WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.439 --> 00:00:06.160 Hey, thanks for joining us today on Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 2 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:09.919 the Bible teaching Ministry of Rick Warren. And today we're 3 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.359 continuing our series called the Habits of Happiness. In this series, 4 00:00:14.519 --> 00:00:17.480 Rick dives into the Book of Philippians and helps you 5 00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:22.039 discover God's path to true and lasting happiness. And now 6 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:24.480 let's get to Rick. Here's part one of a message 7 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:26.760 called how to Keep from Stressing Out. 8 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:34.039 I read a headline that said that personal stress worldwide 9 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:39.320 is now at near record levels, near record levels, the 10 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:42.640 highest it's been really since about World War Two. 11 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:44.960 So I decided to do a little. 12 00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:49.640 Research on this, and I found out that today suicide 13 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.439 has now passed car crashes as the number one injury 14 00:00:54.520 --> 00:00:59.079 death in America. The number one injury death in America 15 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:03.960 is now suicide. I read another statistic that the top 16 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:14.439 seven stresses in life are number one your job, number two, money, three, health, relationships, 17 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:21.439 poor diet, media overload, lack of sleep, and parking at saddleback. 18 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:26.680 I made up that last one. Obviously, maybe you could 19 00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:31.239 identify with this. I got this note Pestorick. A few 20 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:33.760 weeks ago, I went to a doctor for some chronic 21 00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:38.719 aches and pains that seemed to be getting worse. I 22 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:43.079 don't sleep well and I live in a constant state 23 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:47.000 of fatigue. I told my doctor that I started a 24 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:50.840 business seven years ago that's become very, very successful, but 25 00:01:50.920 --> 00:01:54.120 I now mist forced myself to go in to work. 26 00:01:55.200 --> 00:02:02.519 I feel overwhelmed. I feel overloaded. So my doctor asked 27 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:06.120 me to list the stresses in my life and then 28 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:08.840 think up some possible ways to reduce those stresses, and 29 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:12.759 then write down a plan of attack. I'd like to 30 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:16.840 know what the Bible says about stress management. 31 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:18.280 Today. 32 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:21.120 We're going to look at the classic text in the 33 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:26.960 entire Bible on how to keep from stressing out. We've 34 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:29.039 been in this series through the Book of Philippians, and 35 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:32.000 as we come to chapter four, Paul gives us in 36 00:02:32.120 --> 00:02:39.560 verses six to thirteen the classic anti stress management recipe. 37 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:41.520 If you have a Bible, you can open the Philippians 38 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:43.560 chapter four. If you then bring a Bible, that's okay, 39 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:45.800 just pull out these notes. All the verses we're going 40 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:50.560 to look at are inside your bulletin on this text 41 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:55.400 passage outline. Now, the key to this is that this 42 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:00.240 passage actually comes with a stress management guarantee and guaranteed 43 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:04.479 by a doctor. It's guaranteed by God, So you really 44 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:06.120 want to pay attention to this one if you want 45 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:09.879 to lower the stress in your life. In verse seven, 46 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:14.240 we have the promised guarantee. Here's what it says. If 47 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:19.360 you do these things, you will experience God's peace. There 48 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:22.599 you go, you will experience God's peace, which is far 49 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:27.840 more wonderful than the human mind can understand. The Bible 50 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.199 calls this the peace that passes understanding. How do you 51 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:34.400 know when you have the peace that passes understanding. 