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. 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:20.160 Well, good morning. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:22.480 You can take a seat. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:26.559 We're in a series called Presence. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.679 God's Antidote for Hurry, Anxiety, and Loneliness. 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:45.920 And as we begin, I want to light a candle just to remind our souls that Jesus, the light of the world, has entered our world. 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:51.119 And he is present here with us now. 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:55.679 And so as we begin, can we begin just with a pause? 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:57.759 We did it last week. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:00.159 Take a deep breath in. 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:08.480 Now, if you want, you can even close your eyes for a moment, settle your soul. 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:15.519 Do your best to put aside the hurry and the worry of the last week. 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:19.200 The concerns, the endless to-dos. 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:23.040 This is a holy moment. 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:30.959 Would you invite the Holy Spirit in this moment to meet with you? 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:49.680 Heavenly Father, we invite you to have your way in this moment. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:02:01.439 Thank you that you to me and speak to every single one of us, and you set aside this space as a sacred space for us. 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:04.000 And so have your way. 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:07.040 In Jesus' name. 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:08.719 And all God's people said. 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:10.159 Amen. 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.800 My wife is a real estate agent. 00:02:14.960 --> 00:02:18.400 And if you know anything about real estate the last year, it's been slow. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.719 It's been really slow. 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:26.639 And we've been praying, God, would you provide, you know, the sale of a home before the end of the year? 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:31.439 And one of our dear friends reached out to Jenny's looking for a place. 00:02:31.520 --> 00:02:36.960 And he's just like, oh my goodness, this feels like an answer to prayer, both for them and for us. 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:41.199 And uh she found this space and was like, oh, this is awesome. 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:49.840 And if you know anything about real estate, um, like for my wife, the minute a deal comes, like everything else is on pause. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:52.479 This takes all energy, all focus. 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:54.879 Found the place on two Thursdays ago. 00:02:54.960 --> 00:03:02.560 And so Thursday night, she literally pulled in all nighter getting the offer together, getting it in Friday, Saturday. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:07.599 There's nonstop negotiations, you know, emails, text, phone calls, all the rest. 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:11.439 And then Sunday, it felt like, okay, we're coming to the finish line. 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:16.159 Um, and you know, thought, like, okay, the seller is gonna sign the offer. 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:19.919 Jenny even brought her computer to our awakening Christmas party. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:21.439 You know, she's in the corner. 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:24.879 You know, this the glamorous life of a real estate agent, right? 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:26.879 Uh she's on her computer there. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:35.039 And then um the seller told her, like, uh the agent for the seller said, Hey, he'll sign it by 10 tonight. 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:41.759 And so we get home from the party, and it's like, okay, trying to stay up till 10 because that's hard for us, you know? 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:44.879 And so she stayed up till 10, nothing. 00:03:45.919 --> 00:03:46.879 Jenny stays up. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:48.159 I couldn't stay up any later. 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:50.639 She stayed up till midnight, nothing. 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:53.919 Wake up in the morning, nothing. 00:03:54.159 --> 00:03:54.879 Silence. 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:00.080 Later that day, gets news from the agent, hey, there's another negotiation. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:02.639 This is like the fourth one, I think, or something at this point. 00:04:02.800 --> 00:04:03.360 Wait, what? 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:05.759 I thought we had this nailed down. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:10.560 All day Monday, most of the day Tuesday, final best offer. 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:13.039 Like, there's nothing more she can do. 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:15.120 And the agent says, we'll let you know by five. 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:17.040 It's early afternoon Tuesday. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:18.879 I'm like, okay. 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:22.160 2 p.m., no word. 00:04:22.720 --> 00:04:24.959 3 p.m., nothing. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:27.839 Four, nothing. 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:30.720 And then I just have a sense of humor. 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:32.639 I don't know if it's a good one or not. