Worry & Anxiety | Clayton Hentzel

Crossing family. I am so glad that you guys are

at church today. Is everybody doing?

All right okay good to hear. Now I want to thank you all for

the incredible support encouragement after the message.

Last weekend on suicide, some of the stories that are hard coming

from our campus pastors have been incredibly moving and

Powerful Ron, who works as the campus pastor at alignment

location and also works at our multi-site offices from time to

time drives to lifts. He gave for Rides over the past

weekend and four of those rides without being prompted.

Ended up the families talked about how they were navigating

issues related to suicide and he was able to help and minister to

them. I heard stories of how our

difference makers responded to those in crisis, others of you

hugged, and comfort. Those in our midst who have lost

someone to suicide. And I'm just so thankful to be a

part of this church in the way that you guys love and led so

well. Well, last week this past week,

so many of you were the very hands and feet of Jesus to

broken people. And that's the kind of church

that I want to be a part of. Isn't that the kind of church?

You want to be a part of? I know, I love it.

I want to welcome all of you joining from all of our

different locations, online, and inside.

And to, those of you who are brand new to the crossing, we

are so thankful that you are here, perhaps you just moved

into one of our communities or you're in town visiting family,

or maybe you are brought here A friend or maybe heard about this

sermon series and you came to check us out, we believe that it

is no accident that you are here and our prayer.

Is that today when you leave, you either have begun an

intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ or you will go

deeper in your relationship with Jesus.

And if at any point during the sermon series, you want to

connect. You can use the QR code on the

seat in front of you, at all of our different locations.

And if you were to Hop on that link.

It'll give you all kinds of opportunities for you to

connect. You can get prayer, you can get

baptized. If you have questions about how

to access more of our resources, you can do that as well.

And for those of you who come to the crossing every single week,

I want to encourage you every week when you show up, click on

that qr-code because the information is always changing

and we want to give you a chance to partner with us as we try to

make this the hardest place on planet Earth to get to help from

One thing you will notice about on the qr-code this week, is

that registration is open for Rise.

The Crossings annual Women's Conference.

And I believe that every single woman who attends this year is

going to be blessed and encouraged, and they're going to

leave closer to God and closer to God's people.

Men, I want you to make it a priority as you tried to lead

and love your wife. Well, that you make it a

priority that you make space in her world.

So that way she can come and be a Part of this, we want to love

them. Well lead them.

Well and this will be a great way for you to do it.

If you are brand new to our church, we are in a sermon

series called weeds in my garden and is a sermon series.

About being honest, about mental health.

Today we're going to be talking about worry and anxiety, several

months back. We did an internal survey here

at the church. We had almost 2,000 people

respond. And inside of that survey, this

is what We found out 82% of the people who call The Crossing

home wrestle with worry and anxiety.

Ladies, you came in at 86 percent, You know, it was

alarming to me for men whose 68% I say that because guys ladies I

want you to know you are not alone.

No matter where you're watching from right now.

Chances are there are five people within reach of you, if

you extend your hand. Only one of the people that you

would touch. Isn't wrestling with this.

It is in your marriage. It is in your home more than

likely it was in the car with you.

When you came to church today. We tend to use worry and anxiety

interchangeably. And that's not a big problem

because the Bible almost does the exact same thing that it

just kind of talks about worry and anxiety as synonyms and just

to kind of give a little bit more clarity around, worry and

anxiety. I'm talking about people who

feel a sense of nervousness and unease.

It's the suspension between hope and fear.

You don't know whether to be excited or afraid, you really

don't feel like you have a good. Good foundation to process your

emotions or to move forward in life.

But some of you you're listening to these messages or you're

watching them and you're from more of a clinical background.

And when you get into the clinical field or the medical

field, there's a greater distinction between worry and

anxiety. That emerges, for instance, from

the medical perspective, worry prods you to use natural

problem-solving skills. It can be a natural mechanism to

keep you from danger. This is where flight fight or

freeze emerges. It's the heightened awareness

that you have when you're walking into a car on a dark

night. That feeling while uncomfortable

can be very healthy to keep you safe and perhaps change some of

your behavior in the future like where you park and when you

leave, but anxiety is much deeper than that.

It's a persistent period of worried that maybe have deeper

roots in your biology, your situational challenges or past.

