When Your World Falls Apart: Choose Worship Over Worry | Pastor Shane Idleman

The title this morning, I came across a good book from David Jeremiah this week. And the title was, and I'm borrowing his title, When Your World Falls Apart. When Your World Falls Apart. I have about three or four copies of that book for those who really need it. So if you're really going through it, it's over in the office. You can grab a copy on your way out. There's only four copies, so make sure you really need it. And it's an important topic because we're in the book of Acts and we're going through verse by verse, and Peter, this mighty man of God, got arrested. And they just killed James. And I don't think it was very humane the way they did it back then. And Peter knew what was coming, probably the head on a chopping block. And if he's got something to worry about, I think he might have it above most of us when it comes to worry. And I think even the Christians actually right now that are probably in Iranian prisons and just what they're going through and lifting them up in our prayers. And so the title is When Your World Falls Apart, Choose Worship Over Worry. Choose Worship Over Worry.

And guys, this is where the rubber meets the road in the Christian life. It's pretty easy to be a Christian when it's easy. No persecution. No challenges. Man, I love Jesus. He got me a good paying job. He brought me a spouse. It's going good. Well, wait till the wheels fall off that car. Because we can sing these songs, the goodness of God, but you really don't know about that until He brings you through the storm. And then you become a worshiper because you know what He has brought you through. So this word, the worry, it's an interesting word. It means anxious or troubled about things that are actual or potential problems. Anybody worry about things that don't happen? Just a few of you? But that's what we're inclined to do. We're inclined to worry about what's coming up. Why? So I can change course. Or I can go into protection mode. Now, I think some worry can actually be beneficial because it gets us to make lifestyle changes

that need to be made. And same with fear, worry. They can have a good outcome if we point them in the right direction. And many people will repair their marriage if they fear divorce. Or they fear financial ruin, they will make some different financial decisions. Or health crisis. They'll make some different decisions. But really, worry, though, when it's unbiblical, it's the antithesis of worry. That was a tough one. Remind me of my younger years with my speech therapist. So trusting God and worry are kind of enemies. Because if we're trusting God, it really should push out worry, theoretically. And when we're worrying, we're not trusting God. Those two things really can't have dominion in the same home of the human heart. And so there's that constant tension between the two. And people will let you down, which can be a good thing. Well, Shane, that doesn't make sense. Well, what I've found is when people let you down, God doesn't. And we realize that there is no hope in other people. Have you ever went through something difficult and the person you're counting on, they forget in five minutes?

Right, because they're not going through it with you. They feel it for a season, but then, hey, they've got their own worries. And, oh man, they let me down. Have you ever felt that way? Absolutely. Have you ever said and felt this way, the church has let me down? Even as a pastor, I know I let people down. It's impossible not to, because there's expectations and there's this. And it can be a good thing if it points you to a deeper relationship with God. Correct? Oh, they let me down, but He doesn't. Thank You, Lord. And you begin to develop a spirit of thankfulness as well. And guess what? Everybody's going through something. Things you don't even know about, people are going through. So we need a lot more grace. And we're not designed to lean on people completely. Yes, they'll come alongside, they'll help, they'll fellowship, they'll encourage. We should not go through things alone. The Lone Ranger is not a good idea. and he had a partner. But ultimately, we're to lean on God completely. Cast our cares upon Him.

And He will direct us. He will encourage us. And I just say that because I've seen so many people, they really get bent out of shape. Is that okay to say it that way? Or negative? I mean, I'll run into people and I'll hear around town and really how this church or that church or other, they really let me down. And that's sad. There's no excuse for it. But ultimately, don't let that keep you away from God. In church, people will let you down. People hurt. People hurt. Especially in church. Because we're trying and we have expectations of certain things. And those expectations are not meant. We think this or we think that. And when it doesn't happen, we get offended. We begin to worry about things. But worry, that's what I put up here, can often motivate movement. Worry can often motivate movement. God will sometimes use that to get you to move. To get you to change some things. To get you to fix some things. And so it's not always a bad thing

because God can use it as long as we look to Him. Like, have you ever went through something and say, okay, Lord, what are you trying to teach me? Help me here. Teach me in this versus becoming critical and disgruntled. Big difference. Big difference. And as we all know, it is never a good time for bad news. Never a good time for bad news. And that's why I want to talk to you this morning about when your world falls apart. If maybe that doesn't relate to you right now, keep living. Just keep getting up, keep going through life. And you will remember this message. You'll find it on social media years from now maybe. And it will hopefully be helpful. Peter's in jail. He's going to be killed. James was just killed. And so when I'm talking about worry, or when your world falls apart, there's actually two different kinds. There's persecution, which he's actually facing. There's persecution that's without. And then of course there's suffering that's within. So your world could be falling apart, but you're not in jail. Anybody got that call from the doctor? Or the lab? Or other things going on?

