Not Afraid of Uncertainty | Jud Wilhite

Come on, what a powerful time of worship. And hey, we just wanna give a shout out to everyone joining us online. Drop in the chat box where you're watching from below. We would love to connect with you. And hey, we also just wanna give a huge shout out to everyone watching through our partnership with Pando and God Behind Bars. Come on, let's give it up for them. Yeah, well, we are about to enter our message time of the service. If not already, pull out your Central Church app and head to the experience tab and follow in our teaching notes. But let's give a warm welcome as we welcome up Pastor Judd as he continues in our series, Not Afraid. All right, all right. Good to have you guys with us today. Big shout out to our Central family locations as always that are joining us. I wanna welcome Central Summerlin and Central Sunrise Mountain, Central Kingman and Central Aliante. Great to have you with us today. Some of you are more advanced than I am, but this week I had my very first experience in a car that drives itself. What in the world? It was a Tesla and they have this thing

called full self-driving supervised, right? And so I do all the things and I hit the button and the car like drives itself. I mean, you're supposed to be there like at the wheel. Your feet are right there by the pedals in case something happens. But we went for a long time and nothing happened. It was crazy. This car is just like cruising, changing lanes. At one point we were like turning at a light and this guy acts like he's gonna walk across the street and then backs up and the car is like. And then he decides to go and then we waited and then just like a human, it turned the corner and it didn't wait till he crossed the whole street. He just got out of our lane and it's like, okay, we're good. I'm like, what is happening right now? It was wild, it's wild. I know some of you have been familiar with these different kind of software programs for a while, but I'm new to this world and that kind of blew me away. It's crazy to me how fast technology is advancing and how good things are getting and how fast they're getting there. Like, I don't know, I was down on the strip with some friends from out of town. That's usually how it is, right? And taking them, we were walking around and all of a sudden we saw these cars, Zooks Robo Taxis. I don't know if you've seen these,

but they look kind of like this. We've got a picture here and there's like no driver, there's no steering wheel. You just get in and it just goes and takes you to like specific stops and I guess they're adding more stops all the time. I'm like, I thought this stuff was supposed to happen in like five years or 10 years and it's just here. Here we are, it's today. But it's not perfected, by the way. I don't know if you saw that video. It's kind of ironic and funny. These police officers are like, it's like a crime scene and they're arresting this guy and they've got their weapons drawn and they've got the guy, hands over your head, down on his knees. They're cuffing him and the whole deal and this like, I think it's a Waymo Robo Taxi just drives around the cone and just drives right by like nothing's happening and you're like, come on AI, read the room. What are you doing? So not perfected, but it is happening fast and we live in a world that is changing at such a phenomenal speed. Whether it's AI or robotics, you think about like all of the global things happening, you think about things happening in economics, things happening with agriculture,

it's kind of mind blowing the amount of change and disruption that we see around us and then with social media, we have like all the news of the world right there on our phone available immediately and I think with all of this information coming at us, it's easy to feel just a sense of uncertainty about the future. I mean, there's the optimist, it's gonna be amazing, everything is gonna be great, right? There's the pessimist, it's gonna be the worst thing in the world. Did anybody see Terminator? You know, like that's where we're headed, right? And maybe it's somewhere in between, I don't know, but I do know it's easy to feel uncertain about what's coming in the future and psychologists tell us that the feeling of uncertainty is one of the most unsettling, stressful feelings and senses you can have. You know, if you've ever waited for a medical test result to come back that gets delayed and delayed and delayed, then you know how that uncertainty can just eat you up and if you wait long enough, if you're like me, you get to a place where you're like, I don't care what the verdict is at some point, like I just wanna know what it is. You know, just somebody tell me something, even if it's bad so that we can deal with it.

