See Your Way Out of Anxiety (Matt 6:24-34) | Louis Azuma

Speaker: 00:00:00

Mhm.

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Speaker: I don't know if you guys

know this about me, but I was a

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multi sport athlete in high school.

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I, um, played two sports at once.

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I marched and I was in

band at the same time.

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And I got P.

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E.

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credit for it, just so you know.

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So I was in marching band in high school,

and my band director was terrifying.

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My band director looked

like Shrek, um, but Mexican.

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And I was terrified of this man.

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In fact Something he said all the

time still sticks in my brain.

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My wife loves to apologize for

things and whenever we apologize for

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something, here's what he would say.

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Don't be sorry.

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Be better.

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Don't be sorry.

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Be better.

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And he was dead serious.

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He wasn't joking.

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And I could not play

in front of this dude.

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I played trumpet, the best instrument.

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And I just would shut down.

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I would be all shaky.

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I would forget things.

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I was so scared of this guy.

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And I was pretty good.

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But I was not good in front of

this guy because I was afraid.

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I was so nervous and so worried

that it would shut down.

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And I'm sure you guys have felt like

that, maybe not around people, but

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maybe in certain situations where

you just feel so anxious, so worried,

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so nervous that you can't function.

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Your brain shuts down, you start shaking,

trembling, maybe you start sweating.

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You can't think straight.

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If someone asked you two

plus two, you would say 27.

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You don't know anything and see.

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If you don't learn how to look at

your anxiety and push through and

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trust the Lord and find some sort of

peace and comfort, you're going to be

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stuck in that situation over and over

and over for the rest of your life.

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Because as you get older, your

anxieties are only going to come

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to life in bigger situations.

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If you think tests are hard, what about

a job interview where your whole family

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is counting on you to make money?

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Or if you think.

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You're, uh, you know, being,

trying to decide what to wear in

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the morning before school is hard.

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What about when you're trying

to figure out what to feed your

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kids, or how to take care of them?

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Or when you're carrying a

child, and you're not sure if

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your child is gonna be okay.

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So, if you don't learn how to

deal with your anxieties now, as

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a young person, it's only going

to get harder as you get older.

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So, it's really important

to grasp that right now.

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So, Jesus actually talks about anxieties

right here in the Gospel of Matthew.

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So, go to Matthew chapter 6.

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Matthew chapter 6.

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We're going to be continuing our series

in the Gospel of Matthew, and you

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guys probably have heard this before.

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It's a very famous passage,

but Matthew chapter 6

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I'm going to be covering verses 24 to 34.

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Now, if you were paying attention

last week, you know that Pastor Rod

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already preached on verse 24 last week.

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But, I'm connecting these because I think

Jesus is connecting them as He talks.

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And do you know why?

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What does verse 25 start with?

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It starts with a word, compound word.

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It says, Therefore, and when you

come, read a therefore in the Bible.

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You know what you're supposed to ask?

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What's the therefore therefore?

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There we go, all my

Sunday School graduates.

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It's coming through in the clutch.

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So what's the therefore therefore?

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Well let's read verse 24.

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Look at it there with me.

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No one can serve two masters, for

either he will hate the one and love

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the other, or he will be devoted

to the one and despise the other.

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You cannot serve God and money.

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So Jesus is saying, hey, you have,

you can't have divided loyalties.

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You can only really ever

truly serve one person.

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You can only have one most

important thing in your life.

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Therefore, verse 25, I tell you, don't

be anxious about your life, what you're

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gonna eat, what you'll drink, nor

about your body, what you'll put on.

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Is not life more than food, and

the body more than clothing?

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Isn't there more to life than

what you wear and what you eat?

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Look at the birds of the air.

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They neither sow nor reap nor

gather into barns, and yet your

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heavenly Father feeds them.

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Are you not of more value than they are?

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And which of you, by being anxious, can

add a single hour To his span of life.

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Does being anxious ever help you?

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That's what Jesus is asking.

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And why are you being

anxious about clothing?

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Consider the lilies of

the field, how they grow.

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They neither toil nor spin, right?

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They can't make their own clothes.

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But I tell you, even Solomon in all his

glory, the richest man in history, was

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not arrayed or clothed like one of these.

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But if God so clothed the grass of

the field, which today is alive and

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tomorrow is thrown into the oven.

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Will he not much more clothe

you, O you of little faith?

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Therefore, do not be anxious, saying,

What shall we eat, or what shall

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we drink, or what should we wear?

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For the Gentiles, the people who

don't know God, seek after all

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these things, and your Heavenly

Father knows that you need them all.

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But, seek first the kingdom of

God and His righteousness, and all

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these things will be added to you.

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Therefore, third time, don't

be anxious about tomorrow, for

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tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

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Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

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Today is enough trouble of its own.

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So there's a long passage that Jesus

talks about anxiety, and what he's really

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pointing out here is that your anxiety,

your, your worry, your concern is a

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matter of your attention, your focus.

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What anxiety comes down to

is what you're focused on.

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What you're looking at.

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What's preoccupying your thoughts.

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What you're concerned with.

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That's what anxiety and

worry comes down to.

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And so what I want you guys to

grasp today is that anxiety is a

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matter of what you're focused on.

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And so Jesus, he says, doesn't

just say don't be anxious.

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Instead he says something else.

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He says seek first the Kingdom of God.

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And the way I put that

for you is to focus.

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on God, His righteousness, His priorities.

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And let me see, I closed my slide app.

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Now I need to get it open again.

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This will help me do much better

staying organized for you.

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I'm, I don't have it up.

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So I'll need you to run it from the back.

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So we want to focus on God's

priority, on His fatherly care

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for us and His lasting kingdom.

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Instead of worrying about

what we think we need.

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That's what we want to focus on.

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Is we want to fight

anxiety with our focus.

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Instead of focusing on what

we think we need, right?

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What we wear, what we drink, what we eat.

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We want to focus on things that matter.

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Things that help us

find peace and comfort.

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Now look with me back at verse 24.

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I think there's a reason here.

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Why Jesus Connects, verse 24 and 25.

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He's talking about your master, right?

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Verse 24.

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No one can serve two masters.

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So what he's saying is if you're

mastered by this world, you will

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be anxious about worldly things.

