such peace? Odds are you could. There's a
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Speaker 1: pandemic of anxiety out there. 43% of U.S. adults, 43%
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Speaker 1: of U.S. adults feel more anxious this year in 2024
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Speaker 1: than they did in 2023. It's easy to see why.
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Speaker 1: We feel encircled by troubles. Wild weather patterns. Hurricanes. Eruption
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Speaker 1: in the Mideast. Putin is on the prowl. AI is
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Speaker 1: going to eat our brains. Iran is going to destroy
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Speaker 1: the world. And then there's something about an election around
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Speaker 1: the corner. Gen Z is especially troubled. One third of
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Speaker 1: college students report feeling anxious always or most of the time.
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Speaker 1: One-third report feeling anxious at least half of the time.
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Speaker 1: That leaves only 33% of our college-aged students who live
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Speaker 1: with a prevailing sense of peace. Anxiety is everywhere. A
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Speaker 1: fellow walked into the door of a room of a
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Speaker 1: psychiatrist and he said, can you help me, doctor? He said,
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Speaker 1: some nights I dream I'm a pup tent. Some nights
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Speaker 1: I dream I'm a teepee. What does that mean? The
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Speaker 1: doctor said, that's easy. You're two tents. Rough crowd. Rough crowd.
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Speaker 1: Maybe you're two tents. Thanks to our angst, we sleep less,
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Speaker 1: we argue more, we digest poorly, and we ache everywhere. Peace,
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Speaker 1: it seems, caught the last train out of Dodge, and
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Speaker 1: it's hard to find. We could use some. Maybe you
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Speaker 1: could use some. Perhaps that explains why this passage, this
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Speaker 1: weekend's passage, is so treasured. The Apostle Paul wrote, Be
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Speaker 1: full of joy in the Lord always. Again, I will say,
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Speaker 1: be full of joy. Let everyone see that you're gentle
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Speaker 1: and kind. The Lord is coming soon. Do not worry
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Speaker 1: about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you
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Speaker 1: need always Giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great,
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Speaker 1: we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds
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Speaker 1: in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4, 4 through 7. According to Kindle,
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Speaker 1: the reading device, this is the most underlined scripture in
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Speaker 1: the Bible. Apparently the whole world could use a little
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Speaker 1: more peace. Chances are you or someone you know is
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Speaker 1: battling with an undertow, a fret. God will help you.
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Speaker 1: God will help you. Now his help may include some
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Speaker 1: targeted assistance through the help of a counselor. or a therapist,
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Speaker 1: or medication. And if so, that's okay. It most certainly
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Speaker 1: includes Paul's prescription for the troubled heart. I find at
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Speaker 1: least three admonitions. First of all, Paul urges us to
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Speaker 1: trust God. Trust God. He says, be full of joy
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Speaker 1: in the Lord always. Again, or I will say again,
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Speaker 1: be full of joy. Easier said than done, right? I mean,
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Speaker 1: how can you be full of joy when you got
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Speaker 1: bills to pay and kids to raise and deadlines to meet? Well,
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Speaker 1: the answer is found in three words. In the Lord.
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Speaker 1: Be full of joy in the Lord. If you believe
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Speaker 1: that you face death, your problems alone, dear friend, you
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Speaker 1: will never discover a deep and lasting peace. If you
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Speaker 1: think it's up to you to face and solve all
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Speaker 1: your problems, you will never know a deep and lasting peace.
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Speaker 1: On the other hand, if you believe that you face
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Speaker 1: your challenges in the Lord, in the presence of the Lord,
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Speaker 1: In the name of the Lord. In the power of
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Speaker 1: the Lord. In the protection of the Lord. You can
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Speaker 1: be full of joy because you live in the Lord.
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Speaker 1: In the late 1970s, Steven Spielberg produced a movie called Jaws.
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Speaker 1: It related a fictional story of a monster shark. that
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Speaker 1: made meal out of swimmers on the New England coast.
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Speaker 1: Its iconic scene involved a crusty boat captain, a police chief,
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Speaker 1: and a scientist. And they set off on the boat
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Speaker 1: captain's fishing boat in search of the shark. No one
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Speaker 1: had ever seen the shark before. And when these three
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Speaker 1: men did, they nearly fell over in fright. the police
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Speaker 1: chief delivered one of the most famous lines in cinema history.
