Gregory Dickow - Freedom From FOMO - Part 1
Father, I thank You that You are meeting every need. You meet all of our needs according to Your riches in glory. You meet our spiritual needs. You meet our emotional needs; You meet our relationship needs. We need You in the middle of our relationships, Lord. We need you in the middle of our health; in the middle of our finances. You in our midst is the secret to life. You in our midst among us where two or three are gathered, that also is the secret to life. And we praise You and thank You, that You are filling us completely with You. You're all, in all, in each of us, in Jesus' Name, amen.
Well, today I want to talk to you about how to be free from the fear of missing out; freedom from the fear of missing out. So many people are afraid they're going to miss the will of God. They're going to miss the word of God. They're going to miss the purpose of God. They're going to miss the revival. They're going to miss the anointing. They're going to miss, miss, miss on God's will. And it's much simpler and it's much easier than you thought. Listen to what this verse says in Isaiah chapter 40, verse... I'll just start in verse 28. It says, "Have you not known? Have you not heard"? The Lord, He is the everlasting God. What a beautiful description. He is "the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth". It says, "He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable". Verse 29, "He gives power to the faint". Have you felt faint? "He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, He increases their strength".
Does anybody need a strengthening of their, or the encouraging, the strengthening in your life, the strengthening of your soul, the strengthening of your health, the strengthening of your endurance, the strengthening of your finances? He said He increases our strength. "Even youths grow tired and weary, and even young men stumble and fall". One translation says they stumble; we stumble badly. "But those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint". Those that wait on the Lord. Listen to these promises. He's not saying you can either be somebody who gets weary or somebody who waits on the Lord. He's saying all of us get weary, all of us fail, all of us stumble badly. But when we wait on the Lord, He will renew our strength.
When we wait on the Lord, He will cause us to mount up with wings as eagles. We will run and not grow weary. We will walk and not faint. Think about this. We will walk and not faint. We will run and not grow weary And we will mount up with wings as eagles. Look at the progression there, walking, running, flying. You know, you just start where you are right now, and you wait on the Lord. What is it to wait? Well, to wait on the Lord is to listen. There're three things to me that waiting on the Lord is. And then I'll dig into this with you. To me, waiting on the Lord is to listen. Cause I've studied this word, it means to listen and to hear. Secondly, it means to expect; to have an expectation. To wait is to expect something, and to serve. To wait is to serve. When you think of a waiter or a waitress, they serve. You see, a waiter expects; a waiter listens. A waiter expects, and a waiter serves. You think about that. They listen for what your order is going to be. They expect to hear from you to give them your order, and then they serve what you asked for.
We're waiting on the Lord. We're listening to hear what He has to say to us. We're expecting that He's going to tell us something. He's going to lead us. And we're serving Him by serving one another. When we're serving one another, we're serving Him. When we're doing for the least of these, we're doing it unto Him. When we're ministering to the broken, we're ministering to Him. When we reach out to the lost, we're reaching out to Him. When we serve in our church and serve our brothers and sisters, were truly serving Him. Woo! It's so simple, really, when you think about it, waiting on Him and finding God's will. Really, the way I look at it is, when you just get to know God, His will finds you. Getting to know Him is the will of God. And when you get to know Him, you will run into His will. He's too big to miss. God's too big to miss.
We have to be delivered today from the fear of missing out. You see, the biggest mistake that most of us make is that we try to consume more information. We're constantly trying to consume more information. You know, as I've thought about it and researched, and looked at my own social media, and looked at other people's social media, whether it was Facebook, or Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok. Nowadays, there're so many. But when you think about it, you could look at and scroll through things for hours or days, and you really come down to just a few things that everybody's saying, and everybody who's trying to encourage. It's pretty much the same thing. So, what we really need to do is realize that getting more information isn't going to really help us. We do this because we feel like we're missing something.
We have to scroll because we think, "What if I miss something really important"? You're not. Because whatever you hear, you've probably heard before. You see the fear of missing out goes away when we stop trying to just gather more information. When we stop trying to make sure we don't miss out, when we try to make sure we're included, we end up really anxious, and stressed, and worried. When we really don't have to because the will of God is just to walk with God. It's to know Him; to walk with Him. The Bible says, "and Enoch walked with God; and he was no more". You know, he was no more broken. He was no more afraid. He was no... He was no more of a lot of things. He just was no more. But why was he no more? He walked with God and he was no more. He walked with God and he was hidden from that moment on. You know, when you accept Jesus, we're hidden with Christ in God. And we are no more. It's no longer I who live but Christ lives in me.
