The Spiritual Attack of Anxiety: Why the Enemy Wants You Obsessed With Tomorrow

Have you ever noticed how the more worried you become about your tomorrow, the more your today seems to just fall apart? We spend our days endlessly stressing over the big deals of life, like our careers, our finances, our health, our futures, and we panic the second we lose control. But what if I told you that you're dealing with a carefully disguised distraction? What if your completely understandable anxieties about tomorrow is blinding you to the only test before you that actually matters today? Today I want to tell you a little story about something that happened with me when I was in primary school, about 11, 12 years old. I remember me and my friends had just finished writing an important exam. We were standing outside waiting for our parents to pick us up, and we're thinking about what tomorrow's results of this test will yield. And I remember turning to a friend saying, "You know what? Life is like a test. I mean, we're born into this world to write the exam of life." and each of us will be evaluated at the end of it. And I'll never forget, my friend looks to me like strangely and responds, that's really deep. But on a serious note, the test that we wrote that day mattered, but what really matters would be the life that we would go on to live. And there is a paradox in this that I want you to see. I have found that the more concerned that we are with tomorrow, the more the bigger picture of life itself escapes our vision. But what is that bigger picture? See, one day a trumpet will blow, the heavens will split, Jesus will appear, and the Kingdom of Heaven will come down. To earth, and we will all stand before God to give an account for every idle word. And this is why Jesus said to us, "Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." And notice what He said in the verse just prior: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added." Unto you, Jesus pairs these two statements together because He knows that our anxiety of tomorrow distracts us from seeking first the kingdom of God. And when we are distracted from the kingdom of God, we grow even more anxious. And the more distracted we become by all these things, then the more anxious we become because we're even more distracted. And then The cycle continues, and if it's not broken, soon we stop praying. Soon we stop reading the Bible. Soon we start isolating ourselves from believers and maybe even eventually from God. But I want to give you a life hack today. Focus on God and His kingdom, and He'll take care of the rest. I know that sounds way too simple, but it's really that simple. And all the stuff, that you're anxious about. He'll give you the insight. He'll give you the wisdom. And He'll let you be at the right place at the right time in ways that you could never prepare for. Now don't get me wrong. Preparing, studying, working, improving ourselves. These are all things God calls us to. But He doesn't call us to worry about it. See, you worry because you may feel inadequate. You worry because you fear that you're missing something. You worry because you've lost control. But while your world may feel out of control, it's not catching your Father in Heaven off guard. And you may look at me and say, "Well, Petey, look, it's easy for you to say. I have big problems to worry about." And I'll respond with this: Me too. And that's why I can say the only way that you'll survive this is by shifting towards hope in God, that He won't forsake you, giving Him the burdens that you've been carrying, and surrendering that which you can't control. It's really important for us to get practical today because some of us, we've been listening to so many people talking in the air. Today, let's get real. Next time you think about your Trials in this world, and you're upset, you're anxious. Stop and shift your mind away from that to think about your future in the world that is to come—a world where there is no anxiety, no fear, no death, no sickness, no despair or hopelessness. Colossians 3:2 says, "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. You see, I think that you actually know that your fear, worry, and anxieties about tomorrow isn't actually helping you solve your problem. But let me tell you this: it is helping Satan. Solve his. See, your kingdom calling, that which God has placed on your life, is Satan's problem. And he uses worldly fears and situations to scare us into being immobilized. For as long as Satan can keep you in a cycle of fear, you're so focused on the fear that you lose sight of the calling. Isaiah 41:13, God speaks and says, for I, the Lord your God, holds your right hand. It is I who say to you, fear not. I am the one who helps you. I want you to take that in for a moment with me today. He holds our hands. He says, fear not. I help you. If God is on your side, If He grabs a hold of you, when even if everyone has abandoned you, even if no one else sees what's really going on, He sees it. He knows it. He's intimately familiar, in fact, and He loves you enough to fight for you. Brothers and sisters, what I said when I was 11, 12 years old is true. Life is a test. And you're writing that paper right now as I speak, but God wants to be the pen in your hand because, well, for one, He's written this test before. 