My name is Danny Daugherty, and I have the privilege of being our college ministry director here at Veritas church. And even though. Thanks, whoever said that, even though I preach on Thursday nights, this is my first time preaching to you. And so I want to make sure you guys know something about me that actually ties in a bit with where we're going today. Here's what you need to know about me. I am a huge movie nerd. Anyone else in here big into movies? Big movie nerds? No hands. Oh, boy. This is going to be interesting. Ok, a few. Great, but that's not really the point. The point is. So back in my college days, I would watch about 70 movies a year. And I would have watched more if the pesky things like my work and my education didn't get in the way. Now I don't get to watch as many as I used to, but I'm still a movie nerd. I'm still always up to date on what's going on in the movie industry. So it caught my attention this summer when a little movie came out called inside out two. Anyone heard of this movie? Yeah. Okay, nice. So it's an animated movie. If you've been living under a rock and don't know where a girl's emotions are actually personified as actual characters, and you follow them as they try to help her through life. Super interesting premise, but what really caught my attention about this movie is how successful it became. Okay? To date, it has made over $1.4 billion, and it's expected to be one of the highest grossing animated movies ever. And now, here's where this is interesting. Here's why. I think at least one of the reasons why people are just flocking to this movie, it's because the villain of the movie is pretty relatable that everyone experiences. And the villain of this movie is nothing less than anxiety. Anxiety personified. Like, what's more relatable? Problem, right? This is a universal human emotion. And if we are honest, anxiety or chronic worry. This feeling of things always just being a little out of control, spinning out of your control, it crops up in almost all of our lives. It's the feeling of being overwhelmed by life's circumstances. It's running through every possible scary scenario in your head when you go to sleep so that you can never actually get to sleep. It's distracting yourself with your phone, your kids schedules, or your work so that you don't have to be alone too long to just sit with the thoughts and worries that are just pulsing through your brain man, we've all felt the grip in some sort of way of anxiety on our lives. Some of us have felt it squeeze really tightly. And church, here's the problem we have, okay, that movies like Inside out, two exposes and actually data backs up. Here's what is true of our culture today. We talk about anxiety more than we ever have, at the exact same time that we are more anxious than we have ever been. Our culture loves to go to movies like inside out, too. Topics of anxiety are more popular in shows and podcasts and articles and Google searches more than ever before. And while some of that conversation might provide some help with, hey, how do we manage some of these symptoms we have of anxiety? The problem is none of it seems to actually be providing the solution to anxiety in our lives. But thankfully, we are continuing on in our series encounters with Jesus. And as we do, we're going to actually get to see that Jesus addresses this problem, this problem of anxiety with his followers on more than one occasion. And what I love about Jesus is that the way he does it is both countercultural and incredibly wise at the same time. Because when we talk about these deep, these complex issues, these emotions like anxiety, we can kind of fall into one of two ditches. First, we can just ignore our emotions, our anxiety, completely. We deny it's what we're experiencing. We compartmentalize it, we push it down. And the problem with that is we forget that sooner or later it's going to pop up back to the surface or on the other side. You can let anxiety dictate your life, what you believe is true, how you live, and so on and so on. But in our text today, Jesus doesn't do either of those things. He doesn't ignore the feelings of his followers. Okay? He acknowledges their emotions, their trouble, their anxiety. He meets them there, but he doesn't leave them there. He also proclaims truth so that their faith can actually lead their feelings rather than the other way around. And so if we're going to get into this, if we're going to venture into Jesus teachings about anxiety, we need to kind of get what he is doing. And so to help us visualize this, we'll have this old but helpful illustration on the screen. Our college students, most of them will actually be familiar with it. This is called the facts faith feeling train. Yeah, you guys didn't know we were talking about trains today, but here we are. This was created by campus crusade. And what it does is it shows how our feelings should connect to the rest of our life. So this facts train card, those are the truths and promises of God. What we see in his word and what it does is it actually pulls ahead and puts fire to the faith so that it drives it and then leads feelings. So we shouldn't ignore the reality of our emotions, of our feelings. They are there. They are a part of our lives. But we don't flip the train around and let them lead our faith. And then what's true? Instead, we say, what is true, that God is teaching us? How does that feed our faith in him? How do we look