Messages

A message from the series “Anxious For Nothing.” Sermon Manuscript: Anxious For Nothing Message 1- When You’ve Had EnoughSermon preached by Dr. Rick Mandl, Eagle Rock Baptist Church, May 23 & 24, 2020 Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
 
Wherever you are and however you may be watching, I want to welcome you as we come together to open God’s Word. As Pastor Andrew mentioned, this weekend we’re beginning a new message series. The title of this series is “Anxious For Nothing”.  And the title of this particular message, part one is When You’ve Had Enough. I don’t know if any of you’ve had enough, but for those of you who have, this message series is for you.
 
Right at the outset I want to make sure to give credit where credit is due for the inspiration for this series… Max Lucado has written a Book. John MacArthur Book. Craig Groeschel Sermon Series. And the material contained within these resources was too good to ignore, so during this series I plan on borrowing heavily from them as well as from others.
 
In Max Lucado’s book, I like the distinction that he draws between anxiety and fear. Lucado writes . . . “Anxiety and fear are cousins but not twins. Fear sees a threat. Anxiety imagines one.” I like that distinction . . . In one sense it’s human nature to be thinking about, and to be concerned about what happens next. Anxiety comes with life, but I hope what we’ll see throughout this series is that Anxiety doesn’t have to dominate our lives. If you don’t struggle with anxiety yourself, changes are you know someone who does.
 
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are reaching epidemic proportions. In any given year, 50 million Americans will feel the effects of a panic attack, phobias, or other anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorders in the United States are the “number one mental health problem among women, and second only to alcohol and drug abuse among men.” Stress related illnesses are costing our country $300 billion a year. Psychologists report that the average high schooler today, has the same level of anxiety, as the average psychiatric patient back in the 50’s. The United States is now the most anxious nation in the world. Can you say with me “We’re number one!” If Anxiety was an Olympics event, the U.S. would consistently win the gold. For MANY, anxiety is an occasional experience. For OTHERS it’s a constant companion. For SOME it can become totally debilitating, to the point where they find it difficult to function, and are almost paralyzed by their anxiety. Like this . . . [Big Bang Theory Clip].
 
Whether or not your anxiety rises to that level, I think you’d agree that there are plenty of things for us to be anxious about right now . . . In prepping for this weekend’s message, I googled the term “Coronavirus Anxiety” and I found 370 million results. I won’t share them all with you, but here’s one I particularly appreciated. . . 10 Sneaky Ways Your Coronavirus Anxiety Is Coming Out. Here’s their list. . .

You’re feeling more tired than usual- Even if you’re not doing much during the day

You aren’t sleeping well- Even if you’re tired all the time and you want to sleep, it doesn’t matter

You startle easily- We all get startled from time to time, but if you’re more jumpy than usual it may be because your body and brain are on high alert because of heightened anxiety.

You’re channeling lots of energy into hobbies- Are you baking banana bread like we’re on the precipice of a banana famine? Excessive enthusiasm, or extreme productivity, might be the way in which your anxiety is presenting.

Number 5, and this is on the flipside of number 4 . . .

You don’t have much interest in anything- COVID anxiety can appear as apathy, and the reason is because routines that have given us structure and a sense of purpose, are now disrupted or gone entirely.

Intense loneliness- Not surprising because physical distancing can lead to social isolation

Reactivation of other mental health conditions- Coronavirus-related anxiety might undermine the progress that you made on other mental health conditions.

You’re getting more headaches or other physical illnesses- The people who study this stuff say that these things can be a kind of a “check-engine” light to let you know you’re experiencing major anxiety

You get angry- When some important aspect of your life is in danger ― like your health or the health of loved ones ― and you don’t have a lot of control over the outcome, it is not unusual to become angry”

And finally, number 10 . . . What was number 10? Oh yeah,          

You keep forgetting things- Whether you find yourself on this list or not,

           
This is a message series for those of you that are worried. Or maybe battling with some type of anxiety. And these days, that’s just about all of us. What we’re gonna do over the next four weeks is we’re going to start in Philippians chapter 4, and I’m gonna take a small portion of that text, and highlight it, and use other portions of scripture to support the big truth. These four verses from Philippians 4, will be our MEMORY VERSES throughout this series. We’ll come back to them each week. What I want us to do right now is read them, give you the context in which they were written, and then pray that God would use it to calm our hearts. Before I read it, let me give you just a little bit of background…
 
In coming to this passage, what we need to know is that the one who wrote these words, the Apostle Paul is a prisoner in Rome. More than anything else, Paul had wanted to come to Rome to preach the gospel. Yet as he writes these words, he has come to Rome, in chains. He is locked away, 24 hours a day, chained to a Roman guard. He was in a situation where he certainly could have become anxious. He did not know how his situation would end. He did not know whether he would live or die. And it was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that he wrote these words. Philippians chapter 4, beginning at verse 4. Paul writes . . . “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.” And here is the part I would challenge you to remember this week… “The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything…” Another version says “be anxious for nothing.” “But in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” And here’s the promise… “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” That is an awesome promise because it’s not only the “peace that comes FROM God, but the peace OF God” The same peace that characterizes heaven, can be exported and experienced within our hearts.  Let’s pray together…
           
Father we pray that we could experience those words in our hearts. That your peace would be experienced by all of us, and that as we cast our cares upon you, we would be reminded of the truth that you care for us and you’re with us.In Jesus’ Name.
 
