Fear, anxiety & faith

00:09Pastor Ken:Week 3, Faith versus feelings. Today we'll talk about fear, anxiety and faith. When your mind says what if and faith says even if, today on Real Talk.

00:37Pastor Ken / Pastor Todd: Well, welcome back. Hey PT, how are you? I'm doing great. Man, the studio looks amazing. Wow. Yeah, Brandon and I have been really working on it. Looks great. We're looking professional now. Wow, it's beautiful. New sign behind us, some wall decorations, some lights, looks amazing. New table, amazing. I think people are really going to enjoy watching it. For sure.

01:08Pastor Ken / Pastor Todd: Looks a lot better than what the Tigers do. Oh my goodness. Those guys, I thought right after the All-Star break they were looking good and then I don't know what happened. Well, Riley Greene got injured and then they just kind of went downhill from there. Well, we got like three guys down. I mean, I'm really excited about next year because these young guys are playing really good. Yeah, well, and we got a couple of new prospects from the Dodgers in the trade from Skubal. We haven't even seen them yet. No, they're still down in the AA and AAA level. Yep, I think they're going to be good. They're supposed to be top prospects.

01:41Pastor Ken / Pastor Todd: But all the new guys that came up this last batch, man, they're doing great. Yeah, Clark and Valencia and McGonigle. McGonigle is actually the front runner for rookie of the year. He's doing great, he's amazing, but all those other guys and some of the pitchers too. Anderson, I really like him. I think he's doing good. Jobe's doing good now. Yep, he's had two good outings back to back, into it a little bit more and getting a little bit more comfortable. He was nasty yesterday. He had some really good stuff. Yeah.

02:14Pastor Ken / Pastor Todd: I mean, you know, now we didn't win the series against the Rays, but they're the best team in the East. Yeah, they're better than New York. They are first place. So we only won one, but it was a game that Jobe pitched and he did great. He shut him down. Yeah. So they did really awesome.

02:34Pastor Ken / Pastor Todd: Yeah, but yeah, we're excited about the new show. We got some guests coming up with us in September. Rachel and I are going to do Parenting 101. We've had a lot of people in our church ask us to help them with their children. We have a lot of expecting parents as well, and they kind of want some wisdom on how to raise children in today's world. So we're going to be talking about that coming up in a couple of weeks. Rachel will be in the podcast room, and what we're doing is getting questions from parents in our church and we're going to attempt to answer all those questions on the next couple of podcasts that we do for you.

03:16Pastor Ken / Pastor Todd: So I think you're going to really, really enjoy it no matter what age you are. I think it's going to really minister healing to you. So I'm really looking forward to that. It's going to be fun. Yeah. And then October, we're going to have a lot of interviews. They're stacking up now. So I think you're going to really enjoy Real Talk with PK coming up. And I hope you're enjoying these as well. These have been very challenging for me.

03:39Pastor Ken:You know, I want to tell you that faith doesn't mean that I never fear. You and I know that, but faith means fear doesn't get the final word. And that's really what I want to drive home with you today, is that fear does not get the final word in your life.

04:00Pastor Ken:Think about a pilot in the clouds. There's a lesson that I think every pilot, if you've ever talked to pilots, and I have a couple of friends, my son's friends are pilots and I've talked to them several times. And when they were learning to fly through the heavy clouds, they could not rely on what they were feeling. So when those pilots enter that thick dark clouds, they can lose their vision reference super, super easy. They can't see the horizon, they can't see the ground. They can't tell where the sky ends and the earth begins, and something strange happens inside of them.

04:46Pastor Ken:They've told me that that inner ear can begin sending the brain incorrect signals. So their body's telling them to do one thing, the plane's doing something else. And they can feel that the plane is turning when it's actually flying straight, and they can feel like they're climbing when they're descending. It's really weird. And everything inside of them may be saying one thing while the instrument panel is saying something completely different. And that's when their training takes over. They know that they have to trust the instruments. They have to, because their feelings can deceive them. Those instruments actually tell where the plane is and what the plane is actually doing.

05:41Pastor Ken:And isn't that exactly what happens spiritually? That's exactly how we are spiritually. Fear says one thing. It says something terrible is going to happen. God says, do not fear, for I am with you. Anxiety says you're not going to make it. God says, my grace is sufficient for you. Fear says you're all alone. God says, I'll never leave you and I'll never forsake you.

