MINDfield Part 2 | Landmines of Anxiety with Chris Schlotterbeck

Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd

like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward

slash connect. If you feel called to give, go

to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at

any time you feel called to make a change in

your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the

message. Chris, wake up. Chris. Chris, we need

you. Do you not care? What? Oh, sorry, everyone.

I didn't get enough sleep last night. Imagine

being in a small fishing boat in the middle of

the night. The wind is howling. The waves are

crashing over the sides. The boat is filling

with water. Experienced fishermen are panicking.

pillow, Jesus is sleeping. He's not resting with

one eye open. He's not praying. He's not bracing

himself against the storm. He is sleeping while

the storm rages. See, this storm happened on

the water, but some storms happen in our lives

every day. Kind of like this short video of our

current reality. Let's watch. In the storm on

the Sea of Galilee, in the Gospel of Mark, the

disciples saw waves. Wind and water filling their

boat. They were in chaos. Kind of like that video

we just watched. But see, Jesus saw something

else. He knew the kingdom of heaven was here.

He knew the boat was not going down. He knew

his father was in control. That is why he could

sleep on a pillow. See, quite often we exhaust

ourselves trying to navigate the storms of life.

in our own strength, when there is a kingdom

of truth and rhythms of grace that Jesus is inviting

us into. See, Jesus is trying to align us with

grace and truth when it comes to a sound mind.

We align ourselves. We agree with that truth

when we read these verses in 2 Timothy 1 .7.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear. Now,

be honest. We might feel it. but it's not because

it's from God, but of power and of love and of

sound mind. Let's all say it again. A sound mind.

See, when we say sound mind, we are agreeing

by faith regardless of our current season or

circumstances. See, a sound mind is not a place

somewhere out there that we achieve. A sound

mind is a promise from God. that we stand on

right now. It's not a goal that we set that we

get to. It's a gift that we simply receive. See,

we agree with the truth that God has given us.

And when we agree with that truth, then suddenly

that spirit of fear or that spirit of anxiety

or worry or hesitation or hopelessness or panic

attacks can slowly go away. Unfortunately though,

I believe the spirit of fear is the current state

of many of us when it comes to our mental health.

However, that pillow is a picture of trust. While

there are days we are overwhelmed by what we

see, Jesus rests in and he knows what is true.

The one in the boat is greater than the storm.

The one in the boat is greater than the storm.

So good morning and welcome to HCV. If you're

joining us from home, thank you for welcoming

us into your space. We are now in week two of

our series, Mind Field, that Rhett kicked off

last week with a challenging talk on a scarcity

mindset. As we go through this month -long mental

health series, today we'll be discussing the

storms of anxiety and depression that is rampant

within our society. Let's open in prayer and

ask the Spirit to come. Holy Spirit, come. God,

we are grateful. We are thankful that you are

here. God, we silence distractions in Jesus'

name. And we invite you, God, to open our minds,

our hearts, our ears, to receive your truth,

God, to change us in Jesus' name. And we said

together, all of that leads us to our first thought.

See, anxiety is real. Anxiety is real. It's not

imaginary. It's not a weakness. It's a real human

experience that even those in a relationship

with Jesus struggle with. How do I know that?

Well, throughout scripture, we see people who

love God yet still face anxiety and worry. We

read this in Psalm 139 verse 23. Search me, O

Psalms 139:23

God. Know my heart. Test me and... Know my anxious

thoughts. Know my anxious thoughts. Know my anxiety.

Know my stress. And how do I know you have it?

Well, according to the CDC, 50 % of all Americans

at some point in our lives will be diagnosed

professionally with a mental illness or disorder.

50%. That's an alarming number, and that means

that either you or someone that you love is being

impacted by it right now. I mean, that's a huge

percentage of our population. To take it a step

further, new research has shown that younger

people, late teens and 20s, show higher rates

of anxiety. Researchers link this to social media

pressure, school and career uncertainty, financial

stress. and rapid social and technological change.