We read those words “Be anxious for nothing” and we wonder, is that even possible? In this time in which we’re living . . . With so much uncertainty, how is it even possible to be anxious for nothing. Today I want us to look at an Old Testament prophet – a man who, I believe in may ways is a lot like us. In fact, if you doubt that . . . Take a look at what James writes about him in James 5:17. There we find these words… “Elijah was as human as we are,” Elijah was a man who loved God. He was a man who had seen the faithfulness, the power, the provision of God. And yet he was a man who still struggled massively with anxiety. I’m going to share with you a snapshot of an incident in his life, but before I do, I want to give you a little bit of background.
 
Prior to the episode that we’re looking at, Elijah had confronted a very evil king named King Ahab, Elijah had called King Ahab out on his sin, And Elijah had prophesied a drought that would strike King Ahab’s kingdom. The result of this was that the king came after the prophet Elijah with all the forces of his army, and he told Elijah that he was going to kill him. For three years, Elijah was on the run. He was hiding out, And yet through it all God was faithful. Just before the portion of scripture that we come to here, Elijah had stood up against 850 false prophets and defeated them. This victory on the part of Elijah, enraged King Ahab’s wife Jezebel, and she resolved to do what her husband the King, had not been able to do. She vowed to hunt down Elijah and kill him. Elijah took her threat seriously, and he ran. He ran for his life. And that’s where we pick up his story. I’m going to read for you, 1 Kings 19:3-4. And as I read these verses, I want you to listen and see if you can spot four mistakes that led Elijah to the point where he felt as if he’d had enough.
 
1 Kings 19, beginning at verse 3 . . . “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’” 1 Kings 19:3-4
           
Prior to this point, Elijah had been strong. As I mentioned, strong enough to stand up against 850 false prophets and defeat them. And yet now, he’s at the point where… He’s Had Enough. Why? As I mentioned, he’s been on the run. In fact he had literally . . . Run himself into the ground And when…
 

We RUN OURSELVES into the GROUND- It’s going to take a toll.

 
Our text says Elijah had run from Mt. Carmel to Beersheba, which was a distance of about 100 miles. He had run about as far as it was humanly possible to run. He had run the equivalent of four marathons. He was exhausted. That was mistake number one. . . Running himself into the ground. And often anxiety can strike us when we’re exhausted.
 
His second mistake . . . And a lot of us do the same thing…
 

We SHUT PEOPLE OUT

           
At the point of exhaustion, when he really could have used somebody to lean on, he made the decision to go it alone. He left his servant, He said to his trusted friend, “I don’t need you anymore,” And he struck off on his own. Big mistake. If you’ve been around our church for any length of time, you know that one of our core values here is COMMUNITY. We believe that we’re better together. And that’s one of the reasons why we’re always talking about LIFE GROUPS.
 
You heard Pastor Andrew mention that earlier. This is a picture of the group that I’m in . . . For those of you who are newer to our community Life Groups are Small groups that get together during the week. During the time in between the weekends we meet and We study together We pray for one another. Right now, we’re doing it via Zoom, but we’re still doing it. And the reason is, that we know we’re better together. We learn better together. We’ve got some really smart people in our group, but none of us is as smart as all of us. And so We learn better together. We pray better together. And particularly during this stay at home time which has been so tough for so many. We need each other. This is exactly the time that you don’t want to try and go it alone. And yet, that was what Elijah did. At his time of greatest stress, and exhaustion, he made the mistake of trying to go it solo. He shut people out.
 
A third mistake he made . . . He chose to . . .
 

We FOCUS on the NEGATIVE

           
And we do this as well. He said . . . ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ He said. ‘Take my life; He said , I am no better than my ancestors.’” He descended into a cycle where all he could see was the negative, and he exaggerated what he saw. You read on further in this chapter and we’re told about a conversation that God had with Elijah. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”////
 
Because Elijah had run himself into the ground… Because he had shut other people out… He felt like he was all alone. He felt as though he was the only one left who hadn’t bowed down to the false God Baal. And God had to correct him and tell him that the reality is that he wasn’t all alone. There were at least 7,000 others who hadn’t bowed down. Elijah ran himself into the ground. He shut people out. He focused on the negative. And maybe most tragically . . . He ….  
 