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:34.240 Um, probably not. 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:39.040 Um, but I was like, oh, isn't it great that I'm teaching on anxiety this week? 00:04:40.319 --> 00:04:43.759 And she looked at me without a step miss. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:46.240 She said, Why can't you teach on peace or joy? 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:47.920 And I was like, fair enough. 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:49.279 Fair enough. 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:52.319 445, an email comes through. 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:55.120 The seller signed the deal. 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:56.959 Oh, yeah. 00:04:57.199 --> 00:04:58.639 Oh my goodness. 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:04.319 It's that in-between space, isn't it? 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:11.759 You know, that place of what you hope for, and then what you cannot control. 00:05:13.759 --> 00:05:16.879 That space of not knowing. 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:21.360 Life is filled with uncertainty, isn't it? 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:24.800 Life is filled with not knowing. 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:29.920 I don't know if I'm gonna be a part of the next round of layoffs. 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:35.360 I don't know how AI is gonna shift or impact my career or my work. 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:41.279 I don't know what I'm gonna do after I graduate or what I'm even gonna do for my life. 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:44.160 I don't know if I'm gonna find my person. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:49.360 I don't know if my kids are going to walk with Jesus or come back to Jesus. 00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:52.240 I just don't know. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:59.439 Not knowing is the soil where anxiety grows. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:08.160 In fact, psychologists tell us this that people handle bad news better than uncertainty. 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:16.240 Not knowing is where anxiety grows, and anxiety is pretty much just worrying about what will happen. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:22.720 It's our attempt, our effort to control what we don't know. 00:06:23.279 --> 00:06:32.319 And here's what happens: anxiety doesn't just live in our thoughts, it shows up in our bodies, it tightens our chest, knots our stomach, and keeps us on edge. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:41.680 And then we can even end up very much culturally, but some for personally, in a state of chronic anxiety. 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:52.240 Trains the body to live in constant alert, drains emotional resilience, shrinking our capacity for joy, narrowing the way we relate, risk, create, and trust. 00:06:52.959 --> 00:06:57.839 Becomes less about living fully and more just about managing fears. 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:10.160 We're gonna delve into this time around anxiety, and just as we begin, I want to say what we're gonna talk about is really God's antidote for anxiety. 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:25.839 And in this, for some, there's a chronic state where you need some good help from a great therapist, or there might be a chemical imbalance where you need some good medication, just like you would take Advil for a headache, you may need that too. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:36.480 And so, if that's where you're at, I just want to encourage you to lean into all the gifts that God's given us through his people and through one another. 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:46.160 Now, we are a culture that has embraced anxiety as a normal part of life, haven't we? 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:59.360 I mentioned last week um Jonathan Heid's book, The Anxious Generation, and we live in a world, this generation is more anxious than any generation in the history of the planet. 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:00.319 It's unprecedented. 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:01.439 There's a few reasons why. 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:04.399 First, is we live in a world of information overload. 00:08:04.480 --> 00:08:08.560 We have way more information coming at us than we were ever designed to take in. 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:16.240 24-7 information, global crises in our pocket instantly. 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:18.560 And it's overwhelming. 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:23.680 As a result, we're constantly connected, we're never off, we're always on. 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:25.680 More now. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:30.720 And when we get space and time, we just scroll. 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:34.960 And when we scroll, what happens is now we're in a comparison culture. 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:49.919 And the anxiety of feeling left behind, fear of missing out, feeling like you're not measuring up, you're not doing enough, because you look at everyone else's curated highlight reel and you feel like you're not enough. 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.639 And then it produces this relational isolation, doesn't it? 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:59.360 As our screen time goes up and our face time goes down. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:01.759 Let me ask you. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:06.720 Where are you anxious right now? 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:14.879 Where in your body do you feel anxiety? 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:26.720 What an uncertainty is stealing your peace. 00:09:29.519 --> 00:09:39.120 You know, in this season, the Christmas Advent, we celebrate the greatest event in human history, Emmanuel. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:40.159 What is Emmanuel? 