Harold Bullock: Hello, Hope Church family. This is Pastor Harold. Welcome to gathering together by virtue of the internet and considering what God’s Word has to say. We’re walking through a very intense time right now. We are concerned about the virus. Perhaps some of your friends or relatives are in danger of it. Some of us have lost jobs and are trying to figure our way forward. We’re all dealing with the intensity of sheltering at home or at least staying at home and trying to be kind to each other. We’re dealing with uncertainty about supplies, and there’s just the general, gnawing difference of walking through a time like this.
I wanted to share some things with you about standing firm. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is different. It has different resources, and it has different power. One of the commands that occurs several times in the New Testament is to stand firm. 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Interesting words—“Stand firm...let nothing move you…” When I think of nothing moving, I think of Ayers Rock in Australia. This is a rock. The thing is about 1,200 feet tall and about 6 miles around. It’s one solid rock; it’s a sandstone formation. It’s huge; it’s not going to move anytime soon. There’s actually more of it underground than there is sticking out above the ground. It’s not going to move. When the verse says, “...stand firm,” literally it says, “be set in place.” Then, “be immovable” in the Greek is just literally immovable. You can’t move the thing. You can’t move Ayers Rock. This is what we have been in the church through the centuries.
It’s always a challenge personally. It’s always a challenge in different times, but I want to talk to you about that matter of standing firm. I was chatting with a friend in another state the other day, and he told me of a friend he has who is a fairly high executive. The guy had made a comment to him that he had talked to a number of non-Christian executives and Christian executives over the past few days. The man himself is a Christian, and he said it was interesting. None of the non-Christian executives had an anchor for times like this. What do you do? They just were having great difficulty in processing what was going on. He said, by contrast, every Christian executive he talked to had an anchor, anchor in Christ. He was under a lot of stress, but he was processing. He was able to actually work through things. We just have something different in Christ Jesus. We are able to stand firm.
I want to talk to you about some key parts of that. If you are going to stand firm, you’re going to need to do some things. Deuteronomy 32:4 is a passage in the Old Testament. It’s one of the great summary verses about God, who He is and how He works. Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “He is the Rock…” Literally in the Hebrew, it just says, “the Rock.” “He is the Rock.His works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” In the NIV, He’s the Rock, or just the Rock. He’s the only safe, reliable place to stand in all generations. Every other place moves. There’s a hymn…”Every other ground is sinking sand.” That’s true, but God is a Rock. His Word is a Rock.
All His works are perfect. Literally in the Hebrew it says everything He does is “flawless.” There is no defect. That’s hard whenever you realize He’s in charge of the world and that we’re in a time like this. Yet as time works out in my own life, over the years I’ve gone through some very hard things. But never in one of those things did God violate justice. I deserved a whole lot worse than what I got. Every path He takes, all the patterns are justice. He won’t violate that, so everything He does is wise.
Then, He’s the faithful God. He does no wrong. He’s faithful. This word is very interesting. In the Hebrew language, the word means “reliable.” Really, it’s a word that if something were this word you could lean against it and it wouldn't move. You could stand on it; it wouldn’t collapse. You can rely on God. You can take Him at His Word and count on it because He comes through. He’s reliable. The situations that we’re facing right now. We’re in rather uncertain situations. There’s a direction established...sort of...but there’s just a lot of uncertainty. In the situations that you’re in right now, use good sense but rely on God. You have to actually stand on God; you have to. If that’s your standing place, it won’t collapse.
What tends to happen is because of our concerns we tend to try to figure out how things will work. Then before long, we’re relying on statistics. “Well, you know only a certain percentage of this happens, and so many people, a certain percentage, this happens. But, I’m probably not in that percentage.” If that’s where you take your stand, you’re going to be worrying again. It’s not percentages. Maybe precautions? You’re really feeling safe because of all the precautions you’re taking. But you know in the back of your mind, there’s always that same thought, “Have I forgotten something? Did something slip through?” Take precautions for sure, and percentages are real. But, they are not adequate to stand on.
