WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.319 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.479 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:23.120 It was a dark and stormy night. 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:24.960 Yeah. 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:26.879 That's how some stories begin. 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:28.399 That's how this one begins too. 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:35.600 I was five or six, and it was we were living in rural Texas outside of Dallas. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:40.960 It was in the days, if some of you had this experience where you went to church twice on a Sunday. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:46.320 Yeah, you did it in the morning, then you went back for round two, and then there was a potluck and things like that. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:49.200 And it was a summer night in Texas. 00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:50.640 It was stormy. 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:55.200 And one of the differences in Texas like this to here is when it rains here, it's cold. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:56.719 And when it rains there, it's still warm. 00:00:56.799 --> 00:00:57.359 It's wonderful. 00:00:57.520 --> 00:00:58.560 You can hang out. 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:01.039 And I don't know what was going on. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:01.840 I was five. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:03.039 I didn't need to know what's going on. 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:09.359 All I know is raining outside, and there was a bunch of us kids playing tag uh on the playground. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:10.079 It was amazing. 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:10.879 It was magical. 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:11.760 It was wonderful. 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:15.359 Now, now this playground wasn't the type of playground you see today. 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.319 There were no like safety anything about it. 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:24.480 And I think whoever built it, like it was a few guys that went like, we're gonna build the biggest tower for these kids. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:25.840 I mean, it just was crazy. 00:01:25.920 --> 00:01:27.120 This thing was huge. 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:29.439 I swear it was like 20 feet high. 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:32.640 I think it was well over nine or 10 feet high. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:38.799 This platform that you would climb up, and then you had these monkey bars that went over to another platform. 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:47.599 So you can imagine these five, six, seven-year-olds running around in the rain and it's storming, it's exciting, and we're playing tag. 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:56.959 And this girl that's just about to get me, I climb up the tower, and right as she goes to touch my foot, I jump to grab the monkey bars. 00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:59.680 I get it, of course, because I'm a fantastic leaper. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:02.640 Uh, and I grab it, but however, it was wet. 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:09.360 And my legs go and all of a sudden I am free-falling in the air. 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:11.280 I still remember this to this day. 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:25.120 Like watching in the night sky with the rain dropping onto my forehead, the bars going further and further away from my face, and I land on my back with a thud to the ground. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:32.560 And this was the very first time that I had the experience of having the wind knocked out of me. 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:34.400 Have you ever had the wind knocked out of you? 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:35.439 Yeah, a few of you. 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:38.080 Uh well, let me describe it if you haven't. 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:40.479 Um, it feels like you're gonna die. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:41.919 It is awful. 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:45.520 Like it hit it, and all of a sudden my eyes went big. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:46.560 I couldn't breathe. 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:58.080 I'm like, oh and then you have all these five, six, and seven-year-olds going like, he's gonna die, you know, and I'm like, and I think I really am gonna die. 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:09.360 And then some well-meaning parent walks up, he'll be fine, you know, and then all of a sudden I'm like, oh, and I finally got a breath. 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:16.560 But it felt like for a moment I'd never breathe again, and the pain and the uncertainty. 00:03:16.960 --> 00:03:19.599 We're in a series called Take Joy. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:43.840 Uh we said this last week that joy is not just a passing sense of pleasure like it comes and goes, but but a pervasive sense of well-being that's infused with hope because of the very goodness of God, that it's this consistent, constant reality available to us through any and every circumstance in life. 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:57.520 And so, yet, how do you take joy when it feels like life has knocked the joy right out of you? 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:08.240 Like, how do you really take joy, experience that when it feels like life has just knocked the wind, knocked the joy right out of you? 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:12.879 I had a friend once say, never underestimate the amount of pain that's in a room. 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:14.479 He's really right. 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:21.040 I just think back just this fall in our community, in our church. 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:30.000 We lost a dear woman in our church, a mother just before her 50th birthday, leaving a college daughter and family and friends. 00:04:30.079 --> 00:04:39.120 And I had two other incredible uh women in our church, both with those biopsy reports that you dread. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:42.000 One was cancerous, one was a tumor. 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:49.680 Never underestimate the amount of pain in a room. 