Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - 3 Things I Learned When Attacking Anxiety | Book Club: Part 3

Episode Date: June 19, 2022

Anxiety is not part of God’s plan for your life. In this message, Shawn Johnson’s teaching us how to attack anxiety and fight for the freedom God wants for each of us. ABOUT THIS MESSAGENo one has all the answers. That’s why we need a variety of voices to help us grow. During our new series, Book Club, we’ll get fresh perspectives on identity, relationships, anxiety, and more from people who have been there and wrote the book on it.  WE’RE OPENWe’re continuing to monitor guidelines and best practices for gathering in a safe way. Learn more about everything we're doing to keep you safe and how you can help by using hand sanitizer, washing your hands often, and more: https://www.life.church/updatesFind a time and attend a service with us: http://www.life.church/locationsNEXT STEPSHave you made a decision to follow Jesus? You may be wondering what’s next on your journey. We want to help! Let us guide you to your next steps in your walk with Christ: https://www.life.church/nextABOUT LIFE.CHURCHWherever you are in life, you have a purpose. Life.Church wants to help you find your next step. Our hope is that your journey will include joining us at a Life.Church location throughout the United States or globally online at https://www.live.life.church. Find locations, videos, and more info about us at https://www.life.church or download the Life.Church app at https://www.life.church/app. FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/life.churchInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/life.churchTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/lifechurchTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifechurchCONNECT WITH PASTOR CRAIGYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIId...Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/craiggroeschelInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/craiggroeschelTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/craiggroeschelTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@craiggroeschel#lifechurch #craiggroeschel #attackinganxiety Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I don't know if you knew this, but the CDC right now says that over 50% of all Americans will struggle with a mental illness in their lifetime. Anxiety and depression are topping the charts. That means that almost every single one of us tuned into this message right now has either dealt with this stuff personally or cares about somebody who has. It's that prevalent. And I'm going to get into a little bit about my story today, and you'll see why I get so passionate about talking about this subject.

but here's what I know. I know that that is not God's plan for our lives. I know that my Bible says that the very same spirit that raised Jesus up out of the grave resides inside of me, so I don't have to just sit back and take it. We don't have to just deal with depression and be attacked by anxiety, but through the powerful name of Jesus, we can take a stand and attack back and experience some freedom that Jesus died on a cross to provide us with. Amen? This is where we're headed today in Life Church, This has been my prayer for you all week. If you have a Bible, flip up to Romans chapter 15. My mouth is a little dry.

I just took daytime pseudofid and drank a Red Bull. I don't even know what's going to happen. Can you let the creator of the universe speak to you for a second? If you've been struggling with anxiety and depression, hopelessness, potentially even suicidal thoughts, can you let the creator of the universe speak for a second? It's not as planned for you. Listen, may the God of hope.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace. That's the opposite of anxiety and depression. And if you deal with this stuff, or if you're watching a loved one deal with this stuff, what you know is when we're really wrapped up in anxiety and depression, one of the first things that goes is hope. I know what it's like to be so overwhelmed with anxiety and depression that I have no hope that my life can ever even get better. I can't even see my life without this stuff.

And some of you know what that feels like. This verse says, no, the God of hope, wants to fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope, not just kind of get by, not just eke your way through life, not just make it through every day by the skinny your teeth. He says, no, I want you to overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I love this. He says, this is not because you're going to just get stronger. It's not because you're just going to figure out how to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and muscle your way through this stuff. He says, no, this is about my power.