Embrace yourself for this statistic, even a little

younger. Every day in our country, 3 ,703 high

schoolers attempt suicide. I mean, that's a whole

generation that the enemy is just not trying

to steal from, but is literally trying to kill.

Anxiety is real. I mean, Jesus himself experienced

gruesome and terrible things during his time

while walking here on earth. Jesus was full of

anxiety and sorrow when he asked his father in

Matthew 26. He bowed with his face to the ground

praying, My father, if it is possible, let this

cup of suffering be taken away from me. And see,

if Jesus experienced grief, anxiety, suffering,

fear, pain, How can we say a follower of Jesus

who is struggling with these same issues can

be considered a lack of faith? See, unfortunately,

within the church world, there are people out

there that look at mental health issues as a

stain, if you will. Oh, you shouldn't be depressed.

You're in a relationship with Jesus. No, that's

a lie. Anxiety is real. See, Jesus came to God

amid that pain and was honest with him. which

is exactly what we're called to do. 1 Peter 5,

7 says, give all your worries, your anxiety,

your stress, and cares to God, for he cares about

you. See, when we give all our worries and our

anxiety, then the Holy Spirit can work within

us and begin to activate a sound mind. Friends,

we are living in a new reality. A new reality

full of anxiety, fear, storms raging all around

us that are completely out of our control. When

we activate a sound mind, we raise our confidence

as Jesus followers to run this race to the other

side that Jesus calls to every single day. Every

single day we're to cross through to the other

side. So we're going to dive in. To the gospel

of Mark chapter 4 today. And we're going to look

Mark 4 · chapter mention

at this story of Jesus sleeping on a pillow.

And we're going to use these steps to activate

a sound mind within us. Which leads us to our

first activation. Church, you have to realize

you are not alone. We are not alone. Mark chapter

Mark 4:35

4 verse 35. As evening came, Jesus said to his

disciples. Let's cross. And when we read let's,

that means let us. Let us cross to the other

side of the lake. That means Jesus and the disciples.

And see, whatever you are going through today,

whatever you're going through right now, it is

not your sentence. It's the season. And if you're

currently struggling with a minefield of anxiety,

God wants you to know this. Faith is not the

absence of anxiety. It is choosing to trust Jesus

in the middle of it. It's choosing to draw close

to him and to continue on to the other side.

See, a sound mind is a truth to agree with. It's

a truth to align with. So let me speak this over

you. A sound mind is louder than the enemy whispering

in your ear. A sound mind silences the demons

shouting in your face. Church, you are not alone.

Jesus said, let us, let us. In other words, he's

saying, I am with you. You are not alone. Isaiah

41 .10 backs this up. Don't be afraid, for I

am with you. Don't be discouraged for I'm your

God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will

hold you up with my victorious right hand. And

notice what Jesus says to all of us in Matthew

28, 20. And be sure of this. In other words,

take it to the bank. I am with you always. He

is with us always, even to the end of the age.

And listen, let me say this. It's not only Jesus

that's with you. Our community of faith wants

to stand with you as well. We want to navigate

the anxiety, the storms that you are currently

walking through. Why is that important? Well,

Pastor Erwin McManus says it this way about empathy.

Empathy represents the highest level of human

intelligence and is the ultimate expression of

genius, surpassing traditional academic or intellectual

brilliance. What is empathy? It's not just an

emotion. It's a profound intellectual capacity

to see life from another's perspective. To understand

what they are going through. And I'm telling

you this today. Your storm can become your story

that will one day be a part of someone else's

survival kit. Your storm can become your story

that helps someone else survive and make it through

life. We need your story, but I want to encourage

you. You have to endure. You have to get connected.

You can't just walk through life isolated and

alone and have a sound mind. Did everyone hear

that? You need encouragement. You need people

to stand with you. See, those two issues, isolation

and a sound mind, are incompatible with one another.

We have to be connected into a community. You

heard Rudy say that today is team up Sunday.