52 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:35.080 You're in a. 53 00:03:35.039 --> 00:03:37.919 Situation when you have no logical reason to be at peace, 54 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:43.360 and you are. That's the peace that passes understanding. When 55 00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:47.080 you're in a situation where you're in total chaos, total meltdown, 56 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:51.479 total stress, total tension, everything is going wrong at the 57 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:54.439 same time, and yet you're at peace inside. That is 58 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:59.240 the peace that passes understanding. And God says, I guarantee 59 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:02.280 this for you. You do these things, you'll experience God's peace, 60 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:05.639 which is far more wonderful than the human mind could understand. 61 00:04:05.960 --> 00:04:12.039 His peace will keep your thoughts quiet and keep your 62 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:16.160 heart at rest. Wouldn't you like that to have your 63 00:04:16.199 --> 00:04:20.439 thoughts quiet and your heart at rest? As you trust 64 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:25.480 in Christ Jesus. Now God promises a more peaceful, less 65 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:27.399 stressed mind. 66 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:32.360 Is anybody interested in this? Yeah, yeah, I think so. 67 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:36.439 Now you know that there are over seven thousand promises 68 00:04:36.439 --> 00:04:39.319 in the Bible. But with every promise there is a promise. 69 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:41.240 God says, if you do this, then I'll do this. 70 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:43.480 There is a condition, and I want you to circle 71 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:46.319 the premise for this promise, and it is those first 72 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:50.079 several words. If you do these things, circle that. If 73 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:54.000 you do these things, it's going to keep you from 74 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:57.360 stressing out. You will experience God's peace. His peace will 75 00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:00.279 keep your thoughts quiet, keep your hearts at rest as 76 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:03.600 you trust in Christ Jesus. If you do these things. 77 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:07.199 What things, Well, that's what we're going to look at today. 78 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:11.639 And there specifically are five things that God says to 79 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:14.600 do in this passage. He says, I want you to 80 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:17.920 worry about nothing. I want you to pray about everything. 81 00:05:18.360 --> 00:05:20.959 I want you to thank God in all things. I 82 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:24.000 want you to keep your mind on good things, and 83 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:27.600 I want you to be content in all things. Now 84 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:29.120 we're going to look at these in detail, so let's 85 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:30.959 get right into it. If you're taking notes, here's the 86 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:34.439 first step. If I want to keep from stressing out 87 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:40.759 number one, refuse to worry about anything. Refuse to worry 88 00:05:41.240 --> 00:05:43.879 about anything. Why Because the number one source of stress 89 00:05:43.879 --> 00:05:48.399 in your life is not work, It is worry. You 90 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:51.600 may be overworked, but it's more likely you are over worried. 91 00:05:51.639 --> 00:05:55.319 Work doesn't keep you up at night. Worry does, and 92 00:05:55.399 --> 00:05:57.560 most of you are over worried. Now, God is very 93 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:00.199 clear in the Bible what he thinks about worry, and 94 00:06:00.279 --> 00:06:03.000 that's the first verse, verse six. The first part of 95 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.800 the first verse, verse six, Philippians sport says this, never 96 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:13.279 worry about anything a circle, never encircle anything, never worry 97 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:14.319 about anything. 98 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:19.319 Question. Is there any wiggle room in that verse? No? 99 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:24.279 Is there any exception? No, is there any exemption? No 100 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:27.000 is there any reason where God says it's okay to 101 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:32.839 worry in this circumstance. No, never worry about anything. That's 102 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:35.399 about as big a blanket statement as you can make. 103 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:39.120 He says, in no circule, Well what about no, never 104 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:42.120 worry about anything? But what about no, never worry about anything? 105 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:42.920 But what about no? 106 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:50.319 Never worry about anything? Now, Jesus thought worry with such 107 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:53.279 an important topic that He's spent a major section of 108 00:06:53.319 --> 00:06:55.519 his most famous sermons called the Sermon on the Mount 109 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.199 talking about worry, and in that Sermon on the Mount, 110 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:03.040 he gives a the four reasons you should never worry 111 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:06.959 about anything. You might want to write these down. Number one, 112 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:12.800 Jesus says about worry. Worry is unreasonable. It's illogical, it 113 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:19.000 is unreasonable. It doesn't make sense. Matthew