“How Do I Reset My Mind?” | SUMMER AT BETHLEHEM

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Heat.

[00:00:20]Heat.

[00:00:46]man. So thankful for you guys and glad you're with us. welcome in our campuses OC211 uh wherever you find yourself our friends on the island or online if you're on vacation at the lake at the beach mountains man I hope you're enjoying a little time off uh before we hop in cuz summertime is here in summer at Bethlehem church let me invite you to something that we're going to end our summer with a men's conference uh that we're hosting called men of honor uh that men would lift our head to the heavens Where does our help come from?

[00:01:20]It comes from God himself. What does it look like to take a Friday nights and a Saturday, maybe half the day, and just invite dudes and men's and brothers and husbands and fathers and sons and brothers, whatever you want to kind of call that. And we want to invite them to be a part of two days here. So that's you dudes, ladies in the house. If you got a husband or boyfriend, raise your hand. get him here because he's going to go, "Well, I got this thing going on. He doesn't have anything going on." Uh, and so we want you to be here to be a part of the brotherhood of what God's doing in us. Men, invite your friends. You're going to be encouraged. You're going to be challenged.

[00:02:05]You need to be a part of this. There's going to be this whole place for two days. Men in the house going to get a witness. It's going to smell like barbecue. It's the smell of heaven. You know what I'm saying? Uh, it's going to smell like barbecue. We're going to have some axe throwing going on. We're going to have some cornholeing going on. We're going to have uh some golf simulators that are here. It's going to be a men's extravaganza for two days. Uh, and we just want to invite you in. Now, here's the thing. I need you to hear me. It's not just show up, it's sign up. Why? Cuz we want to be prepared for you. So, go ahead, ladies. Help your guy get his phone out. And right here, this big bad QR code, do it. I look you guys are making my day. The last service they sat there and looked at me like no dude I ain't doing it right and I judged them in my head. I did I did the same thing with my mouth but in my head I had judgmental thoughts. And so but you got I'm kidding as far as you know. And you guys uh man sign up be here. My kid brother who is the guy that looks like you on the other side of the screen. His name is Ryan. He's my brother. He pastors uh church 112 in Jacksonville.

[00:03:11]uh one of the pastors and he'll be with us. I'm gonna do a session. He's going to do a session. We're going to do a session together. He's my younger, less handsome brother and I'm excited that he'll looks just like me that he'll be with me. Uh and we'd love to have you here. Is that cool? Everybody good? Make sure you get signed up. Invite some.

[00:03:31]Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for clapping.

[00:03:32]The group is with me, man. You guys are making my day.

[00:03:37]That's the worst golf clap I've ever heard at Bethlehem Church. Well, we'll save it for a little bit later. Uh, speaking of my younger brother before we hop into what we're doing this summer, I just got done spending a few days with him at the lake after last week's service. I took off when we went to Lake Okone. He and I both work on weekends, which really means we don't get to see each other a ton because when you see your family and friends that are uh in your family, normally see them on the weekends. Well, he and I have this thing called pastoring churches, which means we work on most weekends, so we don't get to see each other as much as we would like to see, but we had a blast.

[00:04:12]We were at Lake Okone with family and we kind of dodged the rain. It was a pretty good setup for us. I know it got pretty wild and hairy here. Everybody's like, "Dude, it rained so much. How were y'all?" I'm like, "It was good at the lake for us." Enjoyed our time. But when we got together, we do what you do when you get together with your extended family or your family that's close that you don't get to see as much. We told stories. Same stories we tell every time we get together. You know what I'm saying? And we tell stories that are funny. We tell stories that are significant in our life. I'm sure as dudes, we exaggerate some of those stories, right, over time. You know what I'm saying? But that's just what we do.

[00:04:49]And there's really two types of stories.

[00:04:51]We're all storytellers on some level.

[00:04:54]And there's two types of stories we tell. One that's happened to us like personally, something that's happened and then we tell the story.

[00:05:03]And then there's other stories that are like information that we get and then pass on. So it's a story that happened to somebody else, right? Two two types of stories. One is like this happened.

[00:05:16]When something happens to you, you tell a story in a way there's more emotion, there's more dedication, there's more attention. and you tell it with more passion. Why? Because it happened to you. Then there's other types of stories that are just information. You may tell it, but you're just passing on information. Why is that? Because there's something different when it happens and it's personal to you.

[00:05:37]Just something different when it happens is personal to you. This summer, what I want to talk, and I don't know where you're at in your faith, there's so many people been walking with Jesus for a long time in Bethlehem Church. A whole lot of people coming back to faith. Some people that are new to faith. I don't know where you're at. We always talk about God's word is this is God's word to us and God's word for us. And here's what scripture says when it comes to our story and how it interacts, how it intersects with God's word. Hebrews says this, "The word of God is alive and active." Some of your translations say living and active.

[00:06:13]It's sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even the dividing soul and spirit and joints and marrow.