What is that? Well, every second Sunday of the

month, we encourage you, get on a team. Because

we desire people within our community of faith

to actively connect, serve, and plant yourself

here. There's so much more than walking in and

out of here on a Sunday morning. Listen, walking

in and out of here on a Sunday morning is not

going to church. God wants us to be the church.

And being the church happens Monday through Saturday

when we're supporting one another, encouraging

one another, and changing the world. The Bible

tells us that we need to be connected and planted

within a community of faith because that's when

our fruit begins to grow. And if your mind is

overwhelming you right now, listen to me. You

are not alone. There's people all around you.

Jesus is with you. And just like spring comes

after winter every single year, though it seems

to be procrastinating in the tri -state area

this year, spring will always come after winter.

Storms are dark, but none of them are permanent.

We have to keep pursuing Jesus. We have to keep

living in Jesus' name. I mean, think about this

story that we're reading about. It doesn't even

begin in daylight. It doesn't begin in the morning.

It begins in the evening as it's getting dark

and then darker. And Jesus is encouraging us

in the midst of that darkness, keep paddling,

keep pushing. And I get it. Pain has a way of

feeling permanent, but keep pushing through.

Anxiety feels like it can be debilitating and

make you pull back. But I want to encourage you,

look up. There never has been a night that a

sunrise hasn't conquered. And now we can see

the sunrise early every morning and grab a hold

of the reality that we are not alone. Which leads

us to our second activation. See, church, we

would worry less if we had less to worry about.

We would worry less. If we had less to worry

about, Mark 4, 36 -37. So they took Jesus in

the boat and started out leaving the crowds behind,

although other boats followed. But soon, a fierce

storm came up. High waves were breaking into

the boat, and it began to fill with water. Truth.

We are surrounded by storms in this world. It's

the truth. We saw it in the video. But I wonder...

Are we letting unnecessary waves of worry and

anxiety into our boats? Waves that God says,

I never asked you to let that in your boat. I

mean, if we're constantly scrolling and scrolling

and scrolling and reading the news and the tragedies

and the war and the chaos and the bombings and

the murder, more, more, more. Our minds and our

bodies. Begin to fill up with waves and waves

of worry, doubt, frustration, and anxiety in

this world. What is true about our body is also

true about our minds. We are what we eat. So

the life that comes out of you tomorrow will

be made up of the content that you put in your

mind today. So if you're binge watching The Last

of Us today, chances are tomorrow the life that's

coming out of you is probably a little more fearful,

downcast, depressed, and negative. If every day

there is more than an hour or two of endless

scrolling on social media, it's not rocket science

to understand that the life coming out of you

is one of comparison, which steals your joy in

the process. See, the life that comes out of

us is made up of the content we put in. And here's

the reality. It might not even be sinful stuff

that we're taking in. Hebrews 12 .1 tells us,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a

huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith,

let us strip off every weight that slows us down,

especially the sin that so easily trips us up.

And notice, notice that the author first starts

with every weight. He's not talking about sinful

practices. He's just talking about those things

that may not be sinful that steal our time and

our joy and our energy. So the content that you

are taking in may not be sinful. In fact, it

might be common or normal. But in 2026, the last

thing you want to be is normal. Do you want to

hear what's normal in our society? Addiction

is normal. Panic attacks, normal. Restlessness,

rage, unhappiness, all normal. Stress and anxiety,

normal. I mean, I don't know about you, but you

can't tell me you want to be normal right now.

And I wonder if our boats are feeling swamped

right now because we're all on information overload.

See, we know way too much about what is happening

in this world right now in real time, and we're

not even designed to handle that information.

See, there's this thing known as knowledge velocity.

Knowledge velocity is the amount of time it takes

for all the knowledge in the known world to double.

Now, in years prior, it used to take about 20

years to double. Fast forward to today, sociologists

suggest that it now doubles in one day. And listen,

I don't even know how that's possible. I just

read it. But one thing I know. The graph of knowledge

velocity Increasing looks very similar to the

graph of anxiety velocity in our current culture

and that's normal Then we ignore that inner turmoil

That anxiety if you will you know what anxiety

is it's alarms going off within us Which creates

more minefields? Because because our bodies telling

us stop focusing on it stop thinking about it.