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:54.959 I have a friend who doesn't have a job, he's been trying to get a job, he's been working to get a job. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:56.879 I I see him, he's a neighbor of mine. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:05.839 He's he's on the phone nonstop, interviewing all the time, and he really moved into this area following God's calling, and and he's working two jobs right now. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:07.120 He gets up at 2 a.m. 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:16.560 uh in the morning to load UPS trucks, and he works another part-time job in the afternoon just to make ends made. 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:29.199 Some friends whose grown kids are making decisions that are breaking their hearts, and a marriage that's on the crisis with others. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:36.480 How do you take joy when it feels like life has just knocked the wind? 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:44.160 How can it be all right in here? 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:50.480 When everything's going all wrong. 00:05:51.680 --> 00:06:06.800 The Apostle Paul pins these incredible words, ones that I think our initial reaction to them today is to dismiss them or treat them as trite because we rip it out of its context. 00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:30.240 The Apostle Paul is writing these words, he is currently chained in a Roman prison awaiting his certain execution to a church in Philippi that is undergoing persecution and suffering for the cause of Christ. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:32.000 And he writes these words. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:38.959 This is what he wants to say to them of how do you take joy when life has knocked it out of you? 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:44.399 And he says this do not be anxious about anything. 00:06:45.279 --> 00:06:46.240 Anything. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:53.360 Well, Paul, you're you're looking ahead and you see that life is running short on you. 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:56.560 You're not really sure how much time you have left. 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:57.759 You're writing to us. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:06:59.759 Will you know what we're going through? 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:01.759 Really, anything. 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:06.800 But in every situation, I researched that, it was really difficult. 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:19.040 Every means every, every, every single circumstance that you find yourself in, the good and the bad, the highs and the lows, the sweet and the sad. 00:07:20.240 --> 00:07:33.360 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 your minds in Christ Jesus. 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:39.839 How do we take joy when it feels like life has knocked the joy right out of us? 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:41.920 Here's what the Apostle Paul is gonna say. 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:50.879 We have to stop some things, we have to start some things, and when we stop some things, and when we start some things, we experience the promise of God. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:55.519 See, here's the interesting thing about the promises of God. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:02.560 Most of us love them, we want them, but we don't read the prerequisite to experience them. 00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:09.199 Every promise it has, here, do this and you'll experience this. 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:11.759 And here's what he says. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:14.399 He says, He's here's the stopping. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:16.720 He gives us a negative command. 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:19.040 And do not be, help me out. 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:19.920 Anxious. 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:21.439 Anxious, thanks, Jay. 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:26.319 And do not, everybody else, be anxious about anything. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:28.720 Anxious. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:36.240 Don't be worried, don't be concerned, don't, don't, don't allow your soul to spiral. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:40.240 Well, what do we worry about? 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:48.399 What are the things that keep us up at night, that that begin to cause us to obsess and to fret? 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:55.840 I think one of the thing areas that we worry about that robs our peace, that takes our joys when knowledge is insufficient, right? 00:08:56.399 --> 00:09:04.000 When we just don't know what is best, what's the right decision, how do we move forward when we just don't have enough knowledge. 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:23.519 And isn't it true that many of us we will wake up in the middle of the night or we're sitting at our desk, we're trying to work, but our mind is in a different space, and it's like you're trying to solve a puzzle that you just have a missing piece to, when knowledge is insufficient, or perhaps when circumstances are out of your control. 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:32.080 When you do get that biopsy report and you have no control over it, what do you do? 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.279 Or when the future is uncertain. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:45.840 We don't know what's gonna happen to the economy, we don't know what's gonna happen as we step into 2023. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:55.360 We've lived in an uncertain future and we've become so much more aware of the uncertainties of life over the last several years, haven't we? 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:01.279 What we worry in produces anxiety in our heart is when we have relational conflict. 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:14.559 Whether it's with that friend, maybe it's with your spouse, maybe you walked in, and the anxiousness of your heart is that just your marriage is just hanging on by a thread. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:34.000 Or maybe it's at work with a coworker, or your boss because she's a jerk, or he's a jerk, and you're not sure about your job, and you're not sure how you're gonna get your review and whether how it's gonna go, or whether you'll still have a job. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:36.000 Or even regrets in the past. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:37.919 Don't we worry about those? 