How To Overcome Anxiety | Anxiety | Full Experience

Well, everyone, welcome to CCB, we're so glad that y'all are here, and if you're joining us online, we're glad that you're here as well. I want to invite you to join in with us as we begin our service singing about just how good our God is. We have so much to be grateful for. Let's sing it together. Come on. Peace like a river flowing freely to the sea. I hear you calling, come to freedom, come to me. In every breath, in every season, you are the song I sing. You are the air I breathe. I know that all good things come from you, God. So open my eyes to see mercy in everything. I know that all good things come from you, come from you, God. Like a sunrise every morning, you are calling me to life. Come out of hiding, come out of darkness. Come and step into the light. A new day is dawning, come see the beauty. Oh, the future is alive. Oh, the future is alive. In every breath, in every season, yeah. You are the song I sing. You are the air I breathe. I know that all good things come from you, God. Yes, they do. So open my eyes to see mercy in everything. I know that all good things come from you, come from you, God. All good things come from you. From our Father above. Lord, all good things come from you.

With this one word, we respond. Sing it. Hallelujah. From our Father above. Hallelujah. Been so good, y'all. Hallelujah. In every breath, in every season. Hallelujah. You are the song. You are the reason I'm singing. You are the song I sing. You are the air I breathe. I know that all good things come from you, God. From you, Lord. So open my eyes to see mercy in every single thing. I know that all good things come from you, come from you, God. We sing hallelujah. In every breath, in every season. Hallelujah. You are the song. You are the reason I'm singing. We sing hallelujah. In every breath, in every season. Hallelujah. You are the song. You are the reason I'm singing. ♪ The reason, yes. ♪ Amen. You're so good, God.

This is our testimony today. ♪ I have tasted, I have seen the realness of your love for me ♪ ♪ It's written on your hands and feet ♪ ♪ It's all the evidence I'll ever need ♪ ♪ It's your love, it's better than life ♪ ♪ I can't even wrap my mind around it ♪ ♪ One day, here in your house ♪ ♪ Here in your house, it's better than a thousand ♪ ♪ There's where your love keeps on running, running ♪ ♪ Keeps on running after me, keeps on running, running ♪ ♪ Keeps on running after me, yeah ♪ ♪ There's no one that can take your place ♪ ♪ There's nothing that should separate ♪ ♪ Oh, how high, how wide, how deep ♪ ♪ The greatest love this world has ever seen, yeah ♪ ♪ Your love, it's better than life ♪ ♪ I can't even wrap my mind around it ♪ ♪ One day, here in your house, it's better than a thousand ♪ ♪ There's where your love keeps on running, running ♪ ♪ Keeps on running after me, keeps on running, running ♪ ♪ Keeps on running after me, oh ♪ When we are faithless, He is faithful. When we make mistakes, He's not shaken by it. When we go the opposite direction, His grace for all of us, this is true, will never stop. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me. Declare it today, it's true. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me. Every time I turn around, surely your goodness and mercy will follow me.

Every time I turn around, surely your goodness and mercy will follow me. We've seen it time and time again. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me. Every time I turn around, surely your goodness and mercy will follow me. Your love, it's better than life. I can't even wrap my mind around it. One day, here in your house, it's better than a thousand nights of your life. Keeps on running, running. Keeps on running after me. Keeps on running, running. Keeps on running after me. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me. All together like a chorus. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me. No doubt about it. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me. Every time I turn around. Amen. Let's continue to lift our voices in worship. Singing to and about the one and only name that has the ability to save, to heal. It's the name of Jesus. I invite you to sing this over your circumstances, over your life, as a prayer. Let's sing this together. ♪ I just wanna speak the name of Jesus ♪