six twenty five. 114 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:24.040 Jesus says this, don't worry about your life. Don't worry 115 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:26.399 about your life what you'll eat or drink, or about 116 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:30.519 your body or what you wear. Is not life more 117 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:35.680 important than food, and is not the body more important 118 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:38.399 than clothes. He's saying, this is not logical. You get 119 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:41.279 your priorities out of order. It's irrational, it's it doesn't 120 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:45.639 make sense. It's unreasonable. Now, why is worry unreasonable? No, 121 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:50.720 there's a couple of reasons. First, because worry exaggerates the problem. 122 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:53.920 It never makes a problem smaller, It always makes it bigger. 123 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:56.439 Have you know somebody says something bad about you, The 124 00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:00.160 more you think about it, the bigger it gets. Are 125 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.040 you got a problem you start worrying about. The more 126 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.720 you worry about it, does the problem shrink with your worry? 127 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:06.720 No, it always gets bigger. 128 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:12.519 Worry exaggerates. It's irrational, it's unreasonable. It makes it bigger. 129 00:08:12.560 --> 00:08:16.319 It grows the problem out of proportion. And not only 130 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:21.040 does is worry exaggerating your problem. Worry doesn't work, it 131 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:25.000 never has worked. It is worthless. It is stewing without doing. 132 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:26.800 It doesn't make any difference. 133 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:27.040 In your life. 134 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:33.519 See, to worry about something you can't change is useless, 135 00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:38.320 and to worry about something you can change stupid. Just 136 00:08:38.320 --> 00:08:42.159 go change it. In either case, worry is not the answer. 137 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:49.559 Worry doesn't work. It's unreasonable. Second, Jesus says, worry is unnatural. 138 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:52.679 There are no born worriers. You might think you are, 139 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:55.519 but you're not. You're not a born warrior. You learned it. 140 00:08:56.120 --> 00:08:58.320 Worry is something you learn now. The good news is 141 00:08:58.320 --> 00:09:01.639 if you learn to worry, it can be Yeah, unlearned. 142 00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:05.000 Now you learned it. And actually to get good at it, 143 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:09.240 you gotta practice it. Some of you are pros at worry. 144 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:12.600 You have practiced it so much. You are so good 145 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:13.159 at worrying. 146 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:13.720 You are you? 147 00:09:13.720 --> 00:09:15.679 I mean, you get the PhD if you if they 148 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:17.159 had Olympics on worry. 149 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:17.840 You'd get a ten. 150 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:22.080 Okay, because you have practiced it so much, but it's learned. 151 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:26.080 Worry is not natural. No baby is born worrying. 152 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:29.279 They pick it up from everybody else. Now, Jesus says 153 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:31.679 in Matthew six twenty six, look at the birds of 154 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:33.960 the air. They don't sow a reeve or store away 155 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:38.240 in barns, and your heavenly father feeds them. 156 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:40.720 Are you not much more valuable than they? 157 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:45.080 If anybody's on God's welfare program, it's birds. They don't 158 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:46.759 do anything except birdie things. 159 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:49.840 Tweet that's it. Well, I tweet. 160 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:54.080 Maybe they tweet too. Look at the birds of the air, 161 00:09:54.120 --> 00:09:57.200 they don't sew a reeve, But he says, your heavenly 162 00:09:57.320 --> 00:10:00.799 father feeds them. Notice you're heavenly fathers talking about the birds. 163 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:02.519 Heavenly father. He's saying, you are heavenly father. 164 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:05.120 Now, if God is your heavenly father and you are 165 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:09.360 his child, children get special privileges, and children of royalty 166 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:12.200 are treated royally. And he says, what are you worrying about? 167 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:13.279 Birds? 168 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.039 Don't worry, and they're not even God's not their father. 169 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:18.480 God's their creator, but not their father. God's your father. 