to his word and say, this is what's true? And then let that inform and draw our feelings? Guys, this is what Jesus is doing in our text today. And because he is the wisdom of God himself, the incarnate word of God, his voice is the one we need to listen to. So as we dive in today, the question Jesus is going to help us answer is, how do we deal with anxiety according to the God who designed us rather than the world that surrounds us? How do we deal with our anxiety, our chronic worry, this thing that's a part of our lives, how do we deal with that according to the God who actually made us rather than the world around us? We can't address every single thought, every single debate about anxiety that's in our world today or in this room. But what we can do is run to the words of Jesus, our good shepherd, the one who made us, and see, what do you say? And how can we conform our lives to your truth. So that is what we are doing today, I am confident, because we are standing on the word of God. And so we are going to now dig into a few texts and see what does Jesus have for us. So if you have your bibles, you flip them open to Luke ten, starting in verse 38. And what we are going to do today is we are going to explore a few different conversations Jesus has with his followers about their anxiety in Luke. We are going to pop around a little bit, but as we journey through these conversations, what we're going to see is that Jesus is giving us two key prescriptions to help battle our anxiety. Two prescriptions that, when taken together, are actually the medicine we need to treat the sickness of anxiety in our lives. So we're going to start by listening in on Jesus wisdom for an anxious woman named Martha in Luke 1038. Look with me there as we read this together. This is what God's word says. Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she went up to him and said, lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her. And Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. So Jesus and his entourage of disciples, they are traveling. They stop at this house of Mary and Martha. And as we get into the situation, if you're anything like me, you can at least kind of understand where Martha's coming from in this passage, right? Like most of us. See, I heard an amen. Amen. Most of us get stressed and on edge, even preparing to have, like, regular guests over. You know, you're, like, cleaning the baseboards. You're, like, changing, like, making the bed even though no one's gonna be in the bedroom. You are troubled and stressed. You are trying to do a lot of things at once. Imagine what it would be like hosting the savior of the world himself. So Martha, she, like, throws herself into the hustle of making sure everything's in order. She's working hard. She's getting things done. She's providing Jesus with the best experience she possibly can, but at the exact same time, her worry and trouble and distraction is going through the roof. So imagine how off putting it would have been to feel like you're in need of help. And then you look and see your sister sitting at Jesus feet. And with this background, it's not really a shocker that Martha's frustration boils over. Look what she says to Jesus in verse 40. Here's what's crazy about this verse. It almost functions like a rebuke of Jesus, which I'm just telling you for free. That is never a good idea. But this is what it says. Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her, then to help me. And Veritas. Isn't that the anxious heartbeat of an anxious heart in one sentence? Lord, do you not care? Martha's probably thinking, Jesus, look at all that I am doing. Most of it's for you. Don't you care? This is where Martha's head's at. And a lot of us know that state of mind well, as well. Jesus, don't you care? My schedule is a mess. I'm just fighting to make it from point a to point b. My whole day, I'm frantically moving all around. I am on edge, and I'm completely overwhelmed. Where is the peace that you promise? Church, I love Jesus. Answer. Because it's tender and warm at the exact same time that it cuts to the heart. Jesus always has a funny way of doing that. Woke with me at verse 41. Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. So in jewish culture, the double use of a name was often a symbol of personal affection. So Jesus sees Martha in her frantic, anxious state, but he tenderly meets her wherever she's at. He says, martha, martha. And church, if you are here today, wrestling with distraction, with anxiety, with franticness, with chronic worry, maybe Jesus is calling your name twice this morning as well. He is lovingly beckoning you to see what he's gonna say next. Cause he doesn't stop there. He also tells Martha what her and what we are often missing. He calls it the one thing that's necessary or the good portion. And so if we're trying to be good students of God's word, that brings up a question. Okay, what is the one thing that is necessary? What is the good portion? What are you talking about? Jesus. And if we know that Mary has chosen the good portion, which he says, we need to look at what it's already said about Mary, and we see it in verse 39, this is the answer. And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. So what was Mary doing? Calmly delighting in the presence of Jesus? This is Jesus answer to Martha, and it's actually our first prescription we need to take this morning to combat the sickness of anxiety. And