♪ Over every heart and every mind ♪ ♪ Cause I know there is peace within your presence ♪ ♪ I speak Jesus ♪ ♪ I speak Jesus ♪ ♪ I just wanna speak the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Take the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Till every dark addiction starts to break ♪ ♪ Over every heart and every mind ♪ ♪ Declaring there is hope and there is freedom ♪ ♪ Cause I know there is peace within your presence ♪ ♪ I speak Jesus ♪ We sing your name. ♪ Your name is power ♪ ♪ Your name is healing ♪ ♪ Your name is life ♪ ♪ So break every stronghold ♪ ♪ Shine through the shadows ♪ ♪ Burn like a fire ♪ Come on, let's sing it together. ♪ I just wanna speak the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Over fear and all anxiety ♪ ♪ To every soul held captive by depression ♪ ♪ I speak Jesus ♪ Your name, come on. ♪ Your name is power ♪ ♪ Your name is healing ♪ ♪ Your name is life ♪ ♪ Break every stronghold ♪ ♪ Shine through the shadows ♪ ♪ Burn like a fire ♪

Shout Jesus from the mountains and Jesus in the streets. ♪ Jesus in the darkness for every enemy ♪ ♪ Jesus for my family, I speak the holy name, Jesus ♪ That's our prayer today, come on. Shout Jesus. ♪ Shout Jesus from the mountains ♪ ♪ And Jesus from the streets ♪ ♪ Jesus in the darkness over every enemy ♪ ♪ Jesus for my family, I speak the holy name, Jesus ♪ We're gonna sing that again one more time. We shout Jesus all together, come on. ♪ Shout Jesus from the mountains ♪ ♪ And Jesus in the streets ♪ ♪ Jesus in the darkness over every enemy ♪ ♪ Jesus for my family, I speak the holy name, Jesus ♪ Your name, come on church. ♪ Your name is power, your name is healing, your name is life ♪ ♪ Break every storm, oh, shine through the shadows ♪ ♪ We're alive, we're alive ♪ ♪ I just wanna speak the name of Jesus ♪ ♪ Over every heart and every mind ♪ ♪ Cause I know there is peace within your presence ♪ ♪ I speak Jesus ♪ Amen, amen. Thank you so much for worshiping with us. You can go ahead and take a seat at this time. Well, I wanna welcome you all again to CCV. My name is Travis Brown. I get to serve as a campus pastor here at our Peoria campus.

And it's that time of year again, where many of you are getting ready to fill out your March Madness NCAA brackets. It's estimated that there's gonna be 40 million Americans that are gonna fill out a bracket this year. And over the last couple of decades, you know this, there's been hundreds of millions of people who have filled out a bracket. And to this day, there has not been one single person who has a perfect bracket and got all 63 games right. In fact, the closest that anybody ever got happened back in 2019, where somebody actually got the first 49 games correct and then was wrong on the 50th game. It's pretty good because the odds of actually getting a perfect bracket when you fill it out is one in 9.2 quintillion. I don't even know what that number is, but it's a big number. number because there's all these factors in it, right? You're dealing with 18, 19, 20 year old kids. You got upsets, you got buzzer beaters that you didn't see coming, but I'm sure that you are gonna be the first one to fill out a perfect bracket this year. So good luck with that. But this is what happens in our life. You know, we make plans, we set goals, and we think professionally and personally that everything's gonna work out and then reality hits us.

And all of a sudden we experience losses and setbacks and detours that we never saw coming. And it can be frustrating when life doesn't follow the script that you wrote, can it? In Proverbs chapter 19, it says, "'Many are the plans in a person's heart, "'but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.'" You know, nothing shows this principle more clear than the cross. Because if you would have talked to Jesus's followers on that Friday after he was crucified on the cross, you would have heard them say, man, everything just went terribly wrong. All of our hopes, all of our plans, all of our dreams have been destroyed. Our bracket has been busted. But that defeat actually turned into the greatest victory in history because the cross is not the end. It's through the cross that we're able to experience forgiveness and hope and life. And as we get ready to take communion right now, we remember what Jesus did on that cross, but we also remember who he went to the cross for. See, whether your life has turned out exactly how you planned it, or maybe you're in a spot that you never dreamed you would be, every single one of us needs Jesus. We're not able to experience the life

that God desires for us without him. I don't care who you are. So when we take communion, we remember how he sacrificed himself and went to the cross for all of us. Father, as we come into this time, we just are so grateful that you went to the cross and paid the price for us in spite of our past, in spite of our mistakes, in spite of our shortcomings. You paid the price so that we could experience life. Thank you. We love you. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ I love You, Lord. Oh, Your mercy never fails me. ♪ ♪ All my days I've been held in Your hands. ♪ ♪ From the moment that I wake up until I lay my head, ♪