06:16Pastor Ken:So, friends, here's the question today. When fear and faith disagree, who gets the controls? When our fear and our faith disagree, who gets the controls? Fear may show up in the cockpit, but you don't have to let fear fly the plane. And that's really what I want to talk about, because we live in a world that's upside down and there's a lot of things going on in our world today. And I want to really encourage you in this podcast today not to let fear dictate your direction in life.

06:54Pastor Ken:So number one, I want to talk about how fear predicts, but faith trusts. Fear predicts things, but faith trusts. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, verse 34, he said this: do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Did you hear what Jesus said? He said don't worry about your tomorrows, for tomorrow will worry about itself. And I think one of anxiety's favorite questions is this: what if? What if something happens? Maybe you've played this game before. Maybe you've had these things happen. Maybe even today you said, what if I lose my job? What if the test results aren't good? What if my kid makes the wrong choices? What if this relationship doesn't work? What if I don't have enough? What if everything around me falls apart?

07:50Pastor Ken:I want you to notice something. None of that has happened yet. The what ifs, right? Your body is already responding as though it has when you allow fear to take place. That's what fear does in us. Fear takes a possibility and treats it like a certainty, and then we begin suffering emotional things in our lives over something that may never happen. I mean, I've done that in my early 20s. Well, what if this happens? Well, what if that happens? You ever done that before? Yeah, I mean, a lot of people do.

08:28Pastor Ken:And Jesus brings us back today, not because tomorrow doesn't matter, but because tomorrow belongs to God. Here's a powerful thought. Worrying is paying interest on a debt that you may never owe. Faith doesn't say nothing bad could ever happen. Faith doesn't say that. But faith does say this: whatever happens, God will still be there. And that's the difference. Whatever happens, God is going to be there with me.

09:00Pastor Ken:So let's play a little game. What if versus even if, OK? What if versus even if. Now here's where faith changes the conversation for us. Fear says this: what if. Faith says: even if. Now I want you to think about for a moment. Many of you know this story, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, in the book of Daniel. And they face a furnace and they believed God could deliver them. They believed that. But then they said something I think incredibly powerful for you and I to hold on to tonight. In Daniel chapter 3 verse 18, it says, but even if he does not — what? What are they saying? They were telling the king, even if God doesn't save us, we're not going to bow to you. That's faith.

10:01Pastor Ken:They essentially said, God can deliver us. But even if this doesn't turn around the way that we want it — and there are things in our lives that we want turned around quickly, it's not happening right away — we're still trusting God. We live in a microwave society. We want our answers to our prayer requests answered quickly. We want everything done now. That's not how God operates. But they were saying, we're still trusting God. Even if we go into this furnace and we die, we're going to be with the Lord. That, friend, is mature faith. Fear says, what if everything goes wrong? Faith says, even if it does, God will still be God. Did you hear that? Even if things go awry, God will still be God. Come on. Amen. I mean, that's where we are at in our world today.

10:57Pastor Ken:And number two, fear focuses on the storm, right? It's always focusing on things that we shouldn't be focusing on. But faith focuses on who is in the boat. Now, there's a great story in the Gospel of Mark chapter 4. And Jesus and his disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee. And suddenly there's a violent storm that kicks up, right? And the waves are crashing, and the water is coming, lapping over into the boat. And these are experienced fishermen, and they're panicking. They're professional fishermen, OK? And they're panicking. And Jesus is in the boat, but he's asleep. And they wake him and they say, Teacher, don't you even care if we drown?

11:46Pastor Ken:Now I read that and I want you to think about that question. The storm didn't just make them question their safety. The storm made them question God's character. Think about that for a moment, OK? Because the words "don't you care?" — that's what fear does. Fear starts with circumstances, but eventually fear brings about questioning God. God, do you see this? God, do you care? God, where are you? I mean, I've said some of those things. I don't know about you, but I have.

12:32Pastor Ken:And Jesus stands and he speaks. He gets up and he says, quiet, be still. Now as soon as he said that, the storm clouds, they calmed. The waves were silent. But then Jesus asked them this simple question. He said this: why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? I'm going to say those words again. Jesus said to his disciples in the boat, why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? The problem wasn't that they noticed the storm, friends. The problem was that they forgot who was in the boat. How many times do you and I forget who's in the boat? How many times have you and I got so worked up because we thought Jesus forgot all about us? Come on, how many?