But when then we focus on all these storms, our

body begins to lose control. And the crazy thing

is all the storms that we watch and read about,

we have no control over them. Yet it impacts

how we live, how we think, how we post, how we

serve, how we love. And then we get into arguments

and fights and point fingers for no reason. We

can't control it. I wonder if the reason we have

so many storms in our minds It's because we know

about every storm in the world. I wonder if the

reason we are anxious is because we are aware

of every reason on the planet that we should

be when we shouldn't be. We would worry less

if we had less to worry about. And King David

supports this thought. He writes this in Psalm

Psalms 131:1

131 verse 1. Lord, my heart is not proud. My

eyes are not awed. I don't concern myself with

matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.

Now think about it. This is a king writing this

truth. David was a man before his time. Yes,

he lived before the iPhone. But remember, he

was king. So just like you and me, he had unlimited

access to all the info in the known world. But

notice what he did. He limited what he took in.

He said, I don't concern myself with matters

too great. Translation, I'm not God. I'm giving

it to him. And when the temptation comes into

your mind to be the God of your own life, I want

to let you know, we can't carry the weight of

the world on our shoulders. Because not only

is it the weight of the world on our shoulders,

but then we got everybody else's interpretations,

opinions, and comments. That just makes our brain

go to complete overload. Our minds are on information

overload. Right? We're on information overload.

We're stressed. We're worried. Then we're like,

God, God, give me peace. Give me joy in the midst

of this. And God's yelling back at us. I'm trying

to, Chris, but there's no room to put it. And

we laugh. But it's true. Because our minds are

overwhelmed with all the unnecessary waves of

worry and anxiety that we're allowing into the

boats. And here's the truth. We have the authority

to take ownership over that mind. And we have

to trust that God is in control. Anxiety is simply

our body telling us, hey, Jesus follower, it's

time to pray. Philippians 4, 6 through 7, don't.

Worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything.

Tell God what you need. Thank him for what he's

done. Then, then, then you experience God's peace,

which exceeds anything we can understand. His

peace will guard our hearts and minds as you

live in Christ Jesus. Listen, it's not possible

to continue to worry and call it prayer. No,

you've got to pray and believe that God will

calm the storms. And as we offload the anxiety,

the worry, the information, we just learned his

peace will guard our hearts and our minds, which

means we will then walk in and activate a sound

mind through Christ Jesus, which leads us to

our third activation. A sound mind is a promise

we practice. We've got to practice a sound mind.

Mark 4, 38 to 39, Jesus. was sleeping at the

back of the boat with his head on a cushion.

And please understand, scholars, when they're

interpreting the Gospel of Mark, have said that

that means Jesus was asleep at the stern or where

the captain of the boat would have sat. The disciples

woke him up shouting, Teacher, don't you care

that we're going to drown? And I find this interesting.

It says the disciples woke him up, but then it

says, when Jesus woke up. Which means he didn't

wake up when they first called. He took his time.

When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said

to the waves, silence, be still. Suddenly the

wind stopped and there was a great calm. And

we read that and we don't really realize the

power of it. Jesus just spoke to a storm and

it listened. Now there's a lot of smart people

in our world with a lot of power and a lot of

money. Nobody can do that. Not one person. The

weather may be sunny or cloudy tomorrow. None

of us really get a vote. Some professionals believe

they know, and half the time they don't. But

Jesus does. He has all the authority. And that

is why he chose to sleep. See, Jesus is showing

us, I'm in control of this storm. And why is

he in control? Because he has all the authority.

Matthew 28, 18. Jesus came and told his disciples,

I have been given all authority in heaven and

on earth. And by the way, when Jesus shares that

with us, that means he's giving us some of that

same authority. See, we have God given authority.