Or, maybe my own wisdom? My own smarts? We’ve really thought this thing through, and we’ve got a process worked out. We’re relying on it. But you know as you lie down at night in the bed, in your mind there’s always a question: Did we forget something? Is there something I don’t know yet? Stand on the Rock. For me, the way I do that is this. He’s the immovable Place; all the other ground wobbles. You try to fight your battles with the enemy and your thoughts on the other ground and you get instability. For me, I do it this way. When I start into the worry or fear comes up, I actually state out loud, “My God will not rip me off. My God will do me good.” Romans 8:28 says that He works all things together for the good of those who are called according to His purposes. He’s called me, and I’m trying to move in line with His purposes. So, He’s going to work all things together for good, even this.
There are hard things in this, but if I take my stance on what’s reasonable, I’ll wobble. Ultimately whatever happens, God will do me good. When I stand there, I’m like Ayers Rock because there's’ a lot more going on than just Harold. There’s the God of the universe. A second thing...you need to stand on the Rock. A second thing is your faith right now must go from true to real. We’re in a situation now where it’s not really an option not to trust God. You can not trust God, but if you're going to have stability, if you’re going to stand firm, you’re going to have to trust God. For many of us as we move through time, we believe in God. God does take care of creation. God takes care of us. We hit a financially tight spot, and you know, we’re going to trust God, but really we’ve got some money in the bank. So, we’re not really sweating. We’re now into a time where faith has to go from it’s true—yeah, you can trust God—to real—Oh, God, I trust You!
I want to read a very famous passage of Scripture. In this passage, Jesus is talking to a big crowd of people. Jesus says this: “Therefore, I tell you…” He calls out to the crowd. “...do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you. O you of little faith? So do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
It’s very interesting. Don’t worry. Well, we’re in a time where the possibilities for worry are just about through the roof. This word, “don’t worry”...the word, “worry”...There’s a Greek word that means basically “be anxious.” It’s sort of twisted in two over things. You’re aware that there’s possible danger, and so you’re just worrying and fretting and worrying and fretting because of the circumstances. A lot of things show up in life that we get concerned about. It’s not wrong, but there’s an illusion that sort of sneaks into our minds. The illusion is that if we will just really be concerned, if we’ll just really fret and worry over something, then somehow that will fix it or maybe give security. And, it won’t. We feel sort of responsible to worry, but worrying won’t do a whole lot for you. You do need to take responsible action. If there’s a situation where there’s possible danger, you need to take responsible action.
Right now we’re trying to stay at home, and we’re trying to avoid contact with people. It’s very smart; that’s wise, but the future is just not in your hands or mine. Jesus give worry a whole new perspective in this passage, actually. He says that all your worries are not going to bring anything to pass except problems. You’ll get problems. If you worry, you’ll get problems. But God, who takes care of all of creation, will take care of you. If you put His priorities first, He will take care of you. He will certainly take care of you. He takes care of the birds. You’re worth more than birds. He takes care of the grass. Look at the pretty flowers, marvelously designed and clothed, and so He'll take care of us.
The concerns, the anxiety, will weigh you down, and they can disable you. So, you need to move past the worry, and the way that you do that is you cast your cares on God. 1 Peter 5:5 says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” The idea is to roll it off of your shoulders onto His. You give Him your anxieties; you give Him your troubles. You actually are in a relationship with another person. There are two sides to this. There’s you, and there’s Him; and it’s real. So as you are stressing over things, you can take those things and say, “Father, I know You’re here. Would You please carry these for me?” You can say it this way: “Father, here are my concerns. This thing and this thing are just eating my lunch. They’re just wearying me. Father, I trust You with them. Would You carry them for me, please? Would You deal with them, please? I leave them with You.” If you will do this, He will actually take them.
Again, we tend to feel responsible to worry like we’ve got to do this or we’re not being a real Christian. Worry undermines the things that God wants to do. Prayer actually grants freedom from worry. Jesus, in the passage that we read, is talking about freedom from worry. There are other things you need to put your mind onto. So, you want to keep God and His kingdom in your focus. When your mind starts getting drawn into the worries, pull it back; cast those things on Him. We’ll talk about how to in just a second even further.