13:33Pastor Ken:See, here's the key truth about that story. I think the presence of a storm doesn't mean the absence of our God. When we are in a storm, it doesn't mean that God has abandoned us. He said that he would stick with us through thick and thin. He would never leave us. He would never forsake us. And you need to hold on to that truth. That story speaks volumes to me when I begin to lose it. And we all lose it at times in our faith. It happens to everyone. And this is why the Word of God is so powerful, so important for you and I to be in it every single day.

14:21Pastor Ken:Because anxiety wants to control us. Faith practices surrender. So if you allow anxiety to go unchecked in your life, it will control you. We are praying for many people in our church who are battling situations like this — fear, anxiety — and we are praying for them. But faith practices a surrender. And in Philippians chapter 4, I believe it's six and seven, Paul says this. He says, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, you present your request to God. You present your request to God.

15:14Pastor Ken:Now I want you to notice something. Notice what Paul tells us to do with anxiety. He doesn't say pretend it isn't there, OK? He does not say that. He doesn't say suppress it. He doesn't say feel guilty about it. He says turn it into prayer. I grew up in a church world where you just ignore it. And so what we learned when I was a child is you just ignore things, ignore things, ignore things. Well, that didn't help the situation. That's not what Paul is saying here. Paul never said pretend that it isn't there. He said turn it into prayer, because you take the thing that you're rehearsing in your mind and you put it into God's hands.

16:08Pastor Ken:So the thing that you are anxious about, you pray about it and you give it into God's hands, because worry and prayer have something in common. Both focus your mind on something that is really out of your control. So something that's happening around us that brings anxiety usually is something that is out of our control. And so we pray about it. Now worry says, I have this all figured out. Prayer says, God, I'm giving you this. I'm giving it back to you. I don't have it figured out and I want to give it back to you.

16:45Pastor Ken:I've used this illustration many times about a backpack filled with rocks, and you're walking around carrying this heavy backpack and you're going to get tired. Well, in this example that I want to use with you today, that causes anxiety. There's a lot of anxiety in our society today. And so I'm thinking about the bricks that we put in our backpacks that we carry around: finances, our children. School is starting. Many school districts are already in right now. So we worry, we have anxiety about our kids going into school again. Another semester for some of you. Our marriage. How about work? How about our health? How about the future? Those are heavy bricks that we tend to carry on our own.

17:34Pastor Ken:And eventually someone says to us, why don't you put that bag down? And you answer, because these are my responsibilities. I'm supposed to worry about these things. But there's a difference between being responsible and trying to be sovereign, right? There's a huge difference. So you can care deeply about your children without carrying everything personally. There came a time in my life and my wife's life that we had taught all of our kids what to do. And when the time came and they went to school, we had to have faith that what we taught them at home, that they would adhere to. Now, it wasn't easy. I'm not saying it's easy. But you learn to take those bricks out of that bag that we like to carry around, and we say, God, I'm going to hand it to you. My kids are yours. I've done everything I know to do. I pray over them. I have taught them your word. We talk about everything in our home. Now I give them over to you.

18:47Pastor Ken:Some things are yours to handle. Other things are God's to handle. And wisdom knows the difference. Wisdom knows the difference. And so there are times in our lives that Rachel and I, we just said, Lord, we give it over to you. We give our finances over to you. Early in ministry, man, things are so tight. When we were young, we knew how to pinch a nickel. We knew how to stretch a dollar. We did everything in our power to stay debt free as much as we could. And we prayed a lot and we said, Lord, we don't know how we're going to make it through this month. But somehow, someway, God always showed up for us. He's always done that.

19:39Pastor Ken:Why? Well, because I would carry that burden until it was too much to carry, and I handed it over to the Lord. And that's wisdom. Wisdom knows the difference. So when you're facing this hill that you're facing, this anxiety, this fear, whatever it might be, right? And you've done everything that you know what to do, then you hand it over to God. You say, God, here it is. I've done everything that I know and what you wanted me to do. Now I hand it over to you, because if I don't hand it over to you, I'm going to break. And that's exactly what Rachel and I had to do. We still do that today. We haven't changed just because we're older and more mature. I still hand things over to the Lord all the time, because that's what he wants from us.

20:36Pastor Ken:OK, number four is you have to interrupt the thought cycle. This is so key. You have to interrupt your thought cycle. So going back to Philippians chapter 4, now verse 8, it says this — Paul doesn't stop with don't be anxious. He tells us what to think about, right? So he just doesn't stop with, well, just don't be anxious. He says whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. Now, why does he list all these things? Because anxiety often feeds on imagination. What do you mean, PK? Your mind will create scenarios, and your mind will take over and show you things that aren't real, OK? And then those scenarios that your mind creates begin to create emotions around them. And then those emotions begin influencing our decisions.