[00:06:22]It judges the thoughts and the attitudes of our heart. That the Bible isn't a sacred timeless text of truth. That the Bible actually what we believe as Christians, as followers of Christ, is this living and active. Right? It's alive in our life right now. That your word is a lamp into my feet.

[00:06:46]and a light into my path. So, the next two months at Bethlehem, June and July, our summer series, here's what I want to kind of unpack and maybe invite you into even wrestling with just right now in your own personal journey, where you're at as a family, as a husband, as a father about to get married, or if you are married, if you're a student, here's the idea for a couple of weeks. The power of God's word, if it is living and active, is that it doesn't just inform us about truth about God and his place in history, but it actually transforms us in the here and now.

[00:07:24]It's what it means to be living and active. Not just the story of God in human history, but it's a story of where we find ourselves. our story in human history. Think about it. You kind of know this because we all probably in the room, if you have a favorite what you would call life verse, raise your hand.

[00:07:46]Like I got a verse I come to again and what's that? The words living and active. It's something you come back to.

[00:07:53]It's a truth. It's a piece of the text that you come back to over and over.

[00:07:57]Something that happened in a point in your life. Maybe your parents passed it on to you. Maybe it was a significant moment and this verse is something you come back to over and over. Maybe there's an entire story or a passage or a character in scripture that you just can't shake. For all of us, we're gospel people by gospel. If you've been changed by Jesus Christ, the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus is where we find our story.

[00:08:22]It's where we find our life. And that's the reality. In every message this summer, whether it's me, and I'm going to take vacation a week or two, so don't get too mad, but whether it's me or somebody else, I'm inviting them to talk about how the word of God is living and active in their life. And here's the two questions I want to show us by just personally engaging the word in our own personal life. Here's the thing. Two questions. How has God's word changed me? When I look back at my life and the faithfulness of God, how has God's word changed me? And here's the second question. Right now in my life, how is God's word shaping me?

[00:09:02]How's God's word changed me? How's it shaping me? So, everyone who shares over the next eight weeks, me and there'll be some other people as well, many that you know, the idea will be how's God's word changed them and shaping them. In fact, when you leave, we want you to be involved.

[00:09:20]There's a card in the back with eight memory verses we picked out to kind of coincide with the weeks of our teaching by verses we put in our heart in all of our lobbies. When you leave, grab one.

[00:09:32]It's great table resource for your family. If you sit down and you're in the car eating Chick-fil-A, whoever's driving, stop looking and just look at this card. I'm just seeing if you guys are with me, okay? You know, but eight verse is just maybe a challenge. What does it look like for God's word to change us, shape us? On the back, there's just some interactive ways to actually talk about the truth of scripture in our life, in our family, in our marriage. I invite everybody on your way out in our lobbies, be a part of this, and don't be surprised if a camera crew in one of our lobbies this summer, 211 OC here, I saw it happening last week, pulls you aside and goes, "Hey, do you mind sharing with us your favorite life verse?" Man, what's your favorite scripture and why? Now, take a deep breath. Some of you just going, I'm not coming back for the next eight weeks.

[00:10:24]And some of you are like, "Yes, thank God. It's my moment to shine." Right? My favorite verse is Hezekiah 1:2. And there's not even a Hezekiah in there.

[00:10:33]You just made it up. But you're on camera and you can't wait. Right? You can't wait. What I'm saying is on social media, interact with us this summer.

[00:10:44]Let's just make much of God's word, not just the timeless truth, but how it's timely in our lives right now. And that's what we want to invite you to.

[00:10:55]So, I'm going to go first. As the guy whose idea this was or felt like God led me to these next eight weeks together over the summer, I'm going to go first.

[00:11:03]So, if you have your Bibles, Philippians 4, I want to show you a passage of scripture that became living and active in real time in my life and still is.

[00:11:13]Philippians chapter 4. If there's one verse that I have prayed over more people at Bethlehem Church over the last decade, it is this. Philippians 4 6 and 7. When people are walking through something that's difficult and hard, yet they're wanting to stay faithful in the difficult and hard. I have prayed many of these or many times for many people this specific verse. Why? Because in my own life, it's a ministry anthem.

[00:11:45]It became in my own life, in my own ministry, a ministry anthem. And here's why.

[00:11:50]Because I found it was a ministry anthem. as a ministry life verse when I found myself in a real time personal and leadership battle with anxiety in my life as your pastor.

[00:12:04]This verse became a lifeline in my journey. It's something I've talked about over the last 10 years because it happened 10 to 12 years ago. And I bring it up, but I'm going to go into a little depth on it. I've brought it up because I'm just trying to remind you guys when I bring it up. I am you.

[00:12:19]There's something about these screens, right? There's something about us when we see something online, we're like, "Well, that person there, they're super human." Or you get up here behind a table or a pull pit and you're like, "Well, that guy's super spiritual. I'm just spiritual."

[00:12:31]And here's what I'm saying. I'm the most human. My My wife sitting here, she would say, "You would be shocked how human my husband is."