Trauma, Mike Maher, who's been helping with some of the

resources during this sermon series, you may have seen the

content that we've been uploading on our website or on

social. Media that gives every single

person a little bit of Hope, and a little bit of help, he talks

about anxiety, and worry on a spectrum.

So imagine all the way on this end of the spectrum, you have a

form of worry and anxiety. That's extremely manageable.

It has almost no disruption to your daily living.

And then, on the other end of the spectrum is an anxiety and a

worry that are the exact opposite.

It consumes your life. It consumes your thinking, it

consumes your ability to function, and it keeps you from

functioning the way you want to function, imagine wanting

desperately to act and respond one way.

But being incapable of it because of your worry and your

anxiety. The easiest way for me to

describe this on a spectrum is for me to talk about snakes.

For as big, an attractive as I am, I hate to tell you I hate

snakes and I mean I am deathly afraid of snakes and it is, it

is it is not good. My fear of snakes goes so deep

that sometimes I will be having a dream.

I will wake up from that dream and I will see the Ruffles in my

bed and I will think that a snake is in the bed, and I will

get out of bed in Foolproof and I'll rip all the sheets off the

bed, my wife sleeping finds herself what is going on, okay?

There when I was in college and we were you know we were parking

out the woods at a campsite or whatever.

I would open up my car from a distance, just because there

might have been a snake underneath my vehicle and I do

like the big step in if you might be thinking you'd be so

funny to prank Clayton with a snake.

I want you to know I will send you to Jesus.

Okay. I just I don't want and I don't

care who you are. I will send you to Jesus and you

like did a pastor just like threatened to hurt me, severely,

100%, And I will say something that's not appropriate for a

pastor to say and then people will be talking like was that,

was that guy pastor and that would be the appropriate tense

because I would no longer be a pastor anymore.

And if you ever want to get rid of me now, you know.

Okay. That's how you do it.

I don't, I don't, I don't handle it.

Well, now here, here's the deal. This impacts my life zero.

Because I don't spend a whole lot of time.

Deal with it. Now some of you you're hardwired

differently when it comes to snakes like you don't mind them

at all, you kind of like them, you see me?

Like let's pick it up and it is unfortunate that God put you

together that way. It really is.

But, you know, you are who you are.

So, situationally my issue with snakes is not a big deal.

I don't ever interact with snakes.

However, On the Spectrum. What if tomorrow?

We decided to buy a zoo as a church. like we And I got snake

Duty. Now what was not a big deal is

now situationally such a big deal right now.

Imagine I'm dissing to the Spectrum.

Worried every single day about every room, you enter.

Being filled. With snakes.

This is the Continuum, this is the spectrum that every single

one of us are navigating worry. We are somewhere along these

lines. This move Beyond spiritual

Beyond situational, and you find yourself in something that is

very biological and very clinical and hear me.

If you find yourself on this end of the Continuum, there are

great God-fearing people trauma-informed, medically

educated specialist that can help you chart a path forward

for you. It might not be snakes.

It might be speaking from a stage.

My brother-in-law is has it with frogs, which makes no sense to

me, but isn't that the way it is?

Sometimes with worry and anxiety?

What's not a big deal to you, is a very big deal to somebody

else. And what's not a big deal to

them is crushing. To you.

What happens when it gets deeper than that?

What happens when you're dealing with the fear of being

separated, from your family, losing your marriage rooms with

large groups of people fear of failure, upcoming test

performance reviews, losing your job, Financial pressure, social

rejection, and sinful Behavior, being exposed, unchecked worry

and anxiety, can leave us in a debilitated State.

They can drive us into isolation.

Rob us of our passion, cause us to Miss out on making precious

memories and participating. In moments of ministry, we have

talked during the sermon series about these four big buckets.

You have this spiritual bucket, you have a situational bucket,

you have a biological bucket and you have a clinical bucket.

And today I want to focus almost exclusively on the spiritual

bucket. The reason why is because

everything that you go through is spiritual everything that you

go through is spiritual, it has spiritual implications and

spiritual consequences. However, not everything that you

go through, is exclusively spiritual.

And I want to give you a framework to work through your

worry and anxiety from a spiritual perspective.

So that way as you're trying to work through, where you're at,

on the Spectrum, I want you to be able to get the spiritual

one, dialed in and then go. Okay.

Do I need to check something situationally biologically or

medically, and we're going to talk through Universal spiritual

principles. That I pray will give you a

roadmap to help you navigate moments of worry and anxiety.