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:44.159 And regrets in the past are interesting because they they attack us at such interesting times, don't they? 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:52.320 It just comes out of the blue and all of a sudden you have a memory, you have a past, it just begins to attack your heart and your mind and your peace. 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:59.600 The apostle Paul says, stop, it's literally the tense of the verb is stop. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:03.200 It's stop doing something that you're already doing. 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:06.960 It's a habit you're already actually in process of. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:15.039 It's not like, hey, this is coming, and when you see it coming, then you need to, you know, um, you need to like stay away from it. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.279 It's like it already hit you. 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:20.320 So if you're here and it hits you, don't feel bad. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:21.919 He's just giving you some direction. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:25.600 He it's the warning light on the dash of your life saying, stop it. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:40.559 Warning, the minute you begin to have that spiral of the soul, the thoughts that are keeping you up in the middle of the night, when you recognize that anxiety has become an unwelcome guest in your life. 00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:47.279 And hasn't that been the case over the last several years that anxiety has become an unwelcome guest? 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:54.799 I remember, see, I I've dealt and struggled deeply with anxiety and depression over my life. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:12:00.720 Um, I remember when I first became aware of anxiety, the unwelcome guest. 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:04.399 It was when I was, uh when we just had kids. 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:09.039 And, you know, the future's uncertain, knowledge insufficient. 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:10.399 Yeah, I don't know what I'm doing. 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:10.879 I don't know. 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:12.480 I want to screw this up. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:14.639 Circumstances outside of my control. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:16.559 I'm gonna try to protect you from all harm. 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:18.000 In fact, this is silly. 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:29.759 But we were living in Georgia at the time, and my wife's mom, my mother-in-law, I guess that's how you say it, my mother-in-law needed to get to the airport. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:32.159 My daughter had just been born. 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:37.600 I drove so slowly to the airport she missed her flight. 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.759 That's the only time I've driven slow in my entire life, by the way. 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:46.720 But it wasn't, I mean, I just was so riddled with anxiety, and it began. 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:51.440 Here's what anxiety does is in troubled times, it just begins to multiply, doesn't it? 00:12:51.600 --> 00:12:53.679 And it just grows and it grows and it grows. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:58.080 Eventually, it became something that just was uh paralyzing to me. 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:02.320 As my kids got older, even the thought of going to Disneyland scared me. 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:04.960 I'd stay up days and nights wondering if we're gonna lose our kids. 00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:06.399 Oh, is there a pull at this thing? 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:09.279 And I worried about all the unknowns, all these sort of things. 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:19.519 I'd literally have nights where I'd wake up and I'd stare out the window, worried that somebody's gonna break into our house and just stare looking for people. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:21.840 Like, who's the crazy man? 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:27.279 Because anxiety and its outworkings doesn't always make sense. 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:35.360 And at the time we were preaching through the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus said something similar to the Apostle Paul. 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:45.039 He said, Don't worry about anything, don't be anxious about anything, and then he had this incredible line, so amazing. 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:53.600 He says, Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:57.120 And the answer is an emphatic no. 00:13:58.720 --> 00:13:59.039 Oh. 00:14:00.399 --> 00:14:09.279 Can any of you by worrying, by anxiously obsessing about that thing, do anything? 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:10.960 No. 00:14:12.799 --> 00:14:18.080 See, anxiety is less than unproductive, it's actually destructive. 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:29.759 See, when we begin to strip it back and realize all of that toying, all of that spinning, all of those areas, it's actually less than unproductive because here's what research shows us. 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:38.240 Research shows us not only can you not add an hour to your life, you actually take hours away out of your life. 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:45.120 You experience more sickness, poorer health, and die earlier. 00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:49.360 He says, Stop it. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:15:01.600 And here's the beautiful thing, here's the beautiful thing is he doesn't just say, don't worry, be happy, ignore your problems, and pretend like everything is okay. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:09.440 He says, Yeah, anxiety is not just unproductive, it's actually destructive, it destroys your soul. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:12.559 But let me give you a positive command. 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:14.159 Let me tell you what to do. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:22.639 See, because remember, the context isn't like anxiety's coming at you way out there, and so I need to just be aware and stay away from it. 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:24.559 The reality is it hits you right now. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:26.480 Anxiety knocked at your door. 