R1222 Real Issues

They say the whole poem under great pressure turns into diamonds. That's our topic under pressure today with Dr. Wilton. Welcome to the Encouraging Word Dr. Don Wilton well-known author evangelist and the pastor of First Baptist Church in Spartanburg South Carolina. Today's message under pressure will take us to Matthew chapter 8 continuing the real issues. We ask God answer a series as we open God's word together again. These answers remember we are here for you at the other end of 866899 word is 866-899-WORD 9673 to connect with free resources, and more importantly just to talk or listen here 24 hours a day at 866-899-WORD and of course online@theencouragingword.org not open God's Encouraging Word together with Dr. Don Wilton cite two things to everybody today number one there all thousands of people just like you that are going through every kind of storm that one can imagine.

Thousands, hundreds of thousands. I want you to know that you're not alone.

Today you're not doing you not going through what you going through whatever it might be on your own you're not doing that on your own, you are on your own because it's you, but you're not on your own because they're all so many.

There is not a single person that's on their own. Number two what I want to say to you today is you not on your own because at the very least, which is the absolute greatest. The Lord Jesus knows and and he will never leave you and he will never forsake you. The Lord Jesus came to this earth, and he was tempted and he suffered, he went through exactly what you and I go through yet without sin.

That's what distinguished him.

That's what saved them apart.

That's why he is God. Jesus. But when he became flesh when he was born he came to this earth to dine across but he came to this earth to journey through the valley of life. Identifying with our brief I wrote something down.

I wrote this down. These were the exact words never from the Valley but will always take me through nowhere in the Bible does the Bible say that that God gives us a life free from the Valley, but he will always take us through.

I want to pray for you right now, Lord Jesus, I'm joining with thousands of people just like me who are praying for thousands of people just like me.

There are so many people under pressure. Lord, that's the word you put in my heart today.

Under pressure, and our difficulty father when we lose someone that we love so much. When our children go through struggles when we hear anything but a good word. The doctor's office when we back to the things that we battle with whether it be something as simple as a headache or just depression and we find ourselves in the Valley and so many of us getting our direct and so many people have written to me and pose these great questions.

So father today and just to a powerful way we going to pray that you would please speak and show us what to do when we are under pressure. I pronounced deliverance upon someone today in the name of Jesus in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit. I pray for someone within the sound of my voice that they would hear you the I pray Lord that there is someone today who mold the to be honest with you the problem when we run the pressure is. We distracted by that pressure, the more pressure we run to the harder it is for us to sit still and just listen to be still and know that you are God. It's the pressure it's us sounding our head. It's the weariness it's the it's the struggle it's the right. It's the pain it's the anger it's the hurt, the frustration it's been doing it over and over and over and over again. It's the relentless waves that beat on the seashore of our lives and we find it hard. I'm going to pray right now that someone right now would just listen to you.

You speak may I be out of the way you take your place and we together pray this in the powerful and lovely name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, the one who came in Jesus name, amen. So guess what we going to do for a few minutes today. You gonna need you Bibles very important and I'm going to invite you to turn to Matthew chapter 8 Matthew chapter 8. I want you all turning to Matthew chapter 8 I wrote down a couple of the questions the hundreds of questions while we look at these real issues and I wrote down a couple of the questions I just want to read to you some the questions he has one.

How can I stop the pressure. I remember these questions are all they were submitted to me but rarely if you remember correctly we will all asking God. God, how can I stop the pressure there's another one I'm overwhelmed. It wasn't even a question someone out there, one of thousands of questions Aardvark was. Not even a question just said I'm overwhelmed that you cannot overcome the stress in my life stress is a very real thing. You know, for if I was a psychologist II guess that we could spend several weeks just really getting down with this issue of stress, which we will deal with and what it does to us. What can I do about my right are UT someone that's a such a powerful question is have you gotten to the point in your life where the pressure is so intense. It's like second versus same as the first slack. It's just a spinning wheel. I said that the one person they said Don.