♪ I will sing of the goodness of God. ♪ ♪ All my life You have been faith. All my life You have been so, so good. ♪ ♪ With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. ♪ ♪ I love Your voice. You have led me through the fire. ♪ ♪ In darkest nights, You are close like no other. ♪ ♪ I've known You as a father, and I've known You as a friend. ♪ ♪ And I have lived in the goodness of God. ♪ ♪ All my life You have been faith. All my life You have been so, so good. ♪ ♪ With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. ♪ ♪ Yes, I will sing of Your goodness. You're always good to us. ♪ ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. ♪ ♪ With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now. I give You everything. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. ♪ Let's sing that again. Come on. ♪ Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. ♪ ♪ With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now. I give You everything. Your goodness is running after, it's running after me. ♪ All my life You have been faithful. All my life You have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able, I will sing of the goodness of God. I will sing of the goodness of God. I will sing of the goodness of God. I will sing of the goodness of God. The most highlighted verse in the entire Bible is Philippians 4, 6. In it we are told, do not be anxious about anything. Why is this the most highlighted verse in all of Scripture? Because anxiety is crushing us in our country today. It's crushing many of us. In fact, most stats say that 50 million people and growing in our country struggle with anxiety. And don't be confused. Anxiety doesn't just strike the delicate or the weak or fragile as we might sometimes think. Anxiety can strike anyone at any moment. In fact, anxiety strikes CEOs and leaders.

Anxiety strikes athletes and high performers. Anxiety strikes soldiers and doctors. In fact, sometimes the higher stress job you have, the more anxiety can strike. I guess all I'm saying is anxiety does not discriminate. It doesn't care how tough you think you are. And we're here to speak the name of Jesus and look at God's word on the topic of anxiety, amen. I'm so glad you're here this weekend as we continue our series on anxiety. And as I think about this topic, what sometimes blows my mind is here we are in our world today and we have more resources, more information. We have more medication and more counseling on the topic of anxiety and mental health than any time in human history. And you could argue we're also living in the safest time in human history. I mean, let me just use myself as an example. I was born in 1977. When I grew up, we had a car in our family. My mom drove us around all the time in that had no seatbelts. No seatbelts, okay? Do you know seatbelts weren't required for cars until 1968? So yeah, we had old cars because we were dirt poor, but if my mom wanted to get my attention, she just had to pump the brakes. My seatbelt was the windshield, all right?

A true story. My mom one time almost got in an accident. She didn't do this on purpose. She slammed on the brakes. I flew forward and hit my head on the windshield. That's how safe we were when I grew up, right? When I grew up, we never once wore a helmet riding our bikes. Anybody else out there? Like now you wouldn't send your kids outside without a helmet, like crazy riding a bike, right? When I grew up, there was no Life 360, and we drank red Kool-Aid all day, every day. We had no idea that Red Dive 40 can kill you as we're hearing today, you know? Here we are. We have more safety, more information, more medication, and more resources on anxiety than any time in human history, and is the issue of anxiety getting worse or is it getting better? All the stats say it's getting worse, which should make us pause and deeply think about are we approaching this topic in the right way? And your hunch should be no, because there has to be something more than maybe what we're being offered in the world today. I love last week when Dr. John Deloney, he's got two PhDs, by the way, kicked off our series on talking about anxiety.

I thought it was so helpful. He gave an analogy I thought was wonderful. He said, anxiety is not your identity. It is not a label. Anxiety is not a disease. It's not something that you have. Anxiety is a smoke alarm that is indicating to you something's wrong. It's simply an alarm. And with a smoke alarm, you've gotta figure out what's setting off the smoke alarm. If anxiety is just a smoke alarm, you know what does not help? Pulling the batteries out of the smoke alarm. What doesn't help is taking a pillow and trying to drown out the noise of the smoke alarm. No, you gotta get underneath and say what is setting off the smoke alarm? I thought that was really helpful. Now, does medication at times, can it be helpful in dealing with this topic? Of course, Dr. John Deloney said in his life, he said medication has been helpful. But what if, what if, just be open to this, what if the topic of anxiety isn't just physical, it's deeply spiritual? And if it's spiritual, which I believe it is to its core, then wouldn't it be smart to say, God, we need to turn to our creator, God, who created our bodies, formed our bodies,