[00:12:39]Am I right? You would be shocked. My kids would go, "No, he's awesome. Thank you." But but the but the reality is I'm human just like you.

[00:12:49]And I struggle with things just like you. And more than a decade ago I went through a 12 to 18month personal and professional battle with anxiety.

[00:13:01]At the time I would have told you it came out of nowhere. I did not see it coming. But in reality, now that I look back, what I realize is my ability to cope with it, stuff it, and detach from it worked until it didn't anymore.

[00:13:22]Worked until it didn't anymore. To be clear, this wasn't a clinical diagnosis of debilitating anxiety. Although I did go see a doctor due to loss of sleep, insomnia, tightness in my chest. Like this is way back in the day at Bethlehem Church. I would look out on a Sunday morning and I'd see five people sitting right there and there was only one. It was all blurry, right? There's like five people in the whole auditorium, but there was five right here in this one, right? And I would see it and it messed with me. I wasn't medicated for it, although I'm not against that. Medication can be helpful for some people in some cases.

[00:13:58]But looking back, here's what I want you to hear. And I've never said this because I thought about la last few weeks knowing I was going to this how I was going to kick the series off.

[00:14:06]Looking back as a man, as a dude trying to be masculine and tough and strong provider, right? What I realized was there was a whole lot of shame tied up in my battle with anxiety.

[00:14:21]I was ashamed because I felt weak.

[00:14:27]Felt like I was inadequate.

[00:14:30]How in the world could you really ever talk about this out loud? I mean, right?

[00:14:34]And here was my logic. This is not in your notes, but you may because this is where many people's logic is sometimes in our journey of faith. This was my logic. I'm not saying right. I'm saying as your pastor, here's how I thought.

[00:14:45]because I'm a Christian, in my case, pastor, and I've got feelings of anxiety, there must be something wrong with me, because as a Christian, as a pastor, I should trust God. And if I really trusted God, I wouldn't be anxious.

[00:15:03]Therefore, I must not trust God. If I preach about the gospel of peace and I don't have peace, then am I a phony?

[00:15:12]If the Christian life is a life of peace and yet I'm struggling with peace, then there must be something that's wrong with me. And the biggest battle I faced as your pastor, the biggest battle I faced as a Christ follower now for 30 years is the battlefield that happens in the 6-in space between your ears.

[00:15:32]Listen to me. The battle that happens every day in the 6 in space between your ears. The battlefield of your mind. The battle of your life, right, is won and lost in your mind. Church, here's what I want you to hear. I believe 10 or 12 years ago as pastor, I believe the gospel with all my heart and I would preach it week in and week out like a dying man to a dying world. Yet, I had habitual patterns of thinking that were unhelpful, and I didn't even know I had them.

[00:16:04]I had habitual patterns of thinking.

[00:16:06]Listen to me. What I believed in my heart did not always translate to my head, and I didn't know it.

[00:16:14]And I didn't see it. I was more conformed by the world than transformed by the renewing of your mind. Now, one or two things is going on. It's quiet because you're tuned in and locked in.

[00:16:23]Cuz I'm I was anxious before. being anxious with something like the last decade like everybody deals with it.

[00:16:30]Like I felt like I was like an early adopter like I'm going to go first guys right before everybody else. I'm going to go ahead and go head first in uh Philippians 4.

[00:16:43]And this verse became a lifeline and still is in my own life. This is Paul writing. He says this verse four. Rejoice in the Lord always.

[00:16:53]I just said this. I will say it again.

[00:16:56]Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all.

[00:16:59]The Lord is near. Paul is writing from prison. He's in prison for preaching the gospel. We would call that unjust suffering. He's doing right. Taking God's word out, taking the gospel out.

[00:17:10]He's put in prison because of the ruckus that he is causing in the communities that he goes to. So Paul in prison writes this. There's three letters of the New Testament that Paul in prison writes. And he writes this. and why he's in prison. He's facing an uncertain future and limited control.

[00:17:30]He's really suffering and anxious possibilities abound. So what if thinking was present yet he says rejoice and then he doubles down on it just for so you know this rejoice. He says it again and 11 times in four chapters he comes back to this theme of rejoice or choose joy. Now listen, when uncertainty plagues me, when I have limited control, when hard and suffering are present, when the question what if is all over my mind, I never think I'm just joyful.

[00:18:09]I just feel so joyful.

[00:18:12]No, but what's it attached to? Why is he joyful? Here's what he says.

[00:18:18]I'm choosing joy because I believe the Lord is near.

[00:18:21]I'm making the choice. Underline that.

[00:18:23]The Lord is near. Look, he says, "Let your gentleness be evident to all. Can I tell you what? My anxiety made me angsty, on edge, not gentle, but he's saying, "No, no, rejoice in the Lord." Again, let me say it. Rejoice. He wrote this from a Roman prison, not a motivational seminar. His prescription is tied to what your mind dwells on. Don't be anxious about anything. Underline that. But in every situation, or it says be anxious for nothing in some of your translations, but in every situation, or write this down, in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. He is not saying never feel anxious. Somebody pulled me aside and said, 'I got a devotional in an email this week that said, "Anxiety is a sin."