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If your master is money, or fame, or

approval, or people's opinions of you,

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or success, you're gonna be mastered,

controlled, serving, worldly things.

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But if your master is God, if

you're serving the Lord, you'll

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be concerned with His glory.

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You want to make God look good,

and His priorities, or His kingdom.

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Your master, and we saw earlier

in verse 19, right, where your,

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or verse 21, where your treasure

is, there your heart will be also.

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So, your master and your treasure

capture your focus and your concern.

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Your master and your treasure

capture your focus and your concern.

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See, Jesus makes anxiety an issue

of your focus, your attention.

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If I put it another way, anxiety

is paying too much attention to

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the wrong things, and not enough

attention to the right things.

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You're being too

concerned about something.

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And so we want to focus, instead of

focusing on what we think we need, or

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our worries, or what we're concerned

about, we want to focus on God's fatherly

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care and his lasting kingdom, instead

of worrying about what we think we need.

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And that's the main reason Jesus

gives his disciples not to be anxious.

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He says, don't be anxious.

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Why?

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Why, why should I not be anxious?

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He says, you kept saying

that over and over.

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Well, the first thing is to remember

that God will take care of you.

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So point number one,

write it down like this.

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Remember your father.

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Remember.

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Your father,

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Jesus keeps drawing their attention back

to who God is and, and what he's like.

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Look at the, in the end of verse 26,

he talks about the birds and he says,

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but your heavenly father feeds them.

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And then he goes down and talks about

the lilies and then verse 30, but if

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God closed the grass of the field, so

Jesus keeps bringing their attention

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back to God away from their concerns.

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So, when you're anxious, you

need to remember your father.

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The first thing you want to remember about

your father is that he knows your needs.

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He knows your needs.

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Now, I just heard Angelo say this to

his son, Levi, about five minutes ago.

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Levi walks in here without a jacket.

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And Angelo's like, where's your jacket?

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And Levi goes, outside.

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And he's like, I think

you need your jacket.

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And Levi's like, I don't need my jacket.

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Angelo is much smarter than Levi.

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I think we can all agree to that.

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Angelo is a billion

times smarter than Levi.

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He knows what Levi needs.

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He knows that Le Even if Levi

doesn't think he needs his jacket,

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he knows Levi needs his jacket.

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Levi doesn't think he needs it,

but Levi doesn't know that he

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might get sick if he's cold.

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Levi doesn't know that it's

gonna get colder in an hour.

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But Angelo knows that.

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Angelo is a loving

father, a caring father.

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He knows what his son needs.

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Now, your father in heaven knows

your needs better than you do.

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See, compared to God, we think Levi might

be silly compared to Angelo, but compared

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to God, we're way dumber than Levi.

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And God is way smarter than Angelo.

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And so, us, talking back to God,

God, I don't need my jacket.

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We look so silly when we think,

oh God, I know much better, I

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know so much better than you.

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I know what I need.

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I know what's best for me, God.

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See, God is a genius.

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God knows everything.

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God made you.

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He knows exactly what you're like,

what you need, how your thoughts work.

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God knows exactly what's good

for you, what's best for you.

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You know, sometimes we don't

know what's best for us.

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We don't know exactly what we need.

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We don't know ourselves perfectly.

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But God knows us perfectly.

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And so He knows our needs

even better than we do.

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The second thing I want you

to remember about God is that

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He wants to meet your needs.

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God wants to meet your needs.

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Something over and over again

in this passage that Jesus says

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is, don't worry because, why?

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Because God will take care of you.

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God knows what you need and He

wants to do something about it.

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Now, something that revolutionized

my Christian life a few years ago.

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was when I realized that God is

more committed to my good than I am.

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God is more committed

to my good than I am.

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God's more committed to my eternal

happiness and satisfaction and

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security and safety than I am.

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I want me to be happy, but

God actually wants me to be

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happier than I want me to be.

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I don't know if you've ever

thought about that before.

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But because of the first part,

God is wise and knows our needs.

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He knows exactly what's best for

us, and He wants to give that to

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us, even when we don't want it.

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And when we're anxious, it's because

we're either receiving something

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that we don't want from God.

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Like, God, I don't want this test.

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God, uh, I'm scared about

what my friends think of me.

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God, I'm afraid of what's gonna

happen if this happens in my family.

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But we don't know that God

actually is using that for good.

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And not just kind of good.

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It's actually way better than anything

we could come up with for ourself.

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And God wants us to not

have to worry about it.

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He wants us to not worry.

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That's the whole, it's not like, Oh,

don't be anxious, don't be anxious.

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You suck because you're anxious.

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No, God's like, I don't

want you to be stressed.

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That's what, that's

where God's coming from.

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That's God's heart for

you in this passage.

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It's just, I don't want you to worry.

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I don't want you to, to be

so concerned about what, what

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you're, what you think you need.

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I want you to trust me and

let me take care of you.

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And the third thing I want you

to remember about God is that

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God is able to meet your needs.

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And maybe this is the easiest

for you to get so far, but God

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can give you what you need.

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And so something you'll talk about in

small groups is that if God doesn't

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give you something, Guess why?

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Well one, he's smart so he

knows you don't need it.

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Two, he loves you so he knows it's

actually better for you not to have it.

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And three, he could give it to you

and so obviously he doesn't want to.

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So you don't need to worry

about not having something

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and being stressed about it.

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Or, oh what if I, what

if I get this thing?

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That would be so much better

if I, if I could maybe sin

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in this way or do this thing.

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Well no, you don't, you don't

need to worry about it because God

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Has what's best for you in mind.

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Maybe you're anxious because you're

like, Oh, well, if I obey God, then

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this isn't gonna go very well for me.

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Right?

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These people aren't gonna like me.

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Or those people won't be

friends with me anymore.

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Or I'll get made fun of, or

I'll lose this opportunity.

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I won't get into that school.

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I'll miss out on that experience.

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What God's saying in that

moment is, you don't need that.

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It's not good for you.

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I have something better for you.

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So trust me, and let me take care of you.

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Now, it might not seem like, Oh,

this is just gonna calm me down if I

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just remember some facts about God.

