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Well, good morning, church. How's everyone doing? So as a church, we have been going through the book of Philippians together. And it has been awesome. So our series declaration is, we can't change yesterday. We can't control tomorrow. But we can choose joy today. And I want to start by asking you guys a question. Now, who here has had car problems? Quite a few of us. Well, I drive a 2004 Toyota Sienna, 300,000 miles on that thing. I'm telling you, that thing has been faithful to my family for years. We've gone on vacations, just getting my kids everywhere. More recently, I've been using it as my work vehicle. Well, the other day, I was driving home, a couple weeks ago, actually, I was driving home, just minding my business, listening to the radio, listening to some throwbacks. If I can fall into the sky You guys know that song. Y'all know, I just mind my business, having a good time. And all of a sudden, my engine started making the craziest noises. And I knew, I knew if I were to stop right there on the road, it would just die right there. So what did I do? I just kept that thing rolling. Don't judge me. I got up to red lights. I said, I'm not stopping. I'm just going to keep rolling. So I just rolled that thing all the way home, started singing my own theme song. Just keep rolling. Just keep rolling. I rolled that thing to my driveway, stopped, and it died right there. So I got it towed, took it to the mechanic. Now, I'm not a car guy. The mechanic makes me nervous. I'm not, I'm gonna be honest with you guys. I'm just, I don't really, you ask me to change a tire, it doesn't come with guarantees. That's all I'm saying. But the mechanic looked at me and he asked me the question I dread. And he said it just like this. He said, "What's up, buddy?"What's wrong with your car?" And I said, "I don't know, chief." And he said, "Hey pal, you gotta give me something." So I said, "Okay, friend." So I started just making up the noise. I thought the engine was making. I did my best to explain it. Needless to say, a thousand dollars later, I drove that thing home. It died the same day. Didn't even fix the problem. But here's what I want you guys to catch. I also got a great big Ford Transit, 15 passenger. That thing hauls all my kids and their friends. My parents take all their grandkids around in it. We use it for church youth trips, it's awesome. That van runs fine. But lately, lately guys, every time I drive it, I have the radio down and I'm just listening. Every bump of the road sounds like it's going to be the beginning of the end. And we've all been there, right? We've been there. We got our worries. We worry about our kids. We got bills to pay. Conversations we can't take back. Some of us, some of us are Cowboys fans. We're just stressed all season long. You know what I'm saying? We're just stressed. I don't know how y'all do that, to be honest. But, yeah, some of us, you know, we do, we worry about a diagnosis we receive. We worry about a kid, a decision, a phone call we're scared to make. And so worry comes at all of us. But the thing is, most of us, well, most of us have gotten good at hiding it, right? We could come in here on a Sunday, shake ten hands, sing every song, and be absolutely eaten up by something nobody in this room knows about. Now I want you guys to picture this with me. We've been talking about Philippians, our boy Paul, well he's been locked up in Rome and it's not because of anything he did wrong. He appealed to Caesar after years of being falsely accused back in Jerusalem. But now he's locked up, possibly staring down at execution. And from that cell, guys, he writes a letter to the church he loves, a church he planted, and the people he misses. So the scripture we're focusing on today comes from Philippians, chapter 4, verses 6-7. So I had to do it guys, I just had to do it. So it says this, "Don't worry about anything." Some translations say don't be anxious about anything. But don't worry about anything. instead pray about everything tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we could understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Now, did you guys catch that? He said, "Don't worry about anything." I was like, "Paul, you're chained up. You don't know if you'll get tomorrow," and that's the sentence you lead with? You all want to know what I would say if I was writing that letter? I would say, "Get me out of here. Somebody help me. Help me, please. That's what I would write personally. I wouldn't be talking about joy and all that stuff, but here's what makes it even stranger, and I don't want you guys to miss this, because this letter from Paul was actually the most joyful thing he ever wrote, and he uses joy over and over again from prison. So either he's completely out of touch with reality, or he has found something most of us haven't. And I want you guys to hear this, because this is important to hear too. Paul, he doesn't say, "Well, Jesus' followers can't worry." He does not say, "Fear won't show up." He does not say, "If you just had more faith, "you wouldn't feel this way."'Cause the truth is worry comes at all of us, comes at all of us. But Paul says this, "Worry is not your only move." There's another way, and it's to pray about everything, not just the spiritual stuff, not just the church stuff, not just the stuff we try to polish up and bring to God, make it sound good. We're talking about everything. And here's what I want you guys to write down. Anxiety is not a sign that you're broken. It's a sign you're carrying something you were never designed to carry alone. And Paul, he's about to show us where to put it down. So first one is we gotta bring everything to God. Paul doesn't say, "Hey, find the right self-help book." He doesn't say, "Hustle harder." He doesn't say, "Fake it till you make it." I hate that saying. He says pray about everything. And this is what we mean, so you hear, what do you hear Jacob say all the time on the stage? Spend daily time with God. You hear him say it all the time here. And all that simply means is we invite God into our everyday life and we step into what he's doing. 