And the life that I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. You know, I just want you to be free today from the fear of missing out. I know there's so much talk about God's over here. God's over there. Don't miss this preacher. Don't miss this worship band. Don't miss this song. Don't miss this word. Don't be afraid of missing out. Because our journey is a walk with God. He's walking with me when I'm going in the right direction. He's walking with me when I'm going in the wrong direction. He's walking with me when I'm going up. He's walking with me when I'm falling down. He's walking with me when I think I'm doing really good. And He's walking with me when I feel like I'm doing pretty bad. You know, He's walking with me when I come to church. And He's walking with me when I don't come to church.
Now, it's always better to come to church, because there we're encouraged, and there we're revealing who we really are in Christ. And there we are worshiping together with one another. But I just want you to see something. He's with you. He's with me, too. So, when you and me are together, His presence is even more pronounced. But He's with you. And this fear of missing out, this need for more information... Listen, we can all learn and improve our understanding of something. But the constant search for what we don't have, the constant search for what we're missing, the constant search for that thing, is really a result of not understanding what really matters, and what doesn't really matter. The idea that that we might be missing out on the thing, we don't even know what the thing is that we're missing out on, but we think we're missing out on something.
But the thing that we think we're afraid that we're missing out of is really a mirage. Because we're not missing out on anything. When He's walking with you, when God chose to walk with us, we immediately were transported into the will of God. Because the will of God is to walk with God. And the will of God is to believe that He's walking with you. You know, sometimes we just overcomplicate life. Sometimes we just try to be so smart and try to be so brilliant. But you know what's better than trying to be brilliant? You know what's better than trying to find that thing? You know what's better than seeking the thing, that we don't even really know what it is that we think we're missing out on, missing out on popularity, missing out on whatever fun people are having. That's all just a portrayal of a life people want. Everything, most things on social media is simply a portrayal. It's a portrayal of what people wish their life was like. It's not really like that. Because it takes most of us 59, 69, 99 clicks before we like one of the pictures of us.
And then we portray the best image, in the best lighting, with the best smile, with the best makeup, or whatever it is. And I'm not saying that there isn't some good that comes out of social media, but there's not a lot of good that comes out of it when we're insecure. And then it feeds our insecurity. But, you know, instead of seeking that thing, instead of being afraid of missing out, you know what's better than being smart and better than being brilliant? Just not being stupid. Just not being stupid. Avoiding stupidity is really easier than seeking brilliance. Think about it for a minute. Rather than worrying about, "What do I have to do to have a great life"?
Instead, why don't you just make a list of the things that guarantee a miserable life? Because if you just avoid those things then, it's a whole lot easier to run into the right thing. Like, we know comparing ourselves is going to result in misery. Worrying about things that we have no control over, misery. Letting other people define us, or letting our past define us, misery. Living for the approval of others, misery. Thinking that following Christian posts on social media equals following Jesus, misery. These are stupid things. To listen to any other voice than the voice of God, the result is misery. To condemn yourself after Jesus has already said there's no condemnation anymore. It's going to be misery. To be afraid to ask boldly for the promises of God results in misery. To think that we'll never really know the will of God, that results in misery. These things that I just listed for you; they guarantee misery.
Avoid these stupidities rather than trying to find the thing that seems to be missing. Spend less time trying to be so smart and brilliant, and more time just avoiding stupidity. I know it seems silly to even talk about this, but it really is true. Wisdom is not found in knowing things. Wisdom is found in knowing a Person. To know a Person, and then to walk with that Person, is wisdom, to know God and to walk with Him. You know, if you listen closely today, you're not going to miss God's will. If you listen far, you probably won't miss God's will either. Just listen. We have to stop being afraid of missing out. The apostles didn't have Instagram. They didn't have the news media. We don't need all that.
You know, there's no information that the media is ever going to give you that will make your life better. You know, if you think about it, the way things spread in life, the way real things spread, the way real things are transferred, is through word of mouth, personal testimony, and hearing from somebody you trust. That's how real things spread; good things spread. It's through word of mouth. It's not through all the magic of marketing. It's not through hearing more news on TV or social media. You see these things... This thing that we think we're missing out on is really distorting our simple relationship with God; the simplicity of devotion. His devotion to us, and our devotion back to Him as a way of expressing our gratitude.
You see, that's what was referred to when the Bible was written as the Gnostics. The Gnostics were people that knew so much Greek, and they knew so much Aramaic, and they knew all the Hebrew words, and they knew all the laws. But they always thought they knew more than everybody else. And whoever wasn't one of them always thought that they were less than. And that's what religion does. It makes people feel less than. Christianity doesn't make people feel less than. True Christianity makes each person feel loved. True Christianity is simply reflecting the love that God has for us and expressing it to others. You don't need the latest news. You don't need somebody's approval; somebody to like you or like your posts.
