NOTIFICATION

Theme: Emotions tell you something, but they don’t have to command you.

Whats up inverted!

(introduce self, welcome out, check in)

have you guys ever been excited to go to your favorite food spot and you just know that what you’re about to eat is about to be buss, and then in that excitement your mouth is drooling, your stomach growling, and you just cant hold in that excitement to take that first bite?

but then you take that first bite, your face changes, you look at your food, and you just feel so icky becauuase that food thats usually buss is not bussin that day

your thinking, whos the cook today? they need to be fired.

you start thinking about how blasphemous the flavor has become, you start praying for the holy spirit to put in another cook in the kitchen.

you start contemplating if you wanna be a karen that day and go to the counter to ask for something new or for something else, but at the same time you dont feel like the wait is worth it

and then your whole mood is just tanked for the rest of the day.

anybody? just me? man i get like that whenever i get the mcdonalds fries and they give me stale, cold ones, or even worse; they give me fresh hot ones with NO SALT

at that point im ready to crash out and jump over that mcdonalds counter, or through that drive-through window and just grab someone by the collar and speak the blood of Jesus over them and just pray for them so hard, because we’re christian of course

just me?

its funny because our emotions kinda work like notifications on our phone, something happens, and immediately something goes off inside of us

anger pops up

disappointment pops up

embarrassment pops up

jealousy, sadness, frustration, whatever it is

and just like a notification, that emotion is trying to get your attention

its basically telling you, “hey, something just happened in here.”

well i believe in one way or another someone in here has been in a situation where your circumstances just ruin your mood. maybe it had your attention for a lot longer than it shouldve

i totally get it where your coming from, ive been there obviously

but those moments suck dont they? you cant help but just hold a grudge because of how deep the disappointment felt, i get it.

but even though this can be a natural response for us, the mistake we can make as believers is to allow small or big situations dictate the way we think, feel, or say.

because getting the notification isnt the problem, the problem is what we do when it shows up

some of us get a notification of anger and immediately click on it

we get a notification of rejection and now thats all we can think about

we get disappointed and instead of asking why it affected us so much, we just let that feeling take over everything else

and before you know it, something that was supposed to alert you has started to control you

a lot of times we can give full authority and access to different situations in our life to change how we fundamentally are as people.

we are bubbly and happy one day, but then angry and isolating the next day

and today i want us to learn what to actually do when those notifications start showing up

because i dont think God wants us ignoring every emotion we have, but He also doesnt want every emotion we have running our lives

theres a reason something inside of you reacted

theres a reason that comment bothered you

theres a reason being left out hurt you

theres a reason you got so angry when things didnt go the way you expected

and sometimes instead of immediately reacting to the notification, we need to actually stop and read it, which brings me to the first thing i want us to understand tonight...

Point 1: Pay Attention to the Notification

(TAKE YOUR TIME, LET GOD SPEAK THROGH EACH BULLET POINT)

reaction can be our first instinct

our reaction reveals where our heart is at (rooted in anger, anxiety, etc...)

instead of reacting, we need to process (ask ourselves how to approach it...)

sometimes; ask wise counsel before reaction

reaction w/o process = problem feels worsened

lets look at;

Psalm 42:5 CSB

Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42–43 together form an individual lament

writer pours out his sorrow, still expresses hope

The psalmist’s situation was one of displacement and emotional turmoil

(separated from the place of worship he deeply missed) lamenting kept him from worshipping and enjoying God’s at the sanctuary

“his tears is his food”, people taunted “where is your God”

despite despair and attacks, he remembers his joyful worship

he confronts himself asking himself “why my soul are you so dejected” (depressed, despondent, miserable)

he redirects focus from despair to hope (even in circumstances)

this is blueprint on reaction to notification, process first, then react.