'Cause we're surrounded by so much noise, right? So many notifications, so much endless information that our souls can use a little quiet. So Paul, he's not just offering a hack here, he's pointing to a relationship, a relationship with Jesus. And he shows us two ways to pray here. First, we gotta tell God what we need. Jesus taught it like this. Give us this day our daily bread. Be honest with God. Tell him what you need, and then trust him with it. Now, I'll tell you where this gets real with me. I have six kids, ages four to 15. And guys, they are awesome. I love my kids and I, hey, you saw her up here. I have a beautiful, smart, kind, fun wife and she happens to be really good at jujitsu too. So you know, my house, it is, it truly is a source of joy but it is also loud. Like my house is so loud and it could be a lot and at times guys, it completely overwhelms me. So I get anxious about the laundry, the laundry, the messes, the dishes, the bills, about my parenting, about whether I'm giving each of my kids enough for me or just enough to get by the day and I worry if my wife is just gonna show up out of nowhere and put me in an armbar. She practices her moves on me. it hurts. It's not fun. But I also worry, guys, let me be honest with you, I worry about my high schooler, his friend group, the choices coming at him that I don't get a vote on anymore. Now I've laid in bed at night and I've built entire futures for that kid out of nothing. But here, this is what I'm learning to do instead with that worry. Instead of circling that worry in my head, guys, I circle it in prayer. God, bring godly friends around him today. Bring godly men who will mentor him when he's not listening to me. Now that's the same worry, right, but I'm taking it a different direction. So instead of dwelling on the guys, I hand it over. 1 Peter 5 says it like this, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Because he cares for you. Now cast, that's not a gentle word, right? You don't cast something down softly. You throw it and catch the reason he gives. Not just because God can handle it, it's because he cares about you. He's taken it because you are his. Now the second way we can pray that Paul shows us is with gratitude. We got to thank God for everything he's already done. The old way they used to say this is, count your blessings. You got to count your blessings, but seriously, try it out loud. Start with today. Now those kids who are stressing you out, God, thank you for giving me the privilege to raise these kids and giving me patience in the process. Thank you, God. That job you're dreading on to go to on Monday, God, thank you for providing for me. Use this season to help shape me. That house that's always a wreck, and guys, it's about to be fall, and I don't know about you guys, but you get all them leaves piling up, God, thank you for shelter and electricity and running water and the food in my refrigerator. Now that's the same kids, same job, same house. But guys, guess what? You cannot hold gratitude and anxiety in the same hand at the same time. One of them has to go. So start counting, guys, and you will get overwhelmed, but not by your worry, by His faithfulness. And now I know some of you guys, I'm going to actually take a water break, because hey, I'm an introvert. I don't do this much talking. My throat's dry. I know some of you guys are probably pushing back in your seats a little. Some of you prayed, and it's about the exact same thing you're feeling anxious about right now. And it didn't change. I get it. And you know, unfortunately, prayer is not a vending machine. But this verse isn't promising your circumstance instantly changes it. It's promising peace. And that's a different promise. And we're going to get there. But I want you guys to notice something. Paul, he didn't write "don't worry" to one isolated guy in a room. Who did he write it to? The church. A community. You are never meant to carry this by yourself, guys. So what do we have to do? We have to get in community. Now here's something nobody tells you about worry and anxiety. It does not stay the same size when you keep it to yourself. It grows. Unable to sleep, it's 2 a.m., your mind's racing in every direction. That is where anxiety does its best work. Anxiety grows best in isolation. And here's the trap. Anxiety also tells you to isolate. It tells you that nobody wants to hear it, that you would be a burden, that you are the only one that is feeling this way. So it feeds itself. Like I said, guys, I am an introvert. I love my alone time. For the longest time, I would have told you, I can handle it. Oh, I know my issues. I know my stuff. I don't need y'all for that. I don't need people for that. But last spring, I did a Freedom Group, and it was awesome. It was just a room but it was also a group of guys I could hang out with and be honest with. Guys that I could hand my worries to. Guys who would pray for me right there and encourage me on the way out. And