How To Survive The Worst Day Ever – Part 7

MESSAGE TRANSCRIPTION: 

Then we’ll jump into today’s message. Number one, I’m asking you, would you pray? Would you pray for our Church? Pray for your friends that are going to show up, maybe that is far from God, that they will experience his power and his presence because that’s what they really need, right? The Poconos, your friends, maybe they are out of Church or deep Church or unchurched. They don’t need a cool Church. What they need is an encounter with the living God. His name is Jesus. So can we pray? Come on. The righteous. The prayers of righteous people are powerful and effective. Pray for our team. Pray for our staff, pray for our servers. Team leaders are going to be working around the clock this week.

Would you pray for me? I’m going to ask you to pray for me on Thursday. I’m going to be fasting and praying on Thursday because that is the day in the final week that Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane, and he prayed with his disciples. So would you remember to set a reminder on your phone? Pray for me Thursday. I’m preparing and putting the final touches on this weekend’s message that God would give me a word for you, for your friends, your family, and for our community. So let’s pray. Number two, I’m asking you this week. Would you invite. Invite your friends. Invite your family. You’ve got friends maybe you used to see in Church. They’re not in Church anymore. Hey, if God brings them to your mind, just shoot them an invitation. We’ve got some really great tools.

If you go again to mycommunity.church, you scroll all the way to the bottom. You’ll see all these digital invites that you can use to download them into your phone and your photos, and then you can send them as texts. Okay. Don’t come to Church alone. I mean, there’s really something special about Easter in our culture. That’s the weekend that all of you show up on the same weekend, and we love it. But it’s also the weekend where people who don’t go to Church are most likely to say yes to an invitation. I mean, you’re here today because somebody invited you. Come on, let’s be that person for somebody else. Let’s invite them. Research shows 80% of people, when receiving a personal invitation to go to Church on Easter Sunday, say yes. Let’s not miss this opportunity, gang, right? There’s too much at stake. There’s eternity that hangs in the balance. So let’s get out there.

Let’s invite our friends. Let’s not show up next week just by ourselves or just with our family. Let’s invite somebody else, a friend from school, a coworker, somebody we see at the grocery store. I want to have the best Easter that I’ve ever had in my life. How about you? I want to have the best you want to have the best Easter? Seriously, don’t you want this to be the best Easter ever? The theme of Easter, by the way, is the best day ever. Okay, we’re going to talk about that in a minute, but let me tell you how to have the best Easter you’ve ever had in your life. In the same way I actually have the best Church experience Sunday you’ve ever had in your life. Here’s how to do it. When you show up for Church and your friend that you prayed for that you know is far from God and needs hope and needs to find faith and needs a community around. When they show up with you at Church, and they sit next to you, you will see Church differently. You’ll see Easter differently than you’ve ever seen before because you’re going to be looking at it all through their eyes. You’re going to see everything, like the stuff you missed. Now you won’t miss it. That Sunday, you’re going to pull onto the parking lot and be like, noticing all the buildings on the grounds. Or did they plant some flowers, or is the malch all spread nice? Is the place cleaned up? Does it look fun? Does it look inviting? You’re going to notice every of the parking lot guys. Are they out there doing what they’re doing? Gals out there are welcoming and friendly. You’re going to come into the auditorium, and you’re going to be like, man, I hope the auditorium is like a great preservice experience. The music is kind of bumping, and I pray that the coffee is good that week, and I want it to be the best cup of coffee that I give to my friend. Right? And then you’re going to pray if they have kids. 

