People

WELCOME

Pastor Chris Paavola:

Thank you, Grant. Thank you so much. I was going to start my sermon with a joke about anxiety, but then I got worried you wouldn’t like it. So, I’ll get right into the sermon instead.

Good to be with you guys today. My name is Chris Pavila, senior pastor here. It’s hey, Mark, and it’s great to be with you.

SERIES

Yeah, we are in a series called “Over Being Anxious”, where we were talking about getting over being anxious and some of the biblical principles that are there for us and that we can use. And in week one, we’ve talked about anxious thoughts, how we can get control of our thought life. And then in week two, we talked about anxious actions and just like when we do things that are just not smart decisions and the consequences of that. And then today we are going to be talking about, we have two more areas where we can really start to do some things to get some control over our anxiety, but today we’re going to be talking about specifically anxious people and what we can do, not to cut them out.

JUDGMENTAL

GOOD JUDGMENT

Okay? So not getting over anxious people and cutting them out of our life, but really what are some things you can do to reduce the influence they have on our lives? Because I mean, when I say anxious people, I realize it sounds judgmental and hey Chris, I thought Christians were supposed to be loving and accepting of everybody and that’s true. And so, there’s a kind of a distinguished, like this is my tone for the sermon. I want to just point out that there’s a difference between being judgmental and having good judgment. There is. Being judgmental of someone means that you are making a declaration about their value or their worth. This is what you’re worth or you’re condemning somebody. That’s judgmental, but that’s different than having good judgment. And we do this all day long, every day. All day long, we make judgment decisions. Should I hang out with these people?

Should I watch this show, listen to this music? Should I merge into traffic? Should I wear that? And all of that is practicing good or bad judgment. And that’s a good thing to do. And you can do that also with the type of people that you hang around with because really this, I mean, we are far more influenced by people than we realize or we know. We are.

EXAMPLES OF INFLUENCE

You are a product of your environment. You are a perfectly designed end result of the environment around you that includes like the status of your home and what it looks like, but also the people in your life. And you could think that you rise above it, but you don’t. Neuroscientists have like done studies on this and hooked up people and watched brainwaves. And eventually you hang around somebody, your brainwaves will start to mirror each other.

And then physiologically, your breathing patterns will start to sync up. And just like other rhythms of the body will start to sync up. If you hang around people, like this is why we need to be careful about the things that we watch and how much time we watch. If you are watching dance moms or real housewives, desperate, whatever, real housewives of whatever. You watch these shows or you watch Fox News or CNN ad nauseum and it’s always alerts and always alarmist, then you are going to start to feel that way. You are. We are unintentional chameleons to our environments. And so if you hang around people who are anxious or greedy or selfish or deceitful, well, don’t be surprised if you end up anxious and greedy and selfish and deceitful because that’s who you’re being influenced. You hang around gamblers, you’ll gamble. You hang around smokers, you’ll smoke.

It’s a reality. This is why anecdotally; you can look through examples in history. Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War, removing anxious patients from the general population in the hospital. And what happens is immediately mortality rates increase because you remove these outliers. This is at the Battle of Bastone, Captain Lipton removing Buck Compton from the foxholes on the front line because he’s wrought with fear and he knows that’s going to spread like a virus, a contagion through the battlefield. And he’s got to protect his soldiers from that. NASA in Houston, when Apollo 13 went up, there was this old veteran guy on the radio communication and he was like talking to the guys up there, but they noticed his voice sounded tense and they took him off the intercom. They took him off communications. Why? Because they needed to protect the peace on Apollo 13. And they know it spreads like a virus.

We are products of our environment, and that includes the people who surround us.

Walk with the wise and become wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

Proverbs 13:20

Thousands of years ago, what scripture calls the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, here’s what he wrote about it. “Walk with the wise and become wise”. Walk with wise people and then eventually don’t … He’s not saying learn from them. No, it’s just like the law of gravity. You will start to make wise decisions, “But a companion of fools will suffer harm.” It’s going to happen. You start to hang around people who are making foolish decisions and you will start to feel the consequences of your own foolish decisions. We tell our kids all the time, be careful about the friends of your life, right? Just because you share a common interest with someone doesn’t mean you will share common values with them. So be careful. Be careful. And 1,500ish years later from when Solomon wrote that, there’s a Greek poet and philosopher and it’s kind of a famous saying at the time, and the Apostle Paul actually quotes him.

“Don’t be misled. “Bad company corrupts good character.

It just does. A bad company will corrupt good character, but also on the flip side of that, good company encourages and builds good character. It does. And actually, what’s interesting is the same guy who wrote that is the guy we just heard about in the reading that pastor or that Pastor Grant, Director of Care and Connections, Grant Bowdish read for us. He’s almost a pastor. He’s working towards it.

THE PEACE OF PAUL AND SILAS

But Paul and Silas, so they’re these two guys after the resurrection of Jesus, they go all through the Roman Empire, city to city to city, telling people that Jesus rose from the dead. And they’re in this place called Philippi. And it’s like 2000 ish miles from Jerusalem by foot. So that’s like from here in Battle Creek to Las Vegas. And they’re just stopping at major cities along the way and telling people about Jesus, starting churches there.