[00:19:18]I said, 'I would incredibly disagree.

[00:19:21]Now, what you do sometimes with anxiety can be sinful.

[00:19:26]Anxious is a feeling, right? They were saying, "Thank you for saying that."

[00:19:29]They weren't saying they agree with this, but here's what I mean.

[00:19:32]Butterflies before a big test, giving a big speech, that's just called life.

[00:19:38]making a big decision, nerves before your wedding day, uneasiness about an outcome of a test. Feelings of anxiety are part of being human. He's not saying don't ever feel a little nervous or a little worried. And I would say this to parents in the room. That's part of growing up and maturing. You're going to deal with that all your life with your students. And anxiety has become such a catchphrase in our society that the minute you feel nervous, I don't want to be anxious. I'm anxious. What's wrong with me? You're human.

[00:20:06]It's crazy.

[00:20:08]Lord, you're a little human. You got a little bit uneasiness about how you feel, right? Paul's talking about it as a state of mind.

[00:20:18]Listen, he's talking about anxiety more than the presence of anxiety. He's talking about the prison of anxiety.

[00:20:25]>> Here's the words to write down. Fear, worry, and loneliness define your existence when you live in the prison of anxiety.

[00:20:32]Fear, worry, and loneliness.

[00:20:37]I looked back 10 or 12 years ago. My family sit on the front row. My kids were young. They didn't know I was going through it. My wife, she got let in on probably a year or two late. I would just kind of stuff everything.

[00:20:50]But I look back and I was being a father. I was being a husband, being a Christ follower, being a pastor on a shallow level. Not sinful level.

[00:21:00]Shallow. What do you mean? I was living by the tyranny of the urgent, the pressures of here, there and yonder, the calendar, where I needed to be, the distraction, the notification, the next thing. And God wanted me to get to a soul level.

[00:21:17]To a soul level. What do you mean? This is not for everybody, but this is for somebody. I want to ask this because this is what I found in my life. What if God has allowed anxiety in your life in the hope that you wouldn't continue to stuff and bury every feeling and emotion that you experience?

[00:21:39]I'm just going to let that sit for a second.

[00:21:43]See, I coped, gentlemen, in the room till I couldn't.

[00:21:47]I stuffed until I couldn't.

[00:21:51]I detached until, listen, until I couldn't. I wanted the peace of God in the shallows, but God wanted me God wanted to take me to a deeper place and do some soul work.

[00:22:04]Here's the way I would say, and this is the whole talk, but then I got some more.

[00:22:10]Hold on. Hold on. Look right here. Back row. This is for you. Some of you right here. You cannot change what you do not confront.

[00:22:18]>> And you cannot defeat what you will not define.

[00:22:22]That's not just about anxiousness.

[00:22:24]That's called your marriage right now.

[00:22:26]It's called your family right now. It's called your finances right now. It's called your struggle with lust right now. You cannot change what you do not confront. And you cannot defeat what you will not define. I'm raising my hand.

[00:22:39]Can I tell you what happened to me as a leader? I was anxious about being anxious.

[00:22:44]I shouldn't feel this way if I trusted God. And I had the Holy Spirit and I was eat up inside. So here's what I want you to put down and then I'm going to keep going through the text. Here's what Paul's saying while in jail. The anything that brings you anxiety is the everything God wants to be invited into.

[00:23:03]Those two words, any and every situation, anything and everything.

[00:23:06]That's what Paul's saying. The anything that brings you anxiety is the everything God wants to be invited into.

[00:23:12]So, here it is. Verse seven. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding. What is Say it with me. All understanding.

[00:23:23]One, two, three. All understanding.

[00:23:27]Thank you. I heard that dude back there.

[00:23:28]You're the man. All understanding will guard your heart and mind. What? The everything and the anything big and small. Here's the thing about an anxious mind. I did not know. Things that weren't a big deal in my mind were a big deal.

[00:23:47]Things that would just move on and pass on, I just like, I don't know. And I could hide it, man. You can ask my wife.

[00:23:53]I was like a duck. You know what I mean?

[00:23:55]What do you mean duck? Some of you dudes are like, I shoot those things, right?

[00:23:59]Well, don't do that. Right? But I was like a smooth on the water. And boy, I was pedaling like crazy underneath and I could do it until I couldn't. And I could cope until I couldn't. Every situation, church, here's what we know to be true.

[00:24:18]There's no such thing as sustained physical health without thinking on some level about our diet and our exercise.

[00:24:24]Nurses, medical people in the room, raise your hand. Nurses, thank you. Tell me if I'm wrong. Y'all know better than me. I'm not a nurse, not a doc. But baseline 101, physical health, your exercise and your diet matters.

[00:24:37]What you eat and your activity level on some level, it matters. Everybody knows that. Well, here's what I would say. When it comes to mental and emotional and spiritual health, thinking about what you think about matters.