170 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:22.320 Don't worry about it. Verse twenty eight, twenty nine. Jesus says, 171 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:25.399 and why do you worry about clothes? And why do 172 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:28.080 you worry about clothes? Look at the lilies of the field, 173 00:10:28.080 --> 00:10:30.720 the field lilies. They they don't worry about theirs. Yet 174 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:35.039 King Solomon, in all his glory, was never clothed as 175 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:39.080 beautifully as they are. He's saying, in all of God's creation, 176 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:43.200 in the entire universe, only human beings worry. We are 177 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:47.840 the only thing God made that doesn't trust him. And 178 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:52.080 he says worry is unnatural. He says, God says, you're 179 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:53.639 valuable or valuable than these things. 180 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:54.440 I take care of them. 181 00:10:54.679 --> 00:11:00.000 By the way, since worry is unnatural, it's also unhealthy 182 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.679 that He wasn't designed to handle worry. It wasn't design. 183 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:06.120 When people say I'm worried sick, they're telling the truth. 184 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:10.279 And doctors say a lot of people could leave hospitals 185 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:12.480 today if they knew how to get rid of guilt, resentment, 186 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:16.360 and worry, because that's what puts most people in. And 187 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:19.000 see what I'm saying is it's not so much what 188 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:24.360 you eat, it's what he's you. It's what he's you 189 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:28.519 that makes you sick. It's the worry in your life. 190 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:31.279 It's not just unnatural, it's unhealthy causes all kinds of 191 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:34.399 health problems. The Bible says this Proverb's twelve twenty five. 192 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:39.200 An anxious heart weighs a man down. Oh you know 193 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.679 that one, and you feel like you're just pulled down 194 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:44.639 by the worries. You know, the word worry actually comes 195 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:49.120 from an old English word which means to strangle or 196 00:11:49.159 --> 00:11:53.159 to choke. That's what worry comes from, to strangle or choke. 197 00:11:53.879 --> 00:11:56.600 And when every time you worry, you are strangling and 198 00:11:56.720 --> 00:12:01.799 choking the life out of your life. An anxious heart 199 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:04.440 weighs the men down. Look at the opposite Roberts fourteen 200 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:08.799 thirty says, but a heart at peace gives life to 201 00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:09.279 the body. 202 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:10.720 You want to be healthier, You need to. 203 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:16.159 Stop worrying, never worry about anything. Why it's unreasonable and 204 00:12:16.200 --> 00:12:20.919 it's unnatural. The third thing, Jesus says, it's unhelpful. It's unhelpful. 205 00:12:21.840 --> 00:12:26.480 Worry cannot make you one inch taller. Worry can't make 206 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:30.000 you one inch shorter. Worry can't take ten inches off 207 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:37.600 my waist. If it could, it would have. Worry cannot 208 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:40.879 lengthen your life. It can shorten your life. Though we 209 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:45.120 know that worry cannot change the past, and worry cannot 210 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:48.679 control the future. It messes up today. That's all it does. 211 00:12:49.200 --> 00:12:52.120 It doesn't change the past, it can't change control the future. 212 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.679 It just messes up today. It's kind of like sitting 213 00:12:55.720 --> 00:12:57.840 in a rocking chair. You expend a lot of energy, 214 00:12:57.840 --> 00:13:02.000 but you don't make any progress. You're just It's useless. 215 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:05.960 The only thing that worry changes is you. It makes 216 00:13:06.039 --> 00:13:10.559 you miserable. He has never solved the problem. It's unhelpful. 217 00:13:10.679 --> 00:13:13.480 And then the fourth reason why the Bible says never 218 00:13:13.639 --> 00:13:19.279 worry about anything is because it's unnecessary. God says, what 219 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:21.480 in the world you're worrying about? Don't you think I'm 220 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:22.919 going to take care of you? Don't you think I'm 221 00:13:22.919 --> 00:13:25.559 going to meet your needs. I made you, I created you, 222 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:28.279 I saved you, I love you, I put my spirit 223 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:28.559 in you. 224 00:13:28.600 --> 00:13:30.279 Don't you think I'm going to take care of your needs. 225 00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:34.639 It's unhelpful, but it's also unnecessary. There's no need to worry. 