It's the uncertainty that can eat away at you and kill you and so today I wanna talk about how even in very uncertain times and that's the human condition, it's always uncertain. The future is always. uncertain and it's been uncertain as long as humans have walked the planet but we trust a God that we believe knows the future certainly and has the future in his hands and we follow him so even though we live in uncertain times I believe we can have a certainty about God's care in our lives that gives us a sense of peace as we walk the road so we've been looking at one of the oldest most popular passages in the Bible Psalm 23 this amazing Psalm it's comforted people for centuries and we started unpacking it last week you know the one the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want right so here we are let's go back to Psalm 23 beginning in verse 4 help me out when we get to the red word David says even when I walk through the darkest valley I will not be afraid for you are what close you're close beside me so David is acknowledging don't miss this that even though God is close beside him that doesn't mean he won't walk through dark valleys right even though God is David is not engaging in the magical thinking that says because I go to church and because I'm a good Christian person bad things aren't gonna happen to me right and some people kind of believe that you know and that's why they get so disappointed at God because they still face difficulty they still face hardship they still face tough things but the Bible never promises a life that won't be filled with challenges the Bible never promises a life where there won't be dark valleys we talked last week about how that word could be translated the shadowest of shadows like like David acknowledges that sometimes you're gonna walk through the shadowest of shadows sometimes you're gonna go through the dark valley but God can be with you even in the situation I don't know where you're at today in your life but I'm sure somebody today is in a dark valley maybe it's something your kids are doing maybe it's just something you're trying to

navigate on your own maybe you're trying to deal with your past have you ever noticed that when you try to deal with your past and you try to get better and get healthier sometimes it gets harder before it gets easier right you just stir it all up and you got to work through all that now before you can move forward and you feel like you're in a dark valley but David says even in the dark valley even in the shadowest of shadow is God I will not be afraid for you are close beside me and I talked last week about how my declaration for 2026 is faith over fear I will not be afraid but I will live with faith in a good God who cares about us as his people and who won't abandon us so one of the first principles that we see in Psalm 23 is this idea that God is with you that God is with you in the good sense how many of you have a pet that's like a clingy pet you know a pet that just you know just is always around and always wants to be held and like we have this French bulldog named Stella and and I love her but man she's a lot I mean she is a lot like you know those dogs were bred to be lap dogs but I didn't and that's great and when they're when they're puppies it's cute you know you're like oh you want to be held you want to be held and then they get older and they only want to be held all the time and especially if Lori ever leaves town or is gone for a few days man she follow everywhere I go she's like looking at me hold me hold me hold me I gotta pick I'm not trying to type emails around this dog you know cuz she's always wants to be in your lap and you can't get away like if she looks like she's sleeping she's not you know what I'm talking about like they're just always aware I'll get up real quietly and I'll take one step like I'm trying to sneak out of the room and boom she's right on my heels look I can't even go to the bathroom y'all it's bad you try to go to the bathroom you got a sprint man cuz she's boom right there and then if she doesn't follow me in the bathroom she lays at the door until I eventually come out it's wild she she just more than anything else is like a Velcro dog she's just always there I feel like in my home right now I am living that police song you know every breath you take right every move you make and there's those little beady

black eyes I'll be watching you it's like unbelievable somehow she's worked her way into our bed she now she sleeps with us and I thought we were past this but we're not and I mean it's wild every night because I sleep like a like a tornado she just starts over with me but then she basically sleeps beside my wife Lori because she sleeps like a vampire she never moves all night long she just sort of lays there So she sleeps right by her, but she starts with me and she puts her bottom up by my face. I don't understand what this is. Always her bottom. And then when she goes over to Lori, she's face up, bottom down. I'm like, this is... Anyway, 545 every morning, I wake up. Now our dog does not bark. She makes no sounds, except she'll flap her ears and expect you to understand. But she will wake me up just by breathing and staring at me. For real. I wake up at 545 in the morning to these beady black eyes, right here by my face. And that means, feed me. So I'll take her down and feed her. And then as soon as I get her fed, she's like, hold me. Unbelievable. She's always there and it can be a lot. Now, the Bible says God is with us, but not like a stalker like Stella. What it means is like, like God is always present and he's present for our good and for our protection, like a good shepherd. In fact, Psalm 23 verse 4 goes on and David writes, he says, your rod and your staff, what? Protect and comfort me. They protect and comfort me. So shepherds, these were like the basic tools of a shepherd. They have a staff, which is what you see on all the Christmas cards. It's that, that big stick, you know, with the hook at the top, right? Like the staff they carry and it can help them navigate terrain when they're walking and stuff like that. But mostly it helps them keep the sheep in line. You know, they can, they can hook a sheep and bring it back if it's going the wrong way. Like they can kind of redirect it to keep it on, on path. And so the staff, it corrects, it comforts. And then there's the rod. Now the rod was a shorter stick, more thick and sometimes gnarled on one end. And it was like a weapon. The shepherd would use the rod to protect the sheep, to defend against lion or bears or cougars or whatever. I was reading about one shepherd who said he was in Africa and there were some