The God of hope wants to bring us joy and peace and hope, and it's about his power, and that's good news, amen. In 2019, I made one of the most humiliating phone calls that I had ever made, because I made it to your pastor, who is one of the people I look up to more than anyone else in this world. And I called him and I said, Pastor Craig, I just checked myself into a seven, week inpatient anti-anxiety counseling facility. I said, I've never told you this. I've had anxiety and depression for many, many years. I've been scared to death to admit it. Part of it's because I work

at a church. Isn't it true? I won't indict you. For me, because I'm part of a church, I felt more shame for having anxiety and depression, right? Because for a living, I talk about a God, that gives peace and joy and freedom. And what I felt was anxiety and depression and trapped. So here's the temptation. If we're a part of a church, we think, well, I can't admit anxiety and depression. I can admit a lot of things in church,

but not those things, because that then is sort of an indictment on my faith. Maybe I'm not a good enough Christian. Maybe I don't have enough faith. I know for me as a pastor, I thought maybe I'm just a hypocrite. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this. And my panic attacks got so bad

that I couldn't function anymore. had to take several months off work, thought I was going to lose my job, lose my family. There were multiple times when I wanted to lose my life. Isn't it crazy how we can look so put together on the outside and be so disturbed on the inside? And can I just tell you, Life Church, that this is the last place in the world you want to come and hide this stuff? This is not a courtroom when you come to church, when you come to a small group. This is a hospital.

And the thing we want to do is we want to come here and say, this is how I'm hurt, and let's lock arms with some brothers and sisters who will push us closer to the presence of God so we can meet with the great physician. The temptation is to come here and pretend. That's the last thing we want to do. I was doing that for so long. I broke. So I've been on this three-year journey, and I have had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours of counseling and therapy and pastoral care.

and time in the word. And I feel like God has given me truckloads of information on how to take a stand and begin to fight back. And that's why I'm so excited to get to talk to you out of my book today called attacking anxiety. And I hope it's a blessing to you. But today I'm just going to give you the just a little introduction, just sort of the tip of the iceberg. But I think it's going to be a good start for some of you to get off and running and not just sit back on your heels and take this stuff, but go, uh-uh, I am a child of God, I can do more. Here we go, all right? I want to give you three things that I learned right up top in my journey with anxiety and depression. The first one is, we can fight back. We can fight back. I didn't know that. One of the lies that we believe

with this stuff is, I'm just stuck this way. I'll always be this way. It's just how I am. It's just how I'm wired. It's just how I was made. I'll always be depressed. I'll always have anxiety. I'll probably always have to hide it. We just feel that, don't we? I sat down with a pastor friend at the beginning of this journey, and I was having a panic attack in front of him. And I was crying, and I was shaking. And I was telling him, I don't think I can keep living this way. And I don't know what's going on. And I'm telling them about my problems and my past and my fears and my issues. And I don't think I can be a pastor anymore. And I can't. He said, hey, look me in the eyes. He said, listen to me. you're a fighter. It's time you stopped blaming yourself, and it's time you started fighting back.

And something begin to rise up in me. And Life Church, I want to tell you the same thing today. You have a fighter spirit that has been hardwired inside of you by the creator of the universe. For me, I just hadn't tapped into it for a while, but we have it. And I want you to know today, if you're dealing with this stuff, you are a fighter and you can fight back. In fact, as I started really studying the Bible about this because I got so desperate because I knew I needed it for my life. What I found is there's actually times woven all throughout scripture. There's this principle that God says, son, daughter, I have something for you. Now I want you to use that fighter spirit I put inside of you and go fight to take hold of what I have set aside for you. I'll give you a

couple examples. I'll give you one from the Old Testament, one from the new. If you've been in church for a minute, you know the story of Joshua. He was taking the nation of Israel. He was taking the nation of Israel across the Jordan River and into the promised land. Remember that story? So, so here's what God says, God's giving him a pep talk. God says this. He says, I will give you every place where you set your foot as I promised Moses. I'm going to give it to you. Now, if I'm Joshua, I'm like, this is dope, right? This is amazing. Except for it starts to get confusing. Because just a few verses later in verse nine, and the irony of this verse is, this is the verse that a lot of people go, that's my favorite verse. That's my tattoo. That's the one I have on the cup. Joshua would have

been real confused, I think, when he heard this verse. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. That sounds great if you read it by yourself. But Joshua was just talking to God, and God said, I'm going to give you some stuff. If I'm going to give you some stuff, if you're giving me the promised land, why would I be afraid? Why would I be discouraged? Why do I need to remember that you're going with me? Because what Joshua didn't know that we now know because we can read the story, God said, I'm giving you the promised land, but you're going to have to go fight 31 battles to take possession of it. He says, I got a new level of freedom for you. I got a new level of influence.