Oh, man, I hope the kid’s experience is awesome today. The kids connect with the message, and they have fun and find lots of eggs and hear about Jesus. And then you’re going to come in here, and you’re going to be like, Man, I hope pastor preaches a good one and doesn’t tell some stupid preacher jokes and embarrass me. And I hope they sing my favorite song and hope the light thing works and all the other stuff works because I want my friend to have an amazing experience and the best Easter you’ll ever have. The best Church experience you’ll ever have is when your friend doesn’t go to Church or sits next to you, and they experience all of that. And at the end of it, they make a decision to follow Jesus. And they find his Grace, and they find his peace, they find his Salvation. Come on, gang. You’ll never have a better Easter. You’ll never have a better Church experience than that. So let’s invite our friends, say, Come on, come sit with me. And then last of all, here’s what I’m asking you to do. Show up big. This place is what it is because of you. It’s not just because the presence of Jesus is here and he is here, but you make a huge impact just by showing up. Your smile, your positive attitude, your life-giving spirit. When you come, and you show up, and you’re friendly, and you’re welcoming, and you’re leaning into everything, and you’re just kind of worshiping your face off, and you’re just leaning into all that God has done. It makes a difference.

Because here’s what I know. We can’t save anybody. We can’t change anybody’s heart. We can’t. But we can create a life-giving atmosphere that invites and allows the Holy Spirit to cultivate that kind of change in somebody’s heart. So that’s the role that we can play. Come on. Are you with me? Are you with me? Come on, let’s be that life-giving Church. Let’s be that city on a Hill. And let’s show up and show up big and show up early. And here’s what I want to do. I want to Commission all of you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All right?

You are now all commissioned to be part of our VIP team. That’s our very important people team. You’re all part of the welcoming host team. And here’s what that means. Just be nice to people next week. Smile. I don’t care if you’re having your worst day ever. Show up to Church. Just smile and just be nice and go meet people you don’t know, especially new people you’re like. Well, how will I know they’re new? Oh, you’ll know, especially if you’re from New York. How many can spot a tourist in New York City a mile away? Yeah, they’re the ones walking around. Oh, what is this? Wow, right? You all know who they are, and they do the same thing when they come to Church. They’re like, oh, my God, look at that. Oh, they have a coffee. Oh, my God, look at these lights. You’ll know that they’re new. It’s obvious. And here’s what I want you to do. Go meet, like, three, four, or five people. Just walk up to them and just say, Hi, my name’s Dave. What’s your name? My name’s Rick. Nice to meet you, Rick. How long you’ve been coming to Community Church? Well, this is my first time. Oh, you’re kidding. It’s your first time. You already know it’s their first time. They say, hey, man, where are you from? Well, I’m from Brooklyn. Me too, right? Brooklyn in the house represented, right? And you get to hear a little bit of their story. You tell them a little bit of their story and say, hey, you know what? Can I introduce you to one of my friends? This little secret between you and me? Here’s what I want to do. Walk them over to the well that’s in the lobby, by the way. Look great today. Come on, give it up for the team. They look so good.

You see some of the additions we’ve made. There’s a big welcome sign out there in the lobby, right? When you come through, bring them right over to that VIP area. Say, I want you to meet one of my friends, even if you don’t know them. And VIP people, everybody is your friend, all right? And make sure your tag is this so people can read your name, so they know you. And say, hey, I want you to meet my friend Susan. Hey, I just met Rick. He’s here for the first time today, and I just wanted him to meet one of the friendliest people we have in our Church. And that VIP member will take it from there.

They’ll give them a gift. They’ll welcome them, they’ll connect, exchange information so we can continue to follow up with them, pray with them, and Minister to them in hopes that they’ll just come back and begin to grow in faith in Jesus. Does that sound like a deal? Can we all do that together? Come on, let’s show up big next week. Let’s invite, let’s pray. Listen, as I said today, it’s the 7th and final weekend of our series that we’re calling Worst Case Scenario. And here’s what we’ve been doing. We have been studying the seven statements that Jesus made on the Cross. You have to read all four different Gospels to see all these seven different things that Jesus said from the Cross on his worst day ever. And just Jesus being as big and as good of God that he is. Even while he’s there dying for our sins, for you and my sins of humanity, he’s still yet teaching us life lessons of how we too can survive really bad days, our worst days ever. And so today, we come to the 7th and the final statement. It’s really important for us because maybe you’re going through a bad day. You need this message today.