[00:24:54]What we put into our mind and how we process in our mind. The brain is designed neuroscience, neuroplasticity to strengthen what is repeated.

[00:25:05]So, what I would ask you simply this, and I'm talking for a second, we don't ever stop to think about how we think.

[00:25:10]We just think all of us in the room, me, we just think. We have habitual patterns of thinking. That's what Paul's addressing here. Where do you go in circumstances?

[00:25:22]What's your habitual? You just have a way you think. You're like, I don't mean to be judgmental, but you have judgmental thinking, right? I don't mean to be anxious, but you're anxious in your thought pattern.

[00:25:33]So, let me show you in my life, and I got to keep moving here, right? Let me show you. Here's my default thinking.

[00:25:39]circumstantial thinking asked the question, "What if?"

[00:25:43]The meteor shower of whatifs were eating my lunch. Anybody know what I'm talking about?

[00:25:48]>> What if? What if? What if? I couldn't see past the current predicament or my present situation.

[00:25:55]Right? And critical thinking would ask here's the other default thinking pattern. Why? And by this I mean why am I in this? Why is this always going to be this way? Why does life have to be?

[00:26:06]Listen, my wife would have told you, I was like, "Life's just so hard. We have so many problems. Look at me. Look at me." We didn't.

[00:26:14]The church was blessed.

[00:26:16]Our kids were healthy.

[00:26:18]But what an anxious mind will do is make you think everything in the world.

[00:26:22]You're alone. You're fearful. And you're isolated.

[00:26:25]Right?

[00:26:27]This is where anxiety lives. You have you on an island. Tunnel vision.

[00:26:31]Everything comes about this moment. What if he? What if she? What if they every scenario, listen to me, I awalized and catastrophized.

[00:26:42]I went to the worst possible outcome.

[00:26:44]Now, nobody knew it in the church because I would hide it. I could get through a sermon. I could get through a message and go home and not sleep for a couple of days. My mind just would not stop over and I would awfulize and I would catastrophize everything. I look back, my mom had died and I'd watched it for three years of cancer and I never grieved it. And I look back and that was some of the core of my anxiety is that I'd seen something really awful happened in my life and just performed and said, "Hey, look, I'm a good Christian and never really lamented and hurt." But that's a whole another side subject, but I'm talking for a second, right? But then critical thinking, right, the reality is a little more subtle. It sounds a little more intelligent, but what it is is obsessive analysis.

[00:27:29]Now, I'm all for thoughtful thinking, right? Being thoughtful, right?

[00:27:33]Thoughtful thinking. Being thoughtful.

[00:27:35]I'm all for that because we're way too emotional. But critical thinking, what happens is this. You're always your worst critic. Did I do enough? Did I say enough? Did that come across right?

[00:27:45]Think about that as a preacher, right? Did I do this? And I had this deep sense of inadequacy. You're your own worst critic. You're competing against yourself. So, here's the way I would say it. Circumstantial thinking.

[00:27:58]Listen to me. Makes temporary problems feel permanent.

[00:28:03]Makes the moment feel like it's forever.

[00:28:07]Critical thinking without Christ eventually turns inward and becomes despair.

[00:28:12]And when you live with an anxious mind, and I'm just saying this not in judgment, but as somebody who has battled through this in his life, when you live with an anxious mind, what you think is this is how things will always be, and nobody understands I'm on this island. Look at me from the front to the back. It's not how it's always going to be. And you're not alone.

[00:28:32]Things can change.

[00:28:34]That's what Paul's writing about. My human logic and my solution to anxiety in my mind. Again, the way it worked is if I can just change what's going on outside, get less pressure in my life, get more help with certain things, then it'll be better. In fact, let me show you this. Here's kind of the way I would think. For me, I would think to myself, okay, all this internal churning, I need to kind of create some different outside reality, some different The problem is my circumstances.

[00:29:05]The problem is the hardship. The problem is the burden. Again, I wasn't burdened.

[00:29:10]Our marriage was great, kids were healthy, church was going well. But I would think this over and over. I'd think that, well, when my kids get older, then I'm going to have less stress at home because teenagers bring way less stress, right? When I hire another, this is 10 or 12 years ago, when I hire another staff member and get more help. Here's one. When the church has more people, because more people just bring peace, then we'll be more stable. That's what I thought. Here's one. This is years ago.

[00:29:43]Well, what if man, what if God would be so kind and we could baptize 100 people in a whole year?

[00:29:51]Wow. Then I would have the peace of God because I would accomplish something.

[00:29:58]The symptom, here's why it's quiet.

[00:29:59]Because this is where we live. We want to change our outside circumstance.

[00:30:03]The symptom of anxious thinking, here's the way it goes. If, and you fill in the blank, if my kids get older, if I make more money, if I get a different job, if if if if this happens, then when that happens, I will not feel anxious anymore.

[00:30:20]That right there is where most people live when it comes to anxiety.