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:28.320 Hello, you welcomed it in. 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:29.840 What do you do now? 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:32.480 Life. 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:37.279 Life was knocking the joy right out of you. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:37.919 What do you do? 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:44.080 You are you acknowledge it, you're aware of it, you're like, okay, it's not just unproductive, it's destructive. 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:45.360 So what do I do now? 00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:49.519 He gives us a productive action, a positive command. 00:15:49.759 --> 00:15:51.200 Notice what he says. 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:58.080 And do not be anxious about anything, but with prayer and petition. 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:07.440 But in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 00:16:07.600 --> 00:16:29.519 But in every single circumstance that you face, everything you come against, wherever you're at and whatever you're going through, he says, bring it into Jesus by prayer, petition, with thanksgiving, to present your request to God. 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:48.799 In fact, he gives us four words for prayer that begin to frame how do we pray in a way that actually keeps anxiety at bay and invites the very presence and the peace of Jesus into our lives. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:53.600 How do we take joy when joy has been knocked out of us? 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:59.440 How do we experience and how do we pray in a way that experiences the very peace of God? 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:02.320 He's gonna say, first, by prayer. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:07.119 And that's the most general term for prayer in Scripture. 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:10.319 And it's literally turning your attention to God. 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:21.359 Because here's what happens in the midst of those moments, in the midst of where troubled times, it multiplies your anxieties, is what has your attention is your troubles. 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:23.839 What has your attention is your anxiety. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:32.079 What has your attention is the worry and the concern, and it begins to consume your every waking thought. 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:37.680 He says, stop that and turn your attention to God. 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:45.359 Begin to move in the direction of God, orient your life and your mind towards the things of God. 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:54.480 Begin to take what you're worried about and begin to make those prayers to God. 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:56.160 It's interesting. 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:56.799 Amen. 00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:57.359 I love that. 00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:59.920 We can have more of that in here too, by the way. 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:04.160 Because I think it's interesting, even in how he he addresses it. 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:10.559 He said, by in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request, and he's very clear, to God. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:22.160 Isn't it interesting that in the midst of worry and anxiety and these incredible times, we bring it to everyone else but to God, don't we? 00:18:22.880 --> 00:18:33.200 And we tell it to other people, and we talk about how hard it is, and we share it, and we think that's gonna produce something and help. 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:40.400 And certainly, I'm not saying get wise counsel, but have you shifted your attention to God? 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:42.640 Have you brought it to Him in prayer? 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:44.880 And he says, Well, how do you do this? 00:18:45.440 --> 00:18:47.920 Turn your attention to God and then petition. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:53.119 It's the word some of your translations say supplication, it's an urgent request. 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:56.640 It's bring your heart before God. 00:18:57.200 --> 00:18:59.519 Bring your heart before God. 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:09.680 I think one of the reasons we talk to other people and not to God is we feel like we can tell other people what's really going on in our heart, but we don't really think we can tell God what's going on. 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:16.720 And so we have to like somehow go, like, I want to say the right words and say it in just the right way because I want you to work and move. 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:18.480 And I think there's a magical secret formula. 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.559 And if I use that, then hello, then you'll do something about it. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:23.680 C.S. 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:26.960 Lewis, we said this in our prayer series six weeks ago. 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:31.599 Said, bring to God what's in you, not what ought to be in you. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:43.039 One of the great places for you to go in learning to pray is the Psalms. 00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:55.039 As they teach our hearts how to bring our hearts before God, how to bring the realness of us and hold intention who God is at the same time. 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:58.000 And he can handle all of you. 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:05.759 All of your anger, all of your hurt, all of your doubt, all of your despair, he can handle all of it. 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:10.880 He says, turn your attention to God, bring your heart before God. 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.960 And then he says this little line with with thanksgiving. 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:16.240 With thanksgiving. 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:21.519 Like all of this that's happening, all of it, it's with thanksgiving. 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:23.440 Give thanks to God. 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:32.160 See, thanksgiving or gratitude is the key that unlocks the power to peace in your life through prayer. 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:38.559 Without it, it's just griping, it's just complaining. 