formed our minds, knows every cell in our body, knows every neuron connection in your mind. Wouldn't it be smart to say, God, we should open your word? And it's like, is there anything you have to say on the topic of anxiety? And did you know when you open God's word, he has a lot to say? In fact, in Philippians chapter four, God gives us a blueprint for dealing with anxiety in our life. And what we're gonna do for the next four weeks at CCV that I'm crazy excited about, is we are gonna take a section of scripture in Philippians chapter four, and we're gonna walk verse by verse through God's blueprint. for dealing with anxiety in your life. How to find peace, peace, peace, peace in an anxious world. And what I wanna do every week in this series is I want us to read the whole entire section of Scripture out loud together, and then each week we'll take a section of Scripture, dive deep on it, so we can find how to just find peace. So I wanna read this out loud together if you would do this with me. Philippians chapter four, starting in verse four, leading through verse eight. If you'd read this out loud with me, here's what it says. Ready? Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice.

Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. God, I pray today that by the power of your Spirit, you would open our hearts and minds to what you wanna say on this topic. And with the person here today that thinks that maybe they could never get over this anxiety, or they have someone they love in their life that struggles, God, I pray for your Spirit to speak to us today in a way that we can just see you move in ways we can't imagine. We pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Now, when you look at Philippians chapter four, the person who wrote the book of Philippians is the apostle Paul. Now, he wrote this from where? He wrote this from the city of Rome. And listen, Paul's not writing from Rome in a bathhouse, sipping herbal tea, listening to Kenny G, all right? You know where Paul's at?

Paul's in a Roman prison in chains, getting ready to be executed in the future by maybe the most sadistic emperor in Roman history, Nero. So what I'm saying is this isn't theoretical for Paul. This is not a theoretical topic. This is real for him. In fact, in 1 Corinthians, re-read the apostle Paul, explain that he struggles being anxious on occasion. He did himself. And yet something must have happened to Paul, like God must have done something in his life at this point towards the end of his life, because in Philippians chapter four, verse six, Paul gives us this key verse in the whole passage. He says, do not be anxious about what? Anything. And you're like, are you serious? Like anything? Like zero, nada, like zilch? Some of us are like, is that even possible? I mean, if Paul wrote the verse, just be anxious, less, most of us would struggle, right? If he said, just be anxious once or twice a week, we'd be like, ugh. He said, don't be anxious about anything. And for Christians, this is a verse that makes us anxious about our anxiety, right? You ever been there? You're like, no, I'm anxious about my anxiety. Did Paul mean that you could be anxious

about nothing ever in your life? And in a word, let me just tell you, that's not what he meant. Let me explain. When Paul wrote this verse, the Greek language is so beautiful in how it's written. Paul wrote this sentence in Philippians chapter four, verse six, in what's called the present active tense. And all that means is basically, a present active tense of a sentence would be a perpetual thing that you carry with you like day after day. It happens over and over and over and over. So what Paul is saying in this verse, the command is not that you will never, ever, ever be anxious. The command is that you're not perpetually anxious actively day after day after day, but that you're carrying it with you every single, all the time, day after day. I like how author Max Lucado kind of summarized this. And he wrote a book called Anxious for Nothing that you'll find on our CCD app in the resources section for this series. I think it's the best book that I have read on this topic. I think it's really, really powerful. Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado. He says this to summarize. He says, the presence of anxiety is unavoidable, but the prison of anxiety is optional.