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But, I think that's exactly

what Jesus is saying.

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Jesus expects these facts, and reasons,

and promises to make a difference in your

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anxiety, and what you're concerned about.

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When Jesus says, and something that

really shocked me when I read this

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passage is, in this whole passage about

anxiety, Jesus never says to pray.

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Never mentions it.

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Instead, he tells you facts.

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He tells you reasons.

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He argues with you.

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He gives you promises to believe.

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Because he expects those to make a

difference in what you're concerned about.

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He'll say something true to you

and he expects that to make a

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difference in how you feel and what

you're, what you're focused on.

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Where you put your attention.

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. So if Jesus expects those to make

a difference, then what do I do

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when, when it's hard to believe?

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'cause we've all been there.

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I I, I'm nervous.

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I, I know what the right thing to

do is, but I, I'm stressed about it.

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I, I don't know what to do.

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Well, the, the link between facts or

promises and getting to where your heart

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needs to be of peace or comfort is faith.

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That's, that's how you get from

facts, arguments, and reasons to

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peace, comfort, and trust in the Lord.

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And so, the second thing to do in

anxiety is to strengthen your faith.

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See, the opposite of worry is faith.

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I had a professor in college who had this

really memorable line that stuck with me.

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For the past few years, he said

anxiety is a mild form of atheism.

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Anxiety is a mild form of atheism.

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So, when you're anxious,

you're functionally living

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as if God doesn't exist.

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You're living as though God

wouldn't, doesn't care about you,

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or can't do what he says he can do.

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Or isn't involved in your life.

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So anxiety is a mild form of atheism.

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And so the opposite of anxiety is faith.

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So, how do I get faith

when I don't have it?

324

: 00:17:09

Well, I have three things for you.

325

: 00:17:12

How do I get faith when I don't have it?

326

: 00:17:15

How do I get faith when I don't have it?

327

: 00:17:17

Well, the first thing, so

strengthen your faith is point two.

328

: 00:17:20

The first thing to how to

strengthen your faith is to ask God.

329

: 00:17:25

Ask God for help.

330

: 00:17:28

We're going to see this all over the

Bible, but specifically in the longest

331

: 00:17:34

chapter of the Bible in Psalm 119.

332

: 00:17:36

Psalm 119 is actually

a very emotional psalm.

333

: 00:17:39

It's the longest chapter in the Bible.

334

: 00:17:41

It's all about the Bible.

335

: 00:17:42

So, and what you find.

336

: 00:17:46

Are these very high highs of

like, Oh, I love the Bible.

337

: 00:17:49

The Bible is the greatest thing ever.

338

: 00:17:50

God is amazing.

339

: 00:17:51

It's so easy to obey God and i'm

read this and i'm like, man, I wish

340

: 00:17:55

I was like you dude And then you find

stuff like this Incline my heart to

341

: 00:18:01

your testimonies and not to selfish

gain Now if this dude is such a rock

342

: 00:18:05

star christian and loves god all the

time, why does he need to say that?

343

: 00:18:09

Because he's human he needs help and

so we ask god god my heart You Is

344

: 00:18:15

in, you know, incline is, is like on

a treadmill when it's like leaning,

345

: 00:18:18

right, or like you're going up or down.

346

: 00:18:19

Incline like bending or leaning.

347

: 00:18:21

He says, my heart naturally

leans towards selfishness.

348

: 00:18:26

God, I need your help.

349

: 00:18:27

I need you to lean me the other way.

350

: 00:18:29

Towards your testimony.

351

: 00:18:31

That's God's Word.

352

: 00:18:32

And so, he's crying out to God.

353

: 00:18:34

And you see this, I just started

reading the psalm and wrote down

354

: 00:18:38

all the times that it happened.

355

: 00:18:39

I gave up after 36.

356

: 00:18:40

I was like, there's, there's

176 verses and there's way

357

: 00:18:43

more than what I put on there.

358

: 00:18:45

But, he's over and over asking God,

God, help me believe your Word.

359

: 00:18:50

Help me love your Word.

360

: 00:18:50

Help me want to do your Word.

361

: 00:18:53

And so, don't just be like, oh,

well, I read this passage and it

362

: 00:18:56

didn't make a difference in my life.

363

: 00:18:58

Ask God to help you.

364

: 00:18:59

Ask God, help me believe your promises.

365

: 00:19:01

So when you're worried about, oh,

you know, uh, If I, my friends at

366

: 00:19:08

school find out that I'm a Christian,

they're gonna leave me, right?

367

: 00:19:12

Then, what do you do?

368

: 00:19:13

Uh, okay, I need to know

something about God.

369

: 00:19:17

I need a fact or a reason, right?

370

: 00:19:19

So that's when you have to know God's

Word, and you say, Okay, um, Jesus said,

371

: 00:19:24

um, I will never leave you or forsake you.

372

: 00:19:27

Okay, great.

373

: 00:19:27

Even if my friends leave me, I'll always

have Jesus to embrace me and love me.

374

: 00:19:32

Okay, God, that doesn't seem much better.

375

: 00:19:35

I'd rather have my friends than Jesus.

376

: 00:19:37

I think that's where a

lot of you are at, right?

377

: 00:19:39

I'd rather be with my

friends than be with Jesus.

378

: 00:19:41

Well, ask God.

379

: 00:19:42

Help me want Jesus.

380

: 00:19:45

God, I really have a hard time

choosing you over my friends.

381

: 00:19:49

Please help me to love you.

382

: 00:19:52

To, to, to want you more than I

want the approval of my friends.

383

: 00:19:57

Ask God for help, and

He wants to help you.

384

: 00:19:59

God's not like, alright, once you ask four

times, then I'll God wants to help you.

385

: 00:20:05

He wants you to, to not

have to worry or be anxious.

386

: 00:20:10

And the second thing Is

to argue with yourself.

387

: 00:20:15

I know this sounds weird.

388

: 00:20:16

I almost made this the whole point instead

of strengthening your faith I almost

389

: 00:20:19

made it argue with your weak faith.

390

: 00:20:22

Look at our passage again in Matthew

6 Look at verse 30 So Jesus is talking

391

: 00:20:29

and he says but if God Closed the grass

of the field which today is alive and

392

: 00:20:34

tomorrow is thrown into the oven, right?