Therefore, we have been given the authority over

the six inches of space between our ears. See,

we have authority over this thing. We can take

control of the anxiety. And we can speak to the

anxiety. At the same time, we can talk ourselves

into anxiety. And if we can talk ourselves into

anxiety, then we can sing ourselves to a sound

mind. We have the authority over our minds. Therefore,

we need to speak to that anxiety, to that fear

in Jesus' name. See, living with a sound mind

is a promise we practice. And just like Jesus

stood with authority at the front of the boat,

what did he do? He stood at the front of the

boat, be still. God has given us the same ability

to stand with authority over our minds, over

our thoughts, and over our actions. Practically

speaking, having a sound mind is taking care

of the brain we have been given. We have got

to take care of this thing. I mean, think about

it, church. There's a little irony to eating

nothing but processed foods, fast foods, never

reading, never exercising, gossiping, scrolling,

binge -watching, smoking, and then, hey, God,

I need a sound mind. Like, that's not a good

prayer. That's not even a spiritual problem.

That's a physical one. And it all goes back to

what? Our decisions and our habits. See, God

gave us a brain and we need to take care of it.

We need to protect it. We need to nourish it.

Medically speaking, do you know how much easier

of a time we'll have attacking anxiety and fear

if we simply exercise daily? I mean, just take

a walk. Like you can get outside and take a walk.

Right? If you're in a relationship with Jesus,

you need prayer and a Peloton. I mean, just mix

them together. Because that's how we care for

what God has given us. Did you know that in the

front of your brain, there's this thing called

the prefrontal cortex, the PFC. This is designed

by God and gives us the authority over our minds

to make decisions. See, the PFC allows us to

think about what we think about. Have you ever

thought about that? Like there's this thing in

our brain that allows us to think about what

we think about. And that is how we now, as followers

of Jesus, have the ability to take every thought

captive. And here's the crazy thing. And we overlook

this truth. God wouldn't tell us to do something.

if he didn't give us the tools to do it. The

PFC makes Romans 12 too possible. Don't copy

the behavior and customs of this world, but let

God transform you into a new person by what?

Changing the way you think. Then you will learn

to know God's will for you, which is good and

pleasing and perfect. See, it's amazing that

scripture... Written more than 2 ,000 years ago,

neuroscience is now starting to prove it today.

We have a sound mind. Or, as the New Living Translation

puts it, 2 Timothy 1 .7, self -discipline. For

God has not given us the spirit of fear and timidity,

but of love, power, and self -discipline. And

notice, that's scripture right there. That's

not a prayer. Nowhere in those verses does it

say, pray for self -discipline. Pray for a sound

mind. No, it's an agreement. It doesn't tell

us to pray for a sound mind. It says, declare

you have a sound mind over yourself. I have been

given a sound mind. And I want to challenge you

this week. When anxiety, when fear begins to

grip you, no, speak to it in Jesus' name. You

have the authority. And that is why anxiety and

depression is not comfortable for us. It makes

us uncomfortable. Because God has already given

us a sound mind. And we're trying to figure out

why our heart's racing. You know, why we're getting

overwhelmed. We feel like just a panic attack.

God's put a sound mind in your brain. And he

wants you to activate it. Don't pray for a sound

mind. Don't pray for something that could happen

tomorrow. Simply realize a sound mind is a promise

from God. that you've already been given. And

we just need to simply agree with it and activate

it today. Remember, anxiety is a pattern of the

world. A sound mind is a pattern and a promise

of the kingdom of God. It's the fruit of agreeing

with truth, which leads us to our fourth activation.

And this is going to be freedom for some of you.

It's okay to not be okay. Like, Take your mask

off. It's okay to not be okay. Mark 4, 40 to

41. Then he asked them, you know, you just see

Jesus in the boat. Why are you so afraid? Do

you have no faith? And notice the disciples'

response. They were terrified. Who is this man?

They asked each other. Even the wind and the

waves obey him. I mean, God is so in control

that God is okay. even when the disciples weren't.