shepherds, modern day shepherds, and he said it was unbelievable the accuracy with which they could take a rod like that and throw it end over end, just like you would an ax and how it would hit its target directly. Like they knew how to protect their sheep. And David says, your staff, your rod, your presence close beside me, it protects me and it comforts me. In fact, Jesus says in John chapter 10 that he is the good shepherd. He's the good shepherd. And then he gives us some qualities of a shepherd. So let's look at it over here. John chapter 10, beginning of verse 14, Jesus puts it this way. He says, I am the good shepherd. Now look at this. He says, I know my own sheep and they know me just as my father knows me and I know the father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. That's a good shepherd. He's willing to lay his life down to protect the sheep. And throughout John 10, he gives some qualities of a good shepherd. And here's the first one, authority. Jesus says, I'm literally the gate. It's not like, you know, a thief would come in and attack the sheep by going over the gate. He says, no, I am the gate. I can walk up to the gate. I am the authority, if you will. I am the true shepherd of these people. Can I tell you, a lot of people are going to try to influence you in your life. There are a lot of influencers in our world, but God ultimately is the only one with the authority to shepherd you. He loves you. He cares for you. He wants what's best for you. He's willing to lay his life down for you. A good shepherd has the authority. A good shepherd also has personal care. He says he literally knows our voice. He knows. Turn to the person next to you and just say he knows. He knows. He knows what you need. He knows what you're facing. He knows what you're afraid of. He knows what you feel like you can't overcome. He knows the season you're in. He knows the season you will be in. He knows the season you came out of in your life. He knows and he cares. See, a shepherd would go out and if a shepherd yells sheep, sheep, the sheep will run from wherever they are and gather around the shepherd. Now somebody else could just come out and yell sheep, sheep, and nothing's gonna happen, but they know the voice of the shepherd and when the shepherd yells sheep, the sheep come running. Jesus says I know my own and he says they know my

voice. They know my voice. He cares and he watches over them. Here's a third quality of a shepherd, a full life. In John 10, Jesus says the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. So this is Jesus describing Himself as the Good Shepherd saying I've come to give you a full life. The thief is the enemy of our souls Satan the one who prowls around the Bible says like a roaring lion Seeing seeking whom he may devour, but Jesus says I've come not to steal. I've not come to take from you I've not come to crash into your life and destroy it He says I've come to give you a full life a satisfying life a meaningful life Can I tell you being a follower of Jesus can be challenging there can be risks you'll go through dark valleys It's hard, but God will make your life full and satisfied as you follow him and trust him God will give you peace when you shouldn't have peace God will give you joy when you can't even explain it God will meet your needs when you're not even sure how those needs are gonna be met God will go ahead of you He'll come behind you. He is a good shepherd He will give you a full life, and then the fourth characteristic of a good shepherd is Sacrificial love he's literally willing to lay down his life for his sheep And Jesus ultimately went to the cross and died on the cross for you And I and so David says your rod and your staff they comfort me and the idea is a good shepherd protects and comforts because a good shepherd has Authority and cares personally for his sheep and offers a full life for them and is willing to sacrifice to put himself In between the predators and the sheep and to offer his life if need be to protect those sheep That's the kind of shepherd we have and so I don't know what's coming in the future But I know I'm following a good shepherd and that gives me confidence that gives me peace that gives me assurance I don't have to know everything that's coming because I feel like I follow the one who does and he's a good shepherd It's a good shepherd Every day I start the day in the morning 545 by the way feeding the dog and Then I I take a psalm and I pray through that psalm and so this week I was in psalm 28, and I was thinking about this message and the scripture said this speaking of God It says lead them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms

forever And when I read it I thought man that's a powerful image because when a sheep got injured like even if it was their own fault a good shepherd would pick up that sheep and Carry them home and bind their wounds and nurse them back to health Here the Bible saying that is the kind of shepherd God is he picks his sheep up. He carries them in his arms forever Some of you walked in today and and you got some wounds right now, but you are led by the good shepherd Let the Lord carry you in his arms Look, if you're hurting if stress is eating you alive Let the Lord carry the burden in his arms if you're facing health struggles and a scary diagnosis Look, let the Lord carry the burden in his arms If you feel a little lost or disoriented right now Let the Lord carry you in his arms because even in uncertain times you can be certain of God's care That's one of the reasons across our locations at Central We pray for each other every week because we believe God can carry those burdens in his arms and carry us in his arms He's always with you to protect and to comfort Here's another idea about the good shepherd from Psalm 23 that God will never fail you not only is God with you But God will never fail you look we fail we make mistakes you ever done something You just thought I can't believe I did that You ever had a moment where you just thought I cannot how dumb can I be To have died just recently had one of these moments I went to do a funeral for a friend of mine who I have known for over 30 years Two years ago. He asked me he said Judd like, you know He had cancer and we thought he only had weeks left And he said would you be willing to speak at my funeral and I said, yeah I'd be honored to do that and then he lived for two more years Which was amazing at cancer But recently he passed away and so it was out of state and I went to do this funeral now We were really close way back in the day like 30 years ago