393

: 00:20:36

So there's God cares.

394

: 00:20:37

He makes the grass grow.

395

: 00:20:39

He makes sure that the birds are

okay, even in the winter and the snow.

396

: 00:20:43

Did you go outside after the snow?

397

: 00:20:44

And we saw like birds and squirrels.

398

: 00:20:46

I was like, man, they were outside.

399

: 00:20:47

They didn't have a heater.

400

: 00:20:48

They didn't, they survived all of that.

401

: 00:20:52

So God clothes the grass.

402

: 00:20:53

He makes it grow.

403

: 00:20:54

He takes care of it.

404

: 00:20:55

Will he not much more clothe you?

405

: 00:20:58

And then this phrase right

here, O you of little faith.

406

: 00:21:03

Did you know that that is actually just,

it's one word in Jesus original language,

407

: 00:21:08

and it's probably a word that he made up.

408

: 00:21:11

Jesus is like, I'm going to be

Shakespeare before Shakespeare and

409

: 00:21:14

make up a word that didn't exist.

410

: 00:21:16

And so Jesus loves this word.

411

: 00:21:18

He uses it in the Gospel

of Matthew specifically.

412

: 00:21:21

And so I looked, okay, when

does Jesus use this word?

413

: 00:21:25

When does he say, oh, you of little faith?

414

: 00:21:28

Well, he uses it.

415

: 00:21:31

When he's arguing with his disciples

about why they don't believe.

416

: 00:21:36

So these are the three other

times in Matthew he uses it.

417

: 00:21:39

Why are you afraid?

418

: 00:21:40

Are you of little faith?

419

: 00:21:40

That's when he's calming

a storm, I believe.

420

: 00:21:43

Are you of little faith?

421

: 00:21:44

Why did you doubt?

422

: 00:21:46

So this is all related

to fear and anxiety.

423

: 00:21:48

Or are you of little faith?

424

: 00:21:50

Why are you discussing with yourself

the fact that you have no breath?

425

: 00:21:55

Right?

426

: 00:21:55

And then look what he does,

especially at the bottom here in 16th.

427

: 00:21:59

Do you not perceive?

428

: 00:22:01

Don't you see this?

429

: 00:22:02

Or do you not remember?

430

: 00:22:04

Or, how is it that you fail to understand?

431

: 00:22:08

You see, these are all,

this is all up here.

432

: 00:22:12

Don't you understand this?

433

: 00:22:14

Don't you remember this?

434

: 00:22:16

He's almost arguing with the disciples.

435

: 00:22:18

Hey, come on, don't

you, don't you remember?

436

: 00:22:24

I Control the wind and the waves.

437

: 00:22:25

Don't you remember I can give you food.

438

: 00:22:28

Don't you remember I can take care of

you Don't you remember I can do anything.

439

: 00:22:31

Don't you remember?

440

: 00:22:32

I love you, and I think that's what

Jesus wants us to do With our anxiety.

441

: 00:22:38

He wants us to to look at ourselves

and say come on self Like don't

442

: 00:22:43

you know don't you under don't you

remember God look look what he's done.

443

: 00:22:47

Look what he can do Look

how powerful God is.

444

: 00:22:51

Look what he said in his word.

445

: 00:22:53

When has God let you down?

446

: 00:22:54

He wants you to argue with yourself.

447

: 00:22:55

In fact, one way to look at this passage

is eight reasons not to be anxious.

448

: 00:23:03

I put them all up here.

449

: 00:23:04

You don't have to write all this down.

450

: 00:23:05

But basically what I did is I just went

to the passage and went, okay, this

451

: 00:23:10

entire passage is basically just Jesus

giving you reasons not to be anxious.

452

: 00:23:15

And I think what he wants you to do is

he wants you to do this with yourself.

453

: 00:23:19

He wants you to look yourself in

the mirror and say, well, look,

454

: 00:23:23

why am I so worried about whether

God's going to take care of me?

455

: 00:23:27

Isn't my life more than just existing?

456

: 00:23:30

Isn't it just more than more than just

eating and drinking and staying alive?

457

: 00:23:34

Isn't there more to life than that?

458

: 00:23:37

Or reason number two, look at the birds.

459

: 00:23:40

God takes care of them.

460

: 00:23:42

Aren't you much more important than a bird

461

: 00:23:47

or reason number three and so on.

462

: 00:23:48

Right?

463

: 00:23:49

So all of these are arguments.

464

: 00:23:51

It's for why you don't have to worry.

465

: 00:23:55

And this isn't just something you

do once, and, oh, I read Matthew

466

: 00:23:58

6 and I'm never going to be

anxious for the rest of my life.

467

: 00:24:00

That's not how this works.

468

: 00:24:02

You have to argue with yourself

regularly, hey, Louis, don't call yourself

469

: 00:24:07

Louis, but hey Louis, why should I,

why are you being anxious right now?

470

: 00:24:12

Why are you so worried about what

your parents are going through?

471

: 00:24:17

Why are you so worried about what

that person at school thinks?

472

: 00:24:21

Why are you so worried?

473

: 00:24:23

about the tornado sirens going off.

474

: 00:24:26

Don't you know that God is

stronger than a tornado?

475

: 00:24:29

Don't you know that God is in control

of your parents and their relationship?

476

: 00:24:36

Don't you know that God's

approval lasts way longer than

477

: 00:24:40

the approval of your friends?

478

: 00:24:41

Don't you know that following

God's commands is way better

479

: 00:24:44

for you than hanging out and and

doing whatever you want to do?

480

: 00:24:48

Your friends want you to do.

481

: 00:24:49

Don't you know that God's word is

so much better for you than snoozing

482

: 00:24:53

your alarm six times in the morning?

483

: 00:24:55

You have to argue with yourself

and say, come on, self.

484

: 00:25:00

Do you not understand?

485

: 00:25:02

All right.

486

: 00:25:02

So when you're worried and in

your anxiety, when you're, when

487

: 00:25:05

you're paralyzed by fear, you

have to put some effort in to get

488

: 00:25:11

faith and argue with yourself.

489

: 00:25:14

But guess what?