2,000 years ago, He faced every temptation, and He did it all for you. He knows the answer to every single question on the paper, and He took every mistake that you could ever make upon Himself so that you can live, but you need to actually hand this paper of life over to Him, and when you do that, let me tell you exactly what that means. It means that you will love. Really, take that in with me. You will love. Someone needs to hear this today, that what you're facing It's not going to kill you. You will survive this, and there is a new day coming because you have God on your side. And if you keep relying on the sacrifice of Yeshua, all of this will only make you stronger for His kingdom. In 1 Corinthians 2:9, it says, it is written that no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. See, God is preparing something for you, but the big question is, are you preparing yourself for it? Pastor Tom Campbell from Johnson City, he called me about 2 weeks ago, and he shared with me this vision very vividly he received of Yeshua speaking and saying, my bride is not ready. We know in Revelation it speaks about the bride that has readied herself, but as for now, when we look around, some believers have readied themselves but for the world. See, if it's not that we're consumed by these worries about tomorrow, as we've been discussing, then we're thinking about our futures in this world, and we're being consumed by that. What we will study, who we will marry, will I be able to buy a house, when can I get a job promotion, when is my next holiday. We buy life insurance, car insurance, we save for our retirements. And I love preparations. Preparing for the future is wise. There's wisdom there. And some people don't do enough preparations responsibly. Let's get that out of the way. That's actually a problem. But at the same time, the truth is that All of the above, all of the worldly preparations that we can do for our future, for our worst-case scenarios, it's all going to pass away the moment that the trumpet blows. As Solomon said regarding what matters in life in Ecclesiastes 1:14, I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after Wind. This king had everything the world could offer him, and at the end of it, he walked away saying, "Vanity of vanities!" Because the truth is, is that there are eternal things coming that are even more precious to prepare for, even more precious to acquire treasures that are not going to be eaten by. See, preparing for a worldly retirement is wise, but how much more an eternal retirement where we get to rest in Yeshua, our Lord of the Sabbath? Buying life insurance in case something happened to you is wise, but do you have a spiritual fire insurance? Have you become fireproof by the blood of the Lamb? But I want to ask you a question. Why can we get so consumed readying our bodies for worldly things, things that are passing away even as I speak right now, at the cost of readying our souls for our King? See, it sometimes comes down to the simple fact that we fear the things of this world more than God. Because while we see all these things, we are surrounded by loss, by death, by scary things. Life comes our way and it just freaks us out sometimes. But a godly fear of God immediately brings everything else into perspective. As Isaiah the prophet said in Isaiah 8:12, do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy. And do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread, and he will become a sanctuary. I love that last part. Fear God instead of the things of this world, and he immediately becomes a sanctuary for you. A sanctuary is a place of safety. It's like the temple. It's like being able to walk into the Holy of Holies where He is, where His presence is. And the whole world with all of death is outside of that temple. It is all around us. But when we're in that tabernacle, nothing outside matters because it cannot touch us. Truly, truly, nothing can separate you from the love of God. This is the beauty, is that God has decided to make you His temple. The temple is a picture of the Garden of Eden where man was with God, right? Face to face as Adam and Eve were. Now the temple becomes set up as a picture of the garden, and God says you become the temple of the Holy Spirit. In other words, you become the garden. You are carrying His Presence upon the earth, and His presence is with you. And this love of God is nourished through the waters of the Holy Spirit. You become this well of love, and this love for God that you have, and the love for people that you have that comes from God, this love is the only thing that can affect eternity. And someone that you show that love of God to today can see the love of Christ in you, and they can decide to follow Him and be saved eternally. See, the plans that you make regarding worldly things are temporary, and even if they're good and wise, they're going to yield temporary results. The decisions