I have a new level of purpose. There's something else I want you to. to experience, but I put this fighter spirit in you, son. I put this fighter spirit in you, daughter. Now, go fight to take hold of the very thing I've already provided you with. Paul's talking to his protege Timothy in the New Testament, Second Timothy 4-7. He says, I have fought the good. One more time. I have fought the good. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Listen to what he's telling us. His protege, he's saying, man, I've experienced some things with God. He was imprisoned and writes a book called Philippians, and theologians now say the whole thing, the key theme is joy. I've experienced some joy of the Lord through crazy circumstances.

I've experienced some peace and crazy. I've experienced the miraculous. I've been able to start churches. He's one of the most influential men to have ever lived, wrote a huge part of the New Testament. He says, I got to experience the plans God had for me, but make no mistake about it, Timothy. It was a fight. but he said it was a good fight. I'm telling you it's a good fight. Your freedom is worth it. It's a good fight.

Your loved one's freedom is worth it. It's a good fight. Now, when my friend said, it's time for you to fight, something started to rise up in me, but almost like a nanosecond later, my very next thought was, but I'm exhausted. Like I was so overwhelmed with anxiety and depression.

I was just trying to survive day by day. day. I'm just trying to not have three panic attacks today. What do you mean fight? I'm too tired. Have you ever been dealing with something and someone's calling you and they just, they love you and they want to check up and you don't answer the phone, not because you don't want to hear their voice, but because you're like, I just, I don't have it in me to tell the story again. You ever had people who love you send you texts? Like, I don't, I don't even have the energy to reply to a text. I don't even have the energy to fake the smiley face thing. Do you know what I mean? like, my publisher didn't even want me to call the book attacking anxiety, and I get it because

they're like, Sean, it's too overwhelming. And I'm calling Pastor Craig, and he's like, no, no, no, you push back. That's a great title. The truth is, I got it. They're like, it feels too overwhelming. People who are struggling with this stuff don't have what it takes to fight. I said, trust me, I know, but that's the whole mission of this thing. We have to, we have to flip it. We can't just deal with it. We got to attack it. Now, here's the key. Here's what helped me figure this out, and I think it'll help you. This fight is not about our strength. It's about our God's strength.

So yes, I can choose to fight when I'm exhausted. Because when I'm at my weakest, he said I'm in my strongest. Amen? Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power. Whose power? According to his power that is at work within us. I love that verse because here's the thing.

I know what it feels like to be so in a pit with anxiety and depression that I can't even imagine my life without it. On paper, like I was living like I think what a lot of people would go. That's like a dream. And yet there were real moments when I thought, I just want to end it. And look, this isn't in my notes, but I just got to say this because I know how real this is. I know how real thoughts of suicide get, and when they really get bad, it's not just I'm going to take away the pain. Here's the lie. It's a lie from the pit of hell. The lie is the people I love would just be better off without me.

And can I just tell you that if you're thinking about that right now, nobody in this world will be better off without you. Everybody that you love will be in pain for the rest of their lives. Don't you dare do something stupid. There's going to be a day where you're going to turn around and you're going to go, thank God I didn't do that because look what God has done. I rode the bus going to school. Anybody read the bus going to school? We need special counseling just for us. There should be a whole department of counselors that are just like, oh, you're a bus kid this way.