490

: 00:25:15

It's not just you doing it on your own.

491

: 00:25:16

God wants

492

: 00:25:19

That's why we started with

ask God, God will help you.

493

: 00:25:24

And the third thing you do to

strengthen your faith is what this

494

: 00:25:27

passage is really all about is to

redirect your focus or your attention.

495

: 00:25:33

Jesus, what he's done in this passage is

made anxiety a matter of your attention.

496

: 00:25:40

So, for our third point, I

want you to sharpen your focus.

497

: 00:25:46

Sharpen your focus.

498

: 00:25:49

So there's three things when you're

anxious that you need to worry about.

499

: 00:25:51

You need to worry about your father.

500

: 00:25:53

You need to worry about your faith.

501

: 00:25:55

And you need to worry about your focus.

502

: 00:25:57

I went to a Baptist seminary, so they

all had to start with the same letter.

503

: 00:26:00

So, your faith, your

father, and your focus.

504

: 00:26:03

Those are your keys for

dealing with anxiety and worry.

505

: 00:26:10

So, the first thing to focus on is what

we talked about in the first point.

506

: 00:26:14

Focus on examples of God's care.

507

: 00:26:16

Look what Jesus does in our passage.

508

: 00:26:18

He gives three commands.

509

: 00:26:20

The first two are look at the

birds and consider the lilies.

510

: 00:26:26

Now these words in Jesus original language

aren't just, oh, look at the birds, cool.

511

: 00:26:32

It's like study them, consider them.

512

: 00:26:38

Look, and understand, and

think about what's going on.

513

: 00:26:43

And that's what he explains, right?

514

: 00:26:45

Those are some of the reasons

he gives not to be anxious.

515

: 00:26:48

It's like, if God takes care of the

birds, isn't he gonna take care of you?

516

: 00:26:52

So look at God's care for birds,

and then think, think about it.

517

: 00:26:58

Right?

518

: 00:26:58

Don't just look and be like,

oh cool, there's a bird.

519

: 00:27:00

But look at the bird, and think

about, man, God is the reason

520

: 00:27:04

that bird's alive right now.

521

: 00:27:06

God is the reason that that bird

made it through the snow last week.

522

: 00:27:11

And if God cares about that, you know,

God knows about that bird's last meal.

523

: 00:27:15

God knows about that bird's parents.

524

: 00:27:17

God knows about where that bird's nest is.

525

: 00:27:20

God knows about where

that bird's migrating.

526

: 00:27:22

God knows everything about that bird.

527

: 00:27:23

And surely, if God knows everything

about that random bird, He knows more

528

: 00:27:27

about you, and He cares more about you.

529

: 00:27:31

Now, there is something that I did want

to bring up when we're talking about

530

: 00:27:37

God's care is what Jesus says, right?

531

: 00:27:40

He says, doesn't God feed the

birds and clothe the lilies, right?

532

: 00:27:44

But the birds still have to

go get their food, right?

533

: 00:27:47

So what I don't want you to do is

take this passage and be like, Oh,

534

: 00:27:50

I don't have to do any homework.

535

: 00:27:51

God's going to give me good grades.

536

: 00:27:53

I don't have to study.

537

: 00:27:54

God's going to give me a good test score.

538

: 00:27:56

I don't have to do anything with my life

because God's going to take care of me.

539

: 00:28:00

That's not what Jesus is saying.

540

: 00:28:01

But, God provides for the

birds through their work.

541

: 00:28:06

Right?

542

: 00:28:06

The bird has to go fly somewhere

and find something and eat it.

543

: 00:28:09

Or hide something for the cold

weather so it can come back

544

: 00:28:12

to it when the snow melts.

545

: 00:28:13

The bird has to do work

to provide for itself.

546

: 00:28:16

But God is the one providing

for the bird through the work.

547

: 00:28:22

So, That's just a side note in case you

were like, well, Lewis said to not work.

548

: 00:28:28

That's not what I said.

549

: 00:28:29

So anyway, first thing is when

you're in, when you're anxious,

550

: 00:28:33

focus on examples of God's care.

551

: 00:28:37

Of how God is caring for

what's, what's happening.

552

: 00:28:40

And that's the, one of the main things

Jesus wants us to do in this passage.

553

: 00:28:46

But also there's great

questions that you can ask.

554

: 00:28:50

There's questions that you can ask about

yourself and your life or other believers.

555

: 00:28:55

This is why God puts you in a church,

so that there's other people who've

556

: 00:28:59

maybe gone through a situation that

you've never gone through before, and

557

: 00:29:02

it's your first time, you know, going

to a new school, or moving out of state.

558

: 00:29:07

And you can say, oh man, well God

has provided for those people,

559

: 00:29:10

so maybe He'll take care of me.

560

: 00:29:11

So these are just some

questions that I thought of.

561

: 00:29:13

How has the Lord taken care

of me in the past, right?

562

: 00:29:15

That's an easy one.

563

: 00:29:16

Okay, well, God's kept me

alive up to this point.

564

: 00:29:19

Or God's made sure, you know, the

situation in the past where my parents

565

: 00:29:24

had a hard time, but God made sure

that they could get through it.

566

: 00:29:26

Or, oh, I had to go to a new school,

but God provided friends for me.

567

: 00:29:30

Or, I had to get to a new small

group, and I had a new leader.

568

: 00:29:34

But, you know, God is gonna

take care of me, because he'll

569

: 00:29:37

connect me with other leaders.

570

: 00:29:38

He's always provided

people for me in the past.

571

: 00:29:42

Or, how has God helped people

in similar situations, right?

572

: 00:29:44

You can use your Bible.

573

: 00:29:46

You can look at church history if

you've read missionary biography.

574

: 00:29:50

That's why we VBS all the time.

575

: 00:29:52

It's like, look how God

provided for those people.

576

: 00:29:54

Well, he's the same God.

577

: 00:29:56

He's the same loving Father.

578

: 00:29:58

Amen.

579

: 00:30:00

And then this one, this

third one is really helpful.

580

: 00:30:02

What has God given me right now

to help me through this battle?

581

: 00:30:06

Because it is a battle with anxiety.

582

: 00:30:08

It's not a walk in the

park with your worries.