Let me tell you moms not a spinning wheel.

The wheel stop spending 25 years ago. It's just a wheel doesn't even turn anymore. This person said this to me said said to me, I am surrounded by darkness and fear. So as I began to think about us and you and me and all of these important I just began to think about the Lord Jesus and bottom line. Today, as we worship the Lord for these few moments once you give your heart to Jesus today. Right now fact would you bow your heads with me right now for just a minute you rated to trust Jesus pray this prayer with me today. Dear gong, I know that you love me very much and I know that Arneson Marson is ever before me. I confess Marson to you.

I repent of Marson and I pray to trust you and to receive you into my heart and into my life and I do that at this very moment, and I believe that you've saved me and I put my trust in you Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

I'm going to ask you to follow through with their in just a moment see what Jesus does for us. He does it instantly and he's the beginning point and when Jesus comes into your heart and life. He's everything so what I'm going to do today. This is very fantastic.

What I did today acid look, I'm a Christian man and I put my faith and trust in the Lord Jesus, and I'm under pressure. So if I'm under pressure.

I'm going to go to him. So that's what I did. I prayed about this and I went to God's word and I took one chapter in the life of Jesus. I said I want to see what Jesus did about pressure.

I want you to look with me at one chapter in the life of the Lord Jesus and that's Matthew chapter 8 and I'm going to read.

I'm going to give to you just for five pressure points in the life of the Lord Jesus. This is Jesus arrived.

Matthew chapter 8 verse one when he came down from the mountain. I want you to notice something great crowds followed him by the way, that's can I say this in my great marvelous wonderful southern dialect, that's a bunch of people at all right. Look at verse two and behold a late came to him and knelt before him, saying, Lord Jesus, if you will. You can make me clean. I got out of verse five. Let's look at another pressure point when Jesus had entered a centurion came forward to him appealing to him. This is what the century.

In this army officer said, Lord Jesus, my servant is lying paralyze the Tom's suffering tailored terribly.

And Jesus said to him I will come and heal him right. Let's go to another pressure point it's go down to verse 14 verse 14 when Jesus into Peter's house. He saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. How many you got a mother-in-law raise your hand. Come on admit it like just want to contextualizes this was Peter's mother-in-law. I'm about to speak off the church today to a very fine young man who's about to get a wonderful mother-in-law. I'm going to say a few things to him a little while and when Jesus ended Peter's house watchlist. He saw his mother in law lying sick with a fever and so Jesus touched her hand and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. Verse 16 we still talking about under pressure. I mean, is if what Jesus had just done was not enough that evening they brought him to many who were overpraised with demons. Don't raise your hand.

Anybody ever wondered where the demons are real and whether or not based will exist. I'm gonna be preaching on that in the next several weeks, do they live in and around your home, do they live in America.

That evening they broke the many who were oppressed by demons and Jesus cost out the spirits with a word and healed all was sick okay it's go to verse 18.

I just simply remind you I'm just dealing with pressure points here. The Cisco Jesus.

This is one man now when Jesus saw a crowd around him. He gave orders to go to the other side and a scribe came up to him and said teacher I will follow you wherever you go read it. But Jesus pointed out that he didn't even have anywhere to put down his head lay foreclosed on him. Let's go to verse 23 and when he got into the boat. His disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea so that the boat was being swamped by the waves, but he was asleep at night when we woke him up, saying, save us, Lord, we are perishing, and he said why are you afraid are you of little faith, and then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was great calm, well just call everything is peaceful right everybody see that.

Have you ever woken up in the morning and said wow, I've got a laugh is altogether. Everything from now on is going to be fantastic. Let's get a verse 28 just one verse later and when he came to the other side to the country of the Gadarenes to demon possessed man made him coming out of the tombs. I don't know what it is about zombies that grips a nation like this they not good things to demon possessed man made team coming out of the tombs, so for us that no one could parse that way, and behold, I cried at what have you got to do with us. Jesus son of God. Have you come here to homemade us. By the way, and I'm just summarizing to which Jesus looked at them and said yes any further questions you do not. So let me just identify very briefly. Five.

