Hello everybody. Great to see you. Before we jump in, happy start of Advent to all of you. Today kicks off Advent season.
For anyone that participates in that and wants to have a great resource. This is not connected with my message. I just wanted to share this. I got in my inbox this past week an email from practicing the way, which is an organization that does incredible stuff, resourcing, the body, resourcing.
The church is a free Advent thing. You can walk your family through it's about a half hour once a week that guides you through Advent. I thought that was a massive gift to the body. I wanted to make sure anyone who was wondering how does one do this?
They kind of guide you through the whole process. So that's fun. As you guys may or may not know Advent has certain themes and there's like, each week has a specified theme in the church calendar. And as luck or the Holy Ghost himself would have it, it does happen to line up what I'm talking about today, which is wonderful, not plans, but that's fun.
Because we are in a series called The Good News. And pretty incredible that you can know for sure that you can show up to church and tell me really good news this week. Because that's a series. We're looking at the gospel.
We're looking at the good news of Jesus. And we're just looking at it in different facets, trying to, as much as possible, trying to get different angles and vantage points to better appreciate the fullness of the good news. Josh Todasen week one that you on Gellian is the word gospel. It means good news that's a sign of victory that almost is too good to be true.
And that's the name that the apostles started calling, the storyline of Jesus. This is crazier. You might even believe it, but you have no idea what I'm up to. This is the best.
And so we've been taking, imagine like there's this big beautiful multifaceted diamond and you're looking at it through this angle and you go, oh my gosh, I have never seen the good news like this. Because when we just saw through the angle of those who were having an orphan mindset, oh my gosh, this is more beautiful than I ever thought than the diamond goes. I've never even understood the good news until now because it's all about the oppressed. It's about setting free.
The oppressed. My goodness. We're getting ramped up and excited going, oh, it's this too. It's this too.
We've been taking different categories of people, different situations and circumstances and we're going, what is the good news safe for them? And for them. And for them. And we're just getting built up in our faith and our love and our gratitude for the gospel of good news.
And so that's the series that we're in. And so we're going to continue that today. And I would love to introduce myself. My name's Ben.
If you haven't met, hi. I'm one of the pastors here. Great to meet you. Great.
Wanted to start with a portion of my story because sometimes it's helpful to know where the communicators coming from. Because it's possible to just project something onto someone and go, well, yeah, you're saying that because of your vantage point. I would love to just invite you into part of my story so we can all enter into this going, all right, this is who we're talking about and why we're talking about it. Yeah?
Great. So going way back, the family I was raised in, we were doers and we were confident and we kind of just got stuff done. So I'm one of three siblings, mom and dad. And we were like effective, which is a weird thing to say about a family, but it's like that family gets stuff done.
And there was a level of kind of like, hey, when the Peterson show up to a workday, that day's about to get worked. Like, we're going to make this happen. And there was a confidence that was just like, yeah, if I do my best, that's going to be good enough and it's going to work because I got it. You know, like that feels pretty heavy.
I got it. You're kind of confused by that. I got it. Let me help.
And there was a great heart in it. That was the family that I was raising. My sister ended up working for Google out in Silicon Valley. My brother became a doctor.
I dropped out of school and went to YWAM. So all of us were collectively together. All of that's true. But there was this mindset of like confidence.
Like there's like cool obstacle. Let me jump over it. Like that was just kind of how I was wired and how I was raised. And so even as like a high schooler, when every one of us knows like that's the time where you're like the most insecure and the most like, who am I?
I kind of just walked into every room going like, what's up? I just kind of had a confidence. Because I got it. Went to YWAM as I mentioned.
Was amazing. Had an incredible time and found myself pretty quickly being like given leadership. And then I had them like that makes sense. Because I got it.
And YWAM is a discipleship culture. So there's youth with a mission. It's a mission school. But it's heavy on discipleship.
It's like small group and getting a part of people's lives are getting to be a part of mine. And I had friends that were like, man, truly you get stuff done. And you're very, very confident. There are times where your confidence may present itself as arrogance.
To which I confidently responded, I'm so sorry that's not the case. I get that for other people, things may be a certain way. But I got it. And so anything that you need prayer for, I got it.
Anything that you'd like help with, I got it. If you're looking for wisdom or counsel or insight in any way, you know where to go. And that was the general way that I carried myself. And there was a lot of, I mean, I'm obviously speaking hyperbole a little bit.