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Speaker 1: He turned to the captain and said, you're gonna need
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Speaker 1: a bigger boat. The vessel was no match for the threat.
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Speaker 1: Suppose these three men had been riding on a larger ship.
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Speaker 1: Suppose they were standing on the deck Of the SeaWise Giant.
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Speaker 1: It's the largest oil tanker ever built. Eight stories tall,
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Speaker 1: over four football fields in length. It weighs 564,000 tons. Now,
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Speaker 1: if these three men Had seen that same shark. From
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Speaker 1: the deck of the sea wise. Do you suppose their reaction.
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Speaker 1: Would have been different. They would have noticed the shark.
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Speaker 1: They would have talked about the shark. They might have
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Speaker 1: taken pictures. Of the shark. But would they have feared
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Speaker 1: the shark.
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Speaker 3: No.
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Speaker 1: Because they were safe. In a large vessel. Life. Is
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Speaker 1: full of sharks.
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Speaker 3: The sea.
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Speaker 1: The sea. of our lives is full of fear. But
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Speaker 1: if you're in the Lord, if you're in the Lord,
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Speaker 1: they cannot get you. They cannot have you. They might
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Speaker 1: try to frighten you, but they cannot consume you. Please
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Speaker 1: hear me, dear friend. If you are in Christ, then
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Speaker 1: you are on the USS Jesus Christ. And you are safe.
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Speaker 1: You are safe because you are in his plan. You
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Speaker 1: are in his grace. You are in his heart. You
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Speaker 1: are in his family. You are in the Lord. So
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Speaker 1: if peace has slipped, revisit your vessels. Remind yourself and
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Speaker 1: remind the evil one. No, no, no. I am in
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Speaker 1: the Lord. Are you in need of peace? Just trust God.
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Speaker 1: And tell God. Tell God. This is Paul's next big point.
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Speaker 1: He says, pray and ask God for everything you need.
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Speaker 1: Always giving thanks. Satan says, Hates to see you pray.
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Speaker 1: Satan hates to see you pray. He does not scatter
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Speaker 1: when you listen to a sermon. And demons do not
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Speaker 1: backpedal when you perform acts of benevolence. The principalities of
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Speaker 1: hell are not flustered. When you open a Christian book.
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Speaker 1: Unless it's a locato book. But the walls of hell shake.
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Speaker 1: When you with sincere heart. And humble spirit. Bow yourself
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Speaker 1: before the king of kings. And say our father who
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Speaker 1: art in heaven. Satan knows the power of prayer. And
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Speaker 1: he's aware of these promises. Come near to God and
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Speaker 1: God will come near to you. Or when a believing
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Speaker 1: person prays, great things happen. Or the Lord is close
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Speaker 1: to everyone who prays to him, to all who truly
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Speaker 1: pray to him. Do you long for peace? Well, tell God.
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Speaker 1: Tell him what's on your heart, what's on your mind,
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Speaker 1: what's on your calendar. Talk to God. Tell him. My
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Speaker 1: first anxiety attack occurred when I was five years old.
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Speaker 1: The memory is surprisingly sharp. I was riding up and
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Speaker 1: down on the sidewalk in front of our house when
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Speaker 1: I realized I had lost the keys to my tricycle.
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Speaker 1: My older sister, who was college age at the time,
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Speaker 1: had made keys for me to use. She took a
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Speaker 1: rubber band and she hung a few bobby pins and
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Speaker 1: handed them The rubber band and the bobby pins to me.
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Speaker 1: And said here are keys to your tricycle. I thought
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Speaker 1: it was great. But then I lost them. I searched
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Speaker 1: with such furor. I cried with such volume. That she
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Speaker 1: heard me from inside the house. And she came outside
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Speaker 1: to help me. And when I saw her. I did
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Speaker 1: the most wonderful thing. I told her. I said Jackie.
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Speaker 4: Jackie.
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Speaker 1: I've lost the keys. Shouldn't I tell her she made them?
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Speaker 1: She created them. She gave them to me. Didn't it
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Speaker 1: make sense that I tell her what had happened? And
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Speaker 1: when I cried out to her, she did the most
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Speaker 1: wonderful thing. She reached down to me. She said, Max,
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Speaker 1: it's okay. It's going to be all right. I'll make
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Speaker 1: you some more. And I trusted her.