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:43.519 Thanksgiving is so powerful. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:46.480 It it shifts our perspective. 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:49.839 It gives us a proper perspective on life. 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:54.799 And it begins to put God in his proper place in our life. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:59.440 And you're like, Ryan, what do I have to give thanks for? 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:01.920 You don't know my circumstance. 00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:08.240 It's interesting, the apostle Paul, 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 and 18, would write this something very similar. 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:10.000 He would say, Rejoice always. 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:14.240 Sounds like what Paul said earlier to the Philippians. 00:21:14.559 --> 00:21:16.160 Pray continually. 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:26.720 And then this little line, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for your life. 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:31.279 Some of you wrestling with God's will for your life. 00:21:31.359 --> 00:21:32.720 He's like, I wrote it down. 00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:37.039 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:40.480 Notice he didn't say give thanks for all circumstances. 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:43.839 Like, oh man, I'm so thankful. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:44.799 This sucks. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:46.079 No. 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:50.079 God, I am so thankful. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:55.359 This is the day you have made. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:57.519 I will rejoice and be glad in it. 00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:58.559 This day is a gift. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.680 I was not guaranteed it. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.039 This day. 00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:07.119 The breath in my lungs, I have it, and so I'm gonna thank you for it. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:08.799 You know what? 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:13.200 I have food, I have clothing, I have shelter. 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:15.119 God, I thank you for it. 00:22:15.279 --> 00:22:18.559 I started this because gratitude doesn't come naturally to us. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.640 We have to develop the skill of it. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:25.839 And so I started, I journal, you don't have to journal, but I'm a journalist, so I write in my journal every morning. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:27.519 Good morning, Heavenly Father. 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:28.000 I do. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:29.440 I start that way every single morning. 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:30.799 Because I'm like, that's how I greet. 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:35.839 If I saw you in the morning, I'd say, good morning, Sam, you know, or whatever your name is. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:38.240 Good morning, Heavenly Father. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:45.759 And then the first things I begin, because I want it to be an orientation of my heart and mind, is thank you, God. 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:49.839 And I just begin to list them regardless of how I feel that day. 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:53.519 Because we all have incredible things to thank God for. 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:57.519 And it puts life in proper perspective. 00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:00.000 And God in his proper place. 00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:15.440 Thank you, God, that right now I have every spiritual blessing in Christ. 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:17.680 Thank you that you chose me. 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:19.279 It wasn't an accident. 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:20.480 You wanted me. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:28.880 Thank you that you redeemed me, that you took me out of my sin and out of my shame, and I deserve nothing but death and hell. 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:33.200 And you said, I love you and I'll die for you, and I want you in my family. 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:35.200 Thank you that you adopted me. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:36.480 I am your beloved. 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:38.319 I'm the object of your affection. 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:40.880 You love me with an everlasting love. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:44.559 Thank you that I showed up today and new mercy is available. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.160 Thank you that I am forgiven fully, finally, and completely. 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:53.599 As far as the East is from the West, so far have you taken my sin from me. 00:23:53.839 --> 00:23:55.440 Thank you today. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:05.759 We turn our attention to God. 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:23.359 We bear our hearts before God, and gratitude is the key in all of this to unlock the power through prayer, the very peace of God, where you say, I give thanks, and it's a defiant, nevertheless, regardless of the circumstances you go through. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:27.519 And then with requests, be specific. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:30.400 Bring your specific needs to God. 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:35.119 What are the specific things that you're needing? 00:24:35.839 --> 00:24:38.240 What is the specific challenges? 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:41.359 What are the worries on your heart? 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:55.359 Peter would write this and say it this way: cast all of your cares or all of your anxieties on him because he cares for you. 00:24:58.240 --> 00:25:06.240 That there's no problem too big for your God and no thing too small for your heavenly father's attentive care. 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:10.559 Bring the specific needs before God. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:13.440 How do you pray in a way to experience the very peace of God? 