00:09:40.240 --> 00:09:41.120 Help me out. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:43.039 God with us, yeah. 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:48.799 God with us, God stepping into the mess. 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:53.519 God seeing everything about us, you and me. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:57.279 Instead of leaning away from it, he leans in. 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:03.120 Stepping into time, space, history, becoming one of us. 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:10.720 God who's for you, not against you, God who's attentive and not apathetic. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:11.840 Think about this. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:16.320 God is already, always present with you. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:24.480 Right now, in this moment, God is already, always present with you. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:39.759 And the question, especially Silicon Valley, the question and the her culture, the hustle, the grind that we live in that we have to ask, especially in this season, is are we present with him? 00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:42.399 Are you present with him? 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:46.799 Am I present with him? 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:57.360 You see, the longing of your soul is actually found in just eight words. 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:02.879 The antidote for hurry, anxiety, and loneliness. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:04.720 Found in eight words. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:08.000 Psalm 46, 10 says it this way. 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:10.399 Now read it with me out loud, would you? 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:14.960 Be still and know that I am God. 00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:16.399 One more time, okay? 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:20.639 Be still and know that I am God. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:21.600 Is that? 00:11:21.759 --> 00:11:23.519 Is it be still? 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:25.519 Last week we talked about hurry. 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:27.440 And no, we're gonna talk about this. 00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:32.080 In in the age that we don't know, there's a lot we don't know about. 00:11:32.240 --> 00:11:36.000 You can know something confidently about God. 00:11:37.039 --> 00:11:38.000 That I am God. 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:41.360 Next week we're gonna talk about loneliness. 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:50.240 We said it this way: we must learn to be present to the presence of God in the presence. 00:11:50.639 --> 00:12:05.600 We must learn to be present, stop the scroll, be present, attentive, give our attention, have our affection set on the presence of God, the God that's already present with us in this present moment. 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:19.679 So when it comes to anxiety, when it comes to uncertainty, when it comes to the not knowing, the worry, the concern, the stress, the fear, the things that you are just oh anxious about. 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:27.919 When you start spinning out, stop to zoom out. 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:33.200 When you start spinning out, stop. 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:36.320 It's like a signal, it's a sign to stop. 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:44.720 When you start to spin out, when your mind starts to race, when your heart starts to beat really fast, when your chest starts to tighten, when you start spinning out, stop. 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:49.919 It's like a it's a signal your body's telling you, stop, be still. 00:12:50.799 --> 00:12:58.399 By the way, just the very act of being still decreases your cortisone level by like 10 to 30 percent. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:05.200 Like God knew what he was doing thousands of years ago before we had science and psychologists. 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:10.960 Be still and know that I am God. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:15.919 In his book, Managing Leadership Anxiety, Steve Cuss writes this. 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:26.399 He writes, the goal of managing anxiety is not simply for relief, it is to connect more fully with God and to raise awareness of what God is doing. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:32.000 Anxiety blocks our awareness of God because it takes our subconscious attention. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:40.720 This means that anxiety can be an early detection system that we're depending on something other than God for our well-being. 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:49.120 Notice the psalmist doesn't say be still and figure it out and fix it. 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:58.240 Be still and obsess over it, freak out, rehearse it over and over, the worst case scenarios. 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:02.240 I'm really good at all those, by the way. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.879 Be still and know. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:11.279 That word know is knowledge by way of experience. 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:22.000 It's not just intellectual knowledge, it is personal, relational, intimate knowledge that I'm God. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:27.759 Anxiety grows in the places of not knowing. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:41.360 What we want to spend the rest of our time together is talking about what you need to know about God in a world filled with uncertainty, in a world that's ever-changing, in a future you do not know. 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:43.200 What you need to know about God. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:46.720 If you got your Bibles, would you turn to Psalm 121? 