21:55Pastor Ken:And so at some point in that vicious cycle that we have allowed to happen, we have to interrupt the cycle. We got to ask ourselves this question: is this actually true? What I'm thinking — is this actually true? The scenario that I'm painting here in front of me now, could it happen? Maybe. Am I afraid it might happen? Maybe. But is it true right now? And I think those are the things that we have to ask ourselves when we get caught in this cycle of anxiety. Is the thing that I'm most thinking about right now — is it true? Is it true now?

22:47Pastor Ken:If it is not, then we use Second Corinthians 10:5, and we bring that hostile thought — the Bible says, Paul says, pull that hostile thought down and make it captive. You captivate it, and then you make it obedient. So you're replacing that fearful thought with the word of God. And the word of God is truth.

23:14Pastor Ken:Now, if we go back to the analogy of the pilot that I began this podcast with — remember, everything inside of that pilot was turning. It was turning. But he looked at the instruments: straight and level the plane went. His feelings said multiple times, you need to correct, you need to correct. His training said, trust the instruments, trust the instruments. Spiritually speaking, friends, I think there are moments when you and I, we've got to look at our spiritual panel. Fear says to us, you're all alone. But our instrument panel tells us, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. Fear tells us, you're not strong enough. You're not going to make it through this thing. My spiritual instrument panel says, my strength is made perfect in your weakness. My strength is made perfect in your weakness.

24:24Pastor Ken:Fear says, you can't do this again. You're going to fail. You've tried before and you're going to fail. My spiritual instrument panel says, he who began a good work in me will be faithful to carry it on to completion. Fear says, everything is out of control. My instrument panel says, be still and know that I am God. Hallelujah. Be still and know that I am God. Friends, you and I, we have to trust the instrument panel led by the Holy Spirit. Trust God's Word over our emotional turbulence. I know you've been on planes. I've been on planes. It's pretty scary when that plane drops and there's a lot of turbulence. You got to trust the instruments. You got to trust the Word of God and what it's saying to you.

25:16Pastor Ken:Number five: courage isn't the absence of fear. I just want you to know that there are times in my life that I have feared and I have battled fear. And a good Psalm is Psalm 56, verse 3. David says this: when I am afraid, I'm going to put my trust in you. When I am afraid, I'm going to put my trust in you. I love that verse. David doesn't say, I never get afraid. No, he says, when I am afraid, I'm going to trust in you. So what does that say? Fear happened to David, and then David had to make a decision to trust his God. That's courage. Courage isn't feeling nothing. Courage is choosing faith while you have fear. You can have trembling hands and still hold on to God's hands. And you can have unanswered questions and you can still worship Almighty God. And you can still feel uncertain at times in your life, and you can still obey his word. You can do that, because faith is not the absence of fearful feelings. It's obedience in spite of them.

26:44Pastor Ken:And so I pray that this is really helping you in your walk with the Lord, because I know that there's a lot of anxious people that are watching and listening to this today. And number six is God's presence is greater than our fears. God's presence is greater than our fears. I was worshipping the Lord on the way over here to church tonight, knowing what I was going to talk on in this podcast. And Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10 says this: do not fear, for I am with you. Do not fear, for I'm with you. In those moments when sometimes fear comes in, I will turn worship music on and I'll begin to praise the name of Jesus, and something incredible happens. It's just like a miracle happens in the atmosphere, and that atmosphere just changes.

27:53Pastor Ken:And I want you to notice that. Notice God's answer to fear. He doesn't say that nothing difficult will ever happen. He doesn't say that. He says, I'm with you. And when I listen to worship or I get into his word, I sense his presence. His promises are yea and amen to those who believe. I think sometimes we're asking God to change my circumstances, and God says, first I want you to recognize my presence. That's what he says. Because if God is with us, then you can walk through things. You can walk through fire, and you would think that you wouldn't survive, but you can survive because he's with you. He's with you. And I love that. I mean, every time that I have felt insecure, things that I was losing control over, my wit about me, and fear was really gripping me, I would begin to worship God. I would open up his word and I would just begin to read his word. And the more that I read his word, the more comfort came to me, the more realization that God is with me and that he'll never leave me.