We had assigned seats. And I was a little kid, and I sat next to a high school kid. We'll call him Jeff. Jeff was a bully. Jeff would just randomly out of the blue, like, punch me on my thigh and they'd try not to cry. He'd punch me in the arm. He did this thing where he took a pencil erase,

sir, and he said, don't you quit. And he did this for a long time. And it like burnt the skin off my arm. I had a scar for like 10 years. I was putting these notes together this week. I'm like, I wish I knew where this dude lived right now. Because I'm still mad about that. One day he took a Sharpie and wrote cuss words all over my papers. Like, what's wrong with it? I go home. My dad sees my homework. He goes, what's this? I was like, oh, there's this situation. My dad was a handle your own business kind of guy. And I'm like, dad, there's this, I didn't, want to come tell you about it because I feel like, I feel stupid that I can't be able to handle it myself. It's kind of how we feel about our anxiety and our depression. I don't want to

tell anybody about it because I feel shame because I feel like I ought to be able to handle it myself. My dad says, who did this? I said, Jeff, Jeff down the street, Jeff? Yeah. He goes, get in the car. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, please, dad, no, please, and get in the car. We drive down to Jeff's. Of course, we have the windows down because you don't want to waste gas. And so when we get there, I hear everything. My dad walks up to the front door with the stack of papers, and he's a pretty big guy.

And no doorbell, no nice knock. I'm talking, boom, boom, boom. Jeff's dad comes to the door. Unfortunately for Jeff's dad, he was a little fella. and my dad takes a stack of papers. No like, I'm from Kansas, guys. So all you Life Church, Kansas campuses, you know what I'm talking about.

Everybody else, they're not going to know. We do things different in Kansas. There's no talk of like, hey, sir, I'm Mr. Johnson. It seems like the boys had a misunderstanding. Maybe we, none of that. Holds up these papers. He goes, you see this?

This poor guy, he didn't know what's going on. He goes, huh? My dad, true story. He takes it. He goes, throws him in his face. They just, I'm like, well, I want my homework. Throws him in his face.

He goes, your boy ever touches my boy again. I'll be back here and I'm taking care of you. We clear? Jeff's dad goes. We clear. My dad goes. God in the car. God in the car looks at me and he goes, it's handled.

We've never talked about it again. Hey, hey, Life Church, you should have seen the swagger I had when I got on the bus the next day. Hmm, what's up, Jeff? Jeff slid all the way over, looked out the window. He didn't make eye contact with me until he graduated. All my dad wanted for me was to get in the car and go over there with him because he knew that when we hit the battlefield and had nothing to do with my strength, it was all about his strength. Now, I know that's a little messed up analogy, but I believe the creator of the universe says, listen, all I want you to do is get in the car with me. Stand up on the inside and say, I'm willing to fight because greater is he who is within me than he that is in the world.

Just get in the car. Let's go to the battlefield. And when we get there, it's about my strength. It's not about our strength. That's good news. For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you, for you against your enemies. give you the victory. He says, just stand up on the inside. Someone's that inner fighter spirit, son, someone's that inner fighter spirit daughter. Let's go fight this battle. When we get there,

it's about my strength. There's a spiritual battle that has to be fought. That's the second thing I learned. I was having a panic attack in counseling one time. And I'm like, okay, I've actually lost it. I'm in an anti-anxiety counseling center with an anti-anxiety counselor, and I'm having a panic attack here. I'm like, I'm real far gone. I was trying so hard to fight it off physically, and I'd grit my teeth, I'm my fists, and I'll control my mind, and I'm trying to fight it off. My counselor said, he said, Sean, trying to fight this off just physically, he said, it's like being in a hole with a shovel, and you go, oh my gosh, I'm in a hole, I better dig faster.

He goes, Sean, there's also a spiritual battle that needs to be fought. Life Church, we're not just fighting. anxiety. We're not just fighting against depression. We're also fighting against the enemy. It's real, right? John 1010, the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. Jesus said, I want them to have the life to the full of Satan. He's not, he's not creating anything. He's just going to take what God wants to help you, try to twist it, and try to hurt you with it. And then my counselor went on to say, because I was like, I got to get all this anxiety out. And he's like, you know what? You don't actually want all the anxiety out. I said, what?