[00:30:24]You're trying to change the outside. And I get it. No judgment here, right?

[00:30:32]By God's grace, all those things, my kids got older, the church grew like crazy. People were baptized like crazy.

[00:30:37]I added more staff. And here's the crazy thing. My outside circumstances changes, but my internal strife was still there.

[00:30:45]And that's when I had to confront what was going on. What did Paul say?

[00:30:51]Why in prison? The Lord is near.

[00:30:54]Rejoice. Again, I say it. Rejoice. And I remember like it was yesterday. When I finally confronted and change began to happen when I finally couldn't stuff and conceal and just had to own. I was a dude. I was a leader. I was a man. I want to be masculine, but I was still wrestling.

[00:31:13]When I finally owned it, it's like the spirit of God whispered in my ear, "Hey, Jason, you want things to get easier, don't you?

[00:31:27]It's not gonna listen to me. Bad grammar. He didn't say it like that. I'm just translating like that. Listen, listen, listen. Chase, you want things to get easier.

[00:31:38]Not going to happen. It's always going to require more surrender.

[00:31:46]>> It's always going to require more surrender. Here's what I learned in my battle. Surrendered thinking is greater than circumstance change.

[00:31:55]that you would own, that you have some habitual thought patterns in your life that you're unaware of.

[00:32:02]That's where the peace of God begins to come in there. Here's the thing. I want every person here, especially some of you've been in church for all of your life. New to faith is new to you. Yes, you too. But some of you have been in church your whole life. Here's what I want you to think. Because here's what I did.

[00:32:20]While I was dealing with this, this is going to blow your mind. I was reading the Bible every day.

[00:32:27]I was praying every day. I would preach every week. I would show up and carry the weight of leadership every week.

[00:32:38]Here's what I'm saying. I finally had to own what I believed in my heart had not translated to my mind.

[00:32:45]Had not fully taken captive in my mind. You cannot defeat what you will not define and you cannot change what you do not confront. Your thought life will control you. Physical health 101. What you eat and if you exercise has a lot to do with physical health 101. In the same way your mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Stop and consider how you think, not just what you believe in your heart.

[00:33:16]That's good. And I didn't say that the last two services, so I'm going to rewind and say that one more time, but I forgot what I said. Listen, listen, listen, listen. I'm kidding. No, I'm kidding. I didn't. In our life, you have to think about how you think. It's not just what you believe in your heart.

[00:33:36]It's does it translate? Have you internalized it into your life? The peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. When the anything that brings you anxiousness is the everything that you bring to him, the battlefield of the mind can become a place of peace. Not because your circumstances changed, but because your thinking surrendered.

[00:33:56]Here's the last piece. What I would say, Christ centered thinking is what is true.

[00:34:10]Some of you like, "Where's the notes on the note sheet?" This summer, we're going to leave it blank because we want you to put down what you want to put down. Don't worry, may come back. The notes there are on your app on the side note because I keep the the reality is it invites truth from the outside to shape what's going on on the inside.

[00:34:30]That's what's whatever's true. So all I want to do is end by walking you through the back part of where he says, "Okay, you want the peace of God to transcend understanding that anything that brings you anx is the everything you got to go. God, I'm just being honest. Small or big." Because everything with anxiousness is big. And we're like, "That's small. That's dumb.

[00:34:53]That's not spiritual. Bring it to him."

[00:34:56]That's the invitation. So then he says, "You choose where your mind dwells." Let me say this. I said this at the 9:00 service. Jesus doesn't do your thinking for you.

[00:35:06]The gospel gives us a direction for our thinking and the spirit to guide our thinking and guard our thinking and change our thinking. But you choose your thoughts. Finally, then here's what Paul says. Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, underline that. Students, listen to me. Whatever is true, a lie believed is truth will affect your life as if it were true.

[00:35:33]A lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it were true.

[00:35:40]So for me, worstc case scenarios, I awized and catastrophized everything and anything. I had an obsessive ability in my mind to go, it's all going to go bad. I never would say anything, but I would live like this. That's not true. Can I tell you what's true from the back row, the front row at one of our campuses? Can I tell you what's true? Here's what's true. We have a good father who wants good things for his children.

[00:36:10]>> Did you hear what I just said? You see, I just lifted the room. You and I have a good father. Men in this room, YOU HAVE A GOOD heavenly father who wants good things for his children. In fact, Paul would say this at the beginning of Philippians chapter 1. He says this, "For to me," while in jail, while in prison, he kind of draws a line in the sand and he says this, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." What was he saying? Worstcase scenario because of the gospel is I spend eternity with Jesus with no more suffering. That's the worst case scenario.

[00:36:44]>> Back to the front, let me give you your worst case scenario. Whatever you're dealing with in life, if you're in Jesus, here's your worst case scenario.

[00:36:51]Eternity with him forever.

[00:36:54]healed, forgiven, freed, no suffering, no pain. There's your worst case scenario if you're in Jesus Christ, right? Come on, man. That's what That's what's true.