I like that. The presence, hey, it's gonna be there from time to time in your life, but you don't have to be in a perpetual prison with anxiety. See me in my. Some of you might say, Ashley, do you struggle with anxiety? Sometimes people ask me this. They say, when you preach, before you preach, do you still get anxious? And you know what the answer is? Almost every single time. Almost every single time I get ready to preach, I get anxious. I get a little anxious. I really do. In fact, before I walk on stage, normally we have a volunteer backstage manager that I'm in the back office, I'm praying and asking God, please bless this message. I'm getting prepped up. And his job is to make sure I'm on stage, I don't miss being on stage at the right time. So sometimes he'll go back and knock on my door and he's like, hey, you got 10 seconds and you're on stage. And sometimes I'll look at him and say, get somebody else, man, I'm not feeling it. And his eyes get really big, and I'm like, I'm just kidding, I'm coming. But do you understand the difference

between having anxiety on occasion but being in a prison of anxiety? What if I was in a prison and I didn't allow God to bring me out to use me the way he wanted to? We are going to learn in this series how to get out of the prison of anxiety. Now, I understand this is a sensitive and it's a complicated topic. I understand that. And we're gonna get to the end of today's message and don't think we're gonna solve everything. We are not. You gotta be here for the next four weeks of this series. I think that's really important. And for extreme cases of anxiety or really hard cases of anxiety, please get professional help. God gave us doctors and Christian therapists for a reason. There is nothing wrong with that. But let me remind you, this is not just a physical thing. This is deeply spiritual. So we have to turn to God's word for lasting real change. And today, I wanna take Philippians chapter four, I wanna look at the first two verses, which in the first two verses, Paul gives us the first step we need to get out of the prison of anxiety. And I'm gonna summarize it up front and then walk through the passage to show you this. Here's the summary of what we're gonna be told today.

There are times where you find yourself in an ocean of anxiety. You know what I'm talking about? Like the waves are just crashing, your chest is tight, your heart is beating, you're having like panic attacks almost, like you feel anxiety. And it's like being in an ocean with waves overcoming you. And what we're gonna learn today is that peace is found between the pillars of trusting God's goodness and God's control. This is where peace starts, is when you stand between these two pillars of God's character. Now, that's the big idea today. Let me walk you through Paul's words to us, starting in Philippians chapter four, verse four. Paul says this, and it's a little counterintuitive. Watch this, rejoice in the Lord always. And then like your mom, he's gonna say it again. I say it again, rejoice. So the first thing we gotta do is rejoice in something. And some of you are like, rejoice? Like rejoice in my anxiety? Are you crazy, Paul? Like I'm so sad. Like I got financial stuff that's like driving me, my marriage is getting ready to fall apart. I got health issues that I don't know, I'm like, it's so anxious.

What if my kids get sick? What if something happens to me? What if I never find the special someone? I'm comparing myself, I look in the mirror, I don't like the way I look. God, there's so much that makes me feel bad. There's so much that makes me anxious and you're telling me to rejoice? Is Paul telling us to rejoice in our anxiety? See, sometimes we read a verse how we hear it, not how it's written. Let me show you what the verse tells us. What are we to rejoice in? Rejoice in the, say it aloud, the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always. Now this is real powerful. The word Lord here in the Greek is a very specific word. There's tons of words for God in the Old Testament and New Testament, which gives us this beautiful tapestry to understand God. In this specific verse, watch this. The word we're given for God is the word Lord and it's the word kairos, which means owner, master, or watch this, the one who's in control. When you become anxious, God wants you to remember who's really in control. You're like, that is so hard to do when you're in the sea of anxiety. And Paul's like, I know, that's why I said it twice. Rejoice in the Lord always.

I'm gonna say it again. You gotta rejoice. Here's what Paul's saying. When you get anxious about what? might happen, you focus on who is in control. Why is that so hard for some of us? Because we wanna be in control. We wanna be in control versus giving God rightful place, the rightful place in this world that He's really in control. Do we have any control freaks out there? Okay, don't raise the hand of the person next to you. Okay, I know some of you are like, raise your hand right now. A lot of us are control freaks. I would tell you very personally, I have a little control freak in me, all right? And what we know, take the Bible out of it. What we know scientifically is there is a link between our desire for control and anxiety. They're completely linked. They're like cousins. In fact, this fall, I have a series planned at CCV on the topic of control. It is the root issue of many issues in our life in totality, but specifically on the topic of anxiety. One of the root issues is our desire for control versus trusting that God is in control. Let me put it as clearly as I can. Anxiety increases as our need to be in control increases.