28:52Pastor Ken:So I want to give you some practical things that I have done in my life that helped me. And I want you to write them down, and I want you to practice these things. So this is what I do when fear hits, OK? Number one is I name it. I name it, and I ask myself, what exactly am I afraid of? OK, so you have to name it. So vague fear becomes very powerful. So if you name the fear, it's something that you can bring to God. OK, so you ask yourself, why am I feeling this? And then you name it. What is this? What am I feeling? And you name it and you give it to God.

29:45Pastor Ken:Number two is you test it. And you ask yourself this simple question: is this true? Is this true? Or is this something that I'm imagining? OK, is the thing true? OK, third, you find the promise. OK, this is what I do. I open the word of God and I find the scripture about what it says I'm facing. OK, we have these little books called The Promise, and they're just promises of God's word. So whatever thing that you're going through in your spiritual journey, these little books have it. Anxiety, fear, healing — whatever you need, these books of promises have it. And we began to pass them out this past Sunday to people in our church. And they're powerful and they work. And I use that thing all the time. So you find the promise. What does Scripture say about the thing that I'm facing?

30:53Pastor Ken:OK, and then number four, you turn that worry into a prayer. And this is key that you and I do this, because every time that thought returns, I pray again. And so it's not just a once and done. It's rinse and repeat, OK? So you're going to face things in your life that you're going to pray about a lot until that thing is done in your life. You're going to pray about it until it's dead. OK, so you're going to turn that worry into prayer. And every time that thought returns, you're going to pray over it again until it is dissolved, in Jesus' name, OK?

31:34Pastor Ken:And then number five, you take today's step. What does that mean? Don't solve next year tonight, OK? So we're not going to worry about tomorrow. We're going to deal with today. Tonight is the night, we ask, OK? And we say, what is the faithful thing that I can do today? It's about today. What can I do today to help me in this situation? OK, and I'm telling you, if you'll do those five things, it will really bring you relief, and it will bring you comfort, and it will bring you help, I promise you, because it works. I've done these things myself, and it really, really works.

32:22Pastor Ken:So family, I want you to know tonight, maybe you've been flying through some thick clouds lately, and you can't see the horizon in front of you, and you don't know what's coming tomorrow. And your emotions are telling you tonight: panic, turn it around, give up, something terrible is about to happen. Come on, friends, you've been there and done that, right? But before you let fear take control, I want you to check the instruments. I want you to check what God is saying. And he says this: I'm with you, he says. I will strengthen you, he says. I will help you. He said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Amen.

33:00Pastor Ken:So today, maybe today you need to stop asking the what ifs and start declaring even if. Even if things don't go exactly as I planned, God is faithful. There have been many times in my life that I have said that. Lord, it didn't go the way I thought it was going to go, but you are faithful. Thank you for getting me through what I went through. Even if I go through something difficult, God, you're faithful. Even if I can't see the road ahead, God, you're faithful. Even if I don't have enough strength for the next ten years, your grace is sufficient for today. For today. And then there's going to be more grace that arrives tomorrow, and there'll be more grace there for you down the road. That's how God is. And so I want us to try to live in the moment of today and ask the Lord, God, I need you now. I need you now. I really believe those five practical steps that I gave you will really help you turn that ship around that is tossed from the winds and the waves. Amen. I really believe that.

34:14Pastor Ken:And I want to pray for you. OK, come on, let me pray with you. Father, I pray, Lord, in this moment that I have with your people, Jesus — who's listening to this, who's battling fear, who's battling anxiety — Lord, I pray that your presence and your peace will be right in the middle of that storm. In Jesus' name, I pray. Help us to recognize the difference between what we feel and what's true. Our minds race ahead so many times, God. I pray that you'll bring us back to the moment, to the now, to today, Jesus. And when fear asks the what ifs, I pray, God, our faith will answer even if, because God is with me. So I pray, Lord Jesus, that you will help us to release what we cannot control and trust what you have spoken over us, so that we can take the next faithful step in you.

35:25Pastor Ken:Father God, today we choose. Today we choose to trust in you. Today, in this very moment that we are living in, that some might be full of fear or anxious thoughts — today we trust you in the moment, and we look upon your instrument panel, and God, you are with us, and I thank you for it. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

35:54Pastor Ken:So friends, I love you very much. Thanks for joining me for Real Talk with PK today. And I know that this is a very difficult subject. It really is. But I want you to remember this: fear may be loud, but it doesn't get the final word. And when you can't see clearly, I want you to remember to trust the instruments. Trust God's word, trust God's character, trust his presence. And when fear asks what if, let your faith answer even if, because God is still with me. Until next time, friends, have a great week, and we'll see you on Real Talk with PK.