Are You Anxiously Looking Around?

Thanks for listening! If you feel like the content is helpful, we would love it if you share it with your friends, subscribe, and provide a great review.

You can learn more about First Baptist Church of Mandeville, Louisiana here: www.fbcmandeville.org

You can hear Pastor Ronny's sermons here: https://www.youtube.com/@fbcmandeville/videos

You can listen to one-minute sermon clips here: https://www.youtube.com/@fbcmandeville/shorts

And you can contact us at info@fbcmandeville.org

Transcript

Welcome And A Lost Child Image

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hello and welcome to Five Minutes in the Word. I'm Ronnie Cooksie. There are two types of children when lost in a public place. Many children will panic, understandably, and run to and fro, crying out for their parents. They aren't really lost. Mom and dad will come looking for them, and are usually only an aisle or two away.

The Costco Lollipop Story

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Then there's that one Cooksie child. He was about five years old. We lived in Japan at the time, and one day in Costco, he became separated from us. We quickly began scouring the store for him. It's easy to spot a blonde haired little boy in a store full of black haired Japanese customers. We found him pretty quickly sitting at the customer service counter sucking on a lollipop. Whew. Relief. But the next time we went to that same Costco, it happened again. And once again we found him sitting in the same chair licking on a lollipop. I think you see what was happening. Worried about being separated from mom and dad? Not at all. He knew we would come for him, and he also knew that we would never leave him, but he also knew he would get a lollipop.

When Trouble Feels Like Abandonment

SPEAKER_00 1:13

Well, if you're a child of God, which type of seemingly lost child are you when trouble hits? When it feels like to you that God has forgotten you, do you panic? Or do you rest calmly knowing that God will never leave you or forsake you? Probably you're somewhere in between.

Isaiah 41 Spoken To Exiles

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Well, in Isaiah chapter forty one, God is sending his declaration of judgment on the nations. And this prophecy that he was delivering to Isaiah for God's people would come in handy when they heard it they would be in Babylon in captivity, in exile. But God encourages them in the midst of this declaration of judgment, in verse eight he says, But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, another name for them, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, my friend, you whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and called from its remotest parts, and said to you, You are my servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.

Remember What God Has Done

SPEAKER_00 2:16

So he's giving them reminder of all their past with him, and it's good for us in times of trouble to remember our past with God. Remember all that he's done. He found you lost in your sin, and he made sure you heard the gospel. He willingly gave his life on a cruel Roman cross. He raised himself from the dead. He's provided every meal you've ever eaten, every article of clothing you've ever worn, every night that you've slept in a bed, every breath, every heartbeat. He did all of this, and he still comes for you, pursuing you, caring for you, providing for

Do Not Fear God Upholds You

SPEAKER_00 2:59

you. And so then he says to Israel and to us, Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. You see this emphasis that God gives over and over that He would do it. He would do it. We can trust in Him. There are over three hundred verses in the Bible dealing with fear. God knows that we're a people who turn quickly to fear. And the initial onset of fear is natural. The question is, what will we allow it to lead us to do? He says, My righteous right hand will uphold you. And this was symbolic for his limitless power at work in you. And so he says, You don't have to fear. Let the fear drive you to me. Are we different? The onset of fear? Natural. But what do we do? We don't have to live in fear. We are uniquely equipped to be those who turn to God and trust in him even in the midst of fear. Oh, may this be true in us as believers.

Turning Fear Into Trustful Prayer

SPEAKER_00 4:19

The things that you fear right now. Could you turn to God and just say, God, thank you? I'm reminded again that it's your righteous right hand that will lead me. I don't have to anxiously look left and right. I can just look to you. God bless you. Be encouraged today. I'm praying for you right now. Take these things on your heart to God, and I'll see you back here next time.