Pressure points that Jesus was dealing number-one the crush of the crowns people turn when we talk about the crush of the crowns we live in a world in which the crush of the crowns is rising to an all-time high crush of the crowns bring with them the pressures of life competitiveness, popular or not to be the voice of Dr. Don Wilton in the same way the guy changed his life that tank commander from South Africa now pastor and preacher literally across the globe sharing Christ. God is ready to change your life as well to speak the first day as a matter fact would you like to give your heart to Jesus. Let's pray this prayer together right now, Lord Jesus, I realize my sin separated me from you I messed up.

We've all messed up but I know that you love me and you went to the cross of Calvary to die for my sins. Lord, I believe in you. I accept you as Savior and Lord, change me from the inside out.

In Jesus name I pray Ironman. If you have opened your heart and you prayed along with us. That is a wonderful wonderful life changing decision you'll never be the same and we love to put resources in your hands that will help you continue to grow in that choice and maybe some of you are coming back to God. We have great resources for you to reestablish your connection with Jesus. You can call us at 866899 word that 866-899-WORD 9673 Armada's online The Encouraging Word.org before getaway closing thoughts from Dr. Wilton. I know that I'm old and befuddled and out of date and full of mothballs understand, but I believe that the biggest issue regarding Facebook and social media today is peer pressure. It's keeping up with old friends.

It's being able to match others with message to message, it's the pictures it's responding in the rock whites pressure you and I look at our kids and say put that sorry thing down. The reason most people can't put it down as they run the pressure there's a pressure to perform at jobs work earning enough money, we could go on and on. The crush of the crowds number two the anguish of those who love Jesus dealt with their care in this in this great passage infecting verse five when Jesus went to Capernaum beautiful little village. Were they on the shoulders of the Sea of Galilee. Many of you going to be going with me there again at the end of this year and I'll take you to Capernaum on the Shoals northern shore of the Sea of Galilee and Jesus went there toward Capernaum and the emphasis in this instance was not so much on the servant who was lying paralyzed time, but Rhonda on the monster on the centurion who loved the servant and not that he carried the pressure of his servants predicament. The anguish of those who love you love somebody you going to be under pressure because you love them you love your children can bring you fresh love and loving someone produces pressure.

Jesus knew about that number three the suffering of those who are loved the suffering of those who are loved.

It's not just the ones who love others. It's those who are in fact love in this case, Peter's mother-in-law, before the storms of life. Jesus starting at verse 23 the storms of covers everything under pressure. These are the hurricanes and tornadoes. Number five the text of Satan from verse 28. We also read about it in verse 16 everybody listen listen to the spokes just to give you a preview.

Demons are real. Satan is alive and he's got your number he's going to do everything he can take away and destroy he's going to put you on the pressure. By the way he he circles around us. He's the ultimate predator.

So where does the soul leave us I want to give you just seven things that Jesus did yell, they all this is what I would write down the under pressure. This is God speaking to you seven things. Number one, he continued to serve everybody watch me focus on your pasta.

I have seen this happen time after time after time after time people in our congregation, our community who come under pressure and the first thing they do is they stop serving worst thing you can do the most logical thing that happens, Jesus continued to serve number two he went to the mountains.

I don't think he was singling out the mountains all the lake or the beach all that quiet range. He just went to the mountains. He retreated some of you need to retreat. You haven't retreated in. How long you gotta stop if you don't stop that wheel will not stop spinning. I'm just telling you and if it stopped spinning. It's not going to start spinning. He went to the mountains, but that right saw my look under the hills from whence cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord. Every single one of us need to get away. It's a discipline and some of you need to stop playing games with yourself and with your family and pretending that you're off when you're not and you need to start laying down the instruments and some of you may need to stop doing your business. Morning noon and night. No matter where you are, to the detriment of your family, your children, especially stop it, put that computer down. Stop looking at your email. Put your telephone away. So what if somebody doesn't get you he went he went to the mountains number three has a big one and I think we're all gonna love this.