However, I want to be incredibly clear.

If you find yourself going through seasons of protracted

anxiety and worry, I want you to prioritize getting professional

help. So you can chart a path forward.

Jesus knew that we would wrestle with worry and anxiety.

This did not surprise him. He knows that this is a part of

the human condition. And so when he looks at us and

our the Fallen World, he knows that we are going to wrestle

with this, these things. Ashley Wooldridge says it this

way that worry and anxiety subside when we stand in between

the two pillars of God's control and God's goodness that when you

and I place ourselves in between the pillars of God's control.

And God's goodness are worried and our Will subside?

but when we step outside of these, When we stop to doubt,

when we start doubting the goodness of God and we step

outside and all we do is clean to his control, it can create

all kinds of, worry and anxiety when we stop believing in the

control of God. And we step over here where all

we believe is that God is good, worry and anxiety can run

rampant in our lives. Let me walk you through a chunk

of scripture and see if you can't see where God's control

and God's goodness emerge, Matthew 6:25.

Matthew 6:25

Therefore I tell you do not worry about your life, what you

will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear is not

life more than food and the body more than clothes.

First thing I want to ask you, as we look at these pillars,

would God give us a command that it is not possible for us to

follow. This is a question about God's

goodness. Would God ask you to do

something knowing full well that you could not do it.

Every single one of us at times we're going to navigate these

issues of worry and anxiety. And Jesus is saying this don't

which implies that in his goodness and in his power he is

giving you the ability to rise above those moments from a

spiritual perspective. So if God is good, he wouldn't

give us a command that he doesn't expect us to be able to

walk out. Now Matthew 6:26, look at the

Matthew 6:26

birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store

away in Barns. Yet your heavenly father feeds

them. Are you not much more valuable

than they are? Think about these films again.

What happens? When you look at a guy and he's

looking down, he's going. I see you.

I value you and I care about your needs, but what happens if

you don't think he's good? All you think is that he's in

control? That means that the bad things

that are happening to you. Are coming from an evil God.

A punishing, God. An Angry God.

All you believe that God is in control, but he is putting his

thumb on you. He is causing you the pain.

He is causing you to suffer. Do you still believe in God?

Yeah, you just believe in a God. That's in control.

And what happens if you believe that God has infinite power but

is not infinitely. Good.

You know, what happened to me? I would probably be a little

worried. And a little anxious.

Conversely. What happens if you believe that

God is good. But he doesn't have any power.

oh, he cares and he loves But he can't change anything.

He can't solve it. He can't fix it.

She just says, look at the birds.

For now worried, how many of you would over locations you've ever

seen a stressed-out bird? Oh man, I got to figure this

out. Right.

Nope, never never happen. Don't even worry about where the

food is coming from. There's no.

They know there's me some old lady who's going to put bird

seed out on the porch. Like they just keep moving.

Yeah, they're putting up a new old folks home.

It's gonna be some good eating over there.

Right? That's just what they do.

Here's what I love about birds. Have you ever seen them getting

together and have liking their meetings?

Guess where they? Sit on power lines.

Like this looks like free parking nobody's ever here.

They sit on the very things that would if we touch them like this

looks like a good spot for us to talk about stuff.

It's crazy. Look at Matthew 16:27.

Matthew 16:27

Can anyone of You by worrying at a single hour to your life?

How's it working for you? Yeah, I know, I've noticed that

the more, I worry the better. I feel How many of you your life

has gotten better? Since you found WebMD online?

We know what the answer is. The answer to WebMD is always

cancer. You just scroll to the bottom.

I feel like I ate too much Fruit Loops tonight.

My stomach's upset. Oh, I've got cancer.

And my tooth is really hurting. Oh, toothpaste causes cancer.

Try or how this is what we do? We We go God, you don't have

control over this so I'll take care of it and I'll put all of

this weight on me and when we start putting all of this weight

on us, what ends up happening to us?

We get a little anxious. We get a little worried this

week, Steve from our Kirksville campus sent me this quote worry

doesn't stop death. It stops life.

Worry doesn't take away. Tomorrow's troubles.

It takes away today's peace. Matthew chapter 6 verse 20,

Matthew 6:20

through 30. And why do you worry about

clothes? See how the flowers of the field

grow? They do not labor or spin yet?