that you make to love today Can yield eternal results because love is what changed us. Love is what saved us. Love is what changed our eternal trajectory, and the love of God in us can work to change someone else. And so I want to ask you: What's more valuable than that? Really, think about all that's happening to you. Think about the trials you're facing. Think about your worries of tomorrow. Is it more important, more valuable? than that. So why are we consumed with worldly things? Seek first the Kingdom, and whatever else of value, whatever other thing that you think you need, it will be added unto you. That is God's promise to us, and I can attest to you that I've had times where I've had lack. I've had times where I've been blessed, But regardless of what I have gone through, I have seen that He has been with me through it all. And it is in seeking His kingdom that He has brought all things together for my good. And sometimes, to be honest, that it doesn't feel that way. All right, sometimes whatever happens to us feels like it's for our bad. Sometimes it feels like not only the world but even God is turning His back on us. And we We see this in— we just talked about Moses recently. Moses being told, you can't enter the Promised Land at the very end of his life after he fought with blood and tears for Israel to enter it. He couldn't enter it himself. Sounds like a really bad deal, really bad situation, but ultimately even that yielded great prosperity for the Kingdom of God, for eternal matters, because it would point everyone to the Messiah who could bring us to the Promised Land for eternity. And so even Moses's temporary sadness and even death outside the Promised Land would bring life to many as it pointed to the life of Christ. And so, brothers and sisters, I want to share with you that even though if you can't make sense of what's happening to you right now and why it's happening, and you, you don't have all the answers, you don't have any control, Just focus on the love of God and what His love has done for you and the kingdom of God that's coming for you, and pray that He would use whatever is happening to you to bring about more people into that kingdom. Now that we've established this very important truth of kingdom priority, we need to also answer another question. question that's often left out in discussions of this nature. And to be honest, a question that I don't think I've ever heard discussed in church before. And it is, does seeking the kingdom of God mean that pleasure is banned? You know, when we talk about some of the things we've spoken about in this video, like the things of this world and not talking about sin, Not talking about evil things, but simply things that are temporary in their nature, things that are passing away. God tells us to set our minds on things that are above. But at the same time, does that mean that the pleasure that we can have in our toils is inappropriate for a believer? I want to let us see what the biblical author speak about this so that we can bring a balanced outlook on this conversation. Solomon continued to write in Ecclesiastes 2:24, There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also I saw is from the hand of God. For apart from Him, who can eat, or who Can have enjoyment. This verse now suddenly almost sounds controversial, almost sounds opposite to what we've spoken about in the first half of this teaching. And yet it's perfectly in alignment because the man who honorably toils and works, God sees that, God blesses that, and God allows that man to find enjoyment in his toils. We also see God even in people coming to celebrate his biblical feasts commands them in certain situations to use the tithe and buy strong drink and wine. And as he said, whatever your appetite craves, and you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice you and your household in Deuteronomy 14:26. We also, of course, know how in John 2 Jesus turned turned the water into wine at the wedding. And if we think about these situations, none of these, of course, are endorsements for sin, for drunkenness, or wild parties. Rather, what God is telling us is that there is a time and a place for pleasure in godly moderation. And seeking God's kingdom first, as it should be, doesn't mean that we aren't permitted any of these pleasures of life. in moderation, as long as we see those pleasures in their proper context. All right. So, look, I know that I may really get some flak for saying just what I just said. I'm sure that many of you have never heard any of this before. It might even sound strange for you to hear me quote such things. But remember that we're quoting the Scriptures. Somehow this feels strange to us because we've allowed asceticism into the church. You know, it's true that the world is full of sinful pleasures that we should rightfully avoid. And what happens is we let our fear of sinful pleasure swing the pendulum so far to the other side that we ban even healthy pleasure entirely. And this was a big problem in the first century when Yeshua came. This is something that I believe he actually tried to fight because Because the