That was a part of my story. Very confident. Kind of walking into every room. And I got married fairly young and had kids fairly young, which helps, you know, kind of measure out some of that.
Because you're going, oh, I don't know about that thing. No, because I'm being exposed to my lack. But overall, incredibly confident. And then the year of our Lord, 2020, came about.
And that, like, I got it. The thing was, it was no longer sufficient. It didn't, wasn't true anymore. Our pastors, Josh and Katie, had a pre-planned sabbatical.
All of us were in agreement like, yeah, you should go. You should absolutely go on the sabbatical. So Pastor Nicole and I were given the reigns at the time. I was like, it makes sense.
I mean, like, positionally sure. But like, I got it. In some sense, it's an easy time to take over church when there's no gatherings. Right?
So this is smack dab in the middle of COVID. And the shutdowns and all that stuff. And so there weren't no services. But man, it was a difficult, I mean, in services aside, it was a difficult time to be a pastor.
Because as we all remember, the COVID pandemic was changing everyone's life in like every second of every day. Do you remember people used to wear hazmat suits to the grocery store? That is not fiction. That happened.
Crazy. And then it wasn't just that, but Minneapolis specifically became the epicenter of an international conversation about oppression, about race conflicts, the murder of George Floyd kickoff riots, where it's like that restaurant I used to go to is no longer there at Burn to the Ground. And so all of us, collectively, as a city, are going, what is happening? And it's natural that in those times people turn to a pastor or to their church and they go, what do you think?
I'm looking for insight. I need wisdom. I need help. What do you got?
And that was, for me, that was my breaking point where I go, oh, I don't got it. It was interesting. I was aware that all this was happening. I was internalizing it.
And the crazy things started happening. My fingers and my toes started at times tingle and then just go numb. That's interesting. And there were times where I was working or I'm at home and I would realize that 10 or 15 seconds I was in the building and I hadn't breathed.
So I'm just sitting there and then I'd go, oh, I'm embarrassing. I'm so sorry. I don't know. My heart would start to beat.
And I would try to think through a progression. I was very good at building systems and logic. And here's what we do next. And it felt like someone had just pushed a shopping cart down a hill.
It was just chaos. And I was like, hold on. And I couldn't think straight. And it's all kind of came to a head.
We were having a staff meeting for the church staff at every day. And I sat down to lead our team through, hey, here's some next steps. Here's what we're going to do for this initiative or whatever. As I was sharing with our church staff, my words started to get all mixed up.
And they initially started laughing because they thought I was joking. And they realized, oh, something's wrong with Ben. And I apologized and started to feel my heart freak out. And long story short, that was where I was introduced to anxiety in a way that I had never known.
I had heard of people experiencing this. I had heard of people that struggled with anxiety. And I was always like, that sounds terrible. And if you need anything, just let me know.
I got it. And then I'm falling apart. And my specific, all of us are carrying anxiety in different ways. My specific thing that happened to me is something my brain, like the wires got crossed.
And I was convinced that the people that I loved were going to die. So there were these intrusive thoughts that were like, they're going to die. And so I stepped out of the staff meeting. I sped home, got to my house, saw my wife, who was very much alive, and my children who were very much alive, ran to my wife, grabbed her, started bawling, and had my first ever panic attack.
And I say first ever because it kicked off depending on how you want to time it on a calendar, six to nine months of what doctors call acute anxiety. And those that were close to me, it was like, oh, yeah, Ben's not. Ben's not okay. And I would put every ounce of effort that I had in helping do my job here.
And then I'd go home and I wouldn't sleep for three days because there was this adrenaline drip that just wouldn't stop. And I couldn't calm down. Josh and Katie came back from sabbatical, praise God. And they started to get a sight line into what was going on.
And they said, Ben, I think you should take some time off. I said, it's good. I got it. And they said that was not a suggestion.
You need to get right. And there's a whole journey there. But I'm sharing all of this because I'm hoping that as we go through the process, that as we go through the rest of the message tonight that there's an understanding that the things that I'm saying aren't flippant. They're not uninformed.
There may be things that sound too good to be true. There may be good news that goes, yeah, but it can't be that easy, that good. There has to be more. And I would just ask you to trust that the guy that's sharing it has some lived experience through things that I'm going, no, I actually have truly come to believe that there is good news for the anxious.
That the anxious are not just relegated to band-aid solutions. The anxious aren't just relegated to, here's how we can manage and cope with this. I believe there's better news than that for the anxious. So let's just turn our hearts to the Lord.