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Speaker 2: Why?
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Speaker 1: Well, because... She was in charge of the keys. Your
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Speaker 1: heavenly father is in charge of this world. He is.
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Speaker 1: Your heavenly father runs this universe. God raised Christ from
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Speaker 1: death and set him on a throne In deep heaven.
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Speaker 1: In charge. Of running the universe. Everything. From galaxies to governments.
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Speaker 1: No name. And no power. Exempt from his rule. And
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Speaker 1: not just for the time being. But forever. He is
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Speaker 1: in charge. Of it all. Has the final word. on everything.
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Speaker 1: Christ runs the show. A meteor just streaked through a
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Speaker 1: distant galaxy and Christ caused it to do so. A
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Speaker 1: giraffe just took its first breath in the Congo and
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Speaker 1: Jesus knows exactly how many she will take in her life.
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Speaker 1: The migration of belugas through the oceans, Jesus dictates their itinerary.
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Speaker 1: He has authority over the world and he has authority
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Speaker 1: over your life. Your date of birth, that was his idea.
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Speaker 1: Your date of death, he already knows it. Your mood swings,
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Speaker 1: your sleep patterns, your eating habits, your salary, your traffic commute,
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Speaker 1: that arthritis in your joint. Christ is in charge. He's
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Speaker 1: never surprised. He's even in charge of presidential elections. And
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Speaker 1: the one who sits on the throne now will still
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Speaker 1: be sitting on the throne then, regardless of who occupies
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Speaker 1: the Oval Office. He has never, ever, ever uttered the phrase,
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Speaker 1: now how did that happen? Jesus is the command center
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Speaker 1: of the universe. Not even a sparrow worth only half
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Speaker 1: a penny can fall to the ground. Without your father
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Speaker 1: knowing it. He called a coin out of the mouth
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Speaker 1: of a fish. He stopped the waves with one word.
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Speaker 1: He spoke and a tree became barren. He spoke again.
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Speaker 1: And a basket became a banquet. Economy. Meteorology. Biology. All
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Speaker 1: things have been handed over to me. By my father.
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Speaker 1: Your greatest problem, dear friend, is nothing but a rubber
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Speaker 1: band and some bobby pins to him. And what is
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Speaker 1: impossible for man is possible with God. Now, Satan does
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Speaker 1: not want you to believe this. Satan does not want
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Speaker 1: you to believe this. He wants you to think that
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Speaker 1: the world is spinning out of control. He wants you
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Speaker 1: to think that your life is spinning out of control.
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Speaker 1: And you have to interrupt those thoughts the moment they appear.
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Speaker 1: You've got to pluck them up, throw them out, and
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Speaker 1: replant thoughts of faith. You uproot and replant. You uproot
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Speaker 1: those thoughts of fear and you replant them with words
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Speaker 1: of faith. You've got to talk to yourself. You have to.
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Speaker 1: You've got to take every thought captive. Do not let
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Speaker 1: those anxious thoughts have a moment inside your mind. You
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Speaker 1: dismiss them quickly. This is how Christ brings peace. You
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Speaker 1: uproot thoughts of fear. Replant them with thoughts of faith.
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Speaker 1: You can do this. Just tell God. Tell God. Be
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Speaker 1: quick to pray. Be slow to worry. Take your fretful
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Speaker 1: thoughts to Jesus. And the sooner you pray, the sooner
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Speaker 1: peace will come. So trust God. Tell God. And one more.
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Speaker 1: Thank God. Thank God. Again, the apostle says, do this
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Speaker 1: always giving thanks. thanks. Always give thanks, really? Even when
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Speaker 1: the babies make a mess and the boss makes demands
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Speaker 1: and the spouse makes no sense. Even when it's manna
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Speaker 1: for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. dinner? That was the question
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Speaker 1: of the Israelites. Did you know that the most famous
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Speaker 1: grumblers in history were the Jews who wandered in the wilderness?
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Speaker 1: Look up the word complain in the Hebrew dictionary, and
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Speaker 1: there you will see a picture of an Israelite waving
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Speaker 1: a manna wafer at Moses saying, manna again? They were
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Speaker 1: experts in worry and grumbling. Listen to this sour chorus.