I tell you that. Not even Solomon, richest man

who ever lived in, all of his Splendor was dressed like one of

these. That is how God clothes if that

is, how God clothes the grass of the field, which are here today.

And tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he?

Not much more clothe you, oh, you of little faith?

You find yourself between these two pillars, asking yourself

this question. Do I believe that God is good?

That he values me more than the grasses that he cares for me,

more than he cares for the birds.

And he has the power to meet my needs.

You care for me in times of trouble, Can I trust that in his

goodness that he will supply? What I need?

Do I trust in his control that he can supply, what I need.

When I stand here in between the pillars of God's control and

God's goodness, my anxiety. My worry will decrease when I

stopped believing in one of these pillars.

And I find myself moving in the opposite direction, that is

where my worry and my anxiety. Begin to rise.

Remember when we were kids and we used to sing the song.

He's Got The Whole World in His Hands.

I've a globe in my home office, if you were to think about how

fast you and I are spinning right now.

And for one moment, if you were to stop globetrotterne us

through space, What is that? What happened?

Overtime. We We stop believing that God's

good and that he's in control. Maybe your parents, you can

relate with me for a second. My kids have almost no worries

in life. I have never heard my kids

stressed out about the mortgage. Now once in fact my kids just

the other day we were driving to Sam's pick up some food.

There's some really nice houses on this little weird road that

goes by Sam's and my kids without a care in the world.

Say Dad, we should get that house too.

Cuz we need an you know we need a north end up house.

We need to South End house in Quincy because he doesn't want

to homes in Quincy you know that way.

Depending on which IV. My wife says me too.

I'm pretty close to home. Are you home?

Yeah. Oh, wrong home.

I'll be over. My kids will be driving down the

see a car and they'll just say, Dad, we should get that one.

I'm like, oh no, we've already got this one.

They're like, no, we should get another one.

Yeah, of course, and your fantasy factory, that's

completely possible. My kids have never once worried

about saving up for a vacation, My kids not once have come up to

me and said, Mom Dad. These Rising grocery prices are

getting out of hand. I mean at this point we we buy

all the candy or the food for the week and then they just eat

it that day I'm halfway tempted, you start taking them grocery,

shopping and go just eat. Just all the samples boys just

keep going back. We're doing wardrobe changes in

the parking lot, all right, during the pandemic, my kids,

never once worried about toilet paper, they just assume that

somebody was standing in line for their ration somewhere.

Maybe it was because they weren't wiping.

As much as they should have. I don't know.

But it didn't even cross their mind.

But have you noticed that over time?

There's certain things that your kids do start worrying about New

school year. New teacher new classroom.

New friends. New activity, new sport and you

as a parent know, they're going to be okay.

And you tell them you're going to be fine because you know

what's going to happen. They're going to walk in that

class. They're going to be there for

all of five minutes and they're going to make a new best friend

and the new best friend is like they're very bestest friend,

they've ever had and all their other friends are just friends.

And you know that they're going to try the new sport and they're

going to be super worried about showing up for the first

practice and then they're going to come home telling you that

they're going pro in that sport, you know, all of this stuff.

But you can't tell him that in advance Kanya.

Because they don't. They don't think you have.

Control. and it breaks your heart as a parent when they

stopped believing that you're the strongest person ever and

that you're going to take care of every problem that arises You

have to wonder what does it do to the heart of God?

When Satan somehow gets you and I to stop believing that the one

who sent his son to die on the cross isn't good.

And the one who saved us from our sins, doesn't have control.

Matthew chapter 6. Verse 31, so do not worry,

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink?

Or what shall we wear for the pagans people who don't believe

in God, people who don't believe in Jesus, people who don't have

an intimate personal relationship with him for the

pagans run after, all these things and your heavenly father

knows that you need them. He knows that you need them.

And he has an endless supply of what you need.

He's good because he knows that he's in control because he has

an endless supply weird thing. Jesus is talking to a group of

people living in food and clothing, scarcity.

They saying don't worry about what you eat or what you will

wear. And here we are living the

American dream. Most of you had multiple choices

of what you were going to eat today and some of you know, that

you're going to overeat so much over the next couple of meals

that you didn't eat breakfast today.

And some of you ladies, you are late to church at many of our

locations. Because you opened your closet

and you had too many things to wear.

And yet our worry and anxiety continue to Skyrocket.

Maybe the American dream is not nearly as fulfilling as it was

supposed to be because we have placed our trust On a system and

not a savior. Verse 33.