We FORGET GOD

 
Which is crazy because . . . Every step of the way through Elijah’s life. Every moment of time, God was present, God was faithful, God’s power was visible, God’s provision was real, and even though God had been faithful. . . Elijah did what so many of us do, He was facing his problems while forgetting his God. What was God’s Remedy? You see it in the verses that follow. . .
 

REST your BODY- Relax. Take care of your physical needs. That’s the first thing you do when you’re overwhelmed with anxiety.

 
Verse 5 tells us . . . Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
 
It’s interesting that when Elijah started having a pity party and started contemplating suicide and started saying, “God, I just want to die!” God didn’t scold Elijah.  He did not give him a sermon which would have only added to his guilt. God’s remedy – Step one was rest. It was simply eat, sleep, eat sleep. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is go to bed. It’s amazing how a good night’s rest will do wonders for your attitude. Weariness and fatigue promotes depression, and getting in shape is an excellent preventative to overwhelming anxiety. You will be a lot stronger emotionally, if you’re physically strong. Relax. Rest your body. And then next . . .
 

RELEASE your FRUSTRATIONS- Tell God how you feel. 

 
In that conversation that God had with Elijah, God asked him what he was doing there, and he allowed Elijah to unload, to get it all off his chest. And Elijah did just that. He told God how he was afraid, and resentful, and angry and lonely, and worried. You know what’s interesting? It’s interesting that throughout that conversation God never said, “I did not know that.” God is not shocked when you complain to Him. He knows exactly how you feel even before you tell Him. What He wants you to do is get it off your chest. To cast our cares on Him. God says Rest your body. Release your frustrations. He allowed Elijah to go on and on until Elijah ran out of words.
 
God did the same thing with David in the Psalms. I wonder, have you ever read those Psalms where David is angry at everybody? Places where he says, “God, I don’t like it!  Kill all my enemies. Bash their babies. Knock their teeth out!”  You look at that and you think, “Why is this in the Bible?” It’s in the Bible because it’s real. Every single emotion known to man is contained in the book of Psalms. It’s a very honest book. In many of the Psalms, David is just unloading on God. They’re there in the Bible, to let you know it’s ok for you to do that. God’s not going to walk out on you. He wants you to unload so you can be healed emotionally. Rest your body. Release your frustrations. And then third . . .
 

REFOCUS on GOD- You need to do that. Get your eyes off the problem, Get your eyes onto God.  Get a fresh awareness of His power, His presence. If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed; If you look within, you’ll be depressed; If you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.

 
Take a look at verse 11 . . .  “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” And it was in the gentle whisper that God spoke.
 
You look at this story and you wonder . . . “What’s the point of all this? Why is God demonstrating all His power like this to Elijah when he’s had enough?” God’s reminding Elijah, that God is still in control. He’s reminding him, that he has the power to handle any situation. He’s reminding Elijah, that he is God and Elijah is not. The purpose of this whole Earth, Wind and Fire eclectic light show is because . . . When you refocus on God’s power, it’s then that your problems become a whole lot smaller. But there’s one more step you Elijah needed on his path to healing, and that was to . . .
 

RESUME SERVING- You need to do that to get the focus off of yourself.

 
Notice, God gave Elijah a new assignment. In verses 15-16 we read these words . . . The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, And anoint Elisha son of Shaphat, from Abel Meholah, to succeed you as prophet. God told Elijah, “I want you to get back involved in ministry and do the things that prophets are supposed to do.” One of these three guys — Elisha — would become his best friend. Every anxious person needs a close friend. From this point on, Elijah would minister with a buddy, not by himself. He wouldn’t be the Lone Ranger. Elisha, would become his protege. Why is it important for anxious people to get back into some kind of service and ministry? Because it’s important to get your eyes off yourself. 
 
When you’re anxious you tend to become very introspective. All you see are your problems, and your needs. All you see are your hurts. And how tired you are. God says, “Elijah, it’s time to get your eyes off Elijah. You need to get yourself out there, helping other people, serving again. The quickest way out of anxiety is to get your eyes off yourself and get involved in giving your life away to help others. When you only look at yourself, you’re just going to get down and down. Jesus said it like this, “You lose your life to find it.” The more you give out the more God gives to you.
 
Elijah thought God was through with him. He had, had enough. He’s one of the two guys in the Bible that said, “God, kill me!” He was that depressed. But God was not through with Elijah. Not by any sense of the word. Some of you can identify with this. You feel like you’ve had enough. You need to know that God’s not through with you. He’s got a plan for your life.
 
My guess that is that some of you can really relate to Elijah right now. There may be some mornings you don’t want to get out of bed. You’re emotionally tired, and physically tired. Maybe even sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Maybe you feel like Elijah:  “Life isn’t worth living. I want to quit. I want to quit my job. I want to quit my marriage. I want to quit school.” To those of you, I’ve got some good news. In the first place, God knows exactly how you feel. He really does. And number two, He cares. He cares about how you feel. You’re not alone. God wants to work in your life. He’s not finished with your life. You will come through this.
 