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:49.679 Now, Psalm 121 is a psalm of ascent. 00:14:49.840 --> 00:15:02.399 A psalm of ascent is literally what uh the Israelite people, as they were pilgriming or journeying to Jerusalem for one of the festivals, these are songs that they would sing along the way. 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:07.279 Now, travel in the ancient day was a lot more precarious than it is today. 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:20.720 It was filled with danger, it was filled with weather that could totally interrupt your travel, terrain that was difficult to, you know, uh traverse, it was bandits along the way, illness that could totally sidetrack. 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:23.679 It was an incredibly precarious thing. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:26.879 And they sing this song, Psalm 121. 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:37.519 And the first thing that you need to know, the first thing that we need to be still and know about God is that God is bigger than your problems. 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.679 I like you keep it up, keep those amens going. 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:45.279 We're gonna we're we're gonna we're gonna get all of us going there too. 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:49.759 Psalm 121 says this I lift my eyes to the mountains. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:51.840 Where does my help come from? 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:55.519 I lift my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? 00:15:55.679 --> 00:16:00.720 My help comes from the Maker, the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:06.879 Now, when we're talking about the eyes, it's that which has our attention, the things that we focus on. 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:11.600 Let me ask you, what are the things that you're focused on that has your attention? 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:14.159 I lift my eyes to the mountains. 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:21.360 Now, when we think about mountains, we look at them and go, oh, how beautiful, how majestic, how inspiring. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:23.600 Oh, I love the mountains. 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:24.799 Actually, I'm a beach guy. 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:27.120 But you know, some people love the mountains. 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:32.159 In the ancient world, the mountains were actually an obstacle. 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:39.679 If you're traveling and you see a mountain in the distance that you gotta cover, you're like, oh boy. 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:42.159 The mountains were a problem. 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:45.519 In fact, the mountains were a place of danger. 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:53.600 It was often where bandits and those that uh were out to get you would hide because there was great places for that. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:57.120 It was also a place for the of idolatry. 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:03.840 It would be the high places where you begin to usurp God and worship, and you know, idolatry is this idea. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:06.319 If only I had blank, then I would be. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:09.759 If only I could solve this, then my life would be figured out. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:14.559 If only this issue would be resolved, then everything else. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:19.680 See, I lift my eyes to the mountains. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:24.000 My eyes are fixed on the mountains, my eyes are set on the problems. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:25.359 And here's what I want you to do with me. 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:27.839 Would you just take your hands right here, put them right by your eyes? 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:28.400 There we go. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:29.440 I can see you, by the way. 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:33.920 Okay, and then just go, and you got to do the sound. 00:17:34.559 --> 00:17:35.359 Yeah, that's good. 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:36.160 All right, you ready? 00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:39.680 All right, I lift my eyes to the mountains. 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:42.480 Where does my help come from? 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:46.400 Like it's this, I'm doing that, I know it's silly, but it but it's this shift. 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:55.039 Like, like I'm so focused on my problems, I'm so focused on the issues, I'm so focused on my worries, my concerns, the things that are going, and they they're real. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:17:58.480 I don't know if I'm gonna get the job. 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:14.799 I don't know how this is gonna turn out, I don't know, and I've got my attention and my focus, and when I start spinning out to the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:17.680 I'm shift my focus just one notch up. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:19.440 I shift my focus up. 00:18:19.519 --> 00:18:26.480 I'm gonna look to the God who's actually bigger than my problems. 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:30.000 Let me help you zoom out for a little bit. 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:35.039 Okay, you're sitting in here, you're sitting on your chair, you solid, you there, good, okay. 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:37.519 You're in your chair. 00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:39.920 We're on this planet. 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:47.680 Currently, right now, it is spinning a thousand miles an hour on its axis. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.200 Did you know that? 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:52.000 We don't even notice it. 00:18:52.319 --> 00:19:04.079 It's spinning a thousand miles an hour and it's orbiting around the sun at a thousand miles or at a 67,000 miles an hour. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:06.960 Did you know we're moving that fast right now? 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:08.559 That's insane. 00:19:09.119 --> 00:19:17.519 And we're orbiting around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour, yet we're 93 million miles away from the sun. 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:24.960 Scientists tell us that that distance is known as the habitable zone. 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:32.160 A little bit closer, water would evaporate, life as we know could not exist. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:38.000 A little bit further, water would uh freeze, life as we know it wouldn't exist. 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:52.160 We live in this space, finely balanced window that God has placed this spinning rock a thousand miles an hour and traveling at 67,000 miles an hour. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.240 93 million miles away from the sun. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:07.359 The God who placed the earth at just the right distance from the sun is the same God who knows exactly where you're at right now. 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:10.640 And then it gets better than this. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:11.920 You show this next slide. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:15.920 This, by the way, and there will be a quiz. 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:21.839 This is Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744. 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:23.039 I hope you got that. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:27.119 Spiral galaxy NGC 6744. 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:31.440 Uh, the reason I show it to you is Chinese tell us this is basically a twin of our galaxy. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:35.039 We can't really see our galaxy, but they say this is a twin of our galaxy. 00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:38.079 It's actually much bigger than the Milky Way galaxy. 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:48.640 Now, when we think about the Sun that we're whirling around in all this, the Sun is one of approximately a hundred billion other stars in the Milky Way galaxy. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:49.519 Okay. 00:20:50.559 --> 00:21:02.079 And if we were to try to traverse the Milky Way galaxy, it looks something like that, it would take us a hundred thousand light years to cross. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:11.279 Now, light, I know you know this, so I apologize for you know everyone who's, you know, like, okay, Ryan, we know how fast light travels. 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:16.160 Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:18.799 I think he drove a little slower here. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.559 At the speed, at that speed, think about this. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:33.359 It takes a hundred thousand years at a hundred and eighty-six thousand miles per second just to cross our soul Milky Way galaxy. 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:41.359 And there are hundred to two hundred billion other galaxies in the universe. 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:58.480 And God spoke, and everything came into existence, and he holds all things together, and he can hold you in this moment. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:06.880 The God who named the stars knows your name. 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:16.400 See, when you start to spin out, stop to zoom out, the first thing, be still and know that I am God. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:19.920 Yeah. 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:28.000 God is bigger than AI. 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:30.079 God is bigger than the political world. 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:32.160 God is bigger than the economic reality. 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:35.519 God is bigger than whatever you're walking through. 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:38.000 God is bigger than the uncertainty of the season. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:40.480 God is bigger than that family issue, that drama. 00:22:40.640 --> 00:22:41.839 God is bigger. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:43.680 God is got you. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:49.920 And if we keep our eyes focused on our problems, I understand it because they're big, they're overwhelming. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:58.400 But at some point we just gotta zoom out and go, okay, in the middle of this, and it's real and it's hard and it's difficult and it's painful. 00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:06.880 Yes, and and God is bigger than whatever you're going through. 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:08.559 And it gets better than that. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:13.359 Because he's not only bigger than your problem, he's attentive to your needs. 00:23:13.599 --> 00:23:15.440 You notice what it says next. 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:19.119 It says, He will not let your foot slip. 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:24.000 Foot slippage is such a problem in our world, isn't it? 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.519 He who watches over you will not slumber. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:34.559 Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:44.160 That whole idea of not allowing your foot to slip is not that you're not going to experience hardship, not that you're not going to experience pain or trials or go through difficult things. 