it's this. Become preoccupied with God's presence. Become preoccupied with God's presence. Veritas. If your schedule, like Martha, has become so full, too full for unhurried time, in the presence of the God who strengthens you, who is peace himself, who gives you true rest, you're in really dangerous water. You have multiplied the amount of circumstances and things that take your time and attention at the exact same time that you've cut off your only source of strength and peace. And hear me on this, even good things can become harmful things if they take you away from the most important, even good things. Martha was prepping for Jesus, hosting Jesus. And Jesus is saying, that is great. But even good things, if you are missing me, my presence, my strength, my love, my desire to be near you, you are missing out church. You were literally made for God you were designed to enjoy and rest in his presence. That is what you were made to be filled up with. And what that means for us is this. Our franticness, our anxiousness that often beats us down. It isn't actually solved by figuring out a way to control our circumstances or manage our calendars better or have a better handle on life or get more done and no more deeply down. What we need is to be wholly captivated by the presence of God, who fills us up until our cup overflows. My wife, Selena, actually understands this really well. We've been married for four years, and so if any of you need advice on marriage, we pretty much have it figured out. We're good to go. We solved it. I'm glad you're laughing at me, because you're looking at me. You're like, this guy. I don't think so. Right? Anyway, one thing I am learning is this, one thing I'm slowly getting through my thick skull is this. That when I want to fix things and fix my wife's problems, what she needs more deeply down is just me, just my presence there with her. Is anyone else here tempted to be a fixer in the relationship? Yeah, so far, it's been, like, mostly guys. So that kind of tracks, I don't know. But my wife needs, like, what she needs is just my presence more than a change in circumstance and church. We are the bride. In this analogy or illustration, we are the bride of Christ, the good husband. And what we need most deeply, more than anything, is the presence of Jesus with us. And to rest in him, we need his loving embrace. Thankfully, Jesus is a better husband than I am, and so he is not only always present with us, but he also has actually solved the ultimate problem we have, our separation from God, our sin. But here is what's true. In the meantime, when we live in a broken world, not every circumstance that you might want to go away immediately will. Not every trial you want to have a handle on will go away. But one thing that will never go away is the loving Jesus who calls you twice by name and says, come to me, and I will give you rest. We need the presence of God in our circumstances and fears and church. Some of us, we've gotten so caught up in all the things our life has for us, we've become so filled with focus on everything else that the first thing to go has been our time for enjoying God through his word, through his prayer, just sitting in his presence. And if that is you, what you need to learn from this passage is Mary's priority that we see because choosing the better portion, it means denying other enticing options. Mary has said, I could be doing a million things, but I am sitting here at your feet, wholly focused on you. So what priority is your calendar or schedule or time reflecting? Is it the presence of God you can't do anything without? Or is it something else? Because hear me, church, no salary increase, no program for your child, no screen, no recreation, no vacation. Nothing is worth pursuing if it means your time in God's presence withers away. We can't let anything, no matter how enticing, keep us from a preoccupation with the presence of God because our peace is built on him. The words of this ancient Christian named Augustine ring through my head all the time, and they still ring true. He says this you have made us for yourself, o God, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you. But maybe some of you, you're more like me. You figured out a way to like cram time with God into your schedule. You've like, fitted in. But if you're honest, it's become less of time enjoying the presence of God, and it's more become a frantic checklist to make sure you're checking the box before you move to what actually is important in your day. That's easy for us, right? That's easy for me. We get so caught up in how do I know I'm doing the thing I know I should do so other people can see that I'm doing it, instead of saying, God is calling me to come and just receive his love and peace and for me to just delight in him. And if that is you, and if you are like me, you need to learn from Mary's attitude in this passage because isn't it interesting that Mary is one of the main characters in this passage, yet she's the only one who doesn't say a word. I think there's a reason Luke writes the story this way. He's not saying Mary never spoke. He's painting a picture of a person who is unhurried, at peace and content in the presence of God, who, when she is in his presence, says, I am laser focused on you. She isn't distracted about what's next. Her attention is wholly focused on delighting in hearing from and being taught by her master Veritas. Whether you need to