226 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:39.639 Jesus says this in Matthew six thirty. You know, if 227 00:13:39.679 --> 00:13:43.679 God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today 228 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:45.519 and gone tomorrow, think of all the beautiful flowers that 229 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:47.559 are never seen by human beings, but God takes care 230 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:50.159 of him. He said, if God cares so wonderfully for 231 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:52.279 flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he 232 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:56.000 most surely care for you, oh you of little faith. 233 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:01.840 The Bible says this one Peter five seven. Unload all 234 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:06.320 your worries on God, since he is looking after you. 235 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:08.879 And I love that word unload because literally, in the 236 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:11.519 original Greek, it means to just drop. It's not like 237 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:15.320 take a long throw of it, like you're throwing a 238 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:17.320 baseball or throwing a rock across the lake. 239 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:19.879 It just says unload. It means let it go, let 240 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:20.200 it go. 241 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:22.679 And God says, you know, all those things you're stressing 242 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:24.919 about this morning, all those things you're anxious, you're worried, 243 00:14:24.919 --> 00:14:26.639 you're fearful, you're uppied about. 244 00:14:27.240 --> 00:14:31.600 Let it go. Let it go. Never worry about anything, 245 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:33.360 because it's not going to do any good anyway. So 246 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:34.320 what do you do? Anyway? 247 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:37.519 You do the next step, and that's the second part 248 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:40.039 of this verse. First part of verse six says never 249 00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:43.720 worry about anything. The second part is talk to God 250 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:48.360 about everything. That's the second step. You talk to God 251 00:14:48.679 --> 00:15:01.600 about everything. Don't panic pray, don't worry, worship, stop talking 252 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:03.720 to yourself about all the stuff to stress you out, 253 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:07.559 and start talking to God. Talking to yourself won't do anything, 254 00:15:07.720 --> 00:15:13.120 but talking to God will. He's saying, talk to God 255 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:15.120 about everything. This is the second part of this verse 256 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:19.960 Philippians four to six. Never worry about anything. Instead, in 257 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:25.120 every situation, let God know what you need in your 258 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:28.200 prayers and in your request. You know, I got to 259 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:30.840 thinking yesterday, if you prayed as much as you worry, 260 00:15:30.840 --> 00:15:35.559 you'd have a whole lot less to worry about. And 261 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:37.840 by the way, God, since God has promised to care 262 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:40.840 for you, if it's not worth praying about, it's not 263 00:15:40.960 --> 00:15:45.919 worth worrying about. He says, talk to God about everything. 264 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:47.919 God knows what you need in your prayers. You know, 265 00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:51.039 when I was a kid, anytime I had a need 266 00:15:51.080 --> 00:15:53.639 in my life, I would I'd go talk to my dad, 267 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:56.440 say Dad, I need this. And sometimes it was something 268 00:15:56.440 --> 00:15:59.639 that cost, something that's expensive, and I said, Dad, I 269 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:04.480 need I can distinctly remember that not once as a 270 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:07.600 kid when I said God, Dad, I need this. Never 271 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:09.840 once did I worry about where my father was going 272 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:14.960 to get the money. Never once, because that's not my job. 273 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.200 It's my dad's job to figure out where the money 274 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:19.080 is going to come from. It was my job as 275 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:21.639 a kid, as a child, to simply ask. It's not 276 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:25.960 your job to figure out how God's going to do it. 277 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:29.840 It's your job to ask, to ask your heveny fellows, father, 278 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:33.879 I need this help you. See, when you worry instead 279 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:41.120 of asking, you're acting like an atheist. Worry is practical atheism. 280 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.679 That's what it is. It's acting like I don't have 281 00:16:43.919 --> 00:16:46.399 a heavenly Father in my life. It's acting like God 282 00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:49.919 doesn't exist. It's acting like I'm a spiritual orphan. Worry 283 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:54.440 is practical atheism. God says I'll take care of you. 284 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:57.320 It's acting like God can't be trusted. Now here's what 285 00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:59.480 the Bible says. Look in your outline, James four two. 286 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:05.680 You do not have because what you do not ask, 287 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:08.839 you do not ask God. So here's the second key 288 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:15.799 to stress management. Worry less, ask more, worry less, ask more. 289 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:20.160 Instead of worrying, pray, worry about nothing, pray about everything. 