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:56.240 What it is is simply echoing or what the Apostle Paul would say later in Romans 8, that nothing can ever separate you from the love of God. 00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:03.599 Neither height nor depth nor angels nor principalities, nothing and all created thing will ever be able to separate you. 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:07.519 He will not allow you to slip from his loving grasp. 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:10.559 It's interesting that word watch. 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:17.920 In your English translation, for many you have it there, it's in there five times. 00:24:18.880 --> 00:24:25.440 In Hebrew, this word watch is in there eight times. 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:28.720 He is attentive. 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:32.000 He is got you. 00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:34.960 It says he won't slumber. 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:38.720 In the ancient Near East, the gods conquered the chaos monsters. 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:41.359 These were the stories they told, and then they slept. 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:49.599 But in sleeping, a sleeping God is a problem because you cannot wake them or wake them when you need them. 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:54.799 And it says, God is attentive, he is watching, he's got you. 00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:02.400 Um I'm at this stage in life where our kids come home for Christmas. 00:25:02.559 --> 00:25:05.839 It's kind of a weird new world that we're living in. 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:07.839 My daughter just came home from France. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:14.799 She hopped on a plane, plane from France to Germany, and then from Germany to San Francisco, got home Friday night. 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:15.599 Praise the Lord. 00:25:15.680 --> 00:25:16.880 It's like Christmas for parents. 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:18.160 It's the best ever. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:19.279 It's awesome. 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:20.319 I love it. 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:21.839 And then I just had this thought. 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:23.359 Like, do you remember? 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:27.680 Do you remember the first time like you traveled by yourself? 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:34.480 The fear, the anxiety, the stuff you never thought about? 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:36.240 Some of you had this experience. 00:25:36.319 --> 00:25:37.359 I've had this experience. 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:42.960 Like I grew up and I got to travel with my parents, my mom or my dad. 00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:49.759 I didn't really think about anything, especially what to pack. 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:54.799 But you know, I just like you show up and you just kind of go. 00:25:55.039 --> 00:25:55.680 Why? 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:57.680 Because mom's got you. 00:25:58.400 --> 00:25:59.920 Dad's got you. 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:14.000 When you travel with mom and dad, you don't think about what time you need to leave for the airport, whether there'll be traffic, how much time it will take to get through security, where is your gate, whether you'll have overhead space for your carry-on or not. 00:26:14.799 --> 00:26:17.680 Um one of my great pet fees, by the way. 00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:22.640 Uh, what if your flight is delayed, or whether you'll make your connection or not? 00:26:22.799 --> 00:26:24.559 You don't! Why? 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:30.319 Because mom and dad is watching over you. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:39.599 And God says, I'm watching over you. 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:52.720 God of the universe says, if you when you go and you fix your eyes on God, you realize that God's eyes have already been fixed on you. 00:26:54.240 --> 00:27:03.200 That his loving gaze is already upon you, that he's attentive to your needs. 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:06.799 God is bigger than your problems. 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.839 The first thing we need to know, he's attentive to your needs. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:13.519 Third thing we need to know is God is a shelter in the storm. 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:15.200 He's a shelter in the storm. 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:16.960 The Lord watches over you. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:19.359 The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:22.720 The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:32.480 In the ancient world, the sun uh symbolized visible external danger, heat, exhaustion, exposure, threats that you could see coming. 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:34.640 What exhausts you? 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:39.359 What's burning you out? 00:27:40.880 --> 00:27:42.880 God wants to be your shelter. 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:50.720 The night represents invisible danger, fear, anxiety, disorientation, the way the mind can unravel in the darkness. 00:27:51.039 --> 00:27:55.759 In the ancient Near East associated the moon with mental and emotional issues. 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:56.960 We get our words. 00:27:57.039 --> 00:28:02.640 Even today we use the word lunacy, luna, moon, moonsickness, lunatic. 00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:09.440 They observe that fear, despair, and anxiety often intensified at night. 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:13.759 What's internally affecting you? 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:29.039 I find in my life that my first response isn't to fix my eyes on God, but try to fix it myself. 