learn from Mary's priority or Mary's attitude, we are all called to become preoccupied with the presence of God. That is Jesus first prescription for us. Become preoccupied with God's presence. And now, as we move on and listen in on Jesus second conversation, we're going to see a second prescription. It builds off his first. It is what happens when you spend time in the presence of God. It is what you do in the presence of God. Read with me in Luke eleven, starting in verse one. So this is right after this story. Now, Jesus was praying in a certain place. And when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, lord, teach us to pray as John taught his disciples. And he said to them, when you pray, say this, Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation. So Jesus disciples, they have been watching Jesus pray as they've been walking with him. They are in awe of his intimacy with God, his peace, his oneness with the father. And they have a simple request. They have a question for their teacher. Teach us to pray like you do. John the Baptist taught his disciples, we're your disciples. How do we pray with you? How do we spend time in the presence of God? And what I need you to see right away is what Jesus says comes before our focus on our circumstances, needs and desires. I want to hone in on this one sweet, profound sentence. We could spend a whole series on this sentence, but we're going to look at it today. Jesus simple start to his prayer. Father, hallowed be your name. And this is what this one little line of Jesus prayer is teaching us. Before we fix our eyes on our circumstances, we need to fix our eyes on God's character before we fix our eyes on his circ on our circumstances. Fix our eyes on God's character. We are so tempted to get it the other way around. We come to God, we give him our pressing needs, and then if we have a little bit of time, we're like, thanks, God, I know you're good. Goodbye. And then we come back again when we need something else. But nothing could be further from Jesus practice. In this passage, he starts by fixing his attention wholly on the character of God and look at the content of this prayer. Look what he says about God's character. This is the sweet mystery of God's character that frees us from the chronic worry that runs our lives. This is it. He is our loving father at the exact same time that he is our mighty God. Over everything. Jesus is saying, do you know who you are praying to? Do you know who you're in relationship with? He is the mighty king and as you are praying to him, he is also your loving father who sees you, who cares for you like a child, who will provide everything you need. Theologians get at this by saying this incredible truth, that God is both transcendent and imminent. And that's just a fancy way of saying God is higher above us in power and glory than we could ever imagine, at the exact same time that he is nearer to us and cares for us more deeply than we could ever imagine. And why is Jesus making sure his disciples get this? What is his point? And it's this. If we understand what God's character is really like, if we get that he's not only the king who reigns and is powerful, but he's a father who loves his children, then we have absolutely nothing to fear. That's exactly Jesus point, right after he teaches them to pray. Look ahead to verse eleven with me. What father among you? If his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, we'll give him a scorpion. If you then who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will a heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Jesus is saying, if even earthly fathers with limited love and limited ability are still willing to provide for their children, how much more will your God, who has unlimited love for you and unlimited power, provide for you? He's saying, if you know what God is actually like, if you know his character, if you know he is your loving father and king, how could you fear he'd hold back anything good from you? You don't need to be troubled by your circumstances, because they are overseen. They are managed by the God who is your king and father. Don't miss this principle Jesus is teaching us here. As you fix your eyes firmly on the character of God, the more free from your worry and anxiety you become. This principle is so important that Jesus, he brings it up again in Luke twelve as this antidote to his followers anxiety. Look with me there, Luke twelve, starting in verse 22. And he said to his disciples, therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body. What you will put on. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens. They neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much value are you than the birds? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? So Jesus is saying, do not be anxious. And skipping add to verse 32, we see why Jesus can say that what the foundation is for this type of fearlessness. Fear not, little flock, for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. If you know that the God of the universe is your father, you are freed from all distrust. And if you have any doubt that the God of the universe is a loving father, if you're like, well, I still see these circumstances. I still see these fears in my life. How can I know? You look back at God's history. And more specifically, you look back at what the father and son did on the cross. Cause that is where we see the character of God most clearly. The infinitely wise, just, powerful, holy God punishes sin at the exact same time that he is a caring father who sends his son to die the death we couldn't so he could be brought into his family. And if he did that while we were his enemies and we're rebels of him, how much more will he take care of us when we are his children? This is Jesus second prescription. Become preoccupied with God's character, freedom from anxiety. It isn't found in our circumstances changing. It's found in our view of God, growing as he becomes bigger in our imaginations, more beautiful in our imaginations, our circumstances, our anxious thoughts, they begin to lose their power. Veritas says, you grow in your faith. Your vision of God's character will grow as well. And you will begin to comprehend more of his glory, his loftiness, his holiness, his power. At the exact same time, you are moved by his love and mercy and fatherly care. And this is really where Jesus two prescriptions come together. As you preoccupy yourself with God's presence, as you chase the presence of God, you will also become preoccupied with God's character. You will realize more deeply who he actually is, what that means for you, and what it looks like to follow him as you seek him. He will become the dominating truth of your life. And as God becomes bigger to you, the fears that used to occupy your heart and take up so much space, the funny thing is they actually become smaller. And it's not because the actual circumstance or the actual fear necessarily shrank, but it's because your father and your king is so much bigger than them that they look small in comparison. Church, your suffering, your pain, your life's circumstances, they are real. I don't want to discount that. There is real suffering and pain and fear in this life. But what you need to know is that the one who towers above them and says, I will be with you is the mighty king of the universe on one hand, and the loving father of his children in the other, become preoccupied with God's character. These are Jesus two prescriptions for us this morning, in his word, becoming preoccupied with God's presence and preoccupied with God's character. And what's interesting about these two prescriptions is they can't be separated from each other. And in fact, I believe these two prescriptions, they could actually be woven together into one basic, simple, but deeply important truth that Jesus is teaching us today, one countercultural truth that we actually need to recapture. We want to experience true freedom from chronic worry, from frantic anxiousness. And it is a joyful preoccupation with God is the root of a non anxious heart, a joyful preoccupation with God himself. That is the root of a non anxious heart. And I chose this word root intentionally because this is what's true. No matter how much you try to cultivate a plant, if the root is dead, there is nothing that will keep it from withering and veritas. You can try to manage your symptoms of anxiety, and some of the things you do might be helpful aids, things like getting help from others, things like learning more about how your brain works, things like healthy eating, exercise, you name it, and so on. But hear me, you could do all of those things. You could chase after all of those things. And your peace and hope would ultimately still wither if your joyful preoccupation with God withers church. This is the pattern I am trying to help us start living out in our lives, continually fighting to take our eyes off ourselves, our circumstances, our worries, our fears, and place them on goddess instead. The solution of the world boils down to this. Look deeper within yourself. Follow your heart. Do whatever you need to have control of your circumstances, to be happy and fulfilled. Figure yourself out. You will be at peace. But Jesus solution is so different from the world around us. And the solution Jesus confronts us with is this. Ultimately, what you need is not to look more deeply within yourself. You need to look more deeply at God. You don't need to look more deeply within yourself. You were not actually created to ultimately be preoccupied by your fears and your circumstances. You were made to see God and say, he is good. I am going to worship him and be captivated by him. You need to become preoccupied with God's presence and God's character. And if we believe the world's lie instead of Jesus truth. My concern for us, Veritas, is that we are in deepen trouble. And here's what I mean. Let me give you an example. Have any of you ever heard of the medical condition called lordosis before? Very. A few. That's good. I'm going to explain it for those of you I don't know where he's going with this. It's a medical condition that refers to this extreme inward curve of the spine. Because the spine isn't meant to curve that far inward. It can lead to a host of severe problems, like extreme back and neck pain, numbness in the legs and feet. And if untreated, it can become deeply damaging. And here's my concern for us, is that we are often people with spiritual wardos. What I mean is that we are not just bodies, right? We are created with souls. And when our soul starts bending in towards ourselves, our anxiousness, our needs, our desires, our problems, how we can get what we need to be happy, to gain control over our circumstances instead of freeing us, it starts to cripple us. And if we stop and think about it, God's