First, you open your life up to Jesus Christ. You develop a relationship with Christ. He loves you. He wants you to know Him. He made you for a purpose. He has a plan for your life. Say, “Jesus, come into my life and give me the power to do these four things: To rest my body, To release my frustrations, To refocus on God,  To resume serving others and find a place of ministry where I can give out.” You do that, and he’ll take care of the rest. . . Let’s pray together . . .
           
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
 
 

A message from the series “Where is God?.” Sermon Manuscript: Where Is God Message 7- Where Is God When I’m Distracted?Sermon preached by Dr. Rick Mandl, Eagle Rock Baptist Church, May 16 & 17, 2020Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
 
I want to welcome you, wherever you are and however you may be watching. If you’re watching us on our YouTube channel, or on Facebook Live, or through our website, let me encourage you to make use of that chat box to let us know who you are, and where you’re watching from. Also, let me take a moment to encourage you to go ahead and download the message notes. . .  Those notes look like what you see on your screen. Those notes will they’ll help you to follow along with the verses we’ll be covering as we continue the series we’ve been in called “Where Is God.”
 
Today looking at “Where is God When I’m Distracted.” And this is a problem for a lot of people, because today in this always connected, always on, digital age in which we’re living, it’s really easy to get distracted, and if we’re not careful it can even become dangerous… [Video Clip]
 
And ironically, do you know how she warned them? By TEXT! We are a distracted culture. . .
 
In Luke 10 we find the story of someone who was suffering from distraction. I want us to look at an incident from her life to help us answer the question, “Where is God when I am Distracted?” In Luke 10 beginning at verse 38 we find these words. . . As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
 
This story, even though it’s only 5 verses long, is packed with a lot of truth. Mary and Martha were sisters. They also had a brother, Lazarus, whom Jesus will raise from the dead not too long after this event. From that story in John 11 we learn that Lazarus was a beloved friend of Jesus, so it is likely that Jesus often frequented this home. It is also likely that Jesus wasn’t alone on this visit described in Luke 10. He probably had some, if not all of his disciples with Him, and they were probably all hungry! Martha we’re told was “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.”
 
A lot of us are like Martha. We’re distracted by a lot of things. And not all of the things that distract us, would be described as bad things. The thing that Martha was doing in this story was a good thing. She was serving Jesus. I believe the real problem for Martha was that her distraction with the preparations, led to her being spiritually distracted. How can we tell if we are spiritually distracted? One way is to see if our lives manifest any of the signs we see in Martha.
 
The first sign we are spiritually distracted is we call God’s character into question. We question God’s character. Look at what Martha says to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?” This seems to be a common question among God’s children. Remember the account in Mark 4 when the disciples were out in a boat taking Jesus from one place to another. Jesus was sound asleep, and a big storm came upon them. The disciples were filled with fear and cried out to Jesus. They said,“Don’t you care if we drown?” God, don’t you care? This seems to be what the prophet Isaiah was addressing with the people of Israel in Isaiah chapter 40. The International Children’s Bible makes this very clear. People of Jacob, why do you complain? People of Israel, why do you say, “The Lord does not see what happens to me. He does not care if I am treated fairly”? Again and again, the Bible clearly teaches that God is love. That He is compassionate, and that He does care for us. But when we are spiritually distracted, it becomes easy for us to feel like God doesn’t care about us, or that he has forgotten about us, and to call His character into question.
 
A second sign that we are suffering from spiritual distraction is we’re worried and UPSET about many things. This was Martha. Using our sanctified imaginations we can picture her checking and rechecking the food to make sure it was going to be delicious, and arranging the table perfectly so that it would be pleasing to Jesus. We can see her bustling about, pouring drinks, wiping up a spill, and getting more and more agitated that she was working alone. She was “worried.” She was upset. When we’re “worried and upset” about many things, we are probably spiritually distracted.
 
Now let me be clear. I’m not talking about normal concern over things that are difficult or dangerous. If I’m waiting for the results of a biopsy, it is natural for me to be concerned. If I lose my job, and I’m not sure how I’m going to pay my rent or my mortgage, concern is an understandable response. But Spiritual distraction is indicated when we worry about things we can’t do anything about. Remember Jesus’ question to the crowd in Matthew 6:27, “Who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”
 
Another indicator of Spiritual distraction is when we are rehearse our worries over and over, and we being to feed off of them. We’re like a cow chewing its cud. We regurgitate our concerns and chew on them over and over. For example, IF we are waiting for the results of a biopsy, it is natural to be concerned; however, Googling all of our symptoms to try to diagnose what type of cancer we may have, will feed rather than alleviate our concern. This can be a challenge for some of us during the pandemic that we’re all going through. It is understandable to be concerned, but watching hour after hour of news reports, or constantly scrolling our news feed for the latest story is not likely to be helpful. It will probably cause us to be more worried and upset.
        