But seek first, his kingdom, and his righteousness.

And all these things will be given to you as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry

about itself. Each day has enough everybody

say enough enough trouble of its own two things to know.

Here, one seek first, God's kingdom.

He's saying, don't worry seek God's kingdom.

I wonder how many of us are carrying a worry, or we are

anxious about something that we have not yielded.

God's will. number one, thing that people worry about our

financial pressures, Is that area of your life already

surrendered to Jesus? Are we expecting God's blessing

without us being obedient to God's purpose?

There's some of us who are worried about our marital status

but as your marriage biblically based on the solid rock of

Jesus, are we doing the things that God commands us to do in

our marriage? I wonder if we were to be doing

the things of God, therefore our worry and anxiety would

decrease, some of you are worried about your kids growing

up and having a faith but yet you don't prioritize God's

kingdom when you make your schedule. second thing is, God

says today's going to have trouble just don't add

tomorrow's trouble to it. Don't double down.

Today is going to have a problem.

Tomorrow, it's going to have problems, too.

Just don't take tomorrow's problems and put them on top of

today's problems. Now, I want to show you this

verse First Peter chapter 5, some of you guys went to Hobby

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

Lobby, you've got this on a cool canvas somewhere in your house.

If you don't, I'm sure there's going to be a sale soon.

You should pick one up, it's a great verse.

Let's look at this. It says humble yourselves

therefore under God's Mighty hand that he may Lift You Up In

Due Time, cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

I want to show you a couple things inside of this scripture

that I hope will bless you one. He says, humble yourself.

A humble yourself means you recognize that he's gotten.

You're not it's when you go, I don't have this, but you do I'm

not good. But you are.

You're acknowledging that he's in control and he's good, you're

not God, you don't have this. He says humble yourselves.

Therefore under God's Mighty hand, he mentions God's control

his power that he may lift you up in due time.

He's a good God. If you humble yourself

acknowledge his power, he will lift.

You up then cast, all your anxiety on him because he cares

for you again. This is God's goodness.

Now, there's something that happens in the original language

that kind of got missed in the translation and there's nothing

wrong but you can miss some of the beauty of what God is saying

here. This word cast is a verb.

It's not a command, it's a verb, it's an action.

In other words, cast sting continually casting, and this is

not really the end of a sentence in the Greek.

It's actually one big sentence. This is what it actually says.

In the Greek humble yourselves, therefore, under God's Mighty

hand that may, he may, Lift You Up In Due Time.

Casting, how do we humble ourselves?

We are by casting, all of our anxiety on him because he cares

for you. It's when you start doing this.

You start casting, you're worried, casting your anxiety on

him. You start humbling Yourself by

going, I don't have this. I don't have this.

I don't have this but you do but you do.

But you do. You're good, you're in control.

I'm not, I can't fix it. I'm not God.

Your God. I'm casting my cares on you and

part of the problem with anxiety and worry, is that it happens at

the neurological level Pathways become And and over time our

brain automatically creates these paths and then uses them

over and over and over again until they become well-worn,

highways in our mind. But since some of these past

that they make are good and some of them are bad.

My dog. For instance he didn't mind

going to the vet until we got him fixed and a pathway was

formed in his brain. Now when we're getting ready to

go to the vet he's like hey there's nothing more doc here

for him to take. I'm like, that's what you think.

Son sit means sit. Okay, I've like don't mess

around. Now, some of you you have this

neurological pathway that was formed and over time, you just

get so used to the old pathway That you don't want to do the

work to create a new one because it's so much easier to drive on

an old road than it is to build a new one.

That's why he says keep casting. So we create a better A New Path

and that with Jessica L efforts this week and I said, Jessica,

what are three things that I could just give to our church?

For those who could use a little bit of Hope people who are

dealing with worry and anxiety? What are just three principles

that we could just put out? That would help them.

Here's the first thing. She said she sees Start a

gratitude Journal. That it is hard to be anxious

and worried and grateful at the same time.

When you start going God, I'm so thankful for and the way you

have, and I'm glad you and you are an eye when you start

thanking him for all the things that he's done in your life, it

reminds you of how good he is and how in control that he is.

Second thing, she said, invite a person and avoid traveling alone

Guys, the solution to your anxiety, and worry is not

isolation. It's raising your hand and

saying, hey, I'm wrestling with this.