You need this series. Go back and watch it online on-demand. Or maybe your bad day turned into a bad season. Can I get an Amen? Does somebody know what I’m talking about? Yeah, you and one. Me, too. All right. And so you need this what Jesus teaches us from the Cross. And for some of you, you haven’t had a bad day, or you’re not in a bad season, but I guarantee you you will. Jesus himself said, in this world, you will have trouble. So it’s not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when. And the wise person always prepares and equips himself in advance. And so whether you need it now or you need it a year from now or ten years from now, it’s really important that we listen and learn from Jesus and the seven statements that he made from the Cross.

And today, we come to that 7th and final statement. And it’s found in the book of Luke, chapter 23. I want to read it for you. It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. So if you recall, in the series, Jesus was crucified at 09:00 in the morning. And in those 1st 3 hours, from nine till noon, he made the first three statements from the Cross. Do you remember that? And then, at noon, he makes the fourth statement when there is this astronomical supernatural phenomenon that takes place. And even while the sky or the sun is at the highest point in the sky, when it shines the brightest, it becomes the blackest night over the skyline of Jerusalem. And it’s in that moment that Jesus bears the weight of the sins of humanity.

He pays the price for your sin and for my sin. And that’s when he makes the fourth statement, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And then, for the next 3 hours, Jesus hangs bleeding out, dying in darkness and in silence until now, 03:00 in the afternoon. And with just seconds to spare, Jesus makes his final three statements from the Cross. And here’s the last one. It says, then the curtain of the temple was torn into. Now, here’s an interesting little detail that Luke adds while Jesus is ready to take his last breath in the temple that separates the Holy of Holies from the inner courts, the place where the Ark of the Covenant represents the presence of God among his people. It was kept behind this curtain, and no one was allowed to go behind the curtain because if you did, you would die. Because here’s why. Sin had not yet been paid for. And no one can enter into the presence of God with sin in their life. There was only one person who was allowed to go behind the veil behind the curtain one time a year. And that was the high priest. And I’m sure when he did, it was with great fear and trembling in his heart. Right?

Amen, could you imagine? And so, in fact, they used to tie a rope around the ankle of the priest and hang a Bell on him so that if he died in there, they wouldn’t be able to go in and get him because they too would die. They would pull him out by the rope connected to his ankle. But only once a year could they go in and offer sacrifices on behalf of the people before God. And so it says, as Jesus now takes his final breath and he dies, the veil in the curtain, I don’t want you to think of it like, what’s that muslin or really thin, sheer stuff. Like a sheer, thin curtain, like you can see through. No, it wasn’t thin. It wasn’t see-through. The Bible says that the veil, it was as thick as a man’s hand. I mean, that’s almost six, seven, eight inches thick. This was a heavy curtain that separated the people from the presence of God. And at the moment that Jesus says this final statement, it says that the veil was torn literally from top to bottom. What does that mean? It means that now, once and for all, those of us that have been kept out of God’s presence have the freedom to enter God’s presence. No longer do we have to go to God through a righteous person, through a Holy man, through a priest, or through a pastor. No. Now we have access through our great high priest. Come on.

His name is Jesus. There’s freedom that comes through that access. Freedom that provides for healing of our mind and our body and our spirit, our soul. Salvation is now available. That’s what we’re calling next week. Come on, it’s the best day ever. Come on. Somebody give God praise today for what Jesus did on the Cross. The curtain was torn in two. This was from top to bottom. So we would be reminded that this was not an act of man. This was only done by an act of God. He makes a way for you. He makes a way for you. He makes a way for you. And then it says, Jesus called out with a loud voice, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. And when he had said this, he breathed his last. It’s over. He died. Radio Silence Before that, he said, Heavenly Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.