He said, no, there's some good, healthy, God-given fear that is a blessing to your life. You don't want all that going. You're not just fighting anxiety. You're fighting the enemy here. I said, what are you talking about? He said, he called it facilitating anxiety. He said, there's a good, God-given fear. It's the thing that keeps you from driving 100 miles an hour next to the guard rail going up Pikes Peak. keeps us safe. He's like, you want that. That's a gift. I live in Colorado. If we go walk on trails, there could be rattlesnakes. And so I kind of have this good, God-given, healthy fear of I'm on high alert, right, looking for danger. But he said it goes beyond that. He said, it helps you perform at your best. It gets you amped up. It's like a batter getting into the batters box. You want those jitters.

It's like before I come up and talk to Life Church, it's before you have a big conversation, before you take a test, before the big game, before a big project at work, right? You want your body to sort of get on high alert. He said, you don't want all that going. That's a blessing. That's a gift from God. It's when Satan twists this facilitating anxiety, and it turns into debilitating anxiety,

and then you can't live your normal life. That's what's happening. So you're not just fighting anxiety. You're also fighting the enemy. Now, to be clear, I had to fight some very practical battles in counseling. I've been through some stuff. I needed childhood trauma therapy.

I just didn't want to admit it. I needed counseling. I needed to learn to forgive some people. I needed to have the medications that I had previously been put on, looked at. I just didn't want to be the guy who needed all that stuff. But I did.

But I'm going to tell you this, the battle I was least engaged in, I'm embarrassed to say it, especially because of what I do for a living. The battle I was least engaged in was the spiritual battle. finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God. Why do we put on the full armor of God? Because we have a fighter spirit in us and he expects us to fight.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We're not just fighting anxiety. We're also fighting the enemy. And church is time to fight. Amen. The third thing I learned is that this battle starts in the presence of God. Think about this. If I can fight back, but it's not about my strength. And it's a spiritual battle. Where else would I go? It's got to start in the presence of God. So I'm talking to this. pastor and he says, I want you to start spiritually battling. I was so embarrassed. I looked at

him, you know, because this is what I do for a living. And this is what I talk about to a lot of people. And I looked at him and I said, I'm so, I'm so upside down right now. I hurt so much. I have like logics out the door. All I feel is emotions. Everything's crazy. Nothing makes sense. I don't even know where to start. You ever felt that? I probably should do some spiritual battling. I think I should fight for this. I think I should get involved. I think I should rely on God's strength. I do need a miracle. Maybe what do I do? Do I do it 21 day fast? Do I memorize 10 verses a day? Do I, I don't have the energy. Like, I don't know what to do. That's where I was. I said, I don't even know where to start. He said, I'll tell you where we're going to start. He gave me a little

Bluetooth speaker. This is how simple this is. He said, I was going to be in this city for two weeks. He said, go to that prayer room over there for two weeks. You and your wife, 30 minutes a day. You don't talk about some battling. Go over there for 30 minutes a day. Turn on some worship music. He said, whatever volume the worship music's at, I want you and your wife to pray out loud at that volume together for 30 minutes. I want you to just let the promises of God through those worship musics wash over you.

I want you to say the promises of God. I want you to quote those over your life through that song and just talk to God. My wife was very excited about this. I was less than very excited about this. I don't like praying out loud with people for long periods of time. I know that's not very spiritual thing to say. I just don't. Like, I'm talking to God, and I'd like to have his attention, for one thing.

I don't want you to know the weird things I'm talking to God about. But isn't this true? I also feel really insecure because when my wife prays, she quotes like six verses in her prayer. You ever been around those prayers? And then it's like, now it's your turn. I'm like, hey, God. What's up? I just feel insecure.

I don't like it. We went to the prayer room. I want to end today by telling you how that went because here's my temptation as a pastor, and I think I mess up sometimes. I tell people, here's some good spiritual ideas and here's some things we ought to go do, and then I do the whole get in the game.