And it's like, man, my world is falling apart. And so that's within. And then we also could have demonic opposition going on. Demonic opposition, the demonic realm is real. And they can oppress believers. And have you ever just been in places like people call it a funk? Man, I don't know what is going on. I mean, it could be hormonal balances. It could be diet. I mean, I got it. But sometimes it's those little minions that you can't see. And they are just oppressing you as a believer. Paul went through it. He said, Lord, take this away. And I'm so glad we don't know what it is. Because all of you can apply that verse to your life. And so can I. Paul, the apostle Paul, that Bible actually says, and I didn't, again, this is one of the verses I'm trying to choose carefully what to put up there. I don't want to turn this into 42 slides. But a messenger of Satan, Paul was allowed to receive a messenger of Satan. And the word is a buffet to come against, to harass his flesh. So illness, possibly, could be some type of other attack.

And he said, when Paul prays, you think there's going to be answers to those prayers. And God said, nope. My grace is sufficient for you. Wait a minute, that's nice. But I want this to go. I want to be healed in Jesus' name. I want to name it and claim it. I want to blab it and grab it. And sometimes I have found that God will often say, no. My grace, what is God's grace? In your weakness, you are strong. Because His grace over your life protects you. You realize just how fragile you are. And how frail the body is. And God's grace is what's really going to see me through. The most time I've ever noticed this internally with your bodies between ages 50 and 55. Man, talk about jumping down the hill. Right, what's going on here? I'm 50 years old, we're at JetHawk Stadium. and I would race my son from home plate to the fence. Now, maybe jog. Eyesight, like what is going on? Lord, my grace is sufficient. And I'm a fixer and I want God to fix everything. I want to hear about Moses. He died at 120. His eyes were not dimmed, nor his natural forces abated.

Abated, meaning he was good at 120. But we live in a very different world nowadays, don't we? So this, I guess, is going to have to be both persecution without and suffering within. When your world is falling apart, either can happen. How many people go to jail and really are suffering right now? And they're doing great physically. But they're in jail, or some type of prison in their mind maybe. And then you have other people who are out of prison, but they're bound by other things. And it's an interesting topic. But when it comes to persecution, John 16. 1-3 is going to be a verse I hope you all remember in the future that we're living in. These things I've spoken to you, Jesus said that you should not be made to stumble. In other words, be prepared. The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. Sound familiar anywhere? There are religions out there that are specifically... I think it was just this week, a man got stabbed. He's okay, but the person asked him

what religion he is. And we're going to see this more and more. They think they're actually doing God a service by killing the infidel, the unbeliever. By afflicting harm in them. And that is really going to intensify I believe as time goes on. Another thing I didn't put on the slides about persecution without or the suffering, the pain within, is that pain is really the only way to push pride out. Now there are other ways. The Bible says humble yourself. Basically, so I don't have to humble you, God says. Don't you love that one? I wish we could apply that one a lot easier. But pain is that mechanism that God uses to really, when the pain comes, often, hopefully it happens, the pride can be pushed out. And that's why people become more broken and tender and humble because that pain just drops into their knees. And they realize that, you know, Lord, I am prideful. I need to be more thankful. I need to be more caring and courteous of others.

Now, the flip side though is pain can actually make us bitter and critical. And you have to really choose. If I could sum it up, when your world falls apart, choose worship over worry. We have to actually make that choice because the battle's here. More than here. Choosing to get our mind... The battle is in the mind, is it not? Have you figured that out yet? Warren Wearsby said something very important. When God permits His children to go through the furnace, He keeps His eyes on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. His loving heart knows how much and how long. As a nation and as individuals, we are only secure as when we seek Him. So if you're fearful, if you're going through a lot, your security is going to be found in your pursuit of Him. The more you pursue Him, the more that worry will leave. Now, it comes back. It doesn't leave forever, but the more we seek Him,