The third sign we are spiritually distracted is when we fall into the comparison trap. This is where Martha found herself. She was hustling and bustling, trying to get everything done when she suddenly notices her sister Mary, sitting by Jesus and listening to Him. We can almost hear her saying to herself. “Why am I the one always doing all the work?” “How come I never get to sit down and watch her work?” “No one is even noticing or appreciating everything I’m doing.” Until she finally can’t stand it any more and she says to Jesus, “Don’t you care that I’m working my fingers to the bone and Mary isn’t doing anything? Tell her to help me!”
 
When we find ourselves comparing ourselves, and our difficulties to others, we are probably spiritually distracted. When the questions rolling around in our mind are things like… “How come I’m the only one that can never catch a break? Why do these things always happen to me?” “Why does he have a perfect wife and perfect kids, while I’m stuck with this mess?” “It’s not fair that life is so easy for her.” …we are spiritually distracted.
 
So where is God in the midst of all this? Where is God when I’m distracted? In the case of Mary and Martha, the truth we have been coming back to again and again every week couldn’t be more obvious. The answer is . . .
 
1.God is with us.Mary and Martha were in the same house. Jesus was equally present to both of them. Mary experienced the blessing of Jesus’ presence, while Martha did not. The issue wasn’t proximity, the issue was focus. Mary was focused on Jesus. Martha was focused on the distractions. The same thing happens to us today. Two people come to a church service. The Bible tells us that where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is in their midst. So we believe God was present with those two people when they came to that church service. One person comes away having encountered God, the other person leaves thinking, “That was a waste of time.” Why is that? How do you explain the difference?
 
Usually it’s because the first person came expecting to encounter God. They were anticipating that encounter, and they found what they were looking for. While the second perhaps came looking for a “valuable” experience, so they filtered everything through that expectation. If they liked the songs they sang – it was a good experience. If they didn’t like the songs – it was bad. If the room was a comfortable temperature – it was good. If the room was too hot or too cold – it was bad. If the preacher was entertaining and ended on time – it was good. If the preacher was dry or went too long – it was bad. If the message was uplifting or addressed a sin they don’t struggle with – it was good. If the message was convicting or hit too close to home – it was bad.
 
The promise of the Bible is that God is with us. Experiencing His presence may partly depend on whether or not we are looking for Him. Listen to His promise from Jeremiah 29:13, “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” The writer of the book of Hebrews expands on this: “It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). God was with Mary, and He was with Martha. One experienced the blessing of His presence; The other did not. The Bible promises that God is with us. I want to challenge you this week, to be on the lookout for Him. Don’t miss out on the blessing of His presence because you are focused on so many other things. Where is God when we’re distracted? He is with us.
        
Also, He is calling us to cast our cares on Him. Martha did the right thing in coming to Jesus. She might have had the wrong attitude, but she did the right thing. 1 Peter 5:7 tell us, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Martha came to Jesus asking, “Don’t you care?” God comes to us saying, I care – give me all your worries. Jesus echoed this thought in Matthew 11:28, “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis” (Matthew 11:28 TPT). I love that picture of Jesus being our oasis. Do you feel like you’ve been walking in the desert? Do you feel like no one cares about you? Come to Jesus. He is your oasis.
        
I recently read this explanation for h ow we cast our cares on Jesus. The secret can be found in the word “cast.” First . . . Commit your burden to the Lord. Give it over to Him who cares even more than you do, and who has the power to do what you cannot. Second. . . Ask for His help in prayer. Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
        
Third. . . Search the scriptures. Within them you’ll find that God has a promise to correspond to every one of your needs. 
 
And then fourth . . . Trust Him. He has told us He cares for us, and has demonstrated that by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Will you take Him at His word?
 
God is with us. He is calling us to cast our cares on Him. And . . . He is inviting us to invest in the one thing that is better. Look at what Jesus said to Martha in response to her complaint. Luke 10:41-42, “You are worried and upset about many things… but few things are needed—or indeed only one.” What is the one thing? It is our relationship with Christ. That ought to be our primary focus. This is not a story about two different personality types… The contemplative and the doer, one good, one bad. And the point of this account is not that serving is bad – It’s not saying don’t serve, just sit. The point of this account is that nothing should distract us from our relationship with Jesus – not even serving Him.
 
The passage we looked at earlier, where Jesus asked, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Ends with this admonition: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Seek first – it’s a matter of priority and a matter of focus. Martha was worried and upset about many things, Mary was focused on Jesus. Back in the good old days, when we used to be able to have our whole family over for a meal, you would often find most of us hanging out in the kitchen where the meal was being prepared. I was there to be the taste tester, but most of the family was there to talk to one another. That’s where the conversation and the laughter was. The focus was on being together.
        