You are going to have to go through some tough things, but

you do not have to go through tough things alone, this

upcoming Saturday, I do the hardest thing that I do every

single year. There's a row razor that takes

place here in Quincy and you get a team of people together and

you row a marathon. And last year, my team won.

And this year, we will defend our title and we will win again.

I know we'll win. And the reason I know we'll And

is not because of me, I am the worst person on our team.

I'm horrible compared to them. They are horses.

Okay? You know why?

I know I'm going to win is because I'm surrounded with the

right kind of people And some of you, you need to surround

yourself with the right kind of people that will help you win in

your battle with worry and anxiety.

The other one is create an action plan, decide in advance,

which neurological pathway you're going to take when I feel

anxious. I will.

When I feel worried I will, I'm going to read some scripture.

I'm going to listen to a sermon. I'm going to go for a walk.

I'm going to get the sun on my face, I'm gonna call a friend.

I'm going to ask someone to pray for me decide in advance.

When I feel worried when I feel anxious, I will three tools for

those of you who want to help you care about people.

When I'm talking about this, you have somebody on your mind.

What are three things you can do to help first one validate it?

Christian's can get really bad at this where they say, hey,

this is what I'm wrestling with. And then we go.

Oh yeah, I used to wrestle with that.

And then I did this, this and this and now I'm all better.

And then that person is like, oh, so Jesus loves you.

More than me. Cool, I didn't know that, but

that makes me a little bit more worried.

Because now, I want to know why he likes you more than me. don't

just here's what you do. I'm so sorry.

I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere.

Must be tough. They don't need your answers.

They need your presence. Second thing.

This is a tough one for Christians.

Try not to enable it. Oh, Christians love to be

fullbacks. So if you're struggling with

this, that I'm going to just wipe everything out in front of

you. Nope, no.

No, Bruno. Because listen to me, they are

going to have to go get jobs, they are going to have to sit in

interviews, they're going to have to walk into rooms with

lots of people around them. They're going to have to talk on

the phone. They are going to have to go

through life. Looking to have to be a mom, be

a deadbeat, a brother be a sister, be an employee be a boss

and you can't go before them and fullback all the problems away.

In fact, when you start doing that with your good Christian

heart you can actually make them more worried and anxious.

Let me explain. It's kind of a shame that God

only gives you kids two sets of teeth because I kind of like

pulling them. I wish you made them like sharks

because every so often you just want to gank something out of

their head, right? And when my kids were wrestling

with, you know, getting their teeth yanked out the, here's

what I would do, I would be me and then when it came time to

pull out the tooth, I would do this.

Hey boy. It's gonna be okay, you're gonna

be just fine. It's not gonna hurt that long.

You're super tough and I pull the pliers.

I get just smile real big. You'll be fine like that.

Why are you talking to us like this?

You know what I was doing? Was making them more worried and

anxious. Like why are you why are you

walking real slow and talk and real soft all the time.

Sheesh No no. Yeah if I did just walked up.

Hey man. Look up at you this.

Do you see that thing up in the gone, right.

Try not to enable it. Don't say, I'm going to solve

the problems with you. I'm just going to walk with you.

Third thing, you scripture. Share versus with them

frequently. Memorize scripture with them and

you're going to be owned by Clayton.

I don't know, scripture all that.

Well cool thing that God made a while back, he made Google and

so you can listen to whatever it is that they're wrestling with

and then just type that in and then go Bible verse, whatever

the wrestle with Bible verse and it'll give you one It may not be

the best one, but you can use it and they'll be gone.

How do you know all these scriptures?

Well, the Lord provides. You know, that's just just me

and the Lord. Actually I got 25 verses for

you. Let's start at the top top of

what top of my mind. Okay?

All right, that's what you could do now hear me.

I've been on really good behavior through the sermon

series, but there's something I wanted to say, but I didn't want

to sound trite. So I'm going to tell you, but

you're going to hear this with generous ears, please.

I cannot tell you the power that eight hours of sleep a night and

15 minutes of sun on your face and the first 15 minutes of the

day will do for you. If you could bottle that eight

hours of sleep and 15 minutes of sun on your face, no sunglasses.

In the first 15 minutes of the day, the government would make

that drug illegal, what crack heroin and meth RDU, to the

destruction of your body. Those two things are absolutely

genius for your body, life-changing for your body.