that's where we're going to find our security. So that's the 20 minute introduction for Acts 12. We're actually starting Acts 12 on this topic of worry. We're talking about, if you haven't been here, Acts 1-11. The church is born on the day of Pentecost. moving powerfully among believers and they're going all over the place and they're bringing the gospel that there's no there's no king except King Jesus and Caesar does not like that he's supposed to be worshipped he is the God that people are supposed to worship and they're they're going against that whole system so about that time Herod the king he stretched out his hand to harass some from the church then he killed James the brother of John with the sword and because he saw that it pleased the Jews he proceeded further to also seize Peter so when he had arrested him he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him intending to bring him before the people after the Passover now this is gonna be really cool in the next week or so I wish I could get there today but and an angel comes and and opens that the the gate and maybe puts the guards to sleep and pulls Peter out pulls Peter out and as he's out he finds the the the home where the church is praying the church is actually praying for this to happen and Peters knocking at the door and Rhoda I don't know how many that name still popular today I've heard that name enough road is not wrong she says Peters at the door and they said no no no if that's not possible we're he's in jail and we do that sometimes with God's prayers don't we like he couldn't really answer that could he and we will get to a very interesting part here in the book of Acts it's going to be helpful on that on that next message but when it comes to this topic Herod persecuting the church that's what he's doing the government is persecuting the church and we see that a lot don't we throughout the the the world that the government is persecuting the church the darkness loves to persecute the

light the darkness loves to persecute the light it offers a moment of satisfaction in other words that's why the darkness loves to persecute you and come against you and say things against you it wants to shut you especially the bolder you are some of my I don't get any persecution well that's probably because you're not very bold I'm just I'm just being straight with you now don't be arrogant and mean and loud you know you have to always be loud like I preach that's the we talk to individuals differently but when you're bold for the gospel and you're smiling about it people won't like you they want they want you to be quiet and and then when you're why because when you're quiet it offers them a moment of satisfaction why shut up that voice that harassing person they need to be quiet why did why did they want to remember that movement to to get the Ten Commandments out of the courthouses they would walk in everything like ah there's these big monuments oh thou shalt not oh I got to get this out of here I need a temporary moment of satisfaction by the way did you know that the courts were formed in the United States of America based on something called the Blackstones commentaries of the laws of England in the 1600s from Puritans it would list scripture with laws the whole foundation is built on that so it's not separation of church and state ACL you crybabies atheist crybabies that's what they are they're crybabies this watch I'm gonna get heat from this just that statement I've never been called the f word more than the last couple weeks on social media because I dared to say something about what's going on in Minneapolis and God forbid church shut your mouth be quiet let's shut this guy up oh that just makes me bolder by the way that just that just makes me bolder now we have to be careful because you can get the wrong attitude in there and you got to go before Lord Lord help me here I want to be loving like Jesus but I also want a little John the Baptist in me I need to find that balance help me but that's what they wanted like that shut this guy up and I believe that's why YouTube our YouTube channel 26,000 subscribers gone seven months ago they would tell us why guess what just appeared again this week Luke told me oh we're back up on my

How did that happen? That never happens. So now it's back up again. But at the heart of all these things, it's like shut that guy up. Not just me, Jack Hibbs. John MacArthur they want to shut up. Rob McCoy and Alan Jackson in Tennessee and all these solid people, they want to shut them up. If you're solid, they want to shut you up. Why did they protest Greg Laurie's church this week? They had to call in guards and stuff to escort people to their cars. Because I think they're hosting a TPUSA event. Shut them up! I don't want to hear about God or the truth. It's the spirit of lawlessness is what it is. It's the spirit of lawlessness. I don't want law and order. I want to do what I want, when I want, to who I want, how I want, and I don't want you or the church telling me to stop. Because it's conviction. It's conviction. Guys, you need to understand this. You need to understand this. That's why they want for you to be quiet.

Get prayer out of the schools. Church, do your little thing on Sunday, but stay out of politics too. You want to get controversial there? God designed rules and regulations and leadership. That's God's design. He wants the church to be salt and light in all areas of life. It's just because you don't like what's being said. So you want to get the church out of everything. Get God's Word out of everything. And that comes with persecution. That's why they want to silence that light. And applause fuels their persecution. You've heard that, right? The cheerleaders. And so a lot of those people against us, they love their social media feeds, and they love to just, oh, yeah, a lot of people like what I'm saying. Just because a lot of people like what you're saying doesn't mean it's right. You can take a million people, and one of them going towards God's Word, 999,000 going against it, they're still wrong. It doesn't matter how many cheerleaders you have. In every generation, the number of the righteous is small. Make sure that you are among them.