583

: 00:30:10

You're fighting.

584

: 00:30:11

You're fighting for faith.

585

: 00:30:12

You're fighting to put your attention

somewhere that, that matters.

586

: 00:30:16

And so think, what

resources has God given me?

587

: 00:30:19

You know, oh, he's given me

friends to talk to, a small group

588

: 00:30:22

leader, my parents, or his word.

589

: 00:30:24

He's given me things that I can use.

590

: 00:30:29

So, the first thing to focus

on is examples of God's care.

591

: 00:30:31

The second thing is on how you

can pursue God's priorities.

592

: 00:30:36

And that comes from verse 33.

593

: 00:30:38

I'll read it for you again.

594

: 00:30:40

Verse 33 says, But seek first the

kingdom of God and His righteousness,

595

: 00:30:45

and all these things, right, what

you eat, what you drink, what

596

: 00:30:47

you wear, will be added to you.

597

: 00:30:50

Amen.

598

: 00:30:52

So Boom.

599

: 00:30:53

So, so far, up to that, up to verse

33, Jesus said, don't be anxious,

600

: 00:30:57

don't be anxious, don't be anxious.

601

: 00:30:58

And now he gives a positive command, but

instead, instead of worrying about what

602

: 00:31:03

you're going to wear, what you're going to

eat, I want you to be concerned about or

603

: 00:31:07

focus on what I have for you, my kingdom.

604

: 00:31:11

And what that means, seek

first the kingdom of God, is

605

: 00:31:16

put God's priorities first.

606

: 00:31:17

God has plans and purposes and,

and, uh, things for us to do.

607

: 00:31:24

And he has values and ways

we're supposed to live.

608

: 00:31:28

So maybe you're saying, maybe you've heard

most of the sermon and been like, Oh, you

609

: 00:31:33

know, Lewis, I don't really get stressed.

610

: 00:31:36

I'm just not that worried.

611

: 00:31:37

I'm not a really worried person.

612

: 00:31:39

I'm very calm.

613

: 00:31:41

Well, Jesus is making anxiety

way more than just about stress.

614

: 00:31:47

According to Jesus, anxiety

615

: 00:31:53

It's when you are too concerned

about something that you

616

: 00:31:56

don't need to worry about.

617

: 00:31:57

So it could even be you're too concerned

about your own success, or you're too

618

: 00:32:03

concerned about your own appearance,

or you're too concerned about what

619

: 00:32:06

people think of you, and you're not

stressed about it, but that's your focus.

620

: 00:32:11

And he's saying that's not what

you should be worrying about.

621

: 00:32:13

You're worrying about

something that doesn't matter.

622

: 00:32:15

Remember, we talked about your master

and your treasure, so you're, you're

623

: 00:32:18

serving something that's not gonna last.

624

: 00:32:21

Remember, Jesus said, lay

up treasure in heaven.

625

: 00:32:23

The approval of your friends

at school is not gonna last.

626

: 00:32:26

I don't even remember the ASB

president from my high school

627

: 00:32:30

or my middle school, right?

628

: 00:32:31

I don't think anyone does.

629

: 00:32:34

And so, the approval of your peers is not

gonna last, but the approval of God will.

630

: 00:32:41

And so, Your misplaced concern is another

way that maybe you're not stressed

631

: 00:32:46

about it, but you're consumed by it.

632

: 00:32:48

You're serving something.

633

: 00:32:52

So pursuing God's priorities.

634

: 00:32:53

There's some helpful questions

that I, again, I put together

635

: 00:32:55

for you to think about, right?

636

: 00:32:57

See this word here, seek.

637

: 00:32:59

It's not just like, oh, maybe I'll

accidentally glorify God today.

638

: 00:33:03

That's not gonna happen.

639

: 00:33:03

You have to think about it,

pursue it, and go after it.

640

: 00:33:07

See, we talk about misplaced concern.

641

: 00:33:10

The Gentiles, right, the people who don't

know God, They are pursuing, or they're

642

: 00:33:15

focused on, all these things that don't

matter, that you don't need to worry

643

: 00:33:22

about, because God knows you need them.

644

: 00:33:25

That's why you don't

have to worry about them.

645

: 00:33:27

That's like asking your dad, you're going

on a road trip, Hey dad, do we need gas?

646

: 00:33:33

Duh.

647

: 00:33:35

Of course I filled up the gas

tank before the road trip.

648

: 00:33:37

That's what it's like when you're like,

Oh God, are you going to take care of me?

649

: 00:33:41

Of course He is.

650

: 00:33:42

He knows you need to be taken care of.

651

: 00:33:44

He's gonna take care of you.

652

: 00:33:46

So, when you're anxious,

instead of thinking about,

653

: 00:33:48

Oh, I'm anxious about this.

654

: 00:33:49

I'm anxious about this.

655

: 00:33:50

Oh, I'm so worried.

656

: 00:33:51

Oh, what's this person gonna do?

657

: 00:33:53

Think about, Oh, how can

I love Jesus right now?

658

: 00:33:56

Turn your focus, your attention to that.

659

: 00:33:59

Or, how can I make God look great?

660

: 00:34:00

Or, who can I serve?

661

: 00:34:01

Who can I help?

662

: 00:34:03

Who's someone that needs

me to love them right now?

663

: 00:34:06

When you're anxious, turn

your focus away from yourself.

664

: 00:34:10

Don't be like someone who doesn't know God

and think about all the things you think

665

: 00:34:13

you need, but instead turn your attention,

your focus, to what God has for you.

666

: 00:34:18

And guess what?

667

: 00:34:20

All these things will be added to you.

668

: 00:34:22

God will take care of everything else.

669

: 00:34:24

God doesn't want you to have

to worry about all that stuff.

670

: 00:34:27

There's so much for you to worry about,

and God's like, no, don't worry about it.

671

: 00:34:31

I want you to focus on what I want

for you, because what I want for you,

672

: 00:34:34

remember we talked about God is good.

673

: 00:34:36

He loves you.

674

: 00:34:37

He wants you to focus on the

things that are good for you.

675

: 00:34:39

So you don't have to worry

about all the other stuff.