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:15.200 We're going to identify right now. 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:19.279 I'm in a spiral, and instead of spiraling, I'm going to start praying. 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:19.920 Hello? 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:23.119 And amen by myself. 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:32.160 Isn't it amazing we can preach it but not practice it? 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:34.319 We can know it but not do it. 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:37.200 We all do this. 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:43.839 And some of you like you're going to hear something like this and you're going to begin to go, I should have, I should have stopped that. 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:48.720 And just begin to go, grace today. 00:25:49.839 --> 00:25:52.480 And I'm going to lean in to what God has for me. 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:58.799 Over COVID, there's incredible leadership challenges and face some incredible relational issues. 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:01.200 Anyone have any of that over COVID? 00:26:01.359 --> 00:26:02.880 Yeah, a few of you. 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:06.559 I began to develop a pattern and a habit. 00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:33.200 Would be up, and then all of a sudden, I realized if it's big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.440 If it's big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about. 00:26:37.759 --> 00:26:42.000 If it's on your mind, then it's on your heavenly father's heart. 00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:48.079 If it's big enough to pray about, then it's big enough to or big enough to worry about, it's big enough to pray about. 00:26:48.160 --> 00:27:04.240 And where you begin to go, why am I wasting time that something that's less than productive is actually destructive when I can pray about it, bring it to my heavenly father who cares about me and longs to hear, and then there's a promise. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.519 And the peace of God. 00:27:16.880 --> 00:27:21.759 The promise isn't that he fixed everything about you, what you were concerned or worried about. 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:24.000 He says, and the peace of God. 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:28.559 And it's not just like some peace that God might like dish out over here. 00:27:29.680 --> 00:27:34.240 It's not peace that somehow you have to conjure up and work and get like, you know what? 00:27:34.319 --> 00:27:40.160 I gotta somehow like, you know, like manufacture peace or or work my way or level up to it. 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:44.960 It's God's very peace is yours. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:48.880 Jesus would say it this way to his disciples in John chapter 17. 00:27:49.200 --> 00:27:53.440 My peace I leave you, my peace I give to you. 00:27:54.240 --> 00:27:56.480 Let your hearts not be troubled. 00:27:57.279 --> 00:28:03.200 The peace of God, which transcends all human understanding, meaning you can't fathom it, you can't understand it. 00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:14.559 You might be walking through something, and from the outside, people are going, I don't know how you're still standing, I don't know how you're still taking steps, but there's something in you, there's a settledness, there's a well-being, there's a way about you. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:21.519 You're the storm is raging, but inside we just can tell there's something transcendent going on. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:25.759 Well, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:27.599 That word guard, think about the context. 00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:29.359 Remember, the context is so good. 00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:32.880 That word guard is the picture of a Roman centurion. 00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:41.039 Remember, Paul is in prison in Rome, most likely with a guard right outside his door. 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:47.839 As he's pinning these words, he's looking at that guard and going, Don't be anxious. 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:57.519 Bring all of it in prayer, and the peace of God is like that Roman centurion that's standing guard at my door, and he will not let anxiety come in. 00:28:57.680 --> 00:29:02.559 He will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:04.960 It will stand guard over you. 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:10.960 Hearts and minds is your inner life, your thoughts and emotions. 00:29:11.359 --> 00:29:16.640 Peace is this idea, a state of well-being, of wholeness, completeness, soundness. 00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:19.279 It's shalom. 00:29:20.400 --> 00:29:24.880 It's his peace offered to you. 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:29.359 I think most of us have had this experience. 00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:38.400 Um I remember once as a kid, not a kid, I was 16, getting in a car accident. 00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:45.200 And uh if you've ever been in a car accident and you're, you know, all of a sudden they're like, what in the world's going on? 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:48.640 And you don't know what to do, you never navigated anything like this. 00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:50.480 And then I remember this image. 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:56.480 It was actually uh a few blocks away from where my dad worked the church, and I got in this accident. 00:29:56.640 --> 00:29:58.880 I was like, oh my gosh, I'm freaking out. 00:29:59.039 --> 00:30:04.640 And then all of a sudden, I see my dad running down the sidewalk to me. 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:09.039 And all of a sudden, peace came over me. 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:20.160 See, his presence didn't change the circumstance, it didn't change what was happening, but because he was there, I was at ease. 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:28.559 See, when darkness comes, we can choose to suffer from something or with someone. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:41.599 That there is this presence of Jesus' peace with us, and his presence is more than enough for us, regardless of whatever you are going through. 00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:48.319 And I know there's many in this room tonight or today would be like I'm walking in darkness. 00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:56.240 And we celebrate in this season advent or arrival or the long-awaited of the Messiah. 