Calvary Church of Naperville
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Calvary Church of Naperville
Jesus Or Oreos? | BEYOND SUNDAY
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We're gonna have some great cookies.
SPEAKER_02Great cookies. All right. Gotta dip it.
SPEAKER_03You gotta have it with milk. It's the only way. Hmm. Now that's a good podcast.
SPEAKER_02That's a good podcast.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to Beyond Sunday. Let's dig a little bit deeper into the theology and scriptures from the weekend so you can become a more fully devoted follower of Jesus. You know, in Scripture, there's this uh time when some angels appear to some shepherds and they announce something to them, and the scripture says they go and they find things exactly as they were described. I had that experience today because when Pastor Marty was describing something this week in his sermon, he gave such a vivid description of this object that I was able to go to the grocery store and on that description alone was able to find the blue package with the pink on it and the writing that says double stuff.
SPEAKER_02Double stuff with one F.
SPEAKER_03With one F. Since we care about original languages on this podcast. So we had a great message, and Pastor mentioned Oreo cookies.
SPEAKER_02Yes, he did. Yes, he did.
SPEAKER_01I've been worried before at night, and I get up and you open that fridge door, and there's that golden globe, the glory of God coming out of the fridge, that light, and there's that gallon of milk. And you grab that milk and you go to the pantry and you grab that blue bag that says O R E O double stuff on the outside. Got that blue bag with the pink writing. I'm not sure I know the stuff I just heard from the else. That's how the bag looks. I've heard, I've seen on a picture somewhere. Next thing you know, you wake up the next morning and there's spilled milk on the floor and Oreo crumbs, the bag is empty, looking like an Oreo crime scene somewhere.
SPEAKER_03And what I want to do is really kind of open that conversation that what we go to in stress and anxiety shows where our faith is. Shows where our trust is. In other words, it's one thing to say I have faith. It's another thing when situations hit me to walk through them with hope and peace.
SPEAKER_02True. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Such that those on the outside question, why do you have a hope? Give, can you give me a reason for your hope in this situation? So good. And I can say, I have a God who already knows my need, who's already present, who's good, who's a provider, and he's going to take care of me. Therefore, I will not fear and I will have no anxiety.
SPEAKER_02So good.
SPEAKER_03Quick question. How does how does trusting God, we're talking about dwelling in his kingdom, how does living that kingdom out, living in that space where God is the authority and the rule of my life, and I'm fully submitted to him, how does that change how we go through situations that would otherwise cause us anxiety and stress?
SPEAKER_02That's so good. Um, you know, Pastor Marty brought out such a great uh point that we have to look up and not to minimize anything that we're going through on this earth, but truly we have to have a kingdom mindset when we're walking through. We have to have the mindset that we can declare the word of God over our situations. Uh, we have to have the mindset that God responds to prayer, he responds uh to fasting, um, he responds to the cries of his people. And when we put into perspective even um the scope of eternity and the brevity of our lives, we can have a more um full way to look up. Yeah, that we can really understand, yeah, I can look up in this situation.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, my moment is a moment.
SPEAKER_02A moment.
SPEAKER_03But God is the master of all moments. If if he truly wrote every day of my life in his book before one of them came to be, as Psalm 139 tells us, then I can have peace. Yeah. I can know that even though I may not understand what I'm going through, not only is my eternity secure, but the one securing my eternity is trustworthy. Yes. I can trust him not just for what's coming, but to be with me now. Pastor Marty mentioned it that what we go through, we don't go through alone.
SPEAKER_02So good.
SPEAKER_03And so, you know, we're too blessed to be stressed.
SPEAKER_02Yep, too blessed to be stressed.
SPEAKER_03So great, great line. And I was I was thinking about, you know, in that Sermon on the Mount where Jesus says that if God takes care of the birds, you know, he'll take care of you. And Pastor, you know, really uh drew attention to that. You know, to look up. The birds are typically up, right? Raise your perspective, exactly what you were just talking about. And so in this series, we've talked about kingdom uh posture, you know, the the attitude of the heart, the posture of trusting God, what that looks like. Kingdom pursuits and priorities, what we pursue. Kingdom principles, the principle of of sowing and reaping, of of uh, you know, investing. We don't we don't just give to the kingdom of God, we invest in it because it bears a harvest. Yeah, so good. Even if we don't see it, it is working eternal good. So good. Uh and then this week we talk about perspective. What are your eyes on? So it's not so much what I'm going through, but it's what I'm focused on as I'm going through it. I remember a situation in scripture where Peter gets out of a boat because he sees Jesus and he has a perspective problem. He he's okay at first, and then his perspective shifts. Yeah, yeah. How easy is it for the storms of life, the waves that come against us to take our focus off of Christ and and therefore remove our peace.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Um it it it happens so easily if we're not intentional about it. Um, we start by seeing Jesus, just like Peter. Okay, he saw Jesus, he's got the faith, he's ready to go, he he starts to walk on water. But it's oftentimes for us in the waiting, um, we tend to not wait well. And so one of my prayers um when I'm in these waiting seasons, in these challenging seasons, seasons, is Lord, help me to wait well. Yeah. You know, because that's going to uh change my perspective. That's gonna help me to focus um on the Lord and focus on his word. Um you talk about scripture and memorizing scripture. Um that when that wells up out of us in the waiting seasons, that really truly helps us to change our perspective. Um so it happens easily. And especially in the culture that we're in, um, we have to be intentional to fight against that, to really keep our eyes on Jesus, uh, stay in the word, uh, stay in worship, stay in prayer. And when the Lord calls us to uh to fast. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03So main maintaining those spiritual disciplines give us an anchor. Yeah. And scripture also says that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes.