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:34.079 And so I spin out. 00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:37.920 And so I wrestle. 00:28:39.839 --> 00:28:40.960 I freak out. 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:42.799 I have sleepless nights. 00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:49.759 Over all the stuff I cannot control and I have no power to change. 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:57.680 All the while I have a God who says, God, Ryan, I'm bigger than whatever you're going through. 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:00.160 And I'm attentive. 00:29:00.880 --> 00:29:03.440 I actually I'm involved. 00:29:03.519 --> 00:29:08.240 I'm watchful over your life the way a good father or mother is. 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:11.119 Would you run to me? 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:16.480 Would you turn to me to be your shelter, your strength in a storm? 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:19.039 And finally. 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:26.400 God is in control of the future. 00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:36.960 The psalmist is using the present tense all the way through, and then in verse 7 shifts to the future tense. 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:44.240 The Lord watches presently, right now, actively watching, and then verse 7 says, The Lord will keep you from all harm. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:46.799 The Lord will watch over your life. 00:29:46.960 --> 00:29:51.599 The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and how long? 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:54.240 Forevermore. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:04.799 This future tense means that God will never stop watching over your life for the totality of your life. 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:12.000 I mean, I'm uh if I'm honest, I've really struggled with anxiety over the course of my life. 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:16.000 Especially when my kids were born, oh my goodness. 00:30:16.160 --> 00:30:21.200 In their early days, I mean, I think I just scarred them with my anxiety so much. 00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:22.160 I did, I did. 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:28.319 You know, and I mean I'd have nights, many, many nights, I was so like wrapped up with anxiety. 00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:31.599 Like I couldn't sleep because I was afraid, like, is somebody gonna break into my house? 00:30:31.759 --> 00:30:40.160 I had no evidence that somebody would, but I would stare into the backyard, into the night abyss, looking for signs of somebody. 00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:41.039 Why? 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:41.920 I don't know. 00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:45.839 We we'd go to, you know, we had a fun trip to go to Disneyland. 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:51.279 I would be anxious, having nightmares about what could happen, what might happen to them. 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:56.960 If we went to a pool or went somewhere, I'd have night, like the anxiety was crippling. 00:30:57.440 --> 00:31:00.160 And anxiety is contagious too. 00:31:04.720 --> 00:31:18.559 And then as I was studying, you remember that passage Jeremiah 29, 11, for I know the plans I have for you to carry as the Lord, plans for your welfare and not your calamity to give you a future and a hope. 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:25.599 This line that became my anthem started to settle my soul. 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:27.759 I don't know the future. 00:31:27.920 --> 00:31:29.119 Would you say that with me? 00:31:29.359 --> 00:31:30.880 I don't know the future. 00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:33.359 And it's true, we don't. 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.359 But I know the one who knows. 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:41.200 Front rows on it. 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:49.039 I don't know the future, but I know the one who knows, and that's enough for me. 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:53.599 Like, I don't know how this job's gonna turn out. 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:56.240 I don't know whether they're gonna come to know Jesus. 00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:59.039 I don't know, you know, if my marriage is gonna make it. 00:31:59.200 --> 00:32:01.839 I don't know if my kids are gonna be okay. 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:04.079 I don't know what's gonna happen to my parents. 00:32:04.240 --> 00:32:14.880 I don't know, but here's what I do know, here's where I stand confident, here's where my focus and attention, I know the one who knows, and that's enough for me. 00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:23.200 Tim Keller, when he was diagnosed with cancer and the uncertainty of what does this mean? 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:30.319 Wrestling with, you know, is this gonna take his life? 00:32:31.440 --> 00:32:37.039 In the conversation with his wife, he got to this settled assurance. 00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:50.880 In conversation, he says this if Jesus Christ was actually raised from the dead, if he really got up, walked out, was seen by hundreds of people, talked to them, if he was raised from the dead, then you know what? 00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:54.319 Everything's gonna be okay. 00:32:56.319 --> 00:33:02.480 Whatever you're worried about right now, whatever you're afraid of, everything's going to be okay. 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:08.000 If the tomb is empty, then anything's possible. 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:11.839 You know what's fascinating? 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:19.359 We do not have more uncertainty than generations past. 00:33:21.599 --> 00:33:22.960 Did you realize that? 00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:25.519 Like, just think about childbirth. 