[00:37:06]That's what's true. Whatever is noble, what's noble? Noble is something that lifts our head, our perspective, our perspective higher. Anxiety narrows your thinking. Christ enlarges your thinking.

[00:37:20]We don't only have a good father who wants good things for his children, but he has good plans for you. Some be like, "Dude, I'm a believer. I'm a gospel.

[00:37:29]Jesus changed my life." Yes and amen.

[00:37:31]But man, I've made some dumb decisions.

[00:37:35]I've made some bad decisions in my life.

[00:37:37]And even in the last season of my life, listen, you and I may make bad decisions, but we always have the best dad.

[00:37:44]Doesn't change who your heavenly father is. Lift lift your head up. Whatever is right. Let me tell you what is right which is always changing current events.

[00:37:55]Let me tell you what is right is never changing the character and nature of God who sent his only son Jesus as a ransom for our sin. That the brokenness of the world you and I did not deserve it but by grace we have relationship with God through Christ.

[00:38:13]Through Christ. Whatever is pure. What does pure mean? What is it poisoning your soul?

[00:38:19]Can I tell you what's poisoning many of our souls? That 6-inch glow and screen that you stare at every day, it's forming that six-inch battle between your ears and your mind.

[00:38:29]That's poisoning your soul.

[00:38:32]That is our society, right? Whatever is lovely, there is nothing more lovely than the grace of God over all of your life.

[00:38:42]>> Can we stop and consider God's grace for a moment? Because let me tell you what I did. My wife could tell you this. Back in the day, I was terrible at it. I could not think. All I could think about was the burdens in my life. And I really didn't have any burdens. You guys paid me. We had a house. We had a family. My kids were healthy. Bunch of people were coming to the church. And my life was terrible.

[00:39:08]And I was so anxious. It was so terrible. It was so hard. Right? I think about Paul writing this in jail. Right?

[00:39:16]Paul's writing this and I'm like, you know, Paul, Paul would be like, Jason, like you're preaching on a stage. Yeah.

[00:39:25]And you have a microphone. Yeah. And you got a building. Yeah. What are you talking about?

[00:39:31]But that's the way here. But here's the thing. That's the way it worked. And here's what I found in my life. Here was the number one product in my life of anxiety.

[00:39:38]I counted my burdens way more than I counted my blessings.

[00:39:44]>> That is our culture.

[00:39:46]We're a gripe in a whining culture where we manifest our problems over and over.

[00:39:51]And I counted my burdens way more than a blessing. And that became my reality. It was a habitual pattern of thinking. This is so heavy. This is so hard. This is so difficult.

[00:40:02]What is that habitual pattern of thinking in your life? This is so heavy.

[00:40:06]This is so hard. This is so difficult.

[00:40:08]This is not fair. This is uneasy. What is that habitual pattern of thinking?

[00:40:12]Students, are you listening to me?

[00:40:14]Parents in this room, your kids have habitual patterns of thinking because you do too. Because our minds are more conformed by the world, they are transformed by the word.

[00:40:23]All right?

[00:40:26]Whatever is admirable, if there's anything excellent or praiseworthy, I'm about done. I'm admitting I'm going along. You're okay.

[00:40:35]Think about such things.

[00:40:38]Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, underline this, put into practice and the God of peace and the God of peace will be with you. I said this on Thursday night. I said, "All my dealings with people battling with anxiety, I've never met somebody who had this one breakthrough moment where they had anxiety and it had the disabilitating anxiety and then they broke through after prayer and they never had anymore.

[00:41:12]I had met one." I'm not saying and this one lady came up to me probably like you will. Well, that was me. I'm like, "Cool, man. Well, I met one now, right?"

[00:41:20]What I'm trying to say in that is a lot of times we want this breakthrough thing. Okay, we're done. But what does Paul say?

[00:41:30]You got to put it into practice.

[00:41:33]I just want to be free. Well, you got to put different thinking into practice.

[00:41:38]Here's what I'd say. As humans, we want the ability to dismiss anxiety.

[00:41:46]That's what we want. the abil we want to continue living life incredibly distracted glued into our screen 5 hours a day watching current events watching about an earthquake on another part of the world all the people that die do you know your mind's not meant to kind of comprehend all that and we just eat up with it all the time and we we just want to keep on doing and then dismiss the anxiety I just want to be done God take it from it not going TO H IT'S NOT happening you got to put a different habitual thinking and practice this is me raising my hand.

[00:42:19]God's spirit by the power of God's word gives us the ability to disciple our minds.

[00:42:25]We want to dismiss anxiety by the Holy Spirit in God's word we can disciple our minds.

[00:42:34]What I found the healing the anxious mind is not a momentary event. It's a lifelong surrender.

[00:42:41]The way I say it in my own life with a smile on my face across our campuses, you don't drift into peace. You practice your way into peace.

[00:42:52]It's not about emptying your mind.

[00:42:54]That's not what Christianity is about.

[00:42:55]Emptying your mind of bad things. About filling your mind with truth.