676

: 00:34:43

So the third thing to focus on, focus

on examples of God's care, focus on

677

: 00:34:46

how you can pursue God's priorities,

and then I want you to also focus on

678

: 00:34:51

what God puts in front of you today,

not what might happen tomorrow.

679

: 00:34:57

And that's how our

passage ends in verse 34.

680

: 00:35:01

Therefore, don't be anxious

about tomorrow, for tomorrow

681

: 00:35:04

will be anxious for itself.

682

: 00:35:07

And that's such a Jesus is, like,

such a genius, such a wise teacher,

683

: 00:35:11

to come up with a statement like that.

684

: 00:35:12

Don't worry about tomorrow, because

tomorrow's gonna worry about tomorrow.

685

: 00:35:15

Today's got enough for you to worry about.

686

: 00:35:20

I heard someone say this, worrying

about tomorrow multiplies your problems.

687

: 00:35:25

Because you don't have to

worry about tomorrow's problems

688

: 00:35:27

yet, so don't worry about it.

689

: 00:35:28

When I was in school, back in the day, so

long ago, like a year ago, Um, I had A, so

690

: 00:35:39

my, the way my school schedule worked, I

always had projects due over Thanksgiving.

691

: 00:35:43

I don't know why, but I always had a

big project due because we come back

692

: 00:35:46

from Thanksgiving break, and then you

have one week, and then you have finals.

693

: 00:35:50

So all my professors were like, Oh,

we'll just make all the projects

694

: 00:35:52

due the week before finals so

you can study for your finals.

695

: 00:35:54

Thanks, now I have to work

on it over Thanksgiving.

696

: 00:35:56

Thanks, professor.

697

: 00:35:57

So, over Thanksgiving, I have to do all,

I, I didn't have a Thanksgiving break

698

: 00:36:01

where I could just not do anything.

699

: 00:36:03

Thanks.

700

: 00:36:05

I always had projects to do, but, I

came up with this theory, based on this

701

: 00:36:12

verse, that I'm going to pass on to you

guys to help you get through school.

702

: 00:36:16

People would ask me, oh, like, well,

are you going to start your project, or

703

: 00:36:19

are you going to work on your project?

704

: 00:36:20

And I'm like, no, Thanksgiving?

705

: 00:36:22

I'm just going to, I'm going to

enjoy my family and do that thing.

706

: 00:36:25

That's a Friday Lewis problem.

707

: 00:36:27

So Thursday, I'm not gonna worry about it.

708

: 00:36:28

Friday Lewis can deal with that.

709

: 00:36:30

That was my theory for school.

710

: 00:36:32

I was like, I'm not gonna worry

about over Thanksgiving, but

711

: 00:36:34

Friday Lewis can worry about that.

712

: 00:36:37

And Friday Lewis might even be smarter.

713

: 00:36:40

Because he has 24 hours

more of experience living.

714

: 00:36:44

So Friday Lewis is actually better

equipped to do his homework.

715

: 00:36:47

And don't take this and procrastinate.

716

: 00:36:49

That's not what I'm telling you to do.

717

: 00:36:50

I know, I know some of you.

718

: 00:36:52

And that's what you're gonna do.

719

: 00:36:53

That's a good point.

720

: 00:36:55

But, that's what Jesus is saying,

essentially, He's saying don't

721

: 00:36:58

worry about tomorrow's problems

when you haven't gotten there yet.

722

: 00:37:02

Because you don't know what God's going

to do in between today and tomorrow.

723

: 00:37:07

God can do something, He can do

a lot of things in between today

724

: 00:37:11

and tomorrow, or the next day.

725

: 00:37:15

And in fact, something else

that Jesus said earlier in this

726

: 00:37:18

chapter, when He asked us, when He

taught us to pray, He said, What?

727

: 00:37:24

Pray for your daily

bread, your today bread.

728

: 00:37:27

He didn't say pray for tomorrow's bread.

729

: 00:37:29

God provides for you day by day.

730

: 00:37:32

That's how God works.

731

: 00:37:33

He doesn't want you to worry about

tomorrow's problems with today's grace.

732

: 00:37:38

Today's grace is for today's

problems, and then tomorrow's

733

: 00:37:41

grace is for tomorrow's problems.

734

: 00:37:43

So God is giving you what you need day by

day, so you don't have to worry about it.

735

: 00:37:46

Because your worries, when you're

worried about the future, here's

736

: 00:37:49

the thing with anxiety, right?

737

: 00:37:50

It affects your imagination, right?

738

: 00:37:52

It affects your, Oh, well, if, if I show

up to school wearing this, or looking

739

: 00:37:57

like this, or if they see me talking

with those people, or if I get this

740

: 00:38:00

grade on the test, then my parents are

gonna think this, and then I'm gonna,

741

: 00:38:06

see, I had this thing that I was told

from certain people at my school about

742

: 00:38:10

my grades, um, A was average, B was bad,

C was can't have dinner, D was don't

743

: 00:38:21

come home, and F is find a new family.

744

: 00:38:24

Now, that might sound harsh to some of

you, but from my culture, that's normal.

745

: 00:38:30

Um, but when you're anxious, when

you're anxious, I know that sounds

746

: 00:38:34

crazy, but when you're anxious,

that's what your mind does, right?

747

: 00:38:37

Your brain will go, oh, if my parents,

my parents will kill me if they find out

748

: 00:38:40

that I got a 44 on my Algebra 2 test.

749

: 00:38:42

Or, oh, if I don't get into this

school, this is going to happen.

750

: 00:38:46

Or, oh, if my friend sees me

with this person, this, and you

751

: 00:38:49

just steamroll down the road.

752

: 00:38:51

And, and suddenly you're saying,

oh, I'm going to get disowned

753

: 00:38:53

from my family over a quiz.

754

: 00:38:56

That's not how it works.

755

: 00:38:58

Let's see, your anxieties, your worries,

will build an imaginary future for you.

756

: 00:39:04

Because you're so worried

about tomorrow's problems.

757

: 00:39:08

Don't let them do that because

remember what Jesus just said in

758

: 00:39:11

in earlier in last week's sermon.

759

: 00:39:13

He said, lay up for yourselves.

760

: 00:39:15

Treasure in heaven.

761

: 00:39:17

That's the future.