And so I'm going through this sermon series and I'm going,

okay? What are some disciplines I

could just put in my life to be healthy like even more healthy

that would just kind of make me you know how Up me out, if

things like this ever arise and so I saw that, I'm like, okay,

I'm going to make a plan and so I want time with my wife so

like, boys, you're going to bed at. 8:00, they hate it, but get

over it and because I want from 8:00 till 10:30 at night to go

to hang out with Jennifer, then I go to bed at 10:30 which is a

new thing for me because I'm a night owl.

Most of my sermons get written between like 10:30 and midnight

and so I'm like I got to make a change so I can wake up at 6:30

in the morning. And my boys have had enough

sleep that they can wake up at 6:30 in the morning.

And so since the beginning of the school year in the morning,

me and the boys are going for a mile to a mile and a half walk

in the morning, getting the sun on her face.

After eight hours of sleep were walking, the dog that I don't

like. And while we're doing it, we are

memorizing scripture and after like the second walk, they

started going. So we're going to have to get

some really warm clothes when we do this during the winter.

Mike? Yeah, your mom live will love to

go make this. Andre with you all winter long.

Okay now here's why here's here's why I'm telling you this

I don't know what battles, my boys are going to face one time

at some point in their life, but I want them to be equipped to

fight them and I'd much rather them, establish the discipline

in advance, then have to start the discipline in crisis.

And so what I've been noticing is the versus unintentionally

that we've been memorizing since the beginning of the school year

are actually the very As you would use if you were

spiritually wrestling with worry and anxiety and if you guys

would be on your best behavior, I'd like to welcome Zane and

Maddox my boys up to the stage. Okay.

Now boys, I want you to talk really slow and really clearly

and I want you to walk them through the verses that we've

been doing so far this year. So Maddox, can you tell

everybody Romans 8:1 No condemnation to those who

Romans 8:1

belong. Alms Jesus, that is exactly

right and Zane. What does that verse know?

You do a real clearly? What does that verse even mean

you could do something wrong and Satan could go to God and say

see what this person did he shoot this person did but then

God could say see what Jesus did.

That's exactly right. That's exactly what that verse

means. Now they know what is Psalm. 56

3 when I'm afraid I'll put my trust in you.

That's exactly right Maddox. This is the long one first John

1 John 4:18

4:18 Really clear. There is no fear in love for

perfect love. Casts out fear for fear has to

do with punishment. In the one who fears has not

been perfected by love. Good job, my man.

Zane Psalm 23:4, even though I walk through the valley of the

Psalms 23:4

shadow of death, I will fear. No evil for you are with me,

your rod and staff. They comfort me.

Come on, boys. So proud of you.

Those verses you can see what it's doing in their hearts.

It's helping them. Refocus on God's goodness and

God's control that when you're anxious they have scriptures.

They're ready on hand for them to be able to step into those

moments and just like, you were encouraged.

Imagine what that's doing in their own heart, final thing I

want to do, when, when you start an intimate, personal

relationship with Jesus Christ, you are placed in him and worry

and anxiety. Can forget you to forget all you

have In Christ, I was talking to Tyler Mackenzie he spoke here

last year and then the year before that, he preached at our

Men's Conference, I was talking to him this week about this

message and he goes I have to share with you what I wrote

recently and he sent it to me and I was like oh that is

exactly what our church needs to hear.

Because Satan can try to get us to ignore our spiritual

advantage that you and I have in Christ.

And so I just want to take a couple minutes and remind you of

everything you have going for you in Christ in Christ, we have

freedom. Since Grace upon Grace

Redemption and the righteousness of God ours in Christ, we have a

Heavenly Father, a selfless, son, a Holy Spirit, and billions

of Brothers and Sisters in Christ in Christ.

There's no condemnation. There's a new birth.

New Life, New Creation, new clothes.

New my new heart, new nature, New Covenant, new spirit.

That raised Christ from the dead, then placed you in a new

family and sealed you with a new Destiny, and all of that is

yours in Christ. In Christ, you've been chosen

saved, accepted and adopted. In Christ, you've been

consecrated, liberated initiated supplied, anointed purified

Sanctified and justified in Christ you have love joy, peace

patience, kindness goodness, gentleness faithfulness and

self-control they are yours in Christ, you have wisdom

knowledge, Vision imagination, creativity, focus and purpose in

Christ, the mission of God, the meaning of life, and the Mystery

of the Gospel are yours in Christ.