I've not been so close to him over the last 10 plus years But every now and then we'd stay connected and and we would touch base, you know How time and distance work in relationships? And so I agree to do his funeral But the interesting thing is like I had always known him with his wife of like 40 years But in the last few years of his life He divorced his wife of all those years and in the last four months of his life. He married a new wife and So I had told myself going into the funeral Don't even try to say the names of any wife Right because I've only known the other one But then I just I don't know I can't explain it. I looked out at the new wife, I smiled, I had met her before, sweet lady, and I called her by the ex-wife's name. It's like the pastor fail of all pastor fails. It's like, to my friend of 30 years in heaven, I love you bro, I'm so sorry, I am so so sorry. It was so awkward and embarrassing and there was no way out of it except just keep talking. So I did. I mean, I corrected myself and then I just kept talking. Listen, people will fail you, even your pastor will fail you, gosh, friends will fail you, but God will never fail you. God will never fail you. And Psalm 23 gets to some powerful ideas here. Look at this verse 5. It says, he says of God, the psalmist, he says, you prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with what? With blessings. So there's some rich ideas here from the Middle East. First, you prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. Like, like feasting was a big deal because who you feasted with, that said a lot about who you were for and who you were connected with. And this is an image, David says, that God sets the table and here's all his enemies and God prepares the feast for him. In other words, the victory God gives him is total. It's complete. He's won. God has brought the victory completely and he can celebrate that. But it also reminds us that even when you have a victory, there's a battle and there's enemies, right? If you live long enough, you're gonna have some haters. Come on, somebody. You're gonna have somebody at the other

end of the table that may not like everything you do or every decision you've made or what you stand for. They assume they know whatever about you and they make judgments. You're gonna have enemies. To have victory assumes a battle, right? To have a battle assumes enemies. But David says, God, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You've brought total victory. Then he says, you anoint my head with oil. Now that's got to be like a double image. On the one hand, David was the young king who before he became king was anointed as the future king and they poured oil over his head. Literally, he was anointed with oil. But David was also a shepherd and every shepherd you read about will talk about the fact that a good shepherd in the summer always anoints the sheep with oil. He always pours oil over their head, rubs it around their face. Why? It protects them from flies. Sheep attract flies, I guess, like crazy. It's a big deal. Philip Keller, a shepherd, said that there are warble flies, bot flies, heel flies, nose and nasal flies, deer flies, black flies, mosquitoes, gnats, all kinds of winged parasites that will torment sheep in the summer. And so, especially like nasal flies, they buzz around the sheep's head and they try to lay eggs on the damp area of a sheep's nose. And then those little eggs, they hatch and a little small little worm-like larva is born and it climbs into the nasal passage and burrows in the flesh. I know some of you are like thoroughly grossed out, right? You thought your allergies were bad? It could be worse. It could be worse. You could have little baby larva planted in your nose. And so this nasal issue can become so significant that like literally it can lead to an infection and that infection can lead to blindness in sheep. So it becomes a huge deal. And so when flies come around sheep, they panic. They completely wig out. They start running from the sheep, bolting from the sheep. If nasal flies come on a sheep and they get in this situation, they can be seen banging their head against trees trying to get these flies out. They rummage around on the ground. You know, they're in a panic. They're restless. They could be aggressive because it's like torture. In fact, it can get so bad that sheep have been known to take their own life to try and get relief from these nasal flies

that have like planted in their nose. And so a good shepherd knows you have to, as the summer comes around, anoint the sheep with oil. You have to put oil over their faith. And Philip Keller, a shepherd, described it this way. He said, when you do this, what an incredible transformation it makes. He says, once the oil has been applied to the sheep's head, there's an immediate change in their behavior. He says, gone is the aggravation, gone is the frenzy, gone is the irritability. He said, instead, the sheep would start to feed quietly again, and then soon, they would lie down in peaceful contentment. Now, there's a lot of things that buzz around our heads, right? A lot of, there's a lot of flies out there, if you will. Annoying, painful, hard, difficult things, but David says, God, you're the one that gives me peace. You're the one that anoints my head with oil. You're the one that gives me comfort when all the things are flying around me and feel out of control. It reminds me of this amazing passage then where he goes on and he says, and my cup overflows, literally overflows. Not just, he says, my cup was filled, right? We read it together. He says, my cup overflows. Think about that. When you follow the good shepherd, the good shepherd can lead you to a life that is filled with more than you need, right?