let me be straight with you, I do have this pastor's title and it would have been so easy for me to walk in there and act like I got it all handled. I got a secret for you guys. I don't. I don't have it all handled. So I I told them I told them about my parenting about my anxieties and my worries and my fears and guess what I left lighter Every single time now. Here's what isolation cannot do. I mean, you can carry it by yourself and people do it for decades, but you cannot get lighter by yourself You need other people for that and I love that you guys are here on a Sunday I do but Sunday was never built to carry your whole week Because 65 minutes on a Sunday cannot hold you Monday through Saturday. You need people in the other six days. That is finding community with other everyday people learning how to follow Jesus. And here that's why we do small groups. Sunday our goal is to help you be with Jesus. But small groups, that helps you become like Jesus. We say it here like this, small groups is a place you can connect. You get to know people and you get known, where you're protected. You get people in your corner when life gets hard, and where you can grow together in Jesus. So here's your move this week, guys. Anxiety, it wants you isolated. Do not give it what it wants. Our groups, they launched two weeks ago, guys, but hey, there's still room. It's not too late. Two weeks is the perfect time to walk in. Now, walking into a room full of people you don't know well, I'm not going to pretend. It can be uncomfortable, right? All my introverts, y'all know what I'm talking about. It can be uncomfortable. But staying home is easier. Easier is comfortable, right? But comfort doesn't mean lighter. Now catch this. You can stay comfortable, but you will not get lighter binge watching a show on the couch. So Paul says this. This is what he says to do with your worry. pray about it hey don't carry it alone but underneath of those is a promise and this guys is the part I do not want you to miss I do not want you guys to miss this and this promise comes from someone who knows exactly what you're carrying.

Hebrews 4: 14:03

14 through 16 says it like this therefore since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses. But we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Now a high priest in the Old Testament, that's the one guy who could go in on your behalf once a year behind a curtain. You didn't go to God yourself, somebody went for you. And Hebrews says we have one. And this is the line I love. He is able to empathize with our weaknesses. He's been tempted in every way and yet he was without sin. So the one standing between you and God, well, he's no stranger to this life. He knows what anguish feels like. He sweated in the garden over what was coming. He asked if there was another way. He knows what the 2 a.m. feels like. But he didn't let it drive him. He handed it to the Father, willingly went to the cross for us, defeated sin and death and walked out of that grave and right now, guys, he is at the right hand of the Father interceding for you. That is your high priest. That's your Jesus. And that same Jesus, what did he say? He said you will have trouble in this world. take heart take heart guys because he has overcome the world therefore we can approach the throne of grace with what timidity no with confidence confidence guys walk in not carefully not once you've cleaned up not after you got your anxiety under control and you could present the tidy version of yourself confidence guys as you are walk in that is the exact same thing Paul is saying "Tell God what you need," but most of us don't. We've all got our own systems, right? Every one of us guards ourselves with something. Some just use worry as a guard. We run every scenario in advance so nothing can catch us off guard. Some of us, well, we just guard with isolation. I can handle it myself, I'm good, I don't need anybody. Some of us guard with achievement, with control, with the calendar, with being the strong one. Some of us guard with distraction. Another drink won't hurt. One more episode, mindless scrolling, and some of us guard with blame. It's not my fault. You know, we've all got a system, right? And I'll tell you two things about them. They are exhausting and none of them work. Here's what Paul said instead back in Philippians 4:7. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Now stop right there on that word guard. Guys, when I think of guard, this is what I think of. Let's see if we got a picture. Whew, wow, the mountain, he's big. That guy's scary, that's intimidating. You know, sometimes I think of this guy. Trent Williams, man. That's my kind of guard right there, protecting this year's MVP, Brock Purdy. Know what I'm saying? And then some of us probably think of this guy. The bodyguard, Kevin Costner. I will always love you All right, anyway, this has nothing to do with my message, guys. That's just kind of what I think of when I hear the word guard, sorry. But here's the thing, guys. You only need a guard if what? If something is attacking. You don't post guard over nothing, right? Gotta fix my notes for trying to mess up on me. So, if you need a guard, guys, guess what that means? It means you are under attack. Not maybe, but definitely. There's a spiritual enemy that is after your mind and after your heart. We gotta let go and let Jesus take guard. Let him guard your heart. Now your heart, guys, that's where your identity lives, who you believe you are. And that is exactly what is under constant fire. Not good enough, not doing