Anxiety decreases as our need for control decreases. And this is why control freaks are some of the most anxious people on planet earth, right? And some of you know this, like you know there's something inside of you. This is why some of you, when you fly on a plane, you get so anxious. Why? Because you don't have your hand on the control stick. You're not in control. You're gripping your seat. Oh, you may not have understood this, but you're wondering if the one in control has control and can be in control of your life to keep you safe. You know, for me, I just know when I look back on my life, the times that I have felt the most anxiety are the times that I have felt the least in control. I'll give you a few examples. I am a dad of three daughters that I just, I can't even tell you how much I love my daughters. I mean, I'll get emotional talking about it. I love these girls so much. God put me on this earth to like love them and protect them. And when my oldest daughter, which I'd never experienced this before, when she was in high school and she started dating, her dad became a mess. You guys, I was a mess. Ask my wife, ask the people who knew us really well. I was like a mess.

And what I realized is that I was having to do something that I was always designed to do, but I just wasn't prepared for it. I was designed to begin to release my kids. Anybody else struggle with releasing control of your kids as they get older? You were designed from the moment they were born to begin to release control. And some of us, what keeps us so anxious is we just wanna control everything. I remember my first job out of Bible college, before I went into the ministry, I went to work at the Intel Corporation, and I felt so out of control, so unprepared. I threw up on my way to my first day at work. My middle daughter, when she was real little, she developed a tumor between her neck and her shoulder right here, and it was very large, and it was protruding out of her. And when we took her to the doctor, we were so worried. They said they didn't know if it was cancer or not. And I will never forget them wheeling my daughter at Phoenix Children's Hospital back. And my chest is tight, and my heart is beating. There's anxiety. There's so many situations where control is the issue with our anxiety, and what God is asking us to do, to rejoice in His control, rejoice in the Lord always, I'll say it again, rejoice, is to begin to turn over control to Him.

And it's so hard for some of us, and some of us wanna push back. We wanna say, oh, what am I supposed to do, do nothing? I'm supposed to just sit around and like, don't show up to work? God, you're in control, you do it. You know, am I supposed to not worry about my finances, not worry about my health? Like, forget my marriage, I'll just like, we got it, yeah. You know, like, you know, some of us get, and we're like, well, you know, I'm just do nothing? That is not what we're being told. Don't confuse responsibility and agency with control. Of course, we're supposed to be responsible for our life and do everything we can, but who... He's ultimately in control, not us. God's been on his throne since the beginning of time and he's never left and he's never invited you to be on the throne. He's never once invited you. He's always been in control. In other words, control is a God category, not a human one. Let me say that again. Control is a God category, not a human one. Watch this. This is mind boggling. When you read through scripture, it is so hard to ever find a Hebrew or Greek word that naturally translates to the word control.

It's just not in scripture. Did you know that? The only thing we have are synonyms. There's words like master, ruler, reign, but in almost all those instances, those refer to who? God, not us. Control is a God category, not a human one. You know the only thing we have in scripture? Self-control. Notice the word self. You do not control other people, other situations, other things. You don't control the universe. God does. The only thing we control is our responsibility, our agency, our integrity, our attitude, and our effort, and then we give up control and say, God, you're ultimately in control because when you try to take control, that's when anxiety reigns. Larry Ellison was a CEO of a company called Oracle, and while he was at Oracle, there became a joke that began to develop about Larry Ellison, and he was a control freak. I mean, if you read about him, he's a control freak. He had a big ego, because sometimes our control comes from our pride. That's what sometimes drives our control, and Larry Ellison is this ego freak control maniac, okay? And so this joke began to develop around Oracle,

and here's how the joke went. People would say this all the time behind his back. What's the difference between God and Larry Ellison? God doesn't think he's Larry Ellison. That's the difference. That's what people would say. And some of us have confused who we are with who God is, and God is telling someone here today that, man, when you look at this visual of the pillars, God is gonna tell some of us today the reason you're so anxious is because you've stepped outside the pillar of trusting my control. And what you have to do with your anxiety is give up control to the one who's always been in control so that you can find peace. Some of us right now need to repeat this phrase. I hereby give up my reign and control of the universe. Like, some of you are like, please say that and have the person next to me say it out loud. I wanna record it for them. I wanna play it back to them. I give up control and reign of the universe. Doesn't that feel good? That's how you find peace. But listen, you don't just find peace standing here finding control, like God's control, because what if you believe God's in control, but you don't believe the second pillar that God's good? So you also, we have to, watch Paul lean in on this.