I want to pray for us. Heavenly Father, King of the universe and Almighty God, we ask that this afternoon you'd reveal your power and your strength that we, prone as we are to weakness and insecurity, would be encouraged by the Holy Spirit. We thank you for that ever-present spirit that opens our eyes to see great and marvelous things. Spirit of God, reveal the glory of the resurrected and victorious Jesus today.
As we come to you, Lord, let us not settle for earthly solutions or humanistic ambitions. But in every way, lead us back to the hope of the gospel that was delivered to us for our salvation and for your glory. Lead us into truth. In the name of Jesus, we pray.
Amen. Good news for the anxious. That's what we're going to talk about tonight. Anxiety is a spectrum, right?
And so maybe as I'm sharing my story about the numb fingertips and the heart and the mixed up words and all that, you know, I've never felt that. I'd say probably a lot of us have, and I'm so sorry because that is, I live that, that is awful. But all of us have experienced anxiety in some level, right? Maybe it's just like your parents and your baby comes back from the doctor and it's like, she's in the 30th percentile for wait.
What's wrong? What do we have to do? What is going on? What do we have to do?
She's going to be small forever, and it's just like, whoa, what? Maybe it's relationships and you're going, man, I'm driving home and I'm replaying that conversation that hasn't happened yet. It's in the future, and they're going to say this and then I'll say this, and I'll say that and I'll say this and now, oh, man, I'll have it if they say that, right? There's some level of anxiety that's looking ahead to the future and going, that's going to be bad.
How do I avoid it? That's, that's anxiety. That's anxiety. Looking into the future, that's going to be bad.
How do I avoid it? So, Pastor Josh, a few weeks ago, talked about the good news for the overwhelmed. There's a lot of similarities in what he shared, but I'm going to share. But overwhelmed is, man, there's so much going on.
And then there's multiple roads you could take when you hit overwhelm. Anxiety is one of those roads that you could take. We go, well, then I got to figure it out. Right?
And so, this is something that everyone has experienced to some degree, because anxiety is actually a baseline part of how creatures work. Not just saying humans, I'm saying creatures. There's a thing in created things, brains that do this. So, like animals, all right?
We've all seen, or maybe haven't seen pictures of whatever. They're peaceful, elegant, dear. And then a stick breaks and they go, and everything tenses up and their eyes get big and their ears go up and they start smelling the air and they're going, something's out there, what is that, what is that, what is that. And they're ready to go.
Suddenly, there's a adrenaline hit and they tense up and something's out there, right? So, I did some research on this and I found they've identified anxiety in sea slugs. I was unaware they had brains, but apparently, sea slugs, like the most base level of created blue animal in the planet, they can experience anxiety. I don't know how they found that out, but I'd imagine if there's a biologist poking and prodding, I'd feel anxiety too.
But they tested it and they go anxiety, it's even in sea slugs. And so, it's something that it's a physical response to something, right? What happens, we're not going to get in the weeds of psychology, I'm not qualified to do that. But what I've learned tells me that there's an adrenaline drip that gets you ready and your brain goes, because there's only one thing we need to worry about.
This is a great, I would even submit part of your design, because if you're getting chased by bear, you want adrenaline. You want single focus. You're not there to observe on, what a beautiful sunset and wow, that bear. You know what?
I'll bet that in other circumstances. That'd be a really beautiful bear. All of that goes out the window. You have one focus and it's run and your muscles get suddenly more able to push yourself further and in that sense, that's a good response.
That's an appropriate response to being chased by bear. Maybe it's not being chased by a bear, but maybe you were raised in a time when you played certain video games that were designed to distress you out that would push you to physical feet of strength. Did anyone ever play Guitar Hero? How about dance dance revolution?
Are we old enough for that? Yeah? There's a kid that just came out of Hot Topic at the mall that walks and there's the arcade at the mall and it's this big screen in a platform and there's the up arrow, the back arrow, and the side arrows. Yeah?
For those that aren't looking up, it's crazy. But there's a big screen and it starts scrolling down like a Guitar Hero what your your next move is. Down arrow and you go, and there's up arrow and you go there and it starts to go faster and faster. And that kid that just walked out of Hot Topic is just flying because everyone's watching and there's distress and it's faster and faster and the music's going faster and it's actually kicking in that anxiety response that's actually giving you adrenaline.