And I don't mean to focus on this social media side of things, but everybody's on it. Everybody understands that. Everybody knows it's there. But even the latest world events, they really aren't going to change your life. What will change your life and what will make your life better is walking with the One who created life. It's really simple. In John, chapter one, verse one through three, I really believe that these Scriptures have so much; give me so much hope. Because if we understand the tone of God's Word, that's where we will find Jesus, and find His beautiful personality and His beautiful lightheartedness and His beautiful forgiveness and His beautiful grace; His sense of humor, His playfulness, His humility, His honesty, His generosity. Religion doesn't portray Jesus in that way. The media doesn't portray Jesus in that way.
So many churches fail to portray Jesus in that way. But He is the most beautiful. He's got a great, phenomenal sense of humor. He is smart, and cunning, and humble, and playful. Like I said, He's honest, and He is raw. He's generous beyond compare. It's really sad to me that millions of people around the world have only heard of the religious Jesus, and they've turned away. Do we blame them? I don't. I don't blame them. I don't blame even Hollywood, or big business, or politics. I don't blame them for rejecting Jesus because most of them are rejecting a false portrayal of Jesus that self-righteous religious people have painted. But the real Jesus, ha! I really don't think anybody could truly reject Him. It won't be for seeing Him for who He is that will make somebody reject Him. It will be because they never listened to find out who He really was. They turned away from an image that wasn't an accurate one.
But if somebody truly has a true knowledge of Jesus, you'll find the happiest people, are the people that have true knowledge of His love and His goodness. The true knowledge of Jesus is our greatest need. The true knowledge of Jesus is our greatest happiness. In John, chapter one... When you understand the tone, when you understand the Voice behind the voice, this is when you'll discover who Jesus really is. "The Word was first," it says in John, chapter one. "The Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one. Everything was created through him; nothing, not one thing, came into being without him". You know, you didn't even come into existence without God.
So, how is it that since we, you and me, we didn't even come into existence without God. He created us. Why do we think now it's all up to us to find Him? It's all up to us to discover His will. It's all up to us to make sure we find the needle in the haystack; to make sure we find that thing that is missing. We don't have to find it. It finds us. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. One of the great descriptions of Jesus I love is in Revelation, chapter one, verse four through six. I'm just showing you how to wait on Him. I'm just showing you how to be free from the fear of missing out. Listen to what it says here beautifully in the New King James Bible. "John, to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him," that is Jesus. "To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be (the) glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen".
Think about that. To Him who loved us. If you would know these things, you won't miss out. To Him that loved us, and He washed us. He didn't love us because He washed us. He washed us because He loved us. He loved us in our dirt. He loved us in our filth. He loved us in our sin. He loved us in our, the bottom of the pit that we were in. And then He washed us, not with soap and water, not with the blood of an animal, but in His own blood, forgiving us, of all of our sins. And then made us... He loved us. He washed us. And He made us kings and priests. If you tried to make yourself a king, you'd fail. There's just a handful of kings in the earth today that are kings of countries; territories. Nobody can make themselves a king. Anybody who sets out to say, "I think I want to grow up and be a king".
That's usually not going to be a job available from the major you studied in in college. But when we try to be something that only God can make us, we live in frustration until we embrace who He said we are. Embrace that He loved you. Embrace that He washed you. Embrace that He made you a king and priest. You don't need anybody else to make you a king. You don't need anybody else to make you a success. You don't need anybody else to give you the approval. When you have this knowledge, and when you walk in this intimacy with God, when you hear His voice is the voice of love, when you hear the good plans that He has for you... He says the plans that I have for you are for good and not for evil, to give you a future and to give you a hope.
What a beautiful promise in Jeremiah. To be mistaken about Jesus is the saddest and most tragic mistake of all. If you're really afraid of missing out, if we're going to be afraid of missing out, let's be afraid of missing out on the true Jesus. Let's be afraid of missing out on who He really is. We should stop being afraid of missing out on anything else, if we just realize this is who He is. He loved us. He's the King of kings; the Lord of lords. He's the Creator of all of the universe. And He loves us. And He washed us. And He made us something. You can't miss God. You can't miss the will of God when you see who He really is. He's too big to miss. He's too present. He's too patient. He's too caring. He's too loving. He's too kind. He's too Fatherly to leave you hanging, to create some hidden treasure somewhere that you have to search throughout eternity to maybe find.
That's not the God... That's torture. That's torment. That's miserable. That's cruel. And God's not cruel. In fact, Jesus, when He, His disciples, He told His disciples He had to go to the cross, but He would die and rise again and would go back to heaven. But you know what He said in John, chapter 14, verse 18? This is the kind of Jesus that takes care of every detail. He said, "I'm not going to leave you alone. I will not leave you comfortless. I will not leave you as orphans;" He said, "I will come to you". He said in verse 16, "I'll ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, and He will be with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and (He) will be in you".