And again, you gotta kind of look here. Here's what Paul says next. He says, rejoice in the Lord always. I'll say it again, rejoice. Verse five, let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. This is an interesting verse. As I was studying this, I'm like, what was he trying to say? Did you know what the word gentleness means? Again, it's a very hard word to translate into English, but the word gentleness means being tolerant to slight deviations in life. How tolerant are you to slight deviations when life doesn't go your way? Does it blow you up? Or are you pretty tolerant? Are you more gentle when things don't go the way you think they should go? In the service today, we sang three songs about God's goodness. And some of us needed it. Because when life doesn't go our way, you know what we think? Oh God, you've left me. You're distant, you're gone. You're not good anymore. And that's why Paul goes on to say this. Let your gentleness be evident to all. Watch this.

The Lord is near. He has never left you. He is always, always good. In fact, when there are deviations in your life, when life doesn't go as planned, did you know what Psalm 32 tells us? That God is nearest to you when you're at your lowest points. In fact, it is much deeper than that. When life doesn't go your way and you are starting to feel deeply anxious, do you realize that's the moment where God may be up to some of his most good in your life? He may be up to something good and you're like, how on earth could that be the case? It's become a theme verse in our family. Romans 8, 28 says this, watch this. And we know that in all things, which what does that include? Your anxiety. That is in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who've been called according to his purpose. Like, are you telling me that God could work something good in the midst of the storms of anxiety that I feel? And I believe he can. And I believe he wants to, if you turn to him. In fact, I think what many of us think today is we think our anxiety has created a wall between us and God. And I wanna suggest that maybe, just maybe, God wants to tell you today that anxiety isn't a wall.

Your anxiety could be a door that opens to invite you into a place you've never been with God, which is so good. Watch this. When you step outside into the ocean of anxiety, and the wind starts to blow, and the waves start to crash, and you feel yourself being anxious about all those things in your life that are anxious, it feels like it's a wall, like, God, where are you? But what if it's a door inviting us to come to a place where we trust the pillars of God's goodness and control like we've never done before? Wouldn't that draw you closer to the God who loves you, who's always been good, who's always been in control? Of course it would. And I'll just make it personal. I'll just make it personal for me. There's so many things that have caused me to get out in the waves, like to get out from beyond the pillars. And I'm human, just like you, where I get anxious about things, and I've been pretty open about, you know, over a year ago, my wife, Jamie, was diagnosed with cancer. And I wanna be really sensitive because I know there's some people here that your cancer is so much more severe than what she was ever dealing with. In fact, some of you recently lost someone

to either cancer or some sort of other disease or issue, and I'm really sensitive to that because she's doing better now, but I just wanna place back in the situation where when we heard the word cancer, I was out in the ocean. I mean, I was out here floundering. And you know, the word anxiety in Scripture, in the New Testament, the word anxiety is a Greek word that means to have your mind divided in like 100,000 different directions. It's all the what ifs we play. You know all the what ifs? I'm out here in the ocean, I'm like, well, what if? What if this surgery, they wanna do surgery, like what if she doesn't really recover? And what if I lose my wife? And then I start just what if-ing like crazy, like how do I even tell the girls? And when I tell the girls, if this doesn't go well, like what if the girls walk away from God because they're so mad at God? And what if I lose my wife and I have to step down and be a single dad to my girls? What if I can't work anymore at the church, the church I love so much? Well, how do I even pay the bills? What if, what if, what if, what if? And it was in the midst of like this ocean where I've been before that God just began speaking to me