people have always been plagued by spiritual lordosis. You and I aren't so different from the Israelites in the exodus when their frightened eyes were locked on pharaoh and their circumstances and their trouble. And Moses had to say to them, fear not. Stand firm and see what the salvation of the Lord. It's true of the psalmists when they say, why are you downcast, o my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? But they end by saying, hope again in God. He is my portion and my strength. I will praise him. It's true of Israel when they were surrounded by nations around them that terrified them. And Isaiah gives them the word of the Lord and says, the Lord of hosts is the one you honor as holy. Let him be your fear and your dreadland. It was true of Jesus followers like we saw in Luke today, and it is true of you and me. What we need to be reminded of over and over and over again every day of our lives. Is that the solution to our anxiety, our troubles and fears? It's not looking at our own ways to wrestle back control or to be preoccupied with ourselves. Instead, it's preoccupying ourselves with a God who loves us and has won the war. A joyful preoccupation with God is the root of a non anxious heart. I couldn't put it better than God's word when he says this, you keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. So what does it actually look like to become people who fight against our spiritual lordosis? What does it look like to become people that are God centered instead of becoming curved in and becoming us centered? And what I want to do is give you a few steps today. Two of them are proactive and one of them is reactive. And the first proactive step is this. When it comes to the presence of God, the first step you need to do today is actually perform an audit of your time. Examine how you spend your time for the purpose of prioritizing time in the presence of goddess. Cut out good things for the sake of one thing that is necessary. Church, we can have the best intentions to say, I'm going to spend time in the presence of God this week. I'm going to seek him in the word. I'm going to seek him in prayer. But if we do not proactively look at where we are going to do that, it is never going to happen. If you haven't decided a time and place, you will meet with God every day to seek him. You cannot wait any longer. So as you audit your time, get strategic. Say, where and when can I meet with the Lord? Where can I stick to that and turn that into a habit? How do I say you can't listen to the Bible or read the Bible? And they say, okay, how do I listen to it? How do I get it in my ears? There are plenty of apps and podcasts that help you when you are busy with a million other things. Still abide in the word of the Lord. Those are just a few examples. But if we are people that are dedicated to prioritizing time with God, no circumstance will get in our way. I mean, most of us, good grief, get that terrible notification on our phones when we're sitting in church. It's like your screen time went up 80% today and you're like, that makes me feel terrible, you know, but maybe you need to audit that. Look at what is taking your time and your attention, what is preoccupying you, and instead say, how do I spend some time to get strategic and preoccupy myself with the presence of God? Not every Christian may have the same amount of flexibility in our schedules. I understand that. I totally get that. But every Christian is called to still seek God's face. Do we believe Jesus when he says, apart from me, you can do nothing? And our calendars are going to reflect whether we believe that or not. The second proactive step towards becoming preoccupied with God is this keep growing in your knowledge of God's character keep growing in your knowledge of God's character. And as I say that, you're like, ooh, knowledge. That seems. I'm more concerned about the heart than the head, and that's good. But what you need to know is you start filling your head with the thoughts of who God is. As you start to understand who he is, it actually worms its way into your heart. You actually see him for who he is, and you are more captivated by him. Church do not settle for what you already know about God. Never settle for what you already know about God. He is an inexhaustible fountain of glory and wonder, and we are going to spend an eternity learning more and more about who he is. Why not start now? So read a great book about the character of God. Make that your summer reading. If you need some motivation or if you need some advice, we have books at our resource center about the character of God we handpicked for you guys because we love you. You can go right out there and pick one up. If you aren't a reader, get an audiobook. Listen to more solid biblical preaching on your drives. Whatever it is, do not be content with your knowledge about the character of goddess, where it is now. Instead, say, how can I preoccupy myself with his character, with his fatherly care, with his glory, with his goodness, with all these incredible attributes, how can I be more preoccupied with that day and day of my life? And as you do, the more you discover of his glory, the easier it will be to be joyfully preoccupied with him. So those are two proactive steps. But one thing I want to do is I want to give you one reactive step. And what I mean by that is there are going to be times when fear and worry and anxiety still knock on your