Sports, another maybe more approach, for example, for some of you that didn't grow up playing DDR. You know, there's these stories of people that walk out, you know, and they walk out onto the field and like there's a hundred thousand people and everyone's watching you. Man, hope this guy does it or hope he doesn't do it or whatever. That's an intense like, okay.
And there's some incredible things that can happen. So anxiety is a part of our wiring if we're calling it anxiety. But when I say there's good news for the anxious, I'm not talking about the good news for the athlete and the kid playing Guitar Hero. When I say anxiety, I think we all know what I mean.
It's more some of my story that I shared. It's the moments of I don't know what's out there. I need to fix this. And it's that thing that happens that's fully in the future.
It's a misappropriation. This is helpful. It's a misappropriation of that really helpful narrowing of focus that happens in those incredibly high stress moments and how I'm sitting driving in my car and my heart's thumping and my fingertips are getting numb because of a future conversation. That does not exist yet.
But my brain is living in that reality and it's kicking in that fight or flight response. So I either want to just keep driving and go on forever because I don't want to have that conversation. I'm going to drive right to their house right now and don't know what I think about them. And there's an irrational thing that starts happening in our brains.
That's where many of us have an actual lived experience of this happening. And so yes, there's the positives, but for most of us, we're talking about the negatives. We're running all those intrusive thoughts we're trying to sleep and you're thinking about the meeting and you're thinking about what she said and you're wondering if he's ever going to change that. Or man, my kid and I just had that conversation and that is intense and I hope he doesn't go to jail and I hope there's real life stuff.
And what happens in that space is you have these uncontrolled thoughts, there's worries, there's fears. Like I said, in my story, lack of sleep was a massive one. I go three days at a time without sleeping. And I'd be laying there being like, God please.
Not again. As I'm laying there, my wife's not asleep and I'm laying there and I haven't slept in 72 hours. And I'd finally start to get tired. And then I would physically feel this drip, my body would go intense up and then I'd relax and go, well, there's another five hours.
That thing, just laying in bed trying to sleep and anxiety is suddenly dictating the terms of my life. That we need help there. That's where we need some good news, right? One of the most helpful visualizations of this that I've ever seen is in the movie Inside Out 2.
Long story short, there's a girl and you see all the emotions for sonified in her head and inside out 2, you're introduced to this emotion called anxiety. And anxiety is portrayed in such a way that when I watched that movie, I was in the theater with my kids. When I watched, I was like pressed back in my chair. I was like, that, that's what it feels like.
It's fairing you the whole detail and plot line. The climactic scene of that movie is when anxiety takes over control of this board, which represents full brain function. She steps in and takes control and she's trying so hard to help. She's going, but it's bad out there and it's scary and we need to protect and we need to make sure nothing bad happens and we need to make sure and we need to make sure.
And so in the movie, this character starts spinning like crazy, almost like this electric tornado around this and in the middle, you see this kind of frozen character of anxiety who's completely frozen and then starts to cry. I was like, that gummy, that's it. That's exactly how I feel when anxiety comes on me. Those moments that I talked about, they were like panic attacks.
It's like, simultaneously there's so much activity and noise and I feel helpless and I'm crying going, I don't want this and I'm stuck and I'm frozen. And in that space, I believe that there is good news. So let's start talking about the good news. We've talked about diagnosing stuff and trying to name things.
And I just want to talk about the good news that's available. So the good news starts with this that I don't know that I knew this and I would love to share that when I look at this biblically, I don't believe that anxiety is a sin. So if we're carrying the guilt of God, I'm feeling anxious again. Lord, I'm so sorry.
You're probably mad at me because I'm operating, this is a lack of faith and so you're mad at me. I don't think that's true. I think that anxiety is a symptom. When we look at the biblical definition of sin, I'm aware that there's a thing about like sin, it's like missing the mark.
And that's what the word means. But the biblical definition of sin, 1 John 3, 4 says it's a transgression of the law. Deuteronomy 9, 7 says it's rebellion against God. Sin is like I'm crossing this line.
When I was in the anxiety state and anyone I've ever talked to that follows God is experiencing anxiety going, I hate this. I don't want this. I wish this would stop. Right?
So it's a symptom of something. So maybe we should take a deep breath and go, oh, God's not mad at you for having anxiety. First Peter 5, 7 says cast all your cares or anxiety on him because he cares for you. God's wanting to come in, heal us from anxiety.