290 00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:22.559 He said, Well, I don't want to bother God with 291 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:27.160 this little bitty, tiny little thing. There's nothing tiny to God. 292 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:30.839 Every problem in your life is tiny. To God, there's 293 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:32.680 no big problems in your life. There are no little 294 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:34.720 problems in your life, because all of them are tiny 295 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:37.400 to God. Now here's what the Bible says in Romans 296 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:43.279 chapter eight thirty two. Since God did not spare even 297 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:47.920 his own son Jesus, but gave him up for us. 298 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:50.839 All he died on the cross for us. Won't he 299 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:55.400 give us Christ? Who won't he who give us Christ 300 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:57.759 also give us everything else we need? 301 00:17:58.440 --> 00:18:01.160 What's he saying here? Follow the lodge? 302 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:04.720 Your biggest problem is getting into heaven, because heaven's perfect 303 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:07.039 and you're not, and neither am I. I stopped batting 304 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:13.119 a thousand about breath number three, and so God came 305 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:15.720 up with plan B. He came to Earth in human form, 306 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:17.680 and he said, I'll live a perfect life and I'll 307 00:18:17.720 --> 00:18:19.680 die for you, and you can get into heaven on 308 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:22.720 my ticket. It's grace. I don't work it, I don't 309 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:25.000 earn it, I don't deserve it, I don't buy it. 310 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.039 It's just grace. I told you last. 311 00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:30.000 Week that one of my mentors was Peter Drucker, and 312 00:18:30.039 --> 00:18:33.000 I asked Peter one time. Peter, at one point, did 313 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:36.480 you step across the line and accept a relationship with Jesus. 314 00:18:36.680 --> 00:18:39.240 He said, you know, Rick, the day that I understood 315 00:18:39.240 --> 00:18:41.400 Grace for the first time, I realized I'm never getting 316 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.640 a better deal. There was no way I'm getting into 317 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:47.079 heaven on my goodness. I'm not good enough. 318 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:48.559 He says. 319 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:50.839 If God did not spurs on Sun but gave him 320 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:53.880 for us, won't he give us everything that Christ has 321 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:56.039 given to us? Won't he give us everything else we need? 322 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:58.920 If God solved my biggest problem, everything else is small 323 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:02.759 by comparison. If God loved you enough to die for 324 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:04.599 your sins, don't you think he loves you enough to 325 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:06.480 help you with your finances? 326 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:08.799 Don't you think he. 327 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:12.559 Loves you enough to help you with your health, with 328 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:17.440 your relationships, with the career decision, with closing a deal, 329 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:21.279 with making a sale. Yeah, there is no area of 330 00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:23.519 your life that God is not interested in. The Bible 331 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:25.880 says he has the hairs on your head number now 332 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:30.240 for some of this that's not too hard. But God 333 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:31.960 knows every hair in your head, and even the ones 334 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:33.319 you left in the sink this morning. 335 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:37.039 That's how detailed. I don't even know how many hair 336 00:19:37.079 --> 00:19:37.480 is on my. 337 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:40.880 Head, but God does. God says, I all care for you, 338 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.160 and I'll care for all of your life. So one 339 00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:45.480 of the dumbest things you can say is God, I'll 340 00:19:45.480 --> 00:19:50.680 handle this. Really, when he's offered to take care of 341 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:53.279 every air of your life, to say, God, I'll handle this. 342 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:58.000 Why you want to lower the stress in your life. 343 00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:04.839 Worry about nothing and pray about everything. Number three, The 344 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:07.799 third thing he tells us to do is to thank 345 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:13.200 God in all things. Thank God in all things. Now, 346 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:15.680 I doesn't say thank God for all things, because there's 347 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:17.680 a lot of things you shouldn't be thankful for. There's 348 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:20.680 pain in the world, there's evil in the world. Somebody 349 00:20:20.680 --> 00:20:22.559 gets cancer, you don't have to thank God for cancer. 