My wife, great theologian that she is, is convinced that Martha could have solved her problem if she had just invited Jesus into the kitchen where she was doing the preparation. She could have said, “Jesus, I’d love to hear what you are saying, but I know you are all hungry, and I’m trying to get dinner on the table. Would you mind coming in here so I can participate too?” My wife is convinced that Jesus would have happily moved the party to the kitchen, and probably would have helped cut up the veggies.
 
Jesus invites us to invest in the one thing – our relationship with Him. We do that by including Him in all the activities of our life rather than by keeping Him in the “spiritual” compartment of our life. He doesn’t want our lives to be compartmentalized. He wants to be integrated into all of our activities. Working, playing, parenting, learning, shopping – think about how Jesus can be part of all of those activities. When we do that, these things stop being a distraction to our spiritual life, and instead are venues where our faith can be worked out. We see Martha two more times in scripture. The first takes place a few months after this when her brother Lazarus has died. Let’s look at her encounter with Jesus.
 
Read John 11:20-28. We’re told . . . “When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” “Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.”
 
In this passage we see a depth of spiritual understanding in Martha. She recognizes that Jesus is the healer. She proclaims that God will give Jesus whatever He asks for. She understands that there will be a resurrection on the last day, and she confesses that she believes Jesus is the Christ – the Messiah. Then she goes to Mary, and tells her that Jesus wants to see her. Gone is the frustration, Gone is the distraction. It seems her focus has been adjusted, and her priorities are in order. The last time we see Martha is in John 12, just about a week before Jesus is crucified. Listen to what John writes about Martha: “Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served…” (John 12:1-2). This last time that we see Martha, she is once again serving. But this time she wasn’t worried and upset. I believe she had found a way to keep the one thing “the most important thing.” My prayer is that we would learn that lesson as well. Let’s pray.
 
Father, the psalmist writes, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Give me an undivided heart.” That is our prayer today. Give us undivided hearts. Help us not to be distracted and upset by many things. Help us to cast our cares on you. Remind us to invite you into the kitchen, and the workplace, and the car, and the grocery store. Help us to rejoice in Your presence with us, and help us to keep the one thing, our relationship with you, as our top priority. Then, empowered by your Holy Spirit, allow us the privilege of serving You, Your church, and the world you died to save. In Jesus’ Name.
 
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
 
 

A message from the series “Where is God?.” Sermon Manuscript: Where Is God Message 6- Where Is God In My Home? (Mother’s Day Message)Sermon preached by Dr. Rick & Judy Mandl , Eagle Rock Baptist Church, May 9 & 10, 2020Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
 
In any year, Mother’s Day is a day met with a variety of emotions. It can be a happy day for those who get to spend it with their mothers, or moms with their children with whom they have good relationships. It can be a bittersweet day for those who remember with full hearts other Mother’s Days spent with those who are no longer with us. It can be a day filled with longing for those who desire to be a mom but have not had that opportunity. It can be a painful day for those who have miscarried, or lost a child, or lost their mother. It can be a day filled with regret for those who are estranged from their mother or their child. This year, it seems even more complicated as traditional gatherings are replaced by zoom meetings and FaceTime conversations, and families are separated from those they love, especially their most senior members. I don’t know your emotions as you come to worship today, but I know the One who does. Let’s go to Him in prayer. [PRAY]
 
Today as we continue our “Where Is God?” series because it’s Mother’s Day weekend, we are going to consider the question “Where is God in my family?” Like most of the other questions in this series, the first answer is going to sound somewhat familiar.
 

He is with you (no matter what your home/family looks like) and He wants to make you part of a bigger family

 
And what I mean by that is he wants to invite you into an eternal home with Him. Over the past few weeks we’ve hit the first part of this point pretty hard, because it is so important. Where is God? He is with you in any, and every circumstance in your life. Look at these verses from Isaiah 42:5-6, “God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says, “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you…”
 
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a God who takes us by the hand. That’s how closely He walks with us. He’s holding us by the hand. He’s holding us by the hand whether we are widowed, or married, or single. He’s present with us, whether we have a full-house, or an empty-nest. He is watching over us, without regard to whether our family of origin was happy, or dysfunctional, or non-existent. God is with you right now, He will be with you when you turn off your device and go about your day. He will be with you tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. He’s with you when you are full of joy And He’s with you when you are weeping. He’s with you when you acknowledge His presence. And He’s with you when you feel abandoned.
 
He will never leave you. He wants you to rest in that fact. God is with us, and His presence is enough. But God, in His grace and mercy toward us, calls us into a relationship with others. Sometimes, that is a biological relationship, but beyond that, He calls us into a familial relationship with the other members of His forever family.  This is what Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 2 when he writes. . . “So you are no longer outsiders and strangers. You are citizens together with God’s people. You are also members of God’s family.” When you enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, you become a child of God, and in the process you gain brothers and sisters all over the world. We need to cultivate those family relationships.
 