Go get him, kid, good game. The problem is I can get everybody excited. We can clap like crazy about getting into the presence of God, but if I don't tell you what a battle it actually was for me, you'll go try it on Tuesday or Wednesday, feel really stupid, won't feel some results, and quit. I don't want that for you. Because this is real.

And we can fight. And we can't experience some peace and some joy and some freedom. So we went to this room and we put the music on. And we started with two songs. I made a playlist. In fact, it's called attacking anxiety. It's on Spotify. It's free to the world.

Please go get it. If you're like, what songs can I start with to just start listening to some promises of God? I call it my attacking anxiety playlist. I would put on, see a victory by elevation worship and breakthrough by Red Rock's worship. Those would be my first two. First day, we go in there, we start praying, we turn on the music, my wife starts praying, and I sat on a couch and cried for 30 minutes.

That was day one. Done. Went, I did not feel any different. Went back day two. Put on the music. my wife's walking around the room praying out loud, I sat on a couch. I think it was about day two or three, I started going, Jesus. It's all I had.

Day two, day three, done. About day four or five, there's a window in this little room and I would go stand by the window. And I would just listen to these worship songs and I would whisper, I will see a victory. I will see a victory. The weapon's been formed but is not going to prosper. I'm going to see a break. through. I will see a victory. And we'd be done. We'd leave and I didn't know if I felt any different.

What wasn't important was feeling a change after day one, two, three, and four. What was important is that I just kept coming back. By the end of two weeks, I'm walking around this prayer room with my hands up in the air screaming, I'm going to see a victory in the name of Jesus. I'm going to be set free. I'm going to have peace. I'm going to have peace. I'm going to have. I'm going to have joy. God, I believe it. Two weeks of battling like this. It wasn't pretty. I can't sing on key. I never remember the words and none of my prayers were eloquent. After two weeks, I was not having daily panic attacks for the first time in a long time. Why? Would you guys put up that last slide of those, of those, I think there's seven verses. Whatever campus you're at,

would you take a screenshot of this right now? If you're in a campus, take a, take a, take a, picture with your phone. If you're watching online or on your phone, take a screenshot real quick. This is the artillery I want you to take into your week. These are promises straight from God about what happens in our lives when we decide to fight by getting in his presence. There is peace in the presence of God. There is joy in the presence of God. There is rest in the presence of God. If we could just have those three, it would change most of our lives. If I could just have those three, my anxiety and depression wouldn't get me the way it's had me before. There is confidence in the presence of God.

There is guidance. There is protection. There is power. What I want you to do this week is go into the presence of God. Don't worry about knowing the words to the songs. Don't worry about being articulate. Remind yourself. Remind God and remind the enemy.

No, I'm not going to take it. I'm going to fight back. I'm going to get in his presence. And my God promises me peace. He promises me joy. He promises me freedom. I'm going to stand on that. I'm going to see a victory in Jesus name. We're going to attack back. God, I thank you for everything that you're doing in our lives right now. I thank you for the

opportunity to get together with family and friends and worship you. I pray for every single person who's dealing with anxiety and depression right now or have loved ones that are dealing with this stuff. God, I pray you build up their faith today. I pray that something would happen in their hearts today where they go, you know what, there is a chance. I can see change. Freedom is. is possible for me in Jesus' name. And everybody at every location said, amen. Thank you guys. Love you. Well, can you see why I wanted to bring him in for you to hear that message? You guys want to tell Pastor Sean, thank you again. So today, whether you're watching online or if you're at a life search location, let's take our hurts, let's take our cares, let's take our burdens before God

together in prayer. Father, thank you so much for that message. Thank you for your work in Pastor Sean's life. Bless his family. Bless Red Rock's Church. And God bless your people today. As you're praying wherever you are, maybe you're watching online, it may be months from now on YouTube.