You have been made alive, made new made, steadfast made one and

Grateful in Christ. The veil has been lifted and

torn. The distance has been narrowed,

The Ransom has been paid, trespasses have been canceled.

The chains have been broken in Christ.

You've been given power Victory, Triumph strength, every

spiritual blessing in the Heavenly realm, immeasurable

riches are yours in Christ. You've been given a promise.

That one day. You'll be consummated.

Vindicated resurrected rewarded, crowned and perfected.

In Christ, you have a new identity and a new story.

You have eternal value and worth.

You have the image of God, you have the cross-shaped love of

Jesus, a realistic assessment of the evil, but even better than

that. You have a way out in Christ.

You have a transfusion of Life, an epic Mission epic purpose,

epic ending life with life-giving, hair-raising

breathtaking love, proclaiming meaning.

In Christ in Christ, you are more than enough.

You have more than enough when you do battle with worry and

anxiety. I need you to know that they are

outmatched because all that you have going for you in Christ and

I hope you won't forget it. We're moving to a time a

decision. There are some of you listen to

me right now, whether in this room or watching online, who

have never started an intimate personal relationship with Jesus

Christ. I just want to be upfront and

clear with you. There is no decision.

That is greater and more impactful than that decision.

Everything that I just said in Christ is yours because the

Bible says, when you begin an intimate personal relationship

with Jesus Christ, when you want Jesus Christ, as your lord and

your savior when you're ready to turn over your life to him he

comes in and takes up residence in your life and he makes you in

him that when you're obedient the area of baptism.

When you demonstrate what Jesus Christ, demonstrated, when he

was Touched or when you show what happened to him when he was

buried and then raised to New Life when that happens in your

life, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit comes and takes

up residence in you and he seals you and he makes you in Christ

and that can be yours today. You can talk to me, or you can

talk to one of the people who be standing over by the baptistry

about what it means to start that relationship.

Maybe you don't want to talk to us.

Maybe you want to talk to a Difference Maker in the lobby or

with a friend and family member who brought you here, but you

You don't have to put it off. Second thing I tell you there

are some of you in here today that you are wrestling with

worry and anxiety and it is real and it is problematic, then it

is impacting you and the people you love and a profound way.

If you need to go and get serious help, I want to

encourage you to do that. Don't put that off Satan

convinces you that you're the only one that nobody else

wrestles with this. I want you know you're

surrounded by people who are going.

Yeah I'm in that boat too. But I want to encourage you to

always make sure you check the spiritual bucket first and maybe

just Oh wait, a humble ourselves is to come up here and get down

on our knees and just pray and cry out to God.

And your God, this is what I'm wrestle with and this is what

I'm struggling with. Maybe you want to just pray a

prayer of gratitude and talk about all the good things that

God has done in all the things that he has in control.

And what you might notice is when you start talking about all

the great things about God, you'll realize just how big he

is. And maybe when you have a bigger

God, your problems might not seem so big.

Maybe the bigger you see your God, the smaller, you'll see

your problems, your worries, your anxieties.

You can walk out of here today, carrying him by yourself.

But I would encourage you to practice during this time of

invitation casting your cares on him, believing that he is good

and that he cares for you and that he will lift you up.

I know some of you are going. I'm a little worried about

walking in front of all these people up to the steps and get

down on your knees. You know what that is called,

humbling yourself, caring less about what people think about

you and caring more about what people think about God. there's

some of you in here that you're going, man, this really isn't a

series for me, but when I was preaching, there were people on

your mind, people, you care about, I want us I think you do

too to be a church that cares that gets in the battle with

people that preys on their behalf that lifts them up and

maybe what you want to pray today is pray for specific

people that you know are wrestling or maybe pray that God

will use you to be a blessing to people who are hurting.

That God would open up doors for you to point people to his

truth. I want us to be a church like

that. I think you want us to be a

church like that but will never become a church like that.

Unless every single one of us goes on that Journey.

So what you Journey with me just and God used this moment right

now. To do a work that only you can

do God touch every life change every heart.

God you know what every person in this room is navigating and

what they're dealing with and so God I pray that during this time

we get down on our knees and pray or lift our voices and

saying that we would have a genuine encounter with you.

We gotta, you'd make an incredibly clear.

Exactly what we're supposed to do.

And that you give us the courage and the strength and the support

to do it and your name, I pray. Amen.