One of the high points of my week, is when we get together as a Life Group. Here’s a picture of our Life Group. This isn’t the entire group, but it is pretty close – 19 of 21. Life Group has been different these last past weeks, as we’ve been meeting via Zoom, instead of meeting in person. But there are actually some advantages. Maybe it’s because on those evenings when you might be running a little bit late in terms of all the things that you had to get done before Life Group… Getting the family fed, or the homework done. At those times it can be tempting to figure, “I’m already running late, I don’t want to drive to Life Group, because I’ll probably arrive half-way through the meeting. For some reason that’s not been a problem when we’ve been meeting online. We have folks dropping in and out at different times and we’re just so glad to have them there at all, regardless of when they arrive or when they have to leave. Also, meeting by Zoom allows us to connect with members of our group who are travelling – members who are out of state. One of the guys in our group, Carlos, has been joining us each week, for the past three weeks from Iowa. And it’s been great to reconnect with him. I appreciate everyone in our group.
 
Tracy Johnson is another member of our life group, and one thing I especially appreciate about Tracy is, when he addresses something to our Life Group, he often starts with, “Hey Family!” Tracy is constantly reminding us that we are brothers and sisters. We belong to each other. God is with us. He welcomes us into His forever family. And the eternal home He is preparing for us is beyond anything we could conceive of in our wildest imagination. It is a place where there is no sorrow, no sickness, no death, and no dysfunction. A place where we will live in harmony forever with other family members from all nations, and from all time. Listen to this description by the Apostle John of his vision of our eternal home from Revelation chapter 7.
 
John writes. . . “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, ‘Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!'” God is with you. If you are a follower of His, He has made you a member of His family, and He is preparing a forever home where we will live together with Him for all eternity.
 
The second answer to the question, “Where is God in my family?” is
 

He is giving me guidelines for healthy relationships.

 
Sometimes we are unhappy with our homes and our families. We feel like we’ve been dealt a bad hand, and we question where God is in all of it, when the reality is, we have disregarded His plan for how our family, and relationships in general should work. The Bible gives some pretty specific instructions about the family. It tells us that it should be based on a faithful marriage relationship between a man and a woman who love one another, mutually submit to one another, and who are willing to make sacrifices for one another. Marriage is God’s plan for the foundation of the family.
 
The Bible also tells us that parents are supposed to model for their children what it looks like to follow Jesus. Look at these verses from Deuteronomy 6, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.  And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.” Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
 
Notice what these verses are saying to the adults: YOU must love the Lord your God. YOU must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands. YOU must teach them to your children, over and over, throughout all the activities of the day. It starts with you, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles. You love God, you follow Him, and you teach the next generation by words and example what it means to walk with God. The Bible tells children to obey their parents, and to honor their father and mother. It also tells parents not to exasperate their children, don’t be unpleasable. Train your children, but differentiate between what is merely childish behavior and what is disobedience or defiant behavior. Exercise grace, just as God exercises grace toward us.
 
The Bible also gives guidelines for healthy relationships in and beyond the nuclear family. They are contained in the “one anothers” of the scripture. Honor one another. Be devoted to one another. Look out for one another. Pray for one another. Encourage one another. Do good to one another. Don’t lie to one another. Be kind to one another. Be patient with one another. Be hospitable to one another. Bear one another’s burdens. Give preference to one another. Forgive one another. Love one another.
 
What would our relationships, our families, and our homes be like if we actually did those things? My guess is, as I read that list there were one or two things that jumped out to you. And you thought, “Man, if my spouse, child, parent, roommate, friend would only do that for me, everything would be so much better!” That was my first thought too! But that’s not God’s intention in giving us these commands. His intention is that we would look at them and say, “What area do I need to grow in so that my relationships will be what God wants them to be?” Do I need to be less self-absorbed, and instead look out for others? Do I need to be less critical and instead encourage others? Do I need to be more patient, instead of so quick tempered?
 
God gives us these instructions in His Word so that we will obey them, because in obeying them, we will honor Him, and have the most satisfying human relationships. But we need to do more than just listen to the Bible in a sermon on the weekend, or give it a quick read in the morning. We need to put it into action. Look at these words from James 1 in the Message version. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!   Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.  But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it,  He says, that person . . .  is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.” When we act on God’s Word, we will find delight in the action.
 
