We are talking about the fastest-growing disease in the Western World.  What is it?  Stress.   No matter who you are, you will experience stress.  And remember, we said, even if you are a Christian, you will experience stress.  So, the real question is, how do we deal with stress God’s way?  And that’s the series we are in.  This series was intentionally built to lay out a practical pathway to deal with stress God’s way.

Step 1: Let go and allow God to lead our lives.  The source of our stress is the reality that we come up short.  That means there is a gap between the demands that are placed on us and the strength we have to meet those demands.  What do we tend to do?  We hide.  We don’t want anyone to know that we feel like we come up short, so we live in stress trying to keep it all together.  To make matters worse, we also hide from God because we assume that if I don’t like me, God won’t like me.  And that is a tragedy because Jesus made it clear, when we go to God, He is waiting for us to celebrate us.

The first practical step in dealing with stress is going to God and being honest that we come up short.

Romans 3:23 Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. MSG

That means we go to God in prayer and say, “God help me.  I can’t do this by myself.”  

Step 2: Trust God with our lives.  Sam had us think through the reality that life doesn’t always unfold the way we want.   The huge question you must wrestle with is, Are you able to relax, cease striving, and trust God to provide what He thinks is best in your life at whatever time He wants and chooses to do so?  Ferocious question.  Sam gave us this scripture.

Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. NLT

Sam took our trust in God and made it super practical.  He said, trust shows up in how we live.  Our time.   Our money.  Our thoughts.  Our relationships.  Our relationship with God.  Our inner world and emotions.  Our character.  Our ability to share God and impact others.  

This means trust God even as life unfolds differently than we want.  

Today, Step 3: What We Focus On Matters.  Today, we are going to continue to be practical.  If you make this one practical choice, it will change your day and then ultimately your life.  That’s a pretty big promise – right?  A couple of weeks ago, we read the parable of the prodigal son.  We talked about the younger son who messed up his life and came home to discover his father was waiting for him to celebrate him.  Today I want to finish that parable because there is an older brother that I want to talk about.

Let’s finish Jesus’ story.

Luke 15:25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’” NLT

What became of the older brother’s life?  He became bitter.  Let’s stop here for a second.  Do you know anyone who has become bitter in life?  Have you wondered why it happened?  This story is a good indicator as to why.  

Let’s jump back into the story.  The older brother is bitter, and when his younger brother came home, it all spilled out.   He was bitter because he thought his father was unfair.  It was unfair that the bad son was restored.  It was unfair that he, the good son, was never celebrated.  Everyone in that moment got to see who he really was.  He was angry, miserable, and self-absorbed.   He resented his work.  And when it came to loving his brother, he couldn’t do it.   Instead, he pouted like a two-year-old.   

How could that happen?   If you think about it, he had everything in life.  He was around his father’s love.  He was working on the family farm.  He was going to inherit the family wealth someday.  He had everything.  How could someone who has everything become so bitter?  Here is the big point: Because he focused on the wrong thing.  He became bitter because he was focused on being busy, working hard, being obedient, and following the rules.  He should have been focused on everything he had, like his father, his family, his work, and enjoying it, but he didn’t.  Notice that work isn't wrong, it's necessary, but without relationship, it ruins us.

Then his little brother comes home.  The bad son.  The one who blew all his money.  The one who didn’t deserve anything.  And was restored and celebrated.  It was too much for the older brother, so he exploded.  

What did the older brother miss?  Something that the father said to the older son should rock our world.  Ready?  The father said, “Everything I have is yours.”  The father is saying, You missed it.  All these years, we could have enjoyed each other, but you missed it.  You were so busy working, being good, being efficient, you missed what mattered most, our relationship.  And if we were in a relationship, you would be so happy for your brother.   

Isn’t it wild that everything the older son wanted was right in front of him?  He just couldn’t do it.  Isn’t it wild that because he focused on the wrong thing, he became bitter?

Does this sound familiar to you?  It should, because this is a story about us.  It’s about how our focus in life can ruin us.  If we aren’t making the choice to focus on what matters, our focus can ruin us.  We can be so busy being good, getting work done, serving, and being efficient that we can miss it.  Everything we are looking for is right in front of us.  What is it?  Having God refresh our souls.  Everything of God is ours today, right now.  But if we aren’t intentional, we can miss it.  And it can lead us to becoming bitter.  And then at the right or wrong time, we can pop like the older son, and the bitterness will explode out of us.  It will come out that we resent what we do in church or at our work.  It will come out that we are miserable and self-absorbed.  It will come out that we wanted to be celebrated, and we will pout like a two-year-old.  And ultimately, in our mess, it will be impossible for us to love and celebrate others.  

So, let me ask you, what do you focus on?  And the follow-up question, what has become of your life?  I ask because here is today’s big point.  It’s the one practical choice that can help remove the stress in your life.  Here it is.  