He wants to hold us and be near. He's not going, when are you going to have a little more faith? Gosh, that's the voice of the accuser. Devil knows the Bible too.
So just because it's a Bible verse doesn't mean that it's the Lord's character that's saying that. You guys know this? Hopefully we know this. Devil, Jesus, desert, showdown.
Devil starts quoting Scripture at him. And then Jesus goes, no, but it's written. And he answers with the truth behind the words and the character of God and the intention of his heart. So if we're sitting under accusation going, well, if I just had a little more faith, then maybe this thing's I would go away.
Like, it's up to me. Don't worry, God. I got it. Good news.
That is not what he's asking you to do. So maybe we can just start with releasing the pressure valve. And then God is not sitting there waiting for you to figure out your anxiety because it's a sin. He actually wants you to come to him with it.
When I say that it's not a sin, yep, I've met people and I'm so grateful for this. I've met people that have been delivered of a spirit of fear. So that can be a thing. I've met people that have had moments with the Lord that shifted something.
That's a significant shift and it was that way and now it's that way. Praise God. I'm all for it. But my experience as a person and as a pastor is that most times it's a symptom off of a root that is a mindset.
I look at my own story. I don't think that in that space of feeling all the anxiety stuff that I was needing to go Lord, just like I'm so sorry for this anxiety, help my anxiety. He was going, gosh, look behind the curtain dude. You've built 30 something years of self-dependence, self-reliance and pride.
Gosh. And then the way to the world came on you and you were just there by yourself saying, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it, I got it. Getting crushed. Can we talk about that?
Buddy, I want to heal you. Come on. I can't believe that you have to go through this. Son.
There's a better way. So it's his care. It's his holding that's addressing something that you might need to repent for self-reliance and pride. But he's going to lead with healing.
That's the character of Jesus. He's not needing all these people on the streets and this earthly ministry going, well, what the heck, I've been up here. He's loving them and going, go and see no more. Once they've experienced his embrace.
And so the good news for the anxious starts by just going, oh, he's not mad at you. He actually would love to help you and heal you. So we can start there. So I'll take a quick pause here and go.
Many of us, maybe this is your first time in church. Welcome. Maybe it's your first time hearing about the good news. Awesome.
Many of us have heard stuff like this before. We're going, okay. Yep. So I believe this stuff and why isn't it happening?
And we're confused that the incongruency is going. But I believe that, like, yep, no gods, you know, be not anxious about anything but in everything. I'm putting a question to God and a piece of God transcends. I know the verse.
Why isn't it working? Another quick story. My mom had a massive heart for rescue dogs. So growing up, most of the animals in our home were in some way infirm or needed help or had traumatic passes or something.
As the son of said mother, didn't get to choose that. So I just got the dog who had all the issues and was like, all right, well, now we have to feed him this special diet and do the things. All right. Well, we just have high-needed dogs.
There's one dog that my mom was like, we have to help him. His name was Simba, which is a sweet name for a dog. He looked like a lion. He's a golden retriever.
But the way that he had these golden, like amber eyes and his hair, he looked like a lion. It was awesome. Coolest dog that we've ever got. But Simba came from a wildly traumatic past where his original owner wouldn't feed him, would totally forget about him.
He was left in a little outside kennel and like forgotten and was rescued because it was an animal abuse. He goes into the shelter. My mom's like, we need to save Simba. And so we got Simba.
And Simba was suddenly in a completely different home life. He had everything he needed. He had people that loved him and cared about him. He had access to resources that he never had.
We weren't worried about feeding him. We knew exactly where we were going to feed him. We knew it was best for him. We're going to make sure that he gets what he needs.
And Simba's brain was broke. So he would freak out and not to get graphic. But he would like defecate all over himself every time he left the house, every single time. Because he was like, they're gone.
And I'm always alone. And I know how this works. They're never coming back. And so we were like, OK, well, maybe it's the...
Because we kept our dog in this dog bed and it's big and whatever. There's a little like, kind of space. Well, Simba needs to not be in there. Maybe that's what's doing it.
So we changed the environment. We're not going to put you in there. We're just going to go. You stay home.
We'll be good. We come back. And somehow this dog has opened cupboards, climbed on top of shelves, and has eaten everything in sight. Including the plastic bags, holding the things.
And is panicking. He's like, I know how this works. I don't get food. And so he's just like, voraciously eating everything.