That's good news for us. It's good news because

it's okay to not be okay, and that is the truth

of the kingdom of God. There is no shame in anxiety.

There is no stigma with depression. Not in the

kingdom of God. I want you to know there are

no second -class citizens in our community of

faith. God loves you just the way you walked

into this building. And listen, God is not more

in love with the future you who has it all together.

He loves you just the same right now today. Your

past mistakes don't disqualify you from the plans

God has on your life today. That incident is

not your identity. You are not damaged goods.

It doesn't define who you are. It's okay to not

be okay. And some of you are thinking, well,

Chris, how can you prove that to me? Abraham

was too old. Josiah was too young. Noah had a

drinking problem. Moses killed a dude. Adam and

Eve ruined everything. Jacob was a liar. Gideon

was afraid. David was an adulterer and a murderer.

Solomon was spoiled. Samson was a flirt, to put

it modestly. Rahab was a prostitute. So was Mary

Magdalene. Jonah ran away. Peter denied. Thomas

doubted. Paul persecuted the church. I was an

addict. Rudy was a womanizer. And the list goes

on and on and on. See, not only does God love

us, but he uses us to advance his kingdom. Some

of you need to hear this. It's okay to not be

okay. And you think, well, how do I find comfort

in that? Jesus was sleeping on a pillow in the

stern of the boat. I mean, remember, Jesus promised

that we would have trouble in this world. John

16, 33, I've told you all this so that you have

peace in me. See, that's not anxiety. He says,

I didn't tell you all this to fill your minds

with anxiety. Here on earth, you're going to

have trials and sorrows, but take heart, I've

overcome the world. See, we need to stop making

a relationship with Jesus harder than what it

has to be. Stop doing it in your own strength.

Rely on the power and the presence of God. See,

Jesus is inviting us to realize that we're not

going to have it all together in this world.

We're just not. Have a little grace for yourself.

Stop trying to be perfect. He desires that we

become to a place of freedom and lightness. Matthew

11, 30. For my yoke is easy to bear and the burden

I give you is light. See, the power of the gospel.

That's good news of God's love for you and for

me. Extend some grace to yourself and push on

to the other side, which leads us to our fifth

and final activation. Get in the game. Get in

the game. Luke 11, 13. So if you sinful people

know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your heavenly father give

the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? And see,

I use this scripture reference. Last Sunday in

the last week of our Holy Spirit class. And I

want you to notice what it says here. How much

more? How much more will God give us what we

need? God will give us more than we need. He

releases gifts into us, even in the midst of

trials and anxiety and storms. But we need to

activate them. We need to be walking in what

God has given us. And as we walk in those giftings,

as we serve others and love on others, he transforms

the way we think. Now, in my own life, on Thursday,

I was working through this outline, preparing

for it. And everything built up to this point

where I was outside in the evening taking trash

out. It was, of course, rainy. Phoenix was out

getting a drink for his sister. And, of course,

he sprints back inside. As he sprints back inside,

he slips on some slate, comes right down on his

arm, screams a sheer shriek, gets up holding

his arm. And in my mind, in my mind, I said,

it's broke. He just broke his arm. I gathered

him up, took him inside. gave him the jest, and

just walked away and said, I am done. I mean,

our family has been going through it. Sickness,

just, I still have a sink backed up. I mean,

I can't even explain to you what is going on

to our families. And in my mind, at that moment,

I was not okay. I was about at the breaking point.

And I had to go upstairs and throw my hands up

and say, I'm done. But again, it was in my mind.

I came back downstairs. Phoenix was fine. Now

he was sprinting inside. Arm was fine. No issues.

It's not broken. And I had to rely on the Holy

Spirit to calm me down out of my mind. I had

to take deep breaths. And realize God has more

for me to do. And even through that challenging

week, those storms and those trials, that anxiety,

that fear, that doubt, God used me to speak to

families that were hurting. God used me to inspire

others. God used me to pray and encourage others.