A.W. Tozer said that in the 1960s. So who is applauding you? Who's on your side? Doesn't that speak volumes? Who's on your side? And this is one thing that got me in trouble this week, I'll just tell you. It has nothing to do with politics. I'm just saying, if woke churches are on your side, Hollywood is on your side, most news outlets are on your side, are you on the right side? I mean, let's just be honest. Let's just, I'm a straight shooter. If all these ungodly, George Soros and Planned Parenthood, they're all on your side, Christian, are you sure you're on the right side? Really? Because there's no way. There's no way. Darkness has no fellowship with light. They hate people that are against them. They literally do. And all we can do is really pray for them. But I wanted to throw this word here too, number three, third bullet point, because this is key. I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what,

God's sovereignty is, it confuses me sometimes. Anybody else? So James dies, John gets released. I'm sorry. James dies, Peter's going to get released. How did that happen? Or James dies, John the Baptist, hello, if anybody needs an angel to come and release him from prison, it's John the Baptist. No, God's sovereignty gets his head cut off. My goodness. James is killed by the sword. John the Baptist gets his head cut off. What do you think Peter's waiting for? Well, I'm just going to send an angel. Put the guards to sleep. By the way, they all get killed because of it. They lost their prisoner. I'm going to open this gate, and we're going to get you out, Peter. Wow! And here's where it gets tough. Now Peter probably thinks, man, God's always going to get me out of jams. Man, God's sovereignty, I can just walk on water now, no snake or serpent or poison, and then he gets crucified upside down

He was killed later. and killed. Wait a minute, you just delivered me from prison. Now, church history shows, the Bible doesn't teach it, that Peter was actually hung upside down because he was crucified. Upside down. He just got me out of prison. Can't he keep getting me out of prison? Guys, God's sovereignty. Here's why it's confusing. Don't try to guess it. Don't get your hopes up. It's your sanity. Well, God, You're sovereign. You're sovereign. I don't understand. He just healed such and such, but now I'm dying. I'm confused. Don't be. Just trust sovereignty. Just trust. Just trust. It never makes sense. It never makes sense. Because we try to put our angle on it. Okay, God's sovereignty. He wants me not to have bills. Financially set. My Bitcoin's tanking this week. My stocks. Oh, my sovereignty. Oh, He wants me to be healthy like Moses.

And tell Him 120. Wait a minute, the doctor said what? Because we want God's sovereignty to be comfortable. That's normal. I want comfort. But what happens when His sovereignty is anything but? What do you tell the Christians in Iran? Do you know how many people probably really died? The numbers are startling. I mean, the picture's like a lot. Tens of thousands were killed by the government. You see parents holding on to body bags with their kids and stuff. It's like, where's God? Did you know that Christianity's exploding in Iran? And this is facts. This is not just me saying whatever I want to say. Well, where's God's sovereignty? Where is God's sovereignty? We don't understand. Again, He heals somebody else, but somebody else. He does, and I was just in Santa Barbara a week and a half ago, and I prayed. I actually taught real briefly at the, I'll say a political party. Don't throw me out. But I prayed, I taught at the Republican

National Committee on if my people, and calling them, and I'll do it for the Democrats, too, if they invite me. But guess what? Probably not gonna, hey, I'm just being truthful. I'll go to independents. I'll go to an atheist group. Right, we'll go to whoever. But a prayer request came up of a two-year-old with lymphoma, and two years old, and I'm like, oh, Lord, what's going on? And other prayer requests, I've been healed. It's like, this is such a weird, your sovereignty, God. Or you hear somebody, my prodigal's home. My prodigal's home, and they've only been away from the Lord six months. What about the family who's been praying for 16 years? I'm telling you, sovereignty is tricky. Isn't it? So here's the key. What's that old hymn? Trust and obey. Lord, I don't understand. But I've also seen things where people have got very, I mean, I remember the hospital a couple years ago now, and the daughter, everybody's praying for healing, and for sure, but he's got stomach cancer, and he's maybe four or five days left,

and I'm praying for him, and I end up doing his memorial, but they were so confused. Like, I thought God was, and what am I supposed to say? I mean, we're praying, we're, I mean, it's, you just don't, because you're trying to explain God's sovereignty. How do you do that when this has to happen with this and this? And then what about if people who never would have came to the Lord, came to the Lord because they watched their dad breathe his last breath? And they said, there's gotta be a God. God, I'm coming back to you. And so you see all these things. Trust me. God's sovereignty, it's like, I have no clue how this works. He'll take one, he'll raise up another, he'll heal one, he'll allow somebody else to go to be with their Savior. A young child, he heals a six-year-old, but then a 12-year-old, it's like, be careful, don't let it jade you. Because it can. I've got so many years to live, Lord, why? But I trust You. I trust You.

