Welcome to Redemption Church of Plano, Tx. My name is Chris Fluitt… I am supper pumped about this moment, because God is here and you are here. All my fave people are here right now.

We started our new message series – Facing Fear – last week. We talked about how the world doesn’t feel safe anymore. We talked about how Love and Fear are fighting for the same space in your heart and mind… but that LOVE drives out all fear.

Also remember we have a 31 day action plan to face fear. 

This week we’re talking about something different. Not fear of what’s around you, but fear of what’s on top of you, and the weight bearing down on you.

The Pressure is Crushing Me

Have you ever felt like the pressure is so heavy, you might break?

You’re trying to be strong, keep the family together, hit the deadlines, keep your faith, stay kind – but it’s getting harder.

You put on the smile, but deep down, you’re exhausted.
You say, “I’m fine,” but you’re not fine.
You’re tired of holding everything up.

That’s what pressure does. Pressure makes you believe that if you slip for even a second, everything you love will come crashing down.

We all know that feeling.

We live in a culture of constant pressure.
Pressure to perform. Pressure to provide. Pressure to prove yourself.
Pressure that never lets up.

Let me show you how real it is.

Real Pressure:

We feel the pressure… We are one diagnosis, one pink slip, one betrayal – and the whole thing can feel like it’s about to collapse.

We’re not just talking about financial pressure – this is emotional and spiritual pressure.

What does God have to say about this?
Let’s talk about Jesus.

No one faced more pressure than Him.

The night before the cross – the moment when Jesus stepped into His final hours, fully aware that betrayal, torture, and death were waiting for Him. At that moment Jesus went to pray at the Garden of Gethsemane.

Garden of Gethsemane means – “Oil Press”

In the Garden of Gethsemane – which literally means “oil press” – Jesus was pressed.

Luke 22:44

Sweating blood has a medical term – hematidrosis – marked by the highest levels of stress and pressure.

Jesus was being pressed with everything, everywhere, all at once.
The sins of the entire world – past, present, and future – pressing down on Him.
Our sin. Our shame. Our brokenness.
Every betrayal, every addiction, every injustice, every wound.

He prayed three times, asking the Father to take it away.
Finally Jesus prayed: “Not my will, but Yours be done.”

That’s what came out of Him under pressure – obedience, faith, love, and the power to save the world.

When olives are pressed, oil flows out…

Because when life squeezes you, what’s inside you comes out.
If you’re full of fear, fear comes out.
If you’re full of anger, anger comes out.
But if you’re filled with God’s Spirit – His peace, His love, His power – then even under pressure, what comes out is something holy.

The world keeps asking, “What’s in your wallet?”
But God is asking, “What’s in you?”

Jesus was pressed like an olive, and what came out was the Holy Spirit poured out for us.

Jesus shows us that pressure doesn’t have to destroy you. It can release God’s power through you.

And that’s why it matters what’s inside you.
When life squeezes you, you don’t want bitterness or fear to come out – you want grace, faith, and peace to flow.

Pressure reveals what is inside us.
Check out what Paul, a man who faced many pressures, says…

2 Corinthians 4:7–9

It’s not about what’s happening to you – it’s about WHO is living in you.

Romans 8:11

1 John 4:4

So when pressure comes, the question isn’t “Can I handle it?”
The question is, “What’s in me?”

If Christ is in you, you can be hard pressed but not crushed, confused but not hopeless, knocked down but never defeated.

This idea of “WHAT IS IN YOU” works in real life. Here is an example from the most successful Olympian…

When Michael Phelps trained for the Olympics, his coach would sometimes break his goggles on purpose so that he had to swim blind.
Why? To train him for pressure.

In the 2008 Olympics, it actually happened. His goggles filled with water, and he couldn’t see.
But he kept counting his strokes.
He hit the wall – and broke the world record.

Pressure didn’t destroy him. It revealed what was in him. Preparation, resolve, and courage were in him.

Pressure does not destroy – it reveals.

And in the same way, Jesus was filled with preparation, resolve, and courage. The pressure revealed this!

Every prayer, every temptation He overcame, every quiet moment in Scripture – it all prepared Him to face the pressure of the cross.

You can’t avoid pressure, but you can prepare for it.
You can fill yourself with God’s Spirit, so when the squeeze comes, what comes out is strength.

Now, imagine something with me.

Imagine the next time you feel pressure – instead of snapping and saying something you will regret… something beautiful comes out.
Imagine that the next time you feel like you’re being crushed, what comes out of you isn’t fear, it’s faith.

Imagine that the next time life squeezes you, the best version of you comes out – because God is in you.

Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

Pressure does not define you – it can refine you.

Pressure will always come, but it doesn’t have to define you.
It can refine you – it can reveal greatness.

 So tonight, I don’t just want you to hear this – I want you to do something with it. 

I want you to press back on your fear in 3 easy steps.

Fear Under Pressure Gameplan

Step 1: Write the pressure.
Write what’s been weighing on you. We have note cards here in the prayer area.
Name it. Don’t hide it.
The fear, the weight, the problem, the pain.

Step 2: Fill the inside.
“God, fill me with _________.”
Flip the card over. On the other side, write this prayer:
“God, fill me with _________.”
Fill in that blank with the things you need!
…Your Spirit. …Your peace. …Your power.

Step 3: Release it in worship.
Lift that card up to Jesus as you pray and worship.
Release that pressure to God in worship.
The same Jesus who was pressed in the garden is in this room tonight – ready to fill you…