Why? Because it's okay to not be okay. But you

have to be in the game. See, if you're not in

the game, if you're not serving others, if you're

not serving in our community of faith, if you're

not using your giftings, guess what? Your mind's

going to take over and run wild. We have to be

partnering with God to bring his kingdom into

this world, into our reality. Remember our prayer?

God, bring your heaven to earth. We have what

it takes to be successful, but we have to start

practicing. Many of you know that I'm a softball

coach and practice started for the last two weeks

at St. James. And every year, I have all these

girls that come out, never played the game before.

Ever. Haven't even picked up a ball. But now,

two and a half weeks into it, they're catching

fly balls. They're throwing the ball. They're

hitting the ball. They're in the game. They're

participating. See, activating a sound mind is

a constant decision with your God -given authority

to fix your focus on Jesus. When everything in

our mind tells us to focus on the storms. See,

your diagnosis, your sickness is not your idol.

It's not who you are. Your mistakes are not what

defines you. Your trauma is not your trophy.

God desires to work infinitely more. in you than

we could even imagine in Ephesians 3 .20. Now,

glory to God who is able through his mighty power

at work within us to accomplish infinitely more

than we might ask or think. Will you stand with

me? Listen, it doesn't take rocket science to

realize that half of you are struggling with

anxiety right now. Because that's the statistic.

You're struggling. You're overwhelmed. You're

fearful. You're doubting. You're negative. That

is not the attributes of a sound mind. God desires

that you activate your sound mind. That you focus

on Jesus. You invite the Holy Spirit to come.

You live in a relationship with Him. And if you

say, Chris, I can't activate a sound mind, then

you're not in a relationship with Jesus. Just

saying. Because if you're in a relationship with

Jesus, you have the same spirit living in you

that raised Jesus from the dead. You have the

same authority that Jesus had is now given to

us. And you can activate your mind and speak

to your mind so that you can overcome this anxiety

and this doubt and this frustration. But again,

it's a choice. So before we move forward, we're

going to pray a simple prayer because I believe

people come into our midst every single Sunday

that are distant, far from God, or have never

been in a relationship with him. Listen, God

wants to release a sound mind into you. Wants

to give you a new purpose and a new life free

from guilt, shame, and regret. And we all pray

it together here. Let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken.

I'm full of doubt, shame, regret. Sin. Change

me. Forgive me. I believe you're God's son. I

believe you died for me. Make me new. Set me

free. Fill me with your spirit. Help me, God,

to serve others. In Jesus' name. Amen. Now, whoever

that was for, welcome to the family. I believe

God just brought you home. Now, we're going to

close. By singing a song. As I was praying about

how to end this, I was taking my kids to school

one morning, and the song It Is Well came over

my playlist. And it was like God said to me,

practicing a sound mind is declaring it is well.

So here's what I want you to do. This right here

means you want to receive. So I want to invite

all of you to get into this practice right now.

I want to receive God. If you feel comfortable,

of course, I'm not going to tell you what to

do. And as Stacey sings these words, I want you

to receive them. Okay? But then when we get to

the, is it the chorus? What is that part? It

is well. What is that called? It's the chorus.

I was right. All right. When we get to the chorus,

I want you to move from receiving. To declaring.

Right? You see the difference? I receive, I receive

a sound mind. I declare I have a sound mind.

So can we do that? Okay. All right. Hold on.

Before we do, there are several words of knowledge.

As people are singing, our prayer team will be

on my left and my right. You have lower back

pain on your left side. You have pain in your

right elbow just below it. You have pulsating

pain in your right ear. You have pain in the

upper part of your left arm. And if you're struggling

with debilitating anxiety, we want to pray for

you personally. Amen? Otherwise, we are going

to first receive, and then we're going to declare.

All right, let's do it. As we walk out these

doors, God, I pray joy over every single individual

in this room. God, that they will walk out of

here skipping and jumping and praising your name.

That they will walk out of here, God, just feeling

your love and your peace. Thank you, Jesus. grind

not knowing you gave your life for mine either

one turn water into wine please fix my heart

things inside