You know, statement number six that we looked at last week, just one word. Take, tell us, die, it is finished. If that was a statement of victory, if that was a statement of triumph, this is a statement of trust. This is Jesus coming down to the end and making a statement of trust. That Father, I trust you with my life. I put my life in your hands. I put my whole life in your hands. And friends, that just reminds me that if you and I are going to make it through our worst day ever if that tells me anything, it tells me this final life lesson. Write this down if you’re taking notes. Life lesson number seven, if you’re going to make it through a very bad day, a horrible, no good, very bad, your worst-case scenario day, here’s how you do it. Fully surrender your bad day to God and let it go. Fully surrender your bad day to God and let it go. You know, the reality is until you fully surrender your life, your bad day, everything about you, your past, your sins, your mistakes, your successes, your fear of the future, until you surrender your whole life to God, you will never experience all of God’s peace in your life. His peace is experienced through our surrender.

And so when Jesus makes this statement, it’s interesting to know that the final thing he says, he’s actually quoting scripture. Did you know that? Let me show you. He was quoting Psalm 31 from the lips of King David. This is the second time he quotes him from the Cross, and he says, this keeps me from the trap. You say, the trap. What is the trap? I’ll explain that in a minute. That is set for me, for you are my refuge. And here’s where he quotes them into your hands. I commit my spirit. Deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. You say, what is David saying here? What is the trap? Keep me from the trap. I think what David’s saying here and what Jesus is alluding to here is that there is a trap that we could fall prey to in life that would lead us to believe that we can kind of like comanage our problems, our bad days, our sin, our mistakes with God. That’s a trap from the enemy. To think, to make you think that there are certain things you handle, and then there are certain things that God handles.

It’s a trap to think that we can carry that weight and that burden to say, okay, I got this guy. You just hang out over there, and I’ll let you know when I need you, if I need you. Because when we begin to think that we can manage our problems with God, we’re taking on a responsibility that we were never intended to manage or bear. And then here’s what ends up happening. We worry. Because if it all depends on me, then I worry. We worry about a lot of stuff, don’t we? Is there anybody brave enough to admit I know you’re in Church, but are you brave enough to admit you struggle with worry? Okay, me, too. We worry about a lot of stuff, don’t we? We worry about our health. We worry about our family. We worry about our kids. Every parent, every grandparent ought to be saying, Amen. Amen. 

I found this letter from a kid that he wrote it to his dad, and his dad was really worried. Here’s what he said –

Dear dad, it’s with great regret and sorrow that I am writing to you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with you and mom. I’ve been finding real passion with Stacey, and she’s so nice. But I know you would not approve of her because of her piercings, tattoos, tight leather motorcycle clothing, and the fact that she’s so much older than me. But it’s not the only passion, dad, she’s pregnant. Stacey said that we would be very happy. She even owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many children together. Stacey opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn’t really hurt anyone. We’ll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people in the commune for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we’ll pray that science will find a cure for her disease soon. She does deserve it. But don’t worry, dad. I know I’m only 15, but I know how to take care of myself. Someday. I’m sure we’ll be back to visit, and you can get to know your many grandchildren. Love your son, Josh.

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true.

I’m over at Jason’s house, and I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the school report card that’s on the kitchen table. Call me when it’s safe to come home. But it’s true, right? We worry about a lot. We worry about our kids. We worry about our health. We worry about our finances. We worry about the doctor’s report. We worry about our job and our retirement. And life is just for so many of us, so full of worry. But it’s a trap. So here’s what we want to do in the remaining time that we have together. I want us just to look at the words of Jesus from the greatest sermon he ever preached. Greatest sermon ever preached before. It’s called The Sermon on the Mount. And it’s recorded for us in its entirety in Matthews, chapters five, six, and seven. And you can read the entire thing later, maybe this afternoon or this week. But we want to pick up what Jesus has to say about this thing called worry. Let’s pick it up in Matthew six, verse 24. Here’s what he says. No one can serve two Masters. You see, the Greek word for worry literally means a divided mind. And Jesus is now beginning to talk about this. He says no one can serve two Masters. Like, when you’re going through your worst day ever, you can’t be like, Well, I got this. Oh, no, God, you got this. No, I got no, you got it. And passing it back, that’s having a divided mind about who’s really got this and what Jesus is saying. Like, right off the bat, you have to decide this is really an issue for you of who’s going to run your life, who’s going to call the shots. This really is this issue of worry is really an issue of Lordship. Like, is Jesus really going to be Lord of it all? Because if he’s not Lord of all, he’s not Lord at all.