Psalm 139:23–24 CSB

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.

you see, processing doesnt just mean sitting there overthinking everything you feel either, processing means bringing it before God

thats why David says in Psalm 139, “search me God, and know my heart... test me and know my concerns”

hes basically saying “God, theres something going on inside of me and i need you to help me understand it”, because sometimes im angry and theres actually hurt underneath it

sometimes im jealous because theres insecurity underneath it

sometimes im offended because theres pride underneath it

sometimes what im feeling is showing me something in my heart that God wants to work on

so when the notification pops up, dont just react to it, bring it to God and ask “God, why did this affect me like this?”

so the next time you recieve that notification and you feel your mood starting to shift, dont immediately react

stop, read it, process it with God, and figure out what is actually happening in your heart

but heres where we have to be careful...just because you recieved the notification doesnt mean you have to open it;

think about your actual phone for a second, how many notifications do you get throughout the day that you dont even open?

some of them are important, some of them can wait, and some of them you already know if you click on it, youre about to waste the next 45 minutes of your life

our emotions can work the same way;

the notification tells you something happened, but it doesnt get to tell you what you do next

anger can notify me that something bothered me, but anger doesnt get to decide what comes out of my mouth

rejection can notify me that something hurt, but rejection doesnt get to convince me that nobody cares about me

jealousy might reveal something going on inside of me, but jealousy doesnt get to decide how i treat somebody else

and thats an important difference guys, an emotion can notify you without having authority over you because once ive stopped and recognized what im feeling, now i have another decision to make

am i going to listen to everything this feeling is telling me?

the truth is, not everything that pops up inside of you deserves to be opened

Point 2: You Don’t Have to Open Everything

heres the reality: every thought, impulse, offense, and emotional reaction does not deserve your attention or obedience.

2 Corinthians 10:4–5 CSB

since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

what is it telling us to do here? (take every thought captive)

what does it mean to take every thought captive?

its active/instentional practice, not passive acceptance

when thoughts turn destructive (hopeless, bitter, etc.) you take them captive

guys theres a difference between having a thought and agreeing with a thought

sometimes something can pop into your head without your permission

but just because it showed up doesnt mean you have to give it a room in your house

how do we do this? how doo we take our thoughts captive? im going to make it simple for you guys, if youre taking notes think of i like this: the “3 R’s”

Recognize (becoming aware of what you’re actually thinking)

Reject (identifying which thoughts are actually lies or distortions and refusing to accept them as truth)

Replace (substituting God’s truth for the lie)

this is how you actively practice holding your thoughts captive.

Paul is talking about demolishing things that raise themselves against the knowledge of God, so when something in my mind is contradicting Gods truth, I dont have to just accept it, I bring that thought under obedience to Christ

guys, taking a thought captive doesnt mean pretending you never felt it,

it means refusing to let that thought become your truth when it contradicts Gods truth

but now theres one more part to this: eventually you have to put the phone down, you recognized the notification, you figured out what was actually true

but now you still have to decide how youre going to respond

I can process everything correctly in my head and then still turn around and say something stupid, I can know im angry and still blow up, I can recognize that im hurt and still isolate myself from everybody

so biblical maturity isnt only learning how to think differently

its learning how to respond differently

because eventually whats happening inside of you is going to come out of you

James gave us an incredibly practical picture of what that looks like, this leads me to my third point:

Point 3: Respond, Don’t React

James 1:19–20 CSB

My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.

this here is a step by step process to dealing with that notification when it pops up.

(elaborate next section in own words)

Listen quick

(dont immediately assume you understand everything that happened, listen to the person, listen to wise counsel, listen to what God might be showing you)

Slow to speak

(your first thought doesnt need to become your first sentence, you dont have to immediately defend yourself, clap back, post something, text somebody, or make sure everyone knows youre upset)

slow to anger

(give God space between what happened to you and what comes out of you, anger may show up quickly, but it doesnt have to become action quickly)

reaction is immediate, response is intentional

now heres where this gets really important, because I dont want you leaving tonight thinking that this message is just “control yourself better”

the reality is eventually your own strength runs out

Galatians 5:22–23 CSB

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

self control is a fruit

as you grow in Christ, fruits will be produce

surrender needs priority

God doesnt change emotions, he makes us spirit-led

Proverbs 16:32 CSB

Patience is better than power, and controlling one’s emotions, than capturing a city.

emotions have weight, do we steward that weight?

strength = the ability to rule yourself

notifications will come, how do we react?

you can feel it, process it, and take your thoughts captive, but does it get the final word? or does God?