Jesus also says that worry about tomorrow is useless. Why add tomorrow’s troubles to the ones you’ve got already to struggle with. We have enough food for today, but what about tomorrow? Well, what about next week? Leave that with God for next week. Let me ask you a question. This thing about God’s care and His willingness to take care of you, is that something you believe, or is it something you trust? Again, for many of us there are so many things about God that we believe, but we have never really leaned our weight on them. We’re now in a position in all kinds of areas where we have to lean on God; we have to actually count on Him to come through. Let your trust move from theoretical to practical. Let your belief move from true to real. It’s as you actively trust God is real; that’s where your experience of God comes from. That’s where your faith grows.
Jesus said to pray this. This is a great time to do it. “Give us this day our daily bread.” Israel, very interestingly for 40 years, the nation of Israel was in a desert region and moving as the Lord directed. Out of rebellion they were sentenced to a long sidetrack, but for 40 years they didn't’ have food at night. Every morning God provided manna. This was something. The word, manna, literally means, “what’s it?” They didn’t know what it was. It was something like seed, but it was nourishing, and it appeared every morning divinely. This happened every morning for 40 years. If they tried to gather up enough to last for more than a day, it turned to just worms. 40 years. Everyday. But do you know what? For 40 years, it was every day. God will provide the daily bread. If you’ve run into trouble, Hope Family, let your brothers and sisters know, but understand, it’s God. God is the One who takes care of us. So, will you trust God to provide what you need? If you will, then good. You’ll have some experiences with God during this time that you would have never had otherwise.
You have to take your stand on God. It’s imperative that that stand not just be theoretical, but it be real and practical. The very situations that you’re facing, the very things that tug on your heart, the very things that sometimes make you want to cry, these are things that you have to trust God with. I would encourage you to trust God verbally. Get into a situation, if you need to go into your closet and pray; pray. Talk to God out loud. Talk to Him about this. He’s the One who takes care of the birds, and there are lots of birds on the planet. He’s the One who dresses the flowers. There are lots of flowers on the planet. He’s the One who knows you personally and will actually, honest to goodness, love and take care of you. It has to go from just true to real in your faith.
I’d like to talk more specifically about this matter of rolling your burdens onto the Lord. What I said a few moments ago is accurate. You can tell the Father, “Father, please take this.” There’s a passage in the Scriptures that gives some very specific directions about this. I’d like to read that to you because instead of worrying, you’re going to actually have to do something else. The first one is praising God, and the second one is talking to God, thank God, rather. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything…” Wow! That’s a lot—anything. “... but in everything…” Again, that’s a lot. “...in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This peace of God is the peace that God gives us; it transcends all understanding. The idea is that you can’t figure out exactly how this happens. You can’t think your way through a process that comes up with this. When it occurs, when that peace arrives, you just can't explain it other than to say that God gave me peace. It goes beyond understanding, but it is real.
It comes to you, but it comes whenever you do certain things. You do go to God. You ask Him to take care of things. But this passage has a couple more specific things in it. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Worry is like a rocking chair. It will keep you busy, but it never gets you anywhere.” Yeah, but worry is just so common. Philippians says, “In everything…” That means literally everything, including our timeframe. Actually, Paul, as he’s writing this, could be killed. He could be executed, so he’s not just popping out these words flippantly. He’s talking about all kinds of situations of desperation and danger. The letter says, Paul’s letter says, that we, first of all, refuse to worry or be anxious. That’s actually a command. Christian writer Jay Adams, many years ago, called worry the “respectable Christian sin.” To be worried is to be concerned, and it seems to be so Christian. To be concerned is valid, but to begin to stress with it is not. We’ve talked about that.