762

: 00:39:18

You should be focused on your

eternal future, not the future.

763

: 00:39:22

Your anxiety makes up in your head.

764

: 00:39:25

Don't worry about tomorrow's future

that your anxiety built for you.

765

: 00:39:29

That it's not real, but also, God wants

you to be worried about something else.

766

: 00:39:33

He wants you to be thinking about,

oh, how can I store a lasting

767

: 00:39:35

treasure that matters forever

that's not gonna go away in heaven?

768

: 00:39:41

So that's the first thing from this verse

that I want you to look at, but also,

769

: 00:39:45

God knows about tomorrow's problems, too.

770

: 00:39:48

God actually knows about tomorrow's

problems way better than you do.

771

: 00:39:52

God knows way more about tomorrow

that you're worried about So you can

772

: 00:39:57

trust Him to deal with tomorrow's

problems when you get there.

773

: 00:40:01

So you can say, God, I'm

gonna trust you with tomorrow.

774

: 00:40:03

I'm gonna focus on what

you have for me today.

775

: 00:40:06

God's given you today for

you to live right now.

776

: 00:40:11

You don't have to worry

about tomorrow yet.

777

: 00:40:12

You can worry about it when you get

there and ask your questions and fight

778

: 00:40:17

for faith and argue with yourself.

779

: 00:40:19

You can do all that tomorrow with

when you face tomorrow's problems.

780

: 00:40:22

But today, Focus on how

can I serve God today?

781

: 00:40:25

What does God have for me today?

782

: 00:40:26

Who has God put in front

of me right now, today?

783

: 00:40:29

You don't want to be so worried about

tomorrow that you miss out on, Oh,

784

: 00:40:32

I should have, I should have shared

the gospel with that person today.

785

: 00:40:36

Oh, I forgot to serve my sibling.

786

: 00:40:38

I forgot to bless my,

my parents in that way.

787

: 00:40:43

So God has you alive today for

a purpose and don't waste your

788

: 00:40:47

energy worrying about tomorrow.

789

: 00:40:48

See anxiety, as you see the top

is a battle for your energy.

790

: 00:40:53

God's given you limited energy for today.

791

: 00:40:55

Don't waste it worrying about tomorrow.

792

: 00:40:59

You're not gonna solve tomorrow's problems

wasting your energy on them today.

793

: 00:41:03

Use the today energy, your daily bread

for today, on today's concern, which is

794

: 00:41:08

how can I put first God's kingdom today?

795

: 00:41:14

Now,

796

: 00:41:18

one thing that I don't want you to

walk away from this sermon thinking

797

: 00:41:22

is Is that God is far off, and

distant, and disappointed in me

798

: 00:41:27

whenever I get anxious, and just, ah,

can't be anxious, can't be anxious,

799

: 00:41:31

don't be anxious, don't be anxious.

800

: 00:41:33

Suppress my feelings.

801

: 00:41:34

Don't be anxious.

802

: 00:41:36

That's not what I want you to

walk away from this sermon.

803

: 00:41:38

This sermon is not a bunch of

rules for you, on how to not

804

: 00:41:42

worry and make God not mad at you.

805

: 00:41:45

That's not, that's not what this is about.

806

: 00:41:47

This isn't about, oh,

God hates anxious people.

807

: 00:41:49

That's not what this sermon's about.

808

: 00:41:50

This sermon is about a Father who

loves you and wants to take care of

809

: 00:42:00

you and doesn't want you to be worried

He's not giving you rules to follow

810

: 00:42:05

just because he's he's offering you

life true life that you don't have to

811

: 00:42:11

be consumed by your worries and and

other other people think of you and How

812

: 00:42:16

this is gonna work out in the future.

813

: 00:42:18

He doesn't want you to be worried

about that Because He loves you.

814

: 00:42:21

He wants what's best for you.

815

: 00:42:23

And so He's offering you

life and holding you out.

816

: 00:42:25

But see, the thing is, is if God

isn't your Father, you don't have

817

: 00:42:32

access to that sense of care.

818

: 00:42:37

Because you don't have a Heavenly

Father who's looking out for

819

: 00:42:41

you, and taking care of you, and

protecting you, and guiding you.

820

: 00:42:48

And so, This sermon is also an offer

821

: 00:42:54

Because you don't have to be worried, but

if you reject God you Naturally will be

822

: 00:43:03

because like we talked about the beginning

your your master is Not something that can

823

: 00:43:09

protect you and give you comfort if your

master is the approval of your friends

824

: 00:43:14

or if your treasure is worldly success

You are going to be worried because that

825

: 00:43:22

treasure and that master cannot give

you the security you're longing for.

826

: 00:43:28

And the only way to find security

and peace is a Heavenly Father who

827

: 00:43:33

loves you and is all powerful and

all wise and all knowing and wants

828

: 00:43:40

you to not have to worry about all

the things that you're worried about.

829

: 00:43:44

He wants you to be able

to say, I'm here today.

830

: 00:43:48

To live today for your glory.

831

: 00:43:50

To put your kingdom first, so I don't

have to worry about anything else.

832

: 00:43:55

So I'll pray for us, and we talk

more about that in small groups.

833

: 00:44:02

Heavenly Father, we're so grateful

that you don't want us to be

834

: 00:44:05

worried, that you care about us.

835

: 00:44:08

You don't have to give

us special attention.

836

: 00:44:11

You're not obligated to want

to take our worries away.

837

: 00:44:17

But you love us.

838

: 00:44:19

And so, you do.

839

: 00:44:22

So God, I pray that you help us to see you

as a caring, wise father who knows what's

840

: 00:44:29

best for us, who knows what we need,

841

: 00:44:33

and is always working for our good.

842

: 00:44:37

Help us to trust you.

843

: 00:44:38

Help us to trust you when we don't

understand things, when things happen

844

: 00:44:42

in our lives that don't make sense, that

make it seem like you're not good, that

845

: 00:44:45

make it hard to believe your promises.

846

: 00:44:48

Help us to argue with ourselves

and fight for faith so that

847

: 00:44:52

we can learn to trust you.

848

: 00:44:55

Pray this in Jesus name.

849

: 00:44:56

Amen.