I’d encourage you to look over that list of one anothers again. Take a few minutes to honestly evaluate which one or ones you struggle with most – if you struggle with all of them, just pick one or two – you’ve got to start somewhere. Remember, I said the ones you struggle with most – I didn’t ask you to point out which ones the people around you struggle with. Pick one or two and ask God to help you to grow in that area, and then look for opportunities to exercise those relationship muscles in the weeks ahead. As we follow God’s guidelines for relationships that honor Him, I believe we will experience His presence to a greater and greater degree in our homes. When we consider this particular “Where is God? Question, there’s an element to consider that is a little different than in some of the other questions, and that is the area of personal responsibility.
 
Where is God in my home?
 

He is challenging me, to make Him, the center of my home.

 
Let’s look at an example of this from Joshua 23 & 24. A few weeks ago we looked at an earlier incident in Joshua’s life when, as the relatively new leader of the people of Israel, he failed to seek God’s counsel and got the people entangled in a treaty they should not ever have entered into. Now, as Joshua’s life draws to an end, he calls all the people of Israel together to give them some final words. He reminds them of what God has done for them in giving them the land He had promised, and he instructs them to continue to follow God. Take a look at his words. . . “So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left” (Joshua 23:6). “Cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now” (Joshua 23:8). “So be very careful to love the Lord your God” (Joshua 23:11).
 
Then Joshua reminded them again of how God has kept His promises to Israel. “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed: all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed” (Joshua 23:14). And Joshua went on to say that just as all the good things God had promised had come to pass, the warnings God gave for failure to put Him first, and to obey His commands, would also come to pass. Joshua said there are positive consequences for clinging to God, loving Him, and obeying Him, and there would be negative consequences for disobeying God and for following the gods of the culture around them. He ended by issuing this challenge: “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15).
 
God has given us instructions for how to have a healthy personal life, a healthy home life, and healthy relationships. Listen to what God told Joshua at the beginning of his time as leader of Israel: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” This is not a guarantee of material and financial success, it is a guarantee of success in God’s economy: bringing glory to Him, being a wise leader, laying up treasure for eternity, positive relationships.
 
And the bottom line in obeying God’s Word is: put God first. Love God most. Remember Jesus’ answer to the lawyer who asked Him what the greatest commandment was? “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). Love God, that’s the primary command – and the way we show our love for God is by obeying Him. If we do not obey Him, we will not reap the benefits that come from living the way He designed us to live.
 
And then Jesus said there’s. . . “A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Love our neighbors as ourselves. Paul expanded on this commandment to love in Romans 13: “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.  For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (Romans 13:8-10).
 
Joshua challenged the people to decide: Who are you going to serve? Who are you going to love? Who are you going to follow? And God issues us a similar challenge today. If you want to know where God is in your home or where He is in your family, you also have to ask yourself – Where am I allowing Him to be? I’m not saying that God is weak and can only go where you let Him. God can go anywhere He wants, and He already is present everywhere. But God is a gentleman, and He generally waits for an invitation. Have you invited Him into your home and into your family life? Is He the center of your home, or is He an accessory to your life? Is pleasing God a priority, or is it a consideration only when it is convenient? Who are you going to serve? Who are you going to worship? The gods of this world: money, fame, power, self-interest. Or the one true God. God wants to be the center of your life, of your home, of your family, and of all your relationships. Choose today who you are going to serve.
 
As we close today I want to address those of you who might be listening to the message today and thinking, “But you don’t know my home. You don’t know my background. No one ever taught me to be a good husband, wife, mother, father, friend – you fill in the blank. I didn’t have good role models. My family is a mess, and I’m a product of my environment. If that’s you, there’s something God wants you to know. The generational cycle of dysfunction can stop with you. You may not be able to change your history, but God can change your future. . .  And through you, your family’s future, and maybe even your extended community’s future. It’s not easy. It means being intentional about how you live and the choices you make. It means being aware when you are falling into destructive or unhealthy patterns of behavior. It means being willing to change course. It’s not easy, But with God’s help, it is possible. God is saying to you, let me be the boss of your life, and of your family. Surrender yourself to me. Put me first, and let me take care of the rest.
 
Where is God in your home? He’s with you. He’s showing you how to have the best relationships possible on this side of heaven. And He’s challenging you to put Him first. Let’s ask Him to help us do that today. Would you pray with me . . .
 
Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.
 
 

A message from the series “Where is God?.”

A message from the series “Where is God?.”

A message from the series “Where is God?.”

A message from the series “Where is God?.”

A message from the series “Where is God?.”

A message from the series “This Is Jesus.”

A message from the series “This Is Jesus.” Have you ever received really bad advice like this…
“Don’t use your turn signal. It’s no one’s business where you’re going!”
“It’s OK to pet my German Shepherd. He hasn’t bitten anyone in weeks.”
“You can trust my marriage advice. I’ve been married 5 times.”
OK – so some bad advice is easy to spot. But where do you turn when you REALLY need direction in your life? And how do you know for sure God’s BEST direction for your life? Discover the answers as we continue our THIS IS JESUS teaching series with a message about how Jesus Directs My Path.