More love than you need or deserve. More joy, more peace, more kindness, more faithfulness, more self-control, more patience. All of it is overflowing in your life because you follow the good shepherd who will one day prepare a table before your enemies. You will feast there. He anoints your head with oil. His rod, his staff, they comfort you. And ultimately, it reminds me of this incredible promise in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews, chapter 13, verse six. This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. Look at this. It says, for God has said, I will never fail you and I will never abandon you. So this is a promise. God said this to his people. I'll never fail you. I will never abandon you. It's God's promise. And then we can say with confidence, the Lord is my helper, so I will have no, what? Fear, I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? So I want you to understand as you read this passage, this is a call and response passage. The promise is, I'll never fail you. I will never abandon you. But we respond then with confidence,

the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. See, because of who God is and what he's promised, you and I can live differently. We can live without the constant fear. So whatever your news feeds try to convince you, look, you can say the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. Look, when your job changes, the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. When your home is filled with drama and challenges that you never saw coming, the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. When your schedule gets crazier and crazier and your list of things to do feels overwhelming, the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. When the pain from the past flares up and starts to destroy any good progress you've made, the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. When that health issue wasn't as simple as you hoped, the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. When you look out at this next year, at the challenges, at the obstacles, at the uncertainty, at all the things you can't control, listen, the Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. So this week, when the fear comes and the uncertainty comes and maybe even the panic comes, say with confidence, say it out loud if you need to, the Lord is my helper, I will have no fear. And then I love this, what can mere people do to me? Well, they could do a lot.

They could hurt me, they could beat me up, they could kill me, but ultimately, in an eternal sense, what can mere people do to you? If God is good, if God watches over you, and if God will work through you in this life and the next, what really can mere people do to me? This is why I said week one, the more we revere and fear God, the less we fear everything else, right? The more you honor God and acknowledge who he is in your life, the less fear you have for everything else that could go wrong. So there's a lot of uncertainties, but God's care is certain. He's the good shepherd. He has authority, he wants to give you a full life, he has a personal care for you, he's got a sacrificial love for you, and he will walk with you and protect you. Lean into the good shepherd this week. In the fearful times, remind yourself, say it with confidence, I will have no fear, the Lord is my helper, and I will follow him in faith. And just breathe. And you know what, if you just do that, you're gonna be different. You're gonna stand out in a crowd. You're not gonna look like the rest. of our culture that's buzzing around like the Lord of the flies everywhere they go. Because the good shepherd has anointed you with oil

and he's calmed your fears and you're trusting him even in the craziness of life. Maybe you're here today, maybe you've never crossed that line of faith. I want you to know that God loves you. I believe with all my heart that he wants you to be one of his sheep, that he's calling out to you. And some of you, you know, he's been working in your life. He's been tapping you on the shoulder. Maybe he's been disciplining you or bringing you back home to him. But will you trust him today? You will never regret it when you lean into the good shepherd because he can give you a good full life. So would all of you bow your heads and close your eyes. And if you'd like to become a follower of Jesus today, you can begin that journey by just reaching out to him. Just repeat after me a simple prayer, either out loud or in your own heart and mind. Just say, dear God, I thank you for loving me. Thank you for sending Jesus into the world. I believe he died on the cross for my sins. I believe he rose again. Forgive me for my sins. Give me the gift of eternal life. Help me face the challenges that I'm up against. God, I surrender my life to you. In Christ's name. And friends, with every head bowed and every eye closed,

if that's your prayer today, if it's your cry to God, would you just slip your hand in the air? Whatever location you may be at, if you're watching at home, if you're joining us on the Pando app in a different prison location, just slip your hand in the air. Just acknowledge you're gonna trust him and follow him in your life today. God, I thank you for each person trusting you, reaching out to you today. I pray you'll move in their life. Bless, protect, heal, restore. We commit them to you. We thank you for these moments. In Christ's name, amen.