the way he's speaking to some of you right now. And it's an invitation. Ashley, it's an invitation for you to step back between these two pillars. This is the only way to find peace, is between the pillars of trusting God's goodness and God's control. What's making you anxious today? Where are you out in the ocean today? What waves are crashing? And I wonder what God wants to do in your life. even today, you understand that what you're anxious about the most is likely the area where you trust God the least. What you are anxious about the most today is likely where you don't trust something about God, that God, you're still in control of this situation in my life, and you're still good. And I get it, it's hard when you're out in the ocean to move back here, and yet God is saying it's an invitation for you to trust me at a deeper level than you ever have before. And it's so hard to do this, but I wanna do something that allows you for God to just speak to you today, and I've just been praying for you this whole week. I wanna do something where I just want God to speak to you for a moment. And if you feel comfortable, I just want you to close your eyes. And as you're closing your eyes,

I want you to picture yourself out in the ocean, and that storm is coming, it's been raging. What are you anxious about? Is it your finances? Is it that you'll never find someone? Is it that your marriage may not make it? Is it that your kids could get sick and something horrible could happen to them? Do you have trouble even describing what you're anxious about? You're out in that sea, that ocean, the waves are crashing, and I want you to picture God calling you to move between those two pillars. And with your eyes closed, I just want you to picture what it would look like if you moved between the pillars of trusting God's goodness and God's control. Just picture it. Picture what God could do with this invitation. And with your eyes closed still, if you feel comfortable doing this, I just want you to repeat after me, God, you're good, and I give you control. Would you say that? God, you're good, and I give you control. Say it, say it one more time. Even if you've got to force it out, say it with me. God, you're good, and I give you control. God, you're good, and I give you control. Now open your eyes.

This is where peace is found. It is found between these two pillars that so many of us want to be here, and God's inviting us here. And any movement you have to get here is a movement where God can transform your life. Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again, rejoice. God, you're in control. Let your gentleness be evident to all. When life deviates, God, you're still near. You're still good. I think God wants to move someone between these pillars today, and he's drawing you here right now. I want to pray for you in just a minute, but I want to talk specifically to one group of people that I just feel called to speak to right now. And it's the person out there that you feel like it's impossible to move between these pillars. And for some of you, I want to tell you it is impossible right now. The reason that is is because you realize you can't experience the peace of God until you are at peace with God. And some of you have never given your life to Jesus. You've never been baptized. You've never made Jesus the Lord of your life. You've stiff-armed him for a long time.

And I just want you to know, you cannot receive God's peace between these pillars until you first make peace with God. And making peace with God is accepting his son, Jesus, who came to die for you on a cross. And three days later, he rose from the grave and shed his blood so that you could be forgiven. And listen, he forgives you from all your past, all your shame, all the things that sometimes make you anxious. And if you've never given your life to Jesus, I'm just gonna tell you today, that's your first step to dealing with your anxiety. Because you can't receive God's peace until you make peace with him and accept Jesus. And if that's you, on all our campuses today, and online, you can get in the chat. We have pastors at our Welcome Center at our campuses. All across campuses, we have volunteers that would love to help you take your life. your next step, even if you have questions. But for all of us today, for all of us today, let's stand between these pillars. Isaiah chapter 26, verse three says this, you will keep in perfect peace all who trust you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. All whose thoughts are fixed on what? How do we trust God? We trust his goodness and control. Can I pray for you that that would be your reality today?

God, I wanna pray for every person on every campus, those tuning in online, those who are watching this because someone sent it to them and they're just kind of giving this a shot. God, you want to bring peace and man, do we need it in our world today. Anxiety is crushing and reigning over so many of us. And yet Father, you wanna reign over anxiety and you can if we give our lives to you and trust these pillars of your character, that you're good and you're in control. I pray for the single person here today that thinks, man, how can I look at my future with hope? God, you're good and you're in control. I pray for the mom or dad that wrestles with their kids. God, you love those kids more than they do. You're good and you're in control. God, I pray for the marriage or the health issue or just the circumstance that someone's dealing with with a family member or a friend that just makes them so anxious. God, you're good and you're in control. And if we could continue to trust that, Father, you can take us from the sea of anxiety and put us to a place of peace as we stand between these pillars. We pray all this in the powerful name of Jesus. Would you heal many today in Jesus' name, amen. We'll see you next week as we continue our series on mental anxiety.