So Jesus just poses the question as he pivots in his powerful message like he just throws it out there right off the top. Like, who’s really going to be in control of your life, you or my heavenly Father? Who’s really going to call the shots? You or my heavenly Father? He says this, either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Now, here Jesus uses an illustration of money, but I believe it has so much more to do than that, which is money, but just within that illustration itself, because money really is a key indicator of who’s really calling the shots. When we claim to be followers of Jesus, when we claim to be lovers of God, Jesus is like, yeah, just show me your bank account. That’s what he’s saying. Like, are you going to manage your money God’s way?

Are you going to manage it your way? Are you going to follow my principles of stewardship, or are you not? And that is a key indicator of whether you see Jesus as Lord of everything in your life, but it’s more than money. You say, well, what does it have to do with worry? Well, let’s just keep reading. He goes, this, therefore, I tell you, do not. What’s the word worry? Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or drink about your body, what you will wear. I mean, is that life more than food? He goes on, he goes on, and he says, and the body more than clothes. You’re spending all your time, and you’re burning all these cycles and all this bandwidth on worrying about stuff you shouldn’t even be worried about, to begin with.

He says, Let me give you an example. Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow a, reap or store away in barns. And yet your heavenly Father feeds them. This is the scripture that inspired the great song, “His Eye Is On The Sparrow.” Do you know that song? And I know he watches me. Jesus is saying, look if he’s got his eye on the Sparrow, the smallest little thing that he makes, helpless and frail and so fragile, he goes, But I take care of all of their needs. How much more? Then he goes on, look what he says. I love this illustration. Are you not much more valuable than they can any of you by worrying about a single hour of your life? He’s like, Guys, worry doesn’t even work. It doesn’t add stuff to your life. It actually subtracts stuff from your life. It doesn’t make your life better. It makes your life worse. Studies show that over 70% of the stuff that we worry about never even comes to fruition to begin with. And Jesus is trying to help us to just take a step back and kind of look at life from a 30,000ft perspective. And he says, can anyone add a single hour to your life? And do you worry? And why do you worry about your clothes? He goes on. He says this. See how the flowers of the field grow? So he went from the creatures of the sparrows and the little birds. Now he’s talking about the flowers of the field. They do not labor, and they don’t spin yet, I tell you that. Not even Solomon and all of splendor were dressed like one of these. And if that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow’s, running to the fire, will he not much more clothe. You owe you a little faith. You’ve got to make a decision. Don’t fall for the worry trap. Who’s going to really be the leader of your life, you or God? Will you, especially on your worst day ever, fully and finally surrender, that bad day, that you will place it in God’s hands and then leave it there. Oh, that’s my heart right now.

That’s my prayer for every single one of you in this place on the other side of the camera, that whatever you came in here with, whatever you worry, whatever concern, whatever is keeping you up at night, pacing the floor, whatever it is that makes you go to this thing or that thing just to calm your nerves, whatever that worry is that you brought into this place, I pray that you won’t take it home with you, but you’ll leave it right here at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. That is my hope, and that is my prayer. So real quick, and I’m like, out of time, it’s 12:00, and the Masters are on. I don’t know anyway. But let me just give you four things about how you can overcome the worry trap. All right? Does that sound good? Four things. So if you’re taking notes, grab your phone, text a friend, and pretend you’re taking notes. It will make me feel better about this service. Here we go. Four things. Number one, these are straight from the words of Jesus in the continuation because he sets up this whole thing. He creates this tension, and now he gives the solution. If you want to overcome the worry trap, number one, get to know the God that knows. Get to know the God that knows. Look at what Jesus says. I love it. So do not worry. Saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear for the pagans? They run after all these things. And your heavenly Father knows that you need them. He knows. Would you say that with me? He knows. Come on, say it again. He knows. He already knows before you know.