Okay, cool. And they get to Philippi in modern day Greece and they start talking about Jesus and it really makes some people angry. And we read about it in Acts 16 and that’s what we just heard. And there’s this crowd that comes together, a mob and they attack Paul and Silas and the leaders, the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. And after they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into this. This is the traditional sight of the prison in Philippi. They’ve done excavations and they’ve deduced that this is the prison. Now if you’ll notice there’s no running water, no plumbing, no electricity. It’s more of our picture of like a dungeon than a prison, really. Just a big old stone enclosure and there they are. And then in Acts, notice what it says. About midnight, Paul and Silas were complaining about everything that had happened to them.

Nope.

Paul and Silas were forming a petition about all of the wrong injustices they had endured.

Nope.

Paul and Silas were wrought with anxiety about what might happen to them tomorrow.

Nope.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

                                                                                                                                                Acts 16

Now, what does it say? Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening to them. They were not thermometers taking in the temperature and reacting to the environment around them. Nope. They were thermostats, setting the temperature even there in that prison cell. We’re going to be an influenced rather than being influenced. We’re setting the tone here. It’s good leadership. So, there’s Paul and Silas in a prison. And what follows this is this remarkable story that we read. Chains fall off, chain breaker, right? Prison doors fly open. The jailers baptized. And it’s this miraculous story. But right there, this principle, this biblical principle is sitting there in the middle of this story, really posing a question for us because you can’t tell this story without noting that Paul and Silas are together like workout partners, right?

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

     1 Corinthians 15:33

Accountability partners. Paul and Silas together. And if Paul was by himself, we don’t know how he would respond. If Silas was by himself, we don’t know how he would respond, but we know how Paul and Silas responded when they were together encouraging one another because good company builds good character and they had a peace even in the most desperate situation.

PEACEFUL PEOPLE

And it poses the question for us. How anxious are the people closest to you? How anxious are the people closest to you?

HOW ANXIOUS ARE THE PEOPLE CLOSEST TO YOU?

How anxious are the people closest to you? You have probably heard the adage that you are the average of the five closest people to you. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard that, but so you take the five closest people to you. Who are they? Okay. Now, on a scale of one to five, so like one is at peace and five is break neck anxiety. What number would you ascribe to those people? Add them all together, divide it by five. The average is you. And you are the perfect end results of the anxiety around you, the average of it. You kind of think about it and you’re like, oh yeah, that evens out. Oh yeah, they are.

And that applies in so many ways, but also applies to your anxiety levels. Now, here’s what I’m not saying. I’m not saying cut these people out. Maybe you need to make some hard decisions because you got some toxic things going on in your life and that’s a bigger conversation, but I’m not saying cut these people out of your life. But I am saying, begin to spend time with peaceful people. And as you begin to spend time with peaceful people, you will naturally begin spending less time with the anxious people in your life and you will start to lower your anxiety levels and raise your peace levels simply because of the proximity of the people around you.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND PEACEFUL PEOPLE

And so, the question now becomes, well, where can you find peaceful people? Am I right? I got to find some peaceful people. Okay. Let me just point out you’re doing it. Look around you. We’re not all perfect. We’re not all there yet. We’re not pretending like we don’t have things going on and we don’t have anxieties, but I will note that in this room, there are some people who are in the darkest season, midnights, like Paul and Silas. There are people in this room who are in bondage and in chains like Paul and Silas. And there are people in this room who are battered and bruised like Paul and Silas. And still, this morning they sang hymns and have bounced off the walls. Still, this morning, in spite of everything that is going on in their life, they prayed just like Paul and Silas.

And they raised the peace in their lives and they lowered the anxiety and you were with them. So, you’re doing it. This is a good start. It is, but keep going. This is why we do more than just a large group here at St. Mark. We do small groups too. If you’re not a part of a small group, it’s January. You joined Planet Fitness. Join a small group, at least through the spring. Just a small group this spring, we do it during the school year. And so, we got Prosper the City coming up, but what will happen in a small group? You’ll get together with people and you’ll draw closer and you’ll surround yourself with people of peace and you will start to experience peace. I promise you, but don’t stop there. Keep going. We don’t just do large groups and small groups, but we also do other things like monthly prayer nights.

And we don’t just do it so to keep your calendar full and busy. We do it because we want you to experience peace and surround yourself with peaceful people. On Wednesday, we had a prayer night and because we couldn’t, like the hallway was a mess. We had our prayer night in the multipurpose room. We put a cross in the middle and it was a great group of people. Awesome. Awesome crowd showed up and we put chairs in a circle all around the cross. And then at that prayer night, you guys, we made people write down their anxieties about their finances and their relationships and their health and anything else facing them in 2026. They wrote them on a piece of paper and then they walked forward and quite literally cast their anxieties on Jesus. They stuffed their cards with their anxieties on the cross and they left them there.