Oh, you can get to a sweet spot, can't you? You can get to a sweet spot when it comes to trust. Because no matter what comes at me, no matter what comes, Lord, though He slay me, I will trust Him. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. In order to sing some of these songs, you gotta go through it, church. You gotta go through it. Oh, He's my comfort, He's my redeemer, He's my strength, He's my strong tower, He's my shield, He's my anchor. Well, your boat's gotta wanna be drifting, and He's gotta pull you back as the anchor to be able to sing those songs. The reason some of the people in here are just so heartfelt worshipers is because if it had not been for the grace of God, they would've lost their mind, and it keeps them anchored. It keeps them anchored to their soul. Oh my God! What a powerful lesson. His sovereignty is your sanity. I mean, we see a helicopter crash with a dad and his three daughters. Yet another plane lands safely, but the landing gear is out. How did that happen?

Lord, what's going on? Because of this idea that we think sometimes it's genie in the bottle. Pastor Shane, what are your three prayer requests? Well, Lord, thank you. I'd like to feel like I felt when I was 29. I wish Coalstone was really healthy. Things like that. Right, like a big Coalstone is like you're having eight pounds of microgreens and sprouts. Because we wanna tailor things. I mean, guys, I've done things. Oh boy. Remember the worship leader, like Jeremy Camp? Remember him a while back and he got married and yet his wife passed away from cancer a year late. I mean, it's like, or a car accident. Just saw a little thing on the way up on 60th Street. I'm like, when did that happen? Or Rancho Vista. It's like, some of these people, they're solid believers. Or the thing in Texas. These teenagers are just trying to have fun in the snow, and the sled turns a corner and hits a tree, and both the girls end up dying. And Frisco, I think, like, number one, I shouldn't look at the news as much. That helps. But you're trying to like, Lord, help me understand.

And we're in a fallen world. We're in a fallen world. Sometimes He allows things to happen. Sometimes He opens the prison doors. But either way, we have to say like Job, though He slay me, yet will I trust You. Can you imagine if we could get to that spot? Lord, if You're taking me home, I trust You. I trust You. Well, this last point, darkness thinks that men can stop God. They really do. They think that they can stop God. They can pass ungodly legislation. They can silence the church. They can harass the church. They can burn down the church. And they can't. Nothing can stop God Almighty. Nothing. Nothing. This is kind of funny. Go and secure Peter with four squads of soldiers. This guy's not getting out. Really? You could put all of Rome around him, and it wouldn't matter. Who's gonna fight God? And how are you gonna fight Him?

But the darkness, they think we can stop God because they don't think He's true. They think it's a fable. They think of... And I honestly, I laugh because how silly is all this just happened? Pshew! What's that new telescope out there? What's it called? Not the Hubble. James Webb. Have you seen some of the images? That just happened? And here's this little Earth, little cute little blue planet. Look at that, how cute that is. And they talk about the factors that need to sustain life. It's like just a little too much oxygen. Pshew! A little too much nitrogen. Pshew! The gravitational pull. Pshew! Everything just has to be so perfect. And then, you know, look at your body. Like a man and a woman come together. There's this little tiny baby. Like, yeah, that just all happened. Yeah.

Yeah, just pshew! Give it a billion years. Give it infinity. That is impossible. But see, they hate God so much and his truth because they are God in their own hearts. And they're arrogant and they're prideful. They'd fall. They rejoice. They rejoice when light is temporarily put out. Peter's in prison. Ah, we're excited. James is killed. John the Baptist's head on a platter. They're excited. But don't be concerned when darkness gets excited. I've already prepared my family like Billy Graham did and others. People are going to rejoice when you're gone, when I'm gone. Oh, I'm so glad that bald-head Lao guy... You know what? There's a thousand more being raised up. There's a thousand more. So enjoy your little. Because it's going to be short term. What did they think was going to happen when they killed Charlie Kirk? Hello? You just woke up the sleeping giant.

It's naive. Because there's a little bit of satisfaction in silencing that voice. But it's only temporary. And this is why there's actually a huge divide in the church. Because you have churches which I call weak and woke. And they want to avoid persecution. So they're on the wrong side often. And then you've got churches that are trying to stand up for the truth. And then you've got these people. There's division in the church. I get that all the time. I get that all the time. As a Christian pastor, how can you blah, blah, blah? They usually twist the Scripture. Twist the Scripture. That's the way to do it. And that's why there's a huge divide in the church. You see it, right? Issues going at each other. On completely different sides of issues. What Bible are we reading? Where lawlessness is okay. Abortion's okay. Rainbow flags on the front. And gay pastors married to their...