350 00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:24.519 Somebody dies, you don't have to think thank God for 351 00:20:24.559 --> 00:20:28.680 their death. But it says in all things, give thanks, 352 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:32.240 which means even in the bad times, I can find 353 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:34.640 something good. Now here's the third part of that verse 354 00:20:35.799 --> 00:20:38.559 Philippians four to six. He says, you know, worry about nothing, 355 00:20:38.599 --> 00:20:40.759 and then he says, when you ask God for what 356 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:46.279 you need, also thank him. Circle that thank Him for 357 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:51.640 all he's done. Always ask with a thankful heart. Today's 358 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:54.960 English version said, now, I'm not going to belabor this 359 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:58.160 point because twice already in this series, we've talked about 360 00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:02.440 the connection between gratitude and happiness. You cannot be happy 361 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:05.839 and ungrateful at the same time. Happy people are grateful people. 362 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:09.799 Unhappy people are ungrateful people. Study after study after study 363 00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:12.759 has shown that the healthiest emotion known to human beings 364 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:16.119 is the attitude of gratitude. And the more you build 365 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.839 gratitude in your life, the more happy and the more 366 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:21.599 healthy you're going to be. And the in fact, study 367 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:24.519 is shown that having an attitude of gratitude actually raises 368 00:21:24.559 --> 00:21:29.519 your immunities, and being ungrateful and being resentful actually lowers 369 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:35.279 your immunity to other things in life. We know that 370 00:21:35.880 --> 00:21:39.799 gratitude is one of the remedies for depression because it 371 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:42.599 gets my eyes off myself and gets it on other people. 372 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:44.680 Instead of looking at what I don't have, I look 373 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:47.480 at what I do have. It's a stress reliever, gets 374 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:53.599 the focus off me. Ungrateful people are unhappy people. He says, 375 00:21:53.640 --> 00:21:57.160 when you ask God, don't just ask, but also thank him. 376 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:01.000 Always ask with a thankful heart. Now, the fact is 377 00:22:01.240 --> 00:22:04.759 I can always find something to be grateful for. We've 378 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:08.480 talked about this for on the cover of K's last 379 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:12.519 book on choosing joy. There is a pair of railroad tracks, 380 00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:16.319 and it's representative of life that on in your life. 381 00:22:16.400 --> 00:22:19.039 You're always you've got two rails at the same time. 382 00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:21.440 One rail of the good things that are happening in 383 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:23.759 your life, and the other rail are the bad things 384 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:25.759 that are happening in your life. Now, I used to 385 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:28.640 think that life was a series of hills and valleys, 386 00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:32.759 mountaintops and load times, and you know, you have all 387 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:34.680 of these good times and you have all these bad times. 388 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:35.880 But that's not really true. 389 00:22:36.200 --> 00:22:39.240 The fact is you get them both at the same 390 00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:42.880 time all of your life. In other words, there's no 391 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:46.599 time in your life when everything is good and there's 392 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:49.720 nothing bad in your life, and there's no time when 393 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:51.839 everything is bad and there's nothing good in your life. 394 00:22:52.039 --> 00:22:55.279 No matter how good things are going on in your life, 395 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:01.400 there's always something you need to be working on. And 396 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:06.400 no matter how bad things are in your life, there's 397 00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:09.880 always something you can be thankful for. Be grateful for, 398 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:14.240 and so I can always find something. And this is 399 00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:18.839 the third step for stress reduction. Be thankful and thank 400 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:21.519 God in all things. This is exactly what the Bible says. 401 00:23:21.519 --> 00:23:26.640