00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:00.319 And there's this prophecy, Isaiah 9, we read it around this time. 00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:09.759 Speaking of the one who would come, who would be with us, his presence with us, and it makes all the difference. 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:14.480 It says the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. 00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:17.920 Like if you're walking in darkness, the light has come. 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:21.519 On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has gone. 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:24.000 For unto us, we know this, a child is born. 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:29.440 Unto us, a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders, and he will be called. 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:30.400 Help me out. 00:31:30.640 --> 00:31:37.519 Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:41.920 Wonderful counselor when knowledge is insufficient. 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:49.680 Mighty God when circumstances are out of your control. 00:31:49.920 --> 00:31:54.000 Everlasting Father when the future is uncertain. 00:31:54.480 --> 00:32:04.240 Prince of peace when relationships are in distress or conflict, and your past raises its ugly head. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:08.480 See, we can suffer from something or with someone. 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:17.519 Jenny and I were in Georgia. 00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:22.799 We were at a small, well, it was a church plant, and I was a youth pastor. 00:32:23.119 --> 00:32:27.519 It was my first year, year and a half in full-time ministry. 00:32:28.400 --> 00:32:38.640 And our worship pastor, his daughter, senior in high school, was dating uh the kid who was leading worship for our youth ministry, Mike, Mike and Shay. 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:41.759 And uh they were in a band together with some other kids. 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:51.039 They're both seniors in high school, and they uh were going to play this gig about a few hours away from where they were at. 00:32:51.200 --> 00:32:55.359 A gig is where you're playing a show, for those of you who don't know uh what that meant. 00:32:55.599 --> 00:32:58.000 And and they're they they go, they play this gig. 00:32:58.079 --> 00:32:59.920 It's a great night, they had an awesome time. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:02.559 They're driving back, it's around 1 a.m. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:03.759 in the morning. 00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:08.640 Uh, and so they had a trailer with all their gear in it and this big SUV. 00:33:08.799 --> 00:33:14.079 Well, there's too many people for seat belts, and Mike and Shay said, we'll just sit in the very back of the SUV. 00:33:14.400 --> 00:33:21.119 As they began to drive home that night, the driver fell asleep. 00:33:21.839 --> 00:33:24.160 They veered off the road, they got in an accident. 00:33:24.319 --> 00:33:30.799 Mike and Shay were thrown from the car, and both were crushed by the trailer. 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:34.160 Mike unfortunately died immediately. 00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:50.240 And Shay was crushed and rushed to the hospital, and her parents got every the call, every parent, every parent's night bear. 00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:52.400 They rush to the hospital. 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:58.640 Eventually, we get the call, and everyone on our pastoral team, we're there, we're just showing up. 00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:01.119 We're in shock, but we're showing up. 00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:20.719 And we're crying and we're scared, and Shay's in the other room, and like she's so she's a beautiful young woman, and she's like so disfigured and swollen, and we're just desperate and praying, and the parents are scared and praying. 00:34:20.960 --> 00:34:27.679 And here's the only thing I can tell you about that moment the first time I think I've ever really experienced it like this. 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:32.000 There was a peace. 00:34:34.559 --> 00:34:37.760 Can't explain it, can't define it. 00:34:38.400 --> 00:34:44.559 There was a peace that transcended the circumstances, the moments. 00:34:45.119 --> 00:34:46.960 I was talking to Jenny yesterday about it. 00:34:47.039 --> 00:34:48.639 I was like, what do you remember? 00:34:49.039 --> 00:35:02.400 She's like, I remember Susan, that's Shay's mom, sitting by Shay, and Shay couldn't respond and wasn't even responsive, and the swelling, and just, you know, calming, petting her hand, and talking smoothly. 00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:07.679 And she said, there's just such a, there was such a settledness about her. 00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:23.840 You see, prayer overpowers anxiety with the presence of God's peace. 00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:28.000 It is not right, it is true. 00:35:29.599 --> 00:35:39.199 And I don't know what you're going through, I don't know what you're walking through, and what dark night of the soul is upon you. 00:35:41.760 --> 00:35:50.320 But the invitation, no, the promise, his presence. 00:35:52.239 --> 00:35:55.039 Would you turn your worry? 00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:57.119 Let's turn that concern. 00:35:57.599 --> 00:36:02.639 When it knocks, when anxiety knocks, and when it will come back, trust me, it will keep coming. 00:36:02.800 --> 00:36:06.159 And every time it comes, you're going, I ain't answering the door today. 00:36:06.239 --> 00:36:08.960 I'm coming to you, and I'm praying to you. 00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:13.840 I'm welcoming the very presence of Jesus and his peace in this moment. 00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:24.480 As we close, would you just take time to pray? 00:36:24.960 --> 00:36:27.280 To do what we just talked about. 00:36:30.639 --> 00:36:42.159 Whatever that worry concern, the dark, and you just begin to turn your attention to God and bring your heart before him. 00:36:42.400 --> 00:36:45.360 You start thanking him in the dark. 00:36:47.119 --> 00:36:50.159 And you tell him specifically what's going on. 00:36:50.480 --> 00:36:55.440 God, I pray for my friends right now. 00:36:57.280 --> 00:37:08.559 Would you allow them to experience your peace because it's your peace you give to us and you leave with us. 00:37:08.880 --> 00:37:10.719 Overwhelm them right now. 00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:13.039 And church, would you lean in? 00:37:15.440 --> 00:37:17.840 Bring to him what's in you.