First up is refuse to worry. The second step is to pray and to pray certain ways. The first time it says “by prayer and petition. The first prayer is a more general prayer. You can pray, “Father…” Deborah and I have… “Father, please, would You cause this coronavirus to die down?” That’s a little specific, but it’s pretty general. I’m not praying about a specific person. “Father, would You please provide the needs for the church family.” That’s general; it’s sort of specific because it’s talking about needs. It’s the whole church family. Be praying about these things; pray generally, and pray about broad needs.
The second term, petition, is a term that means something more like “make a specific prayer list and pray those specific things before God.” Many times we tend to pray something like, “Lord, I’m just really worrying, and please help me.” That is a good prayer, but even better is to say, “Father, I’m worried about whether we will have enough food or not. Would You please provide food for every day that we have to walk through this thing?” Or, “Father, I’m worried about my job.” Perhaps your job was affected or you were laid off or you’re concerned that it’s going to happen. “Father, this is just really eating on me. I’m really worried about this. Would you provide the work that I need at the right time, and in the meantime, please meet the financial needs.” I prayed very specifically there. You want to pray specifically. “Father, I’m concerned about my children. Please keep this virus from bothering my kids.” That’s specific. Or, “Father, my kids are just going nuts inside. Please help this one to deal with this struggle. Please help that one to deal with that struggle. Please help this one to deal with that struggle.” Get it down to real specifics. Make specific requests of God. That’s what the petition is about. Pray about specifics—what you need, what you’re concerned about, specific situations or specific people that are really on your heart.
Then, the third part of the prayer is to thank God. It took me a long time to learn that. I learned to pray about things. I would pray, and I would get specific, then one day, I realized this verse actually says to move on to thanking God. I hadn’t done that. I would thank God every now and then, but whenever I was worried, that was not a part of my prayer. So, I began to thank God. First of all, I’d thank God whenever I’d use my petitions. Thank God for His faithfulness in the past, all the things He had done. Thank God for His kindness to me. There are all kinds of times that He’s helped me whenever I really didn’t deserve it. Thank God for the people He had given me to know and to love—my family and my friends. Thank God for the food that we already had. It needs to be specific thanksgiving. Not just, “Thanks, Lord!” but really specific stuff. If you will do this, then the peace of God, which you can’t figure out how it got there, the peace of God will keep you...keep your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. It’ll keep your decisions centered in your heart. It’ll keep your mind from running off. There will be peace, and there will probably be another round of concerns. Then, you need to come back to prayer again.
This is the way we live. It’s not simply a moment in time. It’s a way we live, so pray in general. Pray specifically, specific things, and then thank Him. The Father will give you help. There’s a verse that says, actually, because Jesus has suffered He runs to help those who call to Him when they’re suffering. I’m going to talk about that next week. Peace comes. This is how we make our stand firm. Stand firm! This is how, and we take our stand on God the Rock. He, of course, is greater than Ayers Rock, and we take our stand. We take our stand that Scripture is real. This is not just nice stories to tell the kiddies while they’re trying to calm down to go to bed. This is real, and this thing of prayer can be used throughout the day as you’re facing different stresses with the kids, as there are different stresses with household appliances, as you’re trying to cook, as you’re trying to speak to each other, you can pray specifically over and over again. You'll see God’s peace arrive.
By God’s help, we can be like Ayers Rock. We can be unmovable. It’s a choice, and the choice is to trust Him and to go to Him. Like Ayers Rock also, there’s a whole lot more to us than meets the eye, the normal human eye. We have roots that go far deeper than anyone knows. We have an anchor—Christ Jesus, our Anchor within the veil—Hebrews says, already in the presence of God. Our life is actually flowing from Him into us. We are connected to Him, and we have resources because of who God is and our connection to HIm. We have resources and depth that the world just doesn’t know. We're like those Christian executives. We are anchored, and we can actually process through the difficult because God is our Father, and He does really care. We have the ability to move ahead and to move ahead by His reality and His resources.
I’d like to lead us in prayer briefly. Father, we present this to You, our situation. We ask You to please carry our anxieties, listen to our prayers specifically, and we pray that You would grant the end of the virus problems. Grant us in the meantime patience and faith. We love You and we trust You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