So I’m just encouraging you today. Get to know the God that knows. You say, Well, I already know Him. Get to know Him better. Get to know Him better. Here’s why. Because the more you know God, the more you trust God, the better you know God, the better you trust God. So just get to know God better. Just get to know Him more because gang, he already knows. He knows what you need. He knows the concerns. He gets it. He knows what’s keeping you up at night, tossing and turning. He knows the heartache. He knows like, oh, what is the doctor going to say? Is this treatment going to work? Is it not going to work? Are they going to make it? Are they not going to make it? Will they ever get out of the hospital? Will they ever have a normal life? He knows. He knows what’s the judge going to say, what’s the lawyer going to say, what’s the landlord going to do, and what’s the mortgage company going? He already knows. As Karen said, he’s already got a plan. He’s not like, surprised, like, oh, my God, what’s happening? God already knew. He knows your thoughts before you think them.

He knows your words before you speak them. He knows your prayers before you pray them. He knows the number of hairs on your head. God knows there’s nothing he doesn’t know. He knows you’re getting up, and you’re lying down. You’re going out, and you’re coming in. God knows. He knows. He knows. So just get to know God better because the better you know God, the more you can trust Him. In fact, that’s what Jesus says next. Listen, because he’s talking to you. He’s talking to me. He says, people who don’t know God and the way he works is, yeah, but you, you know God heals, don’t you? Because he healed you. You know both God, how he works and who he is. You know nothing is too difficult for God. You’ve tasted and seen that he is good. You know that the one who has called you is faithful. Come on, and he’s faithful to a thousand generations.

He’s not going to stop being faithful now you know who he is. You know how he works. He’s been there for you before. Come on, he’s tested you, and you have seen, you’ve tried him, and you know that he always delivers. He might not do it the way you want him or at the right timing that you would have him do it. But, you know, just get to know God.

Here’s the second thing I want to share with you. Number two put God first in every area of your life. These are not my words. These are the words of Jesus. If you want to make it through your worst day ever. If you want to overcome living a life, and biting your fingernails, put God first in every area of your life. Here’s what he says. Look. Seek first. Seek what? Seek first. Seek second. No, seek. Come on, Church. Come on now. We’ve only been here an hour and seven minutes. Seek what? Seek first. The Kingdom and his righteousness and all these other things that you want to worry about. I got that. I got that. He says, just like, I take care of the rest of my creation. You know how it’s just so interesting to me that we can trust God to take care of our eternal soul, but we somehow can’t trust him to take care of a car payment, a mortgage, a sick friend or relative, a wayward child, a war in Ukraine. This is the God who sits above and is thrown above the circle of the Earth, and he uses the Earth as a footstool. Like, he just kicks his feet up. He’s like, I got this. That’s why Jesus, he’s not standing in heaven and pacing in heaven. Where is Jesus right now? He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he’s making intercession for you. He’s praying for you. He’s praying for Ukraine. He’s praying for your family. He’s praying for your loved one that is far from God. He’s praying. He’s interceding every time you pray.

He hears that prayer. And he’s like, hey, dad, dad, come here. She needs our help. Come on, dad. We got to do something, and we got to do it quick. Heavenly Father, that’s what it means to intercede. He takes your request, and he makes it known to God. Aren’t you thankful for that today? That he’s not up there pacing back and forth like, I don’t know. I don’t know how we’re going. I have no clue. Peter, come here. I’ve never seen this. Pete, John, come over here. I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what to do. He seated. See, the one in control always sits. He’s seated. So just seek him first.

If you would just put him first in every area of your life, put them first in your dating relationship, put them first in that decision, you have to make about your future. You know how you make them first. It’s like if I do this, will it bring the ultimate glory to God? And if the answer is yes, do that. That’s what it means, put him first.