SPEAKER_03Uh anxiety will sap your strength because emotional energy is still energy. Very and very often, uh, you know, having a more emotional or mental job can sometimes be more taxing than having a physically demanding one. Because at least in the physically demanding, you're you're utilizing your body in a way that, yes, you're physically tired, but it's restoring other things in you. Uh when you expend yourself emotionally, you also take up time so you're not physically active and doing things that are that are restorative. Yeah. Uh, but if we could begin to just rest in in God, yeah. Wait in Him, trust Him.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03When the storms come, when the data comes in and we're inundated with data, you know, I feel that illustration of Peter walking on water, you know, waves are coming against him. Uh in the Psalms, it talks about your waves and breakers crashing over me and just like, you know, one wave after another of things. Yeah. And they can take our focus off of Christ. But in the kingdom, our focus never wavers because our our hope is not and our provision is not, and our protection is not from our earthly circumstance.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So if I shift my perspective to where my hope, my provision, my protection is all from another source, then no weapon formed against me can prosper.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03No matter what comes up against me in this life, it will utterly fail because the spirit of a man will sustain him even in infirmity, even if it's a doctor's report, I can stay hopeful, expectant that God is with me, he's providing. And I find this interesting too that in Hebrew thought, shalom, peace, which is what God brings, you know, wholeness, peace on earth, peace uh to men, uh, you know, in in Christ, announce this. This is the good news. Yeah. And we say it every week in our liturgical service: share the peace of God with one another. And it's more than just a meet and greet, it's a literal sharing of we are at peace with God and peace with one another. And tying that back to rest, as you mentioned, uh, and just a release of anxiety. Augustine in Confessions says that our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. So that God Himself is our eternal home. So it really is about kingdom. It's really about a dwelling place. Yeah. And waiting on the Lord is a is not a matter of uh, you know, a geographic or geographical location, but it's it's about a spirit posture, it's about spiritual pursuit, and it's about a spiritual perspective. It's about seeing beyond what I go through to the one who is not only sovereign over it, but good. He's not only in control, but he's trustworthy.
SPEAKER_04Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I think that is a peace, and that's also why that biblical word shalom, the opposite of peace is not fear. The opposite of peace is anxiety in the Hebrew thought, stress. You know, the what me worry, you know. So when when I have I either have one of two things in everything I go through. I either am concerned because I'm relying on myself, or I'm looking externally for provision, protection, purpose. Yeah. Or I have peace and I have rest, as Augustine says, because I have assurance that that's all coming from my father, who is good and loving and faithful. Yeah. And when I dwell in that place, that's kingdom living.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's kingdom living. That spiritual rest, if we could um, you know, tap into it, we're able to tap into it this side of heaven, right? The um the spiritual rest that the Lord offers to us and that he talks about. Um, and when we can enter into that fully, and I think a lot of it has to do also with our history with God. You know, we remember, so we read what he did in the Bible, we remember what he did in our own lives and bring that into our current situation and into our future. That helps us to rest also, to enter into that rest because we know, okay, he did it before, he can do it again.
SPEAKER_03He'll do it again. Another one is on the way.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, another one is on the way. Miracle after miracle, miracle after miracle. Praise God.
SPEAKER_03I love the whole concept. He talked about, you know, Oreos. First of all, Oreos are just amazing. I I and so I'm so glad that made it into the message. Uh maybe there's something genetic there of this, you know, affinity to the Oreo cookie. I'm not sure what's going on here. But I too have that draw, and I too can find myself in those Oreo crime scenes, you know, after a stressful situation. But kingdom living really is uh evidenced in what we go to to alleviate stress.
SPEAKER_02So good.
SPEAKER_03Am I going to things? And for some people it's gambling, it's shopping, uh, it's uh addictions, um, it's distractions, distractions, yeah. So many things we go to. Yeah. Uh others just bury themselves in work and try to fix things themselves, and and in that energy expense, uh trying to make a way. Yeah. But again, yeah, I love what the Psalm says. You know, it's it's useless and vain to just stay up all night worrying. Right. Because the Lord, Psalm 127, He gives His beloved rest. He gives you sleep.
SPEAKER_02So good.
SPEAKER_03And you know, rather than waking up at an Oreo crime scene, you can wake up just confident in the presence of God.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_03But you have to go there. Yeah, you have to shift your eyes there. You have to take them off of and take those thoughts captive that are causing the anxiety and make them obedient to the Christ who is with you.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so good.
SPEAKER_03And I think in that maybe you can even enjoy an Oreo without stress.
SPEAKER_02Without stress. So we're gonna do that right now.
SPEAKER_03Thanks for joining us. We're gonna have some great cookies.
SPEAKER_02Great cookies. All right. Gotta dip it.
SPEAKER_03You gotta have it with milk. It's the only way.
SPEAKER_04Now that's a good podcast.
SPEAKER_02That's a good podcast.
SPEAKER_00Hey, thanks so much for joining us today. We do this to help you grow in your faith journey. And if you ever have any questions, see the link below, fill out the QR code, and we'll get back to you soon. And if you like this content and want to see more, feel free to follow, like, and share. But most of all, we want to encourage you to take the word of God and apply it to your week beyond Sunday. We can't wait to see you back soon.