enough, not enough period not the parent I should be not the spouse I should be not as far along as I should be right now now Jesus he doesn't he doesn't just comfort you in that fight he stands post over who he says you are so the lies guys so lies don't get the final word and your mind let Jesus guard your mind your mind is where the stories get written what you believe about yourself and about other people about what's coming next and notice this, guys, most of what we're anxious about it hasn't even happened yet we take a what-if and we could build entire futures out of it then we grieve it and we defend against it and none of it's real Jesus guards your mind from the stories that aren't even true yet and he guards both of those things with peace that's peace not with the explanation Paul says it's a peace that doesn't even make sense a peace that runs right past your understanding and guys that's the kind you need it's the kind you need because if you're a peace only dependent on understanding, well you're never going to get peace. You're not going to get all the answers. Paul has zero answers in that cell, a guard chained to his wrist, and the execution possibly coming, and he had peace anyway. Not because his circumstances changed, because his guard did. Because his guard did. And now guys, here's the shift I really want you to see. So lean in with me. Anxiety, well, it makes you small it pulls your focus inward my problem my fear my situation until your whole world shrinks down to the size of you but when you let Jesus guard your heart guys you're not spending all your energy defending yourself anymore and your hands come free free to notice somebody else's need free to do the stuff that Jesus did free to serve free to make an impact in our community, free to fight for your families. Here at LVC, guys, we believe in the next generation. We believe we had our first midweek service the other week and it was awesome. You go by the kids church, guess what? They're singing loud to Jesus. We believe in the next generation. But this generation of kids and students, they're also more anxious than any before them. But they're searching, guys, and they're responding to God. They don't need adults with perfect answers. They need adults who aren't so busy guarding themselves that they have nothing left to give. Nothing left to give. When Jesus guards you guys, you actually get to show up for them in youth ministry, in small groups, parents at your own dinner table. That's the trade. Stop guarding yourself guys and let him guard you and watch guys. Just watch you you have the margin to love. So guys, one, we got to bring everything to God. Not the cleaned up version. We got to keep it real. Bring all of it, all your stuff to God. Two, we got to get in community. Get in a room with people who will carry it with you, with other everyday people learning to follow Jesus. And three, guys we got to let Jesus be our guard so your peace doesn't depend on your circumstances. Now let's go back to Paul one more time. He didn't just write a calm letter in that cell like calm would have been impressive enough he wrote a joyful one and that is what is on the other side of this guys Jesus his peace is what guards you and joy guys joy is what shows up when we get off guard duty, so we need to take heart take heart guys because Jesus he has overcome the world pray now pray with me Holy Spirit come we welcome you here God yes Lord God you know our hearts you know what we're bringing in here the stresses the anxieties the worries you know it God and sometimes we want to just hold on to it we want to have control but God today we make a stand that we are going to cast our anxieties on you because we know you care we know you are good and I get this image. Some of us, we're just heavy, weighed down, so busy defending ourselves so busy trying to fight our battles. We have we have the armor on and it is heavy. Now Jesus says it like this. He says to us that his yoke is easy, his burden is light. So God we take off our heavy armor and we say we need you Jesus. We need your yoke. Put your yoke on us because your burden is easy and it's light and we need it. So we hand you God. We hand you the things that are keeping us down. We hand you the things that are causing us to only focus on us and we release them to you God. We release them to you God. And some of you guys, some of you guys in here, you know, you're kind of, maybe you're introverted, I don't know, but you've kind of been hesitant to find a group, to find a small group, to find people that you come here every week, but you're kind of hesitant to make this connection, maybe to be known, to really let your stuff be known by people in here. And I really do feel like God is saying,"Meet someone here today. Meet someone talk to someone later today at the end of this we're gonna have a prayer team down here go connect with the prayer team guys because we are not meant to carry this alone we are not meant to do life alone so God I pray for boldness yes Lord boldness that we aren't so concerned about what others might think of us Lord but we need that freedom so I pray for boldness Lord that we will get prayer today that we can hand those things to you God and God as we release our anxieties to you Lord help us to see the people around us that can use a word of encouragement themselves yes Lord God you are good you're so good we thank you we thank you for how much you love us and we surrender to what you have for us because we know it's nothing but good things in Jesus' name, the church prays, amen.