So it’s not about me or what I want or what I think or even what I feel. It’s about Him and what he wants. That if I take care of his agenda, if I seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and I pursue living a life that is bringing glory and honor to God. And I have nothing to worry about because he said he’ll take care of all the other stuff. So put them first in your marriage. Put them first in your parenting. Put them first in your career. Put them first at school. Put them first at work. If we would just put him first. And if we would just keep looking into Him and fixing our eyes on Him, the Author and finisher Perfector of our faith. If we would just keep serving Jesus, keep serving one another, keep serving this community, keep serving and keep pushing Jesus’s agenda forward. He’ll take care of everything else. Because when you take care of his house, come on, God will take care of your house.

So put God first in every area. I got to hurry. Okay, number three, live one day at a time. Wouldn’t that be nice? Honestly, it wouldn’t be great just to like, yeah, I do that because I know I don’t do that. It’s a real struggle for me. I’m always living in the future. What’s next? What problem to solve? What mountain to climb? What thing do we have to tackle? Where do we need to go? Always future-oriented. Just how I’m wired. This is really hard for me just to live one day at a time. Here’s what he says. Listen to what he says. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow. Don’t live in tomorrow. Don’t live in tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Tomorrow has enough troubles of its own. I think Jesus would kind of say it this way. Don’t open the umbrella until it starts raining. That’s what worry means. It’s like I’m writing a check for something I didn’t even buy. You would never do that, would you? So don’t do it in life. Just live one day at a time. One day at a time. 

Last, of all, place your bad day in God’s hands and leave it there. If you really want to make it through your worst day, like a really bad day, you got to place that bad day in God’s hands and leave it there. You got to place it and leave it and leave it. Would you say that with me? Place it and leave it. Say it again. Place it and leave it.

Do you know what the Bible says about God’s hands? It says this great prophecy in Isaiah. It says that Scott’s speaking to you. I will not forget you. I will not forget you. I have engraved you in the palm of my hand. What does that mean? How did he do that? With some Roman spikes as they nailed Him to a cross. Those scars remind Jesus every day about you, where you are, what you’re going through, what you’re worried about, what concerns you, what you’re facing this week, what’s in front of you, what’s behind you? He says, I will not forget you, for I have engraved you with these nail-scarred hands? So whatever you came in here with today, friend, place it and leave it in his hands because here’s what I know about the hands of God. God’s hands are big enough to bless you? God’s hands are big enough to bless you and your children and your children’s children. They’re big enough to bless you with a legacy of faith. But I also know they’re scarred, so he’ll never forget you. They’re big enough to bless you. But they’re scarred to never forget you. That means you’re on his mind today. He’s thinking of you today. What you’re carrying, what you’re going through, the legitimate concerns of your life, and it’s hard. I know it. I’m in the middle of it, too. I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. I just don’t. But I know this God’s not forgotten me, and he’s not going to forget you either. His hands are big enough to bless you. They’re scarred that he’d never forget you. But they’re strong enough to carry you through your worst day ever. So whatever you walked into this place with today, you’re watching on the other side of the camera, here’s what I want you to do. Would you put your hands out in front of you like this? Come on, let’s all stand up.

We’ll finish with this. Come on, put your hands in front of you. Open hands like this whatever you came in here, whatever worry, whatever care, Whatever concern? I want you to look at your hands and think about the hands of God. Those nail-scarred hands. And I want you to place it in his hands. And leave it there. Fully surrender your life. Place it in. Heavenly Father, we lift our hands to you right now. It says in your word that we should cast all of our cares upon you because you care for us. So whatever it is. Whatever sin, whatever shame, whatever regret, whatever fear, whatever worry, whatever distraction, whatever thing that would cause us to be double-minded and worry. We will bring it to you today. And we place it, and we leave it in your hands. We commit to live lives fully. Holy surrendered to you, Jesus. Thank you for your hands that are big enough. Scarred enough and strong enough to carry me. And we say collectively today. Heavenly Father, into your hands. I commit I trust you with my life payment.