This is Jesus. He nurtured his friends. He nurtured his friends friends or are increased to be important and you know Jesus developed this company around.

You will find out sometimes when you run to the greatest pressure your trains are going to mean as much to you is anything your real friends and the issue is to nurture them. You don't make friends in the second you cultivate friendships. That means you gotta put yourself out to go to work with them like Jesus did you go to listen to them. You gotta talk to them. You could eat with them you would take time. Some of you are isolated and lonely because you don't nurture friendships. You actually go to put yourself out a little bit, don't you. Some of you need to open your home when lost, did you open your home to some friends while you the only one who's ever in your home clean the place up, organize things a little bit and invite friends to come around, sit on your back deck and burn some chicken go go to their backyard and kick the dog. He'll love it. Okay. Number four quickly ready for this. This is what Jesus did. He found the boat.

You know, obviously it's not about the boat. But there was an instrument involved, whatever that might be. Might be a fishing rod for you might be some hunting equipment may be a sleeping bag.

Maybe it taint you know many beautiful campgrounds.

They all try used to going walk on the boat. Make it your business.

By the way just to parents, your kids will love it when your kids grow up and I leave home.

I promise you the things I gonna talk about of the number of times you found about with them and just by the way, nobody wants me for this, you need to make a difference between a holiday and a vacation. There are hundreds of holidays July 4 and and Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays. You spend with family vacations you spend with your family when you go on vacation you need to only be your family. If you are having to consult somebody other than your children as to where to go and eat in the evening. You are not on vacation. If you are giving preference to other people over your children. You didn't find the boat number five. I guess a big one now. He allowed others to road, you know, one of the things about being under pressure is to take the pressure out from under the only way you will do that is late somebody else row the boat you don't always have to captain your ship. Can you imagine Jesus got into the boat and he sat. That's why one of my favorite philosophies in life is sometimes sits and thinks, and other times I just sits.

I think this was one of those Steinway Jesus just sent. He said all right boys have better allow others to road. Some of you need to stop and let somebody else do something for you. By the way, these are great joy in giving and there's a great joy in receiving late somebody else do that and be happy about it and you that you deserve that I find with most people you know who have spent their life serving others. It's it's such a privilege to serve you. You know, number six, he confronted the school.

He confronted the storm. Love that you came this big storm. Jesus didn't say what storm Jesus confronted the storm.

He hit this thing head-on. He recognized for what it was Jesus dealt with it and he calls you and he calls me sick.

Come to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He confronted the school and then the final point number seven is he came back home. By the way, I didn't read chapter 9. I just didn't have time. I'm sorry to get through to chapters, but chapter 9 verse one.

I just everybody look at chapter 9 verse one and kicking into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own city. What did Jesus do, he came back home. Some of you need to come back home being gone too long. Come back home, come back to your home church come back to your parents come back to your roots. Come back to where you belong to be drifting. You've done it for too many years, you run the pressure come back home and the greatest home you can come back to is the place of your basal come back to the Lord Jesus Christ come back to the place of your first commitment come back to where you know you all to be because Jesus died for you and he gave his life for you. Come back home.

So there it is seven things Jesus did. He continued to serve. He went to the mountains.

He nurtured his friends. He found a boat he allowed others to row the boat he confronted the storm came back home. Make today. This is the moment to give your life to Christ. I will ask you to come today to say yes to Jesus. Many of you today have prayed and trusted Christ as your Savior.

I'm going invite you to come today and lay your life down on the altar of logs amazing Grace will ask you to come back home. Today I want to I want to encourage you to come out from under that pressure because I believe my friends that today for the study of the rest Jesus in his rightful place. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Why don't you pray this prayer with me right.

Dear God, I know that I and I know that Jesus died for me today. I repent of my sins and Bob fight I receive you into my in Jesus name, my friend.

I welcome you today into the family of God. This is citing you