And we're needing to then go, oh my gosh. He's going to die. He's got a bunch of plastic bags and chocolate in him. So you have to do all this stuff and then make the dog throw up so it doesn't literally die.
And then he's like, see? See? It's a goofy story about a dog. But I hope that we're seeing the reality, the truth is that Simba was in a place that was going to care for all his needs.
Like, loved him. Was willing to do anything. Was trying to do everything. He's going, nope, nope, nope.
I know how this works. I know it's going to come. It's going to be bad. And I need to fix it.
It's the definition of anxiety. It's him going, I know what's going to happen. He was wrong. So I need to take care of it.
No, you don't. Today, friends, when I'm talking about the good news for the anxious, I'm going to say some things that might feel like, well, that doesn't line up with my experience. I'm going to present biblical truth that I want us to sit under and wrestle with. Yeah?
Because just like Simba, we might go, no, no, no, no, see? But they still left. Yeah, that doesn't mean that you're left forever. I don't have food right in front of me.
That doesn't mean there's no food. There's a retraining of how we think. But unfortunately, friends, so many of us, we start talking about the good news. We go, ah, Josh, use this wording the other week.
I love it so much. And we go, no, no, no. But there's other rabbis that I've seen be effective. They can help.
I'm going to go with the voices because we're going, well, I'm experiencing anxiety. I find myself nervous all the time. And this guy is saying that if you just do this breath work, then you have peace. I want to try that.
Because what I want is peace. Because you're just going symptom. You, us, all of us, you're just going symptom. I feel anxiety.
The opposite of anxiety in my mind. When I'm feeling right now, the opposite seems to be peace. Okay, what can I do for peace? And it's like, okay, grounding techniques, breath work.
You can take this medication. You can go to therapy. All good things. And I've done all of those just so you know.
But what we're doing in that zone is we're going, I just want it to be fixed. What can I do? Do you see how we're so good at finding other ways to baby our anxiety? So we're going, okay, well, the future's going to be bad because of anxiety.
So now what can I do? And then we go and find other things. And it's feeding the same cycle because ultimately it's up to us and we're still afraid of the future. So that can't be the good news.
Like if all that we're looking around the world and going, what's the good news for the anxious? And they go, well, when anxiety comes, here's some helpful tricks to manage it. That's not good enough news. That's encouraging to know that there's a way.
I've done enough study. You're like, yep, once the adrenaline drip goes and the panic attack has started, your body's full of chemicals and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes for that to process out of your body and to metabolize. Great, cool. So the breath of work helps.
The grounding helps. That's great. But if all we're doing is saying the good news is that there's a way to manage your symptoms, then what are we doing? There has to be better news than that.
So we look to Jesus and we say, Lord, I don't just want my symptoms to be managed. I don't just want to live in a world where I'm not feeling this stuff. I actually want to be transformed. I want to be different.
I get a sight line into the life of Jesus or the ministry of Paul and I go, something's different there. I want that. I don't see Jesus, by the way, and this is not an indictment on anyone. It's just an observation in the text.
I don't see Jesus ever operating in anxiety. It wasn't like he found the great ways to manage his anxiety because what he's doing is he's going, what do you say, Father? Great, sounds good. He starts walking it out even in the garden of Gethsemane.
You want to talk about acute anxiety? He's sweating blood. But is that an anxiety that is rooted in man, there's bad stuff coming and what am I going to do about it? No.
He says, the other is bad stuff coming. He's aware that he's going to be tortured and murdered. That's what's happening. And even in that space, when all of us would go, yeah, no, you have a right to be anxious there because you know what's going to happen and it is going to be bad.
Even then he breaks the cycle by not going, so what am I going to do about it? What does he say? Not my will, but yours be done. Because here's the truth friends.
I don't believe that the opposite of anxiety is peace. I think that the opposite of the anxious feelings might be peaceful feelings. But at its root, if anxiety says, what's coming is bad and I need to fix it. I need to control it.
The opposite then would actually be hope. The opposite of anxiety would actually be confident hope in the character of God. What's coming is going to be good and it's because of him. What's coming is going to be good because look at him.
So we're not actually looking for peace. We want hope. I want to look to the future with a confident expectation of good. What is that even possible?
Man, look around the world, man. You live out of a box? It's bad out there. Look, there's bad stuff happening everywhere.