Where is that okay? Can you show me your Bible? What they do is they twist it. You can make it say whatever you want. Did you know that? You can make the Word of God say whatever you want if you cherry-pick. Just cherry-pick. I've talked to churches. Well, shame, Romans 13. Abortion's okay because the government says it's okay and we submit to Romans 13. I kind of got a feeling that's not really... Romans 13 says the government should be a tear for those who are actually killing the innocent. Who are you to judge if somebody embraces this lifestyle? Jesus said don't judge. No, He actually said for Me to remove the plank from My eye first so I can see more clearly to judge with righteous judgment. The whole Scripture's out of context. This administration, our government is evil. How do you reconcile turning the other cheek? No, no, no, no, that's me. The government's supposed to be a tear to those who do evil. Stop applying teachings wrongly to promote your agenda. And that's why there is a huge divide in the church over these issues.

And persecution, as we know, is hostility. It's hostility and it originates from Satan. It originates from Satan. What he does, that's why you don't get mad at the person. I know it's hard. I'm still a work in progress. It's the satanic. And that's why you'll hear that term a lot. Oh, that's satanic. Oh, come on, Shane, there's not a demon under every rock. Well, no, it's either God, it's a God thought, it's a God thing, or it's a satanic thing. I don't know what the middle one is. I'd love to hear your answer on what that middle thing is. You're either for me or against me. There's not light, darkness, and gray. Truth, half-truth, and error. And so that's where a lot of the persecution comes from. Even those who persecute this church, or you, or me. It's demonic. And what the demonic does is they plant seeds in the part of the person. They get them all fired up. They get them all fired up about things. And that's why you get the cursing. And it's just that anger and that hostility. And that's what you can tell right there. You can tell right there that it's satanic. Now, Christians sometimes will struggle with those things, but what do they do? They catch themselves.

Man, that was wrong. The flesh came out. See, that's the difference in there. Big difference, by the way. A form of persecution could be Satan's oppression on a believer. A form of persecution could be Satan's oppression on a believer. For example, as Peter is sitting in jail, what type of thoughts do you think he had? I mean, we think these guys are solid, and they were, and they just probably said, I don't care, bring the sword. He might have been struggling. That's why Paul said, Timothy, you don't even have a spirit of fear. Don't fear. And so, the enemy can plant thoughts in our mind, and also, according to Scripture, there is a way where Satan can actually bring sickness. Like the lady that was bound for 17 years. The boy that kept throwing himself in the fire. And Jesus delivered him from the demonic realm, the demons. The man that had the legions of demons. There wasn't sickness, per se, that we know of. But also with Job. When Satan came and afflicted his body. And so, there's just so many ways to approach this,

but the persecution, I'm trying to have this sermon relate to all different kinds of people, because most of you listening, unless you're listening on Pando later in the prisons, most people aren't necessarily in prison, but there is a prison in their mind. Do you know you can be free in prison, but bound here? There's people in prison that are more free than many of you. Because they're worshiping the Lord. They're ready to get out at some point. They're free, even though there's something holding them in. That's the whole word that we often use here. Discouraged. Discouraged. What does it mean? It means to remove courage. Discouragement is contagious, but so is courage. Discouragement is contagious, but so is courage. Parents, you need to remember that. Or spouses, you need to remember that. We can discourage others or encourage them. And the number one thing the enemy's trying to do in all of our hearts

including me, I'm not above struggling with this, is discouragement. To discourage you. To discourage me. Why? Because it removes the courage. And the courage is how a believer is supposed to live, are we not? The courage to pray for certain people and our kids. The courage to live out God's Word. The courage to confront our culture. The courage to do that. And so He discourages us. But while we're on this topic, let's talk about five puzzling points about persecution. And again, I don't know if I'll finish. Number one, we talked about this earlier. I did, I guess I should say. Not we. Me. With persecution, whether you're in jail, maybe listening to this later like Peter, maybe you're in jail in your mind, you're going through a lot, you're going through it. Have you ever said, I can't take much more? Well, it could be God is trying to motivate movement. Motivate movement. How many of you are here today because things are not going well?