doors. If you're anything like me, that might even be several times a day. And so I want to give you a tool that's not original to me, but it's been helpful to me in my own anxious moments that I wanted to pass it on to you. Something that helps us take our attention off of ourselves and onto God. And it's called P r A Y, or pray for easy remembering. And it's an acronym, and it helps you actually slow down and bring your emotions to God and remember his truth. So the first step you see there is to pause before anything else, before your mind gets stuck in a loop of anxious worry. You take a step back and say, I'm going to pause from this situation and turn my mind right now. The second step is rejoice, which seems counterintuitive. But despite our circumstances, there are always reasons to rejoice. In goddess, the gospel is always good news. And the funny thing is, as you rejoice and are thankful in God, you will start to see that your anxiety starts to slip away as your attention turns to him instead. Then the third step is to ask man, simply ask your loving father to be with you. Bring your worries and fears to him instead of the constant dwelling on them apart from him. That you do say, God, this is just what is true of my life right now. Will you help me? Will you be with me? Ask God. And then the last step might be the hardest, and it's to yield, to say your will be done, to release control to God and say, this is not what I would have chosen. But I know you are a good father who loves me. So I'm going to let go of control. I'm going to bring it to you. This is something you can do multiple times throughout your day to preoccupy yourself with God when all you see is your worry, fears and circumstances. Let this tool help you time and time again fix your gaze on God until those paths become deeper and more normal. And man, if we could truly get this church, if we could prize God's presence and his character so deeply that strong roots of peace grow into a non anxious heart, if we could become God centered people who encourage one another, place your fears and anxieties in the context of the God who is with you and loves you. That is the kind of church I want to be a part of. When I think about what this actually looks like in life, when I think about what it looks like in our lives as we begin to be preoccupied with God instead of ours, I think of a pastor who passed away a couple years ago after a battle with cancer. A lot of you have heard of him. His name was Tim Keller. He's a spiritual hero to me. But even in his death, he was a hero because listen to how he reacted to his diagnosis. He says this, I have stage four pancreatic cancer. But it is endlessly comforting to have a God who is both infinitely more wise and more loving than I am. He has plenty of good reasons for everything he does and allows that I cannot know. And therein is my hope and strength. And the question I want to ask is, how could someone in the face of the ultimate tragedy meet it with such a non anxious heart? But his response was nothing more or less than the fruit of a lifetime of being preoccupied with God. What a witness to the power of God. What a witness to what our God is like to a watching world. And my hope in prayers that we are a church that is known as a community of peace and hope and calm, no matter the circumstance, because our eyes are not on us, but we are fighting to place our attention on God himself. So church, we are going to transition to a time of communion now. And the sweet thing about this is there is no better time to preoccupy yourself with God. More specifically, there is no better time to preoccupy yourself with the truth of the gospel, that we have access to God's presence. We can trust in God's character. Why? Because he sent his son to pay the price we couldn't pay. So as you take the bread and the cup, take communion seriously this morning, place your focus on the God who saved you, the God who walks with you, the God who has promised to bring you home to spend an eternity in his presence forever. That's the ultimate reason we can be a non anxious people, because we know nothing, not even death itself, can rip us away from our loving God's presence and character forever. Jesus made sure of that on the cross. So let me pray for us and we're going to celebrate that now. Oh God, as I come to you, I just confess how often our prayers, our thoughts, our worries, our circumstances begin with me, God, how easy it is to drift from placing my eyes back, curving inward, seeing what do I need to do? How do I fix this? How do I wrestle control? How do I change things when God, what I need to do is look up and become preoccupied with you, God, would you make us a church that has been so changed by Jesus, that is so preoccupied with walking with God and learning more about him, that God, in any circumstance or trial, we can meet it by saying it is the will of the Lord. Thanks be to God, Lord. And now as we turn our attention, Lord, to take communion and to worship you, would you preoccupy ourselves with you? Would your presence be in this room? Would today be a step where we say, no matter what is going on in my life this year, this week, or even this morning, God, my eyes are fixed on you. And I know what I need is you, Lord, we love you. Become more real to us and just dominate our affections and our imaginations until you are all we want and need. We love you and ask this in your name. Amen.