I love these words. He says He will tell you everything you need to know. He will remind you of what Jesus said. He'll tell you everything you need to know. He will remind you of what I said. You see, the Holy Spirit is the best reminder, not your husband; not your wife. Sometimes our spouse, they're good at reminding us of the wrong things. We're good at reminding each other of our past. We're good at reminding each other that we're always late. We're good at reminding each other that we always make mistakes or always blow it. But that's not what God reminds us of. The Holy Spirit reminds us of the things that Jesus said. The Holy Spirit reminds us of God's promises. The Holy Spirit reminds us of God's presence. The Holy Spirit reminds us of God's power. The Holy Spirit reminds us of God's protection. The Holy Spirit reminds us of God's provision.
Well, there're a lot of "P's" there. The Holy Spirit reminds us of all those "P's". He reminds us of God's presence. He reminds us of God's promises. He reminds us of God's power. He reminds us of God's protection. He reminds us of God's provision for our life. You see, you're not going to miss out. Because the Holy Spirit never misses out. And the Holy Spirit is in you if you're a believer. And if you're not a believer, the Holy Spirit will come into you if you just invite Him in. John, chapter 16 verse 13, Jesus went on to say, But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak of His own (initiative), but whatever He hears (from the Father), He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come".
Wow. If you need to know the past, the Holy Spirit will tell you what you need to know about the past, but it will always be good. If you need to know about the present, the Holy Spirit will show you what to do in the present. And if you want to know about the future, the Holy Spirit will disclose to you what is to come. You see, you can't miss out when you understand the Holy Spirit. When you think, "Jesus, don't you care"? You know, I think of two particular people that had this complaint of Jesus, Jesus, don't you care? I think of Martha when she's serving and Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus. And Martha asks Jesus, "Don't you care that I'm doing all the serving alone"? And then what about the disciples in the storm, when the winds hit and the storms blew? Jesus is sleeping in the back of the boat and they wake Him up and say, "Master, don't you care? Don't you care"? Martha: "Don't You care? Disciples: "Don't You care"?
Don't you care is the cry of the uncertain. Don't you care is the cry of those who have not known what Jesus is really like. Because when you know His character, you'll know He cares. When you know His tone, you'll know He cares. If God wants your attention and you're not giving it to Him, He knows where to find you. He knows how to look for you. Stop being afraid today of missing out. All of God's purposes, all of the things that really matter will be revealed to you by waiting on the Lord. And what is waiting on the Lord again? What will renew your strength? What will cause you to run and not grow weary, walk and not faint, mount up with wings like eagles? To wait on the Lord.
What is waiting on the Lord? Listening. Listening for His voice. It's always the voice of love. You are my beloved son, and you bring me great joy. You are the son in whom I delight. You are my dearly loved son. You bring me great joy. You delight me. You make me happy. That's what God says. That's the voice that you should be listening for. Don't listen for, "I'm over here. I'm over there. Don't miss this service. Don't miss this experience. Don't miss this concert. Don't miss this thing. Don't miss that thing. Don't miss this news report. Don't miss this person's Social Media. Don't miss following this person".
None of that. God's not in that. He's in, listen, listening to the voice of love. Because God is love. What is waiting on the Lord? It's listening to Him; listening for that voice. What is waiting on Him? Expecting His promises to come to pass. He who began the good work and you will finish it. Faithful is He who said it. He also will do it. Waiting on Him is expecting Him to keep His promises. And waiting on Him is serving one another, serving God's people, and serving with God's people, like a waiter serves. Listening to the guest, Jesus. He's our guest.
Now He lives inside of us. But He knocked on the door and He doesn't kick it; doesn't kick it in, but waits for you to open it. Then we should be listening to Him, expecting from Him, and waiting on Him; serving Him. What does He want? What does He need? What's on His heart? Let's be... Let's grab a towel and let's serve our Savior. Get involved in your church. Get involved in giving. Get involved in telling your story to the world of God's goodness. Tell your loved ones. Tell your family what God has done in your life. Tell them about the great things God has done, not the things you've done. The things God has done. Well, we're out of time; overtime. Right now, I just want you to pray with me. If you have never accepted Jesus pray this prayer. Just invite Him in and let this journey begin. You're not going to miss out if you just accept Him. He said if anyone invites Me in, "If anyone comes to Me, I will in no way cast them out". Won't you just accept Him? Just say, "Jesus, come into my life". Just say that out loud.
Jesus come into my life. I believe you're the Son of God. I believe, Jesus, You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I believe You are my Savior, my Lord, my Father, and my friend.