Yeah, we'll take, let's try this again. How many of you are at this church, the start of this church, because things were not going well? Come on, I know there's... Ooh. And so it motivates movement. How many of you made some lifestyle changes when you got your blood work in? When they did your blood pressure, whoo, 160 over 110. What's going on here? You got the new. How many of you, it motivates movement. So that is definitely one thing it does in a good sense. Number two, it kills comfort. It kills comfort. As I know this is hard to believe, but most of us gravitate towards comfort. Anybody else? Everything's comfortable. I saw a while back a lawnmower, you can just sit down and control it. Or snowblowers. Remember back in the day, lawnmowing, those things, when I was little, the thing spun. Yeah. Tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss, tss. How do you remove snow?

Well, the shovel's about this big, by this big, and you do this. Get rid of that. But we want comfort. And God will sometimes shake us up, persecution, to get us uncomfortable. To get us back in His Word. Maybe you're persecuted at work. Maybe you're going through something. God could be using that to kill that comfort that develops. And we become spiritually lazy. Anybody become spiritually lazy? How do I know? The Bible's boring. And you don't really want to read it. You haven't read it for a while. Prayer. You can't wait for the eighth, not because of worship, but because of a game. It doesn't mean you can't watch a game. Have fun, right? Of course. But, where's the heart at? Where's the heart? We can tell if we're dying spiritually. We start to put on the wrong music. The wrong podcast. We start to think about the wrong things. Maybe some of the younger crowd,

you go back to the wrong friends. Anybody ever make that mistake? The wrong boyfriend or girlfriend too? And that's how we know. When we're dying spiritually, we walk away from the things that bring spiritual appetite. You can use this in the physical realm. When I drift away from healthy eating, what do I go to? Panda Express. Kung Pao Chicken. Carl's Jr. Bacon Double Cheeseburger. In-N-Out Burger, double-double with fries and a chocolate shake for sure. Right? I'm leaving. I'm walking away from the things that are healthy. In case you're wondering, I haven't tasted those things in a long time, but every now and then I get that. And I didn't eat real good last night either. So there's times. There's times. It's not about that. There's flexibility. But I guess my point was, you see the difference physically and spiritually. You're gravitating towards things that are healthy spiritually. The mightiest tree will come crashing down

without strong roots. Everything from nutrients to strength depends on the roots. Have you ever went to the sequoias? Do you know how deep those roots are? Or how far they go out? That's where the strength of the tree comes from. It's not in the big trunk. That can easily... It actually falls really easy if it didn't have the roots because of all that weight. So that's what persecution can do. That's what difficult things can do. They can develop our roots down very deep. Also, it separates the true from the false. When things get tough, the tough get going. But when that comes to doctrine, when the going gets tough, the false doctrine gets going. You'll see people denounce their faith. You'll see people walk away from God. It begins to separate the true from the false. Persecution and suffering also cleanses the heart. Thank God for number four. Thank God for number four. Repentance. That's what it should do. One purpose of suffering is to protect us against the disease of pride.

That's why I say pain pushes out pride. Sometimes I worry for very prideful people. Like, it's going to hurt. It's going to hurt when God begins to spank you. He disciplines those He loves. And that's one incredible thing about this topic is it will lead us to repentance. Or it leads you to digging your heels in and becoming critical. You've seen those people. Maybe you're there this morning. Instead of repenting and becoming humble and trusting God, you become critical and angry at God. How could He allow this? And it is tough as we get older, isn't it? Because as you get older, you get more critical. Life doesn't get easier. It usually gets more challenging. And that's why it's so important that we have the right attitude. What about number five? It deepens faith. It deepens faith and prayer and worship. You can't be full of faith and full of worry. So as you begin to worry or you're going through persecution or challenges, you have a decision on what to do with that. You can't hold on to that

and also have a strong prayer life. Have faith and prayer and worship. Push out the worry. Won't it? You guys know, the first five songs we just sang, I wasn't too worried during those songs. I was like, oh, what's going on? You're like, crown Him King of glory. We crown Him King. And there's no worry at all, man. No problems. Everything's going great. And then again, like I say, you get up tomorrow morning. You don't get in the Word or prayer. You look at the news. You get to work. Does anybody have a challenging job? You get the bad news. Here comes the worry. Hello, open the door. No, no, no. I'm seeking God. I'm getting back into prayer and worship. So to put worship over worry, you have to fix your thoughts. Fix your focus on God. Matthew 6 talks about not worrying about life. But what is the solution? He said, but seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