You're watching at a campus. And maybe you have anxiety. Maybe you've got stress. Maybe you're worried about something. And you want to take that before God today. I'm going to give you the opportunity to in a moment. And again, I want to just echo what Pastor Sean said. And I want to acknowledge this is a complicated.

It can be emotional, it can be physical, physiological, mental, spiritual. It can be complicated. I want to encourage you if you need to get help, get help. If you think you might need to get help, let's get help. Let's go to counselors, let's go to good doctors. But most importantly, let's go to our father right now. All of our churches are wherever you're watching, those of you that you've got something you're worried about, something weighing on you, sickness, a financial burden, a relational issue, a spiritual issue,

you, spiritual weight, whatever it is. Would you lift up your hands right now if you need prayer today? You can type in the comment section. Would you pray for me? And we've got people that will pray for you. Father, I thank you for your word that tells us that we can cast all of our anxiety. We can cast all of our cares on you. And God is a great starting point. We take all of our burdens to you and ask for healing for joy. We ask for joy, God, for peace. We ask for all those things for confidence, God. We pray that we wouldn't just be a victim of of our enemies attacks, but we would attack back by the power of the risen Christ.

I pray God for healing from anxiety. I pray for freedom from fear. I pray God that we would recognize that we don't have to worry in your hands. And so we pursue you, Jesus. God, I thank you in advance. And even as Sean battled and worked and God helped that there are those that they're gonna battle

and they're gonna work and they're gonna get help. And we got, God, we believe that in your presence and by your power, and with the right help, the right people, and the right tools, that we can find healing. God, we know the truth of Jesus can help set us free. So we seek you today. As you keep praying today at all of our churches,

I want to just remind you, one of the great things you can do is being a life group, go and cast your carers on God with other people. We need each other. And there are those of you today that you may find yourself wondering where you stand with God. And if we could sit down or maybe, you know, you and Sean went and sat down for a cup of coffee or whatever.

We talk spiritual things, you may say, I don't know where I stand with God. You might even be worried about it at times. And let me tell you about the goodness of God, that we've all messed up, we all feel the weight, the heaviness, because we have fallen short. That's the biblical term, we've all sinned, we've all fallen short.

And we wonder, how can we work our way back to God? And the reality is, we can't. In fact, I'm convinced I came to faith in Jesus a very, very low time in my life. I'm convinced there may be times when God allows us to get to a place where all we can do is look up. All we can do is cry out to him. We've tried everything else.

There may be some of you. You're there right now. You feel like you're at the very, very bottom. If you are, look up. If you're lost, look up. If you need help, look up. If you need forgiveness, look up. Because God sent his son down.

God loves the world so much that he said. sent his son Jesus, the perfect, sinless son of God, who loves people who were broken, who loved people who were anxious, who loved people who were sinful, who loved people that religion rejected, he loved them, and Jesus, who was without sin, became sin for us. He died in our place. And God raised them from the dead so that anybody, and this includes you, it doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter how dark your life feels, anyone who chooses to follow Jesus, your sins will be forgiven and you'll be brand new at all of our churches today or online. Those of you who say, I need that.

I need His grace. I need His presence today. Just what we're going to do, we're going to walk away from the old life. We're going to step away from the sin. We're going to pursue Jesus. We're going to follow him. We're going to call on him. Wherever you're watching from, those who say, yes, I want to give my life to God.

I want to be right with him. Today, by faith, I surrender my life to Jesus. That's your prayer. Would you lift your hands high right now? Just lift them up. Come on, church. We've got people at all of our churches coming to faith in Christ. You online, just type in the comment section.

I'm choosing to follow Jesus, whatever you want. I'm becoming a follower of Jesus. I'm giving my life to Jesus. And we're going to pray today. Nobody prays alone. We all pray together. Would you just pray aloud? Pray Heavenly Father.

I give my life completely to you. Jesus, forgive my sins. Save me. Fill me with your spirit. So I can walk. with you and serve you and show your love. Thank you for new life. I give you all of mine. In Jesus' name I pray. Could somebody celebrate big worship God today?