What you focus on forms you, then ultimately your life.  

Did you know scripture talks a lot about your focus?  I want to read it for you.

Romans 12:2b Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. NLT

Colossians 3:1 You have been raised up with Messiah, keep seeking the things above - where Messiah is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Focus your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. TLV

Philippians 4:8 You’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. MSG

Matthew 6:32-34 Always think about the things that are important in the kingdom of heaven. Always do what God shows you is right. EASY

Transform your mind.   Think about, meditate on, and focus on the things of heaven and the kingdom of God.  Fill your minds with things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy.  Why?  Because what you focus on forms you, and then ultimately your life.  The older brother didn’t do this, did he?  While everything he wanted was right in front of him, he couldn’t see it; he was too busy to enjoy his father.  And his focus ruined him.  It led him to become bitter.

What does it mean to transform our minds and focus on heaven and the kingdom of God?  It means we are supposed to take what has been given to us, our new spiritual life, and live in this demonic world.  Let me explain your new spiritual life.  First, you have been forgiven and redeemed by God (Romans 3:25).  Second, you have been made pure and righteous by God (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Third, you have been anointed by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Fourth, you are in a personal relationship with Jesus (Romans 3:23).  Now take all of what has been given to you, your new spiritual life (2 Corinthians 5:15), and live in this demonic world.  And guess what?  It’s hard.  It’s hard because Satan rules this world (1 John 5:19).  Everything in this world has been specifically designed by Satan to pull you away from God, to push against you, wear you down, and to defeat you.  I want to read it for you.

1 John 2:16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. NLT

Remember, Jesus told us this.

Luke 16:15b What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God. NLT 

Everything in this world reaches out to you and says, ‘Live for yourself.  Do what pleases you.   Chase after what this world loves.’  It goes against everything God says, ‘You no longer live for yourself.  Do what pleases Christ.  Chase after the kingdom of God.’

Listen to this.

2 Corinthians 5:15 He [Jesus] died for all so that all who live - having received eternal life from him - might live no longer for themselves, to please themselves, but to spend their lives pleasing Christ who died and rose again for them. TLB

Jesus died to give you a new spiritual life and to live in this demonic world.  How do we survive, push back, and thrive in this demonic world?   We transform our minds.  We think about, meditate on, and focus on the things of heaven and the kingdom of God.  We fill our minds with things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy.  Why?   Because we no longer live for ourselves.   We no longer focus on what pleases us.   We don’t care about the things this world honors because we have left the world’s way of living.  

There is a very clear battle going on.  The battle is for your mind, what you think about, what you focus on.  I want to read it for you.

Romans 8:6 If your sinful old self is the boss over your mind, it leads to death. But if the Holy Spirit is the boss over your mind, it leads to life and peace. 7 The mind that thinks only of ways to please the sinful old self is fighting against God. It is not able to obey God’s Laws. It never can. 8 Those who do what their sinful old selves want to do cannot please God. TLV

Who is the boss of your mind?  What do you focus on?  Here is why it’s so important.  What you focus on forms you, and then ultimately your life.  And here is the deal: you will lose this battle unless you make the choice to transform your mind.  Think about, meditate on, and focus on the things of heaven and the kingdom of God.  Fill our minds with things that are noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy.  

Did you see vs 6?   If the Holy Spirit is the boss over your mind, it leads to life and peace.  Do you realize what that means?  It helps your stress go away.  

Let me ask you a few questions.

Who is the boss of your mind?  What is it that you think about, meditate on, or focus on?  Is it your old sinful self (negative stuff) or is it the Holy Spirit (the things of heaven)?

How do you decide what you focus on?  Do you start your day on purpose, with the Bible and prayer?  Or before your feet hit the floor, do you check social media and the news?  

What has become of your life?  Are you noticing that you are slowly becoming bitter because you feel like you have been treated unfairly, and that focus is ruining your attitude?  Scripture warns us.

Hebrews 12:15b Watch out that no bitterness takes root among you, for as it springs up it causes deep trouble, hurting many in their spiritual lives. TLB

What has become of your life?  Does it bring you joy to support and celebrate others?

If you are struggling to make the Holy Spirit the boss of your mind, I want to challenge you.   It’s a choice.  That means you will need to break an old habit and start a new one.  And that process will take you at least 30 days.  The greatest habit you can start is, first thing in your day, reading your Bible and praying and remembering how God’s grace rescued you.

Let’s close with this.

Jesus told us about this parable on purpose.  For those of us who are struggling and striving to make the Holy Spirit the boss of our minds, I want to leave you with the words of Jesus.  “Everything I have is yours.”  That means you don’t have to push through and be lonely or miserable like the older brother.  As you live, you can focus on God and enjoy God.  And when you do this, your stress goes down.

Please hear me, what you focus on forms you, then ultimately your life.