[00:43:00]So here's what I wish I could tell you as we end. I wish I could tell you the last 10 or 12 years I've been set free and never dealt with anxiousness again in my life.

[00:43:11]Sounds good. Lie.

[00:43:15]What I would tell you is I'm on a journey and if I keep the habitual patterns of thinking, I keep walking in freedom. But what I can tell you for sure is this. You cannot defeat what you will not define.

[00:43:27]And you cannot change what you do not confront.

[00:43:32]Talking to a guy because I've shared this story with hundreds of pastors around the country in different settings. People say, "Hey man, talk about your battle with anxiety. have come in and talked about my battle with because there's a lot of pastors. I got a buddy down the street. A lot of pastors deal with this. We just don't have a lot of permission to because we're supposed to have all the answers.

[00:43:48]At least that's what we think.

[00:43:51]So, I've shared a lot and I had a guy call me on Zoom a few weeks ago and he's like, "Hey man, I heard you speak on when," Here's what he said on the Zoom call. He said, "I heard you speak on when you overcame your anxiety." I stopped him. I go, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa."

[00:44:08]overcame. Period.

[00:44:11]Overcoming by the power of the word and the help of the Holy Spirit. I'm overcoming. And the minute you think you've arrived is the minute, my friends, you miss it. Why?

[00:44:25]Jesus doesn't do your thinking for you.

[00:44:27]But he transforms us by teaching us where to place our minds. You see it?

[00:44:32]You cannot define, excuse me, you cannot defeat what you will not define. You cannot change what you will not confront. So around the room, will you stand with me? And as we stand, just in honor of this sacred moment, the parking lot will not eat you up if you don't get out there first.

[00:44:52]I know it's crazy and I would never judge anybody for getting out of here fast, at least with my words.

[00:45:00]I'm just asking, could we give it a second? I just want to read this passage over us to close.

[00:45:06]In fact, here's what I want you. I just want you to receive this. Whatever's going on in your life.

[00:45:12]And the way you can receive it is maybe you can be like me and just go, "Hey, Jason. I wrestle not with anxious feelings, but I sometimes get stuck in a prison of anxiety or I'm there." That's you around the room with nobody's eyes closed and head bowed. Be brave enough to raise your hand. Look at there.

[00:45:32]Welcome to the anxious generation.

[00:45:37]Keep them up for a second. I'm raised. I went first, guys. I just buried my soul to you.

[00:45:44]It's all of us. Some point, here's all I want you to do. I just want you to receive Philippians 4. And by this, I just want you to hold your hands out like you're about to get a gift with your head bowed and eyes closed.

[00:45:55]And we're just going to read this over you.

[00:46:00]Paul writes from prison, not a motivational seminar.

[00:46:05]Rejoice in the Lord always.

[00:46:09]I will say it again. Rejoice. What's he saying? Choose. Let your gentleness be evident to all. Wait a second. Anxiety makes you angsty. Paul's saying by the power of the Holy Spirit and the work of the cross, your gentleness can be evident to all. The Lord is near. Can I say this to you with your head bowed, eyes closed, your arms out to receive a blessing. Whatever you are in, whatever season you're in, whatever decision making is going on, can I say this to you? The Lord is near.

[00:46:37]The Lord is near.

[00:46:40]The Lord is near.

[00:46:44]Don't be anxious about anything. Now, you're going to feel anxious, but don't be. What it means, don't get stuck in that prison. But in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Here's my question. Do you know that Jesus?

[00:47:07]A lot of people are religious. Religion says do. The gospel says done.

[00:47:13]Religion says you go and do this to earn God's favor. The go the gospel says Jesus came that you may have life and have it to the full. Have you received this Jesus? Have you chose to follow this Jesus? Have you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord? Have you believed in your heart that God raised him from the dead? In a few moments, our prayer teams will be down front and we would invite you to say yes to Jesus.

[00:47:35]Even where you're at, if you've listen to me, if you don't know Jesus, all I just told you is a bunch of mental gymnastics cuz you don't have the power of the Holy Spirit. All you got self-help. I hope self-help works and it will till it doesn't.

[00:47:51]If you don't know Jesus, that you know you have a good father who sent his son that you can know him and through Jesus relationship with him.

[00:48:01]Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true and what's true is you got a good father who wants good things for you because you're his child.

[00:48:12]Whatever is noble, lift your head.

[00:48:14]Whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovable, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, you choose to think about those things. What if he? What if she?

[00:48:25]What if they? What if that? You don't have control of it. Why are you sitting on it? Lord knows I would.

[00:48:31]Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, here it is, church. Here it is. Receive this. You got to put it into practice.

[00:48:39]and the God of peace. And the God of peace and the God of peace will be with you. So, we're going to end just like we began just for a moment.

[00:48:50]Just say, "Lord, we're grateful.

[00:48:53]Anxiety made me someone." The anxiety made me someone who would just get eat up with my burdens when I really didn't have them instead of count my blessings.