In other words, don't worry about these things. Seek God, and God knows what you need. Notice it doesn't say what you want. Anybody have a challenge with that or just me? God knows our needs. I've talked about this word before, seek. It's to earnestly desire. It's to strive. It's to search for something. So if you strive after God, you literally can't seek after God and seek after worry. Now you can seek after God, and then here comes worry. And you're like, oh, you go pay him a visit again for a little while. But then you shut the door and you go back to seeking God. And it's this pursuit of God. The Old Testament. The Old Testament. The king was in disarray. The armies were coming against him. And he said, we have no power against this great multitude. We have no power, but our eyes are fixed upon you. Our eyes are set upon you. Thus says the Lord to you, do not be afraid or dismayed because of this great army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. See, that's the incredible thing. The battle's not mine. My job is to fix my gaze upon God and let him fight the battle.

Sure, there's some things we have to do, of course. But actually in Joshua and Moses, it always said, having done all, just stand still. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. So God fights the battle if we position ourselves correctly. And then I have here lamenting and lamentations. Lamenting and lamentations. We haven't seen nothing yet until you've seen a country be destroyed. Jeremiah wrote lamentations based on lamenting. The mighty, mighty city that Israel was in, the mighty nation of Israel had come to nothing. And he was lamenting. It's a very sad book, but I love this verse. Thank God for this verse. He said, but, but, but, hold on, hold the press. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed because his compassion faileth not. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. So in the midst of depression and decay and terrible things in the city being destroyed, people being murdered, he said, I recall this to my mind that God is faithful even when other people aren't. That's why Jehoshaphat called on the Lord. David strengthened himself in the Lord. Nehemiah rebuked Samballot and Tobias. Esther reminded the people who God was.

Paul stood his ground. Paul stood his ground. He said, I'm persuaded that nothing is gonna separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. Nothing is gonna separate me in either height nor depth, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. Nothing will separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. And you strengthen yourself in the Lord. When all else fails, worship. When all else fails, worship. This king put the worship team out in front. How do you like that? Hey, Matty, Jamie, come on, you guys, get in front of seal team six. You go out and we're gonna cover back here. Right? He sends the worship team out, praising the Lord, looking to the Lord, praise the Lord. And that's what they say, praise the Lord for his mercy endures forever. And now when they begin to sing and to praise, the Lord did it. The Lord set ambushes against the people and they fought against themselves and they were destroyed all because of worship. Listen, guys, I gotta drop a truth bomb right now. If you come in dead, cold, and callous during worship, don't expect the Lord to fight your battles.

I said it, I said if the shoe fits, wear it. God didn't call me to be nice. He called me to speak, so I try to be, right? But sometimes you gotta just speak the truth and love it. If you come into church dead and cold and callous during worship, I didn't get anything out of worship. Well, good, like we said before, we're not worshiping you. You don't come in dead and cold and callous during worship. You have to be alive in your heart in order for God to fight our battles. Maybe you're here this morning saying, but Shane, nothing is working. Have you ever been there? Nothing's working, nothing's working. Good, you're almost there. You're almost there. Get on your knees before Almighty God. The church didn't help me. Nobody cares, I'm alone. Good, you're almost there. You're almost there. The deeper the pain, the stronger the relationship with the Lord. Let me tell you, that is the truth. Oh, I'll take the tender moving of God's spirit over my health. Wouldn't you? I'll take the tender moving of God's spirit over my health. I'll take intimacy with Him over longevity.

There's a song I put on, and I put on Rewind a lot in the mornings. It said, I need your love more than I need water. I need your love more than the breath that fills my lungs. You've got to keep reminding yourself, I need your love more than I need water. I need your love more than the breath that fills my lungs. When all else fails, worship. When all else fails, worship. Remember, our Savior never lost a battle even when He lost His life. He is the anchor to our soul, the rock that never breaks, and the shepherd who never leaves. But I have to throw this out there because I don't know who's listening. If you're an unbeliever, if you're an unbeliever, I've seen this a lot, your worry will only intensify. Now I'm 30 and you're cocky. Wait till you're 60 and you've just been diagnosed. Or if you had a stroke and you're not coming back. Your worry in life only intensifies often as you get older. And that's why when you repent and you believe in Jesus, heaven is thy will be done. But did you know hell is also thy will be done? Your will, that's the difference. Heaven is God's will, thy will be done. And when a person is away from God for eternity, it's their will was done.

That's what they wanted. Don't live your life with a question mark here. ♪ This is God in grace ♪