00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:29.200 It was way more uncertain a hundred years to give birth than it is today. 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:37.680 You get an illness like the flu or the cold, your future was way more uncertain a hundred years ago than today. 00:33:37.920 --> 00:33:40.000 We do not have more uncertainty. 00:33:40.160 --> 00:33:44.559 What we have is we try to control our future more than generations past. 00:33:47.920 --> 00:33:49.440 I don't know the future. 00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:57.680 But I do know personally that the one who knows. 00:33:59.279 --> 00:34:12.159 And he's bigger than my problem, he's attentive to my needs, he's a shelter in the storm, and he's in control of the future, and in that fact I will rest. 00:34:14.320 --> 00:34:20.880 Let me ask you, do you know God personally? 00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:28.079 Not just information about God, details. 00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:43.440 So you can have been coming to church for a while and know things about God, but do you know him personally in a way like a father or a mother that is watching over your life where you go, I know that he's got me. 00:34:43.920 --> 00:34:46.719 I know that he's attentive, I know that he's watching. 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:48.559 Because today can be your day. 00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:51.920 Maybe you've never said yes to Jesus, and you say yes to him. 00:34:52.320 --> 00:34:58.719 He wants to bring you into a personal relationship with him that brings hope and life and peace. 00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:02.480 And it's just simply the cry of the heart, Jesus, I want to know you. 00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:04.559 Would you come into my life? 00:35:07.280 --> 00:35:20.000 Here's the amazing part because God is infinite, there's no limit to the depth of knowing Him. 00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:26.079 My dad just recently had a back surgery, his third in like a decade. 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:28.320 Major, major reconstructive. 00:35:28.480 --> 00:35:30.159 Thank God it went really well. 00:35:30.400 --> 00:35:32.000 He's recovering great. 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:36.960 But he told me this interesting thing after the surgery. 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:38.639 He's 71 years old. 00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:41.599 He's been preaching for 40 plus years. 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:45.519 He's even written a book on the attributes of God. 00:35:45.840 --> 00:35:47.039 He knows God. 00:35:48.159 --> 00:35:50.800 He's walked with Jesus for a long time. 00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:54.320 And he's helped many, many people walk with Jesus. 00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:56.880 And he had this great line. 00:35:57.039 --> 00:35:58.239 I just love this. 00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:15.199 He said when we talk about the presence, God's presence, or Jesus' promise to be with us, just prior to surgery, in some way, I realized it's a real person who's going to be with me. 00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:20.079 It's not just in a general presence sense. 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:23.360 And it's kind of changed how I've prayed. 00:36:24.239 --> 00:36:26.239 It's been very encouraging. 00:36:28.079 --> 00:36:29.360 I love that. 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:36.880 Because at 71, he's experiencing the personalness of Jesus in a fresh way. 00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:47.440 And there's some in this room, I have to say many in this room, you need to experience the personalness of Jesus in a fresh way. 00:36:48.079 --> 00:36:50.960 That's why we have the table set at communion. 00:36:52.400 --> 00:36:55.199 As we turn to worship, this is this invitation. 00:36:55.360 --> 00:36:56.159 Do you know? 00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:58.719 Do you know God? 00:37:01.760 --> 00:37:06.639 Maybe for the first time you cry out, Jesus, would you come into my life? 00:37:06.880 --> 00:37:08.159 I want to know you. 00:37:11.760 --> 00:37:14.079 Or maybe you've just gone through the emotions. 00:37:14.159 --> 00:37:16.320 This is just another Christmas season. 00:37:21.039 --> 00:37:30.079 And there is a depth and a beauty and a knowing of God that He longs for you to experience in a fresh way. 00:37:32.239 --> 00:37:36.079 And you would allow that to be the cry of your heart, God, I want to know you. 00:37:36.880 --> 00:37:38.719 I want to know you personally. 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:42.079 And so as we close, just take a moment. 00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:43.679 Again, settle back down. 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:47.519 That deep breath. 00:37:57.119 --> 00:38:03.280 And would you just allow the cry of your heart, the longing of your soul, Jesus, I want to know you. 00:38:05.519 --> 00:38:08.320 In a deep, personal way. 00:38:12.719 --> 00:38:18.880 For some, would you just even begin to take your hands and move them over your heart? 00:38:19.119 --> 00:38:22.320 Because you know a lot of head information about God. 00:38:23.599 --> 00:38:29.440 But you're inviting him, would you move that head information to heart relation? 00:38:37.039 --> 00:38:42.000 Holy Spirit, in this moment, we invite you to have your way to work and to move. 00:38:42.320 --> 00:38:44.079 Breathe new life. 00:38:44.480 --> 00:38:46.880 Draw our hearts close to us. 00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:52.480 Bring salvation to those who are calling out to you right now. 00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:57.440 Bring healing and wholeness and hope. 00:39:00.400 --> 00:39:05.599 But I pray that friends that would encounter you personally and profoundly. 00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:23.360 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:29.440 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.