And I told people, “If you’re still anxious, that just means you’re not done praying.” And people kept on putting their anxieties on the cross and walked out the door at peaceful people. And I want this for you. I do. Come to the next one, please. And nobody who was there that night regretted it. You think that the people there that night didn’t come from soccer practice or have to like heat dinner up in a hurry, but nobody regretted that they came and you can too and experience peace. And something happened though while we were there. I had this little eureka moment like, “Aha.” While we were sitting there in this room and the crosses in the middle of us, I had like this realization of, oh yeah, that’s why we’re a people of peace because peace himself was with us.

PEACE HIMSELF

Peace is not something. I believe peace is someone. Now, I know this is going to be a little contentious, so I know you might have some objections, but just hear me out here, but I don’t think there’s any peace apart from Jesus. I don’t. I think you can have glimpses of peace or you can mimic peace or find moments of peace, but the peace I’m talking about is it’s him. There’s a cheesy bumper sticker saying, right, no Jesus, no peace, no Jesus, no peace. It’s total pithy, but it’s true. Okay. If you are privileged enough to wake up at 9:00 AM and then journal and then do yoga and then brew kombucha tea, okay? Good for you.

But everybody would be peaceful in that environment. Everybody feels peaceful when they’re on vacation. That’s not the kind of peace I want. The kind of peace I want is peace even in a prison cell. And the reason they were at peace in the prison is because Jesus was with them. Peace himself was there and Jesus is the prince of peace. He is peace. Jesus had peace even in the worst of circumstances. Jesus had peace when he had been beaten and flogged and he stood in front of Pontius Pilate and he was so at peace. He didn’t answer any of Pilate’s accusations, much to Pilate’s surprise. He was so at peace, he was able to forgive the people who were torturing him. He was so at peace that he was able to pray for people who were grieving him. That’s the kind of peace I want. The peace that transcends all circumstances, the peace that transcends all understanding.

That’s the kind of peace I want. And it’s a peace that belongs to him.

And if I experience that peace in a hospital room, on a lawyer’s office, a doctor’s office, well, I want it, man. Give me that. And so, the reason you feel peace when you’re in here is because you’re finding Jesus and the places he’s promised to be. He’s promised to be wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. That’s why you experience him here. He’s promised to be in our small groups when we gather together around his word and he’s promised to be when we gather together and cast our anxieties on him. I want this for you.

On Wednesday after the prayer night, I looked over and there was this group of young adults. I’d say like six to eight of you guys, right? Chloe. Yeah. Six to eight of you like hanging out. These young adults, it was beautiful. It was so beautiful. Just watching these young people making Jesus a priority in their lives. Yes, please more. Thank you. Right? I’ll have some of that. But what was awesome is then they all stood up and they all walked out together and none of them were anxious when they were leaving. Regardless, I’m sure there’s friends in their lives who are feeling anxious, but not that crew of eight people. And they walked out feeling so at peace and then they went to Horox and did what you do at Horox and they hung out.

And I just love the image of them hanging out at a table at Horox at peace with each other. And the reason they were at peace is the same reason we felt peace the prayer night or in small groups or in here is because Jesus was present at the table with them. Peace was among them. I love how after the resurrection in one of the accounts, it says that Jesus appears among them and says, “Peace be with you. ” He was. Peace was with them. And I can’t make this like rhyme. I can’t make this have alliteration or be super memorable, but here’s the principle that is screaming at us in all of these sections of scripture that we’re looking at. The closer you are to Jesus, the more peaceful you will become. I promise you. I look at the people in my life who are the most peaceful people.

It’s amazing.

It’s not that they are privileged to do yoga at 10:00 AM on a Tuesday. The people I know who are at peace are incredibly close to Jesus, best friends with him, and they pursue him in all the ways he’s promised to be found. And one of the ways he’s promised to be found is in communion. Sit at a table with him and receive him in his body and blood in the bread and wine of communion. And so you don’t just become like people closest to you. When Jesus invites you to follow him, he is inviting you to become like the person closest to you, him who drew close to you that you might know him and offers you himself right now. So as you come forward to communion, just know that when you walk away feeling at peace, it’s because you’ve received him. Peace himself. Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I pray that you translate this message to every person in this room or watching online or listening later on. Just translate this, Lord. What are the anxious things they have done? What’s the anxious environment that they’re a part of? And God, show them how they can be an influence rather than being influenced. Show them, God, what it looks like for them to take a step closer to you, to draw into community and relationship with you at the center and experience peace. Forgive us, God, for all of the ways that we try to find peace apart from you. And we just ask now that we would experience Jesus in this meal together and walk away a people of peace.

But Lord, what does it look like for each one of us to find peaceful people in our lives, people who are close to you and enter into relationship with them. Would you show us please? And as you show us, we pray the words that the prince of peace taught us to pray as we say together:

Our Father,

Who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil,

For thine is the kingdom,

And the power,

And the glory,

Forever and ever,

Amen.