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Speaker 1: The people grumbled against Moses. The whole community grumbled against Moses.
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Speaker 1: They grumbled against Moses. The Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
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Speaker 1: The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The
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Speaker 1: Israelites were world-class grumblers. They had a PhD in complaining.
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Speaker 1: They were like the husband who always complained about his breakfast.
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Speaker 1: The eggs were never right. The toast was always too
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Speaker 1: crisp or the coffee was too cold. One morning his
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Speaker 1: wife determined to do her very best. He wanted one
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Speaker 1: egg scrambled to And one egg fried. She served him
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Speaker 1: the eggs. One fried and one scrambled. Still he grumbled.
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Speaker 1: You fried the wrong egg. The Israelites did the same.
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Speaker 1: They belly ached about the heat of the desert. The
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Speaker 1: monotony of the manna. And the scarcity of the water.
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Speaker 1: Send us back to Egypt. They once said. Now we
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Speaker 1: read of this complaining. We shake our heads. Let me
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Speaker 1: get this straight. You were slaves in Egypt and God
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Speaker 1: set you free. He toppled the dynasty like a kid
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Speaker 1: topples tinker toys. He opened the Red Sea as casually
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Speaker 1: as opening a book. You witnessed miracle after miracle fed
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Speaker 1: by God, led by God. You left Egypt with all
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Speaker 1: the loot and headed toward the promised land and still
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Speaker 1: you grumble. How could they grumble so much? Well, apparently
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Speaker 1: they're thinking the same about us. Now, I'm not sure
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Speaker 1: you're going to believe this, but Moses contacted me. Yeah,
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Speaker 1: I heard from him. This week, as I was working
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Speaker 1: on this sermon, a curious email came my way from
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Speaker 1: moses at mountsinai.com. I thought I would read it to you.
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Speaker 1: Dear Max, I've been watching you prepare your lesson. You're
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Speaker 1: not the first preacher to discuss the grumbling Israelites. But
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Speaker 1: let me point out, they weren't the last to grumble.
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Speaker 1: I've heard a bit from your folks as well. Traffic
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Speaker 1: is slow, you grumbled. Speed limit is slow. You grumble.
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Speaker 1: You have too many taxes, too few flights, too many classes,
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Speaker 1: and too few places to eat. Why, you even grumble
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Speaker 1: at the way the Israelites grumbled. So let me get
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Speaker 1: this straight. You were slaves to sin, but God set
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Speaker 1: you free. He toppled the dynasty of the devil like
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Speaker 1: a kid topples tinker toys. He opened the grave of
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Speaker 1: Jesus as casually as you'd open a book. You witness
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Speaker 1: miracle after miracle. You're fed by the manna of God's word,
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Speaker 1: led by the fire of the Holy Spirit. You are
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Speaker 1: loaded with spiritual gifts. On your way to the promised land,
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Speaker 1: you grumble. I don't think you would have survived the desert. Patriarchally, Moses. P.S.
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Speaker 1: I'm requesting an expansion of the Ten Commandments to 11.
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Speaker 1: The new one would read, thou shalt not grumble. I
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Speaker 1: don't know if the motion will pass. The first 10
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Speaker 1: after all were written in stone. You know, we cannot.
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Speaker 1: Can you believe I got that email? We cannot, dear friend,
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Speaker 1: we cannot at once be anxious and thankful. We cannot.
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Speaker 1: It just doesn't work. Your heart refuses to. To allow
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Speaker 1: anxiety and gratitude to enter at the same time. And
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Speaker 1: gratitude will always win the day. If you want the
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Speaker 1: surest way to deal with anxiety, just make a list
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Speaker 1: of your blessings. Choose gratitude. Sometimes God calms the storm.
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Speaker 1: But sometimes he just calms the child. He's calming our
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Speaker 1: friend Bill Loveless. Bill is a beloved parachurch minister who
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Speaker 1: lives in the San Antonio area and serves worldwide. He
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Speaker 1: was recently diagnosed with cancer, both of the pancreas as
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Speaker 1: well as the liver. The news has not taken him down.