problem is, is that people started considering their asceticism as a means of spiritual superiority. Now, what is asceticism? It is the imposed denial of all earthly pleasure for spiritual enhancement. Right? So we're not talking about obeying God's commandments now, rather we're talking about either human teachings, philosophies, or optional biblical spiritual practices. For example, fasting, or lifelong celibacy, or solitude. Some of these can be good, even spiritual practices, but asceticism distorts the purpose of spiritual practices. For example, we see that Jesus fasted, Jesus was celibate for life. Jesus took solitude. And so it's easy to look to these parts of the life of Jesus and impose them as expected commandments upon believers. But none of these are imposed by the Scriptures upon believers. Rather, the Scriptures addresses those who did such imposing. For example, regarding the fasting of Christ, the Pharisees came to him and his disciples and asked, why don't your disciples fast? Because they considered themselves superior because they were fasting when the disciples of Christ weren't. We also see regarding the idea of lifelong celibacy in 1 Timothy 4:3, Paul explicitly warns against those who forbid marriage and calls it a doctrine of demons. We also see regarding solitude that in Luke 10, Christ sent out many to proclaim the Great Commission. They weren't being called to solitude, but into the world to tell them about the gospel. There is a time for fasting. There is a time for celibacy, and there is a time for solitude. But these are not universal commandments at all times for all people. And so these are just some examples, but I want you to see that the scriptures blast these ideas but did not command or impose them. We see, for example, regarding fasting in Matthew 9:15, Yeshua said the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. So he's saying fasting is good, but there's going to be a time and a place for it. Regarding celibacy in 1 Corinthians 7:35, Paul encourages us that if we can come by without marrying, that we can serve God better and be more focused on Him. Regarding solitude, we see in Luke 5:16 that Christ would withdraw to desolate places and pray. And so again, we're confronted with the importance of balance in the Scriptures, that God should lead us in all these things in our personal lives. And that we should not let someone put burdens on us that God has not placed upon us. For as Yeshua said, my burden is light. As a last word on this, Paul warned in Colossians 2:18, let no one disqualify you insisting on asceticism. If with Christ you die to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations? Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, referring to things that all perish as they are used according to human precepts and teachings. These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. Some are in self-made religion, but they are proclaiming it as the religion of Christ. Christ had an incredible life where He lived a life of sacrifice, where He lived a life of love and servanthood. And at the same time, He turned water into wine at a wedding. So we've discussed now the importance of seeking the kingdom of God. We've discussed the good and healthy pleasures that God has gifted us in moderation. So now let What we have said in the beginning remains true here at the end. Each of us will have a moment where the bell rings, our test papers are collected, and our tests evaluated. Each of us will have a moment where we hear the trumpet blow, the Book of Works and the Book of Life be opened, and our life be evaluated. But you still have time today. And so I want to ask of you to make it count. James 4:14 says, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Father, I ask that you would come with your Holy Spirit and give us the perfect harmony of spirit and truth in our life. Help us to not impose regulations on others that you have not imposed. Lord, help us to be focused on Your commandments. Help us to be focused on Your Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit. Help us to love people. Help us to love You. Father, I ask that You would use us to become a people that is a people the world can look upon and say, you truly are different. You're different from the average religious folks that I've seen that have acted hypocritically. You're different from the sinners that indulge in the flesh without restraint. Father, I ask that the light of Christ that dined with His disciples, that enjoyed a meal with them, that promised them another meal and drink of wine one day in the kingdom to come, Father, help us to proclaim Your body and Your blood wherever we go, to whomever is before us, in the perfect timing of Your Holy Spirit. Make us new. Forgive us of our sins and help us to not worry about tomorrow. Let today be today for us. Let today be the day that we shift our focus towards You and Your Kingdom. I pray all this in the name of Yeshua. Amen. Thank you for joining me. May the Father bless you and keep you, shine His face upon you, lift up His countenance upon you, and give you and your family His shalom.