Closing

so guys, notifications are always going to come, youre going to leave here tonight and eventually somebody is going to say something that bothers you

something isnt going to go your way

somebody might disappoint you

you might feel ignored, rejected, angry, jealous, embarrassed, whatever it is

and that notification is going to pop up again

but when it does, remember what we talked about tonight, pay attention to it

dont just immediately react, stop and ask God “why did this affect me like this?”, then take captive what comes with it

just because you feel something doesnt mean everything that feeling tells you is true

recognize it, reject what contradicts Gods truth, and replace it with what He actually says, and then respond, dnt react, because the goal was never for you to become emotionless, God created you with emotions, the goal is that your emotions stop being the thing that leads you

Make this your prayer, its so simple but so powerful and just ask God, say:

Lord, anger doesnt lead me. rejection doesnt lead me. jealousy doesnt lead me. my circumstances dont lead me. Holy Spirit, you lead me, nothing else has athority over me like you do, i surrender my all to you Lord.

maybe for some of us tonight, if were being real, we have given our emotions way too much authority

one bad situation changes our entire attitude

one person doesnt give us the attention we wanted and now were treating everybody differently

one person says something about us and were thinking about it for the next three days

something happens at home, at school, in a friendship, in a relationship, and now that situation has completely taken over our heart

and maybe tonight God is showing you, “youve been letting these notifications have the final word in your life”, but they were never supposed to

your emotions can tell you something, but they dont get to command you, God gets the final word

and I think for some of us tonight the response is simply surrender

“God, ive been trying to control this myself”

“ive been holding onto anger”

“ive been holding onto hurt”

“ive been letting rejection define me”

“ive been letting what people think about me control me”

“ive been reacting instead of letting You lead me”

and tonight you need to give that back to God

remember, self control is fruit of the Spirit, this isnt just about trying harder, its about surrendering deeper

so before we do anything else tonight, I want everybody to just bow your heads and close your eyes

and I want you to be honest with God

dont worry about who's next to you, dont worry about anybody looking at you

just you and God right now

if theres something thats been controlling your heart lately

anger, hurt, bitterness, insecurity, rejection, whatever it may be

I want you to give God access to that tonight

ask Him:

“God, search me, show me whats going on in my heart, show me what ive been believing that isnt true”

“Holy Spirit, teach me how to respond like You”

(PAUSE, ALLOW THEM TO PRAY)

and while everyones heads are still bowed, theres one more thing I want to talk about

because everything we talked about tonight comes back to surrender

and maybe some of you are sitting here and youve never actually surrendered your life to Jesus

maybe youve been around church

maybe youve heard about God

maybe youve even prayed before

but you know that you have never made the decision to actually give Jesus your life

and the greatest surrender you could ever make isnt just giving God your emotions

its giving Him you

Scripture tells us that sin separates us from God, but Jesus came, died for our sins, and rose again so that we could be forgiven and brought back into relationship with Him

we dont earn that, we dont clean yourself up first, we come to Him

so if youre in here tonight and you feel like your heart is telling you, “I need Jesus, I want to surrender my life to Him, I want to be forgiven and I want to follow Him”

(altar call & prayer)

I know that I have sinned and I cant save myself

I believe that You died for me and that You rose again

forgive me

change my heart

I give You my life

I surrender my past, my present, and my future to You

teach me to follow You

teach me to hear Your voice

and let Your Spirit lead my life

from this day forward, Jesus, You get the final word

in Jesus name,

amen.