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Speaker 1: Just the opposite. In a letter to friends of his
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Speaker 1: ministry that went out just less than 10 days ago,
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Speaker 1: He stated, Immediately upon hearing this diagnosis, I walked into
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Speaker 1: a new realm of God's presence. His love and His grace,
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Speaker 1: the things I have been teaching, have become a living, breathing,
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Speaker 1: 3D reality like I have never experienced. The Lord and
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Speaker 1: I have been in nonstop communion, and every day His presence, love, mercy,
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Speaker 1: and comfort continue to fill my soul. I truly can't
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Speaker 1: put into words what the Lord is revealing, but I
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Speaker 1: have never experienced such a deep awareness of his presence.
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Speaker 1: Will God take Bill's storm? We don't know, but we
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Speaker 1: know he has calmed this child. He's calming Susanna. She
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Speaker 1: buried her husband just a few weeks ago. She's already
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Speaker 1: sent me two messages of gratitude. One, For the scripture,
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Speaker 1: I texted her. The other for the flowers that we sent.
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Speaker 1: She's a widow at 40 with two middle schoolers. And
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Speaker 1: yet she is thankful. That's her long. The future is uncertain.
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Speaker 1: But she writes, I can already see good come out
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Speaker 1: of this. God didn't keep her out of the storm,
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Speaker 1: but he calmed her inside it. No storm ever hit
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Speaker 1: harder than the one that raged through Gethsemane's garden. And
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Speaker 1: no prayer was ever prayed with more passion than the
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Speaker 1: one prayed by Jesus on the eve of his crucifixion.
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Speaker 1: Can you calm this storm? He asks. God did for Moses.
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Speaker 1: God did for Daniel. God would do for Paul and Silas.
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Speaker 1: Could he not do for his own son? Of course
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Speaker 1: he could, but he Chose not to. Because the cross
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Speaker 1: was part of God's plan. God did not calm the storm,
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Speaker 1: but our precious father calmed his son. And Jesus marched
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Speaker 1: to Calvary in peace. A heaven sent illogical stared death
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Speaker 1: in the face with a smile. Peace. You can find peace.
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Speaker 1: Christ promises it. Enough peace to cause a carpenter to
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Speaker 1: snooze in a typhoon. So just trust God. Tell God.
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Speaker 1: Thank God. And you will find a peace that passes
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Speaker 1: all understanding. Amen. Thank you, Lord, for this promise, for
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Speaker 1: the blessing, for the goodness. And let peace settle upon
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Speaker 1: this wonderful church, all campuses, all people. And let peace
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Speaker 1: settle upon this fragile planet. We offer this prayer in
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Speaker 1: Jesus' name, the Prince of Peace. And all God's people said... You.
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Speaker 4: Don't have to be me. You don't have to stay close.
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Speaker 4: As long as you're somewhere out there, that's enough for me.
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Speaker 1: I don't need to hold you near me Don't need.
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Speaker 3: Promises to keep.
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Speaker 1: Just the thought that.
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Speaker 3: You are breathing Somewhere in this world I see Even
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Speaker 3: if I'm not beside you Even if you never know
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Speaker 3: There's a quiet kind of comfort Just in knowing you
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Speaker 3: still glow I don't.
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Speaker 1: Need forever.
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Speaker 4: I just need you to exist.
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Speaker 5: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
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Speaker 5: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
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Speaker 5: out there.
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Speaker 3: Calling softly through my days You don't have.
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Speaker 5: To look my way You don't have to be my home.
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Speaker 3: It's enough to know you're living In a world.
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Speaker 1: I'm not alone.
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Speaker 3: I won't chase you through the distance. Won't disturb your
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Speaker 3: chosen life. I'll just keep you in my silence like
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Speaker 3: a star that shines at night.
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Speaker 1: Through the dark and through the blue.
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Speaker 3: I still think of you.
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Speaker 5: You don't have to feel the same Just as long
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Speaker 5: as you're still out there Calling softly through my days
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Speaker 5: You don't have to look my way You don't have
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Speaker 5: to be my home It's enough to know you're living
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Speaker 5: In a world I'm not alone.
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Speaker 3: I don't need to be your light I don't need
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Speaker 3: to cross your mind All I need is just the
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Speaker 3: truth That you're somewhere Still alive.
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Speaker 6: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
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Speaker 6: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
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Speaker 6: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
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Speaker 6: to look my way You don't have to be my
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Speaker 6: home It's enough to.
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Speaker 3: Know you're living
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Speaker 1: In a world I'm not alone.