Are we left with the same tools, resources and perspective as the rest of the world? Or did something drastically shift with the incarnation of Jesus and the arrival of the good news? The Yuan Gilean has to be distinctive between us and those that don't know it. So often we're left chasing our tails going, well, I'm anxious, my friend's anxious, and they tried this Wim Hof method and it worked for them.
I'm good for them, and I'm sure it might help. But my heavens, we're not limiting our resources to that. Because the good news, when the gospel writers use the word Yuan Gilean, that word, when we're talking about the good news of the gospel, when Paul's writing about the good news of the gospel, what he's talking about is the storyline of Jesus. So let's look at the storyline of Jesus.
Because Jesus, before he was incarnate, was the creator of all things. We know this through Scripture. He created everything. And then, when he comes as a man in the incarnation, he does it again.
Because Jesus, when he comes on the scene, he recreates humanity. Humanity had been fractured. Think about Adam in the garden. It's very interesting when you're seeing through this lens again.
We're looking through this diamond. I know there's other ways to see it. When you're looking through the diamond of the good news and you see the storyline of the gospel, you go, man, even in the garden. Disconnection.
Right? Adam sins by eating what? The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I got it.
No, I'm able to determine what's good, what's bad, I'm the judge. Each the fruit goes, holy smokes, we're naked. This is bad. Hold on a second.
God didn't ever say that. But then we go, man, this is really bad. So we need to make sure that we control this and cover up. Okay, fig leaves, cover up.
Here he comes. I hear his voice. He's going to be so mad. We should hide.
It's the language of anxiety. I know what's coming. It's going to be bad. I have to fix it.
So from moment one is a disconnect. And all trust and hope has been broken. So when Jesus comes, he is recreating humanity. This is so important because I'm not talking about band-aid solutions tonight.
He wants to make you new again in his image. So when he comes, that fractures healed. And he goes, I have perfect trust in my father and perfect hope in my father. This is how we do this, people.
There's a new way to be human. And so Jesus from moment one starts modeling trust, hope and dependence on God. Suddenly he's not looking ahead going, oh, I have no idea what's going to happen. This is bad.
This is bad. He's looking up when he sees, we're so captain of the moment, we're like, well, yeah, but it's really bad today. He lived in an occupied territory that was, we're like, our worst case today. We're like, our worst case scenario is like, what if there's oppression?
It's like, they were living under occupation. Like it's bad news there. Anyone who's a cynic or just an observation would be like, yeah, I know it's bad around here. I'm just trying to go to worship.
And there's a Roman guard saying they're taking some of my money that was allocated to God. This is bad. It's not good here. Jesus walks in unaffected by it.
Is it because he's ignorant? No, because he only does what he sees the father doing. He looks up and goes, what do you say? And he hears the Lord say, why do the nations rage and plot a vain thing?
Look at them saying, oh, let's break off his bonds, let's do it our own way. He sits in the heavens, laughs and holds them in derision and says, as for me, I've set my king on my holy hill. He's going to rule with the scepter of iron. Ask him, I'll give you the nations as your inheritance.
Kiss the sun lest he be angry. And now Jesus isn't walking and going, but what about Rome? I know what's coming. God's got it.
And there's a confidence in his step. He's retraining people. How to think and how to believe. He's refused the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
As a man, he's going, I only do what I see my father doing. He calls the shots. So there's a new creation thing happening. Let's continue on with the good news for the anxious because what's crazy to me is we have gotten used to the indwellness and the spirit.
We think it's normal that God lives in us. Up until Jesus, this was not a thing. God's presence, yes, he was everywhere in a metaphysical sense. But in a practical sense, he lived in between the chair of the mercy seat.
He would manifest as a cloud or fire. But he was locationally specific. So, theoretically, God is good and able and whatever. But at 2.30 in the morning when the intrusive thoughts come and I'm terrified and paralyzed at what might come, Holy Spirit wasn't on the inside.
They didn't have access to God. They would just sprint to the temple. This is why David, there's so much to say. Don't take me from your presence.
This is why David's like, man, I was glad when I said unto me, let me go to the house of the Lord. Because there he was. But when Jesus is on the planet and his last message to his disciples, he's going, man, I know that you're overwhelmed. I know that you're anxious.
Oh, just you wait. Unless I go, I can't send the helper who's actually going to lead you into all truth. He will be in you from the moment that Holy Spirit came. You know, not to diminish him to just calling him a resource, my heavens.
But you have resources that those outside the family of God don't have. Because the good news is you've been filled up with the Holy Spirit of God and have access to the Trinity at all times. Oh God, what if I don't get a parking spot at the thing? You're filled with God.
Well, my boss was pretty mad at me and I'm not sure what's going to happen. You're filled with God, the counselor himself, the paracletos, the advocate, the helper, the intercessor. He's in you. You have access at any moment to God himself.
This is so different than how we normally think. Yeah, like I know, like I have God on the inside. But like right now I need peace. Go to him.
Go to him. Talk to him. Fall on him. Cast all your cares on him because he cares for you.
It's completely different because Jesus came and inaugurated a new way to be human. We're now people. How's God? The Father says that he's translated us out of the Kingdom of darkness and into the Kingdom of the Son of His Love.
I'm not the same as I used to be. I'm not going to sit and settle for band-aid solutions. The good news can't be breathwork. The good news can't be medication.
I get managing the symptoms, but man, God wants to remake you in his image. He's transferred you out of the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of the Son of His Love. You're different now. You don't play by the same rules.
You're changed. The good news is that you're different. The good news is that you don't need to look around and go, well, what are they doing? Have you asked him?
Have you turned to him? Thessalonians don't grieve as others do. They don't have any hope. So there's a difference in how you grieve even.
It's still infused with hope. Author Hebrew says we have this hope as an anchor for our soul. What hope is he talking about? God's committed faithfulness to us.
We've been changed completely from the inside out because of who he is. The opposite of anxiety is not peace. Peace feels great when you're anxious. What God wants to give you is a powerful overcoming hope that's not even anchored in you and your ability.
Gosh, I'm so tired of being self-sufficient. I've lived it for way too long. I'm so tired of having it be up to me because I know that I'm going to blow it. But if my hope isn't based in, gosh, but if I just do it right then, what if it's outside of me completely and I fall backwards into the grace of God and I go, literally nothing can take me from his love?
I'm held forever. At least you get so frustrated when I was younger at Romans 8 because Romans 8 is objectively the greatest. It's just like verse after verse after verse, you go, that's in there too. That's in there too.
And it's just this crescendo at the end. What then shall we say to all these things? If Christ is for us, who can be against? He who didn't spare his own son but offered himself up for us.
How will he not more with him? Give us all things. He starts talking about the hope that we have. And then there's this pesky little verse in the middle that says, like, why take the time to go?
Is any of this going to separate us from God? For as it is written, for your sake of being slaughtered like sheep all day long. I was always like, I was always like, I wasn't in there. It kind of kills the mood.
Like you didn't need to double down. Like what shall separates the love of God? She'll death and famine and nakedness and sword. And then he goes, because for your sake of being killed all day long.
It bothered me. Because then it goes right back into knowing all these things are more than conquerors. Can we just skip that part? We just go to the...
But it's in there for a reason. Scripture isn't just like Paul didn't just want to tangent. It's like, how? You don't have a racer.
It's all in ink. That's in there. That's in there because Paul's wanting to really anchor this home. No, I'm not talking theoretically.
I'm not talking. You've been removed from all existence and all pain. Saying, no. Gosh, it's...
Yep. Yep. Put that new story. Yep.
That relationship. Yeah. Put my kid. Yeah.
And in the face of all of it, there is nothing. Height, nor death. And he reiterates what he's saying. Because he's anchoring at home.
Going, you're not like everyone else. That doesn't kill you and crush you like it with someone else. Why? Because you're loved and held by God and nothing can change it.
The good news for the anxious is not some sort of self-help trick. That's not good enough. It's not some sort of revelatory breakthrough where we've done some real exegetical study and this verse says something different than we thought. No, I'm just calling us back to the goodness of God that was revealed in Jesus.
The power of the Holy Spirit that's inside of you and the love of the Father that's going to hold you through it all. That is the good news. And if I added something else to it, I wouldn't be a good pastor. Because my job is to point and go, look at it.
He's... He's... He's just keeping these same verses over and over. I want to refer you from the King of the darkness, the King of the Son.
I want to end tonight by looking at this incredible word that we find in Psalm 121. Would you turn that with me? Psalm 121. Are we doing okay?
Psalm 121. This is one that a lot of us have probably heard before. But there's this part of it that our... There's this word specifically that wants to focus on.
Because the way that Hebrew poetry works is repetition in Hebrew is similar to like in our modern typography where we put it like bold and underlined. Right? So when someone sends you a text and they bold a word, it's like, oh, that's the important part. Repetition is how...